Who's in for GREECE and TURKEY, June 15 2003????

[mindelmouse]

We're very close to it as well this trip (starboard side, just aft of the aft elevators)...we might be neighbors(?). We have our own verandah this time, but still like to go back there to enjoy a drink and meet people. There's just something I find very beautiful about looking out over the ship's wake while at sea.

We've never had a problem getting outside, except for once where we had to "help" clean up after a wedding that ran long so we could get our party started. I believe they may lock it at night though for safety reasons, but we're usually out there before main dining or to watch the sunset after dinner. We were just there (on the Wonder) sailing out of San Fran and got some amazing shots of the Golden Gate Bridge.

We're 7128. We're port.

 

[Double Trouble]

We're 7128. We're port.

I guess we'll have to meet you "in the middle" on the aft verandah then. At least it's a short walk to the cabin for refills!

 

[mindelmouse]

I guess we'll have to meet you "in the middle" on the aft verandah then. At least it's a short walk to the cabin for refills!

That will work
I don't remember...does Double Trouble indicate you have twins?

 

[BobandLee]

Just stopping by to read all post back the few months.

If you do hear from me again it is because I was overcome by the shear magnitude.

 

[Double Trouble]

That will work
I don't remember...does Double Trouble indicate you have twins?

Yes we do! And yes, there is a touch of sarcasm in their "little angel" avatars. They know these ships inside out, and are very familiar to many of crew on the Wonder. However, it's been a few years since they've been on the Magic so we'll have to make some new friends with the staff and crew, and hopefully run into some old ones as well.

 

[mindelmouse]

never mind...I noticed in your signature line that you do.. I have 12 year old twins

 

[nzdisneymom]

Thanks for the hotel site. I didn't know there were 2 Renaissance hotels in BCN...I was looking at the other one! Looks like we can get there with only 1 changeover from the L8 to the L3 line. We're doing Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, and La Rambla on our own that day, before seeing the fountains that night. I think it would be fun to get together for that.

I was just planning to ask the hotel concierge about the best way to get to the fountains, but if anyone else wants to work out the directions, that would be great, too. Especially the part where we take the subway out there and back. We don't have plans to use the subway at this point except for going to the fountains on Friday night.

Just go all the way aft on Deck 7 (past either the port or starboard side staterooms aft of the aft elevators), then out the door (just aft of the interior "secret" stairwell) to the outside.

We always stay on Deck 6 and like to go up there, too. We like to take the "secret stairwell" from the back of Topsiders down to Deck 8, too, particularly on busy mornings so we can get out of the fray.

Started packing for the 35 days in Europe. I keep taking stuff out. Trying to really keep things to a minimum and will do laundry numerous times.

One week from now we will be at the Orlando airport waiting for our departure to Paris! Can't wait to get this adventure started!

We are also planning to do laundry several times. I made a schedule of when I know we can do laundry and then based how many sets of clothing we need on the most number of days between opportunity. The guys are packing six pairs of shorts, six t-shirts, two pairs of long pants, two collared shirts, and then underwear, pjs, swimtrunks, and an extra set of just hanging around the ship clothes. The big gaps will be between leaving home on Tuesday and getting to do laundry on Sunday (Villefranche day), and then Malta and getting home 5 days after that at the end. I made myself a schedule so that I can see that each item I pack will be used a minimum of two times; if it's a one-time-only deal, it gets left at home. I didn't factor in my group t-shirt I ordered, but it means I'll leave one "hanging around" shirt at home.

So, this time we are planning to wander around VilleFranche, see some Matisse Paintings, head over to EZE, Monte Carlo and back.

Matisse paintings in Villefranche? Please tell me more! We're doing the DCL excursion for Monaco, Monte Carlo and Eze on the 16th, but when we port in Villefranche again, we plan to just hang out in the town, maybe walk all the way down to the beach (we only went part way last time we were there). We'll be there on a Friday the 2nd time through.

We're very close to it as well this trip (starboard side, just aft of the aft elevators)...we might be neighbors(?). We have our own verandah this time, but still like to go back there to enjoy a drink and meet people. There's just something I find very beautiful about looking out over the ship's wake while at sea.

Secret Deck 7 is where we saw orca whales while on the Alaskan cruise in 2011. It was amazing!

 

[mindelmouse]

Cindy - do we have a roll call with cabin numbers...see my post on FB

 

[Double Trouble]

I would love to have a mini-meetup with the rest of you all who are planning CT on your own - anyone have a suggested time/place? Our TA called DCL and they said that as of that day, the Magic was still scheduled to tender in La Spezia which means we'll be later off the ship. I can't remember how DCL handles tender ports for non-DCL excursioners - anyone know?

We've tendered numerous times into Cabo on DCL. It worked like this...

Most of the first tenders are reserved for those on early DCL excursions (if you're on one of those, they give you a meeting time/place, like Diversions at 0730, then walk you off as a group to a dedicated tender). They announce that all others wanting to go ashore go to the Buena Visa Theater (Deck 5 aft), where they give you a ticket and cue you up in the rows of seats. Your whole group must be ready and together before they give you a ticket and let you in. When tender seats become available, they walk off the appropriate number of people in the order you arrived. This continues until there is no waiting, where sometime after that they make another announcement that you may proceed directly to the debarking area. We've sat there for as much as 30 minutes, and also had no delay at all. It really depends on what time the DCL excursions are and how many people are on them. Whatever they do, it will be published the night before and sent out with the Navigators.

Does anyone who cruised the Med previously have any different/additional info on how they did it there?

 

[nzdisneymom]

I remember reading a post recently (I think on Facebook?) about us going through the Strait of Messina. I didn't know where this was, so I looked it up - it's between the tip of Italy's boot and Sicily.

I was also looking at MarineTraffic.com tonight to see how we might follow the Magic as she's sailing this week.

 

[Double Trouble]

never mind...I noticed in your signature line that you do.. I have 12 year old twins

You probably know exactly what I mean then! I just saw yours on the roll call sheet. Mine just got their first taste of the Edge on our last cruise and are totally fired up to do it again, particularly considering the independence that comes with it. They even won a couple of the Edge's scavenger hunts and scored some nice Disney stuff as prizes. So, if we're not ashore, that's where they'll be!

 

[nzdisneymom]

Cindy - do we have a roll call with cabin numbers...see my post on FB

Sure - it's the Google Docs spreadsheet. This link takes you to the one that is editable - there are some GTY cabins still there that anyone who had a GTY and wants to update their cabin number can do so. There are a few tabs in this document - the one labeled DIS LIST is the one that is editable - the one that is SHEET 1 is the one that updates from the RollCall Form. When it was locked for so long, we made a new tab and then just copied everything over. I think it's sorted alphabetically by DISer if anyone is looking to update their info. For my own use today, I just copy/pasted the info for the DISer and Cabin number into an Excel and made it so it fit on one page - but I didn't save it after I printed.

We've tendered numerous times into Cabo on DCL. It worked like this...

Most of the first tenders are reserved for those on early DCL excursions (if you're on one of those, they give you a meeting time/place, like Diversions at 0730, then walk you off as a group to a dedicated tender). They announce that all others wanting to go ashore go to the Buena Visa Theater (Deck 5 aft), where they give you a ticket and cue you up in the rows of seats. Your whole group must be ready and together before they give you a ticket and let you in. When tender seats become available, they walk off the appropriate number of people in the order you arrived. This continues until there is no waiting, where sometime after that they make another announcement that you may proceed directly to the debarking area (usually Deck 1). We've sat there for as much as 30 minutes, and also had no delay at all. It really depends on what time the DCL excursions are and how many people are on them.

Does anyone who cruised the Med previously have any different/additional info on how they did it there?

thanks for the info about tendering. I'm going to think that since most of the DCL excursions are heading some distance (like to Florence) then those excursions will probably head out early. So for those of you thinking of doing CT on your own, what time are you thinking to head off the ship? (Train Schedule). I'd like to try to get the 9:56 AM so that would mean we'd want to be off the ship by 9:00 (to give us plenty of time to stroll to the station, get our tickets, STAMP our tickets, etc.), and then if for some reason the 9:56 was full or we missed it, we could still catch the 10:12. I haven't looked to see what DCL says about their CT excursion in terms of what time they meet and how they transport there and back. Guess I could go look.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Just stopping by to read all post back the few months.

If you do hear from me again it is because I was overcome by the shear magnitude.

Hee hee - that's why you can't skip too many days There is so much great information here and I have learned so muich.


And totally unrelated, someone tell me that I understand this correctly: the charger for my camera battery says Input 100V-240V - so that means I can use it in Barcelona with only a plug adaptor and do not need a converter for it, right? Our kindle and ipod-thingy chargers also say that. I recently had to replace my old flat iron and picked one up that said dually-rated so I don't have to worry about that for that - just wanted to be absolutely sure about the other devices. We have borrowed a converter which comes with a couple of adapters, so if I don't need the converter, I'll leave it home and just take the adapters. We did notice in London that the plugs on the desk were US-shaped plugs while the ones in the walls needed adapters.

 

[momof34man]

On the CT day, we would like to get off the ship as soon as possible to get the train. We'd also like to walk between a couple of the villages (I guess I should look up the status of the trails). Our only major goal is to get gelato and enjoy the scenery. We've been there before, but have not walked between the villages yet. (Our boys were 18 months, and 4 the last time we visited.).

Finally finished the FE gifts...One more item checked off the list of things to do before we go. We sure do have a lot of people! I did something for individuals. Maybe next time I'll do one thing per cabin.

Flying out of here in a week and a half. See you in Barcelona!

Margie (momof34man)

 

[Double Trouble]

I'm going to think that since most of the DCL excursions are heading some distance (like to Florence) then those excursions will probably head out early. So for those of you thinking of doing CT on your own, what time are you thinking to head off the ship? (Train Schedule). I'd like to try to get the 9:56 AM so that would mean we'd want to be off the ship by 9:00 (to give us plenty of time to stroll to the station, get our tickets, STAMP our tickets, etc.), and then if for some reason the 9:56 was full or we missed it, we could still catch the 10:12. I haven't looked to see what DCL says about their CT excursion in terms of what time they meet and how they transport there and back. Guess I could go look.

Anytime is fine with us. We tend to be early people, but with the time change, who knows? Based on the train schedule, the 9:56 with the 10:12 backup looks perfect! Big day in Rome the next day so won't be staying out all day in La Spezia/CT.

 

[Boomerang4]

For those of you waking up on the East coast, you will note the news about Turkey has changed a bit.

From BBC:
-------------------
The violence was sparked by plans to build on a city park but have broadened into nationwide anti-government unrest.

They fear Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) is trying to impose conservative Islamic values on the officially secular country and infringe on their personal freedoms, correspondents say.

Unrest was also reported in the capital, Ankara, and the western coastal city of Izmir in the west, as well as Adana in the south and Gaziantep in the south-east.
--------------------
Still think it likely that this will get sorted out...or will not affect our port. It's a big country and relatively few cities are effected. Two years ago when we boarded the magic in Barcelona, there were huge protests going on there. But it didn't affect the tourists to a great degree and Disney was still docking there. I think one must loook at it as if there were protests going on in DC or New York, would you still avoid going there?

I would hazard a guess that Disney is not going to mess around with saftey and security (their rep/name relies on good press and avoiding bad press), so I'm sure they will make whatever decision is necessary as we get closer to our stop there, but likely all will be unchanged. That's my guess, anyway.

 

[Deb in IA]

My son just turned 18 and will be a HS senior next year. He is definitely hopeful that he can connect with some others around the same age. We plan to try to do the meet at the Rennaissnce Hotel on June 13 and the Dis meet at 3:00 on the ship.

Sounds GREAT! What is your DS's name?
Ours actually just turned 18 as well (May 22). He just finished high school, though. Oh, and his name is Mark. I'll try to post a picture.
We are staying at a different hotel - the Hilton Diagonal, so we will look for you at the 3 pm meet! Where are we meeting? The Promenade Lounge?

I just spoke to DCL. They stated that, as of today, the Magic will be stopping in Turkey. They also added that it is up to the Captain's discretion to change ports if necessary. If you booked an excursion through DCL, you will not be charged. If you booked your private tour, paid for the tour ahead, and the port is changed, DCL is not financially responsible to reimburse you.

That is another reason my DH, who is not very adventurous and really worried about Europe, insisted that we only book Disney excursions.

Oh, and where is that list for the roll call, and the FE?
Thanks!

 

[Deb in IA]

Here are some pictures:

Mark, our 18 year old DS (senior pictures):

Picture of the Deb in IA family (from our last cruise):

 

[abayaflowers]

Here are some pictures:

Beautiful pictures! Beautiful family! Congrats to your son on his graduation and your family as well

 

[Double Trouble]

Abayaflowers, I just sent you a PM.