You Are Not The First To Pass This Way: 2nd Magic Baltic Cruise, 6/24/2010

[buck4568]

Hi everyone !
Does anyone know if we will be able to watch the World Cup anywhere on the ship!?

Huge Soccer Fan !

If they have it on it will likely be in Diversions. They have multiple TV's for sport events. Deck 3 forward!

OMG! Just 14 days till we leave! I am so unable to cope with anything except counting down the days!

 

[cindy18]

The last time we cruised was during March Madness, and they had the games on every evening. The World Cup is bigger than March Madness, and we'll be in Europe after all. I suspect they will have the games on.

Yesterday I was counting down the number of days of work until we leave. I am starting to get so focused on just getting on the airplane!!!

 

[lzj21428]

Leaving 2 weeks from today!!!

Got the foreign curreny yesterday. All put in envelopes and labled so I know which is which.

We have figured out how we are getting to the airport. One more thing off the list.

The packing is the only thing that is worrisome to me at this point. I just want to make sure I pack enough, but not to much and I always pack to much.

How's everybody else doing?

Enjoy the rest of this week.

 

[ktkspider]

Leaving 2 weeks from today!!!

Got the foreign curreny yesterday. All put in envelopes and labled so I know which is which.

We have figured out how we are getting to the airport. One more thing off the list.

The packing is the only thing that is worrisome to me at this point. I just want to make sure I pack enough, but not to much and I always pack to much.

How's everybody else doing?

Enjoy the rest of this week.

Packing

FEs done and packed Just waiting on one room number (anyword yet Cali Tracy?) and the list is done and ready.

Got our flight home changed. They (Delta) changed our return flight last leg so that we had 6 Hours of layover in Atlanta!! not a great way to end a trip! We got it changed so now it is only 3 hours... much better!

Piles of stuff everywhere. Wondering how it is all going to fit. Need to reconfigure a bit. Even had my list which I think was great until I got to my clothes.. and then I was wondering what I was thinking when I made that list. Still working on this!

still have a bit of a list, but wittling away - the big stuff is done. Just needing to finish the little piddlie (is this a word ) stuff.

Just checked the 10 day forcast and it is looking good for our arrival to Paris!

 

[grizbuzz]

Taxi ordered. Went with Dover Taxi for 240 pounds.

FEs done. Have more than enough for late FE joiners.

Stockholm card arrived. Not getting city cards for the other cities.

Still waiting for passports for some in our party. Can't get Russian visas without them.

Don't have pirate or villain costumes and stuff is not so easy to get here in Switzerland (if anyone knows otherwise, let me know!).

Wow, two weeks away? Can't believe it!

Anyone staying in Dover on June 23? At the Ramada?

 

[cindy18]

Flying out 2 weeks from today. Will probably wait until right before we leave to get the rest of the foreign currency. Wrote out a packing list for the DDs (who finish school today), but my best guess is that we will wind up packing on the morning of the 23rd before we leave for the airport at 3. Got confirmation this morning about our Berlin tour and have been in regular touch with Masha about St. Petersburg. Cannot believe that there are already people in London getting ready to head out on the first Baltic. So incredible that it's almost here!

 

[macassi]

We are in Dover at the Ramada on the 23rd, but we will be meeting up with family. (Our family group is 14 people)

Am I the only one not getting currency? We'll bring some Euros with us, get pounds from the ATM (we may have some around the house as well), and hit up ATMs as we need.

I have a pirate dress for my daughter, hats the boys wore on our last cruise (Goofy pirate ears) and nothing else for pirate night. I agree that it doesn't seem easy to buy the stuff here (Switzerland). I may have a couple eye patches in a box somewhere. I'm happy I don't have more, as it would just be more to pack. I'm not too worried about being in full costume or anything.

I've done the packing list for my boys, and I've tried stuff on to see what I'm bringing. I need to assemble the fish extender gifts and start to get organized on packing. I'm getting really excited! We have a countdown calendar and the kids must check it 5x a day. Since it corresponds to their last day of school, they are doubly motivated/excited.

Oh, I've hit up the "local" moms for Oslo, Stockholm, and Coppenhagen as we attend an international school and my daughter has classmates from these countries in her class. They've sent me maps and suggested activities. Of course, now I want to go for more than a day to each of these cities! One mom called the tourist office and handed me tons of stuff today that was all in English. Hmmm. Maybe I should ask them how worried I should be about currency since you all seem to be getting it ahead of time.

Our dogsitter has a countdown calendar for the days left until she gets our dog. That, I love!

It has been cold and raining for months here. Today it finally hit 31 celcius and is gorgeous, sunny, and hot. I so hope we get weather like this for the cruise! My Stockholm friend did say that she thought it would be quite warm there and shorts weather.

 

[MadHatterMom2]

Everyone is so organized. I guess the only thing I have left to do is pack - FE gifts are done, Russia tour is booked, city cards are ordered, transportation to and from London is reserved. My Copenhagen cards never showed up, so I emailed and they are sending another set today. Hope they arrive in time . . . oh, and I finally got my cruise docs on Saturday - yay.

I probably won't pack until the very last minute so I can get a better handle on the weather. I hate to bring more than I need. And we're not going to worry about costumes at this point, there's already enough to pack for a trip this long.

Let's all cross our fingers for good weather (and no volcano activity)! See you all soon.

 

[TDC Nala]

Am I the only one not getting currency?

No, I'm not getting currency. Using ATMs in all ports.

I have a Viking hat complete with braids (pirates is just wrong), no further costuming.

 

[cindy18]

On currency: we need a fair amount of pounds (for the car service each way plus some food) and euros (for the Berlin tour) and we wanted to have that with us. For the other countries, we just thought we'd get a little bit of currency so that we can take a taxi or bus without worrying about finding an ATM. We have a great rate and no fee from our bank, so it seems worth it.

DH may take a pirate costume, but I don't think the rest of us are. Too much to pack. We had major costumes on the last cruise, which was fun, but I don't feel the need to do it again. Maybe we'll find a small pirate accessory to buy onboard. Thinking just to wear all black on Villians night as a compromise...

FE gifts were ordered (I'm SO not creative) and have shipped, scheduled to arrive on Monday. What am I missing?

 

[ktkspider]

We are also waiting on currency. We have a good CC with no exchange fees so that is what we are planning on. .. As of right now.. everything is subject to change

No costumes for us this goaround.. we will look for viking hats along the way.

Can't wait to read about the first Baltic Cruise. It is so exciting to hear about them all leaving and knowing it will be us very shortly.

What time is everyone planning on getting to the ship?
We have a pick up from our B&B in Canterbury at 10. We should be at the dock between 10:30/11

 

[cindy18]

Well, it sort of depends on whether we land on time and how long it takes us to get through customs and collect our luggage. I'm budgeting 90 minutes for customs and luggage, so if we land on time, that gets us leaving Heathrow at 8 am. I think it's about a 3 hour drive to Dover, and we're going to stop along the way for breakfast. So before noon, ideally.

 

[macassi]

We plan to get to the ship early. I'd say 10:30ish

We are just planning to take a taxi from the Ramada to the terminal. Is that what everyone else is planning?

 

[TDC Nala]

My landing at Heathrow is scheduled for 10:10 on 6/24 which is of course subject to change as is everything to do with air travel. Probably at the ship around 3 depending on how the Disney transfer goes. So if I can drop by the Promenade meet it'll probably be first thing.

Disney said the latest landing time for which they'd book you with transfers was 11:30 AM.

 

[cindy18]

My landing at Heathrow is scheduled for 10:10 on 6/24 which is of course subject to change as is everything to do with air travel. Probably at the ship around 3 depending on how the Disney transfer goes. So if I can drop by the Promenade meet it'll probably be first thing.

Disney said the latest landing time for which they'd book you with transfers was 11:30 AM.

Now that makes me feel better. If they would book you with transfers for a flight that gets in 5 hours after ours is schedule, I'll try not to get anxious if we're sitting at JFK waiting to take off for awhile...

 

[ldconley]

DH may take a pirate costume, but I don't think the rest of us are. Too much to pack. We had major costumes on the last cruise, which was fun, but I don't feel the need to do it again. Maybe we'll find a small pirate accessory to buy onboard. Thinking just to wear all black on Villians night as a compromise...

We are not doing costumes this time either. We are going to be gone for three weeks and there is just not enough room to fool with costumes. I was also thinking about all black for the villians night. We are all going to look like we are going to a funeral.

Can't believe we are leaving in 10 days. I am looking forward to it, but I still have a lot to get done.

 

[cindy18]

We are not doing costumes this time either. We are going to be gone for three weeks and there is just not enough room to fool with costumes. I was also thinking about all black for the villians night. We are all going to look like we are going to a funeral.

Can't believe we are leaving in 10 days. I am looking forward to it, but I still have a lot to get done.

Don't think of the all black look as funeral-like. Think of it as slinky and dangerous, sort of like Morticia Adams. That's what I'm going with, anyway.

 

[ldconley]

Don't think of the all black look as funeral-like. Think of it as slinky and dangerous, sort of like Morticia Adams. That's what I'm going with, anyway.

That does sound like a better way to look at it.

 

[Cali Tracy]

Finally made enough posts Sent pm this evening

Wow! I have not even looked at our air res. again after booking it several months ago! Thanks for the heads up on your change, I will re-confirm my arrangements in the morning. Glad it's ended up better now for you. (6 hr. layover sounded awful to me)

I read tonight about so many of you with foreign currency already. Guess DH and I should decide what to do about that.

Also not sure if we will have room for costumes. Sounds like fun, but we must get the necessities in the suitcase first.

 

[lzj21428]

No costumes for us. No room and no time to really give it thought.

As for the currency, getting some just made me more comfortable and I don't have to think about finding an ATM.

I would love to be at the ship early, but arrival is all up to Disney. My best guess would be somewhere between 12 and 1. We get into LHR at 6:40 and hopefully the first bus will be ready to go around 9. Have never done Disney transportation, so unsure how it all works.

At this point, just trying to get the kids through final exams and end of school and then I'll really get myself into packing mode. Can't wait to be on the Magic!!