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

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Thank you for your well wishes and all of your help in our planning! Your love for London really shows! I can't wait expore your great city. Trying The Old Dutch is on our list!. You have talked about it so much.. sounds very yummy!

Andrew, thank you for your well wishes. I can't wait to be in London again. Love, love, love London. And you have been an enourmous help to many people on the boards. It is much appreciated!!

ktk, did you find a place to stay? Hope it is all worked out!!

Have a good one!

 

[cindy18]

May I wish everyone on this cruise and this thread a fantastic and safe vacation.

For thoose going to London, do as we do, live live to the full, enjoy it, look for thoose odd places that are not in the tourist books, the hidden pub, or old building.

Enjoy yourselves so much you come back to London in 2012, to watch the Olympic games.

Have a great one, and it will be an honour and a pleasure having you guest in our country.

PS, And tell us about it after!!!!!

Thanks Andrew, for all you do on the DIS and in general for all things DCL related. We will definitely report in on how things are on the cruise and in port, even if the cruisers on the first Baltic are not being as current and informative as we would hope. Wish you were going on our cruise with us, but the 4th Baltic will be all the better for having you on it.

 

[ktkspider]

ktk, did you find a place to stay? Hope it is all worked out!!

Still working on it... causing a bit of stress! I am sure it will all work out.. just wish it wasn't coming down to the wire. But better now then showing up with no place to stay.. glad I confirmed!
I guess it will just add to the stories to tell.

 

[mardonna]

well...arrived in London safely.....we had 9 pieces of luggage...2 of them did not show up.....we have LV luggage and my husband spotted a whole cart of LV being loaded into aporters cart....we are pretty sure the luggage was accidently taken by these people but why they have not returned it or maybe there intention was to steal it...who knows....all I know is that I had to spend a whole day trying on and purchasing clothes for myself and the baby....not what I wanted to be doing...and clothes I bought were not what I wanted.......that was first drama....2nd one was showing up at house we rented and someone was in in....booking agent made mistake...ughhh...they put us up in another house but not the location or house we booked. All 4 of my kids were car sick from being in car so long....I have had a headache since we landed....I keep tellingmy self it will get better....I will have no clothes for fromals nights because I refuse to go get shoes ad looks for stuff....so don't make fun of me when I am wearing regular clothes ....UGHHH

 

[lzj21428]

ktk, hope you find a place soon. Sending some

Mardonna, I'm sorry this happened. Hope the luggage shows up. Believe that things will get better. Here's a Try to enjoy your time in London.

PS: MJGirl has posted some updates to her blog.

 

[TDC Nala]

when MJGirl says "access to the royal palace restricted due to the royal wedding" I believe she means in Stockholm. Thought for a minute she was talking about St. Petersburg but I don't think Russia does royal anything anymore.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden is marrying her personal trainer on Sunday. The Magic will be there Monday and there will likely be ongoing celebrations then.

Found an article that says Victoria is also 196th in line for the British throne.

 

[buck4568]

well...arrived in London safely.....we had 9 pieces of luggage...2 of them did not show up.....we have LV luggage and my husband spotted a whole cart of LV being loaded into aporters cart....we are pretty sure the luggage was accidently taken by these people but why they have not returned it or maybe there intention was to steal it...who knows....all I know is that I had to spend a whole day trying on and purchasing clothes for myself and the baby....not what I wanted to be doing...and clothes I bought were not what I wanted.......that was first drama....2nd one was showing up at house we rented and someone was in in....booking agent made mistake...ughhh...they put us up in another house but not the location or house we booked. All 4 of my kids were car sick from being in car so long....I have had a headache since we landed....I keep tellingmy self it will get better....I will have no clothes for fromals nights because I refuse to go get shoes ad looks for stuff....so don't make fun of me when I am wearing regular clothes ....UGHHH

What airline did you get to London on?

Regarding the lost luggage I feel your pain! We had one piece get lost for 16 days back in 2007 in Barcelona when we did a DCL Med cruise. My teenage daughters bag. She got to shop at each port as we tried to get the bag to the ship but to no avail. When we got back to Barcelona the bag showed up with airport tags from serveral airports along the cruise route but they never could get it to the ship before we would leave port for the next stop!

Anyway, hope you have trip insurance, and save the receipts! You will get all the money back as we did. We spent over $450 dollars waiting for that luggage.

 

[wdwsog]

well...arrived in London safely.....we had 9 pieces of luggage...2 of them did not show up..... ....UGHHH

I hope your vacation gets better, just remember that in a few days we will all be the boat!! Keep your head high and go to dinner on the formal nights knowing it is not your fault, youcould even make up funny stories for people when they question or glare. hehe

 

[cindy18]

well...arrived in London safely.....we had 9 pieces of luggage...2 of them did not show up.....we have LV luggage and my husband spotted a whole cart of LV being loaded into aporters cart....we are pretty sure the luggage was accidently taken by these people but why they have not returned it or maybe there intention was to steal it...who knows....all I know is that I had to spend a whole day trying on and purchasing clothes for myself and the baby....not what I wanted to be doing...and clothes I bought were not what I wanted.......that was first drama....2nd one was showing up at house we rented and someone was in in....booking agent made mistake...ughhh...they put us up in another house but not the location or house we booked. All 4 of my kids were car sick from being in car so long....I have had a headache since we landed....I keep tellingmy self it will get better....I will have no clothes for fromals nights because I refuse to go get shoes ad looks for stuff....so don't make fun of me when I am wearing regular clothes ....UGHHH

So so sorry for all of this. I am hoping that a good night's sleep made things feel a lot better. I can't believe the luggage won't turn up, either because the people who took it will finally start to unpack and realize it's not their luggage or because the airline will find it. You do have a few days before the cruise before you leave London, which will make it easier for them to get the bags back to you before you get on the ship. On the flat rental, I am really shocked about that kind of mistake and hope you got some other benefits from the agent rather than just another flat. Everyone will feel better once you're not jet-legged and are settled in. And no one cares if you wear regular clothes to dinner, even on formal night!!!

Hang in there.

 

[cindy18]

It was great to have some posts from MJGirl (I am a little surprised that internet access is so bad). Interesting that she reported that the people who booked Disney to Berlin but are doing Berlin on their own couldn't get on the train. That's what we had been considering, but now I'm really glad we have someone from the tour company coming to get us. Is it just me or is it a little hard to get a feeling for how the cruise is going from the blog?

Kellie, safe travels! Any updates on the hotel situation?

Tracking the weather -- looks good so far in Oslo and Copenhagen for those days, although it's probably too far ahead to be remotely reliable. Not great flying weather in New York on the 23rd -- I'm already expecting flight delays on the way to Heathrow...

 

[ImprovGal]

I hope your vacation gets better, just remember that in a few days we will all be the boat!! Keep your head high and go to dinner on the formal nights knowing it is not your fault, youcould even make up funny stories for people when they question or glare. hehe

If this cruise is anything like what I saw on the 2007 Med cruise, she's probably not going to be the only one dressed down on formal nights due to missing luggage. It seemed like everywhere I turned, there was another family who was missing at least one of their bags. I really hope my one suitcase makes it to London!

 

[ktkspider]

It was great to have some posts from MJGirl (I am a little surprised that internet access is so bad). Interesting that she reported that the people who booked Disney to Berlin but are doing Berlin on their own couldn't get on the train. That's what we had been considering, but now I'm really glad we have someone from the tour company coming to get us. Is it just me or is it a little hard to get a feeling for how the cruise is going from the blog?

Kellie, safe travels! Any updates on the hotel situation?

Tracking the weather -- looks good so far in Oslo and Copenhagen for those days, although it's probably too far ahead to be remotely reliable. Not great flying weather in New York on the 23rd -- I'm already expecting flight delays on the way to Heathrow...

Thanks Cindy, We still have no place to stay... hoping that the B&B owner comes through to help. He says he is but hasn't proven to be too reliable. I have tried several places and they are booked at least for one of the 2 nights. I have found a possibility but still working on the details. I will make a couple of calls in a little bit to find out.
I am trying to remain calm .. I know it will work out.. I am trying to overcome the planner in me and go with the flow.. we will see how it goes..

My daughter has her 6th grade awards ceremony in an hour. Then back home to change and off the the airport.

See you all on the Magic!

 

[TDC Nala]

I am a little surprised that internet access is so bad

On the 2007 Med the internet was so bad (most of the paid time was spend waiting for pages to load) that I had mine refunded. I believe the internet is via satellite and there's lots that can interfere with the satellite reception.

I don't even want to look at the weather in Washington for next Wednesday.

 

[grlzmom]

We leave tomorrow for the june 24th sailing!!!!

one BIG Glitch. We emailed to confirm our 2 night stay in Canterbury (reservations we made forever ago) and they got our reservation mixed up with another!!! ie... no place to stay!!!

I have gotten rid of all of my research of places to stay in the Canterbury/dover area. Lesson learned!! Can anyone share any places they have researched that look decent? you can pm me if needed.
There are 7 of us and we are traveling by train.
Thanks for any help you may be able to give.

Ugh that's awful and sorry last minute stress. We are just staying one night at Dover and since we just need it for sleep went with Premier which is inexpensive, sleeps 4 and has ok ratings.

May I wish everyone on this cruise and this thread a fantastic and safe vacation.

For thoose going to London, do as we do, live live to the full, enjoy it, look for thoose odd places that are not in the tourist books, the hidden pub, or old building.

Enjoy yourselves so much you come back to London in 2012, to watch the Olympic games.

Have a great one, and it will be an honour and a pleasure having you guest in our country.

PS, And tell us about it after!!!!!

Thanks, you've been such a help with lots of things, including our recent MED cruise!

well...arrived in London safely.....we had 9 pieces of luggage...2 of them did not show up.....we have LV luggage and my husband spotted a whole cart of LV being loaded into aporters cart....we are pretty sure the luggage was accidently taken by these people but why they have not returned it or maybe there intention was to steal it...who knows....all I know is that I had to spend a whole day trying on and purchasing clothes for myself and the baby....not what I wanted to be doing...and clothes I bought were not what I wanted.......that was first drama....2nd one was showing up at house we rented and someone was in in....booking agent made mistake...ughhh...they put us up in another house but not the location or house we booked. All 4 of my kids were car sick from being in car so long....I have had a headache since we landed....I keep tellingmy self it will get better....I will have no clothes for fromals nights because I refuse to go get shoes ad looks for stuff....so don't make fun of me when I am wearing regular clothes ....UGHHH

Don't worry about formal night and I hope the luggage makes its way to you in the next couple of days. Very upsetting about the management company and the rental house.

 

[ktkspider]

I am hoping we early birds are getting all of the bad luck out of the way and then it is smooth sailing!!

Safe travels! .. for you and your bags.

 

[mardonna]

i could not sleep at all last night...have had migrane since we gort here.....very sick from it....couldn't get out of bed this am.....extreme jet lag....husband and a nanny had to take kids out......what a bummer.....still no luggage...it must have been stolen.....ughhh....BA has no uodates....will Disney trip insurance cover this? I ooked airfare on own....purchased with Amex Pltum cd...donm't they offer insurance? So upsetting

 

[cindy18]

Thanks Cindy, We still have no place to stay... hoping that the B&B owner comes through to help. He says he is but hasn't proven to be too reliable. I have tried several places and they are booked at least for one of the 2 nights. I have found a possibility but still working on the details. I will make a couple of calls in a little bit to find out.
I am trying to remain calm .. I know it will work out.. I am trying to overcome the planner in me and go with the flow.. we will see how it goes..

My daughter has her 6th grade awards ceremony in an hour. Then back home to change and off the the airport.

See you all on the Magic!

I am a planner too and I know how hard it is to stay calm. There HAS to be a place to stay in Dover or around Dover. Can you ask a travel agent to help you once you start travelling?

Congrats to your daughter!

 

[cindy18]

i could not sleep at all last night...have had migrane since we gort here.....very sick from it....couldn't get out of bed this am.....extreme jet lag....husband and a nanny had to take kids out......what a bummer.....still no luggage...it must have been stolen.....ughhh....BA has no uodates....will Disney trip insurance cover this? I ooked airfare on own....purchased with Amex Pltum cd...donm't they offer insurance? So upsetting

You should call Amex. They may be able to help. They're really good that way. FEEL BETTER!!!!!

 

[ktkspider]

I am a planner too and I know how hard it is to stay calm. There HAS to be a place to stay in Dover or around Dover. Can you ask a travel agent to help you once you start travelling?

Congrats to your daughter!

UPDATE! We have a place to stay! With one hour to spare..Thanks for all of the suggestions and well wishes.. !

Mardonna, I hope things start looking up!

leaving for the plane! See you all there!

 

[cindy18]

GREAT NEWS! Have an uneventful flight!