Disney Magic 12 nt. British Isles Cruise 2017

At first glance at this picture I thought it was the Eiffel tower lol. That would be a cool sight outside the cruise window.

Without reading the text, I thought the same thing.... a pic of going up the Eiffel Tower.... then I read the text.... oohhhh yeah, I remember that port now. Seemed like it took a hour by bus just to get out of there...lol.
 
I don't want to hijack Poison Ivy's trip report upload_2018-1-21_13-17-22.gifso I'll send you some info separately.
LG, it's always great hearing from you and I love all the details everyone is sharing. So no worries about a hijack and I hope you keep posting! btw JQ's been carefully reading thru that info you sent. Invaluable. Thanks so much.


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We did not go to the top of the cathedral but did manage to explore much of the area... a few more pics for inspiration.... the last pic, we found a quaint little cafe and we each had a crepe. Very delicious!



I don’t want to hijack this trip report of yours poison ivy, so, if you feel this way please lmk.... upload_2018-1-21_13-17-22.gif. I could never duplicate the attention to detail that you have demonstrated in this thread.
No hijack here. @Mathmagicland just happened to be doing a lot of research on the 75th anniversary that was better sent directly to JQ.

It's been so great to share the many different directions we all went with cruising here. Love the pics! Really beautiful. So please keep 'em coming.

The place you sat down in looks so casual and inviting. Unfortunately, we never had time to do something like that.

A crepe in a quaint little French café sounds pretty good. and we never managed one of those either so I'm feeling a little left out. Another thing to add to that ever growing list.


Oh my, it was wonderful. There were a very few passengers around and it was lovely. My kind of day since I'm a sloth at heart upload_2018-1-21_13-17-22.gif





Neither DH nor DM had a problem with the bus ride, actually mom remarked that she really enjoyed watching the countryside go by as they traveled (talk about looking at a silver lining!). When I had tried to convince them to take the Eurostar from London, one of my concerns was that they would be there the day before the Tour de France was ending in Paris and I thought that might affect the traffic, but apparently other than some blockades on the side of the roads there wasn't any indication of the Tour and actually DH was super excited to take photos of some of the banners that were being put up.




Ugh. Funny you should mention that...I was going to book the Seine River cruise for 2019 for DD's graduation trip but this weekend she informed me she now wants to go to Barcelona so that's not happening. I should just know not to plan anything with her until the last minute. Drives me nuts.upload_2018-1-21_13-17-22.gif




Beautiful photos!

Good to know the DCL Paris excursion bus ride went according to schedule on that subsequent cruise. For some reason the Paris busses on our cruise ran into so much traffic and delays it was really bad. I wonder if DCL is going to run Paris/DLP excursions from the Cherbourg, France port? It looks to be even farther distance wise.
 
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It's been so great to share the many different directions we all went with cruising here. Love the pics! Really beautiful. So please keep 'em coming.

The place you sat down in looks so casual and inviting. Unfortunately, we never had time to do something like that.

A crepe in a quaint little French café sounds pretty good. and we never managed one of those either so I'm feeling a little left out. Another thing to add to that ever growing list.

Great! I feel better now!

Sitting down in that cafe and knowing that this place was built many moons ago was one of the highlights of that day. It was actually my favorite excursion of the trip.
Now you have to go and experience this place!
 
Without reading the text, I thought the same thing.... a pic of going up the Eiffel Tower.... then I read the text.... oohhhh yeah, I remember that port now. Seemed like it took a hour by bus just to get out of there...lol.

Your France day looks fun so far! There is so much to do around there one day really isn't enough to get everything in. I hope Disney decides to go back to Paris for 2019.


At first glance at this picture I thought it was the Eiffel tower lol. That would be a cool sight outside the cruise window.


Unfortunately this lovely crane outside our window was about as close to the Eiffel tower we'd ever get. too funny!

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Great! I feel better now!

Sitting down in that cafe and knowing that this place was built many moons ago was one of the highlights of that day. It was actually my favorite excursion of the trip.
Now you have to go and experience this place!

It looks incredible and a must visit for us next time. Something to look forward to. Thanks for that.
One of the things I really liked about our BI itinerary was the direction we sailed being in reverse of the 2016 BI cruise. France is such a long day driving and touring, it works much better on the front end of a cruise when everybody is full of energy and excitement.

Here's #18 tour group heading out. So great!

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Why am I not on a cruise?!?
 
Mount St. Michelle looks beautiful! Reminds me of St. Paul de Vence, which I went to on my honeymoon. A walled city on a hill. It was lovely!
I really wanted to see Normandy, but I felt like that was a bit much for an 8 year old. I don't want to shield her from war and the idea but that's a lot of death and loss even for me to comprehend. I would love to go back and see the beaches of Normandy someday when she is older or it's just myself and my husband.
As I stated earlier in the trip report, the excursion to Disneyland Paris was advertised with a 3 hour bus ride each way. When we first got on the bus, the tour guide again stated it would be 3 hours, with a stop for a break at approximately an hour and 1/2. This shore excursion left very early in the morning so everyone on the bus promptly settled in and fell asleep. When we got to the stop it was 3 hours into the trip and we were all surprised. We all thought that we were almost there and they decided to stop closer to Disneyland Paris. We were wrong. It was another 2 hours from that point. On the way out it took almost 5 hours, and the trip back was almost identical. We only had about 4 1/2 hours in 2 parks. Not enough. That being said, we really liked Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios for the quick time we were there! We rode the Haunted House ride which has a different story and look than at Disney World in Orlando. The back story of it is really cool, and ties into Thunder Mountain, which we also rode. Thunder Mountain in Paris is a must do! It was longer and better than the Orlando version. We also rode Ratatouie since it is very Paris and the Crush Coaster (since we don't have that in Orlando), both at Walt Disney Studios. And we saw the famous dragon and ate at a Cars themed fast food place. We made the most of our time, but as everyone got back on the bus, we were all disappointed we didn't have more time, and we knew we were in for another long ride back.
To be honest, it was not the best way to start the trip, but as you said, at least it was in the beginning of the trip. It was followed by Stonehenge which was a much shorter day and allowed us to regain our energy and explore the ship more.
I wouldn't pick the Disneyland Paris shore excursion again from Le Havre, or recommend it ... while I DO definitely recommend going to Disneyland Paris, the bus ride was just not worth the time in the park. I recommend taking the train from London to Disneyland Paris before or after the cruise. Disneyland Paris is very pretty. It feels much more feminine than Magic Kingdom, but does look similar in a lot of ways. You get a sort of feeling of being somewhere you've been before, but everything is just a little different .. like an alternate universe!
We did see the Eiffel Tower out of our bus window on the way back. It was a bit in the distance ... but I still saw it! =)
 
You are taking me back! Love, love Paris. We had a wonderful time in Paris...enjoyed going up Eiffel Tower (not DCL) the most. Got a little stormy late in the afternoon cancelled our river cruise.
 


I wouldn't pick the Disneyland Paris shore excursion again from Le Havre, or recommend it ... while I DO definitely recommend going to Disneyland Paris, the bus ride was just not worth the time in the park. I recommend taking the train from London to Disneyland Paris before or after the cruise.

Here is what I heard “through the grapevine”.... that tour took everyone through Paris so that everyone can at least see the skyline of the city... a poor decision time wise.... Now another thing I heard is that next time, the train will be offered instead of the busses so as to make a “beeline” to Disneyland... something I think everyone will like. Our table mates did this tour and expressed the same complaints as everyone else here.
 
Here is what I heard “through the grapevine”.... that tour took everyone through Paris so that everyone can at least see the skyline of the city... a poor decision time wise.... Now another thing I heard is that next time, the train will be offered instead of the busses so as to make a “beeline” to Disneyland... something I think everyone will like. Our table mates did this tour and expressed the same complaints as everyone else here.
We did a private day trip and were able to quickly get to Paris by traveling roads the buses aren't aloud to go on there. I agree bus was not good we were already in Paris sightseeing while others in our FB group were stuck in traffic not moving.
 
We did a private day trip and were able to quickly get to Paris by traveling roads the buses aren't aloud to go on there. I agree bus was not good we were already in Paris sightseeing while others in our FB group were stuck in traffic not moving.
That is good to know!! I'm glad to hear they are altering the excursion, because going to Disneyland Paris is great, especially for kids! My daughter would say it was her favorite excursion most of the trip when asked, even with the bus ride (until we got to Harry Potter Studios in London on our last day - if you ask her now her favorite part of the trip, she will tell you Harry Potter Studios and being on the Disney Cruise boat itself).
 
Mount St. Michelle looks beautiful! Reminds me of St. Paul de Vence, which I went to on my honeymoon. A walled city on a hill. It was lovely!
I really wanted to see Normandy, but I felt like that was a bit much for an 8 year old. I don't want to shield her from war and the idea but that's a lot of death and loss even for me to comprehend. I would love to go back and see the beaches of Normandy someday when she is older or it's just myself and my husband.
As I stated earlier in the trip report, the excursion to Disneyland Paris was advertised with a 3 hour bus ride each way. When we first got on the bus, the tour guide again stated it would be 3 hours, with a stop for a break at approximately an hour and 1/2. This shore excursion left very early in the morning so everyone on the bus promptly settled in and fell asleep. When we got to the stop it was 3 hours into the trip and we were all surprised. We all thought that we were almost there and they decided to stop closer to Disneyland Paris. We were wrong. It was another 2 hours from that point. On the way out it took almost 5 hours, and the trip back was almost identical. We only had about 4 1/2 hours in 2 parks. Not enough. That being said, we really liked Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios for the quick time we were there! We rode the Haunted House ride which has a different story and look than at Disney World in Orlando. The back story of it is really cool, and ties into Thunder Mountain, which we also rode. Thunder Mountain in Paris is a must do! It was longer and better than the Orlando version. We also rode Ratatouie since it is very Paris and the Crush Coaster (since we don't have that in Orlando), both at Walt Disney Studios. And we saw the famous dragon and ate at a Cars themed fast food place. We made the most of our time, but as everyone got back on the bus, we were all disappointed we didn't have more time, and we knew we were in for another long ride back.
To be honest, it was not the best way to start the trip, but as you said, at least it was in the beginning of the trip. It was followed by Stonehenge which was a much shorter day and allowed us to regain our energy and explore the ship more.
I wouldn't pick the Disneyland Paris shore excursion again from Le Havre, or recommend it ... while I DO definitely recommend going to Disneyland Paris, the bus ride was just not worth the time in the park. I recommend taking the train from London to Disneyland Paris before or after the cruise. Disneyland Paris is very pretty. It feels much more feminine than Magic Kingdom, but does look similar in a lot of ways. You get a sort of feeling of being somewhere you've been before, but everything is just a little different .. like an alternate universe!
We did see the Eiffel Tower out of our bus window on the way back. It was a bit in the distance ... but I still saw it! =)

totally agree with your decision on DLP. You really have to know your family and choose what works best. You're right. There's no easy way to describe it. Normandy is reflections of war. Not taking your 8 year old daughter was a good thing and I'm glad she had so much fun with Disney.

I still can't get over the 10 hr commute you guys had. I didn't realize you got a glimpse of the Eiffel tower. That's a plus!
I guess it's a silver lining that the worst logistics happened first. I couldn't imagine if Le Havre was the last day of the cruise and this travel nightmare occurred.

Thanks again for the input. It's been a real eye opener regarding that excursion.



You are taking me back! Love, love Paris. We had a wonderful time in Paris...enjoyed going up Eiffel Tower (not DCL) the most. Got a little stormy late in the afternoon cancelled our river cruise.
The decisions on what to do in Le Havre were really tough here. Especially with Paris being an option. I'm so glad everything went well and you had a great day.

Here is what I heard “through the grapevine”.... that tour took everyone through Paris so that everyone can at least see the skyline of the city... a poor decision time wise.... Now another thing I heard is that next time, the train will be offered instead of the busses so as to make a “beeline” to Disneyland... something I think everyone will like. Our table mates did this tour and expressed the same complaints as everyone else here.
I hope this rumor holds true and future DLP excursions travel via rail. I wonder if that's possible from Cherbourg, France? A lot of people went to Disney that day.

We did a private day trip and were able to quickly get to Paris by traveling roads the buses aren't aloud to go on there. I agree bus was not good we were already in Paris sightseeing while others in our FB group were stuck in traffic not moving.
I hope you don't mind sharing what private company you used? and what time they picked you up? The more info. the better.
We were reluctant to go with a private tour because we didn't feel comfortable not having our passports and wanted the Disney guarantee if something went wrong given the hours to get anywhere. But in hindsight, given the ship remained in port so late those were really non issues.

That is good to know!! I'm glad to hear they are altering the excursion, because going to Disneyland Paris is great, especially for kids! My daughter would say it was her favorite excursion most of the trip when asked, even with the bus ride (until we got to Harry Potter Studios in London on our last day - if you ask her now her favorite part of the trip, she will tell you Harry Potter Studios and being on the Disney Cruise boat itself).
I hope they alter the transportation for this excursion too. You really balanced this cruise well with fun things for your daughter. great job.
 
Disney Magic 12nt. British Isles
Monday, July 10, 2017

Cruise Day 2 – Le Havre, France

our weather July 10, 2017:
Morning:

Le Havre – (In Port) overcast wind light drizzle 63 °F / 17 °C

Afternoon:
Normandy cloudy high 67 °F / 19 °C

Paris high 73 °F /15 °C

France being our first port of call ever in Europe, makes Le Havre the test subject for excursion readiness on a British Isles cruise.

Our morning routine was pretty typical:

Check times and weather
Hit the showers
Decide what to wear
Figure out what we’re packing
Grab an early breakfast at Cabanas
Collect the ID / tix / paperwork and money

And let’s go!!

But being prepared while touring via cruise is not a subject to take lightly. Especially if you’re new to overseas travel - like us.

There were a few significant hurdles to contend with at 8 ports of call.

Time Management
Attire and Weather
Electronics
The Day Bag
And the dreaded VAT refund (ugh!)

Safe to say we did not have this down to a science.

Hurdle #1 – Time management

Sounds basic but for this type of vacation, punctuality is a very big deal.
We constantly had to get the times down and know what time it was - all the time!

Every morning in port we’d be asking:

“What time is it?”
“What time is our excursion?”
“What time does Cabanas open?”
and “how much time before we leave?”

Lucky for us, the Magic puts a digital alarm clock right next to the bed.

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And JQ and IM were using their phones on the ship to access the DCL app and track time. (nobody used the stateroom phones)

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Both worked great provided we didn’t forget that hour lost getting to France. Omg!!

I say this because we never bothered to reset the clock and the phones won’t update for a time difference when the wifi is off.
So we had to be on top of this when the zones changed.
(fortunately only France/Portland had this issue on the cruise)

Ok let’s be honest. On board really isn’t the place time management became much of an issue. The information is everywhere.

But that all changes the minute we venture off the ship.


Didn’t matter what stop – over and over again, we’d have to know exactly where and when to meet back at a tour bus or shuttle.


Solution: Wear a watch. No kidding. It's an important item for any packing list. Cell phones die and timing is critical on these excursions.

(Here's JQ inadvertently modelling his "Casio G-shock" as we visit the Garden of the Missing at Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial)

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Another thing we kept doing was double checking the return times and pickup points with our guides.
(After that Evan Evans drop off situation in London, we made sure to avoid any confusion.)

And a lot of times I’d snap a photo of the bus upon exit to distinguish which one was ours or recall where we were dropped off.

I keep emphasizing this for a lot of reasons:
  • With all that hop on / hop off activity - all day - every day: It’s easy to forget where you are or what time you're due back the minute you walk away from the bus.
Dublin is a prime example. Here's the DCL free shuttle in Dublin dropping us in the middle of nowhere we knew.
(which we've come to learn is Merrion Square - Oscar Wilde House / American College Dublin)

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  • also, Cruisers can really hold things up when returning back late. (myself included)
Here’s our tour guide helplessly looking for 2 missing people for a good 10 minutes while we sat on the bus at Arromanches, France

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  • and Private tours have little or no give if something or someone causes a setback. Which means plans may get modified on the fly to accommodate this.
Examples: Invergordon tours got a very late start due to Gavin’s confusing pick up location at the port. This resulted in several cut backs with timing.

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And Liverpool - Busy Bus had a family return over 15 mins late at Conwy Castle by mistakenly having the wrong time - which affected our stay at other stops. (they felt really bad)

Here we are staring longingly back at the castle entrance out the bus window with no sign of our missing travelers.

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  • Finally, new Ports of call might encounter excursion problems simply due to a learning curve.
Portland, England - We had a major problem at Glastonbury Tor with an inadequate shuttle bus transfer that sprung a surprise cash fee charge on everyone upfront
(no US$ accepted)

This shuttle was too small and had to make multiple trips which really cut back our time at the Cathedral City of Wells.

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I’ll talk more on all this but you get the general idea. Hopefully our mistakes will help others.

And that's only Hurdle #1

Stay tuned. France and more hurdles coming right up.
 
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Great points! My husband and I are extremely conscientious about being back to a bus or point of meeting at least 15 minutes before the time we are required to be there. We often lose out on a little bit of touring time, but my husband freaks if we cut it too close. He is always scared of being left behind.
I personally have no sense of direction and everyone knows this about me, but I don't let it stop me. Often on this and our previous cruise, after we ended a morning shore excursion, as in Dublin, for example, my husband and daughter would return to the ship, but I would stay out shopping. It freaked my husband out that I would get lost, but I always just made sure to memorize landmarks, street names and keep track of where I was walking. And I never cut it close and was back to the ship hours before the all aboard. I had some fabulous afternoon wandering and shopping trips! I think as in all things when you travel ... just pay attention, and realize that your decisions affect the others on your tour - so be punctual!!!
 
Great points! My husband and I are extremely conscientious about being back to a bus or point of meeting at least 15 minutes before the time we are required to be there. We often lose out on a little bit of touring time, but my husband freaks if we cut it too close. He is always scared of being left behind.
I personally have no sense of direction and everyone knows this about me, but I don't let it stop me. Often on this and our previous cruise, after we ended a morning shore excursion, as in Dublin, for example, my husband and daughter would return to the ship, but I would stay out shopping. It freaked my husband out that I would get lost, but I always just made sure to memorize landmarks, street names and keep track of where I was walking. And I never cut it close and was back to the ship hours before the all aboard. I had some fabulous afternoon wandering and shopping trips! I think as in all things when you travel ... just pay attention, and realize that your decisions affect the others on your tour - so be punctual!!!

right. and that's the problem with Europe. It's not like the Caribbean with a taxi always seems to be waiting in the wings in case you miss your bus. Dublin was fine, but we travelled pretty far from port most days. The DCL excursions and private tours are fully committed to return back with everyone they're assigned to, so they have to wait if someone is missing.

I think my biggest problem was the obvious inefficiency with trying to corral around 50 people back on board a coach in time to keep the tour on schedule. It's really difficult. Edinburgh was a miracle that we all found the bus IMO since the drivers can't wait where they let you off, and our guide was really lacking in so many ways - esp. where to meet and when.

Looking back, seems we lost time more often than not. (Orkney/Mary Gibbons/Newcastle - were the only 3 that kept on schedule the entire day)

It's interesting you stayed and shopped alone in Dublin. Definitely a busy area and I'm sure you were with other cruisers, but how did you find that shuttle? The shopping map was not great on logistics. (I believe I have one somewhere I'll have to post we get to that port)
 
nobody used the stateroom phones

Honestly, I'm not sure we ever have (14 cruises and counting!). Of course, I don't use the Navigator app either. I really enjoy being a tech-less as possible on vacation.

Wear a watch

I agree-or a fitbit/garmin that has the time. I am a technology loser so I'm always adding 6 or 7 hours from our Central time when I'm in Europe but it's do-able....better than being late :)

just pay attention, and realize that your decisions affect the others on your tour - so be punctual!!!

Yes! As I always remind my daughter-if you're late you're being inconsiderate.
 
Honestly, I'm not sure we ever have (14 cruises and counting!). Of course, I don't use the Navigator app either. I really enjoy being a tech-less as possible on vacation.



I agree-or a fitbit/garmin that has the time. I am a technology loser so I'm always adding 6 or 7 hours from our Central time when I'm in Europe but it's do-able....better than being late :)



Yes! As I always remind my daughter-if you're late you're being inconsiderate.

Great advice for your daughter. Words to live by. I felt so bad for the one family in Liverpool who just made a mistake with the time and had to take a mini walk of shame back to their seats on the bus.

and after 9 cruises I think we only used those stateroom phones once - back in 2013 when they were still considered a novelty. But that's a pretty good talent to not reset your time when in Europe. We do the same thing when visiting CA but it's only a 3 hr difference to manage. 6 hrs. would be too big of a challenge for me.
 
We do the same thing when visiting CA but it's only a 3 hr difference to manage.

Subtracting 3 apparently can be a challenge...I know because my DH's family lives in CA (and are night owls). He works in an Eastern time zone (it's a weird quirk of the town) so they are always calling/texting him at 2 or 3 am. It is one of my pet peeves..how hard is it to add 3?!? Apparently, it is:confused:

mini walk of shame back to their seats on the bus.

That happened to us once on a Tauck tour-we heard the wrong meeting time and were napping (oops). Ran down to the bus quite disheveled and there were quite a few off color remarks (we'd only been married a year or so at that point).:o After that, we were always early! Usually once is all it takes for a mistake like that!
 
Subtracting 3 apparently can be a challenge...I know because my DH's family lives in CA (and are night owls). He works in an Eastern time zone (it's a weird quirk of the town) so they are always calling/texting him at 2 or 3 am. It is one of my pet peeves..how hard is it to add 3?!? Apparently, it is:confused:



That happened to us once on a Tauck tour-we heard the wrong meeting time and were napping (oops). Ran down to the bus quite disheveled and there were quite a few off color remarks (we'd only been married a year or so at that point).:o After that, we were always early! Usually once is all it takes for a mistake like that!

We've gotten many of those 2am calls from our daughters out in San Diego. Would be great if we kept the same hrs. their generation does.

I had the walk of shame on this trip myself. Took too long locating the Fraser clan stone (for all you Outlander fans) at the Culloden Battlefield in Invergordon. The whole bus was staring at me out the window as I was rushing back. Omg. and you just know you look bad. JQ gave me that "what are you doing?" look of disappointment as he sat waiting with everyone.

Once was enough for me as well.
 
We've gotten many of those 2am calls from our daughters out in San Diego. Would be great if we kept the same hrs. their generation does.

I had the walk of shame on this trip myself. Took too long locating the Fraser clan stone (for all you Outlander fans) at the Culloden Battlefield in Invergordon. The whole bus was staring at me out the window as I was rushing back. Omg. and you just know you look bad. JQ gave me that "what are you doing?" look of disappointment as he sat waiting with everyone.

Once was enough for me as well.

But I bet it was worth it...if only Jamie had shown up...:)
 

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