4/24/2010 Med cruise: Friends, Romans, Countrymen lend me your Ears

[skoi]

Hey! We have a snappy title. Friends, Romans and Countrymen, lend me your ears thanks to AuntLynne!

Three of us (out of six) are currently booked on this cruise. It'll be oldest dd (14 now), oldest ds (10 now), and myself. We're looking forward to the ports: especially Tunisia and Malta.

Anyone else with us yet?

Julie
Here's a good link with some info from the last set of Med cruises:

http://www.worldofmouse.com/disney-mediterranean-cruise-2010.html

okay, someone else has taken the roll call off my hands, so maybe we can post it elsewhere.

ROLL CALL

Originally Posted by auntlynne View Post
Here's a recent ROLL CALL (alphabetical):

alltheparks Lara, Chris, and Aiden (6) Late dining Gty 12
auntlynne Lynne (48), DN Karen (16) Huntsville, Alabama GTY Late +EB
auntshell auntshell, dh, ds (12), dd (7)
BecxNGav Becky and Gavin, Northhampton , UK, GTY 12, Late
Brooklyn Stephanie Craig (DH) - GTY Brooklyn (DD 8) - 7542 Madison (DD 4) - 7542
Linda (Grandma) - 7542 dining - Late
Cam71099 Alyson and Chris, New York
carpenta Joseph, Mary, dd 9
Dicecatt dicecatt and husband and two other couples
DISNEY_DEPRIVED Sherry, DD (11), DS (10) Italy
DisneyCruiser83 Tess (26), DH David (33) 8600 (may have switched to WB)
dolphingirl 47 Corinna and Graham
friend of tinkrbelle Michaela (41), DH Lester (51), DS Noah (10) Overland Park, Kansas 5520 Main
goofprincess Sandy and Tony, Late, GTY
grlzmom Jeanne, dh - Eric, dd18 Kayti, dd15 Kelsey, dd13 Emliy, dd8 Chloe, dd7 Bella and ds7 Nick GTY 12 +EB
guynwdm Rob, DDad Richard, West Des Moines, Iowa Late
haddybaby Emily, Zack, Hayden (8), Matthew (6), Kellan (1)
Happy Goofy John, Charlotte 7618 Main +EB
Irish9697 self (35), DS (10), DD (9) Memphis, Tennessee
KathyFP Kathy, Pennsylvania 1030
linkandclover Debby (41), Kevin (42), Ryan (13) and Jared (10) 7005, late
mehaul Chicago, Illinois
LHagerty LuAnne (40), DH Tim (51), DS Connor (12) GTY, Late
lynnemcb Lynne and husband Ivor, Emily (8) and Jonathan (6)
merrybee Bee, Gwynn, Gwynn (6)
Michelle2 Michelle, ds 17 +EB
mrosen self, other, (11), (10) GTY
NC_Tink Lubi, DH Brian, DS Connor (12) DS Kieran (10) North Carolina 8514 Late
Postman Chris & Robin, Nebraska Gty 12 Early
RichC17 aka "Team McNeese" Rich, Teresa, ds 6,dd 4, 7064
shushh Belinda, DH Malcolm, Elliot (7), Lara (5), Jonah (18 mo) Sydney, Australia 7088/7090 Main
shushh (2) Jenny (Mum), Kian (Dad)
skoi Julie, DD Sadie (15), DS Sigurd (11) Late
TheCruisers Eleasa, my DH Jim and our DS Raine (will be 8) Cat 12 gty Main dinning
venny two adults

007 Med Dinners: location - attire - menu theme - nighttime entertainment

Day 1 Barcelona Cruise Casual Let the Magic Begin Welcome Aboard! let the Magic Begin
Day 2 Sea Day Formal The Golden Mickeys The Golden Mickeys
Day 3 Palermo Cruise Casual Rotation Dinner Comedy & Ventriloquism
Day 4 Naples Cruise Casual Rotation Dinner On the Nose Game Show
Day 5 Olbia Cruise Casual Rotation Dinner The Art of the Story
Day 6 Civitavecchia Cruise Casual Master Chef Movie Night: Pirates of the Caribbean
Day 7 Sea Day Semi-Formal Prince & Princess Twice Charmed
Day 8 La Spezia Cruise Casual Flavours of the Mediterranean Crew Talent Show
Day 9 Marseilles Pirates/Cruise Casual Pirates IN the Caribbean When Mickey Dreams
Day 10 Villefranche Semi-Formal Captain’s Gala Disney Dreams
Day 11 Sea Day Cruise Casual Till We Meet Again Remember the Magic: A Final Farewell


PLANNED ACTIVITIES and EVENTS

dis meet onboard: Promenade Lounge 3:00 PM embarkation day
dis meet Barcelona: Friday April 23, Montjuic Fountains for the 7:00 PM show

 

[friend of tinkerbell]

Hello Julie!
we just booked today!

good to hear from someone else going on the april med. cruise
we're looking forward to counting down the days.
Michaela 39
DH 49
DS 8
Stateroom 5020
ED
Overland Park, KS.

 

[skoi]

FINALLY!

We were thinking we'd be all alone.

Oldest ds and I are learning Arabic- so hope to practice in Tunisia.

The cruise is a reward for our two oldest kids for helping so much during dh's current deployment to Afghanistan. He gets to stay home with the two little ones for two weeks.

Hopefully we'll get more people, but if not we'll still have fun. On our last cruise we did T-shirts, lanyards, etc. Not sure how creative I am, but we'll have to come up with a logo like everyone else.

If you have any ideas- please share them.

Julie

 

[DisneyCruiser83]

Hello everyone! I am so glad there are other people going on this voyage! My name is Tess (26 at time of sailing) and my husband's name is David (33 at time of sailing). We are in room 8600. This will be our fifth Disney cruise, third on the Magic and we are really looking forward to it. I love the idea of t-shirts/lanyards, maybe even hats? We are almost a year out, time for the countdown to begin!

 

[skoi]

Welcome Tess!

So far it's just three of us, but I'm sure more people will come aboard.

This will be our 6th cruise, first in a cabin without a window or verandah, but since it'll just be the big kids and me, we can deal with it.

We have time to plan for shirts, etc, and honestly, if anyone is more artistic than I am, feel free. I've been trying to find distressed looking Med maps and charts for a logo design with a little luck. I'll try to get something together in the near future.

As you can see from my sig, we're anxiously awaiting dh's return from a deployment (Afghanistan) so we're pretty focused on that. Plus, youngest ds has two surgeries coming up, so it's crazy here.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone.
Julie

 

[DisneyCruiser83]

Hello everyone! I am so glad there are other people going on this voyage! My name is Tess (26 at time of sailing) and my husband's name is David (33 at time of sailing). We are in room 8600. This will be our fifth Disney cruise, third on the Magic and we are really looking forward to it. I love the idea of t-shirts/lanyards, maybe even hats? We are almost a year out, time for the countdown to begin!

 

[DisneyCruiser83]

okay...I don't know how my post was copied (sorry)

Nice to meet you Julie and Michaela!

I like the idea of old world maps, I really like classical themes. I am trying to find something that incorporates our ports... I will keep you posted.

Hope to see you both (and more cruisers) around here soon!

Tess

 

[friend of tinkerbell]

Hello Julie and Tess,

it might be early to start the countdown....but,

415 days!!!

this will be our second disney cruise. wish we had as much cruise experience
as you all!!! we're hooked now, so maybe we'll catch up.

Michaela

 

[skoi]

Okay- here's one I've found, still looking. It's from an ancient maps site. Not quite what I wanted.

[/IMG]

I'm still looking, and if anyone else has anything, feel free to post it. Someone sent me links to some nice looking distressed-type pirate maps, but they're either world maps or Caribbean maps.

Glad to see there are more people joining in. I was worried we'd be the only ones.

Julie

 

[DisneyCruiser83]

I have not found any suitable maps yet. Nothing seems right and a lot are images that have price tags with them. But, we have plenty of time and I will continue to search.
What kind of party do you guys think we will have? Will it still be a Pirates party eventhough we will not be in the Caribbean? Any ideas on what it would be if it is not a Pirates party?
If my count is right I think we only have 410 days left now! WHOO!

 

[skoi]

Maybe we can have a Barbary pirates party, but I doubt it.

I've heard from people who did the first Med cruise they had a nice sail away party with fireworks at Barcelona. Someone on the board has a picture in his signature- Derek I think.

I'd love to see menus from the last Med cruises, but haven't been able to find any. I'm wondering if they're more Italian/ French than usual. Also- since we'll be heading to Tunisia, maybe something more Tunisian/Moroccan one night. The kids really Moroccan food.

Julie

 

[DisneyCruiser83]

I would also love to see a menu - a theme night would be really fun! Are any of you doing Disney excursions or private tours? I have heard mixed reviews for both. We are leaning towards Disney for the convenience and security of getting back to the ship on time.

 

[skoi]

Unless one of the kids see an excursion that really catches their interest, we're most likely going to tour on our own everywhere except Tunisia, where we'll have a local guide. A man my husband works with in his civilian job spent three weeks in Tunisia a few years ago, so we'll use whoever he used. Ds is doing a paper about visiting Tunisia for school, so he has a list of places he'd like to see. He's also learning Arabic (not much, since I haven't had the chance to get to a class yet) so he wants to practice.

Their list of places to see outside of Tunisia so far are:

Malta- Cathedral of St John
Corsica- Napoleon's birthplace
Naples- Pompeii
Rome- Vatican/ Vatican Museum, St.Paul Outside the Walls (where St. Apostle Paul is buried)
Spezia/Florence- the Duomo, the Ufffizi
Villefranche- not sure yet- maybe one of the little medieval towns

We're planning to arrive in Barcelona a day early to go out to Montserrat. Of course we'll probably change everythng a million times before we leave.

Dd wants to arrive even earlier and stop over in England to meet some friends and see a few historical sites related to the Tudor monarchy (we're all history fiends in this family), but we'll have to see how the finances are, and how long dh thinks he can handle the two littlest ones on his own.

So I have enough planning to keep me busy for the next year.

Julie

 

[DisneyCruiser83]

Hey Julie!
It seems as if you know a bit about the port of Tunisia. I was thinking of going to Carthage and the Bardo Museum, maybe shopping at the Bazaar. Is there anything else I am missing? Would you skip any of the other places? Thanks in advance!

 

[DisneyCruiser83]

Actually, looking at your list of stops, ours are very similar. We are (as of now) going to see:

Malta: tour of famous movie locations, St. John's Co. Cathedral and the Blue Lagoon (maybe Mdina if we have enough time).
Naples: Pompeii
Rome: Trevi fountain, the Vatican/Sistine Chapel, the Coliseum
La Spezia: Statue of David, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Tuscany (a whirlwind tour)
Corsica: Napoleon birthplace
Villafrance: Eze and Nice

So far in Barcelona all I have planned is a great tapas restaurant and flamenco dancing. If you have any suggestions, I am open to them as I think we may have similar interests. If you have any questions of me, feel free to ask. I am having so much fun planning this trip, I feel as if it will never come!

I hope you all are doing well!

 

[skoi]

Tess-
My husband works with someone who is an avid rug collector, and apparently has the money to pursue his interest and travel the world to buy rugs. He goes to all sorts of exotic places- spent close to three weeks in Tunisia about seven years ago so we're going to use the company he hired for a guide. That said- we'll probably end up doing the Bardo and Carthage (the kids are fighting about that because ds says it's not "real" Carthage, it's Roman Carthage), and then go shopping. Since ds is learning Arabic and loves to bargain he wants to go to the souk and buy things. I made him do all the bargaining in China and he's pretty good at it.

A friend of ours was stationed in Italy when he was in the Air Force so we were there about ten years ago visiting. Didn't get to Florence so that's on the list. But we did get to Rome. The kids are interested in the religious sites more than the Roman sites, though I'm hoping to squeeze in the Forum because they do want to see Caesar's temple. I figured we'd do Rome on our own, take the subway and buses.

Now- they're thinking they want to go to Paris on the way there. I think they both need to get jobs.

Julie

 

[DisneyCruiser83]

I know what your kids mean about "real Carthage" my husband feels the same way. I want to at least do the Bardo Museum and the like because I would love to see the sights and say "I have been to Africa" even just barely. This is our first international trip together (my husband did a semester in England in business school). It will probably be the last for a while, as we will probably sail on the Dream when it comes out and then start a family. I don't see us coming back to Europe for about 10 - 15 years (yikes! ) so I want to get as much out of it as I can.
I would love to do Paris, but I don't really see room in the schedule. We are going to Ireland for two days post cruise, and there just will not be time for Paris.
Is your husband definitely staying home with your little ones, or is there a chance they will come along? Are your kids still trying to talk you into England and Paris, or have they just moved onto France? How is your son's Arabic coming along?
I hope you all are doing well and getting everything ready to take over the Med next April! Have a great week!

 

[skoi]

"Been to Africa"- that's what oldest dd is saying. She's happy to say she'll have been on four out of seven continents. We were considering at one point adopting from Ethiopia and she was very excited about going there, we ended up going back to China.

Only the big kids and I are going. It's their reward for helping so much during their father's deployment. Besides, six plane tickets to Europe, two hotel rooms, etc. Way out of our budget. Three is bad enough.

Julie

 

[Michelle2]

Just wanted to pop in and say hi! We will probably be going on this cruise with you guys. My 3 oldest kids will not be able to go, but DH and I will be taking our youngest who will be 7. Who knows, this may change, but since our 3 oldest will be in 8th, 10th and 11th grades, it will probably not be possible.

We were on the Transatlantic over to Spain in 2007, but so wanted to stay on the boat and go on the first Med as well, so this time, we will be taking the repo over in April, and will hopefully just turn around and either stay on the boat, or get right back on.

This will be our 10th Disney cruise, and 3rd repo.

We have been to Rome before, but I am SO excited to go back! And cannot wait to see Tunisia!

 

[skoi]

Michelle! Glad to see the ship is filling up!

I used to teach, and it made me crazy when parents took their kids out of school, but this can be a very educational trip. We home school, so no issues with taking the big kids. They're both studying World Cultures next year (on very different levels of course) so it'll be a good trip for them.

We're also looking forward to Tunisia. It's the main reason ds wanted to do this cruise. He's learning Arabic and thinks he'll be a pro by the time we get there.

Julie