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Maestro's Europe Trip - Newbie here.. Please be Patient

Maestro's Europe Trip - Newbie here.. Please be Patient

Old Dec 11, 2011, 4:37 pm
  #16  
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Originally Posted by PeteTheBrit
That's a lot of Disney...almost a month!

Food at EuroDisney is pretty good overall if you eat in the restaurants rather than the fast food places. Those i would steer clear of.

You might get a good deal to stay a couple of nights in one of the hotels in the park, and from what i've heard, they aren't bad. There are many more in the surrounding towns which are reasonably priced. Try and pick one near a train station to make your ride to the park easier.

When you're done with the park which you need a day for, stay in Paris and sightsee there. I don't know if you've been before or not, but even if you have, Paris is far more entertaining than EuroDisney.
Never been.. we are Disney Connoisseurs so we are planning 5 days at Euro Disney..

We are also planning a cruise because.. ugh.. Land Tour companies won't take our business because of our two year old.. and most of the cruise companies charge an arm and a leg for children just to stay in the same room. I did find that Royal Carribean only charged $199 per child.. so I booked an option with them and need to decide by December 14th whether or not to pull the trigger. The base price for Oceanview Balcony is $1,908 per adult, and its the Western Mediterranean Cruise that leaves on August 13th.. I've found a Baltci Russia Cruise that would be perfect.. leaves 26th for 12 days and gets back to Stockholm, as we're booked into a hotel currently on the 7th, with one event per day for 4 days at the Olympics.. but my wife wants to do Mediterranean, which leaves visiting Paris 7 days before having to get back to London for the games on the 7th.

I like the cruise because its like going on a tour.. the food is taken care of, but I imagine land excursions are big bucks based on my research during the stopovers..

Accomodations in Paris seems reasonable.. would like to spend a bit of time there for sure..
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Old Dec 12, 2011, 3:28 am
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Originally Posted by Ancien Maestro
Never been.. we are Disney Connoisseurs so we are planning 5 days at Euro Disney..

We are also planning a cruise because.. ugh.. Land Tour companies won't take our business because of our two year old.. and most of the cruise companies charge an arm and a leg for children just to stay in the same room. I did find that Royal Carribean only charged $199 per child.. so I booked an option with them and need to decide by December 14th whether or not to pull the trigger. The base price for Oceanview Balcony is $1,908 per adult, and its the Western Mediterranean Cruise that leaves on August 13th.. I've found a Baltci Russia Cruise that would be perfect.. leaves 26th for 12 days and gets back to Stockholm, as we're booked into a hotel currently on the 7th, with one event per day for 4 days at the Olympics.. but my wife wants to do Mediterranean, which leaves visiting Paris 7 days before having to get back to London for the games on the 7th.

I like the cruise because its like going on a tour.. the food is taken care of, but I imagine land excursions are big bucks based on my research during the stopovers..

Accomodations in Paris seems reasonable.. would like to spend a bit of time there for sure..
5 days seems like an awfully long time at Disney. I had been on everything multiple times in a day and a half. But if that's your thing.

I can see the appeal of the cruise with regards to the handling of your kids, but i can't help thinking you'll be spending so much time at sea and transferring between the ship and land.

I'm not sure on pricing, but you might consider using the good ferries which run between Stockholm, Tallinn, and Helsinki. Rent a car and do some exploring. I would prefer this, as when you don't want to do anything, you don't have to, but you can decide when rather than sitting around waiting to arrive at the next destination, and then waiting again to get off the ship.
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Old Dec 12, 2011, 8:37 pm
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Originally Posted by PeteTheBrit
5 days seems like an awfully long time at Disney. I had been on everything multiple times in a day and a half. But if that's your thing.

I can see the appeal of the cruise with regards to the handling of your kids, but i can't help thinking you'll be spending so much time at sea and transferring between the ship and land.

I'm not sure on pricing, but you might consider using the good ferries which run between Stockholm, Tallinn, and Helsinki. Rent a car and do some exploring. I would prefer this, as when you don't want to do anything, you don't have to, but you can decide when rather than sitting around waiting to arrive at the next destination, and then waiting again to get off the ship.
Thanks.. rides is one thing.. but we want to hit up character meals, nice sit down restaurants, enjoy the shows, evening night out.. as well as go on rides multiple times..

A novelty really to visit Euro Disney as most NAers don't get to visit a foreign Disney.. It would be neat to hit up Hong Kong Disney, and Tokyo Disney as well.. hopefully next year we'll pass through to Singapore and stop over HKG..

The cruises we're looking at have one or two days at sea.. but there are multiple stop overs we don't get to see unless we are on a cruise.. Any tips to prebook some of the excursions to avoid getting throttled on the pricing of tours.. Not having the ability to go on a land tour is a bummer.. but I've never been on a cruise before, never really wanted to do so before, but we are seeing the benefits of being catered going around in a ship, getting fed.. relaxing instead of worrying about the kids not having fun.. It will be a nice novelty for sure..

Unfortunately the majority of cruise lines are charging adult prices for kids.. so I just want to avoid those outfits to send a message.. that's why we're interested in Royal Carribean as child prices seem reasonable compared to the other cruise lines..

Just booked in Croydon, accomodations for the Olympics.. 20 minutes door to door via train to the Olympics.. called the Hallmark Hotel Croydon.. a 4 star for $212 cdn per night.. should I keep this one? Dates are August 7th to August 12th for 5 nights.. we're thinking adding on a 6th night for good measure.. take in the closing ceremonies on site.. Site reviews were 2 out of 5.. but reading the reviews, most of the low scoring reviews were prior to their 2 million pound reno.. post reno reviews, most were 5 out of 5..

Thanks for the feedback.. lots to learn.. learning each day..

Which cruise would you guys pick?.. 7 day western meditteranean beginning July 23rd, or 12 night Scandinavia and Russia Cruise (just getting back on August 7th to check in on the evening of August 7th.. before hitting Olympics for the next 5 days.. so a bit of cruise lag)..
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Old Dec 13, 2011, 2:42 am
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Driving in the UK and mainland Europe is perfectly traightforward - a couple of hundred million of us manage every day The advice about booking an automatic is good - they are not rare but neither are they standard and rental companies assume that, if you've booked one, you might not be able to drive a manual.

If you do hire a car, make sure you return it in the same country you collect iut - otherwise it get horrendously expensive. Also, it doesn't make sense to take a UK car out of the UK or a continental car to the UK. Don't try to run a car in London - parking and congestion charges make it a crazy option.

My wife gritted her teeth and took our two children (7 & 12) to Disneyland Paris at Easter - she was very impressed by the hotel. I'll try to find which one it was.

London is likely to be horrendous during the Olympics, you really should think about whether you want to get involved. Croydon, by the way, is probably the dreariest suburb in the UK - possibly a contender at a European level... I can't imagine anything worse than being there then - most Londoners are planning to leave

As others have suggested, especially with children, I would urge you not to try to fit in too much. Although it looks small, travel is typically slower in Europe and you risk spending more time travelling than enjoying. With a few esceptions - the Alps, parts of Scotland, for example - there will be little pleasure in the driving. Mix trains, planes & automobiles judiciously and you will still be a ble to see a great deal in the time you have. Try the overnight train from Paris to Venice, for example.

Although my home city is now Glasgow, I have to say you should go to Edinburgh as a base for visiting Scotland. It's a genuinely stunning city with much to see and do. On the outskirts, in the old port of Leith, the retired Royal Yacht Britannia is well worth a visit.
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Old Dec 13, 2011, 2:48 am
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A further thought! We are very ken on city breaks around Europe and always now book apartments, not hotels. Two bedrooms mean we don't have to sit in the bathroom after the children go to bed and there isn't the morning panic to get everybody dressed in time for the breakfast deadline. A few boxes of creal and some bread and we have complete flexibility - plus many hotels charge ridiculous prices for breakfast...

It also provides flexbility in the evening - we can eat out if we want to or, if the boys are really tired, cook something "at home".

It's easy to rent an apartment in any of the larger European cities from only a few days - you're not committed to a week. Just Google it!

Cost-wise, it's typically much the same as a hotel.

We've done this in Barcelona, Paris, Venice, Rome, Lucca, Oslo and various UK locations over the past couple of years and wouldn't go back to hotels.

Last edited by AyrMiles; Dec 13, 2011 at 2:50 am Reason: Added comment
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Old Dec 13, 2011, 11:39 am
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Originally Posted by Ancien Maestro
Never been.. we are Disney Connoisseurs so we are planning 5 days at Euro Disney..
FIVE days is far, far (far) too long. You are frankly wasting time, and I actually like Disneyland Paris a lot better than any of the US parks. Getting to/from the parks to area hotels, and between the parks, takes minutes. It compares more to DL and DCA than WDW for distance. I suggest 2 to 2.5 days maximum.

Pet peeve: people who say they are 'going to Europe'. You are going to visit some very different, very diverse countries, and the advice which applies to one won't necessarily apply to another, or to all, or to many.

I would not plan on driving for the most part, unless you are planning trips to countryside or out of way locations. That means not needing to drive if you are visiting 'top' attractions in the UK - train will generally be less stressful and easier to manage. Driving in Germany, France, and some other western European countries is doable if visiting smaller cities/countryside, but forget the car for many cities and historical areas. If you need an automatic, book on sites such as sixt.ca vs sixt.de as you can guarantee an automatic on the .ca site.

Ayrmiles gives you excellent advice but I think that Glasgow is one of the most underrated cities on earth. Edinburgh is the shiny sparkly sister but Glasgow had a lot of really special places. They are a short, easy train ride apart.

And glad to see that you are getting similar honest advice here re your Olympics plan as on your other thread. Really, Southall, Croydon, Heathrow, Gatwick, or any other place you are considering are setting you up for a most miserable time. Can you sell your tickets on the resale site, and start over? Or shorten to two events? If you don't want to go that route, then seriously consider using a professional agent specialising in Olympic travel. They most likely have access to blocks of rooms set aside for wholesalers and can get you in a decent location, rather than the places you keep listing.

It's perfectly possible to waste a large amount of money seeing very little on a 'trip to Europe'. Five days at Disneyland Paris, five days at the Olympics (which I think you said was over $7,000 for tickets?), a cruise with short (expensive) port excursions, and you are looking at a very large sum of money for a very hectic time. My advice is slow down, plan lots of down time, don't move around too much, don't rent a car for most of the trip, and don't do so much of the 'must do' tourist things which people may tell you are 'must sees'.
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Old Dec 13, 2011, 11:55 am
  #22  
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We spent 8 days in Disneyland in California over the summer and barely crammed in everything we wanted to do.. So 5 days is a bit short for us, but we'll try and make do..

Thanks for the advice received.. I agree with everyone not to rent a vehicle for the most part but its good to know that its an option.. I think the cruise, although its a tourist trap will get us around to places a bit more relaxes.. taken care of at all levels, that we can just enjoy the stopovers and sightseeing..

Any advice on getting on the cruise and getting off the day before we head out to the Olympics.. I think we'll stop at 4 events, and possibly extend our stay one more night to enjoy the closing ceremonies festivities..

I want to try out a bunch of different cities, and a land tour would have been perfect, but simply not offered for children 4 and under which is really dissapointing.. Even the family tours offered by Trafilgar states only children 5 and above..

We're planning to train around everywhere.. not that I'm opposed to riding the bus, but I've got it in my mind it'll be a bit faster and less confusing.. but maybe I'm missing something here?

I guess Croydon is a bit dreary.. but all I'm concerned about is getting accessibility to a train station.. walking accross the street that takes a conservative 5 minutes and having the ability to catch a train no problem.. Reviews of other single female travellers and families seem safe.. I'm a big 6'5" guy, so if a single female traveller feels safe, that goes a long ways I guess in the reviews..

I wanted to stay longer for the Olympics and was shopping for a few more tickets.. Didn't want to go overboard so decided that having one event per day was plenty.. and hopefully food can be found.. I looked at the Olympic food brochure so it seems that there is mass organization and thought thats' gone into providing food for the games.. So hopefully, we can find some sit down restaurant options at the venues.. or figure out a way to get some tickets to hit up some of the hospitality lounges.. Plus one event a day would give us some flexibility to hit up some Olympic festivities that don't require a ticket..

So when do you guys think we should leave the games to continue on our journey? The day of the closing ceremonies or the day after so that we can enjoy the festivities?
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Old Dec 13, 2011, 12:10 pm
  #23  
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We did the 7 days RCCL western Mediterranean cruise in 09 as a family trip for my parents' 50th anniversary. RCCL was a nice ship for younger children for I had nephews and nieces under 6 and they seemed to be preoccupied.

However, Mediterranean cruising during the summer months can be hot and humid. There is also quite a long ride from port to the central part of cities.

I also made the mistake of "this might my my family's last trip together to some of these places" and not pacing ourselves. So every day it was: grab buffet breakfast and load up the backpack with snack and liquid, get off the ship for excursion, rush back post excursion and clean/dress up for family dinner during the early seating (24 of us), immediately to bed so we can repeat the routine for the next day.
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Old Dec 13, 2011, 3:39 pm
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Originally Posted by tentseller
However, Mediterranean cruising during the summer months can be hot and humid. There is also quite a long ride from port to the central part of cities.
Much of my year and certainly my summer has been in Med cruise ports. It is interesting to see the tourists and the package tours and how much they try and cram in and rush around trying to see and do it all, especially during the very hot humid summer months.

I am also shocked reading some of the cruise blogs/sites about how much people are willing to pay - upwards of 800-1000 Euros for instance for a 'day tour' of Rome from the cruise ship with a driver.

Travel doesn't have to be expensive in order to enjoy things, and often taking a slower pace is less costly as well as more enjoyable. OP, we have pointed out to you before how overpriced many of the multi-day bus tours are, especially many of the North American based or targetted ones, and how little value they really provide.

I still strongly, strongly, and again strongly encourage you not to waste five days at Disneyland Paris. There simply isn't enough to do there to merit it, and even in peak season one can reasonably see and do almost everything in two days. With children that age, you won't be able to ride all the rides anyways, and you cannot equate it to WDW or even DL because the systems are different, guests are different, and tastes are different. It is also much easier to get around because the vast majority of families (other than from the UK or America) don't bring strollers, and there is thus far less congestion in the parks.

There are places where the train isn't really an option. My part of the world can be an example - RVO Bus gets one around to some of the really must see areas in a much more convenient (and cheaper, and faster) fashion than the train, and often goes where the train does not.

On another thread I pointed out to you that some of the tour packages can run close to $30,000 for a family of four for a week. That is just outrageous, and you don't need to spend anywhere near that even for seven weeks, if you are willing to be somewhat more like a local.
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Old Dec 13, 2011, 11:13 pm
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Originally Posted by tentseller
We did the 7 days RCCL western Mediterranean cruise in 09 as a family trip for my parents' 50th anniversary. RCCL was a nice ship for younger children for I had nephews and nieces under 6 and they seemed to be preoccupied.

However, Mediterranean cruising during the summer months can be hot and humid. There is also quite a long ride from port to the central part of cities.

I also made the mistake of "this might my my family's last trip together to some of these places" and not pacing ourselves. So every day it was: grab buffet breakfast and load up the backpack with snack and liquid, get off the ship for excursion, rush back post excursion and clean/dress up for family dinner during the early seating (24 of us), immediately to bed so we can repeat the routine for the next day.
So you recommend RCCL.. but its hot and humid.. How bout the Scandinavian Russian cruise? Do you think that the weather is lighter going towards Russia, and more bearable.. If we don't hit the Scandinavian Cruise this time, we'll likely try to hit it up eventually..

Good to know that the ship is good for kids.. Did you find the tours sold from RCCL reasonably priced.. I understand reading material its a bit of a tourist trap on most cruise ships, but is RCCL fair.. seems fair on the children side of things on board.. did RCCL charge an arm and a leg for children to attend the excursions..

Originally Posted by exbayern
Much of my year and certainly my summer has been in Med cruise ports. It is interesting to see the tourists and the package tours and how much they try and cram in and rush around trying to see and do it all, especially during the very hot humid summer months.

I am also shocked reading some of the cruise blogs/sites about how much people are willing to pay - upwards of 800-1000 Euros for instance for a 'day tour' of Rome from the cruise ship with a driver.

Travel doesn't have to be expensive in order to enjoy things, and often taking a slower pace is less costly as well as more enjoyable. OP, we have pointed out to you before how overpriced many of the multi-day bus tours are, especially many of the North American based or targetted ones, and how little value they really provide.

I still strongly, strongly, and again strongly encourage you not to waste five days at Disneyland Paris. There simply isn't enough to do there to merit it, and even in peak season one can reasonably see and do almost everything in two days. With children that age, you won't be able to ride all the rides anyways, and you cannot equate it to WDW or even DL because the systems are different, guests are different, and tastes are different. It is also much easier to get around because the vast majority of families (other than from the UK or America) don't bring strollers, and there is thus far less congestion in the parks.

There are places where the train isn't really an option. My part of the world can be an example - RVO Bus gets one around to some of the really must see areas in a much more convenient (and cheaper, and faster) fashion than the train, and often goes where the train does not.

On another thread I pointed out to you that some of the tour packages can run close to $30,000 for a family of four for a week. That is just outrageous, and you don't need to spend anywhere near that even for seven weeks, if you are willing to be somewhat more like a local.
Different strokes for different folks.. most people I know would agree with you and not do Disney for so long.. for us, we only do Disney.. In Florida this past Christmas, all 20 days at Disney.. yes, no Universal, Sea World.. no nothing.. and 8 entire days at Disneyland this past summer.. people thought we're out to lunch.. we just love Disney and know that this isn't the way people go about doing Disney.. If we could stay longer than 5 days we would at Euro Disney.. why rush through everything.. and there's going to be a tonne of restaurants, events, shows, fireworks, that we will want to go through.. Plus Disney in a different country and a language I don't speak, I have a feeling it'll take us more than 5 days.. because we want to do everything..

I read on some of these cruise blogs this book where if you pay $37, you will learn the secrets of how to save $$$ when dealing with cruise ships.. I almost purchased the buy button, but didn't as I'm weary about these get rich quick schemes.. even no risk return policy, I thought I'd better ask if anyone here has benefitted from material such as this book when it comes to saving money on cruise ships..

Any tips on how to deal with these type of cruise ships? Can you prebook and get a discount.. I would have done a land tour for 14 days for $8,000 for my family.. lower if its good quality.. but can't go on this land tour because none of the tour companies take 2 year olds.. which is a real downer for me..

So cruise ships is my bread and butter to sit back and relax a bit.. even if we don't do excursions at every stop, this will at least provide us the opportunity to be catered to and travelling around where we normally wouldn't travel going on our own.. My wife thinks I don't do much when we go it alone, so she wants to take tours.. I've started doing tours this past summer in San Francisco, and actually don't mind it.. Obviously we don't want to be squeezed but understand that tour operators have to make a buck.. but is there a way to deal with these cruise ships to stretch the buck a bit further?
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Old Dec 14, 2011, 12:41 am
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You can go to the Disney parks in North America any time. I assume that based on your posts this is rather a 'once in a lifetime' trip.

You are going to FRANCE, to PARIS, and spending 5 days at Disney really is a great shame, even for a Disney fan. You are not going to Epcot, you are getting out into the real world where there is really a lot more to see and do.

Regarding your cruises, you are talking about two completely different parts of the world. Choosing based on hot vs warm isn't the best criteria. Don't you and your wife have specific interests (besides Disney), places you have a desire to see, etc?

If you plan to stay on the ship for most of the cruise, you are wasting your money by not seeing the ports. Cruises in European ports are not like the ones sailing in the southern parts of the United States; they are more like transportation between some of the major points of interest in the world than a floating hotel with the major point being relaxation and eating and using the spa.
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Old Dec 14, 2011, 5:29 am
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I love Disney as does my 5 year old, but even she chose a weekend in Bristol over another weekend in Disneyland Paris, i seriously do not see how you can spend 5 days there, we spent 3 days there and that was more than enough time to see everything in both parks, in Disneyland California and Disneyworld however i could understand spending days in ditto Disneyland Hong Kong (my personal favourite, not been to Disneyland Tokyo) but not Disneyland Paris
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Old Dec 14, 2011, 6:14 am
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I read on some of these cruise blogs this book where if you pay $37, you will learn the secrets of how to save $$$ when dealing with cruise ships.. I almost purchased the buy button, but didn't as I'm weary about these get rich quick schemes.. even no risk return policy, I thought I'd better ask if anyone here has benefitted from material such as this book when it comes to saving money on cruise ships..
Don't waste your money. You really need to visit a site such as CruiseCritic for cruise information; you'll get far more detail than you will on FT (although I personally think that FT tends to be more brutally honest than sites such as CruiseCritic which are often populated by somewhat blind fans) There just isn't much posting about crusing on FT, even on the cruise board.

By the way, 'Euro Disney' has not existed since 1995. It is Disneyland Paris.

I have read a lot of trip reports which make me shudder (such as the one where an American family went on a Disney cruise and was too scared to eat gelato because it is a 'strange' food) There are two excellent ones however which I can recommend on Mouseowners.com. One is by a moderator named tomandrobin, and outlines the trip he and his wife took to Italy and on a cruise. The other is a poster named Grandbuddy who went with his wife on a cruise and then to various places including London and Edinburgh, and cruised home on the Queen Mary 2. I highly recommend searching for those from earlier this year.

And again, it would really help us to help you if you gave us something more to work with than 'Europe', 'cruise', 'Disney', and 'Olympics'. What are your interests? History, museums, art, theatre, hiking, etc? And can you narrow down where you are planning to go, as currently you seem to be stretching from Scotland to the Baltics to the Mediterranean and I don't think that anyone can really help you with specifics until you give us some more specific information.
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Old Dec 14, 2011, 1:52 pm
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Originally Posted by exbayern
You can go to the Disney parks in North America any time. I assume that based on your posts this is rather a 'once in a lifetime' trip.

You are going to FRANCE, to PARIS, and spending 5 days at Disney really is a great shame, even for a Disney fan. You are not going to Epcot, you are getting out into the real world where there is really a lot more to see and do.

Regarding your cruises, you are talking about two completely different parts of the world. Choosing based on hot vs warm isn't the best criteria. Don't you and your wife have specific interests (besides Disney), places you have a desire to see, etc?

If you plan to stay on the ship for most of the cruise, you are wasting your money by not seeing the ports. Cruises in European ports are not like the ones sailing in the southern parts of the United States; they are more like transportation between some of the major points of interest in the world than a floating hotel with the major point being relaxation and eating and using the spa.
The Cruise option expired today, and let it go because really the prices haven't changed and I've got a lot more research to do before saying yes to the 7 night mediterranean cruise..

I've also inquired about how family friendly pricing wise for tours once porting as I've heard that it can be exhorbitantly expensive generally.. My cruise ship TA is looking into the list of activities and costs.. plus we're pricing out the Scnadinavian Russia Cruise to see how much 12 nights will set us back.. The dates are perfect and will have us land on time before hitting the Olympics..

Plus, reading some cruise travel blogs, I'm inquiring about signing up for their loyalty program prior to the cruise, which normally you have to have done a cruise on RCCL before they let you sign up.. I'm especially interested to see if I can land some good day tour packages when we port.. that way we've got our budget set out..

Originally Posted by fredandgingermad
I love Disney as does my 5 year old, but even she chose a weekend in Bristol over another weekend in Disneyland Paris, i seriously do not see how you can spend 5 days there, we spent 3 days there and that was more than enough time to see everything in both parks, in Disneyland California and Disneyworld however i could understand spending days in ditto Disneyland Hong Kong (my personal favourite, not been to Disneyland Tokyo) but not Disneyland Paris
Another place and language, we don't want to feel rushed.. plus getting the fourth and fifth night doesn't dent the budget as much as the first 3 nights.. I seriously would have to micro manage our schedule to cram in everything we want to do beforehand, instead of showing up relaxed and going about each part of Disneyland Paris..

I think being in the environment is more important to us than going through everything once.. but its our first time there and we're actually more excited about visiting Disney per se than the rest of Europe.. We're there for 5 weeks so I'm sure 5 days based on the comments will be more than enough..

We would like to visit Disney Hong Kong and Toykyo.. how is Tokyo with the nuclear fallout?

Originally Posted by exbayern
Don't waste your money. You really need to visit a site such as CruiseCritic for cruise information; you'll get far more detail than you will on FT (although I personally think that FT tends to be more brutally honest than sites such as CruiseCritic which are often populated by somewhat blind fans) There just isn't much posting about crusing on FT, even on the cruise board.

By the way, 'Euro Disney' has not existed since 1995. It is Disneyland Paris.

I have read a lot of trip reports which make me shudder (such as the one where an American family went on a Disney cruise and was too scared to eat gelato because it is a 'strange' food) There are two excellent ones however which I can recommend on Mouseowners.com. One is by a moderator named tomandrobin, and outlines the trip he and his wife took to Italy and on a cruise. The other is a poster named Grandbuddy who went with his wife on a cruise and then to various places including London and Edinburgh, and cruised home on the Queen Mary 2. I highly recommend searching for those from earlier this year.

And again, it would really help us to help you if you gave us something more to work with than 'Europe', 'cruise', 'Disney', and 'Olympics'. What are your interests? History, museums, art, theatre, hiking, etc? And can you narrow down where you are planning to go, as currently you seem to be stretching from Scotland to the Baltics to the Mediterranean and I don't think that anyone can really help you with specifics until you give us some more specific information.
In terms of cruise preferences we would prefer doing the Mediterranean for 7 nights but RCCL doesn't do this on a date that would work.. The 14 night cruise leaves on the 14th from France and we'll be getting there on the 17th..

My interest is architecture.. and seeing the sights and sounds of famous landmarks and regions.. but I doubt with the Olympics on, and the restraint from us being involved with land tours (because of restrictions my 2 year is not allowed on every land/hotel tour offered) that we're going to see much anyways.. Based on the advice to take it relaxed and go with a pace that is comfortable, we'll get the cruise planned out, and place the Disney trip, Paris, London, and convenient locations to travel to thereafter..
Ancien Maestro is offline  
Old Dec 15, 2011, 1:52 pm
  #30  
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Munich, Germany
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Originally Posted by Ancien Maestro
I'm Canadian, so the passport should work, and no need for Visas.. One travel agent suggested I take a cruise originating from Rome.. I think I'll stick to a France or England origination.
I should have read your signature to see that you are Canadian. Sorry for my mistake.

Yes you are right. No visas needed as Canadian.

About the Disneyland thing. You should really think about spending more time in real Paris than at Disneyland Paris. It is possible to make easy day trips from the resort to the city. So you can stay there and explore the park but you can also see the real Europe.
flyingfkb is offline  

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