I am hosting the June 27, 2012 Cruisemates cruise on the brand new (actually it's not even finished at this time) Carnival Breeze.
I hope all of you that book join this Meet On Board thread. I will keep you informed about the group activities and scheduling. We can also talk between ourselves about setting up and sharing shore excursions. The two days we have in Rome and Venice really gives us a great opportunity to explore and see these wonderful places to their fullest.
I look forward to meeting and sharing the excitement of this cruise.
Take care,
Mike
__________________ Cruisemates Community Leader/Moderator
"There is a great difference between being well traveled and just having been to many places." ~Me
We just booked this cruise for our 10th anniversary. We were married by the Captain on the Grand Princess June 25, 2002. Jody, my wife Liz, and daughters (Sarah 28, Miriam 22 and Angela 11). Since we were married on a cruise, and they all joined us, we thought a cruise including all of us would be an appropriate way to celebrate.
We just booked this cruise for our 10th anniversary. We were married by the Captain on the Grand Princess June 25, 2002. Jody, my wife Liz, and daughters (Sarah 28, Miriam 22 and Angela 11). Since we were married on a cruise, and they all joined us, we thought a cruise including all of us would be an appropriate way to celebrate.
Welcome Aboard!!!!
I look forward to meeting you and your family. This is going to be a great cruise. I am really looking forward to the extended time in Rome and Venice and I am putting together a Rome excursion for those who are interested.
Also: Happy Anniversary. We'll make sure we make it a memorable one.
Take care,
Mike
__________________ Cruisemates Community Leader/Moderator
"There is a great difference between being well traveled and just having been to many places." ~Me
Will it just be you or will you be sailing with someone? It will be fun to have such a great itinerary to enjoy.
I am now waiting to get airfare booked. I'll have to wait a couple more weeks before I can see the whole cost. We are leaving from Barcelona and then going to Poland, Germany and England. It looks like it will be less expensive to do a "multi-stop" rather than multiple flights.
I look forward to talking more.
Take care,
Mike
__________________ Cruisemates Community Leader/Moderator
"There is a great difference between being well traveled and just having been to many places." ~Me
I know you will enjoy the Breeze more than MSC. Even if it is just for the cabin size. The pre-cruise hotel in Barcelona is a nice addition. Barcelona is a great city to wander. The Tourist Bus is a great way to get around. We plan on spending more time in the Gothic District on this trip.
Do watch your purse and wallet in Barcelona because there is a bit of a problem with pickpockets. The only time I was "almost" a victim was with a group of children running around. They ran around like they were playing tag and then started bumping into us and one tried to go for my pocket. Once we were on to them they ran away. You don't have to go around in fear but a money belt or neck wallet, under your clothing, is the best way to walk around. Violent crime or muggings are VERY uncommon. Regardless, Barcelona is a beautiful city to enjoy.
Take care,
Mike
__________________ Cruisemates Community Leader/Moderator
"There is a great difference between being well traveled and just having been to many places." ~Me
We are planning to fly in a couple of days before and fly home as soon as we get off the ship. We are excited about doing this cruise, but 14/15 days away from home are too much for me. I get antsy when I am away for a 7 day cruise.
It was not on MSC. It was on RCCL's Serenade of the Seas. It would have made us Diamond + with RCCL. No big deal, I am sure that will happen the following year now.
Thank you, I have heard that Barcelona is the pickpocket capital of the world. I have read somewhere about some type of pickpocket proof purse for me wife. We will be lookinginto that also.
I don't know why MSC popped into my mind. It's probably because I was reading about the Poesia this morning.
I think with the pricing and the itinerary it's worth waiting to become Diamond. I have 35 cruises and I don't think I've yet to achieve top level on any cruise line.
It is going to be fun. Nancy, my wife and I are on the back of the ship in an aft balcony on deck 8. In which part of the ship did you book your cabin?
I have heard that the "cross body bag" is a good bag for women. I use an under shirt travel wallet that I wear to the side like a shoulder holster. I carry a few dollars in local currency and a credit card in my pocket so I'm not required to pull out the travel wallet every time I need to purchase something and if a pickpocket gets the money and the credit card it isn't a major thing. We always carry a photo copy of both sides of our cards so we can easily cancel them and also have a backup card. These things are kept locked up in the cabin safe or the hotel's safe. We never leave it in a hotel room.
I am getting excited about the cruise and our post-cruise trip.
Take care,
Mike
__________________ Cruisemates Community Leader/Moderator
"There is a great difference between being well traveled and just having been to many places." ~Me
I believe I am near you. I am on the verendah deck which I believe is deck 8. We were going to get what used to be the old 9A, but figured we would not be using the deck as much as normal, so the extended aft balcony should be fine. Plus I'll just use Nancy's balcony if I decide I need more balcony space. We are platinum on CCL, diamond on RCCL, and elite on Celebrity. We will just have to wait until 2013 to become a diamond plus on RCCL, unless Nancy wants to send me on some free cruises with Royal. Price wise RCCL was actually a wee bit cheaper with our diamond balcony discount. However the overnight in Rome and Nancy (we have dealt through her since 2000) were the deciding factors. I am sure it will be a great cruise.
I intended to carry some euros and a credit card (capital one - no foreign transaction fees) in my front pockets aqnd not carry a wallet. Good idea to keep copies in the safe, thanks.
We are in South Beach right now, so I figure on looking at flights when we go home later this week.
My wife has been wanting to cruise the Med for a long time and Nancy kept giving me "grief" about not booking one. So now I have them both happy with me (at least for the time being).
I believe by tomorrow we will be within the 330 days for R/T for flights. US Air is already out and AA will be out tomorrow. Anyone have a guesstimate as to what a reasonable fare would be from Boston to Barcelona?
I'll have to start checking flights but I won't be able to see our return information for another month. We will be returning from Birmingham, England around the end of July or first part of August.
Take care,
Mike
__________________ Cruisemates Community Leader/Moderator
"There is a great difference between being well traveled and just having been to many places." ~Me
Eligible to participate in Cruisemates activities if we book thru our own travel agt?
Hi Mike,
I am a new CruiseMates member, as of yesterday. I have a question regarding the Cruisemates cruise you discuss below for June 27, 2012. My husband and I are extremely interested in this sailing, especially because of the two full days in Rome. We hope to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary on this cruise!
My question is this: if we book our cruise through our own travel agent, someone we have worked with for years, would we still be able to participate in any of the shared shore excursions you mention below? We would especially be interested in a two-day excursion in Rome, and have not seen one on the Carnival website. While I guess it is possible that Carnival may create a two-day Rome shore excursion, I wonder if that is something you have been thinking about as well. And if you are, we wonder if we would be able to participate if we do not book through the travel agent you mention.
When we visited St. Petersburg, Russia a couple of years ago, the cruise line offered an all-inclusive two-day shore excursion, since the ship was in port two days, and it was wonderful.
Since I am new, I don't know how I will know when you respond--I don't know if I will be notified of your response via email, or if I need to keep checking this thread. Oh well, I guess I will figure that out.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Amy
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike M
Hi Everyone:
I am hosting the June 27, 2012 Cruisemates cruise on the brand new (actually it's not even finished at this time) Carnival Breeze.
I hope all of you that book join this Meet On Board thread. I will keep you informed about the group activities and scheduling. We can also talk between ourselves about setting up and sharing shore excursions. The two days we have in Rome and Venice really gives us a great opportunity to explore and see these wonderful places to their fullest.
I look forward to meeting and sharing the excitement of this cruise.
I am a new CruiseMates member, as of yesterday. I have a question regarding the Cruisemates cruise you discuss below for June 27, 2012. My husband and I are extremely interested in this sailing, especially because of the two full days in Rome. We hope to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary on this cruise!
My question is this: if we book our cruise through our own travel agent, someone we have worked with for years, would we still be able to participate in any of the shared shore excursions you mention below? We would especially be interested in a two-day excursion in Rome, and have not seen one on the Carnival website. While I guess it is possible that Carnival may create a two-day Rome shore excursion, I wonder if that is something you have been thinking about as well. And if you are, we wonder if we would be able to participate if we do not book through the travel agent you mention.
When we visited St. Petersburg, Russia a couple of years ago, the cruise line offered an all-inclusive two-day shore excursion, since the ship was in port two days, and it was wonderful.
Since I am new, I don't know how I will know when you respond--I don't know if I will be notified of your response via email, or if I need to keep checking this thread. Oh well, I guess I will figure that out.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Amy
Welcome aboard Amy!
The shore excursions that may be done are not a group amenity and anyone would be able to join in.
The things that you would not be entitled to if you booked with another agent are: The pre-cruise hotel; Dinner for two in the steakhouse and the group cocktail party. Otherwise anyone is welcome to join the group activities/games we have on sea days.
I do hope you do book with Nancy to get the best benefit. Another agent will not be able to get a better price.
I look forward to talking more with you.
BTW: I did an email subscription to this thread for you. You should receive email notifications of responses.
Take care,
Mike
__________________ Cruisemates Community Leader/Moderator
"There is a great difference between being well traveled and just having been to many places." ~Me
Did you see where Nancy was named one of the top 25 agents for 2011 by Travel agent Central? And what is she doing, but doing a river cruise right now - I'm jealous!!!
The shore excursions that may be done are not a group amenity and anyone would be able to join in.
The things that you would not be entitled to if you booked with another agent are: The pre-cruise hotel; Dinner for two in the steakhouse and the group cocktail party. Otherwise anyone is welcome to join the group activities/games we have on sea days.
I do hope you do book with Nancy to get the best benefit. Another agent will not be able to get a better price.
I look forward to talking more with you.
BTW: I did an email subscription to this thread for you. You should receive email notifications of responses.
Take care,
Mike
Hi Mike,
Thanks so much for responding! I look forward to hearing about any planned Cruisemates excursions--especially in Rome! Thank you for doing an email subscription to this thread for me; however, I did not receive a message notifying me of your response. I just found it by searching clumsily by myself (not so good at that, although I did eventually find your reply). I hope I will be notified on any more news about this particular cruise.
Thanks so much, and I look forward to hearing more!
Sorting through flights to/from BCN. At this point, looks like my best deal is booking Icelandair r/t to London, and a separate booking between London and BCN. I'd rather do it all as one booking, but a few hundred dollars times 5 people adds up. Any thoughts on timing for flights leaving BCN at the end of the cruise--is a flight leaving at about noon doable?
Flights are a bit of a puzzle and I also saw that using Icelandic Air was the least expensive roundtrip from MSP to BCN.
The only thing is that we are going from MSP-BCN, BCN-WAW, WAW-LON, LON-MSP. The funny thing is that it is only $300, on Lufthansa, more to do all of these flights than a simple roundtrip from MSP-BCN.
No matter what we are going to have a great time.
Take care,
Mike
__________________ Cruisemates Community Leader/Moderator
"There is a great difference between being well traveled and just having been to many places." ~Me
We are leaning towards Icelandair. We can get it for an average of about $1050 each, if we fly to BCN on June 22nd and come back on July 10th. We hadn't planned on taking that much time, but we would save about $500 each compared to other flights we are considering.
Mike--Looks like you might be from Minnesota? Where?
We just booked an apartment to spend the night in Rome. We are thinking of taking the train to/from Rome, and touring on our own. 3 of the 5 of us spent 4 days in Rome a few years ago, at the end of a transatlantic cruise on the Carnival Freedom (it was also a Cruisemates group cruise). We are thinking that Rome is doable on our own given the full day plus that we have there.
We are interested in being a part of a group that takes the train into Rome together. Is anyone else interested in taking the train into Rome as a group?
Just booked our air. We will be getting into Barcelona late the evening of June 23rd, and will also be staying over an extra day after the cruise. We're looking for an apartment that will sleep the 5 of us.
Just booked the June 27 Carnival Breeze cruise (with our own travel agent, with whom we have dealt for many years), and are very excited. We are very interested in hearing about any special excursions planned by the Cruisemates group, especially anything planned for Rome and Venice.
We are booked on this cruise and it's a first for us joining a group. Not sure how it works when you are with a large group?
Welcome. Did you book with the cruisemates group, CCL or with your own TA? It is our first cruise with a large group thru cruise board. We have never sailed in the MEd before.
Welcome. Did you book with the cruisemates group, CCL or with your own TA? It is our first cruise with a large group thru cruise board. We have never sailed in the MEd before.
We booked with Nancy with the cruise mates group. I read a travel blog and ran across it. We were interested and started emailing with Nancy and decided to go for it. Our first in the Med also. We have done many sailings with Princess, but our last one from Quebec to New York will be just that ~ our last one with Princess. Every tour was horribly crowded, so much so that you were told you had 15-20 minutes at the site and there were already five busses from Princess already there. We were terribly disappointed. We did one to Alaska and it was totally great. Our best sailings have been with Viking on two river cruises. But we have always done our travels with another couple, never with a large group. Wondering if it works differently, or does everyone go off on their merry way?
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Cruisemates Cruise June 27, 2012
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