May 18, 2013 Magic EBTA Part Two - From Tejas to España

[p17blo]

EBTA 2013 - POLO SHIRTS AND HOODIES NOW AVAILABLE FOR RE-ORDER

I've now been able to find costs for shipping to UK and US (with me carrying the items into the US and posting from there). So I am now happy to organise a further order for anyone who missed out the first time, or who wish to add to those you had previously.

Unfortunately, shipping costs are now a factor, I've tried to get them as low as possible.

I've updated prices; the principle is the same as before - The more we order as a group, the cheaper the costs get:

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING: Trying to calculate shipping cost for multiple shirts/hoodies going to one place had infinite possibilities. If you want more than one item, I will work out your costs for you specifically - IT WILL NOT BE MORE THAN LISTED, but I might be able to combine the items together and get a better shipping cost.

To ensure the items get to me in time before I go the US, all requests must be in by Saturday 22nd June 2013.

As of now, a few people have asked me about these but I have no confirmations from anyone, so even if you have spoken to me recently, please can you re-confirm.

I will post this in other lists and forum, but if for any reason these get deleted, could you please pass the word on.

Lastly, I will make a further post for any interested in taken the 'misprinted' hoodies and polos at a discount - Details to follow shortly.

Details of sizing and pricing etc is available still over at http://p17blo.wordpress.com or take a look at our the EBTA 2013 facebook page.

For the purposes of clarification and confirmation, I am organising this as a courtesy to my traveling companions. I do not own or run a clothing or marketing company and I make not profit from organising this for you, but I am happy to do this for any or all of my traveling companions

 

[SaraCat]

Hello

Is anyone else still checking this thread regularly? I am finding it hard to stop checking back to see how everyone is doing.

Life has reverted to normality for us, back to work and the holiday becoming a happy memory. We are now trying to work out how to make the EB Panama work for us next year!

Thanks everyone for making this cruise so memorable :-D

 

[dee slack]

Life has reverted to normality for us, back to work and the holiday becoming a happy memory. We are now trying to work out how to make the EB Panama work for us next year!

just had a quick look for flights for the EBPC 2014 and think it's going to need a bit more thought as we need to get back to the same airport as we left for the car and hate connecting flights so our options are pretty limited, didn't really think about that when we booked it!

 

[gramfrog]

Dear All,

Thanks for the help in finding Missy, the Magic currently docked in the bay looking great, we were due to go to Pisa, however everyone's tired and wants to take it easy, so we are wandering around the small towns instead. Rome tomorrow, that's a great city were I love to people watch and we have a long tour booked. You can see a couple of pictures on MaryKay on FB if you want to keep up with us. What I don't mange to do this week Mary and I can do on the August 31st cruise. We have had to change servers after the first night as they were the worst ever and the didn't even like each other, however it's all fine now.


Lynn, you actually circled the transatlantic on the rebooking slip, I know, I was there we must have been under the influence of alcohol at the time. Disney will fix it easily.



Off back to the Magic now, tons of wine and bubbly, to get through before Sat, however thats when an 18 yr old daughter helps, keep in touch .Forgot to say we did mixology the other day, it was really good and I scored a few freebies and got behind the bar for the first time.

Kind regards,

Having Steve Kay withdrawal -- would have loved to have seen you behind the bar-- wonder what you mixed up???

 

[gramfrog]

Happy Father's Day to all the great guys on the EBTA this year!!!!

 

[StephenKay]

Evening Everyone,

Got back later in the evening last night after a tiring day which was preceeded by 7 tiring days on the Magic on the Med. The weather was generally very good and the ports whilst very well worth it, the cruise is so port intensive that by the time you get to Rome, you can't really drag yourself off the ship, so much so that I am really going to try and get off the ship in late Aug. It was that bad I couldn't even spend many nights in the bars, I did watch Lincoln again though.

First night at dining we were joined by our friend who's birthday it was that day, she is a close member of our family and it was to be a great occasion, the serving team put paid to that, they were simply the worst ever in and restaurant even worst that they worked for DCL. Firstly the assistant was rude argued about the wine package and the selection, only to be told off by the sommelier and the head server. They then fell out, our server turned up 25 mins later, if they got on on the first place. It got worse, they through the plates with food at us, dumping them on the table. People were leaving when we were being served the main course, no glass was refilled. At this point I had had enough, I called for the manager and requested to move tables, which we did. The next server was Mirka from Croatia and Kristi from Estonia both couldn't be better. The Food and Beverage Manager sorted the server and assistant, one left the ship on Sat?

The ports were great, but it's too much for me, you just can't catch your breath and I have done them all before. Here are a few pics, PS: Apologises for the quality, I broke my 2nd camera in 2 cruises, I am just unlucky, first a new wifi one and then a Sony 35mm.

Villefranche: A great little tender and off to Monaco.




I should stop picking up strange women


Monaco Harbour, taken from the Palace steps.

La Spezia: I should be showing pictures of the Pisa Tower or Florence, however, the train ticket office saw to that, a queue of over 60 to 70 and one person selling tickets, we even had tickets to get Rachel to climb the Leaning Tower, she wasn't that bothered, Rachel did it a couple of years ago. Here are a couple of pics of the Magic in the bay at La Spezia.







I just like the colour of this one. More to follow.

 

[StephenKay]

Back again,

By the time I got to Rome, if I mentioned the EBTA once more my wife, daughter and friends were going to make me walk the plank. We had a DCL tour by Segway of Rome, it was the highlight of the cruise as it involved driving at speed around the tight cobbled lanes and streets of Rome. We know the city well and visit often and this was great. It started with another silly early start and a special train from the Port to St Peter's, were someone was holding audience. I skipped that, it was so busy.

We visited so many hidden gems and we were only a group of 5, which was so much fun, especially chariot racing round the Piazza Navona with a Texan, which the guide said "the haven't seen the like for 2000 years" we didn't spare the horses.



Fontana Di Tervi



Piazza Navona, River of the Four Fountains, Nile, Danube,Euphartes,Amazon I think? (In Angels and Demons film)



The Pantheon, oldest church in Rome (In Angels and Demons film)




The Roman Forum

I will post some pics of the Vatican/Naples next.

 

[StephenKay]

Me again, (eh)

Here's a couple of pics of the Vatican area, were DCL collect you from and take you home to the ship direct by private charter train, the train's great but the public train is just as good at one tenth the cost and only takes 20 mins more.


Castel San Angelo and Bridge of Angels (Again in Angels and Demons)




St Peter's (For great Ice Cream climb on the cupola tour and you can get great gelato behind the Disciples on the roof)



Our local church, Mary has been to this one more than any other in the last 10 years.



The tomb of St Peter, the first Pope.


Naples/Pompeii to follow.

 

[StephenKay]

I was dead on my feet by now, just wishing they would leave without me in the morning. I don't like Naples apart from the museum which holds all the artefacts from Pompeii/Herculeum. Here's a couple of pics.



Inside the volcano at Vesuivus, you can still see steam venting.



Naples, note the lava flow from the 1944 eruption in the foreground, people still build homes on the slopes.



From this angle, you see the island of Capri and both Pompeii and Herculeum in the foreground.



Imagine, this used to be one hill (if you track both sides, you can see what's been blown off)



Minnie in her Italian Costume

 

[Kirbo]

Love the pictures, StevenKay. Thanks for sharing.

We were on that cruise with you as well.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Thank you for the pictures StephenKay!

 

[p17blo]

Nice one Stephen. Have you considered a whirlwind trip report covering the EBTA ?

 

[twopeasonepod]

Beautiful photos, Stevie! Makes me miss Italy so much. Did you see the Ecstasy of St. Teresa in Rome? That is my fave. I hear ya on feeling tired with all the ports. I felt that way in Alaska. I just want to relax and enjoy the ship!

 

[StephenKay]

Beautiful photos, Stevie! Makes me miss Italy so much. Did you see the Ecstasy of St. Teresa in Rome? That is my fave. I hear ya on feeling tired with all the ports. I felt that way in Alaska. I just want to relax and enjoy the ship!

Hi there,

I have been to see the Ecstasy of St. Teresa in Rome before, it's quite striking and a very powerful peice of sculpture, infact Mary (my wife) read the Dan Brown novel then took us to all the sites on a special previous trip to Rome in 2008, because of this I decided not get her to read the new novel, Inferno, as I know this book is set in Florence and Tuscany in general and I want to stay onboard on the next Med cruise in a couple of months time and it took three days to visit every site and DCL don't give you that time.

We are current at loggerheads as what to do on the next cruise, I want to stay onboard all days and Mary wants to get off in all ports. I fear that if I give in to one port then we will be off in the in all five

 

[StephenKay]

Nice one Stephen. Have you considered a whirlwind trip report covering the EBTA ?

Paul,

I started writing a very indept report, all was well up to the 2nd morning when I was waylaid by others and I found the report whilst packing to come home and felt terrible as I had really wanted to do it. After a while all the days justed mergered into one. I have lots of favourite memories and some fantastic new friends who made this unforgetable.

 

[MandyGirl]

Just poking in to say thanks to everyone for helping make this a fabulous cruise!! . It was wonderful to meet so many friendly and fun people - what a fantabulous group! My laptop crashed in Barcelona so a trip to the Apple store is first on my list so I can start downloading pictures.

We have just started our journey home as we disembarked our Med cruise in Venice yesterday. Flight to Iceland is today..... For those who used Iceland air or spent time there, any tips? Planning on driving the Golden Circle tomorrow and Blue Lagoon tomorrow evening... Final flights home on Wednesday. Are Northern Lights still active maybe like Chris shared a while back?

Btw... We did fine in Istanbul and Ephesus. Could see the black smoke from Taksim square a mile away from cruise port. Athens was cancelled with less than 12 hours notice due to a huge strike, so they changed two days around and we got Dubvronik Croatia instead where we did a full day tour up to Ston for fresh oysters and olive oil and wine tasting along the way. Beautiful area!!! Having only two sea days on a 12 night cruise was quite the opposite of the EBTA haha but we still ran into three other EBTA families quite often on that cruise. . Toulon, Florence / Pisa, Rome, Naples, Mykonos, Istanbul, Ephesus, Croatia and Venice followed by train to Milan. Whooped! But so thankful.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Just poking in to say thanks to everyone for helping make this a fabulous cruise!! . It was wonderful to meet so many friendly and fun people - what a fantabulous group! My laptop crashed in Barcelona so a trip to the Apple store is first on my list so I can start downloading pictures.

We have just started our journey home as we disembarked our Med cruise in Venice yesterday. Flight to Iceland is today..... For those who used Iceland air or spent time there, any tips? Planning on driving the Golden Circle tomorrow and Blue Lagoon tomorrow evening... Final flights home on Wednesday. Are Northern Lights still active maybe like Chris shared a while back?

Btw... We did fine in Istanbul and Ephesus. Could see the black smoke from Taksim square a mile away from cruise port. Athens was cancelled with less than 12 hours notice due to a huge strike, so they changed two days around and we got Dubvronik Croatia instead where we did a full day tour up to Ston for fresh oysters and olive oil and wine tasting along the way. Beautiful area!!! Having only two sea days on a 12 night cruise was quite the opposite of the EBTA haha but we still ran into three other EBTA families quite often on that cruise. . Toulon, Florence / Pisa, Rome, Naples, Mykonos, Istanbul, Ephesus, Croatia and Venice followed by train to Milan. Whooped! But so thankful.

Wow! What an incredible adventure!

Thank you for everything, Mandy!

Bobbi

 

[Kirbo]

Welcome home, Mandy

 

[NancyIL]

Just poking in to say thanks to everyone for helping make this a fabulous cruise!! . It was wonderful to meet so many friendly and fun people - what a fantabulous group! My laptop crashed in Barcelona so a trip to the Apple store is first on my list so I can start downloading pictures.

We have just started our journey home as we disembarked our Med cruise in Venice yesterday. Flight to Iceland is today..... For those who used Iceland air or spent time there, any tips? Planning on driving the Golden Circle tomorrow and Blue Lagoon tomorrow evening... Final flights home on Wednesday. Are Northern Lights still active maybe like Chris shared a while back?

Btw... We did fine in Istanbul and Ephesus. Could see the black smoke from Taksim square a mile away from cruise port. Athens was cancelled with less than 12 hours notice due to a huge strike, so they changed two days around and we got Dubvronik Croatia instead where we did a full day tour up to Ston for fresh oysters and olive oil and wine tasting along the way. Beautiful area!!! Having only two sea days on a 12 night cruise was quite the opposite of the EBTA haha but we still ran into three other EBTA families quite often on that cruise. . Toulon, Florence / Pisa, Rome, Naples, Mykonos, Istanbul, Ephesus, Croatia and Venice followed by train to Milan. Whooped! But so thankful.

Mandy - I'm glad you had a great Med cruise. What a fabulous itinerary! I enjoyed the many sea days on the EBTA, but a more port-intensive cruise like you were on is usually my preference. Have a great time in Iceland!

 

[Tod&Copper]

Hi there,

I have been to see the Ecstasy of St. Teresa in Rome before, it's quite striking and a very powerful peice of sculpture, infact Mary (my wife) read the Dan Brown novel then took us to all the sites on a special previous trip to Rome in 2008, because of this I decided not get her to read the new novel, Inferno, as I know this book is set in Florence and Tuscany in general and I want to stay onboard on the next Med cruise in a couple of months time and it took three days to visit every site and DCL don't give you that time.

We are current at loggerheads as what to do on the next cruise, I want to stay onboard all days and Mary wants to get off in all ports. I fear that if I give in to one port then we will be off in the in all five

I'm still trying to work my way through Dan Brown / Robert Langdon book #3 based in Washington, so I think you will be safe for the Med cruise in August - I won't have read book #4 by then so you're definitely safe for this summer

I agree totally that we were all shattered last week, it is like chalk and cheese the comparison between a port intensive Med cruise and a TA ... maybe we should just choose ONE port and put it to a diplomatic DIS poll

Slight exaggeration Mr Kay that I want to get off in all ports and we are at loggerheads