Disney Magic 12 nt. British Isles Cruise 2017

I think we got spoiled with always being first on this tour and I should have known. Never again.
but fortunately, I only had one really bad experience on this whole trip. Happened at a Starbucks bathroom in Dublin. omg :scared1::scared1:

Can’t wait till we get to that, lol
 
Add me to the list of those enjoying your thorough report.
 
Thank you for posting all of this information. I'm certain I will return to these posts when planning my trip to the area.
 


This is all fascinating. It's amazing how all of it is still there for people to view. I love how detailed your reports are, I feel like I'm there.
 
Thank you for posting all of this information. I'm certain I will return to these posts when planning my trip to the area.
Thanks and definitely look it up later. I hope it proves helpful with your future planning.

This is all fascinating. It's amazing how all of it is still there for people to view. I love how detailed your reports are, I feel like I'm there.
Really amazing I agree. If I hadn't been writing this report, I probably wouldn't have understood half of what I know now. It's been a great way to relive going back. I'm glad you feel some of it too.
 
IV. The ABMC has been promoting their interactive app you can download with tools to assist visitors at Pointe du Hoc.

Linked here: https://www.abmc.gov/news-events/news/explore-battle-pointe-du-hoc-your-smartphone#.WxnGkGxdOJI

I have no idea how well this performs in practice, and therefore can't lend any assistance in that respect.
But there's always that risk technology may not be reliable (as you’ll see when we get to Dublin) - so you might want the brochure as well.
Searching the App Store on my iPhone, the ABMC has several other apps for cemeteries such as the American cemetery in Normandy, Cambridge England, Italy, and cemeteries for WWI soldiers in Argonne.

I’ve also downloaded the Normandy and Cambridge apps for DDay 75 next year along with this for Pointe du Hoc. Normandy I’ll see for sure, still working out England so Cambridge is a possibility.

For some reason they would not come up on a search on my iPad, but once I had them on my iPhone they sync’d to my iPad.
 


Slight regression, Poisin Ivy - what tour company did you use for your Stonehenge at Sunrise tour? For some reason the cruise meets thread for your 2017 cruise is not coming up, and I want to pass that info along to my brother for next year. Thanks.
 
Slight regression, Poisin Ivy - what tour company did you use for your Stonehenge at Sunrise tour? For some reason the cruise meets thread for your 2017 cruise is not coming up, and I want to pass that info along to my brother for next year. Thanks.

Hi @Mathmagicland

this is what we booked:

EVAN EVANS - Stonehenge at Sunrise, Oxford & Windsor Castle

https://evanevanstours.com/sightsee.../stonehenge-at-sunrise-oxford-windsor-castle/

But only because this company had the permits for access on Saturdays in 2017 - (which was the day of the week we needed)

Duration: 9 1/2 hrs.
Prices: Adults £125.00 Children £115.00 Seniors (60+) £120.00

If your brother is interested, he'll need to find the company that is assigned to the day of the week he plans to visit.
And since he's travelling next year - I don't think the schedule for 2019 is out yet.
But Evan Evans seems to have gotten Saturdays for both 2017 and 2018, so you might want to call their US # directly to inquire about 2019.

Crazy!

Here are the 2 main websites with all the information on the exact dates and times (sunrise or sunset) the tours will be operating in 2018 and which vendor has permitted access on which day. (just to give you an idea of the options)

Each company incorporates their own packaged tour to accompany the Stonehenge walk among the stones visit. (so you won't get the Windsor Castle/Oxford with it if it's not Evan Evans)

Link 1) easy to follow links for direct booking with vendors assigned specific days. http://www.stonehenge-inner-circle-tours.com/

Link 2) more detailed website with same information. https://www.londontoolkit.com/tours/stonehenge_special_access_tour_private.htm
(both sites update regularly, so check back for summer 2019)

Good Luck and let us know how you guys make out.
 
Hi @Mathmagicland

this is what we booked:

EVAN EVANS - Stonehenge at Sunrise, Oxford & Windsor Castle

https://evanevanstours.com/sightsee.../stonehenge-at-sunrise-oxford-windsor-castle/

But only because this company had the permits for access on Saturdays in 2017 - (which was the day of the week we needed)

Duration: 9 1/2 hrs.
Prices: Adults £125.00 Children £115.00 Seniors (60+) £120.00

If your brother is interested, he'll need to find the company that is assigned to the day of the week he plans to visit.
And since he's travelling next year - I don't think the schedule for 2019 is out yet.
But Evan Evans seems to have gotten Saturdays for both 2017 and 2018, so you might want to call their US # directly to inquire about 2019.

Crazy!

Here are the 2 main websites with all the information on the exact dates and times (sunrise or sunset) the tours will be operating in 2018 and which vendor has permitted access on which day. (just to give you an idea of the options)

Each company incorporates their own packaged tour to accompany the Stonehenge walk among the stones visit. (so you won't get the Windsor Castle/Oxford with it if it's not Evan Evans)

Link 1) easy to follow links for direct booking with vendors assigned specific days. http://www.stonehenge-inner-circle-tours.com/

Link 2) more detailed website with same information. https://www.londontoolkit.com/tours/stonehenge_special_access_tour_private.htm
(both sites update regularly, so check back for summer 2019)

Good Luck and let us know how you guys make out.
Thank you SO much for all of this info...so helpful. I completely forgot about the day of the week aspect.

My brother had no idea there are tours that go inside the stones. I don’t know which day of the week they will go but it won’t a Saturday as our DDay tour starts on Saturday.
 
As a former student at Texas A& M, Gen Rudder's name was all around ( his statue, building, etc). As is often the case with youth, I had no idea what this brave and truly heroic man accomplished. Thanks for helping me appreciate him more!
 
So we just booked our honeymoon cruise on Disney British Isles cruise. It's only 7 days, but we go to some of the ports you went on this cruise which is great :)
 
Thank you SO much for all of this info...so helpful. I completely forgot about the day of the week aspect.

My brother had no idea there are tours that go inside the stones. I don’t know which day of the week they will go but it won’t a Saturday as our DDay tour starts on Saturday.

So probably a day or two prior depending on how long he plans to be in London. If you click on that second link, they mention an added option to arrange a private group if none of the set dates work out. But I have no idea what that would cost.

As a former student at Texas A& M, Gen Rudder's name was all around ( his statue, building, etc). As is often the case with youth, I had no idea what this brave and truly heroic man accomplished. Thanks for helping me appreciate him more!
That's an amazing story and really telling in a way as to how humble these veterans were and how little the War was spoken of in civilian life as the years passed on. The Rangers pay tribute to Rudder annually in Normandy, and that clip I posted at the start of the Pointe du Hoc segment was part of the ceremony from this year's anniversary.

So we just booked our honeymoon cruise on Disney British Isles cruise. It's only 7 days, but we go to some of the ports you went on this cruise which is great :)
This is great news!! You made an excellent choice. As I keep saying, the BI is a hidden gem and such a amazing cruise. So jealous. Is this the 2019 sail?
 
Searching the App Store on my iPhone, the ABMC has several other apps for cemeteries such as the American cemetery in Normandy, Cambridge England, Italy, and cemeteries for WWI soldiers in Argonne.

I’ve also downloaded the Normandy and Cambridge apps for DDay 75 next year along with this for Pointe du Hoc. Normandy I’ll see for sure, still working out England so Cambridge is a possibility.

For some reason they would not come up on a search on my iPad, but once I had them on my iPhone they sync’d to my iPad.


This is good to know. The ABMC seems to be heavily promoting their Pointe du Hoc app. I didn't realize there were many others. I'll be curious to see how well they function on site.

_______________________________________________________________________

Which brings up another of our personal hurdles on this cruise:

Remember these? (first 2 were mentioned way back when on pgs. 23/24 - https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...les-cruise-2017.3623371/page-23#post-58726560)

"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!)"


Well I can't think of a better time to bring up the next one:

Hurdle #3 - Electronics

Having previously sailed out of Vancouver as well as to Halifax and both the Western and Eastern Caribbean, we assumed it would be easy and convenient to depend on our cell phones off the ship – especially with tracking time, taking photos and basic navigation.

Well this was wrong when it came to the British Isles.

We did the basics:

1. upgraded our phone's T-Mobile plan by adding "NA Stateside Intl talk with MOB" for $15.00 / mo. to avoid excessive roaming charges.
This provided free unlimited international texting and data. It also allowed for international calling in the BI area at .40/minute.

here's the link if you have T-Mobile: https://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/international-calling

2. purchased high end portable phone chargers - capable of at least 2 complete recharges at a fast rate.

All this was fine.

Our problem was contending with online issues.

  • JQ’s phone had terrible internet capability on a T-Mobile Samsung galaxy S6. (Iron Man had the next generation – the galaxy S8 - which worked phenomenally better)
  • Both phone batteries would drain quickly online and continually eat up the portable chargers especially during long excursions.
  • and most tour busses typically had no wifi or a poor signal at best so you were at the mercy of your data plan.
The days spent venturing out in Europe were old school – remote travel, historic sites, outdoor and on foot.
So don’t expect to easily find a signal, or an outlet or be afforded any time to plug in.

Internet capability on the ship was another issue entirely - and not reliable either. (But DCL does seem to keep making improvements in this area)

Solutions:

consider a camera
upgrade your phone
pack a decent portable charger
print out paperwork
wear a watch

And check out this electronics video by rick steves:

It's from 2016 which seems like a lifetime when you're dealing with tech but it's well worth the time to view.

 
Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I did take my family to the Ferme de la ranconniere for dinner. And they LOVED IT! My sister said it was her favorite meal of our trip. If/When she goes back to France she wants to get a room for a couple nights at that little hotel and eat the cheese terrine over and over and over! Thanks for the tip!
 
Disney Magic 12nt. British Isles
Sunday, July 9, 2017 – Dover, England
Day 1 continues...

(weather – sunny high 77 °F / 25 °C)

"I'm on a boat"

and right here is where the Magic begins....


It took 6.5 hours to get to the port of Dover today, and just like that – we were on the ship!

Sporting big smiles as Disney proudly announces our arrival to………………


...an empty atrium


View attachment 283985

Still, despite the lack of fanfare that welcome never gets old.
Iron Man tends to use an alias: started with tony stark; steve rogers; etc…but now it’s more advanced. We gave “Thurston Howell III & Lovey” once for my parents on their first Disney cruise and they loved it. Too funny!

So take advantage and mix it up.

Normally this area is bustling with cruisers as you make your grand entrance.

View attachment 283984

But it was pretty cleared out by now.

View attachment 283986

We were a good 3 hours behind everyone else - and we felt it.

First thing on our to do list was drop our carry-ons in the cabin. Staterooms were open since 1:30pm and we wanted to check out the large porthole.

One of the reasons I keep complimenting our Deck 2 Cat 9B ocean view stateroom #2550 was it's close proximity to the Deck 3 gangway (used many times this cruise)

I'm standing close to the mid ship stairway in this photo. (just around the corner)
#2550 is just 1 quick flight down, right off the atrium with no elevator to contend with.

View attachment 283987

and here I am at the base of the stairs on Deck 2 taking a pic of JQ in front of our cabin door.

View attachment 283993


Stateroom 2550 highlights:
  • Very convenient coming to and from Deck 3 - guest services, port adventures, Lumiere's, the after hours area and the gangway are all right there.
  • easy access to Deck 4 - shopping, the Walt Disney theatre, shutters, the D Lounge (fmr studio sea) and the promenade deck.
  • close to the mid ship Deck 5 areas - kids clubs; Buena Vista theatre
  • price - min. 4-5k cheaper than a veranda for this cruise.
  • large porthole window mid ship - provides a view and brings in natural light with great mid ship location (no motion sickness for any of us)
  • quiet - I mean super quiet. not a sound.

View attachment 283998

source: Disney Magic deck plan from the DIS
http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-cruise-line/wonder-magic-deck-plan.htm

A few inside pics of the stateroom.
(I'll post more to show how well we all fit later)

View attachment 284004

View attachment 284010

View attachment 284011

But the mid ship Cat 9's do book quickly so if you are considering one, reserve it as soon as possible.

Ok it's 2:35 and carry-on's are dropped off.

there's only 40 mins. left for the buffet.

View attachment 284014


Let's eat.


This report is amazing! I am traveling out of Dover next year and DCL transport tends to be my 'go-to'; however, I don't want to arrive to the port so late - does anyone have any recommendations for private transport from the Sofitel at Heathrow to Dover for a family of 4 (kids will be 9 and 4)?
 
Solutions:
consider a camera
upgrade your phone
pack a decent portable charger
print out paperwork
wear a watch

Im in California right now, so doing the opposite of you guys who go to Europe. These solutions I 100% agree with. I have a small point and click Samsung digital camera, I print out ALL tickets, travel plans, confirmation emails and I always wear a watch. I switch off data when Im in USA and keep my phone on Airplane Mode for my entire vacation. I use WhatsAp to keep in contact with friends and family and everyone knows that I will reply and am only contactable when I can connect to free WiFi.
 
Thanks :) Yes its the September 2019 cruise. I'm really excited.

Just looked up that cruise and noticed it's going to Belfast. This might attract a lot of cruisers. It's really a great itinerary for a 7 nt. Congrats on a perfect choice.

Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I did take my family to the Ferme de la ranconniere for dinner. And they LOVED IT! My sister said it was her favorite meal of our trip. If/When she goes back to France she wants to get a room for a couple nights at that little hotel and eat the cheese terrine over and over and over! Thanks for the tip!

This is so great. I'm glad you managed to get there and your family really enjoyed it. I remember that cheese terrine! Your sister has good taste. We would love to go back and try to stay there too. It's such a beautiful place. It was one of our favorite stops as well.

This report is amazing! I am traveling out of Dover next year and DCL transport tends to be my 'go-to'; however, I don't want to arrive to the port so late - does anyone have any recommendations for private transport from the Sofitel at Heathrow to Dover for a family of 4 (kids will be 9 and 4)?

Thank you so much! Glad you're enjoying it and that it has been helpful with your cruise plans out of Dover next year.

Hopefully others will chime in to assist with recommendations in getting to the port earlier via private transport.

One option that may be worth exploring is to contact the Sofitel and inquire with their transportation desk as to how much a private car to get from LHR to the port of Dover is. This is a good starting point to compare pricing vs an outside company. And you know it will be reputable and reliable. So if the cost is similar to what you find on your own, I'd consider having the hotel make all these arrangements for you. They're a great resource.

I did see a black taxi pull up at the hotel that morning to pickup a family of 4 - but I don't know where they were headed. You can ask the transportation desk to price them as well, provided they go all the way to Dover.

Another option, which may be a bit cumbersome but should get to the port earlier, is to book your cruise transfers from the Doubletree and arrange a car into London from the Sofitel. This will cost at least 60 pounds more for that additional leg but I believe those DCL busses began leaving the Doubletree much earlier than ours did.

Good luck and let us know if you find anything out. I would have much rather did what you are planning and wish I had the hindsight to explore these options last year.
 
Just looked up that cruise and noticed it's going to Belfast. This might attract a lot of cruisers. It's really a great itinerary for a 7 nt. Congrats on a perfect choice.
Thanks! Has Disney never gone to Belfast before?
 

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