A Trip of Firsts ~ WBTA 2018 Trip Planning - 7/24/18 Update

Small update, not worth a large heading or anything ...

We are currently working on completing our PIF before the PIF date (May 12), which we should accomplish here in the next few weeks :)
After that, we kind of have goals/plans for every month afterwards:
- May = Fun English stuff (Harry Potter tour tickets & Ritz Tea reservations)
- June = Check in/onboard reservations
- July = Transportation bookings (trains to/from London, car service locally, etc)
- August = Misc., such as currency ordering from bank, gratuities, etc.
Obviously, if we are able to book/reserve something early, then we'll go on the next item on our list. Though, the train transportation really cannot be booked until July at the earliest.

So, that's where we are right now and why I haven't updated, just saving away for the most important expense of the cruise itself.

I hope everyone had fun during their Spring celebrations :flower3:

P.S. It's snowed 6+ inches here in Minneapolis today :eek:
 
Wow wee zow wee you are certainly prepared! This has been a fun read. Since I am a solo traveler and a Senior with bad knees
I just want to make things as easy as possible. After much deliberation I am staying at the St Ermin's hotel which is not far from Victoria station and the Doubletree. It is a very "English" looking hotel, has some interesting spy history and has a lovely tea room so all I have to do is go downstairs.
I will then take the Disney bus to Dover. Don't want to lug suitcases up and down tube steps and have been to Dover before on my last cruise WBTA.
Wish I had done the inner circle Stonehenge tour but the stones are really cool...and so are the crows (or ravens) that seem to guard them!
 
Wow wee zow wee you are certainly prepared! This has been a fun read. Since I am a solo traveler and a Senior with bad knees
I just want to make things as easy as possible. After much deliberation I am staying at the St Ermin's hotel which is not far from Victoria station and the Doubletree. It is a very "English" looking hotel, has some interesting spy history and has a lovely tea room so all I have to do is go downstairs.
I will then take the Disney bus to Dover. Don't want to lug suitcases up and down tube steps and have been to Dover before on my last cruise WBTA.
Wish I had done the inner circle Stonehenge tour but the stones are really cool...and so are the crows (or ravens) that seem to guard them!

I'm glad I can help ^_^ If you have any questions that I haven't covered, please feel free to ask :)
I heard that the Disney transportation bus is $60 and sounds like the perfect option for you :)
Do you have some days in London to where you may be able to go to the tour? There are a few other tours but the one we booked with is the best one for our schedule.
I started my search on this website: https://www.londontoolkit.com/tours/stonehenge_special_access_tours.htm perhaps it can help you find one that fits your schedule?
 
Thanks, I was at Stonehenge last year, just did not do the inner circle tour. Think I will just stay in London. Planning the Buckingham tour, although the complete tour lasts for hours and hours.
Not sure I will be up to it all and shopping too!. Thought about the theater but seats are as expensive as Broadway in NYC. May not be in the budget, even with the cheap seats.

By the way, the Magic is a pretty little ship. You will like it. Oh and call DCL a week or 2 before the cruise to find out which movies will be playing on the ship. On my WBTA we saw the newest Pirates movie before it was released to the theaters! We will get all the first run Disney movies on a rotating schedule
 
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UPDATE

While not a great update, it is an update regarding this trip.
April 11th is when Rich and myself found out that he was laid off. It was not due to performance but because he was the one with the lowest seniority and they had to get rid of someone. The thing is, he had lowest seniority because we moved to Minnesota because they hired him. We moved for the job that laid him off. He had been working there for only 5-ish months.
We were quite upset.
The next day he did get an offer and as the week went on, he received many offers. He did finally settle on one this past Friday (April 20th) which has an amazing benefits package and pays $2 more then the company that laid him off. His first day is today and they're still doing paperwork and doing intro things.
Obviously, money relates to these trips in every single way and this is no different. Our paid in full date is May 12th and I'm truly hoping we can make it by the date before having to ask for an extension. Due to us saving for this cruise, we have had enough saved to cover our bills while he was job hunting and for the beginning of next month.

The option to cancel the cruise is not one we have. We will be able to afford it but the timing of the lay off and final payment is just making me entirely nervous.

If anyone has had experience asking for a PIF extension, please let me know how that went and how long you were able to extend it.


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Thanks, I was at Stonehenge last year, just did not do the inner circle tour. Think I will just stay in London. Planning the Buckingham tour, although the complete tour lasts for hours and hours.
Not sure I will be up to it all and shopping too!. Thought about the theater but seats are as expensive as Broadway in NYC. May not be in the budget, even with the cheap seats.

By the way, the Magic is a pretty little ship. You will like it. Oh and call DCL a week or 2 before the cruise to find out which movies will be playing on the ship. On my WBTA we saw the newest Pirates movie before it was released to the theaters! We will get all the first run Disney movies on a rotating schedule

We are doing the same, as you can see :) I wouldn't be doing Stonehenge at all if it weren't for Rich's first time visiting :) I did the same as you a few years back with visiting the heritage site.
What does the Buckingham tour include?
Oh, are you wanting to shop or not shop? I'm not a huge shopper but definitely enjoy a few souvenirs :)
I completely agree with Broadway. We wanted to see Wicked while in London but we ended up not doing it so we can do the Inside Stonehenge tour. It would be nice to add a day after the cruise with NYC Broadway (for Frozen) but we can't really do that either.

I figure the Magic will be the same as Wonder with a few exceptions, like Rapunzel and the slide :) The smaller ships are nicer, I like the layouts better.
I have taken a look at Disney release movies for this year and it doesn't look like any will be released while at sea. But I'm sure we'll have the Incredibles 2 on there!
 
UPDATE

While not a great update, it is an update regarding this trip.
April 11th is when Rich and myself found out that he was laid off. It was not due to performance but because he was the one with the lowest seniority and they had to get rid of someone. The thing is, he had lowest seniority because we moved to Minnesota because they hired him. We moved for the job that laid him off. He had been working there for only 5-ish months.
We were quite upset.
The next day he did get an offer and as the week went on, he received many offers. He did finally settle on one this past Friday (April 20th) which has an amazing benefits package and pays $2 more then the company that laid him off. His first day is today and they're still doing paperwork and doing intro things.
Obviously, money relates to these trips in every single way and this is no different. Our paid in full date is May 12th and I'm truly hoping we can make it by the date before having to ask for an extension. Due to us saving for this cruise, we have had enough saved to cover our bills while he was job hunting and for the beginning of next month.

The option to cancel the cruise is not one we have. We will be able to afford it but the timing of the lay off and final payment is just making me entirely nervous.

If anyone has had experience asking for a PIF extension, please let me know how that went and how long you were able to extend it.
I have seen on disboards people posting about getting an extension. It wasn't for long if I remember correctly, less than a week.
 


UPDATE

While not a great update, it is an update regarding this trip.
April 11th is when Rich and myself found out that he was laid off. It was not due to performance but because he was the one with the lowest seniority and they had to get rid of someone. The thing is, he had lowest seniority because we moved to Minnesota because they hired him. We moved for the job that laid him off. He had been working there for only 5-ish months.
We were quite upset.
The next day he did get an offer and as the week went on, he received many offers. He did finally settle on one this past Friday (April 20th) which has an amazing benefits package and pays $2 more then the company that laid him off. His first day is today and they're still doing paperwork and doing intro things.
Obviously, money relates to these trips in every single way and this is no different. Our paid in full date is May 12th and I'm truly hoping we can make it by the date before having to ask for an extension. Due to us saving for this cruise, we have had enough saved to cover our bills while he was job hunting and for the beginning of next month.

The option to cancel the cruise is not one we have. We will be able to afford it but the timing of the lay off and final payment is just making me entirely nervous.

If anyone has had experience asking for a PIF extension, please let me know how that went and how long you were able to extend it.

Sorry about the job. I had the same thing happen to me two months before cruise in 2001. We decided to go through with the cruise anyway. It was a great mental reset for me and when we got back, I was able to dive into the job search with renewed vigor.
 
I have seen on disboards people posting about getting an extension. It wasn't for long if I remember correctly, less than a week.
Okay, thank you. I'll be sure to do a search as well :)

Sorry about the job. I had the same thing happen to me two months before cruise in 2001. We decided to go through with the cruise anyway. It was a great mental reset for me and when we got back, I was able to dive into the job search with renewed vigor.
Thank you. I'm glad you were able to go through with the cruise at that time! By the sounds of it, you did end up finding a new job ;)
We did some rough calculations and we may not even have to dip into our cruise savings to pay for bills before PIF ... I hope it's true!
 
We are doing the same, as you can see :) I wouldn't be doing Stonehenge at all if it weren't for Rich's first time visiting :) I did the same as you a few years back with visiting the heritage site.
What does the Buckingham tour include?
Oh, are you wanting to shop or not shop? I'm not a huge shopper but definitely enjoy a few souvenirs :)
I completely agree with Broadway. We wanted to see Wicked while in London but we ended up not doing it so we can do the Inside Stonehenge tour. It would be nice to add a day after the cruise with NYC Broadway (for Frozen) but we can't really do that either.

I figure the Magic will be the same as Wonder with a few exceptions, like Rapunzel and the slide :) The smaller ships are nicer, I like the layouts better.
I have taken a look at Disney release movies for this year and it doesn't look like any will be released while at sea. But I'm sure we'll have the Incredibles 2 on there!


Bummer about the job but at least good luck came out of it. (the old saying, when a door closes, a window opens). I would like to take in Harrods and Selfridges, but other than that I am not into shopping that much. There are all sorts of Buckingham Palace tours. Some with a bus tour, some with Windsor Castle attached, some with a boat cruise up the Thames etc. Some of self guided, some have a human guide.
If you go directly through the Palace, there is something called the Royal Day Out. Or you can pick and choose one of the 3 tours. There are different combinations
  • Your Royal Day Out will last approximately 4.5 - 5 hours:
  • You will begin your Royal Day Out at The Queen's Gallery, followed by the Royal Mews, concluding your visit at the State Rooms, visiting all three venues on the same day.

Think I will not plan on anything the day I arrive except maybe a walk around, Westminster Abbey, Tea at the Ritz and Selfridges. The next day I will
do a tour of the Palace, then Saturday, who knows yet, maybe a bus tour or a museum or 2. By Saturday I should have a better lay of the land.
 
Update

:jumping1: PAID IN FULL :jumping1:

Finally, paid in full :) It has been a rollercoaster making this cruise work and I'll detail it below:

  1. We booked this cruise about a year ago and since then have had to take out a loan and do a surprise move for a job.
  2. In order to keep this cruise, I had to not attend the Princess 1/2 Marathon weekend even after fundraising $800 (the money did go to the kids). It was heartbreaking. The weekend meant a lot for me.
  3. We have been living in my boyfriend's parents' house since we moved to Minnesota (in November) and was invited to do so because they wanted to help us save for this cruise. Though, we miscalculated the cost of living here (pretty much the same as the Chicago burbs) and figured out that we would not be able to move out even after the cruise.
  4. On April 11th, my boyfriend was laid off. It put our lives into chaos! It was so stressful :( This is the job that we moved up to Minnesota for in the first place. He only worked there for about 5 months.
  5. He ended up getting another job which pays more (started on April 23rd). By getting this new job, we took a look at our finances and found that we COULD move out but it would have to be quite an affordable place (and safe).
  6. Due to the lay off and the gap in pay, we were quite worried about making PIF in time.
  7. THEN an apartment I was stalking popped up and we put down a deposit on April 30th
  8. We were then crazy worried about the PIF date without asking for an extension. Just so stressful again.
  9. As you can see, we did make the date in time due to some stricter budgeting and we ended up getting the apartment! (just found out yesterday)
    • The apartment is a studio, 564sq ft, in a safe neighborhood, has an attached garage, washer/dryer in unit, dishwasher, recycling program and in a small/quiet complex :) All that for under $1k/mo including utilities!
  10. We will be moving into our new apartment on July 21st, a day before my birthday.
Whew! There we go :D Now we just need to save for the rest of our activities for the vacation and save to make sure we have rent and bills covered while we are gone on vacation. We should be able to do it! More strict budgeting is needed though :)

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So pleased things have worked out for you. Congratulations on having a place of your own!
 
WOW! Super, super exciting! Congrats on the new place and YAY FOR PIF!!!!
Thank you so much, for both! I just can't believe we actually made it. We wouldn't have been able to put the deposit on the apartment if we weren't saving for this trip, oddly enough.

So pleased things have worked out for you. Congratulations on having a place of your own!
Thank you very much :) It's an exciting day, that's for sure! I'm also glad it worked out, everything has been kind of falling in place.

Think I will not plan on anything the day I arrive except maybe a walk around, Westminster Abbey, Tea at the Ritz and Selfridges. The next day I will
do a tour of the Palace, then Saturday, who knows yet, maybe a bus tour or a museum or 2. By Saturday I should have a better lay of the land.
Yeah, I don't like reserving anything for the first day either, jetlag can really get to you. Maybe on Saturday you can do those palace tours?
 
Well, scrimping now to enjoy a possible dinner or brunch at Palos will be so worth it!!
 
Well, scrimping now to enjoy a possible dinner or brunch at Palos will be so worth it!!
Awe, I truly hope you can achieve that goal. We are doing the same, those desserts just cannot be withheld from us! :laughing:

Everything works out for the best, Kris.
Thank you very much :hug: I'm still not sure what xactly who you are but I truly appreciate your kind words.
 
Awe, I truly hope you can achieve that goal. We are doing the same, those desserts just cannot be withheld from us! :laughing:


Thank you very much :hug: I'm still not sure what xactly who you are but I truly appreciate your kind words.

What I am or who I am? You know me on our social media page as one of the admins,Sandy.
 

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