Disney Magic 12 nt. British Isles Cruise 2017

I'm another one who travels with just a carry on and a purse. We don't like to wait for luggage or worry that it'll get lost somewhere. And we will still not show up for dinner in jeans and T-shirts. I never heard that you can't re-wear items for warmth - I don't get why the properties of the clothes would change if worn once. Alaska was the hardest trip so far as far as packing goes and that was because of the cold and changing weather conditions. So far we're planning the same for our upcoming cruise, and will be bringing lots of layers (including a base layer, fleece and rain shells) and also doing laundry. It's just easier for us to not be lugging around a ton of stuff wherever we go. I really hope it'll be enough.

I don't know how you guys do it? My parents have this system but I swear in all my pics my dad is wearing the same shirt the whole trip. Too funny.
To pack only a carryon is amazing especially for AK.

I love your routine and wish I had the discipline to do this. Really impressive. Thanks for sharing.

The clean clothes rule is an old one. I'm dating myself but it goes way back. I did a lot of stuff outdoors as a kid and raising my kids.
Today fabrics have changed a lot. You're right about those layers. IMO it's that base layer that's critical.

Here's an old army clip from 1945 on all this:

http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs/wwii/ColdInjury/AppendixB.htm

Clean Clothing:
Clean clothing is warmer than dirty clothing because grease or dirt helps conduct heat away from the body.

But I'm so glad we're on this subject. What to pack and wear is a major topic of discussion that deserves attention.

so here's an FYI for all of us future cruisers out there: it's a good REI summary on the effective layers to wear @mmmears is pointing out.

titled "layering basics"

https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/layering-basics.html

Excellent. Thanks
 
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Well I don't wear stuff that's dirty. That wouldn't make for a nice trip at all. But outer layers don't need to be washed every time they are worn. We have also been known to hand wash "delicates" and hang them to dry to avoid spending too much time in the laundry room. We do tend to take pretty basic items so they all match, so yes there isn't much variation in the pictures. A friend of mine has a better system where they take stuff they are ready to get rid of, so they just toss as they go, emptying up lots of space to purchase new items. But her kids pointed out that they look awful in pics since they were pretty much wearing stuff that they had outgrown on trips. :rotfl:
 
Well I don't wear stuff that's dirty. That wouldn't make for a nice trip at all. But outer layers don't need to be washed every time they are worn. We have also been known to hand wash "delicates" and hang them to dry to avoid spending too much time in the laundry room. We do tend to take pretty basic items so they all match, so yes there isn't much variation in the pictures. A friend of mine has a better system where they take stuff they are ready to get rid of, so they just toss as they go, emptying up lots of space to purchase new items. But her kids pointed out that they look awful in pics since they were pretty much wearing stuff that they had outgrown on trips. :rotfl:

This keeps getting better! Love that friends strategy. I need to up my game!
 
I am loving the packing comments. My DH is the same way. He can pack for a week in a carry on! Why? because he is bald. He takes very little personal products (okay and one pair of shoes). I have crazy curly hair and my bag of hair product alone takes up too much space. I have tried using travel size containers and I just feel like I end up wasting annnnd playing guess whats in the tube when I forget to label them or it washes off in the shower. Good thing I am not a makeup person. :-)

Did all the excursions from this port have long travel times?
 


I am loving the packing comments. My DH is the same way. He can pack for a week in a carry on! Why? because he is bald. He takes very little personal products (okay and one pair of shoes). I have crazy curly hair and my bag of hair product alone takes up too much space. I have tried using travel size containers and I just feel like I end up wasting annnnd playing guess whats in the tube when I forget to label them or it washes off in the shower. Good thing I am not a makeup person. :-)

Did all the excursions from this port have long travel times?

LOL! I can imagine your hair full of mystery product at the wrong time :)

IIRC, all of the excursions were long days (the shortest maybe 8 hours?) so best guess, 90 min to 3 hours travel time for the excursions...unless you stayed in Le Harve. Once main reason I (not to hijack the thread) stayed onboard.
 
LOL! I can imagine your hair full of mystery product at the wrong time :)

IIRC, all of the excursions were long days (the shortest maybe 8 hours?) so best guess, 90 min to 3 hours travel time for the excursions...unless you stayed in Le Harve. Once main reason I (not to hijack the thread) stayed onboard.
ummm yeah I may have used lotion as shampoo once....or twice.

Was Le Harve, the only port that had such travel times, or is this more common on a European trip? I can see why they might go more River Cruise for some of these destinations, that is a lot of travel time. One port maybe, but if it occurs at each port, it was deter me from some excursions I think. This trip report is totally making me rethink how I would approach Europe. I thought ABD or something, but I see the appeal to cruising. If only I could take a few weeks off sometime and do both.
 
ummm yeah I may have used lotion as shampoo once....or twice.
:rotfl:

Was Le Harve, the only port that had such travel times, or is this more common on a European trip?

Again, don't want to hijack @poisonivy's thread but on our Dover to Barcelona cruise, Le Havre was definitely the port that stuck out for long travel time; other excursions in Lisbon and Cadiz had closer ports to activities (ie-some excursions like ours in Lisbon had more bus time, whereas my parents' bus time was minimal...excursion dependent for sure). We're on a Mediterranean cruise this summer and know that from Livorino to Florence is estimated (by DCL) to be 2 hours or to Pisa 45 minutes as well as the port of Civitavecchia to Rome is estimated to be 90 minutes, so a couple of long driving days if you were to do both Florence and Rome. DH and I have been to Florence so we're doing something privately (going to Cinque Terre) and have also hired a driver for Rome so we can make it a shorter day than the DCL sponsored excursions.

I really enjoy cruising (both ocean and river) because I hate unpacking, repacking, etc. Also I appreciate the hotel/food aspect of a cruise ship versus the ubiquitous on your own time with land based tours (known to us as FIND YOUR OWN DARN FOOD LOSER...but that's just my lack of direction speaking I'm sure :) ).

I'm super excited for DH to retire (some days anyway:rolleyes1) so we can do longer Europe trips combining cruising and land tours, too!
 


I am loving the packing comments. My DH is the same way. He can pack for a week in a carry on! Why? because he is bald. He takes very little personal products (okay and one pair of shoes). I have crazy curly hair and my bag of hair product alone takes up too much space. I have tried using travel size containers and I just feel like I end up wasting annnnd playing guess whats in the tube when I forget to label them or it washes off in the shower. Good thing I am not a makeup person. :-)

Did all the excursions from this port have long travel times?

Omg I'm cracking up. This is too funny about your DH and packing! I've really gotta look inside my mothers suitcase next time we travel. Seriously, it's a big mystery as to what is actually fitting in there?

And having straight hair my whole life, it never dawned on me the amount of extra hair care products essential to those with curls. I'm with you. Forget the travel size containers. packing that bag of personal hair care would not be an option.

(btw - one of my girlfriends has a major makeup bag that she can't do without)

I personally checked a full suitcase, and brought on a carry-on with my shoes, a change of clothes and items I couldn't bear to lose plus a large tote with the FE gifts and small handbag inside. I thought this was great considering we were gone for 2weeks. Honestly, it would be really tough to wean myself all the way down to just a carry-on. But I admire those that do.

LOL! I can imagine your hair full of mystery product at the wrong time :)

IIRC, all of the excursions were long days (the shortest maybe 8 hours?) so best guess, 90 min to 3 hours travel time for the excursions...unless you stayed in Le Harve. Once main reason I (not to hijack the thread) stayed onboard.

Yes. Exactly as @tink1970 is saying. Most if not all of the excursions from Le Havre are full day trips with over 2hr commutes each way.
(and never worry on hijacking this thread) I really do appreciate everyone's input and want us all to comment and share. Especially with DCL expanding their ports of call in Europe. The more we can all lend some advice the better. It's great to have you here.
 
Le Havre was definitely the longest! I wouldn't classify this trip as long travel times in general because a lot of the travel times were non-existent. We were right off the port in Dublin, Kirkwall, Liverpool ... other ports too, depending on what excursion you picked. Stonehenge was what? .. an hour/hour and a half from the Portland port? (all I know is that it felt very short compared to Le Havre). I feel like the travel to Edinburgh was about an hour/hour and a half? I'm not exactly sure because we went to Holyrod Palace as well. It felt short. Actually everything felt short and very doable after Le Havre and I LOVED how on many port days you could just walk right off the ship into town! I think the British Isles are extremely well suited to a cruise ship! Everything felt very accessible ... with the glaring exception of Paris.
 
What amazed me in Greenock and Liverpool was how much shorter the bus ride back to the port was than the "scenic" bus ride to the Port Adventure. Don't get me wrong, I loved seeing the countryside but when it cuts my 90 min guided tour of Stirling to 15 min talk and then 45 min to see the castle on my own...I don't need to see the countryside. We had a similar experience when we did the Beatrix Potter museum in Liverpool..We were rushed through the museum and then the lunch followed by "exclusive child activity". My daugther's Peter Rabbit figurine is still 1/2 unpainted :(.
 
ummm yeah I may have used lotion as shampoo once....or twice.

Was Le Harve, the only port that had such travel times, or is this more common on a European trip? I can see why they might go more River Cruise for some of these destinations, that is a lot of travel time. One port maybe, but if it occurs at each port, it was deter me from some excursions I think. This trip report is totally making me rethink how I would approach Europe. I thought ABD or something, but I see the appeal to cruising. If only I could take a few weeks off sometime and do both.

Omg too funny with that line about lotion!

and you're right on point with carefully re-thinking how to approach Europe. We didn't do nearly enough research in the are of travel times.

Since we all went in different directions here, I can only add to what @tink1970 and @JenTen1585 are saying in relation our DCL excursions - which are limited to the BI.

All of our choices had 90min. to 2hr commutes. But don't let that discourage you from booking a cruise. There were so many other excursions to choose from that didn't travel very far at all. I was concerned at first that all that bus touring wasn't going to work out with the amount of driving involved, and was surprised at how easy it was.

The seats were comfortable enough and the time passed quickly just gazing out the window at the beautiful countryside everywhere we went.

Cruising Europe is a definite convenience and remains our preference going forward. We were able to see and do so much with the ship as our "home base". It's a great way to get around.

I'll keep twisting your arm with all that food and fun we had - Cabanas breakfast buffet is coming right up!

:rotfl:



Again, don't want to hijack @poisonivy's thread but on our Dover to Barcelona cruise, Le Havre was definitely the port that stuck out for long travel time; other excursions in Lisbon and Cadiz had closer ports to activities (ie-some excursions like ours in Lisbon had more bus time, whereas my parents' bus time was minimal...excursion dependent for sure). We're on a Mediterranean cruise this summer and know that from Livorino to Florence is estimated (by DCL) to be 2 hours or to Pisa 45 minutes as well as the port of Civitavecchia to Rome is estimated to be 90 minutes, so a couple of long driving days if you were to do both Florence and Rome. DH and I have been to Florence so we're doing something privately (going to Cinque Terre) and have also hired a driver for Rome so we can make it a shorter day than the DCL sponsored excursions.

I really enjoy cruising (both ocean and river) because I hate unpacking, repacking, etc. Also I appreciate the hotel/food aspect of a cruise ship versus the ubiquitous on your own time with land based tours (known to us as FIND YOUR OWN DARN FOOD LOSER...but that's just my lack of direction speaking I'm sure :) ).

I'm super excited for DH to retire (some days anyway:rolleyes1) so we can do longer Europe trips combining cruising and land tours, too!

Great information on the other Mediterranean destinations. It's good to know for planning any European trip.
Totally agree with all the reasons to cruise. The unpacking/repacking and food are big factors for us. Next year will be strictly a land tour (London/France/Germany) but it's all inclusive with hotels/meals so we'll see how that compares. I know we'll be living out of a suitcase for the most part though and that's going to be a challenge. (especially with my inefficient packing)

Le Havre was definitely the longest! I wouldn't classify this trip as long travel times in general because a lot of the travel times were non-existent. We were right off the port in Dublin, Kirkwall, Liverpool ... other ports too, depending on what excursion you picked. Stonehenge was what? .. an hour/hour and a half from the Portland port? (all I know is that it felt very short compared to Le Havre). I feel like the travel to Edinburgh was about an hour/hour and a half? I'm not exactly sure because we went to Holyrod Palace as well. It felt short. Actually everything felt short and very doable after Le Havre and I LOVED how on many port days you could just walk right off the ship into town! I think the British Isles are extremely well suited to a cruise ship! Everything felt very accessible ... with the glaring exception of Paris.

great points. Totally agree that if you want to visit the British Isles, cruising is an excellent way to go!
Normandy, Glastonbury Tor and Edinburgh were all 2hr. commutes for us. But you're right - the drives felt short.
 
What amazed me in Greenock and Liverpool was how much shorter the bus ride back to the port was than the "scenic" bus ride to the Port Adventure. Don't get me wrong, I loved seeing the countryside but when it cuts my 90 min guided tour of Stirling to 15 min talk and then 45 min to see the castle on my own...I don't need to see the countryside. We had a similar experience when we did the Beatrix Potter museum in Liverpool..We were rushed through the museum and then the lunch followed by "exclusive child activity". My daugther's Peter Rabbit figurine is still 1/2 unpainted :(.

Right. This is one of my problems with the DCL excursions. I'd rather get there asap vs weave my way there on a scenic journey and be pressed for time when we arrive. Especially with a long commute. If there's a faster way, they should take it.
 
Well I don't wear stuff that's dirty. That wouldn't make for a nice trip at all. But outer layers don't need to be washed every time they are worn. We have also been known to hand wash "delicates" and hang them to dry to avoid spending too much time in the laundry room. We do tend to take pretty basic items so they all match, so yes there isn't much variation in the pictures. A friend of mine has a better system where they take stuff they are ready to get rid of, so they just toss as they go, emptying up lots of space to purchase new items. But her kids pointed out that they look awful in pics since they were pretty much wearing stuff that they had outgrown on trips. :rotfl:

I am loving the packing comments. My DH is the same way. He can pack for a week in a carry on! Why? because he is bald. He takes very little personal products (okay and one pair of shoes). I have crazy curly hair and my bag of hair product alone takes up too much space. I have tried using travel size containers and I just feel like I end up wasting annnnd playing guess whats in the tube when I forget to label them or it washes off in the shower. Good thing I am not a makeup person. :-)

Did all the excursions from this port have long travel times?

Two ways the carry-on approach works for me: outer layers one day can become inner layers another day, doing double duty. But probably the biggest reason why it works is I am not a shoes person af all. I have two pair max, that have to work for casual plus nicer. I’m wearing one so only packing one. I also don’t do fancy dress-up so don’t need special shoes for that. And, since hotels or cruise ships include some basic toiletries, I tend to not bring a lot of those along.
 
I really think that I would have enjoyed the way your cruise went with Le Havre being the first port. By the time we got to Le Havre my kids had a slight cold. (We had A LOT of sickness on our cruise. They even had crew members manning the soft serve machines which I had never seeen in addition to the drinks which I had heard of it.) We were scheduled to go to Monet's house in Giverny and then Rouen. My husband went on the tour himself and I stayed behind with the kids! He really wanted to do the D Day excursions but they were gone by the time our booking window opened.

When DCL says you have until 3 days before leaving for the cruise (not port) to cancel or change excursions, they mean it!!! We still had to pay for myself and 5 year old. In addition we had tried all cruise to switch my husband to Mont Saint Michel. He ended up going and enjoying Monet's house more than he anticipated.

Can't wait to see and read about your experiences in Normandy. The cemetery is so moving when I was there in 2005.
 
Sorry for the delay everyone. But the Eagles won the Superbowl!! :cheer2::cheer2: And it's been a bit crazy this past week.


Joining in.....such a great TR! We’ve got our eye on summer 2019, so this is such great info!

Thanks so much and :welcome:. I hope summer 2019 comes through! Glad to have you here.

So hoping they move it back to July and make it 12 nights again! Would love to do this one again, but start in France for our prestay this time.

Same here on all points! Would love to do it again and really hope they extend it back to 12nts. A pre-stay in France is an excellent idea and very easy with getting to this cruise.

Two ways the carry-on approach works for me: outer layers one day can become inner layers another day, doing double duty. But probably the biggest reason why it works is I am not a shoes person af all. I have two pair max, that have to work for casual plus nicer. I’m wearing one so only packing one. I also don’t do fancy dress-up so don’t need special shoes for that. And, since hotels or cruise ships include some basic toiletries, I tend to not bring a lot of those along.

Great tips and excellent packing advice. If I weren't cruising, I'd bring along less in the shoe dept. myself. We'll see how I fare next year since I won't have the luxury of a cruise cabin to stow all my stuff. I'll be forced to scale back just to be practical. have to make some tough decisions on what I really need vs what I think I need.

I really think that I would have enjoyed the way your cruise went with Le Havre being the first port. By the time we got to Le Havre my kids had a slight cold. (We had A LOT of sickness on our cruise. They even had crew members manning the soft serve machines which I had never seeen in addition to the drinks which I had heard of it.) We were scheduled to go to Monet's house in Giverny and then Rouen. My husband went on the tour himself and I stayed behind with the kids! He really wanted to do the D Day excursions but they were gone by the time our booking window opened.

When DCL says you have until 3 days before leaving for the cruise (not port) to cancel or change excursions, they mean it!!! We still had to pay for myself and 5 year old. In addition we had tried all cruise to switch my husband to Mont Saint Michel. He ended up going and enjoying Monet's house more than he anticipated.

Can't wait to see and read about your experiences in Normandy. The cemetery is so moving when I was there in 2005.

wow. I had no idea you guys had so many sick on that cruise. I'm sorry to hear about your kids and having to stay behind in France. I can't believe they charged you!! They tried to do the same thing to us on the Fantasy for 2 missed excursions even with a note from the infirmary and I refused to accept it and wouldn't leave the desk until they got the manager. It's wrong that they insisted you pay for your family when there's no way you can take a child who might be contagious on an outing with other passengers.

I'm sorry your husband didn't get to Normandy but am glad to hear he enjoyed Monet's house. That's something I'd love to see.

We really liked the reverse itinerary from 2016. We started off with that very long day in France and ended with a quiet relaxing at Sea day which was the perfect way to balance a long cruise like this.

Normandy is coming right up.
 
Disney Magic 12nt. British Isles
Monday, July 10, 2017

Cruise Day 2 – Le Havre, France

our weather July 10, 2017:

Morning:

Le Havre – (In Port) overcast wind light drizzle 63 °F / 17 °C

Afternoon:
Normandy cloudy high 67 °F / 19 °C

Paris high 73 °F /15 °C

………….continued

breakfast breakfast breakfast

It’s now 7 AM

Less than 2hrs before leaving for Normandy.

Time to eat.

With so much food on a Disney cruise - breakfast is no exception.

today’s choices: (note: the hours change daily)

24 hr. Room Service (there’s always room service)
Starts the minute you board and closes at 1am on the morning you disembark

one of our examples: BLT / coffee / orange juice / fresh fruit bowl

room service 2.JPG


Look for their sunrise continental breakfast flyer in the desk.

DSC02835.JPG

disney magic menu.jpg

6:00 am - Cove Café – specialty coffees, etc. plus a self-serve case of croissants, muffins & danish.
(Note: major refurbishment for 2018)

Cove Café is always open first thing in the morning – even on disembarkation day.

P1010183.JPG

JQ and I only visited once. Their case seemed a grade above Cabanas. More on par with concierge IMO, so it may be stocked from the same source.

P1020295.JPG

Can’t wait to see the new! Cove Café this year.

6:00 am - Cabanas buffet breakfast (our pick)


6:30 am - Daisy’s de lites
– sits right outside the entrance to Cabanas

P1010196.JPG

Very limited in early am w/ yogurt & sliced fruit.

(stock photo)

daisy' delites.jpg


7:00 am - Carioca’s
– smaller buffet
(Note: gone & replaced in 2018 with the new! Rapunzel’s Royal Table)

7:00 am - Lumiere’s – sit down a la carte breakfast menu
We dined here 2x (Day 4 – at sea / Day 12 – at sea) so stay tuned!

here's a sneak peak

P1020863_1.JPG

But Lumiere’s was deserted this morning.

DSC09986.JPG

And I can understand why.

With so many excursions leaving Le Havre very early today, Cabanas really is the best for grabbing breakfast on the fly.

DSC09925.JPG

continued......
 
My favorite breakfast out of all these choices was Lumiere's. Room service was better than I expected, but only as "in between" food. If the Cove cafe is improved I can see going there more often.
 
But Lumiere’s was deserted this morning
With so many excursions leaving Le Havre very early today
And I can understand why.

LOL! I <3 Lumiere's for sit down breakfast and lunch, as well as their dinner. I'm pretty sure on my Perfect Port Day Le Havre, I took advantage of not having to fight for a table :)

So glad you posted, btw, I was starting to worry! There are so many more days and I can't wait to read about them!!
 

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