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Old 15 Aug 16, 08:46 PM  
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#11
Scruffette
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Very Serious Dibber
 
Join Date: May 12
With a week to go, I thought I’d share our daily plans. Like most dibbers, I love a plan! However, as always there is some flexibility. Where possible, I’ve tried to book attractions in advance to help with budgeting and to avoid standing in long queues in the August heat.

Daily plans

Day 1 – Travel to Salou, Chill day

We have an early flight today at 6.30am, so we are aiming to be parking the car at 4am, ready to be at bag drop 2 hours before the flight. We booked airport parking with JetParks when they had 10% off a couple of months ago (although they seem to offer this most of the time!). We’ve always got taxis/public transport in the past, but this was a really good price at around £30. We’ve booked the ringway as it was slightly cheaper than the main one. (On a side note, if you’re travelling in rush hour, the amount of time it must take the buses to get through the traffic to Jet Parks 3 and + is ridiculous).

We’re only planning on getting to the airport 2 hours before, so not sure what we’ll have time for breakfast wise.

I will do what I do best on the plane and nap. (If you’ve read any of our other reports, you’ll know I can fall asleep anywhere…. Great Movie Ride, Voyage of Sinbad stunt show, Terminator to name a few…)

Once we land (around 10.05am local time) we’ll get a bus to Salou and check into our hotel. The day will be spent relaxing. Yes you read that right – a relaxing part to the holiday! I think we’ll need it after the early start.

Now, I’m not sure if Salou is quite my cup of tea. In my head I have visions of it being full of Brits who do nothing but lie on the beach for two weeks getting sun burnt and drunk. The only reason we’re visiting Salou is for Port Aventura. However, I’m going with an open mind and am hoping to be proved wrong about Salou!

We’ve looked on Tripadvisor to find some restaurant suggestions for lunch – we do this a lot in Europe and we’ve found some gems we never would have eaten at before. We will dodge all the restaurants that advertise ‘real British food’ proudly – if I’m in Spain I want vaguely Spanish food please!

Dinner is included in our hotel stay. The reviews seem reasonable and apparently house wine is 1,30euro a glass. All this will be f`ollowed by an early night!

Day 2 – Port Aventura

It will be a bright and early start this morning. We’ll eat breakfast at the hotel (meat and cheese filled croissants makes up my European holiday breakfast staple).

Then it’s onto the bus to Port Aventura to get there for opening. We’ve pre-bought our two day tickets from Attraction tickets direct for £35 and have them to print at home.

Ollie’s been here twice before, so I’ll be following his guide on which rides to head to first. I will be avoiding anything particularly scary looking with any loops. Like this…



Or this



Lunch will be fast-foody in the park, and dinner again at the hotel.

Day 3 – Port Aventura and travel to Barcelona

The day will start out like yesterday - breakfast, park, rides.



Late afternoon we’ll head back to the hotel to pick up our things and get the train to Barcelona. We’ve booked these in advance for 8,8euros each and get in a 7.35 pm.

Here we’ll probably use the metro (buying the T10 cards I think works out most economical) and check into Hotel Gaudi.
For dinner, we’ve picked out a few options on trip advisor that are all fairly nearby to the hotel.

Day 4 – Barcelona

Today is an action packed day – with only one day in Barcelona we want to see as much as possible!

I visited Barcelona on a school trip just over 10 years ago and Ollie has never visited, so we’re fitting a lot in.

After stocking up at breakfast (included in our hotel), we will make our way via metro to Sagrada Familia. We’ve pre-booked tickets for 9.30am including going up one of the towers and audioguide (29 euros each). We didn’t know which one to pick and saw recommendations for both, but picked Nativity in the end because it faces the sea (I think!).



After the Sagrada Familia, we’ll get the metro and then walk to park Guell, where we’ve also pre-booked tickets (7€ each). I visited 10 years ago and remember it being pretty. This was back in the days when you didn’t need tickets, but hopefully with the ticketing system it won’t be too busy.

After Parc Guell, we just want to see as many of the significant architectural buildings as possible, but we’re quite happy seeing them from the outside. We also want to check out La Boqueria market near Las Ramblas.

We’re using the metro for a lot of our travelling around. It seems fairly straight forward and we can buy a 10 journey pass that we can both use.

For dinner, we’ve looked on trip advisor to find some recommendations and will hopefully eat at one of these.
If we’re still awake, we’ll watch the magic fountain of Montjuïc in the evening.
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Old 15 Aug 16, 08:57 PM  
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#12
Scruffette
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Join Date: May 12
Day 5 – Embarkation



It’s Cruise time! Not too early a start and a nice leisurely breakfast this morning. Although, only a light breakfast is essential to save plenty of room for Cabanas.

Our PAT is 11am, but we will make sure we’re at the port slightly before this, even if it means lots of waiting around.

There is a port bus at the end of Las Ramblas for a couple of euros each which we’ll take to the port.

Hopefully, we won’t be on board too late. On board we hope to book some drinks tasting classes (mixology hopefully).

Then, it’s lunch time! My plate from cabanas will probably look similar to this.



I’m sure there will be ice creams or diy coke floats on the pool deck to follow.



We’ll be checking out our stateroom when it’s ready after 1.30pm
Normal embarkation day activities to follow including the lifeboat drill and sail away party.

I loved the shows on the Dream last time so am very excited. I’m sure these will be a high light for me again.

As you may have guessed, Ollie and I quite like our food I’m hoping to use this trip to try lots of different and new items. We’re also excited at the prospect of meeting our table mates. We were on our own table last time but are looking forward to seeing who Disney pairs us with!

After dinner we might check out any adult’s only entertainment. If we have room, we might order late night room service milk and cookies.



Day 6 – Sea Day

Today should be a nice chilled day. Either breakfast or lunch will be a sit down as we have the luxury of time.

We’re pre-booked the frozen meet and greet (purely to meet Olaf) for 2pm. Today is the frozen day (I think) so I’m sure they’ll be some Frozen-related activities.

There’s no real plan for the rest of the day, but hopefully they’ll be some trivia, drawing classes or alcohol tasting on offer. Ollie may try to drag me on the Aquadunk.

I think this evening is formal night, so we’ll be moderately dressed up. The evening of course will be a show and dinner combination.
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Old 17 Aug 16, 09:29 PM  
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#13
Scruffette
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Join Date: May 12
Day 7 – Salerno

Originally, Naples was on our itinerary.

We had everything planned – trains to the Herculaneum, a walking tour of Naples and lunch plans (Hello deepfried pizza pocket). We had important things marked on a map of Naples, including a supermarket to stock up on water and prosecco.

Disney then threw a spanner in the works and changed the port to Salerno. Thanks Disney. This change came pretty late in the game in May. Apparently there is no room in Naples for us to dock – surely they knew this before!

We were a bit disheartened by the change and lost our planning mojo a bit. It took a few weeks before we could look at Salerno.



In fairness, it does look beautiful…

The plan now is to get the train from Salerno to Pompei (I’ve only just pre-booked our tickets). A brief wander round Salerno will follow and we’ll get back on board early afternoon.

Salerno is a lesser known port, which means it has been really difficult to find information. I was even finding contradicting information on where the ship would dock. I eventually emailed Disney who provided me with the address. It’s a bit of a trek so we’ll probably get a bus to the train station.

I’m sure we’ll see the show before dinner, and try not to be in bed too late as the next day will be busy.

Day 8 – Civitavechia (Rome)

We are not tour group kind of people. With this in mind, we wanted to find transport to and from Rome, and then do our own thing. Disney wanted $99 dollars for the privilege of driving us to Rome. No thank you. I know you can get the train fairly easily, but I’m a little paranoid about Italian trains and getting back to the ship on time. (I know we’re taking the train in Salerno, but Pompei is much closer to port and we’re only a planning a half day so there is lots of contingency time).

We’ve booked via Viator for a coach transfer to Rome. I got the confirmation through straightaway and the details of the local company used.

The tour drops us off near the Vatican, which will be our first stop. This is our main focus (I really want to see the Sistine chapel) so we’ve booked the tickets in advance to skip some of the line. Although, I have been warned they rush you through pretty quickly.



After this, it will be a case of trying to see as much as possible! We’ll get the metro to the Colosseum, I’m quite happy to see this from the outside. Then we’ll see what we have time for, before getting the metro back to the Vatican for our pick up. The pick up is pretty early, but at least this gives us lots of contingency time to get back to the ship!

Our usual routine of show-dinner will follow.
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Old 17 Aug 16, 11:06 PM  
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#14
l33na
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Join Date: Oct 10
Can't wait to read your report. I've just re read your report on the dream. We went on the dream last month and oh how I wish I could book another. Have a fabulous holiday.
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Old 22 Aug 16, 03:20 PM  
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#15
Scruffette
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Join Date: May 12
Originally Posted by l33na View Post
Can't wait to read your report. I've just re read your report on the dream. We went on the dream last month and oh how I wish I could book another. Have a fabulous holiday.
Thank you so much I can't wait to explore another Disney ship!
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Old 22 Aug 16, 03:23 PM  
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Scruffette
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Join Date: May 12
Day 9 – Livorno (Florence)

Another Disney port change (from La Spezia), but this was just after we booked. It’s also closer to Florence, so that’s ok

Again, we’ve booked transfers to Florence with Viator. It took 24 hours to be confirmed, but we have the details of the local company.
Again we’ve put together a walking tour of Florence including Piazza della Signoria, Piazza Santa Croche, Piazza Michaelangelo (for great views of the city), Ponte Vecchio and Mercato del Porcellino.



We also plan on a nice leisurely Italian lunch with massive pizzas and a glass or several of Prosecco.

Our coach should get us back to the port in plenty of time, and we’ll enjoy the normal evening festivities on board.

Day 10 –Villefranche

We’re not planning on Cannes or MonteCarlo like most of the excursions head to. Villefranche looks really pretty and I love a little French Town. We’ll go for a nice walk and try to find a French Patisserie. (I’m sure we’ll trip advisor this!). After a few busy days a more chilled approach will be nice.



We’ll be back on board for an afternoon of relaxing and a leisurely evening.

Day 11 – Day at Sea

And... relax. Or perhaps eat?

We have Palo brunch booked for 10am. This looks amazing and every review I have read raves about it.

We also have the Princess gathering booked in the morning.
The afternoon will be spent waddling around after all the food I’m planning on consuming at brunch. We’ll also try to take part in some of the activities on offer.

This evening will be sad as it’s our final night

Day 12 – Disembarkation and home

I’ve only been on one cruise so far and I can already tell you that I’m not a fan of disembarkation day.

It will be a quick breakfast before disembarking.

Our flight home is at 1pm (recently changed from 1.40pm)

Depending on timings, we’ll either get the metro or the bus to the airport.

The flight is via Madrid, so we might grab a snack between flights. We arrive in Manchester at 5.25pm and will pick up the car before driving home.

And that concludes the daily plans. This trip seems short compared to our 19 nighter last year, but it was meant to be an ‘off’ year!
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Old 23 Aug 16, 01:36 PM  
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#17
DisneyDreamer81
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Join Date: Sep 15
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Wow! Everything sounds amazing! We went to Rome last year and I fell in love with it. The Sistine Chapel is incredible. We didn't feel too rushed tbh but they do try to keep you moving, given how many people there are to see it.
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