Cancelled Disney Magic 5 Night Western Europe From Dover 13 September 2020

BadPinkTink

Republic of Ireland is not part of UK
Joined
Mar 13, 2015
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/...se-from-dover/september-13-2020-disney-magic/
Ports
  1. 13 September - Dover - England - All Aboard 4pm
  2. 14 September - Amsterdam - Netherlands - Ashore 8am, Aboard 7.00 pm
  3. 15 September - Zeebrugge / Bruges - Belguim - Ashore 8am, Aboard 5.45pm
  4. 16 September - Le Harve / Paris - France - Ashore 7.30am
  5. 17 September - Le Harve / Paris - France - Aboard 11.59.pm
  6. 18 September - Dover - England- Disembark 7.30am
Paid In Full Date = June 14 2020
Only those who have paid in full can get access to the Online Check In and Port Excursions and On Board Activities Booking

Dates For Online Check In and Booking For Port Excursions and On-Board Activities Opens.
Platinum Level - Starts after 10th completed cruise

Saturday May 16, 2020 - Now Open

Gold Level - Starts after 5th completed cruise
Sunday May 31, 2020 - Now Open

Silver Level - Starts after 1st completed cruise
Monday Jun 15, 2020

New Cruiser
Tuesday Jun 30, 2020

Amsterdam Disney Cruise Line Port Adventures

Zeebrugge / Bruges Disney Cruise Line Port Adventures

Le Harve Disney Cruise Line Port Adventures

Cruise Activities Confirmed
Tuesday 15 September Freezing The Night Away Deck Party

Thursday 17 September Palo Brunch

This cruise has an overnight in Le Harve. :) On the 2019 11 Norwegian Fjords Cruise from Dover there was an overnight in Reykjavik. The MDR that night were Open Seating. Lumiere’s was open from 6pm to 8.30pm, Rapunzel’s Royal Table from 6.30pm to 9 pm , and Cabanas from 9pm to 12 midnight. As we have an over night in Le Harve, its very likely we will have the same Open Seating for dinner that night.


Cruise Information Posts
Before You Arrive in London - The Basics
  1. currency and money
  2. timezone plugs / sockets/ voltage
  3. International phone numbers
  4. driving
  5. weights and measures
  6. temperatures and weather
  7. words and phrases
Flying To UK from Ireland

All About Flying To London / England / Europe

Using The Train in England
  1. Booking a ticket in advance
  2. Using the self service ticket machines
  3. Seat pitch and size
  4. All about London Oyster Cards for London Underground Tube trains and buses
Review of Comfort Inn Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria area in London
Breakfast at Comfort Inn Buckingham Palace Road

London and Dover Information
  1. Overview of tubes, trains and Oyster card
  2. Things to do and places to see in London
  3. How to get to Dover from London
  4. Tipping
  5. Weather
Where To Stay In London

How To Get To Dover From London
Using DCL Transportation
Using the train


Meet Ups
There will also a be a pre cruise meet your cruise mates organised for Saturday 12 September in Dover, and an embarkation day on board meet your cruise mates organised for Sunday 13 September. The time and location for both these meet ups will be announced after Paid In Full Date 14 June 2020. All are welcome at these meet ups, even if you are not part of the Fish Extender Exchange.

Fish Extender Signup
If you would like to be included in a Fish Extender Exchange for this cruise, send me a PM with the following information and I will add you to the list. The sign up for this list will close on Paid In Full Date 14 June 2020 and you will be then given information about who is in your Fish Extender Exchange group.
  1. Stateroom
  2. Family Last Name
  3. Room Occupants (include age at time of sailing for kids) Gender specification for adults or kids is optional
  4. Celebrations
  5. Allergies/Concerns
  6. Favourite Characters
Cruisers
BadPinkTink - Ireland - First time cruiser - solo- First / Main Dining 5.45pm
Lill - Norway - Second cruise
GoofyNewfie - Canadian living in London, Gold Castaway Level
Tink&Belle's Mom - 3rd and 4th cruise
TammyNC
UVAWahoo
emilymad
Garryjames22
 
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Hold onto your Mickey Ears, I'm going on a cruise :Pinkbounc:Pinkbounc

I've just paid the deposit for my first ever cruise and my first time on a Disney ship. And I'm solo on the cruise!

Background
I've been thinking about doing a Disney cruise since I first found out the Disney Magic comes to Europe for the summer season. September is the month that suits me best, and for the first few years Disney Magic was doing the Mediterranean routes in September. However, when I became really seriously thinking about booking a September Mediterranean cruise, Disney switched the routes, and started going to the Mediterranean in June and July!

For the last few years, the September routes have been the Northern Europe routes so I held off. Year after year I excitedly waited for the September routes announcement, hoping for Mediterranean.

This year, again Northern Europe in September, in 2019 and 2020. Last week I again started looking at the 2020 September routes and I just thought, oh why I am waiting for Mediterranean. The main reason I want to do Disney Cruise is that I want to experience the ship and cruise the Disney way. Is the route and ports THAT important, as I live in Europe and most of the countries are a 2 hour flight and I can take a city break very easily.

So here we are, I am now booked on the 5 Night Western Europe From Dover 13 September 2020.

I'm guessing that this will be one of the quieter cruises. As its September, there wont be much families, as most children and teenagers will be back in school. Also its the last European route before the Westbound Transatlantic back to America.

Hopefully there will be a few more Disboards people on this cruise. If not this thread will just be my pre planning thread
 
ok, lets get this show on the road

Where To Stay In London

As this cruise starts and ends in Dover, I'm sure there will be many people who will take a few days either pre or post cruise to visit London.

Open Google Maps
London is huge but dont' panic.

The most obvious area to stay at in the Kings Cross St Pancras area as this is where the train to Dover departs from. There are a number of hotels within a 10 minute walking distance of the train station
  1. Travelodge London Central Euston,
  2. Premier Inn London Euston
  3. St Pancras Renaissance
  4. Travelodge Central London Kings Cross.

Some people may prefer to stay at the airport, Heathrow or Gatwick.

Heathrow Airport Hotels
  1. Radisson Blu
  2. Premier Inn
  3. Ibis
  4. Park Inn by Radisson
  5. Leonardo Hotel
  6. Hyatt Place
  7. Thistle
  8. Sofitel
  9. Hilton
  10. Double Tree
  11. Travelodge
Gatwick Airport Hotels
  1. Premier Inn
  2. Travelodge
  3. Airport Inn
  4. Holiday Inn
  5. Hilton
Some people may prefer the Disney Cruise Line recommended hotels
  1. Hilton London Gatwick Airport
  2. Sofitel London Heathrow Airport
  3. JW Marriott Grosvenor House London
  4. Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill
Chains I would recommend in London
  1. Travelodge
  2. Premier Inn
  3. Comfort Inn
  4. Thistle
  5. Marriott
  6. Hilton
  7. Double Tree by Hilton

Areas I would recommend in London
  1. Kings Cross St Pancras
  2. Victoria
  3. Covent Garden
  4. Southwark
  5. Marlebone
  6. Marble Arch
  7. Westminister
  8. Waterloo
  9. Bayswater
  10. Knightsbridge
  11. Kensington
 
I had previously written a thread about London
https://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-magic-how-to-do-london-like-a-local.3654997/
I have linked the posts with the main information, but the whole thread is worth a read as there are some great questions and answers from other posters

Before You Arrive in London - The Basics
  1. currency and money
  2. timezone plugs / sockets/ voltage
  3. International phone numbers
  4. driving
  5. weights and measures
  6. temperatures and weather
  7. words and phrases
Flying To UK from Ireland

Using The Train in England
  1. Booking a ticket in advance
  2. Using the self service ticket machines
  3. Seat pitch and size
  4. All about London Oyster Cards for London Underground Tube trains and buses
Review of Comfort Inn Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria area in London
Breakfast at Comfort Inn Buckingham Palace Road
London and Dover Information

  1. Overview of tubes, trains and Oyster card
  2. Things to do and places to see in London
  3. How to get to Dover from London
  4. Tipping
  5. Weather
 


Pre-Planning Update

As the cruise is still over 1 year away, I'm trying to not do alot of planning just yet but it is hard.

I have downloaded the APP and on the website I have claimed my cruise. When I log in I can now see my itinerary and order pre-arrival gifts for my room if I want to.

There is also a cut countdown on the App, which I love.

I have started my cruise binder and folder. There was a sale on at Dublin Disney Store so I bought a new notepad and some pins for trading.

In the folder so far I have
  1. printed out deck plans and marked where my stateroom is and which elevator is nearest my room
  2. Port information for each of the ports from Disney Cruise website
  3. Disney Excursions list for Amsterdam , the list for Zeebrugge and La Harve are not available yet
There is a huge amount of info available here on Dis. I'm reading trip reports and scrolling back through the main forum section and writing down all the hints and tips I come across in my new notebook. When I fill a page in the notebook, I tear it out and put it in my main folder / binder.

I have found online the most recent previous personal navigators for Le Harve and Amsterdam, as well as the most recent Dover embarkation days personal navigators. As far as I can find Zeebrugge is a new port for Disney cruise, as I can find any previous personal navigators.

I have found online instructions for making a Fish Extender and I have book marked the fabric I want to buy online.

For my room door decorations, I have started gathering magnets and will buy some more when I go to Disneyland California next June before the cruise.

I have also bookmarked on the UK Disney Store a water bottle and I may buy a plastic drinks with straw cup. I'm not sure yet which to buy.

I have decided I will fly to London the day before the cruise and get the train down to Dover and stay the night before the cruise in Dover. After the cruise I ill get an afternoon flight back to Ireland on disembarkation day.

I have looked at the hotels in Dover and decided which one I am going to stay at the night before the cruise.

I have decided that for dinner in the MDR each night I'm going to Disney bound to match the theme of the restaurant. I have been Disney bounding the last few years when I go to Disneyland California, so I'm just going to use some of the same outfits and create some new ones.

Its far to early yet to book the hotel or flights or train tickets, I'll do all of that after Christmas.
 
As I live near Amsterdam and come there every week, may I take this opportunity that the Canal and Sky excursion (AM04) is much cheaper when you do it on your own? The cost is $69 for adults, while doing this on your own is $15-20?
Look at websites of: https://www.lovers.nl/ or https://www.rederijkooij.nl/en/canal-cruise/original-amsterdam-canal-cruise
You can order tickets in advance, the websites are in English.

thanks, that could be useful for other people on the cruise :)

I'm not going to do any excursions. My plan for Amsterdam is to do a hop on hop off bus tour and eat at Hard Rock Cafe. Its one of my travel traditions, that when I go to a new city I visit Hard Rock Cafe, as I collect pins and merchandise :) I 'm only planning to be in Amsterdam a few hours, as I want to experience the ship and the onboard activities and amenities as much as I can
 


oh dear, lol, I seem to have run into the infamous controlling admin over on the dark side , oopsie, bad me, I wonder will I still be in the group by the time I get to Dover :cool2:

oh well this is my main planning thread anyway, and you know what, I'd rather talk to myself here and not be any group then to be in a group run by people who are most likely not even on the cruise!!

edit... Update
and gone, been removed from the darkside group. I was told by admin that my unsolicited information posts were not wanted, even though the members loved the information and then suddenly the admin put up a post about group rules which said that links to Disboards would be deleted. When I asked the admin why this new rule, they repeatedly refused to answer, accused me of bullying them, and then removed me from the group. oh well, onwards and upwards.

I will continue talking to myself here in this thread, sharing my planning, and any other information about the cruise, and the ports. Hopefully over the next few months there will be others here on Dis on the cruise. and we can organise our own Fish extender and meet ups.

and just a reminder to lurkers and readers, there is no one person person in charge of meet ups and fish extenders on a cruise. There is not one "official" darkside group for a particular cruise. Disney does not have any affiliation or connection to these so called "official " darkside groups. These particular controlling darkside admin are all connected and many of the admin are not even booked on the cruise, so be warned.

and that concludes the PSA for today, your regular cruise planning will continue in the next post :)
 
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Transatlantic Flights or in other words how the heck to I get to Europe 🤔

Most people will fly from USA to London. There are 2 London airports, both of which are technically NOT in London. Heathrow, is the largest international airport. It is located 1 hour west of London. Gatwick is a smaller airport and it is located 1 hour south of London. Flights into and out of Heathrow are usually more expensive than Gatwick, as Heathrow charges airlines higher landing fees than Gatwick.

There are multiple options which will depend on your budget and your pre and post cruise plans.

There are a huge variation in flight routes, depending on your location in the USA and your nearest airport.

Some people will be lucky and be able to take a direct flight from their nearest airport to either Heathrow or Gatwick.

Some people will need or choose to take a domestic flight and then connect to an airport which will have a direct flight to either Heathrow or Gatwick.

Some people will be able to take a direct flight from their nearest airport and then need or choose to have a layover in an European country to connect to a flight to either Heathrow or Gatwick.

Some people will need or choose to take a domestic flight, and then will need or choose to take a flight from USA which has a layover in an European country to connect to a flight to either Heathrow or Gatwick.

If you have to book a flight itinerary which has a layover or connecting flight, make such to find out if it is all on one ticket. If it is all one ticket, it means you will get a boarding pass for all your flights at your first check in and your luggage will be checked through to your final destination. If it is not all on one ticket, you will have to collect your luggage after your first flight and check in for your second flight.

When researching airlines, make sure to research carry on and checked luggage weight allowances and sizes. Dont just assume all airlines have the same specifications and weight allowances. For example the flight from Paris to London will most likely have a smaller carry on and checked luggage weight allowances and sizes than a transatlantic flight.

The cheapest airline from USA to Europe is Norwegian Airlines. HOWEVER please research this airline and its routes thoroughly. It has a similar operating system to Southwest, with various ticket price levels, and where various parts of the flying experience, such as checked luggage, in flight food and entertainment etc are priced separately. They fly only on specific days from a select number of USA airports.

Dont just research USA based airlines. There are a huge number of European airlines which fly the same routes as USA based airlines and their prices may be cheaper than USA based airlines. I always use www.skyscanner.com which is flight comparison website to research routes and prices
 
I just realised there are no photos yet, so here you go. The start of my pre planning.

This is my cruise binder. These are my print outs of the deck plans folder.jpg

My most recent buys from Dublin Disney store, my pre planning notebook and a plastic re-usable Peter Pan soda / drinks container. I plan to use this on the cruise for the deck 9 soda station. And yes of course I will use the paper cups provided to fill it :)

notebook.jpg
 
Pre Planning Update

I've started gathering magnets for my stateroom door. Some of the magnets will be decorations for the outside and some are for me , for the inside of the door.

Talking of my stateroom door decorations, I have decided on a theme, hopefully it will work out the way I want.

I'm still ever hopeful that I'll find some cruisemates before the cruise and be able to do a fish extender exchange. I had thought about making my fish extender from scratch but when I went to some fabric shops this week, the fabric I wanted wasn't really suitable. I have now ordered a hanging organiser from Amazon which I will customise.

I have been reading lots and lots of personal navigators to familiarise myself with the layout and the different activities and things to do. There is a huge amount of info on these Disney Personal Navigators so I looked for a way that I could condense down the info just to whats relevant to me. I found a link to a home made navigator / daily planner and I have used that as a base to create my own daily planner. My plan is to fill in my personal daily planner after I check in and wait to board at Dover and then each night for the next day. I will use magnets to display it on the room side of my stateroom door.

As I plan to spend more time on the ship than in the boards, my on board outfits will be Disney Bounding outfits. I have a couple of outfits which I wear in Disney parks but as this cruise is 5 days I need some more. . As of right now, I don't know whether we will have a Frozen night or a Pirates nights. I already have a Pirates Disney Bounding outfit, so this week I started on my Frozen Disney Bounding outfit. I also plan to do a Rapunzel outfit for the Tangled night.

When I go ashore and explore Amsterdam, Zeebruge / Bruges and Le Harve, I will just be wearing regular clothes.
 
Hi there BadPinkTink! I have just booked this cruise for myself and my partner and in my afterbooking-excitement am looking for information on the Internet. And wow what a thorough thread you have created here!

About us - we are a couple from Norway and this will only be my 2nd Disney cruise (but if everything goes well, my overall 4th cruise). For my partner it will be 2nd cruise. Our kids (we have them 4 between us) will be at home on this one. School..:)

I am quite well travelled in Europe and some in US too but would probably need some tips etc on couple of the ports and even London.
We will probably fly in to London a day before the cruise and take the DCL transfer from Double Tree Victoria to Dover on the 13th. I think we’ll spend a couple of days after the cruise exploring in Dover and surrounding area as in London we have been before and will always come back to anyway.
I am so excited even when I see that it’s the whole 400 (!) o_Oo_O days until our cruise!

Btw the FB group seems quite nice too. Are you there or is this the one you were talking about and where you got kicked out?:oops: I just joined the group yesterday.
 
As I live near Amsterdam and come there every week, may I take this opportunity that the Canal and Sky excursion (AM04) is much cheaper when you do it on your own? The cost is $69 for adults, while doing this on your own is $15-20?
Look at websites of: https://www.lovers.nl/ or https://www.rederijkooij.nl/en/canal-cruise/original-amsterdam-canal-cruise
You can order tickets in advance, the websites are in English.
Hello Karin! How far from the city center is the Amsterdam port and are there good city transport options from the port?
I have been to Amsterdam and loved the city and would like to just stroll/bike in the city and not do any specific excursion there.
 
Hello Karin! How far from the city center is the Amsterdam port and are there good city transport options from the port?
I have been to Amsterdam and loved the city and would like to just stroll/bike in the city and not do any specific excursion there.
The terminal is about a 15-20 minute walk to Amsterdam Central station, from there you have access to all public transportation, including bike rental.

For the dare devils ;) I would suggest to takw the train and go to Utrecht (25 minutes), Leiden (35 minutes), The Hague (55 minutes). Amsterdam is taken over by tourists and is not the city it once was. All these 3 cities have a lot of history to them like Amsterdam, interesting museums etc.
 
The terminal is about a 15-20 minute walk to Amsterdam Central station, from there you have access to all public transportation, including bike rental.

For the dare devils ;) I would suggest to takw the train and go to Utrecht (25 minutes), Leiden (35 minutes), The Hague (55 minutes). Amsterdam is taken over by tourists and is not the city it once was. All these 3 cities have a lot of history to them like Amsterdam, interesting museums etc.
Thank you for the suggestion! Oh yes I have read about Amsterdam’s overload of tourists tje recent years. I was there in 2008 or 2009! Omg - over 10 years ago!
But I’ll definitely concider Hague or the other options. Are the trains reliable and go often?
 
Thank you for the suggestion! Oh yes I have read about Amsterdam’s overload of tourists tje recent years. I was there in 2008 or 2009! Omg - over 10 years ago!
But I’ll definitely concider Hague or the other options. Are the trains reliable and go often?
Unless there is heavy snow, which is not common in September :), the trains are reliable. Intercity trains to The Hague go every 15 minutes, will also stop at Leiden. In addition there will be some local trains.

The website is also available in English https://www.ns.nl/en
For the Hague in the time table, best to use the Dutch name: Den Haag Centraal.
 
Unless there is heavy snow, which is not common in September :), the trains are reliable. Intercity trains to The Hague go every 15 minutes, will also stop at Leiden. In addition there will be some local trains.

The website is also available in English https://www.ns.nl/en
For the Hague in the time table, best to use the Dutch name: Den Haag Centraal.
It’ the same in Norwegian - Haag :)
 
Hi there BadPinkTink! I have just booked this cruise for myself and my partner and in my afterbooking-excitement am looking for information on the Internet. And wow what a thorough thread you have created here!

About us - we are a couple from Norway and this will only be my 2nd Disney cruise (but if everything goes well, my overall 4th cruise). For my partner it will be 2nd cruise. Our kids (we have them 4 between us) will be at home on this one. School..:)

I am quite well travelled in Europe and some in US too but would probably need some tips etc on couple of the ports and even London.
We will probably fly in to London a day before the cruise and take the DCL transfer from Double Tree Victoria to Dover on the 13th. I think we’ll spend a couple of days after the cruise exploring in Dover and surrounding area as in London we have been before and will always come back to anyway.
I am so excited even when I see that it’s the whole 400 (!) o_Oo_O days until our cruise!

Btw the FB group seems quite nice too. Are you there or is this the one you were talking about and where you got kicked out?:oops: I just joined the group yesterday.

waves hi, yippeee, there is someone else and I'm not just talking to myself any more. :Pinkbounc

Thanks, I plan to add more this weekend, my aim is one information post every weekend. I figured even if I didnt find any one else here on DIS, then at least the information could be used for other European cruisers :)

Cool, I lived in London for 4 years and I go back regualry to see my friends. My next trip to London will be at Christmas, so I can check out lots of things for you.

I know, I try not to check the App too often at the moment, the next milestone will be when we get to 365 days :)

We are not allowed to talk about the dark side on here, and I will only be posting planning information here. You need to stay here and post and talk to me here if you want my help and to get to know me :)
 
The terminal is about a 15-20 minute walk to Amsterdam Central station, from there you have access to all public transportation, including bike rental.

For the dare devils ;) I would suggest to takw the train and go to Utrecht (25 minutes), Leiden (35 minutes), The Hague (55 minutes). Amsterdam is taken over by tourists and is not the city it once was. All these 3 cities have a lot of history to them like Amsterdam, interesting museums etc.

thanks for this info, oooh this is so tempting, I have distant cousins who live in The Hague, I wasnt planning on contacting them, I just wanted to do a hop on hop off bus tour and have lunch in Hard Rock. But I bet somehow they will find out about me being on a cruise which stops in Amsterdam, oh well, lets wait and see if they find out through the family grapevine and contact me.

Do you know if there are shuttles from the cruise ship into the main area of Amsterdam?
 
waves hi, yippeee, there is someone else and I'm not just talking to myself any more. :Pinkbounc

Thanks, I plan to add more this weekend, my aim is one information post every weekend. I figured even if I didnt find any one else here on DIS, then at least the information could be used for other European cruisers :)

Cool, I lived in London for 4 years and I go back regualry to see my friends. My next trip to London will be at Christmas, so I can check out lots of things for you.

I know, I try not to check the App too often at the moment, the next milestone will be when we get to 365 days :)

We are not allowed to talk about the dark side on here, and I will only be posting planning information here. You need to stay here and post and talk to me here if you want my help and to get to know me :)
I would gladly be here and post and ask here on Diaboards. The dark side!? 😆😆😆

Well, one of the thingsI loved with my last cruise and what I miss with the other cruise line I’ve used is the «dark side» cruise groups. I am not interested in FE and lugging presents with me after the cruise and me and my partner (Thomas) are unfortunately not very dress up people either although I love people that do dress up or Disneybound (was this the term?). But I liked the fact you’d find people to do non-disney excursions with. And just having trivia etc while the cruise seems so far away.

If you are from Dublin then you need to know that we loved your city ( also Howth) when we were visiting couple of years ago. We also began to appreciate Guiness on that trip 😀

Thank you for starting the thread here!
 

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