5/12-5/26, 2007- LIVE from the first MED repo cruise! Now adding PICS! :)

[DVCconvert]

Sounds great! -- thanks for the reports!

[jlawall]

Don't feel bad about the taxidriver....Gilbraltar sounds like the highlight of your trip so far! I'll bet your son will never forget it!!:love: Thx again for all the details!!!!!!!:cloud9:

[DMMarla07860]

sounds like a great trip

[LITTLEKID58]

Awesome Tfs

[CRSNDSNY]

WOW! Sounds awesome!

Great advice for everyone, too.

[jblb1020]

I LOVE the picture of your son with the monkey! That is amazing that they are so friendly. Thanks so much for the reports!

[taysmom]

Great job michelle. Welcome to barcelona. Thanks for the posts!

[icunurse_celeste]

Hey, get ready to get off guys! I'm sure ready to get on!


I'm sitting on the plane now!

[jlawall]

I can't believe the translatlantic is almost over............and the first Med cruise is about to begin................:banana:

[BobandLee]

Hi all,
We made it to Barcelona. At the dock right now.
Fireworks last night were fantastic.
Will start my reports tomorrow. Will be hard to top Michelle's though.

Everyone have a great day....we will.

[2angelsinheaven]

Debbie, sent you a PM. =o)

[EpcotKilterFan]

Yes we are docked in Barcelona!

Actually we were here last night but did not dock. They had a fabulous fireworks show to greet us. Then we went back out to sea for the night.

This morning coming into the harbor there were more fireworks to greet us!

It has been a fabulous trip.

Oh... and last night at midnight ship time, they showed Pirates 3. I did not stay up as it was too late for me. They will be showing it all day today for those that did not want to stay up. But not me... I will spend my day in Barcelona and not in a theater!

Not sure I will be on again to post as it is a busy day and night. Then tomorrow we are off the ship :( But then I go to Disneyland Paris!

Debbie

[Skallywag]

Thank you so much for the postings it has been great hearing all about the trip and thinking of the magic getting nearer this side of the pond.

Glad you liked Gibraltar - I always enjoy it too as it is quite unique I think and as you say so easy to do on your own. Do they still have the changing of the guard I wonder - few years since I was there,

Safe onward journey to all and thanks for looking after the Magic for us.

Inspite of the negative postings in the past about this adventure am sure that the rest of the med trip will live up to everyone's expectations and am certainly looking forward to it myself in a few weeks time.

[2angelsinheaven]

Wow I can't believe it's almost over already, where has the time gone? Thank you to everyone who's been updating us it's been wonderful to hear your thoughts and experiences on this journey. Heres to a safe trip home and can't wait to hear all about the rest of the trip.

[LITTLEKID58]

txs so much for sharing

[Dreamer04]

Its been so nice following along with you all. I can't believe two weeks are almost up! I hope you all had a wonderful time and I wish you all a safe journey home.

But I sure will miss seeing the Magic on the port cam. Take good care of her for us!

[Ski-and-Sea]

Its been so nice following along with you all. I can't believe two weeks are almost up! I hope you all had a wonderful time and I wish you all a safe journey home.

But I sure will miss seeing the Magic on the port cam. Take good care of her for us!

I totally agree.

Its been two weeks already?????? Wow, that went by fast.

[lwilliam]

EVERYONE for their reports......I'm sorry it is over for all of you, I can only imagine how fast two weeks has gone by on The Magic....:love:

Safe travels to all who are departing the ship, and magical dreams are wished for EVERYONE taking the Med cruise this summer:grouphug:

PLEASE, if you are sailing on The Magic this summer, continue the reports (if you have time) - for all of us 'stuck' stateside, they are what keep us going daily.:cheer2:

[jns]

Thanks everyone for posting on your trip
it has be wonderful following you all

so whats the plans now you are in europe
save trip home

[Barbossa]

Thanks to everyone for the trip posts. DW and I have been following them daily, it's almost as if we were on the cruise (almost! :goodvibes ). On to smooth sailing on the Med. :boat:

[misbel]

Thanks to all for posting & blogging. I feel like I was on the trip with you and I learned some geography too!! I don't go on my cruise until July 18th, but I am soooo excited!! I am hoping to start a blog too!!!

[kugalbelle]

Thank you for sharing all the wonderful trip reports and photo's.

[MMM010710]

Had to say thanks for all the Posts you took the time to do on your incredible cruise. I have truly enjoyed ready about your journey. Looking forward to 7/07/07:cheer2: :

[cmash95]

cant believe it's almost over. for those of you who posted, thank you for taking us all along for the ride. it's been lots of fun.

[tfc3rid]

Thank you to all of you for posting on this incredible DCL trip... Wonder if you would do this experience again (TransAtlantic voyage) and if you recommend it for others...

And by the way, welcome to Europe!

[arlenesp]

Thanks:goodvibes

[MJGirl]

Okay ... one more thank you to add ... I appreciate all the comments. Only 33 sleeps until my trip!!!

[PURTYPAT1]

Thanks:goodvibes


Hay Arlene, it's me Patricia. Just want to thank you for all of the "Great Advice" 3 more weeks before our cruise :banana:

Looking forward to the next Med cruisers 05/26 reports


Patricia

[arlenesp]

Hi Patty. Now we have to read the next trip report. I love reading about all the adventures. Hope to catch ya soon.

[cruiseletters]

Thanks to all of you who took the time to post reports and pictures. It has been wonderful for us to follow along. I'd also love to know if you would do this transatlantic crossing again. Have a safe trip home. :cheer2: :cheer2: Robin

[Marypoppinsiam]

I to want to thank everyone who posted during the transatlantic voyage. :goodvibes

[Michelle2]

Hi everyone, thanks so much for all the well wishes, and it really was a pleasure to post reports for the trip. I was so wordy and detailed so that I could have my own account of the trip, kind of like a diary.

I was debating whether to make them so long and detailed so that I would not bore people, so appreciate all of the support.

I also slacked off a little at the end becuause of: Guess one of the following:

1. I was so sad it was coming to an end
2. I wanted to make sure to take advantage of every single minute onboard while I had it.
3. I was running out of internet minutes.

The answer is:



All of the above....:sad: :sad: :sad:
We are disembarking this morning, and yesterday and today I have been really really sad.

I would like to thank my fellow disers, for making this the best trip ever. I was amazed at everyone's generousity, and my son LOVED seeing all of the cute little gifts at our door almost every day.
It was so great getting to know most everyone too. 2 weeks makes it really hard to say goodbye.
Thanks cquick (Colleen) for the awesome fish extender! We absolutely love it and will keep it for every cruise always. :love:

I will be posting more pictures to all of my previous posts as soon as I get home on Tuesday. Who knows, if I have free internet service, I will definitely add more before then.

Today we will be debarking :sad1: :rolleyes: and heading to our airport hotel. We are hoping to see Las Ramblas today, and then will fly out early tomorrow, where we will be staying a day and night with DH's brother in Long Island, arriving late on Monday night. We are excited to get back to our other kids. They are sounded like they are needing us home now.

I will also post my last 2 days trips report too. I have been in denial the last 2 days.....But I would love to post about our last sea day, and Barcelona yesterday.

I am jealous of those coming onboard today and have trips this summer to look forward to. :sad2: But have a fabulous trip, and feel free to ask any questions you might have. I will go through the thread when I get home.
Thanks again for the support, and well wishes, and talk to everyone soon!!

[Dizzyworld]

Thanks for taking the time to post. I really looked forward to reading all the updates.

[webray]

Thanks for taking the time to post. I really looked forward to reading all the updates.

Ditto...the pics and reports have been wonderful. Hubby and I have really enjoyed them.

[disneyjunkie]

Hay Arlene, it's me Patricia. Just want to thank you for all of the "Great Advice" 3 more weeks before our cruise :banana:

Looking forward to the next Med cruisers 05/26 reports


Patricia

The next group has started a live trip report.:yay:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1448391

[todds34]

The next group has started a live trip report.:yay:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1448391


Thanks for the link Disneyjunkie.

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

Thank you so much!

It was fun to follow along and hear how much fun you all had!!!:)

[taysmom]

Michelle...
You're awesome. I enjoyed every report you posted! Thanks again for sharing your vacation with us. Only 18 more days until my daughter and I leave for barcelona. We can't wait. Thanks for getting the magic to the med in one piece!:banana: :banana: :banana:
Steph

[Barbossa]

Michelle,
Thanks again for the great posts. I sympathize with the way you feel about such a wonderful trip coming to an end. We took a 7 day DCL cruise in April and I still miss it. As I've always said (actually just made up), 'Tis better to have cruised and gone home than not to have cruised at all. :) Have a safe trip home!

[dreamcometrue]

thanks for everything Michelle! Have a safe trip home!

[Buttercup]

Thank you so much Michelle! Thanks for taking the time during your vacation to bring it to all of us. Everyday it was so enjoyable to read. I'm looking forward to your pictures.

Also, thanks to the other's onboard that shared their experiences in this post.

Happy and safe travels to all coming home from the Magic!
Buttercup:)

[misseulalie]

Hi everyone, it's been awhile since I posted but I have been having a hard time with the internet. I wanted to at least post a great photo I took in Gibraltar. We loved Gibraltar. Personally we thought Tenerife was waste of time.
I'll post more later...

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f162/jbendriss/DSC01668.jpg

Jennifer

[Verandah Man]

Love the photo Jennifer!!! :thumbsup2

[arlenesp]

Hi everyone, it's been awhile since I posted but I have been having a hard time with the internet. I wanted to at least post a great photo I took in Gibraltar. We loved Gibraltar. Personally we thought Tenerife was waste of time.
I'll post more later...

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f162/jbendriss/DSC01668.jpg

Jennifer

Fantastic!!! Thanks:thumbsup2

[2angelsinheaven]

Way cool photo, thanks for sharing!

[Timon]

Michelle,

Thanks so much for all your reports and photos!!! :cool1: It was AWESOME to take the ride along with you across the Atlantic!!! :banana:

Can't wait for more pics!! But I was hoping you could just add them to your thread in new posts instead going back through your old ones, might be harder to find. :rolleyes1

Hope you have a great trip home!!!! :thumbsup2

[BobandLee]

Hi Everyone. We are back. Long day saturday begining with the 5 am (barcelona time) wake up and ending with the midnight (EDT) arrival at home. That makes for about a 25 hour day. Throw in a couple of flight delays and a few less than ideal airport events, it was an adventure. But worth it considering what a great cruise we had. But if we could not be on the ship, it was great to be back home.

Thanks to Debbie and Jeanette (EpcotKilterFan) and Lynn and Scott (ScottH) for making each of our dinners special. Great people to break bread with. Thanks also to our severs Kumar and Ana, who took great care of us at dinner.

Thanks to Ken and Shari for their work on the lanyards and tees. Was proud to wear them.

It was so great meeting some of our already known Dis-friends and it was really nice to meet some new ones. Such people make a good cruise at great one. Thanks to all of you.

Thanks to Michelle for her trip reports. She was so much more elegant in her writing than I could be, so I left it to her. The pictures were great too.
I tried to do the picture thing, but I did not have the patience with DCL wireless. It was good, but a bit slower than I'm used too. Was told that they were in the process of speeding things up, so maybe the future cruisers won't have to deal with the 2 Mbps rate.

I will post my little bits in the next few days starting with the Vista Spa Villa report.

[jns]

Hi Everyone. We are back. Long day saturday begining with the 5 am (barcelona time) wake up and ending with the midnight (EDT) arrival at home. That makes for about a 25 hour day. Throw in a couple of flight delays and a few less than ideal airport events, it was an adventure. But worth it considering what a great cruise we had. But if we could not be on the ship, it was great to be back home.

Thanks to Debbie and Jeanette (EpcotKilterFan) and Lynn and Scott (ScottH) for making each of our dinners special. Great people to break bread with. Thanks also to our severs Kumar and Ana, who took great care of us at dinner.

Thanks to Ken and Shari for their work on the lanyards and tees. Was proud to wear them.

It was so great meeting some of our already known Dis-friends and it was really nice to meet some new ones. Such people make a good cruise at great one. Thanks to all of you.

Thanks to Michelle for her trip reports. She was so much more elegant in her writing than I could be, so I left it to her. The pictures were great too.
I tried to do the picture thing, but I did not have the patience with DCL wireless. It was good, but a bit slower than I'm used too. Was told that they were in the process of speeding things up, so maybe the future cruisers won't have to deal with the 2 Mbps rate.

I will post my little bits in the next few days starting with the Vista Spa Villa report.
welcome back
glad you had a gret time on our side of the pond
looking forward to hearing all about it

[BobandLee]

Vista Spa Villa
After meeting our spa specialist, Karina and Rae, we were taken to our “Villa” room. Here, we changed into robes and began to soak our feet in a mint solution. After a wonderful foot massage, we soaked ourselves in the Jacuzzi that had milk and herbs added to the water.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Spa2.jpg
This magical relaxing bath prepared us for our massages.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Spa1.jpg
Lee had a seaweed wrap with scalp, foot and back massage. I had the “Karina special” which was essentially an all over body massage. My message was so great that I actually fell asleep. It really felt great.
After the massages was the tea and fruit. We had the recovery tea blend. The fruit was pineapple, melon, kiwi and grapes served on a skewer and orange slices. We had this mini-meal in the over-stuffed, but quiet comfortable chaise lounge bed. Though the wind was a bit brisk this recovery time was very nice.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Spa3.jpg
Although we were in the spa for about 2 ½ hours, it passed so quickly. We could have spent another 2 hours there real easy. It was sad to leave and we would definitely do it again despite the cost.

[webray]

Thanks for those pics and report Bob...can't wait to try those rooms out, they look fantastic!

[Marypoppinsiam]

My DH and I did this on our last cruise and we loved every moment of it also. Your pictures brought back wonderful memories for us.:goodvibes

[Kouris_Family]

Vista Spa Villa
After meeting our spa specialist, Karina and Rae, we were taken to our “Villa” room. Here, we changed into robes and began to soak our feet in a mint solution. After a wonderful foot massage, we soaked ourselves in the Jacuzzi that had milk and herbs added to the water.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Spa2.jpg
This magical relaxing bath prepared us for our massages.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Spa1.jpg
Lee had a seaweed wrap with scalp, foot and back massage. I had the “Karina special” which was essentially an all over body massage. My message was so great that I actually fell asleep. It really felt great.
After the massages was the tea and fruit. We had the recovery tea blend. The fruit was pineapple, melon, kiwi and grapes served on a skewer and orange slices. We had this mini-meal in the over-stuffed, but quiet comfortable chaise lounge bed. Though the wind was a bit brisk this recovery time was very nice.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Spa3.jpg
Although we were in the spa for about 2 ½ hours, it passed so quickly. We could have spent another 2 hours there real easy. It was sad to leave and we would definitely do it again despite the cost.

I just tried to book this and what I actually booked was called Couples Choice for 475.00, not Vista Spa, did I book the correct spa treatment or is it something that has to be booked one the ship?
Kay

[Mmouse1964]

We've booked this for our cruise in August. Is it really worth it, or would a couple of days in WDW be a better option. We will be celebrating our anniversary (20 years:love: ) in November, and I would love a few days away, but it depends on how much $$ the cruise ends up costing us. The transatlantic cruise is "supposed" to be our anniversary celebration, but I'm all for getting as much celebrating in as possible.

[ssnyder]

I'm back home also. It also took me 25 hours to get back to San Diego. I took a shower and went straight to bed and managed (even with 9 hours of jet lag to deal with) to have a good nights sleep. It's catching up with me now and I think I'm going to have to take an afternoon nap.

I wanted to thank all the great DISers for their generous gifts and support while on the cruise.

A special thanks to Debbie (EpcotKilterFan) for keeping me informed as to the status of my grandson's birth while I was away and for using her precious internet minutes to show me the pictures.

Another special thanks to Kathy (LittleOwensMommy) and her DH Doctor Ted for helping me with the ankle support after I walked all the way down from the top of the rock to the ship. Without their help I don't think I would have been able to walk to dinner that night. I'm still wearing the ankle support, but it feels pretty good now.

Several people saw that I was alone and invited me to share lunch with them. Thanks - it was so much fun getting to know everyone!

I know there are others that deserve extra thanks also. Everyone was so special. What a great group of people this board attracts!

[zweihund]

I really enjoyed the live report, thanks to everyone involved! I also want to thank whomever told our friends that their hedgehog was doing ok - they called us today to tell us someone had given them the message :rotfl2: so thanks! :thumbsup2

[tinybubbles]

Took us 25 hours to get to the Bay area, too, along with some interesting moments at various airports. But we survived, and everything.

I had forgotten my DIS boards handle, and went about the ship as fizzymagic. Heh. Nice to meet others from here.

The cruise was great! As with anything, not everything was perfect, but you can really tell that Disney listens to the feedback they get and improves things as they go!

[sourmug]

Hi everyone, thanks so much for all the well wishes, and it really was a pleasure to post reports for the trip. I was so wordy and detailed so that I could have my own account of the trip, kind of like a diary.

I was debating whether to make them so long and detailed so that I would not bore people, so appreciate all of the support.

I also slacked off a little at the end becuause of: Guess one of the following:

1. I was so sad it was coming to an end
2. I wanted to make sure to take advantage of every single minute onboard while I had it.
3. I was running out of internet minutes.

The answer is:



All of the above....:sad: :sad: :sad:
We are disembarking this morning, and yesterday and today I have been really really sad.

I would like to thank my fellow disers, for making this the best trip ever. I was amazed at everyone's generousity, and my son LOVED seeing all of the cute little gifts at our door almost every day.
It was so great getting to know most everyone too. 2 weeks makes it really hard to say goodbye.
Thanks cquick (Colleen) for the awesome fish extender! We absolutely love it and will keep it for every cruise always. :love:

I will be posting more pictures to all of my previous posts as soon as I get home on Tuesday. Who knows, if I have free internet service, I will definitely add more before then.

Today we will be debarking :sad1: :rolleyes: and heading to our airport hotel. We are hoping to see Las Ramblas today, and then will fly out early tomorrow, where we will be staying a day and night with DH's brother in Long Island, arriving late on Monday night. We are excited to get back to our other kids. They are sounded like they are needing us home now.

I will also post my last 2 days trips report too. I have been in denial the last 2 days.....But I would love to post about our last sea day, and Barcelona yesterday.

I am jealous of those coming onboard today and have trips this summer to look forward to. :sad2: But have a fabulous trip, and feel free to ask any questions you might have. I will go through the thread when I get home.
Thanks again for the support, and well wishes, and talk to everyone soon!!
Thank you so much for taking time from your vacation to keep us all informed about your voyage. You kept all of us coming back each day to read your trip report.
I am looking forward to my voyage next spring through the panama canal.
Save journey's home!
martha in al

[2angelsinheaven]

Wow, I just saw a short clip of the fireworks put on as you guys arrived into Barcelona, incredible. I bet it was a once in a lifetime experience. =o)

[BobandLee]

After the wonderful fireworks reception from the night before, it was hard to get much sleep in anticipation of Barcelona. So much history and so many sights. We were up early to watch the ship pull into port. This time for real.
Our excursion in Barcelona was a short tour of the city with 3 stops. The first being at the old Roman area. We got to see parts of the old city and the church that dates back to the Middle Ages that is presently being restored.
The next stop was the La Familia Sagrada church (http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/albums-en/gaudi-sagrada-familia/).
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/LaFamilia.jpg
This church has been in construction since 1882 and probably won’t be finished for another 30 years. It is a sight to behold.
The last stop on the tour was the Spanish Village. This was built in 1929 for the Barcelona International Exhibition. It was constructed to show how small Spanish villages were. The original plans were raze the village after the Exhibition, but it was kept due to public outcry.
After a “scavenger hunt” to find souvenirs, we had Tapas.
We then returned to the ship only to head back out to Las Ramblas for shopping. Here we saw a wonderful mix of not only shopping, but street artists and restaurants. It was wonderful just strolling up one side of the street and back on the other.
Candy at the Market....
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Barcelona1.jpg
Seafood at the Market
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Barcelona3.jpg
Los Ramblas Shops
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Barcelona5.jpg
Street Performer
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Barcelona6.jpg

When we returned we noticed that everything was ship shape for the embarkation process the next day.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Terminal1.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Terminal2.jpg

[BONITATIME]

Great photos.

[BobandLee]

Wow, I just saw a short clip of the fireworks put on as you guys arrived into Barcelona, incredible. I bet it was a once in a lifetime experience. =o)

Yes, the fireworks were wonderful. This is a clip of the first set of fireworks.
It is 42 seconds long. I missed the first 15 seconds.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/th_FireworksMovie1.jpg
(click on the pic) (http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/?action=view&current=FireworksMovie1.flv)

Here is a clip of the finale. It is about 50 seconds long.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/th_FireworksFinale.jpg (http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/?action=view&current=FireworksFinale.flv)

[cbc]

Hello to everyone,
My family and I just got home from taking the Magic to the Med....
What a great trip I noticed all the Tee-Shirts that this group had and a really nice man told me he ordred it on-line so my kids wanted me to see if we could buy some of them I know the cruise is over but it would be a great keepsake and fun to wear to school. We are all so sad it's over and already looking into another DCL trip.

Thank you
CBC Houston TX

[scottishwee35]

BobandLee

Many thanks for showing the photos and fireworks too.

I enjoyed reading the trip report and cannot believe it was over as espeically for two weeks and many thanks for showing the embarkation photos which I often wonder what it like!!

Scottishwee35:thumbsup2

[disneyjunkie]

Hello to everyone,
My family and I just got home from taking the Magic to the Med....
What a great trip I noticed all the Tee-Shirts that this group had and a really nice man told me he ordred it on-line so my kids wanted me to see if we could buy some of them I know the cruise is over but it would be a great keepsake and fun to wear to school. We are all so sad it's over and already looking into another DCL trip.

Thank you
CBC Houston TX

:welcome: :welcome::Welcome to the DIS :welcome: :welcome:

[iluvdisney]

Watching the fireworks again really brings back alot of great memories of this trip for me.

I got home to Detroit late last night and I've got a lot of unpacking to do but I look forward to reading this thread over and over again!

[Verandah Man]

Hello to everyone,
My family and I just got home from taking the Magic to the Med....
What a great trip I noticed all the Tee-Shirts that this group had and a really nice man told me he ordred it on-line so my kids wanted me to see if we could buy some of them I know the cruise is over but it would be a great keepsake and fun to wear to school. We are all so sad it's over and already looking into another DCL trip.

Thank you
CBC Houston TX


CBC :welcome: :welcome: To The DISboards :welcome: :welcome:


:thanks: Bob and Lee :thanks: for the pics and videos of the fireworks!!!

[ssnyder]

Hello to everyone,
My family and I just got home from taking the Magic to the Med....
What a great trip I noticed all the Tee-Shirts that this group had and a really nice man told me he ordred it on-line so my kids wanted me to see if we could buy some of them I know the cruise is over but it would be a great keepsake and fun to wear to school. We are all so sad it's over and already looking into another DCL trip.

Thank you
CBC Houston TX
Here is the link for the T-shirts:
http://www.cafepress.com/may2007ebrepo

[Barbossa]

Great pix, BobandLee, thanks for posting them. :thumbsup2

[jlawall]

Great pics Bob & Lee..............thx for sharing your memories with all of us!!:goodvibes

[rikimuk]

I will be checking this everyday:surfweb: , we also are going to be bringing the MAGIC home in August and this will give us an idea of what is to come:cool1:

Me and my sister were on this cruise and have booked (whilst onboard) the return crossing to Orlando so we will see you there.

Lindsay

[nzdisneymom]

Yes, the fireworks were wonderful.

Thanks for sharing the fireworks!

[Scott H]

Thanks for the Utube stuff, need to read this puppy to see what a good time we had.

[ssnyder]

Could someone repost the link for the fireworks. I missed it and I can't seem to find it.

[nzdisneymom]

Could someone repost the link for the fireworks. I missed it and I can't seem to find it.

Just go back to page 38 about half-way down - you can click right on the picture-thing and it becomes a video.

[ssnyder]

Just go back to page 38 about half-way down - you can click right on the picture-thing and it becomes a video.
I can't get this to work. Nothing happens when I click on the picture.

[nzdisneymom]

I can't get this to work. Nothing happens when I click on the picture.

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=18881667&postcount=561 Go to this specific thread, and then double-click on the pictures - it should open another window and run the video. See if that will work for you.

[BearFan]

NZDisneymom,
I just sent you a PM! :)
BearFan

[ssnyder]

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=18881667&postcount=561 Go to this specific thread, and then double-click on the pictures - it should open another window and run the video. See if that will work for you.
This still doesn't work. Nothing happens when I click (or double-click) on the picture.

[nzdisneymom]

Well, hmmm.... try these direct links:

1st fireworks video (http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/?action=view&current=FireworksMovie1.flv) and

2nd fireworks video (http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/?action=view&current=FireworksFinale.flv).

[becca_n_wa]

[QUOTE=BobandLee;18881652]http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/LaFamilia.jpg
This church has been in construction since 1882 and probably won’t be finished for another 30 years. It is a sight to behold.

Wow, this brings back such memories. :goodvibes We saw this church back in 2003. It is a site to behold!

While looking at the construction, I thought, "Humm...how long can that take?" Another 30 years .....Thanks for the info

Thanks for the picures! ;)

[ssnyder]

Well, hmmm.... try these direct links:

1st fireworks video (http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/?action=view&current=FireworksMovie1.flv) and

2nd fireworks video (http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/?action=view&current=FireworksFinale.flv).
Thanks - that worked!

[Scott H]

Michelle,

What a great trip report, you ROCK!!!!!

I Just finished reading this thread, whilst drinking coffee in a nice new blue mug.

It was so great to meet you all and hope we will sail again, or see ya at WDW or DL or if ya ever pass through WY give us a call.

Oh I forgot, I got to use my notebook from desperate shipmates last week LOL

[iluvdisney]

For me, this was one awesome trip - seeing lots of places I would never have thought possible to visit and meeting so many nice DISers. I had a blast and would do this trip again in a heartbeat - even the rocking and rolling of the Atlantic didn't bother me like I thought it would. I'm actually thinking about trying to get onboard for the crossing back trip but I'm always known as a dreamer!

[BobandLee]

Michelle,

What a great trip report, you ROCK!!!!!
.....
Yes Michelle, you've done a so much better job than I could do.
But I will try to add a little.

I am sorry that it has taken so long to finish up my little bits, but it has been a busy week trying to catch up and I have been fighting a cold. (thanks Linda)

Embarkation Day....
After a smooth flight down from Indy to MCO, we were met at the airport by Cheryl and Bob (Webray). They were so kind as to give us a ride to the ship, with a short stop for supplies :) Thanks again Cheryl and Bob!
Cheking in was smooth and we even got a good rate on an upgrade to a verandah. Figured why not.
We had two Dis-Meets onboard on Embarkation day. The first was a greet and meet for all of us that did not know each other. The second was the actual sailaway party. All the members of the Grass Skirt Fraternity were supposed to wear their grass skirts, but some of us (ME) did not have luggage delivered in time for the sail away. But still, we all had a great time.
The show for the evening was the “All Aboard-Let the Magic Begin”. This show gives the cruisers a chance to sample the entertainment for the week and to meet Captain Thom and his crew. It was hosted by the cruise director Rachel. She was the cd for the westbound Panama Canal cruise. She does a great job.
Our first dinner of the cruise was in Animator’s Pallette. Our dinner companions for this cruise are Lynn and Scott (ScottH) and Debbie(EpcotKilterFan) and her mom, Jeanette. Our sever is Kumar from India and his assistant is Ana from Peru. Very efficient.

[BobandLee]

Castaway Cay
I was up early to watch the ship back into dock. I supposed it was backed in to get a running start leaving for the Med. It is always a treat to watch the ship pull into Castaway as this is one of my favorite places in the world to visit.
I was out on the island first thing to walk to the airstrip and take a few pictures along the way. It was such a beautiful day. The light was so good first thing in the morning and the crowds were small. Great for picture taking. I also wanted to be there early for my picture with Captain Jack. He is only there for a short time and I missed out on our last cruise. :(.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/CaptainJack2.jpg
I also had to mail a few postcards from CC. Since the post office was closed, they had to be mailed from the ship. Supposedly, they were to have a Bahamian postmark.
After a little shopping, we spent the day at Serenity Bay. The adult beach is always great and the bar is even better. We took a short break for lunch. Missed out on the steak sandwiches, but the salmon burgers were good also. Kumar, our server from the ship, was serving there and was so nice to bring refills on chips and drinks.
We could not leave without having a Konk Kooler. A favorite of mine. When the bartender found out my birthday was just 2 days before, he bought us another.
After the sailaway from Castaway Cay, we decided to head up on deck 9 for the Jimmy Buffet tribute night at the Quiet Cove area. What a blast!
A bunch of our fellow Disers were there and DJ Mike was taking Buffett requests and playing them from his Mp3 over the sound system. We got to do Margaritaville and Fins twice along with Pirate Looks at 40 and (cover you ears kiddies) even Why Don’t We Get Drunk (wow! on a Disney ship!).
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/BuffettTribute.jpg
What was really KEWL was that there were folks up on Deck 10 looking down and doing FINS also.
The Island Dinner was at Parrot Cay. Was quite tasty. What a way to end a wonderful day.

[BobandLee]

First Day at Sea...FORMAL NIGHT
The first of the six consecutive days at sea. People are starting to complain about the sea and the weather. Guess they thought it would be fairly smooth like the carribean. As we found out later from those who had done trans-atlantics berfore, the weather and the seas were quite good for the trip.
We attended the Castaway Clubhouse celebration. Lee won an exclusive Castaway Club desk clock. Very KEWL.
Later we went to the DVC meet. We originally were scheduled into Diversions, but with so many DVC members, the meet was moved into Rocking Bar D. Here we sat with a bunch of our group of Disers. Scott won a towel. I think the reason being was that Scott owns a gazillion points.
That evening, I finally try out the in-cabin wiresless internet. It is pricey, but the convenience is just marvelous. Since we have an outside cabin, the laptop doesn’t connect as well on the desk. It does, however, work great lying in bed
We skip the Golden Mickeys. We have seen this show before. It is O.K.
Dinner was at Lumiére’s and it is Formal Night. Everyone is dressed so fine. Formal Night in Lumiére’s is my second favorite dinner after Tropical Night in Parrot Cay.

Second Day at Sea
We had High Tea at Palo. I am not much for tea, but I do enjoy the scones, triffles and the other goodies. When we show up for the tea, they say they cannot find out reservation, but seat us any way. Something is up. We later find out that DCL has lost all of our reservations except the group brunch at Palo. I checked the reservations the Thursday before we left and they were still there. Must have been dumped when we upgraded into the veranda room. Guest Services get everything reserved for us except the Vista Spa Villa. The day is changed for this from Thursday until Monday. That is actually a good thing. Better weather.
Mike Super was the show in the Walt Disney Theatre. He is a very good magician/illusionist.
This evening we are in Animator’s for the show dinner. This is where the black and white pictures on the wall actually become colorful by the end of the evening. The staff’s outfits also change from black and white to one of may colors.

Third Day at Sea
Character Breaksfast in Parrot Cay with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Lilo, Stich and Chip and Dale. This is one the aprons the servers wear at the breaksfast.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Character.jpg
Tsk. Tsk. Some people never grow up.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Stitch.jpg

Fourth Day at Sea
Jammie Breakfast. This always gets a lot of strange looks. It is a fun time and the group photo is such a great thing. I have breakfast with Gene and Cheryl (NewGeneB), Lynn and Scott and Alex, Karen and McKenzie (Rufustee). Very enjoyable breakfast.

Fifth Day at Sea....PIRATE NIGHT
This was also the day of the Dis-brunch at Palo. Always fun. Always good food.
The group consisted of Linda and Robert, Andy and Char, Gydel and her daugheter, Ken and Shari, Debbie and Jeanette and Scott and Lynn.
Before dinner, all of the Disers converged in front of Lumiére’s for the group pirate picture. Seemed like there were more pirates thatwere jammies. Captain Hook was the celebrity joining us for the picture. Kinda hoped for Mickey or Stich.
On our way to dinner we stopped by the Promenade Lounge for a Mojito. Hey it has rum in it, so it is kinda a pirate drink. At dinner I had a (boring) rum and coke, but it still had rum.
Dinner was at Parrot Cay. Most of the diners were dressed in the spirit of the night. Of course the dining staff were also. I had the beef tenderloin this time along with the chocolate layer cake. It was great.

Sixth Day at Sea...Seas are still a bit bouncy. Captain says the things will be much better as we approach Tenerife tomorrow. The temperature is fine, it is just the NE wind and the waves. Not much going on today. Slept in. Rested up for our first eastern hemisphere excursion.
We had our PALO dinner this evening. Always a great experience. Gotta love that chocolate soufflé.
Will be great to get back onto dry land.

[Scott H]

OK now I know who to blame for this cold....

[taysmom]

patiently waiting for more.....;)
S

[BobandLee]

OK now I know who to blame for this cold....

:rolleyes1 kinda like the words to that song...
"some people say, that there's a woman to blame" :rotfl2:

[DenverVal]

or maybe you should continue singing:
"But I know it's my own <darned> fault":cool2: ?

[BobandLee]

OK, here is Cadiz
Great day. It did not really start that way. It was cold and misty as we entered port. We sat in the middle of the harbor for a while. Guess it was while the harbor master decided which side of the harbor we needed to park.
We had an early excursion into Cadiz and Jerez. Cadiz portion of the trip was quite interesting. It’s history goes way back to B.C. The area was first settled by the Phoenicians. Later the Muslims, Romans, Greeks and others.
At Jerez we toured the town and then went to the Tio Pepe distillery. The distillery has quite a history of itself.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Cadiz1.jpg
Casks at the winery....
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Cadiz2.jpg
Tasting area......
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Cadiz3.jpg
Our tasting table. All to ourselves!
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Cadiz4.jpg
After the morning tours, we returned to the ship for lunch. Seemed like almost everyone was out on an excursion as we had the outside portion of Topsiders nearly all to ourselves.
Next we returned back to town. After exiting the secure area, we ran into Kurt and Marlea (Euchre U) and their two little ones. They were so kind as to let us use the remainder of their bus-pass. We used the pass to get a slightly different view of the city than we had gotten during the morning trip.
Thanks!:worship:

[BobandLee]

Gibralter
The rock is quiet impressive. This is something I have wanted to see every since I first view it thru my Viewmaster as a 5 year old kid.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Gibraltar1.jpg
There are very many stories behind the Rock of Gibraltar including the strategic importance of the place to the Barbary Apes that inhabit it. More to read about when we get back.
THE EXCURSION. Well. I don’t know if we are getting spoiled or we expect more and more from DCL, but we thought that this excursion was not up to Disney standards. It was essentially a glorified and expensive bus ride to Marbella and Puerto Banus. There was no naration during the 45 minute ride north or the 30 minutes back. The person leading the tour was polite and answered any question, but that was about it.
The time away from the ship was enjoyable, even if it was just shopping and eating snacks in the various restaurants.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Marbella3.jpg
Having Tapas..........
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Marbella1.jpg
Shopping in Marbella....
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Marbella8.jpg
The Marina in Puerto Banus. NICE!
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Marbella7.jpg

What was fun to me, was that during the excursion we actually crossed the airport runway at Gibraltar. Twice. There is a traffic signal that turns red if there is any oncoming air traffic. Wild.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/Gibraltar4.jpg
(Notice the walking and biking lanes on the pavement)
That evening, Lee and I take in the new show on the Magic, Mickey Dreams. It is a Cirque-style presentation of what Mickey may be dreaming about. It is not bad, but it is somewhat loud as we have found several of the shows to be. It probably needs a little tweaking.
After the show, we did a little shopping in the deck four shops. We did find a couple of bargains and one overpriced ball cap for me. Hey, it had a DCL pirate logo on the front. Arrg!
We then moved on to the promenade deck to watch all the ship traffic through the straits. This is such an unusual sight considering we had seen so few ships at sea in the previous 10days.
An added treat....Dolphins. Lots of them jumping. Even babies. What a sight! And me without my camera.:sad2:

[BobandLee]

O.K., I think that is everything. If I think of something, I will post it.

All of these pictures, plus a few others can be found at PICS (http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/Med%20Repo/)

I will probably add to these plus put together a slideshow.

Later.

[DenverVal]

Thanks for the report, Bob - I really enjoyed you pictures! I am very excited about seeing the Rock, but in order to see the spectacular side, I will have to haul myself out of bed before the crack of dawn and hope the sun is up by the time we approach it from the Mediterranean side, camera at the ready.

I "borrowed" your picture of Gibraltar for my computer wallpaper. I love this view! You can see the lighthouse and the mosque and buildings up at the top...too cool!

[jlawall]

Thx very much for your outstanding pics!!!

[seaulater]

FIREWORKS IN BARCELONA-MAY 24, 2007

Okay, never tried to download a video to here before, but here are the three clips I have of the fireworks. They aren't the best quality, but will give everyone an idea of the actual show:

Clip #1

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v488/seaulater/?action=view&current=VID00017.flv

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/seaulater/th_VID00017.jpg

Clip #2

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v488/seaulater/?action=view&current=VID00019.flv

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/seaulater/th_VID00019.jpg

Clip #3 Finale

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v488/seaulater/?action=view&current=VID00021.flv

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/seaulater/th_VID00021.jpg

[DenverVal]

Ahhhhh, that was nice. Thank you!

[scottishwee35]

Seaulater

That was amazing!!

Scottishwee35:thumbsup2

[seaulater]

Thanks. That was with our cheap $90 pocket video camera I bought at Costco. Here are some still pictures Robert took with our $800 Digital Rebel camera:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/seaulater/Picture3978.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/seaulater/Picture3982.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/seaulater/Picture4024.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/seaulater/Picture4045.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/seaulater/Picture4058.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/seaulater/Picture4064.jpg

Robert's show alot more of the color. The fireworks were truly magical!

[cbc]

Thanks what a fun bunch of people....I'm INTERLINE I fly for CAL,anyone else out there from a Airline if so who!!! My husband and kids had so much fun on the cruise from Orlando/BCN they want to go the other way also.This was our 2nd DCL we did a 7 Day Western in Sept 06 now they are ready to keep going I think it will be a yearly Vacation.(YEA)

[mickey squared]

Hey Michelle, great trip report. I was the one that kept meeting up with you, first at the port at the kids registration and then for Palo ressies. It seemed we were on the same schedule. I was even in front of you for Ducky's talk. We didn't do the same excursions though. We opted for the beach express in Tenerife which was just awesome. Also in Cadiz we did the flamenco dancers which my kids just loved and my 1 daughter got up on stage to dance. Anyway, nice meeting you and maybe we'll sail again together.

Marguerite

[BobandLee]

Nice movies and pictures Linda. :thumbsup2

Finally found this picture online at Mickey News.
http://www.mickeynews.com/PressRelease/CR/Barcelona1.jpg
here's the link (http://www.mickeynews.com/News/displayphoto.asp_Q_id_E_5287Arrives_A_photo_E_Barc elona1.jpg_A_imgid_E_1) to the story.

[mostyn17]

Hi Guys,

I was just wondering if any of you stayed in the Eurostars Grand Marina in Barcelona? We wanted to give this place a try before our tran-atlantic.

Thanks for your help!
Travis

[disneymom7851]

Of all the trip reports, I think this one was the best. Thanks for all the pictures. They were fantastic.

I was wondering if anyone took pictures of Cinderella during Twice Charmed? Not during a character meet and greet but only during the show.

Diane

[todds34]

Hi Guys,

I was just wondering if any of you stayed in the Eurostars Grand Marina in Barcelona? We wanted to give this place a try before our tran-atlantic.

Thanks for your help!
Travis


Hi Travis

I have not stayed here yet but will stay both pre and post cruise on our 18/07 Med cruise. I have not read any reports on the DIS board about this hotel but it does get good review on trip advisor, see the link below.

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/

Hope this helps

pirate: pirate:

[tksbaskets]

everyone thanks for sharing. Bob and Lee I really enjoyed your portion of the trip report...must be the kid in me - I like pictures :hippie:

[BobandLee]

Well, I think my reporting is done.

I would like to thank my tablemates, Lynn and Scott and Debbie and Jeanette, for making dining every night a very enjoyable experience.
Thanks also to our severs Kumar and Ana. Especially Ana who made sure that Scott and I had our after dinner coffee each night.:goodvibes

Thanks to Ken and Shari for all of their hard work on the lanyards and t-shirts. These items got a lot of notice and will make nice keepsakes.

Thanks to Linda for her organizing the group pictures, the jammie breakfast and the scrapbooking. Also for her work with the mini-navigator. Thanks also to Robert who I am sure was quite supporting in her efforts.

And it was great meeting new friends. Especially fellow Indiana natives.

It is all good.....just some is better than others.

Enjoyed the wonderful meals every night. I know that some have equated them to frozen food at costco, but I thought they were great.
My only complaint was that they changed the chocolate slipper.
The picture on the left is what it looked like 2 years ago. On the right, 2 weeks ago.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/other/what.jpg
The chefs need to rethink this one.

Entertainment on the ship has always been a hallmark (forget the bumblesquats).
Really enjoyed all of the shows. But Mickey Dreams could use a little tweaking. Too loud and too busy.
The history lessons by Mr Papavassilou were a bit dry. He seemed to know his stuff, but the presentation was off.

The deck parties were great. Especially Pirate Night. And the fireworks were wonderful. Also, seems we are still talking about the Buffett tribute. FINS UP.

Our stateroom host Wayan did his best to keep our stateroom in tip top shape. He made sure everything was where it should be.

All in all, it was a Lovely Cruise.
Despite a few bumps in the water here and there, we would do it again.
Definitely.:thumbsup2

[BobandLee]

everyone thanks for sharing. Bob and Lee I really enjoyed your portion of the trip report...must be the kid in me - I like pictures :hippie:

KEWL. Me too.:lmao:

[seaulater]

Well, I think my reporting is done.

I would like to thank my tablemates, Lynn and Scott and Debbie and Jeanette, for making dining every night a very enjoyable experience.
Thanks also to our severs Kumar and Ana. Especially Ana who made sure that Scott and I had our after dinner coffee each night.:goodvibes

Thanks to Ken and Shari for all of their hard work on the lanyards and t-shirts. These items got a lot of notice and will make nice keepsakes.

Thanks to Linda for her organizing the group pictures, the jammie breakfast and the scrapbooking. Also for her work with the mini-navigator. Thanks also to Robert who I am sure was quite supporting in her efforts.

And it was great meeting new friends. Especially fellow Indiana natives.

It is all good.....just some is better than others.

Enjoyed the wonderful meals every night. I know that some have equated them to frozen food at costco, but I thought they were great.
My only complaint was that they changed the chocolate slipper.
The picture on the left is what it looked like 2 years ago. On the right, 2 weeks ago.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/other/what.jpg
The chefs need to rethink this one.

Entertainment on the ship has always been a hallmark (forget the bumblesquats).
Really enjoyed all of the shows. But Mickey Dreams could use a little tweaking. Too loud and too busy.
The history lessons by Mr Papavassilou were a bit dry. He seemed to know his stuff, but the presentation was off.

The deck parties were great. Especially Pirate Night. And the fireworks were wonderful. Also, seems we are still talking about the Buffett tribute. FINS UP.

Our stateroom host Wayan did his best to keep our stateroom in tip top shape. He made sure everything was where it should be.

All in all, it was a Lovely Cruise.
Despite a few bumps in the water here and there, we would do it again.
Definitely.:thumbsup2


Thanks for all the kind words.

Totally agree about the Glass Slipper. Beautiful presentation, but YUCK.

Loved the one from 2 years ago, they need to go back to that one. I told our servers.

[DenverVal]

Honestly, I didn't care for the original either, though it was pretty to look at.

[kidcoos3]

I've never had the chocolate slipper - could you explain it to me? Is that white chocolate? And what is in it? What about the one from this year? What is the pink thing? Is the white slipper chocolate?

Thanks~

[DenverVal]

The "original" was made of white chocolate, filled with three different flavors of mousse. I was too full to eat it, and took it back to the room with me "for later" which became the next day. I kept it in the cooler, but maybe it didn't keep well. DD says the cholocate was yummy, and the mousse was gross. I agree about the mousse.

[BobandLee]

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/CanalCruiser/other/what.jpg
Honestly, I didn't care for the original either, though it was pretty to look at.

The "original" was made of white chocolate, filled with three different flavors of mousse. I was too full to eat it, and took it back to the room with me "for later" which became the next day. I kept it in the cooler, but maybe it didn't keep well. DD says the cholocate was yummy, and the mousse was gross. I agree about the mousse.

Oh no.:sad2:
I've had this twice before on a cruise and once at the Grand Floridian.
Great dessert each time. I could imagine the mousse going bad over night in "the cooler".
What they served this time was an abomination. The slipper had next to no flavor and it was served on foundant. Sad.

[Michelle2]

Hi everyone,
So sorry I have not posted for so long. While on the cruise, I found out my last grandparent had passed away. So, as soon as I stepped off of the plane late at night on the 28th, I had to get on a plane immediately the next morning to go to her funeral. As hard as it was to go BACK to the aiport, and go on ANOTHER flight, I am really glad I was home in time to be able to go to it.

I am now adding more pictures and doing the easy links like I started out to do. I still have the last 2 days to finish too. LOL

Awesome fireworks pictures everybody!

[PURTYPAT1]

Hi everyone,
So sorry I have not posted for so long. While on the cruise, I found out my last grandparent had passed away. So, as soon as I stepped off of the plane late at night on the 28th, I had to get on a plane immediately the next morning to go to her funeral. As hard as it was to go BACK to the aiport, and go on ANOTHER flight, I am really glad I was home in time to be able to go to it.

I am now adding more pictures and doing the easy links like I started out to do. I still have the last 2 days to finish too. LOL

Awesome fireworks pictures everybody!

Hi Michelle,

Just wanted to say, I'm so sorry about your grandparent.

Patricia

[Michelle2]

Michelle,

Thanks so much for all your reports and photos!!! :cool1: It was AWESOME to take the ride along with you across the Atlantic!!! :banana:

Can't wait for more pics!! But I was hoping you could just add them to your thread in new posts instead going back through your old ones, might be harder to find. :rolleyes1

Hope you have a great trip home!!!! :thumbsup2

I totally understand. I went back through and did a table of contents to all of the days, so that they are easier to find. I really wanted to post pics with the respective days so that it flows easier? LOL
If I would have had more internet minutes (I did the max 500 minutes too!), I would have done it right in the first place! :) 2 weeks really stretches those minutes out!
Adding more pics now, so I will put a note besides the days that have been updated.

Thanks so much again everyone for the well wishes and support. And thanks so much to Debbie, Scott, BobandLee, Linda, misseulalie and all the other disers who added so much more with their pics, comments, videos and stats. With all of us, I don't think we skipped a beat! :thumbsup2

[Skallywag]

Hi everyone,
So sorry I have not posted for so long. While on the cruise, I found out my last grandparent had passed away. So, as soon as I stepped off of the plane late at night on the 28th, I had to get on a plane immediately the next morning to go to her funeral. As hard as it was to go BACK to the aiport, and go on ANOTHER flight, I am really glad I was home in time to be able to go to it.

I am now adding more pictures and doing the easy links like I started out to do. I still have the last 2 days to finish too. LOL

Awesome fireworks pictures everybody!

I am so sorry to hear of your loss and happy for you that you managed to get to the funeral as I know just how bad you would have felt had you not been able.

Brenda

[scottishwee35]

Michelle2

I am sorry to heard the sad news and glad that you managed got home for funeral.

Many thanks for your trip report which I enjoyed reading it.

Take Care

Scottishwee35

[LITTLEKID58]

Michelle2


I am so sorry about your loss..

Truly love you TR..Txs so much for sharing..

[Scott H]

Michelle, Sorry to hear your bad news. Our thoughts are with ya.

I will try to work on our GPS waypoints this weekend, work has been the pits since our return. Not much time at all.

[OurDogCisco]

Michelle...

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss.

Anyways, I'm glad to see you adding the pictures. You did a great trip report and thanks for taking the time to let us live through your eyes. I can't wait until my cruise.

Tina

[icunurse_celeste]

Michelle,
Sorry to hear about your loss, I know how hard that is. Thank you for taking time to post your pictures and trip report from your trip!

[Michelle2]

Thanks for the well wishes, everyone. It is great to finally be out of an airport! LOL

[Michelle2]

Day 13: Last Day at Sea :(

"Now it's time to say good-bye to all our company...."

Today was a sad, sad day, because we knew what was coming. We really had a fun time, and although all those sea days sound like alot to some people, it really was a great time. The days kind of flowed into each other, but they really really went by fast! I really loved the sea days, so I was not looking forward to the last one....

Today is entitled....
To DVC or not to DVC, that IS the question.

We wanted to get an early start today (which with all of the time changes meant 10:00 am) :teeth:
We wanted to try and rekindle our Disney luck by going to the last DVC presentation (I had always been wanting to go hear about it anyway) and see if we could win the $300 ship credit! :hyper:

Did we win?? Yeah right, I could not win a Ducky sketch, I should have known not to even hope for this one. :(

I saw alot of veteran DVC'ers there. It was a good presentation, and to my surprise my DH signed us up for a slot to talk more about it with the DVC rep. Afterwards, we talked to 2 nice ladies who told us about their DVC experience, and answered our questions, were really helpful.

Then we went up to lunch, to discuss our new interest and happened to meet up with Scott and Lynn, and Debbie and her mom. We had a great lunch together talking DVC. DH took DS to the club during our lunch, and we ended up really wanting to buy into it. They were offering a great onboard offer, and we would love to take advantage of that. We figured we went to Disney all the time anyway....The problem was, our time slot to talk to the rep was at 9:30. (You will see the problem a little later) popcorn::

We also decided to try our luck at the final jackpot bingo. This was our first cruise, and our first time playing any game of bingo. I fugured there has to be a first for everything.....This, I found out, ended up being a huge waste of time and money (just our opinion). Sure, it was fun, and we only bought one pack of cards for $35.00, but I found out that it really was not for us. We are not gambling types, so we ended up calling it a wash.

After the bingo game, it was time for the kids clubs graduation ceremony. This was one of the signs that let me know we had come to the end. :sad1: We knew that DS probably would not like doing this, so we tried to pick him up in time, but they had already headed down to the stage. We talked him into staying for it, since we were already there, by letting him wear his sunglasses on stage :rolleyes: . The counselors were ok with it, so he decided to give it a go. The ceremony was good, as usual, and sad at the same time, and DS was glad to be out of there. So many kids are up on the stage, that most of them are herded to the back to make room for everyone so we never even saw him during the show. That is probably something else that we may not do again, depending on if he wanted to or not.

Dinner was at Parrot Cay tonight. They were going to celebrate Chase's birthday tonight, which was really nice since his birthday was not until the end of June! LOL
Unfortunately, dinner again was running rather slow, we usually told them when we needed to head out by a certain time, but for some reason, we were still running behind. so DH stayed behind and grabbed our desserts to go. I had a mission. I had seats to grab for Disney Dreams tonight. I had been dreading this night and moment for the last few nights. I could see fists flying, riots breaking out, angry people.
But, this was a show that we could not remember if Chase had seen it or not, and we wanted to make sure he could really see it. We were able to grab seats in the front for the 2 of us, alot of times, that was all we could get, and Chase sat on one of our laps. It really was not bad at all, there were no riots.

The show was great, and they really added some cool effects to it! I sure noticed, and my eyesight isn't great---one of the other reasons why I like sitting in the front.

As soon as the show was over, we had to immediately hurry through all of the crowds and get to the DVC desk. They ushered us to an office upstairs on deck 10 and we visited with the rep for a bit. When we finally got the numbers of what would suit our family, as good as the deal was, we could not afford it at this time. We want to do it in the future, and learned so much from all of the great people that we talked to. But, timing was just not on our side, and we had some bills that were going to be due (as well as paying for the rest of the trip we were on) that made things an impossibility.

The reason why it was a mistake to go to the DVC presentation, was that they had THE special fireworks planned for arriving in Barcelona at 10:20pm. They had made the announcement that we had arrived a little earlier in the evening, but would not be DOCKING until the following morning. We found out this was because of the enormous docking fees that Disney has to pay.
So, by the time we got out of the meeting, we could not get spots by the rail, and it was really really crowded up on deck 10.
DRATS!!!! our verandah was on the opposite side of the ship!!!! GRRRRR! :mad:
We were able to have our DS kneel up on one of those counter things, and we think he was able to see really well. I filmed it, but I honestly don't know how it came out since so many heads blocked the view of the dock, which were where alot of the fireworks were too. I am still kicking myself I did not get there earlier to secure a better filming spot. Hindsight is always 20/20 right??
I don't know why, but when they announced about the fireworks, I was thinking it would be like the Pirate night fireworks....good, but not elaborate like the parks. Boy, what a bad assumption on my part----ere the bad spots to see them, I underestimated what they would do for us. They were wonderful! With the music, and the celebration, it was a highlight of the trip for me. After walking down from deck 10, and going past the live music at the Goofy pool on deck 9 (on my way to get my last cup of ice cream, no doubt, the band was singing a traditional Spanish song, I am sure it was their national anthem, "Viva la Spania (sp)!!"
I got my camera out to film it, because how many times has he Magic been to Spain, or Europe for that matter??? And just as they were ending the song, the horn blew.....awesome. Once in a lifetime, I will never forget that, and at least that I caught a great moment on film to keep forever.
Just a great moment to end a great cruise. I was really starting to feel it then. :sad:

They were showing the world premiere of Pirates in the Caribbean tonight!! YAY! :thumbsup2 :woohoo:
Unfortunately, we had an early excursion tomorrow....Booo!

DH did not care though, and went to get spot to see it. Since I had DS, and he did not want to go back to the club, I decided I would watch it with DH again the next day. They were showing it nonstop all the next day (Barcelona port day) too. If the kids would have ended up in the lab, DS would have gone, but he did not like the club anymore for some reason. So we stayed in the room, and I watched Dreamgirls, and tried to catch the kids on messenger, but for some reason, Messenger was blocked and stayed blocked the rest of the time. I do not know if hey caught on to the fact that we (all of us cruisers) were communicating through it (some even watching video through it---maybe too much bandwidth??), or there was just a problem once we reached the Barcelona area, but it all of a sudden stopped working....nada....nothing. Internet was fine, but messenger was out of commission.

We fell asleep before DH got back (ashamedly, not by too much though!). We had an early day tomorrow, and wanted to fully take advantage of our last day onboard. I was truly getting depressed by this time, grasping at everything I could take a picture of, or video of. LOL

So all in all, even though DVC ended up not working out, we still enjoyed learning more about it from the true pros. I never knew people could have so many points....I was envious and awestruck!
And even though Bingo was a bust, we still had a good time, and now know what its like, and won't need to have to do it again.....or will we?? :confused3

Stay tuned:
Barcelona! We had the Gaudi tour scheduled, and thankfully, was a half day excursion.
Pirates of the Caribbean --At World's End
Saying goodbye
Packing in the NICK of time....talk about a close one!

[newfamilyman]

I have enjoyed your reports and hope that our families get to meet on next year's repo cruise.

[eeyorelvr10]

Hello - am hoping that I can find some wonderful help here. I am doing the EB repo back to PC, FL. My party and I are wondering if anyone managed to do the Rock of Gibralter on their own and if its difficult. We are torn between doing DCL or another all day tour Rhonda which doesn't hit the rock. If anybody did any tours here on their own,

1. How hard was it to find someone at the port?

2. Did you feel safe?

3. Is it easy to get to the Rock.

4. Would you recommend it.

Any help from anyone that did on-your-own or otherwise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks you so much! :wizard:

[iluvdisney]

Hi Laura - my roomie and I did most of the ports on our own - only did one Disney excursion on Tenerife - we went up to the volcano and it was really nice. All the other ports we did on our own. We got the maps from DCL and used them as guidelines but at each port there was a visitor's desk that had better maps and they would give you directions if you asked.
Going up to the Rock was really easy - we just followed the map and walked it to the cable cars and went up and did our own tour - a nice way to spend the day in Gibralter.
Cadiz is a nice small city and easy to walk so we tried to come up with a plan on what we wanted to see and most of the sites we headed to were easy to see - be sure and go to the Tower - it is an awesome way to see the city from above but walking the alleys (that's what they looked like to me) was different - I love all the buildings!
Barcelona we took a segway tour - again another great way to see the city - my roomie had booked it online and we had a great time with Edgar. Later we did the on-off bus and saw more that we had not seen on the segway. That's a big city and we did most of that one in 2 days.
Hope this all helps and yes, we felt safe.

[eeyorelvr10]

Mary - thank you so much - I keep hearing this and now I'm starting to believe it. Much obliged and I'm so glad you had a great time. We too I think are going to be doing the Segway Tour and I for one am really looking forward to it.

Thanks again! :flower3:

[misseulalie]

I found that in Cadiz, Gibraltar, Marseille, Rome, Olbia, and Palermo you can do on your own and wouldn't have any trouble. For example, DCL wanted $40 to take you on a train around Marseille. Well, for 5 euro, you can do the train on your own. The location where DCL shuttle drops you is directly in front of the train!

Gibraltar had taxis (nice, air conditioned vans, actually) that would take you around for 25 euros. (if the kids sat on your lap, they were free)
It did everything DCL's excursion did, and was much cheaper. It was nicer because we were in a van that held 8 people, rather than a bus that held 50. So we could take more time and had more personal service.

[Michelle2]

I agree. We did this same thing, (the individual tours for 25 euros per person, and our son was free) and it was wonderful. I loved hearing the driver tell about things, and feed the monkeys, etc. Very very reasonable walk to the ship, and if I knew better, we would have walked to the tramway to catch the tours instead of taking a taxi that ripped us off.

[Michelle2]

Day 14: Barcelona Day:
You know the problem of not doing these posts as I am living them?? I FORGET!! So I will do the best that I can being a month later. Thank goodness, DH is here and can help me if I get a little fuzzy!

We had an early excursion today. We decided while on the cruise to do the Gaudi and Barcelona tour. Nothing else really interested me, I guess I am more of an architectural person, I like seeing the culture and history through famous places and buildings. The Sagrada de Familia really interested me and some of the other Gaudi buildings did as well.

We all met up for our excursion and headed out to the bus to take us off. We decided that this would be very boring for our DS4, so we took him to the kids clubs (asleep) and hoped that he would sleep for awhile while we were gone. We found out later, he slept almost clear until we got back. He probably was only awake about 30- 45 minutes before we came back. LOL

The tour itself was good. I really thought that on the tour we would be seeing more of the Gaudi buildings besides just driving past them. The only real stops we made were at the Park Guell, and Sagrada de Familia. We had a rather large group, and alot of times it was hard to be near the tour director in order to hear what she was saying about the things we were seeing.

It was so nice to be with Scott and Lynn on this tour. :wave: I think that I had been with other disers on every single excursion we took, so it was nice getting to know people while on them.

I will say that I love the half day excursions so much more than the full day ones (like we did in Tenrife)! We stopped at the Park Guell (pronounced "WAY") and stopped at different points of interest along the way there, and then headed to the Sagrada de Familia church after that. What was fun was going inside the church and seeing all of the miniature models and progress that they were working on.
Basically about this church, Gaudi started it and then died before it was completed, and since they had no plans to go off of, they had no idea what to do with it. They knew there would be so many spires etc, but had to guess
how to design the rest. They wanted to fit it into Gaudi's style, but his style was so unique and somewhat strange, that I could tell it was a tough undertaking. Alot of people say that it is too modern and "clean" and does not match the original part. I can see why they say that--they had models of the completed design and its interior, and it did seem to be a different style.

Our tour director also said that it was the most visited attraction in Spain. It was so immense that I can see why. I hope my pictures do it justice, but sometimes pictures just don't.....
It was nice to see Debbie (Epcotkilterfan) and her mom doing the church on their own while we were there. Always nice to see familiar faces in a strange country. :wave:

After a half day, we had about had enough, and were ready to get back the ship and see how my baby was doing. I was worried about him waking up in the kids clubs and freaking out.
We got back and he was just fine, only waking up about 45 minutes or so before we got back, so that made me happy. :) It was our only excursion without him, and we tried to plan ones that he could go on so we would not be leaving him at all of the ports. But there is only so much a 4 year old will be entertained with in Europe instead of beachy ports.

As soon as we got back the ship, we took DS up to the pools for a last (and second) swim in the Mickey pool. All of the other days were just too cold!!! :cold: This day was actually ok, albeit a little windy, and thank goodness there was another little boy in the pool about his age. Other than that, NO ONE, and I don't know how long he would stay in the pool all by himself.
I also saw a sight that I had never seen before....the fountains were all going. This is my 3rd time on the Magic and I have never seen the fountains running!! It was when I saw this that I ran back to the room and got DH and DS to go swimming. He absolutely loved it. And I was thinking why I had never seen them going before on our other cruises??? Beats me! :confused3 DS sure loved them though! He played and played, and was a little sad when the other boy got out, and got out soon after him. It was good timing with us wanting to catch the next movie though.

We wanted to go and see Pirates which would be running continuously throughout the day, in the Buena Vista theater since the last night's premier showing was right before a port day...and so late too!! I had not seen it, but DH stayed up and saw it the night before, but wanted to see it again with me. Thankfully, DS was ok going back the kids clubs, so we were able to go. We would not have dropped him off if he didn't want to since he was in there for our excursion all morning.
So DH got to see it again with me.

I peeked into the movie that was ending right before ours, and there was hardly anyone in there! Everyone must still be on excursions, I hoped ours would be not too busy too. And it wasn't too bad at all, not packed, but not empty, I would say about 2/3 full?
I really liked POC3! I liked it much better than the second one, so I was happy. DH rushed off to get DS from the kids clubs, and I tried to get him to wait just in case there was something after the credits, but he left. Sure enough, there was something there, so don't leave before the credits are over!! Everyone that I have talked to that has seen the movie has never stayed, and are upset about missing the clip at the end.

After picking up DS, it was about time for dinner. Our last dinner. The Farewell show was also tonight, usually one of my favorites....
Since we had to miss out on DS's birthday celebration, we knew they were probably going to do it tonight. We ended in Lumiere's. Dinner seemed really slow tonight, and I wanted to stay and film the server parade of nations. We were able to eat some birthday cake and share it with the table next to us.
After that, we had to dart to the Farewell show (we stayed as long as we could) and I was never able to say goodbye to Sachin. I left my DH to give him our tip envelope and say "farewell, hope we meet again on our next cruise!" :)

The farewell show was great as usual...always makes me cry when they do the slideshow to the music of remember the Magic. Seeing the entertainers etc made me remember when we first boarded and how excited we were to be seeing the welcome aboard show on the beginning of such a long cruise!!! That's forever right? Wrong....went by much too fast!!

DH stayed in the room and packed us all up while I took DS to the Farewell show. When I got back the room, we had just enough time to put our bags out into the hall when the stewards were to our room. We were the last ones it looked like. They were very nice, and said we were just fine. So I really appreciated being able to get our bags out. We were out of breath when all of that was over!!
The room was so sad all empty and packed up....It made me think of the next lucky cruisers that were going to be inhabiting it on their next exciting cruise. I suddenly got very jealous.

Since MSN messenger still was not working (disconnected) we ended up heading to bed, wishing that the next day would not come, but yet, we were excited to get home to our other kids.
Tomorrow, what would be in store disembarking in a foreign port and country?

[Michelle2]

Day 15: Disembarkation Day:
The saddest day of the trip....:(
We woke up and got ready for the day, and decided not to rush and make our early early seating of breakfast, and just headed up to Topsiders instead. I don't know why, but I was sad. I had met so many nice people, and we had so much fun, that it was really hard to let such a good thing end (like I had any choice, right?).
Already on this day I was regretting staying a day in Barcelona. We were so ready to just get home and be with our older kids. I was actually jealous of those going directly to the airport and catching an immediate flight home that day.

We walked off of the ship at about 8:30 or so, and went out, grabbed a porter and headed off to find our bags. Well, rather a porter grabbed us, but it was ok since DH wanted to use one anyway.

The line for the taxis was pretty long. But we found out that most of the people were waiting for the minivan taxis due to party sizes and luggage sizes that most people had could not fit in a regular car. They would not even let us request one since so many people were waiting for them, and that was fine with us when we heard that!

We were staying that night in the Renaissance hotel by the Barcelona airport. So we made sure that the taxi driver put on his meter, and off we went. I had found out from Scott on our previous day's excursion that the taxi fare should be no more than about 30 euros. So I felt a little more prepared and did not want to be jipped like in Gibraltar. Never again.

We got the the hotel and I was happy to see that the meter said only 19 euros....cool! But then he got out a calculator and started adding things on, saying that there was a port fee (understandable I guess) and a per luggage fee per bag?? WHAT????
I said what is that?? And he showed me a book and said that ALL of the taxis charged a per luggage fee. Since we had 4 bags, and it was about 1.5 euros per bag, it made our final total to 34 euros I think?? So we paid the driver, and a lady came up to me and asked what our taxi total was. They had paid 29 euros and wondered if they were jipped. It sounded like they had the same amount of luggage, so I guess we were the ones jipped. There were MANY people inside complaining about the per luggage fee. Some refused to pay it, and others did not have the extra euros, and just gave them americal dollars for the difference. One man came inside to get a hotel employee to come and translate because they were mad at the fee and did not have enough euros to pay the driver, and she did not speak english (driver). They were the ones that gave the driver some american dollars.

So all in all, I have no idea if we were all jipped. It sounds like the ones that paid more were the ones with alot more baggage than us. It made me glad we did not have all of our 4 kids with us!! OY! What a taxi tab that would have been!
Just everyone be prepared for this taxi per bag fee, and if it were me and I had to do it again, I would have refused to pay it. It was just another ploy to get more money out of foreign tourists, that they all tried to stick together on. It sounded like some people refused to pay it and were fine, so I would have done this. The fare should have been around 30 for us, not 35. If someone is ok with this, then that is fine, but I was not. I was so tired after this trip of feeling ripped off and taken advantage of. Not on the boat of course!!! That was the one place where I felt peaceful and safe.

The line to check in was pretty long...probably about 30 - 30 minutes since there was only 1 or 2 employees at the desk, it was a rather small front desk. We had to wait quite awhile for a NONSMOKING room as was EVERYONE else who had arrived before us. There is such a limited amount in Europe. :(
So we left our bags ticketed with security, and we signed up for the next shuttle that was going to head into town. We really wanted to see Las Ramblas.

The shuttle let us off at the main/center part of town by the archways. We headed off in one direction, by asking a family who seemed to know where they were going where Las Ramblas was. We walked and walked, and then noticed that the family had disappeared. Since DH spoke spanish, he asked a lady where it was, and she gave him directions. What a long walk with a poor little 4 year old with no stroller. :(
We found out that we had passed numerous subway stops on the way, but had no idea which stop or line to get off at, so we never thought to take it. We thought it was a shorter walk than it was too....

When we finally reached Las Ramblas, I loved watching the street performers. It was fun to see alot of them setting up. There was one that was dressed like Edward Scissorhands, and would clash his blade fingers together whenever anyone got close. It seemed like the more outrageous the costume, the more people stopped and watched. Some were silly, some were pretty weird. Some were pretty talented! There was a soccer one that balanced a ball on his bent knee, or foot, until someone paid him, and then he would dribble the ball on his foot and knee on one leg on a small pedestal. I don't know how he did it, extreme balance and coordination!

We did not do any shopping, but looked at all of the small pet stores long the way. They seemed to be in categories...all of the flower shops, then all of the pet shops, then magazines, etc. And one store seemed almost the same as the one next to it. At the pet stores, we were surprised to see pigeons in cages. Who would buy a pigeon?? Maybe to train as a homing pigeon?? Who knows...LOL
After a brief walk down Las Ramblas, we were pretty tired and just wanted to get back to the hotel. We wanted to contact the kids, and just relax.
We remembered seeing a Pizza Hut on the walk down, but it was not open yet at that time.
This time, we were smart, and hopped on the metro (subway) and guessed about where the Pizza Hut was. We chose correctly and were the first ones in the restaraunt. So it was a nice and quiet and smoke free lunch. Even though the pizzas were a little different than the American pizzas, and a little more expensive, it still was a nice lunch that DS would eat! As we were about done, a lady came in and was sat at a table right next to us. I knew that knowing my luck she would start smoking, and luckily she didn't while we finished, but as we were finishing, sure enough, she lit up, and we wanted ourselves and DS out of there ASAP. That is the thing that bugs me about Europe the most. My third trip to Europe and it still bugs me. No non smoking areas. I guess I have become spoiled that no restaraunt or hotel has smoking rooms are smoking inside anymore, so I was a bit put off by it. If people want to smoke that is fine, but don't force me to put up with it and have bad health along with them. Especially in enclosed areas.
This is one of the things that I get down on my knees and kiss the ground of the good USA. Anyways, they have their own laws, and won't change anytime soon. :sad2: :smokin: :crazy2:

We got back on the subway, and found out how to take a bus back to the airport, since the shuttle was not scheduled to come back until hours later. We were noticing all of the small shops, magazine shops etc closing up for the siesta time, so it was probably about 2:00pm. The hotel shuttle was not coming back until 5:00 or 5:30.
We took the cheap bus to the airport at the same location as where the hotel shuttle dropped us off at. Then we only waited about 5 minutes at the airport for the Renaissance shuttle to arrive. Not a bad wait at all.
When we got back to our hotel, our room was ready, and we conked out. We all took a nice and long nap, but woke up pretty hungry. They had 2 restaraunts downstairs, one had closed and the other (a snack bar type cafe) was still open until about 10 or 11pm. So we headed down at about 9:30 and ordered 2 pizzas and a bacon burger for DH. If you are staying at the Renaissance, especially with pickey eaters, here is what I observed:

1. The bacon burger (and I am sure their burgers in general) was disgusting!!! I have noticed that I do NOT like the european burgers (I encountered the same thing in Disneyland Paris when I had the burgers there. I thought it was because I was a few months pregnant, but I now know it was just the European way of doing burgers.)

2. When I ordered the 4 cheese pizza, again I made the misconception of thinking AMERICAN cheese pizza, silly me. It tasted awful. There was some funky strong and different cheeses on that pizza. I kicked myself for not getting the regular margherita pizza, or asking what the 4 cheeses really were! DS did not eat much of it...and I did not eat much of mine. DH was pretty mad that all that money went to waste. They were not cheap. Oh well, it was the first time we had to really pay for food.
I am sure the Pizza Margharita with just the tomato sauce and one cheese was probably just fine.

We set the alarm clock pretty early, because DH saw all of the ship people checking in with us, and did not want to run the risk of being too late in a long shuttle line and risk losing our flight that left at 9:10 am.

We liked Barcelona, but we were so wishing we would have just left and gone home after the cruise. We did not really get too much out of this extra day, and seemed tired and spent for much of it. Most of the time was spent in line to check in, shuttles to town, subways and walking.
We wished there would have been a cheaper flight for us on that saturday so we would not have had to stay.

Tomorrow: Our flights...future travelers beware!!! :mad: I am sorry if this did not help anyone in time.

[DenverVal]

FYI -

Barcelona is one of Europe's best taxi towns. Taxis are plentiful (there are more than 10,000) and honest (whether they like it or not--the light on top shows which tariff they're charging). They're also reasonable (€1.40 drop charge, €1 per kilometer, these "Tariff 2" rates are in effect 6:00-22:00, pay higher "Tariff 1" rates off-hours, luggage - €1/piece, other fees posted in window.)

from Rick Steves' Spain 2006

[earthfaries]

Thank you so much for the detailed trip report. It was great. It sounded like a wonderful trip and I am glad I got to experience it through your words and pictures:goodvibes
I can't wait to read about your flight home and your tips. I hope to do a Med cruise in the future and this has been very helpful and fun! Thanks again !!!

[nnbellie]

Hi everyone,

Day 16: Flying home: Coming soon
Final thoughts and advice for future Med cruisers: Coming soon

Hi Michelle

Thank so much for this great trip report!
My husband and I are going on the Transatlantic WB cruise and this report gives us excellent information about our upcoming holiday!

Any idea when you are going to post the final thoughts and advice?
Really looking forward to it!

Anne

[LIFERBABE]

Great Report!:thumbsup2

Cant wait to read the rest!!

Sounds like all those sea days were really wonderful:cloud9:

[disneyjunebug]

Great report! Thanks for posting!

[naner]

Great TR! Thanks!!!

[fairfax]

Just wanted to add how much I've enjoyed this TR!