14-night Eastbound Transatlantic Cruise (May 14-28, 2011) Lots of pics! COMPLETED 9/8

[RLccweems]

I have to tell you....I truely am loving your trip report. So much that I got no house work done today!

 

[GatorMomInNC]

OMG! That looks so great!! We are leaving on the WBTA in 38 days and have reserved a tour with Daniel's taxis. I hope we see all those beautiful sights too! I want to go wake my mom up (she's coming with us) to show her those pix, but I will restrain myself and show her tomorrow.

I wonder if we are doing the exact same tour. Someone on our cruise meet who has been to Madeira before was kind enough to organize it. I'll have to check the itinerary. I know we are going on a cable car, then down with the toboggans, then stopping somewhere you can swim in Lava Pools...is that what you did?

 

[tony64]

Wow that picture looking straight down gave me vertigo.

 

[LindaBabe]

THANK YOU! THAT was fabulous!

 

[lovingthemouse]

Incredible photography - although I have a thing with heights, this may be my only opportunity to get here, and I'm "throwing all caution to the wind!" I am so excited about getting there.
Thank you for sharing.

 

[KevieKev05]

Kevin, you have outdone yourself! Your pictures are breathtaking! Looks a little dizzying up there on those cliffs

Now, I must ask some brutal honesty from you if I may. You have been on all three ships, and I know you were on the Magic and Wonder before the Dream, but are they at all a little, I hate to say it, disappointing, after the Dream? My first trip will be on the Dream, but I'm planning on booking in 2013 a two weeker. Any thoughts? I know from everyones' pictures that all three are amazing, I just want to ask someone who has been on them all, and recently, what your thoughts are.

Thanks! -Pam

Thank you!

I'm not going to lie, I was a little depressed before the cruise knowing that we would be spending two weeks on a smaller, older ship. I kept thinking, "Man...I would love to spend two weeks on the Dream...there's so much to see and explore!" But, as soon as we got onboard, it didn't matter to me anymore. There's just something about those classic ships! They may be "small" but there's a certain intimacy about them that makes them so wonderful! The Dream is so massive and it can be quite a hike to get anywhere. That's not the case on the classic ships, so that definitely made my parents happy, haha. I'm curious about what they'll think of the Dream in December, after having a cruise on the Wonder and the Magic under their belt.

Wow spectacular update. Love the photos. I hope that little dog you took photos of wasn't a stray I would've been tempted to ship him home..he's so cute!!

Thanks! I think that dog may have been a stray, unfortunately. There was lots of roaming dogs around the island, though. I'm not sure if they're strays, or if they have owners that don't keep them confined.

Those pictures are AMAZING!! What a gorgeous place!!

Thank you so much! It was such a breathtaking island!

I have to tell you....I truely am loving your trip report. So much that I got no house work done today!

Oh no! I feel bad! Hopefully you were able to get SOME work done!

OMG! That looks so great!! We are leaving on the WBTA in 38 days and have reserved a tour with Daniel's taxis. I hope we see all those beautiful sights too! I want to go wake my mom up (she's coming with us) to show her those pix, but I will restrain myself and show her tomorrow.

I wonder if we are doing the exact same tour. Someone on our cruise meet who has been to Madeira before was kind enough to organize it. I'll have to check the itinerary. I know we are going on a cable car, then down with the toboggans, then stopping somewhere you can swim in Lava Pools...is that what you did?

Your tour sounds different than ours. We just did the standard 4.5 hour tour listed on their website. I know the company is very accommodating and will cater the itinerary to what you want to see. Maybe that's the case with yours?

Wow that picture looking straight down gave me vertigo.

Yeah, it was a bit crazy!

THANK YOU! THAT was fabulous!

Thank YOU for reading and commenting!

Incredible photography - although I have a thing with heights, this may be my only opportunity to get here, and I'm "throwing all caution to the wind!" I am so excited about getting there.
Thank you for sharing.

Do it, do it!

 

[Pinkocto]

Thanks so much Kevin After posting the question I thought, oh no, I hope I haven't insulted anyone. From reading all the TR's I know how much everyone just loves the ships, that the Magic and Wonder feel like 'old friends'. I'm sure there's just so much to explore, even after two weeks you still want to stay longer. Thanks again, I won't have any unease booking on either one.

You'll have to let us know what your parents think of the Dream

 

[bonnielynn]

Gorgeous pictures..wow..

 

[KevieKev05]

DAY 9 - May 22nd, 2011 - Funchal, Madeira (Part 7)

At about 2:30, we had finished eating in our room. Dad decided he was going to use this afternoon to do a couple loads of laundry (from what I recall, it went quite smoothly for him). James, Mom, and I go downstairs to the computers to hop on the Internet real quick and check in back home. I also used this time to take a picture of the “Pirates in the Caribbean” dinner menu! The whole themed evening made me laugh, though, since we were quite far from the Caribbean, haha! Anyway, picture!

After less than 10 minutes on the computer, James and I decide to go upstairs and get some hot tub time in! We spent a little over 30 minutes up there, and we were back in our room by 3:30. Mom came over to our room and we played Phase 10 for almost 2 hours! She also told us that Dad saw on one of the news stations on the TV that there was a volcanic eruption and was causing some issues in Europe! Ruh roh!

At about 5:15, we all started to get ready for the evening. Within 30 minutes, we were heading out. We made a pit stop at Shutters and then arrived outside the Walt Disney Theatre at about 6:00. Tonight’s show was going to be at 6:45 as opposed to the normal 6:15. The doors opened at 6:20 and the show started promptly at 6:45 (well, after Peter talked and talked and talked and talked...he really was my least favorite Cruise Director to date. Oy). Anyway...the show was “The Art of the Story.” I had seen this on my second Disney cruise as a “filler” show. The had just closed “Hercules the Muse-ical” and were using this show as a filler before “Toy Story the Musical” began (since this show is basic/minimal when it comes to sets/props). I loved it then and I loved it now! It’s another revue style show where they perform numbers that help emphasize the various components that go into a story (for example: light, sound, love, emotion, etc.). Picture time!

 

[KevieKev05]

DAY 9 - May 22nd, 2011 - Funchal, Madeira (Part 8)

 

[KevieKev05]

DAY 9 - May 22nd, 2011 - Funchal, Madeira (Part 9)

(Notice how the final pose matches the graphic for the show? How perfect!):

The show ended by 7:30 and we went straight up top to catch us sailing away from this BEAUTIFUL port!

 

[KevieKev05]

DAY 9 - May 22nd, 2011 - Funchal, Madeira (Part 10)

By 8:10, we were making our way down to the lobby since our dinner was at Lumiere’s tonight. I snapped a couple of photos while we waited to get in:

The doors opened at 8:30, and off to our table we went! Marianne took it upon herself to personally put the bandanas on each of our heads! Silly girl, haha.

Menu:

Pot stickers:

Crab cake:

Pineapple:

Jerk chicken salad:

Beef short ribs:

“Treasure of the Seas” pasta:

Chocolate cake:

White chocolate cheesecake:

Marianne and Ali!:

We were leaving the restaurant at 9:30 (yay quick meal!) and we went up to the room to change before the fireworks. Within 10 minutes we were on our way to the top decks. HOLY MOLY! It was REALLY windy (which made it pretty cold)! Mom and Dad left almost immediately. At 10:00, James and I couldn’t handle it anymore and we left as well...we actually didn’t think they would shoot off the fireworks in these conditions (but apparently they did). So, back to the room we went.

Mom and Dad came over and we played some more Phase 10 for about an hour and a half. The ship was moving. A LOT. At about 11:30, we were in bed. Did I say the ship was MOVING? Because it sure was and you could really tell in bed, haha.

Anyway, what an amazingly wonderful day today was! I’m incredibly thankful to have been able to experience the beautiful island of Madeira. And the funny thing? I think we still only saw half the island! I can only imagine how much more beauty there island. Tomorrow is another sea day! Stay tuned!

 

[DVC Jen]

I am loving your trip report. We haven't been on a cruise - any cruise since the Magic 7 night western 5 and a half years ago. We are giving some serious thought to doing a 5 night on the Dream in either May or June.

I have a question for you and forgive me if this has been asked already. Did you have any issues with photographing the shows? I read on a different TR that people were being reminded to NOT photograph the shows. I wasn't sure if it was a different Disney ship - or what the deal was.

I know I will be living with my camera if and when we do take the next cruise. I don't want the perpetual tap on the shoulder for taking photos when I am not supposed to - however if I can take them - you can bet I will be.

I am also wondering if it is FLASH photography they do not want during the shows. That I can totally understand. Won't be an issue with me and my Canon 5DM2. I rarely use flash inside with that thing.

 

[jessicasings]

love your pictures! it's so cool how you've documented all the details of the trip that most people usually forget. this is a random question, but is the brown animal in the villains parade (i think lion) scar from lion king? i usually can identify obscure characters, but that one i can't place lol.

 

[KevieKev05]

I am loving your trip report. We haven't been on a cruise - any cruise since the Magic 7 night western 5 and a half years ago. We are giving some serious thought to doing a 5 night on the Dream in either May or June.

I have a question for you and forgive me if this has been asked already. Did you have any issues with photographing the shows? I read on a different TR that people were being reminded to NOT photograph the shows. I wasn't sure if it was a different Disney ship - or what the deal was.

I know I will be living with my camera if and when we do take the next cruise. I don't want the perpetual tap on the shoulder for taking photos when I am not supposed to - however if I can take them - you can bet I will be.

I am also wondering if it is FLASH photography they do not want during the shows. That I can totally understand. Won't be an issue with me and my Canon 5DM2. I rarely use flash inside with that thing.

Hi there! I had no issues photographing the shows. All they ask (before each show) is that you NOT use flash, and to turn off the LCD screens! So, I think you'll be in good shape to take photos!

love your pictures! it's so cool how you've documented all the details of the trip that most people usually forget. this is a random question, but is the brown animal in the villains parade (i think lion) scar from lion king? i usually can identify obscure characters, but that one i can't place lol.

Thank you! And you are absolutely correct!


I'm about to head out of town for a five days, so I apologize for not being able to add another installment until I get back. I'm going to try to check and respond to this thread periodically, though! Happy reading!

 

[firecracker725]

Your pictures of Madeira are gorgeous! I especially enjoyed the shots of the characters on deck.

Can't wait for more!

 

[chiefdragon]

It has been so great to see your pics and live your trip. Thank you so much for sharing. Next installment please.

 

[KevieKev05]

DAY 10 - May 23rd, 2011 - Day At Sea #7

Beep, beep, beep, beep! The alarm went off at 10:00. We notice that the ship is STILL moving A LOT. Hmmm. We start getting ready, and I read in the “newspaper” delivered that the ash is going away from Europe now. Yay!

At 10:50, we head down to the Walt Disney Theatre for the Don “Ducky” Williams autograph session. (We were assigned a time slot based on what deck our staterooms were located. Our session happened to be today!) There wasn’t a line when we got there and he graciously signed our lithograph (the gift we received at the beginning of the cruise).

I took the lithographs back up to the room and then we proceeded to Parrot Cay for a buffet breakfast. Within 30 minutes, we were done and we made our way to (where else?) Promenade Lounge. We played games and also decided to grab the gratuity form from Guest Services to get that squared away. As we were playing games, the music starting BLARING. It was obnoxiously loud and took a few minutes to stop. I guess they were having technical issues? It happened again to us later in the cruise as well. Weird! The “Drink of the Day” today was the Island Hopper, so we decided to try it.

HOLY. VODKA. Vodka and I aren’t too good of friends, so James and I took a few sips and went back up to the bar to get more juice added to it. It was still too much for me, but I drank about half of it before handing it over to Dad to finish.

At 1:30, James and I went up to Topsider to grab a plate of food to bring back to the lounge.

Before we knew it, it was 3:30. We went up to our rooms to fill out of tip forms and gather our gift cards and then came back down to Guest Services. There, we dropped off the forms and put our gift cards on our account. (Note that, in our minds, our rather large amount of OBC we received for rebooking this cruise onboard was going to go to the large amount of gratuity required for this cruise and the gift cards covered the rest of it.) Afterwards, we dropped of the tickets and our folio printout in our rooms (but not before snapping a picture of the dinner menu!).

Then, we decided to look in the gift shops. Again.

At 5:00, there was going to be a special DVC Member Mixer/Social happening in Diversions. So, at 4:45 we entered Diversions and grabbed a seat. It was a wonderful event. Why, do you ask? FREE alcohol! Did you catch that? Maybe I should mention it again. FREE ALCOHOL! So, I enjoyed 4 Heinekens. James enjoyed a glass of pinot, a Corona, and a glass of Asti Spumanti champagne!

By 6:00 we were making our way out of there. And yes, we were feeling goooood. Tonight’s performance in the Walt Disney Theatre featured Charo. No thank you. We happily skipped that and went back to our rooms to chill and relax until dinner time.

At 8:10, we started making our way do to dinner. Tonight, we would be dining in Animator’s Palate. I snapped a few pictures as we waited to get in:

At 8:30, the doors opened, and off to our table we went. I guess it’s time for food pictures now!

Beef turnovers:

Chicken cordon bleu:

Pork dish:

We also ordered cheese soup, but I didn’t take a picture (since it was similar to the cheese soup earlier in the cruise).

Dessert menu:

Nothing sounded appetizing to me, so I settled for the “Seasonal Fruit Jalousie” (wasn’t too great in my opinion either):

Sundae:

At 9:45 we were exiting the restaurant. The sun still hadn’t fully set yet!

Once in our room, we saw our towel animal, but no excursion tickets for tomorrow. Hmmm...we haven’t done a Disney excursion before, so I didn’t know if we should have them or not. I assumed we did though.

After snapping the towel animal picture, James and I went back down to Guest Services were they “reprinted” the tickets for all 4 of us. I say “reprinted” in quotations because I noticed the following morning that a lot of people had the “reprints.” Looks like the real tickets didn’t get delivered to many people...

Anyway, by 10:15 we were in bed. Our excursion was scheduled for 8:00, so we wanted to make sure to get some sleep! We set our room service order on the door and fell asleep shortly thereafter dreaming of CADIZ, SPAIN! Stay tuned!

 

[Pinkocto]

Great addition Kevin! Can't wait to hear what excursion you guys picked! I think we would have skipped that dinner, the Mother is a vegetarian, and there didn't seem to have many options. Have you heard of many people skipping the assigned seating and going to the buffet? I've heard that the waiters will be happy to bring you anything you request, but I don't want them to hate us.

 

[KevieKev05]

Great addition Kevin! Can't wait to hear what excursion you guys picked! I think we would have skipped that dinner, the Mother is a vegetarian, and there didn't seem to have many options. Have you heard of many people skipping the assigned seating and going to the buffet? I've heard that the waiters will be happy to bring you anything you request, but I don't want them to hate us.

Thank you!

Once we hit the second week of the cruise, we were becoming less thrilled with the menus. Some nights it was a REAL stretch to find something to order! Before getting on the ship, we had planned on not eating every single meal in the dining room and doing room service or the buffet for a few nights. Truth be told, we've NEVER had above average servers on a Disney cruise, so we were fine with potentially skipping a few meals. James and I wanted to experience menus we haven't had before, though. Once we met our serving team, however, we knew we would be dining in the dining room every night! It just goes to show how your servers can "make it or break it" for you. Marianne was truly phenomenal. She knew when we didn't like what we selected and she wanted to remedy the problem as soon as possible! It is true...they will go above and beyond to try and accommodate your needs. If there isn't anything you like on the menu, just ask about getting something else!

Hope that helps!