June 18, 2011, 11 night Med Magic---our 20th Anniversary Cruise! COMPLETED!!

[heatherbelle]

I really enjoyed your trip report and the fab photos thanks for sharing. This time next week, hoepfully we will have been to Monte Carlo and Cinquere, on our own.

 

[Jillpie]

I cannot get enough of your trip report, I look forward to seeing more every day! Again, your pictures are just outstanding, what fantastic memories you will have thru them. I keep wondering, is this the one she'll frame, and then I see more and decide that THAT'S the one! It's a fun game, I love good photography. Oh I was so shocked to hear about Cyprian's diabetes, I wondered if he told us about it in 06'. So was he okay the next day? You did the right thing by reporting, good job. Can't wait for more of your report, don't leave any photos out ok!

 

[lornak]

I cannot get enough of your trip report, I look forward to seeing more every day! Again, your pictures are just outstanding, what fantastic memories you will have thru them. I keep wondering, is this the one she'll frame, and then I see more and decide that THAT'S the one! It's a fun game, I love good photography. Oh I was so shocked to hear about Cyprian's diabetes, I wondered if he told us about it in 06'. So was he okay the next day? You did the right thing by reporting, good job. Can't wait for more of your report, don't leave any photos out ok!

Thanks, Jillpie! You have been very fun to write for!!!

I had to laugh at your comment about not leaving any photos out! I have over 2200 pictures in all! If I posted them all it would be the longest thread in DIS history! I haven't framed any yet but I did make a 12 x 12 album on Shutterfly. I held it to 72 pages and I am really happy with the way it turned out. Of all the things I could have brought home I am truly glad that I spent the money on pictures, the lens rental and the scrapbook. There is no better souvinir for me!!!

Cyprian was doing very well the next morning. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't tell you about his diabetes. He actually never told us...we just heard it from another crew member after he collapsed during one of our previous cruises. I think he is very private about it and doesn't want to call any attention to himself. I would never have said anything if I didn't feel the situation was so serious.

I only have two more updates and then this trip report is over... I'm actually feeling sad about that! It has been so much fun to relive this!!

 

[firecracker725]

I only have two more updates and then this trip report is over... I'm actually feeling sad about that! It has been so much fun to relive this!!

Well that just means you'll have to write more trip reports! You certainly have a knack for it!

 

[Pinkocto]

I second that opinion! Do you and the family have another trip planned yet?

 

[lornak]

Well that just means you'll have to write more trip reports! You certainly have a knack for it!

I second that opinion! Do you and the family have another trip planned yet?

Thanks you guys! I have always thought about doing trip reports but this was the one that really motivated me. I was actually on the Christening cruise on the DREAM and thought that would have been a pretty great report...

Our next trips will be a b2b on the DREAM in October. Then we have the FANTASY booked for Oct, 2012. And I did just find out yesterday that I will be doing a TA trip to Aulani in January!!! That should give me a few things to write about!!!

 

[nifferearly]

We'll be at Aulani in January too! We're going the 13th-21st and I can't wait!

 

[cass'mom]

Yes, definitely write more! As others have said, you have a knack for it! I love your pictures and your posts! The Dream's Christening would've been fantastic to read about! Keep up the great work!

 

[Pinkocto]

Not one but three trips in the near future! That is fantastic! October is just around the corner! I'm sure you're very excited! You must do TR's for them Aulani looks fantastic, I can't wait to go there. I was hoping to buy more DVC points for Aulani next year.

How was the Dream's Christening? I heard the CMs were not very organized, that people weren't trained thoroughly. The Fantasy looks so beautiful, can't wait to see more than renderings. Are you guys doing the Eastern or Western? Sorry if I'm being too nosey, I just love trips!

 

[TinkLoverSam]

I love your trip report!!!

Can I ask which October fantasy cruise you have booked? Because I need my DH to be convinced that we want to be platinum CC members

 

[lornak]

We'll be at Aulani in January too! We're going the 13th-21st and I can't wait!

We will overlap by one day! We will be there Jan 8-14!!!

 

[lornak]

How was the Dream's Christening? I heard the CMs were not very organized, that people weren't trained thoroughly. The Fantasy looks so beautiful, can't wait to see more than renderings. Are you guys doing the Eastern or Western? Sorry if I'm being too nosey, I just love trips!

Not too nosy for me! I would want to know, too!!

The whole experience was so unbelievably cool and unique that I don't think I could be critical even if it was warrented! We were treated to a private party in the MK before the cruise. Then on the day of the cruise we were able to be a part of the live audience for the Christening ceremony. And they wined and dined us all along the way!

I will also say that this was not a normal cruise! There were only about 2000 guests total and tons of them were media. The entire pool deck was set up with tables for radio stations. So I didn't get a true feel of the crowds or the service! In fact, my sister and I were the only 2 people in our dinner station! We had great service!!!! I felt it was very organized and well run. But again, this was not a normal cruise---much smaller and I think they pulled out a lot of stops for the press!!!

I did return for a 4 nighter in March and i was very happy with everything except the dinner service. It was very, very slow!!!!

For the Fantasy in 2012 we are doing the Western...it is what lined up with my kids school break!!!

 

[lornak]

I love your trip report!!!

Can I ask which October fantasy cruise you have booked? Because I need my DH to be convinced that we want to be platinum CC members

October 13-20, 2012
Can't wait!!!

Oh yes! Join us and aim for Platinum!!!!!!!!

 

[TinkLoverSam]

Awe! We are currently booked on the October 6th Fantasy Cruise

Oh well, I'm hopeful he will be convinced without having to hear too many testimonials

He did promise me DVC and a cruise for our 5 yr anniversary... Or was it 10? Oh well I'll make sure its 5!

 

[Pinkocto]

The Christening sounds awesome! What a treat to be involved And a private party at MK! WOW!!! I wonder what happened to the people with the bad review.... I know some people just like to complain. Thanks so much for the info!

I hope for your upcoming Dream trip they have faster service Sometimes I'm sure it's nice to relax, but other times there are places to be, things to explore!

All this talk of vacations is really making me think I need to take a quick weekend trip down to WDW!

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

I just read your report. Really great! We were on the july 9 11-night and it's fun to see what a different experience people had on essentially the same trip.

We didn't make it to Villefranche but had planned to do pretty much exactly what you did. I'm still a bit sad about that, but Palma ended up being cool.

Glad you had a great trip! I'm hoping for an Eastern Med. in 2013 myself!

 

[lornak]

Well, that was it--11 amazing days and now we are packed and heading back to Barcelona. I literally cannot believe what we have seen and done in the past 2 weeks!!! Here's a summary of today's day at sea:

8:15 We were both up and ready for the day. I promised Kermit we would eat at least one sit down breakfast and we have left it until the last day! Every cruise I promise we will do this and would you believe we never have?!? But today is the day!

9:00 Breakfast in Lumieres!! I had the eggs Benedict which were very good. Kermit had a pancake and waffle sandwich! I thought that was a hilarious choice! But he loved it! Lumiere's was very quiet and the service was quick!

10:15 Up to the BVT to watch Pirates 4. I have already seen it but Kermit hasn't. We both enjoyed it!

1:00 Must be time to eat again, isn't it?!? We went to Topsiders for the seafood buffet. They had a nice sushi bar in the back (omelet station area) and then once again they had a special station set up outside on the deck. Today they were making Oysters Rockefeller-- I wasn't interested in eating them but it was fun to watch! I wonder if this is a special Med thing or if we will see this on other cruises as well??

1:30 Off to the adult pool with our books!

3:00 I had a ticket to go on the galley tour with Becky but I was enjoying the pool/book so much I decided not to go. I ran down to Lumiere's to let her know but she begged me to stay! I didn't have my ticket AND I was just in my swimsuit coverup BUT I agreed! I am glad that I stayed as there were only 6 people on the tour. That is the smallest group I have ever seen on this tour! Because of the small size we were able to ask a lot of questions and I heard information that I had never heard before. It was worth leaving the pool early!

4:00 I met Kermit in the stateroom and we started packing. Sigh.

6:30 We went to the WDT for the farewell show. Overall it was cute, as usual. However, the same comedian from the other night (Dylan) was performing and while he wasn’t inappropriate he was still terrible! Hardly anyone was laughing! I would be shocked if he made it back on another Disney cruise!!!

7:30 Enjoyed a bottle of Chianti from Rome with Becky and Brant…!

8:30 Dinner was in PC tonight. I had the potato leek soup, chicken sate, beef filet and the sweet temptations dessert. It was very good! We stayed at dinner until almost 10:30--kinda slow again tonight! We hardly ever see Adrian but we are getting used to it!!

Oh, I forgot to mention that Kermit bought me a ring. It is hand blown Italian glass. I wore it to dinner and we goofed around with taking pictures of it. Becky used to be a wedding photographer so we did a wedding hands photo!!

10:30 Back to the stateroom to put our luggage out. I ran down to GS to pay our bill. It was $974 which kinda of surprised me as it didn't seem like I bought very much!

11:00 A bottle of champage had been delivered to our stateroom tonight as a part of our platinum gifts. Kermit and I took it up to Cove Café and sat outside and enjoyed it. We chatted about the trip as well as the upcoming trip home. We miss the kids but really, we could stay another week!!!

12:00 Finally in bed....

 

[lornak]

One nice thing about late dinner----late breakfast on debarkation day!!!

We woke up around 7:00 AM and finished packing. We double checked our bill with GS (some credit adjustments) and went back to the room. We said goodbye to Glenlyss who has been our best stateroom hostess ever. I did make sure to tell Lloyd as well as her direct supervisor what a wonderful hostess she is!! Then it was off to PC for our farewell breakfast. Cyprian was hurrying around today as he is flying home today!! He has to finish up his stations and then get to customs and the airport! He is excited and I am happy he is going home! He had a new email address so he gave me that. He also had a gift for me. He had brought me spices from India. He is so sweet and it was such a wonderful addition to have him as our server for this cruise!!! And really, we have warmed up to Adrian as well. We chatted with him throughout breakfast and he graciously let Cyprian go early and handled the end of breakfast alone.

After breakfast we waited in the lobby for a while a we were scheduled for the 9:30 AM shuttle. But, there really isn’t anything to do so we decided to head off the ship.

We easily found our luggage and looked for the customs check---there isn’t one! We just walked out of the terminal. Becky and Brant were a little ahead of us and all of a sudden we saw them waving us down! The Marriott shuttle was waiting right there! It was there for the 9:00 AM pick up but the driver said there was room for us!! Yes! We were driving away from the port at 9:01 AM! A little girl on the shuttle got sick during the ride. She started throwing up all over her mom…oh we’ve so been there! Becky and I gave her all of the hand wipes and napkins we had in our bags. But it was still quite the mess.

When we got to the hotel we checked in and found we were once again in the elite zone. They did only have one room ready so we said we would just put all of our stuff in the one room and get the second room later. As we were leaving the front desk the mom of the little girl came up to the desk and was very upset that she couldn’t get a room. She got pretty mad and asked for the manager, etc… I did go back to the desk to tell the attendant that she could have our room. But he said no—she wasn’t booked in the elite zone and I don’t think he was too inclined to help her after her fit. I don’t blame her for being frustrated but she could have handled it better---and probably would have been helped!!!

We stopped in the Elite zone for drinks and a quite email to the kids. We brought all the luggage to the room and then decided to head out. We had one more day to enjoy Barcelona and we weren’t going to waste it!!

We headed to the bus stop around 10:30 AM.

We took bus #65 to Espanya and then we split up. Becky and Brant did the hop on/hop off bus tour. Kermit and I wanted to see Parc Guell so we took the metro to Lessups. The walk to Parc Guell is very well marked so we just followed the street signs. We had heard it was a steep walk and while that was true it was nothing like Eze or Monte Carlo so we were fine! I was hot though!! 20 minutes later we arrived at the park entrance. It is unlike anything I have ever seen before. We walked around for over 2 hours and enjoyed the sites. The architecture is so unique and the tile work is just lovely! Gaudi originally designed this to be an upscale housing community! But it totally failed and the city took over it and made it into a park! I had to laugh at the vendors who set up their good on blankets. Then, as soon as they would see a policeman they would grab their stuff and run screaming to the edge of the park. We even saw a bunch of them hiding in the woods!!!

Thank you, Rick Steves!!!

We bought Sivert a little lizard—kind of the park mascot. I also had my picture taken with a guy in a lizard costume and I think he will get a kick out of that!!

We walked back to Lessups with a little shopping on the way. This time we took the metro to Lecieu. I had to go to the bathroom so badly that I had to find a restroom! The only place I could find was the McDonalds on Las Ramblas. I found the restroom upstairs and then had to wait in a long line to get in! Once again I was glad for my travel toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Neither were provided!!!

I had two dinners I wanted to have---Paella and Tapas. Paella won out and we chose a restaurant right on Las Ramblas and sat outside. Service was really, really slow!! I sipped a sangria while we waited but the whole thing took over 2 hours! The Paella was ok but not great---I should have gone for the Tapas bar we were considering! Oh well. I can at least say I have had Paella in Spain!!

We wandered towards the Bari Gotic and got one more gelato (carmel dolce and mint--E3,50). We wandered to the cheese shop but it wasn’t open. I was starting to get a headache so we went back to the little coffee shop that we like and got coffe and more churros y chocolat (E5)!! It was a nice break but my headache was getting worse. We tried the cheese shop one more time but still no luck—bummer. I told Kermit I thought we better leave as it was a full blown migraine coming on. We walked back to the metro station and took it to Espanya. We then crossed the street over to the bus stop. As we were waiting for the bus, Becky and Brant showed up!! There is no way we could have planned to meet up if we had wanted to! But here they were! I was really hurting by the time we got to the hotel. We quickly got our second room and my head was so bad I had to go to bed. The other three went to the lounge for tapas and wine. They said they had cheese, noodle/shrimp salad, beef with mushrooms, olives, cucumbers, peppers, dip, omelets and a few other things. What a great perk!! I woke up at 8:30 and was feeling better. I went downstairs to see what everyone was up to. I had a glass of wine in the lounge and then we all went to the hotel bar to chat. I had ice cream (E6 for 2 scoops!) and Brant had pizza, etc… Mostly we enjoyed talking about the trip, listing our highlights, talking about what we would love to do again, etc. I am really glad we had this day to decompress a little bit instead of flying right home! We went to the room around 10:30 PM. I flooded the bathroom trying to take a shower! I had read about the funny shower doors online—it was true! There was no way to keep the water in the shower!!! I was in bed by 11:30…

I can’t believe it is over! What an amazing trip!!!

 

[Jillpie]

Wait, wait, wait don't go!! oh, I feel like I've made a new friend and now we have to say goodbye. I LOVED this report, it was so well done. I hope you do another one on your next trip and better yet, I hope I find it somehow!!. Loved your ring, and your engagement ring is gorgeous. See you next time!
Ps oh I just went back and found your very last day, bonus! How did I miss that. Fantastic colors every where, seriously! So sad to hear about your migraine, my DH feels your pain about once a year. Ouch. So can you give us one more report about your very last morning and flight home, please!

 

[lornak]

Wait, wait, wait don't go!! oh, I feel like I've made a new friend and now we have to say goodbye. I LOVED this report, it was so well done. I hope you do another one on your next trip and better yet, I hope I find it somehow!!. Loved your ring, and your engagement ring is gorgeous. See you next time!

Thanks, Jillpie! I feel the same way about my new friends on the DIS!!! But I'm not going away yet! I decided to do 2 more posts (plus of course I will answer any questions!!!). I have a little journaling from the trip home and then I thought I would do a summary post....some of the things I learned, the things I would do differently, etc.. Basically I am just now making stuff up to stay on here!!!