Med Cruise June 1 - No Freaking Out! Update 6/17

[ukintheus]

I apologize but there will be a slight delay on my next update. Our house took a direct lightning strike a few days ago. We have two holes in the roof but thank goodness the house didn't start on fire. Many of our appliances were casualties of the lightning strike (washer, dryer, TV, Xbox) including our one and only laptop! It works but won't charge so its nearly dead. And I had all of my photos on there! So I maybe ill try to eek out one last post before it kicks the bucket for good. We'll see but hang tight for more to come!

So sorry to hear that, but glad that the house is safe and so are you! I hope that you manage to get everything off your laptop or that it is OK. We'll all still be here following along whenever you manage to get life back in order.

 

[Tracerr00]

I was able to get some photos off of the computer before it went to its final resting spot! So let’s get started with day 3 – Magic check in day! The day before, we’d arranged for a taxi to pick us up at 10:30 am, figuring we’d be to the port around 11 am. Eilee put on her Barcelona soccer “Messi” jersey for the occasion that we bought the day before. We slept in and we’d gotten Dunkin Donuts again the night before to eat for breakfast…but we’d eaten them all before morning so we had to go out to grab a little something. Luckily there was a Starbucks about ½ block from our hotel! I know, I know Starbucks of all things! So I grabbed some euros out of an ATM while Diane and Eilee went to Starbucks. Our driver came right on time and it took about 10 minutes to get to the port and we were there by about 10:45. He dropped us off right at the terminal. On the way there we saw some families walking over that big bridge with their luggage and we were glad we didn’t decide to do that! I figured we’d be too early but when we got there, we saw this big line and we went to stand in it.


They must have started letting people into the terminal by about 11 because we didn’t wait very long and the line moved fairly quickly. This is a shot of the check in area. There was a line for Castaway Club members and a line for first timers and neither line had a wait at all.


There was also a desk where you could register your kids for clubs and an area just for concierge people. Here is the activities registration.


When we got into the main terminal and it was pretty empty.


We found a seat right up near the gate and then I made my daughter get in line with me to get a picture with Mickey. They told us that Mickey would soon be gone but Minnie would be coming out and we got our picture with her. I realized I forgot my camera so I don’t have a shot of that. We soon hooked up with a family that we met on the DIS – kikids. We each had 13 year old girls who would become inseparable during the cruise!

We were boarding number 5.


And in no time they were calling our number! I looked at the clock and it was 12 pm on the nose when we were walking in. We got our family photo and proceeded onto the ship. It was so exciting!

I totally forgot about them announcing families as we came in so we didn’t think of anything clever. But afterwards we agreed that we would have said the Aaron Rodgers family (we’re from Wisconsin so we’re big Packers fans!).
And I just have to say that I love the Magic. I loved the Dream – it’s state of the art, but the Magic is more my size and it just says classic Disney. I know they’re making updates too it soon but I hope it retains its classic feel.

We couldn’t get into our cabin until 1:30 so we decided to go right away to try to get a Palo brunch reservation for the following day which was a sea day. I have a photo of the sign up area that I’ll add in here later! We were only about third in line and we got a reservation for 10 am on Sunday.

We then went to check out The Edge for my daughter. I’ll say up front that my daughter LOVED The Edge and the kids she met there. On the first day she met a group of wonderful kids that she hung out with for the entire cruise and she had amazing things to say about her counselors as well. Every single day, Eilee told me how much fun she was having. It made this mom feel very good.

We then went to have a bite to eat at the Topsiders buffet. The food was good and I think I tried a bit of everything! Eilee grabbed a wave phone and immediately sent a text to kikids (Cindy’s) daughter to see if she wanted to hang out and then I don’t know if I saw her for the rest of the day until dinner! My sister and I tried to find the walking tour of the ship at 2 pm and we went to the area listed on the Navigator and no one was there. So we walked around on our own. Soon it was time for the Sail Away party – it’s called something new now and I can’t remember what it is! But it was very cute.



And here is just a random shot of the Princess photo op from that day. It’s so darn cute!


I had one rule on the ship for Eilee (well, other than to be respectful of the ship and other passengers) and that was that she has dinner with us every night. So we met our table mates and they were fanastic! We loved them! It was a mom, dad and 13 year old daughter from Hawaii. They were so fun to talk to and we enjoyed having dinner with them. After dinner we went to the show which was a little sampler of all the shows and entertainment we’d be seeing during the cruise. I’m pretty sure we hung out in the room after that, got unpacked and were lazy. All in all, a very fun filled day!

Up next – day 4 of our trip, a sea day. And PS I do have more photos from this day but they did not upload. I'll work on that soon!

 

[Tracerr00]

Oh my goodness how intense! I am sure all your readers hope that you stay safe and sane and don't lose the pictures!

The problem with the laptop is that it works but doesn't charge! I was able to get most of them onto a jump drive so they're saved. But now I don't have a computer to do my updates from. I'm sneaking it in at work today...shhh!!!

SORRY!

We had some major storms here too, but I got lucky again and nothing bad happened. People near me aren't near as lucky (There's a house down the street that was totaled by a GIANT tree )

I'm just glad there wasn't a fire. Everything can be replaced so we were lucky. But it's pretty boring with no tv and no laptop! Sorry to hear about your neighbors. I hope they get everything fixed soon.

Hi Tracey
We are along for your cruise. ( as recommended by Joh) looking forward to this and have already got some ideas for our trip. Dunkin Donuts included.

Any friend of Joh's is a friend of mine! Thanks for following along. And the Dunkin Donuts is right by the Boqueria. I'm just sayin!

So sorry to hear that, but glad that the house is safe and so are you! I hope that you manage to get everything off your laptop or that it is OK. We'll all still be here following along whenever you manage to get life back in order.

I managed to get some photos onto a jump drive and load some photos for the report though some didn't make it. So I'll work on getting more onto today's update when I have a chance. Thanks for hanging in there with me!!

 

[wilma-bride]

Gret update Tracy. I have you to thank for the fact that I have now decided I must do a trip to Barcelona, it looks so beautiful

I can't believe how empty the boarding area was - was the cruise full, do you know?

I was so excited to see the photos from the ship. The Magic was the first ship we sailed on and so has a special place in my heart. I'm glad Eilee made some friends - and that meant that you were able to enjoy some adult time while she was enjoying some teen bonding

I can't remember, have you done a Disney cruise before?

I can't help but notice that you have a new ticker - you're signed up for the Princess 1/2 again next year, I presume. Does that mean you won't be able to make it to WDW in March when I'm there with my DD?

 

[Tracerr00]

Gret update Tracy. I have you to thank for the fact that I have now decided I must do a trip to Barcelona, it looks so beautiful

I can't believe how empty the boarding area was - was the cruise full, do you know?

I was so excited to see the photos from the ship. The Magic was the first ship we sailed on and so has a special place in my heart. I'm glad Eilee made some friends - and that meant that you were able to enjoy some adult time while she was enjoying some teen bonding

I can't remember, have you done a Disney cruise before?

I can't help but notice that you have a new ticker - you're signed up for the Princess 1/2 again next year, I presume. Does that mean you won't be able to make it to WDW in March when I'm there with my DD?

Barcelona is lovely!! I seriously figured that it was just a stop on our way to the cruise but it ended up being one of my favorite places.

The boarding area wasn't empty for long! That was just how it looked when we got there at 11 am. It started to fill up more and more while we were sitting there for over the course of an hour.

We have been on a cruise before. We went on a Dream cruise last year and I loved it! But I think the Magic is my favorite...so far! But maybe that had a little something to do with being in the Mediterranean.

Yes! I did sign up for the Princess half marathon again!!! My sister and niece are coming with me this time and it will be a blast. But I'd totally love to come and visit when you're there with your DD. The only issue might be that it's spring break time - I fly for free but only if there are open seats on the plane and they're generally pretty full during spring break. But you can bet I'll still try!!