But You Have Promised Me A Subtropical Paradise

[dolphingirl47]

When we came out of the dining room, Minnie was out for photos. The line was extremely short with only a handful of families in line. This looked like the time had been closed, but looking at the time, Minnie had only just come out. So I asked her escort if Minnie's line was still open and she confirmed that it was. That was an opportunity too good to pass up and I got in line. I did not have long to wait until I got to see her.





By the time I was finished with Minnie, I was definitely ready for my bed. We had a couple of busy days again and I actually felt quite sore, too. When we got back to the cabin, I quickly read our Platinum welcome letter, had a look at the Navigator and took a couple of photos of our towel animal and then it was most certainly time for bed.

 

[Chilly]

Glad you ejoyed the suspension bridge, its so pretty there isn't it.

I like the port hole prop for photos.

 

[Pinkocto]

Wow, mega update!

Your suspension bridge excursion looked great. Bizarre that you didn't have to go through customs to get off the ship considering it was the end of cruise 1.

I love the black dress with the red flowers, very nice great photos of you and Graham.

Platinum lanyard, very cool. Hopefully in the next 5 years I'll make it there.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Glad you ejoyed the suspension bridge, its so pretty there isn't it.

I like the port hole prop for photos.

It really is. It is so hard to believe that this is on the outskirts of a major city. I loved the port hole prop. There will be a variation on this theme later in the trip report.

Wow, mega update!

Your suspension bridge excursion looked great. Bizarre that you didn't have to go through customs to get off the ship considering it was the end of cruise 1.

I love the black dress with the red flowers, very nice great photos of you and Graham.

Platinum lanyard, very cool. Hopefully in the next 5 years I'll make it there.

The trip to Capilano was amazing.

It is kind of strange going on the Castaway Club part of the DCL website. I used to get a big buzz on it telling me how many more cruises I had to go until the next level. Now I just have an anchor and it says "Congratulations. You are Platinum."

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Before I return to the regular programming tomorrow, I just wanted to give people a heads up that I have started a pre-trip report for our December trip. Not everything is set in stone yet, but we have decided that we are definitely going to Orlando for a few days.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=49095244#post49095244

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Day 13

After two busy days, we had another leisurely day. I had set the wake up call for 9:30 as our first commitment that day was the character breakfast at 9:45. We were awake at about 9:00, got up and got ready. We used the extra time that we had to walk a lap around deck 4 where we got the first impression of the beautiful scenery that was waiting for us. Once we completed our lap, we went to Parrot Cay for our breakfast. They already had the decorations for the Golden Mickeys up so I took a couple of photos on the way.















As soon as we entered the restaurant, our serving team welcomed us. They took our drinks order and brought us the menu. We both had coffee. Graham had some orange juice and I had some apple juice. We both had fried eggs, sausages, hash browns and mushrooms. Graham also had some white toast and some fresh fruit and yoghurt. It did not take long until the first character appeared. Dale headed straight for Graham and gave him a hug. Graham complained that he now had fleas. Dale sympathised and then started scratching himself like he had caught fleas from Graham. It was so funny. Dale then came to me for a hug and a photo and then he insisted on a group photo. Minnie, Pluto and Goofy came by in quick succession and gave me a hug first and then positioned themselves in a way that Graham and I were both in the photo. Then there was a bit of a gap before Mickey and Chip visited. Chip must have caught up with Dale at some point before visiting us as he was teasing Graham about his fleas. This was probably the best character breakfast I had on a ship. Before we could escape, our serving team equipped us with some silly hats. I am honestly not drunk in that photo. I think I was just struggling to keep my Minnie bow on my head long enough for a photo. We finished our drinks and said goodbye to our serving team.























Graham went back to the cabin as he wanted to get his camera, tripod and telescope. I had a few errands to run so he told me roughly where he would be. My next stop was the shops. I was very disappointed on the first cruise that there was no special merchandise at all. So I wanted to check out the situation on this cruise. Well, I was impressed with offerings. They had t shirts, sweatshirts and jackets with the logos for the Alaska cruises, soft toys of the characters in their Alaska outfits, two pins (one of which featured Stitch), a totem pole ornament, nesting dolls, a special Vinylmation, fleece blankets in various styles, photo albums and scrapbooks and some merchandise that was produced in Alaska. This was pretty impressive. My main reason for coming to the shop though was to get a gift card to put on my account to cover the photo CD and some souvenirs. I had no problem purchasing the gift card with my debit card.

With the gift card sorted out, I quickly went back to the cabin to pick up the 9 inch Create Your Own Vinylmation that I had brought to be signed. I had a green one signed last year by the gang and Stitch and this time round I was torn between the princesses or the Pixar characters, but decided to go with the princesses. I then went to Guest Services to have the gift card applied to my onboard account and to drop off the Vinylmation. With this taken care off, I went upstairs to Shutters to purchase the photo CD. I then went back to the cabin to get changed. In 2011, I had a pink tea length dress made that I wore for one of the Halloween parties at Disneyland. I had brought this dress along to the cruise as I had an event that afternoon for which the dress code was pink and tiara. As the Princess Gathering would take place straight after the Castaway Club reception and I was not sure how much time I had to get changed between that and the other event, I decided to get changed at this point. I figured it would be nice to be dressed up for the Princess Gathering anyway.

Once I was changed, I joined Graham on deck 4. We enjoyed the view together for a short while and then we went to the Castaway Club reception. This time round we got a table right by where they had set up the Castaway Club backdrop where Captain Mickey would appear later. Pretty much as soon as we had sat down, we were offered a drink. Graham had some sparkling wine and I had a Bellini. We were also offered some fruit and some cookies. The officers arrived shortly afterwards and the cruise director and Captain Thord said a few words. Then Captain Mickey came in and I got in line. Even though I was so close, there were two or three families in front of me. We spoke to a couple of officers that came by our table and we were offered another drink. Once the line for Captain Mickey had gone down, I convinced Graham to have a photo with me and Captain Mickey. After this we left as I had somewhere else to be.

 

[dolphingirl47]

After the Castaway club reception, Graham headed back to his viewing spot and I got in line for the Princess Gathering. Although it was still a little while until it was due to start, the line was huge and went as far back as the back entrance to Triton’s. I have to say that standing in line that day was not a hardship as there are portholes all along this area and the view was just so stunning. I was quite surprised when at one point I looked at my watch and realised I had been in line for about an hour. It really had not felt this long. I have to admit that I got some funny looks of the people passing and all some of the people in line. I assume this was because of my dress and the tiara, but what is wrong with wanting to be a Princess on a Disney ship? There were some people who most certainly agreed with this assessment. The photographers and the characters got a real buzz out of me getting into the spirit of things. This was nothing compared to the princesses though. They asked me loads of questions about which kingdom I come from and what it is like and what I thought of this “castle”. I had some really fun interactions and I am normally a bit shy around the princesses.





















When I was done paying my respects at the royal court, I rejoined Graham on deck 4. He had plenty of company while I was gone. Apparently a lot of crew came by and asked permission to have a look through his telescope. This was a sign of things to come. By the end of the cruise, I am sure that most of the crew knew Graham and his telescope. We admired the fantastic view together for a while and then it was time to head to our next commitment. I had originally tried to organize a Champagne Girls event. On our Panama Canal cruise in 2011, we had a formal Champagne tasting that was organized by Disney Cruise Line. This was what I was hoping to get organized for this cruise, too. About a month before I left for our holiday, I had an email from my contact at Disney Cruise Line saying that the price had gone up from $20 to $30, but for this we would get unlimited Champagne for an hour. I presented this to the group and a lot of people dropped out, which meant that we no longer had the minimum number required. Somebody else in the group took over and the Champagne event was supposed to turn into an afternoon tea that would be open to everybody ho wanted to join. When I told Graham about this, he said that he was interested in this and I signed both of us up for this.

When the time had come to go to the Cadillac Lounge for our group tea, Graham was a bit reluctant to give up his spot, but came with me anyway. We found ourselves some seats right by a porthole. According to the document that Disney Cruise Line had provided, the tea included scones, finger sandwiches, cakes and tea and coffee. We also had paid a little extra to add chocolate covered strawberries. When we got there, a few people from our group where already there. A table had been set up with three dispensers with hot water, normal coffee and decaffeinated coffee respectably as well as cups, spoons, sugar and cream. Some of the people that had arrived earlier told me that they could not find the chocolate covered strawberries and had gone to find them. That should have set off the alarm bells there and then. Eventually some chocolate covered strawberries materialised, but there was no sign of any other food. We both had a cup of tea and I had a couple of chocolate covered strawberries. When it became obvious that the food would not turn up, Graham headed back to his favourite spot on deck 4. I finished my cup of tea and then I joined him. I have to admit I was not a happy bunny as I had very much looked forward to the tea. After we got back home, it transpired that there had been a miscommunication between shoreside and the ship. They have two packages involving hot drinks. One is just the hot drinks on their own and the other is the afternoon tea that we had requested. However, the ship had it down on their records that we just had ordered the hot drinks.

We admired the beautiful view for a while. At one point I went back to the cabin to get my camera again and while I was there, I put the new magnets on our door as I did not have the time to decorate the door with our Alaska magnets the previous day. Once I got back, I was definitely ready for some food. I decided that after the disappointment earlier on, I would have some pizza. Pizza is normally out of bounds as I don’t get on very well with yeast. Still every now and again you have to have something that is not good for you. I asked Graham if he wanted some, which he did. In all the cruises that we have done, he never realised that there was somewhere on deck 9 that serves pizza. I got some pepperoni pizza for Graham and some Italian sausage pizza for me. I think this was the best tasting pizza I ever had, but I think part of the reason for this was that I was eating it outside with such a beautiful view. Once we had finished our pizza, I took the plates back up to deck 9 and got an ice tea for Graham and a soda water and a fleece blanket for myself. I made myself comfortable on one of the loungers wrapped up in my blanket and continued enjoying the view.

 

[dolphingirl47]

 

[dolphingirl47]

Soon it was time for Mickey and Minnie to appear for photos for the first time that evening. As I had missed Minnie in her formal gown the previous week, I decided to go downstairs to make sure that I would definitely get a photo with her this time. However, Mickey was out first. The line was not too long and moved very quickly. I then got in line for Minnie and again I did not have long to wait. Minnie rather liked my dress and I promised her that I would come back once I changed into my formal gown. As there was hardly a line at the blue backdrop, I decided to get some photos there, too before heading back to my lounger.

















We enjoyed the view for a bit longer. We were both spellbound by all the beautiful scenery and we had not even reached Alaska yet. Once the Captain’s reception for the people with early dinner was over, Captain Thord made an announcement about the next day. We would drop of our Canadian pilot later than evening and then pick up our Alaskan pilot early the next day. I could not believe that we were still in British Columbia. He also explained a bit about Tracy Arm Fjord and what we would likely to see the next day. He also advised that we had naturalist on board who would narrate what we were likely to see once we entered Tracy Arm Fjord.













Eventually I started to get a little cold and Graham had seen enough for the day as well. We headed back to the cabin and got changed. I needed Graham’s help again to tie me into my dress. While I then put my make up on and put up my hair, he got ready. When we were both ready, we headed down for the Captain’s reception. As soon as we entered the atrium, we were offered a drink. Graham had a Yellow Bird and I had a Cosmopolitan. We then got in line for the photo with the Captain. The line was incredibly short. We had our photo taken with Captain Thord and briefly talked with him. I then went up to deck 4 to have another photo taken with Minnie. Again the line moved swiftly and it felt shorter still as I was handed another Cosmopolitan as I came up the stairs. Minnie liked my gown a lot and got rather excited. Once I had my photo taken, I headed back downstairs and caught up with Graham. It was nearly time for dinner and we made our way aft as dinner that night was at Animators Palate. We were offered yet another drink and initially we declined, but then figured that we could have this with dinner and we both had another Cosmopolitan.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Dinner that night was the Golden Mickeys menu. I actually was not that inspired by this menu the previous week so I asked for the kid’s menu. There was nothing on there that I really fancied either apart from the steak fries that they served as an option with the kid’s dishes. We both had the Crispy Cheese Ravioli served with Tomato Concasse and Lemon Zest and the Broccoli and Maytag Blue Cheese Soup topped with crushed Walnuts. Graham had the Grilled Ginger-Lime Swordfish Steak with Jasmine Rice, Braised Swiss Chard and Red Pepper Coulis. I had the Yachtsman Steakhouse Grilled NY Strip with Marinated Green Asparagus, Steak Fries and topped with Herb-Garlic Butter. I liked this a lot better than I had the week before and the Steak Fries definitely added something to this. Graham did not have any room for dessert. I had the Sweet Temptations, which consisted of a trio of Crème Brulee, The Golden Chocolate Award, and Raspberry Cheesecake. I did not really fancy the Raspberry Cheesecake, so Graham took this off my hands. During dinner the photographers came round and we had another photo taken. This came out quite nice.



After dinner we headed back down to the atrium to make use of the various photo opportunities. We had photos taken with the bow backdrop that they had used for the Captain's photo earlier, on the staircase and with the backdrop of the ship at night. We then headed up to deck 4 to have photos taken in front of the blue backdrop. I had considered to wait for Mickey to come out again, but I was tired and we went back to the cabin. I set the wake up call, took a photo of our towel animal, had a quick look at the Navigator for the next day and then I got ready for bed.

 

[franandaj]

OK, catching up slowly. That sounded like a very relaxing day at sea from waking up late and then having a leisurely lunch and mixology class. It's so great you got to do it with folks from the DISmeet.

The Pixar characters sound really cool, but some of the menu items you mentioned sounded a little strange. And that's really too bad the steak was dry, that's always disappointing.

The Disney Family museum looks very interesting. Why is it in SF though?

I can answer this one as I attended a D23 Expo seminar on it the year before it opened. Everything Corinna said was right and also they wanted to really distance Walt's life from Disneyland, Disney Studios and those things that have previously "defined" him. They wanted to tell "his" story not the story of his accomplishments. How the accomplishments created the man more so. They knew it could not be in Southern California because that would lump the museum into a trip to Disneyland or the studios. However they did want it to be located near to where Diane Disney Miller and family were located, and close enough to where he built his legacy. By having it in SF, Diane and the family can still exercise some amount of control of special exhibits and merchandise loan. The historic location of the Presidio made sense as it was fairly central and also prestigious.

It's really cool to visit, as you saw in Corinna's report.

OK, back to catch up on another few days. ...................

 

[Pinkocto]

If the scenery is already this gorgeous I can't imagine how Alaska will be.

I have yet to have a character breakfast on the ship. They don't do them on the Fantasy because the dining rooms are so big.

Love the pink dress. Bummer tea time got messed up.

 

[jedijill]

I agree with the PP...love the scenery so far and I know its only going to get better. Love that you dressed up for the princess gathering.

Jill in CO

 

[dolphingirl47]

OK, catching up slowly. That sounded like a very relaxing day at sea from waking up late and then having a leisurely lunch and mixology class. It's so great you got to do it with folks from the DISmeet.

The Pixar characters sound really cool, but some of the menu items you mentioned sounded a little strange. And that's really too bad the steak was dry, that's always disappointing.



I can answer this one as I attended a D23 Expo seminar on it the year before it opened. Everything Corinna said was right and also they wanted to really distance Walt's life from Disneyland, Disney Studios and those things that have previously "defined" him. They wanted to tell "his" story not the story of his accomplishments. How the accomplishments created the man more so. They knew it could not be in Southern California because that would lump the museum into a trip to Disneyland or the studios. However they did want it to be located near to where Diane Disney Miller and family were located, and close enough to where he built his legacy. By having it in SF, Diane and the family can still exercise some amount of control of special exhibits and merchandise loan. The historic location of the Presidio made sense as it was fairly central and also prestigious.

It's really cool to visit, as you saw in Corinna's report.

OK, back to catch up on another few days. ...................

It was a great day. I have spent some more time this time to just take things slowly and hang out rather than rushing from activity to activity. I think especially an Alaska cruise lends itself perfectly to this.

The mixology class was a lot of fun especially because of the company. I was a bit disappointed by the character line up on this particular Pixar Pals Night and the way it was organized this, but on the second cruise it was much better. I got a huge buzz out of meeting Remy and Emile though.

Some on the menus on this cruise were definitely a bit strange.

If the scenery is already this gorgeous I can't imagine how Alaska will be.

I have yet to have a character breakfast on the ship. They don't do them on the Fantasy because the dining rooms are so big.

Love the pink dress. Bummer tea time got messed up.

Alaska was absolutely stunning. I am going to have to spend some time this week sifting through all my Tracy Arm photos as I have over 500 for that day alone.

The character breakfast is nothing special. I really wish they had photographers with the characters. I tend to go if I have nothing else planned.

I had this pink dress made for Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland in 2011. I went to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique before the party and had the whole Princess experience.

I agree with the PP...love the scenery so far and I know its only going to get better. Love that you dressed up for the princess gathering.

Jill in CO

Yes, the scenery will get better still. Tracy Arm was amazing.

I like to claim that I was born to be a Princess so dressing up for this was right up my street.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

OK, I am catching up in leaps and bounds. Your brunch at Palo sounded wonderful, I am now really missing that Chicken Parmigiana after you posted the picture. That is so delicious! I DID make the mistake of doing the chocolate tasting after Palo brunch. I was soooooo full that day! It sounds like you needed the nap that you and Graham took!

The drink you had at the Cove Bar sounded really really sweet! I think it is hilarious that you laid down on the tile lounger in your evening gown. You go girl! You took some beautiful pictures that night. I love the sound of the cheese soufflé!

If you come back in 2014 spring, we'll have to get together again if I am around. Hopefully it isn't during the time that we are planning to drive around the Southwest.

I just love the area near the Empress hotel, it is so beautiful! I'm sorry that the tour didn't work out as you had planned, but I'm glad you still had a nice time anyways. That park was beautiful and you got lots of nice shots! The dinner at Palo sounds wonderful, I can't wait to go back there again. Only a year and three months!

Vancouver is one of my all time favorite cities. I just love Stanley Park, it is such a beautiful place. There are also some great places to eat in that town. I used to go there a lot for my job, so I got to know it really well back about 15 years ago. I'm sure it's changed a lot.

The Treetops Adventure looks amazing! I'm glad that getting back on the ship wasn't a big ordeal. The meet sounds great, it's so nice that so many repeat cruisers were on the ship!

Yay! I'm almost caught back up!

 

[dolphingirl47]

The drink was not actually that sweet, just very rich, but also delicious.

2014 will be for the holiday season. We are hoping to go to Aulani for my big 4-0 in November and are hoping to spend some time at Disneyland either side of this to break up the flight a little.

I am still not quite sure what to make of Vancouver. I did love Stanley Park though.

Corinna

 

[carissa1970]

The drink was not actually that sweet, just very rich, but also delicious.

2014 will be for the holiday season. We are hoping to go to Aulani for my big 4-0 in November and are hoping to spend some time at Disneyland either side of this to break up the flight a little.

I am still not quite sure what to make of Vancouver. I did love Stanley Park though.

Corinna

Aulani in November is wonderful. We did that last year.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Aulani in November is wonderful. We did that last year.

I can't wait. What were the temperatures like in November? We drove past Aulani on our way to and from our excursion last year, but this was the closest we got to Aulani. We did have a look at the model rooms at Disneyland though.

Corinna

 

[Chilly]

We didn't enough time just taking in the views on our cruise so its great you did that today. Shame about the mix up with the afternoon tea, I love a scone!

 

[carissa1970]

I can't wait. What were the temperatures like in November? We drove past Aulani on our way to and from our excursion last year, but this was the closest we got to Aulani. We did have a look at the model rooms at Disneyland though.

Corinna

It was around 80 for the most part, and mid 70's at night. Perfect.