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

[KevieKev05]

Originally Posted by Tink rules

The mixed beer is called a Black and Tan.

the dark beer is Guinness and the light beer is a lighter ale like Bass or something.

Ahhh! Thank you! That definitely rings a bell. They had us try to create that, and mine turned into a mixed mess. So, I took a picture of the one the bartender did, haha. I believe the light beer was Blue Moon. If I remember correctly, they only had us drink half of that one so that we could use the other half to try and create the "Black and Tan."

[Doppler]

we skipped the show this evening: “Comedy and Hypnosis of Ricky Kalmon”).

That is the best show i have ever seen on the cruise why would you skip it?

[mrp4352]

Originally Posted by KevieKev05

Hi there!

Thank you so much for sharing your photos! I was definitely sad that we didn't have a proper "sail away" experience! It was so weird being trapped inside and not having a sail away party! We totally would've been waving from the top deck. But gosh those love bugs were quite horrendous, weren't they?! Was it weird not seeing anybody on the top deck waving?!

You know - there were a few people here and there, more out on the verandahs than up top, and since this was my first time at Jetty Park, I just assumed the Sail-away party was still going on! If I had thought about it, I would have known better - it just didn't sink in that first seating would be starting right about then...

Still, she's a stunning sight sailing by!

[Tink rules]

Originally Posted by KevieKev05

Ahhh! Thank you! That definitely rings a bell. They had us try to create that, and mine turned into a mixed mess. So, I took a picture of the one the bartender did, haha. I believe the light beer was Blue Moon. If I remember correctly, they only had us drink half of that one so that we could use the other half to try and create the "Black and Tan."

Order one at the Rose and Crown... they'll get it right... just don't mix it together...

[KevieKev05]

Originally Posted by Doppler

That is the best show i have ever seen on the cruise why would you skip it?

We really had NO interest in seeing it. We much prefer seeing the Mainstage shows. The only variety act we *almost* went to see was Alfred and Seymour.

Originally Posted by mrp4352

You know - there were a few people here and there, more out on the verandahs than up top, and since this was my first time at Jetty Park, I just assumed the Sail-away party was still going on! If I had thought about it, I would have known better - it just didn't sink in that first seating would be starting right about then...

Still, she's a stunning sight sailing by!

Ah yes. I probably would've snuck out on my verandah too if we had one! When we tried to go out on the open deck up top, they were guarding the doors trying to prevent people from going out. They were letting people get drinks from the soda fountain though. It was just so weird hearing the announcement that no one was to go outside or open doors to the outside! And oh yes...I'm sure she's QUITE stunning! I should go to Jetty Park one day to witness it for myself!

Originally Posted by Tink rules

Order one at the Rose and Crown... they'll get it right... just don't mix it together...

Hahahaha...I actually didn't really enjoy the Guinness, so I don't imagine I will be ordering it anytime soon. Glad I was able to get a taste of it, though!

[Tink rules]

My old boyfriend used to love guinness..

To me it tastes sort of like the drippings from a good roast beef...

[KevieKev05]

DAY 9 - May 22nd, 2011 - Funchal, Madeira (Part 1)

I was woken up by the phone ringing at 7:40. It was room service saying that our order was on the way. I like that they call and give you warning! It looks like we can now use this as our wake up call from now on...not too bad! Within 5 minutes, there was a knock on our door and our food was dropped off!



Unfortunately, our toast was missing, but that’s okay. I started getting ready as soon as I finished eating. James (who is NOT a morning person) slept a little while longer. At about 8:30, I noticed on the “View from the Bridge” channel, that LAND was in sight! I was so overjoyed and I really don’t know why. I think it just all hit me that I had crossed the Atlantic Ocean and was approaching Europe! It was so exciting to me! I decided that I MUST go upstairs and witness our approach with my own eyes!

When I made it up top, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was absolutely beautiful and breathtaking! I had a permanent smile on my face the whole time I was up there. A crowd was definitely forming. It looks like everyone had the same idea I did. And, let’s face it. It was the first time in 6 days that we were all seeing land!

I would switch back and forth from my normal lens and zoom lens capturing as much of the beauty as I could. By 9:00, James had joined me upstairs to witness this amazing sight for himself. The cherry on top of this already awesome experience? Mickey and his friends came up to partake in all the fun and see the sights! I couldn’t believe it! Alright...here they are! The first batch of pictures!





























One of my most favorite pictures from the whole cruise!:

[KevieKev05]

DAY 9 - May 22nd, 2011 - Funchal, Madeira (Part 2)

At about 9:25, we head back to the room to wait for Mom and Dad to be ready. Just 10 minutes later, after telling them about the AMAZING sight, we were all heading back up top to witness the ship docking.













Looks like Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas has docked here!:




At roughly 10:10, the ship was cleared, so we went down to deck 3 to disembark. Within 15 minutes, we were off the ship and walking on LAND! I had reserved a 4.5 hour taxi tour of the island through Daniel Madeira Taxis. We quickly found our driver and cringed a wee bit at the same time. I was thinking we would have a foreign smaller van type taxi. Nope. We had a car that was even smaller than American taxis. Eeeeeks! We later learned why the car was smaller...navigating the roads of the island definitely requires smaller cars. Lots of tight, winding roads with little wiggle room. Alas, I might be getting ahead of myself. As I said, we located our driver and he appeared to be quite nice. We literally crammed ourselves in and off we went! Now, I apologize for not knowing the names of the locations of some of these pictures. I wasn’t able to write stuff down in the taxi and at times it was hard to understand the driver. All I cared about was seeing pretty places, though, so it was all good, haha. According to their website, our tour was supposed to include the following stops: Pico dos Barcelos, Curral das Freiras, Camara de Lobos, Cabo Girao, and Monte. So, here we go!

STOP 1:







Our glorious ride for 4.5 hours (with 4 full sized adults plus the driver):

[KevieKev05]

DAY 9 - May 22nd, 2011 - Funchal, Madeira (Part 3)

STOP 2 (I know this stop was Monte!):

You could take a toboggan ride down the mountain:

[KevieKev05]

DAY 9 - May 22nd, 2011 - Funchal, Madeira (Part 4)





STOP 3:

























STOP 4:

[KevieKev05]

DAY 9 - May 22nd, 2011 - Funchal, Madeira (Part 5)

















Now, we really wanted to buy Madeira wine, but we didn’t have Euros at this point. Naturally, we stopped at an ATM after visiting this place and never found a place to buy it again (plus, it was Sunday, so a lot of places weren’t open). Boo!:










STOP 5:







I don’t know why, but I just love this picture! Local leaning against the wall reading the paper!:

[KevieKev05]

DAY 9 - May 22nd, 2011 - Funchal, Madeira (Part 6)



















(BRIEF) STOP 6:









STOP 7 (apparently the 2nd highest cliff in Europe):







Looking straight down:








What the lookout area will look like after the construction (notice the glass underneath your feet!):








After the final stop, we made our way all the way back to the ship via the more touristy area. At about 2:00, we were back. It didn’t last the 4.5 hours, but we were quite alright with that. It was exhausting and a lot to take in! There were some roads (mainly around Stop 4) where they wound and weaved SO much and had such steep inclines that we were starting to get a little nauseous! Also, we would have to stop and let cars by because the road wasn’t wide enough. We saw busses up in that area and they were struggling to get through on these roads! It was insane!

Anyway, once we were back on the ship, we went straight up to Pluto’s (we were HUNGRY) and took it back to the room to eat.

The day is only HALF done, but I feel this is quite a big update so I’ll stop here for now. There’s still show and dinner pictures to come (tonight was Pirate Night)! I hope you’ve enjoyed all these photos...Madeira is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! Stay tuned!

[Pinkocto]

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

[Shell54]

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!!

[iluvwdw4ever]

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