A Trip of Many Firsts (very detailed, Med Cruise)UPDATED 3/8

[Kaleigh]

Second Day- Conclusion. So, I knew I would screw up if I tried to go by memory instead of by looking at my navigators. The Mickey Mania game was actually AFTER the main program that night. What is the importance in that small detail, you may ask? Well, now that I remember that, I recall that James didn't even want to go to the show that night. He was reading a book, and I left early to explore the ship and begged him to meet me there. He did, and the show was so impressive to him, he decided to get involved. A small detail, but interesting to note.
After the game show was our first dinner. We were in Parrot Cay, and Eliza and Maynard were there waiting for us. We clicked immediately with them, and we would later learn that we had quite a bit in common with them. They live, quite literally, in the back yard of Disneyland and are two of the neatest people we have ever met. Unfortunately, they were the best thing about dinner that night as the food was slightly/ very disappointing. Both of the guys steaks were overcooked and mine was just kind of eh. Dinner took quite awhile, mostly because we were talking and laughing with Eliza and Maynard. One of our servers later told us they thought we all knew each other.
Well, James had seen 2 words on the navigator that always capture his imagination... scavenger hunt. And he decided that we were going to this scavenger hunt in Rockin Bar D's after dinner. We hoped to be looking all over the ship for things, and feared for something hokey. We made our way down, and began a ritual which we would follow each night after dinner: adult time at Rockin Bar D's.
David, our emcee, told us to all get in groups of at least 4. Our group ended up being: me and James, a couple that appeared to be in their 60's, Susan and Mike, an Irish guy who appeared keen to live up to the Irish stereotype, and a guy, Greg, who was traveling alone and very sweet. Now, this scavenger hunt was one where you had to find a specific item within the room or within the group. An example would be a drink menu, a belt, the shortest person in your group (me), the tallest person in your group (James) and so on. Our group designated James as the leader who would bring the items to the front. All was fine and dandy until David called out "a woman's bra". Now, normally, I would have gladly volunteered, but I was wearing a camisole with a built in bra, so it wasn't coming off. To our shock and laughter, Susan (the 60+ lady) stepped up and wriggled out of her bra so that James could run it up to the front. The one item we could not bring to the front was a man wearing women's shoes because James cannot even fit his toes into a woman's shoes. Lucky for us, he didn't make it up there because they ended up making those guys dance with the bra on, the shoes and other various items. Wait, maybe that would have been good....And thus ended our first day on a Disney cruise. Old lady bra and all!

 

[Kaleigh]

Really enjoying your report. We are on the WBTA Disney Magic cruise in 47 days and I am so excited. I love reading how travellers experience Europe ... we tend to take the old stuff for granted. Looking forward to more.

Congrats on your cruise! It will be so great. Yes, when the oldest buildings you have visited usually come from the 17th century, your "old stuff" is pretty cool. Very cool, in fact. We recently went somewhere that supposedly had a really old church: 1860 and it looked like crap. James and I just looked at each other and went "when is our next trip to Europe?"

 

[cruisecrasher]

More please?

 

[hygienist999]

Keep the posts coming. My family will be going on the 11 night med cruise on June 18, 2011. We can't wait, and as none of us have been to Europe I am researching this trip to death. Can't wait to hear what you thought of the Ports. We plan to do only Disney Excursions and can't wait to hear about what to expect with the ports of call.

 

[Kaleigh]

Day 3- Today was a sea day, so it was great to sleep in and finally catch up to Europe time. We got up and decided to go to brunch at Lumiere's which was actually the only time we ate breakfast or lunch in the restaurants on board. I got fruit and this amazing broiled or pan seared fish with lemon. James got waffles and said they were just okay. Now, I am not sure if I have mentioned this previously, but James is very into history. His degree is in history, he reads it for fun and that is what he loves most about traveling, the history of it all. We saw that there would be some history talks on board and were excited to attend them. Which is why at 10:00 that morning, we headed to the big theatre to listen to the lecturer who was to speak on the history of Tunisia. Neat, huh? Well, it could have been if James had been giving the lecture. And he knows very little of Tunisian history, but he knows more than the guest lecturer did. Just to give you an idea, her sources were from wikipedia and google. It felt like she just googled Tunisia and built a slide presentation about it. We won some chocolate for answering questions right, and that was the high point. So we would NOT be attending any more of this woman's history talks, but unfortunately would be forced to hear her speak again. More on that later. A good part of this is that we might have found a good second career for James after the military. That would be so cool to cruise around, giving lectures on the different ports. He would rock at that because he is such a good teacher.
At 1:00, I went to a cooking demonstration which I was excited about because I have totally been all about the food network lately. James was reading some history book about Malta or something, so I went alone. And who do I see, but Susan and Mike from last night! They invited me to sit with them, which I did. The entree was Jamaican Jerk Chicken with rice and beans. We all got a sample with a small wine sample. It was really good, but the recipe they gave us was not what the chef did at all. And the chef would not have been Food Network Star material if you know what I mean. He was trying, but was just not great at demonstrating or describing what he was doing. It went super fast, then a sommelier came out and talked about wine tasting for a bit. After, I stayed and talked to Susan and Mike for a bit and found out that they were huge Disney fans too, were DVC and even sent their kids on honeymoons using their points. They were a great couple.
So, our DISboard meeting was to be at 2 in the Promenade Lounge, and I drug James along to meet everyone. It went very well, and here is a pic of us all.

We ran into most of these amazing people many times throughout the cruise. Maynard and Eliza missed the meeting as well as this great college kid, Mike, who wants to work for Disney one day. (He and his family were going to hear the history talk on Pompeii; I felt sorry for them.)

 

[Kaleigh]

Keep the posts coming. My family will be going on the 11 night med cruise on June 18, 2011. We can't wait, and as none of us have been to Europe I am researching this trip to death. Can't wait to hear what you thought of the Ports. We plan to do only Disney Excursions and can't wait to hear about what to expect with the ports of call.

Be sure to check out my website which is in my signature as well because I did a ton of research before we left. If you have any questions, let me know.

 

[hygienist999]

Kaleigh, I'm checking out your webpage and it is packed with info. I will certainly go over everything over the next weeks. You really put a lot of time and work into it. Thanks. Allison

 

[Kaleigh]

Kaleigh, I'm checking out your webpage and it is packed with info. I will certainly go over everything over the next weeks. You really put a lot of time and work into it. Thanks. Allison

Thanks Allison! If you have any questions, let me know!

 

[Tinkerkell123]

I'm in! Love the details and can't wait to hear more! I am WAY IMPRESSED at doing a 10-day with a backpack each!!! I am already hard at work to whittle down my packing for our next 7-day. And it's not going well...

 

[Kaleigh]

I'm in! Love the details and can't wait to hear more! I am WAY IMPRESSED at doing a 10-day with a backpack each!!! I am already hard at work to whittle down my packing for our next 7-day. And it's not going well...

Thanks! Good luck with the packing. Just remember, they have a laundry room, and no one cares if you wear the same dress again.

 

[Kaleigh]

Still Day 3- So, this is a very special update to this trip report because it will not be posted on my website due to the fact that my grandma is reading that trip report. Because after the Disboards meet, I had a reservation to the TEQUILA TASTING! Yay!
I am a big fan of margaritas, but had never shot tequila before. James was originally going to participate as well, but was feeling a bit seasick that day, so decided to forego the drinking. But, he came along to watch. One of the disboarder's husbands was going along as well which turned out to be really funny because he apparently dealt with seasickness too, but he had a different take on it. "Drinking cures seasickness, or at least makes you not notice it." I guess the idea is that you are oblivious...?
So we make our way down to Diversions and join a very small group of normal looking adults who, within minutes are shooting tequila like college students. Seriously, they had limes and salt and everything. After the tequila was explained to us, we learned different shooting techniques, then it was a free-for-all with everyone spiking their margaritas with the extra tequila from the shots. Let me tell you, these were large shots. This tasting would be double the price in Epcot. We started with Patron Silver and it got better from there. 3 shots and 2 mini margaritas and I felt good the rest of the day, not sloppy or hungover or headachy, just good. I guess that is what good tequila does. I wanted to do the martini and mixed drinks tastings, but they ended up being when other stuff was going on. Next time!

 

[DontRushMe]

I am in! Can't wait for more!

 

[Kaleigh]

Sorry I have been slow to update the last few days. We just found out that my husband is deploying to Iraq, so my head in not particularly in a trip report place. I promise to get back to it as soon as I can!

 

[croppincolburn]

<hugs> Wish all our men could stay safe with their families. I appreciate all your family sacrifices for us.

 

[java]

Sorry I have been slow to update the last few days. We just found out that my husband is deploying to Iraq, so my head in not particularly in a trip report place. I promise to get back to it as soon as I can!

oh please thank him for all he is doing for us. And hugs to you and thanks for all you sacrafice as well. Really enjoying your trip report and will wait patiently until you feel like writing again.

 

[mrp4352]

Checking in to let you know I'm enjoying it and I'm along for the ride!

 

[PrincessBelle39]

Loving your report so far. We are planning for July 20th 2011 so its great to see what we are in for.

 

[Kaleigh]

Thanks to everyone and welcome newbies! I promise I will try to get my head in trip report space again soon. For some reason, it was supereasy for me to write a trip report when I was planning another trip to Europe. But now that James is going to be gone, and we have no plans to make because they can't be hard and fast, I am at a loss. Thinking of making a solo trip to Reunion, then I could get my Disney fix and meet some other nuts, but it makes me sad to think of going without him.

 

[helenreed]

Thanks to everyone and welcome newbies! I promise I will try to get my head in trip report space again soon. For some reason, it was supereasy for me to write a trip report when I was planning another trip to Europe. But now that James is going to be gone, and we have no plans to make because they can't be hard and fast, I am at a loss. Thinking of making a solo trip to Reunion, then I could get my Disney fix and meet some other nuts, but it makes me sad to think of going without him.

Hi Kaleigh, thank you for your report it is certainly a big help to a newbie like me! We are sailing on the July 20th cruise and i would really like to start talking to some other people who are going to be on it, but don't really know how to do it! I am sorry to hear that your husband is going to Iraq, it must be a very worrying time for you, we send you our warmest wishes from England

 

[WilliamK99]

Thanks to everyone and welcome newbies! I promise I will try to get my head in trip report space again soon. For some reason, it was supereasy for me to write a trip report when I was planning another trip to Europe. But now that James is going to be gone, and we have no plans to make because they can't be hard and fast, I am at a loss. Thinking of making a solo trip to Reunion, then I could get my Disney fix and meet some other nuts, but it makes me sad to think of going without him.

Do what me and my wife do while I am deployed, plan a killer vacation during the 15 day R&R leave or when he redeploys. This time we are doing a Disney cruise during my R&R, so it is making my deployment fly by.... My third deployment and my 3rd Disney R&R leave trip!! (DLP,WDW,DLC)