Think of all the joy you’ll find …….. Update - January 06

[adamki]

Congrats on your spring plans ... I just wanted to chime in to say that you may not have to dismiss AirBerlin in the future.

AirBerlin has been pretty good in my experience (flown JFK-TXL and JFK-DUS, DUS-MUC on Nikki). For long haul flights, meals are free (http://www.airberlin.com/site/landingpages/economy_class_long.php?cid=2) including beer, wine and spirits, just like Lufthansa. We received dinner and breakfast to Europe and, IIRC, Lunch and a snack back to the US. The paid meals are only on short haul European flights, as far as I know.

The standard economy seats are acceptable (as acceptable as any airline's economy seat) and I didn't feel like I needed to pay extra for the XL option.

The Nikki short haul flight was very nice; the staff was friendly and we got a warm snack on that flight as well (free of charge).

The cost to get to Salzburg might still be an issue, but they might have a good fare from another city in the future.

 

[jenseib]

I am so glad you checked with the airline. I know many say non refundable but many times they will change the date for a fee.

Wow about the safe in your room. Makes you wonder what the last person did? Did they lock themselves out of it and did a little safe cracking to get their things out? LOL.

 

[linetbo]

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Wonderful news on changing the flights! That's excellent! Loved all of your updates can't wait to read more!

 

[dizneeat]

Such exciting news on not losing the money and getting a bonus 9-day trip to Flower & Garden.

Thank you, Kathy!
I was pretty sure the money would be lost, so my excitement was huge, once I found out I could just change the date for a little fee. We loved the two half days in April we had at F&G, so to have nine nights should be awesome.

How wonderful that you get to go in March! That's some terrific customer service on Lufthansa's part too.

I am so happy with the way Lufthansa handled this. Tom and I had already made peace with the fact that the money was gone, but to have it changed into an extra trip was just the icing on the cake.

I love Flower and Garden. My daughter and I both have birthdays during the last week of March, so we have been there a couple of times during Flower and Garden, but not since they added the food kiosks to the event.

We have often seen them getting things prepped for F&G during our visits in late February. So it was so exciting to go DURING F&G and we loved the few hours we had. And now to be able to go back and have really time to enjoy the flowers, the gardening and the food.

I had no idea they were serving breakfast at BOG! Very awesome and it all looks delicious.

They had only started serving breakfast a few days before we went and I had been so lucky to score a reservation. It seemed like the perfect way to start off Tom's birthday. And the food was pretty good and there was plenty.
It is a bit on the pricey side, but figuring in that they give you a plate of pastries to share, it was okay.

Love when this happens. You're own private monorail

Since we usually go at the most crowded season this is something that is so unusual, so we really enjoyed the ride.

Thank GOODNESS we weren't there around Easter time. DM would have gone nuts over these!

Those baskets were so cute. They were mainly themed for kids. Had we had a kid with us, I guess I might have bought one or two.

Love Tom's shirt! Did you guys make it?

No, that is an original DCL shirt we bought a year or so ago. Tom likes to wear it and it is a perfect "get on board" shirt. He did make one himself though, which he wore during the cruise and got lots of praise for from friends and even cast members.

Oh my gosh, love the runner! And you can take it home too?

Yes, you can and we did! It is a cute momento of his birthday trip.

That is so awesome that he remembered you. You guys are definitely popular.

It always amazes me how they remember you. They can peek into the guest list and look for people they have served on previous trips, but I would have a hard time remembering people. Jason on the other hand might remember us because we were carrying large amounts of Austrian candy and he was such a great server he got to choose whatever he wanted every evening.

That's great that it didn't take long, but i'm surprised that the stateroom host didn't notice it when getting it prepped for new guests

Lesha, I would not have noticed it, had I not tried to open the safe. If you stuck it in the "closed" position, it was hard to tell, but once you opened it, the panel fell. It was easy to overlook.

I am SO happy that you were able to get someone helpful on the phone to get those tickets reused! So now you really only have 9 months till a Disney trip!!!

We are so grateful to Lufthansa for changing the tickets and cannot wait to go back for F&G. We loved it a lot last April.

 

[Flossbolna]

Love that trip logo!! And I am so happy that my tip worked out so well for you! I bet they realised how loyal customers you were and that was one of the reasons why something that was not supposed to happen was suddenly possible. And I guess the fact that there are now flights with Air Berlin from Salzburg is something that they are aware of as well.

I am so amused about how two little remarks from me now have totally shaped your travel plans from 2016!!

 

[GoofyFan1515]

I was putting things into the big wardrobe when we saw that the safe was broken and I really mean broken.

Wow! Yep, that is pretty much a good definition of broken! So glad it didn't turn into another lingering cruise issue...........

as we knew there were several friends watching and they might just spot us if we waved just enough. And needless to say, a little later I got a message from my friend Teresa with a photo of us attached.

What a super cool thing that you were spotted and got to see the picture.

So we arrived at the restaurant a few minutes after it opened and there were only two families ahead of us and within a few seconds we were led to our table for two. Our serving team came right over and introduced themselves, went through the allergy spiel and soon brought out our Diet Cokes, followed by the bread service,

Yum!

Soon it was time for main courses. Tom had ordered

Prime Rib, that I don’t see on the online menu and it came with a baked potato and some veg.

Yummy Yum Yum!!!

He WAS able to change our flights to Spring/Easter 2016 for a fee of 240€ for the two of us and we are now going back to WDW for 9 days during Flower and Garden.

Great news! Congrats on the big get...........I know you are super excited!

 

[dizneeat]

Congrats on your spring plans ... I just wanted to chime in to say that you may not have to dismiss AirBerlin in the future.

Unfortunately AirBerlin ARE out of the race. We have flown them once from our home town to Berlin, when they were still flying out of here and we were not keen on them. I am happy to hear you had good experiences and if I lived in a city that they fly out of I might even consider them again, but figuring in ALL the cost comparing them to other bigger European airlines they would cost me as much as Lufthansa does AND I would need to get to a different city to fly out of and would not arrive at the desired destination.

The paid meals are only on short haul European flights, as far as I know.

Thank you for the link. I had not seen that before. But there "sign up" for extra meals is cleverly placed and I guess we would not have been the only ones falling into that trap.

The standard economy seats are acceptable (as acceptable as any airline's economy seat) and I didn't feel like I needed to pay extra for the XL option.

At our age we like to have that extra room and since LH offers premium economy, that is what we book. Just a little more legroom makes a huge difference for us. And while the regular economy seats might be "acceptable" for some, the few times we travel I like to not have my knees against the seat in front of me.
And since we would book premium economy on LH I need to figure in that extry "luxury" as well (as well as the second piece of luggage I can take in PE on LH)

The Nikki short haul flight was very nice; the staff was friendly and we got a warm snack on that flight as well (free of charge).

Fly Niki has always had impecable service, as had Niki Lauda's previous airline "Lauda Air". Their catchphrase was "Service is our success" and it truly was. They started catering with "Do&Co" which is awesome - Austrian Airlines caters there too and if you get the chance to fly with them you will be VERY well taken care of. They fly "for your smile".

The cost to get to Salzburg might still be an issue, but they might have a good fare from another city in the future.

It is not only the cost to get to Salzburg - they also fly out of Salzburg incredibly early, so if we went by train we would have to spend the night in Salzburg - and since I think that W.A.Mozart airport is the same as ours, then it is closed overnight and we would have to spend the night at a hotel. Plus, they would fly into Miami, not MCO, so that adds to the cost and is time consuming as well.
We might consider AirBerlin, if they come back to our airport for flights to Berlin - but I doubt we will ever fly long distance with them.

I am so glad you checked with the airline. I know many say non refundable but many times they will change the date for a fee.

I was just in awe that they would change the flights for us.
Usually in Europe - non refundable means exactly that. So this was a gift from heaven!

Wow about the safe in your room. Makes you wonder what the last person did? Did they lock themselves out of it and did a little safe cracking to get their things out? LOL.

About the safe - I guess, the people who stayed in the stateroom before us, just left the safe open and the wardrobe door slid and closed itself. The safe door is easily caught in it, but it was seriously broken.

Wonderful news on changing the flights! That's excellent! Loved all of your updates can't wait to read more!

Thank you for sharing our excitement on the flights. We are SO happy.
More updates to come very soon!

 

[dizneeat]

Love that trip logo!! And I am so happy that my tip worked out so well for you! I bet they realised how loyal customers you were and that was one of the reasons why something that was not supposed to happen was suddenly possible. And I guess the fact that there are now flights with Air Berlin from Salzburg is something that they are aware of as well.

Thank you. Tom takes great pride in creating a logo for every trip and I thought this one was a nice one too.
I just could not believe when they offered to find a solution. Usually when something says non refundable, it is non refundable. So this was such a nice surprise and I guess Lufthansa will get even more of our business.

I am so amused about how two little remarks from me now have totally shaped your travel plans from 2016!!

Yes, you did .... and what great vacation plans we owe to you.

Wow! Yep, that is pretty much a good definition of broken! So glad it didn't turn into another lingering cruise issue...........

We were surprised at how fast this was resolved and I was glad I took a photo of it, or otherwise we would have completely forgotten about it.

What a super cool thing that you were spotted and got to see the picture.

It was awesome when my friend sent me the photo. What a great momento of our sail away.

Great news! Congrats on the big get...........I know you are super excited!

We are!

 

[dizneeat]

​

Day 3, March 30

Welcome to the Conch Republic - Part 1


After a good night’s sleep we were up again at around 7am and after getting ready we walked down to Lumiere’s for breakfast. It was advertised as brunch and without any wait we were invited inside the restaurant and taken to a restaurant. We had just sat down when an assistant server introduced himself and asked for our drinks order. I thought I’d try some tea and ordered Earl Grey, while Tom asked for some coffee.

He quickly returned with the coffee and hot water and when he saw the water in my cup he apologized before I could even have a good look. The water had a slight brown tint, showing that the thermos had contained coffee before and had not been rinsed enough. He disappeared and returned with extra hot water and a new cup. And soon my tea was brewing.

In the meantime we had studied the menu, thankfully declined the Danish pastry and ordered our breakfast items. I usually have the Morning Tug boat, but did not feel like it and instead asked for simple

Cornflakes and some milk. Tom on the other hand stuck with his beloved

Swiss Bircher Muesli, Muesli with Raisins, Shredded Apples and Yogurt.
Service was so different compared to our European cruise and we were really happy and enjoyed our breakfast starters. And as soon as our dirty plates were whisked away, our main breakfast courses arrived. Tom had ordered the

Express, Scrambled Eggs, Grilled Ham, Bacon, Sausage, and Hash Browns and I had thought why not start this cruise off right with my favourite vacation breakfast, the

Traditional Eggs Benedict, Toasted English Muffin with Grilled Canadian Bacon served with Poached Egg topped with Hollandaise Sauce. Both were really yummy and needless to say we were pretty happy when we finally said goodbye to our great servers. We would not arrive at Key West until around noon, so we decided to head back to our room, gather our FE gifts and hand them out. And when we arrived at our stateroom we were surprised to find it all cleaned and made up already.
Score on the stateroom host, Edwin, so far.
So, after filling our gifts into one of the big carrier bags we had brought and a restroom stop we headed right out to deliver our gifts. It took us about an hour to finish handing out the gifts and once we were done we went straight to guest services to ask if there was a galley tour offered. The crew member there looked for quite some time, then told us that since we were Platinum, we were eligible for the galley tour. We were a bit stunned, as so far the galley tour has always been open to all guests, but we didn’t question it. He offered us two times and we picked one, he printed out the tickets and off we went. We were in such a good mood that we decided to hit the stores.
If the mood is right we are most likely to buy quite a few things.
So we walk up to the shops and while walking I look into the shop window and someone catches my eye.
And while we both were still not sure if we should believe our eyes while standing in the door, Oksana came flying towards us, hugging both of us while quite a few other guests were looking on.
Now, I need to let you know that Oksana and us go way back to our first cruise on the Dream, 12 cruises ago. Whenever we have cruised on the Dream, she was there and we have become really good friends. In February last year she had told us that she wanted to try to get onto the Magic for the summer but she never was assigned to the Magic in the summer. Instead she had just started her new contract on the Magic now. We were chatting away for a long time, with some of her crew members looking on and we were all so happy that there were only few guests in the shop so we could catch up on each other’s lives.
Oksana told us that she was in charge of the duty free shop in the afternoons, but had to help out where she was needed otherwise, so we knew where to find her lateron during the cruise. After quite a while she had to go back to work and we rushed back to our stateroom to put to together an array of Milka chocolates, which we know, Oksana loves. As soon as we had filled a bag with chocolates for her we went back to the shop and found Oksana still behind the counter. We walked up to her and mentioned that we needed to return the items in the little shopping bag we had and she was all business until she opened the bag. Then, again, the hugging started again, before she had to quickly go offstage to sample some of the chocolates. For us it was time to head to the top deck as we would be approaching Key West pretty soon and we wanted to secure a good spot at the front of the ship. Quick stop in the room for another restroom break and to pick up our cameras and off we went again.

It was pretty windy, but there was still lots of space on the top deck and we quickly found a spot and stayed put. Key West was still quite a way away, but it was great to enjoy the sun and see us get closer.

We talked about the different landmarks as they came in sight and were in awe, when we got a lot closer and we could see our favourite resort, the Southernmost Hotel at the Beach from the Magic.

To be continued ..........​

 

[Flossbolna]

I am so happy that you enjoyed your breakfast experience so much better than in the summer! Your eggs look lovely.

And while we both were still not sure if we should believe our eyes while standing in the door, Oksana came flying towards us, hugging both of us while quite a few other guests were looking on.
Now, I need to let you know that Oksana and us go way back to our first cruise on the Dream, 12 cruises ago.

Is Oksana a rather tall lady with short blond hair? There was an Oksana working in the gallery on our cruise who seemed to have a German flag under her name tag and we always meant to talk to her, but she was constantly busy helping people buy pricey Disney art when we passed through the gallery!

 

[dizneeat]

I am so happy that you enjoyed your breakfast experience so much better than in the summer! Your eggs look lovely.

Far better experience! And breakfasts again were yummy and service top notch!

Is Oksana a rather tall lady with short blond hair? There was an Oksana working in the gallery on our cruise who seemed to have a German flag under her name tag and we always meant to talk to her, but she was constantly busy helping people buy pricey Disney art when we passed through the gallery!

YES!!! That IS Oksana. You know, this started a little tune in my head .... it's a small world after all ......
Awesome to hear that she is out of the tiny duty free shop. She really hated it there. Now, don't tell me you ran into my other girl, Nuna from Thailand (I think) too.

 

[MEK]

How lovely that you ran into Oksana. I do remember you talking about her on your prior TRs. I am sure she was thrilled to see you.

I seriously can not wait to cruise into Key West on the Magic. I am really looking forward to it. And your breakfast looks amazing!

 

[Jessicandice]

I loved reading all your updates

 

[caroleRWO]

So exciting - another Karen and Tom report. Loving reading about your travel and new plans - especially that you will be able to do the Panama Canal cruise. Im sure that will be very special.
So pleased you are having a better time on the Magic as we love her - will be taking our third Transatlantic in September. We know Nuna, if she is one of the wonderful serving team in Keys - our favourite spot on board.

Can´t wait for the next installment.
Carole.

 

[dizneeat]

How lovely that you ran into Oksana. I do remember you talking about her on your prior TRs. I am sure she was thrilled to see you.

I seriously can not wait to cruise into Key West on the Magic. I am really looking forward to it. And your breakfast looks amazing!

It was just so awesome running into Oksana. She is so much fun to be around and really made our day.

You are going to love Key West. I really hope that the Magic gets moored at Mallory Square. It takes a bit of the fun out of it if you have to wait for the trolley, but it was great anyway.

I loved reading all your updates

I am happy you enjoyed the trip so far. More to come very shortly.

So exciting - another Karen and Tom report. Loving reading about your travel and new plans - especially that you will be able to do the Panama Canal cruise. Im sure that will be very special.
So pleased you are having a better time on the Magic as we love her - will be taking our third Transatlantic in September. We know Nuna, if she is one of the wonderful serving team in Keys - our favourite spot on board.

Can´t wait for the next installment.
Carole.

Hi Carole!
It's great to have you here. We were very happy on our last cruise. I was so worried that it would be like in the summer, but it was totally different. We really enjoyed our cruise on the Magic.
I really hope Nuna is on the Magic in September - if she is, please give her a hug from us. She was in O'Gills during both of our cruises on the Magic, but she told us that she used to be in Keys.

 

[dizneeat]

​

Day 3, March 30

Welcome to the Conch Republic - Part 2

We talked about the different landmarks as they came in sight and were in awe, when we got a lot closer and we could see our favourite resort, the Southernmost Hotel at the Beach from the Magic.

There was a Carnival ship moored at Mallory Square which was a bit of a downer as it meant that we would be moored at the other pier at Fort Zachery (which actually turned out to be quite fun in the end).

And while the Magic was dropping anchor at the pier

there were several airplanes flying over it and it was fun to see it fly so low over Key West until they reached the airport.

Once the ship was finally tied to the pier we went back to our stateroom to cool down a bit. The FE was pretty full and we emptied it out and looked through the goodies

with one of them being a very nicely smelling package of detergent and drier sheets. Definitely an awesome idea. We were getting ready to get off the ship when we heard the announcement that because of traffic there were only a few trolleys running into the city and wait times would be longer than expected, up to an hour.
Yeah, just what we wanted to hear – NOT!
We instantly decided to stay on board a bit longer and order some lunch. So I picked up the phone and ordered some room service. To our huge surprise it didn’t even take 15 minutes and our food had arrived. The tray was placed on the small table

and we were ready to dig in. We had ordered a

Caesar Salad, Romain Salad tossed in a creamy Parmesan Dressing, the

Chicken Guacamole Fajita with red Onions and Crisp Lettuce, the

Crispy Chicken Tenders served with Barbeque Sauce and Tom’s favourite, the

Buffalo Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese and Honey Mustard Dip. It was a yummy lunch and we were stuffed once we were done. And by now the crowds had to have subsided. So we changed, then walked down to the gangway and ……

To be continued ..........​

 

[englishrose47]

Now you had to post pix of eggs benedict to tempt me !!! They are sooo yummy looking . Nice FE gifts too !! I am having a hard time fiding much Dis time with work tiring me out I come home and crash . If I start to Dis I am pretty soon nodding off !!

 

[kel585]

All caught up. Love the detailed trip reports that you write. Can't wait to read about the rest of your vacation.

 

[Poolrat]

All caught up - a Quick but lovely start to you trip once you got on property. Beautiful sunrise and a lovely breakfast at BOG. Seems like the first day on the Magic was Magical as well. Lots of good things happening, familiar faces and good food. I am glad the safe got taken care of quickly and easily.

Ah Key West. Looking forward to hearing about it. Hopefully you can get off soon but at least a quick and yummy lunch.