VWL/Eastern Fantasy Cruise/AKV CL all wrapped into a fabulous b-day trip - Complete

[franandaj]

Mushed together it's a rare thing for me to enjoy my food touching Alison and I are kindred spirits.

I will try to remember that if I'm feeling adventurous

Eggs over easy are one thing that I like to sop up the gooeyness of the eggs with my toast. I also put chunks of my bacon on with the egg whites. But I DON'T like the egg yolks to touch my hash browns! That's the only way I like to eat the yolks, either that or scrambled easy. When we have hard boiled eggs on a salad, I cut the white ends up for me and give the cooked yolks to Fran.

I've been talking about this already and I should put it on my own TR. While I was at the World this past weekend I got a call from my DVC guy inviting me to the preview center at SSR because they have Grand Floridian villas built. Well of course mom and I went over there, I've been dreaming about adding points ever since they sent out the first email. I had all but given up on the idea because I figured the price per point would be astronomical, like $175 or something in that range. But they are starting at $145 and I had to jump on it. I only bought 50 points, but that will allow me to go every third year at Christmas. Of course there's always the 7 month option but this will guarantee Christmas which is most important. I've already changed this December trip to VGF and there will definitely be a TR when that rolls around.

I'm so excited!!!

That's awesome news. I can't do any more add ons, so I'll have to hope that I can get in at 7 months. We don't travel at peak times of the year, so hopefully that will work out for us. I'll be happy to read your TR about the GF. I've stayed there twice before on cash. It was our last trip there that caused Fran to look into DVC. I think our accommodations on that trip came to 1/3 of the cost of our 1st DVC contract.

Sorry you missed the Captain's signing. Thanks for showing the various options at Flo's. It seems that they have similar offerings as they do on the classic ships, just with different names and more centrally located.

We took our goodies back to the room where it had started raining

This sentence cracked me up. I hope your room steward was able to mop up the mess the rain made!

 

[Pinkocto]

We headed up to Palo around 8:00. Cecilia was at the podium and I thanked her profusely for helping to save the evening. Our table wasn’t quite ready so were escorted into Meridian which is a bar in between Palo and Remy. My pictures turned out terribly so I’m not going to bother posting them. We hadn’t been there long when Predrag came to escort us to our table. I loved that we had the same waiter we had at brunch. He gave us two options of where to sit and we chose the same table we had at brunch.



We were both quite happy that this is where the evening led. I would have been totally happy spending the evening with our tablemates, but Palo makes for an extra special evening.



I am so upset some of these pictures are blurry. They looked perfect on the camera when I took them. I apologize for the blurriness.

The antipasto platter, this time we remembered to ask him not to put the peppers on. Neither of us likes peppers and I try not to waste.



Fresh bread and crispy things.



Mom started with the mushroom polenta. She says it’s absolutely amazing.



And the tomato/mozzarella salad, the mozzarella is hiding underneath the tomatoes.



I had a raddichio salad, it was very tasty.



Then we were given a palate cleanser of lemon sorbet. I would be happy having a bowl of this for dessert it is so yummy.



For my entrée I had the tuna. It was AMAZING! So perfectly cooked and seasoned to perfection!



Mom had the mushroom risotto; she loved it just as much as on the Wonder.




She also had a small order of the gnocchi, which she also loved. I had an order as well and I have decided I don’t care for gorgonzola sauce; it is just too strong for me. The gnocchi’s themselves are fantastic, so Predrag suggested I ask for a different sauce next time



Predrag let us digest for a while and then brought us our dessert. We both decided on a chocolate soufflé. I could only eat half of mine, mom was happy to help me finish it.



Predrag also brought us his favorite dessert, some kind of panna cotta with strawberry sorbet. The sorbet was very delicious but neither of us was crazy for the panna cotta.



We were given a sparkling apple/pear juice before leaving. I enjoyed the frozen one they served on the Wonder more though.



After we were thoroughly happy it was time to settle up the bill and leave. Another server offered to take a picture of us with Predrag.



I took a few pictures of the restaurant as we were leaving, it’s a beautiful restaurant.





We had an absolutely magnificent meal except for a nearby table that argued for most of the evening. It appeared to be a brother and sister who were arguing about child raising. Palo is not the place for arguments.

We got back to the room around 10:30 and put on Toy Story 2 again. The TV’s save your place on movies you’ve been watching which is great. We weren't up to going down to the adult magic show at 11:00 so just called it a night.

 

[Pinkocto]

Very cool, congratulations...

Thank you Brandi!

 

[Pinkocto]

oh my goodness, I'm only about 1/3 of the way caught up but better post as it will take me a bit to get through the rest!

Hi Cynthia! no rush I'm thoroughly enjoying your Aulani TR!

I agree about the VWL rooms, they are warm and inviting, for some reason I don't think they photograph well! Mary Ellen and I had one of those HA rooms, the bathroom was huge...but odd.

They have a totally different feel than what they look like in photos. I was very happily surprised. Mom has dubbed WL her second favorite resort after AKL, she totally fell in love with the place.

Someday I would like to do the walk over to the Fort.

It wasn't that long of a walk at all, and I loved seeing the horses. I'll definitely go back to enjoy the atmosphere on a future trip. I almost didn't feel like I was in Florida anymore.

Very strange that they took away the veggie sandwich, not to mention uncool!

I'm still mad about this, that sandwhich was so delicious!

Ann at Senses sounds a bit annoying and pushy, glad you were able to get what you want and how fun to sail away while in the hottub.

I think some of the CMs aren't used to the guests knowing what they want. I didn't need a sales pitch, I wanted to book my massage! I'll have to remember that sail away spot, it was perfect

I didn't like the walking through Cabanas issue either, bad design choice on both the Dream and the Fantasy with that one, it also forces traffic through the "adult only" pool area which kind of defeats the purpose.

As much time as they spent designing these ships you'd think they'd have noticed that it would be a bad idea to put the elevators behind the adult pool. That one bothers me much more than going through Cabanas which annoyed me plenty.

 

[Pinkocto]

Eggs over easy are one thing that I like to sop up the gooeyness of the eggs with my toast. I also put chunks of my bacon on with the egg whites. But I DON'T like the egg yolks to touch my hash browns! That's the only way I like to eat the yolks, either that or scrambled easy. When we have hard boiled eggs on a salad, I cut the white ends up for me and give the cooked yolks to Fran.

The look of runny eggs makes me uncomfortable, I have no idea why, it's a silly aversion. One of these days I need to try them. I really like most other kinds of eggs. This reminds me of the scene in Runaway Bride where Julia Roberts is trying to figure out what kinds of eggs she likes

That's awesome news. I can't do any more add ons, so I'll have to hope that I can get in at 7 months. We don't travel at peak times of the year, so hopefully that will work out for us. I'll be happy to read your TR about the GF.

Thank you I think this will be it for me, hopefully! We don't usually go during peak times either, but there's only 128 units and I really wanted to have a lock on Christmas time. I'll be curious to see how popular it is. I will definitely be doing a TR, I'm already thinking about which restaurants I can finally try now that the commute won't be an issue.

I've stayed there twice before on cash. It was our last trip there that caused Fran to look into DVC. I think our accommodations on that trip came to 1/3 of the cost of our 1st DVC contract.

That's exactly why I haven't been able to stay there yet, it's amazing how much they charge per night at the GF.

Sorry you missed the Captain's signing. Thanks for showing the various options at Flo's. It seems that they have similar offerings as they do on the classic ships, just with different names and more centrally located.

I don't have a lot of blond moments, but I think that definitely qualified.

Very similar offerings, but I much prefer the location of Flo's than how they are on the Classic ships.

This sentence cracked me up. I hope your room steward was able to mop up the mess the rain made!

Now you've got me thinking about Jumanji.

 

[rentayenta]

Eggs over easy are one thing that I like to sop up the gooeyness of the eggs with my toast. I also put chunks of my bacon on with the egg whites. But I DON'T like the egg yolks to touch my hash browns! That's the only way I like to eat the yolks, either that or scrambled easy. When we have hard boiled eggs on a salad, I cut the white ends up for me and give the cooked yolks to Fran.

How do you keep the runny yolks from touching your hashbrowns? I'm afraid to check my cholesterol because I know I'll have to give up eggs. I love the yolks; soft, hard, it doesn't matter.




Pam, that is such a cute pic of you and your mama. Dinner looks wonderful.

My unexplainable aversion to Anne hathaway mimics yours to runny eggs.

 

[Pinkocto]

Hi everybody for anyone who's interested I've started a TR for last weekend's trip. It was just too fun not to write about.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3123820

Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with both of them.

 

[Pinkocto]

Pam, that is such a cute pic of you and your mama. Dinner looks wonderful.

Thank you It was a fabulous evening, we were both so glad it worked out the way it did.

My unexplainable aversion to Anne hathaway mimics yours to runny eggs.

there are just some things in this world...

 

[dolphingirl47]

I am back from my trip and all caught up. San Juan and those ports look amazing. I am glad that you managed to get the Palo issue resolved, but what a shame that you missed the captain's signing. Congratulations on adding on the Grand Floridian points.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

I am back from my trip and all caught up.

I know I've already said this but welcome back!

San Juan and those ports look amazing.

San Juan was great, I love exploring places like that. Mom was really pleased she could be my tour guide for the day.

I am glad that you managed to get the Palo issue resolved, but what a shame that you missed the captain's signing.

I was being pretty fickle about Palo, but I'm glad things worked out the way they did, we had a great meal. I can't believe I was so off with the time. I WILL meet the next Captain we sail with.

Congratulations on adding on the Grand Floridian points. Corinna

Thank you so much!

 

[rentayenta]

Thank you It was a fabulous evening, we were both so glad it worked out the way it did.



there are just some things in this world...

There is just something about her that drives me bonkers. Still haven't seen Les Mis because I'm afraid I'll self harm having to stare at her with those jacked up teeth for 2 hours.

 

[Pinkocto]

There is just something about her that drives me bonkers. Still haven't seen Les Mis because I'm afraid I'll self harm having to stare at her with those jacked up teeth for 2 hours.

She's not in the movie very long, only the beginning and then the very end. I didn't care for it though, so will say you're not missing much. But then again I don't like the story, it's too negative for me.

 

[Pinkocto]

Last day of the cruise: Castaway Cay

We had parasailing booked at 10:00. It was very windy so we both thought they’d cancel it. Mom had woken up around 6:00 and started packing and also went up to Cabanas to have breakfast. I managed to drag myself out of bed and we headed off the ship around 9:45. They hadn’t cleared anyone to leave the ship yet so we had to wait like sardines in the hallways.



We both kept thinking they’d cancel because of the wind and I wish they had. Last year our parasailing adventure was amazing, this time not so much. Mom still enjoyed her ride immensely but I was a bit scared with the wind tossing me a little bit. I was holding on for dear life!











Soon enough my terrifying ride was over. I could tell they were going to dunk me so I yelled that I didn’t want to get wet. Mom thought for sure I would so told them to. The water was too cold.









Looks like I got a water spot on the lens, sorry.





Since I hadn’t eaten breakfast my main thought was of food. We made our way to Serenity Bay to grab some lunch.



We caught the tram. You can walk, we did that the first trip, but it takes a while and uses up precious time.





To get to SB you have to change trams, we were waiting for the next one.



We both love CC, it was so nice to be back.



Almost there!

 

[jenseib]

Ugh. I am really feeling homesick for a Disney cruise ship today. I think I need to be at CC right now.

 

[dgbg100106]

So much fun.... Glad you had a good time

 

[Pinkocto]

Ugh. I am really feeling homesick for a Disney cruise ship today. I think I need to be at CC right now.

I wish I was there myself!

 

[Pinkocto]

So much fun.... Glad you had a good time

My ride was a bit scary, but thankfully mom still enjoyed hers. We're going to try jetskis next time.

 

[dolphingirl47]

What a shame that the parasailing was not as magical this time round. Jetskis- just thinking about them makes me shiver. When I tried them at Castaway Cay n 2008, I got a very intimate look at the Flying Dutchman.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

What a shame that the parasailing was not as magical this time round. Jetskis- just thinking about them makes me shiver. When I tried them at Castaway Cay n 2008, I got a very intimate look at the Flying Dutchman.

Corinna

I read that TR, I didn't remember you got that close!

My dad got us jetskis when we were kids but that was after my parents separated so mom has never been on one. I'm anticipating she'll be scared going fast but she still wants to try them.

It'll be a while before I try parasailing again. There's just no guarantee of the weather.

 

[dgbg100106]

I read that TR, I didn't remember you got that close!

My dad got us jetskis when we were kids but that was after my parents separated so mom has never been on one. I'm anticipating she'll be scared going fast but she still wants to try them.

It'll be a while before I try parasailing again. There's just no guarantee of the weather.

I have been on jetski's for years... All out in the bay... Lots of fun!