We'’re out of it! A summer 14 “MAGICal” Med adventure Day 14/Aug 05 updated 05/05

[RGirl]

Roni, please don't get me wrong, but that Sommelier girl on the Fantasy did not have any idea what she was talking about when she told you that the whole ice thing works well with any champagne. EVERY champagne producer would tell you that it must not be "watered down" with ice cubes - it changes the taste. That is the great thing about the Moet Ice - it developes its best flavours when poured over ice.

I think we can all have our own opinions on it. For as many quotations like that, I can give you an equal number, if not more, saying that the whole thing is a gimmick by Moet, which the sommelier obviously believed. I didn't really mean to imply that she was saying that any champagne would be good over ice - she was basically saying that any champagne would be just as good over ice, i.e., there was nothing special about this one. She very much felt that the whole thing was a gimmick, I think, without actually saying it - you could just tell that it pained her to serve it this way, and she and I got to talking quite a bit. Honestly I agree with her. But I don’t care - I enjoyed the Moet Ice and will again this summer on the Fantasy because it’s vacation, baby, but I don’t actually think it’s truly anything special. Done the same way, with the same limited amount of ice, another champagne is just as nice (and just as watered down, in MY opinion the Moet Ice was very watered down, but it felt and tasted good on a hot summer day, so who cares). And, really, I’m not in the habit of drinking any wine watered down with ice. We can totally agree to disagree on the Moet thing though - I will continue to enjoy it on DCL, as I am sure you will! And no offense taken, and hopefully you don't either!

And back to your awesome TR (although reading your reply about how you would have never booked another DCL cruise had this been your first broke my heart - I hate that this cruise went so badly; for the prices DCL charges, NO cruise should EVER be like this one was for you)….

However, I am just sitting back and enjoying the pictures of Athens. Sorry if I don’t have a lot of comments - I’m just enjoying the view!

 

[dizneeat]

 

[MEK]

What an amazing view from the acropolis. You can really see how expansive the city is. I bet it was even more amazing in person.

Glad you made it down safely. Sounds like the walk down was NOT a walk in the park.

Cool pictures of the changing of the guards.

I'm glad you stuck it out in the heat. You were definitely awarded with an interesting and photographic experience.

 

[Poolrat]

I am glad you braved the heat in Athens. This sounds like a wonderful tour.

 

[dizneeat]

And back to your awesome TR (although reading your reply about how you would have never booked another DCL cruise had this been your first broke my heart - I hate that this cruise went so badly; for the prices DCL charges, NO cruise should EVER be like this one was for you)….

Guess I am going to shock you even more now. With all that is going on at Disney, ticket prices over $100 for a single ticket, FP+ restrictions for AP holders come to mind, we are not only considering giving other cruise lines a go, I have even considered (and am really thinking about) getting rid of our DVC. There are other great places to visit and if Disney does not want my money I can happily take it somewhere else.

What an amazing view from the acropolis. You can really see how expansive the city is. I bet it was even more amazing in person.

Glad you made it down safely. Sounds like the walk down was NOT a walk in the park.

Cool pictures of the changing of the guards.

I'm glad you stuck it out in the heat. You were definitely awarded with an interesting and photographic experience.

The city is just HUGE!! It was so impressive to see.
And going down was something else. I was so happy to not have gone with sandals. The marble was so slippery.

And Paul and our guide had timed it just perfect. We didn't wait more than 10 minutes for the changing of the guards to start and they had just positioned us at the perfect spot.

Lots more great photo opportunities to come.

I am glad you braved the heat in Athens. This sounds like a wonderful tour.

It truly was a great tour and with water readily at hand it was okay to be out in the heat. The views were the perfect reward for being hot.

 

[Flossbolna]

Guess I am going to shock you even more now. With all that is going on at Disney, ticket prices over $100 for a single ticket, FP+ restrictions for AP holders come to mind, we are not only considering giving other cruise lines a go, I have even considered (and am really thinking about) getting rid of our DVC. There are other great places to visit and if Disney does not want my money I can happily take it somewhere else.

To be honest, I am more surprised than shocked! But I have to admit that with the current exchange rate it becomes more glaring that Disney is getting extremely expensive. I totally agree with you that there is so much to see in the world outside of Disney. I still love my DVC, but when I bought it I always knew that it was something that I would sell if I would not see the value in it anymore. So, I can very well understand your thinking.

However, if you are considering selling, be aware that there is something about US taxes for foreigners owning property that if you have owned less than 10 years they will put a certain part of what you get from the sale into holding and you have to file some US tax declaration to get it out - and might have to pay a certain amount of tax anyway. I am not really sure how it works, I am just aware that there is the issue. Have you considered renting out your points? You could do that for a few years before deciding to sell.

 

[KatMark]

Another fabulous update, Karin. I love the changing of the guard and am so glad you surived the heat (it even looks hot).

Wonderful pictures of the Olympieion. Athens looks absolutely huge.

I am sorry to hear that you are thinking of getting rid of your DVC. We keep hoping to buy and it just never fits in our budget.

 

[dizneeat]

To be honest, I am more surprised than shocked! But I have to admit that with the current exchange rate it becomes more glaring that Disney is getting extremely expensive. I totally agree with you that there is so much to see in the world outside of Disney. I still love my DVC, but when I bought it I always knew that it was something that I would sell if I would not see the value in it anymore. So, I can very well understand your thinking.

I am just not feeling Disney at the moment. I am worried sick that our cruise on the Magic (for Tom's birthday to cry out loud) will turn out as "undisney" as the one we had in the summer. It's not easy to get into the spirit. My 180 day window for the summer opened today and I didn't even notice it until reading about the 180 +10 here on the DIS.
And with their FP+ policy for AP holders spending more than 7 days at WDW doesn't make much sense either.
Maybe we come back full of happy memories and all of this will dissolve into nothing.

However, if you are considering selling, be aware that there is something about US taxes for foreigners owning property that if you have owned less than 10 years they will put a certain part of what you get from the sale into holding and you have to file some US tax declaration to get it out - and might have to pay a certain amount of tax anyway. I am not really sure how it works, I am just aware that there is the issue. Have you considered renting out your points? You could do that for a few years before deciding to sell.

I was aware of a special foreigner tax, but could not say how much it was. I was not aware that we had to keep our DVC for a special amount of time. I guess, should we decide not to travel to WDW any more we can always rent our points and it should at least pay for maintenance.
But thanks for mentioning this, as I totally would not have known.

Another fabulous update, Karin. I love the changing of the guard and am so glad you surived the heat (it even looks hot).

Wonderful pictures of the Olympieion. Athens looks absolutely huge.

I am sorry to hear that you are thinking of getting rid of your DVC. We keep hoping to buy and it just never fits in our budget.

It was so worth it to brave the heat - there was so much history to take in and the guide was so lovely and knew so much.

As I mentioned in my post to Magdalene, I am just not feeling Disney with all the changes they have made. As much as I enjoy FP+ I find it a bit unfair that even if I stay on property I will only get 7 days worth of it, which so does not work for us as we usually stay for at least two weeks.
I thought that maybe staying on property would open all days, but no, once you have used day 1 of your FP+s you can then reschedule. Um, don't think there will be much choice for the second week around. So that was one thing to put us off. Figure in plane tickets and price increases at WDW and somehow it doesn't make that much sense any more.

But again, as I mentioned to Magdalene, I am so hoping that everything works out perfect for Tom's birthday trip and I can get my Disney high again.

As for buying into DVC - we had a little inheritance coming our way, so that made it super easy, but they also offered a payment plan which seemed quite doable.

 

[dizneeat]

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Day 10, August 1

And another private tour …..“ - Part 5

We spent about 20 minutes exploring, before we returned to the bus and off we went again. Next stop, Panathinaiko-Stadion, where again we all got off and wandered around and took a lot of photos.

When we returned to the bus we were told that there was one more stop for all of us before we would have a lunch break. And while we were driving there, we learned that the American family, who had shared the bus with us and Bobbie and Connie, and Connie wanted to go back to the ship, as they felt it was far too hot to tour the sights.
Paul asked if we would like to continue and we said that we would love to, if there was a chance to do so. So once we got to the view point we all got off and took photos admiring just how spread out Athens really was.

Then we all got on board the bus again and headed towards the Plaka. Paul was so nice, he placed a phone call to a DISfriend of ours, who we had met in 2011 and who had contacted him about meeting us. He told Debbie that we were on our way and where to wait for us and soon we saw Debbie and her daughter Emmanuela waiting for us.
The bus stopped, Tom, Bobbie, the guide and I got off and the rest of our group was on the way back to the ship. It was wonderful seeing Debbie again. We had met on the Dream and had had such a lot of fun together. Now we were heading into the Plaka to find somewhere where we could sit, have lunch and catch up on each others lives. We walked for a bit, then found a nice looking restaurant and went inside, where we were quickly seated at a table in a larger room. We all ordered our drinks, Tom ordered a

Greek beer, which had been recommended by Debbie and we placed our lunch order. And while we waited for our lunch to arrive we chatted and had a good laugh while exchanging presents.
Remember the glow cube we had been looking to find on the Magic?
Now, when we were on the Dream with Debbie we had had a fun time together in Skyline and it involved a glow cube. So with this new glow cube we all remembered that fun day and again had a good laugh. Soon after our lunch arrived. Tom had

and there was also some bread

chicken Kebobs while I had ordered some

Moussaka. Lunch took quite a while because of all the chatter that was going on, but after a while our guide asked us to get going again. We understood that she had to follow a schedule, so after paying the bill we said a sad goodbye to Debbie and Emmanuela and followed our guide through the Plaka,

where she again pointed out a lot of things, which we would not really have noticed otherwise. And soon we had made it to the Agora.


To be continued ..........​

 

[KatMark]

Panathinaiko is amazing. And the view of Athens...stunning, just stunning.

How wonderful that you got to revisit a DIS friend from a previous trip and enjoy a meal together. The food looks quite wonderful too.

 

[dizneeat]

Panathinaiko is amazing. And the view of Athens...stunning, just stunning.

How wonderful that you got to revisit a DIS friend from a previous trip and enjoy a meal together. The food looks quite wonderful too.

Given how old these places were it was just amazing to see them all.

The photos don't do the view justice, Kathy, it was just breathtaking to see the city from up there.

Oh, and YES, Debbie and Emmanuela. It was GREAT to see them again. We had such good fun on the Dream when we first met. Can't wait to see her again.

 

[Linda67]

Karin!
I haven't been checking in for a while but have just really enjoyed catching up with your TR
I can't believe how many things they ran out of on The Magic!
Beautiful photos

 

[dizneeat]

Karin!
I haven't been checking in for a while but have just really enjoyed catching up with your TR
I can't believe how many things they ran out of on The Magic!
Beautiful photos

LINDA!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for checking in and catching up. Yes, they did suffer from miscalculating on the Magic. Thank god we had brought a lot of our own provisions on board.

 

[Flossbolna]

I am just not feeling Disney at the moment. I am worried sick that our cruise on the Magic (for Tom's birthday to cry out loud) will turn out as "undisney" as the one we had in the summer. It's not easy to get into the spirit.

I am so sorry, but I understand. When Michael and I were looking at getting an onboard booking on our last cruise we really loved a lot of the itineraries that the Wonder is doing, but really hesitated as neither of us could get excited about going back to the Wonder and running the risk of another stateroom that would turn out so old. Of course, now that they are redoing the staterooms we feel differently.

And your issues were far more serious than ours. I think the point is that once you feel like you are being overcharged for what they deliver, it gets very difficult to just enjoy. After all, Disney is very expensive and therefore we do have very high expectations...

And with their FP+ policy for AP holders spending more than 7 days at WDW doesn't make much sense either.

I noticed that as well and thought it was pretty unfair. Especially for DVC members. Maybe the solution is to get one of the UK tickets instead of an AP? For me they always came out more economically than the AP, but I also like to have access to the water parks.

Maybe we come back full of happy memories and all of this will dissolve into nothing.

Yes, I certainly hope that this will be the case!!!!

I was aware of a special foreigner tax, but could not say how much it was. I was not aware that we had to keep our DVC for a special amount of time. I guess, should we decide not to travel to WDW any more we can always rent our points and it should at least pay for maintenance.
But thanks for mentioning this, as I totally would not have known.

I am not really totally sure about how this all works - but just wanted to alert you that before you rush into selling, to investigate that subject! And if you chose to rent, you should be able to cover more than just the dues. There should be something left over to use for another vacation...

 

[JKSWonder]

For the first time in four years, I don't have a pending reservation with DCL. While my children do love it, nothing in the itineraries that we could do really wowed us all that much. I'm slowly trying to talk the kids into giving Royal Caribbean a try. We are going to WDW this August, but only because we got a great deal and it really was the cheapest vacation I could plan for us. Airfare anywhere else from New York is kind of outrageous at the moment. So, Florida again it is.

 

[dizneeat]

And your issues were far more serious than ours. I think the point is that once you feel like you are being overcharged for what they deliver, it gets very difficult to just enjoy. After all, Disney is very expensive and therefore we do have very high expectations...

Perfectly worded! I guess now that we know what to expect we will be happy if things turn out not to be so bad. We changed staterooms for one - so I really hope our new room won't be smelly, even though I have already bought an air freshener.
I keep my fingers crossed this one will work out better, especially since it is Tom's birthday.

I noticed that as well and thought it was pretty unfair. Especially for DVC members. Maybe the solution is to get one of the UK tickets instead of an AP? For me they always came out more economically than the AP, but I also like to have access to the water parks.

I did check into the UK tickets as well, but then we usually travel twice a year and don't stay for 2 weeks at a time. We always break up our stay and I would need two sets of 7 day tickets which are more expensive than the DVC AP in the end. AND there are quite a few discounts that come with the AP.
We also have about 3 weeks of tickets (leftovers from packages, Free Dining aso) which we could use, but MDE only lets me add one ticket to a vacation, so we are kind of out of it here too. It is just annoying that even though you stay onsite they will limit you to those 7 FP+.

For the first time in four years, I don't have a pending reservation with DCL. While my children do love it, nothing in the itineraries that we could do really wowed us all that much. I'm slowly trying to talk the kids into giving Royal Caribbean a try. We are going to WDW this August, but only because we got a great deal and it really was the cheapest vacation I could plan for us. Airfare anywhere else from New York is kind of outrageous at the moment. So, Florida again it is.

No DCL reservation? Wow! We still have two Fantasy reservations after the next Magic one, but I wonder if those two Fantasy ones will be the last ones for a while as well. I would really love to do Europe again, but am looking for other cruise lines than Disney.
And airfare is pretty outragous everywhere at the moment. I do not even want to think about what I paid for our summer trip.
When will you be at Disney in August? It looks like we will just miss each other (going by our tickers)

 

[JKSWonder]

No DCL reservation? Wow! We still have two Fantasy reservations after the next Magic one, but I wonder if those two Fantasy ones will be the last ones for a while as well. I would really love to do Europe again, but am looking for other cruise lines than Disney.
And airfare is pretty outragous everywhere at the moment. I do not even want to think about what I paid for our summer trip.
When will you be at Disney in August? It looks like we will just miss each other (going by our tickers)

We will be there August 22nd to August 29th. My ticker keeps failing to update for some reason. I've booked our flights down when I found a good deal, but the flights back to NY are still too high, so I'm waiting it out a bit. Currently working on where we want to eat this time since my 180 day opens on Monday.

 

[dizneeat]

We will be there August 22nd to August 29th. My ticker keeps failing to update for some reason. I've booked our flights down when I found a good deal, but the flights back to NY are still too high, so I'm waiting it out a bit. Currently working on where we want to eat this time since my 180 day opens on Monday.

Great! Just when we leave for the first of our two cruises.
My window for ADRs for the first week opened a few days ago and I have not made one single ADR yet. Just can't get myself to commit to anything yet. We'll see where we end up, but then I am not after some hard to get restaurants, so we should be fine.

 

[dizneeat]

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Day 10, August 1

And another private tour …..“ - Part 6

And soon we had made it to the Agora. It was so interesting to hear about Athen’s history and seeing all the remnants of times past.

There was plenty to see and I think we walked around for an hour and a half. Once we had seen the biggest part, our guide phoned Paul and we walked towards the meeting place. And since we were in an area where there were a lot of shops and kiosks we asked our guide if she knew where Tom could get a few local brews.
She took us to a kiosk, pointed out all the special Greek brews and once we had made the purchase we finally went to our bus. There, Paul greeted us with a smile and offering us more icy cold water and told us that the three of us were the only ones who were still going through with the tour. All other tours that had been booked with him had already asked to be brought back. We still had one more stop on our list, the Acropolis museum.
The walk up to the museum was the most strenuous part of the whole day and even though the walk was not overly long, it was a bit uphill and in the sun. We were all crawling up the way.

But finally we hit the museum and it was nice and air conditioned and our guide was so enthusiastic about all the things that were exhibited there. And it rubbed off on us too as an hour in the museum went by without us even noticing it. It was so interesting to listen to all her stories and witness so much history right there and then.

Around half past three we had to get going again to get back to our bus which would take us back to our ship. Walking down from the museum was much easier and soon enough we were all sitting on the bus again and Paul was driving towards Piraeus. We reached the harbour and were pretty sad that we had to leave our knowledgeable guide and driver behind and we thanked them with a nice big tip before we finally said our goodbyes.

We then headed inside the port building and picked up some money at the ATM, then walked through the stores and Tom even got a few more Greek beers that he wanted to buy. Finally we walked back to the ship, went through security and were on the way to our stateroom.
We carefully opened the door and looked up to the AC, but NO dripping today and we soon were stretched out on the beds. We were tired but it had been an awesome day with a perfect tour. And after a shower we felt refreshed, Tom tried one of his purchases from the terminal and we rested for a short time.


To be continued ..........​

 

[dizneeat]

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Day 10, August 1

And another private tour …..“ - Part 7

And after a shower we felt refreshed, Tom tried one of his purchases from the terminal and we rested for a short time.
And around 6.30pm we walked down to the Walt Disney Theatre to get some decent seats as there was a Beatles band,

the Beatle Maniacs, performing that evening.
We both love the Beatles, so that was a no brainer. We sat through Brent and his “Spanish Sidekick”, doing what I usually hate doing while in a theatre, we checked the app for tonight’s menu and what else was going on. Once Brent and his “friend” had left, the Beatle Maniacs got our full attention.
They were really playing well and gave a good performance and time just flew by. In the end they had everyone sing “Let it be” and it was a really impressive performance by the audience as well.
Watching the band perform we had missed the ship sailing out of Piraeus and the shops were now open.
Again, with a bit of hope that there was “something” new, we walked in and it was still the same “old” stuff we had seen from day 1. So we did not linger too long and went back to our stateroom, emptied out the Fish Extender and watched a little TV.
At 8.30 we got ready to head to the dining room for today’s special Greek Menu. We arrived right as they opened the doors and it took a few minutes for everyone to get to their tables, but once we had found our seats

Jay was quickly there to serve us some Diet Cokes. We were still studying the menus when Jason came over to give his recommendations and we ordered our starters and main courses. The bread service was

Koulouria, Greek Sesame Bread Rings and

Tzatziki and while we waited for our starters we tried the Bread Rings and they were really very good. It did not take long and our starters were served. Tom had ordered the

Poikilia, a trio of Greece’s three best dipping sauces, Tzatziki, Taramosalata and Melitzanosalata served with warm Pita Bread. My choice had been the

Spanakopita, Rolls of Filo Pastry stuffed with Spinach and Feta Cheese. Both looked very appetizing and were very tasty. They had some really inviting salads on the menu that day, so we both had ordered one as well and as soon as we had finished our starters we were served the salads. Tom had ordered the

Octopus Salad with potatoes, white onions, parsley, oregano, olive oil and lemon juice. The

Horiatiki, the Classic Greek Village Salad, with fresh tomatoes, onions, cucumber, capers, Kalamata Olives, Feta, Greek Olive Oil and red wine vinegar dressing was placed in front of me. And again, both were as good as they looked. So far, the day was a success. And it should continue like this, as our main courses were just as good. Tom had ordered the

Yoghurt Marinated Chicken and Fennel Kebobs, with wild rice and roasted Lemon Olive Oil. I had ordered the

Spanakorizo me Garides, Grilled Garlic Shrimp with Sauteed Spinach and a Sundried Tomato Orzo Pasta. We were both very happy with our choices. And while we were still enjoying our main courses, the servers came out to walk around the restaurant, waving the Greek flag.

It was pretty fun to see.
Tom was too full for dessert and only ordered some

coffee, but I wanted at least try some desserts, so I ordered the

Sweet Temptations, a trio of

Serano Chocolate Cake,

Caramel and Pecan Cheesecake and

Greek Lemon Cake. Thankfully these are just small tasting portions as I was pretty full myself and the cakes were very good. Once we had finished our Greek feast we were on our way back to our stateroom when we had the good idea of taking a drink in Keys. We were lucky as there was a free table and we quickly sat down and ordered some drinks. Tom had some kind of a

Martini, while I had to tell the server that I did not want another one of his Moet Ice “substitues” and instead went with a glass of the

Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio. And while we sat there and chatted, we saw Bobbie and she came and sat with us for a while. It was pretty late when we finally returned to our stateroom and went right to bed.


To be continued ..........​