TheThomsLuvDisney
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2010
- Messages
- 572
Loving your trip report! So sad that Amy got sick, what a bummer! Anxiously awaiting more!!
Cruising the Atlantic with a few HUNDRED of my DIS friends
- Thread starter MagicMe
- Start date
nenner1
<font color=darkorchid>I must've been distracted b
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2007
- Messages
- 3,564
Say whaaaa....? Bummer!!! I'm such a sap that part always makes me tear up too!
Sounds like a wonderful first evening! Glad Amy was feeling better, in the pics from that night she does look more like herself!
MagicMe
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 3, 2006
- Messages
- 4,267
Say whaaaa....? Bummer!!! I'm such a sap that part always makes me tear up too!
Sounds like a wonderful first evening! Glad Amy was feeling better, in the pics from that night she does look more like herself!
We did get to hear that wonderful horn - we just didn't go anywhere!
MagicMe
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 3, 2006
- Messages
- 4,267
Sunday, September 19 Part 1
Our first full day on the ship and its our first of eight sea days! Thats right EIGHT sea days I love this cruise!!! AND there are five, count them FIVE STRAIGHT SEA DAYS from when we leave Portugal until we get to St. Marteen. Did I mention that I LOVE THIS CRUISE???!!!
We grabbed breakfast at Topsiders. My normal breakfast was usually a made to order omelet along with fruit, bacon, pancakes, mickey waffles, biscuit and gravy, potatoes, orange juice and coffee. Okay, seriously, you didnt think I would eat all of this in one sitting, did you? Okay, I admit the omelet, fruit, orange juice and coffee were standard every day.
After breakfast we decided to head to the promenade lounge where they would be offering paper airplanes (the first of many classes offered on paper folding or orgami). We were a bit early and they were just finishing up with Playhouse Disney (for the kids). There really are not that many children on board (I heard in the area of 250-300) so I thought it was hysterical when we found the CMs playing hide and seek with a total of two children! Talk about the personal touch!!!
We stuck around for Cruisin for Trivia. They had a lot of these trivia type sessions and they were a lot of fun. After the trivia, Dave wanted to go to the first of several guest lectures they were holding in the Walt Disney Theater. This one was on Gibraltar. The speaker told us a lot of the history of Gibraltar and the tunnels in the rock. It actually was more interesting than I expected.
Time for food!! We werent sure if we wanted to have brunch at Lumieres or head up to Deck 9 but after checking out the menu, we decided to eat at Lumieres.
Wild Mushroom Cream Soup
Sun dried Tomato Risotto w/mascarpone cheese and spinach pesto
Lunch over, we split up for some alone time and then met up at Animators for the first of our private tastings. Kudos to Sue Kraft for organizing our very own private alcohol tastings with DCL. I know she was ready to scream but things worked out just before we all departed and I have to say these were such a great part of the trip! Our first tasting was a MOJITO tasting. This is something that DCL does not offer in their normal tastings. I have to say that they really should offer this as a regular tasting. I was never a big fan of mojitos but Ive only really tasted the normal mint mojito. This tasting really opened my eyes and I treated myself to a few more of these throughout the cruise. But first, more on our tasting. We arrived at Animators and they have tables set up in the back of the restaurant. It was really nice as they even had centerpieces using some of the fruits we would use in the mojitos.
We were going to be making four mojitos and they had set-ups ready for us. We had to muddle (basically smash) the fruit, add the rum, sugar, and sparkling soda; mixed them up and then DRANK!!! We started with the regular mojito but also made pineapple, watermelon and raspberry.
Daves favorite was the pineapple and mine was the watermelon. Now, although Amy was feeling better, she wasnt sure her stomach would be ready for this much alcohol. She made her drinks, took a sip or two and passed them over to Dave. Basically, Dave had eight mojitos. Additionally, for some reason, there were a number of people that did not show up leaving numerous set-ups. Well .I hate waste! So, I went around to the tables and picked up the set-ups for our tables favorite mojitos. Hey they were only going to toss them and it would have been such a waste!
We had such a great time with this tasting. Benjamin Van Guren was our bartender that hosted the workshop . He can really make a mojito. If youre in the mood for a great mojito, just be sure to ask for Benjamin at Rockin Bar D!!!!
Time for a little nap before the evening activities .
Our first full day on the ship and its our first of eight sea days! Thats right EIGHT sea days I love this cruise!!! AND there are five, count them FIVE STRAIGHT SEA DAYS from when we leave Portugal until we get to St. Marteen. Did I mention that I LOVE THIS CRUISE???!!!
We grabbed breakfast at Topsiders. My normal breakfast was usually a made to order omelet along with fruit, bacon, pancakes, mickey waffles, biscuit and gravy, potatoes, orange juice and coffee. Okay, seriously, you didnt think I would eat all of this in one sitting, did you? Okay, I admit the omelet, fruit, orange juice and coffee were standard every day.
After breakfast we decided to head to the promenade lounge where they would be offering paper airplanes (the first of many classes offered on paper folding or orgami). We were a bit early and they were just finishing up with Playhouse Disney (for the kids). There really are not that many children on board (I heard in the area of 250-300) so I thought it was hysterical when we found the CMs playing hide and seek with a total of two children! Talk about the personal touch!!!
We stuck around for Cruisin for Trivia. They had a lot of these trivia type sessions and they were a lot of fun. After the trivia, Dave wanted to go to the first of several guest lectures they were holding in the Walt Disney Theater. This one was on Gibraltar. The speaker told us a lot of the history of Gibraltar and the tunnels in the rock. It actually was more interesting than I expected.
Time for food!! We werent sure if we wanted to have brunch at Lumieres or head up to Deck 9 but after checking out the menu, we decided to eat at Lumieres.
Wild Mushroom Cream Soup
Sun dried Tomato Risotto w/mascarpone cheese and spinach pesto
Lunch over, we split up for some alone time and then met up at Animators for the first of our private tastings. Kudos to Sue Kraft for organizing our very own private alcohol tastings with DCL. I know she was ready to scream but things worked out just before we all departed and I have to say these were such a great part of the trip! Our first tasting was a MOJITO tasting. This is something that DCL does not offer in their normal tastings. I have to say that they really should offer this as a regular tasting. I was never a big fan of mojitos but Ive only really tasted the normal mint mojito. This tasting really opened my eyes and I treated myself to a few more of these throughout the cruise. But first, more on our tasting. We arrived at Animators and they have tables set up in the back of the restaurant. It was really nice as they even had centerpieces using some of the fruits we would use in the mojitos.
We were going to be making four mojitos and they had set-ups ready for us. We had to muddle (basically smash) the fruit, add the rum, sugar, and sparkling soda; mixed them up and then DRANK!!! We started with the regular mojito but also made pineapple, watermelon and raspberry.
Daves favorite was the pineapple and mine was the watermelon. Now, although Amy was feeling better, she wasnt sure her stomach would be ready for this much alcohol. She made her drinks, took a sip or two and passed them over to Dave. Basically, Dave had eight mojitos. Additionally, for some reason, there were a number of people that did not show up leaving numerous set-ups. Well .I hate waste! So, I went around to the tables and picked up the set-ups for our tables favorite mojitos. Hey they were only going to toss them and it would have been such a waste!
We had such a great time with this tasting. Benjamin Van Guren was our bartender that hosted the workshop . He can really make a mojito. If youre in the mood for a great mojito, just be sure to ask for Benjamin at Rockin Bar D!!!!
Time for a little nap before the evening activities .
I am really enjoying your report. That Mojito tasting looked great, I love mojitos and they make great ones on the Magic. I hope they add this tasting on a regular basis. We had Yolanda as our head waiter twice, she is wonderful, so warm, friendly and efficient, our dinners ran so smoothly and this just made it so enjoyable. l never knew she was married to Brent! Looking forward to hearing about more of your trip, Karyn
MagicMe
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 3, 2006
- Messages
- 4,267
The mojito tasting was awesome and I really think they should add it. It's a bit more work but not much different than the mixology.
MagicMe
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 3, 2006
- Messages
- 4,267
Sunday, September 19 Part 2
After a short nap
I got ready for dinner. It was the first formal night tonight (we were scheduled for two formals and one semi-formal). Some people really love to get all dressed up Im not really one of them. I dont own formal clothes and as much as I looked, I just couldnt spend the money to purchase something I would not wear again so I decided to take the dress I wore at my sons wedding last year. The dress is very nice, I am comfortable in it and it travels real easy. That said, there were so many beautiful dresses/gowns and being that the theme was Prince and Princess night, many princesses had tiaras.
On my way to the Walt Disney Theater, I took a walk out on Deck 4 to marvel at the beautiful water
Then headed to the Walt Disney Theater and Twice Charmed. I really like this show billed as an original twist on the Cinderella story.
When the show was over, we headed down the back stairs to Rockin Bar D to see Mark Nizers cabaret show. Then back to the atrium where the Captain was holding a reception! Free drinks course you have to be quick when those servers first bring them out!!! The servers would come down the stairs and people were gathered at the bottom waiting! <insert> Quite often they never even made it into the atrium!!
Note: the paper doll that Brent is holding is Anita Cruz. One of our fellow travelers (some of you also know her from our 2008 double dip delight cruise Kimberly) came up with an idea to have these little laminated paper dolls (she had a sister Ivanna Cruz) where she would leave them in her fish extender and people could take them on adventures and return them back at a later time. Lets just say that they got into some interesting pictures!!
Soon the doors opened and we headed into Lumieres for dinner. (sorry for the blurry dinner pics new camera and guess I took the pictures too quickly)
Double-Baked Aged Reggiano Parmesan Cheese Souffle
The Beasts Potato and Sausage Casserole Soup
Roasted Filet of Beef Wellington
Strawberries and Cream
Yolande
It was a wonderful meal. By the time we finished dinner, it was time to head back to the Walt Disney Theater to see the Adult Cabaret show with Jimmy Tamley.
Normally DCL has the adult cabaret shows in Rockin Bar D but on this cruise they held all of the shows in the Walt Disney Theater. I think since there were so many adults on this cruise, they made it easier on themselves and held them all there. Personally, I enjoyed the shows much better in the theater. Rockin Bar D tends to get too crowded and some seats are obstructed. I was really able to relax and have a good time in the theater.
Cant believe our first sea day is already over. Tomorrow is our first port stop Gibraltar and we needed to be up and about early so we grabbed some drinks from Deck 9 and headed back for some sleep.
Next up - Gibraltar
After a short nap
I got ready for dinner. It was the first formal night tonight (we were scheduled for two formals and one semi-formal). Some people really love to get all dressed up Im not really one of them. I dont own formal clothes and as much as I looked, I just couldnt spend the money to purchase something I would not wear again so I decided to take the dress I wore at my sons wedding last year. The dress is very nice, I am comfortable in it and it travels real easy. That said, there were so many beautiful dresses/gowns and being that the theme was Prince and Princess night, many princesses had tiaras. On my way to the Walt Disney Theater, I took a walk out on Deck 4 to marvel at the beautiful water
Then headed to the Walt Disney Theater and Twice Charmed. I really like this show billed as an original twist on the Cinderella story.
When the show was over, we headed down the back stairs to Rockin Bar D to see Mark Nizers cabaret show. Then back to the atrium where the Captain was holding a reception! Free drinks course you have to be quick when those servers first bring them out!!! The servers would come down the stairs and people were gathered at the bottom waiting! <insert> Quite often they never even made it into the atrium!!
Note: the paper doll that Brent is holding is Anita Cruz. One of our fellow travelers (some of you also know her from our 2008 double dip delight cruise Kimberly) came up with an idea to have these little laminated paper dolls (she had a sister Ivanna Cruz) where she would leave them in her fish extender and people could take them on adventures and return them back at a later time. Lets just say that they got into some interesting pictures!!
Soon the doors opened and we headed into Lumieres for dinner. (sorry for the blurry dinner pics new camera and guess I took the pictures too quickly)
Double-Baked Aged Reggiano Parmesan Cheese Souffle
The Beasts Potato and Sausage Casserole Soup
Roasted Filet of Beef Wellington
Strawberries and Cream
Yolande
It was a wonderful meal. By the time we finished dinner, it was time to head back to the Walt Disney Theater to see the Adult Cabaret show with Jimmy Tamley.
Normally DCL has the adult cabaret shows in Rockin Bar D but on this cruise they held all of the shows in the Walt Disney Theater. I think since there were so many adults on this cruise, they made it easier on themselves and held them all there. Personally, I enjoyed the shows much better in the theater. Rockin Bar D tends to get too crowded and some seats are obstructed. I was really able to relax and have a good time in the theater.
Cant believe our first sea day is already over. Tomorrow is our first port stop Gibraltar and we needed to be up and about early so we grabbed some drinks from Deck 9 and headed back for some sleep.
Next up - Gibraltar
anewmac
Ive got nothing planned whats an OCVP to do?
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2007
- Messages
- 2,686
ahh i had to play catch up, wasnt able to get on in a few days so lots to read and comment....
OH NO I ddidnt know Amy didnt feel good poor thing! So glad yall were able to get on and she felt better.
Food as always looks amazing. And the talk of all the sea days just sounds SOOO relaxing. So glad you had so may cool DIS friends and special treats tasting etc!
OMG Mojito tasting.. LOVE IT.. and Im so glad you and Dave didnt let them go to waste.. so proud you bring tears to my eyes LOL Hmm Watermelon might have to try that one day!
Cant wait to read more!
OH NO I ddidnt know Amy didnt feel good poor thing! So glad yall were able to get on and she felt better.
Food as always looks amazing. And the talk of all the sea days just sounds SOOO relaxing. So glad you had so may cool DIS friends and special treats tasting etc!
OMG Mojito tasting.. LOVE IT.. and Im so glad you and Dave didnt let them go to waste.. so proud you bring tears to my eyes LOL Hmm Watermelon might have to try that one day!
Cant wait to read more!
tinker1bell
<font color=teal>I'll never grow old<br><font colo
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2005
- Messages
- 6,369
Terri and Steph
Okay - time for a break...off to bed for the night...to be continued...
You can see how really tired Stephanie and I are in this pic!!!
MagicMe
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 3, 2006
- Messages
- 4,267
Monday, September 20 - Part 1
So its been awhile since I last posted an update. Sorry for the delay, life and depression have gotten in the way.
Life - you know work, work, oh and work!! Depression - well that post cruise bug took a bigger bite this time. Even with two new cruises for 2011, I still feel the aftereffects of having this cruise over. 
Theres the normal stuff as noted so eloquently by a few fellow cruisers:
Why is my bed not magically made?
Where is my deck chair?
Where is my unlimited selection of food to eat?
Why is there no napkin in my lap?
Why is my bed not turned down with chocolates on my pillow?
Where is my towel animal?
AND Where are my 300 close personal friends with their yellow lanyards????
Its tough but we all work our way through it and so I think Im beginning to get my act together. Cant believe Ive been home over a month!
When I last left you, It was Sunday night and we were heading to bed to get up for our first port stop - Gibraltar!!
So I woke up before the sun (not hard to do when you are used to getting up at 5AM and sunrise is set for around 8AM!!) We were meeting early for our excursion so I got ready and met Dave and Amy to grab breakfast at Topsiders. Unfortunately, the weather was not the best. At this point it was a bit overcast and breezy but no rain. They were predicting rain showers but we all decided to just keep our fingers crossed.
My first few of the famous Rock:
Our excursion this morning was City Under Siege. The description told us we were going to drive over to the base of the rock, and ascend the rock on a cable car to the top station. After spending some time there, we would descend back down to the Middle Station and enjoy a stroll through the sanctuary of the Barbary Apes. From there we would travel and tour the Great Siege Tunnels before visiting the Gibraltar Museum and then back to town/port.
We meet up with others in our group and boarded our bus:
It was at this point that we were informed that due to the weather and winds, we would be unable to take the cable car up to the top of the rock. Knowing we would be disappointed, they immediately told us that they would be substituting additional tour sites. We were disappointed that we were not make it up on the cable car and I was really disappointed that we might not see apes, however, there wasnt much to be done but to sit back and see what we could of this wonderful place. Gibraltar is actually a peninsula of Mainland Spain and is just a small strip of land approximately three miles long and one mile wide.
Our first stop is Europa Point which is a flat area at the end of the Rock of Gibraltar that shows you the unimpeded views of North Africa lying across the Strait of Gibraltar, a view of the Rif Mountains of Morocco and a view of the Bay of Gibraltar. Unfortunately, with the current weather, our view was not as expansive as we would have wished.
After spending a short time grabbing pictures, we left to travel to St. Michaels Cave (another addition to our tour). Upon arriving at St. Michaels Cave we were greeted by a welcoming committee!:
St Michaels Cave is a network of limestone caves located in the Upper Rock Nature Reserve of Gibraltar.
One of the largest chambers of the cave currently serves as an auditorium equipped with a concrete stage and a seating capacity of over 100l.
This was a gorgeous place! Upon leaving we found a few more friends:
Time to head to the Great Siege Tunnels
So its been awhile since I last posted an update. Sorry for the delay, life and depression have gotten in the way.
Life - you know work, work, oh and work!! Depression - well that post cruise bug took a bigger bite this time. Even with two new cruises for 2011, I still feel the aftereffects of having this cruise over. Theres the normal stuff as noted so eloquently by a few fellow cruisers:Why is my bed not magically made?
Where is my deck chair?
Where is my unlimited selection of food to eat?
Why is there no napkin in my lap?
Why is my bed not turned down with chocolates on my pillow?
Where is my towel animal?
AND Where are my 300 close personal friends with their yellow lanyards????
Its tough but we all work our way through it and so I think Im beginning to get my act together. Cant believe Ive been home over a month!
When I last left you, It was Sunday night and we were heading to bed to get up for our first port stop - Gibraltar!!
So I woke up before the sun (not hard to do when you are used to getting up at 5AM and sunrise is set for around 8AM!!) We were meeting early for our excursion so I got ready and met Dave and Amy to grab breakfast at Topsiders. Unfortunately, the weather was not the best. At this point it was a bit overcast and breezy but no rain. They were predicting rain showers but we all decided to just keep our fingers crossed.
My first few of the famous Rock:
Our excursion this morning was City Under Siege. The description told us we were going to drive over to the base of the rock, and ascend the rock on a cable car to the top station. After spending some time there, we would descend back down to the Middle Station and enjoy a stroll through the sanctuary of the Barbary Apes. From there we would travel and tour the Great Siege Tunnels before visiting the Gibraltar Museum and then back to town/port.
We meet up with others in our group and boarded our bus:
It was at this point that we were informed that due to the weather and winds, we would be unable to take the cable car up to the top of the rock. Knowing we would be disappointed, they immediately told us that they would be substituting additional tour sites. We were disappointed that we were not make it up on the cable car and I was really disappointed that we might not see apes, however, there wasnt much to be done but to sit back and see what we could of this wonderful place. Gibraltar is actually a peninsula of Mainland Spain and is just a small strip of land approximately three miles long and one mile wide.
Our first stop is Europa Point which is a flat area at the end of the Rock of Gibraltar that shows you the unimpeded views of North Africa lying across the Strait of Gibraltar, a view of the Rif Mountains of Morocco and a view of the Bay of Gibraltar. Unfortunately, with the current weather, our view was not as expansive as we would have wished.
After spending a short time grabbing pictures, we left to travel to St. Michaels Cave (another addition to our tour). Upon arriving at St. Michaels Cave we were greeted by a welcoming committee!:
St Michaels Cave is a network of limestone caves located in the Upper Rock Nature Reserve of Gibraltar.
One of the largest chambers of the cave currently serves as an auditorium equipped with a concrete stage and a seating capacity of over 100l.
This was a gorgeous place! Upon leaving we found a few more friends:
Time to head to the Great Siege Tunnels
nenner1
<font color=darkorchid>I must've been distracted b
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2007
- Messages
- 3,564
I'm baaack! I'm actually so glad you took a break, I didn't miss much when I was gone and was able to slide right back into your trip easily! 
The Mojito tasting looked fabulous- we did our first tasting on our cruise and it was just Beer- (blegh I'm not a huge beer drinker I like fruity foo foo drinks!) But I would have loved a mojito tasting! I would be clearing those extra place settings for them too!!
We also got an adult cabaret show in the WDT- I agree it is much more comfortable.
Oh, Anita Cruz....some folks must be mighty jealous of Brent holding her all tenderly like that! LOL!!!
Gibraltar looks fascinating! The rock, caves and monkeys are all on my list of things to see someday!!!
More! More!
The Mojito tasting looked fabulous- we did our first tasting on our cruise and it was just Beer- (blegh I'm not a huge beer drinker I like fruity foo foo drinks!) But I would have loved a mojito tasting! I would be clearing those extra place settings for them too!!
We also got an adult cabaret show in the WDT- I agree it is much more comfortable.
Oh, Anita Cruz....some folks must be mighty jealous of Brent holding her all tenderly like that! LOL!!!
Gibraltar looks fascinating! The rock, caves and monkeys are all on my list of things to see someday!!!
More! More!
MickeyManiacMom
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2006
- Messages
- 198
Friday, September 17th - Part 1
Tapas menu
Anyone else notice the burger name on this menu? Hannah Montana's mini burger and Fries?
MagicMe
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 3, 2006
- Messages
- 4,267
Okay I think I took enough time off (my thread actually disappeared off the list!!!). 
So, I'm currently at work and not on my home computer (for pictures) so I will be slowly adding posts to wrap up this adventure.
I'm even behind on my scrapbooking. There I'm at least two days ahead of this report and have found that I will probably need to make my scrapbook 2 volumes!!
See you later!
So, I'm currently at work and not on my home computer (for pictures) so I will be slowly adding posts to wrap up this adventure. I'm even behind on my scrapbooking. There I'm at least two days ahead of this report and have found that I will probably need to make my scrapbook 2 volumes!!
See you later!
LindaBabe
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Oct 20, 1999
- Messages
- 10,204
Okay I think I took enough time off (my thread actually disappeared off the list!!!).
I'm even behind on my scrapbooking. There I'm at least two days ahead of this report and have found that I will probably need to make my scrapbook 2 volumes!!
See you later!
You're report has been terrific so far! Sure hope you finish - your fans from the 2011 WB are waiting for you
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