Cruising the Atlantic with a few HUNDRED of my DIS friends

[MagicMe]

Friday, September 17 - Part 2

Now, before I continue I should tell you that the weather that Friday (our one and only day in Barcelona - unless you count Saturday but there was no way I was going to miss any time off the Magic) was less than stellar. We arrived with light rain. We did manage to spend the afternoon without encountering more than just a slight drizzle but it was overcast and really just not touring weather.

Okay - back to my room. As in previous post, the room was quite narrow but very cute and very clean. AND the shower in the bathroom was the complete width of the room so it was huge (even this pooh sized woman had a ridiculous amount of room)! It had a wand and a rain shower head and both had loads of pressure!

GREAT shower

So after settling down in our rooms (Dave and Amy had a double room - much roomier but with the same type of shower - can you tell I really really liked the shower ), we decided to take a walk and do what we do best - SHOP!!! You know souvenirs, WINE, etc. We headed down Las Ramblas looking for this department store that supposedly sold anything you would need. We made our way to the center area which is also where you can pick up the hop on/hop off buses.

We obviously didn't know exactly where we were going and checked out numerous buildings and shops. SIDE NOTE: Okay - just in case my DS is reading this - I have to acknowledge that on our way over, he pointed out a building and said why not check that one out. It looked so much newer and really thought it couldn't be the right one. Well - you can all see where this is heading . That's right - Dave was RIGHT!!! Okay - I said it and now I should not have to hear any more "I told you so's" - correct???

Alright, back to focus.... as noted, we checked out various shops but had still not found the correct one so we stopped for a diet soda. Now where or where to stop in the middle of Barcelona's shopping area where everyone speaks spanish (did I mention I only know very basic words)? Perfect place - McDonalds!!!! Yup - even though all the menus were in Spanish, I managed to order a diet Coke!!! Pretty good - huh?!

So after a little refreshment in a very crowded place, and since we still had time before the pre-cruise DISmeet, we walked over to the aforementioned building which my DS had so correctly pointed out (do I get double points for noting this again???? ) and found anything we would want.

Dave's correct building!

The building had specialty areas (ask Amy about the carcasses behind the deli counter) and wine - the expensive kind. We slowly checked out the floors and found plenty of opportunity for purchasing clothing and finally around the fourth floor found souvenir type items. I picked up a magnet. Then we headed down to the basement floor and found - a complete supermarket including wine and liquor (the kind I could afford)!! Dave picked up a couple bottles of wine and I picked up a bottle of Sangria. As we left, we found a cute outdoor shopping area - good thing since apparently Amy dropped her bag and the ceramic plate she had bought shattered but she found one in the outdoor area and not quite as expensive.

Before we knew it, it was time for the pre-cruise DISmeet so we headed over to the Hard Rock Cafe (only about a block) and soon ran into numerous DISer's outside.

This meet was pre-arranged with the Hard Rock by a fellow DISer. We all received bracelets that entitled us to discounts off several alcoholic beverage selections. They set us up in a room downstairs. There were just a few people in there when we arrived but they soon realized they were out-numbered and quickly left. We completely took over the room and kept the waiters VERY busy. Dave, Amy and I grabbed something to eat and mixed it up with our fellow DISer's. Unfortunately, just a few hours later, the trip (and probably the food too) started to take it's toll and since we were having trouble keeping our eyes open, we headed back to the hotel. On our way out, I ran into Kimberly so shared some additional time catching up but finally headed back upstairs. On our way out we of course had to stop for a little SHOPPING!!! Honest - it was just a little!!!!

We walked the 4-5 blocks back to the hotel and made our way back to our rooms. I was so beat and couldn't wait to get some sleep!

Saturday would be here soon and we were going to board the MAGIC!!!! - hopefully.

 

[MagicMe]

Jen,

The smile was one of the "cheese" smiles covering up the extreme nervousness!!! I have to tell you that the shot was taken before we actually took off. By the time we finally took off - Amy was EXTREMELY nervouse and Dave - I think he was sleeping?

AND, the tapas were very tasty but not to Amy - stay tuned!!!

 

[lillylynnb]

WOW this sounds like its going to be fun i cant wait to read more !!!

 

[Steffy]

Hey Melodie! So good to see you here. Like your trip report.

And our cab was double your fare. 57 euros. And he did have the meter running the entire time he was trying to figure out how to get us there. And he charged us extra for the 8 bags.

But we were okay with it. We were in Barcelona!

 

[MagicMe]

Hey Melodie! So good to see you here. Like your trip report.

And our cab was double your fare. 57 euros. And he did have the meter running the entire time he was trying to figure out how to get us there. And he charged us extra for the 8 bags.

But we were okay with it. We were in Barcelona!

Wasn't it just great!!!!! I did feel bad that we couldn't stay together (they have such small cabs!). Believe me, when he asked for the address I was like - huh? Never really thought of it. I was so lucky that I had a couple of the emails in my packet and one of them actually had the address!

That's one lesson learned for future travel.

 

[anewmac]

loving the shower, I want a rain head like that. and more room lol
shopping.. my favorite sport!
Glad you found the cheap drinks.. that would have been horrible to board without some libations LOL

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

Can't wait to hear more!!

 

[verygfy]

Great report, a lot of exciting Dis meets!! Can't wait to hear more

 

[MagicMe]

WBTA DISer's -THANKS!!!

Before I continue I want to stress what a fantastically wonderful group of DISer's were on this trip. I had such a great group of people on our double dip cruise in 2008 (and I still remain friends with many of them) that I thought I would never have a similar experience with such a group of people. Well, although many of my DD DISer's were unable to make this trip (a few did); this group was great in it's own way. I made many new friends (all over the world) and had so many great experiences because of their hard work, planning and enthusiasm.

In addition, I will acknowledge that I will be using a few photos from fellow DISer's to supplement my pictures in this trip report. Everyone has been so wonderful in sharing.

We have been so lucky to cruise with such amazing people. I want to thank all of my fellow WBTA DISer's for such an unbelieveable experience!!

 

[MagicMe]

Saturday, September 18 - Part 1

Having been so tired from our travels, we had headed back to our hotel and at fairly early time (around 9:30-10) especially for Europe. But we definitely wanted to be refreshed for our first day on the Magic. I fell asleep fairly quickly but found that I woke up every 2 hours!! Midnight, 2AM, 4AM and finally around 6AM I decided to start moving! So I got up, took a fantastic shower, packed back up and then did the one thing I'd been longing to do since I left for Spain. That's right - I reached into the DCL packet and took out my wonderful green and white "Magic" luggage tags and applied them to my two pieces of luggage!!!!

We had alot of DISer's staying at our lovely little hotel and we had previously arranged for a DIS picture to be taken at 8:30 AM. SIDE NOTE: We had many DIS events scheduled over the course of the 14 days and some fellow DISer's put all of this information (including DISer's and their cabin numbers and special personal events - birthdays, anniversaries, etc) in a private DIS navigator.

I had agreed to meet with Dave and Amy around 7:30 to grab something to eat for breakfast. As we headed out of the hotel, it was drizzling. There wasn't a lot open but we did find a pastry place at the corner where we were able to get some breakfast pastries and coffee (or croissant sandwiches and cokes for Dave and Amy). Not very much but we took it back to the hotel and up to the 1st floor lobby area where everyone was already starting to gather and have a group picture taken.

Shortly after taking our group picture, we all headed back to our respective rooms to begin the process of taking our luggage downstairs and wait for the bus to arrive. A fellow cruiser (Stephen) had volunteered to set up a private bus pickup for those of us staying at the Praktik Ramblas and it's sister hotel. This was such a great help. The bus was to stop at his hotel first and then head over to the Praktik. We all gathered in the small check in lobby:

You couldn't move in this small lobby area or in the entrance as we had suitcases everywhere!!

The bus showed up and we were surprised to see that there was no one on the bus. Everyone kept asking the bus driver about the other hotel and he kept insisting that there was only one hotel. In the meantime, we packed (and I mean packed) all of the luggage into the bus - he had absolutely no additional space in the luggage compartments below and we were still trying to sort out the pick up of the other DISer's. One of our fellow DISer's actually spoke some Spanish and tried to converse with him but he kept insisting only one hotel and would not call. We finally all had to just get moving and he started to the port.

We traveled through the city towards the port and everyone was watching anxiously for their first glimpse of the Magic. We had a false alarm (seriously it really did look like the red of the funnels but noooooo ). Finally, we saw her...

We had finally arrived and began the unloading of the luggage.

I had arrived!!!!

We looked around and realized that the other group was definitely not at the port. What we found out later was that Stephen had been making numerous calls to the transportation people and they kept saying the bus was there but we all knew it wasn't. Apparently they finally sorted it all out and the driver went back to pick them up. Not the best start for them but it all worked out in the end.

We checked in our luggage:

And proceeded to get in line.

We were there a bit early as we were still seeing passengers leaving and then started seeing some CM's leaving. As expected, it began to get crowded but it was cool enough. We had some time to wait before they would open the doors to the terminal so we all just chatted. It was at this time that Amy started to acknowledge that she wasn't feeling quite well. Apparently that "cheese" smile in the above picture was a cover! We managed to find her a spot on a bench and told her to just relax. She mentioned that she needed to use the restroom so we told her to ask to see if they would let her in to the terminal temporarily. They were fine with that and she headed inside. There was still plenty of time before they would open.

So we waited for Amy to come back. And waited. And waited. We were beginning to really get concerned but it was at this time that they opened the terminal and we began to move. We got to the doorway and they asked to see everyone's passport. Amy had Dave's passport....

 

[anewmac]

how frustrating about the bus. But glad it all god worked out. Poor Amy, then Poor Dave lol about the passports LOL.

 

[MagicMe]

Saturday, September 18 - Part 2

Well, as noted, we got to the front of the terminal where they were asking to view your passports when we realized that Amy had Dave's passport and she was still inside the terminal!!!!

So our only option was for me to make my way through the security line, find Amy and get Dave his passport. I was so nervous and anxious snaking my way along the security line constantly looking for Amy in case she appeared. I finally made it past the baggage x-ray and quickly took the papers handed out from the various CM's as you move to the first part of the terminal. I looked around and not seeing Amy anywhere in the terminal, immediately inquired as to the location of the bathrooms and made my way there.

Once inside the bathroom, I asked for Amy and heard this weak, exhausted voice coming from the handicapped stall. She informed me that she really wasn't doing too good. I couldn't take the time to find out more at this point as I needed to get the passport to Dave so he could at least join us. Amy handed me the passport under the stall door and I ran back out to the front hearing the guttural sounds of heaving as I left. I found a CM that let me out to the front where I gave Dave his passport and then the CM walked me back to the front of the security line for me to walk past the x-ray again.

I went back to the bathroom and Amy was still inside. I stood out there trying to calm her as best I could while being terrified of what might happen. I mean, you hear that they can deny you boarding but what would they do with us half way across the world??? Amy would be quiet and then would again go through a heaving spell. At one point when Amy had been somewhat quiet and I had hoped she was possibly doing better; I see a young woman at the door wearing a dark blue navy pencil skirt, jacket, white blouse and red, white and blue scarf. I'm sitting there silently praying, please don't Amy, please don't Amy.... but of course, the poor girl has no idea someone is there, I can't say anything and sure enough....heave!!! Crap, the jig is up. Now, I know that you might think we were really trying to get away with something but we knew that with the quickness of what happened that this was definitely linked to something Amy ate. Could have been the several different tapas she ate for lunch the day before, the nachos she had the night before or even the sandwich that morning. Sure enough, shortly after a nurse shows up. She seemed to have a heavy danish style accent and asked alot of questions pertaining to a possible gasto-intestinal virus. We explained to her that it was something she had eaten. She asked about any medicines Amy was taking. Amy started telling her what she was taking and the nurse wasn't quite understanding so I stepped in to explain to her that everything Amy was talking about was related to "women" issues. After a few gestures (pointing in the general area on my body ) she realized what we were discussing and asked her if she was taking any medication for a gastro-intestinal virus at which point we said no. She took down Amy's name and cabin number and left.

Not long later, Amy made her first venture outside the ladies room. We got her to the first terminal (where you check in). Kimberly and Dave were both there anxiously waiting to see how she was. Poor Amy was as pale as a ghost and sweating. We kept trying to make her look as healthy as possible so we kept telling her to wipe her face. Dave finally was able to walk her up where they checked in. They had to answer that she had been throwing up but explained that it was food related. Having checked in, we were able to go to the second part of the terminal where you waited to board. This is also the area where you could get pictures taken with the characters.

Poor Amy just wanted to lay down and sleep but there was no place to go. She made one additional trip to the bathroom but it was a much shorter trip. She was cold but sweaty. Dave went to the small souvenir shop to get her a dry t-shirt but when he brought it back she either didn't want to change yet or was just too tired to care.

Thanks to my good friend Kimberly, I am including a few quick pictures of the second terminal (I don't think I took any pictures at this point).

The good news in all of this is that I got a boarding 2 ticket at the beginning of all of this!!!! This turned out great since it meant that we could get Amy on board quickly. They called our boarding number, checked our information and sent us to the photographers. Trooper that she is, Amy gave us her smile!! We made it to the check in area:

Took the escalator up and walked out to the crossover to the ship.

We made it!!!! No one stopping us! No one disallowing us boarding!!!

Welcome the Kimble family!!!!!!

 

[MagicMe]

Saturday, September 18 - Part 3

We were on the ship!!!! After being greeted by numerous CM's, we walked across the atrium and headed back towards Parrot Cay.

We passed Spanish Goofy...

and were met with this cool ice sculpture...

As we got closer to Parrot Cay, Amy decided to rest on one of the bench seats at the far end of the Promenade lounge while Dave and I grabbed some lunch at Parrot Cay:

She knew that her stomach was not up to dealing with food at this point.

After a quick lunch, we found Amy sleeping in the promenade lounge. We sat quietly waiting for the cabins to be available. Finally it was time and we headed to our cabins. Amy and Dave relaxed for a bit and about 45 minutes later they wanted to do a little exploring. We checked out the kids clubs (they are basically open house that first day so those of us without children can see what fun there is)...

Soon it was time to head to the DISmeet back in the promenade lounge. We were able to pick up our personalized lanyards (thanks to Erik and Jason once again!!!) and meet up with all of the new friends we had been conversing with for the last two years!!!!

Erik and Jason and the awesome WBTA lanyards!

Stephen generously coordinated the bus transfer for our Praktik group.

Sue - kept us so organized with FE's and tastings and between her and her husband Glenn, ran the website. I can say that this was one of many alcoholic beverages we shared with her!

 

[TotallyAngelic]

Poor Amy .. I had no idea she was so poorly getting on the ship. It's a good thing she was able to board and not get confined to her cabin or anything like.

 

[MagicMe]

Poor Amy .. I had no idea she was so poorly getting on the ship. It's a good thing she was able to board and not get confined to her cabin or anything like.

They did follow up by calling the cabin to check on her status. She was beginning to feel better by then. I'm sure they probably notified housekeeping to advise if there were any indications of illness. She actually took it easy (especially with food) the first night and somewhat the next day (our first sea day) but by dinner that second night she was back to normal and totally enjoying the trip!

I did hear later that everyone that was deemed sick of an intestinal virus was allowed to board but confined until cleared by the doctor.

 

[nenner1]

Oh Melodie I let you get ahead of me, now we can't have that, can we?

That shopping center/store in Barcelona sounded very neat! (And of course the men are *always* right, right? )

Poor, poor Amy! Ack! How terrible the Tapas took her down like that- ugh! So glad everything worked out as far as getting Dave's passport, getting to board, and her finally feeling better!!! Do CM's actually patrol the bathrooms for pukers or was it just a coincidence? LOL (not to make light of it, she was having a pretty rough trip so far!)

Looks like yet again an amazing bunch of Diser's! That is one thing I really missed on RCCL, the camaraderie of making all these friends onboard. we did have a meet thread on Cruise Critic and it actually was an active one before sailing but once onboard and afterward- nada. We met a couple of people but they didn't even bother to come back to the thread to chat after the cruise, so sadly no long lasting friendships there.

Now that you guys are onboard I can't wait to hear about the Magic!!!!

 

[MagicMe]

Oh Melodie I let you get ahead of me, now we can't have that, can we?

That shopping center/store in Barcelona sounded very neat! (And of course the men are *always* right, right? )

Poor, poor Amy! Ack! How terrible the Tapas took her down like that- ugh! So glad everything worked out as far as getting Dave's passport, getting to board, and her finally feeling better!!! Do CM's actually patrol the bathrooms for pukers or was it just a coincidence? LOL (not to make light of it, she was having a pretty rough trip so far!)

Looks like yet again an amazing bunch of Diser's! That is one thing I really missed on RCCL, the camaraderie of making all these friends onboard. we did have a meet thread on Cruise Critic and it actually was an active one before sailing but once onboard and afterward- nada. We met a couple of people but they didn't even bother to come back to the thread to chat after the cruise, so sadly no long lasting friendships there.

Now that you guys are onboard I can't wait to hear about the Magic!!!!

I saw that there were some complaints about the Magic after dry dock but honestly, she looked as great as I remembered her. We had the same rooms as on the DD. We didn't run into any big issues other than an arm rest on the end of an aisle in the big theater was a bit loose.

I don't think they patrol the ladies rooms but I think someone probably said something and they stopped by to check. As I said, the timing was perfect and shortly after the nurse came in! I know she probably would have been better sooner if we could have just let her lay down. She eveb began to show improvement after her little nap at the Promenade lounge.

 

[MagicMe]

I will finish our first day tonight. I actually finished it last night but the system said I had too many pictures and when I tried to cut to paste in another post, I don't know what I hit but it basically deleted it so I have to start over.

 

[granmaz]

Oh yippee, another trippy. I'm so pleased Amy could board and you all got your cruise. I remember chatting to her one day and also seeing her around and about. she was just so excited about everything.

 

[MagicMe]

Saturday, September 18 - Part 4

Sorry about the disconnect from Part 3. I apparently added too many pictures and when I tried to cut to paste into another posting, I don't know what I hit but it totally deleted it. I tried to recover but NADA! So, I decided to take a break before re-writing the last part.

So, anyway, after the DISmeet, we began to hear the announcements that we would need to return to our cabins and prepare for that exciting, thrilling, not-to-be missed mandatory boat drill. Okay - not exciting and not thrilling but apparently not-to-be missed!!

The steady alarm sounded and we made our way out to deck 4 for our boat drill. Sardines crammed one column next to the other with bulky hot orange vests! My kind of fun . The good news is that it was not that hot (I've been at these in Port Canaveral that were brutally hot).

Now, before we came on the cruise, I learned that a friend, Justin, of my niece, Krissy (she met him and became friends while on the college program), has a partner that has been on the Magic in the entertainment division. She only knew his name. So we figured we would just keep an eye out for him and possibly get a chance to meet him. There we are, patiently waiting for the drill to end when the young CM at the head of our group introduced himself as our leader "Mo". I looked at Amy and we both figured there couldn't be that many people on board with the name of Mo!! After the drill, we went up to him and I asked if he knew Justin. "Krissy!!" - Umm, no but Krissy's family! We introduced ourselves and told him that we hoped we would get to see him around the ship. At that point we left as he had his duties to complete. Funny, we weren't sure we'd ever actually run into him and he pops up the first day!! It's that Disney thing again... a small world!

We quickly removed our fashionable orange vests and dropped them in our cabin. I headed up to Deck 10 to grab a table for the Adventures Away party. The party was going to be at 4:30 even though we would not be sailing until later that night. It was a bit overcast but that didn't dampen our spirits!

They normally hand out shiny streamers for everyone to wave around getting into the mood. This time they handed out streamers and each of the red ribbons on the streamers was imprinted with our Westbound Transatlantic cruise information and dates so we had an extra souvenir!!

Soon it was time for the countdown - 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and then the sound I'd been waiting to hear!!! (those that have cruised DCL know what I mean and those that have not yet cruised with DCL - what an experience!). And then...nothing. Yup, no where. Still quiet - still docked. Okay, enough of that, time to get ready for the evening's activities!!

We spruced up (as much as I can) and headed to the All Aboard show which included the first of our entertainers, a physical comedian, Mark Nizer and a ventriloquist, Jimmy Tamley. Both were fine and showed promise for the adult shows to come later. After the show, Dave and Amy wanted to relax before dinner but I headed to Studio Sea and the Mickey Mania show.

By the time the show was over, it was time to have our first dinner which was in Parrot Cay.

Our server was Leslie and our assistant server was Raphael. Our head server was Yolande (some of you will know her as Brent's wife). I really enjoyed our server and our assistant was a bit tentative at first but loosened up throughout the cruise. I have to say that this was the first time that I was able to say that we had a terrific head server. We saw her at least one time each night and most times multiple times. She always stopped by to ask about our day and often helped the servers either removing or dropping off plates, etc. It was really a pleasure! Dinner was actually very good.

Chicken Bastela (Moroccon Spiced Shredded Chicken in Phyllo dough

Yachtsman Steak House Cut Grilled Sirloin Steak w/Monterry Jack Cheese Potato, Buttered Broccoli and Peppercorn Sauce

Kona Coffee and Pistachio Mouse on white chocolate brownie

I wasn't too sure about the dessert but it was actually really good. During dessert we began to feel the ship move and realized that we had started our journey. After dessert, we tried to rush up to Deck 10 to grab some pictures but we were already further out than I expected...

At this point, the experiences of the entire day began to take their toll and we decided call it a day. We stopped at Deck 9 for a beverage and headed back to the cabins. I was met with...

We also received a Ducky Williams reproduced lithograph. Very cool.

It was an eventful and full day. Not exactly the way we had planned for it to go, but we were on the ship, we were on our way, and we knew we had only wonderful adventures ahead!!!