Disney Magic 12 nt. British Isles Cruise 2017

[poison ivy]

Disney Magic 12nt. British Isles
Monday, July 10, 2017
Cruise Day 2 – Le Havre, France

our weather July 10, 2017:

Morning:
Le Havre – (In Port) overcast wind light drizzle 63 °F / 17 °C
Afternoon:
Normandy cloudy high 67 °F / 19 °C
Paris high 73 °F /15 °C

………….continued

JQ and I hit Cabanas exactly at 7:00 am. (excursion at 8:30am)
(Iron Man was on his own clock)

We needed to eat fast and eat well. Who knew when our next meal would be?

Per the DCL website:

“With an almost endless array of classic American breakfast fare, Cabanas is the perfect start to the new day. Feast on made-to-order omelets, scrambled eggs, sausages, hash browns, Mickey-shaped waffles, muffins, fruit, cereal and more. Hot beverages like cappuccino, espresso and café latte only make the morning brighter.”

Looks like we weren’t the only one with this plan.
The place was hoppin’



They had it all!

Beverage Station



Fruit and Cold cereal Station:



cereal; milk; muesli; cottage cheese; yogurt; honeydew; cantaloupe; watermelon; pineapple; grapefruit halves; dried fruits



Assorted station – Center: cream of wheat; oatmeal; brown sugar



Left: mickey waffles; buttermilk and blueberry pancakes



Right: Assorted Cold Cuts / Smoked Salmon / Sliced Tomatoes / Brie Cheese / Swiss and Provolone Cheese / Mango yogurt and Strawberry Granola Yogurt / Cream Cheese Nutella / Cream Cheese and Chives




Bread Stations:

Assortment of Bread/ Rolls/ Bagels / Croissants / Muffins / Danish








And that's just the breakfast starters!!

lots more to come - next post!

 

[poison ivy]

Disney Magic 12nt. British Isles
Monday, July 10, 2017
Cruise Day 2 – Le Havre, France

our weather July 10, 2017:

Morning:
Le Havre – (In Port) overcast wind light drizzle 63 °F / 17 °C
Afternoon:
Normandy cloudy high 67 °F / 19 °C
Paris high 73 °F /15 °C

Cabanas breakfast buffet continues........

For breakfast on the go - Cabanas is the place.

You name it. They've probably got it.

From donuts



To a whole host of hot buffet items






Baked Beans / Hash Browns / Vegetable Rice / Turkey Sausage



Crispy bacon / Corned beef hash / Roasted Potatoes / Grits




Scrambled eggs




You can get any "Eggs Cooked to Order" or the "Breakfast Special of the Day": (changes daily)



Today's special: Canadian Eggs Benedict and Hollandaise Sauce



Other days: Ham and Cheese croissants / Quiche Lorraine / Biscuits and Gravy




Bon Appétit

 

[poison ivy]

My favorite breakfast out of all these choices was Lumiere's. Room service was better than I expected, but only as "in between" food. If the Cove cafe is improved I can see going there more often.

I agree about Lumiere's. The biggest problem is finding the time. And I can't wait to check out the new Cove Café.

LOL! I <3 Lumiere's for sit down breakfast and lunch, as well as their dinner. I'm pretty sure on my Perfect Port Day Le Havre, I took advantage of not having to fight for a table

So glad you posted, btw, I was starting to worry! There are so many more days and I can't wait to read about them!!

So true. I was way overdue with an update. It's good to be back and it'll move faster I promise. Football season is finally over but when it's your home team and they've never won in 52 yrs. it becomes all consuming around here.

That Perfect Port Day is something I do envy. You must have had excellent service that day! Le Havre was the one port that cleared out most of the ship. I wonder how the lunch buffet fared?

 

[dalmatian7]

Football season is finally over but when it's your home team and they've never won in 52 yrs. it becomes all consuming around here.

Agreed! I have no favorite team but we were cheering on the underdogs!

 

[JenTen1585]

You take such great pictures! Even of food!! They should hire you for marketing!
I enjoyed the breakfasts at both Cabanas and at Lumiere's. We always went to Cabanas before an early tour, and went to Lumiere's on sea days or if we had a late tour. It's fun to have people serve you, but Cabanas always had a nice spread and was convenient.

 

[85glht]

We ate at Cabana’s when we were tight on time and Lumiere’s at other times.... love both places.

 

[poison ivy]

Agreed! I have no favorite team but we were cheering on the underdogs!

Well those cheers definitely helped! Thanks for rooting for the underdogs. What a day! What a week! What a month! It's a sea of green around here.

You take such great pictures! Even of food!! They should hire you for marketing!
I enjoyed the breakfasts at both Cabanas and at Lumiere's. We always went to Cabanas before an early tour, and went to Lumiere's on sea days or if we had a late tour. It's fun to have people serve you, but Cabanas always had a nice spread and was convenient.

thank you thank you

same here. Cabanas on mornings we were leaving the ship and Lumiere's at sea. We also snuck in a Palo brunch on our Hebrides day. So good!

We ate at Cabana’s when we were tight on time and Lumiere’s at other times.... love both places.

exactly. This system works best for us too. We love breakfast on the Magic! (why am I not on a cruise)

 

[tink1970]

Football season is finally over but when it's your home team and they've never won in 52 yrs. it becomes all consuming around here.

Congrats, I'm sure it must be exciting. We're college football fans and having an all SEC final was super exciting (for me).

You must have had excellent service that day! Le Havre was the one port that cleared out most of the ship. I wonder how the lunch buffet fared?

I'm sure the service was great. I'm embarrassed to say I can't remember if I had a sit down lunch or just ate in the concierge lounge.

why am I not on a cruise

Me, too! I'm impatiently waiting for summer 2019 releases...hope DCL releases SOON!

 

[poison ivy]

Congrats, I'm sure it must be exciting. We're college football fans and having an all SEC final was super exciting (for me).



I'm sure the service was great. I'm embarrassed to say I can't remember if I had a sit down lunch or just ate in the concierge lounge.



Me, too! I'm impatiently waiting for summer 2019 releases...hope DCL releases SOON!

DCL must be getting ready to release summer 2019 soon. It's almost March.

I didn't realize you guys were concierge on that trip. That must have been a dream. We love Andy and ran into him on the ship. He gave us a mini tour of the lounge on the Magic. Very nice! so jealous.

 

[tink1970]

DCL must be getting ready to release summer 2019 soon. It's almost March.

I didn't realize you guys were concierge on that trip. That must have been a dream. We love Andy and ran into him on the ship. He gave us a mini tour of the lounge on the Magic. Very nice! so jealous

I hope so..I'm trying to plan DD's graduation trip (she graduates high school May '19) and the planner in me is going a wee bit nuts trying to wait for DCL and ABD to release things...sigh...

I love Andy, he's great! Honestly, concierge was awesome...since this was sort of a big cruise (we took my parents) I decided to splash out and don't regret it for a minute... I'm happy to treat them when I can.

 

[poison ivy]

Disney Magic 12nt. British Isles
Monday, July 10, 2017
Cruise Day 2 – Le Havre, France

our weather July 10, 2017:
Morning:
Le Havre – (In Port) overcast wind light drizzle 63 °F / 17 °C
Afternoon:
Normandy - cloudy high 67 °F / 19 °C

We’re in France

We’ve got an 11 hr. visit to Normandy ahead of us with a 2hr drive to get there.

It’s gonna be a long day

XX Strike that

It’s gonna be a great day!

Here’s a mini clip from Rick Steves:
(note: pay close attention to the amount of beach in Arromanches compared to it being practically non-existent when we visited)

JQ is ready to go as we head to our first official outing for the BI cruise.



We booked a DCL sponsored excursion today (our check point was set up in the hall outside the club areas)



Check-in requirements:

KTTW cards
passport photocopies
excursion tickets

A few points worth noting:

1. Clayton only stated to bring photo ID - but you were required to have your passport copies with you and a lot of cruisers had to run back to their staterooms and collect them.

2. With the excursion tickets - keep the stubs with you. Busses might request them to check guests when re-boarding

Our meetup was inside Fathoms



and DCL was all business in keeping things right on schedule as we are walked out at 8:25 am sharp!



Feels great to take that first step in France.





No time to stop as the CM walks Group #31 right thru the clearing area straight to the busses.





And we settle in to our designated coach for the duration.





Time to hit the road.

 

[poison ivy]

Disney Magic 12nt. British Isles
Monday, July 10, 2017
Cruise Day 2 – Le Havre, France


......continued

We wave goodbye to the Magic as the bus pulls away from the Port of Le Havre.



We had a full 11hr. itinerary today:

Scenic drive - 2 hrs
Arromanches - 10:30 to 11:45am
Lunch - Ferme de la Rançonnière -12 to 2pm
Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial - 2:30 to 3:30pm
Omaha Beach - 4 to 4:15 pm (quick stop)
Pointe du Hoc - 4:30 to 5:30pm
Return trip - 2+ hrs



and the first thing we notice - opposite the UK, the French drive on the right side of the road (same as the US)



Disney’s website describes our journey as:
“a 2hr scenic motorcoach ride through the now peaceful countryside of Normandy headed to Arromanches.”

And that's exactly what it was.

Which means there would be a lot of window gazing to pass the time as our tour guide calls attention to the many points of interest along the way.

...a glimpse of the commanding spires of the Abbey of Saint-Etienne in the distance as we pass Caen.
flanked by twin Romanesque towers topped with Gothic spires. Rising 84m (276 ft.) high, these helped earn Caen the nickname "city of spires."



A few fun facts about this landmark:

• The Abbaye-aux-Hommes (Abbey for Men) was founded by William the Conquerer in 1067. Its abbey church, the Romanesque Église St-Etienne, is the finest in Caen
• The story of William of Normandy and the Battle of Hastings in the year 1066 which led to the ascension of William to the throne of England marked the only time in history that the British Isles were ever conquered
• During the height of the Allied invasion in World War II, residents of Caen huddled in St-Etienne Church for protection.

...... sightings of the Cross of Lorraine monument and Flag of Free France at Juno Beach

"The Cross of Lorraine was adopted on July 1, 1940 by General De Gaulle as the symbol of France Libre - Free French Forces during WWII"



"on June 14, 1944, General Charles de Gaulle set foot on French soil for the first time after four years of exile. ... A Lorraine cross was installed on the spot with de Gaulle first landed on Juno Beach, between two humble villages, commemorating this important turning point during the Normandy Campaign and the Second World War..."

It was a beautiful scenic route.







We were lucky to have had such an excellent guide. Here's the only video I have of the bus ride. Listen as he briefly explains the significance of the caissons off the coast.

You can also understand why the drive would be 2hrs. Slow moving through a very rural area.

Finally, Arromanches is in sight as we pass the Statue of Virgin Mary overlook of Winston and Gold Beach. (with a segment of pontoon road)



and the Arromanches 360 cinema located on the clifftops. (which I would have loved to see but we were too far from getting back here once we arrived in town.

http://www.arromanches360.com/visit/360deg-cinema




up next: a visit to the town of Arromanches and off to lunch.

 

[Johnny Quest]

Great job Poison.
Awesome reminder of how beautiful the French countryside is and Normandy was an amazing experience. Cant wait to go back.

 

[dalmatian7]

wonderful pictures. I am so excited for this rest of this day.

 

[tink1970]

A few points worth noting:

1. Clayton only stated to bring photo ID - but you were required to have your passport copies with you and a lot of cruisers had to run back to their staterooms and collect them.

2. With the excursion tickets - keep the stubs with you. Busses might request them to check guests when re-boarding

Great reminders!

wonderful pictures. I am so excited for this rest of this day

Me, too!

 

[wajones2]

Amazing review of this sailing! Can't wait for more

 

[poison ivy]

Great job Poison.
Awesome reminder of how beautiful the French countryside is and Normandy was an amazing experience. Cant wait to go back.

I know so beautiful yet such history to mark it. I learned a lot on this day. Normandy is an incredible place. can't wait to go back either.

wonderful pictures. I am so excited for this rest of this day.

Thanks so much. Glad you are enjoying the pics. The rest of our day is coming up so stay tuned.

Great reminders!

thanks. the passport requirement when leaving the ship is one of the things we've been caught off guard with in the past. But we only had to show the passport photocopies when we checked in for this excursion. After that you only needed the KTTW to get back on the ship. No re-entry with the port officials required here.

Amazing review of this sailing! Can't wait for more

Thanks so much. Almost finished with our day in Normandy. Can't wait to post it. Glad a fellow cruiser feels the same. Loved this cruise!!

 

[kid-at-heart]

I did not know you could order a BLT from room service for breakfast. Four cruises under our belts and that never occurred to me. I really enjoy DCL's food but I wish they would upgrade their coffee served outside of the Cove. We spend way too much time/money on foofoo coffee when what we really want is just a decent cup of regular coffee.

Kate

 

[poison ivy]

I did not know you could order a BLT from room service for breakfast. Four cruises under our belts and that never occurred to me. I really enjoy DCL's food but I wish they would upgrade their coffee served outside of the Cove. We spend way too much time/money on foofoo coffee when what we really want is just a decent cup of regular coffee.

Kate

Better coffee outside the cove would be so great! They've been plugging some upgraded coffee machine in Cabanas but nothing beats the cove café - unless of course, you happen to be concierge which runs a close second. But I doubt they're giving up that little money making coffee bar / café anytime soon. They ran a scotch whiskey tasting there during our cruise which my son loved! It's very popular, so all you BI cruisers might want to sign up early for that one.

and yes! you can order that blt anytime. shhhh............just between us!

 

[poison ivy]

Disney Magic 12nt. British Isles
Monday, July 10, 2017
Cruise Day 2 – Le Havre, France

weather: Normandy cloudy high 67 °F / 19 °C

………….continued

DCL excursion (LH12) - D-Day Landing Beaches Adult Only Departure: ($170.00 ages 18 & up)
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/le-havre-france-d-day-landing-beaches-adult/

we visit:
Arromanches
Normandy American Cemetery
Omaha Beach
Pointe du Hoc



I’ll be honest. I did not do nearly enough homework before taking this cruise. Looking back, I regret that. I really should have taken the time to understand so many places we visited ahead of time.

This would especially hold true today.

Given the significance of June 6, 1944 to these French towns





and what we were about to embark upon on these French shores

(stock photo)



(vs today)



deserved my full attention and respect.



It’s almost taken for granted or assumed that when a name is dropped on a tour around here:

U.S. 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions
U.S. 4th, 1st and 29th Infantry divisions
2nd Ranger Battalion


British 6th airborne
British 50th and 4th Infantry divisions


Canadian 4th Infantry

Croix de Lorraine
Arromanches
Sword Beach / Juno Beach / Gold Beach / Omaha Beach / Utah beach
Pointe du Hoc
Sainte-Mère-Église



…..that visitors have a general knowledge of the D-Day Invasion during the Second World War.

Well sadly, my history fell short – basically limited to Omaha Beach and the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial

So having returned now, and being a little more familiar – I’ll lend some of the cliff notes (very very brief I might add) with respect to what we learned about the landing beaches and Normandy.

Hope it proves helpful in reflecting on our day.

To start – here’s a short summary of the Normandy Campaign
(source: American Battle Monuments Commission flyer we collected at Pointe du Hoc)



And this website is an excellent introduction to this area.
http://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/sites-and-attractions/the-d-day-landing-beaches-5-2.html

“The D-Day Landings were the most vital part of the greater Operation Overlord to liberate Europe from years of German military occupation. Allied planning for a massive invasion of German-held France had gotten underway as early as 1943”.

“amazing armada of Allied troops British, American, Canadian and more, landing on Normandy’s beaches on 6th June 1944 to begin the liberation of Europe from years of Nazi occupation”

5 landing beaches
3 paratrooper drop zones
and Rangers scaling the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc



Today 5 Military Cemeteries remain in this area alone to honor our fallen soldiers.

“The whole operation, those who fought on D-Day and those who sacrificed their lives on that crucial day in history, are recalled in extremely moving museums, memorials, cemeteries and sites set along the D-Day Landing Beaches.”

And with that, let’s go visit our First Stop - Arromanches