Grand Slam in the Med

[keighttf]

6/1/18 Sea Day

We slept in today after getting up early at port stops the last couple of days. We then of course had room service breakfast with juice, bagels, croissants, cereal and donuts. DH then took a nap and I used my iPad in the room for awhile.
After that we went to Lumiere's for lunch. DH had the bruschetta (which he thought was weird), thai lettuce wrap, steak salad, and apple pie. I had the chicken (which had weird sides) and the berry shortcake. We also had coffee, coke, and rolls of course. We then hung out in our stateroom for a bit before sitting on deck 4. DH listened to an audio book and I used my iPad. While sitting there we saw dolphins jumping in the sea!
We then went to a beer tasting and sat with two british people. We tasted 5 beers including Bodington's (which we have since gotten at home). We had a good presenter and enjoyed the tasting
We had dinner that night in Animator's Palate for the animation show. DH made his look like Donald Duck and mine had a Mickey shirt on.



This was the menu with the set appetizer platter that included duck, shrimp, and salmon and the set soup of tomato, spaghetti, and meatball. I didn't care for either. I then had the grilled grass fed sirloin and DH had the beef wellington.
After dinner we went to 2000s music trivia in O'Gills and then briefly listened to music in keys. It was then time to pack up our luggage before sitting outside on deck 4 some more. We went to the adults 80's flashback game show in Fathoms. Then stayed for the ventriloquist/comedian John Kimmons. We don't normally like those type of shows but he was very entertaining. We finished up the night with some room service Mickey bars.

 

[keighttf]

Thank you for taking the time to share your trip. We are rescheduled for next year. Looking forward to your next installment

Thanks for reading! That is so exciting you are going next year. It is a great cruise.

 

[keighttf]

6/2/18 Disembarkation Day

Unfortunately it was time to get off the boat. We had our last breakfast in Animator's Palate. We hadn't gone to the last breakfast for the last few cruises and it was nice to have a leisurely breakfast instead of rushing off to the airport. DH had coffee, orange juice, a pastry, and the route 66. I had tea, apple juice, a chocolate croissant, and the egg for the road which was good.
Getting off the boat was quick and easy as there was no immigration to go through. We knew that we would be on the Magic again in 3 months so mentally that made it easier as well.
We took a taxi to our hotel, Cotton House, a Marriott Autograph Collection hotel which I had booked for free with points. Unfortunately our taxi driver was very shady and wouldn't look up the location of our hotel, tried to overcharge for baggage supplements, and refused to take a credit card. We later found out from the hotel that that was illegal. Thankfully the hotel was very nice once we got there.



Our room wasn't ready yet so we went on the Rick Steve's audio walking tour down La Rambla and the barri gotic area.



The Cathedral





We then went in the Disney store and I got a Disney Barcelona shirt. They had a whole section of Disney Barcelona items.
After that we went to the huge department store, El Corte Ingles. We literally could buy anything there. We got a ham and cheese bocadilla at the cafe on the top floor which we shared and enjoyed the view. After that we went to Starbucks and DH got a latte. There was a North Face store near by that we browsed around. They had some North Face Barcelona shirts but we didn't buy any.
We then went back to the hotel and hung out on the rooftop pool deck until our room was ready.



The hotel was so nice. We asked the concierge for some restaurant recommendations.



We then went for tapas around the corner at El Mercat. Which was excellent! We had chicken and cheese croquet, tomato toast, jamon and tomato toast, and a tortilla. The tortilla was my favorite.


After that we walked over to La Sagrada Familia. On the way we walked though a street festival that was occurring and stopped at a açaí bar and got an açaí bowel. (We had discovered açaí bowels on a prior trip to Hawaii and don't have anyplace nearby where we live to get one.)The area around La Sagrada Familia was very busy. The church has definitely changed since I had last seen it in 2006. So much detail!



We then walked back to the hotel after stopping for a coke along the way. We lounged on the pool deck back at the hotel.



We went out to dinner at one of the concierge's recommendations for sangria and paella. The resturant gave out chips as an appetizer which were delicious. We weren't huge fans of the paella. I think we just picked the wrong one for our tastes.



We went to the restaurant patio bar at our hotel after dinner where we got a deconstructed carrot cake for dessert and DH got another sangria. It was just ok.

 

[keighttf]

6/3/18 Travel Day

We started with a free breakfast in the hotel due to my status with Marriott. It was delicious with a big buffet of pastries, desserts, fruits, and yogurts.
Then we got a taxi to the airport. We had a long but uneventful flight to Toronto on Air Canada. We flew in economy but they did have the two seats on the side which we liked. I mainly watched Netflix and DH listened to an audio book, watched Netflix, and took a nap. We had a chicken dish for lunch and later on a meat pastry.
In Toronto we went though immigration and security and got Tim Horton's. Unfortunately there was no time to check out one of the lounges. The flight to Boston was quick and we got a Lyft ride home.

 

[keighttf]

Thanks for reading everyone!
I hope you enjoyed it or gained some knowledge for future trips.
Feel free to comment or ask questions.
I also kept a journal for our British Isles cruise so I may try to write a trip report for the cruise as well.
I don't know when we'll get to cruise again but hopefully it won't be too long. My DH and I are both vaccinated but we now have a 7 month old DD so it may be awhile.

 

[lorimay]

Thanks for reading everyone!
I hope you enjoyed it or gained some knowledge for future trips.
Feel free to comment or ask questions.
I also kept a journal for our British Isles cruise so I may try to write a trip report for the cruise as well.
I don't know when we'll get to cruise again but hopefully it won't be too long. My DH and I are both vaccinated but we now have a 7 month old DD so it may be awhile.

Congratulations!

 

[AussieDisneyfans]

Thanks for a great trip report. Dreaming of the day when we can return to do another Disney Cruise.

 

[ksromack]

We could also see the La Sagrada Familia in the distance.

We then went back to the hotel and listened to a Rick Steve's Audio Europe podcast before going to bed.

5/26/18 Sea Day

DH slept well but I still had jet lag so I read a book some in the night. This morning we slept in and ordered room service for breakfast. One of our favorite things to do! It was great as usual. We got croissants, a bagel, fruit, juice, tea, and coffee. Then we sat in Promenade Lounge and observed Disney pictionary and read about Naples in the Rick Steve's cruise port book. This was the best resource for this cruise and had all the information you needed about the ports.

We then sat on deck 4 and listened to a Rick Steve's talk on Pompeii downloaded on his audio europe app. We discovered the app prior to a land based trip to Rome a few years ago and like to listen to the talks prior to visiting different European destinations.

After that we sat in O'Gills Pub by the window and listened to a Rick Steve's talk about Naples

I love that you used the Rick Steves books and audio app. We are so fond of him that we have actually taken 4 of his European trips. As a matter of fact we are on a waitlist for another one for May 2022. This trip is to celebrate my 60th birthday but if that date falls through I am seriously considering this same cruise that you are writing about. We have always done land tours because we love staying in the towns after all the tourists leave to go back to their ships….and now we might be those very people we have always avoided while in Europe, lol! Happily reading your trip report!

 

[keighttf]

I love that you used the Rick Steves books and audio app. We are so fond of him that we have actually taken 4 of his European trips. As a matter of fact we are on a waitlist for another one for May 2022. This trip is to celebrate my 60th birthday but if that date falls through I am seriously considering this same cruise that you are writing about. We have always done land tours because we love staying in the towns after all the tourists leave to go back to their ships….and now we might be those very people we have always avoided while in Europe, lol! Happily reading your trip report!

Glad you enjoyed the report. We use Rick Steve’s guidebooks, online videos, podcasts, and walking tours for all our European trips both land based and by cruise. It is such a good resource. We have saved money on museum audio tours and walking tours by using the audio walking tours in the app. We also wouldn’t have felt comfortable going off on our own for some excursions on this trip without the information from his guidebook.
We like landed based and cruise European vacations but they are very different. We consider cruises more of a sampler and exploring places to return to or visiting prior favorites.
That’s cool that you have been on his group tours. I am sure the sightseeing is great. If we ever decide to go on a group tour we still consider them for sure. I also was a bit unsure of some of his accommodation choices. Although I am sure more authentic possibly not as nice as we would choose on our own.