I Feel Like I've Been Hit by a Truck: A Transatlantic Trip Report

[frangi]

Loving the trip report!

 

[UKANGEL]

Loving your report Erica! I thought we had a bad journey to Barcelona, but it was nothing compared to your experience!

Looking forward to reading more...it brings it all back...*sigh*....

 

[Witherbark]

You guys are so kind - I am really enjoying the experience of sharing our trip with everyone. I promise there is no more drama though - from here on out everything went really well!

More pictures coming and I have the next 3 days already written. Work has gotten in the way of trip report writing. Stupid job.

Erica

 

[Witherbark]

As so many people had recommended, we ordered a room service breakfast to serve as a wake-up call on our first port day. Turns out that was unnecessary because we had the loudest wake-up call of all: forward thrusters. Breakfast came at 7 and we had bagels and juice. From the way he bit my head off when I asked about the ibuprofen, I assumed Greg had sort of a rough night with his leg hurting.

We headed off the boat a little after 8 with the intention of just getting a taxi tour. Incidentally, super easy to get off and on the ship from our room location on Deck 2. Lionel was our driver and we sat up front in the van with him, the rest taken up by a group of friends. It was chilly and overcast as we made our way up the twisty, windy roads toward the Pillars of Hercules. Lionel shared lots of information about Gibraltar and life there – like their 1% unemployment rate and free education for university.

I didn’t know a whole bunch about Gibraltar. I had tried watching the lecture on board, but that professor was just terrible. I’m sure others enjoyed it, but I felt like he was talking to a class of fifth graders and just can’t respect a professor who talks in that over-animated way. Which makes me think, looking back, that my own college education perfectly prepared me for years of board meetings where I manage to stay awake when all around me fall asleep.

Anyway, Pillars of Hercules. We took pictures. It was still fairly cloudy, but we were able to enjoy it. On to St. Michael’s cave. This was a nice stop, a natural cave where they found Neanderthal bones. Refitted for (luckily unnecessary) use as a hospital in WWII, it is now used for concerts. Greg held up fairly well, even though I could tell his leg was hurting by the way he was getting into and out of the van and how he was clock-watching for his ibuprofen.

After the caves and a bathroom break we headed back to the vans to find the monkeys out. I was taking pictures down the road of the monkeys on the roof of neighboring vans when I heard Greg mutter something and suddenly he wasn’t beside me anymore. I looked up and there was a monkey. Well, hello little guy. You scared the dickens out of me.

Some horribly behaved child who was in the caves with us (not on our tour) went right up to him and had to be physically restrained by his mother hanging onto the back of his sweatshirt. Later we saw this same child (about 9-10, I’d guess) having a full-blown temper tantrum complete with yelling, crying, and foot stomping when he wasn’t allowed to play in a cemetery. Ah, kids. This is why I don’t have any.

On to the monkey reserve. The babies were adorable and I loved that the older, larger monkeys surveyed the humans with a look of complete disdain.

After the apes it was the last stop, the siege tunnels. These were great, Greg loves cannons. We viewed the rations and cannons and all. We were the first from our group to come on out. The others were avid photographers, which is my polite way of saying they needed to take the same shot from 15 different angles and shutter speeds. To each his own, I suppose. But while they were still inside Greg and I enjoyed some up close and personal time with more of the apes who were up there and got great shots of the runway, beach, and our ship.

When all showed back up, we headed back down the rock, past the Moorish castle, and into town. It was still only about 10:30 in the morning when we paid our driver (28 Euro per person) and walked down to the Governor’s House and Trafalgar Cemetery. We rested for a few minutes and watched the cable car (heard a little while later that it was shut down), then walked back in the general direction of the ship. I popped into Marks & Spencer for some food stuff gifts. We engaged in one of our favorite pastimes – stopping at real estate agent’s windows to look at house prices. We made a bathroom stop on the somewhat long walk back to the ship. Re-boarding, we were behind a family and they had to get the hand wipes, hand them out to all the kids, explain what was going on, and then dad had to unload the half ton of cameras and bags he was carrying. It was really sort of amusing.

Finally back on board, we dropped packages in the room and headed to lunch at Topsiders buffet. They were doing English buffet, and there really wasn’t a ton I could eat. I settled on several salads and a yummy chocolate mousse. As we were leaving we saw Mike and Jodie, who were just getting ready for their tour. Greg headed back to the room for a nap and I grabbed my book and journal and nabbed a comfy deck chair on Deck 9 at the adult pool. The sun had made an appearance and it was a really nice afternoon. Before heading to wake Greg I bought 7 day rainforest passes for us! I also picked up some fruit and cookies from Goofy’s in case Greg woke up hungry. I’m such a good wife.

Greg was still asleep and didn’t seem inclined to wake up. Hey, it’s his vacation too. I ate the snack (I’m a good wife, not a great one) and watched the end of Ratatouille. Eventually at 5 we headed up to Diversions for happy hour. We played Wii tennis (Greg won) and eventually Mike and Jodie showed up and we sat with them and chatted for a while. Neither of us was interested in the Beatles show, but at 8 we left to dress for Palo.

 

[Witherbark]

 

[Witherbark]

Day Three – Now I can Die Happy
So, our first Palo experience. Greg wore his wedding suit and purple Disney tie and I wore my new sparkly black dress (well, only sparkly at the hem, which is pretty much all the sparkle I can handle). We were seated right away at 8:30 in a near-empty Palo. Everything was very relaxed, not at all the rush and excitement you normally have in the main dining rooms. Also, the lighting was low and romantic, a huge change from the café-gym-a-torium lighting in Parrot’s Cay. They made me my own antipasto plate with no meat and Greg and I both chose a dry white wine to go with our meals.

For appetizers I had the calamari on Jodie’s recommendation – fantastic and Greg had a salad. We shared a margharita pizza. Okay, I thought the pizza was just alright. I realize that is sacrilege here. Maybe it’s because we have two really, really good pizza places within blocks of where I work, but we left most of it.

The breadsticks were delicious and I had to stop myself from eating them all and ruining my main course. And what a main course it was. I had the gnocchi with a gorgonzola sauce instead of shrimp, fresh mozzarella, and pepper. Every bite was like a perfectly wrapped present. I wanted to curl up in the bowl with it. Greg had lamb, which he enjoyed, and I refrained from making little lamb bleats during dinner.

We both had the chocolate soufflé for dessert, which I threatened to leave Greg for. We also had the palate cleanser, a little lemon vodka thingy, and the plate with Happy Anniversary on it. But who cares, there was chocolate soufflé.

We rolled out of there around 10:30, and despite the fact that we had done pretty much nothing from noon on that day, we were both exhausted. So on to bed before another exhausting sea day of laying in the sun, drinking things with little umbrellas in them , and having second lunch. This vacation thing is hard.

 

[mainstreetmagic]

Oh man, I have heard nothing but great things about the chocolate souffle at Palo. I MUST try the chocolate souffle at Palo!!

 

[Dahly]

Loving your TR! can't wait for more!

 

[Witherbark]

Day Four: Scary Spanish Dancing (9/21)
We were up early for once and actually made it to Topsiders for breakfast (eggs, toast, fruit). I love breakfast, absolutely my favorite meal. Is it sacrilege to say I don’t like the Mickey waffles? It is, isn’t it? I’ll take my 20 lashes with a wet noodle now.

So there was bad news in our fish extender this morning. Personally, I think that should be illegal. Bad news in your fish extender? There’s something wrong with that. Anyway, they had cancelled our Tortola kayak tour due to the hurricane. This was a shame, since we really enjoy kayaking. We did it for the first time at Disney’s Hilton Head Island. After breakfast we headed to shore excursions to see what was available. We picked snorkeling in Tortola and the Western Madeira tour. I hadn’t planned on a Madeira tour, but I think Greg wanted something more organized than a hop on/off bus. No problem for me.

Up to Deck 10 to stake out some deck chairs and read. At a little after 11 Greg got a latte from the Cove and I decided to hit the gym. Beverly was making up the room when I went to change, so I killed 15 minutes in the shop. Ran into some fellow Disers a got a few Transatlantic trinkets for 50% off before finally changing and heading to the gym. I watched part of Dear John on the elliptical.

As I was heading out I ran into Jodie again, and she graciously invited us to join them for Palo brunch, since we had been unable to schedule it. How sweet! Of course I said yes, because I am not insane. Greg wasn’t around when I made it back to the room to shower and change. I ran up to Pluto’s for some fries, then caught up with Greg in the movie theatre for “Desperate Shipmates.” I’d heard not-great things about this before our cruise, but then I heard that they revamped it and I wanted to try it. We both really liked it – it was totally played for laughs and a lot of fun. We stayed in the theatre for the screening of “No Ordinary Family”, which was both a fun show and a treat to see, um, at sea.

After that we headed down to Diversions for trivia, which we won (earning us adorable medals). I felt bad for the cruise staff running trivia, because they invariably pronounced certain names or cities incorrectly, thus earning them a chorus of corrections. This time they had the name of the previous AG up as the name of the current AG. It was fun, though.

Somewhere in here we picked up a pin from the DVC desk and I grabbed a veggie roll and fruit from Goofy’s. Greg was somewhere else, not sure where. At some point we both ended up on Deck 10 with books again, but it had gotten windy and I was getting a headache from the sun. I ducked back to the room for an Excedrin and a nap and managed to finish watching Shrek 3.

By 6:30 we were both in the theatre for the Los Mulero Spanish dancing. So, that was…some dancing. After about 20 minutes I could have been done with it, truthfully. I mean, hats off to them for doing it on a rolling ship, but…yeah. I’m done. Plus, that older lady with the castanets was kind of scary.

We dressed for dinner and headed to Parrot Cay for Island Menu. The Island menu gets a big “meh” from me. Not that anything was particularly bad, just not that inspired. I had the pumpkin, tomato, and mozzarella appetizer and Greg had chicken tenders, which I think was the best part of his meal. The Portobello mushroom and lentils I had for main was okay and we both had a rather blah s’mores cake for dessert. By far my least favorite menu, and in future I’d probably skip this night in the dining room. After dinner we headed back to Diversions for a drink and I had a snack, so obviously I was still hungry! Finally to bed around 11:30 with a room service breakfast again scheduled (and again unnecessary – good morning forward thrusters!).

 

[Witherbark]

Day 5: It’s Not Technically Stealing (9/22)
Room service called at about 6:45 to see what time we wanted breakfast – I guess I didn’t mark it clearly? Whatever, we were already up thanks to the aforementioned forward thrusters. I grabbed a shower while Greg handled the food, then we shared bagels and tea and coffee. We actually could have gone upstairs for breakfast since we were ready so early, but didn’t.

We headed up to Rockin Bar D for our tour meet. We had bathing suits, towels, and water in the backpack and were on Bus 2 for “Unforgettable Western Madeira”. The bus left just 15 minutes after our gathering time – definitely better than my experience on other cruises. Okay, the one other cruise.

Our first stop was through Funchal and up the highest sea cliff in Europe, the second highest in the world. Well that’s just great. I have a paralyzing fear of heights. I’m sure this will be a terrific day. Our tour guide was great, and talked about agriculture and city life and the typical salary and living conditions of the island, while I gripped the armrest and prayed to a merciful God that the bus wouldn’t plummet off the side of the mountain.

Somehow defying the laws of gravity, we made it to the sea cliff and took pictures. Greg took pictures, I stood back from the edge of death. On the way back to the bus we enjoyed another terrifying adventure – port o pots. When the construction is done the viewing platform will have a glass floor. What a fantastic idea! I will not be going again.

Back on the bus and up, down, winding roads past houses clinging to the side of the cliff we went. Eventually we stopped in a cute little town with a lovely 18th century church. Despite signs to the contrary, people were taking flash photography in the church while people were trying to pray. Lovely. The inside was small but lovely, with some ornate woodwork over the alter and two small side chapels. Our Lady of Fatima was in tiles on the outside, and I noticed similar religious tiles on homes that we passed. I bought an overpriced magnet in a shop, we took some pictures by the sea, and then back to the bus.

After more winding roads of imminent death, we stopped at a restaurant where they gave a “demonstration” (not really, just some guy stirring a pitcher) and a taste of Poncha, a local cocktail made with grain alcohol, from the taste. I saw Hoagie Pie and she laughed at the face I made when I smelled it. She seemed delightful, I really wish I had gotten a chance to really meet her. Pictures on the balcony of the scenery and then back on the bus.

Next we headed to the volcanic pools and, on the way, got to talking to Amy and her lovely family (Ashley, Alexis, and Barry). We were all game for the pools, despite the fact that it was windy and a little chilly and the tide had come in so forcefully that they had shut down the bigger pools. So a handful of us changed in the restaurant’s bathrooms (where we would be eating lunch) and dove in.

Okay, to be fair, Greg dove in. I waded in slowly, quickly submerged myself, swam five strokes, and got out. Because it was really, really cold. Amy was smarter than any of us and sat, dry, on a rock. She has ridiculously well behaved and charming children, by the way.

After a rinse-off outside shower and changing again, we hit lunch. Greg and I were lucky enough to sit with two friends travelling together, Pam and Christine. They were lovely and charming and wonderful lunch companions. We had a salad and a vegetable soup (I skipped the soup, because it likely had either a beef or chicken stock in it and with the language barrier it was just too much to ask and try to be understood. No big deal). Christine and Greg had the beef, Pam and I the local fish. The fish was very good, the beef just okay I guess. There were two bottles of wine on each table – one red and one white. We drank the white and then the others drank the red (migraine trigger for me). Then we took another bottle of white from a nearby table (part of our group, they had left already). It was time to go, but Annabella, the wonderful Disney lady who accompanied our tour, insisted that everyone who wanted to stayed for dessert and coffee. So we did. Pam may or may not have filched an espresso cup and Greg put two bottles of wine in the backpack. See, the wine was already opened (they had a plastic stopper in it, but not a cork) and had been placed on the table. In America, that would make it impossible for it to be served again. So we just…assumed similar FDA requirements in Portugal and took it. The couple behind us gave us a look, but only because they were sorry they hadn’t thought of it first.

Back on the bus and to our last stop, which was listed as a shopping stop and was…a grocery store. Not sure what was up with that, but I bought some cookies for the folks back home. Greg walked around and saw a hanglider land on the beach, which was cool.

Finally we returned to the ship completely exhausted. I think everyone slept on the bus ride back, we could barely open our eyes when they shouted that there were cows in the road. Which, yeah, because I’ve seen cows before. It reminded me of when we were in Greece and on a tour bus and they stopped so people could get out and see the cotton growing, since we were passing a cotton field. My mother was like “yeah, born in the south. I’ve seen cotton.” Heh.

The island was lovely and we enjoyed the tour. It was a lot of driving around and took up a huge chunk of time, but that just seems to be the way the island is laid out. We saw wild birds of paradise and hydrangea (my favorite) and wild eucalyptus. Wonderful tides, interesting architecture. Just a really nice day.

We were back on board around 5:30 pm. Greg headed for a nap and I grabbed my book and snagged my favorite portal table in Diversions. We were undecided on the show and I was heading back to wake Greg when I started talking to Ashley, a CM from our excursion orientation and then chatted with our favorite bartender Nur for a while. So it was after 7 when I made it back to the room, too late for the show. Which was fine, it was the magic show and not really our thing.

The boat pulled out at 6:30 and almost immediately started to roll – really roll. I took my bonine and was fine. We dressed for dinner and headed upstairs to spend a half hour walking on Deck 4. This really cleared my head and settled my stomach, so I was fine when we headed into Lumiere’s for dinner (Greg: “the most formal of the dining rooms” me: “shut up”).
I have to again give credit to our great serving team (Ana from Serbia and Gilbert) and Yolande, the head waiter for our section. Ana would always tell me if I could have something or not, and Gilbert had an unending procession of iced tea for me. The first night we met Ana and I saw her nametag said “Serbia” I almost said, “oh, Greg’s been there” but then I thought better of it since, you know, he was there because of their civil war. Seemed like something to not bring up.

I had a tomato soup and a salad and Greg had a salad with goat cheese, which was weird since he doesn’t eat goat cheese. I had the Portobello pasta (okay, nothing to write home about. Except I kind of am writing home about it) and Greg had a steak. Dessert was a hit – chocolate mousse and a shared crème brulee. After dinner we went straight to bed – it had been a long day!

 

[Witherbark]

 

[tigger2on]

LOVE your report!

 

[nu2dvc]

subbing

thanks for the laughs. I really need them!

 

[xrobmn]

Love the the trip report!!

 

[tea for girls]

Erica,
Thank you for the kind words about my children- made me smile (glad to see some of my hard work paying off
Small world (or I should say small ship) we too had Anna and Gilbert as our serving team during main dining.
We totally agree with you that the flaminco show was a nice touch of Spain, but way too long. We heard some similar music on tv last week (picture the guy from the ship at the back of the stage yelling some odd sounds and then adding a little guitar music) and started looking for the scary castanets lady. Made us all laugh. We were thankful that we nixed paying a huge sum of money in Barcelona to see a flamenco show.
Enjoying reliving the cruise through your TR.
Amy

 

[Witherbark]

Let's finish up week 1, shall we? I need to get this whole thing wrapped up before my job sends me on a whirlwind pre-Christmas tour.

Day Six: Palo Brunch (9/23)
We woke up to cloudy skies at about 8AM (or 7AM? We were gaining an hour). We both decided to hit the gym first thing, stopping by the DVC desk for today’s giveaway (Hawaii lanyards). I couldn’t run this morning because the boat was moving too much! We ran into Jodie again in the gym, and she said that Mike was really feeling the movement but that brunch was still on.

I showered and dressed and left Greg in the room watching a movie. I got a picture with Mickey and Donald, then headed to Rockin Bar D (or Rockin Bar Dead as we called it. Nearly every night when we passed by there were just one or two people in there). I did mask making with some fellow Disers, then headed up for brunch.

I was happy to see that Mike made it and we had a really lovely brunch. We ate so much (Greg and I, that is). I had the eggs Julia and they were amazing. And then of course I just inhaled the dessert section. We rolled out of there around 1:30. I headed to the theatre to see the Extreme Makeover lecture where I ran into Amy and Ashley again (hope they enjoyed it!). After the lecture I hit the shops for some of those kooky pens that were on sale and then read in a comfy chair on Deck 4.

So after a brief respite on Deck 4 (okay, I napped), I headed to Deck 3 to meet Greg for Desperate Shipmates in Diversions. Mike and Jodie were there as well, and we all grabbed seats to wait for the next clue. Greg dropped his book in the chair next to me and ran to the bar with his beer mug. Some woman coming in asked to sit there and I said “he’s at the bar” and she made a crack about saving seats. First, he’s at the bar 10 feet away, not across the ship. Second, these shows lasted from 10 to 15 minutes, hardly an arduous amount of time to spend standing. And compared to the folks who put their towels and sunglasses on a deck chair at 8 AM and then didn’t reappear for 3 hours, I’d say saving your seat while you jump up to walk 10 feet isn’t a huge deal. And…sorry for the rant.

The show was adorable, we chased after the Creepier twins down “some sort of passage” with Officer Curt. We ended up in the theatre, but after Greg and I headed back to Diversions. We said hi to Pam and Christine who were enjoying a game of scrabble. Mike and Jodie returned and we sat and chatted and played some Wii. I had a big plate of nachos and Greg had a hotdog for dinner, and we chatted so long we missed the 6:30 show so after a while we all hit the 8:30 Villains show.

While we were in Diversions, someone came in with their kids (around 6 years old maybe?). Now, I know that Diversions isn’t 18 plus until later in the evening. But this wasn’t 5 o’clock, it was well into happy hour and there were some rowdy folks watching a sporting event of some kind. And the kids were running around yelling, dodging in and out of tables, etc. It just seemed really inappropriate. On the other hand, many afternoons when I was there reading at a porthole table another couple would bring in their very well behaved daughter for a game of checkers before early seating dinner, and that never seemed odd. I’m not sure if it was the timing or the rowdiness of the kids.

We all went up to the Villains show (huh, that’s where all the kids are) and it was..cute. It had a very loose plot, and I did enjoy the cheesy jokes. I’m not such a fan of the current events jokes. I did enjoy the “Wind Beneath my Wings” segment. Afterward Greg and I headed upstairs to grab a couple of slices of pizza. I wanted to see the Masquerade Ball and Greg was supremely uninterested, so he went back to the room and I watched Cruella and Yzzna come out. The cruise staff was out among the guests clapping and trying to get some dancing going. A woman in front of me grabbed a staff member and said “two villains – that’s it?” Now, granted, I expected more as well, but that’s hardly the cruise staff’s fault.

Afterward I found Greg, Jodie and Mike in Diversions again. Shocker. It was soon bedtime, though. Another tough at sea day ahead.

Day 7: Heated Lounge Chairs are Sent by God (9/24)

I made Greg set the alarm today. The woman in the spa told me that the Rainforest Room was best early in the morning or late on sea days. We headed up around 8:15 and started with the hot steam room, the aromatic one, and then the mild steam room. Amazing, I felt relaxed and rejuvenated. We each took a rainforest shower (okay, this just seemed like a regular shower to me) and then a few minutes in the heated lounge chairs. I could have stayed all day, but Greg was hungry. Off to Topsiders!

Breakfast is my favorite meal in Topsiders. I had eggs, toast, and fruit. We made a pitstop in the room after breakfast, then headed up to Deck 10 for some sun and reading. It was another gorgeous day. The boat was still rocking, which made the pool really fun, more like a mini wave pool. Eventually I headed downstairs to shower and get ready for the day.

Around 1 PM we met for Desperate Shipmates, this time outside on Deck 10. Again, super cute even if we couldn’t hear much (they were good at miming). Before Greg arrived I ran into a table mate who asked where we had been at the character breakfast. Ooops! It completely slipped our minds. Honestly, I kept losing track of the days. Not like in the parks, where you have a schedule and have coordinated EMH with dinner and touring plans.

After DS we were back in Rockin Bar D for the DVC member mixer. We watched some clips, had a blue Hawaiian, and won a blanket. After this we split up again – Greg was switching a book out of the Cove Café library and I wanted some lunch. I know they only gave certain hours for the books in Cove Café, but Greg quickly learned that they never actually locked it and didn’t seem to care if you actually signed it out. I don’t know if that’s because after dry dock they switch everything over, if on longer cruises they change the MO or what. I think at the end of the cruise when we got home we had ended up with a Cove Café book. But to be fair, they ended up with about three of mine, too. Oh, who am I kidding. Once again, we were thieves.
By the time I had some lunch at Topsiders and headed out with my tray, there was Greg. So we sort of ate lunch together. Then I hit my favorite deck chair on Deck 4 and Greg went…somewhere. Who knows. My trip report.

At 3:15 we met up again at the Buena Vista Theatre for the Premear (get it?) of You Again. It was packed, but we had really good seats. Very cut and funny, and who doesn’t love Betty White? I sort of hate the men lecturing the women on their wacky behavior aspect of it, and I didn’t really buy into the redemption of the bad girl. Still: Betty White.
It was 5:15, so of course we headed to Diversions and met up with Mike and Jodie. Tonight we didn’t stay long, since we all wanted to see the comedian (Heath Hythe). He was pretty funny, and I especially liked the Indiana Jones finale. Jodie and Mike chose dinner in their suite tonight, and since those of us in steerage don’t have that option, it was off to Parrot Cay for us.

I had a shrimp and bean appetizer (fishy), frisee salad (fresh and yummy), and spinach and feta pie over chickpeas. If there was feta in there I didn’t know about it. I think Greg was pretty tired tonight since he was quiet over dinner. He had lamb again. I had chocolate cake and a cheesecake to share for dessert and Greg chose the no sugar added mousse, which was better than anything else.

For once we were out of dinner early-ish. I wanted to watch Match Your Mate and practically had to drag Greg there. He would have been happy going to bed. The show was very cute, and of course the older couple stole it.

Greg had a rough night with his leg hurting. At one point he actually got up, dressed, and took a book on deck to read for a while. Eventually he put the icy hot on it and I think that helped.

 

[Witherbark]

Day 8: But they are formal sweatpants (9/25)
I was up around 8 AM, but Greg stayed in bed to try to get some rest after a nearly sleepless night. I hit the gym and then grabbed Greg a coffee on my way back downstairs. He was still asleep, so I changed into a bathing suit and headed upstairs for breakfast and deck time. I finally got my omelet this morning (pretty good!), then found a chair on deck 10. I only lasted about 30 minutes this morning, it was windy and a little cloudy. By the time I made it back to the room Greg was gone.

I guess we could have left each other notes or had one of those dry erase boards on the door. But we always seemed to be able to find each other anyway. Actually, Greg is pretty much always able to find me, so I just don’t worry about it anymore. He wanders off all the time, but then he shows back up.

We met up at 11 in Rockin Bar D for the Disney Innovations presentation. It was really interesting and fun. Then we did trivia in the Promenade Lounge, someplace we hadn’t been since day one. The singing duet in there at night was..interesting. Why is it that house bands are uniformly bad? And they all seem to be bad in pretty much the same way, too. Huh. So, didn’t do so well at this trivia and again with people picking on the cruise staff for not pronouncing something “correctly” or saying there are 23, not 24 attractions open. Calm down, people. The medal you win isn’t real gold.

Desperate Shipmates again at 1 – the plot thickens! Although we enjoyed that, nothing else appealed this afternoon. I hit Pluto’s for some fries and a chocolate chip cookie, then Deck 4 for some reading (i.e., a nap). I headed to the room thinking that I needed a real nap, but instead I ended up watching Leap Year and ordering second lunch from room service. Oh, second lunch. I miss you now that I’m back in the real world. Somewhere in there Greg made a brief appearance to change and then hit the hot tub.

Around 5 I hit Diversions, but it turned out I was the only one. I enjoyed my book and the 2 for 1 special, but Greg and I had a Rainforest date at 6:30. Wow – 6:30 is the perfect time for the Rainforest Room! We were literally the only people in there for about 20 minutes. We spent a little time in each of the hotter rooms (I love the aromatherapy room) and ended up for quite a while in the gentle sauna rooms. Finished again with a shower and a few minutes in the heated loungers.

I showered in the ladies’ locker room – very nice. It also made one of the male trainers very happy. He was in there helping the other spa ladies fold towels and robes, but had to go when I came in!

Tonight was Lumiere’s again (the most formal of the dining rooms) for formal night. For some reason dinner tonight took forever. Dinner was very good, even if it seemed like they must have had to fish over the side for my salmon. Greg and I also shared a pasta with tomatoes and artichoke. I really liked both entrees. Dessert wasn’t good – strawberry cheesecake for me with that gloppy “cherry” sauce. Greg’s sundae was good, but of course I can’t eat ice cream.

Afterwards we met up with Jodie and Mike in Diversions, they had been to Palo and looked smashing. We told cat stories and I had to let Jodie know that someone at a table in our area had worn a tee shirt and sweatpants to formal night. Formal sweatpants? Look, they are not picky on formal night. You could throw on some capris and a clean blouse and be good to go. You don’t have to rock a formal gown and Manolos to fit in. But if you truly don’t feel like going beyond a tee shirt and sweatpants, maybe that should be the night you hit Topsiders? Ah well, off to bed.

 

[Witherbark]

Day 9: Can You See Land Yet (9/26)
Another day at sea, and I can tell Greg is tiring of this. Up early again and I hit the gym. No more excuses to not run, the sea is like glass this morning. I didn’t pick Greg up any coffee, and a good thing since he was gone when I got back to the room. I headed to Topsiders for breakfast and found Greg there, so we finished breakfast together.

I grabbed a spot on Deck 10 to finish my book (third of the trip). Greg sat somewhere else or did something else, whatever, he wasn’t with me. I finished my book, took a dip in the pool, and then showered and changed. Grabbed some lunch (I hit both Goofy’s and Pluto’s). Then I met Greg for Toy Story 3 in 3d. I most certainly did not tear up. Stupid movie.

Afterwards I had second lunch (don’t judge) and started a new book. By 5 I was back in Diversions and Greg and I played foosball (he won) and Yahtzee. At about 6:45 we left for the Rainforest Room and by 7 we were side by side in heated loungers – bliss. I again took advantage of showering in the gym while Greg used the cabin.
Dinner in Animator’s Palate – our first time there! We missed it for Palo’s dinner and then again on Palo brunch day. It’s a very cute restaurant, and we had to ask a server to show us our table since we hadn’t been there yet (unusual for day 9).

I had the sweet potato mousse which seemed entirely devoid of sweet potato taste. Greg had the pork mini pizza, which I think pretty much filled him up. The salad was good, and my seafood pasta was fine. I think we were both just sort of sick of food by this point. For dessert I had the chocolate spice cake, which was the best part of the meal. Greg skipped dessert.

After dinner we hit the Heath Hythe adult show, which was funny, although I felt the ending was weak. We were both ready for bed but, alas, our toilet was not. There was a problem with flushing on our end of the ship. I called maintenance, and they said they would send someone. After a half hour I called again and they said it was ship-wide and they were resetting stuff from the engineering deck. Well, I wish they had mentioned that when I first called so that I didn’t spend time waiting. Eventually I got up and used the toilet by Animator’s Palate. Naturally, the toilet started flushing 90 seconds after I returned from that. Sigh.

 

[mainstreetmagic]

I love the tip about the sauna. I am really looking forward to those heated chairs! And poor Greg - is he just sick of the ship, by this point, or done because his leg still hurts and he wants to go home?

 

[gichicdoc]

Erica-
This is, by far, the most entertaining disney trip report I have EVER read. PLEASE don't stop. You are holding us by our proverbial shorthairs!
Michelle