Our Magical Mediterranean Adventure 8-18th June 2011 *Completed*

[janey2000]

Riomaggiore was the next town we came to at the end of our walk along the lover’s path. This was an even smaller town and we just took a few pretty photos and headed to the train station for our short journey back to La Spezia.

On our walk back to port we came across another park, located just before you get to the water.

We tendered back and think we got back on the ship for 3pm. We headed back to the room to get our swimming gear on and then got some snacks to eat before spending some time watching ‘Finding Nemo’ in Goofy’s pool!

 

[mkmommy]

What wonderful pictures you have, thank you for sharing.

I am most excited about Cinque Terre, where in the train station did you find the Cinque Terre park office?

 

[pxlbarrel]

How much research did you do before you did your own thing? Next time I'm tagging along with you!!!

 

[nemo123]

What awesome photos and reviews! Do you have photos of your Personal Navigators? We leave in two days for Barcelona!

 

[janey2000]

What wonderful pictures you have, thank you for sharing.

I am most excited about Cinque Terre, where in the train station did you find the Cinque Terre park office?

Thankyou. They photos are more for my benefit as mostly all feature my little girl!

It was really easy to do and this was the one place I did the least research on as we were going to Pisa before I found Cinque Terre as an alternative a few days before we left. When you get inside the train station you'll see it, it is covered in Cinque Terre signs. From the entrance we walked in from (thought it was the main entrance but not completly sure) it was on the right alongside the platform. It is not a little ticket booth, it is a whole room so you cant miss it. The staff spoke english and gave us a timetable of the trains along with the ticket. If we hadn't of had Georgia with us we would have spent a lot more time there and hiked more of the trails or used the bus system. It really was a wonderful place to visit and very easy to do.

 

[janey2000]

How much research did you do before you did your own thing? Next time I'm tagging along with you!!!

To be honest I did a lot of research as I work long shifts and I just sat at my desk everyday since January and looked at things to do! But on the otherhand, when we were there I remember thinking I could have easily done it without having done as much research. My planning really just allowed us to do things Georgia orientated and ensured we got back to the boat on time!

Did you do a lot of Disney excursions? They were very expensive and we try to save money whereever possible! Plus I really enjoyed the planning

Regarding the video format - I have no idea what I can view, i'd have to ask Jack

As long as there is a next time, i'd have anyone tag along! Really want to book again but being that they are all in the USA next year it makes things a lot more expensive.

 

[janey2000]

What awesome photos and reviews! Do you have photos of your Personal Navigators? We leave in two days for Barcelona!

Thank you. I have all pristine copies of the navigators but no idea how to get them on here. It took me 3 days to figure out the photos

You're going to have a wonderful time, i'm very jealous.

 

[pxlbarrel]

To be honest I did a lot of research as I work long shifts and I just sat at my desk everyday since January and looked at things to do! But on the otherhand, when we were there I remember thinking I could have easily done it without having done as much research. My planning really just allowed us to do things Georgia orientated and ensured we got back to the boat on time!

Did you do a lot of Disney excursions? They were very expensive and we try to save money whereever possible! Plus I really enjoyed the planning

Regarding the video format - I have no idea what I can view, i'd have to ask Jack

As long as there is a next time, i'd have anyone tag along! Really want to book again but being that they are all in the USA next year it makes things a lot more expensive.

Yeah, we did all excursions by Disney. I had been planning our own tours but just got too busy and ran out of time .... and my mom wanted to do it by Disney. I think she later regretted that because of how big some of the tours were but on the other hand, we got into some places more quickly than if we had done it ourselves. I think if there's a next time though, we'll do it ourselves.

 

[janey2000]

We got back to the room to get ready for Pirate night which we all dressed up for. Before dinner Jack had his photo taken with Captain Jack! Georgia was really good as I thought she’d be terrified of him! Then we met pirate Chip and Dale. I have an adorable video of her teaching them to bum wiggle!

Dinner was in Parrot Cay tonight and was a good setting for how we were dressed. Bandanas were at our place setting and Jack purchased a fancy pirate glass for his juice, I had a cocktail!

Georgia and Maisie making hooks with their hands!

Party around Parrot Cay

After dinner we popped into the pirate dance party at Rockin’ Bar D and Chip and Dale arrived to dance with us all.

We then made our way to the party on Deck 9 where Georgia and her little friends spent some time with one of the pirate cast members who was trying to creep away from them whilst they were chasing her. The party started as it turned dark and it turned a little chilly. We were in a good position where Dale and Goofy came to dance beside us.

 

[janey2000]

Look who saves the day!

Georgia fell asleep just minutes before Mickey appeared on the zip wire and we couldn’t wake her. I was really sad she missed this and although Jack took a video of the fireworks, it missed out Mickey and was a little shaky as he was holding her whilst filming. This part really was the Disney magic and I’ll admit, I shed a few tears. Mickey came down on the zip wire and said ‘Well I promised you a party’ and then the fireworks started to the song ‘I need a hero’! The fireworks were good and lasted the length of the song. The party ended after this and we made our way to the buffet which was really crowded, you wouldn’t have thought people had eaten only an hour before! The buffet was great, huge turkey legs, proper cooked gammon ham and other treats. There was a crepe station but this was too busy so we got a selection of cakes and choc chip cookies and took them back to our room. We both went to bed feeling really sick! They were playing one of the pirate movies on the funnel vision where people were laying on the sun loungers wrapped in blankets but it was just too late for us.

 

[ga9497]

None of your photos are showing up any longer

 

[pxlbarrel]

None of your photos are showing up any longer

Too many of us are looking at them.

 

[mlm71]

I thought it was just me. I didn't see any of the photos, as they all say something about the bandwith too broad or somethings like that. I really enjoyed the trip report though, and not only was I a lucky one to receive one of your awesome, fun taste of the UK FE gifts, my husband and I were also the ones who received the $300 onboard credit at the vacation club presentation! I so wish I had known you were there, I really wanted to meet you, but couldn't figure out how the whole trip. Thanks for the taste of UK (literally), and the great memories. Hopefully I can log back on and the photos will be available

 

[janey2000]

I had an email from photobucket to say I had exceeded my monthly upload limit and had been banned until the 27th! Maybe this is the reason they are not showing?

So I think i'll complete the report and then come back in after the 27th to upload the rest of the photos.

mlm71 - I thought I might have seen you as a couple walked past me and I saw a 'Just Married' top, but by the time I realised you were in amoungst the crowds. Glad you liked the gift. It was a few days late as when I first visited your room there was no FE hanging up so I thought you may have been given an upgrade.

 

[janey2000]

This was a great port to follow the intense Italian ones. After a midnight bedtime we were up at 7am. It was another beautiful day and we were off the ship from about 0930 till 12. We had a walk around and found a park right by the port terminal building that seemed to be a public one but we couldn’t open the gate. There was also a market taking place just outside the terminal selling local delicacies.

So we carried on walking along the coast line until we found a huge park that even had a gym circuit within it! This was a great place and we spent some time with Georgia playing here. Then we walked onto the beach where she put her feet in the freezing sea but it was a shingle beach so pretty uncomfortable on the feet. We found out later from our tablemates that the beach before this one was sand!

Working on my love handles!

Shingler beach furthest away from the ship

Sand beach closer to the ship

On our walk back Georgia dropped off to sleep after the late night and we decided to stop for a coffee. We sat down to look at a menu but then panicked because we saw the locals drinking these small espresso type coffees and thought this is what we’d end up with! So we didn’t end up spending any money at this port and went back to ship for coffee and lunch.

At 1pm we had more Mummy and Georgie time making tote bags. I’d seen a few people with these around the ship and thought I’d do one as a gift for a friend we have at church, she has learning difficulties and always brings Georgia a present every week so I made one for her and put some chocolates inside. Georgia enjoyed this and she has the bag to keep her necklaces and bracelets in.

Then we went back to meet Jack and have a swim. Maisie was in the Goofy pool so Georgia wanted to be there also. As I walked back to get her armbands the spa team were set up in the corner of the quiet cove pool area offering free samples of smoothies and massages. Jack was in the pool with G so I told him I’d be back in 10 minutes. You could choose the massage and I picked hot stone as had not tried this before. It was so relaxing! The chair was really comfy and the view of the sea along with it was wonderful. It lasted about 10 minutes and was so good I took over in the pool so Jack could have one also. About 3.30 I dropped Georgia off at the club for Pinocchio’s party whilst I did a couple of things and then got showered.

It was the Captains gala evening which we enjoyed in Lumier’s, my favourite. Tonight I ordered a main course but asked for the lobster tail on the side also as I’d never tried one before. I didn’t like it so Jack finished it off.

Tonight was Disney dreams show which we watched in bed with Georgia having a semi early night at 8.30.

 

[HermanTriplets+1]

As I walked back to get her armbands the spa team were set up in the corner of the quiet cove pool area offering free samples of smoothies and massages. Jack was in the pool with G so I told him I’d be back in 10 minutes. You could choose the massage and I picked hot stone as had not tried this before. It was so relaxing! The chair was really comfy and the view of the sea along with it was wonderful. It lasted about 10 minutes and was so good I took over in the pool so Jack could have one also. .

I love the idea of a free 10 minute massage with a smoothie! Hadn't heard of this before!
Also, wanted to say that I'm so glad you decided to keep writing even if you've been banned from photobucket until the 27th phooey on them!
THANKS!

 

[heatherbelle]

I can't see the photo's either. Looking forward to seeing them on 27th.

 

[janey2000]

Today was another enjoyable breakfast at Parrot Cay (I wish we had discovered this place earlier in the week for breakfast) and then a shorter (although more crowded!) tender to the port. It was a short walk to the train station which was easy to find as could be seen from the tender boat along the coastline. The only problem when we got there was that it has several steps leading up to it which was a struggle with the pushchair on the way back when she was asleep!

We purchased a ticket to Monaco/Monte Carlo which I believe was 10.40 Euro for the 2 of us. The journey was about 15 minutes so we arrived just after 10am. Now there are 2 exits out of the station and I believe we took the wrong one! When looking at maps of Monaco/Monte Carlo you don’t realise that everything is on a different level and we came out of the station and spent a good 45 minutes trying to find out where we were trying to get to!

We walked past a Maserati which Jack drooled over on our walk down to sea level (what is it with boys and cars?!)

They had a great public open air swimming pool and Georgia asked ‘did I bring my swimmers Mummy?’

We saw some fancy yachts and then found a little play park but unfortunately it was exclusively for the kids of the nearby private school!

We managed to walk through a car park and take an elevator up to the Musee Oceanographique where we were going to take the little red train for a tour as we’d already done too much walking! We had 45 minutes till the next tour so took a walk to the cathedral for the changing of the guard. This was really crowded and uncomfortable so we only stayed for a few minutes to take some photos and show Georgia the soldiers!

The train I thought was too expensive for what it was. It cost 8 euro and adult and 4 Euro for Georgia and lasted 30 minutes. They have headsets to inform you in various languages what you are looking at and we got to see the casino and Café de Paris which we probably would have had to miss out if we were solely on foot. Georgia surprised me and fell asleep on my lap during the last 5 minutes of the tour.

After departing the train we had a few snacks I had brought with me (doughnuts!!) and walked down the hill passing some lovely gardens and views.

We then took a leisurely walk back to the station and got the train back to Villefranche. I felt a little disappointed with Moncao/Monte Carlo. I had heard great things about it but we both thought that even with lots of money it wouldn’t really be a place we’d want to go back to. Maybe I had too high expectations? Next time I would have like to have visited Nice and spent a bit of time wandering around the port – If only there is a next time?!!! I also felt disappointed we hadn’t found a park she could play in, I knew there was one in Villefranche but we were tired and hungry and wanting to get back on ship!

 

[janey2000]

Tonights dinner was Flavours of the Med in Animators Palate.

At 7.30 I took Georgia out to the club for Pluto’s pyjama party. She’d had a meltdown at last night’s dinner and I wanted to relax and enjoy my dessert and have a coffee after as hadn’t yet tried the dinning room coffee. I got her changed into her PJ’s and some Minnie mouse thick slipper Tote socks and took her up. Just got back to the table to find my dessert melted, the only day of the trip I order ice cream for dessert! Sit down, and then get text from club to ask if I can bring her up some shoes! Urgggghh! All the while Jack is relaxing over his last course and chatting with our friends! Maisie later joined in with the party and when I went to check on her they were colouring in pillow cases with fabric marker pens together.

Jack and I decided to purchase some gifts from the gift shop whilst she wasn’t with us. She loves Miss Merryweather from Sleeping Beauty and you can’t find her anywhere… except in a Disney gift shop that is! So we purchased a Sleeping Beauty character set for her upcoming birthday and I got a Disney Cruise Line scrapbook. We then went to collect her but she wanted to carry on playing as they had brought out playdough. So I left Jack with her for another 30 mins whilst I tidied up the room and began packing up the dirty clothes. It was gone 9.30 when they came back to the room and informed me they wanted to visit Donald! She has her sailor Donald toy and wanted to show him...

 

[janey2000]

Our character breakfast was this morning in Parrot Cay. I am pleased we got the last one as Georgia now loved the characters and the first day would have been a struggle with her! The breakfast was ok, not as good as Lumiers! We only got to take 2 photos each with the characters so not much time was spent with them. It was still enjoyable though and great that it was included in the cruise and not an extra like at the parks.

We went from here to do the playhouse Disney dancing again as she enjoyed this so much.

We decided to queue again early for the princess’s as the first sea day she was too wary of them to enjoy it.

Lunch we went to Parrot Cay and they had a seafood buffet on. I didn’t think we would enjoy anything here as we don’t eat seafood but we all managed to find something we liked and they had a wonderful beef dish I had instead of the seafood. The waiter must have overhead me worrying that there wouldn’t be anything Georgia would enjoy and when I returned with a plateful of food I had found for her he came over with spaghetti and meatballs!

I then rushed off to the DVC presentation solely in hope of winning the $300 onboard credit, which I did not! But I did answer a question and win a Mickey pin badge. I met up with Jack who had been walking around the running track whilst G napped. They had a special ice cream again today, pineapple and coconut. It tasted just like having a Malibu and pineapple and again I think I had 2 tubs. They were also doing cherries at Goofy’s Gallery, I think we got our money back on the cruise in the amount of cherries we all ate!