*Sept 10th 2011 WB Transatlantic* From Spain to Space Mountain - Part 3

[steamboat will]

This afternoon we have finally got the first coat of paint on the walls in the Kitchen....it seemed to be taking forever to get all the preparation done but hopefully now we will get it done quickly.

Most DIY jobs (and most WBTA) are 90% preparation that's where most folks get it wrong rushing head first into things

As long as you've put as much preparation into your kitchen as you are putting into planning this cruise, I'm certain it will be a resounding sucsess

SW

 

[poohluv2u]

We arrive late afternoon on the Weds, so will just probably just wander near the hotel & grab dinner that night....followed by two full days.

We arrive early on Thursday, and will hit the pavement running.

Hi all,

DH's surgery was successful. ..Thanks to all for the kind wishes for my husband. Now....surviving a whiny husband at home for the next month....hmmmm....hoping that the drugs make him sleep!

Karen

Glad the surgery was successful. It doesn't get much worse than a sick husband, all the puppy dog eyes, and 'pity me' sighs ... good luck with that.

The cakes. scones and trifle sound quite nice though .... but there is one important thing missing from your list of drinks ..... CHAMPAGNE !!!! You can't have afternoon tea without a glass of bubbly !!!

But do they have clotted cream ... that's the most important part. A scone without jam and clotted cream, is like a cruise without Disney

oh and just wanted to add, i've had the most wonderful day today
as you may or may not know, i'm a disney cast member, and the company runs a programme called voluntears, which encourages CMs to volunteer in their local communities.
today i've been up in london, visiting two hospitals with mickey mouse and pluto, visiting the childrens wards and giving out toys. its been such a lovely rewarding day, seeing the children's faces light up when they see mickey is priceless. i'm so glad i signed up for it and wouldnt hesitate to do it again
(and as an added bonus, i got a new facebook photo with me and the characters)

How wonderful

Sarah (Totally Angellic)

Oooh I love a man in a kilt .. must be my inner Scot coming out

If you ever get to tea at the Grand Floridian, they have a gorgonzola and poached pear sandwich that is to die for! Sounds totally unlikely and I approached it with trepidation but it was truly lovely.

Yes, that's what we're doing. Just around town on Thursday - and out to Montserrat on Friday.

I Tea at the Floridian. We are also headed to Montserrat on Friday, maybe we could get up a group to go together. Were you planning on taking the train there?

On a sadder note, a couple of hours ago there was a mall shooting here in the Netherlands. News still is all over the place obviously, but it is not good. Multiple deaths. Too many folks will be in need of some major overload of pixiedust in a long time to come from now to deal with this.

Both me and TA hunted, but all accessible staterooms on the Hawaiian cruise were gone before one could sneeze. Oh well.

Sorry to hear about the shooting, it is especially sad when innocent people get hurt. Any reason given ... as though there ever is a reason.

Don't give up on the Hawaiian cruise yet. A lot of people will have their reservation on hold till Monday, so there is a chance some will drop out. We were fortunate enough to get in, and we're super excited about it. Good luck

And now for my really good news: I got a call for a job today!!!

Congrats .. jobs are hard to come by these days, so glad you got one you wanted. .. pixie dust for lots of tips

 

[poohluv2u]

Hi all, Sorry if this is a hijack of your thread but I have a question and thought perhaps I should ask here.

Since DCL is not returning to Europe in 2012 as we were hoping, we are seriously considering the WBTA! We did an 11 night Med last year and loved it. My major concern is that there will not be enough kids on board to keep my kids - 2 DD 15 and 12 - happy and occupied. I have seen a few kids signed up on roll call which is good to see.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts,

Jeannine

It depends on what you liked about doing the Med. The WBTA won't be as port intensive as the Med, so if shore excursions were what you liked best, it won't be quite the same. If your kids are into just hanging out on the ship, and enjoy sea days, this will be a great cruise for you.

I agree with steamboat will, that a smaller group of teens will be just as good an experience as a large one .. maybe they'll even like it better. Come join us, it will be a blast

 

[Chirpee]

We've been to Palo's for brunch and high tea, but never dinner as the kids were with us on previous cruises and dinner was often the only time in the day where we all met up. I get the sense that some of you prefer the brunch over the dinner. Is there any particular reason why? Also, for those of you that did the WBTA cruise last year, can you remember which nights were the formal and semi-formal ones? Thanks

 

[madscrapper]

Hi Jeannine,

No need to apologise 'hijack away'

There is no denying there were very few children on last years WBTA and it looks like the same will be true this year, but this certainly didn't stop those onboard from having a great time! I think there were maybe maybe 20 or 30 teens onboard but from what I could tell this meant they they all bonded really well and seem to have formed great friendships, I would often see little groups of teens wandering around the ship and a couple of groups turned up to ultimate Disney trivia most nights.

I certainly don't think a smaller number of teens resulted in less of an experience for them, there was still a full shedule of stuff for them to enjoy on all those lazy days at sea.


SW

Thanks for getting back to me.

20 or 30 is perfect. I was worried there would be 5 or 10 teens. Both girls ended up hanging out in groups no larger than 10 anyway.

We loved the port intensive Med cruise but we all felt we hadn't done much on the ship except recoup and start again the next day. I just have to convince myself that the experience is worth taking them out of school for 2 weeks. I remember reading a post where the CM set up homework stations for the kids - something to remember - doing homework in the middle of the Atlantic!

Thanks for all your help and I hope we are joining you. It looks like a fun group!!

Jeannine

 

[karentan]

congrats on the job pat!

 

[JessicasMom]

And now for my really good news: I got a call for a job today!!! Okay, don't laugh or go "whaaaat??" but it's a bagger job at the commissary on our Air Force base. I know it doesn't sound great, but this is one of the most sought-after civilian jobs on base.
I'm so relieved to get this. Money has been getting pretty tight. So this may be a sign of things beginning to turn around!

Congrats on the job! No legitimate/legal/useful job is ever anything to be embarassed by, so enjoy and pat yourself on the back for being the chosen one . No judgments here...and money is nothing to laugh at...good for you !

 

[steamboat will]

We've been to Palo's for brunch and high tea, but never dinner as the kids were with us on previous cruises and dinner was often the only time in the day where we all met up. I get the sense that some of you prefer the brunch over the dinner. Is there any particular reason why? Also, for those of you that did the WBTA cruise last year, can you remember which nights were the formal and semi-formal ones? Thanks

Here is a run down from last years WBTA, and while this years WBTA will no doubt offer some differences i hope this helps to give you all some idea of what we might expect.


SATURDAY 18TH SEPT 2010, BARCELONA
EVENING ATTIRE: Cruise Casual
SHOW: “All Aboard” Let the Magic Begin
OTHER: Captains Welcome Reception,

SUNDAY 19TH SEPT 2010, SEA DAY 1
EVENING ATTIRE: Formal
SHOW: Twice Charmed

MONDAY 20TH SEPT 2010, GIBRALTAR
EVENING ATTIRE: Cruise Casual
SHOW: The Magic of The Beatles

TUESDAY 21ST SEPT 2010, SEA DAY 2
EVENING ATTIRE: Cruise Casual
SHOW: Los Mulero (Spanish Dancing)

WEDNESDAY 22nd SEPT 2010 MEDEIRA
EVENING ATTIRE: Cruise Casual
SHOW: Rickey Kalmon (Hypnotist)

THURSDAY 23RD SEPT 2010, SEA DAY 3
EVENING ATTIRE: Cruise Casual
SHOW: Villains Tonight!
OTHER: Villains Masquerade Ball, 10.15pm

FRIDAY 24TH SEPT 2010, SEA DAY 4
EVENING ATTIRE: Cruise Casual
SHOW: Heath Hyche (Comedian)

SATURDAY 25TH SEPT 2010, SEA DAY5
EVENING ATTIRE: Formal
SHOW: Once Upon A Song

SUNDAY 26TH SEPT 2010, SEA DAY 6
EVENING ATTIRE: Cruise Casual
SHOW: Jason Bishop (Magician)

MONDAY 27TH SEPT 2010, SEA DAY 7
EVENING ATTIRE: Cruise Casual
SHOW: Walt Disney, The Dream Goes On.

TUESDAY 28th SEPT 2010, ST MAARTEN
EVENING ATTIRE: Pirate or Cruise Casual
SHOW: Jodi Benson (Voice of Ariel)

WEDNESDAY 29th SEPT 2010 TORTOLA
EVENING ATTIRE: Cruise Casual
SHOW: Crew Talent Show

THURSDAY 30th SEPT 2010, SEA DAY 8
EVENING ATTIRE: Semi Formal
SHOW: Dreams An Enchanted Classic
OTHER: Captains Farewell

FRIDAY 24TH SEPT 2010, CASTAWAY CAY
EVENING ATTIRE: Cruise Casual
SHOW: Remember The Magic, A Final Farewell

In addition to the above listings, Many of last years DIS-ERS decided to dress Prince/Princess on Sunday 19th, and Villain (purple/black) on Thursday 24th.

SW

 

[karentan]

Congrats on the job! No legitimate/legal/useful job is ever anything to be embarassed by, so enjoy and pat yourself on the back for being the chosen one . No judgments here...and money is nothing to laugh at...good for you !

well said

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

Only one formal and one semiformal night on last years WBTA? I had the idea that the 2 week cruises had 2 formals?

 

[karentan]

there's a second formal night hidden in the middle of the five sea days!

 

[MandyGirl]

I check the military discount site every Monday when they update it - and sometimes during the week, just in case. The second they post the WBTA on there, I'm jumping on it. I still have about 60 days before any penalties kick in, so my fingers are crossed. I did a quick comparison w/ the EBTA discount and if they do the same for ours, it will save us a substantial amount of money. Even if it comes out after the "lose the deposit" phase starts, we would still save quite a bit. I'm hoping with the new itineraries, people will be "jumping ship" from ours, and DCL will offer the military discount to get cabins booked.

And now for my really good news: I got a call for a job today!!! Okay, don't laugh or go "whaaaat??" but it's a bagger job at the commissary on our Air Force base. I know it doesn't sound great, but this is one of the most sought-after civilian jobs on base. I've been on the wait-list for it since September. The baggers work for tips only and 98% of the people who shop there tip very well. The downside is it's the 4pm-8pm shift - I'll be starting when Dennis is getting off work, but that's okay. He's been hoping they would call me, too, so he won't mind taking over dog-duty (feeding, letting out) in the afternoon. I have to meet with the head-bagger this afternoon and I'll start on Tuesday. I'll have to work this out with the groomer I bathe for on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but she'll be flexible, and I'll have to see if I can rearrange my tutoring client, but I'm sure we can do that, too.

YAY for the new job, Pat!!
I'm keeping an eye on interline rates still, which are usually about the same as military, so nudge me if you see them come out!

Hi all, Sorry if this is a hijack of your thread but I have a question and thought perhaps I should ask here.

Since DCL is not returning to Europe in 2012 as we were hoping, we are seriously considering the WBTA! We did an 11 night Med last year and loved it. My major concern is that there will not be enough kids on board to keep my kids - 2 DD 15 and 12 - happy and occupied. I have seen a few kids signed up on roll call which is good to see.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts,

Jeannine

I think it is an experience to partake in!! And other kiddos will be onboard. Being in September, it is better than missing school two weeks right before finals or during state assessments. To me, as a former middle/high school teacher, I believe life is way too short (as you can see in the link in my signature - an organization I volunteer for in honor of a former student of mine). Take your girls out of school, work with their teachers well in advance (maybe prior to school starting), and enjoy the opportunity to cross the Atlantic.

Hi all,

DH's surgery was successful. We should be leaving the hospital soon. Mel, I'd be game to join you for a Palo brunch (yummy) as I too am traveling as a single mom with my DS...hubby is staying home.

To the 22 year old gentleman traveling by himself...come along and have a great time with us! We are quite the range of ages and I have yet to meet someone here who isn't welcoming!

YAY for a successful surgery!!

Welcome aboard to our solo traveler as well! As stated above, live life NOW! Book it!


This is organ donor awareness month for the US, so I have been pretty busy with my volunteer work. Keep poking my head in here and there and trying to keep up!!


I keep wondering how many of us US folks will be criss-crossing paths in the same airports on the way to BCN!!! Anyone else doing JFK-BCN on Sept 7 evening?

 

[Beauty & the Best]

Hi all!

We are a little late to the meet, but we just booked this cruise today!!! I am SO SO SO excited! We went on the Eastbound TA last year and it was one of my favorite vacations ever, so my husband said we'd do it again.....fast forward to yesterday when we found out that there are no European itineraries planned for DCL in 2012 so effectively there would be no TA's for us to go on......sooooo we just had to book this one to do it again!!!!!!!

Can't wait to get to know you all better. Last year's TA was our first disney cruise experience and it was wonderful

I am Liz and my husband is Joe.

 

[Chirpee]

Thanks Steamboat Will for posting last year's schedule. It will help with planning, though I know Disney may decide to mix the scheduling up for this year's cruise.

Congratulations Pat on your new job. Hope you enjoy it!

Welcome onboard Liz and Joe This is our 4th Disney cruise, the first though without the kids and our first TA. Glad to hear that you enjoyed the Eastbound TA so much that you decided to repeat the experience, albeit in the opposite direction.

 

[poohluv2u]

Hi all!

We are a little late to the meet, but we just booked this cruise today!!! I am SO SO SO excited! We went on the Eastbound TA last year and it was one of my favorite vacations ever, so my husband said we'd do it again.....fast forward to yesterday when we found out that there are no European itineraries planned for DCL in 2012 so effectively there would be no TA's for us to go on......sooooo we just had to book this one to do it again!!!!!!!

Can't wait to get to know you all better. Last year's TA was our first disney cruise experience and it was wonderful

I am Liz and my husband is Joe.

Glad to have you aboard!

 

[MandyGirl]

Hi all!

We are a little late to the meet, but we just booked this cruise today!!! I am SO SO SO excited! We went on the Eastbound TA last year and it was one of my favorite vacations ever, so my husband said we'd do it again.....fast forward to yesterday when we found out that there are no European itineraries planned for DCL in 2012 so effectively there would be no TA's for us to go on......sooooo we just had to book this one to do it again!!!!!!!

Can't wait to get to know you all better. Last year's TA was our first disney cruise experience and it was wonderful

I am Liz and my husband is Joe.

Welcome aboard!!!

 

[birkner]

Hi all!

We are a little late to the meet, but we just booked this cruise today!!! I am SO SO SO excited! We went on the Eastbound TA last year and it was one of my favorite vacations ever, so my husband said we'd do it again.....fast forward to yesterday when we found out that there are no European itineraries planned for DCL in 2012 so effectively there would be no TA's for us to go on......sooooo we just had to book this one to do it again!!!!!!!

Can't wait to get to know you all better. Last year's TA was our first disney cruise experience and it was wonderful

I am Liz and my husband is Joe.

Welcome aboard Liz and Joe!! We are Noel and John and this will be our 5th cruise on DCL. Our last cruise was the 2010 WBTA so if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask or PM me.

Please check this first page link of the thread to orient yourself about the cruise, DIS members on the cruise and all the activities planned.

To help you with all the activities that are planned, here is some information to help you decide if you want to participate:

01. If you are interested in participating in the Fish Extender Exchange (FE), please PM Pat (PFlamingo) with the following details:
Send her your stateroom number, Disboard name, first name of each person in the stateroom, realtionship to you (DH, DW, DD, DS, etc) ages and gender of children. You can cut and paste the format below.
Stateroom #:
Disname:
First name:
Age:
Disname:
First name:
Age:

02. If people are interested in being in the same area as other DIS'ers to send Dan (Cliffy97) a PM with Lead Passenger name, your booking number and if you are Early or Late seating. Dan was told by Disney today that this is all they need to put folks together. .

03. If you are interested in the Candy Swap, please PM Jacqueline (goofieslonglostsis).

04. If you are interested in Secret Mickey Exchange, please PM Karen (karentan).

05. If you are interest in getting a WBTA lanyard, please PM Noel (birkner). See this lanyard link for example of the previous 2010 WBTA lanyard.

Hopefully, a group of DISers will volunteer to underwrite the lanyards as they did last year so they will be free to the rest of the DISers. We already have several people offering to be part of the lanyard underwriting group. If you wish to join, please send Noel (Birkner) a PM. If we get enough members, the cost should be $10 or less per member.

06. If you are interested in a WBTA lanyard pin, please PM Noel (birkner). See this pin link for example of the previous 2010 WBTA pin.Cost will be approximately 4,5 or 5 Euros per pin.

07. If you are interested in purchasing a WBTA t-shirt printed with a variation of the cruise meet logo, Karen (Pixie_Dust_For_Me) has kindly offered to organise this for our cruise. Price will be approximately $7 per t-shirt, and sizes range from Youth XS (size 2) to Youth XL; Adult S to Adult 4XL.

08. If you are interested in participating in a Mickey Mouse Club night, please check out this Mickey Mouse club post.

09. I am thinking of organizing the same tour I did last year in Madeira. Here is the Madeira link to a PDF file that gives more information about the 2010 tour. If you are interested, please send Noel (birkner) a PM.

10. We are also going to do a Champagne Girls meet. The Champagne Girls event originated on the WBPC cruise in 2008. Women get together dressed in pink to drink champagne or non alcoholic bubbly and chat. Pictures of the first meet are in this post and pictures from the last WBTA are in this post. Please PM (Clare)Pinky166 to add you name to the list.

11. If you would like to join in the Scrapbooking Exchange, please PM Clare (Pinky166) with your name and room number. The idea is to give your fellow exchangers some scrapbooking embellishments for use in your scrapbooks after you return home! For more info check this post.

12 Join us for a Pajama breakfast on September 18 at 10:00 AM at Lumiere's. We will meet outside Lumiere's at 9:50 AM to take group pictures. If you are interested, please PM Mandy (MandyGirl) with the number in your party.
Here is the picture from the PJ breakfast on last years WBTA.

13. Sarah (TotallyAngelic) is organizing a Gibraltar Dolphin Watching Expedition if you are interested in joining. Please PM Sarah with the number in your party if you are interested.

14. Mandy (MandyGirl) is organizing a Tortola Excursion of a private day sail on a power catamaran to Jost VanDyke with Tortola Charters. Please PM Mandy with the number in your party if you are interested.

15. We hope to organize a Stateroom Tour of all the SR categories but we do yet have an organizer. Stay tuned for more details!!

16. If anyone wants to organize a postcard exchange, please feel free to start one. What we did las year is bring a postcard from where we lived and left in each other's FE. It is best to limit the number of participants no more than 25 as cost and weight to bring become an issue.

 

[LindaBabe]

But do they have clotted cream ... that's the most important part. A scone without jam and clotted cream, is like a cruise without Disney

I Tea at the Floridian. We are also headed to Montserrat on Friday, maybe we could get up a group to go together. Were you planning on taking the train there?

LOVE clotted cream Yes to Montserrat on the train. Of course none of us speak Spanish.

Hi all!

We are a little late to the meet, but we just booked this cruise today!!! I am SO SO SO excited! We went on the Eastbound TA last year and it was one of my favorite vacations ever, so my husband said we'd do it again.....fast forward to yesterday when we found out that there are no European itineraries planned for DCL in 2012 so effectively there would be no TA's for us to go on......sooooo we just had to book this one to do it again!!!!!!!

Can't wait to get to know you all better. Last year's TA was our first disney cruise experience and it was wonderful

I am Liz and my husband is Joe.

Welcome Liz & Joe. I'm Linda and my roommates are Eilean and Caroline. They're both widows and my husband skis. Not quite the same thing but he's used up his trip credits for the year.

That's so tragic. I just don't understand what gets into some people. We'll send prayers and good karma for the victims and their families.
. . .
And now for my really good news: I got a call for a job today!!! Okay, don't laugh or go "whaaaat??" but it's a bagger job at the commissary on our Air Force base. I know it doesn't sound great, but this is one of the most sought-after civilian jobs on base. I've been on the wait-list for it since September. The baggers work for tips only and 98% of the people who shop there tip very well. The downside is it's the 4pm-8pm shift - I'll be starting when Dennis is getting off work, but that's okay. He's been hoping they would call me, too, so he won't mind taking over dog-duty (feeding, letting out) in the afternoon. I have to meet with the head-bagger this afternoon and I'll start on Tuesday. I'll have to work this out with the groomer I bathe for on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but she'll be flexible, and I'll have to see if I can rearrange my tutoring client, but I'm sure we can do that, too.

I'm so relieved to get this. Money has been getting pretty tight. I haven't had any clients for my "dog waste management" service - though I'm hoping that will change now that Spring is here, and people actually start to use their yards again. So this may be a sign of things beginning to turn around!

THAt is GREAT! Won't you MUCH rather bag groceries than dog poop

Hi all, Sorry if this is a hijack of your thread but I have a question and thought perhaps I should ask here.

Since DCL is not returning to Europe in 2012 as we were hoping, we are seriously considering the WBTA! We did an 11 night Med last year and loved it. My major concern is that there will not be enough kids on board to keep my kids - 2 DD 15 and 12 - happy and occupied. I have seen a few kids signed up on roll call which is good to see.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts,

Jeannine

Hope we can welcome you aboard soon!

I know .... brunch is so amazing. We didn't even bother with any of the cooked food ..... and we were completely stuffed. I am determined to control myself next time ... just plan to have champagne, smoked salmon and salmon mousse as an appetiser and then head straight for the amazing stollen bread with whipped cream and lots of strawberries, then a cinnamon bun with a nice cup of coffee and finally one of those small desserts. That is exhibiting real self control

I'm with you - straight from the salmon to the stollen - only I stop there!

 

[Dgentrysim]

Well done on getting the job. Sounds like it will fit in easily, and bring in some much needed cruise money.

So very sad to hear about the shooting in the Mall in Holland. You just can't imagine what is going through these killers heads when they open fire like that. Scary.

Another think I love at brunch is the blue cheese and grape pizza. Oh it is to die for. You can also ask for one at dinner as an extra.Mmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Blue cheese and grape pizza??????!!!! I've never heard of that before.......grapes on pizza? I must be missing something! lol Is that something regional?

 

[Dgentrysim]

Hi all!

We are a little late to the meet, but we just booked this cruise today!!! I am SO SO SO excited! We went on the Eastbound TA last year and it was one of my favorite vacations ever, so my husband said we'd do it again.....fast forward to yesterday when we found out that there are no European itineraries planned for DCL in 2012 so effectively there would be no TA's for us to go on......sooooo we just had to book this one to do it again!!!!!!!

Can't wait to get to know you all better. Last year's TA was our first disney cruise experience and it was wonderful

I am Liz and my husband is Joe.

Hello Liz to you and your husband! Glad you are on the cruise! You will certainly make friends on here and hope to chat with during the next few months!