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

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

Mandy, could I hire you onboard to tutor Andrew in math? He is homeschooled but math is not my subject and since our regular math guy won't be onboard, I'd love to have the help with Algebra I onboard so he isn't behind when we return home!

Jeannine, my Andrew will be 13 when we cruise. He loves Disney and pin trading.

 

[Beauty & the Best]

aboard!! We're Pat and Dennis. No kids (at least, not the two-legged kind), but five rescue dogs (who we'd smuggle aboard if we could figure out how). This will be our 3rd DCL cruise, but our first for more than 4 nights. It's a must-do for us now, with no TA's in 2012.

Thanks Pat & Dennis! We only have 1 four-legged baby and it is hard to leave him for this many days, but as a consolation, we are taking a "dog vacation" hiking in June so he'll get his own vacation w/ us this year.

Welcome aboard Liz and Joe .. we are Sarah and Tony from Wales and this is our second transatlantic Disney cruise as last year we did the WBTA also.

Hi Sarah & Tony, yes the WBTA was so lovely last year. We live in FL so we go to Disney quite a bit, but we're always reminiscing about our disney cruise. I'm curious to see how/if things are different this time around.

Oh yeah. Stollen, gently spread with strawberry jam, piled with fresh strawberries and topped with a mountain of whipped cream

The Palo signiture marzipan stollen was the best thing I ate all cruise last year!!

With a drizzle of sweet honey, a spoonful of cream and the sharp sweet mixed berries on top, all with the amaretto running through it,

It might in fact be one of the best desserts I've every had, needless to say I went back for seconds, and one day was pleased to find the stollen on it's own in the Cove Cafe,

SW

Oh that stollen was so yummy! That and the mascarpone filled dates wrapped in proscuitto were high on our list of favorites.

Sunny here today too ! So lovely, sitting in the conservatory (as I prefur a little shade) with the iPad surfing the net.

I'm hoping it lasts till the weekend as i'm off to Paris on Thursday for 3 days, and I hoping to be able to have a picnic beside the Eiffel Tower.

SW

Hope you have a wonderful trip to Paris. My fav Eiffel tower view is at night though, when they do the lights show. I always thought the tower was touristy & I wouldn't like it, but when I saw it in person I was really tickled pink!

Ok I have a question for you, If you had to choose one would it be High Tea at Palo's or Afternoon Tea at the Floridian? Not as in location, but which did you prefer in terms of the food & overall experience.

I have only done Palo dinner & brunch once each, but I loved both. I really think that you should give both a try as it's a long cruise.

Liz & Joe, we are Claire & Lee (DH) this will be our 3rd cruise. I look forward to getting to know you.

Hi Claire & Lee, we love Palo too & did dinner twice and brunch once last time. We didn't do tea, but maybe we'll have to try it this cruise.

 

[PFlamingo]

And very true about the politics in education. I sometimes feel bad about not using my master's or principal certification, but right now, I'm absolutely loving what I am doing. The private math tutoring is FUN with all the kiddos I work with, and now having ventured out to doing it via Skype, I have students in California, South Dakota, and Florida. With one SD college student yesterday, I could immediately tell she had a grasp of it where she really could do it on her own, so I gave her a couple files and links, summarized the concept, told her to work on it on her own, and text me today if she needed me and I would work her in. Her mom called me an hour later to tell me how much they appreciate me -- although I had her booked an hour, I steered her the right direction and encouraged her to try it on her own, and didn't charge them a dime for the time I did spent. My motto is I try to work myself OUT of a job... clean up whatever math issues they have going on, fill those gaps, increase their confidence, and turn them loose.

I hear you on the tutoring! I really enjoy that. Do you tutor online through a company? I've thought about doing that. I worked for Sylvan for several years, but only on-site, never on-line.

With the new job, I'm going to have to rearrange my tutoree's schedule. I think she's ready to go it alone, but her mom likes for her to have the support - especially with Georgia's crazy math curriculum. And I think my student likes the company while she does her homework.

 

[MandyGirl]

Mandy, could I hire you onboard to tutor Andrew in math? He is homeschooled but math is not my subject and since our regular math guy won't be onboard, I'd love to have the help with Algebra I onboard so he isn't behind when we return home!

Are you thinking just a few hours? I would think we could manage that, and I'll double-check with hubby to be sure he's cool with it since he'll have the girls. I know Curt and the girls will be napping at some point each day, especially on sea days, so we could figure that out. I'll PM you my webpage so you have my credentials. Algebra is my favorite, and I've been on a state assessment committee for Alg I before. I'm thinking precruise I'm going to be skype tutoring from NYC and Barcelona. I have parents already stressing out that I will be in the middle of the ocean for two weeks! (Which is why we chose the September transatlantic versus the May... that is too close to finals for traditional school students.)

I hear you on the tutoring! I really enjoy that. Do you tutor online through a company? I've thought about doing that. I worked for Sylvan for several years, but only on-site, never on-line.

With the new job, I'm going to have to rearrange my tutoree's schedule. I think she's ready to go it alone, but her mom likes for her to have the support - especially with Georgia's crazy math curriculum. And I think my student likes the company while she does her homework.

I'm doing it solo as a private business. That's why taxes took me forever this year, but luckily I had it all detailed and have receipts and bank statements for EVERYTHING. (ahhhh) Gotta love that 15% personal business tax. I'm thinking of getting the LLC (I think that is what someone told me to do) but I treat the office in my home as my business. My new neighbor owns a tutoring franchise branch where she essentially meets with new clients, schedules a tutor, and handles monthly invoicing... then the individual tutor schedules all future tutoring sessions. She changes $75/hour... and pays the tutor $40. Amazing money she is making every hour the tutor is doing all the work. (She recently told me of a client she had to invoice $2400 for March! Crazy!) I stayed on my own to cut out the middle man and pass the savings onto the families. Doing it on my own, I can juggle around the girls' nap schedules, volunteer work, and Curt's work schedule. The best was when we went home for my aunt's funeral in March and stayed for several days, and my Granny lives out in the boonies, so I drove to the local Dairy Queen for their free WiFi, ordered a blizzard, and sat in the back to tutor one of my girls in Los Angeles.

Okay - will see if I can take pics of the shirts I had made and get them on here somehow. Gotta love naptime progress!

 

[Tod&Copper]

Drat, drat, drat I was just catching up on the posts of the weekend as we have been busy in the garden all weekend enjoying the sunshine. I was nearly finished doing all my replies, when I hit a hot key by accident on the keyboard and the whole lot vanished

So I'll just do some quick replies here:-

Karen, great news that your DH's surgery went well

Karen, what a fantastic opportunity to visit the hospital with Mickey, must have been a wonderful experience and the kids would have loved it

Pat, fantastic news on the job front and major well done for getting the sought after job

Thanks for the comments on the kilt photo.

 

[Tod&Copper]

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.

Great job, did you manage to get another coat on today with the warm weather to dry it off quickly

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.

Liz and Joe, we are Mary and DH Stevie from Scotland. This will be our 9th disney cruise and we did last year's WBTA. It was an amazing experience. We hadn't planned to do it again this year either, but luckily DH had a brain storm a few months ago and decided we should.... glad we did now that there won't be another one for a wee while

 

[Pinky166]

Great job, did you manage to get another coat on today with the warm weather to dry it off quickly

Yes thanks we managed to get lots done today, all the undercoats on walls, ceiling, woodwork etc is done so now the next part is to start on the colour and the dreaded glossing! But that will have to wait until next weekend.

I hope you enjoyed sitting in the sun enough for both of us as i've hardly been out in it. I hope to make up for it tomorrow though....you watch it will pour down now.

 

[magic123]

Hi everybody!
I thought I'd say hello because I'm seriously considering booking a cabin for myself for this trip if the price comes down like the may trip did. I'm graduating from college this semester, finishing student teaching and might just become addicted to cruising after I go on NCL in may... I'm a huge disney fanatic (hopefully i'll be working in WDW within the year) and can't imagine a better experience than going to on my first DCL Europe to FL transatlantic trip! I'd be doing this on my own as a solo travel. I've read some of the solo traveler experiences, but there doesn't seem to be many 22 year old males reviewing their solo experience... can't help enjoying the inner child! Thoughts? Is this something I would be welcomed into? This forum seems to be really nice, i have to say! Any advice?

I’m sure you would enjoy the company of our little group, everyone is very welcoming. So I hope booking the cruise goes your way.
Margaret

 

[magic123]

Oh that would be great, thanks I just love this forum

yes i love this forum too..... and with friends like these you will never really be alone if the kids are doing something esle

 

[magic123]

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!

Just think...I'll be in Paris 5 months from now getting ready for the next leg of the trip to Barcelona and then on to the ship! If I'd had more than 5 hours of sleep in 3 days, I'd be game to dance....right now, I think I'd just fall on the ground if I tried.....

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

I’m so glad it went well for your DH, and I’m sure he will appreciate you wearing your best nurses hat in aid of his recovery, then you will need a rest !
margaret

 

[magic123]

Did enjoy the scones with jam and cream when we did the High Tea last year on the Western Caribbean cruise. A treat for us ex-pats living on the other side of the pond!

As Marilyn said, the dining room was very quiet, which made it a nice relaxing experience. The food is served to you and seconds are offered, making it much easier to decline; unlike the brunch when all of those tasty treats are calling your name.....

sounds really great, can't wait... I so love tea and scones. We did afternoon tea on cunard Queen Victoria last year ( our first curise ) but it was very busy and we had to queue for some time to get a table.... so the idea of a quiet relaxing tea is very appealing
margaret

 

[magic123]

Congrats on the new job.

So sad to hear about the shootings in Holland. I don't know what is going on in this crazy world at the moment. It seems to be one thing after another.



Hope your all having a great weekend.

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.

Pat congrats on the job

RE shootings in Holland, it's so sad when things like this happen... I worry what goes on in some people's minds and I struggle to understand these actions,,, and so must the victims and the relatives, so very sad



DIY must be in the air, have been painting the smallest room in the house today..... indoors of what looked like one of the best days of the year so far !!

 

[magic123]

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 and Joe.... the little merry band is getting bigger... look forward to meeting you both
I really must learn how to multi quote !!!
margaret and DH norman

 

[MandyGirl]

Do you have any photos of the T-shirts to share?

I keep having issues trying to even upload my photos to the DISboards, so I gave up and put them on our Facebook WBTA page. (May be the same issues we have had recently with trying to just even get on the DISboards!) I think I have two more images sitting on my phone camera that are uploading to my computer and will get those out eventually.

 

[steamboat will]

Algebra is my favourite

I've been hard at work on this algebra problem

Topsiders x 12* + {Lumiere+
Parrot Cay+
Animators Palate} x (10) + (2xPalo)
[Mickey bars x 2]+[room service]
X <4 goofy galley>
<4 Pluto dog house>
(+cove cafe )\drink of the day
X several = ??????


Answers on a postcard please

Actually now I look at it again I think it's more of an equation

SW

Clearly i'm in a silly mood tonight

 

[steamboat will]

Hope you have a wonderful trip to Paris. My fav Eiffel tower view is at night though, when they do the lights show. I always thought the tower was touristy & I wouldn't like it, but when I saw it in person I was really tickled pink!

I totally agree, the light show on the tower is magical " Disney quality" dare I say it, I never understand how folks can say i the tower is ugly??? to me it looks so elegant, especially at night, but then I am besotted with the city

SW

 

[PFlamingo]

I've been hard at work on this algebra problem

Topsiders x 12* + {Lumiere+
Parrot Cay+
Animators Palate} x (10) + (2xPalo)
[Mickey bars x 2]+[room service]
X <4 goofy galley>
<4 Pluto dog house>
(+cove cafe )\drink of the day
X several = ??????


Answers on a postcard please

Actually now I look at it again I think it's more of an equation

SW

Clearly i'm in a silly mood tonight

The answer is... 42

 

[Chirpee]

The answer is... 42

Love it

You're obviously a fan of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series...as are we!

 

[Beauty & the Best]

I love everyone's trip counters & banners for our cruise. I'm going to have to get me one of those!

Liz and Joe, we are Mary and DH Stevie from Scotland. This will be our 9th disney cruise and we did last year's WBTA. It was an amazing experience. We hadn't planned to do it again this year either, but luckily DH had a brain storm a few months ago and decided we should.... glad we did now that there won't be another one for a wee while

Hi Mary, that is my sister's name, so it won't be hard to remember
Yes we weren't really planning on doing this cruise this year, but when we saw the 2012 itineraries w/o any European sailings, we knew this would be our last chance to do another TA for a while so we just had to jump on it.

We did the EBTA last year and it was very nice. I think that people on this thread will be happy to know there are so many repeat TA cruisers. Nope! You don't get bored onboard, in fact, I was kind of sad there weren't more sea days when we made it over the Atlantic.

Welcome Liz and Joe.... the little merry band is getting bigger... look forward to meeting you both
I really must learn how to multi quote !!!
margaret and DH norman

Hi Margaret, I love multi-quotes (obviously!!!) It's really easy to multi-quote. Just use the little button to the right of the Quote button, it has a little plus sign on it. Then click that button for every quote you want to respond to, and when you hit reply, all of the quotes will appear in the space where you can write your message.

I've been hard at work on this algebra problem

Topsiders x 12* + {Lumiere+
Parrot Cay+
Animators Palate} x (10) + (2xPalo)
[Mickey bars x 2]+[room service]
X <4 goofy galley>
<4 Pluto dog house>
(+cove cafe )\drink of the day
X several = ??????


Answers on a postcard please

Actually now I look at it again I think it's more of an equation

SW

Clearly i'm in a silly mood tonight

LOL!

I love Paris too. I think I like cities that are more like a collection of neighborhoods/villages than a city. Paris is like that for me. And of course, it is so beautiful. Parlez-vous francais? My husband is taking a french course from Fluenz right now and he really likes it. Me, I'm taking Italian (we are headed there in May), now if only I could learn the hand gestures....

 

[goofprincess]

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.

Hi Liz and Joe. I am Sandy and hubby is Tony. We were on the EBTA last year. My memory fails me if we met. We are from Northern California.

Glad you jumped on board!