*Sept 10th 2011 WB Transatlantic* From Spain to Space Mountain - Part 4

[seamour]

We are going to try to take little "Fairy Gifts" for our girls as well. Things I was going to pack anyway, but can throw in as surprises along the way. New set of PJs, new dress, Princess markers, etc. That way if we don't get a FE gift one night, then we still have a "Fairy Gift" to save the day...

Cute idea! you could all get matching pjs for the pj meet!

 

[seamour]

Also, if I fall down the stairs after the pub crawl I will at least be heading in the right direction.

Does anyone have an opinion on the likelihood of being "upgraded" to (09C, 09B, or 09A), and if so, is there any real benefit to being on the higher decks?

Starting to get pretty excited about this cruise (even though I have two others to take first).

LOL on the down wards motion after the pub crawl!

Upgrades seem to be pretty random, although my theory is you stand a better chance if you have 2 in your cabin than if you have 3 or 4. But that's just a (random) theory of mine based on the fact that there is a limited number of cabins that will hold 3 or 4. The downside to cat 9 on deck 1 is the two small portholes vs the 1 larger porthole.

2 cruises before this one? I thought I was bad with 1, where ya going? We are doing AK in August.

 

[seamour]

I have to agree with Karen. I am very much a spontaneous FE delivery person too .... we like to do it at a time when we have nothing else planned, and as we don't know the events and times etc before we go, it would be impossible to plan ahead for when we will have a quiet time.

QUOTE]

The first time I organized an FEE I did assign days and it kinda sucked, so I personally am all for freestyling!

 

[seamour]

ok ... so I had to google Keen shoes .... they look very comfortable Mandy

There is different styles of Keens as well, mine are very comfortable and a friend of mine has 3 or 4 pairs, they are all she wears.

 

[seamour]

another thing... we tried cutting off the FE a month early on the EBTA and found so many last minute folks wanted to join during the last month. I hate to see anyone... especially a child left out.. this is fun for everyone. I suggest you start a late FE group for those after Aug. 1... if any of us want to join then add us. The group will probably not be too large. This way everyone gets a chance to participate. just sayin.....

I was thinking about this too, we did have alot wanting to join on the EBTA. You could easily split what you have by Aug 1 and like Jill suggested started a late comers group for anyone after that? I will only be joining one (you multi group people amaze me but at least I don't have to worry about someone not getting jill's FEE gifts , but we did plan a few extras to bring with on the EBTA just in case.) Jill did you see the little girl that was in our hallway, she was across from a family with conx cabins and saw their FE's and so decorated her door, the family tipped us off about her and we put stuff in her FE quite often. it was fun! LOL. (we were on Dec 5 starboard up past the Secret porthole rooms)

 

[seamour]

You lot are scaring me. I only plan on taking 1 pair of dress shoes, 3 pair of crocs and a pair of trainers.

I know I am not taking part in the FE, I think you're right about running round like headless chickens Claire.

3 pairs of crocs? I guess if you count my flip flops (2) I own 3 pairs of crocs. LOL!

 

[seamour]

Tortola. Now this is a small beautiful island with great friendly locals. There isn't an awful lot to do there though. I believe there is a group tour organised, but otherwise, if you want a good overview, take the Tortola by Land and Sea(or something like that). I recommended it to some cruisers last year and they enjoyed it too. There are loads of great views to take photos of, and the boat trip is an excellent part of it too.

We visited Tortula on an E Caribbean Cruise. There is a cool spice shop there, but then we hopped on the ferry and went to Baths one island over. I can dig out my info if anyone is interested, very easy to do on your own.

 

[MandyGirl]

My kids learn to nap in strollers as we traveled so much when they were little. Our youngest did a marathon shopping day with my sister Karen and I of 12 hours when she was 6 months old!

Mine can nap in a stroller, but we're not bringing the stroller with us. Doing a sling for the 15-month old. Hiking in Colorado will be a good hiking backpack, but even that's too bulky with everything else going to WBTA. Packing light on this one.

Wow, what a week! I had 20+ pages to catch up on.

I wen to Tampa for work last week, came home to a mess with reconfiguring the laundry room for a new stacked washer/dryer....then the delivery of the unit was a mess...struggled with tummy trouble throughout the week....and then DH had surgery yesterday!

Needless to say, I've been off the boards this whole week. I'm feeling better though still not great. Hopefully tomorrow will be the day that I return to my normal self.

Take care,

Keri (aka, another Karen)

Hope you feel better! And when it rains, it pours doesn't it....

I am in the first group for the private brunch and we are waiting to find out our brunch date. I was wondering, is there any chance that the Mojito and/or Mixology classes will be at the same time? I just want to be sure there won't be a conflict.

Ditto... but I also hope we aren't doing drinking classes that early! That may make for a long day!

Today we paid for our tips, wine plan and meal plan for after the cruise...so happy to get some of this done

Congrats!

thought I would do a quick intro before I start reading through (at least page 4) all the older posts.

I am Mic, and travelling with my youngest Sarah (13) and hoping my oldest Talena (24) will get to join us. We live in MN and I was lucky enough to do the EBTA and when my new friend Monique said she was going on the WBTA, I talked DH into letting us go.



I am in the process of getting our name on the rollcall, signing up for the FEE and seeing what all else is going on.

Welcome aboard! And YAY for your daughter getting to go! I taught middle/high school for several years, and always encouraged parents to "live life" and take your children on vacation. Math can be caught up, but LIVE life!

Cute idea! you could all get matching pjs for the pj meet!

Have them for the girls already. I've become a sucker...

There is different styles of Keens as well, mine are very comfortable and a friend of mine has 3 or 4 pairs, they are all she wears.

Absolutely! Even subtle differences between similar styles, like the Newport and Venice, are noticeable. My favorite sandals have been the catalinas, which are no longer made. Glad I grabbed a few pairs on clearance - I've worn the heck out of them, and still in top notch shape! Love them!

 

[seamour]

I checked my email and found a post by my friend Valarie of Valbob here on the DIS. When you can PM, pm her and say I said to ask her about the class.

From the DIS boards:

For those coming in early to Barcelona. A friend of mine was recently in Barcelona and recommended a hands-on 1/2 day cooking class. She said the cooking class including, gazpacho, omelette, paella, and crema catalonian. Would any of you be interested in attending this class on the 16th? If so, I'll contact the school and see if they could could do so. Here is some info I found on the web:
Cook & Taste - a traditional local cooking workshop
ALL SESSIONS CAN BE HELD IN ENGLISH, FRENCH OR SPANISH.
COME IN OUR KITCHEN AND ENJOY A HANDS-ON COOKING CLASS FOLLOWED BY A COMPLETE WONDERFUL MEAL
You can start with a walking tour around the famous Boqueria market, getting plenty of tips on picking local, seasonal products, continue with the cooking experience and finish the adventure enjoying the menu prepared in a friendly and casual atmosphere.

Half-day cooking class each day: 11am
Price per person: 72€*
*Rates are inclusive of cooking class, meal with Spanish wine and a booklet of translated recipes.
valerie

that does sound cool! No idea at this point when we are getting into BCN, or how we are getting to BCN for that matter!

 

[seamour]

Welcome aboard! And YAY for your daughter getting to go! I taught middle/high school for several years, and always encouraged parents to "live life" and take your children on vacation. Math can be caught up, but LIVE life!

thanks that has always been my philosophy, hope her teachers feel the same way! She will be there for 2 days and then gone for 2 1/2 weeks!

 

[birkner]

Mine can nap in a stroller, but we're not bringing the stroller with us. Doing a sling for the 15-month old. Hiking in Colorado will be a good hiking backpack, but even that's too bulky with everything else going to WBTA. Packing light on this one.

You are much braver than me!! I don't think I have ever traveled with out a stroller when my kids were little!!

 

[seamour]

(Hmm... Wonder if I'd have room in my suitcase for my chef's knives?)

Wonder what security would think about that? LOL!

 

[seamour]

Question: On sea days, is it too windy to enjoy the verandah or kiddie splash area onboard?
With all these under-age-three toddlers, we are going to need to get some playgroups together for these kiddos! Late morning splash area or supervised time in kids club since we can take them there if remaining with them! I know when we serve in the nursery at church, we absolutely love watch our 1 year old interact with others!

on the EBTA it was definately warm enough and sheiled enough to enjoy the kiddy splash area. Not sure about a verendah.

Also I noticed the nursery CM's had some play groups during the day as well, I saw one going on in Promenade and it looked like fun for the kids and parents!

 

[middleofamerica]

Mine can nap in a stroller, but we're not bringing the stroller with us. Doing a sling for the 15-month old. Hiking in Colorado will be a good hiking backpack, but even that's too bulky with everything else going to WBTA. Packing light on this one.

Hey Mandy! I don't know if anyone has mentioned this or if you already know, but you can get free stroller rentals on DCL. You do have to pay a deposit, but you get it back, or maybe it is a hold where if you don't bring it back then they charge your card or something like that. Anyway, you don't actually pay! They were really nice strollers and we used them on the ship to walk around the walking track and you can take them off at ports. They were a huge life saver for us! They were nice jogging strollers the last time we were on the Magic. I also keep meaning to tell everyone with kids going to Flounders that you can max out what you think you will use in your reservations and then when you board and throughout the cruise you can add as much more time as they have available. We did not know that on our first cruise and were so sad when we found out after it was all over! They are very flexible and I'm sure that with less kids on this cruise they will have even more availability. Hope that helps someone!

 

[seamour]

Aren't there some sort of cooking classes held aboard the ship? I would love to take part in these!

there was on the EBTA but after our first attempt with cheese seminar we didn't try any more. The cheese seminar was a bit of a mess up imho. They ran out of one type of cheese and were trying to substitute it with something totally different. but the waiters dishing out the cheese didn't tell the chef's giving the seminar. So the chef's kept insisting we had something that we didn't. This was in addition to it taking well over an hour to get the cheese samples to everyone at the tables (it was in Studio Sea).

One good question one of the guests asked the chef's was what types of cheese should we try in Cadiz or Barcelona and the response was that the chef wasn't familiar with what they offered in Spain. (which was rather unplanned for a 14 night cruise ending up in SPAIN.

 

[seamour]

Hey Mandy! I don't know if anyone has mentioned this or if you already know, but you can get free stroller rentals on DCL.

I had no idea, what a great thing for DCL to offer! (not that I have stroller babies right now but you know, good to know for grandkids down the road.

 

[seamour]

also thinking about possibly treating myself to one of those fish pedicures. anyone tried one?

Did you try this? A friend of mine did one in Vegas and really liked it. I was surprised to see my local massage place was offering ear candling. (no I am not going to try it)

 

[seamour]

Is it allowed to brag a little?

As some of you might remember I signed up for the wine and dine ½ marathon on October 1th. so I been training for a quite some time now.

I signed myself up for some women races to stay motivated, and have done 2 10 k's so fare (and a 5 k). I'm not a fast runner so both times I finished in 1.07.something, but today I did my third and finished in 59.57 I'm so proved of myself

This will give me the opportunity to start in an early coral giving me more time to finish the half.

Very cool, congrats!

 

[seamour]

Ah, I wondered why it was so popular even when they didn't particularly enjoy the chef last year!!!!!

Huh, we didn't see any wine with the cheese demo, and really wine and cheese do go together, and it was something to whine about. Guess we got whine instead of wine.

 

[seamour]

We have one of these new fish spa places just opened on a popular shopping street in town. I walk past it every day almost and it is always busy with men as well as women. They have a couple of the tanks in the window at each end, so you sit in full view. YUK!

that's a bit too much full disclosure for me !