Sept 18 2010 WB TransAtlantic Pirates/Capt Jacks Re-Repoing Repossession Cruise Pt.9

[limmy]

Thanks. Now, just need to grab some pence on board, as I heard the post office won't take Euros. Also, I have to figure out where 104 Main Street is, unless you can direct me there!

I would be happy to do a small exchange pounds for US $ if that helps.

 

[LittleDisneyLovers]

Right,.....
I have a zillion things to do and Im dissing ,lol

We are away for the weekend, so stay groovy everybody and see you all later, my new phone,well the second new one has the net so I think I will be able to read just not post,
Elgin is meant to be lovely so it is nice weather, lens doing full and I am doing half marathon.
I will take my camera so I can show you guys. byeeeeeeeeeeee

Have a fab time!

We are sleeping in our living room tonight - we have setup the couches near the table for safety and are having a "sleep over" - dogs included. Its just simply too unnerving to be even thinking about going to bed. There is comfort in sitting up with a blanket instead.

We are having lots of after shocks and have had more than 20 today that have been over 4 on the richter scale. Its quite simply terrifying and we are all a bunch of nervous wrecks.

The after shocks are varying from gentle swaying which you can barely feel to jolts like someone has just picked up the house and dropped it - its surprisingly noisy too and sometimes you just hear or feel tremors.

I can't even imagine how scary it must be, It has been all over our news tonight, the destruction looks bad but manageable, hopefully
Poor doggies, they don't understand why the ground keeps shaking.

You can't wear sweets/candy!!! Well I guess you could if you were inventive. I would ditch some gifts for clothes. You could go shopping at Marks and Spencer in Gibraltar though. Then at least you could have some cruise clothes. Or get another bikini or two and wear them all the time onboard - light weight, packs small, comfortable!!!

Maz, wash your mouth out!!! Chocolate is more important than clothes! Well, when I get to bring chocolate and shop more, it's a win win!!

Chocolate bars etc really do weigh a lot .... especially when you add them all together. For this reason we have decided to buy ours in Morissons in Gibraltar, as no way could we fit it into our weight allowances. Can you not get some of it into your carry on bags to save on the weight issues. I know I will be trying to put my heaviest items in the carry-ons. Even my FE gifts which I thought were lightweight, are not so light weight when you add them all together

I thought about buying in Barcelona, but really wanted to bring choccies from home, they are pretty yummy....If I do say so myself
I'm with you on the heavy stuff in the carry-on's. Bella has 60 sweet bags in her carry-on, weighing 8 kg's! It is FULL!!!

Chocolate bars weight a lot when I eat them too!!! Good idea to buy in Gibraltar Sarah.

Me too!

OK so were dog sitting this weekend for my sister so can't do any packing. So instead I got an email from Crocs UK mentioning a sale! I just spent £30 buying 2 more pairs of flip flops one of which is identicle to the pair I have but means if mine gets damaged while Im away I have a pair for when I get back. Oh well! Hope they arrive in time! It said 7-10 days! Fingers crossed!

Love crocs!

 

[limmy]

I have trawled the web to find free wifi information at our ports and hope this is useful. Not sure of its accuracy though!

Gibraltar

Free wireless is available in the following places:

Fresh - a cafe/bar just down through the archway when leaving the main square towards the bus stops.
The Gibraltar Arms - about half way down the main street.
The Lord Nelson - just by the tunnel exiting the main square.
The Cannon Bar - behind the Catholic Cathedral.
The Clipper - on Irish Town near Tuckey's lane. Ask bartender for password.
Corks Wine Bar - on Irish Town near the Clipper. WEP key is written on a chalkboard above the bar.

Madeira

It appears there are several free wifi hotspots around the island

http://www.wifi-madeira.com/ing/Default_ing.html

St Maarten

From a blog page:
Many places now have FREE wifi. Be sure to carry your computer in something watertight as sometimes a dinghy ride in the Simpson Bay Lagoon can be quite wet depending upon your dinghy and weather.

Here's a few places accessible from Simpson Bay:

MacDonalds near Simpson Bay Bridge (use Palapa dinghy dock)
Bubble Tea in same building as MacDonalds (use Palapa dinghy dock)
Ric's Sports Bar near Simpson Bay Bridge (has dinghy dock)
Taco Macho - next to Texaco station (might be allowed to tie up behind gas station at Texaco dock, or use Palapa dock and walk towards airport, or use Portofino marina behind Gourmet Marche and walk just beyond the Shell station in the direction of the bridge)
Blue Martini, ex-Fathoms, (between Bobby's Boatyard and Turtle Pier) has dinghy dock

Jimbo's Mesquite Grill at the Simpson Bay Marina - use marina dinghy dock
Cappuccino Diner Bar & Restaurant (across from FedEx & Domino's Pizza) - use dock behind FedEx?
Turtle Pier restaurant at Turtle Pier Hotel (Airport road) & Marina (dinghy dock in the lagoon) Happy hour, too!

From another source (can't remember where I found it!)
By the way, many businesses on island and virtually all of Front Street, the Boardwalk and the Great Bay beach area are now (WiFi) Wireless as a service to tourism. So, if you have a laptop, you may be able to skip the cyber café and do your work or email from a restaurant or a bench on the beach

Tortola

The Pub
Road Town, Tortola
Tel: (284) 494-2608
thepub@surfbvi.com

Internet access available at a rate of $5.00 per half hour, with use of their computers. Free Wi-Fi available to customers.

Serendipity Bookshop & Internet Cafe
Main Street
Road Town, Tortola
Tel: (284) 494-5865
E: serendipitybooks@gmail.com
www.bvibooks.com

We offer free Wi-Fi with own laptop, our own computer, printing. Our machines are Skype enabled, all situated in a converted historic house above the bookshop. All full range of coffees, teas, cold drinks, sandwiches, wraps, paninis and home-made cookies & cakes.

I'm not sure how far these locations are from the cruise port, but would hope some are within walking distance! I'm not sure that I want to pay for the onboard internet access which sounds slow and expensive!

Two weeks to go! Woohoo!

 

[granmaz]

Maz, wash your mouth out!!! Chocolate is more important than clothes! Well, when I get to bring chocolate and shop more, it's a win win!!

Can't believe I said it actually!!!! I have been taking my chocolate addiction out on shopping for clothes and shoes as I can't eat as much as I used to or would like to!!

I have trawled the web to find free wifi information at our ports and hope this is useful. Not sure of its accuracy though!

Gibraltar

Free wireless is available in the following places:

Fresh - a cafe/bar just down through the archway when leaving the main square towards the bus stops.
The Gibraltar Arms - about half way down the main street.
The Lord Nelson - just by the tunnel exiting the main square.
The Cannon Bar - behind the Catholic Cathedral.
The Clipper - on Irish Town near Tuckey's lane. Ask bartender for password.
Corks Wine Bar - on Irish Town near the Clipper. WEP key is written on a chalkboard above the bar.

Madeira

It appears there are several free wifi hotspots around the island

http://www.wifi-madeira.com%2fing%2fDefault_ing.html

St Maarten

From a blog page:
Many places now have FREE wifi. Be sure to carry your computer in something watertight as sometimes a dinghy ride in the Simpson Bay Lagoon can be quite wet depending upon your dinghy and weather.

Here's a few places accessible from Simpson Bay:

MacDonalds near Simpson Bay Bridge (use Palapa dinghy dock)
Bubble Tea in same building as MacDonalds (use Palapa dinghy dock)
Ric's Sports Bar near Simpson Bay Bridge (has dinghy dock)
Taco Macho - next to Texaco station (might be allowed to tie up behind gas station at Texaco dock, or use Palapa dock and walk towards airport, or use Portofino marina behind Gourmet Marche and walk just beyond the Shell station in the direction of the bridge)
Blue Martini, ex-Fathoms, (between Bobby's Boatyard and Turtle Pier) has dinghy dock

Jimbo's Mesquite Grill at the Simpson Bay Marina - use marina dinghy dock
Cappuccino Diner Bar & Restaurant (across from FedEx & Domino's Pizza) - use dock behind FedEx?
Turtle Pier restaurant at Turtle Pier Hotel (Airport road) & Marina (dinghy dock in the lagoon) Happy hour, too!

From another source (can't remember where I found it!)
By the way, many businesses on island and virtually all of Front Street, the Boardwalk and the Great Bay beach area are now (WiFi) Wireless as a service to tourism. So, if you have a laptop, you may be able to skip the cyber café and do your work or email from a restaurant or a bench on the beach

Tortola

The Pub
Road Town, Tortola
Tel: (284) 494-2608
thepub@surfbvi.com

Internet access available at a rate of $5.00 per half hour, with use of their computers. Free Wi-Fi available to customers.

Serendipity Bookshop & Internet Cafe
Main Street
Road Town, Tortola
Tel: (284) 494-5865
E: serendipitybooks@gmail.com
www.bvibooks.com

We offer free Wi-Fi with own laptop, our own computer, printing. Our machines are Skype enabled, all situated in a converted historic house above the bookshop. All full range of coffees, teas, cold drinks, sandwiches, wraps, paninis and home-made cookies & cakes.

I'm not sure how far these locations are from the cruise port, but would hope some are within walking distance! I'm not sure that I want to pay for the onboard internet access which sounds slow and expensive!

Two weeks to go! Woohoo!

Thank you for this info. Going to have to write it down in my little pink cruise notebook!!!

 

[FrauP]

They shouldn't be. Though if he's wearing diapers (even swim diapers), he can't go in any of the pools on the ship. There is the splash area by the Mickey Pool for the diaper set to splash about in.

Ok, no pools? But the splash zone is good too!
BUT... I thought one of the Mickey ears is for not-potty-trained little ones?

So instead I got an email from Crocs UK mentioning a sale!...Oh well! Hope they arrive in time! It said 7-10 days! Fingers crossed!

Cool! I love Crocs too!!!
I hope they reach you in time!!!

I ordered me a new pair of glasses and hope they'll be here in time aswell.

 

[TotallyAngelic]

I thought about buying in Barcelona, but really wanted to bring choccies from home, they are pretty yummy....If I do say so myself
I'm with you on the heavy stuff in the carry-on's. Bella has 60 sweet bags in her carry-on, weighing 8 kg's! It is FULL!!!

I guess we are lucky that we can buy British choccies in Gibraltar because it is British !!!! I also plan to pick up some traditional British nibbles for the cabin tour!

I have trawled the web to find free wifi information at our ports and hope this is useful. Not sure of its accuracy though!

Gibraltar

This is really useful ... thank you.

 

[gismo1554]

Cool! I love Crocs too!!!
I hope they reach you in time!!!

I ordered me a new pair of glasses and hope they'll be here in time aswell.

Oh hope they arrive in time too! I took my mothers advice and packed a spare pair of glasses just in case yesterday as I figure we have 5 days at sea and the last thing I need is to loose my glasses or damage them lol!

 

[DisneyFreakNo1]

My DH keeps telling me, remember Noel, we are going on VACATION!!! I have schedule a mani/pedi for the two of us the morning of the 13th so I can decompress!!

We will be having our stressful weekend this weekend as we do the final packing. I don't care how wrinkled things get, I just want to get them into the suitcase and weighed!!

I'm with you, Noel. I have put off packing all but the most wrinkle-resistant clothing so that they don't get too wrinkled but I'm going to pack everything this weekend anyway. I finally realized that I can send things out to be ironed so getting things packed and off my worry screen is more important than a few wrinkles.

I have also scheduled a mani/pedi for the day before I leave. My daughter gave me some SpaFinders coupons for Mother's Day and I'm not really a spa kind of gal so hadn't used them yet. I generally get my pedicures from the local Salon really cheap but I'm going to feel very pampered this time at the spa at Disney's Dolphin Hotel thanks to my daughter. I never get manicures so this will be a treat also. Do I understand that your husband is going also. I could never get my husband to do that even though I've told him that I see the occasional man in the salon getting the pedicure.

See you on board and we can compare toes.

Rene

 

[Steffy]

Sue, no worries. We can help by storming guest services and sign up too! I think DCL will come through in the end. They are just taking their time. They don't know we have a Navigator to finish! We're a boatload of type A personalities! Oh My!!!

Limmy, thnaks buckets for the free wi fi info. I won't take my laptop, but it will connect my iPhone. Yeah!

I'M PACKING !!! Everything is laid out in the boat and I'm packing. I can't go to bed tonight until it's done, so here goes....... I started freaking out today as I was doing five loads of laundry in the boat house and my friend stopped by with refreshments, it was soooo blooming hot! That drink saved me today. Then she asked if I wanted to stop our morning walks until after the cruise, and I said no way....I need that exercise. That was sweet of her though.

I started to copy the tshirt logos onto transfer paper tonight and it won't print because they are bigger than the paper. If anyone has done this I would appreciate advise. If I can't get it to work tomorrow I will copy them on a flashdrive and go to Kinkos.

Okay, if that is all that goes wrong then it is minor. I feel bad about stressing and complaining when others on this board are having such a horrible time. I'm thinking and praying for you all.

Hope you all have a great holiday weekend !!! It's quiet in the marina because everyone took there boats to Half Moon Bay, so I'll just keep packing and keep stressing.

Thanks, Noel, for the response. It was helpful. I'll get those done this weekend also.

Judy

What I do is insert the image into a Word document. That way I can resize it to one sheet of paper. Then I print. Word makes it easy for me to flip the image if I am using light transfer paper.

Glad you are ok Paula.

Talking about houses shaking we had a bit of that here last night.

The UPS plane that crashed in dubai last night went down about 800m from our house. It want straight over the top of our place about 5 seconds before impact.

we heard it but didn't see it - however many other families around us also saw it and saw the flash of the impact. What makes that even worse is we are a compound of airline staff and most of the kids who saw it have dads who are pilots so it has really unnerved them.

It was so lucky that it was a cargo plane so only two lives were lost and that it was a UPS plane with well trained pilots and well maintained equipment so they were able to maintain control long enough to get past our houses and crash into the desert. If they had gone down just five seconds earlier then it would of been a very different outcome.

The pilots were heros to be able to do that. Our thoughts are with their families. R.I.P.

OMG. How terribly scary. Those pilots were for sure heroes. How traumatic for the children. Hugs to all of you.

Okay, it's official.....I have to check two bags. Darn it, anyway, I did not want to do that. But three weeks with formal wear, costumes, and lots of fun stuff, there is just no way it will fit in. I thought I had it all packed and looked up and saw my formal wear hanging up. Then I realized I was missing a skirt, unpacked my bag and it's not there! There are not too many places to look on the boat, where is it? I even went outside to see if it was floating in the water. hahaha Like it would still be by the boat if I had dropped it six hours ago!
I have packed for a month before in a carry on, why is this so hard??????

So I have a question - please. You can only check two bags with DCL when you arrive at the ship - and have a carry on. Can your carry on be a rolling bag (14x9x22) or does it have to be like a large tote? I realize I have to keep it with me for several hours but does it matter the size? What are you all doing that have the FE gifts and the like? Are you just not bringing many other clothes. Now that's a thought....have all your costumes, formal wear and fun stuff and just one outfit for the rest of the days!!!!!

Thanks for the input Gotta go to bed....gotta go to bed....quit stressing....quit stressing.....

It has been my experience that I can lug anything I can carry onto the ship. I've carried my carry-on, two grocery bags, purse, Sailor Mickey, wine... we arrived at the Wonder after Mousefest. I shudder to think how much luggage we had for those 4 nights on the ship that time. In all fairness we had 7 days on land with matching tshirts eveyday.

Right,.....
I have a zillion things to do and Im dissing ,lol

We are away for the weekend, so stay groovy everybody and see you all later, my new phone,well the second new one has the net so I think I will be able to read just not post,
Elgin is meant to be lovely so it is nice weather, lens doing full and I am doing half marathon.
I will take my camera so I can show you guys. byeeeeeeeeeeee

Enjoy!!!

Those pilots are definitely heroes. Without their skill, there could have been a huge loss of life - how terribly sad for their families though

A very frightening experience for everyone though.



Thank goodness!

We are sleeping in our living room tonight - we have setup the couches near the table for safety and are having a "sleep over" - dogs included. Its just simply too unnerving to be even thinking about going to bed. There is comfort in sitting up with a blanket instead.

We are having lots of after shocks and have had more than 20 today that have been over 4 on the richter scale. Its quite simply terrifying and we are all a bunch of nervous wrecks.

The after shocks are varying from gentle swaying which you can barely feel to jolts like someone has just picked up the house and dropped it - its surprisingly noisy too and sometimes you just hear or feel tremors.

Hang in there Paula. I just watched the Today show and it looks really bad but not nearly as bad as Haiti and no loss of life. I'm so sorry you have to go through this. Very scary. Two more weeks!!!

 

[mdwoodman]

So for those of us who are metrically challenged, what does this mean?

Top of the Rock to St. Michael's Cave: 900 meters ~ just over 1/2 mile
St. Michael's Cave to Apes' Den: 750 meters ~ just under 1/2 mile
Apes' Den to Great Siege Tunnels: 1500 meters ~ just under 1 mile
Great Siege Tunnels to Moorish Castle (Tower of Homage): 600 meters ~ just over 1/3 mile

Most of it is down hill, since the walking starts at the top! From the Moorish Castle, it's an easy walk into town.

 

[tweety0227]

I have trawled the web to find free wifi information at our ports and hope this is useful. Not sure of its accuracy though!

Gibraltar

Free wireless is available in the following places:

Fresh - a cafe/bar just down through the archway when leaving the main square towards the bus stops.
The Gibraltar Arms - about half way down the main street.
The Lord Nelson - just by the tunnel exiting the main square.
The Cannon Bar - behind the Catholic Cathedral.
The Clipper - on Irish Town near Tuckey's lane. Ask bartender for password.
Corks Wine Bar - on Irish Town near the Clipper. WEP key is written on a chalkboard above the bar.

Madeira

It appears there are several free wifi hotspots around the island

http://www.wifi-madeira.com%2fing%2fDefault_ing.html

St Maarten

From a blog page:
Many places now have FREE wifi. Be sure to carry your computer in something watertight as sometimes a dinghy ride in the Simpson Bay Lagoon can be quite wet depending upon your dinghy and weather.

Here's a few places accessible from Simpson Bay:

MacDonalds near Simpson Bay Bridge (use Palapa dinghy dock)
Bubble Tea in same building as MacDonalds (use Palapa dinghy dock)
Ric's Sports Bar near Simpson Bay Bridge (has dinghy dock)
Taco Macho - next to Texaco station (might be allowed to tie up behind gas station at Texaco dock, or use Palapa dock and walk towards airport, or use Portofino marina behind Gourmet Marche and walk just beyond the Shell station in the direction of the bridge)
Blue Martini, ex-Fathoms, (between Bobby's Boatyard and Turtle Pier) has dinghy dock

Jimbo's Mesquite Grill at the Simpson Bay Marina - use marina dinghy dock
Cappuccino Diner Bar & Restaurant (across from FedEx & Domino's Pizza) - use dock behind FedEx?
Turtle Pier restaurant at Turtle Pier Hotel (Airport road) & Marina (dinghy dock in the lagoon) Happy hour, too!

From another source (can't remember where I found it!)
By the way, many businesses on island and virtually all of Front Street, the Boardwalk and the Great Bay beach area are now (WiFi) Wireless as a service to tourism. So, if you have a laptop, you may be able to skip the cyber café and do your work or email from a restaurant or a bench on the beach

Tortola

The Pub
Road Town, Tortola
Tel: (284) 494-2608
thepub@surfbvi.com

Internet access available at a rate of $5.00 per half hour, with use of their computers. Free Wi-Fi available to customers.

Serendipity Bookshop & Internet Cafe
Main Street
Road Town, Tortola
Tel: (284) 494-5865
E: serendipitybooks@gmail.com
www.bvibooks.com

We offer free Wi-Fi with own laptop, our own computer, printing. Our machines are Skype enabled, all situated in a converted historic house above the bookshop. All full range of coffees, teas, cold drinks, sandwiches, wraps, paninis and home-made cookies & cakes.

I'm not sure how far these locations are from the cruise port, but would hope some are within walking distance! I'm not sure that I want to pay for the onboard internet access which sounds slow and expensive!

Two weeks to go! Woohoo!

That information is very helpful. I plan on bringing my ipod Touch, so free wifi is definitely going to be great to keep in touch with those at home.

 

[tweety0227]

I have a question that I don't think has been addressed here: does anyone know if DCL is going to have special pins for this sailing? When we were on the EBTA, they had a set of pins that featured the Canal and each port.

Paula...glad you're all ok. I hope things settle down soon.

 

[tweety0227]

Glad you are ok Paula.

Talking about houses shaking we had a bit of that here last night.

The UPS plane that crashed in dubai last night went down about 800m from our house. It want straight over the top of our place about 5 seconds before impact.

we heard it but didn't see it - however many other families around us also saw it and saw the flash of the impact. What makes that even worse is we are a compound of airline staff and most of the kids who saw it have dads who are pilots so it has really unnerved them.

It was so lucky that it was a cargo plane so only two lives were lost and that it was a UPS plane with well trained pilots and well maintained equipment so they were able to maintain control long enough to get past our houses and crash into the desert. If they had gone down just five seconds earlier then it would of been a very different outcome.

The pilots were heros to be able to do that. Our thoughts are with their families. R.I.P.

Wow...how scary. Glad you are all ok. Those poor pilots and their families!!

 

[limmy]

Oops my original madeira link was wonky. Have edited my post and the correct link is:

http://www.wifi-madeira.com/ing/Default_ing.html

 

[gismo1554]

I have a question that I don't think has been addressed here: does anyone know if DCL is going to have special pins for this sailing? When we were on the EBTA, they had a set of pins that featured the Canal and each port.

Paula...glad you're all ok. I hope things settle down soon.

Yep Im sure they will! Last time we got both sets from the EBTA & the WBTA and they were really nice. This time I think Ill just get the cruise one rather than the port ones!

 

[mdwoodman]

I have a question that I don't think has been addressed here: does anyone know if DCL is going to have special pins for this sailing? When we were on the EBTA, they had a set of pins that featured the Canal and each port.

On each of the previous "special" cruises we've been on, they've had limited edition pins. I'm sure they will this time, too; it's quite a money-maker!

 

[Goofygranny]

Thanks all for your concern, prayers and pixie dust!

We actually live in Christchurch so are right in the middle of it, we are considering ourselves terribly fortunate that we have no damage other than some broken items in the kitchen - mugs, casserole dishes etc.

Luckily with it happening at 4.30am, there were few people out and about - it would have been much worse if it happened 12 hours earlier when people were in the city on a Friday afternoon!

On the bright side, its a gorgeous day and we have power to our home - much of the city is still without. Water could be an issue in the next few days though!

Paula, so glad you are OK. Sending lots of
Sandra

 

[valbob89]

Those pilots are definitely heroes. Without their skill, there could have been a huge loss of life - how terribly sad for their families though

A very frightening experience for everyone though.



Thank goodness!

We are sleeping in our living room tonight - we have setup the couches near the table for safety and are having a "sleep over" - dogs included. Its just simply too unnerving to be even thinking about going to bed. There is comfort in sitting up with a blanket instead.

We are having lots of after shocks and have had more than 20 today that have been over 4 on the richter scale. Its quite simply terrifying and we are all a bunch of nervous wrecks.

The after shocks are varying from gentle swaying which you can barely feel to jolts like someone has just picked up the house and dropped it - its surprisingly noisy too and sometimes you just hear or feel tremors.

Glad to hear all of you are ok and few major injuries reported. Those of us in California sympathize and understand. It will get better but has left a permanent memory. My heart stops for a moment when a large truck goes by the house and the house shakes, that seems normal now. val

 

[poohbear926]

Ken and Andrew in first class....Finally headed to Barcelona!!!!

wow Andrew definitely grew up and changed since last time i saw him.. glad they made it finally to barcelona

 

[poohbear926]

AHHHHHHH ... so my dvr went out and everything i had saved on there got erased and my pictures that i put on my computer from my phone got erased and now my computer is acting weird.... waiting for comcast to come and then have to wait until next weekend when my bf comes so he can work on the computer and see whats wrong with it... great i hope everything gets working before i leave.