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[franandaj]

I hear that. Although I'd like to see the ship, of course.
But going to my own sanctuary is a must.

You can always check out the ship prior to the sail away party, like I did. Plus, since your spouse is mobile you can always meet her at the muster drill. Now that I think about it, they only require one person to swipe their room key, I think next time I'm going to see if I can leave her in the room for the muster drill. If that works, it might be a plan for future cruises, then she will get a whole lot more nap time!

How will I go on???

I think you'll cope.

One of the best things about poly studio is 2 night stands.

cool! That's good to note, it's one of the reasons that we swore off studios cause we both need a nightstand. I used to use our cooler as my nightstand when I got the short end of the stick but as soon as Fran got the short end of the stick nightstand, she said NEVER AGAIN, and I was cool with that. We have enough points and I like having the Jacuzzi tubs anyways!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Oh yeah, now I remember! Fran had put MSNBC on the TV and it kept droning on about Donald Trump slinging mud about Hilary Clinton.

I am not sure if this would send me to sleep or give me nightmares. It would probably be a bit of both.

On this ship, there was almost every Disney movie made and it was really difficult to select when I had that many choices.

I am with you there. I think I would have felt a little overwhelmed by so much choice.

the Wonder that was docked next to us

That would have been so difficult for me.

Evidently that wasn’t good enough because I had to throw them away a couple days ago since I noticed mold growing on them.

What a shame.

We had our nails done last year with that shellac coating. Loved the experience and they looked great but never again! Ruined our nails!

They must not have done it properly. I think I had first shellac and now Gelish (similar product, different brand) for about 5 years now and far from ruining my nails, it has made them stronger.

Corinna

 

[pkondz]

I guess I slept through the night as I have no notes about what I watched in the middle of the night.

You did.
Oh, sure there was that one time at 2:49am when you sat up, but you just flopped onto your other side and went right back to sle....

Uh.


I don't know how you slept. How would I?

Fran had put MSNBC on the TV and it kept droning on about Donald Trump slinging mud about Hilary Clinton.

I think that would annoy me too much to let me sleep.
I could be wrong.

Now the thing that is very different about the Dream from the Wonder is that there are not movies constantly playing. However, you have a huge library of “On Demand” movies to watch. Thinking back, I prefer the “loop” of movies because you only have to choose from half a dozen choices. On this ship, there was almost every Disney movie made and it was really difficult to select when I had that many choices.

I would prefer it this way.
So I could watch a movie from the beginning.
But I get your feeling. Kay is like that.

The Navigator said that sunrise was going to be at 6:40, so I was out there in plenty of time. However, the weather did not want to cooperate. The sun was out there somewhere.

What's with that?
Come on Disney! Fix that!

That does not look good.

I started working on the “wake up Fran” project.

We arrived around 8:15 at the Royal Palace and were only the second or third party to be seated in the restaurant.

Nice. I love being one of a few in a restaurant.
More elbow room.

I thought this little bread basket was so cute!

We both ordered the Eggs Benedict

Because you're both smart.

I got a really cool treatment. They rubbed me with these herbal “mushroom things”.

Interesting.

the “mushroom things” were supposed to release all sorts of toxins.

OMG! Poisonous mushroom spores! Run Alison, run!!!

Now that I think about it, they only require one person to swipe their room key, I think next time I'm going to see if I can leave her in the room for the muster drill. If that works, it might be a plan for future cruises, then she will get a whole lot more nap time!

That would be a whooooole lot more convenient!

I think you'll cope.

Phew! Thanks!

 

[franandaj]

I love those movies on demand but you are so right sometimes too much choice leaves me channel hopping and indecisive! On vacation a loop make my choice for me!

It's much easier that way!

Shame about the weather today good job there is so much entertainment on DCL! Looks like a njce breakfast I love this restaurant but it takes all my will power and resolve not to put that cute ole bread basket in my wheelchair bag! I just adore it. I wish they sold them! We got a really nice Cinderella coach wine stop from WDW at Christmas.

I would totally buy one if they sold it!

Ohhh a spa treatment I have not seen this mushroom deal! Sounds interesting. Nice of the person to gift you those mushrooms shame you had to throw them away. We had our nails done last year with that shellac coating. Loved the experience and they looked great but never again! Ruined our nails! Just nail polish next time!

Hmmmm that's interesting.

Looking forward to reading more about this day. Good idea to write it up each day.

More coming up soon!

As of right now, we are staying at All Star Movies. We were there at the same time as you an PIO but we never got a chance to meet up, even though we found that we were in several of the same places at the same time. I'd love to catch up with you guys. We love F&W. In fact, we haven't booked any TS on that day because I'm planning on mainly doing the kiosks. Other than that, we don't have anything special planned except for maybe MNSSHP. I'd love to do the afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian but that kind of stuff isn't exactly my husband's cup of tea.

As it gets closer and plans solidify we should make a plan to say "hi".

Enchanted is one my favorite Disney movies. What a bummer about that storm moving in Hopefully it didn't ruin your day. Wait, was this day the day of the tequila tasting?

On a Disney ship, not much can ruin ones, day, but there was a reason I stopped where I did.

Too bad the sunrise was muted due to the storm but breakfast and the spa sound lovely!

Jill in CO

Yeah, it wasn't the best day, but I tried to make up for it.

 

[franandaj]

Hi there! I've been reading along but I haven't chimed in because I haven't had much to say - Now I do - but not really about the cruise TR.

First off - looks like a nice long trip in April/May. I've already commented on wanting to see your Bungalow pix. When we were there we didn't realize they give DVC members tours of the Bungalows. I know I'll never stay in one so I really wish we had taken the time to see one. Good that you got a spare night at the Poly. Moving within a resort is a lot easier than moving between resorts. It will also give you a chance to check out the Poly studios to see if they are somewhere you'd ever want to stay. I know you usually go with 1-bedrooms, but the Poly rooms are bigger than typical studios. We moved there from the BCV studios, and there was a HUGE difference.

I certainly plan on doing a TR and sharing pix, I can't wait to stay in such a luxurious place as the Bungalows! We were thinking that transferring to a new room at the same resort would be soooo much easier. However, we would never consider staying more than one night in a studio at WDW. If we are flying all the way across the country to a land of water-plenty I want my Jacuzzi tub! Besides we really utilize the kitchen. Maybe not every day, but normally we cook in the room quite a bit. The trip where I brought a Prime Rib in my suitcase, we were at WDW 8 nights and four of those nights I cooked in the room using that Prime Rib in completely different ways every time.

Second - I noticed that you mentioned to @IowaTater that you will be in WDW October 18th - 28th. Looks like we will be overlapping trips! Currently planning a big ABD-BSM reunion trip for October 15th - 23rd. We'll be staying at "home" at the AKV. We've got a lot of DISmeeting going on on that trip - we'll be likely arranging our schedule around that group - but maybe we'd have time to share a glass at food and wine one day with you and Fran!

Cool! As I said to @IowaTater we need to schedule it once the nitty gritty planning starts. I've found that if you don't plan it, rarely does it happen. Although you will see on this trip there are a few (although undocumented with pictures) DISmeets.

That spa treatments sounds really cool! Too bad that your detox mushrooms molded

Glad you enjoyed Enchanted and started the day with a nice breakfast!

It was cool. I could totally feel the effects of the herbal stuff. At first I was worried that I might have an allergic reaction, but I ended up being fine. I can't believe that they didn't dry out after three days, but I guess I should have taken them out of the bags as soon as I got home. In our dessert weather, I'm sure they would have dried out, but boy did they smell!

I am not sure if this would send me to sleep or give me nightmares. It would probably be a bit of both.

Yeah, I think I was having nightmares and that's why I woke up!

I am with you there. I think I would have felt a little overwhelmed by so much choice.

It was totally overwhelming! Hard to deal with.

That would have been so difficult for me.

I was having mixed feelings. I was enjoying checking out the new ship, but somewhat longing for the ship I already knew!

You did.
Oh, sure there was that one time at 2:49am when you sat up, but you just flopped onto your other side and went right back to sle....

Uh.


I don't know how you slept. How would I?

OK. Now you're starting to freak me out dude.

I think that would annoy me too much to let me sleep.
I could be wrong.

Why do you think I woke up and had to put something else on. It was seriously annoying.

I would prefer it this way.
So I could watch a movie from the beginning.
But I get your feeling. Kay is like that.

What I think I would like is a DVR where you can flip through the channels and then rewind the movie to the beginning. But then again, I've seen every Disney movie (just about) enough that I can pick it up in the middle. Although perhaps Pocohontas and Mulan could use a brush up. I don't really remember how those went. Hercules too.

What's with that?
Come on Disney! Fix that!

I know. Why can't they control the weather, they have everything else under control!

Nice. I love being one of a few in a restaurant.
More elbow room.

And the attention of the servers.

OMG! Poisonous mushroom spores! Run Alison, run!!!

No the poison is in me! I have to run from my toxins, but actually they run from me in a different manner that we probably shouldn't discuss in this forum.

That would be a whooooole lot more convenient!

I know. I should try that on our Alaskan cruise.

 

[pkondz]

OK. Now you're starting to freak me out dude.

Why do you think I woke up and had to put something else on. It was seriously annoying.

Ah yes. Of course.

What I think I would like is a DVR where you can flip through the channels and then rewind the movie to the beginning.

Yes! Perfect!

But then again, I've seen every Disney movie (just about) enough that I can pick it up in the middle.

I've missed a lot of the newer stuff.

Although perhaps Pocohontas and Mulan could use a brush up. I don't really remember how those went. Hercules too.

I'm a bit more refreshed on Pocohontas, but definitely not Mulan or Hercules.

And the attention of the servers.

No the poison is in me! I have to run from my toxins, but actually they run from me in a different manner that we probably shouldn't discuss in this forum.

 

[IowaTater]

As it gets closer and plans solidify we should make a plan to say "hi".

Sounds like a plan!

On a Disney ship, not much can ruin ones, day, but there was a reason I stopped where I did.

Oopsss. Once again, I'm getting antsy. lol

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

You're already 3 days into the cruise and I'm just catching up now. Why do I get the feeling I'm going to be saying that often?

Looks like the cruise got off to a good start. Relaxing, spa treatments, good food. Sorry the weather wasn't looking so hot on day 3.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Oh, and the birthday plans look great! I had to note "Artist Point" with a knowing chuckle.

 

[rentayenta]

Can't believe I was so behind. Been working a little extra and then under the weather yesterday but I am all caught up.

I see what you mean about the shops. They look more like shops that would be in South Coast Plaza and not a Disney ship. Not fun at all. And no Disney jewelry? Odd.

Love the chairs in AP. So cute.

The Eggs Benedict looks yum! I think I went with a Mickey Bar every night. The only thing that compared was the strawberry sundae.

Your bday plans look awesome!

 

[PrincessInOz]

I'm so far behind with your updates that I'll just say that I'm hungry and all caught up!

YAY for the extra night with the re-do!

 

[franandaj]

I've missed a lot of the newer stuff.

Other than Inside Out, we've made it a point to go to the new Disney movies. I do have a gap in there from after the Aladdin/Beauty & the Beast/Under the Sea period (around 1995 to 1998), and the 1980's when I was a teenager and "too cool" for "kid's stuff". When we get caught up with moving, I intend to go back and catch up on Disney animated movies!

I'm a bit more refreshed on Pocohontas, but definitely not Mulan or Hercules.

Pocohontas came out at a bad point in my life. I saw it in the theater, but don't have good memories of that time.

Sounds like a plan!

Oopsss. Once again, I'm getting antsy. lol

You and @rentayenta !

You're already 3 days into the cruise and I'm just catching up now. Why do I get the feeling I'm going to be saying that often?

You have a lot going on right now.

Looks like the cruise got off to a good start. Relaxing, spa treatments, good food. Sorry the weather wasn't looking so hot on day 3.

It was a pretty good start, the weather wasn't the worst part of that day.

Oh, and the birthday plans look great! I had to note "Artist Point" with a knowing chuckle.

I have big expectations now that I know it's inspiration!

Can't believe I was so behind. Been working a little extra and then under the weather yesterday but I am all caught up.

You've been rather busy!

I see what you mean about the shops. They look more like shops that would be in South Coast Plaza and not a Disney ship. Not fun at all. And no Disney jewelry? Odd.

I know! I'm more likely to be separated from my money when Mickey is standing over the display!

Love the chairs in AP. So cute.

The Eggs Benedict looks yum! I think I went with a Mickey Bar every night. The only thing that compared was the strawberry sundae.

Disney does all the details so well! The eggs Benedict were awesome. I can't wait to have that breakfast again!

Your bday plans look awesome!

Thanks! It should be a fun trip!

 

[pkondz]

Other than Inside Out, we've made it a point to go to the new Disney movies. I do have a gap in there from after the Aladdin/Beauty & the Beast/Under the Sea period (around 1995 to 1998), and the 1980's when I was a teenager and "too cool" for "kid's stuff". When we get caught up with moving, I intend to go back and catch up on Disney animated movies!

I had hardly seen any (except for the really old stuff) until we had kids. We owned a copy of Pocahontas (VHS) so I've seen it a few times, but it wasn't one of Elle's faves, so it wasn't on as often as other stuff. The new stuff? My girls are too old and/or too busy. I just saw Toy Story 3 a couple of weeks ago because I happened to stumble across it on TV.

 

[franandaj]

I'm so far behind with your updates that I'll just say that I'm hungry and all caught up!

YAY for the extra night with the re-do!

You've been really busy. Evidently everyone but me is busy. Although I have also been somewhat busy as well!

I had hardly seen any (except for the really old stuff) until we had kids. We owned a copy of Pocahontas (VHS) so I've seen it a few times, but it wasn't one of Elle's faves, so it wasn't on as often as other stuff. The new stuff? My girls are too old and/or too busy. I just saw Toy Story 3 a couple of weeks ago because I happened to stumble across it on TV.

Since our kids all have four legs and don't appreciate the nuances of animation, we are the ones who appreciate it. We don't go out to the movies very much unless a new Disney feature is coming out. Normally we wait until movies come out on HBO, Showtime or Starz. But we want to make sure that we have our say at the box office via ticket purchase.

 

[franandaj]

I was able to sneak in a quick update a few days ago, but I’ve been pretty busy. We spent three days this past week working on packing up the old house. We took at least five boxes to the thrift store, and put another 15 or so boxes in storage. There is still a ton of stuff over there, but at least we are making a start. We are scheduled next Saturday to have the guys who work for the contractor to help get the 50-100 boxes stored in the attic at the old house. Those will pretty much go directly into storage. We also have it on the schedule to put the loveseat out to the curb this week, the city will pick it up and trash it.

Hopefully everything will be out before our trip in March. Crossing my fingers, we’ll just have to see.

We also took care of another round of airfare for our cruise to Alaska. The planes that fly direct from LA to Vancouver are much smaller than other flights, say to Orlando. We had planned to fly in the day before the cruise and stay for three days after, but because of the way the miles worked out, we are flying out three days early and staying for one night after the cruise.

We leave July 1 and stay two nights in a downtown hotel, they we transfer to the Pan Pacific hotel at Canada Place (which is adjacent to the cruise terminal) for one night. We board the Wonder on the 4th of July for a week long cruise of Alaska. We disembark the ship on the 11th and stay for one more night before catching a plane home at noon the next day.

At 1:00PM, we had to try and register online for an event at DL, one where you would get to dine inside the HM. It was severely limited in attendance (like 20 people) and the actual sign in was very convoluted. We pretty much didn’t get in as the thing closed within 1 minute of opening, we got on the waitlist after 10 minutes, but with only 20 people, our hopes of actually getting in are doubtful. So this pretty much soured Fran’s mood for the entire day. She had no interest of getting lunch and just wanted to hold a pity party. She sent off a seething email about the convoluted sign in process, and actually there was another event just two weeks ago where they clearly stated the process for signing up. Little good that did us for this time.

At this point she also tells me that she never even wanted to go on this trip, and her breaking her leg earlier this year ruined everything. We have been losing thousands of dollars every month by not having our old apartment cleaned out and ready to rent and taking a vacation is only taking away from that income. Essentially she was just bitter about everything at this point, and I was flabbergasted. I thought she understood that I needed to get away after everything we had been through. Clearly we had a difference of opinions and I had no idea!

She told me that she wasn’t hungry, and I could “do whatever I wanted.” Well I certainly didn’t want to hang around the room at that point in time. I was sad that we didn’t get into the event, but I wasn’t going to let it ruin my life or the trip. So I went up to Cabanas to check out what they had to offer. It was somewhat late in the afternoon maybe 2PM. I was a little bit dismayed that most of what they had to offer was pretty much the same stuff they had the day before. On the Wonder the buffet changes every day, which is nice.

I didn’t want to eat too much and spoil my appetite for dinner. There was actually one thing that was different from the day before. They had a sushi chef making small plates, there weren’t any choices, but this plate with a maguro nigiri, California roll and some sort of lobster roll seemed like it would fit the bill.



And they had this peach and apple cobbler with hand scooped vanilla ice cream, and that sounded like a good ending to my lunch.



It was definitely a dreary day outside.



You can see the Atlantis Resort off in the distance.





I decided to explore the ship a little more and I climbed the aft stairs up to Deck 12. We would be dining here at Remy tomorrow night.



And we would be skipping Palo this cruise.



And Meridian Lounge, we never made it here this trip.



Since it was so dreary outside, I decided to go back down to the atrium. I took a couple more shots.



They had a gingerbread house set up here.



And another of the chandelier.



Since we had a tequila tasting coming up, I decided to have a margarita at the lobby bar. The bartender appreciated his chocolates!



I went back to the room, to get my gifts for the Fish Extender. I delivered the last of them to the folks on Decks 2 & 6 and then stopped by Tow Mater’s Grill to get a Cheeseburger and fries for Fran. Sorry no picture!

We kicked it in the room for a little while. On her tablet she had downloaded some TV series and she decided that we should start watching Blue Bloods, so we watched the pilot on the tablet while we waited until the time for our Tequila Tasting which was at 4PM. Around 3:30 we headed out to the District Lounge where we would be tasting today. I wish I had taken more photos of many areas of the ship. These two pictures of the District Lounge I had to steal from the Internet. There are five different bars in this area. Skyline, where we were the previous night, Pink which is a champagne bar, 687 which is a sports pub style bar, and Evolution, a dance bar. The District is the first one that you walk through if you are approaching this area from Mid Ship on Deck 4. This is the bar area where our tasting was held.



This is the lounge area where there is entertainment at night. They are all in one room, but there is a walkway behind the seats of the bar which takes you to 687, Evolution and finally Skyline.



Tasting classes on the Dream are different than the Wonder. The bars are set up smaller so that folks can be “all together” in one location. The entire class was seated at the bar and they had even made two Handicapped Accessible seats at the left end of the bar (not pictured) so that Fran could stay in her scooter. It’s much more comfortable than a bar stool as she has an extra cushion on there.

There were a couple people who did not RSVP for the class and showed up to find that there weren’t any seats left at the bar. The host was very hospitable and he had his assistants set up folks in the walkway behind the barstools using tables and chairs from the lounge part of the bar.

Our class was conducted by the bartender from behind the bar and it was sometimes hard to hear him as it was a very long bar and we could only hear him when he faced us. When he talked to the other end of the bar his voice was inaudible. Good thing we have done many tequila tastings and there isn’t much about the drink we don’t already know. What was very different about tastings on the Dream is that they do not “prepour” the drinks, so there is no chance to steal your “no show” neighbor’s drinks. Here was our original set up.



The bartender came by and filled the glasses as each person showed up and took their seats.



We had a silver, reposado and Anejo tequila all made by Patron. Quick recap for those not familiar.

Silver, not really aged, just made from the fermented Agave plant. This is what you want to use for margaritas as the lime juice masks the flavor.

Reposado (my favorite), aged in oak for 1-3 years. The aging cuts a little bit of the bite of the tequila

Anejo , aged in oak for 4-7 years. This is the most expensive, but I’m not a huge fan of oak in my tequila or my chardonnay which is why I like the Reposado better.

Then he poured us a tiny glass of the coffee flavor. Anyone who remembers my Mixology class on the Wonder where the show off guy used more than half the bottle will notice how small a pour he gave us. Yes, it’s THAT expensive.



Then they gave us a traditional Margarita.



Here’s where the Dream makes up for not being able to steal drinks on no shows. They premixed an entire jug of margaritas which was more than enough for everyone to have one serving. So they kept pouring more for everyone until the jug was empty. I think we had 3-4 refills! Then we got a Mango Margarita. This was much sweeter, but they also let us have more. I took whatever they would give me, but I preferred the traditional margarita.





We were definitely happy when leaving this tasting! Mickey Mouse was going to be on Deck 4 at 5:15 so we headed there to get in line. Fran was still in her funk and didn’t want to get in the pictures with Mickey.









We went back to the room and ended up watching the rest of the Blue Bloods episode on the tablet before changing for dinner and going down to meet Minnie Mouse.





[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

Then we headed to Skyline for another pre dinner drink. I had a Capirainia but it was the weirdest tasting that I have ever tasted! I’ve had quite a few at Brazilian Steakhouses back home.



When time for dinner came, we headed to Enchanted Garden. This is a bright and cheery restaurant.







The menu here has some similarities to the menu at Parrot Cay on the Wonder, but also some differences. That was a refreshing change.









Tonight our second dinner companion was feeling much better and was able to join us for dinner. For my starter I went with the North Atlantic Lobster Ravioli with Roasted Garlic and Sweet Basil in a Tomato Broth. It was very tasty!



Fran skipped the appetizer section all together and went for the Cream of Green Asparagus Soup with Crabmeat and Asparagus Tips. She really likes this one in Parrot Cay, so it didn’t surprise me that she ordered this.



I had the Romaine Wedge for my salad. It was pretty good.



For a salad she ordered the Spinach and Raspberry Salad.



For my entrée I had the Caramelized Sea Scallops with Roasted Asparagus, Sundried Tomato Cous Cous, Caramelized Leeks and Red Wine Veal Jus. This was really tasty and a huge portion. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t finish it all.



Part of the problem was that Fran ordered the Prime Rib, and gave me a nice size slice so that I could have surf and turf! Best of both worlds.



Then the dessert menus arrived.





I went with the Date pudding, that I’ve had before. I knew it was really good!



Here we are with our tablemates.



After dinner we went back to the room to find another Navigator. Tomorrow was our day at Castaway Cay and we also had a map for that. We spent a bit of time studying the map and planning our strategy for the day.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Hope everything works out and you will all be ready for your trip in a couple of months. Sorry to read that you didn't get in for dining in the HM. That would be fun to do.

The ship looks very nice especially with the Christmas decorations. The tasting class looks fun to do. Very nice pictures with Mickey.

The Enchanted Garden restaurant looks amazing and the atmosphere must be refreshing especially when dining there. The food looks good.

 

[DnA2010]

Great update! Enjoying all the pictures of the ship and look forward to hearing about your day at CC!

Love the pictures with Minnie, so adorable!

So you are staying at the PP pre-cruise, where are you staying the nights before? I thought we might be in Vancouver around that time as I think I'm there for work in July, but we need to be in Edmonton on the 1st for DHs grandmother's 90th.

 

[PrincessInOz]

You sound like you're busy in real life too!
Sorry you didn't get in for dining in the HM. Hope that Fran came out of her funk.

Pictures of you and Minnie are great! Love it.
Love the tasting and food pictures. I've said it before...I'd love to do a tasting. I'd take a few sips and then pass the drinks over to you and Fran.

 

[dhorner233]

Sorry you didn't get into the dinner at the HM. That would have been so cool! Well, you are on the waiting list.....

Looks like you had a great day anyway! Beautiful ship! So much to do! So much to eat!