The 75% All New Trip! - All done! Bonus Material finished, Link to new TR!

[pkondz]

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.

That's a ton of stuff! Hopefully you get it all worked out.

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.

Sounds like the makings of a great trip.

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.

I think... think! I've heard of that... but it fell completely off my radar.
That's just too cool.
I wonder where exactly they dine?

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.

Sucks.

So this pretty much soured Fran’s mood for the entire day

Oh. That's too bad.

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!

Whooo.... yeah. That doesn't sound like a pleasant situation.

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 get that. Don't blame you one bit.

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

Want!

Beautiful!

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.

Interesting. Which one did you prefer?

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.

Dang.

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.

Also interesting. Didn't know that.

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!

Well thank goodness for that!

I took whatever they would give me, but I preferred the traditional margarita.

It was very good of you to take those drinks.
You know... so you wouldn't hurt the bartender's feelings.

Look at that grin! You seem awfully happy!

Was that a real skylight? Or Disney magic to make it appear that you were dining under the sun?

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.

Wow that looks good.

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.

Nice!

Tomorrow was our day at Castaway Cay

Can't wait! I'm very curious to see what that's like.

 

[longneckthree]

This is my first time replying to a trip report in a long time, but I had to come and let you know that I love reading yours! You guys are amazing. I can't wait to read more of this adventure and future ones - please don't stop sharing with us. Thank you for taking the time.
Maggie

 

[IowaTater]

Dining at the HM would have been awesome. What a bummer that you guys didn't get in

Sorry to hear about Fran's funk. DH gets like that sometimes too. I normally do what you did & just give him some space. No sense 2 people being cranky.

Such cute pictures with Minnie! Looks like you guys had a great dinner and tequila tasting too.

What did you think of Blue Bloods? DH really likes it. To me, it's just okay. I have a hard time watching Donnie Wahlberg be a jerk.

 

[afwdwfan]

Not that they didn’t have plenty of Disney merchandise, but when I asked about “jewelry with Mickey on it”, they had none.

Because, why would a Disney ship have jewelry with Mickey on it????

Normally I’m not much of a Bar scene kind of person, but I had heard about Skyline and really wanted to try out this place. The “Windows” you’re looking out rotate between these locations.

It does look like an interesting place to have a drink.

When you get out of the elevator on Deck 3 you’re actually practically in the middle of Animator’s Palate. This startled me a little bit. I’m used to the Wonder where all the elevators have a foyer area outside where people wait for the elevator to come. On the Dream it was just a little off putting to step off the elevator and be right in the middle of bars and restaurants

That does seem a little bit odd... and awkward. I mean, standing in the middle of a restaurant waiting to go back to your room???

Love the chairs!

So I wanted to post an update about our next Disney trip.

Looks like the plans are coming together nicely! I love the fact that you're going to get to stay at a Poly Bungalow. I want lots and lots of pictures! I'm glad you were able to come to a reasonable compromise on your flight/extra night.

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

I can only imagine...

And then we sailed right into the storm, well for a Southern Californian it was a storm. It was wet.

So, about 5 or 6 rain drops? Sorry the clouds interfered with your sunrise plans.

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.

This really looks like a lot of fun!

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.

This looks like it would be a wonderful experience to get to visit HM like that. I'm really sorry that it didn't work out for you to get signed up for it.

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.

You really can't let it get you down too much. With such a small window of opportunity, you've got to assume that even if you hadn't had difficulties with the system, there's still a good chance that you might not have gotten in. No point to let it ruin a good day! I'm sorry that Fran was taking it a little bit harder.

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

That looks amazing.

And we would be skipping Palo this cruise.

WHAT???? Did Hell freeze over?

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.

Wow...

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

You can never go wrong with a good margarita!

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

It really looks nice. I like the outdoor effect in the ceiling!

 

[Steppesister]

UGH! Moving. Sounds like you still yet have a lot of hard work ahead of you. I don't envy you at all. I do hope the remainder goes smoothly and it happens long before that March trip.

It's hard when the spouse goes into a funk. Until Mike is ready to snap out of it or talk, my policy is to go on with life and avoid until constructive communication can happen again.

That looked like a lot of good booze right there. I starting to wonder if a tasting during Food and Wine might not be kinda fun. I'll have to see when the time comes up. Dinner looked amazing! I'm a scallop kinda gal as well. YUm!

 

[dolphingirl47]

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.

It sounds like a great deal of progress is being made.

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

I will keep my fingers crossed for you.

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.

That sounds good. Do you have any plans for Vancouver yet?

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.

That sounds really neat.

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.

What a shame that registering was such a pain. I keep my fingers crossed that your waitlist comes through.

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!

Looks like the issue with the registration was the the last straw.

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.

That is a bit strange. I love the themed buffets on the Magic and the Wonder.

You can see the Atlantis Resort off in the distance.

As much as I loathe Nassau, I really hope that I will get to visit the Atlantis at some stage.

They had a gingerbread house set up here.

This looks very understated.

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.

I actually quite like the idea of this setup.

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.

However, it looks like some aspects of this need to go back to the drawing board.

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.

That is strange as this is the cheapest of the ones you were served. I normally pay $20 for a bottle in the USA for this and the other ones are at least twice that.

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.

This is one thing I will never get. The bartenders on the Disney ships don't seem to be able to make decent Caipirinhas. This is so simple and I can't understand why they can't do a nice one. The one I had on our recent cruise on Royal Caribbean on the other hand was delicious.

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

I would have loved that menu. The dessert menu however looked a little disappointing.

Corinna

 

[Flossbolna]

I am sorry that Fran got so upset about everything triggered by the reservation fiasco. But it seems like you got some nice things done that day anyway.

I am happy to hear that you enjoyed Enchanted Garden. I am not sure why so many people on the cruise board are so down on it, Michael and I absolutely loved it. It was really strange, we both love Triton's on the Wonder, by far our favorite of the ones on the Wonder. On the Fantasy Royal Court/Palace (not sure which ship has which) was our least favorite, my favorite was Enchanted Garden and Michael's was Animator's. Which, btw, on the Fantasy does have an Elevator lobby and a door. You do not exit from the elevator into the restaurant. That sounds weird!

I am horribly behind on commenting everywhere, but I hope to improve soon!! And to get my own trip report going again!!

 

[franandaj]

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.

Thanks. We're working over there again today. Hopefully we can get some if the furniture cleaned up and on Craigslist in addition to boxes to storage.

The ship looks very nice especially with the Christmas decorations. The tasting class looks fun

This was my second Christmastime cruise and Disney always does a great job on the decorations.

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

This was one of the places I was looking forward to experiencing. At one of the Expos, I went to a seminar on Imagineering the Fantasy and as the Dream and Fantasy are similar this restaurant is on both of them. It sounded neat.

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!

We love our character pictures. I just finished writing up the time at CC. It was nice.

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 Edmonto

Right now we are booked at the Century Plaza Hotel and Spa, but I plan to look around and see if I can find anything closer to Robson street that's more affordable. I haven't been to Vancouver in over 15 years and prices have gone way up since my last visit!

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.

I think by dinner time it sort of wore off. At least by the next day she was all better.

Pictures of you and Minnie are great! Love it.
Love the tasting and food pictures. I've said it before...I'd lo

Hmmm. Your post got cut off. But we'd love to do some tastings with you and have you hand us off your drinks after a taste or two!

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!

It would have been nice, but it's this Thursday and it's not happening, otherwise we would have heard anything. I did make the best of it exploring parts of the ship that we had never seen (due to it being a new ship) and avoiding the rain. There is always so much food, you never go hungry. I'm surprised they had so many "pay to play" kinds of places with all the complimentary food they had on offer.

 

[sharksfinatic17]

Right now we are booked at the Century Plaza Hotel and Spa, but I plan to look around and see if I can find anything closer to Robson street that's more affordable. I haven't been to Vancouver in over 15 years and prices have gone way up since my last visit!

Make sure you are looking in US dollars. The exchange rate is so favorable for the dollar right now. We went on the Wonder last year to Alaska, and benefited from the exchange rate, but not as much as right now. Last Minute Travel had some great rates about this time last your for the upcoming summer. (long time reader...first time poster)

 

[DnA2010]

Make sure you are looking in US dollars. The exchange rate is so favorable for the dollar right now. We went on the Wonder last year to Alaska, and benefited from the exchange rate, but not as much as right now. Last Minute Travel had some great rates about this time last your for the upcoming summer. (long time reader...first time poster)

Yes, Canada is 35% off for Americans right now! Killer for us up north that want to go to Disney
I will check which downtown hotels I get friends and family corporate rates at

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I think every vacation, most couples have some type of gift like that. Yes its disappointing you didn't get into the HM but she shouldn't have taken it out on you but thats the deal with relationships sadly. Glad you got out of the room and got to explore the ship some! Looks like the cool down period worked well

Your tequila tasting looks like it was a lot of fun - you can tell you are a bit happy afterwards but thats what should happen at tequila tastings! Glad you had a fun time!

 

[franandaj]

That's a ton of stuff! Hopefully you get it all worked out.

Well we took an another "Expedition load" to storage yesterday. Although it would have been better if it was to the thrift store instead.

Sounds like the makings of a great trip.

My parents will be along with us so that should be nice. So many of our trips we are all alone. However it does add an interesting dynamic as well.

I think... think! I've heard of that... but it fell completely off my radar.
That's just too cool.
I wonder where exactly they dine?

The last dinner they dined in the hallway just outside the stretching room.

Sucks.

Oh. That's too bad.

Yeah, it was sad.

Whooo.... yeah. That doesn't sound like a pleasant situation.

I'm used to dealing with it at home, bit on vacation sucks.

I get that. Don't blame you one bit.

Beautiful!

Interesting. Which one did you prefer?

I think you'll be able to figure that one out, especially since there are two we never even made it to.

Also interesting. Didn't know that.

When you've done as many Tequila Tastings as we have you look for new and more interesting information. These are the basics.

Well thank goodness for that!

Exactly.

It was very good of you to take those drinks.
You know... so you wouldn't hurt the bartender's feelings.

Well of course.

Look at that grin! You seem awfully happy!

It's the Tequila.

Was that a real skylight? Or Disney magic to make it appear that you were dining under the sun?

No that was Disney Magic. When you enter the restaurant it's bright and airy. As you dine the "sun" sets and there is a starry night overhead. If you notice in the picture with our tablemates the room is somewhat dark.

Wow that looks good.

It really was. The scallops were cooked perfectly.

Can't wait! I'm very curious to see what that's like.

It's all written, I just need to respond to all the shout outs first.

This is my first time replying to a trip report in a long time, but I had to come and let you know that I love reading yours! You guys are amazing. I can't wait to read more of this adventure and future ones - please don't stop sharing with us. Thank you for taking the time.
Maggie

There's plenty more ahead! I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Dining at the HM would have been awesome. What a bummer that you guys didn't get in

Yeah, it's sad, but I'm over it.

Sorry to hear about Fran's funk. DH gets like that sometimes too. I normally do what you did & just give him some space. No sense 2 people being cranky.

That's about all you can do.

Such cute pictures with Minnie! Looks like you guys had a great dinner and tequila tasting too.

I think the Tequila helped her mood, and getting out of the room and interacting with the tablemates as well.

What did you think of Blue Bloods? DH really likes it. To me, it's just okay. I have a hard time watching Donnie Wahlberg be a jerk.

Actually we only watched the one episode. When we got back our DVR was so full, we are just now catching up. We're almost out of stuff to watch so we might start it up again.

 

[pkondz]

My parents will be along with us so that should be nice. So many of our trips we are all alone. However it does add an interesting dynamic as well.

I hear you.
Nice to have 'em along... sometimes not so nice.

The last dinner they dined in the hallway just outside the stretching room.

Cool!

It's the Tequila.

Oh, really? Doesn't show.

No that was Disney Magic. When you enter the restaurant it's bright and airy. As you dine the "sun" sets and there is a starry night overhead

Wow! That is really impressive.

 

[rentayenta]

Boo on Fran for being a crab apple. I'm sorry. Glad you made the best of a crappy situation. Love that you got some sushi and what looks to be champagne.

The gingerbread house is fantastic!

Tequila tasting = shots. And yay for refills on the margaritas.

Cute dress, cute toes!

That prime rib looks delicious.

 

[franandaj]

Because, why would a Disney ship have jewelry with Mickey on it????

I know, right?

It does look like an interesting place to have a drink.

That does seem a little bit odd... and awkward. I mean, standing in the middle of a restaurant waiting to go back to your room???

Well, it wasn't the "middle" of the restaurant. I guess the podium was right there, but I seem to remember tables on the side where the podium wasn't. Although they led us past the podium to our table.

Love the chairs!

I wonder if they sell them at a home store somewhere.

Looks like the plans are coming together nicely! I love the fact that you're going to get to stay at a Poly Bungalow. I want lots and lots of pictures! I'm glad you were able to come to a reasonable compromise on your flight/extra night.

I know! Part of me can't wait for this trip, but the one in March is going to be just as exciting. I'm hoping this will be the year of great vacations instead of cancelled vacations!

I can only imagine...

Almost like going to our DVD collection except the player is actually hooked up to the main TV!

So, about 5 or 6 rain drops? Sorry the clouds interfered with your sunrise plans.

5-6 drops per minute, yeah, kind of like tonight. The weathercasters are now on "stormwatch". Before that the only thing they could report on was "surfwatch".

This really looks like a lot of fun!

I think so. As I said to @pkondz we are bringing my parents so this will be nice to have company, but could be interesting to see how this pans out. My Dad usually doesn't wake up before 9AM even when something big is planned. My Mom has already picked her own excursions, so we'll see how it all turns out. We'll still have a great time regardless, there just may be three different trips going on that report back at dinner every night!

This looks like it would be a wonderful experience to get to visit HM like that. I'm really sorry that it didn't work out for you to get signed up for it.

I'll be interested to see the posts if there are any from those who were selected. It's this Thursday.

You really can't let it get you down too much. With such a small window of opportunity, you've got to assume that even if you hadn't had difficulties with the system, there's still a good chance that you might not have gotten in. No point to let it ruin a good day! I'm sorry that Fran was taking it a little bit harder.

I'm usually better at accepting reality than she is. She really hasn't spent a lot of time in the real world. Long story, but true. Her parents really never let her out enough to know how brutal it really is out there.

That looks amazing.

It was quite tasty and a perfect end to the light meal.

WHAT???? Did Hell freeze over?

No there was just something more enticing, and it was a tough choice.

You can never go wrong with a good margarita!

These were really good, I could have tossed them back all night!

It really looks nice. I like the outdoor effect in the ceiling!

This was one of the reasons that I wanted to try this restaurant. At a seminar at the D23 Expo I heard about how this restaurant was where you entered in the sun and during your meal it turned to night.

UGH! Moving. Sounds like you still yet have a lot of hard work ahead of you. I don't envy you at all. I do hope the remainder goes smoothly and it happens long before that March trip.

Yeah, thanks. We have a lot of boxes to move.

It's hard when the spouse goes into a funk. Until Mike is ready to snap out of it or talk, my policy is to go on with life and avoid until constructive communication can happen again.

I've learned at home how to cope. It is just tough on vacation. I think I'm getting it a little.

That looked like a lot of good booze right there. I starting to wonder if a tasting during Food and Wine might not be kinda fun. I'll have to see when the time comes up. Dinner looked amazing! I'm a scallop kinda gal as well. YUm!

I'm going to post on your TR, if I can remember some links to my F&W TR tastings. They might add a bit to your bottom line, but they are really worth it. IMHO.

 

[dhorner233]

"I'm usually better at accepting reality than she is. She really hasn't spent a lot of time in the real world. Long story, but true. Her parents really never let her out enough to know how brutal it really is out there."

Sounds like Fran had an interesting life. Only child? Sometimes reality can be brutal!

And, back to the dinner you didn't get at the Haunted Mansion. Have you done it before? They eat right there by the front door? Do they close the ride for the dinner?? I was imagining some cool special tour of rooms that the mere mortals don't get to see.

 

[Pinkocto]

You should be excited! Is yours a Star Wars Cruise?

I'm in single digits today No, not a Star Wars cruise, but I will definitely be seeing the movie on the ship. I had to choose between the Star Wars cruise or going to Tortola. Tortola won.

Well, she did point to a case, and maybe they had one necklace. I either already had it or it was cheesy looking. I suppose that's good, with my taste in jewelry, I can get into trouble.

I've been disappointed at the lack of options. And them discontinuing things so fast.

They were great tablemates! Probably the best that we've had on cruises. We had a lot to talk about even if we didn't have all that much in common.

That's fabulous about your tablemates, it adds such a fun aspect to dinner.

I'm so happy about the May trip plans, one thing left to do is get Jim over here so we can call Disney IT and somehow get Alberto hooked up as my friend so I can make our FP+ reservations, we probably need to make sure he has a ticket too! I guess there is still a lot to do!

Why do you need to call Disney IT? it's super easy to add friends to MDE. You just make him an account and email him an invite. Or is it more complicated with your passes?

And I completely missed the fact that you also have a Fall trip planned, how exciting!!! Where are you staying for that one?



I'm sorry this day wasn't the best and that Fran got into a funk. Glad you didn't let it ruin your day though. The spa treatment sounded lovely.

Great pictures with the characters

Dinner looked quite yummy too. Mom really likes the Enchanted Garden. I haven't been as impressed with the food choices but looking forward to trying it again.

 

[Leshaface]

Or maybe it's just psoriasis.
You might want to get that checked out.
Sorry.

Two people don't need a three bedroom tree house!

Why not?!?

When I counted all the places where we dined of the 20 locations 15 were new. That kinda sealed it up for me 75% new.

Holy cow, that should bring your Golden Spoon up high!

Our normal plan, drop Fran, the bags and scooter with a curbside porter, I show my ID, I park, and come back, worked just fine.

Okay so I just found out about this service, maybe you've heard of it, maybe not. But there is a company near LAX who will meet you at curbside, take your car and park it (covered parking, I believe) and when you return from your trip with luggage in hand, you call them up and they will bring your vehicle back to you at curbside! This sounds amazing and something I may look into next time...

The groceries cost a lot more than I expected.

Did you use Wegoshop again? I used them, last minute, this trip and was surprised at how much it was for how little we got this time around, especially since we didn't have a full kitchen (no eggs, bacon, etc)

Macaroni Grill in the airport

Okay, need to remember this next time. We had a HORRIBLE night when we arrived (lost luggage) so ended up treating ourselves to room service while at the MCO Hyatt.

This is where staying at MCO works out very well for cruising. We called the bellman to pick up our bags, they came and got them and the next time we saw them was in our stateroom on the ship. Like Magical Express for the DCL!!!!

Yes!

This restaurant is so pretty!

You've tried Artist Point's soup, yes? Is it similar?

So. Much. Room.

Yeah, no thanks. Pass on that!

Uh, I don't remember this?!? I'd still pay for it though!

Ahh, best part of the ship, IMO.


Will be back to catch up on the rest!

 

[Leshaface]

In fact we even found several pictures there that we already own!

So does this mean you're actually becoming your own art store yourself?!

I had taken these bows and attached them to magnets for door decorations.

Cute idea!

Normally I’m not much of a Bar scene kind of person

Uh, could have fooled me

I on the other hand was a creature of habit and had the Truffle pursettes for my entrée.

I love these things. I watched a special on the Food Network the other day and a group of cooks went on the Dream (maybe the Fantasy?) and one of cooks really enjoyed this dish!

OMG! We got a standard view studio for the one night! There were no lake view, nothing at the VGF, or BLT, but there was a Standard View Poly Studio at 4 months! Crazy! I nabbed it!

Can you believe we grabbed 4 nights at the Poly 2 months out?!? How does that even happen?!

Then I go to book the airfare home. I tell her that I don't mind changing planes on the way home to save miles since we'll get home and just rest for a couple days. She doesn't want to change planes and has me look at the Anytime mileage. Coming home this one is 55K per person. It's one thing to spend and extra 20K, but 30K!!!!! That's two whole flights and then some! I said, "what happens if we look at coming home on Saturday?" Lo and behold, back to 45K.

WOAH! I'm used to SWA points...i'm like, "25,000 Roundtrip is pushing it!"

A little frightening.

I started working on the “wake up Fran” project

hey rubbed me with these herbal “mushroom things”. And then massaged me, the “mushroom things” were supposed to release all sorts of toxins.

Does it give you some cool hallucinations too??? No? Not those type of mushrooms? Drat.

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

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!

Yikes, that's a bit of a downer situation. But glad you took it upon yourself to get out and try to make the situation better, at least for you.

And we would be skipping Palo this cruise.

This is shocking. What gives?

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.

At least they haven't told the Wonder to start doing this yet

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!

Well that's good then, plenty of drinks!

We were definitely happy when leaving this tasting!

Was Fran in a better mood at this point too?

Oh yum.

Here we are with our tablemates.

I was going to ask about your tablemates, were they nice?

 

[franandaj]

t sounds like a great deal of progress is being made.

I don't know as I would go so far as to say a "great deal of progress", but we are not sitting still or going backwards.

I will keep my fingers crossed for you.

Thank you. We have exactly two months from today.

That sounds good. Do you have any plans for Vancouver yet?

Nothing concrete. I know we'll do something in Stanley Park, and probably visit Granville Island. What I REALLY need to do is figure out our plans for New Orleans!

What a shame that registering was such a pain. I keep my fingers crossed that your waitlist comes through.

Not gonna happen. The event is tomorrow night.

Looks like the issue with the registration was the the last straw.

Pretty much. I think we had basically smooth sailing after that. So to speak.

That is a bit strange. I love the themed buffets on the Magic and the Wonder.

I know. The steakhouse was my favorite, but the Indian one you had on your PC cruise sounded good too.

As much as I loathe Nassau, I really hope that I will get to visit the Atlantis at some stage.

I've heard mixed reviews, but I wouldn't mind checking it out as well. But I'd avoid the rest of the place. At least near the port.

This looks very understated.

It wasn't nearly as impressive as some we saw later in the trip.

I actually quite like the idea of this setup.

For the most part it worked out well. And no one had to sit with their back to the speaker.

However, it looks like some aspects of this need to go back to the drawing board.

It was mainly when he turned his head the opposite direction when we couldn't hear what he said. I suppose if you were in the middle and not the far end, you would have been fine.

That is strange as this is the cheapest of the ones you were served. I normally pay $20 for a bottle in the USA for this and the other ones are at least twice that.

Huh. I googled this and the cheapest I found was $24.99 for a 750ml bottle, but it was as high as $39.99 some places. I consider $16.99 a lot for that much booze. Wine on the other hand, I will pay quite a bit for. I also found that the other tequilas were priced very similarly for the same size bottle. I guess the bottles that Costco was selling for $100+ were much larger than 750ml.

This is one thing I will never get. The bartenders on the Disney ships don't seem to be able to make decent Caipirinhas. This is so simple and I can't understand why they can't do a nice one. The one I had on our recent cruise on Royal Caribbean on the other hand was delicious.

Now this makes me want to go to the Brazilian steakhouse down the street and get ine! I just can't justify eating all that meat!

I would have loved that menu. The dessert menu however looked a little disappointing.

I actually loved that date pudding and had been craving it since the trip on the Wonder. But nothing else on that dessert menu appealed to me at all.

I am sorry that Fran got so upset about everything triggered by the reservation fiasco. But it seems like you got some nice things done that day anyway.

This happens to her occasionally, I've dealt with it at home. I just don't like it to happen on vacation. I did do some nice things on my own.

I am happy to hear that you enjoyed Enchanted Garden. I am not sure why so many people on the cruise board are so down on it, Michael and I absolutely loved it.

Huh. I didn't know people were down about it. It may have been my favorite MDR on the ship.

It was really strange, we both love Triton's on the Wonder, by far our favorite of the ones on the Wonder. On the Fantasy Royal Court/Palace (not sure which ship has which) was our least favorite, my favorite was Enchanted Garden and Michael's was Animator's. Which, btw, on the Fantasy does have an Elevator lobby and a door. You do not exit from the elevator into the restaurant. That sounds weird!

I don't remember if it was Royal Court or Palace either. Maybe it's in my notes. I only like that one because it's where they serve the soufflés. I'd say Enchanted Garden was best for ambience and the food was excellent!