Battered, bruised, and a little bit intoxicated - a Transatlantic Crossing updated 02/13/18 - Page 10 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Glad you had a fun day and got to see a lot in Barcelona along with some good eats! I love the HOHO buses and have used them in Europe on a few occasions. Sorry, to hear about your mishap and hope you recovered well!
Barcelona is a great food city. I normally love the HOHO buses, too. We just didn't get our money's worth this trip. Since I had a full day left on the vouchers I gave them to someone in our hotel lobby who was just checking in as we were leaving.
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Park Guell was so beautiful with all its mosaics. But I am so sorry you fell, banging up your elbow. I'm impressed how you two keep going in spite of accidents and undefined physical issues.
I was so excited to see Park Guell, because of the mosaics. I've done some mosaic work myself (including the table we eat at on our sun porch), so I know just how much work is involved.
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Originally Posted by Pris
Another eventful day. You are both quite the troopers, to say the least. I hope that your elbow turns out ok and the rest of your trip is fairly uneventful health wise. You saw some lovely things today and got a lot done. Tomorrow you enter the Mickey Magic Bubble.
All in all, the trip was fairly uneventful, even with the issues you've already heard about. At this point, we KNOW there is no way we can go 2+ weeks without Mike having some kind of episode. Mine was the one more unexpected, but even that wasn't as bad as it COULD have been, as you'll hear next.
Wow. That has changed. I can't get over that. Mind you, it wasn't that popular when we visited, as it was quite out of the way. I guess that's not the case now.
It's not exactly on the beaten path, but people have figured out how to get there. We were probably about the 20th or so in line when we arrived, and by the time they opened the gates for us, there were twice as many behind us as in front of us. The area around that lizard on the stairs was mobbed - to the point I had a hard time getting a picture.
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While I did wake up before my alarm went off at 8 am, it was only a few minutes before 8. I’d had the best night of sleep thus far. I had also, unfortunately, made a mess of the sheet that was under my elbow. Despite having double bandaids on, the cut was still bleeding and had leeked around the bandage. Oops! I changed the bandages and tried not to let Mike see it was still bleeding.
I’d done most of the packing before bed last night so getting the rest together didn’t take long. After we both got ready we walked over so Mike could see the Cathedral (given it was across the street from us). I’d been able to tour it on my last visit, but enjoyed seeing it again as it really is a beautiful church. I have at least 100 pictures from my last visit, so I didn’t take any inside the church today. I didn’t remember going out in the courtyard on my last visit, though. That’s where we found the funniest duck ever - doesn’t it look like he has a Mohawk?! There were even more chapels around the courtyard (there are over a dozen within the church).
We returned to the Chocolate Box for a final breakfast and then back to the hotel to wait for our driver. I’d booked a car to take us from the hotel to the port, with the same company that did our car from the airport to the hotel when we first arrived in Barcelona. One of the two elevators in the hotel was out of service so it did take longer than we expected for the bellman to bring our bags down to the lobby.
We were a little worried when our driver showed up in a tiny little hatchback, but miraculously, everything fit! That was three suitcases, two carry-ons and a wheelchair!
IMG_1430 by Colleen McLain, on Flickr
There she is!!!! It’s still such a thrill to see the Magic for the first time each trip!
It was a very short drive to the port and we were quickly through security. IMG_1433 by Colleen McLain, on Flickr
I bought two bottles of wine and a bottle of Cava at the duty free shop at the port. For those who aren’t aware of the DCL liquor policy, you are allowed 2 bottles of wine per person (over 21 of course) at each port. Or 6 cans of beer. No other alcohol allowed (including stronger kinds of wine, like sherry, which I’ll find out in Cadiz).
I had not done the Canadian customs form that came with our cruise documents, thinking we wouldn’t be asked for it until we were actually in Canada. So that slowed down our process a little when we got to the check in desk. Soon enough, though, we were checked in and given boarding group #8. They started boarding right around noon, and by 12:30 we were sitting in Carioca’s having lunch.
IMG_1439 by Colleen McLain, on Flickr
We opted out of the embarkation photo spot - we didn’t actually buy any photos onboard
I still like having lunch in the sit-down restaurant, rather than Cabanas, on the first day. In the old days, even that (when it was Parrot Cay) was a buffet, but the servers brought your drinks, and you didn’t have to hunt for a table the way you do upstairs. Now, we were pleasantly surprised to find that lunch is table service rather than buffet! Even better! We both went light, more or less. Mike had smoked salmon and I had an empanada to start. We both had the potato and leek soup that came with the most delicious little Irish soda bread biscuits. We shared a piece of carrot cake for dessert.
Next up was changing our Palo reservations. We had taken advantage of the new option of booking Palo on embarkation day, and then still getting another night at Palo later in the cruise. However, the day we could book things, I took a stab and booked 8 pm for dinner. When we got the Navigator, we saw there was a DVC reception at 7:45 and we wanted to check that out, so we moved our Palo reservation to 8:30 - the latest we were allowed.
We made our way up to deck 6 and only had to wait about 10 minutes until they opened the area to the cabins.
We went up to deck 9 to check things out, and Mike couldn’t resist an ice cream cone (can you still see his black eye?!): DSC02296 by Colleen McLain, on Flickr
DSC02324 by Colleen McLain, on Flickr
Barcelona seems so big but from the port, things seemed much closer together. There’s Sagrada Familia - with a better shot of the towers they have finished so far. It looks so much closer to the Cathedral than it seems when driving or walking through town.
We made our way back down to our cabin for a bit then. Mike laid down to nap a little as he is still feeling the impact of the concussion from the day he gave himself the black eye. I realized we were missing the Facebook group meet and greet, so we made our way down to Fathoms, but it seemed to be wrapping up by the time we got down there. We met a couple of people I “knew” from the group chat, but then we just went back up to our room to check on luggage.
Our first bag had been delivered while Mike was napping and I already had that one unpacked before we went looking for the group meet and greet. The second was now there so I got busy unpacking that one. I was putting toiletries on one of shelves in the bathroom and my makeup bag fell from the shelf straight onto my injured elbow. It was like a horror movie - things spurted all over from my elbow. This got Mike back on his “you need stitches” mantra. I gave in to at least having it looked at by the health clinic, and hoped to just get what I needed to do a butterfly bandage. We found the health center easily enough on deck one, but also found a sign letting us know it wasn’t open until after the muster drill. A CM saw us and asked if he could help, and he was able to bring us some giant bandaids - much bigger than the ones I’d been trying to use.
We stopped by Guest Services to verify they had our water order for Mike’s CPAP machine but they were also closed in preparation for the Muster Drill. Someone did pop out long enough that I was able to ask about earplugs for Mike. We’d realized with his concussion, the whistles during the drill would be pretty painful for him. They obviously are prepared for that question, as the CM pulled a couple of pairs of earplugs from just under the desk and handed them to us.
We found our way to Station H and were able to talk to the person in charge of our area to explain Mike would need to be able to sit during the drill. He was able to sit on one of the benches that hold the extra life jackets. We had 100% attendance before the drill even started, which was great, but as you can guess, we still all had to wait around for the full drill. Somehow knowing we would be crossing the Atlantic made me feel this was more important than on other cruises. Titanic on the brain!
Once the drill was complete it was back down to deck one. The nurse at the front desk agreed to look at it, but said if it needed stitches or even a butterfly, she’d have to call in the doctor. She said she could give us supplies and we could DIY if we’d like, assuming a butterfly would do the trick. Which I was still convinced was all I needed. Really. That’s all. I don’t need stitches.
Once we were in an exam room, the nurse removed the many layers of bandaids I now had on, trying to keep the seepage at bay (gross, I know). She took one look and said she was going to get the doctor. Now we got to meet Dr. Anne from South Africa. She looked at it and proceeded to freak me out a little. She was talking about how high infection risk is in either elbows or knees, and that she already thought the area around the wound was looking red and showing signs of infection. She said she’d need to clean it out first because of how deep it was. I had to move on to the gurney now and then she gave me two PAINFUL shots to numb the area. Mike said they were big needles. I’ll take his word for it - I wasn’t about to look. Although the way I was positioned, laying on my side with the injured arm facing up, I really couldn’t see much.
Dr. Anne called Mike over to show him you could actually see my bone - that’s how deep the cut was. She kept talking all along and at some point I realized she was done with the stitches! I thought was was still cleaning it. She said she had to do stitches in both directions because of the bending of my elbow. She’d also drained all the fluid that was building up and again emphasized the risk of infection and said it was good I hadn’t waited a moment longer to come see her. She said she may not have been able to help if it had been another day. Mike was feeling pretty smug by now, thinking he’d been right and I’d been wrong (and stubborn). I will have to admit that he was right in pushing me to go to the health clinic, and may have saved me from a much more serious issue. I was also given antibiotics and Dr. Anne told me to start with a double dose. She wanted the stitches to stay in for the duration of the cruise. I was banned from the hot tubs, and told that while I could go in the regular pool, I should try to avoid getting my arm in the water. She gave me a baggy fully of waterproof bandaids, and then bigger, padded bandaids to go over those. There were also some vials of disinfectant stuff that I was supposed to use each time I changed the bandaids, which was to be daily at first.
I did win as the first patient of the cruise! So there was that! This trip to the health clinic was a $500 souvenir. I have submitted it to my regular insurance and once I see what they pay, I’ll submit the balance to my travel insurance, so hopefully I get back most of that money. The stitches were over $300 of that, and then $35 for the antibiotic, and the rest for the initial inspection and cleaning. Honestly it wasn’t as expensive as I’d thought it might be.
Glad you are on board the Magic with a great cruise ahead of you! Hope all goes well and there are no more issues. Glad you got your bad cut taken care of and that your insurance takes care of most of it. Your room looks quite nice and pretty similar to mine on the Magic.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Kudos to Mike on this one. I’m sorry Colleen, but it was pretty obvious to me that you really did need stitches. . I am more than sure that you will feel better in the the long run. I am so excited that you guys are onboard and I am so looking forward to your sea adventures!!
Glad you are on board the Magic with a great cruise ahead of you! Hope all goes well and there are no more issues. Glad you got your bad cut taken care of and that your insurance takes care of most of it. Your room looks quite nice and pretty similar to mine on the Magic.
I’m assuming between my regular health insurance and my travel insurance, I shouldn’t have to pay more than a copay. At least I hope so! I should probably log on to my portal to see where they are with it....
Kudos to Mike on this one. I’m sorry Colleen, but it was pretty obvious to me that you really did need stitches. . I am more than sure that you will feel better in the the long run. I am so excited that you guys are onboard and I am so looking forward to your sea adventures!!
I am SO glad he didn’t stop harping on it. I shudder to think how badly it could have become infected, and what the consequences of that may have been. I’m also surprised I didn’t actually break a bone, given how deeply the cut went. That had to have been a lot of pressure on my elbow.
But in my defense, I couldn’t see it at all, so I really didn’t believe it was all that bad. Try looking at your own elbow.
I am SO glad he didn’t stop harping on it. I shudder to think how badly it could have become infected, and what the consequences of that may have been. I’m also surprised I didn’t actually break a bone, given how deeply the cut went. That had to have been a lot of pressure on my elbow.
But in my defense, I couldn’t see it at all, so I really didn’t believe it was all that bad. Try looking at your own elbow.
I totally would have been the same as you!! I know how to take care of everyone except myself!!
I remember reading on Facebook that you were the first patient on board, but thank goodness, you didn't wait any longer before you went. That really does sound scary - you did a good job on that elbow, didn't you?
The flamenco show looked really neat and as for the Dole Whip with rum? Yes please! At least those were nice ways to start the cruise.
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Glad you got your elbow scene hopefully it doesn’t impact your cruise at all.
Not to give too much away, but the only impact really was that I couldn’t do the Aquadunk. I don’t know if I would have done it if I could, but now I had a good excuse!
Ah, Mickey Magic takes over. I didn't know you could get Dole Whips on the cruise ship. Do they all have it? I'm so glad Mike won over and you got your elbow taken care of. Hopefully, your insurance will cover the costs nicely.
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I love the HOHO buses and have used them in Europe on a few occasions. Sorry, to hear about your mishap and hope you recovered well! 
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I'm impressed how you two keep going in spite of accidents and undefined physical issues. 
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