A magical Mediterranean vacation COMPLETED - Page 22 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
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It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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About a week behind on this but finally caught up!
Looked like a great time at Animator's Palate with such great decor. Loved your photos of the sunrise and can't wait to experience this on my verandah next April!
I hope you get some beautiful sunrises and sunsets to enjoy!
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Some good sightseeing in Olympia, but far too hot and too much free time before going back to the Magic! Like you said, there should have been more museum time instead.
Sadly, this wasn't the hottest day - not by a long stretch.
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Love the look of the Keys Bar and can't wait to visit this and the other lounges on my cruise before dinner for a drink and probably after as well, as these lounges are so relaxing with the music, decor and service!
I think you'll really enjoy Keys.
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Sorry, to hear about Alvin at Palo and his Jekyll and Hyde personality on your two dining experiences there! I guess I won't be asking for him as my server on my cruise as I suggested after your great brunch there! Glad the meal was good for the most part.
I have no idea if he'll even be working there. Mari happened to mention what happened to one of our servers and they took it further on her behalf. Let's just say management were made fully aware of the situation....
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So sad to hear about your Palo experience, as that is truly one of my favorite restaurants anywhere. I preferred it to Remy.
That's exactly how we've been on previous cruises too, so that's why we were so disappointed this time.
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But just bizarre about Alvin. We've had that experience in other restaurants when not ordering wine (clearly the waiter realizing that impacts his tip as we were spending less than he hoped) but i would NEVER expect that on DCL. I think i would have commented to the manager/maitre'd.
Well, the comments did make it there. As I mentioned in response to Dave's post, Mari said something to one of our servers and they took it from there. We were offered another meal at Palo with no cover charge, but we refused, as we really had no desire to return after that.
Tuesday 8 July – part one: oh wow, this is seriously the most beautiful sunrise ever!
I woke up at 5:25am (I only know this, as I asked Mark what time it was…) and then went back to sleep until after 6:00am, but as we were coming into port and it was due to be sunrise shortly, I thought it was about time I got up to see what was happening outside…
I came back in, then noticed the sky was getting more red, so went back outside again….
… and was able to actually watch the sun come up!
We were now heading into port, and it wasn’t exactly an appealing sight, shall we say? I kept going in and out over the next few minutes to take photos of the sunrise…
… the port…
Look at all those taxis!
… and the few nice buildings around it…
It certainly didn’t give the greatest impression of Athens as the first part that tourists see…
Just after 7:00am, we headed up to Cabanas to get some breakfast…
I was particularly impressed by the mom at the table next to us, who really was keeping her young daughter in check. If only more parents were like that on this cruise. There have been far too many examples already of them just letting their kids run riot…
We headed up to deck 10 when we came out to get some photos from the other side of the ship of the port, which was a little more picturesque, although not much…
Then we headed back to the room to get ready for our excursion into Athens.
Piraeus has always been an ugly place. It's a very commercial port developed with no thought to tourism at all. Another reason the mainland ports in Greece are far from ideal for cruising. The sunrise is beautiful, but has me nervous. "Red sky at morning...."
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The sunrise is just as gorgeous as last night's sunset. Love that one through the building - very unique!
Glad you found one parent actually parenting! Having just returned from vacation, I didn't see much of that either. Makes me think I'm a mean mom sometimes since my kids are not amongst those acting like lunatics.
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Beautiful pictures. I cruised the med in 2008 via wind star cruises, Athens was my least favorite port. But so many interesting things to see in Athens. The museums were incredible.
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Beautiful pictures of the sunrise. I love how you captured the sun moving "through" the building. I'm with Tanya - I'm sure I'm a mean mom too because I actually parent my child LOL Even though Athens isn't a very pretty port, I'm sure there are some amazing things to see! Can't wait to hear about your excursion!
Piraeus has always been an ugly place. It's a very commercial port developed with no thought to tourism at all. Another reason the mainland ports in Greece are far from ideal for cruising. The sunrise is beautiful, but has me nervous. "Red sky at morning...."
Well, I can tell you one thing - it didn't mean rain...
The sunrise is just as gorgeous as last night's sunset. Love that one through the building - very unique!
I loved getting those shots.
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Glad you found one parent actually parenting! Having just returned from vacation, I didn't see much of that either. Makes me think I'm a mean mom sometimes since my kids are not amongst those acting like lunatics.
You're not mean at all - that's exactly how I was bought up!
Beautiful pictures. I cruised the med in 2008 via wind star cruises, Athens was my least favorite port. But so many interesting things to see in Athens. The museums were incredible.
From the little bit we saw of it, Athens looked like an amazing place and I hope we get back there one day to see more of it.
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Beautiful pictures of the sunrise. I love how you captured the sun moving "through" the building. I'm with Tanya - I'm sure I'm a mean mom too because I actually parent my child LOL Even though Athens isn't a very pretty port, I'm sure there are some amazing things to see! Can't wait to hear about your excursion!
There certainly were some amazing things to see there!
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Like you said, there should have been more museum time instead.
I guess I won't be asking for him as my server on my cruise as I suggested after your great brunch there! 
Glad the meal was good for the most part. 
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I kept going in and out over the next few minutes to take photos of the sunrise… 
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