A Little Trans-Atlantic Magic - The (somewhat) LIVE TR! -updated 07/03/13 About This Page:

[lauriep]

I figured you had gotten swamped and Jeannie told me that you were working every day this weekend so had resigned myself to no updates for a few days!

[chezp]

No worries - we understand and we're here whenever things calm down for you.

[Principessa_di_Fata]

Oy vay... ok, I swear... lol, I'm GOING to update tonight! I'm uploading the photos to Shutterfly now, and then when I get home tonight (around 830pm) I'll get Meri into bed and get settled in to do a couple of updates. I'm hoping to knock out two days worth, lol! We'll see...

In some sort of exciting news (only sort of, because until it actually happens, it's still just a pipe dream), we're hoping to go to Central Florida in late July to do recon for a potential move. Yes, that's still in the works... but slowly. There's a place about an hour north of Disney called "The Villages" that's for older people (I think you have to be over 55 to live there). We know three couples that live there and they LOVE it. We were thinking that mom could live in a little house there (it would be perfect for her) and Meri and I could have an apartment nearby in Ocala or Leesburg (about 20 minutes away).

So we're going to do some recon to see exactly what The Villages has to offer, and see what the surrounding area is like, what the schools are like, etc. *shrug* We want to get to Central Florida. We just don't know exactly where or when (though our hoped-for timeline is within two years).

That's the big news from here. That and I'm searching still for a job. Tired of the bbq place - though incredibly grateful for it. I'm just worn out being on my feet for hours on end, and dealing with high maintenance customers and a fast-paced environment with very little down time.

Being on vacation for nearly a month solid didn't help. LOL!

[kingfamily1129]

I live in Central Florida, so if you need help with anything, let me know

[Hugmonster]

I'll be waiting when you update again. I figured the real world would hit hard when you got home.

[Principessa_di_Fata]

Originally Posted by MayraLR

Wait, what? You're not a chocolate person. Oh, the humanity!

I know, I know! The horror! :P

Originally Posted by lauriep

I figured you had gotten swamped and Jeannie told me that you were working every day this weekend so had resigned myself to no updates for a few days!

They scheduled me with gusto - punishment for leaving, lol!

Originally Posted by chezp

No worries - we understand and we're here whenever things calm down for you.

Thanks! I'm starting to wonder if they'll ever calm down... but maybe some day!

Originally Posted by kingfamily1129

I live in Central Florida, so if you need help with anything, let me know

Mostly I need to know where the best schools are. That's my one and only priority - well, that and a good, safe neighborhood (which sort of goes hand in hand with the good schools, I guess). I REALLY want to live in the Dr. Phillips area of Orlando. However, I know there are lots of other areas with A rated schools, so I'm open to anything. And, of course, if you have a fabulous realtor, I'm all ears.

Originally Posted by Hugmonster

I'll be waiting when you update again. I figured the real world would hit hard when you got home.

Reality was quite eager to grab a hold of me and run! It's hard to get back in the saddle after four weeks of being a slug!


Update to follow in a bit!

[Principessa_di_Fata]

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Our fifth day in a row at sea - with still no signs of going stir crazy! We woke up at 10:47am today – and the only reason we woke up is because Tina, our cabin attendant, knocked and woke us! Oops! She thought we were long gone, because typically we're up and out by 10:30'ish. We were more than a bit sheepish, lol, though yes I know we had no reason to be!

We got up and moving, and headed up to Parrot Cay to have brunch again. We were seated with another family, this time, because all of the smaller tables were taken up. It was fine with us, but I think it bothered the other family, who completely ignored us, ate super fast, and left within 10 minutes of sitting down. Well alrighty then! LOL! We enjoyed the brunch and took our time, and then we headed into the Promenade Lounge at noon to do a craft.

Today’s craft was making tile coasters. And again I’m going to say it… man there are some determined adults on board! When it was time to choose tiles, these adults edged past children to get their tiles! Seriously – no exaggeration, they nudged kids out of the way to get in front of them. I just don’t get people sometimes. Anyway, we managed to get our tiles without drama, lol, and we worked on our coasters.

Mine


Meri's


Mom's






That took all of 20 minutes, and then Meri and I headed off to the Oceaneers Club, where she would soon be having a luau (and of course, Lilo and Stitch made an appearance, as expected)! We took the elevator up, which was fun.



Almost there...


I loved that the elevators had the main rooms listed under each floor, in case you forget where you're going!


I headed up to the Cove Café where I snacked on a danish and checked Facebook. I had hoped to check my email and post a quick note on PP, but no such luck. The internet disappeared on me! The internet is so spotty out here, I had to disconnect and reconnect a few times, but, that’s to be expected when you’re in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, using satellite internet! Instead I updated my trip report a bit, and then headed back down to the cabin to relax. Before long, it was 2:10pm - time to pick Meri up to get ready for the Princess Tea!

Meri decided to wear her Ariel dress for the tea, and then we took a bit to sort out her knotty, crazy hair! That sure took some doing (and some drama), and then before we knew it, it was 2:50pm and time to head up to Lumiere’s! The line seemed endless to get in, but it went quickly (and we were near the front of the group, believe it or not!!) and then Princess Meredith was handed her sash before being announced and greeted by her royal servants. Princess Meri was escorted to her table, while mom and I followed behind… mere extras in the scheme of things!



We were seated at quite a nice table, just the three of us, which was very pleasant!





Silly mom, doing her princess wave...




Our server, Steph, was from the UK (the very middle, she said, but I forget the name – she said it was 2.5-3 hours north of London). She brought Meri some apple juice for her tea cup, and then offered us coffee or hot tea. Mom and I both chose hot tea (it was a tea party, after all) and Steph brought a selection of assorted teas for us to choose from. Mom chose Mountain Berry tea, and I chose an Earl Grey Black Tea.





Once that was sorted, she brought out some pastries and some tea sandwiches, all of which were lovely!





We divvied them up pretty quickly and made short work of them! Yum! My personal favorite of the sandwiches was the tomato and mozzarella! Delicious!



At this point, Belle and her princess friends came in, and they did a little intro



As you can see, our table was nicely situated.


Meri's sash


They announced that all of the princesses would come to every table, so please stay seated… but of course, so many parents ignored that and got up and approached the princesses in the center of the room. Then Belle taught everyone to curtsy the correct way. *sigh* Here’s where I have to kind of rant a bit again. I cannot tell you how many times during these little presentations that an adult would leave their table, and come to stand directly in front of Meredith to take photos. Didn’t even bother to squat down, just completely blocked her view! I almost stood up to say something to this one gentleman that did it twice, but I think his wife must have seen the look on my face, because she got up and grabbed him and made him come back to the table. I watched him take his photos (about 10-12 of them) and every time, I’d think, “Ok surely he is going to sit down now!” But no, he didn’t! Just stood there watching! Meanwhile, Meri missed an entire “demonstration” about how to waltz, because the guy just stood there in front of the table! Lucky for him he was out of arms reach, and I didn’t want to make a scene. I did, however, picture Dawn or Linny going all “New Joisey” on them, which made me giggle right then and there.

I completely understand that these people want to get good photos – of course! And I would have no objection to someone coming up and saying, “Excuse me, do you mind if I stand here very quickly to grab a photo?” It’s the complete lack of consideration that gets me. And not for me – but for my kid – or any kid for that matter! We all love Disney, that’s why we’re here! And we all love princesses… well… most of us do. But really, completely blocking a child’s view not once, but twice, for a lengthy amount of time… well that’s annoying! Especially when there was ample opportunity to squat down and get the same great photos!

Ok, rant over, lol! But seriously, it’s annoying. I don’t begrudge anyone a great experience – adults or children – I just wish people were more considerate of others, I guess.

So, after that, the princesses all made their way around while we snacked and chatted and drank tea. I was amazed at all of the princesses and characters!

Suzy




Cinderella


(Bibbidy Bobbidy Booze, lol)




Minnie




Ooooh, closed eyes!


Perla




Aurora




Clearly Sleeping Beauty didn't stay up past HER bed time! She looked fresh and alert!


Hi there Dopey!




Snow White






Daisy looked adorable!




Belle


Tiana!




Eleven princesses / characters! You coulda knocked me over with a feather! I expected perhaps 5!

Once we met the princesses, they all gathered in the middle, and if you missed anyone, you could go get an autograph and / or photo! That came in handy because we didn’t get Suzy’s autograph because she was first around, and we didn’t realize that they were signing – we thought it was just a rushed photo at first!



And we had missed Alice because Meri had to go to the bathroom (she has the WORST timing for bathroom breaks). So it was great to get to meet her, especially since we didn't get pictures at HER tea party!



With all of the princesses met, we headed out of Lumiere’s. It really was a great experience, and so well done! We headed back to the room and decided to change into our bathing suits and head up to the Goofy pool for a bit since we had some free time.

Look at that calm water!


Meri swam and I sat in the hot tub. The only down side to the hot tubs at the Goofy pool is that they are crawling with kids. Not really relaxing. Especially other people’s kids who step all over you. LOL. So I didn’t last long in the hot tub. Instead I sat in the sun and read a book for a bit until it was time to go. We grabbed a few slices of pizza to tide us over as we got ready, and then we headed back to the room to dress for dinner. I realize I took absolutely no photos while up at the pool. I guess I was feeling lazy after a while.

[/IMG]

Dinner tonight was at Animator’s, and it was the Chef’s Menu.



Mom's Double-Baked Gruyere Cheese Souffle


My Citrico's Shrimp


I forget what the heck this was, and I can't read my photo of the menu... but it was moms - boy I was a SLACKER midway through the cruise, right?!


I know, you're shocked that I got steak, right?


Mom's Raspberry Tartlet


Kadek overheard that Meri loved strawberries, so he brought her a plate of strawberries with whipped cream!


I got the Mickey Sundae


During dessert, I dropped Meri at the Oceaneers Club by herself. The other three kids wanted to go to the Oceaneers Lab, and at first, Meri said she wanted to do that with them. I told her that she’d been talking about doing Aladdin’s Adventures all day, and that if she was only doing the lab because the other kids were, then she should really think about HER wants, and not follow the crowd. If she wanted to go to the lab, that was fine. But if she was only going because they were going, then it wasn’t a good decision. I left it up to her, and by the end of the meal, she had asked to go to the Club. I was proud of her for making that decision, because I know it was a tough one for her. She loves being with the other kids, but at the same time, she really wanted to do the Aladdin Adventure, and I’m glad she wasn’t swayed. Especially because she really doesn’t like the lab all that much unless there’s an actual event going on.

After I finished dessert and chatting with the other adults, mom and I stopped by the room quickly... and found this guy...







Then we headed to the theatre, where I parked mom in some seats. Then I ran into Treasure Ketch to pick up a sweatshirt to match the sweat pants that mom had gotten me the first day! I went to pick up Meri from the club, and then we got settled in at the theatre for “Walt Disney: The Dream Goes On”. This cast was brand new – this was their first performance ever together – and they called them the Disney 30 or something to that effect, because it was the 30th cast to be on the ship.

The show was really enjoyable, and I admit at the very end, I almost teared up! I think Walt would be amazed at what his dream has turned into. While I’m not sure he’d love every single thing, I think ultimately he’d agree that his dream has lived on and expanded enormously. What do you all think?

Anyway, after the show, Meri and I stayed to meet Suzy, Perla and Cinderella, and then we ran over to the atrium to meet Belle (yes, again…)

That poor girl looks rough, you have to admit, lol...








More characters were upstairs, but we didn't go running for them this time! *phew*








...and then it was off to the room to try to go to bed at a reasonable hour. Of course, we couldn’t settle down and ended up asleep at midnight again. Go figure!

Up next: A character breakfast and brunch at Palo!!

[JKnott17]

The Princess Tea sounded like a lot of fun!! That sure was a lot of characters to have met there, I would have only been expecting a handful of them like you. What a great surprise!

Sorry that there were some rude folks there blocking Meri's view I would have been seriously annoyed by that too. I've been noticing more and more that there are lots of inconsiderate people out there. Not just at Disney, but pretty much everywhere, too many people have that "it's all about me" attitude. Frustrating, to say the least.

[lauriep]

The Princess Tea looks wonderful, apart from the rudeness of a few adults. What is the matter with people?? At any rate, Meri looks completely adorable and you got some great photos with the bonanza of princesses. It's really hilarious that Cindy never did get herself pulled together for the entire cruise. I love the way you gave Meri the choice of Lab or Club and told her what each choice meant. Good teaching moment, mom! "The Dream goes On" sounds like a wonderful show and I know I'd have cried, too. I'm sure, as you said, that there's a lot Walt wouldn't agree with today, but I know he'd have moved with the times and would be so proud of the empire that bears his name.

[Principessa_di_Fata]

Monday, May 27, 2013

Our wake-up call was set for 7:35, and our alarm was set for 7:50 (just in case)! We had to be at Parrot Cay for our character breakfast at 8:30am, and we sure did NOT want to be late! Our servers told us they actually closed the doors at 8:45am, because they had a limited amount of time, so we couldn't be late! We got up and showered and we were ready and at Parrot Cay at 8:25am! Phew! Our entire table showed up, but all of the adults were dragging. Thankfully, Taner and Kadek had coffee at the ready!

We had all of the kids sitting along the outside of the table, and we were ready with a plan. We knew the characters would have to breeze through VERY quickly, and with 3 families at one table, we needed to be streamlined, lol. We were instructed to take no more than 2 photos per family, and we were ready to go!





We ordered food, no buffet today, and we waited. Finally the characters showed up!!



















During all of this, our servers made us all napkin-hats.











A group pic with our hats


I was kind of surprised that there was no Donald, though – he’s one of the Fab 5 but he’s been left out of a lot of things, which is kind of weird.

We were done with breakfast and back in the room by 9:40am, and Meri quickly changed into her bathing suit to go to the pool. I had brunch at Palo at 11am, so we had to be pretty quick about it. We were the only people at the Goofy pool, and I worked on my trip report and watched Cinderella on the big screen while Meri swam.















Flat seas


It misted just a little… not enough to call it rain, but enough to be very annoying. Then after about 5 minutes of that, it turned into a little more substantial of a rain. Not really anything to worry about, but enough that I had to take the laptop and head under the covered area. I always hate that because it leaves Meri alone in the pool, and with no one else in there, I had to constantly stand up and check on her. She’s a strong swimmer, but she’d just eaten, and she was alone in the pool, and I’m somewhat of a helicopter mom when it comes to pools. Finally a couple of older kids went into the pool so I didn’t have to worry as much anymore.

At 10:35am, I got Meri out of the pool and we headed down to the room to get dressed. That took all of 3 minutes, fortunately, and we were out the door. I dropped Meri at the club, and headed up to Palo, where I was going to meet mom. First, I made a reservation for 6 for brunch on Friday – our whole table decided we wanted to enjoy it together – and then the Maitre D / Host / Manager (not exactly sure what his title is) offered to seat me right away, so I could enjoy coffee while I waited for mom. I jumped right on that, and was seated with our same server from Saturday night, Evandro! That was a nice surprise. He brought me a mimosa, and then he and I chatted a bit until mom showed up.





Chicken Parm


Frittata


Some buffet pictures


















Brunch! Well! What can I say? It’s good enough that I can’t wait for Friday morning!! Yum! It was absolutely fabulous! I can’t find fault with a single thing! We stuffed ourselves silly and then sat in a food coma for a bit. Then we settled up the bill and headed down to pick Meri up at the Club.

First, though, I stopped in the bathroom, which sure was pretty!






Mom had never been to the club (aside from the first day) and I needed to show her the process for pick-up, because she would be doing the pick-up later in the afternoon while I was at the spa!

Once we picked up Meri, we noticed Terk doing a meet and greet in the atrium. It should come as no surprise to you that we headed straight down!







Apparently something was funny!


Such a gorgeous atrium!




We went down to the cabin to change – me into jeans, Meri into her bathing suit – and then headed up to Deck 9 to the Mickey pool. We had until 1:30pm here, and then we had to go to back and change Meri again into clothes, and send her off to the Lab to bake chocolate chip cookies at 2pm while mom and I took the galley tour at 2:25pm!

While at the Mickey pool, Meri had pizza for lunch (I know, shocking, right?)


Meanwhile, I relaxed in the nice warm sun and worked on my trip report, and checked email. At this point, I had 92 minutes left of my 500 that I began with. LOL! Clearly I was going to have to tack on a few minutes… but not yet! I had some struggle with the internet after about 15 minutes, and blew 5 whole minutes fighting with it before I gave up. Irritating, even as I know the limitations of satellite internet, lol. I just want what I want when I want it! It just makes me nuts when one minute it’s super fast and the next, I can’t get anything to load. Oh well. If that’s my biggest complaint of this trip, I’ll take it!

I dropped Meri at the lab at 2pm (here's a pic taken on the way)...


... and headed down to the atrium lobby to sit until it was time to line up for our galley tour. We were to meet at the side entrance for Lumiere’s. I almost fell asleep just sitting in that chair, I was just so relaxed! We lined up at 2:20pm for our 2:25pm tour, but ended up not going in for our tour until 2:35, which kind of cracked me up. Definitely “Disney Time” as I call it on board.

Continued in the next post with photos from the galley tour and dinner...

[Principessa_di_Fata]

We started out inside Lumiere’s, with some details about the amounts of food needed for the crossing. Here’s some information that mom and I remember: There was 60,000 pounds of fresh produce. 18,000 pounds of chicken. All of the meat comes from the US – all frozen and put in special lockers, and then defrosted as they go. The Dream dropped off fresh produce for us at Castaway Cay, so we used that for the crossing. Then we were picking up more produce in Madeira. They use just about every bit of food, and they even grind the bones all the way down to dust and put it in the water for the fish.

The dishwasher takes 9 people to man, and can wash up to 12,000 pieces per hour. It’s huge! They have a separate section of the kitchen just for kids food, because that has priority over everything. Oh, and we got a chocolate chip cookie in the pastry section, lol.











I don't know why, but I was surprised to see windows in the kitchen...




Pre-prepared salads






The pastry chef






It was a really neat tour. There were 25 people in our group, so it was hard to really hear at all times but it was really interesting, and I just snapped photos all over the place, anywhere I could. It’s such a clean kitchen, but I can’t say that I’m surprised at that! We ended the tour in Parrot Cay (since the galley goes straight through from one restaurant to the other) and they did some last comments and informational items there. I had to leave a few minutes early, however, because I had my massage appointment at 3:15pm, and I knew I needed to get going to the spa, because it was 3:05pm at that point.

I arrived up at the spa and checked in, and was taken back to change into my robe. Diego picked me up about 10 minutes later, and we headed for our treatment room. When I booked the treatment they asked me if I minded a male therapist and I said that was perfectly fine. Diego was lovely, and knowledgeable. First he massaged my back, neck and shoulders. Then he put oil and gel on me and wrapped me up for my body wrap. Then he gave me a facial, and last, he massaged my feet and calves. It was all very relaxing! It was called the Bliss Package, and it was very blissful! After my treatment, I took a nice, long, hot shower in the spa (their showerheads are way better than the bathroom ones in the cabins) and then headed back down to the room. Mom and Meri were in there waiting for me. It was 5:15pm and they were wondering if I was ever coming back!

We got ready for dinner, and before we headed to Parrot Cay, Meri and I ran over to meet Sorcerer Mickey in the atrium. It's a terrible photo. I was rushed and Meri's hair was still soaking wet, and it's just far less than stellar, but whatever.





We made it to dinner right on time!


By this point in the trip, I had everyone at my table photographing their food. It was funny to watch them follow suit after a few days of me whipping out my camera to photograph every meal, lol! I was so proud of them! *tear* (lol)

My Baked Crab Martinique


Sorry, I started cutting up my food before I remembered to take a picture - it was just SO GOOD! LOL! It was the Island Spiced Grilled Rib Eye of Beef. It had corn on the cob and twice baked potatoes. Oh delicious!


Mom's Baked Salmon


Minnie came in tonight to surprise us with a little Flamenco dancing!




Taner gave us yet another trick to figure out. He put toothpicks in a dish and we had to figure out how to make a star out of them without touching them at all. After much discussion and thought and debate, we figured it out! It took a while, though. The kids were a great help, and actually Timothy was instrumental in helping us figure it out!


My Pina Colada Bread Pudding


Then at 7pm, I took Meri and Kiersten up to the club for the Camp Out activity, and Timothy up to the lab for, well, whatever he was doing! At 8pm, I picked Meri up, and then we spent half hour delivering the last of our FE gifts! And then I did a load of laundry, just because I had some free time. I ended up packing up a box that will get shipped home from Barcelona. All of Meri’s princess dresses, one of my formal dresses, two photo albums and some of the FE gifts that we ended up keeping. So at least that’s out of the way! Then finally I was off to sleep to fill up my energy for our big day in Funchal, Madeira!

Here was our towel animal for the night...




Up next: A beautiful day in Funchal, Madeira

[Principessa_di_Fata]

Originally Posted by JKnott17

The Princess Tea sounded like a lot of fun!! That sure was a lot of characters to have met there, I would have only been expecting a handful of them like you. What a great surprise!

Sorry that there were some rude folks there blocking Meri's view I would have been seriously annoyed by that too. I've been noticing more and more that there are lots of inconsiderate people out there. Not just at Disney, but pretty much everywhere, too many people have that "it's all about me" attitude. Frustrating, to say the least.

I agree it's very true. And you know, it's unfortunate that it's the rude ones that stand out in any given experience. I can't say that it negatively affected my experience or "ruined" it or that I wouldn't do the tea again because of it. It just annoyed me that people are just so darn inconsiderate sometimes!

Originally Posted by lauriep

The Princess Tea looks wonderful, apart from the rudeness of a few adults. What is the matter with people?? At any rate, Meri looks completely adorable and you got some great photos with the bonanza of princesses. It's really hilarious that Cindy never did get herself pulled together for the entire cruise. I love the way you gave Meri the choice of Lab or Club and told her what each choice meant. Good teaching moment, mom! "The Dream goes On" sounds like a wonderful show and I know I'd have cried, too. I'm sure, as you said, that there's a lot Walt wouldn't agree with today, but I know he'd have moved with the times and would be so proud of the empire that bears his name.

Cindy really was a wreck, wasn't she? The poor dear. It gives me a good chuckle every single time I see her in one of our photos, though. The Dream Goes On was really special. I liked it a lot. I'm really glad we went to see it.

[Principessa_di_Fata]

I'm uploading photos tonight for tomorrow's update of Funchal (I don't work tomorrow, so I'll have time to knock out that update... it will be VERY photo-heavy because I took 419 photos on this day, lol, though I promise not to bore you with all 419 photos, since about 200 of them are landscape photos that probably would all look the same to you guys).

And on a quick other side-note... I'm watching Marie Antoinette at the moment, and when they show the shots of the gardens, I shake my head in wonder that I was standing amid those gardens just over 2 weeks ago. Sometimes I still can't believe that the trip is done already! Where does the time go?

[chezp]

What a great couple of days! Sadly, and I don't know if it's my Internet, but I can't see any of your photos from either update.

[lauriep]

So many updates! I know I had other comments to make, but the photos of Palo brunch wiped everything else out of my head. I love how they try to give you the same server for all your Palo meals. At first I thought it was coincidence, but it happens too often for it to be unplanned. They probably can't always manage it, but it's nice. I'm excited to see the photos from Funchal, but very sad, because it means the cruise is drawing to an end.