Palermo - Day 3

The excitement never ends with Disney but unfortunately last nights excitement was not good news for some unlucky sole. It seems there was some sort of medical emergency (fell in shower and broke ribs) and a passenger had to be off loaded at the nearest port. This meant that the Magic had to take a 2 hour detour to offload the passenger at Sardinia and then proceed on to Palermo. This ended up delaying all shore excursions by approx. 2hrs but that probably worked out in everyone’s favor as it meant more sleep. As we said in our previous post, we managed to sleep the night through so awoke this morning at 6am in time to see Sicily come into view. A beautiful morning with calm winds and seas and clear blue skies with just a touch of fog around Sicily which quickly burned off.

DH stayed on the ship today and DW and DD did the Day on the Farm excursion. A 1.5hr bus ride took them to a working farm where they were able to milk a sheep, bake bread and even swim in a pool. Lunch was a full blown Sicilian to do with many courses including salad, pasta and meat (lamb) all of which consumed approx. 1hr 50min. Then back to the ship via bus. All in all a long but fun day.

A casual night of dining this evening in Lumiers, some swimming afterwards and then off to bed to awake early tomorrow for the Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri tour.

At Sea - Day 2

Still having troubles adjusting our sleep patterns to this time so awoke at 4am for our first day at sea. Managed to stay in bed until 7:30ish and then got ready for breakfast. Character Breakfast was on the agenda for today but we also wanted to make the DIS meet in the Promenade Lounge so we got to Parrot Cay at 9am, ate a quick breakfast and then on to the DIS meet to meet all of you that we had been chatting with in the forums over the past month or so.

The DIS meet was wonderful. The kids had a good time exchanging their gift bags and so did the adults and we were able to put names to faces which was nice.

After the meet, it was pool time for the kids so off they went. DW hit the Art Auction and DH found a lounger on Deck 4 and caught some Z’s… This night was formal night to be enjoyed at Parrot Cay so we got back to the cabin about 3:30ish and started getting showered and ready. Went to the cocktail meet and greet at 5pm, then took some formal photos and off to eat. Nice dinner with a selection of fish and a nice Sirloin Steak enjoyed by DH. After dinner it was off to the Treasure Ketch for some needed sundries and then back to the cabin. DH and DD were fast asleep by 9pm and slept through the night, FINALLY!! (only took 3 days to get a full nights sleep) Up in the morning and ready for Palermo….

Barcelona and The Magic! - Day 1

Sorry for being a bit behind. Internet access is sparse and inconsistent at best, even on the ship but we'll get to that later.

Got to Barcelona on time and with all our luggage (Hurray!). Got off the plane, gathered the luggage and stepped through the exit from the baggage area to be greeted by Mickey's waving white glove. Then had a short wait before boarding the bus to our Hotel (Hesperia Presidente). We arrived at the hotel at approx. 1:30pm and were exhausted from no sleep and a large time change but did manage to make it outside for a bit before heading back in. Took a short nap (2.5hrs) and then caught a cab to The Hard Rock for a 7pm dinner. (Took Andrews advise and booked a spot in line on the Hard Rock website, it worked wonderfully and we only waited like 5 minutes prior to being seated.) Dinner was good and then we headed back to the hotel and off to Never, Never Land... Awoke refreshed for the "BIG" day of boarding.

The Presidente had a free Breakfast Buffet which consisted of just about everything, Juices, Milk, Water, Breads, Cereals, Fresh Fruit, Meats, Cheeses, Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, etc... of note were the Scrambled Eggs which were served cold and the Sausage which was not what us Americans are used to. I put this in simply so that those of you traveling behind us won't be surprised.

In the Lobby of the Hotel, Disney had a Hospitality Desk setup which was a great help. We were able to actually check in and saved the lines at the port for others less fortunate. The bus arrived at 11:45am and we boarded and were off. After the 20 minute drive to the port we were there, at the Magic!! We proceeded through the Security Check (passport necessary) and then received a boarding card with a number on it. However, Disney had a separate line for those that stayed in a Disney Hotel the night before so we were able to board immediately. Once on board we were announced and taken directly to Deck 9 to enjoy a buffet lunch in Topsiders and to await the 1:30pm hour to access our cabins.

We accessed our cabin a 1:30pm sharp and our luggage followed at approx. 4pm. The kids in the pool immediately, making new friends. Dinner was of course casual and we started off in Animators Palate. With this cruise being 11 days, the staff said that the colors would not change in the restaurant on the first night which was odd but not a problem. After dinner we were off to the sail away briefly and then played "Santa Clause" delivering our Fish Extender Gifts for everyone. Off to bed at 12 midnight and ready for a day at sea...

Vegas to Atlanta - The 1st Leg

Well gang, we are on our way and have completed the first leg of our journey to Barcelona. We were able to score an earlier flight to Atlanta from Vegas. This saved us from the mad (full out) run from the "A" terminal to the "E" terminal which is almost a mile away... We would have only had 20 minutes to make it which would not have been enough time. Hard to believe Disney books flights like that. More later...

Tick Tock... Tick Tock!!

A Packing we will go, A Packing we will go, Hi Ho the Merry Oh, A Packing we will go.........

Yep, we're doing final loads of wash and getting packed up for the big trip. Looks like 4 suitcases in total no matter how we do it. Have to have all the important stuff including the Fish Extender, Door Magnet, Gift Bags, etc... DH and DD are busy right now with that while I order some very last minute things from the net. Really looking forward to putting faces to names with all of you soon. Safe Travel to everyone!

Getting Close!

Here we are winding down to leave time. Yesterday was productive, we finished up the Rome-ancing the Mouse T's, created and printed our magnetic door sign and tied up some other loose ends. Received our luggage scale and are now ready for the final week of preparations. We leave on the 26th so will do final packing on or around the 22nd. Sure looking forward to meeting everyone that we've corresponded with on the DISboards.

So Little Time...

A day off but not really. We are sitting here ordering last minute things off the net like Pirate T's for Pirate night, travel items, etc...
Going to work on our Fish Extender today as well as our Door Sign(s).
So looking forward to this trip and the relaxation it will offer.

DH (that's me) will not be going ashore at all ports as my idea of cruising differs from that of my DW and DD. I like to stay on ship, nap, listen to music, internet, nap, eat, nap and did I mention nap?

Can't wait to meet all the fine folks from the DIS boards. It's going to be a great experience especially for the DD!

Off and Running...

OK,

Here we are off and running so to speak.

• Travel Docs Arrived
• Lime Green T's Arrived with the DIS logo and our names (from CafePress)
• White T's purchased and ready to receive the Rome-ancing the Mouse Logo
• Completed a run through on packing with good results

Acquired our Euros a couple of weeks ago and will supplement that with another bit this weekend. Trying to figure out the best way to get from the airport to DLP. Looks like the shuttle will be the best for our needs.

All for now...