One Way Trip to Canada, Eh? FINAL THOUGHTS 08/10

[anewmac]

aww man so much to catch up on. so sorry i lagged but it was a great read you really made me feel as If i was cruising with you.. sort of LOL. makes me want to do an Alaskan cruise though, sans kids! to them if theres no pool or ocean on a vacation, then its not a vacation lol

I am waaaaay back here trying to catch up, and I just saw this- if you guys ever do a West Coast DISmoms, you'd better include me!!!

of course we will put out an APB for you and all the other moms/groupies etc LOL

Of course we will! I'm thinking when I'm living 4 hrs away, we should do a DL mama extravaganza!

LOVE the name.. im game! let me know when!

you'll have to use your imagination.

While we were relaxing by the pool, a tall, thin elderly gentleman wearing a speedo and a backpack arrived. He stood by the edge of the pool, hands on hips, as made his plan of attack. He went over to the other side, same stance - then back to our side. He put his belongings down on a chair and proceeded to "gear up" for a swim.

I went back to my book and when I looked up, he had donned a white swim cap, swim goggles, and what looked like a weight belt. With that, he started swinging his arms forward and back in a butterfly motion - warming up. He jumped into the pool, hooked his belt to a ladder pole with a bungy cord thingy, and started swimming laps in place. Quite ingenious, really, except that he took up a ladder and a whole section of the pool, but I don't think anyone minded.

OHHH i like using my imagination better then a pic LMAO

I wore my Mickey ears pirate bandana and a POC medallion. I also put one of the FE pirate tattoos near my collarbone – for me that was quite risqué LOL! Sadly, I don’t have a picture – we had one taken by the Shutters crew, which we chose not to purchase, and forgot to get one on our camera.
now THIS is where i would rather have a pic then use my imagination


Pirate Night dinner was perfect – we were in Parrot Cay! The atmosphere just works for a POC night. I was feeling festive, so I ordered the Blue Margarita
yummy

Then I noticed the servers taking orders for Pirate Smoothies, with a light up Tinkerbell perched on the edge of the cup. I mentioned to Jim that I wanted the Tink to wear for the Pirate Party, so he ordered a Berry-Banana smoothie with a Tink ! Sean piped up with “It’s Pirate Night – put a shot of rum on it!” Jim nodded, and Luis went off to fulfill our combined wish. He came back with the smoothie, only to inform us that as this was a kid’s drink, they would not put a shot in it – hmmm I guess that makes sense!
So I said, bring him a shot – and Sean cheered me on! Jim nodded, and soon the shot appeared, Jim made his own daiquiri and the celebration was on, and Tink was on me!
GREAT IDEA! i want one of those next time LOL

At about this time, we felt the engines of the ship “chugging” and the rudders seemed to be kicking in – the captain made an announcement that we would be turning around and heading back to SF, as there was a seriously ill passenger and the doctor had determined this was the best thing to do. So we repeated history and sailed back under the GG! (We later found out the emergency was a lady with an appendicitis, and she had her surgery and joined the ship again on Tuesday in Vancouver for the cruise to Alaska! What a trooper!)
nothing to do with being a trooper you know she was thinking darn it i paid for this vacation im getting it LOL put me back on that boat. Any dedicated DIS'er would have done the same LOL

For dessert, I had the Parrot Cay Sweet Temptations – tiny samples of Crème Brule cheesecake, Lemon Meringue Pie, and Chocolate S’More Vanilla Cake.
ugg i love that they do mini desserts.. wish it would have been on our cruise, i would have loved to have multiple desserets to try instead of me ordering 2 and having E do that too LOL

We heard from our CD Christiaan that the Pirates In the Caribbean party was on, but it was “a little chilly on deck so grab a jacket and come and join us for a Rockin Time – Dancing will keep you warm!”

NEXT: POPSICLES PART 2

oh i can only imagine how cold it was. thats what kind of turns me off on the Alaskan cruise, im like the boys if its not hot its not a vacation LOL

Our jackets weren’t really thick winter coats, but I really wanted to see the fireworks, but as I was shivering, and my neck was getting stiffer by the minute, I kept hanging in there, thinking that Jim really wanted to stay – finally I made a comment about, “I almost can’t take it anymore.” He jumped on that and said, “I’m only staying because I thought you wanted to.” Hallelujah!!
oh heck ya i was with him! get the heck out of dodge you seen one mouse slide down a rope youve seen a million LOL

After our delicious breakfast, we headed up on Deck 9 to see what the temperature was – It was cold! These CMs were all decked out in their newly issued Winter coats and hats – I asked for a picture because it was something not seen on a Disney ship before – They told us they were from Jamaica and Cozumel respectively, then asked “Alaska – How cold will it be???”
wow thats just crazy how cold it was im sure they were dying too, you would find me in the cove having kahlua and coffees all day

This morning we decided to take in the Art of Entertainment – the Entrée at Studio Sea. We were treated to a demonstration of a signature dish from Animator’s by the head chef for that dining room – Phyllo wrapped salmon! We were given delicious samples of the dish when it was complete, along with a nice Chardonnay wine pairing. Jim very kindly poured his wine into mine, and then we were given seconds – FREE DRINKS!
free food and drink.. SWEET!! score

Sorry this has taken so long - I hope you weren't holding your collective breath! When you let it out we might have a tornado! Now where were we???? Oh...
oh no worries i can forgive you if you can forgive me LOL


I wanted to see Mars Needs Moms In the Buena Vista theatre, so we headed in to get our seats.
The movie got a thumbs way down from Jim, and I slept through most of it – hope I didn’t snore! LOL
eh.. its ok to snore thru the movies especially the midnight showing of Beverly Hills Chihuahua when all your kids are still up and the 2 moms are passed out from DOTD... But i suggest you dont snore thru the nightly shows... just saying its frowned upon.. mostly by our family and the guy next to you who you drool on.

We were soon able to debark. These friendly Canadian natives were here to greet us – no tip jar or anything, just there to say, "WELCOME TO CANADA, EH?"
awesome that they had something there to meet and greet ya

When I reserved with Enterprise, I was told I needed to call the office when we arrived and a driver would pick us up. So not being sure if my cell phone service covered Canada, my plan was to use the pay phone at the port. I stepped outside the gift shop and dialed the (0) to make a credit card call. I just couldn’t make this work, the prompts kept taking me back to the same place. So I dialed the operator and got someone in India, who kept insisting I was needing to make a collect call. Never Mind. I hung up and used my cell,
(which, BTW did not result in extra charges)
sweet, that happened to me in Antigua too. we must have the cell phone mojo.. i was expecting an outragous bill for less then a minute

We headed up to Craigdarroch Castle. I love history and exploring old spaces, so I thoroughly enjoyed this tour. The homes in the neighborhoos were historical, too. Not seeing the parking lot, which was behind the castle, we parked in front of this house:

Looks amazing all the homes/castles and the gardens so Green ya dont see that in Cali

We headed back to the ship, sadly realizing this was our last night. I got the packing almost complete, and we got ready for dinner. We had a little time, so we stopped by shutters to finish purchasing our pictures. We ordered Christmas cards of the semi-formal night, and chose a portfolio for our boarding pic. You could choose 2 stock photos to go on the cover and inside, so I chose the whole gang in formalwear, and under the GG pic.

loved your formal pic! and the we have the formalwear disney, love the commemoritive pic, nice!

So I walked a little forward of the shuffleboard area, where the portholes get a little smaller, and started looking in - yes! I could see the chefs, all dressed in chefs coats and hats, setting up appy plates for dinner!
ohh note to self remember that lol

When it was time for dessert, I remembered that I had wanted to have a Mickey Bar on this cruise, but I also wanted to try the chocolate decadence – so Jim ordered the Mickey Bar AND the Baked Alaska, and I ordered the chocolate sin.
I only have a pic of the Mickey Bar.
i never had one the boys all did, guess theres always next time.

We decided since our train didn’t leave until 5pm the next night, we wouldn’t rush to the breakfast in AP the next morning, so we said our sad farewells . We really enjoyed all of our tablemates, and it has been fun to follow them on Facebook since then!
not having to rush out is nice. and following fellow cruisers or almost cruisers is so cool! thank god for facebook

After the show, we took one more spin through the shops. I was thinking this hat would go with Jim's Uggs

see ya should have taken the uggs just for a picture sake lol

Then headed to the lobby to see “Till We Meet Again” with the characters
i cried when they did this.

At this point I see we should have read our navigators. We were tired, and felt like the party was over so we went to bed. It seems there was a rousing fun time in WaveBands with Pub Night – a comedy, drag, singing and dancing spoof reviewing the cruise as a farewell with the cast and guests. I didn’t know about this one before, so next time I will have it on our agenda for sure! **(Thanks Julia!)**
ya next time were ditching the till we meet again, i can cry any day we caught the last few mins of their comedy routine it was hysterical.

Stefy posted this on her Disneymoon PTR and I just had to share it here! A fun video of the crew doing, "Time of My Life" all around the ship:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmsgsobpenk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

aww that was awesome got me all choked up

Tuesday, May 3rd sadly came and it was time to leave our WONDERful home on the sea. It was also a day we were looking forward to, because we had all day to explore, and we were headed to my sister’s home for a couple of days!
oh no there not kicking you off already. so sad.

We noticed a message on our phone, so I listened. They were having trouble with our credit card – please come to Guest Relations. Jim went to see about it, and then to Deck 9 to get me my coffee, and I started getting ready. Remember our crazy problems at boarding in LA? Well, they never swiped our CC. The one we gave them had expired since the time of registering it online. New card swiped, and we were good to go. Or were we???
OH NO not you too! maybe our cell phone mojo kills our cc mojo

He doesn’t like unorganized crowds- in the military, you have to be in line, you know!
E is like that too.. but some of that has to do with Iraq, mobs still worry him.

I was in front of Jim, and when they swiped my card, there was a hold on me.
oh no darn you will have to stay on board, what "terrible" luck LOL


We went through another line to talk to customs, then got our bags and went through customs again. We took our bags over to a luggage storage service – all day for $4 a day – and we were out in the city! I think it was 11 am by now.
ohh we need something like that in the states

Okay, I think I said I would post lessons learned and some final thoughts. Now I don't know what my thoughts were

Lessons Learned:

1. Don't buy a 3 day pass for DLR unless you have 3 days in a row - we find we won't be back to use our passes after all. Our original plan was to buy a 1 day pass at DL and skip CA this trip. That would have cost $140 instead of $218.
have you tried to sell it? craigslist maybe?

4. It is okay to "stack" your pictures at Shutters and wait until the end to purchase them.
best idea ever but only on a dis ship...

5. We could enjoy an oceanview cabin just as well as a balcony.good to know, im having balcony withdrawls, when trying to book the next one.


7. Palo is not a "must do" for us, although we may try brunch next time
thats what i want is brunch we didnt get it.. and a chocolate souffle! ok 2

8. San Francisco is a great place to visit - can't wait to go back!
love it there, best garlic fries and clam chowda

10. The Walt Disney museum is amazing!
plan on taking the boys if we ever get back

13. Riding the train is great!
i have always wanted to do this!

15. You can have a great time at a Science museum, especially if the 4th is with you!
LOVE IT

Final Thoughts

We took an RCCL cruise last Fall, in which we were disappointed in the service and the "dime you to death" attitude, and extremely disappointed in the food, but loved our room.
I HEAR THAT!

Now taking DCL again, we found that we enjoyed it more for many reasons.
1. The service I agree!
2. The passion of the CMs to be sure you are having fun! TOTALLY or even if you need a towel for example
3. The service I agree again.
4. The delicious foodours was hit or miss, but anything im not cooking is good for me
5. The serviceI agree 3times
6. World class showsunless you sleep through them
7. Being able to bring your own drinks on boardYou can do that on other lines too...
8. Free classes and activities sometimes seems like too much cuz you cant pick one and end up missing another
9. First run Disney moviescan we change the midnight viewing to like 5pm.. lol
10. The complimentary drink stationsby far the best thing a cruise could offer!
11. Oh, did I mention the service? the mouse does pamper you! granted for the price I pay i want him doing my massage next time.

We will still be looking to book DCL when we cruise. Our next BIG Disney adventure will be in 2013 at WDW hopefully with all our kids and grandkids.
We will be taking quick trips to DLR as we will be living 4 hrs away - don't know if we'll be there before we move, but I hope so!
cant wait to hear about the GG with the kids and grandkiddos and as soon as your ready for the DL Mama Extrav im in!

Thank you for sailing along with us - I enjoyed meeting some of you here!

Wishing you Magical Disney Vacations!!!

again so sorry it took me so long, that hole in my backyard and a few tasty libations call my name, along with our darn computers down. Looks like you had a great cruise inageral at that! so cool to be able to own that title. Im sad its over, im sure you are too lol. Cant wait for your next adventure!

see ya on Facebook!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

aww man so much to catch up on. so sorry i lagged but it was a great read you really made me feel as If i was cruising with you.. sort of LOL. makes me want to do an Alaskan cruise though, sans kids! to them if theres no pool or ocean on a vacation, then its not a vacation lol

IKWYM - I think I will def want to be somewhere warm next time - Oh! I'm headed to Phoenix today - does that count?

of course we will put out an APB for you and all the other moms/groupies etc LOL


LOVE the name.. im game! let me know when!

That would be so fun! I'm sure we'll be able to pull it off - although Jim is still convinced some of you carry axes in your purse, so I may need to stay with him and meet up with all of you at specific times...

OHHH i like using my imagination better then a pic LMAO


oh i can only imagine how cold it was. thats what kind of turns me off on the Alaskan cruise, im like the boys if its not hot its not a vacation LOL
















aww that was awesome got me all choked up




again so sorry it took me so long, that hole in my backyard and a few tasty libations call my name, along with our darn computers down. Looks like you had a great cruise inageral at that! so cool to be able to own that title. Im sad its over, im sure you are too lol. Cant wait for your next adventure!

see ya on Facebook!

Oh, I can totally understand how E doesn't like crowds. I bet that will be something for him to deal with for a long time. People just don't realize the sacrifices...

I'm so jealous of the hole in your backyard! Guess I'll probably have one in AZ, too.

Oh, I can't sell or give away the DLR passes, because they have our names on them. I'm guessing with it being so long since we initialized them, the CMs will ask for ID. We're bringing them to Phoenix, but I don't think it's in the plan to drive over at this point.

Thanks so much for catching up - I always enjoy your comments! Keep in Touch!

 

[pepe3penelope]

Just came across your TR this morning! Will catch up! Don't see many repo west coast TR's.