Westbound Transatlantic 2017 - Barcelona to New York

gismo1554

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 11, 2005
Itinerary
  • 15th September
    • Bus from South Wales to Heathrow
    • Club Europe flight from Heathrow to Barcelona
    • Cruise Package in Barcelona Airport Hotel
  • 16th September
    • Embark Disney Magic
  • 17th September
    • At Sea
  • 18th September
    • Cadiz 8am to 4:45pm
  • 19th September
    • Listbon 8:30am to 3:45pm
  • 20th September
    • At Sea
  • 21st September
    • Ponte Delgada 8:15pm to 2pm
  • 22nd September
    • At Sea
  • 23rd September
    • At Sea
  • 24th September
    • Originally St John's 9:30am to 6pm
    • Actually At Sea
  • 25th September
    • At Sea
  • 26th September
    • Originally At Sea
    • Actually New York overnight
  • 27th September
    • Debark Disney Magic
    • Casablanca Hotel in Times Square
  • 28th September
    • Upper Class Virgin Atlantic flight from JFK to Heathrow
  • 29th September
    • Bus from airport to South Wales
 
Day One – Getting to Barcelona

As with all my holidays, part of the excitement is getting there and I always stress out that something is going to go wrong. I was up early and pottered around the house finishing off my last-minute tasks like setting up TV recordings and turning off unnecessary plugs.

Finally it was time to go and I lugged my case down stairs to the taxi that arrived on time. It took less time than I expected to get to the bus station as there was no traffic and then the waiting began. The bus was almost 30 minutes late so by the time I arrived I was in panic mode! I hate things running late and this was not the start I wanted. The bus however made up some time on the journey and arrived only around 15 minutes later than expected.

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After checking in I headed through to the gates. As I had used my airmiles I had been able to get a great deal on a Club Europe flight with British Airways. This gave me access to an airport lounge but after researching I found that this didn’t have to be the British Airways lounge. I choose to try the Cathay Pacific lounge which is one of the One World Alliance airlines which includes BA.

The lounge itself was beautiful. As you entered there was a large restaurant type area with a noodle bar (which we will come back to). Then there is a more standard help yourself food section with a small selection of soft drinks and a coffee machine.

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The room then opens into a bar area with comfy chairs as well as a whole section of chairs with foot rests overlooking the run way. The final area just beyond this is more of a business area with individual chairs with work tables, and even an area with phones for business calls.

I settled down with a kir royale and finally started to relax. I was ready to go and happy to be in such a tranquil space. It was so nice to get some peace and quiet.

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After awhile I got hungry and decided it was time to experience the noodle bar. When researching it had been one of the things the lounge was praised for and so I wanted to give it a go. I choose a table and headed up to the noodle bar area to order. They had a few different options but I went for Dan Dan noodles, Vegetable Dim Sum, Vegetable Spring Rolls and Custard Bun.

Once ordered I was given a pager which went off about 10=15 minutes later when the food was ready. You then returned to the bar to get the tray with food on as well as topping with any condiments such as extra chilli flakes or garlic. It all looked amazing and tasted even better! In fact it was so nice I ordered a second portion of everything even though I was already fairly full.

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After my second portion I settled in for one more drink before it was time to head out to the plane. It was only a short walk to the gate and there I joined the queue of passengers waiting to be checked in.

We were boarded fairly quickly and I settled down in seat 4C. However after the plane was completely boarded the captain made an unexpected announcement. It turned out we weren’t departing any time soon. The plane was delayed but in order to ensure we could leave as soon as possible we were going to park out on the tarmac ready to go. He however also said that if people wanted to come to the cockpit for a visit they were welcome to (something I thought was no longer allowed). Seizing the opportunity, I had to go and ask for a photo!

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About 40 minutes after leaving the gate we finally took off for Barcelona! I was relieved to get off the ground and finally be on the way. Not many people had actually taken the opportunity to go into the cockpit weirdly so most people had been sat around bored for 40 minutes and were grateful to take off. For me there is always something quite relaxing when you are on the last leg of the trip to get where you are going.

I had pre-ordered vegetarian food on the plane which was lucky as the only options available were a Chicken Club Panini and a Duck salad netiher of which I would have eaten. My veggie option was a tofu, couscous & lentil salad which was actually rather tasty. It also came with some sort of sultana and orange cheesecake. Both were quite nice although I was still full from lunch.

The flight was soon over and it was time to head out through Barcelona airport. I collected my case and then went across to get the free shuttle to the Barcelona Airport hotel. It was actually already there when I got there so within about 20 minutes of landing I was at the hotel checking in.

I had booked the Cruise package which included the transfer in the morning as well as an Executive room (which included an area by the elevators that had sweets and crisps as well as a coffee machine and bottled water), They gave me my transfer ticket and room key and I headed off to see my room.

The room itself was lovely, and had a nice bathroom too. I decided to have a bath but there was no sign of a plug. I rang reception and after three phone calls (and being asked if I could speak English!) I gave up and went to bed.
 
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Day Two – Embarkation

The package I brought included a breakfast buffet which I had done previously so knew what to expect. It was an unusual mix of both traditional breakfast items and things like churros. I opted to play it fairly safe with some toast, blue cheese and churros to start off this wonderful trip.

After breakfast I finished packing up and got ready for the transfer to the cruise. They had put on a large bus rather than the previous years where they had used 10 seater coaches and you could see why as there were loads of people queuing outside most of which were there for the Disney Magic.

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It was so exciting getting our first view of the ship. I still get tingly seeing her even after sailing on her 8 times now. The drive from the Barcelona Airport Hotel was only around 20 minutes and when we arrived there wasn’t any queue at the terminal so we went pretty much straight through into the departure hall. I took the opportunity to go and get two bottles of wine before checking in as the shopping area is before you get to the check-in area and entrance to the ship.

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After a quick shop I headed around to check in and joined the small line inside. I checked in quickly and by the time I had my ID they were calling my boarding group. I headed over and had the obligatory “welcome aboard” photo (which I decided against purchasing this time as it wasn’t great). I then headed onboard and straight to Carioca’s for lunch.

This was the first time I had experienced the “welcome aboard” sit down lunch and it was a great start to the cruise. I had beef empanadas, goats cheese penne and carrot cake. All of it was lovely and it was nice to get to have a sit-down meal rather than a buffet to start the cruise off. It also gave me a great opportunity to actually read the navigator and look at what I needed to do today.

After lunch I had spotted a few things in the Navigator that needed me to go to Guest Services to sign up for. They had a new activity called “Cocktails and Canvas” which sounded intriguing and also mentioned the Backstage Theatre Tour. I decided to also ask about the Galley Tour which it turned out you could also book at this time. I managed to get a ticket to all three (and forgot to ask how much the Cocktails and Canvas was but it turned out to be $45 which I thought was actually a good price).

It was now almost 1:30pm so I decided to take my bag down to the room to drop off the two bottles of wine I was carrying around. It also gave me a chance to see my room as this was the first time I had a sideways inside room. I was amazed at how spacious it felt and loved the layout! I actually think there was more storage too which was great. At this point I also remembered I had ordered a bottle of wine for the room (so I now had 3) as well as a gift for my parents, both of which were waiting for me.

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After this I headed to the walking ship tour. Even though I have been onboard before I like doing this as it reminds me of where things are and just makes me feel like I’m home. It was a nice little tour around the ship and when it finished I realised it was time to get to the meet and greet organised for the group.

As the spa raffle clashed slightly with this meet and greet I snuck out a little early to get up to the spa. I always attend even though I know the chance of winning is so small, and no I didn’t win anything. It was then time to head down to the lifeboat drill. This time it was a little bit different to 2015 as we didn’t have to wear our life jackets. It was actually quite enjoyable and they even had one of the lifeboats down open for some reason so got to see inside one.

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After this I headed up on deck for the Sail Away Party. This was actually a bit of a weird one as we didn’t sail away for another 2 hours but it was the usual cute character show. I attempted to get a Moet Champagne glasses as well during the sail away party but it turns out you can’t get one with a single drink you have to buy an entire bottle of Moet which was around $100 and I couldn’t justify for myself just to get a glass.

I headed back to my cabin to get ready for dinner and the show after sail away. My luggage had also arrived so I got to unpack and settle in to my new home for the next 11 nights. With all the storage in the room it was actually easy to unpack as there was so much room for everything.

The first night show had also changed since 2015 and was now the “Be Our Guest” show. It was really a bit of a variety show, showcasing some of the acts and shows we would have on the next 11 nights. I enjoyed it but I think I preferred the previous show where it showed a family on their holiday.

After the show I headed to Fathoms for Magic Quest. There were only actually around 6 people in there for this fun room based scavenger hunt. It was funny though and afterwards I headed to Lumiere’s for dinner. Our table was made up of people off the group that had requested linked dining and we all got on like a house on fire. Even on the first night it was like we already knew each other and were one big family.

Tonight I tried the Chicken Bastilla, cold Mango Soup, Steak & Passion Fruit Crème Brulee. Everything was OK but as was a theme on this cruise, nothing was fantastic and I didn’t really finish any of it. The food was probably the one area that let me down during this cruise as it just seemed very bland and uninspiring every night. On previous cruises I’ve been more excited about dinner than on this one though.

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After dinner I was tired and had spotted that the Fast & the Furious 8 was on the stateroom TV. I therefore headed back to my room to watch it in bed with a nice glass of wine.
 
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Day Three – At Sea

This was the first sea day of many on this schedule. I had prebooked my Frozen Meet & Greet for 9am but also had a Palo brunch booked this day so dressed for Palo first thing. The meet and greet was so cute as Olaf actually took Oleg and held him for the photo as he loved the fact he had dressed in an Olaf outfit.

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After this I actually managed to grab photos with Princess Minnie and Princess Daisy too as well as popping into the Morning Show. I hadn’t done the Morning Show before and actually ended up there most days as it was a nice start to the day (and on most days had coffee and pastries available too).

It was then time to head for Palo for brunch. I had booked a group brunch with 8 others and it turned out that 5 of them were my evening tablemates. We were in the private dining room and had a wonderful time. The food as always was amazing and the company was fantastic.

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I ate too much as I always do at Palo! Everything is just so nice and I end up wanting to try everything! The only thing I didn’t like was the orange pickled onions which were really odd, but everything else was fantastic, especially the walnut & blue cheese bread. I didn’t even have room to try one of the cinnabons they made but I did try the artichoke pasta which was nice.

Afterwards I decided to head into the DVC presentation mainly as a way to sit and digest the food as needed something peaceful. I always find these presentations interesting but the new format means you don’t get a free cocktail just a free bottle of water and then a pin at the end.

I then headed for a quick look around the shops and brought a couple of souvenirs for the family as they had the Med 2017 tshirts reduced to around $13.00. There was then a Cheese Seminar in the D Lounge which I decided to head to. I always enjoy this as its not only informative but you get to try some nice cheese along the way.

Today was also the day I had booked my Galley Tour so after the seminar I headed down to Lumiere’s to meet the group. It was fun but unlike in previous years we didn’t get a cookie at the end (not that I needed any more food). From here I headed to Trivia where I got 13 out of 25 so not so good. It was then time to head back to the room to get ready for formal night.

As it was formal night it was also Captain’s Reception so I had a few glasses of wine and enjoyed the music in the Atrium while all dressed up for the night. I decided to venture to the show which was Junnk who I had seen before and not enjoyed. I established I still didn’t enjoy them and left after 10 minutes as it was just loud and noisy. I instead headed to D Lounge and waited for the trivia to start. This time I found two people to join for trivia and between us we got 15 out of 20 so I was very impressed. I then headed back out into the Atrium for a photo with the captain.

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Dinner tonight was in Animators Palate and was lovely. I had the Pursette Pasta, Tomato Tart, Steak and the Deconstructed Carrot Cake. It was one of the best meals if not lacking from some seasoning with the main. After a few free wines at the Captain’s gala however I decided after dinner it was best to head to bed as I was tired and the Mummy was also on the stateroom television.

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Day Four – Cadiz

Having been to Cadiz before, today I decided was going to be a very relaxed day. I didn’t book a tour through Disney but instead booked the Hop on Hop on bus which cost around $15. The route was estimated at taking an hour and it had various stops along the route that you could get off at and back on at another time. It also had commentary in various languages including English, although it was a standard recording and not a live commentary.

I had a lovely breakfast in Cabanas before heading off after the rush of all the tours had cleared. The bus picked up right outside the terminal and there was a stand to exchange any purchased vouchers there too. They also gave you a map with various discount vouchers (none of which I used).

The tour was OK and covered the entire town, giving a good overview of everything. The only complaint was it repeated part of the route so you ended up seeing one area twice but that was due to the city layout. It was such a hot day though and I had forgotten my cap so by the time it reached the pier I was knackered and decided to head back onboard for some lunch. My plan was to go back out later but instead I ended up back on the ship relaxing all afternoon.

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I ate lunch in Cabanas which had a theme of Mexican on. They had both wraps and tacos plus all the fillings to help yourself to. It was actually a really nice selection and I went for seconds. I then headed to the adult pool and sat in the hot tub for a little while, chatting to some lovely people I met. My plan to head back out into Cadiz had fallen by the way side but luckily I had shopped for a few souvenirs on the way back on to the ship in the terminal so I had what I needed.

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After an hour or so I headed to the Goofy pool in order to watch Hunchback of Notre Damn, which was showing on the funnel vision. After it finished there was just time to get changed before heading to a private Mixology I had booked. This was so much fun and consisted of 5 different drinks – a blue margarita, a whiskey mojito, a peanut butter & jelly martini, a lemoncello & mint champagne cocktail and a B52 shot. All were actually very nice especially the peanut butter & jelly martini.

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On the way back from Mixology I spotted Goofy in his Spanish outfit and managed to grab a quick photo before going to get changed for the evening show.

Tonight Edge Effect were performing in the main theatre. They were a male acapella group who performed various genre’s of music including Rascal Flats and Michael Jackson. It was a fantastic show and I was glad I got to see them. I even managed to get a photo after the show and purchased their live album.

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After the show I popped by Promenade Lounge for a little music before dinner. The duo there were OK and sung a mixture of contemporary pop and some Disney classics. It was a very relaxing set and as I was in Cariocas for dinner it wasn’t far to head afterwards.

For dinner I made the decision to ask for something from a different menu as I find Carioca’s to be one of the worst menus. I ordered the baked brie and French onion soup from Lumiere’s along with the steak off the Cariocas menu (which I couldn’t even eat as it was just fat) and the raspberry lemon bomb dessert (which had no flavour at all). Out of all the meals I think our entire table were disappointed in this one.

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After dinner most of my table mates joined me in going to an Adult Exclusive at the Oceanears Club. On longer cruises they often do this and this activity was something I had never done before so was very exciting. We got to do Toy Story Boot Camp, instructed by a Green Army Commander. It was great fun and at the end we got photos with the Green Army man. It was so much fun and a great addition to the usual adult exclusives Disney offers.

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Day Five – Lisbon

Today was an odd day. The night before a note had been left in my room mentioning that the gangway the next day would not be accessible for physical disabilities until 1:00pm. We were only due in port til 3:15pm so this didn’t give me much time to explore Lisbon and I had been a bit annoyed by this, mentioning how frustrating it was at dinner. I however had decided to go and see how bad the gangway was in the morning and make a decision from there as to what I was going to do. All I had actually wanted was to go and get a pin from Hard Rock Café so in reality I could have skipped the port if it was going to be a problem.

I decided to have a leisurely breakfast at Lumiere’s to ensure that the majority of the people leaving the ship had already departed before attempting to head off myself. The food was lovely and it was nice to get a few different items such as a lovely stack of pancakes with fruit. I also had a great eggs benedict and was set up for a day exploring. However when I got to the top of the gangway I realised why it was inaccessible.

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Feeling defeated and a little embarrassed I returned to the ship and headed to Guest Services to check when the accessible gangway would be open. They assured me it would be around 1:30pm but offered to help me with the gangway if I wanted. I accepted this offer and was walked off the ship by a lovely man on Guest Services. He even offered to come and help me back onboard later if required but I decided it was best to stay off the ship until the accessible gangway was opened.

I took the complementary shuttle into the town although I realised after about 15 minutes that it was actually going to Hard Rock Café and not just into the town. This meant the walking tour I had devised to pass some of the more picturesque areas was now wrong but I managed to redo it and still see everything I wanted to. I had to however start with Hard Rock as that was my main aim of the day. I managed to get a pin as well as trying a Pineapple Coconut Mojito which was to die for.

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Afterwards I then headed back down to take photos of various landmarks including the lift that I had heard about. The entire route was hillier than I expected and after going up and down to various sites I was exhausted. It was around 12:45pm by this time so I decided it was best to head back to the ship for some lunch and a rest.

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When I got back to the ship, after stopping to purchase a couple of bottles of wine in the terminal, the accessible gangway was still not set up. They were in the process of getting it sorted so I waited patiently as it seemed easier than trying to manoeuvre up the open gangway which consisted of mesh small steps that were hard to distinguish between. It was almost 1:30pm when they finally opened the gangway but I was glad I waited as it was flat and would have taken me the same amount of time to climb up the steps.

I headed straight for Lumiere’s for lunch as it was only scheduled to be open til 1:30pm. I was one of the last in and was glad I had ventured there. It was a lovely meal and the pasta was divine. I didn’t spot it on any other menus or would have ordered this again as it was one of the nicest dishes I had. In general the pasta was really good onboard it was mainly the meats that suffered from over or undercooking and being very bland in flavour.

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After lunch I headed to the pool to watch the Aristocats as well as part of the Incredibles. It was a sunny afternoon and it was lovely to get some fresh air and just sit watching the movie. Soon however I noticed the time and headed down to my first craft activity of the cruise – badge making. This was a little disappointing as you weren’t allowed to use the press machine yourself you had to let the cast member make them but it was a nice souvenir to take home. I also managed to make one for my sister which gave her an extra souvenir from my cruise.

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The show tonight was a comedian juggler and although I wanted to see him I also wanted to see Guardian’s of the Galaxy 2, which looking through the online app was actually only showing once more on the cruise. I therefore decided to go along to this instead, taking a drink and some snacks with me in the form of potato chips that I ordered from room service along with a few items to stock my fridge such as a cheese plate. The movie was a fantastic movie and I was glad to have chosen it, although my tablemates said the comedian was very funny.

After I popped along to the Frozen Dance Party to see what was going on. It was OK but it was very unorganised and they spent about 10 minutes trying to get a Frozen song on that wasn’t in Spanish.

Dinner tonight was in Lumiere’s again and although it was Frozen night we didn’t have the Frozen menu. I ordered the brie bites again, the French onion soup, chateaux briand and the Grand Marnier soufflé. Again the food was OK but it was all a little cold and under seasoned for my liking.

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After dinner I headed up to the Freezing the Night Away show which was out on the deck 9 stage. The show was cute and had in the classic songs. At the end it snowed on deck as well which was lovely. I enjoyed it although it is not as good as Pirate Night or any of the other deck shows I’ve seen. I also liked the light up snowflake that they gave you in your room for the night as it was a cute little gift.

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Day Six – Sea Day

This morning I had pre-booked a Character Breakfast so was up early to get there on time. It was served in Animators Palate and seemed extremely rushed, with my food being delivered and us leaving within 25 minutes of reaching the table. I did get to meet all the characters, which consisted of Mickey, Minnie and Goofy, and got a cooked breakfast so it wasn’t like I didn’t get what was advertised but probably wouldn’t book again as was far too much “camera’s out – eat – camera’s out” etc. It would have been more fun with young children I feel as they wouldn’t have noticed the being rushed feeling and would have probably taken more time with them.

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After breakfast I headed to the Morning Show again as it had been so much fun the first day. This time I even answered a trivia question but annoyingly didn’t get it precise enough to win a gift (remembered that the hotel directors degree was in business but not that it was business marketing). After that I went to Anyone Can Cook which was featuring a Yule Log. It was enjoyable and I got to try some along with a small glass of Rosa Regale.

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It was then time for the Castaway Club celebration. This is held for Gold and Platinum Castaway members (the frequent cruisers club) and we had received an invite in our room the day before. Unlike my previous experiences of this it was however being held in the Walt Disney Theatre and was a preview of the Tangled show we were having that evening. You also got drinks (champagne cocktails or fruit juice) and on the way out Mickey Rice Krispie Treat Bars.

Next I decided to do the DVC presentation again as I wanted to get my sister a pin from the presentation. Going to it twice in one trip is very boring and I wouldn’t recommend it but it was the only way to get the Copper Creek (Disney’s newest resort) pin they were giving away so I decided as I had 30 minutes free I would venture here.

Afterwards I went to Cabanas for lunch where they had Jamaican food as their speciality. I then went back down to the D Lounge to the Oil & Vinegar seminar which was very informative. I followed this up with some craft tile coaster making in O’Gills. This was especially difficult as it was so dark in there but I was happy with what I created.

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That day we had arranged a private open bar event. Sailing solo this was probably not something I would participate in again as it was a rather manic experience. It was held in O’Gills and most drink was included in the price. They did have trays of wine and cocktails when we first entered but as I wasn’t sure what to order I ended up sticking with wine. As it was in the hour that we were in there I realised I actually got through 8 glasses of wine as the queues at the bar were so big I was ordering 2 at a time. It was fun but it was awkward at the beginning as I didn’t really know anyone there. I did however make some good friends that I then saw a lot of on the cruise.

We then headed to the Tangled show which was really good, but due to the amount of wine I had drunk I actually fell asleep. I did see the first and last bits of the show but didn’t remember any of the middle section. After though I got my second wind and headed to the Snuggly Duckling which had taken over O’Gills. Here we played Thugo (a Tangled version of Bingo) and our team actually won! The prize though was a temporary tattoo so nothing to write home about.

For dinner tonight we were in Animators Palate again and I choose to try a number of different items as nothing really appealed to me. I had the cheese tart, cauliflower soup, spiced tofu, lobster, macaroni cheese and the sweet temptations trio of desserts (which weirdly reappeared in this restaurant even though Disney got rid of it earlier in the year).

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Tonight we had another chance to go into the kids club but this time it was the Oceanear’s Lab we got to invade. They were offering Animation Cells which was actually quite a boring activity. I expected some kind of interaction from the staff but they just handed out the cells and let us get on with it. It was OK but it wasn’t the best activity I’ve experienced in there and they repeated it later on in the cruise which made no sense. Still it was a fun way to spend an evening with some of my table mates.

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Day Seven – Ponte Delgada

Today I had decided to book a Disney tour as we weren’t in port very long and I knew I wanted to go and see the Twin Lakes. I ordered room service breakfast as had to be ready for the tour by 8:30am. I then headed down to Fathoms to meet the group and head off into the Azores.

As part of my bucket list, I had always wanted to see the Azores. The port itself had a few lovely looking buildings but it was the countryside I wanted to see. Its known for being a green lush paradise and I was glad to say it didn’t disappoint.

Our driver and tour guide were good although the tour itself was a little strange. I learnt a lot about the cows on the island (not sure why) as well as about the tour guides family who ran a farm. He did however tell us the proverb of how the Twin Lakes were formed which I think he may have made up to be fair. Supposidly the daughter of Posieden had fallen in love with a fisherman but was banned from marrying him. The lakes were produced from their tears as they had to say goodbye to each other, with the Blue Lake coming from her and the Green Lake from him. In reality the colour difference is due to algae within the green lake combined with the depth of the waters. It is however beautiful and it was lovely to see it (although we drove down to the lake and never stopped).

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After the lakes there were a few random stops to see views of the cost as well as to pick up lava stones if people wanted to. Then we went to the botanical gardens and had a tour through them. This wasn’t what I imagined it as it was really just a nice park with some lovely vegetation. We even got to see a cork tree which I didn’t even realise they grew in the Azores (shown below). There were also some beautiful flowers including Bird of Paradise flowers (also shown below).

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After the park we headed back through Ponte Delgada to a pineapple plantation. We had a wander around and saw the different stages of pineapple growing. It was actually really interesting as it turns out that they use smoke to force the pineapple plants to bloom at the same time. It was a really interesting but very quick tour through all the processes.

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At the end of the tour was the inevitable shop with various pineapple inspired merchandise. There were free samples of the pineapple liqueur which was lovely but as we had to hand in any alcohol we purchased that wasn’t wine to pick up on last day I decided to not bother. Instead I choose some spicy pineapple oil for my sister and myself.

From here we returned to the ship only to find that so had everyone else. Because of the early port departure, there was only around an hour left in port and so the queue for the ship was out of the arrivals hall and wrapped around the port area. I decided to go look in a few pier shops for other souvenirs. I was going to buy some wine for onboard too but decided to skip this as I hadn’t drunk much of what I had already purchased. Then I joined the queue and after around 40 minutes finally got back onboard.

After dropping everything in my room I realised it was 1:50pm and Cabanas closed at 2! I headed off on a mission to get some food before they closed only to find they had extended their opening hours in light of the fact that there were still people queuing in the terminal.

After food I headed down to watch the Sailaway Party which consisted of just a few characters dancing on stage. However after about 10 minutes there was an interruption from the Captain. It turns out that Hurrican Jose was causing us a bit of an issue from over the other side of the ocean. The decision had been made to not go to St John’s in Canada and instead to head straight to New York where we would enjoy an overnight on the ship. It was obviously disappointing but safety came first. It had however ruined the Sailaway Party and so this then was brought to an end with a queue of people still waiting to board.

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I decided to head down to try a little origami as didn’t fancy going to the pool. It was followed by animation class which actually came out OK. It was also one of the few days that the Marvel characters were out and about so I decided it was a good plan to go and get some photos. The only trouble was so did everyone else. I queued for almost 40 minutes for Spiderman before the show but it was worth it as I had never had a shot with him before.

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I also managed to grab a photo with Chip & Dale who were in a very playful mood. Dale took Oleg’s pants off as he wanted him to match them but then got all embaressed that he had his nappie on. It was hillarious and one of the funniest things I’d seen the characters do while onboard. I had to hug him to show it was OK what he had done as he was hiding his face from me. After I dress Oleg, we finally got to have a photo together.

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It was then time for the show and tonight it was AbbaFab, a tribute act to Abba who were fantastic. Even better they actually let you take photos of them during their show which I’ve never known with any other act in the Walt Disney Theatre. I took full advantage as I love some action photos. They were a really good group that did a Billie Joel show later on in the cruise in Fathoms.

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After this it was time to start queing again. Both Captain America and Thor were out so I had to go and take photos with them. This meant I was slightly late for dinner as the queues were just massive but at least it ensured I got photos with them both. The last cruise I had done had a Marvels Meet & Greet where you prebooked a time to be there but that wasn’t an option on this one. I think this process worked a lot better than the time slots as they were just too popular.

Tonight was dinner at Carioca’s where I decided to try a whole range of things. I ordered 4 appertisers – the California rolls (I removed the crab as wasn’t a fan of that), the baked polenta (it was OK), artichoke (which was greasy) and the croquettes (tasteless), along with a main of pasta and an almond cake for dessert. After dinner though there was a treat to be had.

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This was my first cruise that had the Officer Pool Party activity scheduled and I wasn’t going to miss it. It was basically an adult only activity where various officers, including the cruise director, ended up in the pool after playing various games. This time they also performed LipSync Challenge. It was so much fun to watch but I was glad I wasn’t in the water as it looked mad. It was so much fun and I just wish there had been more activities like this as it gave the ship a different feel but as it was getting late after the party I headed to bed.

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Day Eight – At Sea

Today was Pirate Night and the weather was not looking great. It was cloudy when I work up and all thoughts were on what would happen about the fireworks if it rained. I know its always a possibility but this would be my first cruise without fireworks if it was rained off and I would be very disappointed.

I went to Cabanas for breakfast as I wasn’t in the mood for anything to big and then headed down to watch the Morning Show. As per usual it was fun and told me about some of the things that were going on around the ship today. I think this is great addition to the ship and a nice way to start any day.

After I went over to see what tours they were offering in New York. It was actually a bit of a disappointing offering as they didn’t have a lot of choice. Most of the theatre tickets were sold out and you were put on a waiting list, and most of the other tours were pretty much areas I could go to on the hop on hop off bus. I decided to not bother and headed up to Anyone Can Cook where today we learnt how to make Chocolate Spider Cake (although actually what we got to try was not a spider).

After, I decided to go see if I could get on to the wine tasting that day as one of the people who ran the Banfi winery would be presenting the wine tasting. Luckily there was one place available and I was glad as it was a fantastic wine tasting. I actually liked all 5 wines we tried.

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I then had to rush up to Cabanas to get some food before heading back down to Keys for Mojito Tasting. Our table got lucky as there was an empty seat next to me so our table split the extra 4 drinks between us all. I then headed to the pool for a little bit before heading back to the room for room service. I had an appointment at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo appointment to make me over as a pirate and I was very excited for this so watched the Mummy while getting ready.

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo was fantastic. Even though I was an adult they still kept up the charade of the place. I had to throw a dice to determine my pirate name (which was Gertrude) and then had to choose what crystals I wanted on my face. I also got covered in mermaid snot (gel glitter) and makeup. Then I had a banana put on and got given a sash, earring and sword. I even got a bag which had a pirate necklace, lip gloss and nail varnish in before being officially sworn in as a pirate. It meant that my photo with Jack Sparrow later looked even better than usual.

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After meeting Jack I decided to try a few other pirate characters too as I was made up for it. I managed to get Pirate Minnie, Pirate Mickey and even Pirate Stitch while the rest of the ship were in the John Charles show (someone I have never found funny). It was a great way to get some really cute photos with the characters and make the most of my makeup.

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Dinner was in Luemiere’s. I have never been a fan of the Pirate night menu and I decided that this meal didn’t change my mind. The only good thing was that I knew there was the Pirate Night Buffett to look forward to so I didn’t mind not eating much. Instead I got ready to head up on deck for the show.

I was relieved to find that there was no rain on deck 10 when I headed up there. It appeared we had found a gap in the clouds and were all ready to go. This would be the first time with the new music for the show which had been changed a few weeks before. I liked it but the flash mob bit just seemed like an excuse to not have to pay cast members but instead get guests to take part instead. The fireworks however did not disappoint. After I headed to Cabanas and grabbed a quick snack before returning to my room to finish watching the Mummy.

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Day Nine – At Sea

I awoke to another day of sea to look forward to. Today however I had prebooked the Princess Gathering, so grabbed a bite to eat at Cabanas before heading back down to the Atrium for my session. I like the Princess Gathering as it’s a great way to get a few photos done in one go. Today we had Belle, Cinderella, Tiana and Rapunzel to meet. It moved quickly and I was able to get photos with all of them before it was even 9:30am.

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I then headed to the Promenade Lounge for Disney trivia where I teamed up with a couple and managed to get 16 out of 20. We still didn’t win but at least it was fun. I then headed up to Anyone Can Cook for some Chocolate Lava Cake and Rosa Regale.

Today was the only day I found Cars 3 was showing in the Buena Vista Theatre apart from during the evening show so I ventured to that. It appeared the rest of the ship did too as it was completely full but I managed to find an end seat to watch the movie from. Afterwards I grabbed some food in Cabanas and then went to rest by the pool. I however fell asleep and then woke up after the Room Tour I was meant to be going on arranged by a group.

As I was late for the tour I choose to try Nautical Knot Tying which is one thing I have meant to go to before but never managed. It was a lot of fun and the officer that presented it was like Fynn from Emmerdale (which anyone who’s British will get).

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After this I headed down to 3D crafts and ran into some of my table mates doing the same thing. I joined forces and managed to make a 3D Mickey Mouse which was pretty cute. We then stayed on to play the Wheel which was fun but I established I’m rubbish at spelling. I was hungry by now though so headed up to the pool to grab a bite to eat. It was still hours til dinner and the choice at Cabanas for lunch had been slim so some chicken tenders were in order to fill me up til dinner.

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Tonight was Twice Charmed, and I got ready and took my seat early as its one of my favourite shows. They had recently changed the show however and added in not only a new song but rewritten the story as well which made a nice change. I enjoyed it just as much as the original so was happy with the changes. The new song seemed to fit in well and the scenes although worked differently to how they used to, did fit together. I think if I hadn’t seen the original I would have been overjoyed with the show.

Afterwards, Abbafab were performing a Billie Joel tribute show in Fathoms. It was a fantastic show and they even did a special song based on the change of cruise itinerary called “Another Day At Sea”. It was set to the “Let It Be” song and was all about the fact we now had 4 days straight at sea rather than going to Canada, where Abbafab were meant to be leaving the ship.

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Tonight due to all the port changes we actually ended up having the Animation Magic night in Animators Palate but without the restrictive menu which made me very happy as I hate the only starter option on the Animators menu and always feel you miss out on having the choice others do. We had the full menu and although it was a little frantic I don’t think it really caused too many delays in the procedure. For anyone who hasn’t done the Animation Magic it really is wonderful and I was glad to do it again.

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Afterwards we had another chance to experience the kids club onboard with Super Sloppy Science in the Oceanears Lab. I have now done this at least 5 times but I still never grow bored with it. This however was the first time that I actually didn’t make flubber. The goo I ended up with was not the right colour and was just really bad. Mine wasn’t the only one and in fact Professor Make-a-mess had to remake everyone’s on our tables herself to ensure we got some proper flubber! It was so much fun and even though we messed ours up, our table seemed to have the best time with it.

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Day Ten – At Sea

With the addition of an hour every night I was getting up earlier and earlier each morning. Today I started with a smoothie and croissant in the Promanade Lounge before heading to the Morning Show. Afterwards they did a special Anyone Can Cook where they made a Croquembouche which is a French profiterole stack with sugar work. It was their first time trying this one as an event and disappointingly we didn’t get to try the profiteroles but the dessert looked wonderful.

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Afterwards I went to a QA session with the Main Stage performers which was fun. I then popped to Cabanas to grab some lunch before heading out to the pool to watch Ratatouille. I even managed to nip up to the Vibe in order to enjoy some ice cream at the Open House Ice Cream Social they were running. I got to have ice cream with caramel sauce, M&Ms and gummy bears.

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In the afternoon I headed down to the Animation class and learnt how to draw Donald. Mine however looked more like a baby version but at least I tried. Then I returned to the pool to watch Hercules.

That night it was Drew Selley performing in the Walt Disney Theatre. I had no clue who he was but turns out he wrote and performed most of the songs in High School Musical 1 as Zac Effron only sings in the other movies. He also played Prince Eric in the Little Mermaid on Broadway. It was a great show and he was a really good singer.

After, one of my table mates was performing in the Improv show so I went along to provide some support. It was actually an amazing show and everyone was so good! They had about 8 people performing all of who were just regular guests onboard and had been trained by an improv expert. They were all really funny and I was glad I went along.

Dinner tonight was in Carioca’s again and again the food was average. I had the asparagus, mushroom soup, steak and Tiramisu but also ordered one of the pasta to try. I could have done with a lot more salt on most of it but it was alright. Afterwards they had another event in the kids club but it turned out it was a repeat of the earlier nights Animation Cells so I didn’t bother staying and had an early night.
 
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Day Eleven – At Sea

Final day at sea had arrived and it felt like I had only been on the cruise a few days. As had become my routine, I had breakfast in Cabanas then watched the Morning Show. Today though, after the morning show they had a QA session with Drew Selley followed by an autograph session. It was nice to hear about his background and his journey.

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After I headed up to the Walt Disney Theatre where I did the backstage tour. It was a lot of fun and set up differently to how I have seen it before. This time you went down and back up on one of the lifts on the stage. It was good to find out how things worked in some of the shows and what issues they have backstage.

I then ran off to Cabanas to get some food before my next new activity. Cocktails and Canvas was a completely new activity premiering for the first time onboard. This was the third and final time they were running it and it was the Belle Rose we were painting. For $45 you got to paint a canvas that was around 12x14 inches as well as getting 3 full sized (and very strong) cocktails to try. It was a lot of fun and I was surprised how well my painting came out in the end. The cocktails we had were a cranberry martini, something with makers mark whiskey and a wine spritz. The only thing that was really missing were some snacks to have with the drink as they were so strong.

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Next I headed to Disney Tune Trivia. The team I joined were very good but we still didn’t win. It was fun though and afterwards I went and watched the end of Dumbo by the pool. I then decided to go to Friendship Rocks as had never gone along before. It was a cute goodbye for the kids in the kids club and was super cute, plus Mickey & Minnie were there.

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The show that night was Disney Dreams so I got dressed and headed on down. Then after I went to see Graffiti Classics in Fathoms. These were a group of string players that consist of 19 members but only 4 or 5 play at any one show. They were really good at doing a range of different genres of songs and the show was very good.

It was then time for dinner but on the way they had the Officers Ball going on. It was lovely to see the characters dressed up dancing in the atrium and as dinner was in Lumiere’s I could watch them until the dining room opened. Dinner however was disappointing again. I had eggplant (awful), onion soup, fettucine with chicken and apricot trio none of which were great. Everything tonight was over cooked and bland which was a shame as it sounded so nice.

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After dinner was the Til We Meet Again character event. As we would be overnight in New York tomorrow they wanted to do it early so people could enjoy it. It was cute and I got to have a few last minute photos including one with Captain Mickey. It was however also sad as it was really us saying goodbye to the characters and the ship. 10 nights onboard had flown by and now we were about to leave.

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Day Twelve – New York Day 1

The night before we had been told we would probably be passing the Statue of Liberty around 7am so I got up early, grabbed a coffee and headed up on deck around 6:30. There was already a queue of people around the front of the ship so I joined some friends right at the tip. It was so cold and cloudy that I wasn’t even sure we would be able to see anything. Time seemed to just drag and drag as it appeared we were behind schedule. It was more like 8 by the time we could finally make out New York and the Statue came into view around 8:30 but it was so worth it.

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It took almost another hour for us to come into dock and although I spent awhile up on deck taking photos of the New York skyline I soon decided it was time for some food. As it was our last day I headed to Lumiere’s for breakfast as I had only done this once the entire trip. Today however it was chaos and I ended up getting very cold food so went up to Cabanas to have something else after.

As we were overnighting everyone had to go through immigration this morning so they said they would call everyone by deck to go off the ship. I headed down and got ready after breakfast. It wasn’t long before Deck 6 was called and I went through to join the line in immigration. I was surprised how slow it was moving but my table mates who spotted me in the queue were in the slower queue. I took about an hour to get through immigration while they took around 1 hour 45 so I didn’t feel so bad after that.

I had pre-purchased a 48 hour hop on hop off bus ticket for my one night in New York and decided I may as well use it for my extra day as probably wouldn’t get a full 2 days use out of it anyway. I walked the 20 minutes into town to the depot and exchanged my voucher for a ticket. Then I headed out on the Downtown route around New York, taking in sites such as the Empire State Building, the Faltron Building, Battery Park and the UN Building where we had numerous reroutes due to the UN conference. It was good to get some idea of the city and gave some great background information. Out of the three different tour drivers I had over the two days it was also the most informative.

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After doing the full route, I got off the bus and headed back to the ship. There was a final character photo opportunity at 4pm and I wanted to try and make this. I was however cutting it close as I only just got onboard for 4pm but luckily the characters were late due to a problem with the photographer. I joined the queue and waited my turn to get my final group photo.

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After that I went and settled my bill, using some of the Euros I had left as well as the majority of my Canadian money. It seemed silly to take it home when my onboard bill was actually less than what I had left. I then went to get some food as realised I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. I then headed back to get changed for the final show. Tonight it was Once Upon a Song which is one of my least favourite shows but I felt as it was the last night I had to go and see it.

After the show Drew Selley was doing another show in Fathoms so I headed to that. It turned out I was the first one there so I got to have a conversation with him before the show which was nice. Him and his wife were moving to New York so had spent the day unpacking.

I had about 10 minutes before dinner so after Drews set I headed up on deck to take some photos of the New York Skyline at night. It was beautiful out there and I was glad to have an extra night to experience it from the ship. It was dinner time though and time to have one last meal onboard.

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As it turned out this was the best meal of the entire trip. Satay Chicken Skewers to start with Mushroom Pasta, followed by Mushroom soup, then Chicken Schnitzel (best thing ever) & Beef Wellington and finally Crepe Suzette. They definitely kept the best for last.

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As it was the last night, I headed back and put my cases out before going to Fathoms for their 80s night show. This was a whole lot of fun with the audience getting involved in a dance off one side verses the other. At one point the club host Dave was even carried off into a lift as part of an elaborate bribery campaign. In the end though our side won mainly because we brought him food!

Straight after the show was the “If I was not upon the sea” skit that they save for longer cruises. It’s always a lot of fun and this time was no exception. I was in tears of laughter throughout and it is always a lovely way to say goodbye to the cruise staff who make the cruise what it is. It however meant that the cruise had come to an end and I had to say goodbye to the friends I had made.

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Day Thirteen – New York Day 2

I awoke early as per usual and headed up on deck for a few last minute photos of New York. I had already packed and was ready to head out into New York but my transfer wasn’t coming til 9:30am so I thought I may as well have breakfast first. We were back in Animators and almost all our table made it to breakfast which was really nice. I had my last few slices of American bacon and then headed off into New York. I found my cases easily but finding my transfer was fun as I was sent to two different places and he ended up being where I had originally gone.

After around 30 minutes of New York traffic I reached my hotel, the Casablanca just off Times Square. It was a lovely hotel and they had a coffee lounge still serving breakfast so I managed to grab a bagel and latte before I headed out into New York.

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I had worked out how to get to the hop on hop off bus stop and so headed in that direction. I found a bus stop and waited for the next Uptown route bus as I decided it would be a good idea to try and do two routes today. This route went up around Central Park and took in more of the scenic sites of New York. Although it was interesting there was a lot of places where you couldn’t actually see anything it claimed was on the route. It did however mean I knew where I wanted to go on the following day when walking up to the park.

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After this I headed to the Downtown route again. This time it actually followed the route it was meant to and passed around the Empire State building directly rather than near it like it had the day before. It meant I got to see a lot more of the city although the commentary wasn’t as informative.

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I had decided however that there was somewhere I needed to go today which was to the 9/11 memorial. The stop on the bus was near by and then I had worked out a route that would take me to Ground Zero. I had already decided not to do the museum but thought it was one of those places that you should visit when in New York. What surprised me however was how peaceful it was there. It made a nice rest from New York’s pace.

After Ground Zero I headed back to the bus, grabbing a New York pretzel on the way. The route back to Times Square passed Wall Street and China Town, as well as some of the sites from the previous day. It proved that every trip on the bus was a different tour no matter if it went the same route.

When I got back to Times Square I headed to Buffalo Wild Wings in order to purchase some sauces to take home. Unfortunately, they didn’t have either of the ones I wanted to I ended up empty handed and returned to the hotel. By now my room was ready so I settled in then headed to the coffee lounge area where they were offering free wine and cheese. My plan had been to go out and get food at Planet Hollywood as I had a $10 off voucher but I found myself feeling fairly full after eating in the lounge and called it an night.

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Day Fourteen – New York Day 3

When planning this holiday, my flight home was meant to be at 9:30pm, however the week before I left for this trip Virgin Atlantic cancelled my flight and changed me to the 6:30pm one. This had given me the dilemma of having less time to explore so I had narrowed down what I wanted to do and decided that I wanted to go to Central Park Zoo. I had even planned out my walking route to take in the most sites I could on the way there and back (with Carnigie Hall on the way there and Rockefeller Centre on the way back). I even got to see Good Morning America being filmed in Times Square.

The walk to Central Park was nice and not too busy. When I reached the park I realised however that there weren’t any signposts or maps within the park. This made orientation a little harder and I ended up walking further than I meant to. The Carousel was closed, and I walked past twice as I thought it was a public toilet, but everything else I managed to see. I even saw the Bethesda Terrace & Fountains which weren’t on my list as they were too far away.

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I finally managed to find the Balto Statue and the Central Park Zoo which was my aim for the day. To be honest my reason for going there was the fact it was the Madagascar Zoo but it looked nothing like it. I did however get to see some amazing animals and even went into the Children’s next door as it was included with my ticket. The animals here were very disappointing but it was still nice to look around.

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After the zoo I headed back towards my hotel, passing Trump Tower, Radio City Music Hall and even stopping at Rockefeller Centre for photos. The café that is there in the summer had closed the day before and they were in the process of adding the skating rink ready for their Christmas activities. By now though I was feeling absolutely knackered after hours of walking around and my feet were covered in blisters so I headed back to the hotel.

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When I arrived I was offered a private bathroom to get changed in ready for my flight which I thought was a lovely thing for them to offer. I got changed then went and had a coffee in the lounge and waited for my transfer to the airport. It arrived early and I was soon on my way to JFK for my flight home. He however missed the drop zone for Virgin Atlantic so I had a bit of a walk back to where I needed to be for me to check in.

The line at security wasn’t too long and I was soon through and into the departures area. I had used airmiles on the way back in order to purchase an Upper Class flight and as this was my first time I wanted to make the most of the lounge area. When I got there it was quiet and I ordered a drink before heading around to the spa area to book a complimentary treatment, a hair and scalp treatment. As I had some time I headed to a comfy seat and ordered some tapas with a chilli cocktail.

It was then time for my treatment so I went back to the spa. It was extremely relaxing and afterwards my hair felt amazing! I was still trying to make the most of the lounge though so decided to sample some more food. This time I tried what turned out to be chicken nachos were were OK but not great and I left most of them as it was just too big a portion. I also tried a different cocktail that was rum with champagne and coke (why?).

By this point I established I should probably have a proper meal if I was planning on it before the flight. I headed to the tabled section of the lounge and ordered a vegetable curry which was actually fantastic. The service however left a lot to be desired but at least it was a substantial meal. I had already been warned that the food on the plane would be rushed and probably not very big so this was to ensure I was full for the next 12 hours.

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There was just enough time for one more drink before I had to head for the plane. By this point the lounge was so busy I couldn’t find a seat so had to hover by the bar but then they called my flight anyway so I didn’t mind.

Boarding went smoothly and I took my seat to find that I had no menu card and my toiletry bag was open. I asked about the menu card and was told they would find me one but it took almost 20 minutes (by which point we had started taxiing for take off) and when it arrived they had scribbled all over it as were using it in the galley to mark what food they had. It turned out the plane had been changed at the last minute so they didn’t have all the food onboard and so it was pot luck what they did and didn’t have (for example no brown sauce for bacon rolls in the morning).

I decided that even though I was feeling full I wanted to order food. Unlike I had expected there was a starter option which I swapped for one of their quick bites of hummus and pita bread. I then had Vegetable Wellington (horrible) followed by a cheese plate.

After food the stewardesses all disappeared and so I headed to the bar to order a drink. It took almost 15 minutes for anyone to come to serve both myself and the gentleman who was already sat at the bar helping himself to brandy but eventually I got a rum and coke and returned to my movies. On the flight I managed to watch King Kong Skull Island, Alien Covenanent and Rough Night all of which I enjoyed.
 
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Day Fifteen – Home

Night turned into day on the flight on the way home and soon the lights were back on and breakfast was being served. I ordered waffles as well as a bacon roll but as it turned out there was no brown sauce I didn’t have the bacon. Then we were landing and had to go through immigration. Luckily it didn’t take much time at all and then I headed to the Virgin Arrivals Lounge.

Unlike the Clubhouse this was a much smaller area but had showers and a small spa. I checked in and took the opportunity to have a shower plus I booked a facial. It was nice to have this type of service after a flight but again the waiting staff in the breakfast area were slow and ignored me for around 30 minutes when all I wanted was a coffee.

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It was soon time for my facial and I must say it was very relaxing. I felt rejuvenated and much more like my old self rather than the person who was so worn out after New York they could barely walk. I sat in the lounge for a couple more hours and had some toast and more coffee before finally heading for my bus home.

The only problem was I hadn’t read the bus time right so arrived at the bus station 30 minutes before my bus was due. Even so it was nice to not have to rush and I was the first person onboard. It was only after we got on the M4 that the driver spotted we were almost out of fuel so we had to make an emergency stop along the way to refill. We did however make good time and arrived back around 15 minutes later than expected. I was however home and my trip had come to an end.

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It was a wonderful trip and I enjoyed every minute of it. I never thought I would like New York but it turns out I actually did. It was a lot better on the bus than walking everywhere even if it did take time to get everywhere. I probably would do the bus again as its always a different commentary and that made it so much more interesting. I don’t know if I would want to do a northern transatlantic route again mind as the disappointment in having the ports changed was hard to deal with. I had to replan and that was difficult for me without internet access. I also would never pay for an Upper Class flight as apart from the lounge access it wasn't great and I've had better service in Economy.
 
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