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-   -   No Trolling: A Norwegian Saga Day 2 - At sea (https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=966407)

Stewboy 3 Jul 16 05:56 PM

No Trolling: A Norwegian Saga Day 2 - At sea
 
Day 2 - Monday 30th May 2016

All at sea
Today was a sea day; action packed and full of fun.

We started the day off with room service which arrived, on time but unannounced, at 7:30. Woken by the knock at the door and disorientated; I stumbled around the room for a bit before eventually locating the door, inviting the server in and fumbling in the safe to find money for the tip. $2 lighter I showed the server out and clambered back into bed, only to then receive a phone call from room service. On our WBTA cruise we got a call every morning telling us room service was on it’s way - we used it as our wake up call. Assuming they’d forgotten, I told the person who called to see if we were happy with our service, that we were not because we hadn’t received a call. Unfortunately, they took no notice and only once on this cruise did we get a call before room service arrived.

https://i.imgur.com/z9xfH21.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/uwJy3pC.jpg
Stateroom 2576

It was about 8:15 when we woke Isabella to share the fruit and croissants with us. Once breakfast was done we got ready as we had an appointment with Anna, Elsa and Olaf at the Frozen Meet and Greet. Isabella put on her Elsa dress and off we went.

We headed down to Animator’s Palate, which was decorated with Frozen backgrounds, music, lighting and animations on the screens. We joined the short queue waiting to meet Olaf, followed by Anna and Elsa. There was a family of about seven people in front of us who we nicknamed the “Many Configuration Family” as they arranged and rearranged the members of their party into multiple combinations for a number of photos. It’s a good job we didn’t have anywhere to be urgently - although lunch would be nice!

Finally it was our turn - well, Isabella’s. No multiple set ups here. One autograph in her new autograph book (an Asda-bought notebook with the addition of a daddy-designed sticker on the front), a couple of photos and a warm hug later and she was done. On to the sisters and I’m pretty sure that Anna was the same girl that had been Rapunzel on the WBTA. Another couple of autographs and photos and we were done.

https://i.imgur.com/9O9nLxs.jpg
Waiting to meet the Frozen characters

https://i.imgur.com/98Wh4fl.jpg
The book

https://i.imgur.com/qEvNbiy.jpg
Arendelle comes to Animator's Palate

https://i.imgur.com/0yqgCT9.jpg
Do you wanna meet a snowman?

https://i.imgur.com/4iA14pE.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/OCBFa1i.jpg
Isabella likes warm hugs

https://i.imgur.com/8obhwdt.jpg
Olaf

https://i.imgur.com/AvjJ2GG.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/695O7mE.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/dwjdWUU.jpg
Meeting Anna and Elsa

https://i.imgur.com/yswlXms.jpg
Anna and Elsa

Well sort of. Because next up was the Princess Gathering; three more Princesses to meet and greet in the atrium. As we were running a few minutes early - despite the earlier hold up - we had a little sit down in the Promenade Lounge before eventually heading down to the atrium.

On the way to the atrium there had been an unfortunate sea sickness incident. By all accounts (well, Jo’s account) a child had been feeling ill but hadn’t told the parents until it was far too late!

We joined the queue for the princesses and within ten minutes Isabella was meeting Belle, Rapunzel and Cinderella. As usual the princesses gave her cuddles and chatted with her for a few minutes before signing her autograph book and posing for a photo or two.

Isabella was actually pretty tired this morning due to the clocks going forward and us losing an hour in bed and she wasn’t alone - there were a lot of tired looking kids wandering around the boat this morning.

After all the meeting and greeting it was time for some eating!

https://i.imgur.com/K7LEGjx.jpg
Having a cuddle with mum

https://i.imgur.com/xUUxuu2.jpg
Water water everywhere...

https://i.imgur.com/vInkmWG.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Wni51Xd.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/m8hJy7v.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/JaBLG7q.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6skmN0m.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/QcdTD3q.jpg
Meeting Belle

https://i.imgur.com/slYhjqX.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/J6in65y.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ET8Vlzz.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ls4ZiQK.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/XLLQdDX.jpg
Meeting Rapunzel

https://i.imgur.com/ylBqt6E.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/zV8sZFw.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/JVihX27.jpg
Meeting Cinderella

Stewboy 3 Jul 16 05:58 PM

“Have a great day!”
It was about 10:00 when we got to Cabanas and it was pretty busy. We managed to find ourselves a table and hit the buffet. As usual, despite going to the buffet separately, Jo and I ended up with almost identical plates. I suppose after 15 years together it’s to be expected that we have basically the same tastes!

https://i.imgur.com/ZDjkVyK.jpg
Yum

After enjoying a tasty breakfast we headed back to our stateroom so that Isabella could get changed and hit the kids club. Upon returning we discovered a number of gifts in our fish extender. We took the gifts into the room to look at in more detail later. For now, Isabella was keen to go the club and Jo and I were toying with the idea of going to see a lecture on Norway in the Buena Vista Theatre. After dropping Isabella off at the club, we decided, as it’s right next door, that we would attend the lecture. It was surprisingly busy in there, and there were some blatant examples of people not moving along the rows :angry:

https://i.imgur.com/6iqSpEZ.jpg
Fish extender goodies

https://i.imgur.com/VA1QWlU.jpg
A quick costume change

We found a couple of seats near the front and sat down. And waited. For over 15 minutes! They were having some technical issues which meant that Dr. Marv wasn’t able to get his slides up on the screen. It was eventually solved and he was good to go.

Dr. Marvin Slind - Professor Emeritus of History at Luther College in Iowa - is a second generation Norwegian-American. His talk covered Norwegian history, language, culture, food etc. and was very informative, interesting and even funny in places. We were really glad we decided to attend and definitely learned a few things.

When the talk was over we picked Isabella up and returned to Cabanas for lunch . Having only had breakfast a couple of hours ago we had a light lunch - some mussels and shrimp. Isabella had a selection of fish, ham, cheese, tomatoes and bread.

https://i.imgur.com/8sV8864.jpg
Waiting for Dr. Marv

https://i.imgur.com/MCqMkL3.jpg
Velkommen til Norge

https://i.imgur.com/BSw7npU.jpg
How to say thank you in Norwegian

https://i.imgur.com/4qpAJNi.jpg
Pronunciation tips

https://i.imgur.com/rmxbxRG.jpg
Scandinavia or Norden

https://i.imgur.com/soUuCSc.jpg
An interesting map showing the latitudinal positions of European cities overlaid on North America

https://i.imgur.com/35BgkIh.jpg
More cuddles

https://i.imgur.com/XbpjnaW.jpg
Jo hates shelling shrimp

After lunch we made our way back to the room and were greeted by yet more fish extender goodies and a lovely message on our magnetic white board from the Morgans - "Have a great day!". Back in the room Jo was overcome by an unexpected bout of hiccups, helpfully captured on camera by me ;)

https://i.imgur.com/p77FIsU.jpg
"Have a great day!"

https://i.imgur.com/ueVz5RV.jpg
More fish extender goodies

https://i.imgur.com/Et5QES3.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/4mSQFZk.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/2dFWG2J.jpg
The goodies laid out

https://i.imgur.com/jdPxOsn.jpg
Trying not to...

https://i.imgur.com/PNj6RH2.jpg
Trying not to...

https://i.imgur.com/OaMg2Ii.jpg
Hiccup!

https://i.imgur.com/naW74iE.jpg
Crying with laughter!

Once Jo had recovered it was time for Isabella’s nap and while Jo put her to bed I popped up to deck 9 to get drinks. Up on deck it was a cold and windy day yet there were plenty of people in and around the pool determined to enjoy the day poolside whatever the weather!

I returned to the room to find yet more gifts on in our fish extender and shortly after, the room service arrived that I’d ordered before Isabella had gone to sleep; Grilled Cheddar Cheese Sandwich for Jo, Pepperoni Pizza for me.

After we’d eaten I wrote up my notes and then Jo and I both fell asleep for a bit until we were awoken by room service ringing to ask if our food had been ok. I preferred the old system where they rang BEFORE food arrived to let you know it was coming!

Stewboy 3 Jul 16 05:58 PM

Disney Diva
Awake, I went back up to deck 9 to get coffee and upon my return Isabella was up and getting ready for this afternoon’s fun: The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Obviously for this Isabella was to be dressed as a princess, and this afternoon’s outfit was her recently purchased Cinderella dress.

We made our way forward to The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique on deck 10. We had booked the Crown Package again and Isabella originally wanted the Fairy Tale Princess option but her hair wasn’t long enough for the bun on top of her head so she ended up with the Disney Diva option but with the Fairy Tale Princess tiara; a nice compromise by her Fairy Godmother in Training - Anna from England (more specifically the North East). Anna chatted to Isabella all the way through the process - they are very good these Fairy Godmother’s in Training.

https://i.imgur.com/wrW4G0N.jpg
Salagadoola...

https://i.imgur.com/YTqzuJn.jpg
Menchicka...

https://i.imgur.com/izBK37k.jpg
Boola...

https://i.imgur.com/UJDP3dy.jpg
Bibbidi...

https://i.imgur.com/e67n4So.jpg
Bobbidi...

https://i.imgur.com/1XSSdcz.jpg
Boo



Isabella was having a great time becoming a Disney Diva - complete with blonde and blue hair extensions - and 40 minutes later the transformation was complete.

As tonight was formal night we went back to the room and Isabella did her drawings for the first two days while Jo and I underwent our own transformations - with the help of a glass or two of red wine - from casual to formal; from sober to drunk… ;)

https://i.imgur.com/8N0hGZZ.jpg
Cheers

Once ready we headed down to the atrium for the Captain’s Reception, AKA free drink time! Cocktail in hand we queued for a family photo in front of the Helmsman Mickey statue and then hung around the atrium listening to the vintage jazz sounds of Fine Whines. It was a really lovely feeling; soaking up the atmosphere on board the Disney Magic - I felt very happy and suitably relaxed.

We had time for one more cocktail before it was time to walk down to Carioca’s for tonight’s dinner. On the way Isabella asked if she could go to the kids club with the little girl on our table again - who from this point on I shall call Hayley (that wasn’t her name but I didn’t check if they were ok being in this TR and they hadn’t heard of the DIBB - the shame!) - obviously we said yes :) Our table mates were already there, and as we joined them Hayley gave Isabella a ring to wear.

https://i.imgur.com/wuVwt2g.jpg
Disney Diva Isabella

https://i.imgur.com/9ix6QXX.jpg
Mummy & Isabella

https://i.imgur.com/V0ZlUeK.jpg
Daddy & Isabella

https://i.imgur.com/fPZ367z.jpg
Daddy & Mummy (by Isabella)

There’s some confusion over what we ate for tonight’s dinner for a couple of reasons:
  1. We forgot to get photos of our main courses
  2. I forgot to write down what we had
  3. The menu on the Disney Cruise Line app wasn’t the same as the menu in the restaurant

Now some might blame the wine and the free cocktails for this confusion - I’m not going to point any fingers - but whatever we ate, my notes say it was ok, which means it obviously wasn’t great.

Inexplicably, we were given napkin hats. Mine fell apart instantly and Isabella didn’t think that hers went with her dress - Disney Diva indeed - so that part of the evening wasn’t a particular success.

https://i.imgur.com/2NateE6.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/udDvHKy.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/OnR2rLG.jpg
Napkin hats

When dinner was over Isabella and Hayley went off to the club holding hands, and Jo and I invited the couple to join us for the pub quiz in O’Gills the Irish Bar.

We had fun - and cocktails of the day - and ended up finishing second with 14/20 while the winners got 17/20. As the quiz finished our table mates - shall we give them fake names too? Let’s call them Ashley and Pete. Anyway, their wave phone went off; Hayley wanted picking up. We expected ours to go off too and were surprised when it didn’t. We finished our drinks while listening to the three Irish-American sisters, The Gothard Sisters, performing.

After leaving the bar we popped down to the shops where Jo bought a new bag, some sunglasses and some Aleve. It was now time to go and get Isabella. I asked her what happened to Hayley and she hadn’t even realised she’d gone - the holding hands obviously didn’t last very long!

https://i.imgur.com/gNPKczt.gif
The many shades of Jo

https://i.imgur.com/IXWVxjy.jpg
A better hat

Back at the room we got ready for bed, and after Isabella went to sleep Jo and I watched Deadpool on the iPad. We got about halfway through before calling it a night.

Tomorrow we’re at our first port of call - Stavanger which can only mean one thing: the much anticipated Petroleum Museum!

Thanks for reading.

https://i.imgur.com/1pVOrEw.jpg
Towel elephant

https://i.imgur.com/u9KiUjD.jpg
Day 2 by Isabella

margyloveswdw 3 Jul 16 06:36 PM

A great sea day!

JenD1 3 Jul 16 07:44 PM

Jo was totally rocking the napkin hat. Did you ever imagine meeting so many princess in your life Stew?! ;)Thanks for sharing.:spin:

Milner 3 Jul 16 07:55 PM

Great read.

Guest 3 Jul 16 08:08 PM

Thanks for sharing! Really tempted by a Disney cruise after reading your reports! :)

pennycrayon 3 Jul 16 08:14 PM

Fabulous!

Ps Anna is rapunzel from last year and Elsa is last years belle! The cast are all on Instagram 👍

nanasamboy 3 Jul 16 08:42 PM

You're one good looking family!

Always love the many faces of Jo :)

I am totally jealous of Isabella and her meet and greets. Especially Olaf. I am almost 30 haha.

EJSakaAnna 3 Jul 16 09:35 PM

Glad have another Sear family report to follow :). The fish extender idea looks fun!


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