"Don't Fall off your Chair" - Pre-trip Report - November 2018 *Update Post 28*

[clochette]

I'd love to do a cruise, but can't convince DH. You'll have to give me tips. Looking forward to reading along.

[Fuellady]

Originally Posted by mrsdjh

Your trip sounds fab and the villa pool looks so lovely. The trip includes some of my wish lists for future holidays including staying at the Hyatt, a cruise and the Christmas party so I'm looking forward to reading along.

Diane

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Oh, I do hope the villa pool lives up to it's spectacular pics! Our last villa was such a disappointment, I just want this one to be perfect. The owners are the most organised people I've ever dealt with, extremely efficient with communications and paperwork, so fingers crossed! I'm exited for the things on your wish list as well, I can do the trial run for you

Thank you for reading Diane

Originally Posted by disney332

Sounds good

We did the Hyatt on landing a few yrs ago and had one of those balconies overlooking the shuttle.

Its a great hotel, fantastic breakfast and dining room

Disney332

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I think we're going to email the hotel next week requesting a balcony room looking into the airport hub. I hadn't thought of breakfast there, I'd located an ihop across the road but this might be a better option. Thank you for reading

[Fuellady]

Originally Posted by WileyCoyote

Lynda, what a great trip of some old favourites and some exciting new things !
I am trying to persuade Andy on the cruise front but he’s not having any of it so far so will be very interested in your trippie. Sounds like some lovely plans . Eek to staying at the hotel in MCO ! Villa and restaurant choices all sound great.

Good to see you making the most of the empty nest time. How are you all doing ? I am finding the lack of shopping, washing and taxi duty very liberating. The empty rooms and a very quiet house however is hard to get used to ...

Not long to go either, even better !

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Hey Amanda, not long for your trip either, I'm very keen to read about Dubai

Ah now, I can see you and Andy on a cruise, gliding down the fancy staircase of an evening on the way to dinner I have no idea why Neil changed his mind about going on a cruise, he was so set against it for years. So there is hope for Andy yet...

Yes, very excited about our Hyatt stay. It's a shame it's such a short one, only a few hours really.

We're coming to terms with the empty nest, although the change from one child to no children seems so much bigger than the change from 2 children to one child was. (That sounds a bit weird written down, I hope you know what I mean )

It's not empty at the moment though, Eilidh has a weeks holiday because she is at college, not uni so she has come home to disrupt our peace She goes back for a few days then she's coming home again next weekend for her 18th birthday celebrations, Shannon is coming home then too, so we will have a full house the weekend before we are due to go away.

How are you and Andy coping? And how are the boys getting on with their new "adult" lives?

Thank you for reading Amanda, great to have you along

[Fuellady]

Originally Posted by jools1302

Looking forward to reading along, always enjoy your trip reports!
Enjoy!

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Thank you for reading Julie, welcome along

Originally Posted by Dabootie

Our cottage is in Mulben, I’m from Ardersier originally.
Funny about the car hire, we go to Vegas and California next month and Alamo Brits were massively more expensive. Oh and we love Highlands Reserve, usually stay on N Hampton and walk to Berry town centre.

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Very close to us then, Mulben is just a hop and a skip away! Ardersier too really, not far at all. Yes, car hire is a funny thing, the prices vary so much from supplier to supplier.

Glad to hear you love Highlands Reserve, so many people seem to like it there so we have high hopes. We have been looking on google maps at the road from our villa to Berry Town Center. I think the plan is to walk up to Applebees for lunch and some afternoon drinks, then walk (read: stagger) home again It looks quite far for us, I think our street is Brighton, but I'm sure we'll manage!

Originally Posted by clochette

I'd love to do a cruise, but can't convince DH. You'll have to give me tips. Looking forward to reading along.

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I really wish I could give you tips on how to convince your DH about a cruise, but honestly, my DH changed his mind all on his own. I had totally given up hope of us ever going on a cruise and hadn't mentioned it for a long time, probably a couple of years since I last brought it up. Maybe lack of nagging is the key?!?

Thank you for reading along

[Goldia]

This sounds like it's going to be a fabulous trip.

Like you I've looked up at the Hyatt rooms in MCO and thought it would be great to stay there one day, what a good idea to use the Tesco Clubcard vouchers as it will feel even nicer knowing you only paid a few pounds!

The villa looks lovely and I bet you will have a brilliant time at your smidge of Disney...do you see what I did there? I'd love to go to the Christmas party one day. I hope you do get to ride 7dmt.

I imagine it still feels a way off for you, but there's not too long to wait now. Have you started packing yet?

[Fuellady]

Originally Posted by Goldia

This sounds like it's going to be a fabulous trip.

Like you I've looked up at the Hyatt rooms in MCO and thought it would be great to stay there one day, what a good idea to use the Tesco Clubcard vouchers as it will feel even nicer knowing you only paid a few pounds!

The villa looks lovely and I bet you will have a brilliant time at your smidge of Disney...do you see what I did there? I'd love to go to the Christmas party one day. I hope you do get to ride 7dmt.

I imagine it still feels a way off for you, but there's not too long to wait now. Have you started packing yet?

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Hi Abby, thank you, we're very excited for this trip . Can't wait for our Hyatt stay.

Lol, yes I see what you did there . It's an even smaller smidge than last time, but better than nothing!

No packing done yet, both girls are home next weekend so unfortunately there won't be room for the cases to come down until the Monday before we go. We're last minute packers anyway, so no stress there

Thanks for reading

[WileyCoyote]

Originally Posted by Fuellady

Hey Amanda, not long for your trip either, I'm very keen to read about Dubai

Ah now, I can see you and Andy on a cruise, gliding down the fancy staircase of an evening on the way to dinner I have no idea why Neil changed his mind about going on a cruise, he was so set against it for years. So there is hope for Andy yet...

Yes, very excited about our Hyatt stay. It's a shame it's such a short one, only a few hours really.

We're coming to terms with the empty nest, although the change from one child to no children seems so much bigger than the change from 2 children to one child was. (That sounds a bit weird written down, I hope you know what I mean )

It's not empty at the moment though, Eilidh has a weeks holiday because she is at college, not uni so she has come home to disrupt our peace She goes back for a few days then she's coming home again next weekend for her 18th birthday celebrations, Shannon is coming home then too, so we will have a full house the weekend before we are due to go away.

How are you and Andy coping? And how are the boys getting on with their new "adult" lives?

Thank you for reading Amanda, great to have you along

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Ah that’s nice to have them home for a bit. We just spoke to them and they are ok. Jamie is very much enjoying himself . Connor is finding it hard work but only to be expected in finals year.
We have never eaten out so much .. it’s great !

[Fuellady]

UPDATE

Only a few days to go now, and we have finished sorting out the last few bits that needed done.

Car Hire

We have booked an Intermediate car for the morning of the cruise. We collect at MCO and drop off at the Port. We intended to hire the smallest economy car, but to go up 2 categories was only 60p more, so it was a no brainer to get the slightly better car, even if it is only for a few hours. This cost us £26.

When we disembark the ship, we collect an Intermediate SUV from Port Canaveral which we will have for the remaining 10 days of our holiday. Neil is hoping for an upgrade to a Standard SUV, which is what happened last year but if if doesn't happen it's no big deal, the Intermediate SUV is plenty big enough for the 2 of us.

Cruise

We decided to pre-pay gratuities for our cruise which means that we shouldn't have to worry about a bill to pay at the end and also that we wont have to carry cash around with us for tips. This cost $24.50 per person per day.

We also, finally, decided to buy the Deluxe Drinks Package at a cost of $50 per person per day plus service added on as well. Again, this means we don't have to tip when served drinks, and it will be nice to try new drinks without having to drink it whether we like it or not! This package includes bottled water, premium coffees, soft drinks, beers, wine by the glass, spirits and cocktails. I'm going to try to keep a tally of how much it would have cost without the package as well.

Hotel

For the night before we fly, we have booked the Moxy hotel near Aberdeen airport. We will be able to walk to the airport from here in the morning. It cost £53 which was a bit more than I wanted, but not too bad for the convenience of being on the doorstep of the airport.

So, that's us almost ready. Just the packing to do and a few more days of work to get through and we're off.

Thank you for reading

[Fuellady]

Originally Posted by WileyCoyote

Ah that’s nice to have them home for a bit. We just spoke to them and they are ok. Jamie is very much enjoying himself . Connor is finding it hard work but only to be expected in finals year.
We have never eaten out so much .. it’s great !

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Sorry Amanda, just noticed your reply I'm glad the boys are doing well. Shannon is also in her final year and seems to have a lot to do.

Good to hear you're making the most of it by eating out more.

[Goldia]

It's super close now! I definitely approve of the pre purchasing of the drinks package for the cruise! What a good idea. I hope you have a brilliant holiday I can't wait to read all about it.