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Old 26 Nov 17, 09:25 AM  
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Gill H
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Join Date: Jan 08
Location: South Wales

theDIBB Guidebook
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Beyond the Sea: Day 5 - Embarkation day

<<<Day 4


OK – so, hands up all the cruise trippie fans who’ve just read their first DLP trippie?

Hands up all the DLP trippie fans who are about to read their first cruise trippie?

Hands up all those who wish I’d just get on with it?

OK then…

But be warned. This is long. I'm talking 'Brett and Jo trippie' long. Maybe even 'Libby and Ben trippie' long (and if you don't know who I'm talking about, check out their wonderful WDW trippies - but not yet!) So make yourself a cuppa and get comfortable. Ready? Here we go then...

It’s Saturday morning. Day 5. And as I’ve been introducing each day of the video in the appropriate language, today I need to look up both Spanish and Catalan for ‘Day 5’. (Thank goodness for free wifi and websites with audio pronunciation guides!)

We awake at 7.30 and as we get ready, we discover Teletubbies in Spanish on the TV. Hmm, not sure we need to learn the Spanish for ‘big hug’ this morning. We have breakfast in the little restaurant area in the lobby of the hotel. There’s a small but decent selection of all the usual continental breakfast goodies, plus some Spanish favourites such as tortilla (as in the potato omelette, not the Mexican corn thingy).



Really not sure about cold tortilla for breakfast but we give it a go. There are two kinds, one with red peppers on top.



There are also some unusual breads, some addictive little cheesy pastry straws, some sweet pastries and a ginger cake. Plus of course juice and coffee – plenty to set us up for the day.





We quickly pack the little we’ve used last night. We managed to organise ourselves so that one case (still unopened) has all the cruise stuff, another has all the stuff we’ve used at DLP, and one of our little cabin cases has stuff we’ll actually need to keep with us, while the other has what we used last night. It was definitely worth the time we spent working out the logistics of this before we packed!

We check out, thanking the friendly staff profusely for their welcome. For a no-frills budget hotel, the Ibis has been great, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it if you intend to stay in this area. However, the area itself is pretty dull and next time I think we would stay somewhere more picturesque.

Our Suntransfers driver arrives just before the booked time of 10am, and helps us with our cases, and soon we are battling traffic to the cruise port. This time we do manage to see a few nicer parts of the city as we pass them. The taxi driver has the radio on, and we manage to catch the words ‘Catalan’ and ‘referendum’ which, added to all the Catalan flags and ‘Si’ posters we saw yesterday, seems to mean a referendum on independence for Catalonia is in the offing. We don’t realise at that time that this is not an official government referendum, nor how contentious an issue it will become. Fortunately this morning all is peaceful (well, relatively) as we approach the cruise terminal.

I’m going to pause here and apologise if I go into too much detail for all the experienced DCL cruisers on here. Everything is new to us, and I’m going to assume that some DLP veterans have followed me into this strange new area of the Dibb, and explain a few things as I go along.

As we drive into the car park we see the Disney Magic right in front of us, and even hear the famous horns playing ‘When you wish upon a star’. We get the shivers. After all the saving and planning, this is really happening at last!

__________________
DLP: day trips 2000, 2003; Cheyenne Sep 2009, Feb 2011, Nov 2018; Sequoia Lodge June 2008, May 2012; Elysee May 2012, Jan 2013, Sep 2013; Disneyland Hotel Mar 2015, Santa Fe Nov 2016; Newport Bay Sep 2017, Ibis Sep 2019, Hotel NY Art of Marvel Nov 2021
WDW: Port Orleans Riverside Dec 10; SSR Nov 14

Edited at 10:11 AM.
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Old 26 Nov 17, 09:36 AM  
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Gill H
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Join Date: Jan 08
Location: South Wales

theDIBB Guidebook
Guidebook Photos: 86
Guidebook Reviews: 24
Our taxi driver helps us out with the cases and as before, I tip him a few Euros. We can see the little marquee to check in luggage, and Peter goes right over to take our cases while I join the queue. After all our enquiries and planning, in the end I forget that I put aside some cash to tip the luggage handlers at the cruise port – sorry guys!

We are prepared for a reasonable wait, and feel grateful that the queue is all under cover – but in the event, we are only outside a few minutes before the doors of the port building open and we’re let inside. As we come in, we’re greeted by a beaming lady with a Mickey glove on who is giving everyone high fives, and then we wait for a while in an area with a few little shops, until we’re shown through into the main hall and told where to go to check in. This takes very little time, and soon we have our Keys To The World (KTTW) – swipe cards which will be our room key, onboard ID and more. On them is written our dining room rotation (which I’ll explain later) and our table number, as well as our names. We’re also told our boarding number – group 8 – and told to find ourselves a seat.

That’s when we spot our fellow cruisers Jerri and Andy, who we met up with at DLP after getting to know them on the Facebook cruise group, and they invite us to sit near them. As they are seasoned DCL cruisers they will be boarding before us, but there will be plenty of time to chat before then.

After a few minutes catching up on each other’s adventures, we are asked to come back over to the check-in desk as they have forgotten to take our photos! This is no problem, and soon dealt with. Then we watch Jerri and Andy’s stuff while they get their photos taken with Captain Mickey, and they then do the same for us.

(Spoiler alert: despite the high cost of the photo packages, we do eventually cave in and buy a package of 10 - and here's the first one!)



Later I go to the little ‘hole in the wall’ shop selling drinks and snacks, and get us a couple of Cokes, which we drink while chatting with Jerri and Andy. They are a lovely couple and really make us feel welcome. But before long their group is called, and we are left for a little while longer before people start coming round with big red signs saying ‘8’ and we can join the queue to go through to the next area.

As before, someone gives us a Mickey high-five as we go past. This is the most fun I’ve ever had boarding any type of transport. It would certainly brighten up my morning commute at home! We are directed up the escalator, then along the ramp, and then we are waiting to board the ship. A cheery CM asks us for our surname and is good enough to check the pronunciation with us! We are so used to people mispronouncing our surname, it’s nice that someone takes the time to get it right. And so the CM announces “Disney Magic, please welcome the Hothersall family!” and to a round of applause we step into the lavishly decorated Atrium of the Magic.

Now, we’ve done our research. We’ve trawled the Dibb cruise forum, looked at Cruisecritic, watched dozens of YouTube videos … we know what to expect. But nothing can prepare you for your first taste of life on a Disney cruise ship. The Atrium is gorgeous, all Art Deco theming from the heady days of the luxury liner, and everyone we meet seems genuinely glad to have us aboard. We are soon wandering around exclaiming at everything. Oh, look at the beautiful lifts! And the entrance to Lumiere’s restaurant! And the portholes! And … and … and … you get the idea. This is our first ever cruise, and we’ve started in fine style.

To start, we are invited to have our picture taken with the statue of Mickey steering the ship, which is in the Atrium. It’s a lovely photo and they are more than willing to take one with our camera as well as the official photo. (Ours is here as we didn't buy the official one.)



As our stateroom won’t be available yet, we decide to find our way to lunch. We have two options: Cabanas (which, for those reading their first DCL cruise trippie, is the self service restaurant open every mealtime) or the same MDR (main dining room) as we will be in tonight. DCL have a ‘rotational dining’ system which means you are allocated a different restaurant each night, but keep the same table number and servers. We have read on the Dibb that it’s a good idea to have lunch in the MDR on embarkation day, because it’s easier to keep your hand luggage with you if you have waiter service – plus it’s quieter. Our restaurant for today is Carioca’s, which is on Deck 3, the same deck as the Atrium. It’s easy enough to find – we go along the corridor to the right hand side of Lumiere’s, then through the Promenade Lounge, and we’re there.

We are met at the entrance by a CM with a box of hand wipes, and encouraged to take one and wipe our hands before we enter. This is done throughout the cruise at every restaurant – they take hygiene very seriously, and rightly so.

Carioca’s restaurant has a Brazilian theme. It’s named after Jose Carioca, the parrot from ‘The Three Caballeros’ who you may know from the Gran Fiesta ride in WDW. The name ‘Carioca’ means someone who comes from Rio, fact fans. The décor is meant to suggest a Brazilian village, with brightly coloured lanterns hanging from the ceiling, and a night-time view over Rio on one wall. We are welcomed in by a CM who, according to his name tag, boasts the name of Genesis – well, where better to start? He hands us over to his colleague Oscar, who shows us to our table. We’re at table 11, as we will be in each of the three restaurants – it’s on our KTTW card. However, we won’t meet our regular servers until tonight. For now we are placed in the care of Oscar, who takes our food order, and Parioj, who looks after our drinks.

We order our usual Coke and lemonade, and settle down to inspect the menu. Check out the cute napkins!



The lunch menu is slightly different from the evening but still very extensive. To begin we’re brought some bread and butter.d



Soon along come our starters – or should I say appetisers, as we’re adopting American usage on the ship. Peter goes for an empanada (a sort of Spanish version of a pasty, filled with beef and tomato).



I go for a lighter option, the smoked salmon.



We both follow up with chicken Caesar, which is a lot bigger than we were expecting at lunchtime – there’s a whole chicken breast there! It’s lovely though, and we do manage to finish most of it.



I’m far too full for dessert, but Peter decides he just wants a small taste of something sweet, and asks if he can just have a small portion of ice cream. This is no problem at all, says Oscar, who brings some over right away. And I don’t mind admitting that I do sneak a little spoonful.



We finish with a coffee, by which time it’s gone 1.30 and our staterooms should be available.
__________________
DLP: day trips 2000, 2003; Cheyenne Sep 2009, Feb 2011, Nov 2018; Sequoia Lodge June 2008, May 2012; Elysee May 2012, Jan 2013, Sep 2013; Disneyland Hotel Mar 2015, Santa Fe Nov 2016; Newport Bay Sep 2017, Ibis Sep 2019, Hotel NY Art of Marvel Nov 2021
WDW: Port Orleans Riverside Dec 10; SSR Nov 14
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Old 26 Nov 17, 09:39 AM  
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Gill H
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Join Date: Jan 08
Location: South Wales

theDIBB Guidebook
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We are in 2105 on Deck 2, just one down from where we are now. This is really handy as we don’t need to wait for the lifts, just go down one flight of stairs. However, on reaching the lobby we find that the corridors are still roped off, as the rooms are not quite ready yet. We’re held there about 10 minutes before we can go and find our room. We’re very near to Carioca’s – in fact our stateroom is pretty much under the Promenade Lounge.

We’re greeted by our stateroom host, a friendly chap called Nigel who is originally from Grenada. He welcomes us in, shows us round and asks us to let him know if there’s anything we need. Which, in fact, we do almost straight away, as unfortunately I spot some hairs in the bath, and the bottom of the bath is generally a bit grubby. (Evidently we should have left a bit more time before rushing down here!) He apologises profusely and says he’ll sort it straight away. Since we are thoroughly British and therefore uncomfortable sitting around while someone cleans right in front of us, we decide to explore the rest of the floor to give Nigel time to finish cleaning.

This gives us a chance to discover the many and varied magnetic decorations which people use to decorate their doors. Many feature Disney characters, obviously, but also lots have the family name and pictures, or something denoting a special occasion. As first timers we don’t have much, though we have brought a magnetic picture of us on Buzz Lightyear at DLP, and also two little easels with our names on which were our table decorations at a friend’s wedding earlier in the year.

We spot some familiar names on the doors too. As part of the Facebook cruise group, we are taking part in a fish extender (FE) exchange, which now is probably as good a time as any to explain. (Experienced DCL cruisers can skip this bit if they like – newbies, read on!)

DCL ships have a metal hanger next to each door, in the shape of a fish. Many people like to bring a‘fish extender’ which is basically a piece of fabric with pockets which hangs on the fish outside your stateroom. Some people make their own or adapt something they already have, but there is a whole industry out there of people who will make them to order for a fee. We’ve bought ours from Etsy, from a lovely lady called Tiffany, whose ‘shop’ is called Gradysmommy. She has made it in royal blue and silver, which we requested to match the DLP 25th anniversary colours. It features the DCL logo, our names, and silhouettes of our two favourite characters – Stitch for Peter, and Sorcerer Mickey for me. She has done an amazing job, and it was worth the price she charged (even allowing for shipping from the US) but unfortunately we got stung by a customs charge also, and it ended up costing us over £60 in total! Still, it is beautiful and we still use it at home to hold papers.



Anyway, the idea is that each person in the FE exchange is put in a group of staterooms, and rather like a secret santa scheme, they all bring little presents for each other. We are in a group of 10 staterooms, so have brought 9 bags of goodies with us. It has been quite a challenge to keep these small enough to bring, inexpensive enough not to break the budget, and still contain something to please everyone. We’ve trawled London’s souvenir shops, as well as places like Tiger, and have brought some small bags of sweets, some London-themed keyrings, magnets, pencils and badges, and character-themed notebooks and pens, as well as novelty pencil sharpeners. One of the group has asked for nothing edible as their children have allergies, so we’ve had to give them extra things to make up for the lack of sweeties. We’ve also made some presents ourselves; Peter does papercraft, and has stamped some elaborate bookmarks with a lemon on them, to signify the Amalfi coast. He’s also stamped onto some lined exercise books to create journals to match. Meanwhile, I have cross stitched some small pictures, keyrings, magnets etc, with London landmarks. We’ve also created a map for a treasure hunt game where you have to find something on the ship beginning with the initials M, A, G, I and C. The prizes for this are winner’s medals for each child, and a pack of tissues designed like £20 notes for the adults, or in some cases sweets for everyone to share. Just to complicate matters, two of the families have a baby, who will be too young for most of what we have – so we have bought each of them a Tsum Tsum instead.

If you thought this explanation was complicated, it’s nothing compared to the hours of planning, sorting, ticking off, discussing and packing it took to get everything with us. We have 9 carrier bags, each sealed with sellotape, as well as some party bags to decant the goodies into, and labels for each family, as well as a colour-coded list of names and stateroom numbers. I really hope it’s worth all the hoo-ha in the end!

Anyway, by the time we’ve checked out the rest of our floor, Nigel has finished cleaning and is in the corridor. We thank him again and go in to check out our stateroom properly. And wow, what a beautiful stateroom it is. Obviously we’ve never been on any other cruises so have nothing to compare it to, but it is surprisingly roomy for the two of us. The bed is large and very comfortable, there’s plenty of storage, decent wardrobe space and a great split bathroom – not perhaps such a big deal for two adults, but I can see how that would be a big plus for a family. And there’s a nice little fridge which is currently housing six bottles of water – we booked and paid for these in advance.

(Sorry, didn't take any pics of the room, but check out Peter's video which has some footage.)
__________________
DLP: day trips 2000, 2003; Cheyenne Sep 2009, Feb 2011, Nov 2018; Sequoia Lodge June 2008, May 2012; Elysee May 2012, Jan 2013, Sep 2013; Disneyland Hotel Mar 2015, Santa Fe Nov 2016; Newport Bay Sep 2017, Ibis Sep 2019, Hotel NY Art of Marvel Nov 2021
WDW: Port Orleans Riverside Dec 10; SSR Nov 14
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Old 26 Nov 17, 09:42 AM  
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Gill H
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Join Date: Jan 08
Location: South Wales

theDIBB Guidebook
Guidebook Photos: 86
Guidebook Reviews: 24
One of the FB group members has organised a meet up for the group, which is taking place in Fathoms nightclub in the ‘after hours’ area. We decide to go along for a little while and meet some of the people who so far have only been names on a screen. But first we pop by the phone desk in the Promenade Lounge, where a man is getting people signed up for the free 50mb of wifi. We sign up for this – apparently you can only do this on your first day – and also get him to check that our phones are properly set up so we won’t be hit by any unexpected data roaming charges. Although we are physically in Europe, the ship is registered in the Bahamas, and apparently while out at sea you can get some pretty high costs if you’re not careful. We only intend to use the wifi on the day before we leave, to do OLCI for our plane home, so we don’t bother buying the expensive packages they have available.

We do, however, have access to the excellent DCL app, which lists upcoming shows, activities, character meets and even restaurant menus. It also enables us to text each other for free while on the ship, which is a useful feature.

Once our phones are sorted, we find our way to Fathoms, which is on the same deck, the other side of the Atrium. Inside are quite a large group of people, and we recognise one or two from seeing them in DLP a few days earlier. Others are new to us, but we know the names if not the faces, and have a brief chat with some of them. It’s odd how, despite having had detailed FB conversations about various aspects of the cruise over several months, we’re now rather tongue-tied when it comes to meeting people face to face! Neither of us are very good at the whole chit chat thing, so after a while we bid our fellow cruisers goodbye, and go up to Deck 4 to find Shutters, the photography shop. There’s a very good reason for this – on embarkation day they have a raffle, and you need to enter by a certain time. The photo packages are very expensive, and we simply haven’t had the spare cash to splash out nearly $400 on the full one, so we decide to enter the raffle in the hopes of winning a package. We leave our details and are told to come back after tonight’s show, when the raffle will be drawn. We also find the Walt Disney Theater, where tonight’s show will be, and the D-Lounge, where many of the family game shows and events are held, although of course it’s empty right now.

Continuing our exploration of the ship, we go up again to Deck 5 and discover the Buena Vista Theater (actually a cinema), and the kids’ clubs, which have ‘open house’ today – meaning that anyone can come in and look around. Sadly the ‘become Iron Man’ feature doesn’t seem to be open right now, so we really only have a quick look round each area. They are impressively themed, particularly the ‘Andy’s Room’ section, and look as if they would be great fun for kids. We do try the unique hand wash stations, which make a necessary chore much more fun!

Finally we go up to Deck 9, which is the first deck more or less completely open to the elements. Right now it’s a bit grey and overcast, as it has been much of the day, but we have a quick walk round and get our bearings before helping ourselves to some soft drinks from the free machines. Peter has his usual coke and I go for something I always associate with WDW – pomegranate lemonade!

Once we’ve finished these we head back down to our stateroom to unpack and try on our lifejackets (which fortunately fit just fine), before going back upstairs to Deck 4 for the muster drill at 4.30 pm. This is a run through the safety and evacuation procedures, and is compulsory for all passengers, as it’s an important part of ensuring safety on board the ship. However, it’s done in a lively and fun way to reassure little ones (and nervous passengers!) and is soon finished, just in time for the sail-away party ‘Adventures Away’. Because it’s now raining, this is being held in the Atrium rather than on Deck 9. It’s introduced by the entertainment crew, some of whom we will get to see often in the days to come. It’s a short but fun show where the characters get everyone dancing and joining in the countdown for the official beginning of our voyage.

I’ve mentioned before that I am not the world’s best traveller – I sometimes joke that I get seasick walking over a puddle – but I have been ensured that a cruise ship is very different and I probably won’t feel the motion as much. I’ve taken a Stugeron earlier so I should be fine, but I really hope I am in a fit state to enjoy dinner tonight!
__________________
DLP: day trips 2000, 2003; Cheyenne Sep 2009, Feb 2011, Nov 2018; Sequoia Lodge June 2008, May 2012; Elysee May 2012, Jan 2013, Sep 2013; Disneyland Hotel Mar 2015, Santa Fe Nov 2016; Newport Bay Sep 2017, Ibis Sep 2019, Hotel NY Art of Marvel Nov 2021
WDW: Port Orleans Riverside Dec 10; SSR Nov 14
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Old 26 Nov 17, 09:50 AM  
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Gill H
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Join Date: Jan 08
Location: South Wales

theDIBB Guidebook
Guidebook Photos: 86
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Speaking of which, it’s almost time for dinner. We have been allocated the early sitting, which is at 5.45 pm. This is pretty much when we’d eat at home, and means we aren’t going to bed straight after a heavy meal, so it suits us fine. As I mentioned earlier, tonight we are in Carioca’s again, so we head straight over there to see what delights the menu has for us.

This evening we meet our regular servers for the first time. They will be with us in each of the different restaurants (except Palo, of which more later). First we are greeted by our Head Server, Simone from Italy, who by the way is male! He’s very friendly and greets us enthusiastically. He introduces us to our Server for the cruise, a guy called Nikola (yep, another guy). He’s from Serbia and takes good care of us. On hearing we are from London, he immediately says “Ah yes, Big Ben!” and we mention that the bell is currently being refurbed and isn’t ringing, which intrigues him. Over the coming days we will tell this story often, as many of our fellow passengers seem to associate London with Big Ben straight away (and in fairness, my office is 10 minutes’ walk from there!)

We’re also introduced to our Assistant Server, a young lady called Amphie, who comes from the Philippines. (In case you are wondering how we know all this, it’s written on their CM badges!) Nikola will explain the menu to us and give us recommendations, take our food order and look after us generally; Amphie will provide our menus, look after our drinks and clear away. It seems a very smooth operation.

One thing that’s missing is our tablemates! We are told that there should be another couple on our table but perhaps they are arriving later. However, they never turn up, so we have the table to ourselves. We wonder perhaps whether they have flown in from the US and are feeling jetlagged, or have decided to go to Cabana’s instead.

Anyway, on to the food and drink! Following recommendations on the Dibb, I ask for a Shirley Temple to drink. I’ve never had one of these before but hope that the ginger ale might help with any seasickness. It’s basically ginger ale with some grenadine and a maraschino cherry. I find it nice, although a bit too sweet. Peter sticks with his usual Coke.



Nikola takes us through the menu – and straight away we hit a snag. Peter’s allergy to banana and plantain means the bread service tonight is off the menu for him. It’s ‘warm banana bread with a mango-mint mojo (blended mango, mint and lime juice)’. So he explains that he can’t have anything with banana or plantain, and Nikola says he will bring some bread rolls instead.



A pity, because the banana bread is very nice, though to me it tastes more like cake and I’d rather have it in the afternoon with a cuppa!



Moving on to the appetisers, Peter is similarly at a disadvantage, as one features crushed plantains and another a banana-lentil salad (no, I don’t even want to think about that combination!) Of the others, one is the empanada he had for lunch, while the fourth doesn’t capture his imagination. However, he does fancy the lobster croquettes, so Nikola brings him a few extra to compensate for the lack of salad.



Meanwhile I go for the ahi tuna and avocado tower. Both are a delicious start to the meal.



For the entrée we both choose ‘Jose Carioca’s’ which is the restaurant’s signature dish. It’s basically the Brazilian equivalent of a mixed grill, with sausage, lamb and beef served on skewers around your plate, while the jumbo shrimp sits on the accompanying rice. It’s very good, though the way the meat is served means it goes cold rather quickly. There’s no denying the presentation does have the wow factor though.



For dessert Peter goes for the coconut tres leches, which is coconut cake ‘soaked in three milks’ (I don’t know what they are, but I’m guessing it’s more exciting than ‘skimmed, semi-skimmed and full fat’!)



I decide to indulge my inner child and go for the ice cream sundae, which has dulce de leche ice cream, caramelised apples and churros. You can’t go wrong with that combination.



We finish with some filter coffee, before bidding goodbye to our lovely servers and heading back to our stateroom for a little rest before the evening’s activities. Thank goodness it is only one flight of stairs and a very short walk to our stateroom, because we are both very full!
__________________
DLP: day trips 2000, 2003; Cheyenne Sep 2009, Feb 2011, Nov 2018; Sequoia Lodge June 2008, May 2012; Elysee May 2012, Jan 2013, Sep 2013; Disneyland Hotel Mar 2015, Santa Fe Nov 2016; Newport Bay Sep 2017, Ibis Sep 2019, Hotel NY Art of Marvel Nov 2021
WDW: Port Orleans Riverside Dec 10; SSR Nov 14
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Old 26 Nov 17, 09:55 AM  
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Gill H
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Join Date: Jan 08
Location: South Wales

theDIBB Guidebook
Guidebook Photos: 86
Guidebook Reviews: 24
Back in our lovely stateroom we relax on the bed and the sofa and explore the TV channels. As well as the promotional channels and Adventures by Disney, there are several showing various Disney and Pixar films, and some music channels and guest film channels. WALL-E is half way through but it’s a favourite of ours so we settle down to watch for a while. And we may have dozed off a little, I will admit. But not for long, as we want to catch tonight’s show in the Walt Disney Theatre, which starts at 8.45 (all the main shows are on twice, so that you can catch them whichever dinner seating you have – the late diners will have been able to see an earlier show).

We head upstairs to the theatre early enough to get ourselves a decent seat.

Oh, and to take a piccy with Walt outside! He died the day before I was born, fact fans. Not that I am any sort of reincarnation, as you'll see from my abysmal drawing skills in future reports...!



It’s a beautiful space done out in classic theatre style, and is already quite full, but we manage to find somewhere with a good view. The show tonight is called ‘Be Our Guest – Welcome Aboard Show’ and begins with us being introduced to our Cruise Director, Lesley. She comes onto the stage and introduces the show, which is actually a little taster of some of the shows we’ll see during the week. There’s a song from ‘Twice Charmed’ and one from ‘Tangled’, and also some appearances from other acts appearing during the week. One that particularly interests us is a song by the Flyboys, an acapella group who sing contemporary pop songs in classic crooner arrangements. We remember seeing them on the recent BBC show ‘Pitch Battle’ and they are very impressive live. We note that they are performing in Fathoms later tonight and decide to go and see them.

After the show we check out the shops for a while. There are basically two large shops opposite each other, selling a variety of cruise-themed merchandise as well as more expensive items like jewellery and watches. We note that the Med cruise themed items are half price as this is the final Med cruise this year, so decide to snap up some of that another day.

Then it’s time to head back to Shutters for the drawing of the raffle, but sadly we don’t win anything, so we go over to Fathoms for the rest of this evening’s entertainment. The first part of this is a quiz called Majority Rules, presided over by our host, Tisa. Tisa is a kind of female Eddie Murphy – a wisecracking ball of energy who keeps the crowd in fits of laughter. In fact you can see her on Peter’s video, as she led the Adventures Away party earlier too – busy woman. The quiz is based on guessing how the majority of our fellow cruisers have answered questions such as ‘favourite movie star’ and also ‘favourite body part on the opposite sex’. Yes, the after hours stuff is for adults only! But it’s still a Disney cruise and only mildly risqué at worst, don’t worry.

After the quiz there’s a short break and then the Flyboys start their show. They are absolutely great – they have real showmanship with a very British sense of humour, and they work the crowd well in between their superb numbers. I’m definitely interested in seeing them again.

By the time the show finishes, it’s 11.15 and we decide to head for bed - pausing outside the room to collect our first ever fish extender gifts, which we open excitedly. We then realise that Peter needs something small to eat to take his night-time tablets with, and we don’t have anything in our stateroom. We can’t be bothered going up to deck 9 for food, so we decide to check out the room service menu. I’ve heard people speak well of the ‘All Hands On Deck Cheese Platter’ so we order one to share. By the time we’ve grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge, there is a knock at the door and we are greeted by someone bearing not one but two platters! We are so surprised I don’t even have a chance to grab the dollars from my purse that we put aside to tip room service, before he’s gone. Sorry, I really must be more on the ball with the tipping thing!

The cheese platters are quite substantial, but the phrase ‘too much cheese’ has seldom passed my lips, and we manage to demolish them before too long.



(By the way, tonight's towel animal is a lobster. We didn't take photos of the towel animals, but there is a special little feature on the videos which you may want to check out!)

After this we call it a night and get ready for bed. We’ve brought with us two little LED candles which give out just enough glow to take the edge off the darkness and help us see our way to the bathroom. As we’re in an inside stateroom, there is no natural light, but we manage fine with these. And so we sink gratefully into our huge and extremely comfortable bed, and sleep like logs for our first ever night at sea.

>>>Day 6

INDEX
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WDW: Port Orleans Riverside Dec 10; SSR Nov 14

Edited at 07:42 AM.
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Old 26 Nov 17, 06:14 PM  
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#7
DizzyDisneyMum
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Gill, I absolutely love your writing style. I always feel as though I am on the holiday with you, all of the little details are so interesting.

What a fabulous holiday so far, thank you for taking the time to write about it, I'm looking forward to the next day. X
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Old 26 Nov 17, 07:40 PM  
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clochette
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What a great day Gill. In m really looking forward to reading the rest. I really fancy a cruise but DH isn't so keen; I'll have to get him to read your report.
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Old 27 Nov 17, 02:05 PM  
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disneymadhouse
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We've had Lesley as our CD twice now, she's really nice.

All hands on deck is a regular in our stateroom too
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Old 6 Dec 17, 01:51 PM  
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Majik
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Thank you for taking the time to write your trip reports in such detail. We were on this cruise and really enjoy reading what you have to say and seeing the photos.
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