A touch of Disney and 2 cruises in a week! Travel and Embarkation Day

Lizzim · 23 Sep 21, 04:11 PM

Sunday - Travel Day

We did our usual pre-travel cleaning and left our house at 1300, we had decided to take our Skoda Citigo EV so we stopped at Starbucks near Fleet (not the actual M3 services) to charge the car.

We thought we would just about reach our destination without charging but had decided not to risk it. I got my first pumpkin spice latte and we picked up some snacks in the nearby garage.

After about 45 mins we carried on (this cost us around £4.50 but we got a referral credit which meant it was actually free), traffic wasn’t too bad until the M25 when we stopped as is typical - luckily this means the car used less battery for this portion of the trip.

We arrived at Doubletree Dartford which we had booked using Hilton points and had some dinner in the hotel. We both had burgers with chips and then had our free cookie for dessert. The food was ok, not especially exciting but traffic in the area was dreadful so we didn't want to explore any further.

We watched The Greatest Showman on TV before bed.

Monday - Embarkation Day

This morning we woke up around 8 and headed down to breakfast. We were slightly surprised that they were operating a standard buffet. I had toast and Rob had bacon, sausage etc. It was mixed in terms of quality but included as gold members.

We watched TV in our room for a little while as our port arrival time was 1445 so we didn't have to rush (but hadn't wanted to risk travelling from home in the morning).

We left the hotel just before 12 and headed to a nearby Tesco where we planned to charge the car but all the chargers were in use. We went instead to Ikea where we found an alternative, so car on charge we headed into look around Ikea.

We decided to get some lunch - fish and chips followed by a Daim slice which was yummy (and I forgot to take photos).

We wandered around the shop while the car charged, it took around 1hr40 to get to 100% and cost us £5.51.

We headed towards the port, arriving about 15 mins early and were allowed to drop off our luggage and park the car.

We joined the line to do our Covid tests which was probably the worst part of the process. Lots of people crammed into a smallish space, some of whom couldn’t manage to keep their masks on (and weren’t challenged).

We had our details checked repeatedly which seemed odd but were eventually sent for our test. Our test was recorded at 1510 (so 40 mins post arriving), we then were sent to a fairly open ‘room’ to await our results. Most people weren’t wearing masks but when we checked we were told they were needed (baffling).

The area had limited signal so waiting for the email was a pain, ours arrived at 1532, it felt like longer though!

We passed so were allowed on! Next we had our passports checked and went through security before finally getting on board!

We were ushered into the atrium at 1549 where there was a little show with Mickey and Minnie and then we had to go and get our app sorted and find our muster station.

This bit felt a little bit hard work to be honest - it would have been better if we could have dropped our bags off first (rooms were available already).

We reached our room and then had a little rest before heading out to explore the ship.

We went to deck 9 and Rob tried some pizza and a hot dog. We also got a drink, and then it started raining!

We went to the Tangled show at 1800, loads of people not wearing masks despite the cruise director stating they were required

I haven't actually seen Tangled the movie but know the story from Rapunzel. I enjoyed the show and actually didn't find it too bad wearing my mask for over an hour.

After the show finished we went back to the room to get ready for dinner.

Our first restaurant was Rapunzel's and we arrived just before 2030 and were allowed straight in. Oddly we were seated at a table for six but it was right near the front which meant a great view of the ‘stage’. Our server team were Eddie and I Gede who were both lovely.

To start I had the charcuterie and Rob had ravioli and I was super excited to get some pretzel bread!

For our mains I had chicken and Rob had Prime Rib, mine was from the 'lighter' section of the menu but was plenty of food for me.

Finally Rob had the cupcake sundae and I had the Black Forest tower - which was smaller than I envisioned but delicious.

We were entertained throughout by Rapunzel and friends which was fun and definitely a bonus of being on a Disney cruise.

By this point we were quite tired so retired to our bed for the night.

23 Sep 21, 04:11 PM	#1
	23 Sep 21, 04:11 PM Lizzim Imagineer
Lizzim Imagineer Join Date: Apr 10 Lizzim's Reviews DIBB Villa Reviews: 1	A touch of Disney and 2 cruises in a week! Travel and Embarkation Day Sunday - Travel Day We did our usual pre-travel cleaning and left our house at 1300, we had decided to take our Skoda Citigo EV so we stopped at Starbucks near Fleet (not the actual M3 services) to charge the car. We thought we would just about reach our destination without charging but had decided not to risk it. I got my first pumpkin spice latte and we picked up some snacks in the nearby garage. After about 45 mins we carried on (this cost us around £4.50 but we got a referral credit which meant it was actually free), traffic wasn’t too bad until the M25 when we stopped as is typical - luckily this means the car used less battery for this portion of the trip. We arrived at Doubletree Dartford which we had booked using Hilton points and had some dinner in the hotel. We both had burgers with chips and then had our free cookie for dessert. The food was ok, not especially exciting but traffic in the area was dreadful so we didn't want to explore any further. We watched The Greatest Showman on TV before bed. Monday - Embarkation Day This morning we woke up around 8 and headed down to breakfast. We were slightly surprised that they were operating a standard buffet. I had toast and Rob had bacon, sausage etc. It was mixed in terms of quality but included as gold members. We watched TV in our room for a little while as our port arrival time was 1445 so we didn't have to rush (but hadn't wanted to risk travelling from home in the morning). We left the hotel just before 12 and headed to a nearby Tesco where we planned to charge the car but all the chargers were in use. We went instead to Ikea where we found an alternative, so car on charge we headed into look around Ikea. We decided to get some lunch - fish and chips followed by a Daim slice which was yummy (and I forgot to take photos). We wandered around the shop while the car charged, it took around 1hr40 to get to 100% and cost us £5.51. We headed towards the port, arriving about 15 mins early and were allowed to drop off our luggage and park the car. We joined the line to do our Covid tests which was probably the worst part of the process. Lots of people crammed into a smallish space, some of whom couldn’t manage to keep their masks on (and weren’t challenged). We had our details checked repeatedly which seemed odd but were eventually sent for our test. Our test was recorded at 1510 (so 40 mins post arriving), we then were sent to a fairly open ‘room’ to await our results. Most people weren’t wearing masks but when we checked we were told they were needed (baffling). The area had limited signal so waiting for the email was a pain, ours arrived at 1532, it felt like longer though! We passed so were allowed on! Next we had our passports checked and went through security before finally getting on board! We were ushered into the atrium at 1549 where there was a little show with Mickey and Minnie and then we had to go and get our app sorted and find our muster station. This bit felt a little bit hard work to be honest - it would have been better if we could have dropped our bags off first (rooms were available already). We reached our room and then had a little rest before heading out to explore the ship. We went to deck 9 and Rob tried some pizza and a hot dog. We also got a drink, and then it started raining! We went to the Tangled show at 1800, loads of people not wearing masks despite the cruise director stating they were required I haven't actually seen Tangled the movie but know the story from Rapunzel. I enjoyed the show and actually didn't find it too bad wearing my mask for over an hour. After the show finished we went back to the room to get ready for dinner. Our first restaurant was Rapunzel's and we arrived just before 2030 and were allowed straight in. Oddly we were seated at a table for six but it was right near the front which meant a great view of the ‘stage’. Our server team were Eddie and I Gede who were both lovely. To start I had the charcuterie and Rob had ravioli and I was super excited to get some pretzel bread! For our mains I had chicken and Rob had Prime Rib, mine was from the 'lighter' section of the menu but was plenty of food for me. Finally Rob had the cupcake sundae and I had the Black Forest tower - which was smaller than I envisioned but delicious. We were entertained throughout by Rapunzel and friends which was fun and definitely a bonus of being on a Disney cruise. By this point we were quite tired so retired to our bed for the night. __________________ All my trip reports in one place! Edited at 04:20 PM.