2022 Epic Cruise & Orlando Eats - Disney Springs 1 added

[CumbrianKitten]

one week and counting...

Still swerving people - had a friend ask me if I would return some VS stuff that she had purchased in NY while I was in Miami. She is under strict instructions to come after 11am next Wednesday leaving the bag on my doorstep.
I swear i've turned in to some raving lunatic!

Neighbour knocked I ran upstairs and called her back later on! She only wanted to put my bin out!

Hurry on this next week look what you are doing to me!

Queue further panic seeing people having their lounges in Manchester cancelled!

AND... im pretty close to running out of wine!

[CumbrianKitten]

No Easter bunny visit here! Only the ducks 🦆 that now choose to eat here every morning.

Wait……ducks can’t spread covid can they!?!

Still ever irrational!

[KarenG]

You will be there soon! Excited to follow along

[Orlandoguy]

Originally Posted by CumbrianKitten

Hi All,

I love reading a good food report so I've decided to put one together myself in the hope it gives (almost) as much enjoyment to others as I will have eating everything.

This will be a trip with 2 adults trying to enjoy as much food and drink as we can possible manage.

Just a bit of back story about the trip as it's not technically a 'Disney Trip' as such. It started off as a rearranged cruise after our 2020 NY and Cruise to Bermuda was cancelled

Fast Forward to 2021 where we decided to transfer to the new MSC Seashore cruise from Miami to the Caribbean and Antilles sailing on 23 April. Well I seen an opportunity and took this upon myself to squeeze so much needed Orlando time into the plans. I have therefore ended up with 2 nights in Miami, a 7 night cruise followed by 8 nights in Orlando.

I have pre-booked the 1903 lounge in Manchester airport before the flight. Flights are Aer Lingus 13:10 via NY to Miami where I have booked Ocean Reef Suite on South Beach for 2 nights with a continental breakfast included.

No firm plans for food just yet as we only have one full day so were just going to wander around and grab something when we're hungry as we've been to Miami a number of times.

We board the cruise on 23 April at 12pm. Now when I booked the cruise I booked a balcony cabin suite with a basic beverage package. Shortly after I received a call to advise that they needed to assign cabins for covid restrictions and we would be required to move cabins and would be allocated the next level up. This was a balcony suite with a Whirlpool on the balcony #winning. Anyway when I received my paperwork, we have been upgraded to the MSC Yacht club. After frantic research turns out this is an exclusive area known as a 'ship within a ship' where we receive the premium package and have access to exclusive areas and have our own butler service
I will make sure I take plenty of pictures of the posh nosh and champers that I will be partaking in don't worry
Whilst on the ship we will be docking at Jamaica, Cayman islands (tbc due to current covid restrictions for cruise ships), Mexico and MSC's own private Island.

When we leave the cruise I have hired a car from Avis and the plan is to drive the A1A to Orlando and stop a few times to see the beaches before we check into the Avanti international for 6 nights.
During this time we will be visiting universal and eating a mixture of I Drive and Universal places. On the list currently are:

Breakfast: Denny's, Perkins, Dunkin Doughnuts, BK, Cinnabon, Voodoo Doughnuts
Lunch/Dinner: Bahama Breeze, Longhorns, Maggiano's, Chillis, Yard House, Ole Red's, Panda Express, Chocolate Emporium, Cowfish

The last 2 nights will be spent at the Hilton at LBV so we will be doing a couple days at Disney Springs and I'm planning a monorail bar crawl to see the fireworks at MK.

Food mentions: Earl of Sandwich, Polite Pig, Homecomin, Gideons, Everglaze, Food Trucks

So that's the plan. We will see how it goes

First update - https://DIBB.in/15399851
1 week to go - https://DIBB.in/15403217

See more...

Sounds like a great trip you have planned and the upgrade on the cruise sounds amazing !

[Cutiepie]

Sounds like a great trip. Will look forward to following along

[CumbrianKitten]

Test day was finally here! i'd tested us more times than a Mensa nerd, however I was still convinced that I could catch covid in the morning despite there only being 2 of us in the house and neither of us had been anywhere.

Booked tests using Querd for 9am, realised that was going to be a faff for us both to do the tests at exactly the same time I has rescheduled mine for 10am... or so I thought!

At 8am DH receives the email with the link and instructions, so we prepare the area like a surgeon preps for an operation. Pen. Check. Timer. Check. ID. Check

DH joins the call 5 mins before the start time and waits for the advisor who arrives shortly afterwards. Follows the instructions and is left to upload the test within 10 mins after the 15 mins developing time. Check

Nice negative test, picture taken. 'Erm love, it tells me I dont have an account to upload the pic'. 'What?' I calmly say. When i actually mean WTAF! queue panic... i mean 10 mins unless the test is invalid! tried to reset password - no account! Called Querd in a panic... lovely man reassures me and asks me to send the pic to the support mailbox while i'm ranting about 10 mins!
Turns out I need to log in to my account and upload the results there ooops

This leads me on to the 2nd part of the mayhem which is test day. 'BTW, I've not received my link and my test is at 10am.' the time is now 9:30. 'Let me check' says the lovely man. 'oh your test is tomorrow at 10am!'
Again WTAF!

'But i need this test today we fly tomorrow' I can feel my stomach flip... i want to cry. 'Leave it with me and I'll get back to you in the next hour!' he says.

I feel like telling this man I'd give him my worldly possessions if he can make this happen!
For the next 30 mins I cant concentrate, I don't know how I've managed to create this right royal F up, yet here we are! I'm praying to all the gods!

So Querd have now squeezed me in for 12:30 and I thank the Lord in heaven.

Lets hope this is the only drama I face today. if not there'll be another update later!

For now I'll finish packing and give myself a talking too and check the dates for everything else I've booked.

Travel day tomorrow, early start - Lounge 1903 booked at Manchester airport. Aer Lingus 1:10pm flight - wish us luck

[Claudette]

Glad you got test sorted in the end. I think this is why I am going to book somewhere where I present myself in person, the idea of online is a bit stressful for me.

[CumbrianKitten]

Originally Posted by Claudette

Glad you got test sorted in the end. I think this is why I am going to book somewhere where I present myself in person, the idea of online is a bit stressful for me.

See more...

Mega stressful! I'm all done now thankfully!

[Goldia]

That all sounds like a very stressful morning. I hope it's all plain sailing from this point and that you have a lovely holiday.

[CumbrianKitten]

Hello everyone,

I'm back and I'm trying to get my pics in order to do some updates for each day. Sorry i didn't manage to do this live, I just didn't find the time to write everything up.

Anyway - Travel Day to follow shortly