European Trip and Transatlantic Cruise Part 7

ABOARD THE MAGIC IN THE ATLANTIC - September 23, 2010 (Continued)
Our dinner was in Lumiere's and we had six at our table as two people from England who had been at Palo the previous night joined us. The theme for the evening was Villains Tonight and the waiters had special black/purple outfits with really cool tie pins that looked like skulls. After dinner we went to the show that had the same theme. It was based on Hades possible losing his title as most evil in the world. So he has to get all his other evil Disney villains to help him keep his claim to fame.

ABOARD THE MAGIC IN THE ATLANTIC - September 24, 2010
As we turned back our clocks another hour last night, we are now 6 hours ahead of Pacific time. Even though we were warned about some possibly stormy weather, the morning was beautiful and I was able to take a photo of sunrise. We were up early so we opted to have breakfast at the Topsider Buffet on deck 9.

After that we just sat up in a prime spot on deck 10; Donna read her book by Anita Shreve and I listened on my iPod to an audio book, The Ascent of Money, by economist Niall Ferguson. The sun was warm and the skies were blue with some billowy clouds.
We went again to the chef presentation where he made a desert too complicated to prepare for me- fruit with saboyan ( an egg based sauce).
There was another DVC gathering at 1 PM! So we chose not to go to lunch as snacks and drinks were offered. There were many people and as a mixer the staff had us do a bingo type game that had us meet other members. When we were done, we chose a gift- a DVC passport holder. We were also given several Blue Hawaiians and Mimosas.

Not being to fill from the snacks we had, we stopped by Pluto's Dog House for a lighter lunch- taco and hot dog. Donna sat under the cover near the coffee shop. I hit the adult pool where the water was still sloshing side to side and left to right. After a while one of the recreation staff announced there was going to be a golf contest for free drinks: golfers had three chances to chip a nerf ball into a hoop in the center of the pool. Each contestant had to register under a golf name. I was Weasel Woods. Some better names were Bent Shaft and Long Puts. After about 15 contestants and only 2 winners, it was my turn. On my first chip it went out over the water and bounced into the ring- a winner!
My prize was another Blue Hawaiian!

My golf exploits behind me, we went to our room and watched some TV which was pretty dull considering news channels and regular broadcast shows do not work well out here in the middle of the Atlantic. There is one interesting show that is repeated incessantly showing a recent two week overhaul of the ship we are on. There are also movies and we have seen bits of several including Avatar, Last Airbender.

Dinner was in Animator's Palate and our entire table was filled. I had osso bucco, veal shanks braised with a tomato based sauce. Very good. Donna had flank steak.
All this eating may be putting back the pounds our simpler European diets took off. We enjoy one of our waiters, Edward, who is from England.

ABOARD THE MAGIC IN THE ATLANTIC - September 25, 2010
Another time zone change and waking up at 4 AM makes Roger a grumpy boy.
We had breakfast in Topsider but tried to limit our trips to the buffet.
Sitting up on deck 10 occupied the bulk of the morning though we did get into the Disney chef's presentation of osso bucco, the dish I had had the previous night. Unfortunately, when mine came it still had a membrane around the shank and with only a fork and the plate resting on my lap, it was impossible to cut, let alone eat. Donna's was okay, but mine and two ladies to my left were struggling to eat it. One of them mentioned a knife was in order, but the clueless waiters did not seem to get the idea. Moreover, we were sitting in the very front row and those behind us could see us wielding our entrees on the end of our forks. Finally Chef Peythout picked theirs up and gave them to the stall to fix. I already gave my entire portion back to the server grumpily saying it was inedible. A while later I wrote a note to the Art of Entertainment staff describing the situation.

See, I told you I was grumpy.

We had lunch in Parrot Cay where Edward our evening server placed us next to a big window. Donna then needed to get her outfit ready for tonight as it was a formal night. Laundry is a challenge here: about 20 washers and dryers for 2,000 people. While there is a laundry service, it can be expensive.

Largely because of our server we canceled our Palo reservation in order to eat at Parrot Cay for lobster with our other table mates; the couple from Colorado has been on 8 Disney cruises, the English couple 13.

As this is written, we are sitting on deck 9 near the Cove Cafe where Donna is almost done with the book I got her two days ago. I have read one book and listened to an audiobook.

Time passes......we had dinner in Parrot Cay, the lobster was great. Then we event to the Buena Vista Theater to watch Toy Story 3 in 3-D. Very good movie.

It was time to turn our clocks back yet again so we went to bed.

ABOARD THE MAGIC IN THE ATLANTIC - September 26, 2010
Of course, because of the time zone change, we were awake before 4 AM. We made it back to sleep and I got up at 6 AM and let Donna sleep. Per my usual routine, I proceeded to deck 9 to get coffee at the beverage station then returned to the room where I read our Personal Navigator outlining the activities for the day- OH NO!! We turn our clocks back again tonight!

It was brighter this morning and the air is much warmer as we are sailing into tropical waters on our way to the Caribbean Sea.

European Trip and Transatlantic Cruise Part 8

ABOARD THE MAGIC IN THE ATLANTIC - September 26, 2010 (Continued)
The morning was very warm so after an hour out on the deck, we went inside to a presentation about Disney innovations in parks and resorts. We were to come up with 10 Disney innovations then these were compared to the presenter's list. I got most of them though mine were more specific; I specified monorails and the official answer was innovative transportation.

We had lunch in Lumiere's then went back out to read and be by the pool. The adult pool was very full and with the water not sloshing as much as yesterday, all the people in it resembled so many fleshy marshmallows in a cocktail. The water was much warmer than in the morning when Donna got in the pool, this was her first pool experience on the cruise.

Dinner was in Lumiere's and the theme was Caribbean. Colorful outfits and the food was good, too. Donna had seafood fettucine and I had a ribeye steak. As I had gotten up very early in the morning, we decided to head back to the cabin and Donna read and I went to sleep.

ABOARD THE MAGIC APPROACHING THE CARIBBEAN - September 27, 2010
The only problem with going to bed early when you turn your clock back an hour is that you wake up very early (again). This is our last sea day before St. Maarten so I go up and took three laps around deck 9. The sunrise was beautiful despite the rain that fell intermittently.

I brought coffee back to the room and then walked to the guest services to get our room bill to see how much damage had been inflicted on our credit card. We had been given a $224 room credit at the start of the voyage as our payment (in DVC points) had included a fuel surcharge when oil prices were high. Oil went down so we were refunded the amount.

Every day in the ship's daily Navigator is a game in which a portion of a picture or design on the ship is printed. Readers are challenged to identify the location of the piece so Donna and I tried to find today's. No luck; after breakfast we looked all over and could not find what appeared to me to be a carpet pattern.

Up to deck 10 we went to sit in the sun and cool off in the pool. It was expected to be in the 80's as we sailed into the Caribbean.

In the afternoon we attended a presentation by Don "Ducky" Williams, a Disney illustrator responsible for much of the artwork done for Disney advertising and merchandise. He discussed his history at Disney while drawing 24 large drawings of Disney characters with crayon. These were given out later through a drawing. We came within one number of wining one. After this was another art auction featuring his paintings including an original oil that went for $7,000.

We went back to our stateroom and decided while watching a movie to stay in our room for the evening. We ordered some cheese and crackers through room service and I went up to Pinocchio's and got some fresh fruit. We drank some wine while we ate.
Another big meal is not what we needed.

Unfortunately, the television is still pretty bad as we have seen most of the movies we might have been interested in and CNN is still not available. We are now only. Three hours earlier than Salem.

European Trip and Transatlantic Cruise Part 9

ST. MAARTEN- September 28, 2010
We arrived in St. Maarten at about 7 AM and were berthed next to the Norwegian Epic. No, not the story of Eric the Red and his search for the lost ice jewels of Ayafjotlajokutl. This was a huge ship that towered over the Magic and resembled a big apartment building from the vantage point of our veranda. It did not even look like a cruise ship but rather a barge onto which were piled more and more boxes until the end result seemed likely to tip over into the harbor of this Dutch/French island.

After breakfast we walked around deck 10 to get our bearings and look at the port and our fellow cruise vessel. It was hot and humid but we left the ship with the intent to taking a water taxi to go downtown. As there was a small shopping area near the dock, we never left sight of the ship given the oppressive heat. After about an hour we walked back to our ship and its air conditioning. Within ten minutes we had on our suits and were next to the pool which was nearly empty of cruisers as most had left for the St. Maarten hinterlands.

Lunch options included the Topsider which we visited and ate with Mary and Larry our dinner time table mates. They had been on a tour of the island that we had gone on with Colin and Caitlin nine years ago.

As I had gotten up early again in the morning, I took a nap for a while and was later joined by Donna who had been reading. The big Pirates in the Caribbean dinner and party was to be held that evening with a concert by Jodi Benson, voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid.

During our stay at St. Maarten our ship was being refueled. After nap time we sat on the deck near the Cove Cafe and watched the process. The fueling is done through a large barge brought next to the ship. No smoking was allowed on the ship during the process. When it had finished, the barge was pulled away by two tugboats.

But the big news of the day, of the week, is that by the time we returned to our stateroom we had CNN.

After our Pirate dinner in Parrot Cay we attended the Jodi Benson concert in the Walt Disney Theater. She sang for an hour and talked some about her career. Later near the shop area she signed autographs. Up topside the Pirates in the Caribbean Party was going on with lots of dancing and music. And the finale was a brief but impressive fireworks show of which we had a great view from the starboard side of deck 10. There was a late night buffet that we passed on, but it featured barbecue and turkey legs!

TORTOLA - September 29, 2010
We arrived at this island about 7 AM. The port is much smaller than those previously visited on this trip; the "pier" extends as a relatively narrow concrete strip on our side of the ship. We had been told there was not much in Road Town, the capitol of the British Virgin Islands. Others we had spoken to planned on taking a tour, but after breakfast we just walked into town, previous home to Captain Kidd and Blackbeard.

The town is small and on the way into the center of the village we were accosted by many taxi drivers seeking our use of their cabs for a drive around the island. We just ventured into a couple of grocery stores and a jewelry store where Donna looked around and I got a good wifi signal and was able to call Deirdre before she went to work.

Back on the ship we stayed out by the pool as there were few people around. As there was some cloud cover, the temperature was not as high as in St. Maarten, but still humid. Lunch was in Topsiders and was a Mexican buffet.

After lunch we tried the "find the photo" contest and looked all around the ship for a decorative detail that looked like a carved pirate with a big hat holding something. No luck again though we looked everywhere. (Later we found out it was on a bottle behind the bar in Rockin' Bar D.)

The ship left port at about 4 PM so we went to the top deck to see the ship back up, turn a 360 degree circle and head out to sea. We have a day at sea tomorrow and we arrive at Castaway Cay on Friday mid-morning.

During the evening announcements we found out that Donna had won yesterday's hidden picture drawing. she won a $10 card for the arcade. Whoopie-Doo!

After dinner at Lumiere's there was pin trading with officers in the atrium. Donna got a couple and was also given two parts of a Disney Cruise Ship by a salesclerk in one of the shops.

ON THE WAY TO CASTAWAY CAY- September 30, 2010
Up at 6 AM we watched television for a while then had breakfast at Topsiders. Despite our being lumped into the same category, many people here have had a few too many cruises and are still carrying them around in their bulk. In short, many fat people.

As this is our last sea day, we went up to the adult pool. It was very humid and the captain indicated there are storms in the area with some heavy rain. Later we wandered around the ship and its shops where guests are picking up last minute souvenirs. There was a seafood buffet with all the sushi you can eat. Donna tried the sushi, I did not.

By the time we got to our room after luck the skies were very cloudy and the humidity was high. Later it was raining during the art auction where we did not win anything. I did, however, bid on and bought a print- a lithograph of the Luxo Jr. Lamp featured at the start of the Pixar cartoons. It was drawn and signed by John Lasseter, the head of Pixar, and director of Toy Story. There are only 86 of them since Pixar was started in 1986.
Cool. I had been eyeing the piece all during the cruise since it was first offered at last week's auction. No one bid on it then and I was the only bidder today. It should look cool in the den.

After the auction we went down to deck 4 and sat outside on the adirondack lounge chairs (where I am writing this paragraph).

Dinner tonight is in Animator's Palette. We have filled out our tip envelopes for our service staff; tips for a 14 night voyage run a little over $300.

After dinner we went to a comedy show where a guy entertained with balloons. Kids in the audience loved it.

European Trip and Transatlantic Cruise Part 10

CASTAWAY CAY- October 1, 2010
We arrived at Castaway Cay at about 9 AM and the captain sharply turned the ship 180 degrees and backed right in. Outside our veranda is the Flying Dutchman sailing ship that appears to be steadily deteriorating in the hot, humid Caribbean weather.

After breakfast we left the ship and walked the long pathway to the first main beach area. As there were few children on the cruise, the beach had many empty chairs. I swam in the snorkeling area, tough to do without swim fins and all I had were the goggles I bought in Greece (three weeks ago?) and an inflatable vest required of snorkelers. I found the statue of Mickey underwater as well as a small boat and one of the discarded and partially dismantled Nautilus subs from the old 20,000 leagues ride at Disney World. It took a long time as I lacked flippers and Donna notified the lifeguard that I was gone too long. I made it back after about a half mile of swimming.

Castaway Cay has been expanded since our last visit due to the newest larger Disney ship, the Dream, coming in January. There is a large swimming slide out in another lagoon and there are new shops and food venues to accommodate more guests.

Donna and I had lunch on the island and went in the water together, but we returned to the ship at about 2 PM to relax by the pool and read.

Dinner was in Parrot Cay, a great place for a final dinner. And then we watched a final theatrical production in the Walt Disney Theater.

Most of our bags are packed and they must be out in the hallway by 10:30 PM tonight.
We are scheduled to be in port by 4 AM, then we will be ready for breakfast at 8 AM them be off to the airport. Unless we get an earlier flight, we do not leave until 5 PM.