Trip Report Day 3: First day at Sea and it was filled with Fun, Food, and some Waves!

Posted on December 6, 2016 by Tara

So, here we are again (yes I know you have had to wait for the next installment of this super trip report of my 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Disney Fantasy but well, life has been busy!) Forgive me and please read on!

So, today we were ready for some fun at sea. I love the “At Sea” days because you have all the time in the world to really enjoy the ship. Let me start by saying we were told early on that we were sailing through a tropical depression and things would be rocky and the Captain would do everything he could to avoid it, but be ready because when this ships a rockin’, well you need to be ready. So, let me address this now for all those in fear of bad weather on ships. First, did it get rocky? Yes, the ship definitely hit back and forth and rolled along. We only got a little rain and mist but it was a bit overcast all day. Not enough to stop the fun but just enough to make it a more indoor day than a sun filled pool day. We did not encounter any sea sickness, we did not ever have any fear or felt unsafe, and when things happen that mean you can not be outside on deck as much as usual it is not always a bad thing. Disney steps it up and entertains you even more than usual and we were loving seeing extra fun things being added – like oh hey Cinderella is hanging out with us while we are waiting for dinner and Peter Pan is skirting around playing too! It was too much fun to watch the unscheduled and unplanned characters just hanging about and the little ones running up to them.

We enjoyed breakfast at Cabanas and then watched an afternoon show of “BFG” (“Big Friendly Giant”) that was out in theaters at the time. I do not think this movie did too well at the box office but we loved it and if you have a chance to see it then you should. It was super cute and beautifully done. Tonight was also the formal night and the Captain’s Reception. We enjoyed a cocktail at the reception and walking around seeing people dressed in their finest as about half were and the other half were dressed like they were on a cruise. We fell into the half that were cruising and dressed nice but did not lug our cocktail attire and tuxes on the ship. We have done that before and just find it a lot of work and extra luggage. Some love the dressing up and for them I say GO FOR IT! I loved seeing the people dressed and the kids in the mini-tuxes!

Tonight we saw the show “Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular” in the Walt Disney Theatre as the evening show and spectacular it was! We loved it and it was one of my favorite all-time shows on a Disney Cruise. Do not skip this night for sure or you will regret it! There was nothing but fun and singing and dancing and we all enjoyed it.

Dinner tonight was at Royal Court and it was lovely. Outside of Palo, this may have been my favorite dinner. I had Belle’s French Onion Soup that was full of Gruyère cheese croutons and they were excellent. I chose the chateaubriand-roasted filet steak with potatoes and green beans and an excellent béarnaise to top of the filet. Everything was cooked perfectly and I am hungry just thinking about it! We splurged on the Grand Marnier souffle for dessert and no regrets as it was infused with orange zest and nothing like you would expect on a cruise ship serving so many. It was as if they were each done very specific to each person. I personally love the decor in the Royal Court and enjoyed this evening so much!

Trip Report Day 2: Get on the Ship and Get Yourself Ready for Some Fun and Some Tropical Drinks, Depressions and Sun.

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Tara

So, we woke up the next morning raring to go and so we went downstairs and got to indulge in the special, complimentary breakfast for Platinum members at the Hilton. It was good, just the usual eggs, bacon, waffles, muffins, etc. It was good and easy and a nice perk. After that we packed up leisurely because although we had a port arrival time for around 10am we knew that was just “suggested” and we decided based on others info and reviews that to us it was more important to avoid long check in lines and waiting around for nothing. So, we planned it perfect for us! We drove over to Port Canaveral,
returned the rental car to Budget, shuttled over to the Fantasy, got baggage handlers, went through security, checked in the special Castaway Club line and walked right on to the boat. It actually went that easy without any hiccups. We boarded the ship around noon and discussed telling the person who took our last name to announce and welcome a few options as we had a few last names going so we thought about being the “Awesome” family or the “Disney” family but in the end we went with all of our last names…next time.

We had already decided to go to Enchanted Gardens for lunch. Everyone knows about Cabanas lunch but did you know Enchanted Gardens has a buffet on embarkation day? Well, they do and we did. Interesting enough when we boarded we asked a crew member where to go and he told us Enchanted Gardens was full and turning people away and over to Cabanas. We discussed amongst ourselves and decided to ask another crew member, who did say the same thing, but when we said what would happen if we went anyway he said probably nothing! So, we went down and somehow lines were miscommunicated because it was only half full and no line. That was odd – I have no idea but clearly something got muddled. So, we were sat and went and had a great lunch with cold cuts, shrimp, salads, sides and yummy ice cream and lots of other desserts.

After lunch, we headed to find our staterooms and get our Castaway Club gifts. This was our second cruise, so first as a CC member. The gift was AMAZING and seriously high value. I not only used the tote the whole week but have used it for several quick overnights since home. Also, we had brought our nice lanyard wallets we had gotten for the last cruise so we just switched out the lanyard so we could use our nice little key holder with a pocket but still have the CC lanyard. After, admiring our gifts my OCD husband insisted on unpacking and getting the luggage stored under the bed and everything in its place. I was glad we did but it was hard not to skip that and run crazy over the ship doing more exciting things than unpacking.

We had a Verandah room and it was exactly like the last room on the Dream, though turned the other day. I love the staterooms on Disney because they have adequate space and it makes it much nicer!

After that we went to our own “Sail Away” Party on the back of the ship on the outdoor deck of Meridian lounge, outside of Palo and Remy. They had the same area on the Dream and we enjoyed having cocktails there on the Dream at night and the servers on the Dream were fun and helpful so we looked forward to the same good times. We watched the ship sail off and enjoyed the beautiful weather and peace on the deck.

We went to “A Fantasy Come True” for the early show (since we had late dinner) and it was cute. It was a little “salesy” and we were a tad bit turned off at first but it got better and ended up being a cute show.

Dinner that night was at Enchanted Gardens, so since we already knew where we were going it was easy to get there! When we were seated there were already people at our table. What? On the Dream our party was our own table and it just did not occur to me that we would be seated with others. But, we were and though it was a little nervous and quiet at first it turned out great of course. They were very nice and we had a good time hearing about the different things they did and watching their teen son watch the clock to escape back to the teen club every night! So, food – yesssss! So, I skipped the appetizer that night and had a soup and salad because the Heirloom Tomato Soup is a must for me and the Romaine Wedge was also calling my name. I had for my entrée Slow Roasted Prime Rib: Thyme-roasted Vegetables, Double-baked Potato, Horseradish, and Natural Jus and it was amazing. I am not a huge Prime Rib fan and when it first came it was way too red for me so servers noted and brought me a bit more medium well version and I loved it. My husband had the pork tenderloin and one of the teens had the sea scallops and the rest of the table went prime rib. Everyone was very happy that night with their dinner choices and for dessert I chose the Esterhazy Cake because it mentioned almond meringue and I love almond dessert flavors. It was yummy and a good choice for me. Chocolate lovers would like the Sacher Torte and those at our table did!

After dinner, a few of the group went to the 10:15 movie, “The Jungle Book” but I was being rocked to sleep. So, I went up to the adult only deck for a minute and watched the night waters and then turned in and slept so well it was like I was on vacation.

Trip Report Day 1: It Begins…with a Bang and a New Restaurant Experience

Posted on September 10, 2016 by Tara

Okay, ladies and gents and all you other swashbuckler out there. Here we go. Day 1. If you are a cruiser (or just play one on TV) you all know Day 1 is not embark on your cruise day EVER. Why? Because you never, ever travel to your port to board your ship on the day the ship leaves. Why? Because you hate to be stranded in Baltimore waving at the webcam as it sails away because the mechanical delay or storm delay. There are so many other reasons (like the airline misplace your bag – happened to me 2 years ago prior to boarding Dream and lucky for me they brought me my bag in Port Canaveral before my ship sailed the next morning but I would have sailed without clothes if I did not buffer a day). So, what have we learned or reminded ourselves – buffer a day and travel to port early. Okay, so Day 1 is traveling to Florida. We have two staterooms that are important to this Trip Report. Stateroom 1 is me and my crazy Husband Scott and in Stateroom 2 is our best friend Chris and his two crazy teenager boys, Tom and Ben. Chris and I basically are the adults with 3 children on these trips (and laugh and love every minute of the silly!)
So, Chris, Tom and Ben traveled down to Florida from the Northeast early Friday morning so they could do a few things prior to us arriving (maybe tour a University as we all bribe and push the teens to go to school there so even more excuses for Disney trips!) Scott and I flew down and arrived mid afternoon and were picked up in the rental van that Chris had reserved. Here is what we did – we rented a minivan via Budget at MCO (Orlando’s airport) and used it to tool around Orlando that day and night and then drive us to the port on Saturday morning. The Budget car rental location is 1/2 mile from port and has constant shuttles, once we got there we only waited 3 minutes for a nice, air-conditioned shuttle that took us to Disney’s port and some other people to their Carnival cruise which was docked next door. So, for us the minivan rental and transport saved us time and money from Disney’s transportation and private transport because we only paid $120 (includes taxes) for the rental and we needed it not only to get to PC but also to get to our Orlando hotel
because horrors we did not stay on property that night. WHAT? I know. But, we did get a bang up deal and stay at the Hilton that is right next door to Disney Springs…literally 3 minutes over a walkway. I was hesitant and not overly excited. But, we are Diamond Hilton members and have lots of points and needed to burn some and this was a good time to do it because we were not going to a park. So, burn away and it turned out great. The property was great and convenient and recently (last 2-3 years is my guess) renovated. We had two rooms next to each other and because we are Diamond
we had private access to the Diamond breakfast that was a full buffet and very yummy (and empty so no waiting for breakfast – but that is Day 2 so let’s not skip!) Anyway, the Hilton is a great option and the rates (if we paid) that night were around $100 and that was a great deal. Also, the service was A+ and most of the peeps there were previous Disney Cast Members so very helpful and very service oriented.

So, rental car check, Hilton check in check, off to Disney Springs for a new restaurant experience that is Morimoto Asia. I will do a full review later but for now here is the mini

review. It is an upscale Asian restaurant that looks a bit like a night club (with lots of metallic and crystal strings making cylinder lights hanging down. It is two stories and lots of room for tables and guests. We had an early reservation at 5:30pm and we arrived a few minutes early and was sat right away and plenty of seating at that time. It filled up pretty good around 6:30 and was full by 7pm. We all tried lots of different items from sesame balls which were awesome and a first, to Orange Chicken (old stand by that was good), to Singapore Laksa noodles (curry coconut and chicken soup) that was a hit with the Curry lovers. The one thing we all agreed on was Churro Fondue was a huge pleaser and made the experience go from good to great. It is not going to be the least expensive meal you have and it is probably going to be a good but maybe not great meal, but worth a try!

After dinner we walked around Disney Springs for a while and then went and took the teenagers back to the hotel (they were tired teenagers tire way too quickly) and then Chris, Scott and I went out running a few last-minute errands to CVS, grocery store, and dropping off some goodies for a client staying at Pop (see I stalk you even while you are on vacation! haha).

After that, back to the room to watch some of Jurassic World 3 and realize the main raptor “Blue” reminds us a lot of our cat Walter. Good or bad it is the truth and it did make us miss our little Devil but we got lots of good texts and pictures from him and his brothers all week letting us know how they were doing and how they wished they were on the cruise!

Then we ran down stairs to the awesome market in the lobby and grabbed some ice cream (because it is vacation!) and made a few last calls to family.

Off to sleep and ready for Day 2! Get on the ship and get started finally! JEEZE.

Want to see the Pre-Trip Report and catch up? Click HERE

Trip Report: The Who, What, Whens and Hows of our Disney Extravaganza Trip

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Tara

So, I am really excited to write my very first real trip report! I have wanted to do this so many times before but really it is a big undertaking that you plan a bit in advance and make sure you take lots of notes and pictures as you go! Otherwise not a great report, eh?

Scott dancing around like he did all week!

Who: My husband – Scott, one of our best friends and frequent podcast guest – Chris, two teenage boys that belong to Chris – named Tom and Ben (they have also been podcast guests if the names sound familiar!) Oh and me – one of your Dolewhippie ladies!

We all went together on the Disney Dream about two years ago on the 4 night and loved it. Ever since then we wanted to go again and do another cruise but a longer one! We decided to go on the 7 night Disney Fantasy and depending on schedules and availability we really wanted the Eastern Caribbean. One thing that we did this time, that was different from last time, was we decided we did not have to have connecting rooms and so therefore I could take advantage of a special Travel Agent rate. The reason I share this is because it also means we could not book or plan until the rates became available which is about 6-8 weeks or so prior to sailing. We

Tom, Chris and Ben ready to go in Tortola!

had limited time, based on so many different schedules, and so we had narrowed it down to one week we could go. So if a TA rate did not come out for July 30th sailing then we could not go. BOO! So we waited and watched and half planned (just in case!) and luckily I called on the right day and we got a balcony room and then went to book the second (regular rate) stateroom and got lucky by finding a GTY rate for a Verandah room so hooray savings all around! We hoped to be close but with a TA rate and a GTY rate your stateroom is assigned and you can not request anything at all, not even to be near. So, all we knew was both staterooms were on the Fantasy on July 30th and would have a balcony. We were thrilled!

We left and flew down to Orlando on July 29th (definitely arrive at least a day prior to sailing) and had a fun pre-cruise night at Disney Springs and ate at a new and now favorite restaurant (keep reading the trip report to find out more!)

We sailed on the Fantasy July 30th through August 6th and when we disembarked on the

Bay Lake Tower for a night!

6th we headed to Walt Disney World for two park days and one night at Disney. We stayed at a new to us resort which I have a review of coming (I will give this one away as it was Bay Lake Tower – so keep reading if you want to here what I thought and you may be surprised).

We left Orlando on Sunday night and went home to a lot of dirty laundry, happy fur babies and were so exhausted we could barely make it to the bed. It was an amazing trip and so many new and special things it definitely was an extravaganza! I hope you keep reading because there are so many things we did that were awesome and will definitely help you when planning your next Disney trip.

Disney Mediterranean Cruise Trip Report: Day 7, Mykonos, Greece

Posted on August 21, 2016 by Jamie

This is Part 7 of a 10 part series on the Disney Magic Mediterranean/Greek Isles cruise. For links to the rest of the trip report please visit here!

Today was our last Greek port day! Sad, but Mykonos really let us end this portion of our trip with a bang. What an amazing place! Unfortunately because of the long distance the ship had to travel back to Venice we had a short all aboard time of 2:45pm, but we still made the best of our time in Mykonos.

A quick Cabanas breakfast, as had become tradition, before we headed off the ship:

Can I just say? Those Mickey waffles with whipped cream and strawberries are completely addictive. Months later and I’m still dreaming of them!

After debarking the ship we were greeted by free buses (provided by Disney Cruise Line) into town. It was possible to walk that distance, but there isn’t a great sidewalk (or any sidewalk at some point) and we knew we’d be spending most of our time in Mykonos exploring so we absolutely availed ourselves of this service!

Once in town we decided to make our way towards the famous Mykonos windmills, the one thing I desperately wanted to see there. There were plenty of other things to see on the way!

Gorgeous church:

Church of Panagia Paraportiani

First view of the windmills!

I was blown away!

After hanging out by the windmills for a while we decided to walk through the streets of Mykonos and do some shopping. Even the streets here are just photo book picture perfect. See?!

And then grab some authentic Greek lunch food:

The view from our lunch spot:

VERY yummy! When we were finished it was very sadly time to head back to the ship for all aboard 😦

The same buses that took us in to town brought us back to the ship

We had a great view of the ship from the bus!

Luckily for us, we had a great way to distract ourselves from the sadness of leaving Mykonos and that was a tequila tasting! This tasting was held in Keys, and it was so much fun!

We were able to taste 3 different types of tequila and two different margaritas. We also learned about how the different amounts of sugar in each drink change the way the alcohol is metabolized and the best way to avoid a hangover 😉 This class was a TON of fun and I highly recommend trying to attend one if you can!

After class we were a little tipsy and a lot hungry so we thought room service might be a good idea. It wasn’t. Sadly the room service food wasn’t very good, and when I sail again I’ll probably only utilize it for Mickey bars 😉

It ended up being a good thing we didn’t enjoy our room service because dinner came up faster than we thought! Tonight was Pirate night and we were headed to Carioca’s! Brent borrowed a parrot from one of our awesome tablemates for his Pirate Night decor.

Pirate Golden “Pot Stickers” Oriental Pork “Dimplings” deep fried and served with a Tamarind-Ginger Soy Sauce and Pickled Vegetables:

Jerk Chicken Salad

Jack Sparrow’s BBQ Marinated Beef Short Ribs: rubbed Beef Short Ribs with Tamarind-Barbeque Sauce served with Onion Red Bliss Mashed Potatoes and Plantain Chip

The Dutchmen’s Dijon Crusted Sirloin of Beef: thick cut of Beef with Oven-Roasted Sweet Potatoes and a Black Spot Tomato , with a deep Red Wine Glaze

Sweet Temptations: A trio of Bounty Fruit Cobbler, Chocolate Cake and Coconut Cream Treasure:

Rum Soaked Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Glaze and Whipped Cream

It was fun to see our dining team doing the pirate show!

They did try to get us involved with the limbo but I was so not into it. Party pooper, I know, but I was full from such a good dinner!

We were greeted in our room tonight by a monkey! Then it was off to bed looking forward to a relaxing Day at Sea tomorrow!

Disney Mediterranean Cruise Trip Report: Day 6, Rhodes, Greece

Posted on August 21, 2016 by Jamie

This is Part 6 of a 10 part series on the Disney Magic Mediterranean/Greek Isles cruise. For links to the rest of the trip report please visit here!

Today was another one of my favorite days! I feel like I say that every day of this trip report because, really, it just kept getting better and better. Today is mostly going to be a photo overview. Old Town Rhodes is breathtakingly gorgeous so Brent and I really just wandered around taking photos in awe.

We did not have any excursions planned this day, so we slept in a little! It was probably close to 11:00 by the time we got off the boat, after having our typical breakfast at Cabanas. If I could go back in time I’d have had a sit down breakfast this morning! Not sure why we didn’t think of it before, and I regret that I missed doing so on our trip.

The view from our room, you can see the ship was “parked” right next to an old tower!

The port security building. I always got a kick out of seeing signs in Greek. Guess I’m easy to please 😉

Rhodes is a walled and gated city, so we walked along the road until we found a gate to enter:

The Mediterranean Sea!

Inside the city, we spotted some Mickey ears!

The view was breathtaking:

The inside of Rhodes Old Town was a mix of modern and ancient. All modern shops, surrounded by the ancient architecture!

We decided to climb one of the towers, to get a better view of the sea:

These are the stairs we used to get up to and down from the tower. I was terrified! No hand rails.

We found a small cafe to sit at and enjoy a drink. I got a soda but my husband, well… he got a giant boot of beer. I think it was 2 liters, so a soda bottle’s worth of beer. I don’t know how he did it!

Following the giant glass of beer I had to gently steer my husband back to the ship. At least the view was still pretty!

The drink stations were set up inside the ship again:

More reading and watching sail away from our balcony on the ship, before dinner:

Soon it was time to get dressed for dinner! Tonight we ate at Lumiere’s, and the menu was the Mediterranean menu.

Spanish Melon Cup: soaked in a Moscatel Wine and fresh Mint:

Tapas, Taste of the Mediterranean: Proscuitto, Sun-dried Tomatoes, Marinated Olives, and Parmesan Cheese with Grissini Stick:

Battered Soft Shell Crab: with wilted Spinach and spicy Tomato Basil Vinaigrette:

“St. Sebastian” Pan-seared Chicken Breast: topped with sliced Tomatoes and Emmentaler Cheese Gratinee on creamy Orichette Pasta

Sweet Temptations: A trio of Flourless Chocolate Cake, Kahlua Cheesecake, and Black Currant Napoleon:

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Contreau and Orange Compote:

Another day over! Back to our stateroom and to bed in preparation for our last port day tomorrow, Mykonos Greece!

Disney Mediterranean Cruise Trip Report: Day 5, Kusasdasi/Ephesus Turkey

Posted on August 21, 2016 by Jamie

This is Part 5 of a 10 part series on the Disney Magic Mediterranean/Greek Isles cruise. For links to the rest of the trip report please visit here!

Our one Turkish port was the one I knew least about before heading on this Mediterranean adventure, but it ended up being one of my very favorite days of the entire trip!

We pulled into the gorgeous port town of Kusadasi early in the morning.

We were greeted by traditional Turkish dancers and music, what an awesome touch! And check out the view of the Disney Magic in the windows of the port building 🙂

Like the previous two days we again boarded a bus to our destination, this time to the ancient Greek city of Ephesus, Turkey. Our tour guide this day was extremely knowledgable and loved sharing the history of her homeland with us!

Ancient terra cotta water pipes:

There were lots of feral cats in Ephesus.

This is the gate into Ephesus, with my husband so helpfully modeling the distance between posts 😉 The gate was made wide enough for people and animals to walk through, but not chariots. Security!

Isn’t it gorgeous?

The Library of Celus, built in 135AD:

Our tour guide showing us where criminals would be handcuffed, right in the center of town for maximum embarrassment. Apparently it worked really well to deter people from committing crimes!

The theatre at Ephesus, able to seat 25,000 people, this theater is still functional and has been used even recently for concerts. The acoustics are such that a person can stand at the bottom and speak in normal tones, yet the people even in the last row would be able to hear just fine.

A collection of ancient road signs:

After our visit to Ephesus we were scheduled to go to a Turkish water park! I know, I know, we could easily do a water park at home. But this was so much fun! And a great way to wind down and cool off after hours out in the sun that morning.

We particularly enjoyed the lazy river:

We spent a few hours at the water park, and grabbed a quick lunch (just burgers… yes in Turkey!) before it was time to get back on the bus. Our tour guide told us the next part of the excursion was an optional trip to a carpet making shop. Brent and I were pretty concerned that this was going to be a hard sell type of place, and we didn’t really want to go. Our tour guide assured us that she just wanted to be able to share more of her culture with us, and she’d really like for us to give it a shot. I am SO glad we went.

We were lead into a room upstairs in the shop and offered something to eat and drink. I had cold apple tea (it was delicious!) and Brent had Turkish coffee. We were able to see the process of making carpets, and man, as expensive as they are they’re worth every penny! Such hard work, but such a beautiful product.

After stomping around (encouraged!) on some carpets Brent and I decided it was time to head back to the boat, since we wanted to stop at the Duty Free stop in port before sail away. Our hosts at the carpet shop said goodbye, and we told them we were so glad we were able to come and witness more of the Turkish culture. I’m so happy we didn’t skip out on it.

I finally got a picture of something I’d been meaning to share with you since our very first port day! Today these stations were set up outside, but the other days they were just inside, past security. We were offered cold glasses of water or lemonade, and cold wet towels for our neck and head. Such a nice touch, I think! Both the drink and the towel were welcome after all that time out in the hot sun.

On our way back to our stateroom to watch sail away from our balcony we stopped at Cove cafe for iced coffees to enjoy on our verandah.

We were sad to see Kusadasi go! What a lovely place. My husband has now decided a return trip to Turkey is in order. I say only if it’s on another Disney Cruise 😉 Sailing to our next destination we followed the coastline very closely! It was amazing to see the scenery as we sailed past.

We soon decided on pre-dinner drinks at O’Gills pub. I was saving my appetite for dinner but Brent enjoyed the snack buffet. There was cheese and crackers, veggies, nachos, meat pies and more.

Yes, I did order a margarita at an Irish bar 😉

And here I am diligently working on my notes for the day, so that I’d be able to remember and blog for you, Dole Whippies!

Dinner tonight was again in Animator’s Palate, with the Prince and Princess Menu. Not only that, but it was animation night! Everyone received a template to draw their character, like this:

I chose to draw a cat! I don’t know why, I’m not an artist. My husband made Iron Man and his was much better… so I’m not posting it here 😉

Special napkins for Prince and Princess night!

I honestly have no idea what either of these appetizers were. But I’m sure they were delicious!

For dinner I had the Roasted Portobello Mushroom Triangoli Pasta:

And Brent had the Peppercorn Crusted NY Strip:

After dinner but before dessert we were treated to an animation show, with all of our characters! It was really cute. They danced and twirled and it was just really cool seeing our creations come to life. Disney magic on the Disney Magic!

They even put our names up on screen:

Then dinner was served. Brent and I both got the Princess Jasmine Banana Bread Pudding:

And then we got our drawings back, with an official guest animator sticker!

Today was a long and exhausting but amazing day. So back to bed we went, where we were greeted by a scorpion towel animal… and the realization that our vacation was already half over!

Disney Mediterranean Cruise Trip Report: Day 4, Athens Greece

Posted on August 20, 2016 by Jamie

This is Part 4 of a 10 part series on the Disney Magic Mediterranean/Greek Isles cruise. For links to the rest of the trip report please visit here!

Today the Disney Magic docked in Athens, Greece! This was the port I’d most been looking forward to before we even set sail. While it ended up being one of my least favorites it was still amazing. And I have the photos to prove it!

This morning started early with our port excursion leaving at 8:15am. After meeting in Promenade Lounge with our group we quickly headed off the ship and on to our bus. This morning we were going to take a bus tour of the city of Athens (with a quick drive through the port city of Piraeus) before a guided tour of the Acropolis of Athens, home of the Parthenon.

Unfortunately I was not able to take many pictures through the city of Athens on the bus, so you’ll have to trust me that the buildings and monuments of ancient Athens mixed in with the modern ones was really a site to see! We saw: the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch (which separates the old and the new Roman towns), the National Gardens, the Parliament building (formerly the Royal Palace), the Academy, the first University and the National Library of Athens. We also stopped and got out at the Panathenaic Stadium, home of the first modern Olympic games in 1896!

We finally made it to the Acropolis to start our guided tour. It was CROWDED. Really, really, crowded. This is not a surprise as the Acropolis is one of the most incredible sights in all of Greece, and it is tourist season!

Parthenon from the base of the Acropolis

The Parthenon, which is a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, was completed in 432 BC. There is currently a selective restoration project going on, which is why you’ll see some scaffolding and construction equipment in the photos!

The Theater of Dionysus:

View from the Acropolis:

It was REALLY hard to drag me from the Acropolis, but it was time to grab our bus back to the boat.

Once we got back on the boat we realized we were really hungry! So we decided to check out Pete’s Boiler Bites, one of the quick service restaurants on the boat. Brent got the day’s special, a Philly Cheese steak and I got a fish sandwich.

In short, we were not impressed and wouldn’t return to a quick service location for the rest of our trip, though we heard some amazing things about the wraps, salads and fresh fruit at Daisy’s De-Lites!

Continuing our tradition of reading on our balcony and naps, we went back to our stateroom for a few hours, and were able to catch this amazing sunset over the Greek coastline. It was a moment that took our breath away.

Tonight’s dinner was the most anticipated, at the adult’s only restaurant Palo! I had been to Palo on my previous cruise and couldn’t wait to bring my husband there. I was right, he loved it!

Every dinner starts with the antipasto and garlic pizza/breadsticks:

And what a way to start the meal! Delicious. Up next, appetizers. I got the calamari (a dish I’d been dreaming of since January!) and Brent ordered the Tuscan White Bean Soup with Prosciutto and Parmesan Cheese. They were both amazing.

Between the appetizers and the main course we were given a palate cleanser of sorbet! Classy touch.

For the main course I ordered the wild mushroom risotto and Brent chose the steak. I really don’t think we can overstate how wonderful this meal was. Every last bite was cleared from our plates and left us wanting more, even though we were totally stuffed!

For dessert there was no other option for us than the famous Palo chocolate souffle (there ARE other options, just not for us 😉 ), which was the perfect way to end our perfect meal.

Yes we did each get our own, but I only photographed one of them. I might have been too busy eating the other!

Following dinner we headed back to our room to find the most adorable towel animals of our trip, the swans!

It was the perfect night for the swans after our romantic dinner at Palo.

Up next, our surprisingly awesome day in Kusadasi, Turkey!

Disney Mediterranean Cruise Trip Report: Day 3, Katakolon/Olympia, Greece

Posted on August 20, 2016 by Jamie

This is Part 3 of a 10 part series on the Disney Magic Mediterranean/Greek Isles cruise. For links to the rest of the trip report please visit here!

We woke up this morning very excited, our first port day! We opened the curtains to our verandah to see that we were already docked in the small port town of Katakolon, Greece.

After a very quick bite to eat at Cabanas (Mickey waffles for me!) we headed straight to D Lounge, which was the meeting place for our excursion set up that day through Disney. We checked in with our excursion tickets and photo ID and followed our group (number 15 that day!) to the bus, located just outside the ship.

Katakolon is located about 30 minutes from Olympia, Greece, our destination for the day. During the ride our tour guide gave us lots of history about the areas we were traveling through in preparation for our visit to the archaeological ruins.

We arrived at the Archaeological Site of Olympia, which is still being actively explored by archaeologists, as you can see in the picture below:

Some photos of the Archaelogical site at Olympia:

Inside the Temple of Hera:

The Olympic arch:

From 776-726BC there was just one single Olympic event, the “Stade”, a foot race. This is a photo of the starting line of the race, where a person on either end would hold a rope, then drop it when the race began. For all you Disney World fans, this is THE original “rope drop”! It prevented any cheating at the start of the race, as the person attempting to start too soon would be tripped by the rope!

However, there still were cheaters. Here the name of the person who cheated (or bribed someone), plus the names of his parents and his home town would be displayed for all who entered the stadium to see. This was a great shame for the men and their families!

Following the archaeological site we visited the museum, on a tour led by our guide who did a great job explaining what we saw there:

This is a lot of information to take in, but if you’re interested in learning more about Olympia please visit the UNESCO website here. Olympia was fascinating, and I’m so glad I had the chance to visit!

There is a small cafe and shop at the exit of the site where we relaxed for a few minutes. Brent enjoyed a Greek beer (Alfa), I just watched since I’d had a fresh squeezed orange juice (which was so yummy!) on our walk from the site to the museum.

Our group boarded the bus and we drove into modern Olympia for some shopping.

We boarded the boat and took showers (it was HOT at Olympia!) then decided to go have a refreshing drink at Cove Cafe, the adults only coffee/drink shop on the Magic

There is outdoor seating just outside Cove Cafe, and that’s where we chose to watch the Magic sail away from Katakolon!

After Cove Cafe was dinner at Carioca’s, one of my favorites!

Deep Fried Lobster Croquetas with a Banana-Lentil Salad and Creamed Horseradish

Empanadas Panzudas de Carne: Argentianina Beef Empanadas with Red Chimichurri

This is the chicken I had, it’s not on the regular Carioca’s menu, but it was in place of the pork belly and was very good!

Skewers: Beef and Sausage (this is also a little different from the standard rotational which includes shrimp and lobster)

Coconut Tres Leches “Three Milk” cake

Sweet Temptations: A trio of Torta de Choclate, Strawberry Cheesecake and De la Costa Cream Cheese Flan

Our towel animal tonight was a dog! Our stateroom host Jojo used my sunglasses again, I love that 🙂

Off to bed, ready for another early port day tomorrow, Athens, Greece!

Disney Mediterranean Cruise Trip Report: Day 2, At Sea

Posted on August 20, 2016 by Jamie

This is Part 2 of a 10 part series on the Disney Magic Mediterranean/Greek Isles cruise. For links to the rest of the trip report please visit here!

Today was a day at sea, so we decided to take advantage of having nowhere to be (this would not be the case for the next 5 days!) and slept in until 9:30. After taking our time getting ready we headed to Cabanas for breakfast. The food is a little bit different since there are different suppliers in the Mediterranean but it was still very good. I didn’t even care that the donuts weren’t Krispy Kreme!

Check out that view!

After breakfast we decided to do a little bit of shopping. I had no intention of buying anything, I just wanted to gather some ideas for later, but as I walked into one of the shops on deck 4 I spotted them. Animators’ Collection Elsa dolls. With zero hesitation I grabbed two, one we gave away on this blog a few weeks ago! Always thinking of the Dole Whippers, even when I’m on vacation ;).

I also picked up some adorable pins. I was looking forward to this since I had purchased one during my last cruise and loved it! These pins are sold by the register in black bags for only $2.95 with a minimum purchase of $30. Last time I got a Mickey anchor, this time I was lucky enough to get two different ones, a Dumbo and a Donald Duck!

Upon returning to our room we found out that we were locked out! Our view for the next hour while we waited to figure out what was wrong (the batteries in the card reader on the door had run out) and for the carpenter to fix it was this:

As soon as we got back into the room we got changed and headed for the adults only pool and pool bar!

The temperature of the pool was perfect. Just cool enough to be refreshing but not unpleasant to get in to. Some liquid courage had Brent ready to try the Aqua Dunk. Me, not so much. Now if you don’t know, the Aqua Dunk is one of the water slides on the Disney Magic. This particular slide starts off with the floor dropping out from underneath you, then shoots you out over the side of the boat before coming to a stop. No thank you! Brent said it was an absolute blast though, and worth the short wait he’d endured on this sea day.

Checking on the time, I realized that we needed to head back to our stateroom to shower and get dressed if we wanted to make our meeting at Keys at 2:00. This was a prearranged meet up of people who had joined a Facebook group about this particular cruise. It was nice to put some names to faces at this event! Brent and I enjoyed a few drinks and some conversation before we decided we were very hungry and needed to head back to Cabanas for some lunch. I do wish we’d decided just a bit earlier that we wanted lunch, as then we would have been able to get something at one of the sit down restaurants instead of the buffet but oh well!

Since we’d been so late getting lunch by the time we wanted dessert they’d already starting putting it away, so we headed to Deck 9 to the self serve ice cream station. Over the course of this trip there were many different flavors of ice cream that were rotated every few days. I saw: mango, strawberry, blueberry and banana. Of course there was always chocolate and vanilla! They also had Mickey sprinkles and chocolate sauce to add to your ice cream if you so chose.

Following dessert we went back to our stateroom to read books out on our balcony.

In what you’ll soon see develop into a theme 😉 we took a nap before it was time to get ready for formal night and the Captain’s Gala. We headed down to Deck 3 mid ship for one of the best parts of the Captain’s Gala: free drinks! The line to have your photo taken with the Captain was very long so we just enjoyed our drinks, then headed outside of Deck 4 to watch the sun set.

Dinner this night was at Animator’s Palate. On my previous cruise I’d been underwhelmed by my meal at Animator’s Palate, but this night was much better! The food was fabulous and dessert was one of my favorites.

Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes: Pasta Purses filled with Truffle-scented Cheese and coated with a Champagne Sauce

Baked Potato and Cheddar Cheese Soup with Bacon Bits and Chives

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup garnished with Chives and drizzled with Sour Cream

Lemon-Thyme Marinated All Natural Chicken Breast with Sour Cream mashed potatoes, roasted root vegetables and grain mustard au jus

Pennete Bolognese: Pennete Pasta mixed with a rich Bolognese Sauce garnished with Shaved Parmesan Reggiano and Toasted Garlic Ciabatta

Crunchy Walnut Cake: Dark Chocolate Mousse and Raspberry Coulis

Cookies ’n Cream Sundae Cookies & Cream Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce and Chocolate Chip Cookies

This night was “show” night at Animator’s Palate. I tried to take some photos but really none of them would have done the show any justice. The restaurant starts out black and white, with black and white drawings on the screens. As the meal goes on color starts being added and by dessert the whole restaurant is in full color (even the serving teams, who’d previously been wearing black and white) and there is a visit from Mickey himself!

After dinner we made a quick dash to our stateroom to get changed out of our formal clothes. There was an adults only show at the Walt Disney theater, ventriloquist Paul Zerdin. It was so funny! We were glad we’d stayed up late to see it. Following the show we went straight to bed, since it was up early the next morning for an excursion. Tonight’s towel animal was one of my favorites, an elephant. Our stateroom host Jojo had even used my sunglasses for the elephants eyes! Love it.

Up next, our first port day: Katakolon/Olympia, Greece!

Dole Whipped

Dishing on Disney

Category Archives: Trip Reports

Trip Report Day 3: First day at Sea and it was filled with Fun, Food, and some Waves!

Trip Report Day 2: Get on the Ship and Get Yourself Ready for Some Fun and Some Tropical Drinks, Depressions and Sun.

Trip Report Day 1: It Begins…with a Bang and a New Restaurant Experience

Trip Report: The Who, What, Whens and Hows of our Disney Extravaganza Trip

Disney Mediterranean Cruise Trip Report: Day 7, Mykonos, Greece

Disney Mediterranean Cruise Trip Report: Day 6, Rhodes, Greece

Disney Mediterranean Cruise Trip Report: Day 5, Kusasdasi/Ephesus Turkey

Disney Mediterranean Cruise Trip Report: Day 4, Athens Greece

Disney Mediterranean Cruise Trip Report: Day 3, Katakolon/Olympia, Greece

Disney Mediterranean Cruise Trip Report: Day 2, At Sea

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: