Littlecote

Our very last day and despite being on board for 2 whole weeks with 10 sea days we don’t want to get off at all :-(. Our first task was to check our photos and order our cd before noon. We did this about 11am and then went to Lumiere’s for brunch. We had our usual and just as we were finishing at about midday the DIS boards group came in for their farewell lunch. We were going to join them but the timing didn’t suit our schedule.

After brunch we caught some of the character farewell dance party in the atrium and took some video of it. Then it was off to see Rebecca and Donovan in a show in the main theatre. They had been booked to take part in the final show but also did this complete show as well. They have been on both Britain’s Got Talent and America’s Got Talent. They are a dance/strength/contortion act. It began with him singing and her doing acrobatics in a 3d square hoisted above the stage. They also did some rope and fabric acrobatics as well as some amazing moves together where she actually takes his weight at times. Their moves are slow and so smoothly controlled and yet their muscles must be screaming. They are certainly very good at what they do although I appreciate it is not everyones taste. Personally I thought it was amazing and could watch more.

After this matinee show we made our way to Crafting tote bags! There are small DCL tote bags that you can decorate with different coloureds fabric pens. To be honest we just wanted some of the tote bags but I did stay and design my own special one. I tried hard to copy logos from Paul’s polo shirt including the Disney logo and the Magic logo. It worked out ok with the slight exception of the DCL logo that went a tad awry. Still, it’s unique and my very own work of art. We got a handful of the tote bags as well and I enjoyed my hour’s creativity.

We’d arranged to meet Jacqui and a few others on secret deck 7 at 5 pm for drinks so wanted to contribute a bottle of wine. This turned out to be quite a task, With bars either having talks going on in them or being closed for rehearsals. We did manage to order one and ended up hanging around in a corridor for 10 minutes waiting for it. It arrived in an ice bucket so we took it back to the Cabin to keep cool.

3pm was the Aqua Ducky Derby that had been moved from the rough sea day. We got a spot at the front of the upper deck but since they allowed crowds all around the pool for this event we couldn’t actually see that much. There were come special decorated ducks (by cast members I think). The best was an ironman duck but others included witches and one with purple hair. There we’re also Donald and Daisy ducks present to Donald and Daisy themselves. The race consisted of all the guests ducks of which there were about 500 being thrown into the pool. The premise of the event was that ducks cost $5 and all proceeds went to the make a wish foundation. All 4 Disney ships did the event and raised $14000. The slight flaw in the plan was the way they had set up the start finish lines, they and done it the wrong ends so the wind was against the ducks! The asst cruise director had to get in the pool and literally push them all down the far end. The finish was well executed though. They had constructed a tube so that there was a clear winner. After this fresh air boost we went to our cabin to pack – a sad but necessary task that I won’t dwell on.

At 4 pm it was our final Trivia of the cruise. We joined Shaili and Apurva and didn’t think we had done well as the questions were really hard. It turned out though that we came joint first so had to go to a tie break. After 3 tie break questions that Shaili knew we lost on the question about how many changes the genie in Aladdin made. We tried 51 but the answer was 55 and the other team got it right so we ended up second. As it was the last day and a well fought battle Sam, the cruise staff quiz master offered us all prizes. Since I’d wanted a mickey winners medal all week i asked for these. They were delivered to our room later so I finally got one. See dreams do come true on Disney in the end.

We arrived a secret deck 7 a little late to join Jacqui, Joe, Noel and John for drinks. A few others were there to begin with but it soon became just the 6 of us. We talked about British and American culture and polished off a bottle of bubbly and a bottle of wine. It was a really nice sunny evening, warm enough not to need a jacket as well. We got so carried away chatting that we ended up being late for the show, and we still needed to go and say goodbye to our previous table mates and more importantly our serving staff. It was a quick change then down to Animators to say our goodbyes. The show has just started when we got there but we managed to get seats. It was the usual farewell show about a family who had been on board as well as excerpts from the previous shows and an appearance by Rebecca an Donovan and John Charles (who was funny again).

We then had our final Dinner which was in Lumieres. There was a magnificent sunset to see and we took photos of the table. These table mates are on the westbound with us next year so it was definitely farewell not goodbye.

We left our cases out after dinner and went to the till we meet again party in the atrium. All the characters were there dancing and meeting guests. We got some final pics with snow white as we were wearing our apple villains t shirts. The character exit up the stair case was very von trap esque.

Given we had to be up mega early to be off by 8 for an 11:30am flight we went to bed about 11. Feeling very sad to be leaving but both agreeing it was the best Disney cruise and a totally amazing holiday.

Homeward bound

We were up at 6:30, Paul going for breakfast whilst I got ready. We were ready to disembark by 7:30 so did so, not knowing how long customs may take. We needn’t have worried. We got straight off the boat and sailed through the EU channel whilst all the US citizens waited in line. We quickly found our cases and were sitting outside by 7:45 awaiting our 8:30 taxi. He turned up on time and drove us to the airport. The company name was zip transfers and be lived up to the name driving like Lewis Hamilton.

We had a McDonald’s breakfast at the airport (bumping into Andy one of the Brit cruise staff) and I did some final shopping on Tous – a french store with a teddy bear logo. I bought some signature teddy bear jewellery.

The flight was on time an we had exit row seats. I slept for the 2 hours whilst Paul listened to his music. We exited Heathrow swiftly, me using the iris channel but Paul not allowed to since his eye op has changed his retina scan. The cases were off quick and we awaited the car. We were loaded up and on our way by 1:30 and home by 3:30. The afternoon was spent watching the Monaco GP. Disappointing.

Our usual breakfast chap delivered our cereal, pastries, donuts, juice and tea for the final time this trip. Despite being docked quite early we ate breakfast late and having a good signal indulged in email and the internet! We ended up disembarking just before midday. It was really nice out. Much warmer than we had anticipated. There were no taxis around but one of the first things we saw was a British Bobby. After a minute or so a taxi turned up to pick up a guy who was alone. It was a mini van and the driver asked us where we want to go. He also asked another couple and ended up taking us all. He dropped us off in the main square in town for 2 euros each. Gibraltar accepts euros and pounds.

The Square was an odd mix of British and Mediterranean. It had a WH Smith, a fish and chips restaurant and Red phone boxes that everyone was taking picture of. There were cafes with lots of outside seating and it was very quaint. We walked up Main Street (which is as it sounds the high street through town). We saw BHS, Marks and Spencer, Next and Peacocks. It was all a little weird, it was a beautiful, quaint place with stunning weather then there was a Morrisons supermarket! The strange mix of very British and not very British at all is further highlighted by the fact that they drive on the right.

We went in a few shops and I bought a tailless monkey Pandora charm and a cool monkey ring holder. Paul managed to get the fisheye camera lens he had been after for a while. He got a reasonable price. I couldn’t find the tink Thomas Sabo charm, apparently it is discontinued.

As we reached the end of Main Street toward the cable cars to the top of the rock we didn’t really have time to stop and eat so grabbed some crisps and oasis from a shop. We would need to have eaten them before we reached the monkeys otherwise we would be in trouble.

We got to the cable car station and bought tickets. We ended up waiting 45 minutes before finally boarding. There were 2 cars but one was for organised tours only. Each fitted about 20 people in it (all standing room) and it took 6 minutes each way plus loading and unloading time. Paul was a little uneasy about the journey and the height but still managed to take pictures and film. There was a little jolt in the middle as you go through the halfway stop (which is closed) but it was generally a smooth ride.

As we got off at the top of the rock saw the monkeys, lots of monkeys with not a care in the world. Whilst they are called Barbary Apes they are in fact a tailless monkey. I also read why they are so “brave” and dominant of humans. Because humans have in the past given them food so willingly they see us as submissive (every other species would defend its food to the death). Feeding them is now forbidden and carries a £500 fine. As soon as we got out of the cable car there was a monkey perched on the wall so we started taking photos. As Paul stood between a monkey and a higher vantage point it decided to use him as a stepping stone, jumping onto his shoulder them off again. I think it made him jump as he didn’t see it coming but he didn’t swear thankfully. There were great views from the top of the rock, of the ship, across to Africa, and the airport; the 4th most dangerous airport in the world (because of the cross winds) We saw one plane approach then abandon it’s landing. We got loads of pics and also bought some gifts in the gift shop. I also bought a souvenir monkey. We must have stayed about 45 mins to an hour before heading back down. There was no wait for the cable car back down, we got straight on. To begin with a monkey got into the car as well but was chased out by the attendant.

It was a short walk back to the edge of town and then we got a Taxi back to port, it was about 4pm. We had decided to switched dinner to the late sitting and join Jacqui and Joe. This meant we would need to watch the 6:30 pre dinner show so we got ready and decided to get more character photos taken. We’ve built up a good selection now so haven decided to splash out on all of them on CD. My mission is then to compile a book with them and Paul’s pics.

The show was called Dreams. It was really good; similar to Believe. It’s about a teenage girl who wishes on a star then goes on a magical fantasy journey with Peter Pan to fulfil her dream of flying. It had loaded of other characters and songs worked into it, including a balcony box appearance from Lumiere, Cogsworth and Mrs Potts.

Dinner was not only with Jacquie and Joe but Noel and John. Steve the Scotsman was at the table but had a Palo reservation this night. Finally there was Karen (from painting who’s name we’d not known – small world). Dinner was good, I remember the main course was sliced beef and lots of it. Too much to eat to be honest but it was really succulent. We didn’t get out of dinner until after 10pm so then went to Studio Sea for a tune trivia. It was full of rowdy teens and we didn’t win. Alphabet soup won who is a a young group of 18 to 21’s including some Aussies. We had a drink each then headed to bed.

The seas are definitely rough. Showering was a feat in itself and getting ready we were literally walking uphill in the cabin at times as the ship listed. We we up later so opted for Brunch in Lumiere’s. We ordered our usual of fry up and eggs benedict, washed down with juice and tea and followed by a chocolate donut (today ordered with ease!) As we ate the Captain announced that the seas would get a little rougher in the afternoon but the weather would clear by evening. There were a lot less people roaming the boat so am guessing a fair few were struggling. Those that were around (us included) did the usual left then right walking down the the corridors as if we were all drunk.

After brunch we went to the Promenade lounge where I did a couple of hours work catching up on email. I thought this might make me feel queasy (reading in a vehicle does) but I was fine. Swaying around a bit but perfectly fine. Paul wandered off a couple of times to take some pics and check on progress of the mural (the one we helped paint) that was being set up for display in the atrium. It was due for display from 1:30 to 3:30 and as we had plans after 2pm we needed to be early but figured it would be very busy. We eventually got there about 1:40 as Don Williams and the crew were finishing the unveiling speeches. We firstly got a vantage point sideways on from the balcony then managed to get onto the centre balcony area between the lifts to get a perfect straight on areal view. Flounder’s face (that we painted) looked awesome! We went back to ground level (well deck 3 so not even sea level but the same level as the mural) and after cheekily walking around the front of the mural a nice crew member took a photo of us kneeling in front of it.

It was now just after 2:00 so we were a little late for chocolate tasting so hurried to Diversions. The room was laid out with drinks and liquid chocolate (milk, dark and white) in small glasses. We were also given a small dish of solid chocolate pieces. We sat with Noel and John from California. The eccentric Disney mad couple I’ve mentioned that we did trivia with a night or so ago. The session was led by the Sommelier from Palo and began with a champagne. We only had a mouthful or so in our glass. The champers was accompanied by the milk chocolate and we were encouraged to take a mouthful of choc then sip the champagne. The chocolate made it sweeter and a subtly different taste. At the end we tried the solid piece of corresponding chocolate. Next was a ruby port, and a very nice one. This was accompanied by caramel chocolate with the same tasting process. Then came a deep red wine. On its own quite heavy but after the dark chocolate was a lot more palatable. Finally, a single malt whiskey. I couldn’t drink that but Paul did. This was accompanied by white chocolate. I thought this might be sickly but it wasn’t. The whole session lasted about 40 minutes and was really good but after then chocolate and mixed alcohol on those rough seas we did need a lie down. Paul regretted downing the whiskey as it made him feel a bit queasy and gave him a headache. Back in the cabin, Lilo and Stitch was on TV so I watched most of that and lay down to rest. I think Paul caught a quick power nap.

Dinner was in Parrot Cay, the worst restaurant and having got vey slack with my blogging I can’t actually remember what we ate. I do know however that we had very definite plans at 7:30 and 10:15 as I had seen in the Navigator that Paul Zerdin had a show. I LOVE Sam. We got front row seats and settled in with a piña colada and cold bud. It was in a small bar so we were really close. There were not many people there, a few kids and adults. When he came on stage and began his intro he asked if we wanted to see a puppet so I shouted “we want Sam”. Paul joined in so Zerdin turned to us and said he assumed we were from the UK. He asked our names then got us to stand up. He wanted us to shout loudly “we want Sam” then the audience would clap and he would get Sam out. The show was very funny and Sam even spoke to me 3 times. I think this is the highlight of my cruise (yes it’s sad but I was happy). At the end of the show Sam wanted to sing alone so Zerdin got him back out of the suitcase and perched him on the stool. This was clearly a different puppet but it sat there motionless. As Zerdin walked off, Sam came to life and sang. It was obviously remote controlled and maybe even voice activated. Either way, it was awesome. The rest of the audience didn’t seem to enjoy it as much as us and the kids seemed far from impressed!

Tonight’s main stage show was a singer called Heidi Blickenstaff. We’d not heard of her so decided to skip it. We did pop our head in at one point for a minute and she was singing a broadway tune (Maybe Next Time I think) but we didn’t hang around. We did the ritual shop meander and this time I bought a Sorcerer Mickey plush toy. I’ve decided to display all our Disney stuff in the dining room and turn it into our Disney room so now the conservatory is done that’s my next project. We put him in our cabin and Paul got changed out of his suit as it was formal night and we went back to Rockin’ Bar D for Zerdins second adult show. We got there early and got the best front row seats and got our drinks again. Much of the show was the same as the first but he’d added some adult humour and another act where he took an audience member and got them to be the puppet with a mouthpiece. It’s very funny. He’d picked on the same guy all night, Sam calling him ugly Steve. He also called one woman a witch and asked another why she died her roots black. We were also involved a little as he did a mind reading routine with us. The show was excellent and this time he had a full audience that appreciated it. We came out and saw Shaili and Apurva so went for a drink with them in Diversions. David Kenni (scouse David) was singing in there. I’d looked in all the bars for Zerdin and sent Paul off on another reckie but nothing. Then, after 20 mins or so he came into Diversions. We went over and got our pic taken with him. No Sam unfortunately but still a good pic. It was getting late and we were at Gib the next day so decided to call it a night and turn in.

LAND! After a room service breakfast, we were off the ship by 11am on to a warm and sunny Madeira. We had a car hire arranged and had to walk a few hundred yards to meet the rep who had our car waiting. We already knew we wanted to find the airport and take some pictures as from a high vantage point in the mountains you can actually look down on planes landing.

We found the airport quite easily by following the signs and then picked our own way through the mountains. As we got higher up it became cloudy and even rained, but we found a good spot to stop the car. Parked next to us was an old Vauxhall Viva with its tail end literally hanging over the cliff edge. The owner was either brave or crazy! We figured crazy!

We checked the flight schedules and found there were scheduled departures in the next 30 minutes, so we stuck around. Sadly they were taking off the opposite way; so we got some shots taxiing, but not actual take off. It was too long to wait for arrivals, so we went for a drive. We found a few places to stop and take pictures of the ship, but by now we were feeling hungry, so decided to head into town.

We parked the car by the harbour and then walked into town. It was sunny and hot once more. We found a café to sit and eat that seemed to be frequented by a lot of our crew and by locals, which must be a good sign. We managed to get a table outside, as it was really busy. I had melon & ham and Paul had ham omelet and chips. The café was located in a small shopping arcade. One of the shops was a lady who hand made glass beads (like Pandora). They were threaded on leather cords and she sold necklaces and bracelets in various colour combinations. They were also really good value and I got a necklace and bracelet for €25.

We then wondered through town looking in some of the tourist shops. It was a really nice town, pedestrianised and quaint. Madeira is definitely worth another visit.

We moved the car to a car park right opposite the ship and got some more great pictures of the ship, its logo and the landscape. We then went for another drive, eventually stopping at a shopping mall. We were running short of time but I did manage to get a top from Zara. We then made our way back to port at Funchal to return the hire car at 5pm.

We needed a quick change and brush up to get to dinner on time. We knew the couple from Texas wouldn’t be joining us due to having dinner reservations at Palo, but the couple from Massachusetts didn’t make it either, so we dinned alone. The menu was ‘Flavours the World’. We both started with Mexican spicy beef turnovers (that looked like small pasties), then Canadian cheddar soup. Main course was US steaks. For desserts we separated; I had the English bread and butter pudding, Paul had the New York baked cheesecake. My pudding turned up cold and I couldn’t figure if it was meant to be this way as it really was stone cold. I asked the waiter to check, so he scurried off and came back with a fresh one, which this time was warm. Being just the two of us we managed to get out quite quickly so came back to our room for sail away. As the Captain announced the summary of our journey, he told us that the seas were going to be rough until we got to Gibraltar. We thought it might get pretty bad from the way he worded it, which was ‘Not to worry, the ship would not get damaged’.

Tonight’s show was a flamenco group called ‘Passionata’. Paul really wanted to go as he apparently likes flamenco. We found new favorite seats in the theatre at the front of the upper section, where we get loads of legroom and a great view. These seats fill up quickly though so we have to get there early. The show was actually quite disappointing and the seas were definitely rough. After the show we came straight back to the cabin which being at the back of the ship was swaying. I managed to sleep through it, but Paul was up in the night as it kept rocking him off his side. I don’t think it is the roughest we have known but it certainly was really rough. On the way back to the room we saw an English lady on the stairs, who, despite wearing her patch said she felt really queasy. We advised her to go low and centre and is possible to lie down. I wonder how many people are going to get ill.

Bank holiday Monday – hope you enjoyed your single day off ;-).

After a nice BH lie in we donned our smart clobber and went up to Palo. Brunch was the usual all you can eat with so much choice that we ended up so full but still wanting to eat more. We were seated at the same table we had for dinner so had Lazslo as our server. We started with pastries and cold meats and cheese. We then had eggs benedict and Paul also had a frittata. We ended with a variety of the small desserts including chocolate strawberries and tiramisu. With no second seating rotation as we were the 11:30 sitting there was no hurry to leave so we took a nice leisurely 2 hours. Of course we had complimentary Kir Royale cocktails as well. At least Paul didn’t end up wearing his this time.

After all that food we needed to sit down so headed up on deck. I found a nice warm Sun spot whilst Paul wandered off to take some pics. We wanted to watch Goofy and Max’s boat building bash at 3pm so found a good viewing spot on the the upper deck. Basically, people had registered for this earlier on in the cruise and were given some scissors and glue but nothing else. They had to find items around the ship and build themselves a boat. The boat would be tested at the bash to ensure it could (a) float and (b) carry a can of coke. The were over a hundred entries and we knew a couple of them.

The boats varied widely in size, shape, structure and ideas. A few sank but most floated with the can of coke on board. Here’s a few of the memorable ones:

An entire Goofy head
Models of the Magic including the family pool with water
A Tow Mater pick up truck (from Cars)
One with a battery fan at the back which made it move through the water
A Mickey symbol made entirely of coffee cups
Several pirate ships, one with music

Lots of them had either water bottles of empty sanitizer tubs as their main flotation aids.

There were 3 categories for the main prizes (although every entry got a Mickey trophy). These were (1) most sea worthy (2) most Disney (3) most creative. None of our friends won.

It was then time for yet another meander through the shops to talk to all our friends (the staff who all know us so well by now), then off to get ready for dinner. We needed to be out again early as we planned more character pics. Tonight we saw Snow White and Dopey, Mickey, Minnie, the Queen of Hearts (that so is a man inside as he’s huge with manly hands in those white gloves) then the White Rabbit who let me hold his watch.

Dinner was back in Lumiere’s and it was my fave menu. On most cruises it is called the Captain’s Gala Dinner but this time it was Beauty and the Beast themed. The reason I like it is for the escargot so as usual had 2 servings. Paul had the french onion soup – twice. Main course was the prime rib and mine was a little more chewy than usual. Dessert is the best one on board; the grand marnier soufflé. It was fab.

Tonight’s show was Dancing with the Officers. It was a mix of crew dancing with ‘invited guests’ and other crew members show casing their talent (or not as the case may be). A few created a boy band and danced in sync (well some of them were). It was actually very funny and entertaining and better than some of the headline acts.

After the show Paul had to dash as he was going on a sunset photo walk. I went to the cabin to blog. I did plan to, honest, but seemed to drift off to sleep instead. Paul returned a couple of hours later and told me off (but I continued to sleep).

We were up at 9:30 and as we got ready we started watching a film that was a complete remake of “My Fair Lady”. Only in this one it was modern day Boston and Professor Hanna Higgins, an aloof politician, bets she can get a beer delivery guy, Elliott Doolittle, to be able to stand for state senate. We were out of the room by 10:40 so never got to see the end but I think we could figure it out. We had decided yesterday that we would go to Lumiere’s for brunch. Partly because we are eating too much and it means one less meal a day, partly because they serve later and party because I wanted the eggs benedict. All good enough reasons so in we went. We were asked if we wanted a table alone or one to share, we said we’d prefer alone but were led to a large table laid with 8 place settings. There were other tables laid for 2 so we figured our answer may have been misunderstood. The servers asked if we were waiting to be joined and we explained that no, we’d requested just us so they brought menus. We never did get anyone join us.

We started with fresh pastries then I had eggs benedict (of course) and Paul had a fry up (well, the American version anyway). We had some juice and tea and Paul then asked if he could get a donut. The server said yes and off he went. He came back with some kind of chocolate tart. Paul said, no I didn’t order that I asked for a donut, a chocolate donut. He was then asked if he meant a brownie. He tried to make a round shape with this hands to indicate donut and the server asked where it was on the menu. Paul said it wasn’t on the menu but just wanted to see if it was available. After about 10 minutes the server came back and said no, they don’t have any but would do tomorrow if we went back. Paul said that he was surprised as he could go and get one in Topsiders and that we get them delivered to our room each morning. The server then said ‘ok let me try’ and off he went again. This time he asked a supervisor who came over and asked want we wanted. By now 15 minutes must have gone but this guy went off and in seconds did come back with 2 chocolate donuts. Our Columbian server was very apologetic so we asked if Columbians spoke Portuguese or Spanish, he answered Spanish so we asked him what the word was in Spanish. I kid you not that he answered ‘chocolata donut’. Incredible. Also, is it just me who wondered what on earth he would have served us if we had taken his offer to go back the next day as at the point he offered this he still had no clue what we were asking for!!

We left Lumiere’s about 11:20 as I had a salon appt for a manicure repaint and I was just starting to chip. I had a very nice manicurist from New Zealand and this was her first contract on board. She was very chatty and friendly and I set her a small challenge; To paint the Mickey symbol on my ring finger nail. She was a little unsure, so asked a colleague, who said she wouldn’t have time. I said not to worry, but my helpful manicurists insisted she’d have a go and set about practicing on cotton wool and her own nails. She was determined to deliver a good service. She painted my nails beautifully and I got my Mickey symbol. I came out and went back to the cabin to meet Paul. On the TV was the “My Fair Lady” film, so as my nails dried we watched the predictable ending.

It was after 2:30 and some of the DIS ladies were at “Champagne Girls” in Sessions bar. So we went along to say Hi. The room was full of about 40 women, wearing pink feather boas, paper crowns with umpteen empty Champagne glasses around them. It is fair to say, that at $30 each for unlimited champagne in an hour, some had got their monies worth and were a little worse for wear. Four of the hubbies were Cabana boys, serving Champagne in their Hawaiian shirts. We took a few pics, then wondered around to Diversions for a Pub Quiz. Apparently, some of the die hards were about to start a pub crawl, so it wasn’t long before Diversions became a rowdy room full of revellers (check that alliteration).

We sat in a booth, got our paper and an American man asked to join us. We welcomed him, knowing how American centric the questions tend to be. We did actually know a fair amount ourselves, but he definitely gave us two or three we wouldn’t have got. Our total score ended up being only 1 away from the winning score. So close but no prize.

We made our way back to our cabin and managed some more blogging ahead of getting ready for dinner. It was back to Parrot Cay for a slightly odd menu entitled “Master Chef”. I started with tomato and mozzarella, followed by chicken consommé. Paul had cooked shrimp with feta cheese, then Lima bean soup. For main course Paul stuck with the sirloin steak, whilst I had the unusual pheasant. For dessert I had the sticky toffee pudding but Paul was gutted as it contained dates so he consoled himself with a Mickey ice cream bar.

Before the show we did our usual wonder to find some character picture stops. We found Cinderella with her mice Suzy and Perla, so I took the opportunity for a picture of Cinders with Cinders. I have developed a dumb habit of looking at Paul’s camera for all pictures, so when the professional ones are printed, I am gazing off into the distance (even when reminded not to do this, I still did in further pictures. D’Oh).

In our daily shop walk, I treated myself to a Disney watch. So we both now proudly display Mickey on our wrists in a stylish adult understated way.

It was now into the show, which was called “Walt Disney: The Show Goes On”. We sat at the front near the signers and the show was a historical walk through Walt Disney’s life and the Disney corporation up to present day. There were clips of animated and live action movies, as well as recreated scenes on stage, with corresponding musical numbers. It was a really good show, very interesting, but personally I’d liked to have seen more familiar musical numbers; the classics and everyone’s faves were missing. The show was performed by the Magic’s newest and latest entertainment troop, known as “Magic 30”. We saw their first performance to a live audience, before their Mediterranean itinerary.

We came out of the theatre and went to the Promenade Lounge. We thought for a change that we would try our hand at trivia :). We joined forces with Noel and John from DIS boards. A nice couple from California who are BIG Disney fans. Despite this we still didn’t do well.

It was now back to the cabin to add on yet another hour and get some sleep, though we do get a lie in tomorrow ahead of Palo brunch.

It was back to breakfast in our cabin, although we did choose the latest delivery slot of 9am. It is Saturday after all so I should get my weekend lie in. Before we went out we we’re watching a movie on tv called Big Miracle. It was about Californian grey whales who got trapped in the ice in Alaska and apparently is based on a true story. It was really good although the part where the baby whale died was a real tear jerker moment. The two adults did get freed though.

We then went down to Disney tunes trivia. We saw the lady we’d painted with and knowing she was travelling alone we invited her to join us. We also say Tracey who was on her own so she joined us too. Between us we still struggled and ended up with a score of 15 out of 30. The winning score was by some kids with full marks. They should ban kids from these things :-).

Since it was Monaco qualifying we tried to find somewhere to watch it, we tried sports bars and the sport channels in our cabin but to no avail. We were disappointed so instead sat up on deck and I Blogged some more. That’s why you’ve ended up getting about 3 days posted in quick succession. So, we may have lost out on qualies but you gained on blogs.

With no qualies we went to lunch. We selected Topsiders buffet again as they had pitta breads with fajita style chicken and fillings. It was really nice. I was supposed to have a light lunch as we had dinner at Palo but that seemed to fall by the wayside. they had a full BBQ out on the back deck of the restaurant, but as we already had a plate of food we had to skip it. We are still eating loads and regularly, major diet coming when we get home.

After lunch we made our way to the Cinema to see Iron Man 3. We sat at the back and got a good view. The film was a good as the others and we both really liked it. We couldn’t work out the big twist that everyone has talked about but debate a few small twists!

Spending 2 hours in the cinema and not dong much else is probably gong to make todays blog really short – sorry. Anyway, we then went back to don our glad rags for Palo. Paul was looking good in his navy suit and I co-ordinated with trousers and blue patterned silk top. Our reservation was at 6 and since the restaurant is at the top and the back it was straight up in the aft elevators. We arrived about 5 minutes early to see a line of people waiting to get in. They opened up pretty much on 6 and we were led to our table by Lazslo, our Hungarian server. We got a nice table for 2 right by the window and after everyone telling is how cold Palo was we had quite the opposite as the sun blazed through the glass. It was a beautiful evening and sadly we had to draw the blinds slightly as the sun did get in our eyes. We didn’t shut out all the glorious sun though. That would have been a travesty. We started as usual with the antipasti to share. A mix of cured meats, Parmesan, peppers and artichoke. All drizzled in balsamic and chilli oil. Warm breads are also brought to the table. I indulged in a glass of red wine but Paul stuck to diet coke.
Starters were then mozzarella and tomato for me and portobello mushroom with polenta for Paul. He had that last time and I told him his verdict was ‘just ok’ and his verdict this time didn’t change. My mozzarella was good but they could do with serving more, there is less cheese than tomato by a long way. Before main course as an amuse bouche of lemon sorbet to clear the palette. Main course was the pasta penne ariabiatta for Paul which he really loves and says is cooked to perfection. For me it was the rack of lamb which even well done was juicy, succulent and really tasty. We both followed with the famous Palo chocolate soufflé. The final serving is a small frozen drink of lemon sorbet, sparkling wine and apple brandy. Very nice. The whole meal was great, very enjoyable.

After dinner we didn’t want to attend the magician show so we browsed the shops, looked at our character pics, and put by some more with Hook and Jack Sparrow, and also stopped by the DVC stand to hear about how we get the freebies. It transpires they call the cabin and leave a trivia question, if you then head on down with the correct answer you’ll get the freebie. The guy made sure we were on the list for the future so we await tomorrow’s question.

We planned to attend the late adult only show of John Charles at 10:15 so I took another opportunity to blog some more. I managed to get another day completed for Paul to post just before we needed to go out. We were actually both quit disappointed with the show. We expected it to be funnier. He spent the first 40 mins or so asking folks where they were on then playing an appropriate song (like Galveston, Louisiana and others that were state related). For the Brits he played a US tune about us being defeated in their fight for independence. He then also did several requests including Phantom, Les Mis, and some country stuff. He ended with Hallelujah, which Paul hates then encored with a “Horse with no Name by America”, stopping to point put the nonsensical lyrics. He got a standing ovation so we clearly missed something and we didn’t get out of there until after 11:30.

Paul managed to post the blog and we went to bed. I did watch the port shopping guide tour on tv before bed and this plus the added hour meant we didn’t go to sleep until 2am.

This day started very early for Paul as he chose this as his night to get up at 3am and do his night tour of the ship taking pics. I heard him get up and go but I’ll be honest I never heard him come back. Apparently, he was out for 2 hours. We both needed to be up and ready for 10am as we had Cabin Cruisers. This was organised by Jacquie in the DIS Boards group and was basically a tour of different types of cabins from inside, to porthole to navigator to a one bedroom suite. All were occupied by people in the group and volunteered up for viewing. We too offered ours up so people can see the extended verandah and view at the back. The one bed suite was beautiful, I can’t wait ’til next September when we have one of these. The whole tour took about an hour and a half so after all the stairs we needed a sit down and headed up to quiet cove. We saw Lilo and Stitch on deck some went over and got our picture taken with them.

It was now time to eat again so for a change we chose Top Siders buffet. It is way smaller than Cabanas and the food is not as good either be we managed to find things we could eat; sandwiches, salad, chicken, corn dogs and roast potatoes. We sat outside and despite the wind it was a nice day. We also spotted a school of dolphins off in the distance.

At 1:30 we went to our DVC appt and after a few signatures we became owned of real estate at Grand Floridian. We’ve already decided to try and book a Fantasy cruise next May so we think we may stay 2 or 3 days there beforehand.

Since the hours keep changing and Paul had done his nighttime tour we were both tired so decided to get more sleep – we actually slept all afternoon.

It was Pirate Night so we put on our pirate t shirts and went down for dinner. We we’re back in Lumieres and it was the familiar Mickey pirates menu so Paul started with his beloved pot stickers whilst I had fresh pineapple. I then had chilled watermelon soup followed by beef ribs whilst Paul opted for the sirloin steak with baked potato. I followed all this with an ice cream sundae containing my favourite rum and raisin ice cream. Paul had the rum soaked chocolate cake.

After dinner we went to shutters to look at some of our character pics from yesterday. Some were really good so we put them by so we can choose our favourite 10 at the end and buy the CD. We also got more character pics with Captain Hook and Mr Smee as well as Captain Jack Sparrow.

It was now time for tonights meander through the shops ahead of the show. Purchases were made and I got a cool lip gloss and mirror from the new Disney beauty range. The show itself was a British hypnotist and was pretty poor. We ended up leaving about 10 minutes before the end and making our way on deck ahead of the fireworks show. We stopped first for a cuppa and I also got a blanket as it was rather chilly on deck.

At 10:30 we found a good viewing and photography spot and Paul set up his Tripod. He got some good wide angle shots of the funnel and the fireworks (10 second exposure). We ended the evening very typically with blogging then bed.

Day 7 started very differently to others. We went to Parrot Cay for breakfast as today was Character breakfast. We had to be up early, 7:15 to be there for 8 as our early seating for dinner means we have to take the early seating for breakfast too. Paul indulged in a fry up whilst I had pancakes with syrup, choc sauce and cream! As we ate we saw Mickey, Minnie, Chip, Dale, Goofy and Pluto making there way around the room. They came to every table and a cast member took our camera and took pics. Our serving assistant also made funny hats from napkins. I got a Minnie bow and Paul got Goofy ears. We got the full set of pics before we left. We saw many people arriving an hour late, clearly having forgotten to add the hour on. Goodness only know how as it is plastered everywhere and you can’t even get into bed without moving the ‘put clocks forward’ sign.

After breakfast we needed some routine so made our way to trivia. It was Cruisin’ for trivia the multiple choice general knowledge one. We seemed to be doing well and when the scores were tallied we had a 4 way tie, each with 24 out of 25. One member from each team had to go up for a tie break so I sent Paul up. The first question started with ‘in what port in Spain…’ then the guy paused waiting for hands to go up and guess Barcelona. No one bit so he carried on with ‘…will Magic go into dry dock?’. I was shouting come on Paul and as no hands went up he took a guess. And what a guess it was NOT. The word that came out of his mouth….. Venice! I couldn’t help but yell ‘that’s in Italy you div head’. The audience laughed. No one else guessed right so there was a second tie break question. This time the question was ‘what character was originally cast to play sorcerers apprentice before Micky?’. We’d had this question in a previous trivia so I shouted ‘you know this’. Paul immediately raised his hand and redeemed himself in style with the correct answer of Dopey. I cheered and we won more damn key chains. I could start a shop!

It was onto another very different event now. We’d heard about this at the end of last night’s show. Disney were producing a huge mural to go on the wall in a hospital in Barcelona, to be given them on our arrival in Barcelona, and we could go along and take part. It was in Animator’s Palette and as we arrived the tables were all laid out with sections of canvas. Each one had the black outlines all drawn and the other areas marked with a dab of colour (kind of like painting by numbers). The whole project was part of the Disney VoluntEARS initiative where cast members give up their own time to do these kind of things to help others and give back. The added bonus this time was that Don ‘Ducky’ Williams the famous Disney artist was there. We arrived about 10 mins early yet still many seats had been taken. We searched around looking for a piece of the mural we could identify and eventually found a canvas with Flounders face on it so opted for that. The whole mural was a Little Mermaid scene. We sat next to a very nice lady who was a retired school teacher who now liked to travel. She had a very intricate piece of canvas with lots of different coloured sections of Flounder. We were given special honorary Disney VoluntEARS bibs to wear and warned that if the paint dried on our clothes then it would not wash out.

The paint was delivered to our tables in small pots with fine brushes. The lady with us asked our cast member helper what she usually did on the ship and she answered she was in entertainment. We instantly knew that meant she was a character so I joked that I needed to look at her height to guess who. She answered with the fact that we would see her face so that meant she had to be Princess Tiana, which was pretty much confirmed the first time a camera was pointed at her, striking a distinctly royal pose!

We began painting, I had only yellow, although had many intricate lines to work around and Paul had two expanses of sea; blue and green. Paul’s first green coat was very patchy but we were told it needed at least 2 if not 3 coats. I worked my yellow carefully around the lines. As we moved up the canvas we realised that starting from the bottom was very dumb as we now got our wrists and even my bracelet in the paint. We patiently completed out section and waited for it to dry. Paul offered help to the lady next to us and she reluctantly accepted, I think she really wanted to do the whole canvas herself. There was a line forming of people coming in so everyone was asked if they would mind giving up their spot for others to complete coat 2. We decided to be honourable and did so. I asked the girl taking over to look after my Flounder face. Lots of people had run to their cabins to get the Don Williams’ commemorative lithographs we’d been given on day 1. Instead of doing this we decided to get our bibs signed. So now we have signed bibs from the painting WE competed with THE Don Williams.

It was now after 11 so we relaxed on deck for a while before an early lunch. Lunch was also a change for us as we had Pinnochio’s Pizza. The daily special was barbecue chicken which was so yummy we went back for seconds. We’d taken early lunch as we had a DVC members meeting at 12:30. We got the usual folio and hats and were entered into the prize drawer. We also knew the special offer was the first day release of the new Grand Floridian Resort. I had to leave after 20 mins for my spa appt so left Paul with the thought that we could afford 50 points there if he wanted.
I headed up to the spa and was directed to the changing rooms. I had a facial, eye treatment and shoulder massage booked so donned my robe. I sat in the waiting area and waited, and waited. Five past one went by, ten past one went by and I was planning to go and complain at 1:15. At twelve minutes past my therapist finally arrived with no recognition at all for being late. She led me to the salon area where I sat with my feet up and head back. She began with my shoulder massage and she didn’t hold back. For a small therapist she sure had some strength as she pounded my shoulders. She could obviously feel my tension and knots and was on a mission to roll them out. It bordered on extremely painful but was also strangely good. This followed with a great facial and eye collagen treatment. The whole session lasted about an hour. I was then recommended umpteen expensive Elemis products but did actually buy the eye treatment as it was on offer and cheaper than at home.

Before I continue I just wanted to see if you think not locking the toilet door is weird. Yep, an odd question and interlude I admit but the reason I ask is that it seems to be really common and I have twice walked in on someone and witnessed others do the same. Each time, the occupant is horrified and yet it’s them who have not locked the door. One time I apologised and the lady in line behind me yelled, it’s not your fault, she should’ve locked the door.

Anyway, fresh faced from the spa I headed back to the cabin to meet Paul. It transpires he had won nothing in the DVC prize draws but did make a 7:30 appt for us to buy the Grand Floridian points. I showered and applied some makeup, being without it all morning felt weird and when the pictures and videos of the painting are posted on Facebook I hope I look OK. We wanted to make the 4pm trivia but were running late so arrived at question 11. Weirdly, Shaili and Apurva arrived right after us. We joined forces but with only half the questions answered we stood no chance. After the quiz we all played a scrabble like game that Shaili had. Basically you took 15 random letters and had to make a crossword. If you got stuck you could either “drop”, where you put back 1 letter and took 3 or “peel”, where every player had to take 1 letter. This was if you saw an opponent nearly complete to stop them but everyone was concentrating so much on their own words it was not really used. Once all letters were used up in a legitimate crossword you shouted bananas. Each round only took a few minutes and we each won some rounds.

It was time to get ready for diner so we did so and made our way to Parrot Cay for this evening’s gastronomic delights. Starter for me was mozzarella and grilled vegetables and Paul had the Cajun chicken. He followed this with a mixed grill whilst I had roast chicken. I did take his lamb chop and asparagus as well. This was followed by an ice cream sundae for Paul and baked cheesecake for me.

After dinner we went straight to our DVC appt. We knew were buying the 50 GF points so the guy got an easy sale. We paid the deposit and agreed a 1:30 appt the following day to sign the closing papers. After this we went down to the atrium where there were lots of character photo spots so we got in line for all of them. We got Sorcerer Micky, Donald and Minnie. A usual meander through the shops resulted in Paul getting a bargain DCL polo shirt for just $9.99.

The show this evening was Vita Voca, a kind of poor mans Il Divo. They consisted of 3 Brits (one being a scouser) and a guy who described himself as Swedish and British. They were ok. They did a couple of James Bond tracks and some well know tunes such as Unchained Melody and My Way but each were sung in Italian. The crowd seemed to love them giving them a standing ovation.

We went back to our cabin again afterwards as Paul was running out of clothes so took a trip to the laundry. Boy, American machines wash quick. He did both loads, coloureds and whites whilst I was falling asleep. I think I barely remember him getting into bed himself.

The day started much as any other with breakfast delivered and devoured. The day continued as others too with Disney Trivia. We joined forces with Tracey and Dex (UK couple from DIS Boards) and they had an amazing knowledge of Disney films. They seemed to have watched dozens in their cabin. Despite our joint efforts we were beaten by a solo player who only got one question wrong. Later we discovered she had sailed on 42 Disney cruises. Now since they only started in 1998, you do the math.

The day continued as others with lunch on deck. Sandwiches and chips and a little relaxation time. So, given our days go food, trivia, food, trivia you’d think more trivia is next but today we had a special event in the afternoon; our mixology class. It started at 2pm and was in Sessions bar. Each table was already laid out with a shot of clear liquor (which turned out to be rum) a glass with mint and lime in it (so we figured e’d be making a mojito), a wooden muddler, a stirrer, cans of sprite and club soda and an already mixed cocktail. We took our seat and our teacher/host was a Jamaican bar tender called Anne Marie. She began by getting us to drink the first cocktail which was a watermelon cooler. As we drank she showed us how to make it and got a member of the group to go up and help. It turned out to be southern comfort based with the fruit liqueur and a splash of club soda. It was piled with ice and very refreshing. All our cocktails were in tiny glasses but the helper ended up getting the full sized one she made. You can imagine after this first one that there were plenty of volunteers for all the others. We also had a gin based, mango margarita and a passion fruit martini all of which were really nice. It was then time for us to make the mojito. We muddled our lime, trying to extract the juice and not crush the mint. We added crushed ice, the rum shot and topped up with sprite. The sprite produced a sweeter version than adding the club soda. As everyone sipped away you could her the bunch getting louder and merrier. We finished the session with what they call a B54, although in my day I swear it was a B52. It is kaluha, layered with amaretto and Baileys to produce a layered dessert type drink. By this time we were still ok but there we definitely some tipsy folk.

Immediately after the mixology was another trivia. We got a table and joined forces with Mandy and Curt from DIS Boards. Mandy herself was deffo tipsy, especially as half way through there was a movie quote question and she said it must be Notting Hill as he said it in an English accent. We did try to point out he actually was English and had asked every question so far in an English accent but I’m not sure it went in. As the quiz progressed more and more people from mixology arrived. DJ Matt who was quiz master seemed to spot them so easily. The swaggering and volume was a dead give way. They were a tad rowdy but we thought it highly amusing. Paul himself got a coffee sensibly.

After trivia, which we didn’t win, we went for a walk around deck. It was very windy and Paul took a few pics. We then got ready early as we had heard about drinks on the hidden deck 7 with the DIS Boards crew so we went along for 30mins or so. We then headed into dinner, back in Animator’s Palette. It is different to Dream as the tech is a few years older. Basically, it is all black and white (walls, chairs, tables decor the lot) and then the show is all the artwork becoming coloured and some Disney video clips. The huge paint brushes that are ceiling pillars also light up. We were both pretty full (hardly surprising when you eat loads and burn no calories) but since it was baked potato soup on the menu Paul still had two bowls. We followed this with beef tenderloin with wasabi mash. The meat is so succulent.

The evenings entertainment began with trivia (we figured it would be a change ;-)) followed by the show which was an entertainer called John Charles. He played Disney songs with the lyrics changed to become funny. He did a great one about the cabin attendants with lyrics such as “if I don’t answer the second you call, you just go and steal it from my cart in the hall”. It was actually really amusing and I am looking forward to the adult show later in the week.

Sticking to form we went back the cabin to blog for a while before adding on yet another hour and going to bed.