(Day 3: At Sea) Our Trip Of A Lifetime: Cruising the Mediterranean

Day 3: A Day At Sea !

This first full day of our cruise was a "day at sea"... which in cruise-talk means you are just traveling all day to get to your next port of call.

This meant a long, non-stop haul all the way from Barcelona, Spain, across the western Mediterranean, past the south of Sicily, and south of Italy to our first stop which will be the large island country of Malta.

We dressed casual for the day and went to breakfast at Lumiere's. There were always fancy touches to decorate the food bars and dining rooms... like this horse head ice sculpture.

After breakfast, we hiked around the ship... watching the people, relaxing and taking in the "rough" life of this elegant cruise ship.

Even the elevators sported a touch of Disney... with Mickey's hand as the floor indicator!

Trying to get familiar with the various floors of the ship, (finding the different restaurants, theaters, and outdoor event areas, etc), we came to the main lobby area where, lo and behold, it was jam-packed with Disney Princesses !

There must have been 6 or 8 of them... a couple we didn't even recognize! (We are a little rusty on the newer Disney Princess heroines.) There was Cinderella, all smiles and sweetness...

And Tiana, one of the newer ones we didn't know, sharing her charms with a little passenger...

And of course, Belle (without the Beast) looking so radiant with 2 little mini-Belles matching and sitting on her flowing dress...

Of course we can't forget the enchanting Snow White, the gorgeous Princess who started it all...

And the adorable Cinderella again, with a mini-Snow White and her passenger family!

The whole main lobby buzzed with excitement as little girls and adults alike waited patiently to get to meet, talk to, get the autograph of, and finally get their picture with the Princess(es) of their dreams!

Above the Princesses were colorful banners of each Princess and hung in the center was a gigantic and colorful glass chandelier by the world-famous glass sculptor, Dale Chihuly!

Going out on the decks, we saw kid activities like dancing... here led by a staff member...

and outdoor exercising for the kids... led by none other than Goofy himself...

and little kids playing in the pool area... here chasing the "dancing" water spurts!

There were sunbathers of all shapes, sizes, and shades of "whiteness" trying to get a suntan while watching the kid events on stage and up on the huge "live-action" TV screen above!

Even out to sea, there are the occasional islands that we pass by... not knowing their names, we just wave and continue sailing on to Malta.

Kathy kicks back, looking out over the sun deck in her cool shades, sun hat and colorful, matching jewelry... trying to soak up a little sun herself.

Hey, look who we bumped into up on deck! It's Donald Duck the sailor!

Hey, What's Mickey doing smooching Kathy on the cheek?!?

Maybe I better watch that little mousy character... he looks like a smooth operator!

After hiking around the ship, we ate lunch outside at Goofy's Grill. We each had a small sandwich and a large fruit plate... the Disney folks are big on offering fresh fruits with meals... cantaloupes, honeydews, watermelon, bananas, papaya, grapes, pineapple and even kiwi fruit.

Checking our daily "Personal Navigator"... our cruise guide for scheduled events... we decided to go inside and...

learn how to make origami paper flowers! It was kinda fun, but complicated.

Ponz (our instructor from the Philippines) said you just have to remember:
1) hotdog fold; 2) tall-house fold; 3) arrow fold; 4) canoe fold; 5) in-half fold; then just wrap around the stem, poke up, fluff... and POOF... it looks like a flower!

(I told ya it was complicated.)

After that excitement, Kathy went to the room for a nap while I stayed and Ponz showed us how to make a hi-tech origami paper airplane that did end up flying pretty well. (But... it took about 25 steps to make it... so, me thinks I'll stick with my old 5-step plane that flies almost as well.)

I went to Guest Services and exchanged 300 American dollars for 215 Euro dollar bills in 20's, 10's, and 5's... (they use all coins below the 5-Euro bill).

It sure looks and feels like Monopoly money to me, don't you think?

Going back to our room, I woke Kathy and we partially packed a day-bag for the Malta excursion we were going on the next morning.

We then went to see the nightly stage show in the Walt Disney Theater on deck 3. It was "Cinderella, Another Story" which had great costumes, good music, and a light-show built into the hour-long, short musical.

After the show, we rushed back to the room and changed for our "dress up formal" dinner.

Dinner was rotated every night and tonight it was in the "Animator's Palate" room where everything is black and white... until, as the night progresses, the walls begin to light up and all the decor starts to change into colors! Pretty cool, eh?

I wore a sport coat, silvery tie, black shirt, and white pants... while Kathy wore her sexy new sparkly black dress! (Woo-Woo !)

The other couple who were MIA the night before (Laura and Bob from "somewhere" Connecticut) joined us for dinner... so we finally had a full table.

It was another very enjoyable dinner, but it took 2 hours to eat!!! A lot of chattering between meal courses I think.

It was nearly 11 p.m. when we got back to the room... and what did we find on our bed?

A cute little "towel-penguin" and 2 bedtime chocolates! How sweet it is.

We went to bed kinda early to get rested for our big day in our first port of call... Malta... bright and early the next morning.

(Days 1 & 2) Our Trip Of A Lifetime: 12+ days Cruising the Mediterranean

Days 1 & 2: Takeoffs, Landings, & Bon Voyage !
(These 2 days became one as we traveled back through 7 time zones to get to Europe.)

Up and at 'em... our daughter Jaclyn (aka Jaci) and grandbaby Nolan (aka Charlie) took us on the early morning drive to the St. Louis airport and off-loaded us at the American Airlines terminal.

Our plane was on time and, a short 40-minute flight later, we made it to Chicago for a windy, wobbly, and hard landing. Not to worry.

After a typical 2-hour layover in O'Hare Airport, plus an additional 1-hour delay due to the high winds... we were finally off to Madrid, Spain on Iberia Flight 6274.

The long flight was uneventful... well, for the first few hours or so anyway... the flight was smooth but the seats were cramped.

Then, out over the Atlantic Ocean, an oriental, pregnant, young lady in the seats in front of us became sick and passed out!

Her husband quickly got help for her and she was okay after a while, but it caused a stir for the rest of the flight... doctors, stewardesses, and well-wishers checking on her continually. She apparently got a touch of food poisoning somewhere before the flight, but was much better when laid out across several seats and given cool washcloths.

In a "small-world-isn't-it" happening on the plane... the young, 20-something girl and her husband sitting next to Kathy were from Phoenix, AZ. When Kathy talks to the girl, she discovers that she grew up and went to school in Lawton, Oklahoma as an Army-brat, too!!!

No way!!! Strange... but true!
So, the two of them kicked around old Lawton, OK memories until they finally went to sleep.

That "sleep" didn't last more than about 45 minutes all "night"... because they soon had us up for our "breakfast in a long box". This breakfast consisted of a fruit cup, a kit-kat chocolate bar, a small ham-like sandwich on a small, very hard roll, juice and coffee.

We soon arrived in Madrid after the 7-hour flight... it was 8:30 a.m. their Madrid-time... but, actually 1:30 a.m. on our bodies' time!

So, we were officially in Europe now... and "Day 2" is off and running!

We had to scramble and walk nearly 2 actual miles across and around the Madrid terminal to finally go through Customs and find our connecting airplane to Barcelona. All signs are in Spanish (duh) and sort of confusing... and not many workers speak English (go figure). We found our connection with just minutes to spare... and it was an even more cramped Iberia plane.

BUT... guess what?

As we were boarding this plane to Barcelona, a young, 20-something, American girl said to Kathy, "I'm going to the same place you are!"

Kathy was surprised and said, "What? How do you know where I'm going?"

The young girl and her traveling friend laughed and pointed to Kathy's carry-on... which had her Disney Cruise Line ID tag on it. They all laughed and, of course, started talking about the cruise. This young girl told Kathy that she has been on 5 or 6 Disney cruises already and that we would love how they treat us.

BUT... that's not the most unbelievable part...
this girl (on the right) was ALSO born and raised in Lawton, Oklahoma as an Army brat!!!
(This is getting too spooky, eh?)

We all made the quick flight to Barcelona, grabbed our luggage, and headed for a Disney kiosk where handlers whisked our luggage away to the ship for us.

We were guided to a Disney rep who held up a "Mickey Hand" sign on a stick (which we would get very used to looking for over the next 2 weeks). Then we loaded on a bus and started our 30-minute drive through downtown Barcelona to get to the port where our ship was docked.
Driving through Barcelona was astonishing... everything was so jam-packed with old, medieval buildings mingled with new high-rises... and people everywhere coming and going.
They say the city of Barcelona is not very large, but... to a small-town couple like us, it is spread out, bustling, and HUGE!
And then... THERE SHE IS !!!

The Disney "MAGIC"... pride of the Mediterranean and our "home" for the next 12 days!

It was huge, colorful and very organized!
We shuffled our way along the reception and check-in lines where we were greeted, passports checked, and then each given our "Key To The World" room card.

This magical "Key To The World" card was: a room key, a charge card for all things on the ship, and our personal ID cards... from that point on, no cash, credit, or other charge cards are used onboard ship! Amazing!

Then it's a winding walk to the gangplank and finally... we are onboard "The Magic"!

Disney staff are everywhere... all smiling and greeting you happily! They even "announce" your entry onto the ship and welcome you onboard.

We followed well-marked hallways to our room 2582 on the second level and found our luggage waiting outside our door! Upon opening our stateroom door... WOW !!!
It was like a small hotel room in there! We had been on other cruises, but this was twice the sleeping and sitting room we had ever had before!

There was a large Queen-size bed, a relatively large, "2-room" split-bathroom... with the usual shower... but it had a small TUB, too! Practically unheard of... and amazing!
The rest of the room and decorations were spectacular and classicly outfitted. There was a separate sitting/TV area, BUT best of all was the HUGE 5-foot wide porthole! We were about 25 feet above the waterline and it gave us amazing views out over the water.

I kept waiting for them to come tell us we had been given the wrong room... but they never did!

We unloaded our carry-ons and took a small break since our jet-lag and no sleep was starting to catch up to us... a very long trip indeed.
About 2 hours after arriving, instructions were announced as to how, when, and where to assemble on deck for the "required" Lifeboat Drill for all passengers... where you get your lifeboat assignment in case The Magic somehow becomes The Titanic.

When the alarm was sounded, we got our lifevests on and headed to deck 4, section K... we felt goofy with the vests on (how appropriate... get it? "Goofy") but it is required, could be useful, and kinda fun anyway.
That evening, we cleaned up and roamed over the ship until it was supper time at Lumiere's... on deck 3... where we were seated at table 35.

We met our table mates for the next 12 days: Nita and Ron from Bristol, England and Pat and Andy from Philadelphia, PA. (Two other passengers for our table were missing from that meal.)

The food was great with fancy appetizers, salads, main entrees, and super desserts! If you don't like something... you just tell them and they take it away... and they will bring you whatever else you might like... no questions asked!

Our table waiters were Matt (from Poland) and Jayson (from the Philippines)...both were super nice, entertaining, and helpful with recommendations during the whole cruise.

The ship set sail from Port Barcelona during our supper and, as we sailed out to sea, we all made a toast wishing "bon voyage" (good travels) to us all.

After initial small talk and a great supper, we stopped by the "Rockin' Bar D" lounge where they were playing a "Match Your Mate" game... kinda like the old "Match Game".
There were 2 older couples and a newlywed young couple as game contestants. After several embarassing questions, followed by some risque and comical answers, it ended with the young newlyweds as winners!

When it was over about 11:30 p.m., we went back to our room and passed out! We slept in till almost 9:00 a.m. the next morning... and it felt good!

Wow... what a great, hectic way to start our Mediterranean vacation... and with a whirlwind of experiences already under our belts!

Start Of Our Trip Of A Lifetime: A 12-day+ Mediterranean Cruise

Our IBERIA airplane was so big it wouldn't fit in one picture so...
here's the other half ! It flew us from Chicago all the way across the Atlantic Ocean and we landed in Madrid, Spain... before going on to our port of embarkation: Barcelona, Spain.
That first day was a real doozy... starting off at "0-dark-30" in Girard, IL then down to the St. Louis, MO airport where we then zipped up to Chicago and finally blazed that long, long trail across the Atlantic to Spain.

The flight is so long that we lost 7 hours worth of time zones... meaning it was only dark on board for a couple hours, which made it really hard to get any sleep. (Plus the excitement of the adventure had a bit to do with that too.)

Tomorrow I will start with my detailed journal account of our trip... not too detailed as to bore you with minutia, but enough that it gives you a feel of what we experienced on this great trip of a lifetime!

Our trip begins with tomorrow's entry. See ya' then.

- Vacation to Disneyworld & Beaches (Day 2)

We woke up about 7:00 am and had a nice continental breakfast down in the motel kitchen area.

Then we packed up, loaded up and checked out by 8:30... this will be another travel day as we are heading down the rest of the way to the "Big DW"... DISNEY WORLD, that is !

We had a little time before we needed to get on the road, so... we headed for the beach again!!!

This time, Grammy said she wanted to stop and get a somewhat shorter "summer vacation haircut"... while us guys went to play in the sand.

Grammy's last words to me as I dropped her off at the salon were, "Don't let them get wet since all their clothes are packed away and we have to get going soon."

"Us guys" drove down the road a mile or so and found Henderson Beach State Park... a nice, sunny, clean stretch of white sand and surf.
It was gorgeous there... and oh so tempting for Austin and Colby.
The next thing I know, they beg to take their sandals off and just let the waves come up on their feet and ankles a little.

"Sure, go ahead."

Then they got too hot, so they wanted to take off their shirts.

"Sure, go ahead."

My famous last words, I guess.
Soon after, Austin is checking out the girlies... and wait... I think his pants are getting wetter.
Look out! A "rogue" wave must have jumped up and got him... now he is soaked!
And now he is waist deep, playing, and loving it.
Colby's doing pretty good at first, but keeps inching out there a bit further.
Wow, another one of those "rogue" waves must have come in and gotten him soaked, too!
It knocked him clear over, so... yeah, I think he's pretty wet now, too!
With both of them drenched and the damage done...

I Let 'em play!!!
They took time out to dry off in the sun and built a rough-looking sand castle.
Sand, sand everywhere... all over them and their clothes... so, they headed for the chilly, outdoor wash-off shower by the beach entrance.
After showering off, Austin noticed a couple of little chameleons running along the railing.

The chameleons were apparently "wrestling" until Colby touched them and they ran away.

The guys hid behind the car door and changed into the dry clothes I dug out of their suitcases.

We picked up Grammy... with her schnazzy new hairdo... and headed southeast to Orlando.

Colby and Austin waved "goodbye" to the Gulf of Mexico as we drove along the coastline.

It was a 3 hour drive just to get over to I-75 South.

Not much of note during the drive, but we did get to see the "Historic Suwannee River" sign...
And we saw the historic, dark-colored Suwannee River itself from the bridge.
We pulled in and ate at a famous-across-the-South "Whataburger" restaurant... famous for their huge, tasty burgers since 1950 ! They were pretty darn good !

After a long day in the car, we finally saw the lights of Orlando, Florida and we knew we were getting close to our resort!

We arrived at the fabulous Celebrity II Resort on Poinciana Blvd. in Kissimmee about 8:00 pm.

I checked in, found our suite, and we started unloading... ready to relax a little and spend the week amid luxury and Disney excitement.
The luxury part was quickly evident... this pool was great!
And the facilities were gorgeous everywhere we turned.
And WOW... Room #115 was GREAT !!!

It had 2 big bedrooms, 2 big flat-screen TVs, a living room, a dining room area...
A nice kitchen, 2 bathrooms... and a jacuzzi tub !
The guys quickly found the fold-out sofa near a big-screen TV.

We then went out and ate a big supper/breakfast at the IHOP just down the street... yummy and it sure hit the spot!

We watched TV for a little bit and then everyone passed out by midnight... another long, but exciting and fun day for all !