We'’re out of it! A summer 14 “MAGICal” Med adventure Day 14/Aug 05 updated 05/05

[Flossbolna]

Ah, Piraeus! The city with the steam toast! And with the hotel where Katharina was accused of making a lot of noise while she was asleep! Oh and the cockroach in the shower... Fond memories!

Seems like you made a good choice with your private tour! They also got you out of Piraeus quickly which is very advisable (see experiences referenced above...).

 

[jenseib]

OOOH I can't wait to hear about this one!

How are you getting nice spaces between each sentence. Are you copying and pasting? I write up in word and copy and paste and with this new site it is smashing everything on top of each other when I hit submit and it's driving me mad. I love it when there are spaces between the words and pictures.

 

[dizneeat]

Ah, Piraeus! The city with the steam toast! And with the hotel where Katharina was accused of making a lot of noise while she was asleep! Oh and the cockroach in the shower... Fond memories!

Sounds like a fun trip to Athens ..... and a great hotel.

Seems like you made a good choice with your private tour! They also got you out of Piraeus quickly which is very advisable (see experiences referenced above...).

We were SO lucky with that private tour, it totally made up for the crappy one in Rome. We did see a lot that day and had an awesome guide.

OOOH I can't wait to hear about this one!

Jen, it was a great tour and not expensive at all. We loved it, if you ever need a recommendation for your clients let me know.

How are you getting nice spaces between each sentence. Are you copying and pasting? I write up in word and copy and paste and with this new site it is smashing everything on top of each other when I hit submit and it's driving me mad. I love it when there are spaces between the words and pictures.

I type up my days in word, then fill in the pictures, still using photobucket. (I am taking my pictures from 3 different cameras and photobucket puts them in cronological order ) I just use "enter" to space it out. Works like a charm.

 

[dizneeat]

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Day 10, August 1

And another private tour …..“ - Part 2

There were already a lot of people doing the same while we tried to stay close behind our lady guide, who was walking at quite the fast pace.
It was not easy, as the steps up to the Acropolis were made of marble and even though it was dry, they were very smooth and slippery. It was quite a walk up

and from time to time we had to wait for the rest of our group to catch up to us and she was quite strict we all stay together and not be too slow. We should see soon enough why and were happy she told us to get going.
There were several stops where we learned all about the history of the Acropolis and the actual parts of the place. It was super interesting.

Our guide was so friendly and answered any and all questions we had. Soon we were at the top,

where the actual Acropolis building is and we knew why she told us to head up quickly. The place was already swarming with people

and there were more and more coming up and it made it hard to get closer to some sights

and hear her comments and it was only half past 9am. We stayed around and learned about it all for more than an hour, slowly walking from one sight to the next

and finally walking up to a viewpoint

where you got a feel of the size of Athens.
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To be continued ..........​

 

[jenseib]

JUST GORGEOUS!!!!

What an awesome place to visit

 

[RGirl]

Hi Karin! Doing my usual catch-up. Hope everything is well with you!

Oh my goodness! I am in LOVE with your Steamboat Willie mug! Where did you get that????

Disappointing “brunch” there - I’m really surprised about the food issues you had on the Magic. Very un-DCL. And the coffee drink! What in the world??? You are a much nicer person than I am - I would have HUNTED SOMEONE DOWN! That’s crazy! I’m glad Tom found some good eats on the way back to the stateroom!

No Moet Ice??? I could weep. You just couldn’t win in the food and beverage department that day, huh? (You know, the sommelier at Remy on the Fantasy told me that the whole ice thing worked just as well with any champagne - I think she was right. I enjoy it all summer now at home without the Moet price tag!)

Thank goodness your dinner courses were better than the rest of the food for the day!

Oh, Palo brunch looks as good as usual - so glad! And the tasting sounds like so much fun - I sure hope I manage to do one this summer; this will be my third DCL cruise, and I have yet to do a tasting! I cracked up when I read that you sat around after and then handed the CM your tickets for the next one - that is awesome!

Melty Mickey bars. So sad! (I NEVER remember that we can order these from room service. I am going to try my best to remember to do it this summer.) Watery salad - mmmm. And look at those wings! Were they from a canary???? And the “cake of the day” is INSANE!!!!! If it weren’t so awful, I would fall over laughing! The cheese plate looks as tasty as usual though. Phew!

What is up with them being out of all the wine and beer? I mean, don’t they prepare for what they need? It makes no sense unless they had a crowd of beer-and-wine-swilling freaks board the ship on the first day. I just don’t understand!

Well, the Athens sight-seeing looks amazing. And much better than the last tour. Thank goodness!

 

[Poolrat]

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WOW!!!! Sounds and looks like an awesome tour so far.

 

[MEK]

I was not as far behind as I feared!

More great food porn pics! Yum!

So you said there really isn't a quiet place to have a drink on the Magic? Tell me where the best spot to go is.

OMG - Athens and Acropolis look amazing, but seriously crowded for 9am. That is something I would love to see. It looks amazing. What a great tour. Looking forward to more!

 

[JKSWonder]

Looks so interesting! Amazing how many people were already there, even so early in the day.

 

[scottny]

The food looked good. Glad the air freshener helped.

WOW! That tour sounded horrible. I wonder how euros are considered a proper id. LOL

This tour you booked sounds like it gets worse as the day goes along. I always check online reviews and make sure on a few sites they get a good rating but we did have one that was not great in Florence but not as bad as you had.

At least you did the hop on hop off bus and got to see somethings.

Glad you did not tip at all.

What a terrible way to get back and relax with the AC leaking.

After that day I would have downed the bottle. LOL.

Cute mug.

The cappuccino looked good.

Dinner looked good.

Lots of glasses there on your table. LOL.

WOW! Lots of stuff from the fish extender.

Jealous you got to Athens. I would love that.

That was beautiful. So glad this tour is going better than the last one.

I have caught up again.

 

[Flossbolna]

There were several stops where we learned all about the history of the Acropolis and the actual parts of the place. It was super interesting.

The most interesting fact I remember from our visit was that if the Brits had not tried to clean it in the 19th century, it would be in a much much better shape now. Their cleaning destroyed it to a large part...

The place was already swarming with people

and there were more and more coming up and it made it hard to get closer to some sights

Eek! We were in Athens on the Greek Orthodox Church Easter weekend. And the city was empty, everyone was staying with their families somewhere in the country. At least in the mid-90s that was what they did. It was wonderful! And even up there on the Akropolis the crowds were manageable. We had not planned it at all that way, it was just the end of our Easter vacation. Summer crowds look crazy!!

Great picture!

and finally walking up to a viewpoint

where you got a feel of the size of Athens.

Looks like the got their smog problem taken care of! One of the things our guide told us that any other day than Easter weekend you more or less could not see the city at all as it was covered with a huge smog cloud and that we were very lucky to get that wonderful view.

 

[Flossbolna]

Sounds like a fun trip to Athens ..... and a great hotel.

It was, just the hotel was lousy!! My parents had friends where he was from Greece, from one of the islands. And we spent an Easter holiday at their vacation home on that island. That's why we had to spend one night in Piräus to catch the ferry from there. On the way back we spent a few nights in Athens. This was the most fun trip we took as a family, we constantly had something to laugh about. From the security lady at the airport who was shocked to find old apples in my father's camera bag and then did not look further and therefore missed his knife that he had packed to cut up those apples (from the own garden, stored on the attic for the whole winter, you can imagine what they looked like) to being invited to the most extraordinary "fasting meal" by our friends' friends on the Greek Orthodox Palm Sunday which was loads and loads of seafood in all different ways and my mother hates seafood... This is the only time in my life that I saw her eating seafood!

 

[Leshaface]

The Acropolis!!! How beautiful! For me when I hear Acropolis, I immediately think of Yanni doing a performance there and how beautiful it was. Obviously I wasn't there, but my dad had the DVD of the concert.

Wow so many people at that time! Sheesh, can't imagine how folks would feel if they had a late morning/afternoon tour. That would stink!

 

[perfectmatch300]

I'm finally caught up! I have been unable to read anything on my tablet since the new board started up due to the very tiny font I'm getting. I can expand the page to a readable size, but then I have to scroll back and forth across the page. Needless to say, that doesn't work very well for me. At least on my desktop I can blow up the page to 200% and make everything readable.

I actually managed to make the reply font bigger here. I'll check on my tablet later to see how this looks. For now, I'm off to see what else I can figure out while I don't have to squint in my less than successful attempts to read. I do feel a bit better because at least I am able to function on the Disboards on my desktop. I was feeling more than a bit lost when I couldn't read anything. Now I am only slightly lost. I did just find the smilies!

 

[KatMark]

WOW! The pictures of Acropolis are amazing. 9 a.m. and all those people already? Holy batman.

Great pictures...thanks for sharing.

 

[dizneeat]

Sorry to let you all waiting here. Today marks the end of the first term of this school year and it is always so stressful for the last few weeks. But from today on I am on half term vacation for a week - heavenly!

JUST GORGEOUS!!!!

What an awesome place to visit

It was picture perfect. Clear blue skies, such a knowledgeable guide and so much history to take in. We loved every minute of it.

Hi Karin! Doing my usual catch-up. Hope everything is well with you!

Playing catch up myself. It's such a shame when real life interferes with our Disney dreams.

Oh my goodness! I am in LOVE with your Steamboat Willie mug! Where did you get that????

It's cute, isn't it? I bought it on board.

Disappointing “brunch” there - I’m really surprised about the food issues you had on the Magic. Very un-DCL. And the coffee drink! What in the world??? You are a much nicer person than I am - I would have HUNTED SOMEONE DOWN! That’s crazy! I’m glad Tom found some good eats on the way back to the stateroom!

Roni, would this have been our first experience with DCL then we would never ever have booked another cruise. For the price tag that they add to their cruises, esp. in the Med, I would have expected a more upscale service.
All those "little" incidents just added to my dislike of the whole cruise. We were glad that excursions worked out well, apart from the one in Rome, otherwise I might have jumped ship in one of the ports.

No Moet Ice??? I could weep. You just couldn’t win in the food and beverage department that day, huh? (You know, the sommelier at Remy on the Fantasy told me that the whole ice thing worked just as well with any champagne - I think she was right. I enjoy it all summer now at home without the Moet price tag!)

Moet & Chandon introduces Moet Ice Imperial, the world's first ever Champagne created to be enjoyed over ice. This is a blend developed from the house's signature crus, to intensify the taste experience of icy freshness and powerful aromas of tropical fruits. (Quote from one of the French sellers!)

Roni, please don't get me wrong, but that Sommelier girl on the Fantasy did not have any idea what she was talking about when she told you that the whole ice thing works well with any champagne. EVERY champagne producer would tell you that it must not be "watered down" with ice cubes - it changes the taste. That is the great thing about the Moet Ice - it developes its best flavours when poured over ice.

Thank goodness your dinner courses were better than the rest of the food for the day!

Oh, Palo brunch looks as good as usual - so glad! And the tasting sounds like so much fun - I sure hope I manage to do one this summer; this will be my third DCL cruise, and I have yet to do a tasting! I cracked up when I read that you sat around after and then handed the CM your tickets for the next one - that is awesome!

Palo was great - as always.
The tastings are so much fun. Try the champagne one and the chocolate one is awesome too! Oh, and I have not forgotten - I will ask about the age limit for the galley tour.

Melty Mickey bars. So sad! (I NEVER remember that we can order these from room service. I am going to try my best to remember to do it this summer.) Watery salad - mmmm. And look at those wings! Were they from a canary???? And the “cake of the day” is INSANE!!!!! If it weren’t so awful, I would fall over laughing! The cheese plate looks as tasty as usual though. Phew!

Not just melty Mickey bars - they were Mickey soup.
Oh yeah, the wings - they were tiny! We had such a laugh because the veggie sticks were much bigger than the wings.
And the cake of the day that was a sight in itself.

What is up with them being out of all the wine and beer? I mean, don’t they prepare for what they need? It makes no sense unless they had a crowd of beer-and-wine-swilling freaks board the ship on the first day. I just don’t understand!

Talking to the bar tender in Keys - they had under estimated the time it would take them to get orders from the US. You would think that by now they should know how much they need of some things - it's not their first cruise in Europe. We did see them restock cans of beverages in some ports, but they only got the really cheap stuff, so we stuck to our own provisions.

Well, the Athens sight-seeing looks amazing. And much better than the last tour. Thank goodness!

Ah, we just LOVED our day in Athens! Everything worked out so well. The day was picture perfect with the bluest skies. Yes, it got pretty hot, but we just loved it. There was so much history to take in, it was awesome.

WOW!!!! Sounds and looks like an awesome tour so far.

It turned out to be such a great day. Perfect weather, great tour guide and company. What else could we have asked for.

I was not as far behind as I feared!

More great food porn pics! Yum!

So you said there really isn't a quiet place to have a drink on the Magic? Tell me where the best spot to go is.

OMG - Athens and Acropolis look amazing, but seriously crowded for 9am. That is something I would love to see. It looks amazing. What a great tour. Looking forward to more!

Half term kept me from updating - but I hope to get a bit done, now, that I have the next week off.

Tom and I love to just sit and have a drink somewhere quiet when we are on the Dream or Fantasy. We love just sitting in Skyline in the afternoon. We did not find any place as quiet and nice on the Magic. Wherever we went there was some really noisy thing going on. It was so annoying.
Then one of the bar tenders told us that there was Cove Cafe - which even annoyed me even more as he made it sound like that was a great big secret. Yes, it was more quiet in there, but not a place where you order a nice drink and drink out of a real glass. We would have had to get our drinks at the pool bar and then sit inside the cafe.
Thankfully we had a fridge full of yummy stuff ourselves - money saved.

Athens was beautiful. We were so impressed with what our guide told us and then walking right up to the sights. And we were both happy we booked that private tour, as there were an aweful amount of buses when we got back to our van.[/QUOTE]

 

[dizneeat]

Looks so interesting! Amazing how many people were already there, even so early in the day.

It was unbelievable how many people there were. That was why I was so happy we had that private guide, as even though there were crowds we were still ahead of them.

The food looked good. Glad the air freshener helped.

WOW! That tour sounded horrible. I wonder how euros are considered a proper id. LOL

This tour you booked sounds like it gets worse as the day goes along. I always check online reviews and make sure on a few sites they get a good rating but we did have one that was not great in Florence but not as bad as you had.

At least you did the hop on hop off bus and got to see somethings.

Glad you did not tip at all.

It felt (and smelled) much nicer, once the air freshener was there.

See, I was not the only one who didn't understand the Euro ID. And yes, that tour was such a waste of money, but at least we got to see the city with commentary from the HOHO. Can't wait to hear your experiences in Florence now.

What a terrible way to get back and relax with the AC leaking.

After that day I would have downed the bottle. LOL.

We were amazed at HOW they got rid of the problem - just stuff a small towel in.
It was good to have some drinks in the room - we needed them that day.

Cute mug.

The cappuccino looked good.

Dinner looked good.

Lots of glasses there on your table. LOL.

WOW! Lots of stuff from the fish extender.

Jealous you got to Athens. I would love that.

That was beautiful. So glad this tour is going better than the last one.

I have caught up again.

The tastings were fun. And even though I don't drink reds, it was still fun to listen to the experts.

Athens was wonderful, but there were still a few other great spots in Athens to go to and we had some great tours the following days as well. Stay tuned.

The most interesting fact I remember from our visit was that if the Brits had not tried to clean it in the 19th century, it would be in a much much better shape now. Their cleaning destroyed it to a large part...

Yes, we got to see that in the Acropolis museum at the end of the day. What a shame.

Eek! We were in Athens on the Greek Orthodox Church Easter weekend. And the city was empty, everyone was staying with their families somewhere in the country. At least in the mid-90s that was what they did. It was wonderful! And even up there on the Akropolis the crowds were manageable. We had not planned it at all that way, it was just the end of our Easter vacation. Summer crowds look crazy!!

Oh, I need to keep that in mind. It was SO packed that day, but this is obviously what you get when you visit at the height of summer.

Looks like the got their smog problem taken care of! One of the things our guide told us that any other day than Easter weekend you more or less could not see the city at all as it was covered with a huge smog cloud and that we were very lucky to get that wonderful view.

No smog at all. It was a beautiful day.

 

[dizneeat]

The Acropolis!!! How beautiful! For me when I hear Acropolis, I immediately think of Yanni doing a performance there and how beautiful it was. Obviously I wasn't there, but my dad had the DVD of the concert.

Wow so many people at that time! Sheesh, can't imagine how folks would feel if they had a late morning/afternoon tour. That would stink!

You would love Europe. There is so much history and so many great sights to visit.
The Acropolis was really impressive. I had an idea of what we were in for, but I did not expect it quite as what it really was. Beautiful. The crowds not so much.

I'm finally caught up! I have been unable to read anything on my tablet since the new board started up due to the very tiny font I'm getting. I can expand the page to a readable size, but then I have to scroll back and forth across the page. Needless to say, that doesn't work very well for me. At least on my desktop I can blow up the page to 200% and make everything readable.

I actually managed to make the reply font bigger here. I'll check on my tablet later to see how this looks. For now, I'm off to see what else I can figure out while I don't have to squint in my less than successful attempts to read. I do feel a bit better because at least I am able to function on the Disboards on my desktop. I was feeling more than a bit lost when I couldn't read anything. Now I am only slightly lost. I did just find the smilies!

Yeah for being caught up!
I quite like the new DISboards. Once I found my way around it really is easy to manage.

WOW! The pictures of Acropolis are amazing. 9 a.m. and all those people already? Holy batman.

Great pictures...thanks for sharing.

It was so impressive, Kathy. I was so happy I booked that tour that took us to the Acropolis first. We really pitied the people who were climbing up when we were on our way down.

 

[dizneeat]

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Day 10, August 1

And another private tour …..“ - Part 3

We stayed around and learned about it all for more than an hour, slowly walking from one sight to the next where you got a feel of the size of Athens

before we tried to descend to where we had come from

and not only was it hard to walk without slipping on the marble, even with good walking shoes, but it was battling the enormous crowds of people who were walking up.

How lucky we had been to have booked that tour with such knowledgeable guides. It took us quite some time to climb down and when we finally reached the foot of the hill we were welcomed by Paul who was handing out icy cold water bottles. Heaven!
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To be continued ..........​

 

[dizneeat]

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Day 10, August 1

And another private tour …..“ - Part 4

It took us quite some time to climb down and when we finally reached the foot of the hill we were welcomed by Paul who was handing out icy cold water bottles. Heaven!
And then we all got into the airconditioned minivan again and off we went. We drove right to the city centre, Paul let us all get off and we went right over to Parliament, where our guide directed us to perfect spots to watch the Changing of the Guards.

Once that was over our next stop was at the Olympieion, where some of our fellow travellers didn’t even leave the air conditioned environment of our vehicle, but some of us braved the heat and headed over and were rewarded with an awesome sight.

We spent about 20 minutes exploring, before we returned to the bus and off we went again.


To be continued ..........​