Sunday, August 19, 2007
The wake up call came at 6:45am. We were tired and my head was pounding. We got up for breakfast and watched a violent thunderstorm while eating breakfast on deck two. We were scheduled to see Montserrat for a half day excursion. Given how tired we were, headaches, and rotten weather I went to the excursion desk to inquire about cancelling. I have had excursions cancelled before, so I figured it wouldn’t be a problem. The man at the excursion desk informed me they would not know if they were going to cancel until 8am. It was 7:30am and I was eager to get on with my day. I persisted a bit about being unable to cancel, citing examples of how DCL has cancelled on me last minute before (Accupulco 2005). He said you need 48 hours notice to cancel. I cancelled my all day Seville tour right there, not wanting to give Disney any more of my excursion budget. The man told me I could go to the medical office to get a note. I don’t need to read that I have a headache, I already know what my head feels like.
We arrived at the Rocking Bar D at 8:15am to meet with our excursion. They handed out rain ponchos to everyone. There were quite a few people we knew and liked on this excursion. Victoria was with Addison, Stephen and Andrew so she was happy. We boarded the bus and went on an hour and fifteen minute bus ride up windy roads to get to the mountain. The tour guide was not a DCL cast member and stumbled over her English. I heard other people say they had fabulous tour guides but our was not so good.
We got off at a train station to take a scenic ride up the mountain. There wasn’t much to see because it was so foggy. Our tour guide told us several times Monserrat means: Serrated Mountain. There is a monestary there carved into the mountains along with the Black Madonna which everyone wanted to see. The tour guide was talking softly as we walked around the area. We saw a hotel and a building where only the monks reside. There were quite a bit of older people here not on our tour. It was busy due to DCL’s excursions.
When we got to the church, it was 10:45am. Our guide told us there is no flash photography in the church when the service begins. The service was scheduled to begin at 11am. Seeing this as a helpful hint, we went into the church and took non-flash pictures. The bells signaling the beginning of mass were beautiful. We exited the church and went to the entrance where you can see the famous black Madonna. We got to the door and it was closed for visitors until 12:15pm. We were to meet our bus back at 12:15pm so we had missed our opportunity to see the Black Madonna. I was fuming. Everything this tour was known for was becoming impossible: the view and the black Madonna.
We walked across to the area which said: No entrance, exit only, and went to where people were lighting candles. This was the exit path from seeing the black Madonna. We walked down the corridor and snuck in to see the figure. It was behind glass, with a small portion sticking out. We were squished with other people, no longer able to exit. After exiting, Carol and I agreed we were relieved to have been able to spend a small amount of time because it was a big reason for the excursion. This was not Disney’s best plan.
After having our limonade drink and a little shopping, we headed back to the bus at 12:15pm. We went back to the ship and went immediately to deck 9 for some lunch. We ate a delicious lunch at Topsiders which included a beef medallion close to mignon quality. The kids wanted to watch High School Musical 2 on the outdoor screen by the pool and we did so under cover in the rain. We went to the Fools met at Preludes at 3:30pm. We were the only fools there until 4:30pm. The sail away party started at 4:30pm and was moved indoors to the atrium. We stayed, drinking our drinks of the day the Bonvoyage, until a little after 5pm. We went back our rooms to change for dinner and a quick shower.
The boat sailed away at about 5:30pm. The captain later reported there was a lot of traffic in port and the Disney Magic did not have priority. Dinner at Parrot Cay was another fabulous meal with our fabulous serving team. I had the chef’s recommendations for dinner, something like tilapia which was good. After dinner we went to the show. The illusionist from Paris was so-so. I wasn’t impressed but other people seemed to be. It was too easy to spot his tricks and while I don’t expect magic, I don’t expect the tricks to be so obvious.
After dinner we went to NAME THAT TUNE family activity. We did eh. The girls were excited to do the family karaoke which was next. Victoria signed up to do the Cheetah Girls, Cinderella song. I was surprised she did it but she had said to me earlier, "Mama, since I made it into the chorus, I think I’ll sing." She had a good time. Her friend Sandy signed up and did a lovely Spoonful of sugar song. She had a nice pitch.
We went to bed after all that singing.
The wake up call came at 6:45am. We were tired and my head was pounding. We got up for breakfast and watched a violent thunderstorm while eating breakfast on deck two. We were scheduled to see Montserrat for a half day excursion. Given how tired we were, headaches, and rotten weather I went to the excursion desk to inquire about cancelling. I have had excursions cancelled before, so I figured it wouldn’t be a problem. The man at the excursion desk informed me they would not know if they were going to cancel until 8am. It was 7:30am and I was eager to get on with my day. I persisted a bit about being unable to cancel, citing examples of how DCL has cancelled on me last minute before (Accupulco 2005). He said you need 48 hours notice to cancel. I cancelled my all day Seville tour right there, not wanting to give Disney any more of my excursion budget. The man told me I could go to the medical office to get a note. I don’t need to read that I have a headache, I already know what my head feels like.
We arrived at the Rocking Bar D at 8:15am to meet with our excursion. They handed out rain ponchos to everyone. There were quite a few people we knew and liked on this excursion. Victoria was with Addison, Stephen and Andrew so she was happy. We boarded the bus and went on an hour and fifteen minute bus ride up windy roads to get to the mountain. The tour guide was not a DCL cast member and stumbled over her English. I heard other people say they had fabulous tour guides but our was not so good.
We got off at a train station to take a scenic ride up the mountain. There wasn’t much to see because it was so foggy. Our tour guide told us several times Monserrat means: Serrated Mountain. There is a monestary there carved into the mountains along with the Black Madonna which everyone wanted to see. The tour guide was talking softly as we walked around the area. We saw a hotel and a building where only the monks reside. There were quite a bit of older people here not on our tour. It was busy due to DCL’s excursions.
When we got to the church, it was 10:45am. Our guide told us there is no flash photography in the church when the service begins. The service was scheduled to begin at 11am. Seeing this as a helpful hint, we went into the church and took non-flash pictures. The bells signaling the beginning of mass were beautiful. We exited the church and went to the entrance where you can see the famous black Madonna. We got to the door and it was closed for visitors until 12:15pm. We were to meet our bus back at 12:15pm so we had missed our opportunity to see the Black Madonna. I was fuming. Everything this tour was known for was becoming impossible: the view and the black Madonna.
We walked across to the area which said: No entrance, exit only, and went to where people were lighting candles. This was the exit path from seeing the black Madonna. We walked down the corridor and snuck in to see the figure. It was behind glass, with a small portion sticking out. We were squished with other people, no longer able to exit. After exiting, Carol and I agreed we were relieved to have been able to spend a small amount of time because it was a big reason for the excursion. This was not Disney’s best plan.
After having our limonade drink and a little shopping, we headed back to the bus at 12:15pm. We went back to the ship and went immediately to deck 9 for some lunch. We ate a delicious lunch at Topsiders which included a beef medallion close to mignon quality. The kids wanted to watch High School Musical 2 on the outdoor screen by the pool and we did so under cover in the rain. We went to the Fools met at Preludes at 3:30pm. We were the only fools there until 4:30pm. The sail away party started at 4:30pm and was moved indoors to the atrium. We stayed, drinking our drinks of the day the Bonvoyage, until a little after 5pm. We went back our rooms to change for dinner and a quick shower.
The boat sailed away at about 5:30pm. The captain later reported there was a lot of traffic in port and the Disney Magic did not have priority. Dinner at Parrot Cay was another fabulous meal with our fabulous serving team. I had the chef’s recommendations for dinner, something like tilapia which was good. After dinner we went to the show. The illusionist from Paris was so-so. I wasn’t impressed but other people seemed to be. It was too easy to spot his tricks and while I don’t expect magic, I don’t expect the tricks to be so obvious.
After dinner we went to NAME THAT TUNE family activity. We did eh. The girls were excited to do the family karaoke which was next. Victoria signed up to do the Cheetah Girls, Cinderella song. I was surprised she did it but she had said to me earlier, "Mama, since I made it into the chorus, I think I’ll sing." She had a good time. Her friend Sandy signed up and did a lovely Spoonful of sugar song. She had a nice pitch.
We went to bed after all that singing.
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1 comment:
Hey Robin!
I thought you wouldn't be blogging anymore. I kept checking for awhile after your last day in Paris but nothing was posted so I gave up. I just decided to check again, on a whim. Of course it's 8/29 today, so your last posting is a while ago. I'm looking forward to more. Now, I'm going to check the photographs to see if there's anything new there.
We're all fine along with Ariel and Francine says the Hermit crabs are pretty active too. Josh is very concerned about keeping them healthy for Victoria.
Can't wait to see everyone!
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