Final Disney Days

So this post is prepared one week after it actually happened - but I wanted to give a reader's digest summary.

We spent Saturday, Sunday and Monday of the President's day weekend at Disneyland. Each morning we got up at 6 am so we could be in line at Disney for 7:20 am. Lining up at the gates 40 minutes before official opening pays off with no lines for the first few rides.  Disney processes you through the gates about 20 minutes before opening time. Then you walk to the end of Main Street and you are held up with a rope and a few staff members until the official opening hour.   Saturday we lined up for Space Mountain, Sunday we lined up for the Matterhorn bobsleds and Monday we lined up for Peter Pan's Flight first thing in the morning.  Each time we were rewarded with no wait in line.  After Peter Pan we raced to Indiana Jones and rode it three times in a row!  The third time we didn't even have to get out of our jeep!  There was nobody in line so staff just asked us if we wanted to stay seated and go again!

Saturday for lunch we ate at Blue Bayou - the the dining ride right inside the Pirates of the Caribbean. P enjoyed the beef ribs, R thought the chicken was okay ( not a good enough review for a $33 entree!). I did not enjoy my monte cristoe sandwich - deep fried way too much and sprinkled with icing sugar. Oh and we were nowhere near the boats and the water - we were situated in the back corner near the kitchen ( they told us to wait another hour if we wanted a better table).  I would not recommend this restaurant for the price we paid for lunch. 

I would highly recommend Wine Country Trattoria for lunch ( in Disney's California Adventure).  We paid $30 a plate each for a 3 course menu. That price included a prime standing room section for the evening show of World of Color. Soup and salad were both excellent, main course of gnocchi and a fabulous dessert plate with 4 desserts each!

Each day we left Disney in the middle of the afternoon to head back to the hotel for some R & R. After supper outside the park -two days at the Cheesecake Factory (awesome and affordable  at about $60 for the 3 of us), we headed back to the parks for the evening. One night we watched the fireworks, the other we watched the world of Color. Both really were top notch outdoor shows. 

This 6 night excursion was a welcome reprieve from the cold of winter as we got to enjoy 25 C temps in our shorts and t-shirts every day!

 

Universal Studios

We booked a Gray Line bus tour to Universal Studios (US) on Valentine's day. We were lucky enough to get the front seat of the top deck of a double decker bus. Great views on the drive!  And the bonus of the front row seat was P didn't feel nauseous!

The drive to Universal was about 1 hour and the return back at 6 pm was 2 hours. It was the Friday night of President's Day weekend and we had to go through LA to get to Anaheim. 

So US is set on a steep hillside and has stunning views of the California landscape when moving on four escalators from the upper and lower lots!  The lower lot held Transformers - amazing!, Revenge of the Mummies and Jurassic Park - all first rate throng worthy rides. We road them before the crowds gathered. US had electronic signs erected throughout the park telling you the wait times of all the big rides - Disney could learn from that!

I really enjoyed the studio tour where you saw and experienced sets from movie and tv shows (including Wisteria Lane from Desperate Housewives). During the one hour ride where we had 6 quiet zones where filming was happening at the time. 

We took a pass on the Simpson's ride knowing it made both P and I sick in Florida.  The Waterwold show was amazing with fire and stunt action!

For supper, we left the park and walked right outside the gate to Citywalk. We enjoyed dinner on a patio on this pedestrian walkway that was teaming with activity. It felt like New York City's time square less the cars!

We got a caramel covered apple cut up to share on the bus ride home. I sure wouldn't want to endure long weekend traffic in LA on a regular basis!  Thank heavens I wasn't driving !The bonus was we got to be the first stop on the hotel drop offs once back in Anaheim.  We returned to the hotel a little after 8 pm and called it a night!

This picture is part of the pyrotechnic display of Waterworld !

The Citywalk street!

California Adventure

JG and P and I headed down to California for the February long weekend. J isn't much of a Disney fan so he stayed home. We flew in Wednesday evening to LAX. So wonderful to leave -20 C behind and arrive to see palm trees 3 hours later!

We checked in to the Candy Cane Inn. It is reasonably priced, includes breakfast and is walking distance to Disneyland, though it has a dedicated shuttle bus if you want to use it!

Thursday morning we headed to Disney's California Adventure (DCA). We followed the touring plan from the "Unofficial Guide to Disneyland".  We grabbed fast passes to "Radiator Springs" in Cars land - the newest, busiest exhibit in DCA, then followed the day's plan.  I think our favourite ride was "Soarin'Over California". JG had just been talking about what it would feel like to fly and that is what you do in this ride - fly over the beautiful sights in California!

We returned to our hotel room in the late afternoon for some R & R. We decided to take a cab to the food for less grocery store .  There we grabbed some hot chicken and a veggie plate for supper. We also picked up some berries, yogurt and treat drinks to keep in our hotel room fridge!  Probably a healthier and definitely cheaper meal (even when factoring in he taxi) than going to a restaurant. 

We decided to go to Disneyland (DL) after supper to visit Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion before calling it a night!

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

So we were successful in securing a tender in to Half Moon Cay!  It is never a guarantee even though this private Bahamian island, owned by the cruise line, is on the itinerary. If conditions are rough they can just bypass the island. Mom, LC and I were on the first tender over here around 8:30 am. Last tender back to the ship is at 2:30. Six precious hours!

The sand is beautifully smooth and white and the ocean is turquoise. 

Mom walking back towards our clam shell. 

The clam shell provides a bit of shade and a place to put our belongings.

 
The clam shell proved not only to provide shade from the sun, but shelter from the rain. About two hours after we arrived a heavy shower lasted for about 10 minutes. LC was in the clam shell and I was just returning so we scrambled and got all our belongings under cover. Mom stayed dry while shopping in the gift shop. 

After the rain the clouds moved along and cleared way for the blue sky. Mom went for a swim and LC and I went for he island BBQ lunch. We were hungry as we had eaten breakfast in the room at 6:15 am. 

After lunch I went for a snorkel. Half Moon Cay has beautiful white sand beach that is silky smooth under your feet, but fairly limited snorkelling choices. I  saw lots of Sargeant Majors and a white fish that swam along the ocean floor and camouflaged itself in the ocean floor whenever I cast a shadow on it - like a great blue whale lurking above! My most exciting find was a barracuda!  A fellow snorkeller pointed him out for me!

Mom and LC had had enough heat by 1 pm and took a tender back to the ship. I stayed until 2:10 when I caught te second last tender back. 

So the sign outside the beachside bar about sums it up - "I wish I could stay here forever".  But life back in Canada beckons and we have families who we love and miss. (Though we very much appreciate having missed the -25 C weather and foot of snow this week).   I am pretty sure are suitcases are much closer to the 50 pound limit for the return flight!  (My Puerto Rican cowboy boots didn't help matters!)

We did enjoy dinner at the Pinnacle but I thought the Tamarind was better value for an extra pay meal. 

Tomorrow is just a matter of disembarking and flying home. We are flying through Houston and Dallas received snow today so we will see if our flights are impacted!

Last Day at Sea

So December 5th (yesterday) after I signed off we went to the Tamarind restaurant. Was it good food!  We paid extra to eat there - and worth it!

Here are some pictures of the food!

Then Mom and I went to last night's Las Vegas entertainer and a Canadian piano bar entertainer who were both excellent. 

Today, was our second and final day at sea (praying that we get into Holland America's private island called Half Moom Cay tomorrow so that today is the final sea day). Because if the weather isn't good tomorrow we won't be able to tender in by little boat to the island and we will have another unscheduled day at sea. 

This morning we had trivia and shopping on the Lido deck for Mom. I went to a rehearsal for the production show on tonight's mainstage. I like seeing behind the scenes life on board the ship. Earlier this morning I had seen a screening of a film showing how the cruise line deals with all the waste on board the ship. 

At 1 pm LC and Mom watched the ice carving demonstration by the pool and I went to watch the movie based on the book called Mortal Instruments. After the movie Mom and I went for a hot tub and a swim. There was even a deck chair available poolside for Laurie to lounge in. If this were a Princess cruise it would be unbelievable for a chair to be available poolside on a day at sea!  Guess Holland America caters to a different demographic!

We got all dressed up for our second formal night and went to three different photographers for pictures. Hopefully one turns out!  Supper was Mom's favourite - surf and turf. A nice little steak and a lobster tail!  Dessert was amazing too. 

After supper we played trivia and scored in the middle of the pack - not the best and not the worst. Then watched the production show, called "In Concert", I had seen in rehearsal. Best show of the cruise with lots of recognizable songs by Anre Boticelli, Celine Dion, Elton John, Cher...  We then went to the piano bar to sing Christmas carols we sat on he seats right around the piano tonight. A very fun day!

Mom's pictured her with a gorilla towel:

Piano Bar view!

St. Thomas

The weather dictated my choice of activity for today - though Mom and LC had it determined months ago - we went shopping!  Lucky for us when the downpour really happened - we were in Drake's Passage where a number of reasonably priced jewellery stores could be found. We were definitely trapped inside this covered walkway - but we could comparison shop quite easily. Even with the rain, the temperature was a lovely 29 C. As with most days, I was the Sherpa, hauling everybody's purchases and the umbrella.  I have been called Cinderella once or twice on the ship. LC said, "If you are Cinderella, then that makes me the ugly step sister!"

This is my view as I sit on the verandah typing!

My running shoes were on this same verandah drying from yesterday's walk around downtown San Juan. Unbelievably they got wetter with the driving rain today. I hope they dry by the time I have to pack my suitcase!

LC is now reviewing all her purchases with us and very happy with them indeed!  I bought a set of bamboo sheets for our master. My children each bought a set of sheets last year at Cariloha and I can hardly pry them out of their hands to wash them. 

So I think Mom is enjoying her week of pampering. She went across to the Neptune lounge to pour her own tea this afternoon and she didn't know how to work the machine - I laughed and gave her instructions saying Cinderella might not always be available! This was evidenced by the fact that she "ordered" us to change her hair appointment because it wasn't going to work with her onboard schedule!  Truth be known, we are enjoying and laughing while pampering her. 

This picture is of Mom and LC downtown.

This last picture is of Mom and I reboarding the ship. I want to upload this blog entry before I leave AT & T service !

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Mom, LC and I enjoyed breakfast in the Pinnacle today. We decided to walk the deck today. Three times around deck 3 equals a mile. Mom went around once, LC twice and I went three times. It was easy to pick up and drop off the circuit because there are deck chairs strategically placed all around. I didn't want to play myself out because a) I generally try to take the stairs all the time and b) I would be kayaking for three hours later in the day.

Trivia was much more successful because we joined up with friends I had made at Cruise Critic ( an online cruise discussion forum). The end result was a whopping 11 out of 15. LC knew the maker of the drug Viagra and I knew the lawless mountainous country of Afghanistan!  I think the other 9 answers came from our team mates!

We pulled into the port of San Juan, Puerto Rico today at 1 pm. After lunch at table 131 again ( with a great view out the aft of the ship) we were able to watch the Eurodam pull into port. Mom decided to lay down for a nap and LC and I decided to try our hand at shopping, never mind the need for an umbrella. A little rain never deterred the Hill girls from shopping!

Well our 30% chance of rain turned into a torrential downpour!  I left LC with the umbrella and ran through puddles above my ankles to get back to the ship in time to catch the bus for my kayaking excursion ! My paper bag disintegrated and dumped all of my purchases into a puddle. I should  have seen that one coming. I just kept running through the rain with the contents of my bags in my arms! 

I quickly shed my soaked clothes, changed into a bathing suit and dry (for now) clothes, grabbed my excursion bag and raced off the ship. An hour later on the bus, the rain is letting up!

We got off the bus about 1.5 hours later and were at a site where you can see bioluminescent bacteria in the water. We all paddled in double kayaks - I was paired up with Julie from Tennesee. Her husband Greg and daughter Lindsey were in another boat. So you have to understand that you are setting off in this bay in the dark because the sun has set, there is no moon and there is cloud cover to boot. Each boat is identified front and back with a single glow in the dark bracelet. Each life jacket is identified with one too - presumably if you capsized they could find you in the water!  And then you get into the mangrove where the trees grow up and over you so it is like you are paddling in a cave!  You follow the little glow in the dark bracelet single file. Sadly for us the boat in front of us lost sight if the boat in front of them and they pulled over to the right to wait rescue from one of the guides!  Julie and I persevered in the now BLACK mangrove and tried to catch up to the rest of the group. 

We found them - In the open bay with our guide shouting "Turtles" to direct us away from other groups. Each company was color coded - we were looking for blue but literally RAN into some orange boats that were returning from the bay! Nobody  capsized and they are pretty tough plastic boats!

We caught up with the group, heard the ecological lesson why the water has these glow in the dark features - like bubbles in the water when your paddle enters the bay. Reasons are warmth of Puerto Rican waters, mangrove and 5% more salinity than the ocean creates a favourable environment to glow. Neatest thing was guide disturbing a big fish that swam under our boat and created a wake of glow in the water bubbles. Spotted a big iguana in the tree when our guide shone his light on It!  Whole paddling experience start to finish was only 90 minutes. 

Mom dragged a freezing and damp LC who had returned from shopping soaked to the knees, to a number of social activities on the ship - eating, entertainment and "name that tune". They returned to meet me at the room around 10 pm roaring with laughter!  They were very pleased with their 32 out of 40 score. 

Mom just said "I'm trying to sleep to which LC just replied "well get used to it, we've been trying to read for four days" - to which Mom and I burst out laughing. I guess Laurie and I are making a bit of racket for Mom in our room. 

The view as we pulled out after dark!