Cruise Day 2: Villefranche, France

We started the morning off with room service ordered the night before. All you do is hang a little tag on the door with what you want and tell them what time you want it all delivered. When it came, it was presented very well and put on the table right next to the bed. The food what exactly what we ordered, but the coffee left something to be desired. It is instant coffee and it got the job done, but doesn't taste very good. Good coffee is available on board, but you have to pay individually for it. The prices are a little cheaper than Starbucks, but it is very good and worth it. We were happy to try out the room service, but there is not much to choose from. Since we do not want to eat pastries and donuts every morning, we will probably not order it again. Perhaps we'll have time to try out some of the lunch and dinner options.

After breakfast, we took a short run. On decks 4 and 10 you can complete a full uninterrupted lap around the ship, so these are reserved for those wanting to run or walk outdoors for exercise. We decided to run on deck 4 since it is covered and it was already quite hot. If you complete 3 laps, you travel one mile. The deck is real teak wood and has a pleasant aroma. After a couple humid, sweaty miles we went back to the room for a shower and headed down to prepare for our very first ship excursion, which Disney calls Port Adventures. The ship anchored out in the harbor and we took the tender boats to the port. By being out in a huge harbor, we had a tremendous view of Villefranche. The small fishing village along the water is full of colorful buildings and is very picturesque.

We arrived a little early for the tour, so we explored Villefranche for about an hour before the group met. There was an interesting beach full of people, so we walked over to do some people watching.

This is the first time we could see the ship in the distance. What a sight.

The harbor is lush and full of dramatic slopes covered with beautiful buildings.

The tour set off at 12:15 taking us to Monaco. We saw the royal sections of the principality with stunning architecture and attention to detail. The tour guide gave us wireless headsets, so hearing her was not a problem. Oops, a giant cruiser trying to photobomb Katherine.

One of the many Ferraris was saw. The license plate looked cool to me. Everywhere in there European Union has similar plates, but it looks like Monaco gets to do their own thing.

During a break in the trip, we stopped for some sparkling water and sorbet. It was quite refreshing. The company wasn't that bad either.

Too bad my dad is shaded, but it's difficult to get a picture of my parents when they move so fast.

Outside the bus, we could see the Monaco Grand Prix racetrack. I have seen this a few times on TV in May and could not believe we were on the actual track.

If you were not impressed with the cars in Monaco, there are the boats to check out. This is what happens when rich people can make their own country. There are only 7,000 Monacans and you can't be one unless you have 3 generations of documentation.

Not a good picture, but it's a bronze sculpture of a formula one car. Nice!

The tour bus strategically parked underground in a secret parking garage.

We took a walk up to the famous Monte Carlo casino. The red and white stripes show the turns in the racetrack.

The Monte Carlo Casino. Very popular and very nice cars sleep here.

Yummy. A vintage Aston Martin. Yes please!

Who knew Mr. Hector Berlioz the famous composer was hanging out behind the casino?

A custom carbon fiber Dodge Viper! No way!

With the high heat and humidity, it was an exhausting day to say the least. We got back from the tender and jumped in the shower. Dinner was at Lumieres, the French restaurant on the ship. Katherine and I started by sharing the escargot gratinee and the onion soup gratinee. We enjoyed both selections. I ordered the roasted rack of lamb, which was awesome, and Katherine ordered roasted duck breast in red wine jus which was equally awesome. Neither of us had any room for dessert.

After dinner we took the obligatory walk on deck nine. If you plan on sleeping after a dinner like that, you had better go for a walk. Deck 9 is way up there and is a great way to end the evening.

Tomorrow, we head to Italy. My mom and dad are going to Florence on a full day trip while Katherine and I will attempt to trail run the Cinque Terre trail system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Cruise Day 1: Departure from Barcelona

Today we started off with breakfast at the hotel in Barcelona. Immediately after that we hit up the ATM for some more money. It's funny when you don't need one, you can find them everywhere, but when you do, they are not to be found. We ended up taking a long walk to find one but made it back in time to the hotel.

After packing and checking out of the hotel, we got in our minibus to the port. It is just a brief 15 minute drive, even in traffic. We were all very excited to start this trip. Katherine and I have never been on a cruise ship and had no idea what to expect. We are going to try and sample a bit of everything on the cruise ship in attempt to get a feel for this form of travel.

Soon enough, we were at the port. The ship is huge and the workers were still doing some finishing touches as we arrived. This ship is clean, shiny, and beautiful.

We handed our bags to the bag dudes and would hope to see them a little later in the state room. All bags were put on giant pallet containers and pushed onto the ship.

This is looking to the front of the ship with Barcelona in the background. I am impressed with how many ropes it takes to secure a cruise ship of this size to the port dock points. The ropes are about 6 inches in diameter!

After we dropped off the bags it was time for the check in process. This was a smooth operation and we were given our "Key to the World" cards that we will use for the rest of the time on the ship. The ship operates as a moneyless economy, with all purchases being charged to your stateroom via your card. Just don't lose it. My parents were so excited at this point!

Once we got on, we went right for lunch. Everything on the ship revolves around eating, we would soon find out. This picture was taken in the Cabanas buffet. You can eat here almost whenever you want, especially when the other places are closed. The food was very nice for a buffet. Katherine and I mostly piled our plates with crab claws and shrimp.

Since we could not get into our state rooms yet, we took a walk around the ship and did a little exploring. That's still Barcelona in the background.

We also found MANY places for refreshing beverages. One thing that I think is important to mention is that Disney allows you to bring your own alcohol on to the ship. You are not allowed to drink your alcohol in the public areas, only your stateroom. Anyone with a little imagination will not let this hold you back, however. You can also restock in ports, which means awesome duty free deals! My friends who sail on other cruise lines tell me that bringing on alcohol is usually forbidden. Bonus for Disney! This policy can save you quite a bit of money.

After a little relaxing, we met up with my parents in the Keys piano bar and lounge. A Canadian named Tim played really nice arrangements on the piano. The lounge has hip decor, and with a lookout over the ocean, things were going pretty smoothly.

We ate dinner at Carioca's and were introduced to our dinner servers. Our head server is Agus from Indonesia, and his helper is Valentina from Serbia. Disney cruise ships put you into a dinner rotation of the three main dining rooms. As you rotate to the different restaurants evening after evening your wait staff follows you. This is nice, as it allows your staff to know any of your special preferences, and you can build a nice rapport with them. For dinner Katherine had clam chowder and pan-seared halibut with peas and a potato pancake. At first I only ordered a main course: grilled grain fed sirloin steak with vegetables and rice. Our head server, Agus was persistant that I order an appetizer. Even though I was not feeling very hungry, I told him I would have the fried calamari which he was recommending. The food was prepared well and tasty. Then it was time for dessert. Katherine and I said we did not care for any, and once again Agus began to pressure us. We held firm this time. I guess they are accustomed to Americans gorging themselves.

The night ended with a short walk on the deck. We eat dinner during the second seating of the evening, which means we begin the meal at 8:45 pm. Since our meal did not end until about 11:00 pm, we decided to turn in to get rested for the first port. Tomorrow we will be in Villefranche, France and will tour Monaco and Monte Carlo. It's going to be a big day.

 

 

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