Tag: vacation

Mar 27 2014

From California to the United Kingdom (and some observations)

  • Thursday, March 27, 2014

Golden Gate Bride

So I have come to the conclusion that I am in much need of a new post on my site. It’s been far to long but I do have a few excuses. Work is keeping me busy and I have been traveling again. This time, I started my holiday off with a short weekend trip to San Francisco with my friend Jason.

Mondavi Vinyard

We had a brilliant time for our four day weekend and visited most of the staples for a weekend to San Francisco and also enjoyed the Walt Disney family Museum and a day trip to Napa Valley where we got to enjoy several vineyard tours around wine country. We had such a great weekend away and couldn’t have asked for any better weather to enjoy the city. Having a multi day transportation pass made the trip a breeze and is the only way to go if you are going to a major city with mass transit.

IMG_20140311_182700After a short stop at home for a week, it was time for me to hop on my first flight with Virgin Atlantic and on a 747-400 to fly back to London for an almost two week adventure back in the city and to Wales with my friend Sawyer who had never been out of the USA before. It’s always great to get back to London and visit friends but, it is also fun to take someone there for the first time and show them the ropes. We had a pretty active schedule leaving the hotel in the morning and not returning until late in the evening. We did almost all of the museums and even took in a concert with OneRepublic at The Roundhouse which was simply amazing. Another fun adventure involved Comedy Night on the Phil and Alice show with BBC Radio 1 which I was able to win tickets for in a random lottery draw which was a great time and a great way for me to see in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge. So our days were very packed full of activities.

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Some other highlights were spending a day in Cardiff to see the Doctor Who Experience and then just catching up with good friends and enjoying the atmosphere of just being in London. We both also took advantage of getting some great European fashion to add to our wardrobes. Weather was really nice with only one evening with a slight mist though the temperatures did start to drop towards the end of the trip. but overall it was great and I know Sawyer had a great first visit to London and I am sure that he will be going back soon. I can’t wait to figure out my next trip to the United Kingdom as well.

Some things that I did learn or learned to appreciate more this trip:

  1. Virgin Atlantic is simply amazing. I don’t know why I haven’t flown them until now but, I can’t see any other airline in my future for going to the United Kingdom ever again. Really great service an amazing product.
  2. There is such a thing as too much Nando’s. Yes I know I love the place but I’m actually ok with the only three times we did go.
  3. We need Costa Coffee Pret-A-Manger and Nando’s here in Orlando. Starbucks can’t even come close to Costa. That is all.
  4. Between the Underground and the DLR, there is no need for taxi or a car. I wish we had more of this here in America.
  5. VAT Refunds add up quick. If you are going to be making larger purchases beyond say a postcard or small gift, get the VAT refund form. You can claim it back when leaving and it adds up very quickly how much you can get back. This also makes the clothes or things you were going to be actually in some cases way cheaper than if you bought them in the United States.
  6. Pre-Book museum or tour tickets if possible. I heard there was a new Bond in Motion exhibit opening our last day in London. I hoped online to book tickets in advice for opening day. Upon arrival to the museum, the line to get tickets if you didn’t pre-book went around 3 blocks. We simply walked in. If you can pre-plan and know you are going to do something, just get it out-of-the-way. It also makes it easier to spread the cost of the trip out as you will have already paid for your tickets before the trip depending on when you book.
  7. Enter to win free tickets. The BBC offers free tickets to many of their shows and concerts. All you have to do is fill out a form to apply. Some of these shows include concerts with the Rolling Stones, Elton John and Rod Stewart. It’s free to apply and whats the worse that will happen, you will either get to see a free concert or you wont. Doesn’t hurt to apply.
  8. Mobile Phones. T-Mobile is great in that if you are on the Simple Choice plans, you get free international roaming for data in certain countries. This is nice but, it is really slow. Like worse than dial-up. If you have a spare phone that’s unlocked, pickup a local pre-paid SIM card. The one I use is £15 for unlimited data, 3000 texts and 300 minutes. This gives me a local number for friends to reach me and high-speed data for posting photos or sending emails. Well worth it.

I’ll leave it there with my list for now, but I wanted to hit a few of the big ones on my mind. Now, here are the links to the photos from the trips. Until next time.

 

San Francisco London and Cardiff

 

 

Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2014/03/from-california-to-the-united-kingdom-and-some-observations/

Oct 18 2013

Travel too much?

  • Friday, October 18, 2013

So as I sit here in the Delta Sky Club in Atlanta,  I have a new respect for the business traveler.  In the past month,  I have been to London,  New York,  Minneapolis and now Atlanta while I sit waiting to go to El Paso to surprise a friend (Don’t worry,   this  won’t be posted until after I am there). Since January,  I have been to Atlanta,  Washington,  DC and Los Angeles before the last couple flights this past month plus a few Caribbean cruises in there as well. I have hit Silver Medallion on Delta just based on flying for the first time this year which is a lot for me. It should also be a sign that I have traveled too much this year when the Delta agents at the gate and in the Sky Club know you by name.

As much as I love to travel,  I simply don’t know how people can do this weekly or daily for their job. I am physically exhausted and look forward to this coming weekend when I can really just relax around the house and catch up on housework and all my shows on my DVR and iTunes. Flying is hard work and all of the jet lag can add up.  Trust me,  having gotten over a cold and then forcing myself back in to a gym routine is hard. The other side effect is the lack of a true sleep pattern or house work pattern.  Laundry simply has gone from one bag to the next as it gets cleaned.

I know it sounds like I’m complaining about traveling, but,  I’m not. I am fortunate enough to be able to do the travel I have and this post is just an observation and a reflection on my travel this year. Having said that,  cheers and see you in the air!

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2013/10/travel-too-much/

Sep 14 2013

London Update – 2013

  • Saturday, September 14, 2013

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Well, it has been almost a week since I touched back down here in the United States after what I can only describe as a much needed and much enjoying trip back to the United Kingdom and London specifically. To start off the week, it was simply some of the best weather I could have ever asked for. Temperatures was in the upper 70’s and 80’s and the sun was out for almost the entire time with only one morning of rain the entire trip. I honestly cannot complain about it at all considering the last time I was in London, it was the middle of winter in January 2004.

IMG_20130902_143211This trip was a much needed return to the city I had grown to love over three enjoyable Winter Terms at Eckerd College with some really great friends. For those that have been following my blog and website for a while, you will know about my previous London updates. My past visits and extended stays in London have allowed me to experience a lot of amazing and exciting museums around London and the United Kingdom. This trip though, I wanted to do something different. I made it a goal to visit some great friends that I have made over the years and to do some activities that I haven’t done before or something that might not be the usual must do in London.

IMG_20130901_175914Where do I start? Well, the first day I was pretty jet lagged having not been able to get much rest on the plane over. For those that don’t know, I have never been able to sleep well on a plane. I know I travel a lot but, I just can’t do it. So I basically stayed up for the entire day and just hit the ground running. First stop of the trip, visiting Startford Centre to get my SIM card for my mobile. One cannot be a local with out a local phone number right? Joking aside, this was actually fun to do while waiting for my hotel to open up. I got a chance for a quick peek at the Olympic Park and some of the local shops. Next was a quick stop at the hotel to clean up and then it was off to Spitalfields Market, Old Spitalfields Market Market and Brick Lane. I did this on recommendation of a friend as a chance to see what the typical East Ender does on a Sunday. All I can say is wow. Sensory overload! So much going on here but, it really was a neat experience and lots of little things to buy and experience. After this, it was near dinner time so I figured I would hit my all time favorite in London, Nando’s. I can’t say enough about how amazing this chain is. Mark this is stop 1 of 4 for the trip. By this point, I had been up for almost 36 hours so it was time to head back to crash before one of my most looked forward to tours of the trip.

IMG_20130902_092605So Monday arrived and I was up bright and early, armed with my Costa Coffee and off to the BBC to tour the BBC Broadcasting House. This is a newer tour as the BBC just moved the last of it’s operations out of Television Centre and in to Broadcasting House to complete the modernization of the networks. This was a pretty cool tour. I would actually go to say it was probably better than the CNN tour I did in February when I went to Atlanta. It was cool to see one of the world’s largest newsrooms in action and then to see where the BBC Radio teams broadcast across the world. Another bonus was seeing Lady Gaga in passing. The only thing I would have loved to do on the tour would be to tour Radio 1 which I listen to all the time but unfortunately, that isn’t offered at this time. Maybe next trip. The rest of the day was spent bouncing around the town and walking through some great high street shops where I managed to find some nice new outfits from Topman. Full day overall with lots of exploring including a nice surprise meet up with my friend Vitor from the Disney Magic.

IMG_20130903_103314Tuesday was equally as full as Monday with a morning tour of the Buckingham Palace State Rooms, the Churchill War Rooms, and more general exploring before meeting up with Dave and Kevin for drinks and dinner. Let’s start with Buckingham Palace. I feel like I’m about to make a Doctor Who comment but, it really is bigger on the inside. The view from outside really only gives your a glimpse at how massive this place is. This is the first time I had ever toured the State Rooms as in the past, HRH Queen Elizabeth has been in residence so it was not open to the public. The history inside the walls and the special displays on The Queen’s Coronation were actually really interesting to read and see. The amount of tradition that continues through the centuries is really something amazing. It’s really amazing to see that protocol is still followed after all these years. After the Palace, it was off to the Churchill War Rooms and British Museum again and then by the time I was able to relax, it was time for drinks and dinner with Kevin and Dave. I don’t think I could have packed more in to this day.

IMG_20130904_124324Wednesday marked the last of the pre-planned days I had this trip. I slept in a little bit and then headed north to Startford where I did a walking tour of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the town itself. While the Olympic venues are still in the process of being converted from the 2012 Olympic Games, parts of the park were already open to the public. What was neat about the particular tour I did was that it really focused on the impact of the Olympic Games had on the transformation of London’s East End in to a new up and coming community. It was also really neat to walk along some of the canals that go to the Thames and to see some of the more unique living locations on canal boats and some really cool loft looking flats. The transformation will do a lot for the community and is really neat to see. After the tour, I headed over to Greenwich using the Emirates Air Line and then exploring the National Maritime Museum before having Nando’s again and then heading to walk along the Thames at sunset and enjoy the night life.

Thursday, my friend Ben came up from Brighton for the morning which was fun. We explored Hyde Park and then walked Oxford Street and looked at some tradition London High Street shops like Harrods’s and Selfridges. After Ben headed back to Brighton, I went to see the real MI6 and then headed to Westfield Stratford to see the One Direction movie, This is Us. I will be honest, this was actually much better than I expected it to be. Just some more exploring the town before heading to the hotel to crash.

IMG_20130906_181415Friday was the only day of rain I had the entire trip. And luckily for me, it only lasted for the morning. I took the time to explore Tate Modern and The London Transport Museum before heading back to Canary Wharf and visiting the Museum of London Docklands which is something new for me. By this point, the sun had come out and the clouds cleared so I took the advice of Kevin and headed to The Shard and took in the View from The Shard. The Shard is the tallest building in Western Europe and offers sweeping views of London from over 1,000 feet up. If you are visiting London and have a clear day, this is a must do. I spent a good hour up here just taking in the view.

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At this point, I was in to the home stretch of my trip and decided to head back to the great Upper Deck SE1 that was suggested by Kevin for Tuesday night and enjoy another great night and a few pints along the Thames reflecting on the amazing week I had back in London. Once the sun finally set over the Thames, I headed back to Canary Wharf one last time and had a great Japanese dinner at Wagamama which has got to be my second top dine in chain in England behind Nando’s. This was the perfect evening to end the trip on with great temperatures and clear sky.

So as you can tell, it was a full trip packed in to 6 full days in London. I am so happy that I made the trip back and I am already planning my return for Spring 2014. Thanks again to all my good friends that made it a great trip. Sorry we couldn’t see each other more and for those that I missed, there will be time in the Spring. See you all again soon across the pond!

Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2013/09/london-update-2013/

Apr 28 2013

Sailing on a Fantasy

  • Sunday, April 28, 2013

IMG_20130424_115324I am now officially back on dry land after an amazing week on board Disney’s newest vessel, the Disney Fantasy. For those that don’t know, the Disney Fantasy launched just over a year ago at the end of March and is the forth vessel in the fleet for Disney Cruise Line. While she is the same class and design as her sister ship, the Disney Dream, there are many things that have been updated and refined on her that make her what I feel is the very best of what Disney can offer.

I had the wonderful opportunity to sail on the Disney Fantasy with a good friend on a 7-Night Eastern Caribbean cruise that took us to St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; San Juan, Puerto Rico and Castaway Cay in the The Bahamas. Along with the ports of call, I got three wonderful days at sea to explore this amazing ship!

IMG_20130423_135747Where to start, the simplest change which turned out to be one of my favorite changes was the addition of the Satellite Falls adult only area on the upper deck. This was the perfect spot to come and relax to read a book and soak up the sun on the deck. I couldn’t have been more pleased with this addition. The other update that I really loved was the whole Europa Adult Entertainment area. All of the night clubs are themed after various places in Europe complete with an authentic Irish Pub and a dance club themed after the London Underground, for those that know me and my travels, you will know that this just rocks my world! Everything else is nearly identical to the Disney Dream but just slightly updated to fit the theme of the ship which matches that of the Disney Wonder.

IMG_20130423_104147The ports of call on this voyage where familiar ones to me with the exception of San Juan which I haven’t been to since I was younger. St Thomas was simply beautiful the day we were in port. I couldn’t have had any better weather. I took the gondola to the top of the island and just enjoyed the view while having a nice cold beverage and catching up on emails. I felt very much like a crew member as I was looking for the available Wi-Fi to connect to. The blue in the water isn’t shown justice in any of my photos from the stop. It was just simply amazingly blue and so clear!

IMG_20130424_130417San Juan was another great stop and I spent the time to explore the old historic forts on the island and with it being National Park Week, there was not admission fees. Score! After walking all over Old San Juan, it was time to return to my new favorite spot on the ship at Satellite Falls to do some more email catch up and just enjoy reading. What a perfect way to cool off and relax for the afternoon!

In addition to the night life and the ports of call, the new shows on the Disney Fantasy are well worth the view. Aladdin and Wishes were simply amazing and I think really show what kind of entertainment Disney is known for and can put on even when you consider that you are on a ship in the middle of the ocean. I was also able to catch Oz-The Great and Powerful in 3D onboard which was a nice added bonus to the trip.

IMG_20130424_115642Even if you don’t have children, an adult can still have a blast on a Disney Cruise. This was the perfect and much needed get away that I needed for the spring where I could just step back and relax and let nothing get to me. I managed to survive with no added weight coming up from the ship as well, thank you Senses Spa and Gym. In addition to the gym, I also completed my first 5K on Disney’s Castaway Cay. You have no idea how fun a run in almost 100% humidity and the Caribbean heat!

I think the other part that made the vacation so wonderful was seeing some old friends that I haven’t had a chance to catch up with in a while since they are off at sea working on the ship. I want to thank all of you for everything you do and for giving me such a wonderful retreat for the week! Hope to see you all again soon!

7-Night Eastern Caribbean

7-Night Eastern Caribbean

Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2013/04/sailing-on-a-fantasy/

Mar 10 2013

A Weekend in Atlanta

  • Sunday, March 10, 2013

IMG_20130222_175459Well, I am finally getting around to writing about my latest new destination for this year. A couple of weeks ago, I took a visit up to Atlanta for the weekend to visit my college mate Steve who I hadn’t seen in a few years. We last saw each other on a visit to Walt Disney World but, this was the first time I had the chance to get up to Atlanta, GA and visit him and see his place and to visit Atlanta for the first time. Sure, I have driven through it several times when gong back and forth between Florida and Minnesota over the years but, this was the first time I actually got to spend any amount of time in the city exploring. While only there for two nights and weekend, it was a great city to see and explore.

 

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I flew up on Friday night right after work which actually worked out perfectly for me and arrived at a decent hour and headed straight to Steve’s place for a nice homemade curry made by his girlfriend which was just amazing. Saturday morning, we started off with a walk through Centennial Olympic Park and over to CNN for a VIP tour of the newsrooms and studios for CNN and HLN Networks. This was pretty cool to me and I enjoyed it as someone who loves looking at the technical side of things. So if you are a news junkie like me and enjoy the behind the scenes of things, it’s worth doing. Hopefully I will be able to do the same with the BBC later this year. After CNN, we headed to the Georgia Aquarium but it was closed so decided to do World of Coke instead. This is to me just a larger version of what we have at Epcot but was somewhat neat to see the bottling process and the history of the product. I would say though that the highlight of the World of Coke for me was seeing the Olympic torch from the torch relay. Those that know me know I am a huge fan of the Olympics and was addicted to watching London 2012 last summer so it was a fun treat to see and hold. Personally, it was about the best part of the tour for me. Unless you are a huge Coke fan, I think it’s safe to say you can skip it.

IMG_20130224_145922Sunday while I had a late flight, we still had the whole day to go to the Georgia Aquarium. First off, one needs a full day to see everything that is here and then more time to just sit and watch the massive main tank. This tank is HUGE and has  three amazing whale sharks. It is the world’s largest indoor aquarium and I could have spent hours along just watching the sharks, fish and rays swimming around in here. Aside from the amazing ocean size tank, there are some fascinating other exhibits covering all the different other types of aquatic life out there. from the arctic to the bayou.

IMG_20130309_215100One of the fun exhibits in the arctic section was the penguins. You can either walk by or crawl through this tunnel and pop up literally in the middle of the flock. It’s pretty cool to see. This is definitely worth a visit if you can spare the time to truly explore all of the great things to see. Included  in our tickets was for the aquarium was the dolphin show that used to cost extra I guess. The dolphin stunts were pretty cool considering it was all inside but the theatrical parts of the show were really corny and pretty lame in my opinion. If you have the time and want to really see the dolphins I guess it’s worth it but, I wouldn’t make time to see the show again in the future.  If you really want a dolphin show, I would say you are better off going to Sea World.

That’s it for all of the tourist places we went too. The nice part about visiting a friend who lives in a city is you get to experience the local food places rather than sticking to the chains or other tourist locations. It was nice to try some new restaurants and even do a great lunch at a food truck park which I think was very well setup and really hit the spot. Overall, a great trip and a great weekend catching up with old friends. I need to make visit will have to be longer!

 

 

Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2013/03/a-weekend-in-atlanta/

Feb 13 2013

Visiting our Nation’s Capital

  • Wednesday, February 13, 2013

IMG_20130209_095100So I’m just getting back in to town after a fun boys weekend with my best friends Jason and David visiting Washington, DC. We totally lucked out and just missed the massive snowstorm the hit just north of DC the day we arrived. The weather for the trip was pretty cool but, at least there wasn’t any snow. We had a full schedule with hitting the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and the National Archives right off the bat on day one. OUr second day started early in the morning with a visit to The White House where we got to take a tour inside of it and then off to the Old Ebbitt Grill for a great brunch.

After lunch we continued a nice walk over to the International Spy Museum which not only had the cool history of spy gadgets but, also included a great exhibit on 50 years of Bond Villains with props and gadgets from the films. This was far worth the cost of admission.  After the Spy Museum, it was off to the National Air and Space Museum to start our two day adventure in to the history of flight. After the museum, it was time for a quick nap and then off to dinner with my cousin LIsa and then drinks with my buddy Chris and his girlfriend Nicky before calling it a night. Talk about a long day!

IMG_20130210_120817Sunday was probably one the highlights of the trip, The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Air and Space Museum. This place is simply massive! I don’t know how else to explain it. There are so many amazingly cool planes and aircraft to see from the SR-71 BlackBird to the Concorde and the Space Shuttle Discovery. I don’t think it can be any more breath taking when you see these beautiful planes almost with in touching distance from you. standing under Discovery was truly an awe-inspiring moment. Thanks to my buddy Chris for the drive out there. I can write enough about how amazing this place is. It is definitely worth the visit to. After several hours of visiting the museum, we took a late lunch in Fairfax with Chris before returning back to the city for a nap and then dinner with Jason’s cousins and my friend Wes.

IMG_20130211_134620Our last day proved to be just a busy with a morning tour of the US Capital and then an afternoon visit to the National Botanical Gardens before heading to grab a bite to eat at one of my all time favorite places from living in England, Pret A Manger before heading the final tour of the weekend, the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress was actually pretty neat and I couldn’t help but think of where the President’s Book of Secrets might be thanks to National Treasure. We had planned to visit the Air and Space Museum again before hitting the airport but, due to flight changes, we ended up having to rush back to the hotel and hit the airport much quicker and earlier than we had planned to.

Overall, it was a very fun, yet tiering, weekend with some great fiends to a great city that is loaded with exciting treasures to discover and see. Glad we were able to get up to Washington for a visit and for those the follow my blog regularly, I think I have proved that I don’t always take cruise vacations 🙂

Here are the photos from my latest trip:

Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2013/02/visiting-our-nations-capital/

Nov 15 2012

Back on Dry Land, Again

  • Thursday, November 15, 2012

Well, I am just returning from my most recent trip, a 5-Night Western Caribbean Cruise onboard Royal Caribbean‘s  Liberty of the Seas. This was the first time I tried Royal Caribbean and I must say that while I think I will be sticking with Disney Cruise Line, I still had a great time with my best mate David. Here is what our trip looked like.

5-Night Western Caribbean Itinerary:

 

Day Date Port Ashore Onboard
Saturday 10-Nov-2012 FORT LAUDERDALE
Sunday 11-Nov-2012 AT SEA
Monday 12-Nov-2012 BELIZE CITY 9:00 AM 5:30 PM
Tuesday 13-Nov-2012 COZUMEL 8:00 AM 6:00 PM
Wednesday 14-Nov-2012 AT SEA
Thursday 15-Nov-2012 FORT LAUDERDALE  09:00 AM

We got to do some pretty cool things while on this trip like visit the Altun Ha Mayan Site

And even raced some America’s Cup 21-Metre’s

Overall, it was a great trip! Check out below for more pictures:

Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2012/11/back-on-dry-land-again/

Sep 17 2012

Where Were you One Year Ago?

  • Monday, September 17, 2012

So one year ago I was cruising along in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on the Disney Magic. It’s hard to believe that an adventure of a lifetime was only a year ago. I’ve been fortunate to have experienced many great travels and look forward to doing many more in the years that come. For those that want to relive my Transatlantic Voyage, click on tag Transatlantic to the right. Enjoy a few pictures from down memory lane.

From 14-Night Transatlantic Cruise – September 2011
From 14-Night Transatlantic Cruise – September 2011

Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2012/09/where-were-you-one-year-ago/

May 26 2012

Sea Days and Canada

  • Saturday, May 26, 2012

So I think that I am finally caught up on sleep and getting back to my normal routine after a great vacation last week. Since I have already posted blogs from Disneyland® and San Francisco, I won’t repeat all of the details on those days of my vacation. After leaving San Francisco, we enjoyed a relaxing two days at sea as we steamed north towards Victoria, Canada. Now, unlike the Caribbean cruises that I am used to doing, I totally misjudged the weather and temperatures outside and ended up breaking down to buy a sweatshirt on the ship. So exactly how bad was the weather? Well, as you can see from the below photos, it was sunny and clear but, we had find and 18 foot seas. Anyone for surfing in the pool?

So with it being almost too cold and too rough to really sit at the pool, what does one do while at sea? Read of course. I think I saw more copies of The Hunger Games and more Kindles/Nooks than I have ever seen in the past and people seemed to find almost any spot on the ship to just curl up. Everyone seemed to be relaxed and taking in what ever world they were transported off to while reading. I managed to read the first to Harry Potter books for the first time and I can now honestly say they are quite good and much better than the movies.

Now even with the seas, it was still a nice time to catch up with my friends ont he ship and explore more of the life below the waterline and life in general on the high seas. I even took the time to treat myself to a nice 75-minute hat bamboo deep tissue massage. I had been eying this one for several cruises and with the right offer this trip, I decided to do it. Let me just say, you can’t get any more relaxed than I felt after this one. Well worth the money.

Our first stop in Canada was Victoria, British Columbia. I’d been to Victoria twice before with the family and now going back on my own and on the best weather day of the trip, I fell in love with this town. I can’t explain in words just how beautiful this down is. It’s modern yet has an old English town feel. It’s just a great place to visit if you have the chance. Also, while in port, Efrain was able to arrange for me to have a special tour on the ship, the Bridge. I feel honored that I was able to see this special part of the ship and with a little encouragement from the Captain, I think I might have found a new calling. What do you all think?

After a perfect day in Victoria, it was time for a nice and slow journey to Vancouver. Vancouver is one of those cities that I have heard so much about and have always wanted to visit and in fact, was one of the main reasons why I booked this cruise. We pulled in at 7am on Sunday morning and were in port for a full 24-hours to explore this amazing city. I decided it was best to book an excursion to start off with from the ship which took us around town, to Stanley Park and then to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. This by far was worth the cost of the excursion. Such amazing views and trails in this park to explore and a really cool walkway along the cliffs to boot! If you don’t like heights, you might not want to do this one but, the views were worth it.

After the morning exploring the forests and town, it was back to the ship to meet up with Efrain after he got off work where we then went back in to town to have a great meal with some of his friends. After dinner, it was back to the ship to finish packing and enjoy one last night aboard the Disney Wonder before returning back to Florida on Monday.

Overall, I am really glad I booked and did this cruise, even if I was traveling alone. I had an amazing time on this trip and mark it down as one of the best cruises I have taken thus far with Disney Cruise Line. I especially want to thank Jason for taking the day and taking me around San Francisco and Efrain for going above and beyond on the ship to really give me the greatest experience and allowing me to see in to his life at sea. I also want to thank the many other Disney Wonder crew members that went out of their way to get to know me and show me a good time, Daniel, Justin, Robin, Steven, Jilly, Lance, thank you all again for a great cruise. Until next time.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2012/05/sea-days-and-canada/

May 23 2012

Video: World of Color Finale

  • Wednesday, May 23, 2012

My new favorite nighttime spectacular, World of Color at Disney California Adventure® Park.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.webbyaquatics.com/archives/2012/05/video-world-of-color-finale/