The Widow & the Spinster Take a Bougie WBTA Cruise That Didn't Suck! - Landing in Spain 12/19

[franandaj]

We were about half an hour early for our reservation which was perfect. It gave us enough Time to shop. First we gawked at all the expensive foods they sold on the basement floor. The elevator let us out in the wine section.

They had my favorite, Merguez sausages!

A lovely selection of meats as well.

Champagne and Caviar….

Cheeses too!

There was this section with all sorts of cured hams.

And they were giving out samples!

All sort of fruits….

Pastries too!

And even scones! We would be having some of those in just a few minutes!

All these “groceries” were down in the basement. We went back up to the floor at the street level where they sold “gifts”.

They had delicious looking jellied candies….

And Marzipan candies

We both ended up buying some jams/chutneys. Jill purchased some jams for herself and gifts for her parents. I got a chutney, and some gifts for my cat sitters.

Then we checked in for our reservation. The Tea area was very elegant. A pianist was playing during the entire experience.

The room was pretty nice. We were probably a little underdressed, but there were other people who were casual as well. It just seemed a lot of people had also dressed up for the occasion.

I started off with a glass of the Blanc de Blancs Champagne.

We were right next to this counter where they prepared all the tea.

We both went with the standard Afternoon Tea, which consisted of finger sandwiches, scones and desserts.

I went with the standard assortment of sandwiches. Jill opted out on the cucumber and trout sandwiches. She got extra of the coronation chicken sandwich.

My favorites were as follows:
Ham & mustard
Cucumber
Trout (which I proclaimed “tastes like fish jelly!”)
Coronation Chicken (I didn't like this as it had a curry flavor to it that i didn't like)
Egg

Close up of the scones…

And of the desserts….

They also brought us this delicious lemon curd, the Strawberry Preserves, and the clotted cream is in the tub on the top.

She went for a green tea while I went for Earl Gray. Hot.

Our server brought us more of the sandwiches ham, cucumber, and chicken for Jill.
We moved on to the scones. Now there is evidently controversy on the proper way to eat scones and clotted cream. Some people think the clotted cream should go directly on the scone, and the lemon curd/jam should go on top of it. This never occurred to me, as I clearly thought “the way” to do it was to put the lemon curd on first, then the cream on top.

Jill explained this controversy to me as she did just the opposite as me!

I also prepared my lemon scone first and ate it. Then I prepared my strawberry one and ate it. Jill prepared each of hers and then ate them.

[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

{Continued from Previous Post]

By this point we were getting full. Some of the desserts would travel better than others, so we ate the ones that Wouldn't travel well.

I ate my Rose Éclair (sorry no pic of the actual eating). And Jill ate her Cinnamon Plum Bavrois

I believe that when we were seated, someone asked if we were celebrating anything. I believe Jill told them that this was her birthday trip. They brought out this little treat for her. It was a vegan coconut mousse. Jill didn’t want to eat anything vegan, and I didn’t want to eat anything coconut, so even though we took it home with us. It went uneaten.

Pinkies Up!

On my way to the ladies room I spied this pretty little macaron tree.

We took everything but the clotted cream home with us. And as it turned out, one of those little macarons made it’s way into each of our togo containers.

We made our way back through the Tube to the hotel. We ran into some other people who would be going on the cruise as we walked down the street. The woman had a Disneyland backpack, and that gave it away. They were from Kentucky.

The maids were making up our room, so we waited in the lobby for a few and finally went back up to the room to relax. We had about an hour before we had to leave for the theater, so we packed up our suitcases with everything we wouldn't need until we got on the ship. Then we changed and headed to the show

It was a super easy trip on the tube, one stop and we were there. The theater was just around the corner. As soon as we rounded the corner we saw the queue to enter. They put a sticker on the camera lenses of everyone's phones to remind us that no pictures were allowed once we entered the building. Jill got this shot, just before they had us cover our cameras with stickers.

Once inside we were offered a shot of schnapps. Jill passed, I took it. There were three bars in total in the theater. We skipped the bar on the entry level and headed up to the next level. I got in line to order us drinks and all of a sudden they began clearing the area. The pre-show was about to begin.

There was a small balcony over the bar and some scantily clad dancers were up there. Each one was wearing a bra-like top, very tight short shorts, and doc martens boots. And then more dancers came out, not only did they climb up on the balcony, but they were up on the bar dancing. It was very crowded in the room and we were pleased that we were able to find a corner that was not so claustrophobic. Musicians came out as well. There was a clarinetist, who was quite good, an accordion player, and a violinist. They stood on little shelves that came out of the plaster in the walls. It made for quite a spectacle. They played for a while until the doors to the theater opened.

It was a very non-traditional theater.

This chart where you purchase tickets is very misleading. Originally we had thought about reserving seats that came with dinner, but they were twice as much as the seats we ended up reserving. The purple and red seats included dinner. We chose the yellow ones, and on this particular map our seats are gray (because someone already purchased them for the random day I picked to screen shot.) But they are the ones in the middle above the words, “Dress Circle” (at the bottom of the screenshot). The Dress Circle was the balcony seats above us. We were in the last row of the lower level.

The other misleading thing about the stage plot is that the stage itself was round. It could spin, and there were multiple levels available due to the fact they had a hydraulic lift. They could make the stage rise and fall into three different levels. Also performers could rise from beneath the floor when it was dramatically appropriate to the show.

The musicians continued to play in the house of the theater up until the show began, when they made their way up to the pit (which was actually up in a balcony). There was one twist in our enjoyment of the show. Three gals sitting next to Jill were absolutely plastered drunk. They were taking selfies (even though photos weren't allowed), and not only were they drunk on arrival, but they had more drinks with them from the bar. They were loud and obnoxious all through the first half. Somehow, they didn't return for the second half, and everyone in our area practically cheered!

The show was fantastic! It featured a crazy genderbending chorus (not the singing kind, but the group of dancers not playing the lead roles). The main characters were very complex and it even took on new meaning with the casting choices for each of the roles. The Emcee character was enigmatic, and quite spellbinding.

If you have ever seen Cabaret you'll know that it won't be featured on any of the Disney ships anytime soon. It was a controversial musical when it came out, and this version is pretty risqué almost sixty years later. It's also a very dark show, and even before the intermission I was already crying. By the end I was just streaming tears. It was a very moving show. I had wished I'd brought a handkerchief.

The trip back to the hotel was easy. Back in the room, we got things as ready as we could for the morning and crawled in bed. I put my phone on Do Not Disturb and told it to wake up around 5:30 when the alarm would go off. Here’s my timeline and steps for the day.

 

[jedijill]

And they were giving out samples!

This was Serrano ham and sooooo delicious! I wish I could have taken a pack home.

Pastries too!

I spy some Pastel de natas! (Foreshadowing!(

We both ended up buying some jams/chutneys. Jill purchased some jams for herself and gifts for her parents. I got a chutney, and some gifts for my cat sitters.

I finished my haul from last year and knew I wanted more! I had taken some things over that Wendy had ordered and I muled over so I had room in my suitcase! Can't wait to bake some scones and eat the delicious jam and lemon curd now that I found clotted cream at Whole Foods.

The room was pretty nice. We were probably a little underdressed, but there were other people who were casual as well. It just seemed a lot of people had also dressed up for the occasion.

We were but we were also hiking around London....The servers didn't blink an eye and we enjoyed amazing service!

We both went with the standard Afternoon Tea, which consisted of finger sandwiches, scones and desserts.

Now I'm hungry again!

I went with the standard assortment of sandwiches. Jill opted out on the cucumber and trout sandwiches. She got extra of the coronation chicken sandwich.

Coronation Chicken is amazing! It was a recipe that F&M developed for the late Queen Elizabeth's coronation in 1953 and it was a huge hit. It's a delicious chicken salad with a little curry in it. So yummy!

My favorites were as follows:
Ham & mustard
Cucumber
Trout (which I proclaimed “tastes like fish jelly!”)
Coronation Chicken (I didn't like this as it had a curry flavor to it that i didn't like)
Egg

The Ham and Mustard is incredible too. I loved the egg salad as well. Fish and cucumber are not for me.

They also brought us this delicious lemon curd, the Strawberry Preserves, and the clotted cream is in the tub on the top.

I bought larger jars of both to bring home!

She went for a green tea while I went for Earl Gray. Hot.

Captain Picard approved.

I ate my Rose Éclair (sorry no pic of the actual eating). And Jill ate her Cinnamon Plum Bavrois

This was so delicious and light!

I believe that when we were seated, someone asked if we were celebrating anything. I believe Jill told them that this was her birthday trip. They brought out this little treat for her. It was a vegan coconut mousse. Jill didn’t want to eat anything vegan, and I didn’t want to eat anything coconut, so even though we took it home with us. It went uneaten.

It's not that I don't do vegan but this just didn't look appetizing. Vegan things are the last thing I would choose but it was a sweet gesture.

Pinkies Up!

Now I want to go back.

There was a small balcony over the bar and some scantily clad dancers were up there. Each one was wearing a bra-like top, very tight short shorts, and doc martens boots. And then more dancers came out, not only did they climb up on the balcony, but they were up on the bar dancing. It was very crowded in the room and we were pleased that we were able to find a corner that was not so claustrophobic. Musicians came out as well. There was a clarinetist, who was quite good, an accordion player, and a violinist. They stood on little shelves that came out of the plaster in the walls. It made for quite a spectacle. They played for a while until the doors to the theater opened.

It was a very non-traditional theater.

So the show was a whole concept. We entered at an outside side door and went through the basement, etc like you would at an underground club. The producers wanted it to be a more immersive experience than just a normal West End show. The performers were incredible.

The musicians continued to play in the house of the theater up until the show began, when they made their way up to the pit (which was actually up in a balcony). There was one twist in our enjoyment of the show. Three gals sitting next to Jill were absolutely plastered drunk. They were taking selfies (even though photos weren't allowed), and not only were they drunk on arrival, but they had more drinks with them from the bar. They were loud and obnoxious all through the first half. Somehow, they didn't return for the second half, and everyone in our area practically cheered!

Those women were so obnoxious and got worse through the first act. We did all almost break into cheers when they didn't come back after intermission.

The show was amazing. Cabaret at the Kit Kat Klub is totally reimagined and the Bob Fosse/Liza Minelli version is no where to be found. I really found the production stripped down and even more emotionally impactful. I highly recommend this show to anyone!

This was truly a fantastic day and I was sorry to be saying goodbye to London for this trip. London is really one of my absolute favorite cities.


Jill in CO

 

[jedijill]

Now there is evidently controversy on the proper way to eat scones and clotted cream. Some people think the clotted cream should go directly on the scone, and the lemon curd/jam should go on top of it. This never occurred to me, as I clearly thought “the way” to do it was to put the lemon curd on first, then the cream on top.

If you are from Cornwall the cream goes on top. If you are from Devon, the cream goes on the bottom. I don't know who is right but its all mighty tasty!

Jill in CO

 

[pkondz]

I think they would have been slightly more polite than that....maybe.

"maybe"...

What cruise line was it? Disney allows you to bring 2 bottles of wine or 1 six pack of beer per person, per port.

Just generic comment about cruises.

Yes, if you purchase alcohol, you do have to surrender it, but they let you have it back when you disembark.

Ah! So you do surrender it.
That's what I meant, you can't drink it on the ship, but you get it at the end.

It's been so long since I had a layover there, I don't remember much about it.

I once walked 400 miles from one terminal to another...

Well in the US, it's around $32-35 for a sandwich.

Out of curiousity, I checked the prices in Nova Scotia. Take out was $14-$17 and sit down was $29-$40 (all prices CAD).

Well, I'm in their wine club, so I don't necessarily pay retail price. Also I get the special bottlings and shipments just for members. I rarely buy their regular wines that they make for retail and restaurant sales. So, no.

Alrighty

I might have too, but evidently this tea is higher rated than the tea at the Ritz, as far as foodies go.

Oh? Then I retract my comment!

I've never spilled my tea.....wine, maybe, but not tea.

 

[pkondz]

It gave us enough Time to shop.

I'd be so tempted by... so much!

The elevator let us out in the wine section.

They had my favorite, Merguez sausages!

I remember that.

Champagne and Caviar….

Nothing says decadent like champagne and caviar.

There was this section with all sorts of cured hams.

Nope. There's no curing that. Those pigs aren't coming back.

And they were giving out samples!

So Fortnum & Mason and Costco are pretty much the same, right?

They had delicious looking jellied candies….

yummm...

And Marzipan candies

Nope. They look pretty, but I'm not a fan.

Such a pretty shop.

The Tea area was very elegant. A pianist was playing during the entire experience.

Wow! Very nice!

It just seemed a lot of people had also dressed up for the occasion.

I know I would. It just... screams it to me.

Pretty menu!

I started off with a glass of the Blanc de Blancs Champagne.

Interesting that they have their own champagne. Surprised by that.

Looks so good!

Trout (which I proclaimed “tastes like fish jelly!”)

But surprised you put egg at the bottom.

Wow, those are pretty. Hopefully they tasted as pretty as they looked.

I went for Earl Gray. Hot.

Now there is evidently controversy on the proper way to eat scones and clotted cream.

Oh? I had no idea.

Some people think the clotted cream should go directly on the scone, and the lemon curd/jam should go on top of it. This never occurred to me, as I clearly thought “the way” to do it was to put the lemon curd on first, then the cream on top.

Hmmm... I'm trying to remember what I did... But I don't recall there being lemon curd, so... maybe nothing.
Nevertheless, I think I would've done what you did, but Jill's looks more correct?

It was a vegan coconut mousse.

Nope!

Jill didn’t want to eat anything vegan, and I didn’t want to eat anything coconut, so even though we took it home with us. It went uneaten.

A wise decision, whichever way you came to it.
(But nice that they did that.)

Pinkies Up!

And as it turned out, one of those little macarons made it’s way into each of our togo containers.

Really? What a nice little touch!

They put a sticker on the camera lenses of everyone's phones to remind us that no pictures were allowed once we entered the building.

I'm not letting someone put a sticker on my phone, thankyouverymuch.
Besides... (as was evidenced by the inebriated selfie-takers) you can just peel it off, so the exercise is pointless.

There was a small balcony over the bar and some scantily clad dancers were up there.

woot!



I mean... um... who doesn't love a good balcony over a bar?

There was a clarinetist, who was quite good, an accordion player, and a violinist. They stood on little shelves that came out of the plaster in the walls.

That's neat. Did they have some kind of restraint around their waists? Or was there a railing?

It was a very non-traditional theater.

Was not expecting that.

The other misleading thing about the stage plot is that the stage itself was round. It could spin, and there were multiple levels available due to the fact they had a hydraulic lift.

Whoa! That's so cool!

They were loud and obnoxious all through the first half.

Just... ugh.

Somehow, they didn't return for the second half, and everyone in our area practically cheered!

Hopefully they got kicked out.

The show was fantastic! It featured a crazy genderbending chorus (not the singing kind, but the group of dancers not playing the lead roles). The main characters were very complex and it even took on new meaning with the casting choices for each of the roles. The Emcee character was enigmatic, and quite spellbinding.

Sounds really interesting.

If you have ever seen Cabaret you'll know that it won't be featured on any of the Disney ships anytime soon.

Hmmm... I'm going to say... no? If I have, it was so long ago that I don't remember it. I remember Liza Minnelli singing the title song, but that might just be from clips?

By the end I was just streaming tears. It was a very moving show.

Awwww...

 

[franandaj]

This was Serrano ham and sooooo delicious! I wish I could have taken a pack home.

It definitely was super delicious. I didn't remember what kind of ham it was, just that it was good.

I spy some Pastel de natas! (Foreshadowing!)

I know! I didn't see those until earlier tonight after I posted the update, and I was like, "whaaaaat????"

I finished my haul from last year and knew I wanted more! I had taken some things over that Wendy had ordered and I muled over so I had room in my suitcase! Can't wait to bake some scones and eat the delicious jam and lemon curd now that I found clotted cream at Whole Foods.

Nice! Too bad it's too cold in Denver right now, or I would fly over to enjoy some!

We were but we were also hiking around London....The servers didn't blink an eye and we enjoyed amazing service!

No, they didn't. In fact they might have liked us since we were regular people and not fancy a$$ed folks who would talk down to them.

Now I'm hungry again!

I just ate leftovers from a huge Asian style meal last night and I'm stuffed again.

Coronation Chicken is amazing! It was a recipe that F&M developed for the late Queen Elizabeth's coronation in 1953 and it was a huge hit. It's a delicious chicken salad with a little curry in it. So yummy!

Interesting bit of history. I still didn't like it.

The Ham and Mustard is incredible too. I loved the egg salad as well. Fish and cucumber are not for me.

That is why it is different strokes for different folks, I did not like the egg salad or the chicken, the fish was OK, but had it been salmon, I would have been OUT.

I bought larger jars of both to bring home!

Very nice!

Captain Picard approved.

This was so delicious and light!

I don't remember if I got to eat mine. I think I ate it at midnight after the Kit Kat Club, but then again I'm not sure.

It's not that I don't do vegan but this just didn't look appetizing. Vegan things are the last thing I would choose but it was a sweet gesture.

Yeah, if it's vegan it has to be really tasty, not just pretty.

Now I want to go back.

I can't wait to try the tea at the Hearthstone next week!

So the show was a whole concept. We entered at an outside side door and went through the basement, etc like you would at an underground club. The producers wanted it to be a more immersive experience than just a normal West End show. The performers were incredible.

Yes, it did have that whole speakeasy kind of vibe.

Those women were so obnoxious and got worse through the first act. We did all almost break into cheers when they didn't come back after intermission.

They were definitely awful and I had Jill as a buffer between me and them.

The show was amazing. Cabaret at the Kit Kat Klub is totally reimagined and the Bob Fosse/Liza Minelli version is no where to be found. I really found the production stripped down and even more emotionally impactful. I highly recommend this show to anyone!

Yes, it was not a "production heavy" presentation at all. It was very heavy on the script and the whole good vs. evil and choices people make in their circumstances. Very heavy.

This was truly a fantastic day and I was sorry to be saying goodbye to London for this trip. London is really one of my absolute favorite cities.

We need to go back!

If you are from Cornwall the cream goes on top. If you are from Devon, the cream goes on the bottom. I don't know who is right but its all mighty tasty!

Hmmmm...... I'm not from either, but I had a definite opinion on how it should be done!

 

[ShellB8585]

Loving this TR so far! sorry don't have a lot of time to join in with the chat usually .
HOWEVER, as someone who was born and grew up in Devon I agree with the Cornish on the way a scone should be topped. If you do the cream first you don't get a good spread of jam, so spread the jam on first and you can pile the clotted cream on top
Up North they didn't used to use clotted cream at all but a whipped cream
Not the only controversy either. Some of us say scone as in cone whilst the other would say scone as in con.

whichever side of the debates you're on, you're never wrong but you still get a tasty teatime treat

Looking forward to reading the rest of your trip!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Loved the pinkies up tea party!!! I always think tea parties look so fun, but I think I'm too picky of an eater to really get my money's worth out of attending. I do love those little to go boxes--so cute!

 

[franandaj]

Just generic comment about cruises.

Oh, OK. Evidently most cruise lines don't let you BYO at all.

Ah! So you do surrender it.
That's what I meant, you can't drink it on the ship, but you get it at the end.

Yes, they don't want you getting hammered on the ship unless you are paying them for it.

I once walked 400 miles from one terminal to another...

Out of curiousity, I checked the prices in Nova Scotia. Take out was $14-$17 and sit down was $29-$40 (all prices CAD).

Well, but that's not fair. Like you said, Alaskan King Crab was cheaper in Alaska. You need to look at prices in LA and WDW.

Oh? Then I retract my comment!

I'd be so tempted by... so much!

It was easy to be tempted!

I remember that.

Good memory!

Nothing says decadent like champagne and caviar.

Nope. There's no curing that. Those pigs aren't coming back.

So Fortnum & Mason and Costco are pretty much the same, right?

Well yes! Everything costs a fortune, but at Costco at least they are sized large enough to last forever. At F&M, not so much.

Nope. They look pretty, but I'm not a fan.

Me neither, but they do look nice.

I know I would. It just... screams it to me.

I had planned to dress up, but the way the day unfolded, it just didn't work out.

Interesting that they have their own champagne. Surprised by that.

I'm not, they just pay some French champagne house to put a label on it.

Looks so good!

I'm doing tea at Disney in a week and I can't wait for that!

But surprised you put egg at the bottom.

I'm not a fan of egg salad. I almost swapped it out, but I decided that I might as well try everything.

Wow, those are pretty. Hopefully they tasted as pretty as they looked.

Some of them got eaten the next day and some got squished on the ride to the port.

Hmmm... I'm trying to remember what I did... But I don't recall there being lemon curd, so... maybe nothing.
Nevertheless, I think I would've done what you did, but Jill's looks more correct?

In the comments below there are arguments that mine was correct!

Nope!

Me neither!

Really? What a nice little touch!

I was pleasantly surprised!

I'm not letting someone put a sticker on my phone, thankyouverymuch.
Besides... (as was evidenced by the inebriated selfie-takers) you can just peel it off, so the exercise is pointless.

If people really want to use their phones they will. You just have to trust people in the end.

woot!



I mean... um... who doesn't love a good balcony over a bar?

Even the men were wearing bra-like top harnesses!

That's neat. Did they have some kind of restraint around their waists? Or was there a railing?

No, they just kind of stood there on the little ledge in danger of falling off. What did you think this is America where you can sue for every last little thing?

Was not expecting that.

Me neither.

Hopefully they got kicked out.

That would have been nice.

Sounds really interesting.

It was super thought provoking.

Hmmm... I'm going to say... no? If I have, it was so long ago that I don't remember it. I remember Liza Minnelli singing the title song, but that might just be from clips?

Jill made a comment below that this was not Bob Fosse's/Liza Minelli's Cabaret, it took on a whole new persona.

 

[franandaj]

Loving this TR so far! sorry don't have a lot of time to join in with the chat usually .

Just join in when you can! No requirement to comment a lot, but I appreciate when you can chime in!

HOWEVER, as someone who was born and grew up in Devon I agree with the Cornish on the way a scone should be topped. If you do the cream first you don't get a good spread of jam, so spread the jam on first and you can pile the clotted cream on top

This makes total sense which is why I think I did it that way! You can spread the jam on the scone and then plop the cream on top of it.

Up North they didn't used to use clotted cream at all but a whipped cream

I'm not savvy enough to know the difference, but I imagine it has to do with consistency.

Not the only controversy either. Some of us say scone as in cone whilst the other would say scone as in con.

I always said it like the "con", but everyone else I know uses the "cone" version, so I just went along with the crowd.

whichever side of the debates you're on, you're never wrong but you still get a tasty teatime treat

Yes, this definitely true.

Looking forward to reading the rest of your trip!

Boarding the ship is coming up!

 

[franandaj]

Loved the pinkies up tea party!!! I always think tea parties look so fun, but I think I'm too picky of an eater to really get my money's worth out of attending. I do love those little to go boxes--so cute!

They were willing to make substitutions on the sandwiches, so that was nice. Most of the desserts and the scones were something I would think almost anyone would eat. Unless you had a gluten allergy....

You should try something like that someday, it was fun!

 

[franandaj]

Day 5

My phone chirped and I thought that it was around 5:30 and the Do Not Disturb was lifted.

No.

It was just before 2AM. Somehow a couple of messages snuck through. Turns out I would have another fun tenant problem to deal with a couple days into the cruise. Today was Sunday and nothing could be done until it was a weekday. And even then with the time difference I'm not sure if I could accomplish anything. In the City of Long Beach they were revamping our trash situation and giving us new recycle bins. Well they took away the old ones and told the tenants that they hadn’t ordered any new ones, so they weren’t getting new ones. I pay the refuse for that building, so I had to be the one to order them. Ugh.

I tried to go back to sleep for an hour and nothing happened, so I gave up and got my phone out and tried to get caught up on the TR notes. I also posted on instagram and at 4AM I tried to go back to sleep. Jill hadn't been able to fall asleep at all so far. I laid awake until just after 5AM and I gave up. I started to get dressed and packed up my stuff. Jill had lightly fallen asleep, but didn't get any good sleep.

We had agreed to skip breakfast at the hotel and just get something from the Starbucks in the train station. Our train left at 7:53 and I wasn't sure how easily I was going to be able to drag my luggage up the street to the train station, so I wanted to leave super early. In the end I think we left at 6:45, and it only took us 15 minutes.

The thing about trains in the UK is that they don't announce what platform you'll be traveling from until just before the train departs. So we figured out which itinerary on the monitors was ours. There is a large screen with all the planned train trips from that station. The problem is most of those itineraries don't have a posted track number until just before the train is about to leave.

Jill left me with the luggage on a bench near the middle of the station to go get us some Starbucks. Unfortunately they didn't open until 8AM. Jill made an executive decision and pivoted to Costa Coffee. She was able to get me the same basic order that I wanted. A slice of lemon loaf and a dark roast coffee.

As we finished our beverages, they announced our track number and we rushed over to board. There was absolutely no place to store luggage other than the overhead rack, and that would only hold carry-on size luggage. We piled our suitcases onto the seats and thank goodness we were on a nearly empty train.

We were a couple minutes late arriving in Eastleigh. That's where we had to exit the train and transfer to a bus. To get off our platform we had to take a lift up one floor, go across a bridge and take a lift down. We had to wait at least three cycles on the going up portion. At least going back down the line had died down. By the time we got to the front of the station, the bus we were supposed to travel on was completely full. It was a double decker bus and people were climbing on with their luggage in hand, and they were SRO. It was a bus like that blue one, but by the time I took this picture, that bus was long gone.

It was raining pretty good at this point. Not pouring but definitely drops hitting the ground. The attendants told us that there would be another bus within less than 5 minutes. When more than 5 minutes had gone by, Jill started looking for an uber. She hit “go” and the app was still on “Searching for a driver” when the next bus pulled up. We bailed on the Uber and luckily this was a bus where the bags were stored underneath. The bus was nearly empty and Jill and I each had a row to ourselves.

When we got to the Southampton Central Train Station, we still had to catch a taxi to the port. We grabbed our bags out from under the bus. It was still raining and we nearly dumped our bags in a puddle, but caught them just before they hit the ground.

The taxis were queued up across the street and as soon as we walked up, the next driver in line grabbed our bags and started to load up his car. The cab ride was $14, and well worth it!

I snapped some shots of the Dream as we caught sight of her.

We got dropped off fairly far away at the cruise terminal and had to schlep our bags a decent distance. It was nowhere near as long as our walk to the train station. We dropped off our bags and they sent us to a holding room. We sat there for a while and someone came into the room asking if anyone had an arrival time of 10:45, 11AM or 11:15. Our time was 11:30, so we decided to go get in the line outside the building. Once we reached the front they let us inside the building and put us in a queue for our arrival time. It was only 11:07 and they were still working through the queues for 10:45 and 11AM.

It was so unorganized and no one really seemed to know what they were doing at all. Finally around 11:25 they let us through the first section where they checked our passports and verified our room number. They gave us a gold wristband to show we did that step. Then they sent us on to security. We passed that pretty easily and went to check-in. The only thing they did there was activate Jill's Magic Band. I left mine at home.

I forgot quite a bit of stuff.

After that we were dumped into a large waiting room. They had not even begun boarding anyone yet. Finally around 11:45 they let the first family board followed by Concierge guests. It wasn't until 12:25 that our Boarding Group was called, we were number 8.

When we reached the atrium, one of the CMs asked us how we wanted to be introduced, we said, “the Bougie gals”. She didn't think the “powers that be” would like it much if she said that, so she called us the “Bougiegal family.”

As soon as we were onboard we ran to the spa and booked “length of cruise” Rainforest Room passes. We also booked massages for 8AM the next morning cause our bodies were killing us from the flight and all the walking of the past few days.

Then we went down to Deck Two where they were making onboard dining plans. Just as we had hoped, we were able to secure second reservations for Remy Dinner (that was the easiest), Palo Dinner, and even Palo Brunch!

By this time we were pretty hungry, so we headed to Animators Palate where they were serving sit down lunch.

I had the mixed green salad with Balsamic dressing. This was a perfect salad. The lettuce was chopped nicely, I had them put just enough dressing on it, and it was just enough that it filled my starvation void, but i was still plenty hungry for my main course.

Jill got the Empanada. It was still very hot when it was served to her.

Then we waited and waited. And we waited some more. By this point it was almost 2:00, half an hour since we were served our appetizers. Finally our entrees came, we were both getting a bit hangry at this point. Originally I had mentioned dessert to our server, but we told the drink servers just to let them know to cancel it. Our room would be ready and we just wanted to eat our mains and go to the room.

I love this Beef Sirloin. Every time I've had it, the meat is cooked perfectly to medium rare, and the meat has just enough fat on it that I can slice off a little chunk of fat and eat it with the beef. The twice baked potato and green beans are also good.

Jill got the Chicken Caesar salad, she said that she likes this one as well and seems to order it most of the time on the first day as well.

Then we went back to the room. Believe it or not our luggage had already been delivered. Then again how early we dropped it off and how long we sat around before boarding, I'm not surprised.

Our stateroom hostess introduced herself and asked if there was anything she could do for us. Jill asked for wine glasses, and I asked for ice in a bucket. She asked if she should bring it every day and I said “sure!”

We only had a few minutes before the 3PM Spa raffle. They have become rather cheap on these, they don't give away free treatments any longer, just coupons for $$’s off a service. Of course we didn't win anything.

We decided to stop at the lobby bar for a drink before the muster drill. It took so long to get the drinks that we ended up taking our drinks with us (which is technically a no-no) but no one hassled us. I had a French Martini, and Jill had some sort of Spritz. Don’t remember what kind.

Following the muster drill, we sat in the District Lounge until the people in the elevators cleared out. Then we went up to the room and finished unpacking. The skies had cleared up and this was our view as we sailed away.

We had a little bit of time before our Prima Notte at Palo and we took a power nap for about an hour, got dressed and headed up to Palo.

We started off with a glass of prosecco as we entered Palo.

We were seated at a table of six, one of the people at our table, Jill and I were sure he was Mitch McConnell! He wasn't, but he sure could have passed for him!

This was supposed to be just a tasting, but for Jill and I it worked out to be a perfect sized dinner. We both have very tiny appetites and end up leaving most of our food on the plates at your average restaurant. Our first bite was a seared Ahi Tuna. I love this, but Jill does not. She gave me her portion. Sliced Herbed Yellowfin Tuna and Biscotti di Regina.

Next was a bite of gnocchi with pine nuts and a basil pesto Prosecco wine sauce. Perfect! And so tasty!

The next course was a wagyu beef. I don't remember the grade, but it was super tasty, and very tender. For us, this was a perfect helping. Snake River Farm Wagyu and Tenuta Luce 2019.

We finished off the night with this tiny chocolate dessert. The final pairing of the evening was a blood orange chocolate mousse served atop a dusted chocolate disc.

Here is a display of [almost] all the foods we were served, with their wine pairings.

At this point we were both toast. Between the early wake up, schlepping our bags around, the rain, the multiple transfers, and the long wait to get on the ship, we were ready to go to bed. It was only 8:30, but we'd had a long day. Here’s our blanket animal. And you can see my trusty ESWB in the background, all full of ice water to keep my hydrated after a day of wine and cocktails!

Here are my steps for the day. You won’t be seeing anymore Timeline photos because for the rest of the trip, my phone/timeline thought I was in drydock in Brest, France!

 

[jedijill]

tried to go back to sleep for an hour and nothing happened, so I gave up and got my phone out and tried to get caught up on the TR notes. I also posted on instagram and at 4AM I tried to go back to sleep. Jill hadn't been able to fall asleep at all so far. I laid awake until just after 5AM and I gave up. I started to get dressed and packed up my stuff. Jill had lightly fallen asleep, but didn't get any good sleep.

Jet lag is brutal!

Jill left me with the luggage on a bench near the middle of the station to go get us some Starbucks. Unfortunately they didn't open until 8AM. Jill made an executive decision and pivoted to Costa Coffee. She was able to get me the same basic order that I wanted. A slice of lemon loaf and a dark roast coffee.

Making executive decisions is why I was able to claw my way up to middle management!

We were a couple minutes late arriving in Eastleigh. That's where we had to exit the train and transfer to a bus. To get off our platform we had to take a lift up one floor, go across a bridge and take a lift down. We had to wait at least three cycles on the going up portion. At least going back down the line had died down. By the time we got to the front of the station, the bus we were supposed to travel on was completely full. It was a double decker bus and people were climbing on with their luggage in hand, and they were SRO. It was a bus like that blue one, but by the time I took this picture, that bus was long gone.

Missing that bus was a blessing! There were track works that weekend so we knew we would have to transfer. The National Rail folks were very helpful and polite....It was a tiny station so they were all over things.

It was raining pretty good at this point. Not pouring but definitely drops hitting the ground. The attendants told us that there would be another bus within less than 5 minutes. When more than 5 minutes had gone by, Jill started looking for an uber. She hit “go” and the app was still on “Searching for a driver” when the next bus pulled up. We bailed on the Uber and luckily this was a bus where the bags were stored underneath. The bus was nearly empty and Jill and I each had a row to ourselves.

Alison lied...it was pouring! We hit the tail end of Storm Ashley and she dumped rain on us....especially in Southampton!

It was so unorganized and no one really seemed to know what they were doing at all. Finally around 11:25 they let us through the first section where they checked our passports and verified our room number. They gave us a gold wristband to show we did that step. Then they sent us on to security. We passed that pretty easily and went to check-in. The only thing they did there was activate Jill's Magic Band. I left mine at home.

After that we were dumped into a large waiting room. They had not even begun boarding anyone yet. Finally around 11:45 they let the first family board followed by Concierge guests. It wasn't until 12:25 that our Boarding Group was called, we were number 8.

I have NEVER seen such a disorganized check in and boarding. Yes, they were using contractors but Southampton is huge cruise port so they should have a better idea. We heard horror stories of folks on Disney transport sitting on their busses for 2 1/2 hours waiting to get off. One of the issues was the room past security but before you board was full to capacity and they were holding folks before security. I still don't know what the delay in boarding was but it was not handled well. I will add that we were the first passenger cruise post-dry dock. They did a 2 night shakedown cruise right before with cast members so not sure if that had something to do with it but it was not a pleasant experience. I've board in Dover and Barcelona and didn't run into this same situation. It was nuts!

As soon as we were onboard we ran to the spa and booked “length of cruise” Rainforest Room passes. We also booked massages for 8AM the next morning cause our bodies were killing us from the flight and all the walking of the past few days.

We needed even after the horrible boarding process!

Then we went down to Deck Two where they were making onboard dining plans. Just as we had hoped, we were able to secure second reservations for Remy Dinner (that was the easiest), Palo Dinner, and even Palo Brunch!

I couldn't believe we scored all that! I was surprised because there were so many concierge and Pearl members sailing but that's one of the beauties of a long cruise!

Jill got the Empanada. It was still very hot when it was served to her.

These are one of my favorite menu items!

Jill got the Chicken Caesar salad, she said that she likes this one as well and seems to order it most of the time on the first day as well.

Pet peeve...I wanted extra dressing. I like it on the side so I can judge how much more I will want but Disney insists on pouring it on themselves so it ended up swimming in ranch. LOL It was good and light anyway.

We only had a few minutes before the 3PM Spa raffle. They have become rather cheap on these, they don't give away free treatments any longer, just coupons for $$’s off a service. Of course we didn't win anything.

The prices go up and the value of the gifts go down.

We decided to stop at the lobby bar for a drink before the muster drill. It took so long to get the drinks that we ended up taking our drinks with us (which is technically a no-no) but no one hassled us. I had a French Martini, and Jill had some sort of Spritz. Don’t remember what kind.

It was a limoncello spritz!

Following the muster drill, we sat in the District Lounge until the people in the elevators cleared out. Then we went up to the room and finished unpacking. The skies had cleared up and this was our view as we sailed away.

Look kids, its the world famous IKEA!

We were seated at a table of six, one of the people at our table, Jill and I were sure he was Mitch McConnell! He wasn't, but he sure could have passed for him!

OMG, we saw "Mitch" constantly the rest of the cruise.

The next course was a wagyu beef. I don't remember the grade, but it was super tasty, and very tender. For us, this was a perfect helping. Snake River Farm Wagyu and Tenuta Luce 2019.

This was Lucious!

I just happened upon the Prima Notte event. Apparently its semi-new and only offered on the first night. I thought it was a good value and like Alison said, just enough especially after a long day.

Jill in CO

 

[pkondz]

Yes, they don't want you getting hammered on the ship unless you are paying them for it.

Well, but that's not fair. Like you said, Alaskan King Crab was cheaper in Alaska. You need to look at prices in LA and WDW.

Oh, I know. I was just curious to how it compared to Canadian east coast prices. I don't think you can even find a lobster roll here.

Good memory!

Not often, though. I'm usually impressed by everything that you remember!

Well yes! Everything costs a fortune, but at Costco at least they are sized large enough to last forever. At F&M, not so much.

So a mini-sized Costco. Got it.

I'm not, they just pay some French champagne house to put a label on it.

Oh. Even so... surprised.

I'm doing tea at Disney in a week and I can't wait for that!

At GF?? We loved it. I think you will too. (If that's where you're going.)

In the comments below there are arguments that mine was correct!

I'm gonna put curd on the bottom, cream on the top, then cut it in the middle and sandwich it all together.

Even the men were wearing bra-like top harnesses!

Oh, sure. I do that all the time. Helps the posture.

No, they just kind of stood there on the little ledge in danger of falling off. What did you think this is America where you can sue for every last little thing?

Jill made a comment below that this was not Bob Fosse's/Liza Minelli's Cabaret, it took on a whole new persona.

I had a feeling it wouldn't be.

 

[missjackiemcg]

When we reached the atrium, one of the CMs asked us how we wanted to be introduced, we said, “the Bougie gals”. She didn't think the “powers that be” would like it much if she said that, so she called us the “Bougiegal family.”

I love that name for yourselves!! Bummer they couldn't just go with it, but I like the work-around. My Mom asked them to announce us as Princess Jackie and the Queen Mum last time we cruised, and they wouldn't do that either!

As soon as we were onboard we ran to the spa and booked “length of cruise” Rainforest Room passes.

The Rainforest Room is just heaven!!!!!! I've not been to the ones on the Dream/Fantasy/Wish, but I'm dying to!

Sounds like an early bedtime was certainly necessary after all the chaos of getting on board. But glad you could leave all the rain and port waiting behind you with a long cruise ahead to relax!!!

 

[Jules76126]

Tea at Fortnum looked great as always. Do you not get a piece of cake to go anymore? When we did the tea in 2017, they sent you home with a slice of battenburg cake. They also gave us me jars of the jams and lemon curd. Granted it’s been a while so I could see how they could have scaled back.

I don’t love that they don’t show train platforms til the last minute. It can be a tough mad dash to the train with luggage. I got quite adept at the train travel when I lived there as we always took then train to gatwick to fly (airport was less busy than Heathrow).

 

[justafigment27]

The cruise has started! Yeah!

My husband and I were on the cruise immediately after yours!

Boarding was a disorganized mess (I think because it was the first cruise post transatlantic and took longer to clear the ship? I guess you would know that part since you were disembarking. IDK). Anyway, we had a 11:45am port arrival and were boarding group 5 … we didn’t get let into the building until 12:30-ish and didn’t board the ship until after 1:00pm. There were a whole lot of hot, sweaty people being herded around like cattle in the parking garage. Luckily, it took a lot longer to get to the port via Uber than we thought (due to traffic), so we actually arrived late and about 5 minutes before our port arrival group was being led into the building, so we spent very little time in the garage - but people were not happy. Then there was a fire in the incinerator room and we didn’t leave port until around 9:30pm (but the lights of Fort Lauderdale were very pretty to view from the ship). Then there was a medical emergency the next day and they had to come back to Port Everglades in the middle of the night to drop off the patient. We spent quite a lot of time docked in Port Everglades! It was quite an adventure!

Looking forward to the next installment! Your TR’s are a fun distraction from heavy life happenings and I really enjoy the escape! Thanks so much for continuing to share!

 

[pkondz]

My phone chirped and I thought that it was around 5:30 and the Do Not Disturb was lifted.

No.

It was just before 2AM.

Ugh....

Somehow a couple of messages snuck through.

You can force them through on iPhone, not sure with other kinds.

Turns out I would have another fun tenant problem to deal with a couple days into the cruise.

Of course. What's a vacation without trouble back home?

Sorry about that.

In the City of Long Beach they were revamping our trash situation and giving us new recycle bins.

How exciting!!!

In the end I think we left at 6:45, and it only took us 15 minutes.

Not bad at all.

The thing about trains in the UK is that they don't announce what platform you'll be traveling from until just before the train departs

Really? That's kinda strange.
You'd think the platform would be sorted out... dunno... like 24 hours or more, in advance.

We piled our suitcases onto the seats and thank goodness we were on a nearly empty train.

Lucky break.

this was a bus where the bags were stored underneath. The bus was nearly empty and Jill and I each had a row to ourselves.

So it worked out well, that you were late for the first one. Only about a 5 minute wait had to be worth the extra room.

It was so unorganized and no one really seemed to know what they were doing at all.

Really? Very surprised for Disney.

I forgot quite a bit of stuff.

Uh, oh...

When we reached the atrium, one of the CMs asked us how we wanted to be introduced, we said, “the Bougie gals”.

She didn't think the “powers that be” would like it much if she said that, so she called us the “Bougiegal family.”

Close, but no cigar.

We also booked massages for 8AM the next morning cause our bodies were killing us from the flight and all the walking of the past few days.

I bet!

Just as we had hoped, we were able to secure second reservations for Remy Dinner (that was the easiest), Palo Dinner, and even Palo Brunch!

Nice!

I had the mixed green salad with Balsamic dressing.

My choice too.

Jill got the Empanada. It was still very hot when it was served to her.

Was curious about that. How was it? I've had really good... and really bad empanadas.

Then we waited and waited. And we waited some more. By this point it was almost 2:00, half an hour since we were served our appetizers

Not okay. Wonder what the holdup was?

I love this Beef Sirloin.

Also my choice. Looks really good too.

Then we went back to the room. Believe it or not our luggage had already been delivered. Then again how early we dropped it off and how long we sat around before boarding, I'm not surprised.

Good point.

We only had a few minutes before the 3PM Spa raffle. They have become rather cheap on these, they don't give away free treatments any longer, just coupons for $$’s off a service. Of course we didn't win anything.

No surprise there. Have you ever won?

sure he was Mitch McConnell! He wasn't, but he sure could have passed for him!

Had to Google who that was. Maybe it was him but he was travelling incognito.

The next course was a wagyu beef. I don't remember the grade, but it was super tasty, and very tender. For us, this was a perfect helping. Snake River Farm Wagyu and Tenuta Luce 2019.

mmmm... love wagyu beef.

At this point we were both toast.

Did you put the clotted cream on top or under the lemon curd?

 

[jedijill]

Boarding was a disorganized mess (I think because it was the first cruise post transatlantic and took longer to clear the ship? I guess you would know that part since you were disembarking. IDK). Anyway, we had a 11:45am port arrival and were boarding group 5 … we didn’t get let into the building until 12:30-ish and didn’t board the ship until after 1:00pm. There were a whole lot of hot, sweaty people being herded around like cattle in the parking garage. Luckily, it took a lot longer to get to the port via Uber than we thought (due to traffic), so we actually arrived late and about 5 minutes before our port arrival group was being led into the building, so we spent very little time in the garage - but people were not happy. Then there was a fire in the incinerator room and we didn’t leave port until around 9:30pm (but the lights of Fort Lauderdale were very pretty to view from the ship). Then there was a medical emergency the next day and they had to come back to Port Everglades in the middle of the night to drop off the patient. We spent quite a lot of time docked in Port Everglades! It was quite an adventure!

The facial recognition software was down for immigration and it ground everything down to a halt. All the crew had to go through Immigration too since the ship was coming back from Europe. We waited around forever to get off. Alison will fill in details later but many people missed early flights! Hope your cruise was good even with all the hiccups! We had a dishwasher fire one night too!

Jill in CO