Trip Report A Fantasy Trip To Disney

I’m finally getting around to sharing last November’s trip to Disney. This was another mother/daughter trip but this time with a different daughter, Sophie, the oldest of the four. She’s six years older than number two so we had a few trips with her as an only child before the others came along, but she was missing from a few family trips when she was a teenager because she went through a too cool for Disney stage. Luckily she’s outgrown that now though.

I’ll try to include some throwback photos, I’ll need to go through some boxes because most of the early ones were before digital cameras.

The earliest digital one I can find. She’s a huge Stitch fan, Lilo and Stitch was her first ever trip to the cinema aged three.

And the last time she was in Disney World in 2018

The plan for this trip was:

November 3rd: Depart Southampton on the Disney Fantasy sailing across the Atlantic Ocean
November 4th: A day at sea, crossing the Bay of Biscay
November 5th: A Coruña, Spain
November 6th: Vigo, Spain
November 7th: A day at sea
November 8th: Funchal, Madeira
November 9th-15th: Seven days at sea
November 16th: Arrive at Port Canaveral

And then the parks portion of the trip was five nights at All Star Movies with the UK park tickets and Christmas party tickets on November 20th, then flying home on November 21st.

But not everything quite went to plan

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

I just wanted to say that I really appreciate you and your great TR style. Your TR's are always chocked full of great info and pics. I am glad you and Sophie could make this trip. The rest of your family is wonderful also. You will look back years down the road and be thankful for all the time and love you put into these TR's. Thank you for sharing them with us.

Thank you so much, I’m so glad you enjoy them. I think I’ve surprised myself by how much I’ve enjoyed writing these reports, it definitely makes the memories last longer. It took a long time for me to join in on these forums, I lurked for ages before I even created an account, and I really appreciate everyone following along.

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

Tuesday 4th November (cont)

After breakfast I tried to go for my morning walk around deck 4 but it was closed because of the rough seas so I wandered around the inside spaces for a while. I did notice a few familiar faces during my wanderings, a lot of people are repeat sailors on transatlantic cruises.

One of those faces was this gorgeous girl (photo from the Dream last year)

The outside spaces that day felt like a ghost ship. Besides the rocking of the ship making people feel ill, it was pretty chilly outside.

The main pool deck after lunch

I bundled up with blankets and sat in a very quiet Quiet Cove

Sophie spent most of the day in the room feeling pretty rough. I went back to take some snacks and drinks but mostly gave her some space. She did start feeling better by late afternoon and luckily this was the only day she was ill.

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

Tuesday 4th November (cont)

Before dinner I went to listen to some piano music in Ooh La La champagne bar, my favourite bar on a Disney ship. I love the champagne cocktails there

Sophie hadn’t felt up to joining me for a drink but did meet me for dinner in Enchanted Garden

Ahi tuna and avocado tower to start

Followed by the scallops

Understandably Sophie didn’t want to eat anything too rich so opted for one of the ‘Lighter Notes’ that are always available on the menus, plain baked salmon and steamed white rice. She also skipped dessert

I did not skip dessert, I had one of my favourites the lemon mousse

We both smiled at our table mates when they arrived at the table and once again they completely blanked us. The place settings had already been set up so there was an empty space between us and they at least ate quickly and left. After they left we chatted about how uncomfortable it felt and decided that the next day we would go to guest services and see if we could move tables, we still had 11 more dinners and didn’t want to spend them feeling so awkward

On the way back to the room Sophie found a duck. Lots of cruisers like to hide ducks around the ship

Our towel/bedspread creation

Stitch was having a well deserved rest, he’d worked overtime keeping Sophie company while she was ill

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

Wednesday 5th November: A Coruña, Spain

This was my second time visiting this port and the first time for Sophie. Our plan for the day was to walk to the Tower of Hercules, the oldest working lighthouse in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I’d only visited the grounds last time with Alice and Lexi but they hadn’t wanted to go inside, so this time I really wanted to go in. I’d bought tickets online a week in advance, as soon as they were available, but had only been able to get a time slot of 10am even though I’d tried for later in the morning. Visitor numbers are very restricted because it’s a small space and I wondered if the later slots were block booked for tour groups from the ship.

Last time a Royal Caribbean ship had been in the main parking spot so I hadn’t been greeted by the statues at the cruise terminal that @Baron Von Capybara later told me about.

This time, please enjoy my edited version

I have no idea why naked people greet the cruise ships. There are a few ‘clothing optional’ beaches in the area so maybe they’re encouraging people to go there

The weather forecast was chilly and rainy so we’d layered up. It was just drizzling a bit when we first set out

There is a lot of artwork around the port

It started raining a bit more as we walked through the town square, Plaza de Maria Pita

Maria Pita, who helped defend the city from an English attack in 1589

 

[Baron Von Capybara]

Glad you finally got to see those statues.