MAGICAL JOURNEY ON THE DISNEY FANTASY!

Whoever said that "Disney does it right", was so correct!  Our cruise was Perfection, with a capital P! From the moment we boarded the ship, we were treated like Royalty!  Not only did they have my granddaughter thinking she was a princess, they made me feel like I was a queen, and the Best Grandmother in the world!  They added a special touch to everything they did.  I think they enjoyed making us feel special!

 

The "Fantasy" embarked from Port Canaveral for our 7 day cruise.  From the time we checked in, we were surrounded by Happy People who seemed to love their jobs!  We were introduced to our deluxe stateroom on 7th deck.  The room had a queen-sized bed and a sleeper couch with a pull-down top bunk, a balcony, a large plasma TV, plenty of drawer space, and a "divided bath", which meant 2 bathrooms, one with a sink and toilet and the other with a sink and tub/shower, so we each had our own bathroom, to the delight of 10 year old Addie!  The room was super, with Disney music playing constantly!

our private balcony!

When ushered to "table 39" for dinner, we met our table-mates for the entire cruise, 2 single moms and 2 children about the same age as Addie.  We all were from different states, meeting for the first time and all looking forward to some Disney Magic!  Our dining experience was divided between 3  restaurants for dinners.  All were at "table 39" with the same waiters!  It proved to be a great plan, as we were able to experience excellent dining in 3 elegant restaurants with our wonderful waiters, Jimi from China and another from Bali.  The whole staff was International, with many parts of the world represented!                                                                                                             

Miguel,Charolette &,Addie

The itinerary was great too!  First day was at sea, but with so much to do on board that there was never a dull moment!  The kids (and adults) never tired of standing in line to get autographs from the array of Disney characters, forever present and mingling on the ship!

 

 

The whole 11th deck consisted of a few pools, water slides, movies, ice cream, eateries, and non-stop activities!

 

Our 1st port-of-call was in Cozumel, Mexico.  We chose the Dolphin Experience at a huge park about 20 minutes from downtown and the port.  We enjoyed our swim with the dolphins and a huge kiss from "DaVinci"!

 

  Our second port- of- call was in Grand Cayman where we chose to walk around town and shop and shop and shop and take lots of pictures of this beautiful island with reminders of the pirates of yesteryear all over!

Our 3rd port was Falmouth in Jamaica and from there we took a bus to Ocho Rios where we climbed the famous Dunn's River Falls.  It was beautiful and quite a challenge for this gramma to climb 600 feet from the beach to the top of the falls!  I decided to quit 3/4 of the way up...didn't want to push my luck, as I was the oldest there, I think!  My granddaughter continued with another family to the top.  Then we ate jerk chicken in a tropical setting in the rainforest.  What a perfect and fun day!  Ya Mon!!!

The next day was at sea again.  Besides everything available, Addie found time to have her hair styled, make-up, and a manicure at the Bibbiddi Bobbiddi Boutique!  The new look lasted until she hit the water slides!

Our final port-of-call was Castaway Cay, Disney's private island in the Bahamas.  We spent all day on private beaches with water slides, water crafts, shopping, followed by a barbque lunch.  There was even "an adults only" beach in a romantic setting away from the roar of the crowd!

I can't say enough about the International staff.  The feeling I got was that they were really glad to be working on the ship and most of the time, it was like a vacation.  Our waiters did magic tricks for the kids, cut their meat, and promptly furnished whatever was requested...kiddie cocktails, more cherries, even more lobsters for the adults!!! And more desserts appeared without being requested...it's called mind reading!!  The food was excellent and the menus varied.

 

Also, our room steward, Madi, from Bali, made every evening fun, when we came back to the room to a different "towel animal" waiting for us!

The entertainment each night was fantastic and in the style of Disney.  We enjoyed Aladdin, Disney Magic, singing and dancing, a magician as well as a
hypnotist...we never missed a
show in the Disney Theater.

 

 

Dance Parties with the Disney Characters were held in the family lounge, the D Club.

 

The big event of the week was "Pirate Night" with a presentation of "Pirates of the Caribbean" put on by a talented staff...huge party on deck followed by a great display of fireworks with a fantastic finale Disney style!

 

 

As I sat out on our balcony on the last evening, I was so relaxed listening to the ocean waves and feeling the world go by!  I can't say enough about how wonderful this cruise was!  The caring and generosity of the staff made it perfection....nothing negative to say, only maybe leaving paradise behind.  Disney is magic!  Addie was a princess for a week, so that makes me Queen for more than  just a day!

 

EXOTIC INDONESIA

                  

 

 In May 2014, I enjoyed a wonderful trip to Indonesia in Eastern Asia.  36 1/2 hours of travel took us from Madison, Wi to LA, to Taiwan and finally to Jakarta!  We decided that travel at our age is not for wimps!  As we crossed the International Dateline, the time difference was 12 hours.

Jakarta is the largest Asian metropolis, with a population of 14 million people.  It also has millions of motorbikes, 53 years of independence, the major religion is Islam, the US dollar is worth approximately 10,000 Rupiah, and there is a very large difference between the rich and poor.  Our tour of Jakarta included The National Museum, which houses the world's largest collection of Southeast Asian ceramics and Hindu (Javanese) art. 

 

 

 

Groups of school children smiled and posed for pictures as they passed by!                                                                         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  After visiting the National Monument, located in Freedom Square,

 

 

 

We stopped to stroll around the old city of Batavia, a very clean and charming town square with shops and restaurants.  There was also a colorful display of bicycles with matching hats.  The square seemed solight and airy and was probably like Jakarta in the early days.

 

 

 

 

At the end of the day, we took a flight to Solo City in central Java.  After a really busy and hot day, we were happy to check into The Lor Inn, with it's beautiful landscaping and cascading pools.  It was a refreshing stay at a grand hotel.  The next day we set out to explore Solo City, visiting the Maghunegaren Palace and the local food market, where we were able to get some great "people pictures".  They loved posing for us! 

 

 

 

 

 

The last place of interest on our schedule was Prambanan, a 9th century temple dedicated to a trio of Hindu deities.

 

    

 

 

 

From Solo City to Jogjakarta (pronounced "yogikarta), an early departure was necessary in order to beat the crowds and the heat of the day.  Our first stop was a visit to Borobudur, a spectacular Buddhist Temple Complex.  The name means "temple on the hill" and is a beautiful, massive site from the 8th century A.D.  It's dome-like structures are called "stupas".  The temple is the highest point in Java, it is next to the water and faces the volcano.  When it was excavated, it was forgotten about for a long time, as Islam had taken over as the main religion.  Later the Buddhists reconstructed it brick by brick.  We climbed many, many steps to the different levels before reaching the "Sphere of Nirvana" on the top where there many "stupas" or dome-like structures.  Some facts I learned: 1) Buddha was a teacher 2) Buddhism has no gods 3) Hinduism has 3 gods 4) both avoid the "caste system" 5) both believe in nature

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next stop was "Taman Sari", a beautiful park built for the Sultans in the 18th century.  We visited the Sultan's Palace, where the current Sultan lives with his one and only wife!  He has 5 daughters attending universities in the USA and Europe.  The people love him!

 

 

 

 

 

Our day in Jogjakarta ended with a dinner show on an outside stage.  It was a production by the traditional Ramayana Dancers.  They told a love story with only their dancing.  The show was very beautiful and entertaining, but very long and it got very hot sitting outside!

 

 

 

  Finally it was time to leave for Paradise!  After a beautiful sunrise over the Merapi volcano,

 

 

 

we left for the airport and boarded our flight to Bali.  We were met at Denpasar airport by Budi, our guide, with beautiful frangipani leis for us!  Our welcome to paradise!  Although Bali is one of the most popular tourist destination in the world, it remains a mysterious and beautiful island, full of traditions and cultures.  Some facts:

       3.8 million people 

       Ring of Fire - 2000 active volcanoes

       95% Hindu, Protestant and Catholic

       No high rise buildings

       2000 temples

 

Our first destination on Bali was the small city of Ubud where we strolled through the markets, visited the old palace in the city center and dined at "Bridges" on the river.

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most beautiful places I have ever seen is "Goa Gajah" or Elephant Cave on the Elephant River in Ubud.  The site is an 11th century meditation place dedicated to the Buddhist Monks to live in harmony.  It's a very, very beautiful and serene complex with lush walking paths, fountains used by Monks to bathe before meditation, and a huge statue of "Ganesh", who has the head of an elephant and the body of a human.  It was heaven and millions of photo ops!

 

 

 

 

 

I think we really saw as much as possibly !  Although it could be tiring in the heat, we didn't want to slow down!  We wanted to see everything!  We witnessed a wood carving demonstration and making of shadow puppets, saw the lovely green rice terraces in the small town of Sebatu, coffee tasting at a plantation in Tegalang, viewed the Batur Volcano which last erupted in 1999 in Eastern Bali, then to a huge art gallery and silver factory.  Thus ended a long day of exploring Bali!  Makes me tired to remember it all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We finally arrived in Seminyak, on the west coast of Bail, where we had a great hotel right on the beach of the Indian Ocean.  This was to be our home for the next 3 days and nights in Paradise!

 

 

 

 

Our last day of exploring included a stop at Mengwi Temple, a beautiful and exotic temple from 1634.

 

 

  Lake Braten, a colorful site laden with exotic pavilions, temples and flowers.  A very lovely and cultural experience, despite the clouds!

 

 

Last stop was at another temple complex on a cliff over the ocean.  The grounds were absolutely beautiful, but was inhabited by lots of pesky monkeys!!  We were warned to take off our glasses and hats or they would steal them!  And they sure did harass the tourists! 

 

   

 

 

Our last day in Paradise!!!  No wake-up call, no bus rides or crowds of people!!  Just a luxurious lazy day in "Nirvana"!  What Bali is all about!  After a leisurely breakfast by the ocean, we walked on the beach, shopped from vendors, played in the waves, read and just continued to be lazy!  After lunch, we enjoyed a 2 hour hot stone massage in the spa.  How to get really spoiled in one day!!  Found a restaurant on the beach, took a last walk on the ocean and witnessed a beautiful sunset.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the USA with wonderful memories of a once-in-a-lifetime trip.  Bali is indeed a beautiful, relaxing, exotic and cultural experience.  I leave this paradise with a heavy heart and a resolve to return someday!