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Our friends Derek and Doug(from Rope Drop Radio) recently went on Disney’s Galactic Starcruiser Halcyon for a two night immersive journey into outer space!  They were kind enough to send us the menu for the second night’s dinner as well as pictures of the food!

You can listen to their trip report here:

Here are pictures of the menu and the food:
 

More about Doug and Derek (and Rope Drop Radio):

Derek and Doug are two dads who love Disney.  Their goal is help you navigate all things Disney from the parks to the cruise. They want to share tips and tricks, travel plans, and must see’s to help you have an amazing Disney trip!  You can subscribe to Rope Drop Radio via iTunes.  Make sure to follow them on Facebook and Twitter as well!

If you would like to book a trip on the Halcyon, contact Michelle McKnight (affiliated with Touring Plans Travel Agency).  It costs nothing to use her services because Disney pays her after you travel.   We book all our sea based travel with Michelle, as well as recommending her to our friends!  Contact her to see if she can help you with your vacation plans. (Note: Michelle does not sponsor Back To The Mouse, we are just satisfied customers).

 

If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints as well as our cruise trip reports!
 
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Travel

Menu
Menu

Our friends Derek and Doug(from Rope Drop Radio) recently went on Disney’s Galactic Starcruiser Halcyon for a two night immersive journey into outer space! They were kind enough to send us the menu for the first night’s dinner as well as pictures of the food!

You can listen to their trip report here:

Here are pictures of the menu and the food:

 

 

More about Doug and Derek (and Rope Drop Radio):

Derek and Doug are two dads who love Disney.  Their goal is help you navigate all things Disney from the parks to the cruise. They want to share tips and tricks, travel plans, and must see’s to help you have an amazing Disney trip!  You can subscribe to Rope Drop Radio via iTunes.  Make sure to follow them on Facebook and Twitter as well!

If you would like to book a trip on the Halcyon, contact Michelle McKnight (affiliated with Touring Plans Travel Agency).  It costs nothing to use her services because Disney pays her after you travel.   We book all our sea based travel with Michelle, as well as recommending her to our friends!  Contact her to see if she can help you with your vacation plans. (Note: Michelle does not sponsor Back To The Mouse, we are just satisfied customers).

 
If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints as well as our cruise trip reports!
 
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Travel

Stateroom 7-321
Stateroom 7-321

Our friends Derek and Doug(from Rope Drop Radio) recently went on Disney’s Galactic Starcruiser Halcyon for a two night immersive journey into outer space!  They stayed in Stateroom 7-321, which is a Standard Cabin that sleeps 4.  Each Standard Cabin has a “window with a view out into space”, a TV, queen bed, and two bunk beds.

You can listen to their trip report here:

Here are there pictures of the stateroom:

 

More about Doug and Derek (and Rope Drop Radio):

Derek and Doug are two dads who love Disney.  Their goal is help you navigate all things Disney from the parks to the cruise. They want to share tips and tricks, travel plans, and must see’s to help you have an amazing Disney trip!  You can subscribe to Rope Drop Radio via iTunes.  Make sure to follow them on Facebook and Twitter as well!

If you would like to book a trip on the Halcyon, contact Michelle McKnight (affiliated with Touring Plans Travel Agency).  It costs nothing to use her services because Disney pays her after you travel.   We book all our sea based travel with Michelle, as well as recommending her to our friends!  Contact her to see if she can help you with your vacation plans. (Note: Michelle does not sponsor Back To The Mouse, we are just satisfied customers).

 
If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints as well as our cruise trip reports!
 
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* Please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Email!

Disney Cruise, Shopping, Travel

Disembarkation
Disembarkation

The morning of disembarkation is usually very sad.  Everyone plans their flights so they can leave the ship and head directly to the airport, giving themselves an hour or so of cushion to make their flights.  We planned our flights so we had as much time in San Juan today as possible.  We got up at 7 am to finish packing the stateroom and then we took our bags with us to Tiana’s for breakfast. 

As we were finishing breakfast, I received a text from Harold, who was to be our tour guide from Puerto Rico Green Transportation.  He let me know that he was outside and waiting for us whenever we were ready.  We said our goodbyes to Shane and Manuel and headed off the ship.

Since we didn’t have to wait for our bags, we were off the ship and through customs in about five minutes.  We looked for Harold, but ended up finding another guide from Puerto Rico Green Transportation first (they had on bright green logo polo shirts).  He took us over to where Harold was waiting in our Mercedes Benz Metris Minivan.  It had space for 7 people and 8 pieces of luggage.  He offered us cold water and snacks, in addition to going over our preferences for the day.  We were going to do a four hour tour of San Juan before heading to one of our favorite restaurants, then off to the airport to catch our flights home.

Once we were comfortable and buckled up, Harold took us out of the parking lot.  We headed to the nearby convention center to get a look at it, then we were off to old San Juan.

Harold gave running commentary as we drove around, pulling into various driveways to explain the history of different buildings and hotels.  Our first real stop was the Capitol building of Puerto Rico.  We stopped the van so we could get out to look at the building.  After having the purpose and history of the building explained to us, we headed across the street.

Waiting for us across the street was Plaza San Juan Bautista.  The plaza had a statute of Juan Bautista, in addition to a wall of glass mosaics that have all the townships and provinces of Puerto Rico.

Beyond the Plaza was the ocean, with great views up and down the coast.

After spending a few minutes admiring the view, we were back in the van and heading for Castillo de San Cristóbal, which is the largest Spanish fort that was built in the new world.  Our friends had visited the fort prior to the cruise and we had never been, so Harold said we might as well do a drive through.  We didn’t have a ton of time or we would have definitely done a tour.

After our drive through of the fort, Harold took us towards Castillo San Felipe del Morro.  We had visited this fort before on a prior trip to San Juan, but Harold wanted to make sure we got to see the cemetery next to it, Capilla del Cementerio Santa María.  This is the resting place for many famous people from Puerto Rico’s past.

What followed next was super exciting, but also nerve wracking.  Harold took us through the famous La Perla area of San Juan.  La Perla is a historic shanty town, adjacent to the Capilla del Cementerio, comprised of hundreds of houses stacked between the outside of the walls of Old San Juan and the ocean.  The neighborhoods contains artistic enclaves as well as hot nightspots with various clubs.  The nerve wracking portion was the fact that the roads were super narrow and Harold was driving a large van.  The road was barely capable of holding the minivan, let alone the various oncoming cars we encountered on these “roads”.  Harold did a masterful job though and got us through.

After leaving the neighborhood, Harold took us to the San Juan Bautista Cathedral.  We’ve been to the Cathedral before, but Harold told us he had something different there to show us.  He parked the van and we got out.  We briefly entered the Catherdral to look around, then turned east and headed down the hill.

Our destination was the Puerta de San Juan, was the main gate for the walled city of Old San Juan.  This was the primary gate used to access the old city.  I was really excited because we didn’t see this the last time we came to the San Juan.  Harold explained the history of the gate and then took us through the wall to the outside.

We walked around outside the game for a little bit, reading the signs and looking at the walls and sentry boxes.

Once we were done looking around at the fortifications, Harold offered to take us to some local shops.  We headed back up the hill towards the Cathedral and then took a right.  We walked past several of the traditional buildings.  Harold said a lot of them had similar entryways to help with air circulation.

We headed farther down the street and went into a local art shop.  The ladies did some shopping and found lots of items to purchase.  Harold said there were some additional shops around the corner he recommended, so we headed in that direction.

We did get to see the street in front of the La Fortaleza, which is the governor’s mansion.  This had been the scene of several protests the week before.  It was also the location of the famous hanging umbrellas, which had since come down to be replaced with the Flag of Puerto Rico.  I actually really liked it with the flag.  After snapping some quick pictures, we headed down to a shop that Harold recommended.  As we shopped in the store, Harold ran back to grab the van and said he would meet us out front in a few minutes so we would have more time before heading to the restaurant.  He arrived in ten minutes and we were off for lunch.

Harold drove us to Casita Miramar, which is a restaurant we found when we last visited.  We loved the service and the food and basically planned this day around going here for lunch.  We wanted to get here before the cruise but between the school schedule and the flight schedule, we couldn’t make it work.

The dining room wasn’t crowded at all since we arrived relatively early.  We were quickly seated and ready for lunch.

The menus are shown on various blackboards and they are always changing.  We got several appetizers to share and then we all ordered entrees.

 

We finished eating, paid our bill, and then texted Harold to let him know we were almost done.  As we walked out, Harold pulled up with the van so we could head off to the airport.  We were at the airport within a few minutes.  Harold helped take all the bags out of the van and after giving him an additional gratuity, we were inside the airport. We were with Harold for a total of about six hours, which costs about $300 plus gratuity.  It was well worth it as we got a private tour of San Juan and storage for our bags while we took the tour and enjoyed lunch.

In order to check your bags at the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, you have to put your bags through an agricultural inspection station and get an inspection sticker.  Once we got our stickers, we decided to go ahead and change into some warmer clothes since it was still winter at home.  After changing, we checked into our flight and headed through the TSA Pre-check line.  We headed to the gate to waiting for boarding.

Our flight to Charlotte boarded quickly and the flight was fine.  It took us about three hours to make it to Charlotte.

We landed in Charlotte and headed to the American Airlines Club that was closest to our gate to wait since we had four hours before our next flight home to Dulles.  Nancy and I both had the Citibank American Airlines Executive World Elite Mastercard which gave us access to the lounge (we’ve since closed this card since it has a large fee and we aren’t flying these days).  The lounge was busy, but we managed to grab some food for dinner while everyone tried to keep up on the progress of the Super Bowl.  We left the lounge about 30 minutes before the flight and headed to the gate.  Just before we boarded, we caught the last few minutes of the game before getting on board.

We landed at Dulles around 11:30 pm, so we were all exhausted.  We grabbed our bags and found a taxi home.  We had been gone for eight days and had a fantastic time on our cruise.  I’m really thankful we were able to safely get in this cruise before the Covid pandemic put a pause on cruising, especially since our Spring Break and Summer cruises were canceled.  We got to visit lots of new ports of call and return to San Juan, which we love.  Hopefully we will be able to get on board another Disney cruise soon!

Planning | Travel | Boarding | Ship ExplorationSt MaartenAntiguaMartiniqueBarbados | St. Lucia | Sea Day | Travel Back

 If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints in addition to our cruise trip reports!
 
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Royal Caribbean, Travel

Morning in Seattle
Morning in Seattle

Today was our last day in Seattle.  We had decided to get to the airport early and get breakfast there.  We ordered an Uber to take us there.  We probably arrived around 8:20 AM or so for our 10:20 AM flights.  Nancy’s flight was on time, so after breakfast, she and my younger daughter headed to their gate.
 

My flight (along with our older daughter), wasn’t until 11:20 AM.  We started getting notifications soon after we got to the airport that our flight would be delayed.  We already had a tight connection in Denver, so I was worried we wouldn’t make it.

We decided to go wait in the United Club.  I asked the desk agents what we could do if our flight was delayed.  They said we would have to spend the night in Denver if we didn’t make our connection because there were no additional seats leaving Denver going to Dulles. 

Luckily, our flight took off and made up time on the way to Denver.  Nancy made it to Chicago and had a 3 hour layover before continuing on to Dulles.

We landed in Denver and ended up running to our other plane, making it with about 5 minutes to spare before the door was closed.  Once we landed at Dulles, we got a text from Nancy telling us she had landed about 15 minutes before us.  She met us at our baggage claim where we picked up our bags.  We jumped in a taxi and returned home.

We had a great first time trip on Royal Caribbean!  Alaska is one of our favorite travel destinations and it was nice to be able to enjoy the natural beauty from an affordable verandah balcony.  You can read about our comparison between our Disney cruise experiences and this Royal Caribbean experience.

Planning | Travel | Seattle | Boarding | Exploring | Sea | Juneau | Skagway | Glacier | Sea | Victoria | Disembarkation | Travel

If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page or our Royal Caribbean Cruise Line Information page, which has useful hints in addition to our cruise trip reports!
 
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Royal Caribbean, Travel

Disembarkation Day
Disembarkation Day

Today was the last day of our cruise, disembarkation day.  We arrived back in Seattle very early, but we still had quite a long time to go before we would get off the ship.  We had arranged to stay over in Seattle an extra day so we wouldn’t have to rush off to the airport.  Once we’d given this information to Royal Caribbean, they gave us the latest disembarkation group.

We had been assigned luggage tag #33, which meant we would be in The Royal Theater and wouldn’t disembark until 9:50 am.  That did allow us to get up late and get a light breakfast from Cafe 270.  After we finished our breakfast, we headed to the Royal Theater to wait for our luggage tag to get called.

While I was excited to get a late disembarkation group (so we could sleep in), it all came crashing down as we exited the ship.  Why?  Because we were at the tail end of a LONG line to get a taxi.  We had a hotel in Seattle to go to, but needed to take a cab there.  Instead of getting a porter for our bags (who had a much shorter line), I thought it would be easier to carry our own bags and wait for a cab.  Big mistake.  We ended up standing in this line until almost 11:30 am.  In hindsight, a porter would have had us on our way in less than 15 minutes.  Eventually, we did get a cab and headed off to the Olive 8 Hyatt.

Our initial thought was to drop our bags off with bell services and then head out to get some lunch.  I approached the desk at the Olive 8 and asked to check in.  The gentleman that was helping me looked up my reservation and said our room wasn’t ready quite yet, but asked that I wait a minute.  He looked on the computer and said he had a room that was available now, but it would be a slight increase in cost.  In the interest of getting into the room and dropping our stuff off, I agreed to the charge and he handed me the keys.  He smiled and said to let him know if I liked the room.

What he had upgraded us to was the presidential suite, which was awesome.  Nancy and the girls were definitely impressed.  The room opened to an enormous dining room table, with seating for 10.

There was a smaller four person table at the other end of the room.

There was a living room area as well with a television and three couches, one of which folded down to a bed.

The kitchen had two coffee makers, a wet bar, and microwave.

 

The separate office had a computer and multi-function printer.

The master bedroom was located in the back of the suite with a king size bed.  There was also a dresser and television in the suite as well.

The most impressive part of the suite was definitely the master bathroom.  The mirror has a television in it.

There was a wardrobe closet complete with a pair of robes.  (No, we didn’t have enough clothes to fill the closet.)

There was also a tub and shower, complete with rain shower head.

After looking around the suite, we grabbed an Uber and headed for the nearest Teddy’s Bigger Burger.  During a trip to Hawaii, we found the burger chain and loved it.  I don’t know that it is that much better than any other burger chain, but we associated it with all the fun we had in Hawaii.  Once we discovered they had a few franchises in Seattle, we knew we would have to visit.

We got dropped off at the Teddy’s location in Greenlake and had a great lunch.  Then we decided to take a walk around the lake and see the neighborhood.  We walked most of the way around the lake before we gave up and got an Uber back to the hotel.  We ended up ordering dinner to the hotel and just relaxed for the rest of the evening. 

Tomorrow, we would be headed back home!

Planning | Travel | Seattle | Boarding | Exploring | Sea | Juneau | Skagway | Glacier | Sea | Victoria | Disembarkation | Travel

If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page or our Royal Caribbean Cruise Line Information page, which has useful hints in addition to our cruise trip reports!
 
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Disney Parks, Planning, Travel

Picking Park Tickets
Picking Park Tickets

*The other half of the Back to the Mouse trip planning duo, Nancy, shares her experiences on a solo trip to Disney in December 2019*

In the fall of 2019, my family asked me for ideas about celebrating a big birthday milestone.  After considering several options, I asked if I could visit Walt Disney World (WDW) to see Neil Patrick Harris (NPH) narrate the Candlelight Processional during the holiday season at Epcot.  I’d seen the very beginning of one Processional he led in December 2017, and I’d always wanted to see the whole show with him as narrator.

Park Ticket

With a little research, the plan came together quickly. I used My Disney Experience to identify the dates NPH would be narrating (December 2-5). Given his popularity as a narrator, I wanted to book a Candlelight Processional Dining Package to ensure I could get a seat for his show, but I waited to make the reservation until my travel plans were confirmed.

Since it was a quick trip, and I planned to spend one day entirely at Epcot, I bought a two day ticket without Park Hoppers. When I realized Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) would be held on the Thursday evening of my trip, that helped to solidify my plan.  I could visit Epcot Wednesday and spend Thursday morning at Animal Kingdom before heading to MVMCP.

I booked a lunch reservation for Wednesday, December 4 with a Candlelight Processional Dining Package.  I’d considered visiting one of my favorite World Showcase restaurants for lunch, but decided I’d try a new-to-me restaurant and booked Ale & Compass at the Yacht Club Resort. The lunch package provided seating for the 6:45 PM seating of the Candlelight Processional.

Flights

After comparing flight options, Joe used frequent flyer miles to book me a round trip flight on Southwest Airlines from Reagan Airport (DCA) to Orlando (ORD). I would be leaving late on Tuesday, December 3 and returning early on Friday, December 6.

Lodging

With flights booked, Joe checked for lodging options at a couple of WDW hotels, but was having trouble finding availability for the length of my trip. Some sharp-eyed readers might realize what dawned on Joe as he searched: my trip would coincide with the opening of Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (scheduled to open on December 5). Ah yes, that would explain why there were not a lot of rooms on property. Joe was finally able to book lodging at the B Resort & Spa in the Disney Springs Resort Area, using Chase Ultimate Rewards Points through the Chase Travel Portal. The B Resort is technically off-property, but as a Disney Good Neighbor Hotel, it would give me access to WDW Extra Magic Hours and other perks such as a shuttle bus to the Disney Parks.

Travel

On the day of the trip, I was preparing to take the DC Metro from my office to Reagan Airport when I got an alert from Southwest that my flight would be delayed by about 2 hours. Now, rather than leaving DC at 7:50, my flight would not be departing until around 9:45. Given this delay, I was planning to stay at work a little longer, but wise Joe recommended that I head to the airport “just in case the flight doesn’t end up being that delayed.” It was good advice — ultimately, the flight left closer to 9:15. Also, the trek from the Reagan Airport Metro station to Terminal A where the Southwest flights are located is quite a long one. I was happy I was able to walk at a leisurely pace rather than go hurtling through the hallways trying to make my flight.

Arriving early also gave me the chance to enjoy dinner and a beer at the Reservoir Restaurant at the airport. This is one of the two sit-down restaurants in Terminal A where you can order food and drinks from a tablet at your table. Having recently eaten at the other Terminal A restaurant (Page), I liked the food and atmosphere at Reservoir better. It’s definitely quieter since it is tucked away in a side hallway rather than right in the middle of the gates. With plenty of time to burn, I enjoyed a beer and dinner followed by coffee and dessert.

By the time we were ready to board the flight, I was feeling a little tired and anxious to get to Orlando. Joe had recommended that I take advantage of a Southwest Airlines perk called Upgraded Boarding, which lets you improve your boarding number to something in the A1-A15 range.  Upgraded Boarding is an additional charge, but through my Southwest Rewards Chase Credit Card, I get four of these refunded to me each year.  Upgrading gave me the A3 slot, which enabled me to secure a seat very close to the front of the plane. I would be ready to hurry off the plane, take an Uber or cab to the hotel, and get a good night’s sleep so I could maximize my park time at Epcot the next day.

The flight was relatively uneventful, and as hoped, I was one of the first people off the plane and headed to the Disney Springs area. Sometimes when I have left from DC in the winter I feel ridiculous lugging my heavy jacket around once I get to Florida. This time, I was very glad to have my winter jacket, hat, and gloves, because it was quite chilly in Orlando.

I took a cab from the airport to the hotel – it was probably pricier than a ride share, but after seeing the relatively chaotic lines in the Uber pickup area, a cab seemed quicker and easier. By the time I arrived at the B Resort, it was almost midnight and I was ready to call it a night, but I spent a few minutes taking pictures of the room for Joe and Back to the Mouse.

The B Resort rooms are quite sleek looking, with dark wooden floors and crisp white bedding. My room was clean and comfortable, although being on the first floor I didn’t get to enjoy the fireworks views that guests on upper floors rave about. I didn’t spend any time at the resort other than to walk through the lobby in the early morning and late at night, but I did see the resort has a “Disney store” as well as a coffee shop/mini mart.

Tomorrow, I’ll be heading to Epcot!

Travel | Epcot | Animal Kingdom | Very Merry Christmas Party

 
 
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