Continue reading »]]> San Francisco – Greetings once again from the Disney Wonder! I am sitting here in the Outlook Cafe overlooking San Francisco as the fog rolls in. It’s been a busy day thanks to my friend Jason who did a great job of taking me around town and covering so much. I got to ride on a cable car and street car around town and have been to the Golden Gate Bridge, The Castro District, and the Embarcadero just to name a few.

Back on the ship now to warm up since I have been on the go since 9 this morning. The weather is in the mid-60′s but the wind makes it much cooler. We are here until 23:30 tonight so there is always time to get back in to the city before sailing. That’s the update for now. Don’t think that I will be posting any more until after the voyage but that will depend on mobile service. Until then, here are a few fun pictures including the friend that joined me for breakfast this morning and wouldn’t leave.

Continue reading »]]> At Sea – Today marked the first full day of my voyage north to Vancouver. Seas aren’t too bad as we go along but, it is definitely not a Caribbean cruise. I started the day off with a 5-mile run on the elliptical before breakfast and then enjoyed some nice reading time in the Outlook Bar which allows for some nice views but protected from the wind.

After that, it was time for some trivia and then yoga. I am enjoying the relaxation this trip and it is nice to have the sea days to just kick back and relax. The other nice thing about this trip is catching up with old friends. After dinner we had a chance to take in the entertainment and then I got my first tour of life below the waterline. Yes folks, I have now officially seen the bowels of the Disney Magic including I-95. All I can say is wow. I have an entirely new respect for what the crew does. My friend wasn’t able to give me the full tour tonight but plans one for later in the voyage so stay tuned as I head deeper below the waterline.

Bed time now so I can be up early for a full day in San Francisco. Internet is not fully functional so, updates may not post until after the voyage. Keep an eye on my twitter feed for the most up to date since mobile service still works. Till next time.

Continue reading »]]> So Sunday was a long travel day for me with getting up early and then heading to the Disneyland Resort right from the airport. It was nice to be back at Disneyland even if it was for only one day. I met up with some people I work with and met a few really awesome people in Guest Relations out there. I was lucky to be able to get all all of the attractions I was hoping to and even got to enjoy the amazing World of Color at Disney California Adventure. Top the visit off with an upgrade at the hotel, it couldn’t have been better. Pictures to be posted when I have better service.

Continue reading »]]> Hello again everyone, it’s that time again where I am in the process of getting checked in for my flight and laying out the clothes and suitcases and preparing for my next adventure. This experience has me flying to Los Angeles, CA where I will spend one day in Anaheim at the Disneyland® Resort, which I haven’t back to since 2009, before heading to San Pedro to board the beautiful Disney Wonder for the first time since 2010. I will be taking her from Los Angeles, CA to Vancouver, Canada on what should be an amazing 7-night voyage up the Pacific coast with stops at some amazing ports.

For those that are interested, our ship can be tracked by visiting Marine Traffic. I have also included the itinerary for my trip below. I will be posting on Twitter (@websteth) as long as I have as I have mobile service and I will also try to post updates here when I have internet access and if time allows. Photos from the trip will be posted shortly upon my return to Florida.

7-Night Los Angeles to Vancouver Itinerary:

Continue reading »]]> So one of the traditions on several cruise lines is the famous “If I were not upon the sea” skit. The skit is one of the highlights of the various cruises I have been on and is a good way to end the cruise on a fun note with the cruise staff. Here is the skit from my most recent voyage on the Disney Dream.

Continue reading »]]> Well, I thought that after a few years running the wonderful template I had been running, it was time to change things up and give Webby Aquatics a small refresh and make over. I’m still tweaking a few things here and there but, things should be up and running for the most part. Also did some reworking of my current WordPress installation. If you see any breaks, please let me know via email or the contact page. Thanks!

Continue reading »]]> Well, it’s that time of year where everyone seems to be traveling, myself included. I have been fortunate enough to do some amazing trips over the last year and am feeling right at home here on the plane and at the airport. Surprisingly, the airport in Orlando wasn’t too busy this morning but I’m sure it will only get worse as the day goes on. Sitting on the plane now cruising to Minnesota and enjoying the free WiFi that is offered. I’m not complaining.

Work is going well the last few weeks as the parks are starting to pick up and get busier for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. I’ll be home in Minnesota until Monday enjoying the time with the family before returning back to do my part to help with the craziness. If anyone in Minneapolis area wants to meet up, let me know. I can try to squeeze it in. Just text me.

Back to the relaxing flight and a nap. No coffee this morning at the airport due to the long lines so dragging now. Family Christmas party tonight which will be fun. Safe travels to anyone else that is traveling this weekend.

Continue reading »]]> Well, yesterday morning around 6:00am, the Disney Magic returned to her home port of Port Canaveral, Florida and along with her arrival, came the end to my 14-night journey from Barcelona, Spain back to Florida. Other than my study experience in London, this was the longest vacation I have taken on my own outside of the country and the longest voyage I have done on a ship to date. The funny part about the whole trip is that I wish it was longer. I really enjoyed being at sea and enjoyed all the amazing new friends that I met along the way.

I don’t really know where to start with a recap. There are so many great memories from trip. Barcelona was a beautiful city which I would love to go back to and explore more. The 24 hours that I spent there were too short but, the reason for the visit was the cruise. I know I will get back sometime in the future for a longer visit. Next up was Gibraltar. This is an interesting place. I felt like I was in a small town in England but, here I am looking out over to Africa and Spain. Also, never in my life have I seen wild apes that will literally just come up to you and let you touch them.

It’s at this point that I need to say that back on the ship, we had one of the more entertaining shows. Yes, my blog from a few days ago was correct, the infamous Charo performed onboard the Disney Magic both singing/dancing and her amazing guitar. I will be the first to admit that I didn’t really think much of it when I saw it on the schedule but, I think it was one of the more entertaining shows from the voyage. The first half of the show were more pop oriented pieces while the second half was her playing classical Spanish guitar.

Here are several clips from the performance:

In addition to watching several other performers on the ship and several Disney shows, I spent a lot of time just enjoying the Disney Magic. While she is 13+ years old, she is still a great ship who doesn’t feel that old. While on the crossing itself, we were blessed to have no weather at all. It was smooth sailing for all 5 days across the Atlantic Ocean. Perfect weather for sitting by the pool and just relaxing. The pool experience was different on this cruise versus all of the others I have taken this year and in the past. While most Disney Cruises have the majority of passengers at the family pool, due to the large number of adults on this voyage and extremely small number of children, the opposite was true for this voyage. I think everyone on the ship was trying to get those coveted deck chairs at the Cove Pool each morning. I also spent time on the days at sea visiting the gym in the Vista Spa and believe it or not, I managed to loose 9 lbs on the voyage. Yes folks, I went on a 14-night cruise and LOST weight.

So after 5 sea days, we finally made landfall again in the Caribbean in St. Maarten. I had been there before earlier this year and was planning to head to the cool beach by the port but, there was lots of road work being done making that plan impossible so we had to settle for walking around town. Still great weather at this point in the voyage. After St. Maarten, we headed to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. Not much to do in the city itself but, we had an amazing sailing, snorkeling and beach experience with the amazing weather. Probably one of the best investments of the cruise I think. After Tortola was one more day at sea and then a visit to Castaway Cay. Castaway Cay was the usual but, again, with so many adults on the ship, the adult beach was way to busy while the family beach was empty.

Overall this was a great vacation and a great get away. I would do another transatlantic crossing anytime with no hesitation. It will be hard now to do shorter cruises in the future. Anyways, that’s the recap of the trip in a short summary.

Here are pictures of the trip for everyone to look at:

And as something fun to share, here is the Disney Magic Cruise Staff performing the pub classic, If I Were Not Upon the Sea.