Photo TR: Adam's 2024 European Cruise Adventure

[jedimaster1227]

Six years ago I had the opportunity to sail with Disney Cruise Line on an incredible transatlantic adventure--one that we loved so much that when the opportunity to plan another European vacation came around, we knew we wanted it to be built around another Disney Cruise! Our entire trip would consist of a day and a half in London, an eleven night cruise on the Diseny Dream with stops in Chania, Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, Valetta and Palma de Mallorca and ending with two days in Barcelona.

We started our trip off with a day and a half in London, revisiting some of our favorites while enjoying a few new things as well...

Norse does the job for cheap direct flights from Orlando to Gatwick... Just make sure you clearly understand their pricing structures and baggage policies because that's where the extra charges can add up.

In our prior trip to London, we were supposed to dine at Michelin-starred Indian restaurant Amaya, but due to a transportation delay we missed our chance. This was the first thing we confirmed this time around when the European trip was officially happening. The white sweet potato with tamarind and yogurt was an amazing start to the meal.

My first time having oysters at an Indian restaurant and they turned out to be some of the best oysters I've ever consumed!

I still dream of this incredible raita.

Did you even eat at an Indian restaurant if didn't get some kind of tikka masala?

As if I didn't need any more reason to love walking around Piccadilly...

One of our favorites!

We called an audible and booked day-of tickets for Back to the Future: The Musical at the Adelphi Theatre. The last time we were here we saw the final run of Kinky Boots, which was incredible. And I love that Six is right next door!

The lobby of the theatre has been slightly touched up to evoke the feeling of Hill Valley, California in 1985.

Of course, there are plenty of merchandise options to choose from.

I'll shamelessly admit that I started tearing up the moment the show started.

The finale is something special... Do yourself a favor and see it for yourself without spoiling the moment.

The final 10 minutes of the show are my favorite and there was one moment that, as a major Back to the Future fan absolutely blew my mind.

Opium is our favorite speakeasy hidden in Chinatown not far from Piccadilly.

The drinks are over the top and delicious...

Not to mention strong!

Plus you can order fresh dim sum to go with your drinks! This is one of our favorite places to hang out and I highly recommend it. Reservations are basically required if you intend to get in.

I've been to a number of Chinatowns around the world and London's is among my favorites.

Last time we were in London, Big Ben was hidden behind scaffolding for a major refurbishment.

It isn't a trip to London without at visit to Fortnum & Mason.

You had me at marzipan.

The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon may not seem like it would be everyone's cup of tea, but I can assure you this is the place to come for an absolutely incredible meal.

As you'd imagine, they serve tea here.

But you also can choose from a menu of high tea combinations ranging from savory to sweet. My wife went the route of sweet while I revisit my favorite savory options including this unreal lobster omelette with truffles. 

All of the finger foods that are served with the tea are all-you-care-to-enjoy, so if you want more, you need only tell your server which ones and how many more.

I wish I could have more of these right now.

After our incredible meal, we did some damage in the store... For a $25 flat fee, we were able to ship everything home to Florida, so it was an easy choice to make.

I was majorly tempted, but knowing we'd be ending our trip in Barcelona, I figured it was best to wait on trying the Iberico ham until we were in Spain.

I've traditionally tried at least one new Coca-Cola product with each trip I take... This one was neither delicious nor refreshing.

I've long been fascinated with the history of the London Trocadero and Sega World. I wish I could have experienced it firsthand but even passing by the old building feels like being able to embrace a little bit of the history. I've also been interested in The Crystal Maze (because of TPR) for years. If we had had more time on this trip, we definitely would have done it.

After years of seeing them at A Celebration of Harry Potter at the Universal Orlando Resort, we finally had a chance to stop by the House of MinaLima.

These are the artists who defined the look and feel of most collateral, art and stylings found in the Harry Potter and Wizarding World franchises...

Cirque Arcanus is referenced in the second Fantastic Beasts film and will actually be a show/attraction in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ministry of Magic land in Universal's Epic Universe.

After our brief stint in London it was time to fly to Rome...

But not before we had a chance to finally try Nando's for ourselves!

Worth the hype.

It amazes me that Nando's hasn't made its way to more of the US, especially not Florida yet. Everything was so ridiculously tasty!

Knowing that we had four days in Greece ahead of us, it felt appropriate to finally get around to watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3... This was a mistake. 

[jedimaster1227]

We arrived in Rome at roughly 12:30 AM and immediately took the shuttle to the airport hotel to get some sleep. Just a few hours later, we returned to the airport to catch the shuttle to Civitavecchia for our cruise. 

The Disney Dream is the cruise ship on which I've sailed the most times, not just with Disney but with any cruise line.

Getting greeted onboard by Captain Mickey is always the best way to start off a cruise!

The design of the atrium will always be one of my favorite elements of this ship!

Feels like home to me.

First lunch of the cruise at Cabanas means all you can enjoy snow crab!

Adults have an opportunity to explore the youth activity spaces onboard during Open House periods and there are many fun places to visit!

The Disney Infinity space in Oceaneer's Lab is neat. The online elements of the game has been out of service for a few years but the offline gameplay and the figures are still fun to enjoy.

If you bring home a Oceaneer's Band from the cruise (the MagicBands given to kids onboard for Oceaneer's Club and Oceaneer's Lab access) and place it on the RFID scanner for Disney Infinity, you can receive an exclusive digital DCL ship toy in the game. 

Now that's what I call podracing!

One of my favorite spaces found on the way to Vibe, the teen club onboard, is a nod to the lighted hallways of EPCOT Center's past... Journey into Imagination's ImageWorks and Horizons are echoed here.

Vibe really is a neat plae for the teens to hang out.

And they have their own sun deck with loungers and jacuzzis!

Our stateroom for the next 11 nights!

The Sailing Away deck party is always a fun way to kick off a cruise!

Roaming the ship you can find hidden Disney details that span over a century's worth of film and TV. Each time I sail I find something new, like this!

Disney Victrophonics was a new experience to us, performing in the atrium on multiple evenings throughout the cruise.

It isn't uncommon to see Disney friends roaming the ship.

Disney Cruise Line offers beverage tastings of various types depending on the length of the cruise. My first of this cruise was the "World of Old Fashioned" tasting. 

For $100 per person, we were treated to four Old Fashioneds, handmade and curated by an informed bartender who talked us through all of the drinks and their base alcohols. The experience also included two chocolate truffles. 

Coming back to our stateroom at the end of our first night onboard, we were greeted by tthis cute towel animal.

We woke up the next morning to a view of Greece outside of our verandah. We would be pulling into Chania later in the afternoon so we had time onboard for some early-day activities.

Are you even sailing with DCL if you're not eating Mickey Waffles for breakfast?

Yes, it is the morning and we're having champagne... Another new-to-us experience was the Champgagne Tasting. 

We were toured through five different champagnes (plus one macaron) by an expert somelier who informed us of the differences in style, preparation and history between each bubbly we tasted. We easily got our $60 per person out of this experience and I can't recommend it enough if you enjoy champagne.

Once docked in Chania, Greece we boarded a motorcoach for our Port Adventure, starting with a stop at the ruins of ancient Aptera.

The site is continually being excavated. Most notably, this theater in one of the more well-recovered elements of the site.

Next we visited Kournas Lake for a quick dip...

Our final stop of the excursion was a family-style lunch in the really wonderful setting of the mountain-side village of Argyroupolis.

Fresh tzatziki, traditional Greek salad, empanada-like apps and my favorite, rice-stuffed fried squash blossoms were an amazing start to our Crete-style meal.

Spit-roasted chicken and fresh fries rounded out the meal.

There's nothing quite like walking back to a ship on which you love to be sailing.

Spa water upon arrival? Don't mind if I do!

Really? Mine too!

The Golden Mickeys was our first of three broadway-style shows in the Walt Disney Theater.

Crush joined us for our first night in Animator's Palate.

One does not simply dine at Animator's Palate without consuming quantities of pasta pursettes.

Our stateroom door would progressively become more decorated as the cruise went on.

On this night I experienced the Premium Reserve Whiskey Tasting and I was very pleased!

And a new towel animal welcomed us to bed!

[prozach626]

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 rice-stuffed fried squash blossoms 

That sounds legit. The chicken looked great.