We grabbed some breakfast at Topsiders Buffet and then made our way off the ship.  We decided to take the Malta Sightseeing Hop On Hop Off Bus which is located just a few steps from the port.  You will actually see the buses from the ship as you pull into the dock.  There are two options on the Malta Sightseeing Tour and we opted for the Blue Route which gave us a tour of the northern part of the island.  Bob was anxious to see the island where St. Paul shipwrecked and this was on the northern side of the island. 

Before no time I had to ditch the long sleeve shirt because the sun came out and it got really hot and I got quite sunburned from sitting on the upper open deck of the bus.  We made our way along the island making a stop at a local glass making factory, not that we wanted to stop here, but it was one of those obligatory stops.  I didn't buy anything but it was good to get off the bus and walk around a bit.  We kept making our way around the island and we chose to get off the bus at the point where we could get some good pictures of the St. Paul's island and we enjoyed some gelato.   Not sure if Malta is even known for gelato but I wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to enjoy this delicious frozen treat!

We made our way back to the bus and finished up the tour.  No one was hungry for lunch so we skipped that all together and made our way back to the ship.

We still had several hours in port and I had heard that free wi-fi was offered in the port terminal so I got my laptop and headed to the terminal so I could type up a live blog post.   Apparently, the part of the terminal that offered free wi-fi was not open so I met up with my new friend Karen and found a little cafe with wi-fi right next to were the shipped was docked.  I had a great post all typed up with pictures when all of a sudden the wi-fi clicked off for just a brief second and wiped out my entire post--ugh!   So, from that point on I decided not to even attempt to blog on vacation because I didn’t need that frustration.  I had originally planned on purchasing the internet package on the ship but I had heard that it was pretty slow and I don’t have that kind of patience, plus I’m on vacation so I needed to chill!!

Dinner tonight was at Animator’s Palate.  This restaurant is also a kind of storytelling dinner show as the art of Disney comes to life! Throughout our meal, Disney character sketches located on the walls of the restaurant slowly transformed from black and white to full color(check out the before and after photos below)!  Even the wait staff are in on the show as they are dressed in black and white vests at the beginning of the meal and by the end they have changed into a full color vest.   

The girls left before dessert was even served of course as they would much rather hang out with their friends in their clubs.  Bob and I headed to Cove Cafe after dinner for a relaxing evening before heading to bed.

Next up, Tunis, Tunisia! Bob is so excited about this port of call as this will be the first time he has visited Africa and he will then have bragging rights in our house that he has visited more continents than I have.  I have visited Africa before as a child but I still have South America to visit!

After brunch, we had another Dismeet at 2pm with a fun gift exchange. I had my camera but didn’t get a chance to take any pictures because I was busy mingling!   We met on the secret balcony on deck 7 but it started to rain so we moved inside to exchange our gifts.  It was so fun getting to meet everyone and I received some yummy salt water taffy from Elena in the gift exchange.

Then at 3pm we headed to Studio Sea to have tea with Alice and the Mad Hatter... well, actually it is apple juice and chocolate chip cookies, but so sweet!   This was a really cute experience.  Young and old alike will enjoy this so don't let your age stop you. Ok, well, my teenage daughters were a bit embarrassed that I dragged them there but I think they ended up enjoying it. The cookies were yummy and my girls put on a happy face and Bob played along, so all is good!

Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for dinner.  Tonight was formal night so we got all dressed up and had photos taken with some fun backgrounds and characters!  We also had a special celebration for Carolines birthday at Lumieres.   Our waiters brought out a cake and sang happy birthday to her. After dinner, we arrived to our stateroom to find it decorated for her birthday as well!  (I had ordered this the day we arrived to be set up on the formal night).   It was pretty expensive at $50 though and I thought it came with a cake that we could enjoy in our stateroom but when we arrived back to our room after dinner, there was no cake. I stopped at guest services to ask them about it and they said the cake we had a dinner was all we got.  I thought the cake at dinner was complimentary which it is and we would have received that with or without the decorations.... hmmmm!  So basically you are paying $50 for a few decorations. I would recommend just getting the complimentary cake and bringing your own birthday decorations. You live you learn, right?

After dinner, the girls split and Bob and I headed to The Walt Disney Theater to see Twice Charmed, a show about a twist on the Cinderella story.  It was cute but we both agreed that the Hercules show we saw on The Disney Wonder was much better. 

After the show, Bob and I met up with a few other couples at Rockin Bar D for the adult only magic show, then it was time for bed.

Up next, Malta. We have no idea what to expect in Malta but we are excited to tour on the Hop On Hop Off Bus.

We arrived at the terminal around 1130am and our taxi driver got a porter for us and our luggage was whisked off and we were in the terminal before we knew it.  I was busy taking pictures, tweeting and facebooking so I didn’t pay too much attention, but I did notice that there was a long line for baggage check-in which we avoided by having the porter I guess!

The terminal at Barcelona was very efficient. There are a few stores located right inside the terminal for liquor, beer, water, duty free, etc.  We decided to purchase Disney’s Beer and Water package instead of buying it at the terminal so we headed into the Castaway Club line to get all registered.

We filled out all our forms online before we left home so check-in was smooth and uneventful and were handed number 19 for our boarding number.  A little side note here: Disney did require that they hold onto our passports as we were disembarking early in Villefranche and not finishing up the cruise to Barcelona. This is standard procedure so we weren't concerned. Should you sail with Disney and complete the entire cruise, you will be able to hold onto your own passports. Ok, back to our original programing;) After checking in, we were directed to enter a separate part of the terminal to wait until our boarding number was called to board the ship.  We no sooner walked into this section of the building and our number was called but we had more important business to take care of... pictures with Mickey and family photos!!  

After our pictures, we headed up the escalator, and we were onboard!! It was probably around 1230pm at this time.  “Disney Cruise Line welcomes the Marlowe Family!” was announced as we boarded- At this point is when my husband felt like he was truly on vacation!

Once onboard, we stopped at Guest Services to book the tea with Alice. We checked out Ocean Quest and The Stack for the girls.   Then we headed up to Deck 9 to have lunch at Topsiders Buffet.

Around 2pm we had a Dismeet at the Promenade Lounge to pick up our lanyards.  It was so nice to meet people that I have been chatting with for months!  

After the Dismeet, around 3pm, we went up to our room to see if our luggage had arrived and it had! We started to unpack but at 4pm we had to attend the safety drill. That only took a few minutes and we were back to unpacking.  

Then at around 430pm, we went up to Deck 9 for the "Adventures Away Party"!   That was so much fun and I highly recommend attending this fun party if you can.  It really starts your cruise off on a high note and gets you into the Disney spirit!  Note how this was not called the "Sail Away Party" as we were not scheduled to leave Barcelona until around 930pm. I'm so glad that Disney opted to have this party at 4pm before dinner and before it got too cold, dark and windy outside. My understanding is that Disney did have this party earlier in the season at 930pm and it was not well attended!  Good move on Disney's part to have this party earlier!

Dinner times for this cruise were 6pm for the main seating and 830pm for the late seating. We chose the main seating at 6pm which worked out great for our family. There were a couple of nights that we didn't arrive back to the ship from touring until about 630pm, but that was no problem to show up a bit late. Our first nights dinner was scheduled for Parrot Cay so that is where we headed! We meet our waiters, Mario and Jose. On a Disney Cruise you will have the same wait staff the entire cruise so they really get to know your likes and dislikes!  Our dinner was fabulous. Bob had the seafood risotto and I had the pork medallions with fresh veggies.  I think this was my favorite meal of the whole cruise.  

After dinner we went to the Walt Disney Theater for The Welcome Aboard Show! The show was cute and I'm glad I went.   After the show, we started to sail away so we went up to Deck 10 to bid Barcelona farewell. The girls went to their clubs and then Bob and I met a few other couples from the Disboards in the Rockin’ D Bar for a fun scavenger hunt game.

We had a full day and didn’t get to bed until about 1am but it was so worth it!  

Our day at sea is up next which was filled with so many fun activites!   Stay tuned for more updates on our Disney cruise!

Click on photos below for description of each picture:

The following is a Walt Disney World press release:

MAGIC IN TUNISIA: In a photo taken April 27, 2010 at the Port of Tunis in the Tunisian Republic, two camels and riders stroll past the Disney Magic ship. The ship was at the port as part of Disney Cruise Line's first Mediterranean sailing of 2010. This is the first time Disney Cruise Line has called on a port in Africa. During the 11-night Mediterranean itinerary, the Disney Magic visits the ports of Malta, Tunis, Civitavecchia (gateway to Rome), La Spezia (gateway to Florence), Corsica, Villefranche and Barcelona. (David Roark, photographer)

Can't wait to experience this port! Only 30 more days and we will be in Africa!