Disneyland and Eastbound Panama Canal (AKA Patricia who??) **Complete**

[ShellB8585]

……. I had been looking forward to this day for a long time – spa reservation followed by




Our reservation was at 7:30 and we left a little before 10:30. Unfortunately they moved the Halloween party forward by one day, so as not to detract from the canal on the 31st, and the adult party was at 10:30. Needless to say we missed it despite having our costumes so we get to keep those for another year. I am not sorry before because this meal was simply divine!


Hristo was our server again and he put together a little antipasti plate for us whilst we perused the menu








The Parmesan and Balsamic was so good we asked for more




We ordered a bottle of red – didn’t get a photo on the night but took this a little later (we took what was left back to our room)




It was delicious and went very well with our meals

To start we both had calamari



This was a huge shock for me because DH never eats anything like this! Clearly Hristo did a good sales job. We both enjoyed it! He also brought us one of his favourites which is no longer available – it’s a dish with polenta and mushroom, a little different but nice



We both decided to order a smaller portion Pasta dish. Carl went for the Chianti Braised beef ravioli



Which was so good!


I had the Mushroom risotto



It was very nice but I didn’t eat it all otherwise I would never have gotten to dessert! I think next time I will order what Carl had.

We were then served a refreshing sorbet



He had the Beef Tenderloin



I had the rack of lamb






For dessert we both had a chocolate soufflé




Which was tasty but not as amazing as we remembered so may not need to have it again. Carl also had the panna cotta with a strawberry basil sorbet and I had the orange and almond cake, both of which we enjoyed more than the soufflé.


Hristo asked us if we were celebrating so we said no. He asked when our anniversary is – January and he came back with this saying it should be celebrated every day





We ate more than we have ever done before, more than we needed and we both left uncomfortably full but it was worth it!


We went for a stroll around deck 10







It was quite cool seeing all of the ships moored up waiting to go through!


Then we called it a night – early start tomorrow!!


​

 

[ShellB8585]

Panama Canal Day!​

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We decided to get up at 5am today – after reading some TRs and overhearing others it seemed most people were going to be up crazy early so we aimed for 5 in the hope of a decent position. The moon was still out
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We went up to deck 9 to grab some hot drinks then on to 10 for a spot at the very front- we were on the front rail just to the left of centre (if you were looking from in front of the ship) where we watched the sun slowly rise and show us panama
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Around 6:30 it started getting very busy. Unfortunately I was too busy watching to clock the timings anything happened this day so can’t tell you exactly how long it took. I think I have it on one of the handouts I am yet to scan so will let you know later.


The flag was raised
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And we were one of the first ships to make a move for our transit
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Toward the Bridge of the Americas
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As we went under the Bridge of the Americas some school buses started a horn war with us which we and they loved!


I will tell you now I took 100s of photos on this day so I will let them do the talking (not all of them don’t worry
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I think someone parked in the wrong place…
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[ShellB8585]

It was really neat seeing the new locks being built – we have decided we will do this again when they are in operation.








And we started our approach to the first lock where we saw some wildlife










Two workers row out to hook us up to the tugs which will help guide us along and then we start our entry to our first lock















We saw more wildlife (no these guys were not caged – just casually breaking and entering…)










And then we were out the other side











The whole transition was very very smooth, you could barely notice you were moving. At this point we decided to leave and make room for others before we hit the second lot of locks so we headed to BBB for some breakfast…​

 

[ShellB8585]

En route we bumped into this guy




I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo – Carl went to give Donald a high 5 which the duck missed and had a little meltdown. It was very funny – I love the roaming characters you get at sea


There was a nice view of the first locks and the bridge of Americas





After this it was starting to get very warm so we headed back to the room where we got ready for a dip in the pool.

The transit was being shown on the stateroom TV and funnel vision (this is in the second set of locks)





We stayed here for a few hours taking in turns getting refreshing beverages and having a wander around deck 10 to take in the views This is also where we got to know @JOANNEL and we thoroughly enjoyed our long chat! (I think you may have convinced him on the Alaska front now I have to decide when to fit it in!)
















They dig holes and insert poles (above) in which they drop explosives to help clearing. They were also dredging




They were serving a special BBQ in BBB today so we dragged ourselves out of the pool at 1:40 to check it out. My battery had died and I had left it on charge when we went back earlier so no photos I’m afraid but I have noted the Venison Sausages and Salmon were very nice (as was the banana bread of course )


After lunch we returned to our room to sit on the balcony for a little while when I noticed we were approaching the final locks so I thought I would watch from deck 7 aft. When I got out there it was quite busy and I got talking to another lady from England.


Just as we approached the last locks the heavens opened and it poured with rain! The deck emptied quite quickly but we both found it quite refreshing so we stuck it out (I do love rain – I only don’t like walking to work in it!!) Carl was on top deck and this is how it looked:








I did have to put my main camera back in the room before it got too wet then came back out with the waterproof to get some photos
















Did we need to get up quite so early? possibly not but I will cover this in my round up at the end. They did have narration on throughout the day but we hardly heard it in the locations we were in, we did go to Port Adventures at some point to get our passports stamped for Panama. The highlight of the day for me was nearly solitude on deck 7 aft in the pouring rain with a thunderstorm in the distance watching those final locks. Thanks Mother nature for making the show spectacular! At somepoint a gent had brought me and the other lady some towels but by the time I went in they were gone. It was freezing going into the air conditioned corridor wet! Time for a hot shower and when I got out I was greeted by this..



Safely in the Atlantic, warm and dry we headed to the WDT to watch new film Bridge of Spies​

 

[cruisehopeful]

I didn't realize what a tight squeeze that is. I'd be holding my breath and sucking in my stomach.

What is the part of the deck that you can see at the front of the ship?

 

[ShellB8585]

I didn't realize what a tight squeeze that is. I'd be holding my breath and sucking in my stomach.

What is the part of the deck that you can see at the front of the ship?

It is very tight - i can't remember the distance we had either side of the ship but there is little room, I believe one of the recent transitions had a bit of a knock on the side of one of the locks.

The part with the little pool? That is a cast member deck - it was quite nice seeing them out there being as excited about it as we were

 

[bcwife76]

What is the significance of them raising that red flag at the beginning?

 

[ahain]

I notice you didn't talk much about how rough (or calm) the seas were while you were in the ocean? We will be on the EBPC next August/Sept and are a bit curious.

 

[niccikatie]

It is very tight - i can't remember the distance we had either side of the ship but there is little room, I believe one of the recent transitions had a bit of a knock on the side of one of the locks.

The part with the little pool? That is a cast member deck - it was quite nice seeing them out there being as excited about it as we were

I was on your cruise! I keep looking for us in the background of your photos It was 2 feet on either side. Not much room at all! It looked closer from our room on Deck 2.

 

[JOANNEL]

I too enjoyed our chats!!! Alaska is a must do. But you won't get much pool time in. But the scenery is amazing!!

 

[ShellB8585]

What is the significance of them raising that red flag at the beginning?

That's a good question. I assumed it was just something that happened every morning but I may be wrong

I notice you didn't talk much about how rough (or calm) the seas were while you were in the ocean? We will be on the EBPC next August/Sept and are a bit curious.

We found it to feel mostly calm the whole trip (apart from the ferry from Cozumel from the mainland - there were a few green faces on that one) It looked a little choppy at times and there were a very few occasions where you could feel it a little but it certainly was never rough.

I was on your cruise! I keep looking for us in the background of your photos It was 2 feet on either side. Not much room at all! It looked closer from our room on Deck 2.

A ha! thank you!! If you do spot yourelf and would like a copy of the pic please feel free to PM me

I too enjoyed our chats!!! Alaska is a must do. But you won't get much pool time in. But the scenery is amazing!!

Meeting new and different people is such a nice thing about cruising! I'll get him there one day!!!!!

 

[ShellB8585]

Bridge of spies is a really good film! I won’t give anything away but if you haven’t seen it already I can highly recommend it!


Afterward we went to diversions to watch some NFL




We also got roped into doing the 00s music trivia – we aren’t really pop music kind of people, we may have done OK with 90s and were surprised with our 32/50! There were a few here we had never heard of even with the answers!!


Once our quiz master finished his questions we were asked to swap our answer sheets with another table. Carl went to the closest table who were very confused and looked at him like he had 2 heads. When the penny dropped they wouldn’t swap… a little odd.


We then headed to Parrot Cay for dinner which, tonight, was the Panama Canal Menu
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We both started with the Cheese and Bacon tartlet
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The onto Mains Carl opted for the mushroom pasta
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And I had the lobster tail with creamy mash potato
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This was really tasty. Milton asked a few times if I’d like another and I wish I had but I saved myself for dessert
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I had the Cannoli
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Which I enjoyed a lot


Whilst Carl had the Sweet temptations
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And because we’re little piggies we shared a crème Brulee
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After another yummy dinner (I am really missing those now!!) We checked on the progress of the gingerbread house
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On our way to Wavebands where we wanted to check out the cabaret put on by the Walt Disney performers. They told us a bit about themselves and their aspirations and they sang, it was nice. After the show there were some games and then inadvertently ended up watching the same cabaret show before something called rock and bowl – Rock music and wii bowling
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I think there was about 10 of us in wavebands at this point plus the entertainment staff. Our team lost .


Then back to the room where Carl fell asleep pretty quickly – I, on the other hand, figured it would be quiet at the laundry so took our bag down for washing. I got in to bed around 11:45 so almost a 21 hour day but it was really worth it!
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It did start to sink in at this point that we’d be home in a week…​

 

[ShellB8585]

Cartagena​

We set a Mickey wake up call for 07:45 then made our way up to BB for some breakfast and to watch us pull into port. Here’s my plate and pretty much what I had most days – Muesli (YUM!) some fruit and a Krispy Kreme donut (undoing all the other healthy stuff – I WAS on vacation though )






















We met for our tour at 09:15. I will tell you now our experience in Cartagena was night and day compared to Puerto Vallarta, we felt safe wandering around including with the 30 or so minutes we had of free time in the old town it felt like walking around somewhere in Spain, Our tour guide was interesting and gave us local facts instead of hotel recommendations, it was clean and there was hardly anytime with the pushy sales stuff in shops no one wanted to buy from! We would go back to Cartagena in a heartbeat, we don’t need to go to Puerto Vallarta every again – just our opinion though…


There is a high rate of unemployment in Cartagena so there are a lot more vendors. However, they weren’t overly pushy. If you gave them a firm no they would walk away. Otherwise, there were a lot of cheap goods if you fancy helping them out a little.


Our first stop was the fort where we got out to take some pictures




I would have liked to have gone in but not today – perhaps when we go back. I should mention the humidity was around 90% today so we were quite keen to keep cool. I took a few photos here but they aren’t great because of the grey sky and then we got back on the bus swiftly.


We then drove up to La Popa Monastery which is the highest point in the city






It had a very beautiful courtyard










​

 

[ShellB8585]

We then went into the small chapel they had onsite



In the centre is one of Cartagena’s Patron saints. Once a year someone from the city makes an outfit for the year, then it is removed and put in storage for someone else’s turn.


We were then taken through to the other side to take in more of the views




To the central left of the picture you may just be able to make out a reddish building with a conical shape on the top? That is a school that the singer Shakira has had built in an area she grew up in. Our guide told us she was planning on building quite a few – quite a noble way to spend the money I think.






And all of the previous outfits for the saint



It was interesting getting out of here. When the road was built for the monastery they obviously didn’t foresee coaches! It is a narrow windy road and there is a car park at the top. However, there were a lot of coaches up there at the same time and it made manoeuvring difficult but there were now bumps and we made our way back down.


The next stop was Las Bovedas which is a structure attached to the walls of the old city which were once dungeons, those cells are now used as shops



There was nothing there that really took our fancy so we came away empty handed but it was nice strolling around, the clouds were starting to go and the sun starting to shine .


Our next stop was the old city which was beautiful in my opinion








Then to the museum where we learnt a little about the fortresses of the city and about pirates – the main one being Francis Drake and it was interesting as Brits hearing it from the Colombian point of view. The English had a big feud with the Spanish and the French hundreds of years ago and Sir Francis played a big part in defending our shores. This is a man who was a knight and a Vice Admiral in the Queens Navy and generally a chap who’s life is much celebrated in this country.


We were also given a much needed cold bottle of water and shown some traditional dancing







Next onto another monastery and the home of another of the Patron Saints – Peter Claver. My memory is a little hazy over a month later so here is a little information about the man - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Claver.



(I actually took that photo on the way back but it fits better here)




We couldn’t go into the church as there was a service going on but I did snap this pic (I do love a stained glass window)




We then walked a little further








And into Parque de Bolivar then to the Cathedral. Again we couldn’t go inside but we did see a statue of Pope John Paul II






We were taken into an Emerald shop and briefly told how it is a main export before being given 20 minutes of free time. We went straight down to Hard rock café as we try and buy a glass at every one we visit – It used to be the hurricane cocktail glasses but as we are more likely to use pilsner we had just decided to change. It was located on Plaza De La Aduana



We had to meet back at the statue of John Paul II we still had some time to kill so we decided to have a look in one of the nearby shops where we bought ourselves a picture. We did have a bit of a 'Love Actually' moment here (think Rowan Atkinsons character) We chose the picture and were acutely aware we were nearing our meet up time. The nice chap rolled the picture up, then covered in 1 protective packaging (the tour guide then comes in looking for us - we wont be long we say) he then rolls it in another package, then slooooowly tapes it up THEN bags it! Then we were finally ready to head back to the coach (we weren't the last ones thankfully)




There were two guys who were on this tour and had been pains quite frankly. It was a middle aged man and his father, at one point the father had wandered off to have a cigar and just happened to find us again. About half way back to the bus our guide realised they were not with us. He called the driver and he met the rest of us and got us on the bus whilst the guide went back to find them. The guide was panicked and the rest of us had to wait on a coach for a long time before he came back and told us they had decided to stay!! NOT COOL! If you are going to stay that’s fine but is not fair on the rest of your group or your guide to just wander off. It takes nothing to say “ we’ll make our own way back later”

Back on the Wonder we dropped our stuff off at the room then headed to deck 9 as we were hungry! The queue for plutos was over 30 deep (the longest I have ever seen) so we picked up some fresh out of the oven pepperoni Pizza and cinnamon cream cheese pretzel and headed to the pool where we read, had a dip in the pool then headed to shoot some hoops. Carl beat me this time but only because I taught him how to shoot


We then watched the 5:15 showing of Antman which we enjoyed. I have noted here that the theatres are a little cold and my mum will want a jumper so if you feel the cold have a jumper or something to hand for the theatres!


I didn’t take any pictures I’m afraid (I had been carrying the camera all day and just needed a break!)


Dinner was in Tritons and the prince and princess menu, neither of us were particularly we both had the veal main (delicious) and ordered 2 desserts we both had the sundae which was ok and I also had the choc cake (only ok) and Carl had the banana bread pudding which he really liked!


We then went to wavebands to watch the Shawn Farquhar Magic/comedy show which we enjoyed. Took forever to get drinks though. We stayed for the game “majority rules” which we totally sucked at – It’s tough when you aren’t 100% on American Culture. We’ll do better next year with a team of more than 2!!


Then it was time for bed


​

 

[tlynk]

Your trip report is excellent! Cartagena looks beautiful!

 

[ShellB8585]

Your trip report is excellent! Cartagena looks beautiful!

We really liked Cartagena and would definitely be happy to visit again. We hope to repeat this cruise one day and next time we will just get a taxi to the Old Town and have a little wander around and sample some of the local cuisine I think

 

[ShellB8585]

Why are Pirates called Pirates? ....... Because they Argh they argh​

As per usual we slept through our alarms! We woke up around 9 and lazed in bed watching 101 Dalmations – I love having all the Disney films on TV I just wish they were on demand or we had listings to know what was on when as we always just saw bits of films.


We then headed up to 9 to grab some drinks to go see Stacia Martin who was drawing for us today! When we entered we went up to get some raffles to see if we might win one at the end




It was really fantastic to watch her drawing! We did take a few photos but don’t worry – we weren’t being inconsiderate to others with an LCD screen in their faces..

































It was impressive watching her draw whilst talking to all of us!


Then there was the raffle





Unfortunately we came away empty handed but there were a lot of very fortunate people who got pictures!


Inspired we went to the animation class in Animators Palate. Before the cruise I had intended to do a lot of these and I really wish we had gone sooner!! Todays lesson was Donald Duck and here are our attempts one is happy the other angry

​

 

[ShellB8585]

After our classes we dropped our things back to the room then headed to BBB where we just had a general mixture of things (sorry, I started carrying my camera around less and less at this point) before heading to the pool to cool down and then read on a longer on deck 10. At 2:30 I left Carl reading to go to Disney Tunes Trivia where I got 45/60 – there was a lot more Pixar in this one and I would have done a lot better with Carl! I need to do some studying before next year!!


We met up again on deck 10 where he beat me at Table Tennis AND Table Football. Then we took some ice cream back to the room where we watched cars 2 before getting ready for Pirate night.


We picked up some drinks from the Promenade lounge







We got our photo with Goofy




Before we went to see the magician who put on another great show




Then it was to Animators Palate for my favourite menu







To start I had the Pot Stickers and Carl had Jerk Salad






Carl had a new addiction to drawing Donald Duck wherever he could







For main Carl had the rib



And I had the steak






No dessert for me tonight – I cannot stand the taste of coconut so couldn’t risk it (plus I know there is a buffet later so wanted to save a little room ) This is also why I rarely had a drink of the day (DOTD) too many of them come with coconut! Carl had the banana crepes


Do you see what I mean by his duck drawing obsession?


We then headed up to deck 9

We love Pirate night! We always stand back at these events – firstly children / families who want to join in should be a little closer but also I like to take photos. I can’t stand watching something and having someone up front with their smart phone or tablet in the air recording the whole thing. If you want to record it fine but please be aware of the others around you, stand back a little bit (Deck 10 in front of the funnel is a great spot for recording) or hold it down a little way! We stood in front of the shower next to one of the hot tubs ensuring there was no one behind us we could annoy whilst taking photos (I tried to take mine when there wasn’t a screen in the air). I won’t share them all but here are a few…











​

 

[ShellB8585]

We need a hero!
















The girls at Pinocchio’s were having a great time dancing (and may have noticed me taking this)
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We stayed to the end of the dance party before heading to BBB to check out the buffet options
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This was the first time we actually made it to this buffet and the food was pretty good – Mexican, Turkey legs, crepes, Banana Bread etc here was our plate
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Which we took back to the room to munch on and finish our drinks whilst we watched Pirates of the Caribbean Dead mans chest before going to bed
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​

 

[ShellB8585]

Beer, Chocolate and relaxation​

This update will be more words than pictures I’m afraid, took less than 20 all day! And didn’t even have a camera on me until late afternoon! We started the day our usual way – sleeping through our alarm. We got very very good at this! We grabbed some coffee then to see Stacia Martin who was to talk more about the lost music of Disney. The themes today were a lost musical – Disney bought the rights to the Wizard of Oz and intended on making a few films. There was a sequel set up which was going to star the Mickey Mouse club and the idea was that he cowardly Lion now ruled Oz but he wasn’t a good King – he had been put there by evil forces!! The concept pictures and music was delightful, it’s a shame nothing every came of it!


After it was to our next art Lesson – Goofy this time. Then lunch at Tritons I had a Mexican soup to start and Carl had a wrap then I ordered the burger with cheddar and bacon and Carl ordered the Cheesesteak croissant we then split each dish in half. I think my fave was the croissant!


Cruise Director Peter did a lecture in the Buena Vista theatre about his history of cruising, how he got started in the industry to where he is now which was interesting.


At 4 we had a beer tasting which was organised by our FB group. There were 5 to taste and if we could guess correctly we would win a bottle or can from the table.





The first was a lager and the clue was that it was brewed by Anheuser-Busch. I guessed Budweiser – I was wrong ( I wont give away the answer though ) The second, however, I recognised as soon as I put it to my lips – Peroni – This is a lager sold in nearly all Italian restaurants in the UK so we have had (probably more) than our fair share! I told DH who chose a can of Guinness as his prize – clever as the Guinness was 440ml compared to the 330ml bottles. Next was a wheat beer and Wawan told us Wheat beer is known as a beer for the ladies (not this lady though), followed by Sam Adams and finally Guinness. After the tasting there was a “chugging” contest – The first was black and tan. 2nd was Irish Car Bomb which Carl did and came 2nd (A later replay did show that the guy who won did start before he should though…)





I don’t recall what the third drink was but two guys and a girl got up to do it. The boys finished theirs way before the girl BUT she didn’t spill a drop whereas they were wearing half of theirs. As she was the only one to drink it all we made her the winner!


This finished just after 5 when we headed up to the pool.


Tonight we skipped the main dining room in the favour of poolside pizza and relaxation. It was nice to have the place virtually to ourselves










We then decided to shower and dress for the 2nd showing of the crew talent show. The theatre was a lot more packed than it ever was for our usual first showing which shows how popular first dinner seating is. It was pretty good. Finished around 9:30 and we chilled out back at our room before 11 when we went down to Tritons for

























It all looked fantastic! It didn’t taste as good as it looked unfortunately, it was still good though. Here’s my plate




We took our plates back to our room where we enjoyed them in our PJs with a film on the TV.​