May 13 - 3 Day Wonder with free color pics - COMPLETE

[jessrose18]

I am enjoying your report

 

[lborne]

Thanks again all. Its nice to get positive feedback. I normally keep a diary of my life, not every day, but at least a few events a week. So this TR will be a nice addition to my diary for our trip.

The DIS boards are great. How did people survive without the internet?

 

[jessrose18]

I know what you mean about never being as prepared as you think. I did lots of research before our first cruise on RCCL and then on the ship it all left my mind! Being on the ship is a different experience. I am trying to write more tips down for our first DC, thanks for the detailed info. That beer tasting looks great, I think DH will try it we also probably wont get off the ship in Nassau. We are going on the podcast cruise in December!

 

[Evad]

Great TR so far!!!!!!! Can't wait until tomorrows installment!!!!

 

[lborne]

I know what you mean about never being as prepared as you think. I did lots of research before our first cruise on RCCL and then on the ship it all left my mind! Being on the ship is a different experience. I am trying to write more tips down for our first DC, thanks for the detailed info. That beer tasting looks great, I think DH will try it we also probably wont get off the ship in Nassau. We are going on the podcast cruise in December!

Do you have to do anything special for the podcast cruise? One thing I did NOT want to do on a 3 nighter was the FE. It sounds great, but I HATE having to be tied down by it. I'm too responsible to just let it slide and it would consume my every moment.

Yeah - it really took 4 Disney cruises before we felt comfortable in knowing what to do. We learned some good lessons even on this cruise - mainly about the last morning and how we could just hang out on deck and play while everyone else waited in line.

I was on a Regent cruise (where everything, including alcholol is included) and was at a bar and could not decide what whiskey to try, so the bar tender held an impromtu whisky tasting for me. As great as that was, the beer tasting on Disney was just, if not more fun. I'd almost have to rate that as one of my favorite activities (except for the erotic, I mean exotic, rasul). And to think that both are on a DISNEY ship.

 

[lborne]

What? This is the last full day of our cruise? Already? I’ve spent more time writing this TR than I spent on the ship up to this point. At least it is CC day. One of the main reasons to sail Disney. I was up early again, showered, put on some clothes so as not to attract too much attention, and bounded up to Cove Café on deck 9 for my coffee.

TIP (I know I'm supposed to include tips in my TR but I’ll make sure to have my lawyer scratch that from the contract next time) : If they don’t hand you a frequent caffeine addict coffee card when you buy your first coffee at the Cove Café, just ask for one. After 5 or 6 coffees (I can’t remember exactly – it could be 60 for all I know), you get one free.

TIP: And if you continue to forget your card like I did, you can bring them all in and they can combine them into a single card that you can forget the next time.

I enjoyed my coffee and watched the Wonder back into the CC dock. Well, it did not back INTO the dock, although I prayed really hard that it would so we could be stuck at CC several days while they repaired the spleen – or whatever big piece of metal needed to be fixed.

It was around 8:00 now and so I headed back to the room and DW and the kids were ready for breakfast. We ate at Tritons again and were seated near our friends, but not at the same table, nor the same chairs, which can be quite uncomfortable at times. I could really get used to all this wonderful service. I sure as heck don’t get it at home. I was definitely born 50 years too late. I was meant to live in times where the woman cooks and serves her husband. What we need in this country are more educational TV programs for women, like Leave it to Beaver. (Please note that I am only kidding. Once in an old TR I made a comment about how Disney should do something about all the kids on their ship. I thought it was obvious that I was being sarcastic, but let me tell you, I got a few emails from some moms with anger issues.) I promise that eventually I’m going to get back to the TR…. It will be just a few more moments….. here it comes….now.

This morning I got the Nature Power Breakfast Muesli – (granola, orange juice, yogurt, dried fruits, honey, milk and cheese) and the Mango Mountain Hike – (a fresh blend of mangoes, honey muesli and low-fat yogurt) all on a sesame seed bun (not really). The Mango Mountain Hike and the Tug Boat that I had yesterday are blended like smoothies and come in a glass, whereas the Power Breakfast Muesli comes in a bowl and is a little thicker. I then had the eggs benedict with a side of potatoes. Of course, they also come around with a tray of croissants, donuts and other pastries – the chocolate pastry being my favorite.

Oh boy – now it was time to change into our suits, pack a bag for the beach and enjoy everyone’s favorite pastime – applying sunscreen to our children who have no concept how bad skin cancer can be, nor how much wine mommy drinks. We are amazingly quick and are off the ship by 9:30. It is a beautiful day and CC is a beautiful island. As comparison, we were recently on a HAL cruise and stopped at their private island “Half Moon Cay”, so called because it is shaped like a house key. There were no palm trees on the beach. Did you read that? No palm trees - on a tropical island? Do you know what that means? If the castaways had landed here, there would be no coconuts for Gilligan to drop on the Skipper’s foot and their TV show would have been cancelled in the first season. (That would be another good show for educating women on the proper way to make coconut cream pie and how to properly serve it to their Gilligan). But it also means no shade. Not only does CC have plenty of palm trees, but is littered with colorful beach umbrellas – all free to steal from anyone out in the water. Just kidding, there were plenty of these umbrellas as well as beach chairs for everyone, but that still does not keep people from stealing occupied ones and saving themselves from having to walk another 50 feet. On Half Moon Cay, HAL had these clam shells that you could rent (of course) for $15 a day to keep yourself from becoming crispy bacon in the sun. Its legalized extortion. And to add insult to injury, you have to tender to HMC; whereas with Disney, you just walk off the ship.


I told DW to wear a yellow suit so they would match the ship.

See how small the ship looks from this far away.

So now that we are off the ship, we see that the beach is a looooong way away. (Does it annoy you when people repeat letters excessively in a word to emphasize it and make you draw it out? Meeeeee too.) Luckily, being that this is Disney, they have a few of those parking lot trams from the Magic Kingdom lying around. So we wait in line to board the tram to the Ticket and Transportation Center where we wait in line to board the monorail so that we can wait in line to enter the park – ooops, wrong trip report. The tram whisks us almost as fast as the people walking along side us to somewhere further from the ship. At any rate, we’ve done this enough to know we still have plenty of walking to do to get away from the crowds that tend to congregate as close to the ship as possible. Maybe they are worried they might nap and the ship will leave without them, but if they are close, maybe they can still run to catch it. But probably they are just too bloated from last night’s dessert buffet to waddle any further.

From reading the DIS we knew that Pelican Plunge was open. We also knew not to listen to the insert in our map that said it was open only for limited hours, we knew which slide was fastest, how the queue worked, the name of the CM’s working PP and what they had for breakfast. It sort of felt like rope drop at Magic Kingdom and we were heading straight for Space Mountain trying to get there before the mass herds caught up. And PP is set up just like a ride at Disney. There is a controlled entry point with switchback lines, and even on the platform you have to navigate more switchback lines to enter the stairs. DW said it reminded her of an obstacle course challenge on Survivor. Unfortunately, right when we were on the slide it was closed due to technical difficulties beyond their control and I was stuck halfway down for 15 minutes. No wait – that is what happens on Space Mountain. Here, gravity never stopped and I was flung out of the slide back into the frigid waters. Dang, people were not kidding that the enclosed slide was fast. I bet its faster than Test Track. We were supposed to stay in the controlled exit lane and swim back to shore. But the lifeguard was allowing everyone to just go under the rope and back onto the platform, probably because it was not very busy and because she realized how stupid it was that we had to swim back each time and start the obstacle course again.

Pelican "Plunge You Into The Freezing Water" Slide

After we’d had our fill of that, we found a couple beach lounges under an umbrella and set up camp. Before my butt hit the chair I heard “Hello sir, can I get you a drink?”. I declined but did tell her to come back soon. The boys started digging in the sand and DW and I began to relax. A bit later our friend (DH) came by with his two children on his way to PP. So the boys and I joined him and we went down the slides several more times. The wait was longer now, but not too terrible. I got a great shot of the kids with the ship in the background, and then we headed back over to our chairs. DW was not there and I assumed that she had gone to find our friend’s (DW) and was chatting with her. My friend and his DD6 headed back to where they were located further up the beach and his DS11 and my boys played in the sand.


We have conquered the Plunge of the Pelican and took no prisoners.

So the waitress comes up again and asks if I’d like anything and this time I’m ready for a DOTD. OMG – not again. The Official Disney Cruise Line DOTD Plastic Glass was back in our room. I knew I should never have gotten it or at least have had it surgically attached to my hand. From where we were sitting, the Wonder looked like a bath toy – much too far for my lazy butt even with the tram running. I told the waitress I really wanted a DOTD, but that I’d forgotten my ODCLDOTDPG. She said that was OK, I could still get the DOTD. No – you don’t understand. I want the DOTD for the cheap price of $3.95 and in the ODCLDOTDPG because it holds more, making it an even better deal. But wait, there’s more. Oh – I can give it to you in a NEW ODCLDOTDPG for $3.95 she says. Are you KIDDING ME? You mean I never had to cart that glass around with me all the time anyway? The urge to harm her was tempered by the fact that I knew if I did, I’d probably never get my DOTD, especially not for $3.95. So I smiled and said, Yes, please bring me a DOTD – and hurry before I change my mind (but she did not know what I meant).


I wanted to take one of those sandy feet laying on the beach chair shots but this girl in a bikini got in the way and spoiled it.

It was getting to be around 11:30 and I was starting to get hungry. I kept watching for my DW to come walking up the beach, but never did see her. I needed someone to keep an eye on the kids while I ran to get a snack. It had been a couple hours since breakfast and I was starving now that my stomach had stretched to a size 56. I was standing there by the chairs, peering into the distance to see if I could spot her red swimsuit when I heard her call my name. There she was, right behind me, just waking up in a hammock. She’d been there the entire time. I can see a 1 psi difference in the pressure on our car tires, but I can’t spot my wife lounging less than 20 feet away. I can’t explain it either.

Since DW and the kids are not all that hungry yet, I run over to get a snack, but really ended up just getting soda. I was hungry, but knew if I ate now that I would not be able to eat with my family. So we let the boys play in the sand. DS11 had dug a hole so large that people would stop by to admire it and encourage him to continue. He called it the hot tub.


DS11 made me put up this photo of the giant cavern he dug using only a plastic shovel. Just humor him.

As it neared 1:00 we made our way to Cookies BBQ for lunch, but not before stopping at a shower and trying to get the sand off the boys. They were covered in it and as soon as they are away from the beach, they want every bit off. You’d think it was some kind of skin eating insect the way they bellowed to get it off.

Once at Cookies we used a great tip learned here on the DIS boards that will be cleverly disguised as my very own tip.

TIP (all mine): Go around to the lines on the sides of Cookies as opposed to the ones right up front. The lines were much shorter. No no – not the lines FOR the cookies – that’s the name of the place to eat at CC.

So we quickly fill our plates. I had some coleslaw that was yummy and DW said the potato salad was fantastic. I mostly had the ribs, which were great, but also had the blackened Mahi Mahi. DW had the Mahi Mahi too and said it was not too spicy for her. As a reference, she thinks Big Red chewing gum is too spicy. For dessert I got a mini banana bread and a large chocolate chip cookie. The kids got ribs, hot dogs and hamburgers, which they must have liked because I don’t recall any complaining for at least several minutes. The trick now is for everyone to get their drinks at the soda fountains and remain together so that we can find an empty table without getting lost. It literally takes longer to get our drinks and find a table than it does to get the food in the first place. Not because there were no empty tables, but because we all headed off for different covered areas.

Now I’ve also read that down at Serenity Bay (the adult beach) they have steak. It sounded good on paper, but that meant me taking another tram, and/or walking long distances to investigate and bring the steak back. In the end, I decided it just was not worth it – plus, DS7 wanted to go to the kids club, and more importantly, the Conched Out Bar’s 2 for 1 happy hour was ending at 2:00, which was just 30 minutes away. I also realized our towels and beach bag were back at the end of the beach where we left them. We were ready to hang out on the beach right here because my DW did not want to walk all the way back, but mostly because the bar was within sight. So DS11 went down to find us some empty chairs (there were plenty despite that part of the beach being right near the food and bar), DW took DS7 to the kids club, and I went back to get all the gear we had left behind.

I’m back in a flash and have a seat at the bar and anxiously await DW’s return so we can get the 2 for 1 drinks, because I’m just as cheap as she is. When DW arrives we order mojitos. Let me tell you, we are picky about our mojitos, even if I have a really hard time spelling it. These were wonderful and made with real mint crushed in the glass. We had an energetic and fun bar tender from the UK (Essex area) who chatted with us while we enjoyed his hand crafted motitos. A bit later our friends came by and invited DS11 to go on the dinasour dig with them, and then head over to the game pavillion. We stay at the bar and drink. I also discovered fresh papaya and mango. When we originally got our lunch at Cookies, they had a “tropical fruit mix” which consisted of mostly watermellon, cantalope, honeydew and pineapple. But once Cookies closed for lunch, they put out platters of fruit that included mango and papaya, as well as small sandwiches and other goodies.

TIP – stop by Cookies after they are closed to see what other items they have out.


It was now about 2:30 and DS11 and DW wanted to see Alice in Wonderland which was playing on the ship at 3:30. So time to head back. We find DS11 on his way to the game pavillion so he and DW head back to shower and get to the movie. I stop to get DS7 from the kids club but not before making a slight detour to the ice cream machine to get a chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cone – for me, not him - yummy, but you’ve got to eat them quick because they melt fast and you don’t want your kids seeing you with one or else they will make you go back to get them one. DS7 had a blast during his short time at the kids club on CC. For all you parents out there, if you did not already know this, the kids club area on CC is no where near the water and they do NOT take the children in the water at anytime except to feed the sharks (JK). So its really safe. The activities involve sand and what little water is there comes from a garden hose.

Also, since I’m leaving CC and heading back to the ship - this would be a good time to mention that we did not encounter any sand flies, mosquitoes or any other type of pests (excluding fellow passengers and their larva).

TIP: Make sure to wear shoes, sandals, space shuttle tiles, etc. because the concrete paths get brutally hot.

So DS7 and I hop onto the tram and no one can remember if the ship is parked in the Mickey lot or the Goofy lot. Luckily its kind of hard to miss, and we eventually are allowed to board after using germ killing wipes. Sorry germs, you gotta no KTTW card, you no boarda the ship.

All right, this portion of the TR is over because I’m not exactly sure what happened next. I think at this point on the cruise, depression set in and clouded my already fogged mind. Our lovely day on the beach was over and if you can temporarily forget that we live only a mile from a georgeous Florida beach, its kind of sad. Not only that, we had only about 6 or so families on the DIS meets board. Just a couple thousand shy of what we needed for a mutiny, so we really were going to leave CC.

Check back tomorrow for part 2 where I have a run in with Stitch, we have an amazing meal at Palo, and I tell you all about DW frantically packing the suitcase 5 minutes before it must be outside the door.

 

[Redeemed&Loved]

Your TR is great - makes me want to be on that beach right now!

 

[jessrose18]

Loved your update I don't know whats more impressive your amount of detail or the jokes Thanks! The podcast cruise is December 12-16th 4 nighter. Don't have to do anything special except book through dreams unlimited travel, you get a 50 shipboard credit as well. There are going to be special guest on board speaking and a performance from Jodi Benson (voice of little mermaid) also on the first podcast cruise they gave away some free stuff including drinks and they do a live podcast taping. I didn't go on the first one, but there is a whole section about the cruise under the podcast forum. So far 700 dis members have booked. Just the info I know off the top of my head. Looking forward to your palo review.

 

[GoVolsMom]

Would it possible to list the Drinks of the Day and a description (good, bad, strange taste, not worth the money, worth trying, etc)?

 

[lborne]

Would it possible to list the Drinks of the Day and a description (good, bad, strange taste, not worth the money, worth trying, etc)?

Sorry, but I just did not notice my DOTD. Know what I mean? They were all some frozen sweet fruity drink with rum or some such alchohol and I just sat happily looking at my surroundings and paid not real attention to the drink. To me they were all good and I think worth the money. I'm actually amazed at how cheap the Disney drink prices are considering they have a captive audience. I can ask my DW later as she really notices things like that because she is a woman and so picky.

I do know what they were called. Bahama Mama, Planter's Punch and on CC - the Stingray. Maybe the Stingray was over ice.

You'd be much better off asking this question on the main forum where lots of people can see it.

 

[Dyerneeds]

I wanted to take one of those sandy feet laying on the beach chair shots but this girl in a bikini got in the way and spoiled it.

hey! i dont remember signing a release so you could post my Sweet Polly's picture here.

 

[Dyerneeds]

so, how much wine exactly does mommy drink?

FE game is fun. until someone sticks a red Br@ FE on your cabin door like on our cruise!!

enjoying the updates. i'll have to catch up later as we leave for WDW tomorrow.

 

[Dyerneeds]

The Disney lawyers say I'm not allowed to talk about it. Actually, I was just kidding. Sort of. I was thinking of about an encounter with another character which is not really that funny or amusing. We were at MGM for Star Wars weekend and Aayla Secura was there taking photos so I had my photo taken with her and my wife just thought I was a little too happy and giddy about it as I would not stop talking about her and if she (my DW) would paint her entire body blue for me. And on top of that, DW did not actually take a photo of me with her, so I was really bummed for a week.

Here is the only good photo I could find of her online.

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n125/mackrekerdude/SW-Cast-Aayla-Secura-01.jpg

that reminds me of the time we were at MGM during star wars weekend.
chics dressed up like Princess Leia everywhere.

 

[lborne]

Today I am home from work tending to a sick DS7. Normally I’ve been writing these TR updates on my lunch break, but here I am now sitting at the kitchen of my very quiet (DS7 is asleep) home, with a cup of coffee and plugging this out on my laptop. I kind of feel like a writer, except I know that I would never have the patience to actually write more than a TR. And MS Word is telling me that the previous sentence is fragmented and I have no idea what that means. OK – let’s get back to the TR before my coffee gets cold or DS7 wakes up?

Now back on board, DS7 and I get washed up and I take him to the Lab. I toyed with the idea of joining DW and DS11 at the theater to see Alice in Wonderland, but it was already 3:45 and the movie started at 3:30; although I later found out that they show previews. Since I was all alone, I was determined to actually read at least a page or two in my book. I grabbed my book, but not my ODCLDOTDPC – I left it ON PURPOSE this time – take THAT Disney. We had brought a small bottle of coconut rum on board and were given some very nice aluminum water bottles for being part of the Castaway Club. I filled one about a quarter (or maybe it was half) full with the rum and headed for the drink station. There I poured in ice and coke, making sure to use the paper cups provided so I did not contaminate the drinking station, but most importantly so that I did not get dirty looks from anyone due to my contaminating the drinking station and have to read about my inappropriate behavior on the DIS.

With my coke and rum, and my book, I looked forward to at least an hour and a half of relaxation. I’ve had enough sun for the year, so the adult pool was out. However, I knew just where to go – Outlook Café – or just right outside of there where they had these really comfortable looking lounge chairs with ottomans. How did those little seats for your feet become known as ottomans? I bet it has something to do with the empire, but I don’t remember seeing them in any of the Star Wars movies. As I was walking I looked over the railing and saw the continuous stream of people coming back to the ship. I’d better hurry since there are not many of those chairs. I found one and it was wonderful. I had a great view of the unoccupied part of CC, and if I sat just right, no construction equipment was in sight.


Here is MY chair and ottoman outside of Cove Cafe. The end table is MINE too.

I enjoyed two entire chapters of my book – Naked Came the Manatee. Normally I do most of my reading at home and can get a lot read, usually the same paragraph over and over. I already know better than to try and read when the kids are awake, so I routinely wait until they go to sleep. The problem is, my DW is still awake and that is when she likes to “talk”. And she expects me to respond to her like she thinks normal husbands do. So I can’t just sit there and pretend to listen. I've never mastered the technique some husbands use where they can nod or shake their head at appropriate times to feign that they are listening. I usually nod when I should have shaken, and this always leads to a much longer conversation at much higher volume levels. So whenever there is a short break, I quickly read a paragraph before being interrupted again. But then, when I go back, I have to re-read that paragraph to get myself caught back up.

Yes, I’ll get back to my TR at some point. Stop complaining – I could go and take a nap right now instead of writing.

My official aluminum Castaway Club water (coke and rum) bottle is now empty and needs a refill. The wait staff are no help to me, nor are the kids or DW. So I have to make a quick run back down to the room to get the rum and then back up to the drink station to get the coke and ice. I take my book with me because I’m not one of those scum balls you read about here on the DIS that put a towel or book on a chair to reserve it. Instead, I flip it over on its side.

Our aft room is very convenient. You normally don’t have long waits for the aft elevators except when everyone is boarding (like they were doing now). But I just took the stairs since I needed some exercise, and the dink station is straight up from our room. I got back to Cove Café and mentioned the free bingo game on deck 15 to the lady who had rudely taken MY chair. So I sat down and began chapter 3. Soon along came Stitch with his cast member handler. They were hamming it up even though no one was really around to see. He bounded in front of the automatic doors for Cove Café and started to go in, but the CM said “No stitch, I don’t think having espresso is a very good idea.” I laughed. Then Stitch noticed me. I was not sure what was going to happen, but he came over and gave me a mini shoulder massage. It made my day as long as I imagined a good looking female inside the costume. Yeah, that was my “encounter” with Stitch. Kind of lame, huh? But that does not happen on Carnival. On Carnival the good looking lady is not wearing a stitch (costume).

Notice how the jokes are getting less and less funny the further I get into this TR? What do you mean they were never funny?

Back to my book, at least for a few minutes until my pager went off. That’s odd I thought, because DS7 wanted so bad to go back to the club. Maybe he’d found his way to the bridge and was pushing buttons, or he blew up the lab making flubber. But the pager said “Your child is participating in the Friendship Rocks show. Meet us at the Walt Disney Theater.” Now that is NOT what I was expecting. See, we talked to our kids about this show earlier in the planning stages for the cruise and they said they would rather skip it since they had done it twice before when it was called something else.

Because I am here at home instead of work, I have access to my old Navigators from the past cruises and can look up the name of the old show before it was changed to Friendship Rocks. But you know, it would be a heck of a lot easier to just ask someone on the DIS. OK OK, I’ll get off my lazy butt since I need more coffee anyway. Anyone know what it costs to have a live in butler? I mean butleress? Before it was Friendship Rocks, the show was called “Celebrate the Journey”. Do I get bonus points for that?

So I ran down to the room to put my book away and write DW a note on the magnetic post it notes that I brought and stuck to the door – which she never used. I kept the “water” bottle with me and found a seat right near the front of the stage. Soon the kids began streaming in. Hmmmm – where is DS7? He’s not there. I know where he is – back in the Lab playing the ship simulator now that everyone has cleared out and is here in the theater. Well, I tried to be a good parent, but my kid just did not cooperate. I kind of felt like a “you know what predator” being there watching all the kids when mine was not even there. And I did not want to walk out and have people think I was a bad parent leaving the show early – plus they present a slideshow of photos taken over the past couple days and I thought I might see my kids, but nope they were not in any of the photos either. Thankfully it was only a 15 minute show. I was a bit annoyed at the staff for paging me, but it was not worth complaining because I felt overall things had improved since the last cruise.

It was now around 4:45 – 5:00 (?) – early enough that I thought maybe I could get 15 more minutes out by Cove Café. As I was headed to the room to get my book I hear DW and the kids call out to me. The movie was over and DW picked up DS7 from the club. While DW got ready for the show, I brought both boys upstairs to eat. We ran into our friends DS11 who was getting pizza, so the 3 boys and I sat out by the pool and ate. I could not just sit there and watch them eat, so I had chicken tenders (of course). They all got ice cream and then it was time to get them ready for the show.

Tonight’s show was Disney Dreams. I love this show. I hope they don’t get rid of it. Maybe they could just move it to 7 night cruises. It was amazing, as always. We arrived only about 5 minutes early for each of the shows and never had a problem getting a good row of 4 seats. And I was told the ship was filled. Maybe it was due to the later dinner seating, as most people try to get the early dinner and then see the show later.

The show let out right at 7:15 and our Palo reservations were for 7:00 – 7:30. DW checked DS7 into the lab and DS11 just checked himself in. I can see in a few years that it’s going to be really nice when they can both check themselves in and out. I headed back to the room to get some wine, but had to stop at the Promenade lounge to get some glasses first. It was slow going as the path from the theater to the Promenade lounge took me through Shutters (the area where they display the photos), and this being the last night and the theater just letting out, it was very crowded. Pretty frustrating actually because naturally people just kind of stand still in Shutters to admire how great their photos look. Shutters is really just in the wrong location, but I suppose it is like that on purpose to make sure everyone is going to pass through at least a couple dozen times.

I pick up the glasses, refill them from the room, and then head to Palo. It’s about 7:25 now and our friends and DW are sitting in the lounge area waiting for me to check us in. When I originally asked to reschedule our 8:30 reservation, they offered 8:00, but I said if possible, we would really like to eat right after the show – 7:30 ish. They were so accommodating and just wrote 7:00 – 7:30 on my reservation card and said to come anytime between then and they would seat us. As it turned out I am glad I had that signed reservation card because my new time did not make it to the master list. They had me down for 8:30 and I had to show them my card. There was a bit of confusion now. There were 3 other couples waiting to be seated and they said they could seat us right after they seated the other 3 couples. But we did not know how long of a wait that would mean, if any, and we were not told. However, we were promptly seated BEFORE any of the other couples – odd.

I realize I did not get any good photos of the inside of Palos.

This was the first time our friends (who were on their 4th Disney cruise as well) had been to Palo. If they had not been cruising with us, I don’t think they would have bothered to try it. We were seated in a very nice table right by a window so we could look out over the water. The past 2 times we’ve sailed were in November, so by 8:00 at night it was dark and we never realized what a nice view Palo’s offers. Another thing we noticed about sailing this time was that we never felt the ship rock at all. Not even a little. It felt like we were docked the entire cruise. Normally I don’t mind a bit of rocking. It tends to clear out the restaurants and then I get better service.

This is our 4th visit to Palo’s and we’ve come to have very high expectations. That is usually a bad thing because seldom can something live up to high expectations time and time again. Palo did. Service was remarkable. With fewer tables to wait on, we got lots of attention. The great Palo experiences could also be attributed to the fact that we’ve always dined with family (the members we like) or friends. But be warned, the meals here linger and you can easily be there 3 hours unless you mention before hand that you’d like to be done at a certain time. Just mention to the waiter that you want speedy service like you get at Taco Bell. You are sure to get noticed. Our friends had not brought their own glasses of wine, but they had a glass at Tritons that they really liked, so ordered a bottle of that even though it was not on the Palo menu.

TIP: The wines listed in Palo’s menu are more expensive than those available at the other restaurants. However, you can order bottles from other restaurant menus if you remember. Probably, even if they had not remembered, the waiter could have gotten them the wine list from the other restaurant.

First off, you will get a selection of freshly baked breads and 3 different dipping sauces. Your waiter will also bring out the Antipasto - Prosciutto, Bresaola, Parmesan Reggiano, Marinated Olives and Sun-dried Tomatoes. Next we ordered a pizza for the table. There are several kinds listed on the menu, but we asked for it to be made with mushroom and prosciutto as our topping. It was perfect as there were 4 slices. I had the Tuna Carpaccio and Lemon Oil Dressing which was Thin Slices of Ahi Grade Tuna brushed with our Chef's Special Lemon Oil. And I also had the fried calamari. I have had both of these here before and knew they were excellent. For my main course I had the Grilled Monkfish with Braised Radicchio and Prosciutto, Served with creamy Mascarpone Polenta. I also had a half order of the Lobster and Mascarpone Ravioli
Freshly prepared served with a light Truffle Beurre Blanc.

TIP: You can get half size orders of practically anything which is nice if you can’t decide what to get.

DW and one of our friends got the Beef Tenderloin, and everyone in our party on the past 2 cruises (excepting me) has gotten it for their main course. Everyone felt it was excellent and I never saw one that had to go back.

For dessert we got a sweet pizza for the table. The description on the menu is not complete. It was a pizza with vanilla olive oil sauce, but it also had tons of cut strawberries and some type of sweet creamed cheese on it. We were all stuffed from dinner but the pizza was completely gone in a minute. But we still wanted more dessert. I’ve had the amazingly famous chocolate soufflé before. In fact, last time we were at Palo, they brought me two. So I wanted to try something different. I had the Pineapple and Almond Ravioli which is Lightly Poached Pineapple filled with an Almond Mousse. DW had a bite and did not like it, but she did not think she’d like it based on the description. I thought it was really good and different and I’d get it again. DW got the Chocolate Amaretto Indulgence - Silky Milk Chocolate, fresh Raspberries on Almond and Biscotti base, with extra Dark Chocolate sauce. She liked it so much that by the time I asked for a bite, it was gone. We had coffee with our dessert which is real brewed coffee and not the typical Nescafe sludge. So now, after 4 meals at Palo, we’d not hesitate to do it again and again.

The cost for Palo is $15 per person and then you are expected to tip on top of that. We figured that we’d just eaten a $150 meal per couple (without the wine), so we tipped based on that.


Hey - how come my friend gets to be in the middle of the women?

After dinner it was getting late. We figured we would not see our friends the next morning as disembarkation mornings can be hectic and the friendly Disney staff throw you off the ship. It was about 10:50 and DW still had to pack a suitcase to put outside by 11:00. We did not worry too much because….

TIP: You don’t have to put your luggage outside the night before, but you will then have to lug it yourself off the ship. A good plan is to leave all luggage in your room while eating breakfast (which your wait staff will appreciate), and then grab it when you are done.

However, we really did not want to have to lug our big suitcase. So while DW packed, I checked the kids out of the lab and turned in our pagers and their wrist bands. This was one of the longer lines we had to wait in. But I did not mind spending time waiting in the line because I knew a tired, packing at the last minute wife, is better left alone. I learned that lesson the hard way when last time I made the suggestion that she should not have packed so much in the first place. But eventually the fractures healed.

Once back at the room I got DS7 tucked into bed. DW was just finishing packing and it was 11:10. Again – I knew better than to call out the time every minute. I put the suitcase outside and it was gone the next morning, so evidently 10 minutes late is still OK. DS11 wanted to go to the arcade since he had never been yet. So I took him with the intention of getting the least amount of money on the arcade card as possible. But luckily, the one game he wanted to play still had credits on it, so he got to play for free. We then took one last walk around the ship. We finally got back to the room around midnight and went to sleep.

Check back next week for the last and saddest day of the cruise. I might get time to up finish this TR up over the weekend, but don’t count on it.

 

[iloverags2]

I have to agree about Palo...definitely worth it to go back over and over and over again! Did you finish "Naked Came the Manatee" ever? Such a fun book. I took a class at Miami with Evelyn Mayerson (one of the writers) around the time that book came out. She had us break off into groups and write a short story in the same manner as the book was written...what a hoot that was!

Looking forward to your final installment on what has been a fun report!

 

[lborne]

Did you finish "Naked Came the Manatee" ever? Such a fun book. I took a class at Miami with Evelyn Mayerson (one of the writers) around the time that book came out. She had us break off into groups and write a short story in the same manner as the book was written...what a hoot that was!

Looking forward to your final installment on what has been a fun report!

Thanks. That sounds like fun to write a book like that. I have not finished. I have not even opened the book since the cruise. I've been meaning to read it for ages, and only took it on the cruise because it is small. I'm sure I'll have it finished by Christmas.

 

[lborne]

More photots can be found here at my photo site. I think I used most in the TR, but you can find more from previous Disney cruises. And some of you Disney fanatics might find the old photos from the 1970s interesting - last folder in the list.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Bornefamily

 

[juniedog]

Thanks a million for the laughs! Great TR.

 

[dibond38]

Love your TR - Can't wait to get my own Drink of the Day cup!!

 

[Redeemed&Loved]

More photots can be found here at my photo site. I think I used most in the TR, but you can find more from previous Disney cruises. And some of you Disney fanatics might find the old photos from the 1970s interesting - last folder in the list.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Bornefamily

Thanks for sharing the old 70s Disney photos! Classic!