Planes, Trains & Antitussives, Alaksan Wonder Cruise - All done! Complete 11/21

[dhorner233]

Wow! The Palo is beautiful and your food pictures were decadent as usual!

 

[PrincessInOz]

What an amazing spread Palo puts on. Love it all.

 

[franandaj]

I know that I've been slow to update here, and I hope to wrap things up soon, but in case you would like to follow along, I have started my trip report for our WDW trip. You can find the link here

 

[pkondz]

I woke up somewhere in the middle of the night 3 maybe 4 AM it's not clear to me since we had to set the clocks ahead. I could have watched the sunrise, but decided against it. Fran put on POTC Dead Man's Chest and while I wanted to sleep, I got sucked into watching it.

Ah, yes. I do that too.
Usually before I fall asleep... and it keeps me up later than I want to.

I had to start packing since today was the last day on the ship.

Boo!!

Love that shot. Those little houses with the red roofs on that spit of land....

Here is another one of the shirts that Fran picked up for herself.

Love it!

Nice shot of everyone.

Hristo suggested that I take pictures since the buffet was still pristine,

Good idea... and surprised that he'd suggest it.

I can’t believe we’ll never have the Palo version of Strawberry Soup again.

Oh? Why not?

And then desserts

The important part of the buffet.

Hardly anyone seems to stay as long and take it as leisurely as we do.

Places to go, people to see.

Or sea, in this case.

Were the shrimp and crab legs cold?

She got another Strawberry Soup to make up for not visiting Palo earlier in the week.

Makes perfect sense.

Fran got this salmon, it was wild caught by fishermen in Ketchikan and one of those things exclusive to Alaska Cruises and us being at brunch this day as this was the only day that they served it.

Nice! Doesn't get much fresher than that!
How was it?

Man that looks good.

We were definitely stuffed, but I didn't feel bloated and over eaten like I did earlier in the week.

It's pretty hard to not over-eat at a buffet. Especially one like this where everything looks so good!

During brunch my Dad asked about Gelato that he had heard was served at Palo. Hristo said that they did have it but only at dinner and during brunch it was packed away in the freezer and he couldn't get any. He talked to his manager and said that if we wanted to come back at night we could have some gelato for dessert at no charge, so we made a note of it.

Wow! Impressed.
And.... gelato..... mmmmmmmmm.....

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Your second brunch looks like it was a great success, especially since Fran was feeling up to joining you this time around! Your dishes all look great. That truffle pasta dish sounds like the winner of them all!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

oh gosh, Palo brunch looks as fabulous as ever! 33 days until we set sail on the Fantasy and this is one of the things I am most looking forward to all week! Lovely photo of you all at brunch as well!

That shirt Fran got from Alaska is awesome, you seem to pick up really neat items along the way!

I can't believe I never tried the strawberry soup and now it's too late. I really hope they bring it back it looks delicious!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

The food looks so delicious. I bet it's hard to decide just what to put on your plate.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I took some pictures off the verandah and spotted some sort of marine life that had a spout!

Thar she blows! Very cool.

Cute.

Dad got the pancakes soaked in Rum syrup.

I think Julie would be in heaven with that dish!

Then it was time for the Chicken Parm for me.

That sounds like the go-to order at Palo.

Hristo said that they did have it but only at dinner and during brunch it was packed away in the freezer and he couldn't get any. He talked to his manager and said that if we wanted to come back at night we could have some gelato for dessert at no charge, so we made a note of it.

Very nice of him!

 

[afwdwfan]

I can’t believe we’ll never have the Palo version of Strawberry Soup again.

Wait? What? Did I miss or forget something?

I'm glad to see that Fran was able to join you and make up for missing out on the Strawberry soup earlier. It looks like a nice brunch and I'm always just impressed by the relationship you guys seem to have with Hristo and the service he provides to you.

 

[Steppesister]

Lovely buffet photos, Alison! Keeping things brief as I climb out of my DIS hole. Rest assured, I am reading and trying to catch up.

 

[franandaj]

What's better than Palo brunch? A second Palo brunch!!! Glad all 4 of you were able to make it for the second go 'round!

We love starting and ending our cruises with Palo brunch, and I'm so glad all four of us could finally enjoy it.

So sad about the Strawberry soup it just so lovely. Do you think if enough people 'complain' it will once again reappear? One can hope.

I'm not sure where we should complain, but we need to get on that!

Can't believe it's your last full day!

And what's even worse, it's my last day in WDW! We're already on our way back home thus evening!

Brunch sounds amazing

It is! Every. Single. Time.

I love Fran's Star Wars T shirt. Too cool for school.

You are so funny! Love it!

Ahhh Palo brunch. What can be better on the last day when parting is such sweet sorrow. I am glad you managed to get a photo of the virgin buffet before the zoombies got to it. I enjoyed this as Jo goes to fetch ours so I never see it for myself. What a selection!

I'm glad that you could take a tour on my behalf. I usually fetch for Fran after the first plate.

You made some great selections. Sticky buns but why can I still see white on your plate lol. I asked for a jug of the sauce of that on the side. I swear my eyes were on stalks from even a sugar overload for me.

I can't eat the sticky buns, but those were Fran's and she did get two different plates of them.

Shame about the starwberry soup. I didn't know this was getting the dead mans chest treatment. What a shame. I will throw myself in front of the castaway cay tram in protest.

Yeah, a few people posted over here when the new menu came out. Evidently they added some new stuff, but at least the Chicken Parmesan is still there.

Jo and I are going to try 1900 park fair next time we visit based on your other TRs!

I hope you enjoy it! Dinner or breakfast?

Shame it is your last day. Lovely photos.

Yup. And it's last day at WDW now as well, but that TR has plenty more to go.

Oh no, no more strawberry soup. How sad. Brunch looks wonderful. I would to try the truffle pasta, but I am like you, I like the Chicken Parm so much that I always end up ordering.

Kate

I'm so glad to have Fran to help! That first day without her, I couldn't try nearly as many different things.

Holy moly Palo looks incredible. That pizza looks TDF! And all those chocolate desserts;

Someday you'll have to go there.

Sorry your last day was gloomy.

It made getting off the ship a little easier.

You were very organised with your packing. I love that Starwars shirt. Brunch looked divine.

I have to be organized, it still took me 2-3 weeks to put away the suitcases from this trip.

I was gutted when I found out that the strawberry soup and the grape and Gorgonzola pizza have gone the way of the dodo.

I know. While the grape and gorgonzola wasn't my favorite, I did like it. I guess I will have to go to Napa Rose instead.

Hristo really is a superstar. How nice to offer you to come for some gelato in the evening.

He is awesome! Even more so!

Oh Palo brunch, how do I love thee! Mom prefers dinner... Those scrumptious pudding like deserts, I think they were pana cotta, were out of this world delicious! They attempted to make me gluten free pancakes, which was only one pancake, and terrible. I make much better out of a box... The salmon looks so good.

I'm missing Palo now, especially with all the yummy food we ate this week.

Love the gloomy foggy pictures.

Mom was down here last week and we went over all the excursions for our Alaska cruise. She's set on the 5 glacier plane ride.

It would be worth it. When will you do it again?

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I hope you enjoy it! Dinner or breakfast?

We were thinking yes to that question lol both looks good. Might start of with a dinner ADR!

 

[franandaj]

Wow! The Palo is beautiful and your food pictures were decadent as usual!

It is a lovely place to dine, with exquisite food!

What an amazing spread Palo puts on. Love it all.

It is amazing, can't wait to go back.

Ah, yes. I do that too.
Usually before I fall asleep... and it keeps me up later than I want to.

Yup. Done that as well.

Love that shot. Those little houses with the red roofs on that spit of land....

There were so many beautiful little vista's like that.

Nice shot of everyone.

Thanks!

Good idea... and surprised that he'd suggest it.

He knows that I'm all about the pictures.

Oh? Why not?

They revamped the menu a couple months ago and several of the favorite items were removed. People mentioned it over here in the chatter.

The important part of the buffet.

I thought the cooked to order items were the important part.

Places to go, people to see.

Or sea, in this case.

Either that or drinking to do.

Were the shrimp and crab legs cold?

Yes, just about everything on the buffet part is cold, the prepared items are the hot items.

Makes perfect sense.

And now it's gone.

Nice! Doesn't get much fresher than that!
How was it?

She said that it was excellent. Makes me wish I liked the taste of salmon.

Man that looks good.

It sure was!

It's pretty hard to not over-eat at a buffet. Especially one like this where everything looks so good!

I've been able to exercise restraint, most of the time.

Wow! Impressed.
And.... gelato..... mmmmmmmmm.....

It gets better.

 

[pkondz]

There were so many beautiful little vista's like that.

I bet! I'd like to do that some day... but it's not super high on the list.

He knows that I'm all about the pictures.

And here I thought you were all about dat bass.

They revamped the menu a couple months ago and several of the favorite items were removed. People mentioned it over here in the chatter.

Well, that's just wrong.

I thought the cooked to order items were the important part.

no

Either that or drinking to do.

That too.

I've been able to exercise restraint, most of the time.

I've restrained myself from exercise too.

It gets better.

Better than gelato????

 

[franandaj]

oh gosh, Palo brunch looks as fabulous as ever! 33 days until we set sail on the Fantasy and this is one of the things I am most looking forward to all week! Lovely photo of you all at brunch as well!

When you get back, please let me know if they are still serving pizzas for Palo Brunch! I can't remember if they got ride of just one or all of them!

That shirt Fran got from Alaska is awesome, you seem to pick up really neat items along the way!

At this point we already have so much stuff that I only try to buy it if it's really unique or really speaks to me.

I can't believe I never tried the strawberry soup and now it's too late. I really hope they bring it back it looks delicious!

I need to figure out where to complain about that one.

The food looks so delicious. I bet it's hard to decide just what to put on your plate.

No, not really. One of each please!

Thar she blows! Very cool.

Oh good! You saw it too! I was afraid I was seeing things!

I think Julie would be in heaven with that dish!

I didn't know she was a run and Pancakes kind of girl. Wow! I'm really hungry right now!

That sounds like the go-to order at Palo.

Pretty much. At least for me. I could use some of that now. I need to put that in the dining rotation again.

Very nice of him!

He is such a sweetie!

Wait? What? Did I miss or forget something?

It was in the chatter, so I'm not surprised you missed it. A couple months ago they gave the Palo menu an overhaul and the strawberry soup is one of the items that got the axe.

Actually on our cruise they had already changed the dinner menu and had removed my most favorite pasta.

I'm glad to see that Fran was able to join you and make up for missing out on the Strawberry soup earlier. It looks like a nice brunch and I'm always just impressed by the relationship you guys seem to have with Hristo and the service he provides to you.

He is the one guy who has been consistent on all our cruises since 2012. That's one of the things that is so great about Disney is that the CMs remember frequent cruisers and welcome them back almost like family.

Lovely buffet photos, Alison! Keeping things brief as I climb out of my DIS hole. Rest assured, I am reading and trying to catch up.

Re-entry is always a difficult process. You're doing a good job!

We were thinking yes to that question lol both looks good. Might start of with a dinner ADR!

We enjoyed our dinner there and the stepsisters are hilarious!

 

[franandaj]

I bet! I'd like to do that some day... but it's not super high on the list.

Well now that I've done it other things have become higher on the list.

And here I thought you were all about dat bass.

You know, I've never even actually heard that song. It just keeps getting mentioned places and parodied.

Well, that's just wrong.

Totally wrong. I need to find out where to complain!

I've restrained myself from exercise too.

Ha! And we're trying to go swimming today.

Better than gelato????

I think so...

 

[franandaj]

We came back to the room and I loaded all my pictures onto the computer and then sort of organized them. I took enough pictures that the filenames had reset to 0001 and some pictures wanted to write over other pictures so it took a little bit of grouping and making new folders to get it together. The day had improved a little bit and we saw a pretty town go by, but other than that it was all untouched natural scenery.











Then I went back to the tediousness of packing. First I went through all Fran's purchases for the band baskets. I removed all the price tags because let's face it, most guys don't think about that and it would be really tacky to have a gift basket full of items with prices, especially reflecting bargain prices!

Then I proceeded to put all of our clothes except what we expected to wear in the next two days and packed all that up too. By the time I had us mostly packed it was 4PM so I sat down to fill out our suitcase tags and customs form, and then it was time to enjoy my gift of Prosecco!

While I was packing I put on the TV to Disney movies and watched Peter Pan, The Incredibles, Snow White, and Alice in Wonderland. Once I finished, I worked on the Naked Jim TR since I posted the most recent update the day before. I needed to have one more in the hopper for when everyone chimed in on the contest. Boy am I glad this TR doesn't have a contest!

Finally, it was time to go to dinner. We had the “Until we meet again” dinner.









I started off with the Ahi Tuna and my Dad got the same thing as well.



My mom and Fran both got the asparagus duo, white and green asparagus.



All of a sudden I got all nostalgic realizing that this was the last time I would have dinner in this room!







I skipped the soup, but mom and Fran also got the Lobster Bisque.



Dad got the Goulash.



For entrées Dad got the Beef Wellington, and Fran was having entree envy as that is what she usually gets that one.



Mom got the mushroom strudel which was actually more spinach.



I got the Indian Lamb Duo which is one of my most favorite meals on the ship. I had this the last time we were offered that menu, it was a fantastic lamb dish with Indian inspired spices. It's about time that with the number of Indian crew members they have something that reflects their heritage.



I asked for extra Raita and they gave me a huge bowl of it. Unfortunately, the battery on my camera died at this point and I had to rely on Mom to take the final picture of our entrees. Fran got the Chicken schnitzel which was OK but very disappointing that it was not pounded thin like a true schnitzel.



After dinner we escaped quickly after their international "show" as we had a date to catch. Fran had other ideas, she went to have one last check of the stores, while the rest of us headed up to Palo. As usual, the place was beautiful and we pretty much had the place to ourselves.











Hristo was happy to see us and took us right to our same table as usual.



He gave us the dessert menu and we each selected two flavors of gelato.



I got the berry and white chocolate cappuccino.



Mom got the vanilla and berry flavor.



Dad got the Double Chocolate and Caramel Macadamia Nut.



I also ordered a glass of dessert wine so that we would have a bill and i could give him an extra tip for inviting us up for dessert. I wanted to ask him for a tiny spoon like they have at Brunch, but he had run off like a crazy man.

About halfway through our gelato, he returned he see how we were doing. He stood behind me and leaned over my shoulder which seemed a little weird. When I told him it was good, he said, "Good? Is that all? How about I make it great?" And from behind me he pulled out an Amaretto soufflé!







This is totally my new favorite dessert! I will save room for two of them at Palo in the future because they are just that good.

He brought us the digestive aid, which I love!



We finished our beverages, gave hugs goodbye and we're on our way. Our next sailing on the Wonder will be Fall of 2017 on the EB Panama Canal cruise. That is provided we get De Soto all cleaned out, renovated and rented. I hope by the time that you all are reading this, we have completed the first part!

Ugh! Obviously we have not finished that first part.

When we got back to the room, we found this towel animal. Or should I say blanket animal.



I took off my evening clothes and put them in the final suitcase. I had Fran put it outside the room since I was no longer decent. They had taken one of our four suitcases already, and I settled in for a good night's sleep.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I was sad for you reading this! It looked such a nice last day.

Great you removed the price tags that is tacky I wish Jo would do this more. I ask her to. My hands can't do it.

Lovely photos you uploaded.

Dinner looks delightful. Wow that wellington I have envy too.

We find America very lacking in Indian food. It is very common here curry is now our national dish. Raita is the best!

How amazing getting to go to Palo for dessert! And getting the souffle. I know you do leave the ship but I am wondering if it was with armed force now lol...

Here is to 2017 and your next Wonder cruise!

 

[Flossbolna]

Oh!! You are going on a long cruise!! (I am counting on you succeeding with the moving out!) I thought you said once that you would not want to be away for so long. But I am sure that you will absolutely adore being on the ship for two weeks! I really want to book another long cruise as well, but have no clue as to when we can make it happen...

Sorry to see that your cruise is nearly over the second time around. But you definitely ended it on a highlight!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I can't remember if they got ride of just one or all of them!

As far as I am aware, it is just the grape and gorgonzola pizza that is gone. I think it was replaced by a goats cheese pizza.

We came back to the room and I loaded all my pictures onto the computer and then sort of organized them.

That is organized.

Mom got the mushroom strudel which was actually more spinach.

I wish they would stop doing it. I love mushroom, but hate spinach. I know that on one of the special menus they always had a soup that was listed as potato soup and was actually lentil.

I was amused by them trying to pass off Goulash Soup and Chicken Schnitzel as regional dishes.

He stood behind me and leaned over my shoulder which seemed a little weird. When I told him it was good, he said, "Good? Is that all? How about I make it great?" And from behind me he pulled out an Amaretto soufflé!

What a lovely thing to do.

Our next sailing on the Wonder will be Fall of 2017 on the EB Panama Canal cruise.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that you will finally get to go on a Panama Canal cruise.

Corinna