3 generations and we all survived! Wonder - Jan 13, 2017 - Galveston to Bahamas - Completed

[ukintheus]

Welcome to anyone that follows along on another fun-in-the-sun cruise out of Galveston aboard the beautifully refurbished Disney Wonder. Spoiler alert: This report won't have much, if anything, about the refurbishment as I already did a trip report on that last November. Just forewarning you if that's what you are looking for.

I had booked this as a placeholder cruise in a flurry of onboard activity right before we had to exit the Wonder in a hasty fashion on our last cruise (in January 2016) to San Juan, when Mum got sick. If you are now totally lost and want to read about our prior adventures, links are in my signature at the end of each of my posts.

At some point during 2016, I went ahead and booked this cruise for us all based on the fact that it was a) out of Galveston – easypeasy for us; and b) went to Key West, which Mum had never been to before. Later in 2016, my nephew, Paul, mentioned that he might come and see what all the fuss was about, as his Granny kept telling stories of our adventures. So, that turned into him joining us and making it a “trial run” for planning a future family trip for his wife and children. So the usual crew of myself, Scott, Mum and Maureen had a "newbie" onboard. Here's a picture of us all (in Palo, later in the trip, but it's the only one I can find right now.)



Pre-Cruise - Thursday, January 12th



Today was a big travel day for half of us, Scott and I were working. Paul was flying in from London and trying to get out of Heathrow before a forecasted winter snow storm hit. Luckily he made it out just fine. Maureen had driven in from Tennessee and had picked Mum up in Houston on her way and they were spending the night with us. Scott and I still hadn't packed and so we were in a packing frenzy when they arrived during the late afternoon. It doesn't take that long to pack, but somehow it always seems a little disorganized, even with my trusty-dusty packing lists.



We went out out to dinner that evening at Rancho Grande, which is our local Mexican restaurant and one of the main staple establishments in the town of Magnolia. While we were gone, Paul texted to say he had landed in Houston and so the gang was all at least in the same state, and the trip had officially arrived! Unfortunately, the forecast for tomorrow wasn’t looking good with a dense fog advisory for Galveston. I sent a message to our friend who works on the ship and she said she hadn’t heard anything yet about a fog delay for them so I went to bed hopeful that it wouldn't be too bad.

Day 1 – Friday, January 13th (omen ) – Embarkation day



Almost all of us woke up (I mean we were woken up) at 5:55 am when Paul texted the group. He swore he wasn't excited claiming he was still on UK time. I guess as he was an early bird, he decided we all should be too. I checked the port cam in Galveston. Hmmmmm....no ship.



I also looked at My Marinetracker app on my phone and saw that the Wonder was still anchored offshore and the dense fog advisory for Galveston was very much in place.



The FB group that morning was very active with people travelling and also wondering what the fog advisory would lead into. We got up at 6:45 am and showered and got ready. I was already in vacation "letstakeaphoto" mode and subjected Mum and Maureen to photos while they tried to drink their tea.



Scott was tasked with the jigsaw of fitting all the suitcases into the car and was successful!



The Wonder still was anchored offshore and so we left the house a little later than we had planned at 9 am and drove to meet Paul enroute at the Bass Pro shops just south of Houston.





The drive was good, with very little traffic and we were in a very foggy Galveston by 11 am. Disney had sent an email to tell us that the Port of Galveston was closed and so we knew that with still no movement from the Wonder we were in for a fairly long wait. We drove straight to The Spot for lunch and all enjoyed some burgers and fries and I forgot to take a photo! The boys both enjoyed their first (of many) beer of the vacation. Right as we finished lunch I saw that the Wonder had started to move and so we decided to go to the Pier 21 area and watch her come in.



We parked and had coffee to ward off the gloomy, foggy chill at Olympia Grill. There were quite a few people hanging around waiting to see her, and the restaurant manager joked that he had decided to turn off the fog machine now that everyone had been and eaten lunch.







It was fun to watch her appear like a ghost ship through the fog.







\\

You couldn't see many passengers onboard.



Peekaboo.



All bundled up on the bridge getting ready to start docking procedures.





DCL had by now sent emails to say that port arrival times for everyone had been delayed by 5 hours and that boarding would begin at 5 pm and last boarding would be at 7 pm. Booo. They did give everybody a $25 room credit to pay for lunch though, and I thought that was a nice touch from them. After watching her come in and dock, we now had to decide what we were going to do to kill about 4 hours. Right next door to Olympia Grill is the Pier 21 Theater and after a quick check to see what the show times were, we went and watched the Great Storm movie at 2 pm to kill some time.



It’s a very small theater with a small gift shop attached, but they have a pressed penny machine!



The movie was about the 1900 hurricane that wiped out the island of Galveston and led to the configuration of the island the way it is now. It was a good way to kill 25 minutes of time. I am now realizing that's a horrible pun, as so many people were killed in that hurricane!! So, moving along quickly.....LOL

 

[JenniHP]

I had friends that were delayed on the Wonder coming in and their return was a mess. Luckily their flight was late enough that they didn't have to reschedule, but it definitely left a not so great impression of sailing in and out of Galveston. Can't wait to read more about how the delay impacted those who were sailing out.

 

[ukintheus]

I had friends that were delayed on the Wonder coming in and their return was a mess. Luckily their flight was late enough that they didn't have to reschedule, but it definitely left a not so great impression of sailing in and out of Galveston. Can't wait to read more about how the delay impacted those who were sailing out.

We thought about those that were trying to scramble and rearrange flights and other transportation. We were delayed once before out of Galveston with fog back in 2014 but this past season the fog seemed to have caused more delays than usual with it affecting several cruises.

 

[ukintheus]

Mum decided that she wanted to see what was going on down at the cruise terminal and so we walked down to take a look around. It was very busy with people still disembarking and of course lines of people waiting to get into the terminal. Chaos at its best and we wanted none of it.



We walked back to where we had parked the car and did a quick luggage swap/scramble to get all of our checked luggage into my car and then (despite having just seen the chaos in the port - ha ha) decided to go and drop our luggage. Not one of our best judgement calls of the trip, as it took forever and you could tell people were frustrated, including the security guys trying to direct traffic, but eventually right as I pulled into where I could stop, Scott made eye contact with a porter, and was waving him down as he jumped out of the car! LOL Bags are dropped – we are a little closer to vacation!! We had made a joint decision to avoid as much chaos as possible with checking in and to try and get there between 6:00 pm and 6:30 pm, so we headed off to find something else to do. We found a couple of parking spots, and attempted to pay. Galveston has the weirdest parking system and I was trying to pay online which was hugely frustrating. In the meantime, Paul (aka smartypants) had found a machine about 10 feet away and had already paid. Ugg!! Armed with my Yelp app, tour guide extraordinaire found Stuttgarden Tavern for adult beverages and I was once again the hero of the hour.





The boys enjoyed the beer list and Maureen and I had their special which was a hurricane and wasn’t great at all. Mum stuck with a cranberry juice.



They had some of those pub trivia machines that the boys got busy with and we were quite happy sitting and enjoying ourselves and relaxing. My phone had rung with a Texas number I didn’t recognize and I’d been sitting there trying to figure out who it was, as they hadn’t left a message. Right as I was pondering it, a little before 5 pm it suddenly dawned on me that the parking place usually closes at 3 pm, and the lightbulb went off in my head putting 2 and 2 together! LOL I quickly called them and they said that they were still open but waiting for us. Semi-panic ensued as we got the check and hurried back to the cars. Everything in Galveston is so close that we were there by 5:05 pm though. Of course as soon as we got on the shuttle, the driver informed us they were staying open until 6:30 pm. Great - LOL Almost an epic fail on my part as I hadn’t even given parking any consideration at all. It made sense to me that they would have to stay open, but I usually would have called and checked. I reminded the family that they were getting the tour guide service that they paid for ($0.00). The shuttle got to the terminal quickly, but as we had anticipated the lines were still long. There was a wait outside the terminal to get in and then once inside the lines were crazy long for security.



We put on our best “patient” faces, but we all knew we were all fed up at standing in line. LOL The sail away party was in full swing while we were still in line for security – that was fun to hear while you are stuck waiting to go through a scanner – ha ha. We all managed to get through security, with them checking Maureen’s wine to make sure it wasn’t opened (that was a first) and then on to check in which was fairly painless. Paul’s visa had them speaking into microphones and generally looking nervous, and eventually the girl checking us in admitted that they don’t see his type of visa (some type of work visa - I don’t know what it is - spy maybe? ) very often and they weren’t sure what to enter it as. Finally we were all done, we went up the escalator and stood in another line that wrapped around the waiting area but moved fairly quickly. We bypassed the boarding photographs and were finally on the ship by about 6:30 pm. We were announced as the Chicken and Dance families, but the CMs were tired by now and it was lost on them.

We went straight up to our cabins to drop off our hand luggage. Scott and I had a lovely surprise and found ours was decorated with a birthday celebration package that we hadn’t ordered. In case you are wondering what they look like – here you go!





This was the view from the verandah. It made for a spooky backdrop.



Some of our luggage had arrived at this point and so we quickly unpacked what we had. Due to the delay muster was going to be held at 8 pm between the two dinner seatings, and our dinner seating had been pushed to 8:45 pm. Here's a random photo of the corridor on our way to muster.



We all got the DCL app working and got ourselves hooked up to message. There was a lot that didn’t get accomplished due to the late boarding chaos that normally I would have done (including meeting our friend Susana) and it threw off that evening in general. Dinner tonight was in Tiana's, which I was happy about as we had really enjoyed it on our cruise in November. With all the chaos of late boarding and everyone just not being in the groove yet, it was hard to remember to take photos. Apologies for that.

We arrived at the restaurant just gone 8:45 pm. We were walked down and past the stage to get to our table.



For the first time my request for a table for the 5 of us on our own had not been met and there were others already seated when we got there. We introduced ourselves to the 3 others. It was their first cruise and they hadn’t realized they might be sat with others so it was an uncomfortable start. It was a new menu for Scott and I tonight as they did the Mardi Gras menu when we were on our 4 night cruise. New menus are always fun!





We were very close to the stage and we found the music was really loud. This was a completely different experience from last time when we had sat towards the back.









Scott had the mushroom soup and we both ordered the shrimp for an entree.





Love the new ceiling.



The show part was entertaining, but the volume level made it almost impossible to talk to the person next to you, let alone those across the table. I think I'd rather sit towards the back, or have a volume control button!

Tiana came around to make sure we were all alright and enjoying our food - I didn't mention the noise level to her, but she is the owner after all, maybe she could do something about it.





Louis came out for a dance party, which the kids all loved.



Time for dessert. Is she really wearing an apron with nothing underneath here?



I had the deconstructed root beer for dessert, it was wierd, and I wasn't that keen. Scott had the Banoffee which was delicious.





We were done with dinner by 10 pm although Paul had to give in a bit earlier than that as his jet lag was really kicking in. Mum and Maureen went to their cabin from Tiana’s while Scott and I went off to try and find some CMs that we knew. We had requested an assistant server that we had back in November and that wasn’t granted either so we went to find Christian, who was in Tritons, and said hello to him. We briefly tried to find another CM, Ajohn from Jamaica in Azure, but they weren’t able to find him. Scott and I went back to cabin and found this waiting for us, along with the note to put the clocks forward an hour.



I needed to get caught up on things that I normally would have done as soon as be boarded but hadn’t had time so I called Palo and requested to have Paul added to our brunch reservation and also to request Susana as our server. By now it was 11:15 pm and the ship was still docked. The fueling vessel was still down below us as well.



We poured a glass of wine (I'd like to point out that I had not had one single cocktail since boarding!) and Scott soon was tired and went to sleep while I was determined to stick it out and see if we were going to leave port. I kept hopping up and down to see what was going on while I caught up with my trip report. Just gone midnight, the fog really came in again and I figured that we probably wouldn’t be going anywhere.





It had been a really long and tiring day but we had had lots of laughs along the way and made the best of it. The crew looked exhausted though. It was such a long day for them with little to no time off. I finally got to sleep at about 2:30 am, 3:30 am new time – the fueling vessel was still there when I last looked.

 

[bcwife76]

Yes!!! I'm so excited you're doing another TR, esp since this was the cruise we were supposed to be on. Been dying to find out how it all went!

Now, this is going to sound horrible of me, but I'm now REALLY glad we switched to the Fantasy that left the next day. That fog delay would have been horrid for my family. I know I know, everyone had to put up with it but I do not do well under stress and I just can't imagine what we would have done with such a long delay I know, suck it up princess, right?

Told you I'm awful

But I truly hope the delays are now behind you all and that the cruise was FABULOUS!!

 

[ukintheus]

Yes!!! I'm so excited you're doing another TR, esp since this was the cruise we were supposed to be on. Been dying to find out how it all went!

Now, this is going to sound horrible of me, but I'm now REALLY glad we switched to the Fantasy that left the next day. That fog delay would have been horrid for my family. I know I know, everyone had to put up with it but I do not do well under stress and I just can't imagine what we would have done with such a long delay I know, suck it up princess, right?

Told you I'm awful

But I truly hope the delays are now behind you all and that the cruise was FABULOUS!!

We definitely decided early on to have a go with the flow type attitude. It was a shame that our "newbie" cruiser didn't get to experience all the fun of that first afternoon on board. I think our decision to try and steer well clear of the port until we had to was a good idea, but I also know that lots of people who were on shuttles and transfers didn't have that option. I heard that they gave out bottled water and snacks for those that were holed up in the cruise terminal. I am looking forward to hearing all about your Fantasy cruise!! Are you going to do a trip report?? Hmmmm??????

 

[bcwife76]

I've been humming and hawwing about writing one...but now that you've reminded me I guess I better get on it I just hope it's not a disappointment because (a) we don't really take any food pictures and (b) we aren't huge Star Wars fans so anyone looking for a lengthy Star Wars day update in and of itself won't be too enthused with mine

I really know how to sell a trip report, don't I?! We actually had a fantastic vacation so yes, I better get to it....

 

[ukintheus]

Day 2 - Saturday, January 14th - At Sea Day

I slept until about 7:35 when I heard the fog horn of the ship and realized that we had started moving.



We were just pulling out of the port and it was still very foggy. The fog horn was sounding the entire way out and it was almost impossible to figure out where we were.









I tried to sleep for a little bit longer but the phone rang at at 8:20 am and it was Palo confirming our reservation change. The gang were all messaging on the app so we got up and dressed to go to Cove with Paul while Mum and Maureen were getting ready. The fog looked like it was beginning to clear a little as we began to get ready.



It wasn't long before the fog was gone and blue skies were beginning to show. Captain Gus came on to give us all an update and told us that we would be going at full speed using all the engines to try and make up as much lost time as they could. He warned that there could be some vibrations and movement as the ship was going so fast.





Poor Paul had already been up and wandering around the ship trying to find coffee (remember he hadn't had any chance to look at anything the day before) and as soon as we got to Cove he realized he had been right in front of it earlier and didn't realize it was a coffee shop! That was definitely a downside to not having much time the day before. Anyway, we got our coffee and headed up to what is left of Outlook Cafe.



Maureen and Mum joined us and after a little while we went to get a piece of toast from Cabanas for Mum and to show Paul where it and the drink station was. Cabanas was absolutely packed and so I did a quick run in through the side door, grabbed a piece of toast and got the heck outtta there! Like a ninja. Maureen and Paul decided to go and check out the side door entrance just to see what the offerings where. Each of them came back with a sausage - just one sausage each - ha ha. We sat by the drink station for a little while while the sausages and toast were consumed. While we were there we ran into Ana from Palo and said hello. Sure enough, about 5 minutes later, Susana came flying by to say hello and quick hugs were given all around. We also saw Maggie (Margaret) from Trinidad that we had met several cruises ago. It's always so good to catch up with crew that you know. We needed to get back to our cabins to get ready for Palo brunch at 11:30 am. The Castaway Club Gold & Platinum reception seems to always be scheduled for that first at sea day, but brunch is always nice on that first at sea day too. I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall today to get the scoop on our schedule.

On our way to Palo.


By now the sky was blue and the sea was looking beautiful.



We met Susana in Palo (again!) and lots of hugs were exchanged (again.). Quick photo of the plate before she whisked it away.



We all studied the menu to see what we would order after we had already stuffed ourselves stupid from the buffet.



Close up....yum!



Mimosas and Kir Royals were consumed.



Susana gave Paul the extra-info tour seeing as he had never been to Palo before and the rest of us were busy lining up what we were going to get. Everything looked delicious as usual but I have to apologize in advance for not taking photos of the desserts or pastries!!









This ended up on my plate and ultimately in my belly. I believe it is all still stuck to my thighs.



Scott got this as his first plate and then got some more shrimp (I think).




Eggs benedict for me, and a cheeseless omelette for Scott.






Susana had already ordered the veal for Scott without cheese. In the background you can see the photo of the left over artichoke ravioli that she brought for us which were delicious.



I also got the Palo Bloody Mary that has all sorts of yummy, delicious things in it.



We were being extremely non-piggy though and apart from Scott's veal and our raviolis we didn't order any more of the hot entrees and I know Scott and I didn't get any desserts. I think Mum had a tiramisu because Susana brought it for her to try but I didn't get any photos. Sufficiently stuffed we took some photos with Susana before heading out of Palo.



When we got back to our cabin, this had been left for us.



And here is my obligatory photo of a rig (Scott tells me it's a platform ) in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

[ukintheus]

I've been humming and hawwing about writing one...but now that you've reminded me I guess I better get on it I just hope it's not a disappointment because (a) we don't really take any food pictures and (b) we aren't huge Star Wars fans so anyone looking for a lengthy Star Wars day update in and of itself won't be too enthused with mine

I really know how to sell a trip report, don't I?! We actually had a fantastic vacation so yes, I better get to it....

I write trip reports as a way to remember what we did and how much we enjoyed the trip. Plus we have family and friends that read them. It's so much fun to go back and re-live vacation through them, but I admit they do take a time commitment to do them.

 

[kittymamma]

Can't wait to read more. I was so amused when I spotted your beautiful kitty on the bed , keeping watch over the packing process. Our three are usually inside the suitcases or sitting on a stack of clothes in hopes that we will change our minds about leaving them at home with the pet nanny....oh, we are so cruel to them.

 

[ukintheus]

Can't wait to read more. I was so amused when I spotted your beautiful kitty on the bed , keeping watch over the packing process. Our three are usually inside the suitcases or sitting on a stack of clothes in hopes that we will change our minds about leaving them at home with the pet nanny....oh, we are so cruel to them.

I didn't have the suitcases out or he would have been investigating them for sure. We have three kitties also, and they too have a pet nanny that comes to the house. They are very spoiled, but I do miss them by the time we get back. Thanks for following along.

 

[st0nehedge]

Whew! What a foggy crazy start to the cruise, but I absolutely admire that you and your family tried to stay positive about it!! Will be reading along for more

 

[ukintheus]

Whew! What a foggy crazy start to the cruise, but I absolutely admire that you and your family tried to stay positive about it!! Will be reading along for more

We did our best, that's not to say there weren't moments that were . Thanks for following along!

 

[ukintheus]

After enjoying our relaxing brunch in Palo we were on a mission to get into some comfy clothes before going to Mixology at 2 pm in the Cadillac Lounge. I was the organizer of a private group and so thought we should get there a little early, and it ended up we didn't need to be at all, but oh well.

Scott took this photo of Paul as he opened the door and it makes me chuckle to look at it.



They had the doors firmly closed when we got to Cadillac Lounge and the red "do not enter" rope was across the doors. Of course Scott poked his head in anyway and was told they weren’t ready. Mum, Maureen and I all waited outside while the boys went off to Crown & Fin to get a pre-mixology beer. Right at 2pm they opened up. They checked everyone off the list going in so it was a slow amble in. I think we were at 39 people in the end. Unfortunately one of the groups of 4 had had a bereavement in the family the day that we were scheduled to leave and so they didn’t make the cruise. We did a good job of filling up the lounge and the group were a lot of fun. This was probably one of the best mixology classes we have ever done.



Rodolpho from Portugal was the CM who works in Cadillac Lounge and provided a really good variety of drinks, we had never had any of them before (and we’ve done a few mixology tastings – LOL.) He was great and did a great job pacing the session perfectly.





The drinks were Tropical Flower, Roseberry, Jalisco Mule, Around the World and a Rainbow Shooter.

There was only one glass on the table when we got there, and a can of ginger beer. Ignore the beer glasses.



And so the drinking began! First up, Tropical Flower - Ciroq Apple vodka, Elderflower liquor, Fresh lemon juice, Passion and guava juice, 3 honey pearls (in the bottom of the glass)





Next up was a Roseberry - Vanilla rum, Mountain berry tea, Heering Cherry Liquor, Fresh Rosemary. It was served with a very thinly sliced piece of pineapple that had been steeped in the tea.





Next was a Jalisco Mule - Pomegranate liquor; 1800 Tequila; Mint; Lime; Ginger beer; Lavender syrup. This is the one that was on the table when we arrived. We muddled the mint and the lime with the tequila and lavender syrup and then added ginger beer to taste.





Fourth was Around the world - XC baileys, Patron, White chocolate liquor, Amaretto, Butterscotch liquor.

I didn't get a photograph of the drink, which is a pity as they had dipped the edge of glass in melted chocolate and then let it set up with the drips going down the side. I guess we were all too busy drinking at this point to remember to photo first! But here's what you make it out of.



Up last was the Rainbow Shooter - Fireball, Watermelon Liquor and Midori. As you can tell from the name, it was a shot. We all poured our own Midori as the last layer on top.





I didn’t care for the Roseberry, and it looked so pretty, but it didn't have much taste. I'm not a big fan of Fireball either so the Rainbow Shooter wasn't my favorite but we managed to finish them all. By far my favorite was the first one, the Tropical Flower. YUM!!

Everyone had a good time polishing off their 5 drinks in an hour and we finished right at 3 pm. I had never organized a mixology before but it was pretty easy and not a lot of work, I don’t think I’d like to organize an open bar session where you have to get the money up front though. Maureen and Mum decided to go and watch Sully back in their cabin and Paul and Scott wanted to go to Crown & Fin to play backgammon (their code word for drink beer.)





I went to Crown & Fin for a little while. I ordered a case of water to be delivered to the room (another thing usually done when we board) and then got bored watching them play backgammon and so went back to cabin to take a nap. In between Palo and Mixology I had caught our stateroom host, whose name escapes me right now, and asked him if he could open up the veranda divider between our two rooms. It was really nice to have the extra bit of view and we used it a lot to hop back and forth.



I wasn’t very successful in my napping so went back to join the boys at 5 pm. They were still playing backgammon. I had a mojito to join them on their beer drinking. They put out the hot snacks at 6:00 pm and so we all had a quick snack of tortilla chips & salsa and chicken wings before going back to our cabins to take a break before dinner. On the way up I stopped at Tritons (which was our dining rotation for tonight) to ask if we could get a private table. I spoke to the dining room manager who said that they could accommodate us by moving the other 3 people to a different table. I knew that was going to be a bit awkward when we saw them, but we really wanted to have a table to ourselves, so decided to see how it went. Our water had been delivered when we got back and so we divided it up among the three staterooms. I also called room service to order our platinum gift and chose Prossecco, of course. We watched some TV and got showered and ready for dinner, which was formal night, but we had all agreed to go the route of semi-formal.

 

[ukintheus]

Side note: I totally forgot that while we were in Palo earlier, Captain Gus had announced that we would not be stopping in Key West as scheduled due to being so far behind schedule. I am sure it didn't come as a great surprise to anybody as it was pretty obvious from the map that we weren't going to be anywhere near to being close enough. It was a shame as it was the one stop that Mum hadn't done, and I had booked this itinerary somewhat around that, but, there you go. Things happen and life goes on, first world problems and all that.

So, back to us heading to Tritons. In anticipation of the awkwardness in seeing our table mates, I had it all planned out on how I would go up to them and explain and try to be really nice about it. We got to Tritons... and there they were already sitting at our table. Nothing you can do at this point, so we all just kinda looked at each other with grins on our faces and decided to go with the flow.



Scott ordered a red wine from our wine package and then asked for them to put it in a decanter - and they did! It's not exactly super-high end wines on that list that need a decanter, but here's the photo and it made us laugh.





Scott got two orders of escargot because they are just so delicious. I may or may not have snuck one or two.



I got the shrimp and lobster and it was pretty good, but not escargot good, next time I'll go with my favorite and forget about trying something different.



I had the Château Briand and Scott had the lamb, both were really good.





For dessert I had crème brûlée.



Scott had the soufflé - here's Oscar, our server, doing his thing with the sauce.



Paul was flagging again a bit with the jet lag and so he went to bed right after dinner. The rest of us decided to go and check out the show in Azure at 10:15. When we arrived Susan Egan was still performing. We loitered around outside the door for a few seconds, but were told it would be fine to just walk in. I'm not sure if it's just a British thing, but this is SO against "the rules" for us! It is considered very rude over there to walk in right at the end, but we went ahead and went in anyway and tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. We heard a couple of her songs before she finished and she was very good, such a lovely voice.





Majority Rules was the show that came on after she was finished. We hadn't seen it before and it was quite funny. The good thing was it only lasted 30 minutes so it was perfect.





On the way back to the cabin I called in at guest services to add a Disney Visa credit to our room and then we called it a night.

This little guy was waiting for us.



It was about 11:30 when I finished getting caught up with my trip report notes. Scott sat out on the balcony for a while until I forced him in to get a decent nights sleep. We turn the lights out at about 11:45.

 

[kid-at-heart]

You are so funny. Thank you for sharing your trip with us. Referring back to your first Palo plate, what is the item that looks like a ball that has been fried?

Kate

 

[ukintheus]

You are so funny. Thank you for sharing your trip with us. Referring back to your first Palo plate, what is the item that looks like a ball that has been fried?

Kate

Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you noticed the fried ball of stuff at Palo because it was absolutely delicious! It was risotto with a cherry tomato in the middle that they coated with panko and then fried. It was absolutely yummy! I wish I had taken a photo of one cut in half - I think I pretty much just inhaled mine.

 

[KarriTigger]

I really like your trip reports! You have a great writing style. I love it when you post TR's! Have a great day!

 

[bcwife76]

Awww man, now mixology - that's what I'm sad about most because we would've been in mixology together Looks like you had some really tasty beverages! What is Bailey's XC? Never seen that before, that particular one isn't sold in Canada.

And no Key West? Like you said not a surprise but that would have been another HUGE disappointment for us as I had several excursions we were contemplating doing there, we were not even sure we were going to get off in Nassau. Guess another good reason we chose the Fantasy that week (coincidentally). Like you said, total 1st world problem of course!

 

[RockyMtns]

We were on this same cruise. Trying to decide on whether or not to write a trip report. It's been interesting to read your experience and compare it to ours. Did I mention we had four kids in our group: 6, 3, 3, and 2? Our experience waiting for the ship to arrive was a little different!