I am posting a full trip report later today (in the trip report section), but wanted to share some of the great experiences we had on this cruise. I am thankful to see everyone made it home safely and hope that their memories of this cruise are just as wonderful as the ones we will carry with us for years to come.
During the cruise we were afforded a private Meet & Greet with Don Ducky Williams. Ducky was very kind and spent a great deal of time talking with us about his career with Disney and his overall passion for what he does.
He asked what my favorite character was (Ariel) and he began drawing her while we talked. A few minutes later he had a completed drawing that he personalized and presented to me.
I am off to the framing store tomorrow to have Ariel framed to hang on the wall in my Disney office. During the entire cruise Ducky was always very friendly and always greeted our group with a smile and a wave. We thank him for his generosity.
To celebrate our birthdays we had the private dining room in Palo reserved for the four of us. Christian, Palos Executive Chef prepared a number of special items for us including broiled lobster and prosciutto wrapped asparagus (my favorite). One of our favorite servers Roy (since our last cruise in June has been moved to Palo) helped make the evening even more magical with his great service. We were presented with a fabulous bottle of Champagne (Tattinger Rose) to toast our birthday celebration as well as Kevin and Julias honeymoon.
Although I know the cast members are always well intentioned. I am not one for having people sing to Happy Birthday to me in public. We thank everyone at
DCL for helping make our birthday celebration special in such a private atmosphere.
My wife Monica is a huge fan of cooking shows and of fine dining. Monica is also very curious to learn about how everything works and how the Disney Wonder can output so many dinners in such a short amount of time. We inquired with Rodrigo, our concierge, about a Galley Tour but were saddened to learn that they had none scheduled for this trip. On the day of our visit to St. Thomas, we received a call from Steve the Executive Chef that we were invited to a private galley tour with him just prior to the first dining seating.
We visited a number of the galleys and storage areas and had a great talk-down about what it takes to serve over 8000 meals each day on the Disney Wonder. I had met Steve previously on the Disney Magic in July of 2005 and he could not have been nicer to us. It was a real treat to see the kitchen while it was in use so you can truly get an idea of the hard work that goes into the wonderful meals. Rodrigo later told us that they had so many requests for Galley Tours that they held several public tours later in the week.
By far my favorite experience on this cruise was our private tour of the bridge by Captain Henry. On our last evening of the cruise, we were told be outside of our stateroom on deck 8 promptly at 4:45. We exited the room and were immediately approached by the Captains assistant Robyn and told to follow her to the bridge. A short walk down the hall and we entered the first door marked Crew Only. Inside of this entry way were 3 or 4 private staterooms. We were told that these rooms are used for officers family who sometimes travel with the ship.
We entered a second room which had a number of flags on the wall in little cubicles. Through that door and we stepped onto the bridge. We were greeted by Captain Henry who spent a great deal of his time showing us the entire bridge. He explained each item and what it was used for. We had some great photo opportunities and learned tons of information about the ship and the technology associated with modern cruise lines.
I was fortunate enough to briefly assume the role of Captain David.
Each time the ship leaves port, they must sound the horn twice. Kevin and I were invited to push the blue button labeled Mickey Horn in order to start our journey. I was invited to do the first blast and Kevin the second.
We were then shown outside with Captain Henry to watch the ship pull away from
Castaway Cay. It was an amazing view to look down through the glass and see the water moving below us.
After the tour we spent a great deal of time talking with Robyn (who is very proud to come from the great state of Texas). She was an amazing woman and had such a great spirit about her. We hope to see her in our future travels. Monica and I received a special souvenir of our bridge tour. The Captain was very kind in signing the hat for us.
We truly thank everyone at DCL for always improving on our cruise experience and look forward to visiting the Wonder once again next January!
But we really enjoyed putting all of our pixidust gifts together and spreading the magic! I think that delivering the gifts was one of the best parts of the trip. Plus all of the walking to deliver them allowed us to eat a little more at meals! 
Southwest had over booked this morning flight also. 
But I wouldn't be bumped this time around. They put us up in the Hyatt last night and gave us a food voucher. But the best part was that they gave me $700 toward future flights. Which I was excited to get. 
I made it home. Not very happy about it. When I got home I found out I didn't have to fill water bottles (table mates you know what I'm talking about).
We arrived just in time to see the EAGLES lose!
appear in our fish extender!
JEANNE
I know how that feels! The last few years I've been lucky and dh doesn't travel nearly as much. 
story) I got about 3 hours sleep when she called to say this was it. By 11:33 AM THIS MORNING we have a grandson named Anthony 
I am hoping to continue keeping in touch with many 
, the Dis people were wonderful 
