A MAGICal Adventure from San Juan - May 4-9, 2024

[Erica1016]

I'm just getting ready to post the beginning of our trip report that inlcudes this cruise as well! It'll be my first one to write and I'm trying to stay on top of it! I look forward to reading yours as well!

 

[Erica1016]

We never really found out what the issue was, but the pool was drained and closed for this entire day - kind of a bummer on a nice weather sea day!

We'd noticed carpeting hung on the rails of the promedade in the forward area and it was strange (and we couldn't recognize the pattern). Turns out, they'd gutted the rooms of furniture and carpeting and were drying them out. I think I read that they even were able to get people back into their rooms! Since we're not concierge folks, it also explained why we didn't recognize the pattern!

All of the performers are so talented, but the guest performer on board who was playing the role of Mother Gothel (and Lady Tremaine in Twice Charmed) was phenomenal.

She was actually a Broadway Guest performer, Gail Bennett, and she was absolutely fantastic! Did you happen to catch her solo show in Fathoms one night between Dsney Dreams and Dinner? SO GOOD!!!

 

[sadiecatie]

This isn't the first time I've said this, but...wow, life really does get away from you once you get home from a trip! I've been busy obsessing about next year's trip (more on that later ), but I still want to finish this report, so here we go!

Day 7 - Nassau, AKA Day at Sea #2

We treated our Nassau stop as a second sea day - there was nothing that we really wanted to do in port, and on a 5-night sailing we appreciated having a little more time to enjoy the ship, so we were looking forward to our plans and relaxation time.

We woke up and headed to Cabanas - we got Audrey breakfast and Christian and me just got a little tiny something to tide us over because we had Palo brunch scheduled for 11am.

After breakfast, we got changed then headed to Fathoms for final bingo (we didn’t win - woh woh. The final prize on our sailing was ~$2500). Then we took Audrey to the kids club and headed up to Palo.

Brunch was wonderful! This was our second Palo brunch, but kind of like a first experience for Christian - last year in Alaska, we originally had Palo brunch scheduled for our first full sea day, but we hit some rough seas and Christian was not feeling well at all. We were able to reschedule for the next day (glacier day), but he was still kind of green in the gills and ate light. He was ready to fully enjoy Palo this time!

We started with some of the pastries - the almond croissant was fantastic. Neither of us is big on seafood, so we got the charcuterie antipasto and also enjoyed the savory breads. Christian wanted to save room for main courses, while I wanted to try a few different things, so I ordered the Eggs Benedict Florentine and the Celery Soup, which was surprisingly good. We then split a flatbread (half Spicy Italian Sausage and half Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomato, both of which were very good). We each ordered an entree and split them both - we ordered the Parmesan Crusted Chicken and the Lasagna Bolognese. I know the chicken is broadly loved (and I do think it’s great), but this was the best lasagna I’ve ever had - it definitely was my favorite item. For dessert, we ordered and split the Warm Amaretto Chocolate Fondant, Raspberry Chocolate Crush Tart, and Panna Cotta - this was a delightful meal all around!

After brunch, we got Audrey out of the kids' club to hang and have some chill family time. We did some Disney trivia, then spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool. This was when we were really happy with our choice not to get off at Nassau - the ship was so empty! There were a lot of first-time cruisers on our sailing, and it seemed like most of them got off the ship. We enjoyed a very empty pool deck and short lines for the slides all afternoon.

We were also docked next to the Wish today, which was a very cool experience. Not only was it cool to see both ships side by side (the oldest and newest - for now - in the fleet), but there were lots of visiting CMs on board as well, visiting friends and touring the ship. It almost felt like seeing little family reunions There was a very excited energy amongst the crew, which we enjoyed.





Dinner tonight was at Animator’s Palate (pirate night menu), after which we made sure to get some photos with characters in their costumes.









Then we went to the Pirate Party up on the pool deck. This was our first pirate night, since last summer in Alaska we had “Freezing the Night Away” instead. It was fun! We got a spot pretty close to the stage while Audrey went into the kids section.





I do know that we have pretty sensitive ears, but I’m always amazed that the volume of these events doesn’t bother others - we brought and wore ear plugs (also useful in bingo! The music can be very loud), and it makes it much better for us. If you or family members are sensitive to loud noises/music, this can be a great tip that makes otherwise potentially stressful situations much more enjoyable.

After the fireworks, we hung out for a little while watching the party/dancing (Audrey was getting tired but didn’t want to go to bed yet - we just grabbed a table off to the side and chilled for a bit), then headed back for bed - we wanted to be rested for Castaway Cay the next day!

 

[Erica1016]

We were also docked next to the Wish today, which was a very cool experience. Not only was it cool to see both ships side by side (the oldest and newest - for now - in the fleet), but there were lots of visiting CMs on board as well, visiting friends and touring the ship. It almost felt like seeing little family reunions There was a very excited energy amongst the crew, which we enjoyed.

I agree! It was like an event/activity just to watch them exploring and being so excited! We ran into a cast member visiting from the Wish that had been on the Fantasy with us last year!