Disney Wonder Nov 16-23: To Galveston and Beyond!

Lovin' your TR! You are soooo funny! We also love Wonder and can't wait to step foot on her next May! Too long to wait! I love the cartwheel pics! Hope to do the dolphin excursion someday!

Thank you for taking the time to share. I love how when I tap on the picture on my DISboard app that it doesn't take me to the beginning of your post. It takes me directly to your picture. How do you do that? I hope to do a TR when we so our cruise next year!
 
Lovin' your TR! You are soooo funny! We also love Wonder and can't wait to step foot on her next May! Too long to wait! I love the cartwheel pics!

We made a point of getting a picture & video of her cartwheeling at every stop. Some day when I have a chance, I want to put them all together to show her cartwheeling through four countries :lmao:


Thank you for taking the time to share. I love how when I tap on the picture on my DISboard app that it doesn't take me to the beginning of your post. It takes me directly to your picture. How do you do that? I hope to do a TR when we so our cruise next year!

You're very welcome! It's a lot of fun to write up. I wish I'd taken more notes, etc. at the time but it was awkward with just my phone. Next time hopefully we'll have a tablet or something <ahem, honey?!> to make it easier.

I have no idea about the disboard app tho'. It must just be a default because I rarely even look at the app :confused3
 
Ah...Chocolate! Glorious chocolate! :cool1:

But first, we had to do something with the kids. I wonder what it was? I suspect we just took them back to the cabin to watch cartoons. K was refusing to go back to the kids clubs by this point. Nothing against the clubs. I think she just didn't like that her big sis' was now too old for the kids clubs and didn't want to hang out there by herself.

So anyhooo....DH and I made sure to be prompt to the Cadillac Lounge for our tasting event! We were really excited about this one as the chocolate and beverage tasting hadn't been offered on our first cruise and we had read great things about it on the disboards. It's pricier than the others - I think it was $30 per person - but we would so do it again!

...And again...

...And again <hiccup>

It sold out very quickly as well, so definitely sign up asap if you're at all interested!

In fact, we were so prompt that they were still setting up!


Woohoo! look at all those drinking vessels :lovestruc

Our charming host for today's educational event was Sheldon ('bazinga') from Trinidad & Tobago.


Why type when the pictures say a thousand words?





Convinced yet?

Dh is :)


How sad....


So, what exactly were we drinking? Damned if I can remember. Fortunately I took pictures precisely because I figured I'd forget five minutes after walking out of the lounge. My short term memory gets shorter every year. :rolleyes1

Sheldon would have us take a taste of the beverage in question on its own first, then we would try some chocolate (nectar of the gods!), then try the beverage again to see the influence the chocolate had on the taste. I will be totally honest and admit that I couldn't always tell any difference. I'm a bit of a philistine when it comes to the subtleties of tastings. But I would smile and nod knowingly. I didn't care. It was delicious.

Not necessarily in order of tasting...

There was red wine:


Champagne!

Total yum!

Port


And the one DH was waiting for.....

Glenmorangie Scotch!


Oh my! I'm not a whiskey drinker. DH is. But I gotta say, the combination of chocolate & whiskey (sorry...'whisky') is a match made in heaven! If I remember rightly, DH even scored an extra glass from someone else who wasn't a whiskey drinker. He thought he was going to get mine but no way was I letting it go! :rolleyes1

There must have been something else that we tried. I think there were five glasses, weren't there? A white wine maybe from the photos? Dh will probably remember and prompt me when he reads this.

Or he'll read it and go "We went to a chocolate and beverage tasting???" :rotfl2:

Yes, dear...and you took it very seriously:


Ah, I maligned him prematurely. Dh chimed in to say: "no, there were only the 4 and the order was Champagne, red wine, port, then whisky (And for the record I got 2 extras)."
 
Sadly, all good things must come to an end and eventually they had to crowbar us out of the lounge.

We went back to the cabin to pick up the girls and headed to BBB for an al fresco lunch.



I think we had intended on going somewhere else for lunch and ended up
at BBB sort of as a plan B.

We were very happy with our Plan B because it was a seafood buffet!

And we all (all except V) love our seafood :lovestruc.



Fortunately, V loves bread and cheese and there was always lots of that available, as you can tell by her tray at the top!

OMG, and I just remembered - that potato salad had LOBSTER in it! I think I went back for at least two more helpings after that tray (hey, there was a lot of alcohol to soak up!)

She won't eat it, but she will play with it


Fun with crayfish!


K is testing out the colour changing properties of the t-shirt she bought in Grand Cayman
(or is it *on* Grand Cayman?)

One nominal down and how many more to go?

Depends on who you ask! :lmao:
 


Now that our tummies were happy, we had a few minutes to wander before our next fun event: MIXOLOGY!
This was another nominal we were excited to try.

Honest, we really aren't lushes! But hey, we were on vacation ... and wanted to support the local economy and all... :p

Random sitting area somewhere
(Hey, sorry...details are getting sketchy!)


Ooooh! Lots of stairs...all the way down!


Ha! Elevators again!

Specifically the 7th and 8th deck elevators.

And no, I didn't faceplant on the carpet after all the nominals

I just took a picture of it :)

Back to the action:


The Mixology class was at 2pm in the Cadillac Lounge and conveniently, the ventriloquist/comedian Michael Harrison
was doing his family show in Wavebands at the same time.

We set the kids up at a table to enjoy the show:


As you can tell, they were absolutely devastated that we were leaving them! :rotfl2:

And then, footloose and fancy free, we skipped down to the Cadillac Lounge.

Artistic shot?
Or did someone forget the flash?


So we knew the drill by now...come in and they have your drinks all lined up for you (does it get any better?).
Again, I think there were five drinks but there's only four in the photo.
Hmm...counting is a challenge for me at the best of times...


From left to right it's I-don't-know, something-or-other, toilet-cleaner and something-yummy. :rotfl2:

Dh will probably (hopefully) remember names better than I! I'll come back and add them when he does.

Oh yes, there's the fifth drink - the blue one in the tall glass!
See, I did know what I was talking about <snicker>


Unlike the other tastings, this one has an audience participation piece!
And yay, Dh got picked as the audience participator!


Ivan escorted him behind the bar - up until then I hadn't realized that the bar is completely closed off,
i.e. you can't just walk behind the bar, you have to go through
the staff only door through the behind the scenes area and then out another door behind the bar.

Did that make sense?

Anyway, DH and Ivan disappeared for a few moments and I wondered if I would really ever see DH again <sniff>....
Then he appeared behind the bar and all I could think was 'cooooool...he's in his natural habitat!'

Ivan then coaches the participant on how to make the selected cocktail.
And this is a full size cocktail, not the tasting sized!

Ivan encourages Doug - More! More!


The ingredients in whatever concoction was being concocted:


See! I finished mine all up!


Dh's finished product (which he got to drink, except I think I actually drank it).
There was a lot of alcohol in this baby!


Before we left we had to get a picture with Ivan. He was quite a riot.
Wow, do we look happy? Or toasted?


Toasted! Definitely toasted! :rotfl2:

Hey, I'm just glad we remembered to find the kids before we went back!

Heck, I'm happy that we remembered we even HAD kids!
 
I was a volunteer for the regular size drink at out martini tasting session. That makes for some serious alcohol consumption! LOL. I persevered though!! :-). We also had to do a double dip for tastings on out last day because of schedule and we definitely needed an afternoon nap afterwards. :-)
 
I was a volunteer for the regular size drink at out martini tasting session. That makes for some serious alcohol consumption! LOL. I persevered though!! :-).

Hehehe...way to take one for the team! :lmao:

Gotta love those nominals!! :lovestruc
 


For some reason, before we left our cabin I just *had* to take a photo of the bedside lamp:



Oh yeah, I remember the reason now! :drinking1

The kids were antsy to do something they wanted to do - so while daddy 'rested', I took them up to the pool deck for a swim.
Dh said he would meet us up on deck in a few minutes.

V's tablemate friend was there so they frolicked in the pool.



And I watched a bit of Tangled on funnel vision.

Oooh...this is one of my favourite parts!


Good thing it wasn't the lantern scene. I always cry during the lantern scene. :sad:

K amused herself with cartwheels on stage for a while. She doesn't like the 'big' pool but I couldn't leave V
unattended to take her to the Mickey pool.

In between scenes of Tangled, I watched the clouds float by:


Sigh...does it get any better?

Eventually K got bored with cartwheels and I was starting to wonder what was keeping DH.
There was no answer on the wave phone so K and I decided to go find him. Our tablemate was on the pool deck now so we left her supervising the girls
in the pool and headed down to check out the cabin.





No Dh there so wandered around and ended up in the Atrium.

Checking out the hidden Mickey


Hide 'n Seek with Ariel:


And the must-have photo under the Christmas Tree:


By now I was really starting to wonder where Dh was, and wondering how mad he'd be if he was trying to find us on the pool deck while we were wandering around!

Oh well, we kept wandering...right down Beat Street.



These portholes are just made for relaxing!



The Cadillac Lounge is at the end of the hallway and had the 'event in progress' sign in front of the doors. 'Oh, guess there's another nominal', I thought to myself...then the penny dropped and I went in:

Found him!



For those still scoring at home, that makes *3* nominals - in less than 5 hours :rotfl2:.​
 
Still following along! :)

Yay! You are a brave soul indeed! :thumbsup2

I really am trying to finish it up...honest! In fact, I'd much rather stay home and edit photos and post updates but darn it, this working for a living keeps getting in the way - no matter how many lotto tickets I buy!! :upsidedow
 
Still following along too. I love that your DH managed to squeeze another tasting into the schedule. :thumbsup2
 
Ah yes, had to re-read my last installment to remember where I was! Well, we know DH was in his happy place so that's good.
According to him, it was all Ivan's fault ("He made me stay!").

Sure, honey...keep telling yourself that!

On the bright side, he won a free beer too so yeah, it was well worth it (to him :lmao:)

So we left him in his natural habitat and headed back through Beat Street.


Love the details!
I don't know if I had ever noticed the record at the doorway floor before
("Mommy, what's a record?")




Panic was now setting in because look! look!


Make it stop!
Don't let the sun go down...!

So back up to Deck 10 while it was still light enough for photos.




Sigh. Why does this logo make my heart beat faster?




Ah yes, still cartwheelin'...


Still setting :sad2:


I held my camera out over the rail to take this picture and thought 'how stupid will I look if I drop my camera...?'
Thankfully, I didn't have to explain to DH why we needed a new camera.


And by now, DH had managed to crawl his way up to deck to meet up with us

 
And then it happened:




Sigh...the last sunset. Well, most of it.

Here's the rest of the sunset...

Once the family pried me away from the railing, (I think my fingernails may have left scratches) it was back to the cabin....

Never have I wanted to throw a rock at something as much as
I wanted to throw a rock at the TV at 5:27 pm.


I'm thinking it must have been around here that we had the last night paperwork - tip envelopes, feedback form, etc. We had prepaid our tips but had extra to add to the envelopes anyway. But when we looked at the tickets, there was the wrong name for our main server. I went down to Guest Services to see what was up with that. Hey, did you know sometimes the servers have nicknames on their nametags but it's their real name on the tip ticket? LOL...live and learn. I was just happy to know the right person was getting credit :)

It was probably also around this point that our cabin host showed up at the door. We got a brief spiel about the 'excellent' rating. Nothing over the top and diplomatically done (I thought...I wouldn't have even registered it if there wasn't so many discussions about it on the disboards!) Oh dear, old age has set in and I can't remember his name. He was friendly but unobtrusive, kept our cabin spotless AND delighted the kids by putting princess sheets on their beds (yes, even the too cool for princesses 12 year old).

Eventually we got the chance to freshen up and head down to the theatre for the last show.

Daddy & K sharing a moment


The theatre balcony.
I figured I was safe to take flash pictures if the show hadn't actually started.


Hidden Mickey!


The show was wonderful. We were sitting close to the front and got to collect the Mickey confetti.

I'm totally blanking on the name of the show right now. But it made me happy and sad all at the same time. Weird, eh?

Bwahaha...okay, eventually the cat got off my lap and I was able to check the name in the Navigator...

"Remember the Magic"

Oh the irony!

And now that I see the Navigator, yes, it's all coming back to me. John Charles did the 'opening act' for the show. I believe he had just joined the ship in Cozumel. Up to then I hadn't thought about talent coming on board mid-cruise. I always thought they'd get on when the passengers did and then would stay for the duration. Heh, who knew?


 
Throughout our cruises I LOVE looking at the TV to see the map and where we were at. The last two nights are hard, reality of leaving the ship sets in, and packing your home away from home is so difficult! :sad:
 
Throughout our cruises I LOVE looking at the TV to see the map and where we were at. The last two nights are hard, reality of leaving the ship sets in, and packing your home away from home is so difficult! :sad:

Yep, I love tracking on the TV ... until we start heading back :( And let's face it, the cruise is really over on that last night. There's no getting around it. The morning is just logistics of getting off the ship & trying to adapt to 'reality' (boo! hiss!) That's usually the point where I tell myself 'no more holidays!'...which never actually lasts (thankfully!) :rotfl2:
 
So the show over, we made our way out of the theatre...there may or may not have been a little dust in our eyes...<sob>...and wandered down to the atrium. There was pin trading scheduled and V wanted to see if she could snag a pin or two. We aren't hard-core traders but I could go totally nuts on pins, if I let myself. :rolleyes1

First we mucked around in the Atrium a bit. I don't remember where DH was at this point. No, he wasn't at another tasting.

Well, not yet, anyway :rotfl2:




Details! Always with the details!


Looking in through Triton's window:


We had never noticed these before...on the wall, right beside the Deck 3 doors to the Atrium...a 3D directory of the ship!


Pin Trading!


V got into line and as she got up to the officer, he turned and posed just as I took the photo!
Priceless!


 
So the show over, we made our way out of the theatre...there may or may not have been a little dust in our eyes...<sob>...and wandered down to the atrium. There was pin trading scheduled and V wanted to see if she could snag a pin or two. We aren't hard-core traders but I could go totally nuts on pins, if I let myself. :rolleyes1

First we mucked around in the Atrium a bit. I don't remember where DH was at this point. No, he wasn't at another tasting.

Well, not yet, anyway :rotfl2:




Details! Always with the details!


Looking in through Triton's window:


We had never noticed these before...on the wall, right beside the Deck 3 doors to the Atrium...a 3D directory of the ship!


Pin Trading!


V got into line and as she got up to the officer, he turned and posed just as I took the photo!
Priceless!



I loved reading about the pin trading. My DH has recently gotten into pin trading again because he gets our DD involved. They've been doing at DLR and CA.

On our 1 st cruise we saw the pin trading in the Navigators. I asks DH if he wanted to do it on our last cruise & he said no (I don't think he wanted to bring the lanyard full of pins!). However, I'm sure he will from now on! I'm going to show your pix!:banana:
 
Once I hit that last afternoon and the suitcases have to come out, it's all downhill from there. :rotfl: Still enjoying your TR - you certainly crammed a lot of stuff into your last day though! :thumbsup2
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!







Top