From the Sea to the World - Holiday Edition - Completed

[Flossbolna]

That is great news. We love the sideways cabins on the Magic and the Wonder.

I think I have read you talking in a positive way about them before. I am quite looking forward to trying them out.

That sounds like my kind of excursion.

I was really excited about it...

That is great that they were honest about it and gave you the chance to cancel or change. I can speak from experience that snorkeling in murky water is soul destroying.

Thanks for that comment! It just confirms that Michael really made the right decision for us! And yes, I think it was good that they alerted us to the problem. I think we would have been unhappy if we only had found out once we were in the water.

Your excursion look nice and some of those views are absolutely stunning. I am glad that you got to spend at least a short time at the beach.

The views were amazing! It really looks like paradise because it is so unspoiled!

 

[Flossbolna]

Despite your change of plans at the last minute, it sounds like you had a great tour that day. That's how I would like to spend a day at the islands there. Snorkeling in murky water would be no fun. Those views from the peaks were stunning, and thank Michael for the history lessons.

It was a great excursion for a first visit. Unfortunately I am not sure how accessible it would be for someone with a scooter. I don't think those taxis were very accessible...

.... reading. but my study partner just showed up, and I'll have to come back to it this evening.

Goota to go back and catch up !!But saying Hi for now !!!

Hi Rosie!!

 

[Flossbolna]

This was a great excursion for us readers. More interesting than the snorkeling one, I guess…

You make a good point there! When I sorted through my pictures I once again felt that I failed totally taking pictures of Castaway Cay. Hanging out on a beach is just not the best thing to get lots of nice pictures.

Great pictures and educating, I didn't know there were sugar plantations on these islands.

Remember the triangle trade? We did that in history in school. All those beautiful Caribbean Islands were full of plantations with slaves brought over from Africa.

It seems there aren't any anymore - I guess because of the NP. But is there any other "industry" except tourism?

I think the sugar industry has since moved to other areas in the world? These islands are very hilly and I think they would not be good for sugar plantations in the modern era. But I think that the US Virgin Islands really only have one industry they depend on: tourism.

Me! Me! I want to come too!

Ok! Now you just need to convince your DH!

Very interesting, this picture didn't show in your update, that's why I marked it. But it shows in the reply?!

Sometimes when there are lots of pictures that need to be loaded at the same time, a few don't load and therefore don't show. You can use the right mouse click to get the menu where you can choose to load the picture if that happens.

I noticed that last week but then I thought, maybe I've been a Veteran for quite some time, and didn't notice, because I already had 509 posts, is it for 500 posts?

It is for 500.

I can tell you it is quite time consuming to be Magdalene's conversation partner while she is packing sometimes (as I'm sure she would have discussed the right amount of towels with me had I been with her), but it is also very comfortable and relaxing to travel with her. Kind of like traveling as a kid, when your parents made sure all the essential were packed.

I tried to discuss the towel strategy with Michael, he was not very responsive... Good packing is a high art!!

 

[Flossbolna]

Some History of Denmark

Since our excursion brought us back with plenty of time before the Fantasy would leave the port, we had time to go and explore St. Thomas for a little while. I was especially interested in that for personal reasons.

I had personal reasons as well. St. Thomas was one of the first truly 'exotic' places I visited and I've always loved it as a port call. I often wonder how many Americans don't even realize that this little piece of paradise is also part of our country.

A long time ago I was in high school and chose to spend one year abroad as an exchange student. I wanted to go to Scandinavia and ended up in Denmark. During the first week there all of the exchange students through the organization I went with had an orientation seminar. We learned some basic Danish as a starting point, we learned practical things like which stamps we would need to buy at the post office (letters were the only way of communicating for a reasonable price with back home then), Danish traditions and holidays etc. We also had one talk on Danish history. And one of the things that kind of stayed in my head was that Denmark used to have colonies, but sold all of them. And once we started planning the trip, I realised that what is now the United States Virgin Islands used to be the Danish West Indies. So, my goal was to get a glimpse of that Danish history that can still be found on St. Thomas.

By the way, if you ever wondered why those islands are called “Virgin Islands” – it is a name that was given to them by Christopher Columbus in reference to the legend of St Ursula. She was a martyr who traveled with her 11 thousand handmaidens to Rome on a pilgrimage and they all were killed by Huns in the neighborhood of Cologne here in Germany. So, there is even a connection to Germany. ;-)

Ok, back to our cruise! After a nice lunch we got our stuff and decided to walk into Charlotte Amalie, the capital of St. Thomas, named after the wife of King Christian V of Denmark. The Danish name was Amalienborg.

What did we eat? Fast food? I can't recall!

Ok, more details are needed: My trip notes say "burger on deck". So, yes, fastfood (I promise pictures for the next lunch update).

Some more opportunities for taking pictures of the Fantasy:

Directly at the port is a little shopping mall which is very nice with greenery and a few bars. We walked through that:

Saw some wildlife:

And then followed the road into town. There is a nice pedestrian walkway directly along the water from where you have great views back to the ship:

And getting closer to the town itself we saw a floating billboard that amused us:

The walk has no shade, but it was not long at all. I think it took us 20 minutes or so walking slowly. There are taxis available, but I felt that for the two of us it was a good way to stretch our legs a bit without too much discomfort. On the way back once we got to the nice mall, we started to feel a bit overheated, but I have felt much worse walking around WDW.

It wasn't that bad, but considering that it had been cold in Florida the Wednesday-Saturday before we left, the tropical heat certainly was strong. And I have also felt much worse walking around WDW ... as recently as yesterday!

We walked passed a government building:

I think it was the seat of the parliament of the Virgin Islands.

Then we headed into the main street:

This was totally crazy! All those old houses are shops, most of them either liquor shops or high end jewellery shops. All of them had people outside telling you to come in. The street was filled with cars that were in a traffic jam. It did not feel unsafe and it did not really bother me, it was just bizarre to me. I just could not understand why that would be an attraction! The shops did not even look interesting. And if I want to buy high end jewellery I would want the shop to be in easy reach of me so that if I have a complaint, I can go there and complain and not have to travel to an island far away. I really don’t understand the appeal of that at all! We found an interesting linen shop though where I purchased a Christmas table cloth for Katharina as a gift. So, I did some shopping there.

I have also not ever understood why shopping or, perhaps I should change that to shopping for jewellery and perfumes and alcohol is such a big deal on islands. I have no interest in the first two and am quite capable of finding whatever I wish to drink back home. But it is a HUGE part of the cruising industry!

I also started to see the first signs of Danish history:

This was a neat alley:

Some of the architecture was actually quite pretty:

Another alley:

And then I started to drag Michael away from the main street and up the hill. I had read a little bit beforehand about the possible sights and we had a little map to help us find our way around.

We decided against climbing even more stairs – there were plenty around:

This was the Governor’s mansion:

And the Governor’s garden:

I think this was a museum – it has the Danish flag on display:

And the main church:

There was a tiny park which had a statute of King Christian:

The inscription is in Danish. I also remember quite a lot of street signs that read … Gade. Gade is the Danish word for street.

The park had quite a lot of chicken running around:

Mmmm ... chicken ... this makes me want to jump ahead to WDW ... but I won't because M wouldn't like that.

And then there was the old fort, Fort Christian, which is currently under refurbishment. It should look splendid once it is done!

And then it was time to head back along the same street that we came in with. There were some modern buildings on the other side of the road, I think this gives you a bit of an overview of what the walk is like:

As I said, it really is not far at all and it did feel very safe during the bright day. If you have a hat and maybe bring a bottle of water (or pick one up in St Thomas), it really is fine to walk from where the Fantasy docks to Charlotte Amalie proper.

When we left the ship I made the difficult decision to call home, as since you are in the USA there are no roaming charges etc, as I had waffled on whether to check in on my father. I was seriously worried that I'd call home and find out that he was dead. Thankfully, that wasn't the case and, hopefully, won't be for years to come. Some people can just shut out the real world when on a cruise. I can never fully do that even if everything is fine. When things are a disaster, as they were when we left, I absolutely can't not worry. So ... it was actually good to call and know things were status quo.

Once back on the ship I thought I would want to sit on the balcony for a while:

But instead we decided to head up the pool to cool down a little while. I convinced Michael to head up to Satellite Falls. This is an adult area all the way on the top in the front of the ship. There is a very shallow pool and a feature that has kind of a waterfall into the pool. I really liked it, but it was a bit windy up there (even though the ship was not moving) and the sun was starting to come down and the water was not that warm. So, it was a little on the cool side. It was great to cool down! We also ordered the Drink of the Day, the Sunken Treasure, which I really liked! After some time, I checked out the line at the Aqua Duck and thought that it had disappeared and convinced Michael to go and ride it with me. I think the first two days the Aqua Duck had been closed because of the strong winds, so I still had not had a chance to ride it and I love water slides!

Of course, what I had not known was that even if there is no outside line visible, there is still quite a line inside before you get to go on the slide. We decided to wait it out anyway and had to wait a little under 15 minutes. I loved my ride on it, but could not convince Michael to get on it again… He wanted to head to his beloved Hot Tub. So I decided to join him there to warm up a little bit before heading down to our stateroom to finally sit outside on our balcony. Just when I wanted to leave we started to chat with some people who had been on the Eastbound Panama Canal cruise the last September and we started to compare notes for a little while, which was interesting.

I loved the Aqua Duck, but felt that 15 minutes was about 8 minutes longer than I felt like waiting ... or maybe 8 minutes and 34 seconds to be exact. It certainly is fun, much, much better than the overrated Aqua Dunk, which I am sure my favorite German sisters will be trying out shortly!

(not so sure whether Norwegian weather will be conducive to standing in line for a water slide... We are expecting highs below 20°C, which is 68°F!)

But then I really wanted to go to my Balcony!!

I took a few pictures at the pool deck first:

And then I settled on our balcony with a soda from the drink station (and maybe some soft serve ice cream…) and enjoyed the view and worked on the notes for the trip report.

It was getting dark early as it was the beginning of December:

This was the view down to the water:

You can see the large balconies of the category 4E staterooms down there.

And then it was nearly dark when we finally pulled out:

The Captain did not disappoint me and played all the different horns the Fantasy has. The Dream and the Fantasy can not only play When You Wish Upon A Star, but a handful of other melodies as well with their horn.

Tonight was Pirate Night and the Show was Big Hero 6 as a film. I am not really sure why we skipped seeing the film, but we did. I know that we were not keen on seeing a film in the Walt Disney Theater as that is a venue that just does not seem to work well for films (in our opinion), but we had talked about seeing it in the Buena Vista Theater. I guess we ended up having too much fun doing other things!

Seeing the film was one of my 'must dos' for the cruise, but it just didn't happen, and I still haven't seen it. Times just were never convenient or we had conflicting plans.

So, once we had sailed away, I took my time taking a nice shower and then sat outside on the balcony enjoying the scenery for some more.

Up Next: Pirate Food!

 

[nodnol]

Well, I might be "on the rail " but thanks to wifi on the train I was able to enjoy the update right away. Thanks for the heads up!

But no quoting on the phone...

I was wondering too, whether I had missed lunch. Thank you Michael for pointing this out.

The town doesn't really look Danish, but it's nice there are at least some Gades left.

How great that Michael's call home brought good news, or at least not bad news.

I like the night time pictures and I can't believe you still haven't seen Big hero 6!

 

[nodnol]

So that's my comment and now I'm waiting for the Leipzig excursion!

 

[Flossbolna]

Well, I might be "on the rail " but thanks to wifi on the train I was able to enjoy the update right away. Thanks for the heads up!

Happy to provide some "in train entertainment"!

But no quoting on the phone...

That's ok!

I was wondering too, whether I had missed lunch. Thank you Michael for pointing this out.

You can count on Michael to point out the missing food. He is good at that.

The town doesn't really look Danish, but it's nice there are at least some Gades left.

It looked like the typical colonial style. You are right, not very danish. But I guess thatched roofs are just not that easy to build int he Caribbean.

How great that Michael's call home brought good news, or at least not bad news.

At that point in time no bad news was indeed good news!

I like the night time pictures and I can't believe you still haven't seen Big hero 6!

Well, I have at least seen Frozen by now!! And with any luck I can see Big Hero 6 on the Norway cruise.

So that's my comment and now I'm waiting for the Leipzig excursion!

Need to try to get your DH to upload a few pictures for me to use... Mine did not turn out so well.

But I have 2 more updates ready to go and 2.5 more updates waiting to be sent off to be commented on by Michael!

 

[schmass]

I am all caught up - FINALLY! Just in time to get behind again, as I leave for WDW on Sunday!

I am loving reading your report, seeing all of the pictures of the Fantasy brings me right back to our cruise.

I'm glad that you ventured out to St. Thomas after returning from St. John. We had considered doing that, but never did. Nice to know what we can look forward to next time.

I love the pictures of St. Thomas at night - very cool and we definitely didn't get to experience that.

 

[glennbo123]

LOVE this picture Magdalene!

And I didn't realize that the Virgin Islands were originally colonies of Denmark. I learned something...thanks!

 

[Flossbolna]

I am all caught up - FINALLY! Just in time to get behind again, as I leave for WDW on Sunday!

Have a great trip!! I hope Rory will enjoy being the only child for the last time on vacation to the fullest!

I am loving reading your report, seeing all of the pictures of the Fantasy brings me right back to our cruise.

I understand! I loved being able to read a trip report from someone else on our Panama Canal cruise to take me back to my vacation!

I'm glad that you ventured out to St. Thomas after returning from St. John. We had considered doing that, but never did. Nice to know what we can look forward to next time.

It is a nice walk, just don't get put off by the people outside the jewelry shops!

I love the pictures of St. Thomas at night - very cool and we definitely didn't get to experience that.

That's the time of year - it got dark really early. Our next cruise in June to Norway will have sunset at 11:25pm (sunrise at 3:43am). That will be very different!

LOVE this picture Magdalene!

Thanks!! Balcony railings make good substitute tripods if you are careful! (I alway have my hand through the sling that is attached to the camera)

And I didn't realize that the Virgin Islands were originally colonies of Denmark. I learned something...thanks!

I had no idea either until I started researching the cruise that these were the islands that had been colonies!

 

[Flossbolna]

Pirate Food!

Tonight was Pirate Night and we were in Animator's Palette. This was definitely a bonus for Pirate Night. Remember that I was talking about the screens in the walls that showed Crush. They were used to display Pirate pictures that added a lot of atmosphere. It was all kind of pirate art. From pictures of Captain Hook to concept art for Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland. It was really entertaining to watch and made this the perfect restaurant for Pirate Night! I only got one picture of a screen unfortunately:

We got the menu and it looked differently from what we had on our last two cruises:

The bread for the night was corn bread and I really liked it. I think this picture was taken after some bread had already disappeared:

I decided to start the meal with a light appetizer and got the Buccanneer's Sun-Ripened Pineapple: Fresh island Pinapple with a Coconut covered Banana and Orange Glaze:

I had read a lot of very favourable comments about this on the DIS and somehow expected more than what it was. It was pineapple. Good pineapple. But nothing special. I liked it as I really like pineapple. The coconut covered banana was nice, too, but I did not really understand its purpose. The best thing was that this was a very light appetizer!

Michael got the Pirate's Golden "Pot-Stickers": Oriental "Pork Dumplings" deep fried and served with a Tamarind-Ginger Soy Sauce and Pickled Vegetables:

He said it was good, but he was not enthusiastic about it. I remember that I had that dish previously and found it a bit dry and I think this one had the same flaw.

For our next course I went with the fruit soup, this time it was the Chilled-to-the-Bone Honeydew and Watermelon Soup:

I was not really a fan of this. Watermelon is kind of a watery fruit and that carried over into the soup, it felt like too much water, too little fruit.

Michael went with a salad: Mr. Smee's Bibb Lettuce Salad: Bibb Lettuce, Baby Greens, Chicoree, Tomatoes, toasted Pine Nuts and Raspberry Vinaigrette (I think I can see what @eandesmom said about the raspberry vinaigrette trend... I wonder what is piratey about raspberries...)

For my main course I had fish again! I am really surprised to read my own notes (and see the pictures). This is the third evening in a row that I ordered fish...

I had the Captain Hook's Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi - Jasmine Rice, sauteed Pinapples on a mild curry sauce:

The fish was slightly too dry, but otherwise this was a very good dish! I loved the curry sauce.

Michael had the Castaway Chicken Breast - Rubbed with Pirate Island Spice, Rice and Beans and Fried Okra on Spice Glaze:

I think Michael once again thought this was good, but overall we thought that compared to the two first nights, this dinner was not as good.

Yes. I can't see the pic on my computer right now. But I don't recall being enthusiastic about it. I think it was pretty ordinary.

The dessert menu was very cute as well:

I passed on dessert as nothing really stood out to me. Michael decided to try the Bounty Fruit Cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream:

Once again a dessert that did not really convince...

After dinner it was time for the fireworks. We decided to make no effort to watch the Pirate Party up at the pool and instead wandered around a bit and then headed up to stake out a spot for the fireworks. We went up to deck 13 over the adult pool. Once we were there Michael realised that the Pirate Party on the Fantasy was different than the one on the classic ships. I kind of knew that, but since I was not interested in the Pirate Party (I thought it was overcrowded and loud on the Wonder and had no hope that this would be better on the Fantasy), I had not thought that Michael, who was not interest in the party on the Wonder, would suddenly become interested in it on the Fantasy. I felt very sorry for him as from our spot we could hear some, but see nothing. I guess that is something we need to do differently the next time. The fireworks were lovely as always. Compared to what they do in the parks, they are small and boring, but I like them nevertheless.

And then we headed to our stateroom to watch some TV.

We had seen that one of the on-demand selections was a documentary called The Boys. It is about the Sherman Brothers and was actually done by their sons. We started watching it that evening, but stopped at some point as I was starting to fall asleep. If you have a chance to see this documentary, I can highly recommend it! It is really well done and has lots of interesting stories. But it is also a sad story as these two brothers, who were such a fantastic team professionally, were not able to have the same kind of relationship in their private life. Michael and I both have a very close relationship to our respective siblings and I think for both of us it was so unimaginable to have a sibling that is a colleague, but not a friend.

I have had the privilege of knowing Richard Sherman for probably 15 years now, and have never discussed his brother. It always had the sense of being a taboo topic before their sons made the film. They were geniuses as a team, but not close at all in real life in the post-Walt days. I have heard many stories as to why this may be, but I don't believe in gossip. All I know is they have contributed so much to their craft and to the lives of countless millions (probably hundreds of millions and, possibly, billions!) That's what matters.

Up Next: Arriving in San Juan

 

[dolphingirl47]

And once we started planning the trip, I realised that what is now the United States Virgin Islands used to be the Danish West Indies. So, my goal was to get a glimpse of that Danish history that can still be found on St. Thomas.

I had no idea that Denmark used to have colonies in the Caribbean. Your photos from St. Thomas are absolutely stunning. I love all the alley ways and staircases.

I just could not understand why that would be an attraction! The shops did not even look interesting. And if I want to buy high end jewellery I would want the shop to be in easy reach of me so that if I have a complaint, I can go there and complain and not have to travel to an island far away.

I think price is the main draw. I gather than quite significant savings can be made. I am not the kind of person who is into high end jewellery so I have never looked into it. I would be far too worried to lose it.

The park had quite a lot of chicken running around:

I wonder what it is about islands that are part of the USA and chickens. Key West is full of them as are the Hawaiian islands that I have visited.

it was actually good to call and know things were status quo.

I am glad that the call managed to put your mind at rest.

I know that we were not keen on seeing a film in the Walt Disney Theater as that is a venue that just does not seem to work well for films (in our opinion)

I can't speak for the new ships, but we have watched movies in the Walt Disney Theater on the Magic and loved it.

They were used to display Pirate pictures that added a lot of atmosphere. It was all kind of pirate art.

That sounds rather neat.

He said it was good, but he was not enthusiastic about it. I remember that I had that dish previously and found it a bit dry and I think this one had the same flaw.

What a shame. It is a while since I had the pirate menu, but I always used to love the pot stickers.

Corinna

 

[Poolrat]

Caught up after being I think 3 updates behind.

Sorry the snorkeling was cancelled but hey I think that was for the best. You ended up with a lovely excursion anyway.

Pirate night looks like fun. I probably would have ordered your fish.

 

[Steppesister]

I had to pick some favorites and there they are. So pretty! I just told Mike I want to start cruising someday, and this is definitely a place I'd love to go someday!

I have had the privilege of knowing Richard Sherman for probably 15 years now, and have never discussed his brother. It always had the sense of being a taboo topic before their sons made the film. They were geniuses as a team, but not close at all in real life in the post-Walt days. I have heard many stories as to why this may be, but I don't believe in gossip. All I know is they have contributed so much to their craft and to the lives of countless millions (probably hundreds of millions and, possibly, billions!) That's what matters.

Truly fascinating! And kinda

 

[kid-at-heart]

This is my favorite photo of your excursion, although I like the others also. I love the way you framed the ship with the leaves. Do we get to see the tablecloth you bought?

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

A long time ago I was in high school and chose to spend one year abroad as an exchange student. I wanted to go to Scandinavia and ended up in Denmark. During the first week there all of the exchange students through the organization I went with had an orientation seminar. We learned some basic Danish as a starting point, we learned practical things like which stamps we would need to buy at the post office (letters were the only way of communicating for a reasonable price with back home then), Danish traditions and holidays etc. We also had one talk on Danish history. And one of the things that kind of stayed in my head was that Denmark used to have colonies, but sold all of them. And once we started planning the trip, I realised that what is now the United States Virgin Islands used to be the Danish West Indies. So, my goal was to get a glimpse of that Danish history that can still be found on St. Thomas.

Mmm...Danish...

Oh, you mean the country. I think I vaguely remember something about Denmark originally owning what is now the U.S. Virgin Islands, but thanks for the refresher.

There is a nice pedestrian walkway directly along the water from where you have great views back to the ship:

Looks like a nice walk! I probably would have chosen that option as well.

And I have also felt much worse walking around WDW ... as recently as yesterday!

Rub it in, why don'tcha?

This was totally crazy! All those old houses are shops, most of them either liquor shops or high end jewellery shops. All of them had people outside telling you to come in. The street was filled with cars that were in a traffic jam.

Looks the same as getting off the boat in Nassau. No thanks!

I have also not ever understood why shopping or, perhaps I should change that to shopping for jewellery and perfumes and alcohol is such a big deal on islands.

If you ever figure it out, please let me know!

The park had quite a lot of chicken running around:

Mmmm ... chicken ...

Looks like my buddy Extra Crispy from Kauai.

And then there was the old fort, Fort Christian, which is currently under refurbishment. It should look splendid once it is done!

Cool! I think I saw this fort on The Amazing Race once.

Of course, what I had not known was that even if there is no outside line visible, there is still quite a line inside before you get to go on the slide. We decided to wait it out anyway and had to wait a little under 15 minutes. I loved my ride on it, but could not convince Michael to get on it again…

I'm glad it was fun! It definitely looks better than the Aqua Dunk. At least it's a longer ride.

It was getting dark early as it was the beginning of December:

Gorgeous! I bet it was nice watching the island light up at night.

Tonight was Pirate Night and the Show was Big Hero 6 as a film. I am not really sure why we skipped seeing the film, but we did.

Sorry you missed it. It's a good movie. Not great--I found it somewhat predictable. But very entertaining.

I had read a lot of very favourable comments about this on the DIS and somehow expected more than what it was. It was pineapple. Good pineapple. But nothing special. I liked it as I really like pineapple.

I don't think there's much you can do to improve upon pineapple. Apparently Disney doesn't, either.

 

[Flossbolna]

I had no idea that Denmark used to have colonies in the Caribbean. Your photos from St. Thomas are absolutely stunning. I love all the alley ways and staircases.

It was really fun to explore! And one could have ventured even further up the hill.

I think price is the main draw. I gather than quite significant savings can be made. I am not the kind of person who is into high end jewellery so I have never looked into it. I would be far too worried to lose it.

But aside from tax savings, how much would one really save? High end jewelry is expensive wherever you buy it, that's why it is high end... And I guess Americans must be allowed to bring back more purchases from holidays as here in Europe you are limited to around 450 €, so not really the amount that can cover high end jewelry... But I guess you are right, it must be the price! Like in the 80s when people took the boat to Helgoland to buy butter there!

I wonder what it is about islands that are part of the USA and chickens. Key West is full of them as are the Hawaiian islands that I have visited.

That is an interesting observation!!

I am glad that the call managed to put your mind at rest.

It really made him feel much better.

I can't speak for the new ships, but we have watched movies in the Walt Disney Theater on the Magic and loved it.

I guess to me the theater just seems to be so large that I can't imagine that they really have the screen that is large enough. Maybe they will show a film on our cruise to Norway in the WDT and I can convince Katharina to try it out...

That sounds rather neat.

AP was perfect for Pirate Night! But I will come back on commenting on our rotation at the end of the cruise...

What a shame. It is a while since I had the pirate menu, but I always used to love the pot stickers.

I had them on the Wonder once and found them to be dry as well. Otherwise they were tasty.

 

[Flossbolna]

Caught up after being I think 3 updates behind.

I need to speed up a bit if I want to get it done before June 6!

Sorry the snorkeling was cancelled but hey I think that was for the best. You ended up with a lovely excursion anyway.

Yes, all in all we had a wonderful day and I am really not too sad at all. I definitely want to return there, so I can go snorkeling then.

Pirate night looks like fun. I probably would have ordered your fish.

I agree, it looks fun. But in the end, for me, it has never actually been as fun as it was. Maybe I always go in with too high expectations.

 

[Flossbolna]

I had to pick some favorites and there they are. So pretty! I just told Mike I want to start cruising someday, and this is definitely a place I'd love to go someday!

Thanks! I am always surprised when I get somewhat decent pictures as a lot of my pictures take the term "point and shoot" quite literal... But I had one year of photography in high school and I think some of what we learned about composing your picture etc. did stick.

Does Mike hate me know?? Not only am I cheering you on in your plans for WDW, but I now "put a flea in your ear" about going on a cruise... But maybe you need to follow @eandesmom and her strategy - she got her DH cruising with a cruise to Alaska. I could see your DH liking that as well.

Truly fascinating! And kinda

Somehow there is a word missing...

 

[Flossbolna]

This is my favorite photo of your excursion, although I like the others also. I love the way you framed the ship with the leaves.

Thanks! It is one of my favorites as well and I know that my sister uses it for her countdown on her phone for our coming cruise (even though we are going to be on the Magic).

Do we get to see the tablecloth you bought?

I gave it to Katharina, so we should ask her: @nodnol, any chance you can take a picture of it and post it?