If You See It: Eat It! Via Panama to Disneyland - Completed and Link to New Trip Report 2/24

[jedijill]

Good luck with your work writing project...looking forward to reading more about the cruise!

Jill in CO

 

[GoofyFan1515]

Hi there! Hope to be back with updates by the middle of August, once I finished writing something big for work. It is in its end stages, but if you spend the whole day writing something that feels like a doctoral thesis (it's not!!) I just lack any writing energy. But I am so much looking forward to coming back to it soon!

I certainly understand being busy at work right now! Don't worry, we'll still be here when you feel up to continuing your updates........

 

[kangaand2roos]

I just finished your last TR and loved it. Subscribing to this one!

 

[eandesmom]

Hi there! Hope to be back with updates by the middle of August, once I finished writing something big for work. It is in its end stages, but if you spend the whole day writing something that feels like a doctoral thesis (it's not!!) I just lack any writing energy. But I am so much looking forward to coming back to it soon!

We will be here! That sounds exhausting!

 

[Poolrat]

Back and catching up!!! I know how life can be so we will be here when you are able to continue.

 

[Flossbolna]

I know, why is there the Magic in the title of this chapter? Well, it’s the name of this night’s menu. And I guess Disney was too cheap to rename it for the Wonder. Or it is all about the general Magic of Disney and not the specific ship Disney Magic…

Anyway, before dinner we had something else to do: The first show. Showtime was at 6:15pm. So once the ship had left the port of Miami it was time to head to the show. I was surprised how many people were in the theatre as there were so many repeat cruisers. I was expecting them to skip more of the shows that are shown on every voyage, like the welcome show. Still, we were able to find good seats just 5 minutes before the show started. We aren’t too picky and like sitting at the walkway and always were able to find spots just briefly before the show started.

The welcome show is a song and dance thing with a family boarding a cruise ship and experiencing the cruise. And meeting the Disney characters. It is really cute. As part of the show we were introduced to our Cruise Director: Jimmy!! Yes, you will hear more about him as the cruise goes on. I found him very entertaining and there were nasty people onboard who kept teasing me about being the biggest Jimmy fan. I can tell you that this totally untrue and unfounded!

So Jimmy welcomed us to the Disney Wonder and talked a little bit about what a wonderful cruise we were going to have with lots of exciting entertainment and great food. This was when we were told of the cruise motto: If you see it, eat it. We thought that this sounded like very good advise!

He also told us a few statistics about the cruise. I think we were about 2400 passengers (sorry did not write down that number), but only less than 300 of them were under 18. This is about 1/3 to 1/4 of the usual amount of kids on board. His question of who was a Castaway Club member was met with roaring applause, but when he asked who was on their first cruise ever (not only Disney), very few people cheered. He congratulated them on their courage… He said that there were over 1500 Castaway Club members on board.

Part of the show is also a short visit from one of the variety acts who would perform later in the cruise. For us this was John Charles who is a comedian guitarist. He was very funny as he made up new lyrics to Disney songs, which kind of made fun of cruising. Very amusing. He was also a very good musician.

After the show we got dressed for dinner and then decided to walk through the atrium to Animator’s Palate for our first dinner. In the atrium there were all kind of officers hanging around. That was actually the case every day before dinner and I should have made more use out of asking them all kind of questions about the ship and their jobs. That’s what they were there for: to talk to the guests. I am just not very good at small talk, so did not do it as much as I should have done. But this evening I spotted Captain Fabian (not that I knew what he looked like, but he had the typical CM name tag that said “Capt. Fabian”). I guess I was still a bit under the influence of that potent drink of the day because I decided that I wanted to talk to our captain and once the previous guests departed, I said hi and we chatted briefly. I told him that I was from Germany and he said how much he enjoyed Germany when he was staying there for the building of the Dream and the Fantasy at Meyer Werft. It turned out that he was on the Disney team that was working with the Meyer Werft people in Germany on the ship. He was very complimentary about Germany – I liked that of course!

I also got Michael to take a picture of the captain and me:

Then we headed into dinner and met our tablemates. We were seated at a table for four, so only had two tablemates. They were a couple from California who were huge Disneyland fans. They were very nice and we enjoyed chatting with them over dinner. However, Michael and I still would have preferred out own table.

Our dinner that first night was in Animators Palette and the menu was “Let the Magic Begin”. This was the first cruise that the Wonder got to use new heavy menu folders where the menu of the day would be inserted. On my last cruise we had gotten cardboard menus. While it made the menu look much classier, I was at first disappointed that there were no more cute designs on the front! But then we got the dessert menu and that was still cardboard and had the cute design. So this was today’s:

I took pictures of the menus to be able to remember what we ate, but they are not very good. So, I am not going to post them. Also, the unofficial Disney Cruise Line Blog has them all at http://disneycruiselineblog.com/menus/. This night's menu can be found here.

I started the meal with one of the drinks from the menu, the Elderbubble. It turned out that not only the folders were new, this was also a new item so our server was at first a bit confused. But then I quickly got my delicious drink:

Elderbubble – Belverdere Vodka, St-Germain Elderflower Liquor and Sparkling Wine

Michael got the drink that he would be getting for the rest of the cruise:

Cherry Coke, made with coke, syrup and cherries

The bread for the day was Carrot and Scallion Loaf:

They actually served us only these two slices of the special bread for a table of four. There were some plain rolls in there as well. I thought that was very odd. Also, as you can see it was mainly a white bread with tiny specks of carrot in there. I have to say that the bread was a constant disappointment on this cruise. The bread baskets usually had far too little of the special bread and the special bread always sounded more special than it turned out to be. I am sure you will hear that complaint being repeated a few times…

My first course was the Smoked Salmon Carpaccio with Capers, finely chopped Shallots, Pink Peppercorns and a Dill Honey Mustard Dressing:

I really liked this dish, even though it was mainly just smoked salmon. But I really like smoked salmon. I remember the dressing being very good. Reminded me of the salmon Katharina and I used to get whenever we were at IKEA.

Michael had the Chicken Bastela – Moroccan Spiced shredded Chicken in Phyllo-dough and sprinkled with Powdered Sugar and Cinnamon, with a Vegetable Almond Slaw

As a soup I had the Chilled Mango and Papaya Soup flavoured with Passion Fruit.

I love these fruit soups, but they did not have them offered as much as I remembered from my last cruise it seemed.

Michael got the Arugula and Baby Spinach Salad with Sliced Red Onion and a Sherry Wine dressing:

For my main course I had the Mesquite Grilled Chicken Breast with wilted Spinach, Crushed Sweet Potatoes and a Corn and Bacon Sauce:

It was really delicious!! I loved the sweetness of the corn and the sweet potatoes and the chicken was well seasoned and not dry.

Michael chose the Grilled Grain-fed NY Strip with Cheddar Cheese and Onion Smashed Bacon Potato, Roasted Green Asparagus and a Red Wine Jus.

He said his steak tasted good, but a lot of it was fat or not very nice meat. I think he ended up cutting out the nicer bits and then had about 1/3 of the steak left over.

For dessert I had the Apple Tarte Tatin Caramalized Baked Apple served with Vanilla Ice Cream:

This was nice, but the apple was rather undercooked and hence there was also not a lot of caramel going on.

I am not sure which dessert Michael had as I also took a picture of our table mates desserts. And before I tell you a lie (and Michael isn’t around to ask currently), I just give you both desserts:

Sweet Temptations A trio of Kahlua Chocolate Crème Brulee, Passion Fruit Chocolate Dome and fresh Fruit Sabayon Tartlet:

And then Passion Fruit and Dark Chocolate Dome Layered with Raspberry Jelly and While Chocolate Spiral Décor:

So after the dinner I tried to speak to our head server as that was what we had been told to do when we originally enquired about whether our request of a table for two had been fulfilled. Our head server was Josip from Croatia. He had been our head server on our last cruise and I thought he was really good and had requested him. So we got that wish, but not the table for two…

Of course once we were finished with the meal Josip was busy talking to tables on the other side of the room. We felt awkward about just going over there and interrupting him. So we asked our server whether he could let Josip know that we wanted to speak to him. I made sure to let the server know that it had nothing to do with his service! So after a short moment Josip came over and we told him that we had requested a table for two and whether he would be able to arrange something. We told him that it was because we have a long distance relationship between two continents and that those meals were precious time we could spend together. He was very nice about it and said that he would try to work something out and that we should keep the Wave phone on us the next day. With that we felt rather optimistic!

After dinner we went to check out our embarkation picture. They had redone Shutters, where you buy your pictures, on the Wonder in the winter and it no longer has the big walls where they would post all the pictures and you then had to go and search yours. Instead there are book cases with very nice folders and you are assigned one specific folder (they are sorted my an easy system). When you scan your KTTW card at the terminals, they tell you which one is your folder and where you can find it. In there all the pictures you take during the cruise are collected. I thought it was very convenient, but it eliminated the fun factor of having a chance of seeing other people look goofy in their pictures. So, once we found our folder we were surprised that both of the pictures they took of us actually looked really nice! I made a mental note of this and decided to buy it at some point.

We then went for a walk through the ship and on the promenade on deck 4. That became our nightly tradition: walk a mile on deck 4 after dinner. We usually ended it with stopping at Animators Palette as they would already have the next day’s dinner menu set up there. So we could ponder all the next day whether we wanted to have an alternative dinner…

And then it was time for the first night in our new home for the next two weeks.

Up Next: Hello Mr Hemingway! Part 1 Part 2

 

[Flossbolna]

Hiit's been awhile I hope y'all are well. I can't wait to catch up on all the good things you both been doing.

Hi! I hope you enjoy the report!

I'm in!

We're taking this cruise next year and can't wait. Love reading reports like yours with tons of pictures and info. Thank you.

Someone asked about being in an inside room. We stayed in an inside room (a 10C on deck one) for 21 days last year on the Magic. It was my husband and me and our two kids who were almost nine at the time. We had the split bath. It was wonderful. It didn't feel cave-like or depressing. The room is the same size in all the 10s through 5s. One of the things we loved was how quiet it was on deck 1. Plus, with so long on the boat (we did the EBTA and the first Med) we knew there was a risk of major weight gain, so we vowed to never use the elevators. We all did great with our weights. I did notice that there was never a wait for the elevators down there, so anyone on the first or second decks should be able to easily get a ride up.

Can't wait for you to have time for a new post . Take your time. No pressure. Well, not much

I hope your cruise next year will be as magical as ours! And lots more pictures to come (without long periods of no updates from now on hopefully!).

Thanks for giving some feedback on the inside room!

Trying to catch up myself around here. Glad you made it on board. I agree starting your official vacation with the DOTD and having it be a good one just starts you off right.

Love all the pictures of the stateroom and the ship.

Sounds like we are going to in for quite a trip for 15 days.

I am already looking forward to my next drink of the day!

 

[dolphingirl47]

You are not the only Jimmy fan here. I actually told him that it looks like we are stalking him. He was our cruise director on the first half of our back to back cruise last year. Then he was on the Magic when we did our bonus cruise in December and then he was back on the Wonder for this cruise. I really like him. The photo with Captain Fabian has come out really well.

Corinna

 

[Flossbolna]

Trying to get all caught up. Sorry I haven’t been around much but work and life are just crazy right now. This new work assignment I’m on is even more time intensive than the one I told you about that originated near you.

I hope that your work is better now! After being through with my project, I am feeling so great that I wish everyone could be as happy as I am!

Thanks for all the specifics about check in and boarding when you arrive for the cruise. I’m sure when the day comes that I take a Disney Cruise I will feel the very same anxiety you did the first time not knowing what to expect. Of course, being Disney, they make it as painless as possible, but that doesn’t totally take that “unknown” element out of it.

Before my first cruise I was really interested in all the little details people would have in their TRs. So I am trying to write a TR that I would like reading. And hope it is useful to some!

Too funny about the long “12 minute” delay waiting for your boarding group to be called. It seems like any time we have to wait like that it always seems much longer than it actually is. You got some great shots of the Wonder. I can almost hear it calling my name. Your food at PC looked really good, especially for buffet.

Yes, humans are actually not very good at giving accurate information about anything! My mother once ordered a nice wooden crate to be made for Katharina to take with her to her first students residence that could work as storage and as a coffee table. She told the carpenter some dimensions over the phone that sounded good to her and in the end, Katharina would have been able to use the crate as a panic room! It never came with her to her student residence and just was some storage think at my parents in the end.

Looks like you had a really good stateroom, and for getting an upgrade. Of course now it appears I have more to get caught up on since you say you rewrote the update on room categories. Why do I feel that I might be the reason you went back and did that???

You were at least not the only reason. I had a sister accusing me of writing incomprehensible stuff. And then I wanted that section to be useful, not sound like Chinese.

You got an awful lot done in the short amount of time between when you boarded and the ship finally sailed. I really like your new “tradition” of getting that drink to start off your trip! I am somewhat of a fan of grapefruit and grapefruit juice, but I’m still a little undecided about having it in my adult beverage. Of course, it probably isn’t a whole lot different from ordering the standard Screwdriver once they added the cranberry juice, so it might be worth a try, especially when it is the drink special.

I love grapefruit in fruity drinks! It makes them less sweet but still fruity. Give it a try, it really is not so far off from lemon!

That’s a real bummer about getting stuck at a table for four when you requested to be seated alone. Hopefully Disney made some happen and fixed that for you, and you were also able to get your request as Josip for your Head Server.

More on the dining room saga coming up!

Those sandwiches at Goofy’s Galley looked very tempting, and what an interesting fact about the ship making so much fresh water from the sea water! I got a reuseable insulated cup when they were on sale also. I bet you can’t guess which one was my choice………

It certainly would not have been Goofy??????

I got to use mine quite a bit over the last weeks when it was hot outside! Reminded me of being on a cruise ship when I worked through the weekends.

And BTW, I am really hoping to never read a Magdalene TR update that answers the question whether you can remain calm enough to do all of those tasks during an actual ship’s emergency!

I guess we can agree on that!! However, I would not mind to volunteer in a vacation exercise just to find out how it is to actually get on a life boat.

Hi Magdalene,

I'm here! Love all the updates so far! Ok how did you like Moe's? We have one here sort of close by. I don't mind it not my favorite for Mexican though. The hotel in Miami was interesting. Now the bathroom was really designed weird. Your drink looked very yummy and you look lovely in your sundress! Looking forward to the rest of the trip!

Hi Wendy!

I thought Moe's was nice - but then for me it was something very different from the kind of fast food you can get here!

I am sorry that I got stuck with this TR once you signed up! It should move quicker now. I really want it to be done before Thanksgiving. I hope that's not too ambitious!

 

[Flossbolna]

Ok, I know I am very late to the party but it is nice to see the "B" word officially being used...as I don't seem to recall seeing it in print before

GTY can be a great way to go! We had wonderful luck with our GTY booking back in 2011 for Alaska.

I have to admit, I am not good at waiting to see what I end up with. And there will be some more stories to tell about our stateroom...

He probably doesn't have enough $ to fly first class because he puts it all into that horse!

I guess!

there is no way Jeff would have shared that. That sounds perfect after a long flight and a long long wait at customs.

It was just perfect then!

I have mixed feelings about the W. They are lovely. In a very contemporary modern way, which is the look they are going for. I'm not sure I'm quite hip enough for them though and goodness, that bathroom set up was odd. I could see it in NYC where space is at such a premium but it seems unnecessary in Miami. I'd also feel a little odd about folks walking up to the pool deck seeing me underwater! Guess you can stick to parts of the pool not near those stairs. Bummer about the wind though. Spectacular views.

Oh, you would have been plenty of hip enough for this hotel!! That was one of the things I liked about it, that while being hip it always felt very inclusive. And there were all kind of people staying there.

Oh my goodness, hope he was ok

I think the guy was just confused and getting him out of the water was mainly a precaution to prevent damage.

12 minutes can seem very long in times like that!

Oh yes!

I have a feeling our cruise will have a similar demographic, a LOT of folks on it are doing it after the TA.

That might even get worse as after two weeks, people will develop a sense of ownership for the Magic and treat you as "intruders" - hopefully not! But it seems that for the Norway cruise we do have a lot of people who will be on their third cruise, first the TA, then the Baltic and then Norway. I have no idea how they pay for that though....

But I just realised that you are going to be on the same cruise as Annika then, she is annichan here on the boards! If you see her, tell her hi from me!

That is plain odd in a room that has 2 adults!

And we should have taken it as a sign...

I am excited for that bag, it is really cute!

I agree! I still haven't used it though...

Oh my. I'm not sure cave like is ideal fora 2 week cruise

Oh, I meant it in a positive way. Like when I was a kid I used to build these nice comfy caves under the table with lots of cushions.

I really really hope that gets fixed!

More about this in future updates!

I forgot they are actually less $$. Jeff has often complained that they seemed weak but it probably depends on the actual drink. I need to keep that in mind.

I think that the drinks were sometimes a little more potent when we got them directly at the bar and not from a roaming server. But then, I think I did not get one single drink that I thought was too weak.

At least it's a nice big pool deck with 2 hot tubs. So much better than how they set up the Dream. We did not care for that at all and it was always crazy crowded.

Yes, I thought so when I saw the first concept art of that adult pool. I wonder what we will make of it on the Fantasy. It seems with the addition of Satellite Falls the crowds spread out better there...

Ok. I think I am caught up! And you look lovely in your dress, I remember when you bought it!

Thanks!!

 

[Flossbolna]

Great detail in your write-up Magdalene, as usual! I'm enjoying it all.

Thanks! I am not nearly as amusing as you, but I am happy that you enjoy reading it nevertheless.

Whee! Signing on. I've missed your TRs! (I've been away from the DIS for a few years, my last couple trips were to Disneyland also.) Was just looking over my old dining report and decided to see what you're up to. (Wow, that sounds stalker-y. I'm not. I swear.)

Hi there!! I know what you mean! I do that sometimes as well to see what people are up to whom I talked to in the past! Great to have you here!!

Just chimimg in, have been so busy I am behind on all my threads including my own. I leave Thursday for Williamsburg Va, No day off before , and I am nowhere near ready !!!I am in need of a break even if it is a working vacation !!!

Seems like this was the summer of people drowning in work! Hope you are doing better now!

 

[Flossbolna]

Did you get a photo package?

No, we thought those were far too pricey for us as we don't need lots of portraits of us.

Why, hello there!! It's been ages since I have been around, I had forgotten how much I enjoy a good TR! Love all the detail you have included too!

Looking forward to more when life slows down for you a bit! Also, a big CONGRATS to Germany on the World Cup!!!

SCHLAAAND! (That is the totally stupid German "battle cry") I have to admit that it was a pretty great feeling to win and it put the whole country into a really good mood for about 3 days. Then the tediousness of daily life got us again.

And It's great to see you here! There will be plenty more details to come!

 

[Flossbolna]

Good luck with your work writing project...looking forward to reading more about the cruise!

Jill in CO

I certainly understand being busy at work right now! Don't worry, we'll still be here when you feel up to continuing your updates........

I just finished your last TR and loved it. Subscribing to this one!

We will be here! That sounds exhausting!

Back and catching up!!! I know how life can be so we will be here when you are able to continue.

Thanks for your patience! We handed it in two weeks ago, but with a weekend in Berlin visiting Katharina, it took me some time to get back to writing. But I am all set to get this going again!

 

[Flossbolna]

You are not the only Jimmy fan here. I actually told him that it looks like we are stalking him. He was our cruise director on the first half of our back to back cruise last year. Then he was on the Magic when we did our bonus cruise in December and then he was back on the Wonder for this cruise. I really like him. The photo with Captain Fabian has come out really well.

Corinna

How funny that you ended up following him from ship to ship. He told me that he kind of got hired especially for his experience with Alaska, so I guess that is one of the reasons why he is on the Wonder regularly. And he seems to really love those long cruises. I told him that since Norway is similar to Alaska, he should try to be on the Magic next year when it goes to Norway as that would be my next Disney cruise.

I really like the picture with Captain Fabian, too. For just a quick snapshot it is really good. That's why I never bothered to stand in line to get a picture with him.

 

[glennbo123]

As part of the show we were introduced to our Cruise Director: Jimmy!! Yes, you will hear more about him as the cruise goes on. I found him very entertaining and there were nasty people onboard who kept teasing me about being the biggest Jimmy fan. I can tell you that this totally untrue and unfounded!

Jimmy!

I think we were about 2400 passengers (sorry did not write down that number), but only less than 300 of them were under 18. This is about 1/3 to 1/4 of the usual amount of kids on board.

Wow, that is probably an unusual ratio for a Disney cruise!

They actually served us only these two slices of the special bread for a table of four. There were some plain rolls in there as well. I thought that was very odd. Also, as you can see it was mainly a white bread with tiny specks of carrot in there. I have to say that the bread was a constant disappointment on this cruise. The bread baskets usually had far too little of the special bread and the special bread always sounded more special than it turned out to be. I am sure you will hear that complaint being repeated a few times…

Maybe that's why Jimmy said, "If you see it, eat it."

My first course was the Smoked Salmon Carpaccio with Capers, finely chopped Shallots, Pink Peppercorns and a Dill Honey Mustard Dressing:

I really liked this dish, even though it was mainly just smoked salmon. But I really like smoked salmon.

Are you kidding? Smoked salmon is some kind of AWESOME! That dish looks great! I definitely would've gotten that too.

Michael had the Chicken Bastela – Moroccan Spiced shredded Chicken in Phyllo-dough and sprinkled with Powdered Sugar and Cinnamon, with a Vegetable Almond Slaw

Ooo, that looks really good too though. You had me at Powdered Sugar and Cinnamon.

Michael chose the Grilled Grain-fed NY Strip with Cheddar Cheese and Onion Smashed Bacon Potato, Roasted Green Asparagus and a Red Wine Jus.

He said his steak tasted good, but a lot of it was fat or not very nice meat. I think he ended up cutting out the nicer bits and then had about 1/3 of the steak left over.

Interesting...the picture looks like it's a pretty good steak. I'm drooling.

Up Next: Hello Mr Hemingway!

That sounds like an interesting chapter.

I hope you get your table for 2 one of these times!

 

[jedijill]

Looks like a great first day! Hope you are able to get your table to yourself.

I love the dress you are wearing.



Jill in CO

 

[Flossbolna]

Jimmy!

Exactly!!!

Wow, that is probably an unusual ratio for a Disney cruise!

Yes, very unusual! It also lead to some things being quite a bit different on this cruise than on others.

Maybe that's why Jimmy said, "If you see it, eat it."

Ah! So that you make sure to get th good bread and not your tablemates? That's smart!

Are you kidding? Smoked salmon is some kind of AWESOME! That dish looks great! I definitely would've gotten that too.

It was really tasty, very nice salmon.

Ooo, that looks really good too though. You had me at Powdered Sugar and Cinnamon.

Michael's choice was definitely more fancy than mine.

Interesting...the picture looks like it's a pretty good steak. I'm drooling.

It does look good and part of it were really good, too, but other parts were just not good quality meat. I remember that Michael was rather torn and liked it on that day but then over the course of the cruise whenever he had beef again, he realised that compared to what he got that first night, it usually was much better quality later on. He even became suspicious as the same think happened to him on a prior cruise that Disney has a not so great steak in the beginning to make people think that the steaks aren't so good and therefore eat less steak and more of the cheaper kind of meats...

That sounds like an interesting chapter.

Well, I hope your expectations aren't too high! We did not meet any ghosts!

I hope you get your table for 2 one of these times!

Time will tell!

Looks like a great first day! Hope you are able to get your table to yourself.

I love the dress you are wearing.



Jill in CO

It was a wonderful day!

Thanks for the comment on the dress. I really like it, too! I saw it online and loved the look of it, but thought it would not be a good cut for me. But then I decided to order it anyway to just try it on, expecting to have to send it back. But then I put it on and just fell in love with it!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Welcome back to the boards Magdalene! I hope things have calmed down for you.

As part of the show we were introduced to our Cruise Director: Jimmy!! Yes, you will hear more about him as the cruise goes on. I found him very entertaining and there were nasty people onboard who kept teasing me about being the biggest Jimmy fan. I can tell you that this totally untrue and unfounded!

Was somebody getting jealous?

I told him that I was from Germany and he said how much he enjoyed Germany when he was staying there for the building of the Dream and the Fantasy at Meyer Werft. It turned out that he was on the Disney team that was working with the Meyer Werft people in Germany on the ship. He was very complimentary about Germany – I liked that of course!

I bet it must be amazing to be there and watch a ship being built.

Michael had the Chicken Bastela – Moroccan Spiced shredded Chicken in Phyllo-dough and sprinkled with Powdered Sugar and Cinnamon, with a Vegetable Almond Slaw

Oooh, this one sounds interesting to me.

Michael chose the Grilled Grain-fed NY Strip with Cheddar Cheese and Onion Smashed Bacon Potato, Roasted Green Asparagus and a Red Wine Jus.

Definitely would have been my choice. I know you're shocked.

For dessert I had the Apple Tarte Tatin Caramalized Baked Apple served with Vanilla Ice Cream:

This was nice, but the apple was rather undercooked and hence there was also not a lot of caramel going on.

I know how you feel. I love apple pastries for dessert, but I am scared to order them from restaurants because you so often get crunchy apples in them.

 

[eandesmom]

Fun update! I love your dress and that is a lovely lovely picture of you with the captain. I have heard great things about Jimmy, I don't think you are his only fan!

I really hope they get the dining situation fixed so you get lots of alone time!

A bit of a mixed review on dinner but overall sounds like it was ok but maybe not exceptional.

Interesting thought on the B2B cruisers, you are right, we may be 2nd class citizens! Almost got into it with someone on FB who is a B2B. He intended to NOT pay tips on his first cruise (which I didn't know you could do, actually opt out!) and pay it all at the end.

Which I, and several others, thought was rather crummy. It's weekly (or per cruise) income to those folks I would imagine and just because he is on a 3 week trip doesn't mean they should have to wait that long.

It does make me wonder though, I've always had it added to our bill (or pre-paid usually actually) but it would be nice to physically hand it to the servers.

 

[Flossbolna]

Welcome back to the boards Magdalene! I hope things have calmed down for you.

Yes, they have! It is as if I got a new life again!!!

Was somebody getting jealous?

Maybe...

I bet it must be amazing to be there and watch a ship being built.

I am still a bit annoyed at myself that I did not make the trip up there. Meyer Werft has a nice visitors center where you can get tours that explain the ship building process. And they even have an exhibit about the imagineering of the Disney ships. Hey, but there are strong rumours around that they are in the process of getting contracts for the next two ships and from what I have heard Disney was very happy with the product they got from Meyer Werft, so maybe there is soon again a reason to travel there. Would be great!

Oooh, this one sounds interesting to me.

Really?? Chicken with cinnamon and powdered sugar? I would have bet that you would not want to be seen near something like that!

Definitely would have been my choice. I know you're shocked.

Ah, and I was wondering who had hacked your account...

I know how you feel. I love apple pastries for dessert, but I am scared to order them from restaurants because you so often get crunchy apples in them.

What is the point of cooking an apple, if you don't do it right...