I'm Outnumbered! Parenting Alone Through The Panama Canal (EBPC 2017)

[arielmomma]

Enjoyed your trip report! I love all the food photos. We'll be back on the Disney cruise in October for the first time since our little girls were born.

Thank you for joining in. Have an amazing cruise!

haha you are a machine! good luck!

LOL! I'm determined to finish this last sea day before we leave tomorrow. Debarkation can wait until I get back!

 

[arielmomma]

I'm going to take a moment to acknowledge a few more DCL cast members who helped make this cruise so memorable.

Our ever-smiling cabin steward, Lorenzo



The ever-perky Melissa and Brian



My favorite dance instructors in the whole world, Willem and Natalia



My favorite dance assistant in the whole world (who always smells incredibly good), Jarrod



And let's not forget Ross who has been on every Wonder cruise that we have taken.



After lunch we watched Willem and Natalia demonstrate all of the dances that we learned during this cruise, then it was off to another improv class. All three of us, and Emily's friend, joined in this time. I really hope they offer this class on our next cruise. It was a lot of fun.



We then went to the atrium to watch the flash mob that was performed by the teens from Vibe. They did a great job!



While we were watching the flash mob, a generous woman stopped by and pixie dusted Emily and her friend with a couple of toys. If you are reading this, thank you. It was very kind.

After the flash mob, Jimmy went his own way, while Emily, her friend, and I went to the promenade lounge to make more 3D crafts.



More friends stopped by and shared some treats with us.

 

[arielmomma]

Emily enjoyed a treat while we waited to get our craft supplies.



These are the swim toys that she was pixie dusted.



Craft time!









When craft time was over, we headed up to deck 4 for a walk. Jimmy was already there enjoying the view.



It wasn't long before the kids wanted a snack. It was ice cream time!





The kids finished their treat, and we headed to our very last ballroom dance session. (A lone tear slips down my cheek.) Emily was excited to have a dance partner this time.

 

[arielmomma]

With ballroom dancing behind us (*sigh*), Emily said goodbye to her friend and we headed to dinner. Our final dinner was in Animator's Palate. It was show time!









Here's my drawing.



Jimmy's drawing



Emily's drawing

 

[arielmomma]

They had the sun dried tomato dip again for the bread. Jimmy and I LOVE this stuff.



I ordered the appetizer sampler. Everything was good.



The kids both had a bowl of French fries.



For our main course, we all ordered the chicken. I dipped mine in the sun dried tomato dip. It was sooo good.



Between the main course and dessert we watched the show we helped create.



For dessert, I had double celebration cakes.



Jimmy had a big bowl of ice cream and a celebration cake.



Emily had the sundae.

 

[arielmomma]

This evening's Walt Disney Theater Performance was Dreams. While we enjoy the show, we've seen it several times so we opted to skip it. Instead, Jimmy went to deck 4 for the last time, while Emily and I grabbed a salty snack...



and went to see Born in China. We both really enjoyed it.





After the movie, we joined Jimmy on deck 4 for a little bit, but soon decided to call it a night. We had a very early day ahead of us tomorrow. We'd have to say goodbye to the Wonder.



Up Next...Homeward Bound

 

[adSimba]

You did it!!! Please help bring the Wonder Safely to the West Coast, my first cruise is the first Alaska trip of the season!

 

[cmph]

Have fun on your next cruise, and thank you for entertaining us again with this report! I think my favorite photo was of Emily and her friend ballroom dancing together - how sweet!!

 

[mmmears]

Wow! You finished the cruise part! Have a great time on the upcoming PC cruise!

 

[nrexxma44]

I have so enjoyed your trip report...we are headed on our first PC cruise in Feb 2019. You have a great way of describing the many different activities and have inspired me to try more of them, then i usually do on the cruises. I love your descriptions of the food, and the fact that you let your children eat dessert before dinner and for breakfast. You are one cool Mom. You have also inspired be to take some late evening deck 4 walks!!! Thanks again for taking the time to share your cruise with all of us...it only makes me want the next 323 days go by rapidly!!

 

[darnheather]

I'm just on Day 1 and am grinning like crazy. I love your trip reports and will be single momming the WBPC in 2019. Thank you so much.

 

[darnheather]

Following along! I've thoroughly enjoyed your other trip reports and can't wait to read this one! Congrats on the weight loss! What an awesome feat!

I totally agree! Weight loss is so difficult. You look amazing.

As we collected our luggage, I called the Hampton Inn San Diego Downtown for a shuttle pick-up. Now this is where the evening hit a bit of a snafu.

-snip-

When we arrived at the Hampton Inn's front desk, the woman I spoke with on the phone greeted us with an apologetic smile. She immediately reimbursed me for the cab fare and checked us into our room. Her friendly and accommodating personality instantly improved my mood. Though my primary focus was on finding a bed to collapse into.

-snip-

I am so glad she kept her word. That kind of thing would have really set me of as well.

Yay! I enjoy reading all about your adventureswith DCL. You're such a great trip reporter!

On a somber note, my deepest condolences on the passing of your parents and uncle. Sending strength and comfort your way for your continued healing.

Yes, my condolences as well. May you find peace.

While there, Emily made her first friend who will be accompanying us on the cruise.

That is such a great coincidence! My oldest (17) has made great lasting friends on both our cruises. My youngest still struggles with friend making but we have big changes coming this year that I hope will help her with that. They've mostly always been homeschooled but :sniff: she'll be going to a tiny private school in September. Still taking off two weeks to cruise as I believe life experience is greater than sixth grade every day of the week (or at least two weeks a year.)

While we waited for our food, a lovely family joined us at our table. It was time to behave in a more civilized manner. Great conversation helped us pass the time until our meals arrived.

Thank you so much for having the courtesy of having another family sit with you. I've found on our two cruises we were always able to do this but generally in day to day life it's a no go in America. In fact in a crowded cafe this week I had to ask someone to remove her purse from a chair (at another table!) so that we could all sit. She gave me some stank eye. LOL

 

[darnheather]

5...4...3...2...1 (Cue the horn song). We were on our way!​

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I can't tell from the photo but was there no roped off section for the children? On our first cruise I really messed up this part of the day and nearly did it again last time. Thankfully though not many people went to the party on second cruise and I managed to get Izzy in there. I think she'd be super bummed if she couldn't do it one more time.

My main course selection was the mango chicken salad.

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Emily had the mesquite grilled chicken breast. This was fabulous! I know what I'm ordering next time.

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Did you not like the salad or was the other dish just better? I eat a salad every day since I began my own weight loss journey last year. At home this comes at lunch but on the cruise I preferred it at dinner. One time I had my server bring me a double garden salad with chicken strips.

These were my selections from Cabana's: smoked salmon, spinach, a poached egg, and hollandaise sauce. Everything was delicious!

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We enjoyed our selections on the open deck, basking in the gorgeous morning at sea. Our less-than-stellar experience in Animator's Palate already forgotten!

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My absolutely favorite food on the cruises is the poached eggs with hollandaise sauce. So good.

After the craft was an animation class. I stuck around to learn how to draw Mickey and Goofy.

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While I will never be recruited by Disney to be an animator, I enjoyed the class. I will definitely take more of these drawing classes in the future.

I think you've found your talent. Truly well done.

Just found your trip report; we were on the cruise too ( Cadbury Flake lady). I'm in your quiet quiet cove picture, black & white costume, think I need to loose more than 25lb after seeing that. IT was nice to snooze in the peace & quiet - we were still catching up from a 7 hour time difference.

Looking forward to reading the rest of your trip, and reliving ours

I'm not crying. :sniff: Ok maybe just a little. This is why I LOVE DCL. So many good hearted people.

 

[darnheather]

Enjoy your Panama Canal reports!!!

We are just under 13 months until our first one ever, so excited this one has been on my bucket list for a while!!

Woohoo see you there!

The restaurant is lovely and the music is nice, but word to those with sensitive ears - it is loud! This is not a venue for quiet dinner conversation. However, it does offer excellent food and lively music. Know what to expect and you won't be disappointed.

Hm, will my Izzy need to bring her "mufflephones"? She uses them in situations were she might get overwhelmed by noise like an indoor basketball game.

On my way back to the cabin, I stopped my the Pomenade Lounge and grabbed the kids snacks as promised.

Is this the snack place next to one of the pools?

 

[darnheather]

And I've just realized I am bombarding you with questions and you are on your other trip! So sorry.

 

[adSimba]

I see that the wonder has arrived without a scratch, time to get back to these posts! lol, j/k

 

[rhoshi]

I have really enjoyed reading your trip report. I'll be on the EBPC in October and this has really given me an idea of what to expect and has gotten me even more excited. I can't wait for October

 

[Clarkyslovedisney]

I loved your trip report! We are going on the WBPC in 2019. Before we became addicted to Disney Cruising we really like Royal Caribbean Cruises. They have a partnership with Dreamworks (I think) and they also have amazing broadway caliber shows. When my preschooler gets a little older we might occasionally cruise on them again. It might be a good option for you guys if Carnival does not work out.

 

[darnheather]

For dessert Jimmy got the sundae.

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Emily had a Mickey bar.

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I had the baklava and...

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the coconut-pineapple bread pudding. Both of these were fabulous! The baklava was sweet, rich, and full of pistachios. The bread pudding was one of the best desserts I had onboard (or ever). I recommend them both.

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Oh wow! I've always eaten in Cabana's for lunch but next cruise I'm going to HAVE to take a look at Triton's menu every day. I love bread pudding.

As if we hadn't eaten an obscene amount of food already, we ordered nearly the entire dessert menu.

Emily and Jimmy both ordered sundaes.

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Jimmy also ordered a bowl of ice cream.

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Emily also ordered the chocolate cake.

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Oka brought us a chocolate-raspberry mousse cake for the table to sample.

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I had the pear tart. This was fabulous!

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I also had the crème brulee. It was good, but nowhere near as good as the tart.

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After dinner, we distributed Halloween treats to Oka, Cris, Geoffrey, and our tablemates. We were determined to ensure that everyone aboard the Wonder had an equal opportunity to satisfy their sweet tooth.

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Emily's chocolate cake looks amazing. So dark and rich. And I'll have to note the pear tart as one to try. I usually order just a salad at dinner and then two desserts.

 

[arielmomma]

Hello Everyone! Sorry I've been away so long. Between vacationing and "the real world" I haven't had any time to check in. I had a "Wonderful" time on my family's most recent PC cruise. I also had a great time on my solo vacation on the Carnival Breeze. As soon as I get more than a few minutes to put towards it, I will finish this report and answer your questions. I will even toss in a brief review of my experience on the Carnvial Breeze if anyone is interested. Have a great weekend!

PS - I'm considering doing a B2B on next year's 2019 EBTA cruise first Med cruise. I feel there's a shortage of TA trip reports!