Mike & Missy's Saying Goodbye to the Wonder 09/19/10 Pre-TR--Now a TR!--Updated 12/05

[onescgirl]

All of that food is making me hungry!!!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Oh yum! My tummy is growling just thinking about Palo's brunch!



No plans as of yet, I am really eyeing the Med cruise. The price of the cruise itself isn't bad, it is just the expense of the flights that deters me. I'm also really interested to see if the Magic will be doing Eastern Med cruises in 2012, I might hold off for one of those. We'll see how things stand after Christmas.

I know what you mean about the flights, Lessa. I would love to do the Alaska cruise, but the cruise itself isn't cheap, and with the airfare on top of that, it makes it a bit more than we can afford right now. Maybe one day.

WOW, Brunch looks good. Every other picture I have seen of the brunch includes the cold seafood and then the cheese table and only a few hot items. Your pics have definitely got me thinking I may want to try it on our 7 night. Thank you for sharing.

You should definitely give it a try!! We were a little hesitant in fear that it would be too fancy for us, but we felt really comfortable and really enjoyed it a lot. Mike and I still talk about it--and he's yet to find a Chicken Parm that measures up to the one he had there!

I hope we can get ressies for this. Thanks for all the great pics.

No problem! I hope you can get in as well!

I feel like Pirate Night falls on the way side. Doesn't seem like anyone dresses up. Glad you did!

So glad you didn't eat breakfast before your Palo brunch. So much food is an understatement! Glad you enjoyed it!

I agree with you on Pirate Night, Jennifer. Though, I did read a cruise-mate's report and she said that she saw a lot of people dressed up. I guess we must have missed all those people!

I'm glad we skipped breakfast too, because there would have been no room for all that delicious food!

You guys look like you had a fabulous time at Palo Brunch. How awesome you were able to meet up and eat with Crystal.

We did have a great time, and being able to enjoy it with Crystal made it even better! She's a great person!

This is the tuna tartar (on the Animator's Palette menu). It's my very favorite (now). It was a dish they made in one of the Adult Enrichment events on one of my cruises, so I had to taste it...and fell in love!

Thanks for the photo of the room service pizza, it actually looks much better then the pizza at Pinocchio's.

Aaah, thanks for that info!!! I'm glad you liked it!

The room service pizza was pretty good!

All of that food is making me hungry!!!!

I know what you mean, when I looked at them I wanted another one of those flatbreads!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

From Palo, we decided to head back down to the room to change into some comfy clothes. Since our next scheduled activity wasn’t until 2:45, we had a few minutes to kick our feet up and relax a little. (As if we hadn’t done enough of that already!)

At about 2:30, we decided to head on up to Triton’s where the Galley Tour was being done. We were to meet at the side entrance, and once we got there, there was already a line! Just an FYI to anyone who may plan to do this—they don’t allow kids. There were several people who brought their kid(s) with them expecting them to be able to go on the tour as well. Unfortunately, no one under 18 is allowed, so several people ended up leaving because of that. The CM who was there told us it was for safety reasons. We waited for a few minutes, and then the CM counted us off into two groups. Thankfully we were close enough to the front to be able to go in with the first group.

We made our way into Triton’s where several chefs were introduced. You’ll have to forgive me, but I didn’t catch any of their names. Since Ariel is my favorite princess, I had to get a pic of the mural on the back wall.

I think Triton’s is my favorite restaurant on the Wonder. Everything is so pretty, and I love the colorful lighting!

Once all the chef’s had been introduced, we made our way into the actual galley. This CDC (Chef de Cuisine) was our guide. I believe I remember him saying that he was the only American chef onboard. He had a ton of experience and had also worked for Universal for a while.

The following pictures may seem a little boring to some of you, but I’ll post them anyway in case there’s anyone else out there who’s like me and enjoys seeing “behind the scenes” stuff…

Mike and I really enjoyed the tour, and it was neat to understand how things work on the inside. I don’t know about everyone else, but as we enjoyed our meals in the dining rooms every evening, I never thought about how chaotic it would be back in the kitchen. Our guide really painted a detailed picture of how things come together. At the end, our Chef gave us the opportunity to ask questions, which was really cool!

After our tour, there was nothing else that we had planned for the day. However, I did want to pay a visit to the Future Cruise Sales desk to see if we would be able to get a discount on the Dream cruise that we’d already booked for next September. Unfortunately, there were a few people waiting once we got there, but it gave me the opportunity to chat with a lady who was also waiting. I think her name was Tiffany, and this was her and her family’s first cruise. She was there to re-book for sure, which was awesome. She and I talked about the differences between the Wonder and the Magic and about the new features on the Dream. She was undecided about which cruise they wanted to book next—they wanted to try a longer cruise on the Magic, but also loved the idea of cruising on the Dream as well. I tried to answer as many questions for her as I could. I told her about the DIS as well! Maybe she didn’t think I was crazy!! We also got to see this crazy fella streak through as we waited:

Once it was our turn, we sat down at the desk and told the CM that we already had a cruise booked on the Dream, but wanted to see if we could save some money on it. He told us that all he would have to do is transfer the ressie to a new one and that was it. He transferred our deposit, plus all the payments that I’d made, so everything stayed the same. We did get a new reservation number, but we ended up saving almost $200, plus got an onboard credit of $50—can’t beat that!! One thing I did notice though, as I was looking at the confirmation later, he didn’t put us in the same room that we’d been in on the original reservation. But that was easy to fix once we got home. Just thought I’d mention that just in case!!

Leaving the sales desk happy, Mike decided he wanted to pay a visit to Cove Café. We didn’t know a whole lot about the place, but we decided to stop in and give it a try. We made our way inside and decided on what we wanted. Both of us went with a frozen mocha.

We found a place to sit and grabbed a magazine. We sat and read and talked a little while we enjoyed our drinks, which were quite good! Both of us really liked the place. The seating was nice and comfy, the service was friendly, and it was actually quite relaxing. Mike and I really enjoyed spending time there! I was glad he suggested checking it out!!

After we’d finished our coffee and magazine, we decided to take a stroll around the ship. I snapped a couple pics of the ocean as we walked.

At sea days are the best!!

 

[onescgirl]

woo hoo for saving $$ on your next cruise!!!!!

 

[Jennifer48]

I've never made it to the Galley tour. Thanks for your quick review!

to saving money and getting on board credit!

 

[verygfy]

I am so jealous you are cruising on the Dream. I really wanted to rebook for next year, but DH was insistent on the 7 day and budget just won't allow for both

Before dinner I was in line waiting for my man Jack, and the people all around me were decked out in Pirate Gear. With only our t-shirts we felt very under dressed . It was funny too, because it didn't seem like any of those people attended the party!! Why get all dressed up and not be at the party

 

[Timon]

Hey Missy

I'm only on day 2 so I have a lot of catching up to do, just wanted to say thank God for your trippie tonight! It's 3AM and I am feeling so sick so I am here at my puter sipping some hot water reading about your adventures

So just wanted to say thanks!!

Back to reading!

 

[pierresgirl]

Woohoo! I caught up, haven't been Dising in a while. Love your watch, so sweet of him! I wish I did the galley tour, think I was roasting myself on deck! Your pirate cozzies look great!

 

[kellyb2000]

Thankful this report was at the top of the page today for me to stumble upon! LOVE reading about the cruise!

We breezed through Atlanta, and on into Chattanooga with no problem.

I know that sign! It's practically in my backyard. Well, not really, but in a internet-message-board-relatively-speaking kind of way, it's in my backyard!

I don't remember where this was at, but I thought it was neat as the mountains look like stair steps:

If that's still my area, it looks like it was somewhere around Ooltewah. I've never notice that before - it's amazing the things you don't see even when it's right in front of you!

I think I'm partial to her cause she's a Southern Belle!!

I agree! I wish they would make "Charlotte" into a live character! I think that would be a HOOT!

 

[Timon]

Ok, I am all caught up

Couple questions...


So how DID you sleep that night after your massage???? Did you get some much-needed rest finally? I am a crap sleeper at home but I sleep really well on cruises

How did Mike enjoy his steak sandwich from room service??


Inquiring minds need to know Missy!!!

Looking forward to the rest!

 

[iloverags2]

Just caught up with your most recent installment. The galley tour sounds awesome. I have always wanted to do one, and I think you just made the final decision for me.

 

[missj1975]

Thanks for sharing. Love all the pics!

 

[UGAFan0829]

woo hoo for saving $$ on your next cruise!!!!!

That's right!! You have to be excited about saving money when it comes to Disney trips!

I've never made it to the Galley tour. Thanks for your quick review!

to saving money and getting on board credit!

You're welcome!! It was actually quite interesting to me!

I am so jealous you are cruising on the Dream. I really wanted to rebook for next year, but DH was insistent on the 7 day and budget just won't allow for both

Before dinner I was in line waiting for my man Jack, and the people all around me were decked out in Pirate Gear. With only our t-shirts we felt very under dressed . It was funny too, because it didn't seem like any of those people attended the party!! Why get all dressed up and not be at the party

Which 7-night did you re-book? If I had it to do over, I would probably wait and do a 7-night when the Fantasy comes out, but we're cruising with Mike's family on the Dream, so we can't cancel on them.

We were just too tried to make it to the Pirate Party!

Hey Missy

I'm only on day 2 so I have a lot of catching up to do, just wanted to say thank God for your trippie tonight! It's 3AM and I am feeling so sick so I am here at my puter sipping some hot water reading about your adventures

So just wanted to say thanks!!

Back to reading!

Hey, Cass!!
I sure hope you're feeling much better by now!

Woohoo! I caught up, haven't been Dising in a while. Love your watch, so sweet of him! I wish I did the galley tour, think I was roasting myself on deck! Your pirate cozzies look great!

Glad you're all caught up, Leyla! The tour was pretty cool, or at least I thought so. The CDC gave us a lot of interesting facts!

Thankful this report was at the top of the page today for me to stumble upon! LOVE reading about the cruise!


I know that sign! It's practically in my backyard. Well, not really, but in a internet-message-board-relatively-speaking kind of way, it's in my backyard!



If that's still my area, it looks like it was somewhere around Ooltewah. I've never notice that before - it's amazing the things you don't see even when it's right in front of you!




I agree! I wish they would make "Charlotte" into a live character! I think that would be a HOOT!

Hi, Kelly! Very cool that we were so close to you when we went to Kentucky!
And I agree that Charlotte would be very, very funny as a live character!

Ok, I am all caught up

Couple questions...


So how DID you sleep that night after your massage???? Did you get some much-needed rest finally? I am a crap sleeper at home but I sleep really well on cruises

How did Mike enjoy his steak sandwich from room service??


Inquiring minds need to know Missy!!!

Looking forward to the rest!

Honestly, Cass, we didn't sleep any better after the massages that day. Weird I know, but our sleeping was off the whole cruise!

Mike enjoyed his sandwich--there isn't much that he doesn't like!!

Just caught up with your most recent installment. The galley tour sounds awesome. I have always wanted to do one, and I think you just made the final decision for me.

I'm glad you enjoyed my review of the tour. I think you should definitely check it out!

Thanks for sharing. Love all the pics!

Thanks!

 

[UGAFan0829]

All too soon, our relaxing stroll around the ship was over. It was time to head back to the room to get ready for our last dinner onboard. I knew that this cruise would seem really short after taking the 7 night last year, and I was definitely right. The week had flown by, even though we took things at a much slower pace this time around. Even still, we were very happy to have been onboard once more.

Tonight’s final farewell dinner was in Animator’s Palate, and I was excited about seeing the show once again. Our menus were really cool—everyone’s was different, and Mike ended up with this one:

I had to get a few shots of everything in black and white, before it all turned to color:

We placed our orders, and the food came pretty quickly! And guess what was on the appetizer menu---The same Mushroom Risotto that I’d had in Beach Blanket!! I giggled when I saw it on the menu and told Ramsay that I wanted about 5 of them!! He took me seriously and brought 2! Of course I didn’t mind!

This ended up being my absolute favorite dish out of all our cruises!!
I can’t remember what it was that Mike had, and it’s hard to tell from the picture:

For soup, we both went with the Cheddar Potato, which was pretty good.

By this time, the room was starting to change, and the colors were coming alive!

Our main course came next…Mike had some sort of beef—

While I went with the same pasta that I’d had at Beach Blaket—

As we were eating, since we were so close to the entrance of the restaurant, I snuck out on deck a couple of times to try and get a couple sunset pics. I wasn’t really happy with what I got, but they’ll do:

I think if I had changed the settings on my camera, they may have come out a little better.

Finally, the restaurant and the waiters were all in total color. I just love seeing the transformation, so I snapped several pics:

While we waited for dessert, Mike ran back outside to see if he could get any better pics of the sunset. Turns out he did a much better job:

All too soon, our dessert had arrived, and our meal was slowly coming to an end.

We finished up our meal, but before we said good night to everyone, we grabbed Zoltan and Ramsay for a quick pic:

 

[UGAFan0829]

Our last meal was over, so we decided to head back out on deck to take one last stroll around the Wonder. Of course we snapped a few shots along the way:

We then made our way back down to the room to finish packing up for the night. I wanted to make sure that we had the luggage ready to go so that we could make it to “Till We Meet Again” in the atrium. This little guy was waiting for us when we arrived back:

Believe it or not, we were all packed up with plenty of time left. On our past cruises, we’ve always been rushing around at the last minute, so it was nice not stressing over it this time!

We placed our luggage out in the hall, then headed up to the atrium to check out a good spot for the show. Since I’m a little on the short side, Mike decided that it would be best to go up one deck, that way we could look down and still have a good view. So, that’s what we did. We ended up standing at the railing right across from the re-booking desk.

We waited for a few minutes, then the show began! I just loved seeing all the characters one last time! I took a ton of pics, but because we’d already started sailing by this time, quite a few of them came out blurry.

Then Mickey and Minnie shared a good night kissed, and told us all good bye!!

And that was it! There was nothing left to do except head back to the room and tuck in to bed for our final night onboard!

 

[Jennifer48]

The Til We Meet Again show is so sad! Always makes me tear up that its the last night!

 

[Fastpaks]

At sea days are the best!!

I couldn't agree more! I want to go back just to experience that again!

 

[onescgirl]

awwww, I can't believe you're already on your last night.

Your meals looked great, especially the soup. I cheese soup!

That is so cool that the restaurant goes from blk/wht to color!

The 1st picture of you & Mike in your 2nd post is sooo great of both of you. Ya'll are a great-looking couple!

I love the pictures of Donald & Daisy and the Mickey/Minnie kiss!

 

[UGAFan0829]

The Til We Meet Again show is so sad! Always makes me tear up that its the last night!

I'm glad I'm not the only one!

I couldn't agree more! I want to go back just to experience that again!

There's just something really nice with not having a "schedule" on at sea-days! Just being able to relax on such a beautiful ship is a wonderful thing!

awwww, I can't believe you're already on your last night.

Your meals looked great, especially the soup. I cheese soup!

That is so cool that the restaurant goes from blk/wht to color!

The 1st picture of you & Mike in your 2nd post is sooo great of both of you. Ya'll are a great-looking couple!

I love the pictures of Donald & Daisy and the Mickey/Minnie kiss!

Thank you! I thought the characters were SO cute!

 

[UGAFan0829]

We were up pretty early the next moring--before sunrise, in fact!! As I looked out our window, I saw that the Carnival ship had beaten us back to port.

We showered, then packed up the last of our things. As I was putting on my watch and earrings, I went to close the clasp of my new watch when it broke and fell off my arm! I couldn't believe my brand new watch had just broken, and it was the last morning of the cruise, so I knew the shops wouldn't be open. Mike looked at it and discovered that the pin had somehow broken that held the clasp together with the links. Since we weren't sure what to do, Mike called Gues Services and explained our problem to them. The CM that he spoke to was very nice and told us to come to the Guest Services desk before we disembarked so that they could help us get it fixed. That made me feel much better!

Next, we checked the room one last time before heading up to our very early breakfast. Our time was 6:30, and we were back in Animator's again.

Even though we were in no hurry to get off the ship and took our time going to eat, we were still the first at our table to arrive. It's bad enough to have to get off the ship, but being up and ready to go so early doesn't help any!!

We were given our menus--

And Mike and I made our choices pretty quickly.
Mine:

Mike's:

I have to say that the pancakes I had were pretty terrible! They were very dry and tasteless, but I couldn't expect everything to be perfect as this was the first thing that I had during the whole cruise that was bad!

After slowly finishing our breakfast, we said goodbye to our tablemates and servers.

We headed down to the Guest Services desk and jumped in line. There was already a line forming for people waiting to get off the ship. We've never been this early before, as we've always been able to walk right off.

The line at GS wasn't too long, but we did have to wait for a couple of minutes. We told the CM again what had happened, and she told us that she would have an office open up the shop so that he could try and repair the watch for us. So, we followed the officer upstairs, and it was really weird being in an empty shop. He was super nice, and instead of trying to feix the watch, he handed us a brand new one. I'd still have to find someone to get the links shortened when we got home, but that was certainly fine with me. I was very impressed with how nice everyone was to us and how they took care of the problem. In the grand scheme of things, it really wasn't a huge deal, but I was really glad to get it fixed!

After packing the new watch into our carry-on we headed back down to finally head off the ship. I snapped a quick pic of this oh so sad sight as we made our way:

We were picking up our luggage and heading through customs in no time at all. I think this was probably the fastest that we'd ever made it off the ship. And before we knew it, we were already at the car and ready to head home.
I managed to get this one last shot of the sun rising over Port Canaveral as we said goodbye to the Wonder and headed home:

FINAL THOUGHTS:
All in all, it was a great trip. I have to admit that after taking a 7 nighter the year before, this one seemed really short. But it was also nice to be able to sail on the Wonder one last time, just in case we don't ever make it to Alaska to cruise on her again.

Even though I was a little worried about our room location and being all the way down on Deck 1, it ended up working out just fine for us. As usual, and especially with this being such a short cruise, we really weren't in the room very much anyway.

I was also glad that we decided to stay onboard in Nassau. This really helped us to take advantage of a mostly empty ship.

This was also our 2nd time doing the early dining, and I have to say that we really enjoyed it again. Even though it does shorten your day a little by having to get ready so early, it was nice to be able to eat dinner and then have plenty of time to head to the shows afterwards. We've already planned to take advantage of the early seating again next year on the Dream.

As far as arriving at the port early, I was really glad that we did that as well. It was really cool to get that boarding pass #2, and being one of the first ones inside the terminal was nice as well. I don't know if we'll be able to do that again for our next cruise since we're cruising with family, but it did work out nice this time.

And lastly, ordering the water package worked well for us also. Having the drink station on deck 9 is nice, but having water right there in the fridge was also nice, especially when we got thirsty early in the morning or late at night, we didn't have to worry about running up top to get something. It was also really convenient for when we ordered room service. Plus having water is much better than the soft drinks that we would have had otherwise!

As you know, our next adventure aboard DCL will be next September when we cruise the Dream! Mike's family will be joining us, and we are all very excited! Thanks to everyone who read along!!