Taking Winnie on a Wonder Cruise - A February Mexican Riviera Trip - All wrapped up 6/14

[franandaj]

You should all get a commission for this!

Really! Hey Disney!

Fruit basket, all the way.

It's like you guys don't even know me!

Beautiful shot!

Thanks!

"I don't know what this is but I'm putting it in my mouth" is very bold. Not something I typically do.

Well at the time I knew what it was and it sounded good. However after the Martini Tasting, Prosecco with Jill on the verandah, and a couple glasses of wine at dinner, whatever I didn't write down or email myself was forgotten.

Woohoo! Bonus dessert!

Sorry about that. Sounds like a rough night.

Pretty much they all were.

Nice to have the variety!

Wow, they really know how to draw in the tourists.

Very nice! Good to see Fran up and about.

Yes, she didn't do a lot of it.

I find it very hard to get a good apple pie in restaurants.

Yeah, I need to remember that.

What about when they destroy the One Ring in the mountain! Can't believe you forgot that.

My precious....

 

[pkondz]

I've never tried them

Word to the wise...

Don't.

Well, I just went with the masher this time. Maybe next time I make them for a crowd I will try it. For just a couple potatoes it was too much clean up for me.

It is a lot more cleanup. I'll give you that.

You know my response was going to be, "And ruin it?" But then when I described it to Fran she asked, "Will there be cranberry sauce for it?"

What the ?

You said everyone knows what a to go cup of coffee looks like. I was agreeing with you.

And you could have ordered both. They are very accomodating.

But I don't think I'd be able to eat to mains.

The DCL trivia was HARD

Hmmm... Maybe that's because your average Disney lover is just a bit smarter than your average schmo?

You know I don't even thing I noticed them. I might have taken a bite, but I think the only thing I ate on my plate was lobster.

Ah well. Next time.

Especially once she brought another lobster tail!

I got all of these but the last one. I read it to Fran and she told me the reference. You do know that I started it from where I left off the next day.

And I was right, right? Right.

 

[franandaj]

No wounded soldiers with you

You know it

Oh my lanta, that's a toughie!

Yup

Atta girl Fran!

She never gives up!

Yay! That's great, I enjoy table service lunch

Me too. I was thinking today how much I missed going out for lunch at a Thai restaurant near where I used to work with my coworkers. That was over 20 years ago.

So at first I saw the meatballs and thought I'd get those, or the lamb, but there's a good chance I'd get this also!

So many choices!

Cute! Goofy looks extra tall!

I didn't notice, but now that you mention it, he is super tall!

Literally right there! Any unique items? they allowed you to keep your wine?

We didn't look around a ton, we were fixated on converting all the prices in pesos to dollars. Everything seemed so expensive until we did the math. I did have to pry Fran out of the Tire aisle. I'm like "We are NOT bringing tires back on the ship!"

"I just wanted to see if they got a better deal...." she said.

Nice one, you two are matching!

With her in all black, it wasn't hard.

Did you add this background after? it's very matchy as well!

No! That was the background that they had that night!

I'd probably have this

I'm sure it was good.

Dorian would have this, and we'd probably share the rockefeller.

I generally don't like my oysters cooked.

Yum, was there any raspberry in the brulee part?

No it was just traditional.

I'm hoping you got some sleep tonight!

I don't think I really slept any night. One of the reasons I wasn't sad to go home.

 

[franandaj]

Oh no! Hope Fran was okay. She must be glad to have you there to help her.
But that just impacts on your sleep.

She has the same problem at home, but at home she can go out to the family room and watch TV or work on her computer. She'll be able to do that at WDW since we have a 1 bedroom. In the stateroom she had no option but to lie in bed and she still couldn't get in and out of bed on her own. Now she's doing better, so I'm sleeping a lot more.

I think your problem is that you ARE setting your phone forward. Most phones can detect the time zone shift and automatically adjust. Maybe next time, just leave it. The phone will adjust the time by itself.

But I turned off the automatic update function on the phone. Perhaps it was ignoring the fact that I turned that off just like it used to ignore "dynamic desktop." Before the cruise I would wake up every day to find some bizarre random image for my sleep screen and my home screen. Even though it turned off "suggest new images for my home screen", the phone insisted on doing so. Every. Day. Since returning from the cruise I haven't had to reset my screens.

Awesome that Fran got out with you and Jill.

I know! I didn't want to pressure her to do anything, but I really wanted her to come along with us and do things.

That is a very nice looking ship.

Disney has pretty ships. Very classic.

I hate being in the mood to shop and then not finding anything!

WalMart isn't a place where I go with big shopping in mind. I usually have one thing in mind.

Yeah. This tells me that the phone is auto adjusting for the time zone based on your location.

It wouldn't be the first time that my phone did stuff that I had specifically turned off. My new one arrives tomorrow.

Nice! But then....it has to, right? Otherwise all those passengers will be eating the same thing.

Well the next day we have lunch at a place where the menu remains the same all day every day.

Sounds like fun!

It was! I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy it.

LOVE your character photos. The costumes are great.

I would have liked to get more. Even if you take more than one with the same character every day they have a different outfit.

Wow! Great looking dinner.
I would have ordered the lobster tail too.

Super tasty!

Thanks for sharing!

You're welcome!

 

[franandaj]

Word to the wise...

Don't.

Okay.....there was little chance that I would have anyways.

It is a lot more cleanup. I'll give you that.

And that's exactly what I was trying to avoid.

You said everyone knows what a to go cup of coffee looks like. I was agreeing with you.

Clearly you need educating. This is what a togo cup of coffee looks like.

But I don't think I'd be able to eat to mains.

You don't have to finish anything, there is no "clean plate club" requirement here.

Hmmm... Maybe that's because your average Disney lover is just a bit smarter than your average schmo?

Well I don't know who knows things like "what was the inaugural sail date of the Disney Wonder?" off the top of their heads.

And I was right, right? Right.

In another time space dimension.

 

[franandaj]

Well a week from now I will be on a plane to WDW. We have started packing, but have quite a ways to go. We will see if this is another “all nighter” the night before we leave, but hopefully I’ll get Fran more organized to pack for this trip. She still hasn’t started “her list” though I have urged her for the past few days to begin. At least she has given me most of the clothes that she wants to wear. I just need to put the stuff into the suitcases over the next couple days.

I doubt this trip report will be complete before I go. I will probably spend some of my downtime in the room posting the last couple chapters. Back to the cruise!

March 2 - Day 6

We woke up every two hours-ish about 1AM, 3:30AM, and finally at 5:30 AM where I stayed up to watch the sunrise and take pictures from my verandah. Today was the first of two sea days in a row before we would sail back into port in San Diego.

In-between shots I looked around and sure enough several decks above me was the same guy who had been at the front of the boat a couple days before. I didn’t photo stalk him though, so no pics!

At 7:30 I went up to the Cove Cafe to get coffee, but I didn't get any pastries. We had decided to head up for an early breakfast at Triton's. Now right next to Triton’s is the French Quarter Lounge. When the Wonder went into an extensive Dry Dock several years ago, they changed Parrot Cay (restaurant) into Tiana’s and they also transformed this bar into a similarly themed location. You could get Beignets here (purchased) but we never did. I decided I would be upset with myself if I didn’t get pictures of this reimagined space, so here they are.

We sat down and ordered our food. Since I already posted a picture of the full menu, I took pics of the things that we ordered so I would remember what we got.

I debated on this one whether or not to get the one with Strawberries and Honey, or the Blueberries and Raspberry.

This is the main reason I wanted to come here. I really like their Omelets and since I didn’t choose that the day before I wanted it today.

Fran went for the Eggs Benedict yet again with extra Hollandaise.

I ordered two of the little hash brown nuggets because splitting one the other day wasn’t enough.

I didn’t take a picture of it, but Fran ordered the Mickey Waffles from the “Children of all ages” section. Then they brought by the lovely pastry tray. We both chose the apple danishes.

And I have to get my veggies somehow!

I chose the Blueberry and Raspberry version of this Yogurt Parfait and decided I probably should have gone with the one with honey. It was a little sour. I think I sprinkled some “Sugar in the Raw” on top of it and that made it better.

While Fran did not order a fruit plate, the waiter came by with one and asked if she would like it. Not being one to turn down sliced fruit she took it.

Next her Mickey waffles arrived.

She also ordered Eggs Benedict with extra hollandaise. I know she did because this time the server brought the hollandaise in a side cup, but it seems that I didn’t get a picture of it, so here’s her eggs from a couple days before.

And my omelet with hash browns.

She shared her Mickey waffles with me and I shared the hash browns with her, so when it all came down this was my breakfast.

I had wanted to see Spiderman at 9AM, but they were bringing our hot food just at 8:55. When I'd eaten most of it I went out to the atrium to check the line. Spidey was on the 5th floor and I could see that the line extended down two sides of the walkways all the way to the elevator. Far too long to wait when there were other things to do.

Fran and I went back to the room, while she was on the potty, I thought I saw a potential leak with the bag, but we both chalked it up to shadows. I got her situated in bed and was just about to leave when I caught a whiff of a smell that was unmistakably Winnie. There was a small breach, and luckily I caught it right away. I put on my gloves, grabbed the supplies and got to work.

I've become rather adept at changing Winnie and had him all cleaned up and contained in less than 10 minutes. Then I was off to Anyone Can Cook: Sea Bass. Jill had saved me a seat.

They were demonstrating a Sea Bass with Risotto and he actually only showed us the Risotto. They also didn’t put the Fava beans and peas in there which was fine by me.

I might try to make the risotto at home, it doesn’t sound all that difficult, but I’m sure there is some saffron in there as well to make it that color. Perhaps mixed in with the cream or the chicken stock. It was interesting, but I've also seen this one before. It was really short and then they gave us a sample.

While the chef was answering questions, I snuck out to join the line for Moana. I should have got in line for Spiderman's second appearance and then Moana, but I had to make a call, so that’s what I did.

In the end it was good I didn't get in line for Spidey first because as I left Moana, Fran was texting me to come help her get up to go potty. Winnie also needed emptying so we could avoid another leak and change. After that I packed up one suitcase full of clothes we wouldn't need anymore.

Side note: Friday night I actually made the dish that was demonstrated in the cooking demo that we attended. I didn’t use Sea Bass (too expensive), but I had some Mahi Mahi in my freezer. I buy Cod, Swordfish and Mahi Mahi in individually frozen portions so I’ve always got some on hand. It worked out well with the Mahi Mahi, but I’m not sure that I would make the Risotto again, it was just too rich with the cream and the Mascarpone.

The sweet chili sauce however, Fran has asked me to make it to accompany tonight’s dinner (which is a Teriyaki Chicken with rice, wontons, and scallion pancakes). She wants to use it for dipping the wontons and put it on her rice.

 

[tiggrbaby]

Lovely sunset pics!

Glad you were able to use your cooking class at home.

 

[pkondz]

Okay.....there was little chance that I would have anyways.

Figured.

Clearly you need educating. This is what a togo cup of coffee looks like.

Huh. Up here they look like this:

You don't have to finish anything, there is no "clean plate club" requirement here.

Not the 50s diner, huh?

Well I don't know who knows things like "what was the inaugural sail date of the Disney Wonder?" off the top of their heads.

Really? I thought everyone knew it was Aug 15, 1999

In another time space dimension.

Close enough.

 

[pkondz]

Well a week from now I will be on a plane to WDW.

Already? Where does the time go??? Sooooon!

We will see if this is another “all nighter” the night before we leave, but hopefully I’ll get Fran more organized to pack for this trip.

Good luck!

We woke up every two hours-ish about 1AM, 3:30AM, and finally at 5:30 AM where I stayed up to watch the sunrise and take pictures from my verandah.

Yeah, at that point, might as well stay up.

I'll pick this one for my fave...

And this one for 2nd place.

You could get Beignets here (purchased) but we never did.

Tragic.

I really like their Omelets

Omelet? Or fritatta?

Fran went for the Eggs Benedict yet again with extra Hollandaise.

I don't blame her.
But... as much as I love Bennies, I think I love variety more.

We both chose the apple danishes.

mmm.... apple danish.

And I have to get my veggies somehow!

You coulda had a V8... and you did!

I had wanted to see Spiderman at 9AM

Until I read the rest of that sentence, I thought you were going to see a movie.

There was a small breach,

Then I was off to Anyone Can Cook: Sea Bass.

Cool. I'd like to do that.

They were demonstrating a Sea Bass with Risotto and he actually only showed us the Risotto.

Um.... what?
I mean... sure, risotto is fussy, but... wasn't the class called Sea Bass????

They also didn’t put the Fava beans and peas in there which was fine by me.

I might try to make the risotto at home, it doesn’t sound all that difficult, but I’m sure there is some saffron in there as well to make it that color.

It's not difficult, just fussy. Time consuming.

Like this with (both of you) hands on hips.

It worked out well with the Mahi Mahi, but I’m not sure that I would make the Risotto again, it was just too rich with the cream and the Mascarpone.

I was wondering about that. I add parm, but not cream and/or mascarpone after.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Well a week from now I will be on a plane to WDW

Oh wow! Time flies.

We will see if this is another “all nighter” the night before we leave, but hopefully I’ll get Fran more organized to pack for this trip.

Have fun with the pre-trip preparation. Hopefully, you won't need to pull in the all nighter!

We woke up every two hours-ish about 1AM, 3:30AM,

Oh dear! You really didn't get a lot of good sleep, did you?

finally at 5:30 AM where I stayed up to watch the sunrise and take pictures from my verandah.

Beautiful! Love the sunset shots. Such amazing colour in the sky.

French Quarter Lounge.

Very nice. Glad to see that Disney haven't cut corners on refurbs.

You could get Beignets here (purchased) but we never did.

D'oH!!!
To me, that's a travesty!!! But then I remembered.....you can get them in your local playground; so it's all about smart choices for you.

I chose the Blueberry and Raspberry version of this Yogurt Parfait and decided I probably should have gone with the one with honey. It was a little sour. I think I sprinkled some “Sugar in the Raw” on top of it and that made it better.

That's a shame it was a little sour.
Sugar makes everything better.

While Fran did not order a fruit plate, the waiter came by with one and asked if she would like it. Not being one to turn down sliced fruit she took it.

Nice of the waiter. That's a good looking plate of fruit.

Next her Mickey waffles arrived.

This would have been my breakfast. I would have ordered double and stopped there. LOL.

And my omelet with hash browns.

I think I see the cucumber and tomato TOUCHING the hash browns!

so when it all came down this was my breakfast.

YUM!!!!!!

Spidey was on the 5th floor and I could see that the line extended down two sides of the walkways all the way to the elevator. Far too long to wait when there were other things to do.

Shame he didn't use his spiderwebs to swing down your way.
But yeah. Waaaaay too long a wait.

There was a small breach, and luckily I caught it right away. I put on my gloves, grabbed the supplies and got to work.

Well done!

I've become rather adept at changing Winnie and had him all cleaned up and contained in less than 10 minutes.

Wow! That's skill right there!

They were demonstrating a Sea Bass with Risotto and he actually only showed us the Risotto.

Nice of Jill to save you a seat.

Hmmm. That's false advertising. How can it be Anyone Can Cook: Sea Bass when the chef can't cook Sea Bass???
Did you ask for money back????

I might try to make the risotto at home, it doesn’t sound all that difficult, but I’m sure there is some saffron in there as well to make it that color. Perhaps mixed in with the cream or the chicken stock. It was interesting, but I've also seen this one before. It was really short and then they gave us a sample.

Definitely saffron in that serve.
There isn't any in the recipe. I hate when they demo stuff and give you recipes that aren't the full enchilada!!!

I snuck out to join the line for Moana.

Gorgeous images with Moana.

I’m not sure that I would make the Risotto again, it was just too rich with the cream and the Mascarpone.

I took another look at the recipe. Perhaps you could sub out the cream for stock and the mascarpone for butter, which you would add at the end. It wouldn't be so rich then.

The sweet chili sauce however, Fran has asked me to make it to accompany tonight’s dinner (which is a Teriyaki Chicken with rice, wontons, and scallion pancakes). She wants to use it for dipping the wontons and put it on her rice.

Tasty looking recipe!

 

[franandaj]

Huh. Up here they look like this:

And here I would think that you live in Texas with mugs that big!

Not the 50s diner, huh?

Nope not even.

Really? I thought everyone knew it was Aug 15, 1999

Yeah, but you could google. No service on the ship.

Already? Where does the time go??? Sooooon!

I know! Must. Finish. Packing.

Yeah, at that point, might as well stay up.

I wouldn't have been able to go back to sleep anyways.

I'll pick this one for my fave...

I had a different one....

Omelet? Or fritatta?

I went back and looked at the pictures, definitely fritatta. There was spinach on the outside. Most of the places that advertise omelets cooked to order are technically lying. I watched a 25 minute video where Graham Kerr gave all the facts on how to make a real French omelet. Much more difficult than a fritatta.

I don't blame her.
But... as much as I love Bennies, I think I love variety more.

Yeah, I'm in for the variety as well. I don't like to eat the same thing two days in row, normally.

Until I read the rest of that sentence, I thought you were going to see a movie.

No, for whatever reason Disney doesn't have the rights to the Spiderman movies. You have to watch them elsewhere besides Disney+.

Cool. I'd like to do that.

They have a cooking demo every sea day (at least on this cruise). I missed the first day because we were at Palo Brunch.

Um.... what?
I mean... sure, risotto is fussy, but... wasn't the class called Sea Bass????

I know! I was sneaking out of the class while a woman was asking him about cooking the fish. I know how to cook fish, so I wasn't really concerned.

It's not difficult, just fussy. Time consuming.

When I learned to make it, Chef Sutton told us "Always stir towards Napa."

I was wondering about that. I add parm, but not cream and/or mascarpone after.

Yeah, I like the recipe I learned in Chef Sutton's cooking school. He added Parm at the end along with some other fresh veggies.

 

[pkondz]

And here I would think that you live in Texas with mugs that big!

It’s to fight off the cold. You can just crawl in.

Yeah, but you could google. No service on the ship.

What? How are people supposed to cheat?!?!?

I went back and looked at the pictures, definitely fritatta. There was spinach on the outside. Most of the places that advertise omelets cooked to order are technically lying. I watched a 25 minute video where Graham Kerr gave all the facts on how to make a real French omelet. Much more difficult than a fritatta.

Why I was so pleased to almost make a perfect one.

Yeah, I'm in for the variety as well. I don't like to eat the same thing two days in row, normally.

No, for whatever reason Disney doesn't have the rights to the Spiderman movies. You have to watch them elsewhere besides Disney+.

Oh right. Didn’t think of that.

When I learned to make it, Chef Sutton told us "Always stir towards Napa."

What the heck does that mean???

 

[rentayenta]

I am finally caught up! Looks like a fabulous trip thus far aside from getting little sleep. One of these days I will make a cruise with you all!

 

[DnA2010]

Me too. I was thinking today how much I missed going out for lunch at a Thai restaurant near where I used to work with my coworkers. That was over 20 years ago.

I last worked near restaurants 13 years ago, so used to go out for lunch regularly then. Since then I've worked at mine sites, which are remote and not near anything. My current one is much closer though, and my new team has gone out twice in the 6 months I've been here.

I did have to pry Fran out of the Tire aisle. I'm like "We are NOT bringing tires back on the ship!"

"I just wanted to see if they got a better deal...." she said.

Once again, you've caused me to actually laugh out loud, and I have an office mate now LOL

Well a week from now I will be on a plane to WDW

Whoop whoooopp!

SO pretty!!

This is kinda "sunrise northern lights-esk"

I never saw it before, but this looks bright and cheery.

I sometimes order cream of wheat on cruise ships, as its's something from my childhood I don't buy/make
If I was having an omlette, it would be kinda opposite to yours, as it would be more meat focus, with bell peppers for the veg.

Eggs Benedict yet again with extra Hollandaise.

Dorian would probably have benny most days, especially given the choices of variety

you do like your V8! or was this tomato?

Not being one to turn down sliced fruit she took it.

yup, I'd not pass it up either! Fruit is SO expensive here right now

Pretty sure my daughter will have this every day when we get her on a disney cruise.

Then I was off to Anyone Can Cook: Sea Bass. Jill had saved me a seat.

Yum, sounds good, but good to know that it is rich, probably too rich for me too.

Cute!!

It worked out well with the Mahi Mahi, but I’m not sure that I would make the Risotto again, it was just too rich with the cream and the Mascarpone.

Noted! Although it sounds good, I don't think I will try as I suspect it would be too rich for me also.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I doubt this trip report will be complete before I go. I will probably spend some of my downtime in the room posting the last couple chapters.

No! Then I'll fall further behind!

Then they brought by the lovely pastry tray. We both chose the apple danishes.

Were they good, or ruined by dead grapes?

And I have to get my veggies somehow!

Do you, though?

They also didn’t put the Fava beans and peas in there which was fine by me.

Sounds like an improvement.

It worked out well with the Mahi Mahi, but I’m not sure that I would make the Risotto again, it was just too rich with the cream and the Mascarpone.

Well, at least you tried it. Experience is a good thing.

 

[rndmr2]

Just found This TR. I have been away from the DIS for a few months due to computer issues once again so I am getting back into the swing of things now.
So Sorry for what Fran has had to deal with all this time (and you too). I remember you had said there were health issues and hospital/rehab stays but had no idea. So glad she is able to travel now at least. I feel your pain from when she had that ileostomy. I'm a nurse and have taken care of a lot of those and there are always issues with them, I don't think I have ever seen one that didn't leak all the time.
Looking forward to reading the rest of the TR, enjoying it so far, I'm only on page 2 at this point so I have to go back to catch up.

 

[franandaj]

So the last time I was here and updating, Fran and I were planning to head to WDW for a glorious 10 days of fun. Instead two days before we were scheduled to leave, she checked into the emergency room at the hospital and never came out. A lot of you might already be aware of this, and I'm afraid for the shock to those who did not know.

A few weeks after her death, I realized that she would have wanted me to finish this trip report. She knew how much I liked writing them and sharing our adventures with my DIS friends. I've just been crazy busy with what I call "moving forward". You remember all those shopping trips? Well now I'm weighing my options, go through the hassle of taking pictures and selling it on eBay or sell it at the garage sale?

Last week I met up with a guy who handles estate liquidation and he is going to be my savior! Already he's got me several thousand dollars with jewelry that was sitting around. He's started selling the hundreds of Tiki mugs she ordered from various sellers around the country, and he's also got a guy who works with classic cars. Those of you who are friends on social media have seen that I've been working on getting those running again.

I've also been working with some musicians who have helped me get some cash for her instruments. She had a ton of great instruments, many of which I would never play (not a clarinetist, or a brass player). So I'm slowly working to dig out of this mess. I really miss her a lot, but I've been reassured that she is happy now to be free of her pain. Evidently she watches over me and is looking forward to following me along in my adventures.

Speaking of adventures! Just because I lost my most beloved partner in crime doesn't mean the adventures are over. It's ironic (is that the correct use of the word?), if you go back to page 9 where Jill and I sat on her verandah sharing deep thoughts, among the topics we discussed were how I would move forward with Fran's death. We all knew it was coming, just not so soon.

However, Jill and Jenny assured me that they would have my back when the day came. Jenny was there with me when it happened, and Jill is helping a lot to clean up the aftermath. She invited me to go along on her solo trip to Egypt this Fall, and I accepted. We have several plans back and forth between our home cities. She's coming out to help with the garage sale, and we have a trip to WDW planned for the Spring of 2024, as well as a cruise on the Fantasy in Fall of 2024 (yet to be booked). We even have a working title for our TR series, but I don't want to give it away just yet!

I had this trip report completely written back in April, and I've made a few revisions before posting the rest of it, so anyways, let's get on with some of Fran's last happy days!


So far on this sea day, I took pictures of the sunrise on my verandah, we had breakfast at Triton’s, I saw a cooking demo and met some characters.

It was just after 1PM and we were getting hungry again so I went up to Deck 9 to get us some lunch.

I'd heard a rumor that there was shawarma on the Wonder, and it was true. You'll have to trust me because the picture won't load. These are all the toppings you’ll find in the little bins behind that sign in the picture above.

And these are all the self-serve condiments you have for burgers, hot dogs and other sandwiches.

Fran just went with the standard burger and fries. I think this was the third one she had eaten all week!

I went with the Lamb/Beef shawarma. It's not like the version at the Avengers campus where you get meat and sauce contained inside a yummy pita. It's more like a shawarma Plate, but either way it was tasty.

Fran ate about half her burger before she gave up, so really she only ate 1½ burgers total on the ship. After lunch I met Jill in the French Quarter Lounge for Theme Park Trivia. I did miserably 12 out of 20. Jill got 15, but the winning score was 18. I came back to the room and finished up Star Wars:The Last Jedi while I packed up another suitcase.

I realized as we were getting close to the end of the cruise that I never took a picture of our door.

I started The Rise of Skywalker while I tidied up and pared things down to the minimum that we would need for the rest of today and our last day. I also booked our placeholder cruise.

Around 5:15 I met Jill and we headed up to the Buena Vista Theater to watch Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Now this movie I thoroughly enjoyed! As crazy as the plot may have been, I found it to be pretty engaging, funny, and not so predictable. Fran made me promise not to stay for the last credit scenes. We thought we had time left that we could watch them on Disney+ when she saw the movie at home, but that never happened. In fact I haven't even watched the scenes myself. I hear they are on YouTube.

I’m not sure if I talked about the app at all in this TR. This was my first Cruise with no paper Navigators. On the last cruise, there was a mix of both. They were trying to encourage folks to use the app back then, but on this cruise you had no other option but to use the app if you wanted to know what was going on. Well I guess they also broadcast the schedule for the day on the TV.

There were advantages to the app that you couldn’t have with the Navigator. Like you could look up all the menus for all the restaurants for the entire week. I had already looked up the menus shoreside from the Disney Food Blog, so I had a good idea what I planned to eat at the various restaurants for dinner. But Fran didn’t look at anything until we got on the ship. Sometimes I was able to convince her to go to lunch based on what they were serving.

So on this evening, when I got back to the room, Fran asked me what was on the menu. She was trying to get out of going to dinner, but when I read her two of the menu items there were two that she was looking forward to having, she decided to go.

We got her dressed for dinner and tonight we were in Animator's Palate. Since it was Cruise casual for the last two days, this pretty much meant put on her sweat pants and shoes. I had planned to change into a dress, but decided that I was comfortable the way I was. I wouldn't be taking any pictures, so what did it matter? Turns out a photographer came by the table and we did take pictures.

They have changed things on the Wonder and now they do the Animation show like on the Dream and Fantasy. You draw a character and then it is animated on the screens later during dinner. Fran chose not to draw a human. Look at the fiendish smile on her face, I really miss that part of her personality.

I was pretty predictable.

We perused the menus.

We were welcomed to dinner by Lumiere. Our table sang along with his signature theme song.

I started off with the Tuna Tartare. It was pretty good.

Fran had the Lobster Bisque. This is one of the dishes that brought Fran to dinner tonight.

Her next course was the chicken satay. She gave me one of the skewers but I couldn't eat it all, there's just too much food.

I got the Porcini Sacchetti. These were really good. I especially liked the sauce.

I ordered the Beef Wellington as did most of the other meat eaters at the table. Only one of the portions looked "plated", and it wasn't mine. All of the rest of ours appeared to be just tossed on the plate haphazardly. It still tasted good! Mine was cooked perfectly, but not so for everyone else.

Fran got the Chicken Schnitzel, she gave me a bite. While it was pretty good, she only ate half of it and finished off my dinner. This was the other thing that she came to dinner for, the Chicken Schnitzel not the Wellington.

Then came the show portion. The scenes went by so fast, unless I had videotaped the whole thing and then taken screen shots I couldn't capture all the times that Fran's kitty appeared. Evidently someone either liked the cat itself or the fact that there were blood droplets coming off the claws, but her drawing appeared several times in "special" scenes and not just with the rest of the table's drawings.

This photo shows Jill’s figure, it’s the mandalorian with Grogu in his hand.

If you noticed on the papers we drew they also had us write our first names on the sheet, now we appeared in the credits.

 

[franandaj]

Then we placed our dessert orders.

Fran got the Celebration Cake.

I got the Peach Tart. It was good, but a little dry. I didn't finish it.

And then we went back to the room.

After returning to our stateroom, we got to set our clocks back another hour. Too bad that didn't amount to extra sleep.

 

[franandaj]

Lovely sunset pics!

Thanks!

Glad you were able to use your cooking class at home.

Yeah, I still have a whole bottle of chili oil in the fridge.

 

[franandaj]

Oh wow! Time flies.

Yeah, look how long it's been since I've been here!

Have fun with the pre-trip preparation. Hopefully, you won't need to pull in the all nighter!

The ironic thing (there's that word again) is that I had everything packed up and ready to go. I realized two days before we were leaving that she wasn't going on the trip, but I never thought it would end the way it did. I ended up having my house elf unpack all the suitcases for me when I canceled the trip.

Oh dear! You really didn't get a lot of good sleep, did you?

No, neither of us got very good sleep on the trip.

Beautiful! Love the sunset shots. Such amazing colour in the sky.

So pretty. I can't wait to see the sunsets in Egypt.

Very nice. Glad to see that Disney haven't cut corners on refurbs.

They did a fabulous job.

D'oH!!!
To me, that's a travesty!!! But then I remembered.....you can get them in your local playground; so it's all about smart choices for you.

That's true, I should probably get some soon.

That's a shame it was a little sour.
Sugar makes everything better.

Yes it does.

Nice of the waiter. That's a good looking plate of fruit.

Not my favorite fruits, but Fran pretty much liked any kind of fruit.

This would have been my breakfast. I would have ordered double and stopped there. LOL.

I like more variety!

I think I see the cucumber and tomato TOUCHING the hash browns!

That's OK, neither one secretes any harmful or taste changing juices.

Shame he didn't use his spiderwebs to swing down your way.
But yeah. Waaaaay too long a wait.

Wow! That's skill right there!

I suppose that's one thing I can be grateful that I don't have to deal with.

Nice of Jill to save you a seat.

Hmmm. That's false advertising. How can it be Anyone Can Cook: Sea Bass when the chef can't cook Sea Bass???
Did you ask for money back????

But yeah, why he only demonstrated the risotto is beyond me.

Definitely saffron in that serve.
There isn't any in the recipe. I hate when they demo stuff and give you recipes that aren't the full enchilada!!!

Yeah, definitely not what was on the card.

Gorgeous images with Moana.

Thanks!

I took another look at the recipe. Perhaps you could sub out the cream for stock and the mascarpone for butter, which you would add at the end. It wouldn't be so rich then.

Actually, I have a recipe that I learned at the Napa Rose Cooking School that I like better. If I make risotto in the future, I'll use that one.

Tasty looking recipe!

Thanks!