To Panama and Beyond! DCL Panama Canal WB Pre-Trip/Trip Report-Through Day 1 w/pics

[MrsMork]

Can't wait to hear of your adventures. We too were on the 2008 PCWB and it truly was the trip of our lifetime!!

 

[carmie3377]

I want to tell you all have a FAB holiday....

As my family and I were on PC Westbound 08. it was beautiful

I never forget it...

As I have three photo in frames...

Enjoy your fun....

Scottishwee35

LOVE your FE! So creative.

Hope you are having a wonderful cruise and weren't to heartbroken over missing Castaway Cay.

And to all my friends who are on this cruise with you!

.

Hi .... looking forward to your trip report as I have quite a few friends cruising there with you. I also wanted to say how much I love your Toy Story themed Fish Extender ... amazing creativity .... love Slinky and the monkeys !!! Hope you are having an amazing cruise.

Can't wait to hear of your adventures. We too were on the 2008 PCWB and it truly was the trip of our lifetime!!

Thanks everyone for joining along! Yes, we had a fabulous time, even though we did miss CC We were disappointed but know they did the right thing skipping it as seas were really rough.

And thanks about the comments on the FE! We just loved the way it looked!

I'm still working on the mountain of laundry I have but will start on the trip report soon!

 

[carmie3377]

Oh my, can't believe we came home 3 weeks ago today and I haven't started my trip report! Had so much to do to get back to the real world and I'm still working on it. But I'm ready to start reliving the 15 WONDERful nights aboard the Disney Wonder!

First off, we had an insane number of bags:

And that was just our checked luggage. We also each had a carryon and personal items. Thank goodness for SWA! I've always known I was an overpacker but really didn't really try to prevent it this time. But trust me, I learned a big lesson. I have always heard "Pack your bags, then take out half!" Well, that's what I've should of done. I think next time I will try to get double duty out of clothes. I had day clothes and dinner clothes. Many could have worked for both.

Anyway, I couldn't sleep the night before the 5th. I had so much on my mind that I tossed and turned. Finally, at about 4AM, I get up and start making peanut brittle for my Daddy. He causally mentioned that that was the least I could do since he was watching my dogs for me. Also, kept me from worrying about all that dang luggage I knew that we had to get to the airport! Before I knew it though, it was time to get everyone up and ready to head to the airport for our 7:50 am flight out of Houston Hobby.

We got to Hobby and there was a bit of wait to check our luggage. After about 30 mins, we were off to security. Oh, the line! Well, I guess it wasn't that bad, but the sign said another 30 mins from that point. Thankfully, someone pulled us aside and directed us to a family line. Yes, 2 minutes and we were ready to be screened. Two of our bags were searched and one of them was due to my Disney resort mug. They tested my hands and the mug. Anyway, after about 15 more mins or so, we were at the gate.

We grabbed some breakfast and patiently (NOT) waited for our flight. Unfortunately, we had to wait for our crew to get here from Dallas so we start boarding till about 20 mins after our scheduled departure. Finally, at 8:35 we took off but they made up a bit time in the air so we were only only about 20 mins late into MCO. This is when it really hit that we were on VACATION!!!!!

After potty breaks, we headed down to Magical Express to leave to Bay Lake Tower. We had plans to meet up with some friends we met on our last cruise to go horseback riding and since we were a bit late, we were worried about making it on time. We were the last stop of 3 on the ME but we still had time to grab some lunch. We met up with our friends and ate at the Contemporary fast food place and it was pretty good. Sorry I don't have pictures but I do of a lot of my food on the trip. I know how people like their food porn

Thankfully they had their car so we were able to head straight to Fort Wilderness.

Horseback riding was fun but don't know if I'll do it again at WDW. I guess I'm just to into the parks to do usually do anything at one of the resorts.

We had reserved a van at the Budget at DTD so our friends took us there. This is a great place to rent a vehicle. They have been efficient and friendly on both occasions we've used them.

Now, it was time for a little Downtown Disney time! I got my Disney Dream Dollars redeemed and we headed to Earl of Sandwich

Both of the kids got the grilled cheese, I had the All American, and I don't remember the name of what DH got.

As always it was delicious and filling. After a little shopping, we headed back to BLT to watch the fireworks with our friends.

The Top of the World Lounge is an awesome place to watch Wishes. I wish I had some pictures but I had left my camera in the room. We bid farewell to our friends and turned in the for the night. The day we had really been waiting for was about to be here!

BTW, I think I need to make my pictures smaller, I'll work on that

 

[carmie3377]

January 6th is here! I'm still in disbelief, thinking I'm going to wake up from the dream at any time. I know we were all excited but I think I was the MOST excited of all. Of course, I'm sure everyone felt that way!

We were up early and I just HAD to have Tonga Toast for breakfast. I had heard so many wonderful things about this breakfast and had wanted to try it the last several times we were at WDW. So we took the monorail over to the Poly. DS was so excited about getting to ride the monorail. It is a ride for him!

Captain Cooks was slow and it took no time to get our breakfast. The kids each got the French Toast Sticks Breakfast and DH and I each got the Tonga Toast with Bacon.

Yes, it was good and I'll eat it again but next time we'll share. I think what we'll do next time is get 2 different things and split both as the Tonga Toast was way to sweet to eat the entire thing without making ourselves sick to our stomachs. Well, almost for me! DH only ate half of his but I ate the entire thing. I could have just eaten half and had been fine but as you'll soon learn, I have a major weakness for sweets. Skip the entree and lets just start with dessert!

Okay, stuffed and ready for the Mickey Boat, we go back to BLT and load the van. THank goodness for the van. There is no way we could have fit all of our luggage in a car. We take off to Port Canaveral and in about in a hour, we see:

I was almost in tears yelling "It's the Wonder! It's the Wonder!" The kids thought I was nuts! Anyway, guests from the prior cruise were still waiting to be picked up so we had to wait just a bit to unload our van. Porters helped us, DH left the kids and I and he went to return the van. We only had to wait about 10-15 for the port to open but there was a small line in front of us. Once they did open, we checked in and inquired about an upgrade. The ship was full so at least I didn't have to make that decision! Check-in was a breeze and even though we were early, we were in group 4. I registered Cameron for the clubs and waited for DH.

However, we soon saw Mickey. Oh, we just had to get our picture, the first of many! I called DH to see how long he'd be as I had hoped he could be in the picture. HE said turn around, there he was just as we were next in line!

Minnie soon followed...

They started boarding around 11:45 and by 12:10, it was our turn! Took a few minutes to work our way down for pictures and then wait for our name to be called but soon enough, we were in the beautiful atrium of the Disney Wonder. On our way to Parrot Cay, we saw this cool ice carving:

We ran in to our good friends Pluto and Goofy in Parrot Cay!

We hit the buffet and loaded up on our first of many buffets!

The food was good and we really enjoyed it all. There was some type of breaded pork that was really good.

We headed out to explore the ship a bit and to wait for our room to be ready. And we waited and waited…….

 

[ibouncetoo]

I've always wondered about this! Looks like Disney has some very nice horses (and takes very good care of them)!

Can't wait to read about the rest of your adventures.

./

 

[Tanzanite]

January 6th is here! I'm still in disbelief, thinking I'm going to wake up from the dream at any time. I know we were all excited but I think I was the MOST excited of all. Of course, I'm sure everyone felt that way!

We were up early and I just HAD to have Tonga Toast for breakfast. I had heard so many wonderful things about this breakfast and had wanted to try it the last several times we were at WDW. So we took the monorail over to the Poly. DS was so excited about getting to ride the monorail. It is a ride for him!

Captain Cooks was slow and it took no time to get our breakfast. The kids each got the French Toast Sticks Breakfast and DH and I each got the Tonga Toast with Bacon.

Yes, it was good and I'll eat it again but next time we'll share. I think what we'll do next time is get 2 different things and split both as the Tonga Toast was way to sweet to eat the entire thing without making ourselves sick to our stomachs. Well, almost for me! DH only ate half of his but I ate the entire thing. I could have just eaten half and had been fine but as you'll soon learn, I have a major weakness for sweets. Skip the entree and lets just start with dessert!

Okay, stuffed and ready for the Mickey Boat, we go back to BLT and load the van. THank goodness for the van. There is no way we could have fit all of our luggage in a car. We take off to Port Canaveral and in about in a hour, we see:

I was almost in tears yelling "It's the Wonder! It's the Wonder!" The kids thought I was nuts! Anyway, guests from the prior cruise were still waiting to be picked up so we had to wait just a bit to unload our van. Porters helped us, DH left the kids and I and he went to return the van. We only had to wait about 10-15 for the port to open but there was a small line in front of us. Once they did open, we checked in and inquired about an upgrade. The ship was full so at least I didn't have to make that decision! Check-in was a breeze and even though we were early, we were in group 4. I registered Cameron for the clubs and waited for DH.

However, we soon saw Mickey. Oh, we just had to get our picture, the first of many! I called DH to see how long he'd be as I had hoped he could be in the picture. HE said turn around, there he was just as we were next in line!

Minnie soon followed...

They started boarding around 11:45 and by 12:10, it was our turn! Took a few minutes to work our way down for pictures and then wait for our name to be called but soon enough, we were in the beautiful atrium of the Disney Wonder. On our way to Parrot Cay, we saw this cool ice carving:

We ran in to our good friends Pluto and Goofy in Parrot Cay!

We hit the buffet and loaded up on our first of many buffets!

The food was good and we really enjoyed it all. There was some type of breaded pork that was really good.

We headed out to explore the ship a bit and to wait for our room to be ready. And we waited and waited…….

Cant wait to hear about your cruise i want to go but they dont go when kids out of school

 

[wideeyedwonder]

Yea, thanks for doing a trip report, LOVED this cruise! Subscribing!

 

[Tanzanite]

Yea, thanks for doing a trip report, LOVED this cruise! Subscribing!

Did any of the charactors have different costumes i know on Med they have some cute ones for different countries

 

[carmie3377]

I've always wondered about this! Looks like Disney has some very nice horses (and takes very good care of them)

Can't wait to read about the rest of your adventures.

Yes, they have some beautiful horses and they appear very healthy! I thought this one was the most beautiful. My former cruisemate and friend rode this one. I just love the Mickey on it!

Cant wait to hear about your cruise i want to go but they dont go when kids out of school

We home school Haley so we didn't have a problem but there were plenty of kids there that were not. Some schools allow self study type programs for trips like these. Might be worth a look into

Yea, thanks for doing a trip report, LOVED this cruise! Subscribing!

Yes, it was AWESOME. We feel so fortunate to have been able to have an experience like this.

Did any of the charactors have different costumes i know on Med they have some cute ones for different countries

Yes, they had Mexican, formal, nautical, Caribbean. I think there were more and I'll include them

Okay, on to finish day 1!!!

 

[carmie3377]

We were told rooms were going to be ready at 1:30 so around 1:20, we head to deck 6 to wait. 1:30 rolled around and they still had the ropes up. We impatiently waited but really, we had 15 nights on this ship, what would a few minutes make? It seemed like forever but it was really only about 10 minutes before they let us to our room. We immediately met our stateroom hostess Nerissa from Jamaica. She was very friendly and we knew she would be easily approachable.

We entered our cat 11 stateroom and initially it didn't seem much smaller than our cat 9 we had last year. We would soon find out that the split bath and extra 25 sq feet really do make a big difference. Anyway, we found our Castaway Club gift on the bed:

We immediately ate one of the rice krispie treats and but the other one made it home with us. Too much yummy food on the cruise! I have since used a water bottle and I really like it. It holds much more that it looks.

We wanted to finish unpacking before the safety drill and sailaway party but that didn't happen. We did get most of it done but the rest would just have wait. We wanted to get the fun started!

In case you haven't cruised in awhile, you no longer have to wear your vest. I was stll tempted to put ours on for a picture but I passed. During the drill, we met a family with 3 kids and the 2 girls were 10 and 12 (Haley is 11). They didn't seem to hit it off right away but that would soon change.

After the drill, we took a peek into the Oceaneer's Club. We knew that Cameron would probably be spending a lot time in there and we wanted him to familiarize himself with the Club. DH even had a little fun:

We then rushed up to 9 for the sailaway party. We were late last year and I wanted a prime spot this time. We got it! Actually, most people were up on 10 so we could have gotten there at any time and been able to be on 9 in a good spot. Cameron is wearing the orange Jersey with 1 on the back.

DH was chosen as a "Disney Dad" and asked to go on stage to do the YMCA dance. It was fun to watch!

All the dads got a free drink and DH, the wonderful hubby that he is , let me have all I wanted. It was a great way to finish the sailaway party.

 

[carmie3377]

We had early dining so we rushed up to our room to get ready. We were told that we would be passing the Dream and DH really wanted to go up on deck to see it but I was afraid we'd be late for dinner (I HATE being late!). I should have listened, most of the dining room was late. But oh well, we still saw it as we started out the cruise by a window (we were moved over one table a few days later and lost our window )

We met our serving team and little did we know that were in for 15 nights of the most incredible service EVER! We had server Rakesh from Trinidad, asst. server Maria from Spain, and head server Deniz from Turkey.

I know a lot of people like pictures of the menus so they know what to expect and I do have them:

I hope you can read them! If you can't and have questions about anything, let me know

DD decided that she would be a little more adventurous with her food this year so she always got an adult menu to chose from. She didn't like everything that she tried but I was so proud of her for trying

Also, I remember what we liked but I don't remember all the details about everything. After a few nights, it all started running together and I didn't take notes. So, I do apologize for not being able to give a detailed description of all the food

Appetizers:

DH - Cajun Spiced Calamari. He said it was very good. DD tried it and she did enjoy this.

Me - Chicken "Bastela". This was good as well. To be honest, I didn't eat too much that wasn't good!

DD - Prosciutto, Mozzarella & Citrus Topanande "Brushetta" She didn't like it. I knew as soon as I saw it that she wouldn't but DH finished it off for her. He really enjoyed it.

We asked for fried mozzarella sticks for DS but we were told that they would have to order them as they were not on the menu most nights. They promised to have them the remaining nights. DS didn't get an app this night.

DH also got a soup but I didn't get a picture of it.

Entree

DH - Yachtsman Steak House Cut Grilled Sirloin Steak. He loves steak and being from Texas, knows his steak! Said it was excellent!

Me - Mango Chicken Salad. Great salad. I love cilantro and that was a great touch to the salad. I was surprised though to see that the chicken was bone in with the wing drumette attached. But it was good, very juicy!

DD - Roasted Pork Tenderloin. She enjoyed the pork very much, the veggies, not so much. Actually, she didn't try them. She's not much a veggie girl. Likes carrots and potatoes and that's about it. I ate her veggies and they were good - cooked perfectly!

DS - Captain Mickey's Surf and Turf (small steak and grilled shrimp) This boy loves his steak like his Daddy. He enjoyed it and the fries but didn't eat the green beans.


Dessert

DH - Apple Tart-Tartin Classic Apple and Vanilla ice-cream. Very good per DH

Me - Kahlua Chocolate Creme Brulee - Ahhh, so good! Creamy, smooth, and delicious!

The kids passed on dessert. I know, what's wrong with them? They were ready to get to the clubs to meet new friends. DD went to the Edge, DS to the Club. Dh and I went to the evening show "Let the Magic Begin". It was great! I had tears in my eyes as I was so happy to be there. I thanked DH for putting up with me and my Disney addiction and for working so hard so we could do this. He was very happy to be there too!

After the show, we got a call and DS was ready to be picked up. What a long day it was and he was worn out. Didn't take him long and...

We all turned in too. We were looking forward to Castaway Cay!!!!

 

[jedijill]

Great report! I so wish I could do the PC...I was booked for the EB in 2008 but had to cancel since I changed jobs and moved to Colorado. Now I don't have enough vacation!

Can't wait to hear more.

Jill in CO

 

[Tanzanite]

Iam enoying your report i took the kids out f or 4 days sept2009 it was a mess teachers told me i set the kids back we took a ton of homework but they didnt like it.they spent also a weekend doing other work when we got back they punished kids for it. I cant wait to see charactors in different costumes. I looked at summer cruises they dont go because its rainy season plus busy with ships bringing trade through.

 

[Raeryan50]

Great Report! Can't wait to read more.

 

[carmie3377]

Great report! I so wish I could do the PC...I was booked for the EB in 2008 but had to cancel since I changed jobs and moved to Colorado. Now I don't have enough vacation!

Can't wait to hear more.

Jill in CO

Thanks! Sorry you had to miss out. Hopefully Disney will be doing another PC cruise.

Iam enoying your report i took the kids out f or 4 days sept2009 it was a mess teachers told me i set the kids back we took a ton of homework but they didnt like it.they spent also a weekend doing other work when we got back they punished kids for it. I cant wait to see charactors in different costumes. I looked at summer cruises they dont go because its rainy season plus busy with ships bringing trade through.

It's sad when kids get punished for taking when trips. When we took DD out in the 4th grade (prior to being home schooled), her teacher was thrilled. She said that life is so full of learning experiences and the classroom was simply supplemental learning. She is absolutely correct. On this trip we were able to teach our daughter first hand about currency exchange, different ecosystems, cultural differences only to name a few.

As far as characters, I'll post a bunch of 'em! I love character interactions so I've got quite a few!

Great Report! Can't wait to read more.

Thanks! I'm working on uploading pics for day 2. May not get to it till tomorrow but it's coming!

DH has been working on recreating the Konk Kooler. You'll hear about our mixology later! Anyway, he's getting it down. He just brought me one in my DCL souvenir cup. Now all I need is a white sandy beach!

 

[mmmears]

Great start! I'm looking forward to more!

 

[carmie3377]

Great start! I'm looking forward to more!

Here you go!


DH and I had planned to run the CC 5K at 9:15 so we set the alarm for 8 so we could grab a light breakfast. During the night, I was awoken several times but the creakiness of the room (which continued through the entire cruise) and by the closet doors rolling gently. I was able to go back to sleep every time but at around 7 am, we had a rude awakening. The closet doors slammed shut and DH popped out of bed, he thought one of the kids had fallen off the bed. We knew for it to slam that loud that the seas had to be quite rough so we turned on the TV. It stated rough seas - 13-20 feet and only 1 nautical mile from CC:

We went out up on deck 9 and could see CC in the distance:

But waves were crashing on the island and docking looked doubtful:

(courtesy of a fellow cruiser as we didn't have our zoom lens with us at the time)

We talked to a couple of CM and both said that Captain Henry was wanting to attempt to dock but it just didn't look good. One of them even said he had never seen the seas like this so close to CC. Don't know if he was telling the truth or just trying to set the stage for the fact that we weren't going to dock. Whatever it was, we were disappointed but knew that we still had a very long way to go our journey and the last thing we needed was a damaged ship. So I grabbed my diet Coke, DH his coffee and we headed back down stairs to get the kids for breakfast.

We decided to eat at Beach Blanket Buffet so we could at least look at CC. We filled our plates with our breakfast favorites:

DH - packed with protein and fruit

Me - The breakfast potatoes are my fave (or so I thought at the time ). The bacon is okay but I find it too thin. I like it crunchy but not paper thin. But I know I need some protein in the morning and about the only way I can eat eggs is boiled and they don't serve those on the buffet.

DD - Yes, full of mostly junk but it is vacation!

And DS - loving that donut!

While we were eating, I saw our server Rakesh. He asked if we needed anything and I asked him if they served boiled eggs. He said that they were available in Tritons but he would see what he could do. About 10 minutes later, he showed up with a bowl full of eggs for me. We just love him!

During breakfast, they announced that we wouldn't be docking at CC, just as we thought! DS was so disappointed as he wanted to play in the sand. After a minor meltdown, he decided to go to the Oceaneer's Club and DD headed off to the Edge.

DH and I decided that since we couldn't run the CC 5K that we should at least go work out so we headed to deck 9. I ran a couple of miles on the treadmill and hubby worked on weights. We then saw 2 ellipticals side by side available so we jumped on those. But we hated them! I use them at the gym here but using the ones on the Wonder made my toes extremely numb. And DH hit his head on the ceiling! So after about 10 mins, we figured we just run back to the room to clean up.

Before so, we stopped at the DVC desk to get a goody they were handing out I ran into Lilo and Stitch up there:

DH and I then saw Mickey

We made it back to the room to clean up and for a bit of R&R but soon got a call that DS was ready to leave the Club. It was very nice and warm outside so we decided to go grab some lunch up on deck 9. Right after getting up on deck, we not only ran into DD with her new friends but we ran into an old friend as well!

DS wasn't hungry as he had eaten the club but DH and I grabbed some lunch at Goofy's:

Chicken Caesar Wrap & fruit for me

Tomato & Brie Panini and wraps for DH

Nice light lunch! We took a look at the revised navigator and they had the Mickey 200 at 12:30 in Wavebands. The Mickey 200 is a race with cars made strictly out of a potato, carrot, and wheels. DS was having fun until he realized that he may not win. MELTDOWN. It was a bit embarrassing but we finally settled him down.

The cars were raced 2 by 2, eliminating the loser. The winners were then raced 2 by 2, eliminated the losers, ect. There were probably 14 or 16 participants and DS made it the round before the finals before he lost. He was sad but settled with the fact that he didn't win.

Well, I was actually taken back to my cruise there for awhile until I heard my dryer beep. I guess I am back to the real world I'll be back later for more!

 

[wideeyedwonder]

Iam enoying your report i took the kids out f or 4 days sept2009 it was a mess teachers told me i set the kids back we took a ton of homework but they didnt like it.they spent also a weekend doing other work when we got back they punished kids for it. I cant wait to see charactors in different costumes. I looked at summer cruises they dont go because its rainy season plus busy with ships bringing trade through.

Wow, that doesn't seem right! Why punish the kids? We had our 3 DD's out of school for two weeks for this cruise; the two in elementary school were able to make up work quite quickly, but our oldest in middle school had a MOUNTAIN of work when she got back. (The cruise was just after winter break, and the teachers didn't have homework prepared for us when we left for the cruise).

She was expected to catch up on all of the concepts, etc. (Math, Social Studies, and Science especially) from her classes, and it was hard, but she caught back up on her own (with my help, and her text books), and now she's on her way to straight A's.

I don't understand actually penalizing the kids if they do indeed make up the work.

(Side note: Now my oldest daughter has to seriously consider if she WANTS to miss school for long vacations, as she experienced that mountain of work afterwords. She no longer takes the prospect lightly. We're scheduled for a 7-night cruise on the Wonder in September, so she will miss school for 5 days; however, we also have 2 more nights planned for DLR afterwards, and that would require her to miss 2 more days. She's thinking that she might skip the DLR portion and get a ride back with and stay with some friends of ours so she won't have to make up 7 days of schoolwork!)

 

[Tanzanite]

Every time i saw the teachers they told me i shouldnt take them out .My kids all A and B grades i guess they dont get funding for absent kids.

 

[mmmears]

Great update! I am sorry you missed your Castaway Cay day, but it looks like you made the best of things. Looking forward to more.