Monday, February 22nd - a rainy sea day!
I had planned on sleeping in this morning, since I had no planned activities until brunch at 11:30. I woke up at 8:30, got my coffee from room service, and chilled out in my room. I flipped through the stateroom channels while I was drinking my coffee, and found a channel showing ABC shows, and there was an episode of Lost showing - yea!
After I finished my coffee, I started to get ready for brunch, and took my time getting ready. I headed outside to see what the weather was like, and saw this:
Not the best. But I didn't care too much, because it was time for Palo brunch! I had been looking forward to this for awhile because I'd heard so much about it, and it did not disappoint! The food was delicious, and I loved the whole atmosphere of the restaurant! And get ready folks, because this is the day I started taking my food pictures!!!
My server was Sasha from Croatia, and he was wonderful and attentive. He took me on a tour of the buffet, which had an overwhelming amount of food! There was a table of salad greens and vegetables, another with assorted seafood, another with assorted breads, another with fruit, pastries, and danishes, and finally, one full of desserts.
I hit the buffet tables a couple of times, and pretty much got the same stuff. This was my first plate: Jumbo shrimp, salad greens with sun dried tomatoes and balsamic dressing, asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and topped with a hollandaise sauce, and stolen bread (German sweet bread) with berries and whipped cream. I also had some sun dried tomato bread. All of it was so delicious! They also give you a complimentary glass of champagne.
Palo also had a selection of entrees to choose from - both breakfast and lunch. They had eggs benedict, pancakes, pizza, and many different entrees. For my entree I had the chicken parmesan. It was served with risotto, and it was hands down the BEST chicken parm I've ever had!
Phew! Sorry folks...had to wipe the drool off my keyboard there!
After I finished my delicious meal, it was time to hit the dessert table. I had two different kinds of fruit tarts, orange cheesecake, and dark chocolate mousse.
Sasha, bless his heart, kept offering to bring me more food. I told him that if I ate anymore, they'd have to roll me out of there!
Brunch was also lots of fun because a few of the DIS people were having lunch at the same time, so even though I was there by myself, I was constantly chatting with people. You guys ROCK!
After brunch, I went outside, and saw the sun trying so hard to peek through.
I loved the days at sea mostly because it was awesome to look in any direction and see nothing but ocean. Love it!
Anyways, I changed into some more comfortable clothes, grabbed my book, and headed to deck 9. I read for awhile, and then at 2:00, they started the movie Enchanted on the Ariel view screen. I love that movie, so I stuck around to watch it. It had started raining again, but I was already wet from the pool/hot tub, so it didn't phase me much.
After the movie, I went back to my stateroom to change out of my swimsuit. Tonight was formal night, but I was planning on skipping dinner in favor of seeing Up in the Buena Vista theater, so I didn't have to spend much time getting ready. When I was done showering and changing, and I was starting to get hungry. Since I was skipping dinner, I ordered a cheeseburger and fries from room service.
One of the stateroom movie channels was showing Fame (the new one) so I watched that while I ate.
After the movie, I decided to check out the walking/jogging track on deck 4. I was starting to feel a little nasty from eating so much over the past few days (especially with all I ate that day!), so it felt good to get a bit of exercise! Also, the sun was FINALLY out clearly, and it felt so great to look at the ocean while I walked.
Then, it was time for Twice Charmed, one of their Broadway shows. I'd been looking forward all week to their broadway shows, and this one did not let me down! This show is about what happens after Cinderella and the Prince get married. Turns out, Cinderella's stepmother had an evil fairy godfather named Franco who turns back time so the stepmother/stepsisters can stop Cinderella from bringing the other glass slipper. It was a beautiful show, and the performers were really top notch!
*Warning...short rant coming up! Also don't read if you want the show spoiled!*
The only thing that bothered me about the show was the ending. "Princess Cinderella" was clearly not the same girl who'd played Cinderella the whole time. "Peasant Cinderella" went down a trapdoor in front of the stage while the fairy godmother was casting her spell, and then a carriage appeared at the back of the stage and "Princess Cinderella" came out of it. It was all very magical, but at the end, when the cast took their bows, Princess Cinderella was the only one who bowed. I'm sure it was to preserve the magic for the kiddos in the audience, but as a former performer, it bothered me that the girl with such an amazing voice wasn't the one bowing at the end. If anyone's ever seen the movie The Prestige, it kind of reminded me of that.
*End of nitpicky rant!*
Once I left the theater, I made my way over to the shore excursion desk. I'd been thinking all day about my plans for Cozumel and Grand Cayman, and at the last minute decided to change them. The one thing I'd really wanted to do on this trip was a dolphin swim, and that was why I booked Dolphinaris in Cozumel. However, I'd also wanted to try out the Xcaret park, and the more I thought about it, the more I was disappointed that I hadn't booked it. I was assisted by a very sweet British guy named Ben, who was able to book me on a dolphin swim in Grand Cayman, and book Xcaret for me the next day. Woo hoo!
Feeling satisfied with my new shore excursions, I went back to my room to fix my room service order for the next morning. When I'd ordered my cheeseburger, I'd placed an order for my coffee the next morning at 8:30 the next morning. Now that my new excursion was meeting super early, I needed to change that - to 6:00am. Yuck! I was also unsure about whether or not I'd get a call before delivery, so I set a wake up call just in case.
I then headed up to the Buena Vista theater to see Up. I was so excited when I heard that this movie was going to play on the cruise, and was initially disappointed to find that all of the show times were either during the nightly shows or other activities that I'd planned. Luckily, I wasn't incredibly excited about formal dinner anyways, so that was the showing I went to. It was SUCH a great movie, even though the beginning nearly killed me and made me MAJORLY tear up!
After the movie was over, I headed back to my stateroom. When I came in earlier, I threw my sunglasses on my bed. Turns out, the elephant visitor in my room tried to steal them!
I decided to call it an early night since I had to be up so early in the morning. I let the ship gently rock me to sleep as I dreamed about a beautiful day in Mexico!
I will never learn! 
in front of the nice cruise staff. I then grabbed a quick breakfast from the food court, and headed back to my room to relax before the first bus to the port. I watched an episode of Law & Order, then headed to check out of the hotel. When I had checked in the day before, they told me to leave my luggage inside the room by the door, and it would be picked up around 8:30. I was a little concerned checking out because it was close to 9:00 by that point, and my luggage was still in my room. I mentioned it at the desk when I checked out, and they assured me that I was on their list, and it normally takes awhile to collect all the luggage. I was still a little uneasy, but I put it out of my mind and went down to the buses. 
I then just walked around the terminal and took some pictures. It really was beautiful inside, and there was also a little outdoor area where you could see the ship. I had of course seen many pictures of the Disney ships, but seeing it in person really made me appreciate how gorgeous and elegant it is!
... great report so far!
Keep writing!
