Who Needs Toes Anyway? A 2016 EBPC Trip Report *COMPLETE*

[arielmomma]

More pictures from the buffet...



We put all of our breakfasts onto two trays. Here's tray number 1:



And tray number 2:



The movie was pretty good. Not the best of the Marvel movies, but quite enjoyable. I wish they'd developed the story a little more. Note to Avengers -- You should at least read a document before you start trying to kill each other over it.

After the movie, we all went back to our cabin to get cleaned up for the day. Once the kids were ready, they skittered off to their clubs. James and I went for a short walk on deck 4 before lunch. It was a gorgeous day!

 

[arielmomma]

Off to Triton's for lunch.



To start, I had the pear and pecan nut salad.



For the main course, I had the weiner schnitzel. This was very good. The potato salad was scrumptious.



James had the Philly Cheesesteak sandwich.



He also had a side of cheese sticks.



James opted to skip dessert. I had the banana-macadamia nut pudding.



As usual, we went straight from lunch to dance class. Today we learned salsa. By this point in the cruise, my left knee and right toes were already so tender, I couldn't distinguish any particular new injuries. Still, the music was fast, but a blast to dance to (or in our case, stumble to).

We had a little time before the Princess Tea. I went out to deck 4 to read, while James tried to use the hot tub. While out on deck, I had a dolphin siting. I managed to catch a picture of its tail.

 

[arielmomma]

Our princess tea was at 3pm. We collected the children and headed to Triton's. When we arrived, a CM asked each of the children their names so that they could be announced as they entered. When he asked Jimmy, Jimmy responded with "The Duke." So the CM announced, welcome Princess Duke. Then a female CM tried to put a sash on him. Needless to say, we promptly informed them that Jimmy was a boy, and he was offered a crown instead. Jimmy was a good sport about it. With that hair of his and those long eyelashes, this was not the first time he was mistaken for a girl.



We were served little sandwiches and treats. Since the kids skipped lunch, they devoured the food.



Soon, the princesses arrived. Princess Ariel taught us how to bow and curtsy.



Princess Tiana came by first. She is one of Emily's favorites!



Claudius stopped by to say "hi." He also hooked us up with more goodies. Heaven forbid we might go 5 minutes without eating! I swear he was determined to roll us off the ship.



Next came my favorite princess, Ariel. I told Ariel that she had been on top of my wedding cake. After she left, I felt silly. I told James, "Why did I say that?" James replied, "Because deep down, you believe." I guess he's right.

 

[arielmomma]

More princesses.



I jumped into this one.



A group shot farewell.



After the princess tea, Emily ran off with Lauren. I accompanied the boys up to deck 10 where Jimmy wanted to participate in a ping pong tournament. Jimmy thought it was just going to be a light, family game with lots of kids participating. Oh no! There were only 2 kids who signed up; Jimmy being the youngest. The rest were men who took ping pong VERY seriously.

Jimmy was rather intimidated by this. I told him that he didn't have to participate, but he decided to stick with it. I thought that was quite brave of him. He was paired with a nice guy who took it easy on him.

Despite my supportive cheering, both of my guys were eliminated in the first round. They said they had fun though.



With a half hour left before dinner, I wandered off to read on deck 4.

 

[wilma-bride]

That Princess tea looks like fun - might have to try and bag myself an invite on the next WBPC despite the fact that we are travelling without kids.

 

[arielmomma]

For dinner, we were back in Animator's Palate with the World of Flavour Menu.



The kids and I all had the lobster roll.



Jimmy also ordered the kids' pizza.



As a second appetizer, I order the salmon blini. This is the only food item that I had on this cruise that I would label disgusting. I couldn't even swallow it. I had to discretely spit it out.



I believe it was Don who had the beef turnover.



James ordered the Canadian Cheese Soup.



Onto the main course. James had the prime rib.

 

[arielmomma]

Emily had the Cordon Bleu



Alison had the China noodle bowl.



I had the pork tenderloin.



Now for dessert.



Emily had the sundae and a Mickey bar.



Jimmy had cheesecake.



I had the bread and butter pudding. It was different than I thought it would be. The texture was very light, while the dessert was very rich. I would definitely order this again.



Jimmy also had a sundae.



Claudius played a game with the kids. Lauren figured it out pretty quickly. These kids were hard to stump.

 

[arielmomma]

After dinner, our whole table went to Studio Sea to play Mickey Mania. Jimmy and I were selected to go onstage to play the game. We lost but had a great time.

Since I was onstage, I didn't get any pictures during the game.



We were the blue team.



Jimmy with our wacky host, Leslie.



We went straight from Studio Sea to The Walt Disney Theater to watch Bucket-n-Boards. They were great as usual!



Afterward, the kids ran off, while James and I enjoyed another Evening of Dance. We were finally starting to get a hang of some of the steps.

When dancing ended, James and I parted ways. He was exhausted. We collected the kids and they called it a night.





I, on the other hand, went to see a movie: A Light Between Oceans. It was a great movie about a terrible experience.

By the time I made it back to our cabin, it was after 1am. Yikes! Tomorrow was Panama Canal day. I had a feeling that I was going to regret my late night.

Up Next...The highlight of this cruise -- The Panama Canal!

 

[wilma-bride]

That dinner menu looks lovely, I hope we have that on the WBPC in April (we didn't have that one in 2015).

Glad you enjoyed the movie - I read the book last year and can't wait to see the film.

Looking forward to Panama Canal day!

 

[arielmomma]

On Saturday 9/3, my alarm went off at 5:45am. Ugh! Fortunately, I was excited about this being Panama Canal day, so I hauled myself out of bed with minimal effort. James got up with me. We were on deck 10 by 6am.

The bow was already crowded with people who were VERY protective of their positions. Don't get me wrong. If you make the effort to get up early and get a great spot, it's your spot. You'll get no argument from me. However, there are some who take that possessiveness to the extreme. There was one instance where I was a tad disappointed in my fellow man. I’ll leave it at that. For the most part, though, people were friendly and in great spirits.




It felt like we were in a huge parking lot for ships.



It was a gorgeous morning. The temperature and humidity were very pleasant. That wouldn't last for long!



Cast members set up a station of pastries, coffee, and water on the sports deck. James had a cinnamon roll, while I had my usual coconut-pineapple muffin.

 

[arielmomma]

We slowly made our way toward The Bridge of the Americas. We passed beneath it at 7:40am.



Panama City



The Bridge of the Americas



It was a close fit.



The bridge broadcasted a running commentary on the open decks about the sites we passed throughout the day. I really liked that. It added to the experience. Here is a photo of a ship in dry dock. I took a picture since the Wonder was heading to dry dock after this cruise.



A container ship.



Approaching the 1st set of locks.

 

[arielmomma]

As we approached the first set of locks, we decided to head back to the cabin and take a nap. We slept for an hour. Feeling refreshed, James and I went to Beach Blanket Buffet for breakfast. We ate out on the deck.

Can you guess which one was mine?



By the time we finished, the Wonder was entering the Pedro Miguel Locks.



Here is our escort.



It was a close fit.



These are the locomotives that helped us along. These will no longer be necessary when DCL begins to use the new locks.



James was impressed with the size of these tires.



We made it!

 

[arielmomma]

At 11:30am, we returned to our cabin to wake up the kids. Emily and James got dressed to go swimming.



By the time we made it back up to deck 10, the CMs were switching the breakfast snacks to lunch snacks. Jimmy was bummed. He'd wanted a pastry. I saw that the pastries were still on a cart next to the snack table, so I asked if Jimmy could have one. The CMs were happy to oblige.



T-shirts for sale



James, Emily, and the Irelands swam through the Panama Canal.

 

[arielmomma]

While Emily and James swam, Jimmy and I went to Triton's for our first lunch. (Yes, I said first.)



Jimmy had the children's corn dog.



I had the Green Apple Bisque. It was okay, but not worth the calories to finish it.



The potato gnocchi, on the other hand, was definitely worth it. This was delicious!



Our view out the window. This is supposedly the prison where Manuel Noriega is housed.



For dessert, Jimmy had the banana split.





We shared the carrot cake.



At the recommendation of a woman seated at the table with us, we also ordered the brownie pie. Wow! This was fantastic!

 

[arielmomma]

When Jimmy and I finished at Triton's, we went up to Beach Blanket Buffet where we found James, Emily, Don, and Lauren enjoying the on-deck barbeque.



Here was Emily's plate.



As for me and Jimmy....onto lunch number two.

 

[arielmomma]

More photos from the buffet...



This was my plate.

 

[arielmomma]

Salad bar



This was James' favorite part of the bbq buffet -- the crepe station.



Emily had a bowl of marshmallows and shaved chocolate.



James' bowl



The weather was a tad too warm for the chocolate.

 

[arielmomma]

After lunch, we got cleaned up for the day. Then the kids ran off to their clubs, James opted for a nap, while I headed for deck 4. If you ever thought chair hogs were plenty by the pools on the average sea day, they were rampant on Panama Canal Day. I saw chairs on decks 4, 9, and 10 with items placed on them all day but never human bodies. If I'd really wanted a seat, I would have moved some items. However, as you can see, I spent the day wandering. I recommend this approach. You see so much more if you move around.

Gatun Lake was gorgeous.




After the lake, my family met up again. We joined with the Irelands on deck 4 as we went through the locks.

 

[arielmomma]

When the ship started going down, the Irelands invited us to their deck 2 ocean view room to see the view from there. This picture is looking up into the gap between the ship and the wall. It was practically non-existent.



Afterward, we went up to deck 10.



A leak in the lock.



The view behind us.



Some people waving at us from a park.



A couple of crocodiles.



We made it through the Panama Canal!

 

[arielmomma]

It was time to get ready for dinner. We were in Parrot Cay with the Panama Canal Menu.



I started with the smoked bacon tartlet.



James had a triple order of crab legs. Yes, he did eat them all.



The kids ordered a single portion of crab legs.



I also had the cauliflower soup.



For the main course, James ordered the lobster tail. Claudius felt he needed a triple portion of this too.



I had the mushroom pasta with chicken. This was sooooo good.



The kids each had a single lobster tail.



Don had the prime rib.