We got up earlier than we wanted to (but at least we didn't have to eat at 6:30 am!) and eventually made our way to breakfast. Joel and Marco did not disappoint - breakfast took a very long time... But I finally got my eggs and bacon. They never came to our table with the pastries, we had to ask for toast and croissants and even that took forever to show up. It's a good thing I didn't want a refill on my hot chocolate, I might still be waiting...
We left the ship, found our luggage easily, went through customs, made our way to the car, and were on our way with little trouble. The drive home was uneventful. Sarah was very happy to be reunited with Sophie, they were very cute :)
Welcome home, Mommy!
In the end, the cruise was lots of fun and I accomplished my goals of eating, sleeping, reading, and relaxing. Thank you, Sarah!!
Today was the last full day of the cruise, and a day at sea. After dinner at Palo last night (from which we were still full), we had brunch reservations there as well. We were seating with our same server (Judy?) and shown the breakfast buffet options - lots of good choices! We had a variety of cheeses, fruit, pastries, etc. before having our cooked portion. Sarah had some type of eggs and I had pancakes. We also had dessert - yay for chocolate covered strawberries! When done we were once again stuffed full.
It was of course time to relax again. We did some final shopping, looked at the pictures for sale (but didn't buy), mailed our postcards, decided on tips, and contemplated packing. There was a nap in there as well. It was a quiet day for us.
Before the show, we ordered a cheese plate from room service. Yum. The show that night was Disney Dreams, which was enjoyable. I liked the snow :)
Waiting for the show to begin. Check out that sunburn...
It was also our last dinner with our new pals. We finished off the rotation at Triton's. Our dining selections:
Amy
Tomato Basil Soup
Market Green Salad
Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Olive Oil Smashed Potatoes and Bacon-Wrapped Green Beans
Triton's Sweet Temptations
Sarah
Chilled Jumbo Shrimp (but only 3, not 6!)
French Onion Soup
"Triton's" Seared Sea Bass with Mushroom and Herb Risotto and Sweet Onion Marmalade
Triton's Sweet Temptations
The funniest part of the meal, and perhaps the whole cruise, was when the whole dining room was asked to applaud if their serving team was the best. Our entire table just sat there and then ended up bursting into laughter. Thankfully, Joel and Marco weren't standing nearby. All 8 of us were in hysterics about that (and about an interesting family sitting nearby). I was a bit hesitant before the cruise about sitting with random other people, but it all worked out. It's good there was one very social couple because they kept things moving along (and this was important given the slooooowwwwww service we had).
The Japanese couple got a Happy Honeymoon cake to honor them, just like Sarah's from earlier in the week. We also got a group shot of the table. Minus Joel and Marco.
Table 38!
We checked the store out yet again after dinner (overpriced boxer shorts, anyone?) and then finished packing and set the bags out in the hall. We had the final breakfast seating in the morning, so thankfully we didn't need to get up at the crack of dawn the next morning, back in Florida.
Tuesday began with some question as to whether or not we'd be able to dock in Castaway Cay, as scheduled. We should have already docked by the time we got up but were still a bit offshore. Very slowly, the boat inched its way to the dock and finally made it. While the ship moved slowly along, we enjoyed our room service breakfast. It was pretty cloudy outside but we got our things together and ventured off the ship.
The Disney Wonder and the Flying Dutchman
It was rather blustery as we made our way out to adult beach. Not many people had ventured out yet, probably something we should taken greater note of. We did manage to wait in a very short line for the all important picture with Mickey. At the adult beach, it was so windy and cold (and there was a bit of a drizzle), that we turned right around and went back to the main beach. We claimed a couple of beach chairs and settled in to read, but soon the rain picked up and it just wasn't beach weather.
Mickey Mouse!
It seemed like a good time to buy some postcards (and pens). We picked out a bunch and settled in to write those and then make our way back to the boat to wait for warmer and sunnier weather. We walked back and stopped for a picture with Donald at the post office. We tried to mail our postcards but the post office was closed since there were no boats over from other islands.
Donald Duck!
We took a little rest on the boat and by lunchtime, the weather started to look much better. It was still a bit breezy, especially on the dock, but the day turned nice. Lunch was buffet style, very standard. We read for awhile and walked around a bit (I stole a seashell - don't tell!). I finally got my fruity tropical drink after missing out in Alaska. As Sarah and I began to burn, we made our way back to the boat.
Sarah insisted on a picture of me with "an Amy sized palm tree." She's so sweet.
We wandered about a bit. Sarah showed me the secret deck at the back of the boat. We then prepped for dinner that night was at Palo, the fancy restaurant. We had lots of yummy food to eat:
Assorted Breads
Antipasto
Amy
Mozzarella and Plum Tomatoes with Balsamic Dressing
Beef Tenderloin with Gorgonzola Sauce
Chocolate Souffle
Sarah
Sicilian Pesto Marinated Grilled Shrimp & the Grilled Portobello and Polenta with Roasted Shallot Sauce
Lobster & Mascarpone Ravioli
Chocolate Souffle
Shared Mini-Portions
Lasagna
Chocolate Amaretto Indulgence
It was all very, very filling. My filet was a bit overcooked, but I still managed to finish it - I'm a trooper. Once dinner was finished, we had to get changed into warm clothes because it was Pirate night! Due to a bit of confusion (on our part) about the start time, we had no trouble grabbing a table on deck 10 - it was pretty much deserted. We watched little kids having fun with some games on the big screen. Eventually, some cast members passed out blankets, or actually tossed them to us from the deck below. That kept us nice and warm for the evening.
Keeping warm for the Pirate Party!
The party was fun, who knew pirates could dance that well... And Mickey saved the day by kicking the bad pirates off the ship (though they just wanted to dance, they weren't overly threatening...). The fireworks were a nice touch at the end. We hung out for a bit to watch the beginning of Pirates of Caribbean in the Caribbean. You gotta admit that's pretty cool. If it wasn't so cold out and I wasn't suffering from stuffing myself at dinner, I would have liked to have stayed and watched the whole thing. But I was tired. And very, very full.
So began back and forth nights of not sleeping very well. Sarah and I seemed to take turns... When we finally got up and moving, it was a bit late for breakfast so we wandered around a bit. The ship had pulled into Nassau, Bahamas early in the morning. We were sandwiched between two other cruise ships. Down near the end was docked the Pelorus - the 16th longest motor yacht in the world. We spent some time oohing and aahing over what it would be like to sail on that. It had a "garage" for small boats, jet skis, etc. And 2 helipads. Just crazy.
Lighthouse in Nassau
Pelorus Yacht, with the Atlantis Resort in the background
We ate lunch at the buffet and then grabbed our books to sit and read for awhile. We had to keep moving because the sun was playing hide and seek but eventually found good seats up on top. After reading time, it was naptime, and then time for a show. We saw a musical version of Toy Story. It was enjoyable.
Hidden Mickey!
Dinner was at Parrot Cay. Couple #2 wasn't there, but everyone else was. The Japanese couple left dinner early because girl was looking VERY sick. They had to go track down a Japanese speaking cast member to translate for her. Apparently there are only 2 Japanese people working onboard the boat... Our dinner choices were:
Dinner didn't drag on quite as long tonight, but Joel and Marco hadn't really improved in their speed and attentiveness. After dinner, we wandered around a bit, checked out the store, and finally went to bed. Piedad had left us a towel rabbit. All in all, it was a nice, quiet day.
Sarah and I set out for our cruise on Valentine's Day - sorry Steve! We made the ~45 minute drive from Celebration to Port Canaveral, leaving at about 10:30 AM. The situation at the port was rather crazy. For the first time in the 10+ years of Disney cruises, both ships were in port at the same time. There is only one Disney dock, so that created a bit of chaos. The Magic was supposed to have been in and out the day before but weather prevented it from leaving it's dock. Oops. Staff at the port was spread thin between directing traffic and getting people and their luggage to the right spot.
Kennedy Space Center, as seen from Port Canaveral
We dropped off our suitcases, parked the car, went through customs, and checked it. We were in boarding group 13, so we had a bit of a wait before it was our turn to go on-board. Once on board, we waiting to make Palo brunch reservations (yay - first in line!). We then had lunch at Parrot Cay and afterward, made our way to our stateroom (#2586). This was Sarah's first time staying in a stateroom without a veranda. The room was otherwise identical to the standard veranda rooms, we just had a big porthole window, instead.
Waiting our turn to board the Wonder in the cruise terminal
We then went to check out the ship a bit. We had an inpromptu encounter with Mickey and Minnie. We were pretty much alone with them up on deck 10. It was very cute. Luggage finally arrived so we then unpacked. The muster drill was uneventful, we lined up, listened to the safety spiel, and went on our way again.
Surprise encounter with Mickey and Minnie
Getting ready for the Muster Drill
The Sailaway Party was fun, lots of silly dances and that sort of thing. The highlight of Sailaway, though, was sailing past the Magic. We waved to the people on the Magic, they waved back to us, the horns went back and forth a bunch of times, a lovely time was had by all.
This is our boat, the Wonder, as seen from someone on the Magic when we sailed by
Video of the Wonder sailing past the Magic
We went to the first show, The Golden Mickeys, which was cute and then prepared for dinner. Dinner the first night was at the Animator's Palette. Our menu was as follows:
Amy
Taleggio Cheese Tart with bacon, fingerling potatoes, micro greens, and balsamic reduction drizzle
Confetti Tomato Salad
Fire Roasted Beef Tenderloin with wasabi mashed potatoes and bok choy with a tamarind-barbecue reduction sauce
Warm Apple Crumble
Sarah
Wild Mushroom Risotto and Porcini Twist
Smoked Salmon and Trout with Goat Cheese Salad
Phyllo-Wrapped Salmon Fillet with sun-dried tomato, garlic cream cheese on fava beans, and green pea ragout
Warm Apple Crumble
There was an additional surprise dessert for Sarah to share with the table. We got a birthday cake for her birthday, which was a couple weeks earlier. Sarah isn't exactly crazy about public birthday celebrations... Overall, dinner was good. I didn't eat much of either dessert as I had stomach "issues." Our table staff were less than stellar. The head waiter, Richard, was fine, but the 2 people for our table were practically useless the whole time. Both Joel and Marco were terribly slow and not particularly observant. Getting drink refills was next to impossible.
Sarah's surprise birthday cake
Our dining table was made up of 4 pairs of adults - 3 married couples and then Sarah and me. Couple #1 was from Wisconsin (married with 6 kids, talkative, amusing to listen to), Couple #2 was from NW Connecticut (quieter, but opened more by the end), and Couple #3 was from Japan (on their honeymoon, she had a lot of trouble adjusting to the sea - I didn't think it was possible for an Asian person to look that green).
After dinner, Sarah showed me around the ship a bit more and then we headed to bed. Our room person was Piedad. She made up towel animal swans for the first night, how sweet :)
The Rosenberg girls made it home safe and sound from a lovely (if too short) cruise around the Bahamas. More detailed posts with lots of pictures (mostly of food) will be forthcoming for the two people interested. And maybe Steve, if he still checks in. Overall, my goals of sleeping, eating, reading, and relaxing were met. The weather was a bit chilly and our waitstaff were horribly slow, but we managed a good time anyway... And we got to see the Wonder sail past the Magic - very cool :)
We're the Rosenbergs. Sometimes some of us write about trips we go on, meals we eat, or other random things. Sometimes we don't write anything for long periods of time.
