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Old 5 Dec 20, 02:39 PM  
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Stewboy
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Wonder on the West Coast: Day 12 - Day at Sea

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Friday 1st November 2019

Today was a day at sea, a chance to relax on board and take advantage of some of the fun things that are available - believe me there is lots to keep you occupied on board the Disney Cruise Line ships and as much as we love visiting interesting ports like Puerto Vallarta, we also look forward to these sea days.

The day began fairly early when we were awoken by our room service at 7:45am - it was expected at 8am! I jumped out of bed, and rather groggily let our crew member in with the tray and handed him his tip as usual. These room service crew members are always so polite and friendly.

As we drank our coffee, Jo and I were looking at the delicious choices available in tonight’s dinner menu and trying to decide on what we fancied; we were back in Tiana’s Place and looking forward to it.

We had plenty of other things planned for today too. Jo and I were going to try and do some exercise - either a visit to the gym or a run around deck 4; Jo and I also had Palo Brunch booked; and we were also going to try out some towel folding (Jo and I haven’t done that since our second cruise 8 years ago!).

Isabella was still sleeping when I decided to exercise - today I thought I would just go for a run around the promenade running track on deck 4. I got ready and headed out.

It was hot outside on the Pacific Ocean today, so I decided to do a couple of easy miles; each lap of the ship is almost a third of a mile (0.3 according to my phone) and I ended up doing 8 laps/2.4 miles. As I did my 8 laps I passed a number of other guests taking a leisurely stroll; I avoided children playing shuffleboard; and at one point I even saw a dolphin swimming alongside the ship!

I was gone for about 25 minutes and when I returned Isabella was awake and eating breakfast and Jo was ready to head out for a run too.

To cool down I sat on the balcony and admired the view of the Pacific Ocean - it’s very soothing and relaxing. Isabella was content to watch Coco inside while finishing off her breakfast.





After I had cooled down I had a shower and then got ready. As I mentioned, Jo and I had Palo brunch booked so after my shower I got dressed in my suit - no tie.

Jo returned, and once cool, she showered and got ready. Isabella had also got ready now, and I took her off to the Oceaneer’s Lab - this morning they were having an Aloha Luau with some character appearances.

Back at the stateroom yet more candy had appeared in our fish extender overnight - they must’ve heard we were running low….!



Jo was ready and looking lovely as always. We made our way to the aft elevators and up to deck 10. Walking around the ship at this time of day - it was almost 11am - wearing a suit is quite an odd experience.

We made our way to Palo and checked in where we were immediately shown to our table. Palo is the adult only, Northern Italian inspired restaurant situated deck 10 aft on board the Disney Wonder and the Magic. It’s open for brunch and dinner and reservations need to be made in advance - brunch is only available on days at sea and can be hard to come by depending on the length of cruise. It supposedly has a strict dress code but I have seen a few guests who don’t appear to have followed the code - on the whole it’s mostly adhered to though.











We always try to visit Palo on the cruise, and we usually opt for brunch as we feel it’s better value and a little less formal (despite the suit). We also really enjoy the other evening dinner experiences on board and we’d rather not miss out.

Our server today was Paulo from Portugal and he was fantastic. This being brunch we would be mostly helping ourselves to the amazing buffet. Paulo took our drinks order then showed us around the buffet, and then left us with menus - there are some dishes that need to be ordered from the menu.

As this was brunch we opted for a mimosa, and to begin with our first trip to the buffet involved a selection of antipasti and seafood; followed by bread, cheese and more seafood.











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Old 5 Dec 20, 02:40 PM  
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Stewboy
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In between visits we ordered a couple of items off of the menu including the Panko-Crusted Fried Soft-Boiled Eggs special; the Artichoke Ravioli; and the Rollatini Melanzane (Eggplant) - our favourite!













Our two final trips were for some amazing pastries and desserts. We had now had our fill and were ready to finish off with some coffee.

Brunch had taken us about an hour and a half and we had enjoyed every minute of it! Paulo was a fantastic server and we left him a $30 tip - he was definitely the best server we’ve had in all our visits to Palo.











We headed back down to our stateroom and picked up Isabella on the way. After getting changed back into more suitable clothes for a beautiful day at sea, we put some washing on, and then took Isabella to get some lunch in Cabana - obviously Jo and I didn’t need anything!

After Isabella had eaten we had a little wander on deck 10, admired the ocean views, then popped back to the room briefly to sort out the laundry, and then headed to the D-Lounge for some towel folding. Jo and I loved doing this on our very first cruise and again on our second cruise but hadn’t managed to fit it in on any of the subsequent cruises.



We all had a lot of fun making the various animals including dinosaurs, swans and monkeys.

As we exited the D-Lounge we saw that Daisy was due out for a character meet so we joined the queue. Stitch was just finishing up and we got to say ‘hi’ as he passed by followed by an entourage of children!















Daisy was looking very floral today and we all decided to join in the photos. The great thing about a sea day is just being able to wander around the ship, do activities, meet characters (they are usually meeting all day in various places) and then grab food and drink whenever you want.







After Daisy - and a quick stop to finish off the laundry - we made a visit to the French Quarter Lounge for a cocktail of the day: a Captain’s Mai Tai. As previously mentioned, this area is newly refurbished and we loved it there. They often bring free snacks to accompany the drinks, and we love the theming including the ‘Princess and the Frog’ themed playing card drinks coasters.







After a nice relaxing drink Isabella decided she’d like to go back to the club as there was an activity that she wanted to do.

While Isabella was having fun in the club, Jo and I decided to book a placeholder cruise at the Onboard Sales Desk - as it didn’t open for another 15 minutes we joined the virtual queue and were in 9th place.

As we had time to kill we popped down to the shop where I bought a Disney Cruise mug - which when we were home, immediately became my favourite mug!



After that we decided to go back to the room and do some more sorting out of candy - this time deciding what to keep and what we could give as an extra gift to our amazing servers (I’ve not really mentioned them much but all of them had done a great job at dinner time, including the head server who had been very attentive - sometimes you barely see them).

Whilst I went to collect Isabella from the kids club Jo went to the Onboard Sales Desk to book that placeholder I mentioned - we eventually turned that placeholder into a 4 night Bahamian on the Disney Dream that was due to happen in August as part of a bigger Florida holiday. Due to the current situation we obviously didn’t do that, and moved it to a 7 night Western Caribbean cruise on the Disney Fantasy in February 2022 - fingers crossed!

While Jo was making the placeholder booking Isabella and I went to meet Goofy, Jo eventually joined us in line and we all got to meet him; we always like meeting Goofy as he’s a lot of fun!





It was now almost 5 o’clock and not long until we would need to get ready for dinner, so we made our way back to our stateroom to relax a little bit. We also decided now might be a good time to sort out some of our fish extender gifts. Isabella watched the rest of Coco while Jo and I poured ourselves a glass of wine and relaxed on the balcony with a wonderful view of the ocean.













As tonight was semi-formal night I would be donning the suit (sans the tie again) and Jo and Isabella were putting on their pretty dresses.

As I mentioned earlier, dinner was in Tiana’s Place again and we were excited as we’d enjoyed it there earlier in the cruise - having a good table location near the stage definitely helps; on the Magic we’d been sat really far from the stage in Rapunzel’s Royal Table - the sister restaurant to Tiana’s. We’d requested this in advance.













Our table mates were a no show tonight which meant a more relaxing dinner; we do like having table mates usually, but sometimes it can be hard work making small talk, especially when they reveal some questionable political views, which had happened during the previous evening!
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Old 5 Dec 20, 02:40 PM  
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Stewboy
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For dinner tonight we ordered the following:

Me: Prince Naveen’s Cajun Charcuterie Board - Cured Pork Shoulder, Duck Rillette, Duck Pastrami, Saucisson, Cajun Egg, Spiced Mustard and Pickles/Mama Odie’s Creamy Tomato Soup with chopped Cilantro/Big Daddy’s Roasted Prime-Rib of Beef with a double Baked Potato, Broccolini, sweet Roasted Carrots and a Red Wine Veal Sauce/New Orleans Bananas Foster Sundae French Vanilla Ice Cream with Rum-flavored Caramelized Bananas and Whipped Cream/Tiana’s Buttermilk Beignets dusted with Powdered Sugar and Served with Chocolate Espresso Dipping Sauce (to share)







Jo: Sautéed Gulf Shrimp and Grits with Andouille Sausage, Grilled Green Onions and a Smoked Barbecue Sauce/Mama Odie’s Creamy Tomato Soup with chopped Cilantro/Big Daddy’s Roasted Prime-Rib of Beef with a double Baked Potato, Broccolini, sweet Roasted Carrots and a Red Wine Veal Sauce/Mama Odie’s White Chocolate Bread Pudding with Praline Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream/Tiana’s Buttermilk Beignets dusted with Powdered Sugar and Served with Chocolate Espresso Dipping Sauce (to share)







Isabella: Big Daddy’s Roasted Prime-Rib of Beef with a double Baked Potato, Broccolini, sweet Roasted Carrots and a Red Wine Veal Sauce/Mac ‘n Cheese/Southern Style Pecan Nut Tart with Bourbon Caramel Sauce/Tiana’s Buttermilk Beignets dusted with Powdered Sugar and Served with Chocolate Espresso Dipping Sauce (to share)









The food was as good as it looks and sounds. During dinner there was a show; the band - the Crawfish Crooners - played throughout and at one point were joined by Tiana and Louis. The servers encouraged the kids to get up and dance - and do a limbo! Jo and I also joined in briefly (not the limbo!).













After a really fun and delicious dinner we wandered down to the lobby where there was an impromptu dance party going on with Mickey, Minnie & Goofy! Jo and Isabella joined in for a bit, while I took some photos.













As it was semi-formal night there was various backdrops and photographers out in the lobby, so we stopped to get a few photos before we made our way to the Walt Disney Theatre for the Frozen show.





















Jo and I got another drink of the day on the way into the theatre and we thoroughly enjoyed the show. It’s the first time we’ve seen this one and it was excellent.

We left the theatre and made our way back to the room. To finish off a fun filled, action packed day at sea I headed up to deck 9 to get some decaf coffees while Isabella got ready for bed.









Jo and I relaxed with our coffee; I caught up with my notes and then it was time for bed.

Tomorrow is our final day at sea - time for more fun on board the Disney Wonder!

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Old 28 Dec 20, 02:38 PM  
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mrsdjh
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Quite a full sea day with all the different things you all did. The brunch looks delicious- especially the dessert plates 😋 and you both look very smart.

Very impressed with your towel folding.

Dinner also looked very nice - at least you could relax and enjoy it without your table mates being there.

Fingers crossed for your 2022 cruise 🤞🏻

Diane
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Old 25 Jul 22, 08:39 PM  
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Stewboy
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Originally Posted by mrsdjh View Post
Quite a full sea day with all the different things you all did. The brunch looks delicious- especially the dessert plates 😋 and you both look very smart.

Very impressed with your towel folding.

Dinner also looked very nice - at least you could relax and enjoy it without your table mates being there.

Fingers crossed for your 2022 cruise 🤞🏻

Diane
Thanks Diane. It was definitely an action packed day! Next cruise is now scheduled for 2023 - this year is a return to WDW!

TFR
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