Natsynoo's Perfect Panamian Adventure: DCL EBPC Oct 2018 - Trip Summary and Highs & Not So Highs

[NatsyNoo]

Well we’re back from our amazing Disney Eastbound Panama Canal cruise and I’m so happy to report that it was as wonderful as we had hoped!

I didn’t do a pretrippie so before I head into the trippie, I thought I’d sum up our trip…

We flex on 17th October to LA with British Airways
We the stayed for 2 nights at the Sheraton Park in Anaheim (we just couldn’t justify the expense of the Grand Californian this flying trip) and visited Disneyland and California Adventure
On Friday 19th October, we rented a car from Alamo and drove down to San Diego where we embarked the Disney Wonder for the 14 night cruise to Galveston, Texas
We were due to stop at Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Cartagena (Columbia), Grand Cayman & Cozumel; but Puerto Vallarta was cancelled due to dodging Hurricane Vicente and Hurricane Willa
We then flew home from Houston 2 weeks later, again with British Airways

In terms of Highs & Lows – well, there were no Lows – so, Highs and Not So Highs:

Highs
Everything just went perfectly, there is not a single thing that went wrong with the logistics of our trip or the activities that we planned
This trip provided us with a much needed time to relax – after a number of trips this year (we have been so lucky) and some tough family circumstances, just chilling for 2 weeks was just what the Doctor ordered
Palo Brunch & Dinner – always a winner
Spending time together – we work opposite hours a lot of the time, so our holiday time is so important
Tiana’s Place (restaurant on the Wonder) – just perfect, I absolutely loved it
Cruise Staff – special mention to Jo (Club Host), Nathan (Server), Claudius (Palo Server), Natalie (Cruise Director)
California Adventure – we had the best day! The new Guardians ride is a great use of the old Tower of Terror ride system, Pixar Pier is just perfect, and Paint the Night and Fantasmic were so special
Extra legroom seats in the bulkhead on both flights – we are never going back!
Maxpass – the best $10 ever spent, it really saved the mileage on the feet by not having to go from ride to ride just to collect Fastpasses, the fact that it includes Photopass for that price made it even better! We definitely got value for money from it, especially on the second day

Not So Highs
We had some up and down weather throughout the cruise – although it should have really been expected at this time of year but it did disrupt a good amount of our planned days of chilling in the sun on deck
BA cabin crew and their overall offering – having flown with Virgin to Florida back in April, it really does knock the spots off of BA. I’m still a very much ‘an airline gets you from A to B kind of girl, but without too much of a difference in flight prices, Virgin wins hands down for us every time

And with all that being said…on with the trippie!