Come Along with Bill & Mary Ann Going Full Circle on the 2015 World Cruise -114 days+

[DAllenTCY]

I'm enjoying your blog as I have all winter. Thanks for taking the time every day to share.

I sailed on the Disney Dream in January, a sister to the Disney Fantasy.

Liquor (any type or amount) is permitted to be brought on board on the Disney ships.

I hope that you will try Palo at least once. When you do.....please order the chocolate souffle and take a few bites for me. It is served piping hot, with a vanilla topping. A dollop of ice cream in the middle cools it down to a more mellow temperature. It is heaven on earth....especially at sea.

 

David

Edited May 6, 2015 by DAllenTCY

[WCB]

Report # 127 Sailing Towards Cartagena, Colombia May 5, 2015 Tuesday Cinco De Mayo Partly sunny, windy & 82 degrees

 

Sometime during the night, it got very rough. Our two room porthole windows resembled a washing machine with water swirling in circles. Checking out the TV ship navigation channel, it said that the temperature was 167 degrees. Really? Something tells us that number is wrong. Now maybe the wind speeds are high, but not that high.

 

At breakfast this morning, a supervisor asked our opinions about the dining room. She wanted suggestions on how they can make things better. The few things we had to say, she admitted to hearing them mentioned often. We have noticed that the noise in the dining rooms, especially the Animator’s Palate and Parrot Cay, is quite high. The wait stations are tight quarters for the waiters, and also add to the noise. She did say that this ship was going into a dry dock for upgrading, but she was not sure what would be done in these dining rooms. She did say that the layout of the tables resembles a college dormitory.

 

We got a copy of our shipboard account to make sure it was correct. We did have some shipboard credit too. Turns out all of the charges were up-to-date and correct. And this was the only place we saw two bouquets of fresh flowers on the desk.

The mid pool, Goofy’s Family Pool, was shut down today. Half empty, the water was splashing up to deck 10 and beyond with the movement of the ship. The kids seemed amused watching the action, and so did the adults. By the way, there are lifeguards at two of the pools. They need them, since not all of the kids are watched closely by the parents.

 

Despite the strong winds, (6 on the Beaufort scale), it was still warm outside. So we spent most of the day on deck 10, watching a movie on the big screen. We also read our books while listening to the songs from the past few decades.

 

We did eat lunch earlier, taking advantage of the chicken tenders once again. While we ate outside near the family pool, we watched a deck crew close the teak floor over the pool, then set up tables and chairs for an event of some kind. Looked like some waiters were pouring glasses with orange juice and champagne…yes, mimosas. But we were not sure what the occasion was. Perhaps Cinco De Mayo. The only sign of this holiday were the Disney characters dressed with serapes and sombreros.

 

As far as lectures go, there have been a few with Captain Ken Puckett, a Panama Canal Pilot. He has given some backround history of the building of this canal. Today he explained the steps and procedures for a safe transit.

 

The entertainer in the Walt Disney Theater was Ricky Kalmon, with a hypnosis show. It was billed as the only comedy show where the audience becomes the stars. That scares us, since the last thing we would like is to become part of a show. Generally, it does not work out well for the guest.

 

Another show was held outdoors at 7:30pm on the Goofy’s Pool Stage. It was a concert with Jeffry Allen, who led the audience in singing the older songs we grew up with. One of our tablemates Cal, went to this show and really enjoyed it. His wife, Joan, was not feeling well due to the rough seas, so she did not come to the dinner tonight. We bet a lot of folks will not be there for the same reason.

 

Before dinner, we stopped on deck four to watch how many people stood in line to take photos with their favorite Disney character. We were shocked to see the long lines of young families waiting to pose with Mickey or Goofy. One thing we thought was nice, was the fact that the photographer let the mom or dad take their own pictures of the kids as well as the ship’s photographer. Usually that is never done, but here it is expected. There has to be a huge profit made by the photographers on this ship. Of course, they make it easy to buy these photos as well.

 

Another observation worth mentioning is the staff and their expert handling of the kids onboard. We are impressed at how they go the mile to please the little ones. Naturally, that is what this cruise is all about…..the kids. At least half of the activities are geared towards all of the age groups under 18. They even sponser special dinners for the young kids, giving the parents a quiet meal every now and then. They have chosen their employees well.

 

Dinner found seven of us in the Animator’s Palate. We ordered one appetizer, then the entrees of penne pasta with Bolognese sauce and one breaded pork chop. Both meals were good. During the meal, we watched the black and white Disney characters on the surrounding screens come to life in color. The ceiling lights kept changing colors, then the show began around 9:30pm. The music got louder and the screens lit up. Then Mickey from Fantasia came down the center aisle, with all of the waiters following him. Everyone cheered as they saw their waiters and assistants pass by them. Then special lights in the ceiling lit up. It changed the color of their black and white shirts to gold, green, pink, and blue. Magic, they paraded through the dining room as everyone clapped. Guess this was supposed to happen the last time we were here, but it ever did. Technical difficulties. Right before the show, the ice cream bars, Mickey Bars, arrived for us. They are really the best of the desserts.

 

Taking a walk on the promenade deck, we discovered it was either raining or the seas were sending spray up on the deck. Whatever, it was wet and we did not last outside very long. We stayed up watching the photographer still taking many photos. A band of two musicians played guitars and sang from the balcony on deck four. People waiting for the elevators were dancing in the hallways. Fun to watch the activity, but surprised to find so many people up this late. Guess they are just warming up……….

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[cruzingnut]

Oh, that is just hysterical what you wrote about the water swirling around in your portholes! :eek: Love it! ARRRRRRR!!!

 

As a fellow (just off the '15 World Cruise) passenger, I'm following your trip on Disney with interest. What a shock to go from no kids (well, one 13 year old the first half of the WC, and of course the Capt's kids/grands)) to, heavens knows how many! It doesn't sound like you'll be running off the ship at the end of the cruise screaming.

 

cruzingnut

AKA Linda R.

[WCB]

Report # 128 Cartagena, Colombia May 6, 2015 Wednesday Overcast/sunny & 82 degrees Part #1

 

The Wonder arrived to the port of Cartagena, Colombia sometimes around 7am this morning. It had to be the hottest and most humid we have ever remembered it to be. We can see why the Chibchas Indians lived in the mountains of Colombia, and not the seaside. They were here long before the Americas were discovered by Christopher Columbus, at least 4000BC. Excellent goldsmiths and emerald miners, these Pre-Columbians survived until the Europeans arrived around the 1400’s. Throughout the 16th century, Spain profited with the flow of gold and emeralds from Cartagena. This attracted pirates. So the fortresses went up along with a 50 foot thick wall around the city.

 

A victim to five sieges, Cartagena suffered the most famous one led by Sir Francis Drake, who took a 10 million peso ransom for not sacking and burning the city. Eventually, Cartagena declared independence from Spain on November 11th (don’t know the year?) , a day that is celebrated with parades of people in fancy costumes and masks.

 

Besides gold, emeralds, platinum, oil, timber, and coffee, tourism has put this place on the map. In 1984, the old colonial walled city was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today, Cartagena has a population of 892,545 people, making it the fifth largest city on Colombia.

 

As for us, we have been here many times in the past. And having done most all of the tours, we always stick around the terminal building, touring the gardens which are full of birds and some animals. That way we do not have to run the attack of the taxi drivers leaving the terminal. They have always been aggressive, and have remained so. After seeing all of the birds like the flamingos, black swans, parrots, toucans, owls, falcons, macaws, and one rabbit, we made a stop in the shop to buy a bag of coffee candies and a gourd necklace and earring set. Each set is unique, and we always seem to find one we like.

 

It was so hot and sticky, we headed back to the ship by noontime. There was a shuttle running, but we walked so we could take some more seabird photos. All aboard was 2:45pm anyway, so we made the best plan to cool off in our room while downloading photos and watching a movie, Imitation Games. A very good movie, for a change.

 

The sail out of the harbor took some time. We joined a handful of folks that braved the unrelenting heat to watch the ship leave from deck ten. You would expect a breeze, but there was none. There was a heavy veil of sun haze that made the horizon look foggy. It did mess with the photos, but with the new technology with computers, we were able to clear most of them up. (Sorry, we do not have a website with these photos this time.) Once we cleared the opening of the bay, we went down to deck nine and had lunch from Pluto’s Dog House. Sounds like it is for kids, but they do serve hamburgers, fish and chicken burgers, hot dogs, and chicken tenders. On the side, there are several toppings….sliced tomatoes and onions, pickles, lettuce, and coleslaw. And heaps of French fries, hot from the basket. We had tenders and a spicy chicken burger, the special of the day. Again, sinfully good. We are also liking the freedom to drink as much soda, tea, light juice and water as we like from the fountain. Actually, there are four separate fountain stations with ice dispensers. You never have to wait long to serve yourself. And it is kept clean despite the constant use. In fact, we see more staff members here than on other cruise lines we have done. With the large amount of children, we expected to see somewhat of a mess. But this wait staff are right on it. Plates are cleared, floors are swept, and tables are sanitized constantly.

 

So far, the only crowd we have noticed is at the adults only swimming area. The lounges have a thick pad, and look so comfortable. We would not know, because there are never any available to sit in. Even at 9am, these lounges are occupied or being saved with personal articles. Yes, there is a warning not to do this, but it never fails. You see this on every ship, except the Grand Voyages. Whether or not the rule that these items will be removed is ever enforced, we do not know.

 

The entertainer in the Walt Disney Theater was a man by the name of Chuck Wagner. We assume he was a singer, because the description said “vocal talents”. He had two shows today….the first one was at 1pm, and the second show was at 8:30pm. That sure is different from what we are used to. All the nightclub type of lounges have jazz singers, a soul duo, live guitar, rock and roll, and classic rock. If you like to dance, this is the place to do it. We did check out the venues, but it was still fairly quiet in those places at 10:15pm. People were still lined up in the lobby to take photos with the Cinderella characters. The ship must make millions off of these photos. If not, they should, because a great effort goes into the staging several times during the day and evening. We have heard the remark that cruising on a world cruise is like being in “la-la land”. Well, that would apply tenfold here. When you see Cinderella, Captain Hook, Goofy, and Mickey and Minnie in costume, everyone turns back into that little kid that was mesmerized by these happy figures. Nothing wrong with that.

 

We almost missed dinner tonight, because we went to the wrong dining room. It was easy to forget that the Parrot Cay was one floor below the Animator’s Palate. All of our tablemates were seated, but were kindly waiting before ordering. One of us had the turkey dinner, a repeat from a few nights ago, and one of us had a New York strip steak. It was tasty, but not quite the same as we get on the Amsterdam. We did find out that we could order different salads, even though they are not on the menu. So we had a wedge salad with ranch dressing, and one dinner salad…….made with tomatoes, cucumbers, and croutons. You have your choice of dressings too. Perfect. Dessert was one Rocky road sundae, and one Mickey Bar. Gosh those ice creams are addictive.

 

Another good movie was on TV, so we watched “The Theory of Everything”, or at least most of it before falling asleep.

 

Tomorrow, we transit the Panama Canal. Always look forward to that.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[WCB]

Report # 129 Transiting the Panama Canal…..again May 7, 2015 Thursday Partly cloudy & 84 degrees

 

Today we transited the Panama Canal, the second time in four months. It felt strange to be doing this on a different ship, especially when the Captain felt it was necessary to sound the horn with “When You Wish Upon a Star” every time we passed a lock. Unless you happen to be standing directly across from those horns, it brings a smile to everyone.

 

The schedule was to enter the Gatun Locks at 8am, pass Gamboa at 11:25am, enter Pedro Miguel Locks at 2pm, arrive to Miraflores Locks at 3:45pm, and finally exit under the Bridge of the Americas around 5:45pm. That is pretty much how it happened.

 

There was a narration delivered by a local Panamanian woman, who did well, but did miss a few sights. We went outside shortly after breakfast, to find it was going to be a very hot and humid day. It’s always like this in May. One good thing was that the narration was also on a TV channel along with the bridge cam broadcasted on the same channel. In addition, the Funnel Vision screen was being used for the webcam as well. The bridge has more than one fixed camera, so while we watched the transit from our lounges on deck 10, we could also watch it on the movie screen.

 

Most all of the little kids were not the least bit interested in what the ship was doing. All they know is swimming and pizza. The older kids did better, at least showing they appreciated seeing history in the making by taking their own photos. It was the crew that really liked it. All through breakfast in the Triton Restaurant, the waiters who were not terribly busy, were at the windows watching. This ship only transits the canal twice a year. Once in the spring, and again in the fall. So when the staff signs up for a four month contract, they could easily miss this 14 day sailing. We were asked more than once to take some waiters photos since it was their first time doing this.

 

We were surprised to find that only 2% of the ships that transit the canal in a year are cruise ships like the Wonder. Now we understand why so many folks come out at the Miraflores Locks to cheer us through the locks. A few other facts about the canal are worth mentioning. Each locomotive or mule weighs 55 tons. They cost between 2 and 3 million dollars. Over 1 million ships have transited the canal as of 2010. The construction of this canal began in 1880 by France, and was finished in 1914 by the United States. The Panamanians took over control in 1999.

 

The only thing we noticed during the narration, was that she forgot to point out the prison where Manuel Noriega is locked up. Perhaps it is a sensitive subject, but it is part of history. The original canal construction involved moving over 200 million cubic meters of material. If this material was placed on railroad flatcars, it would circle the globe four times. Impressive. What we did see, were large sign boards with bullseyes on it at each lock. These are for the fellows that throw the weighted balls that have the ropes for the ships to attach to the mules. There is a contest between the throwers to see how accurate they can be.

 

A most interesting feature of the canal is the expansion project. We have been watching this progress since 2007, and it has been moving slowly. When the new locks are done, they will be 427 meters long, and 55 meters wide. That’s the size of four football fields.

 

A funny thing happened while going through one of the last locks. A tanker next to us started in the lock next to us, but one of the gates got stuck, not opening up all of the way. The ship was approaching slowly, but not stopping. Thought we were going to see some damage, but eventually the ship was stopped by one big tug. It sat there forever, it seemed. And we never did see the gate working. Eventually, the tanker caught up with us, so it either got through, or went behind us in the same set of locks.

 

The usual crowd was at Miraflores waving as we went by. We understand that one more large cruise ship will be doing the transit, and that will be the Amsterdam, after she comes out of dry dock.

 

We had stayed on deck ten until the ship cleared the Bridge of the Americas, expecting the Captain to take a right turn and head towards Mexico. However, we had heard a little of an announcement that we were anchoring in the Bay of Panama, somewhere near Fuerte Amador. This is a first, and we came to the conclusion that we had to bunker fuel.

 

When we got back to our room, we had certificates for the Panama Canal Transition, dated and signed by the Captain and Mickey Mouse. Yes, Mickey Mouse. Sure was good to be able to cool down, although it still remained plenty warm outside. Now that we are in the Pacific region, the weather should be less humid and a bit cooler, we hope.

 

While working on the computer, we noticed some fluorescent lights outside our windows. A fuel tanker had pulled alongside us, and was preparing to pump fuel into the ship. Wonder how long that will take? We had to close the drapes, because the tanker workers were literally standing right outside our room.

 

Dinnertime arrived quickly once again. Since this transit was a first for most of our tablemates, they were impressed with the experience. One couple watched it from their veranda, because they felt they paid so much to be there, they may as well use it. That way, they could go in and out of their room to stay cool. The only downside was that they missed everything on the port side. Well that is a good reason to do it again on another cruise. By the way, Mary and Bruce said that they did see the broken gate finally move to let the tanker go into the lock. Probably happens all of the time, since transit times can vary.

 

The entrees are starting to repeat themselves. Last night was the turkey dinner, and tonight was the prime rib. Everyone but us ordered lobster, and they were good sized. We had the pork tenderloin, sliced thinly and covered with an excellent gravy. Even the cheesy polenta was good with it. Once again, we passed on the cheesecake and sundaes, and ordered the Mickey Bar. Our waiter, Oka, laughs every time we order them. Perhaps they are more for the kids, but on this ship, we are ALL kids. Joan, or tablemate , also ordered one so we were not alone.

 

The fueling vessel was still parked next to us until well after midnight. Not exactly sure when we pulled anchor and left, since we were sound asleep. The extreme heat really drains your energy in these climates.

 

We now have four days at sea before reaching Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Normally on the Amsterdam, we would have stops in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and southern Mexico. Don’t know why, but the Disney ship does not stop in those Central American countries, only Mexico. The destination is the ship, especially for the kids.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[cruz chic]

Thx for the update.

[WCB]

Report # 130 Sailing Towards Puerto Vallarta (or are we?) May 8, 2015 Friday Partly cloudy & 82 degrees

 

At breakfast this morning, we met Artha, a former waiter from HAL. He is a friend of Tom G, the dining room manager on the Amsterdam, and Presti and Pandi, and many other Indonesian crew members. He remembered us from the 2011 word cruise, after our waiter, Oka, pointed us out to him. He told us all about how his career had taken him from other cruise lines to HAL, and finally Disney. He said there are good things about working for both lines, but gave the edge to Disney because they allow the staff to book a 4 to 4 ½ month contract. That way they get to spend more time with their families, which is a huge priority for them as most have little children. Speaking of kids, he told us that there are only 300 of them on this particular cruise, compared to 1000 on a regular 7 day voyage. If you would have asked us, we would have guessed there were much more. Anyway, it was great comparing notes with Artha, and hope to see more of him during the rest of this trip.

 

We had a typical day at sea, with no rush to get anywhere in a hurry. Taking our morning walk, we went outside into the hot and humid heat. Hoping it would have cooled off a little bit, we realized it had not cooled off at all. Judging from the position of the sun, we think the ship left much later last night, since we were not far from the coast of Panama by the time we woke up. Would have been nice to do the scenic cruising in the Golfo Dulce of Costa Rica today, but we guess this was not on their radar.

 

Going up to deck ten to sunbathe, we lasted as long as the movie “Toy Story” shown on the big screen. Did not think we would like the movies, but they do pass the time. And as an added bonus, the waiters were handing out frozen strawberry-lemonade juice bars to everyone on deck nine and ten. How nice is that? We did have to eat it fast, because they were melting rapidly.

 

Lunch followed at Pluto’s Dog House with spicy chicken tender sandwiches. They were as good as the chicken tenders with BBQ sauce. We have to be honest, and give a thumbs down for the hamburgers we ate yesterday. Although they looked good, the meat was tasteless. Using some of the BBQ sauce helped their flavor a little bit. Perhaps we got two burgers that had been held in the steamers for too long.

 

The only ice cream available is self-serve vanilla, chocolate, and a mix of both. They are softies, which also melt quickly. Walking back to the tables in the aft section with our cones, we discovered that there was shade and a wonderful breeze back there. Then, out of the blue, we heard the ding-dong bell with an announcement. That Captain had a whopper of an announcement. He said that the port of Puerto Vallarta was cancelled, stating that for the safety of the passengers and crew, we would not go there. Apparently, there has been some recent incidents with unrest, even though we have seen nothing on the news about it. Come to think of it, we have not seen a newspaper for over a week now. This cruise line does not print a Times Digest. If we want to hear news, we have to find it on the TV or go online. With the internet charges here, we would not even go there. Oh well, it is what it is. Too bad there could not have been a substitute along the way such as a stop in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, or another Mexican port. Even a 2 day stay in Cabo San Lucas would have been great.

 

Laundry was next on our list of things to do today. Figuring that around 5:30pm, most folks would be in the dining rooms, one of us went to check out the laundry room on deck two. The machines were all full and running. Those who did not make it back in time to put their wash in the dryer were out of luck. People just took out the wet clothes and left them on a sideboard. The same thing happened with the dried clothing. It was heaped in piles as well. We have seen laundry room fights over lesser infractions. So, it was better to leave and come back at 6pm. By then one washing machine was empty. Again, it took less than ½ hour. And I made darn sure I was back at the exact moment it was done. Still had to wait a few minutes for a dryer, but not too long. This should keep us in clean clothes now until the cruise is over. This is one luxury we have on the HAL ships….getting free laundry and pressing. Don’t know if Disney has that kind of perk.

 

One of our tablemates, Stephanie, was not feeling well, so stayed back in her room during dinner. Her husband mentioned that he threw her overboard. Of course, we all laughed, but we are certain she would not appreciate the humor. We’ll never tell her. We think a cold virus is going around the ship, as some of our tablemates may be getting it, and perhaps one of us.

 

Joan shared some interesting info with us concerning the ship’s daily activities and daily dinner menu. A month before the cruise, she had an app that allowed her to download both the activities and the dinner menus on her ipad or cell phone. That is very convenient for those who have those toys. She also brought some things to show and tell. We had discussed bringing wine on the ship, and she said she had used a wine diaper bag. Never heard of it. So she brought it to the table, and showed us the zip lock bag with an absorbent diaper-looking pad inside of it. If the wine breaks or leaks, the pad will absorb the entire bottle within the zip lock bag. To be certain, she puts the bottle and bag in another zip lock bag.

 

Anyway, we ordered two different soups, both good, and the ribeye steaks. Not the quality of the steak we had on the world cruise, they were still tasty. Dessert was an apple cobbler with butter pecan ice cream. At the beginning of the meal, Emma set up a “crayon” puzzle. She has done this every night so far, and we have only solved one of them. It is a mathematical or geometric problem, which is always easy, but you always tend to over-think it. It took us through the entire meal to solve it, but one of us did. The purpose is to get us all talking we think. We were all talking about the deletion of Puerto Vallarta. Most of our tablemates have never been there, but were too quick to accept the excuses given. We can only trust their decision is due to unrest. And we will get a refund of port taxes on our credit card. Sounds good, but it is usually a minimal fee.

 

Tomorrow will be Pirates of the Caribbean Party after dinner. It will be followed by fireworks. This should be interesting……..

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[sppunk]

Bill and Mary Ann, concerning Puerto Vallarta. The U.S. embassy in Mexico this week issued warnings for travellers in and around Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara after a large outbreak of drug-gang-related violence.

[regnig]

Glad Disney is heeding the warning about Puerto Vallarta but it's a shame an unscheduled stop in Costa Rico could not be arranged.

 

Enjoying to read about the differences between lines. The restaurant names would have thrown me for a loop. :D

 

Enjoy the rest of your trip home... it sure beats a cramped airplane.

[MMDown Under]

"At breakfast this morning, we met Artha, a former waiter from HAL. He is a friend of Tom G, the dining room manager on the Amsterdam, and Presti and Pandi, and many other Indonesian crew members. He remembered us from the 2011 word cruise, after our waiter, Oka, pointed us out to him. He told us all about how his career had taken him from other cruise lines to HAL, and finally Disney. He said there are good things about working for both lines, but gave the edge to Disney because they allow the staff to book a 4 to 4 ½ month contract. That way they get to spend more time with their families, which is a huge priority for them as most have little children. Speaking of kids, he told us that there are only 300 of them on this particular cruise, compared to 1000 on a regular 7 day voyage. If you would have asked us, we would have guessed there were much more. Anyway, it was great comparing notes with Artha, and hope to see more of him during the rest of this trip."

 

That is interesting. Would be better for family life. Is there a limit on how long they can take between contracts? I think it would be fun to go on an adults only Disney cruise. :)

[bcnvcanada]

For your information, there was a problem near PV on May 5 and all Canadians and Americans we advised to save away. Will also mess up all West Coast

cruises this fall. After reading your Disney experience, I don't think we

could do this cruise line. Thanks again for your world reports. We know that it

takes a lot of time and money, but for those of us who are land bound, we really enjoy reading your adventures daily. Safe travels home and again thanks.

[WCB]

Report # 131 Sailing Towards Cabo San Lucas, Mexico May 9, 2015 Saturday Partly sunny & 80 degrees

 

Forgot to mention that last night was designated “semi-formal”, although few folks came dressed that way. One young fellow did have a shirt, tie, and jacket, but was wearing khaki shorts with a dozen pockets. Added to the look were flip flops on his feet. He told his room stewardess that this is how they dress in Bermuda, so he was in style tonight. Not that we are near Bermuda, but any excuse was OK, since she thought he was funny. Come to think of it, semi-formal was not listed as one of the nights on this particular cruise. Our docs said 4 formal nights. No one is obsessed with the dress code anyway, but it always good to know what NOT to bring.

 

At breakfast this morning, we ordered waffles. We do not know if it was because we came towards the end of the breakfast serving time, but our food and plate was cold. When asked, we mentioned that the waffles could have been hotter. With that, our waitress wrote down our comments and asked for our room number. She really had no excuse, but did say she would turn in our comments. We suspect that these waffles are frozen, and do not hold the heat of freshly griddled ones. They did make up for the cold food with lots of hot and tasty coffee. Normally we would not say anything, but they did ask, so we were truthful. Perhaps what we say will help other guests.

 

The subject of bringing alcohol onboard was brought up by our tablemates at dinner last night. Although we had read in a Disney brochure that no alcohol was allowed, we found a contradicting statement in our cruise document booklet we received by Fed Ex in the hotel in Miami. It says you can bring a limited quantity of alcohol per guest in carry-on bags only. It does not describe what “limited” means exactly. But that is why we saw nobody stopped when they crammed a case of beer or wine bottles in their carry-ons in the check-in line in Miami. One man even stashed a bottle of bourbon in his backpack. Guess it was OK, as we never saw a table for confiscated bottles of booze. Guess we will have to research this policy on their website, so we know the exact wording and allowances. Wonder if the ship has a free Disney website like HAL has theirs on the Amsterdam? Will have to find out.

 

The boobys are back. That is the Pacific booby seabirds that we have not seen since we left the Pacific Ocean months ago. They sure are fun to watch, as they soar over the water looking for food. Today there must have been two dozen of them sailing over the ship, mostly on the starboard side. Must be the windward side today, and they were flying in the currents. Every so often, they would fold their wings and dive. And they fight to keep their fish, because several of their friends try to steal it from them. It’s a tough world out there for these birds.

 

Checking the ship’s location, we found that we are sailing off of the coast of Costa Rica. After comparing notes with Kurt, our tablemate, he said he was up early the morning after we transiting the canal. Early, like 4am. He figured it would be an excellent time to run a load of laundry, and of course, he was correct. No one was in there then. Then he went up to get coffee from the 24 hour beverage machine on deck nine, and discovered that we were still in the Panama Bay. The ship actually pulled out of the area at 6am, so those were the hours we should have been in Puerto Vallarta. It’s just a guess, but we all came to the conclusion that Puerto Vallarta had been eliminated when this cruise began in Miami. And since we are still heading more in a westerly direction, following the coastline of Costa Rica. And that is why the weather has remained hot and sticky. In time, we will begin heading north, and the temperatures should get more tolerable.

 

The best place to spend the afternoon was on deck ten, where we did catch somewhat of a breeze while enjoying the sun. What is different on this ship is that most of the outside decks with railings (decks four and ten) have panels of plexiglass covering the metal rods. We assume they are there for safety, especially with all the little kids who might try to climb the railings, or get their heads stuck in them. They really do block the wind, but hold in the heat. In fact, they intensify the heat. They do make a hot day even hotter. On the plus side, we sit fairly close to a flight of stairs that take us down to the self-serve fountain and all the beverages we can drink. It has been so warm that we fill our new drink cups up to four times, and they hold three cups of liquid, including ice.

 

We are never hungry for lunch when the buffet is open. So we end up going to the outside venues. Chicken seems to be the best of all, although Goofy’s Galley has pre-made salads, fresh fruit, and a variety of small sandwiches already made. We have to admit we miss the sandwich maker in the Lido on the Amsterdam. They are open until 5pm, and he made us sandwiches with our choice of bread and ten different fillings. Making them fresh is so much better than made earlier and sitting there for hours. Yes, they are refrigerated, but tend to be on the soggy side.

 

With tonight being the Big Event with Pirates of the Caribbean, the show in Walt Disney Theater was not the highlight today. The entertainer was a fellow by the name of John Charles, a guitar player and a singer. Our show would have been 6:15pm, and the second one was 8:30pm. Since it was Pirate Night or cruise casual dress code, we wanted to check out how people were dressed for dinner. Naturally, ALL of the kids were dressed in pirate costumes and the $69 Disney pirate dress for the little girls. Did we mention that all of the specialty dresses for the girls are $69? Guess it would be hard to make one for less, because they are really complicated and fancy for the most part. Most All of the adults dressed in something “pirate” as well. Did not matter how old they were, they were wearing pirate hats, frilly shirts, full-length coats, and tricorn hats. Some even had a scabbard with a sword, and wore boots up to their knees. They must have had to pack an extra suitcase for all that get-up. Watching from deck four, we noticed that the folks came out of dinner and lined up for over ½ hour to get their photos with pirate Mickey, Goofy, and Captain Jack Sparrow. We are still marveling to this marketing success that Disney has…there is some expert thinking behind the scenes here.

 

There were only four of us at dinner tonight in Parrot Cay Restaurant. The others had gone to the buffet early, so they could take in the show on time. All of the waiters were dressed like pirates, duh……and obviously were having a great time with it. One of us had the short rib dinner, and the other had the chicken entrée. Both were good, but the pork ribs were the best. With only four of us, the dinner was served quickly enough for us to make the show on deck nine at 9:45pm. But not until after we finished our Mickey Bar. Stephanie and Kurt had the chocolate rum cake, but said the rum was missing. We had made the better choice. We had run into Joan and Cal this afternoon, who told us they saw someone in a t-shirt with a Mickey Bar on it. It said, “Don’t go near my Mickey Bar”!! Will have to hunt that one down.

 

Around 9:25pm, the lights dimmed to signal that something was about to start. All of the waiters lined up and marched to loud music through the dining room, led by some of the Pirate characters. Our Thai waitress, Emma, grabbed Stephanie and Kurt to join the conga line, but we stayed back saying someone had to take the pictures. The majority of the guests were really “into” the parade, which lasted about one minute. Never saw this done on any other cruise line, and probably never will again.

 

So we went up to deck ten to watch the scene below on deck nine. The show on the stage was a dance performance with some of the Disney characters. Really it was more of an aerobic exercise dance to fun music, where the crowd jumped up and down with Mickey and Goofy and the Chipmunks. At the same time, the guitar player, Bernie Griffith, played in the Quiet Cove Pool. He was letting some of the willing guests come on the stage and sing with him. Some of the younger guys were actually pretty good. We stayed there, listening to him until it was time for the fireworks. That began right after the cannon went off at the deck stage. Shot from the starboard side, the fireworks lit up the dark skies at exactly 10:22pm. We have never seen such a display on a ship before, so it was a fun evening. The second it was over, we got in one of the forward elevators, and made it down before the mad rush. On a seven day cruise, this has to be the highlight of the trip, happening towards the end of the trip.

 

We have three more days at sea now before we get to Cabo San Lucas.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Rotterdam]

its interesting to read of your Disney Adventure/ Cruise...not being a fan of Disney I doubt I'll ever sail on one of their ships - but it is amazing what it attracts.

 

I did have one question for you both pertaining to your world cruises....what about romance???? There are many singles onboard & the length of cruise certainly lends itself to "dating". Years ago on the Bremen my Aunt(a la Auntie Mame) and here best friend met a man & his best friend & the two couples married!!!

 

So just wondering if there is romance in the air in a world cruise????

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I love hearing about your Disney Cruise but I am pretty sure it is not for us.

[Dee1161]

I have loved reading your report of the WC and now Disney.

I am a huge Disney fan and am looking forward to sailing on one of their ships in the future. Did the "Big Red Boat" many, many years ago and loved that.

 

Thanks for taking the time for all the reports.

 

Dee

[TiogaCruiser]

I love hearing about your Disney Cruise but I am pretty sure it is not for us.

 

Same here, on both counts.

 

Much of what you're describing was what I thought cruising was before our first cruise on HAL. That was going to be our ONLY cruise. But it wasn't.

[WCB]

Report # 132 Sailing Towards Cabo San Lucas, Mexico May 10, 2015 Mother’s Day Partly cloudy & 82 degrees

 

Happy Mother’s Day to all moms out there!

 

We woke up this morning rather early around 6am, and as usual, turned on the TV. The first channel that comes up is the voyage map, which showed that the Wonder was sailing towards land. We were heading east and not northwest. And we were doing it rather fast at 21 knots. If we kept going this direction, we figured we would be at Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala in a couple of hours.

 

First thing we did was call the front desk to inquire about the change in direction. They gave us no information, other than sometimes the Captain deviates from the chartered course all the time. Obviously, they would not be any help.

 

At breakfast, we asked our waiter, and he sort of said perhaps it was due to a medical evacuation. Now that makes more sense, because we have seen our share of those over the years. Other passengers hearing us ask about it, also said they called, and were told that if there was an emergency, then the Captain would choose the time to announce it.

 

And that is exactly what happened at 9:30am. The Captain came on the speakers and said that we would be taking someone off of the ship for a medical emergency. And as always, due to his heavy accent, the cruise director had to repeat his message entirely. When we went back down to our room, we used the forward elevators. That was where we saw the entire family, kids and grandkids, waiting with some luggage and for the patient to be taken off the tender platform. We did not see the person, but we assume it was either grandma or grandpa. Little did they know there would be a long wait for the evacuation.

 

Going up to deck ten, we watched from the time the local tugboat arrived alongside the ship at 10:30am. No matter how they tried positioning the tug, they could not get the patient safely down to the boat. It became obvious that the officers were getting nervous, since it was taking them over an hour. What we don’t understand is why we could not have docked. It would have made it much easier than this boat to boat transfer.

 

Even though we did not see the person off loaded, they did it successfully by 11:30am. Good thing, because it was so hot many other folks would be getting heat or sun stroke. The Captain announced that we would be leaving the area when the pilot boarded and we got clearance from the local authorities. Nothing is simple. This did not happen until after 2pm, but the Captain said we would not miss our port in Cabo. That is to be seen.

 

The good news was that the ill passenger was off to a hospital, and we got to see many curious dolphins swimming around the ship while we waited. Pretty sure we got a few good photos of them.

 

We spent the rest of the afternoon on deck ten, while listening to a group by the name of Paperback Writer. They are a group of five young guys from California, and today, they sang songs from the Beach Boys. This was cool for us, because instead of going to the concert, the concert came to us. Entertainment such as this goes on all day and afternoon, not only at night. So it is easy to see shows without staying up really late after dinner.

 

Lunch was our usual chicken sandwiches, eaten on the aft deck, where there was a nice breeze. The weather has remained hot and sticky, with no sign of getting cooler anytime too soon. Even at night, we doubt it drops below 75 degrees.

 

Dinner was in the Triton tonight with a French menu. We had French onion soup (excellent), fried brie, and herb-crusted rack of lamb, also excellent. We gave the Mickey Bars a rest tonight, and ordered a strawberry shortcake sundae, and one crème brulee. Since there were only six of us tonight (Joan and Cal went to Palo), our service was quick and we were out of there by 10pm.

 

The Disney characters posing for photos tonight were Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, and Buzz Lightyear and Woody from Toy Story. Folks were lined up before dinner and after we got out at 10pm. Seems the families want their photos with each and every character before this trip is over.

 

When we got back to the room, our room steward left a towel flower on the bed, we assume for Mother’s Day. He left four special candies as well.

 

Two more days at sea, and maybe we will be in Cabo San Lucas. We are speeding now at about 21 knots to get there on time.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

PS Thanks for the update on the situation with Puerto Vallarta and the traveler’s warnings. We shared that info with our tablemates, and we all agreed that would not be the best port to visit under the circumstances. We agree.

[WCB]

Report # 133 Sailing Towards Cabo San Lucas, Mexico May 11, 2015 Monday Hazy sunny & 80 degrees

 

Today was a day to see tiny flying fish, dolphins, and turtles……lots of small, medium, and large turtles. This entire coastline is turtle hatching grounds, but you usually don’t expect to see them so far off of the coast. This is a good sign that these turtles have survived the flocks of birds that dine on them from day one, and the sharks that like to eat them. The ship must have continuously cut through them all day, turning and flipping them as we sped over them. The only other life at sea has been numerous container and tanker ships, as we are finally sailing in the shipping channel now.

 

The weather has remained hot and humid. We have noticed that the promenade deck has been rather empty of people. But then, there are only a handful of teak lounges set up on this deck. Too bad, because there is precious shade and a nice breeze on this deck. There are two shuffleboard courts, one on the starboard and the other on the port side. It is mostly the young kids that like to play. Except you have to watch when you pass by them, because the little kids cannot control those sticks.

 

For us, it is a little hard getting used to the runners, who insist on passing at the narrowest points in the forward and aft tunnels. This does not happen on most ships with promenade decks, since most of the ships have passenger rooms underneath the teak deck. From personal experience, we know that runners sound like elephants walking overhead, even when they are not jogging. We have seen some near accidents with little kids walking with their parents around the front and back. The joggers do not see them until they are right on top of them.

 

We got to the sun deck just in time to watch Pixar Short Shows on the Funnel Vision screen. These cartoons are all new to us, and it beats total silence, like we had on most of the time on the aft deck on the world cruise. When the short films were over, good music kicked in. We have to admit that we have enjoyed this. You can still read books, and listen to music as well.

 

There are some other activities onboard for the folks like crafts. Today they were teaching origami polar bears, how to make strawberry shortcake, chocolate and liquor tasting, dance class, bridge, ping pong, and bingo. The only lecturer has been the retired canal pilot, who has continued his talks on every aspect of the Panama Canal.

 

There is a new contest that began today. It is tied to the “Frozen” theme with the title of Anna’s Chocolate Chase Scavenger Hunt. We understand that this is a new game being introduced on this ship, as told to us by a fellow passenger. We have been given a paper that has nine questions to answer with the help of daily hints. The purpose of this game is to get you moving around the ship to find the clues. At the end of the contest, you turn in the paper to be corrected, and you may win something. We guess that “something” will be chocolate, since that is the theme.

 

Dinnertime was noisier than ever. The waiters next to us seem to be getting louder every day, playing magic games with their customers. It really is more for the kids, but some of the older folks like it too. Feeling left out, our waitress did a balancing trick with an empty bottle of wine, three toothpicks and four forks. Did not think she could master it, but finally, she balanced all of the forks on the tips of three toothpicks. Pretty impressive, considering that the ship was moving. We all carefully clapped so the forks would not fall, but really wishing we could have made a huge commotion to drown out the adjacent table. Guess our group did not have enough wine to drink tonight to make us rowdy.

 

When we got back to our room, we noticed that tomorrow’s newsletter said to turn the clocks back one hour. What one of us did not see, was that it was printed for Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. We are used to seeing the time change printed in the newsletter the following day, since it happens at 2am. No wonder we did not have a reminder card on the bed tonight.

 

One more day at sea, and we should be in Cabo San Lucas, the last port of the cruise.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[brownblonde]

Glad Disney is heeding the warning about Puerto Vallarta but it's a shame an unscheduled stop in Costa Rico could not be arranged.

 

Enjoying to read about the differences between lines. The restaurant names would have thrown me for a loop. :D

 

Enjoy the rest of your trip home... it sure beats a cramped airplane.

 

It maybe a different experience,but after 100 plus days I would think this would be just putting in time and by now on that cross country flight you would be home and back to what ever schedule you have there.

[WCB]

Report # 134 Sailing Towards Cabo San Lucas, Mexico May 12, 2015 Tuesday Partly sunny& 84 degrees

 

 

A sign that this trip is coming to an end, we found a preliminary bill on the mail holder this morning. It was correct, and it included all of the tips for this 14 day cruise. According to their explanation of charges, only four people that took care of us would get a share of the tips.

 

Now, it was off to breakfast at 8:30am. When we walked into the Trident, we were informed that there were two other restaurants open for the buffet service. Oh no, we had set our clocks back too soon. It was really 9:30am, and officially the dining room was closed, but the greeter invited us in anyway. We had our food delivered very quickly. That was nice of them not to turn us away.

 

While taking our morning stroll, we spotted a pod of dolphins working a shoal of fish. They were a considerable way out from the ship, but they continued their behavior when we were way past them. The turtles were gone, but we did have a few boobys working the front of the ship.

 

When we got back to the room, we found another letter with the individual tips for our waiters, room steward, and dining room head server. The amounts are $4 per day per person for our head restaurant server, $3 per day per person for the assistant waiter, $1 for the head waiter, and $4 per day per person for our room attendant. That is a total of $336 for the 14 day cruise. This was printed on slips of paper that we will put in the appropriate envelope to give to our people. The amount was already put on our shipboard account, and whether or not we hand them to the individuals, they will get this tip automatically. We also have the option of taking this amount off of our account, and giving them cash instead. Some folks take it off, and give them less or nothing. Really, we have been told by some that’s what they do.

 

While outside on deck ten, we watched the movie, “Pirates of the Caribbean – At World’s End” on the big screen. Although we saw it before, it was really better on the big screen with surround sound. When the movie ended, waiters passed around the lemon/strawberry popsicles once again. They sure tasted good, but you had to eat it fast, or be coated with drips.

 

The weather began to take a dip in temperature towards the later afternoon. Checking with the location map, we see that we are crossing the Gulf of California (formerly the Sea of Cortez). We seem to remember the seas can get pretty choppy here and it is always windy. Just before we made this turn away from the land, we could see the outline of the Sierra Madres, we guess somewhere around Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta.

 

Another show began at 2pm at the stage on deck nine. It was a live show of the dance teachers, Ryan and Ashleigh, who have appeared as guests on Dancing With the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance? They did a quick number, then were followed by a juggler, Charles Peachock, who did a typical juggling act along with balancing two golf clubs on a golf ball. He also played a keyboard on the floor with tennis balls hitting the right keys. Very different, enough to get him on America’s Got Talent. Then the dancers came out once again and thrilled the crowd with a fast dance.

 

What we did not expect was finding six kids, all around 12 or 13 years old, laying on the floor of the elevator, blocking our way to get in when we were ready to go back to our room. Guess they thought it was funny, but this is what happens when kids get bored. We could have crawled over them, but since there were three other elevators, we did not push the issue. Doubt their parents would approve, but we have seen worse on previous trips years ago. Of course, we still have a few more days to go……..

 

There was a different type of ball this last formal evening. It was called the Officer’s Ball and was held in the Lobby outside the Triton Restaurant. We assume the officers took turns dancing with the ladies, and the lady officers dancing with some of the fellows. At least at 7:30pm, the first seating guests could be there, and the late seating guests could stay until 8:15pm. Of course, they would not all fit, so it was crowded as we made our way towards the Parrot Cay dining room.

 

Like we said, it was formal dress this evening. It should read “formal optional” because that is what it truly is. Only half of our tablemates dressed formally, while two couples came in casual wear. At least they were not wearing shorts. Many did.

 

The two big events other than the ball were the Crew Talent Show and the Triton’s Chocolate Gala Buffet at 11pm. We heard that the crew talent show featured various crew members from different departments performing on stage. One group of fellows had a band, and they were said to be quite good. There was no way we were going to wait to see the chocolate buffet, because our waiter said the line to get in wraps around to deck five. And it only lasts 30 minutes anyway.

 

And the clocks went back officially tonight. Got it right this time.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[WCB]

Report #135 Cabo San Lucas, Mexico My 13, 2015 Wednesday Sunny & 80 degrees

 

One of us had a bad night, suspect to possibly getting food poisoning from yesterday’s lunch. Should not have taken a chance with the coleslaw at Pluto’s Dog House that was sitting outside, although refrigerated, because heavens knows how long it sat outside in the heat. There was no hint of vinegar in it, just mayo……very dangerous. Will survive, but doubt we get too far in our usual walk in Cabo.

 

A little bit of history tells a story about Los Cabos or The Capes being a haven for pirates back in the 16th and 17th centuries. Among the famous pirates, Sir Francis Drake and Thomas Cavendish would hide in the bays and coves to ambush the Spanish galleons. When the Spanish treasure-laden the Great St. Anne was captured, King Phillip of Spain ordered a fortress to be built to rid the waters of the pirates.

 

At the end of the 19th century, this fort was used for transporting bark from the palo blanco trees. Would love to know the use of this bark, but the info was not provided. Today, this area has been developed beyond one’s imagination. Vacationers will find a dozen of luxury hotels on the beach, numerous time-shares, nightclubs, great shopping and plenty of food and bar choices to last a lifetime. The beaches are gorgeous (watch the undertow), and the deep sea fishing cannot be beat.

 

There was another ship anchored in the bay with us…..the RCI Jewel of the Seas, about the same size as this vessel. So there will lots of guests in town today.

 

Disney hired the local tender boats to transfer us to shore. This worked so much better, because the boats are open-sided and they never over-crowd them. The boat drivers are expert as well. We did see the Jewel’s tender boats transferring their guests in crowded seats. Even the top deck of the boats have seating.

 

You needed a tender ticket to go over early. They were handing them out in the Buena Vista Theater. If you were on an organized tour, then you did not need the ticket. Going over too early is fine if you want to hire a local to go fishing or go see Los Arcos, the hole in the cliffs. But if you are there before 9 or10am, nothing is opened yet.

 

We waited until closer to 11am before leaving the ship, when there were no tender tickets required. It was easy for us because the tender exits are right down our hallway, through two solid doors. There was no line, no wait. As expected, we entered the local tender boat and the driver motioned for us to sit up at the wheel next to him. We wondered why, and figured it could be two reasons. He thought we would be able to get the best pictures, since Bill brought the good camera today. It is a guy magnet for sure. Makes me nervous, because you never know if you will be targeted for someone to steal it. And the other reason for the good seats could be that he thought we were old and feeble….heaven forbid.

 

We did not mention to him that we have been here before, a dozen times maybe, since his English was limited. So he was happy to point out Los Arcos, the pelicans, and the big fishing boats coming back from their first runs of the day. Just as he pointed to a large boat, a huge seal perched itself on the boat’s aft shelf. He was begging for fish, like a dog would for a treat. There was a young couple with their little guy, who had been out to sea fishing. The boat owner gave the boy a small fish, which he threw to the seal. This seal was only three feet from this little kid, making us more than nervous for his safety. But once the fish was airborne, he lunged for it, and caught it, falling off the craft. We did get some fantastic shots of this action, and noticed how big the seal’s incisor teeth were. He continued to follow this same boat all the way back to the harbor.

 

Getting off of the tender boat, we followed the Disney line, which had no bag check. The Jewel of the Seas passengers had to have each of their bags and purses checked, creating a long line. As always, there was a team of four or more military guards with weapons on the landing platform.

 

This is where the fun (or not) starts with the vendors plying for your business. Do you have any idea how many times we had to say no thanks to tours? The locals are quite persistent, and will only leave you alone if there are plenty of folks behind you. Lucky for us, there were tons of people with both ships in port.

 

From here, we always head towards Cabo Wabo. It is a fun place, and we usually find a t-shirt there. It was also a good opportunity to sit for a while and have a soda. That did not last long, because people are allowed to smoke in restaurants. And with so many vendors selling Cuban cigars on shore, too many guys were smoking those. We understand that you are free to purchase them, but cannot bring them onboard the ship. Or if you do get them through security, you cannot bring them into the USA.

 

Making our way to the big mall, we decided against lunch, since one of us was still not up to par. Luckily, it was not as hot as it usually is. There was a nice breeze blowing, keeping us cooled off. The mall is really luxurious and well air-conditioned. It is full of the high end stores, as well as upgraded souvenir shops. We had luck at the nice shirt store, finding a couple of really good bargains. Tax free, also.

 

Then we took our time walking back, taking many photos of the fish in the harbor. There’s big money with boats and yachts in this harbor. One even had a helicopter on the back. This is such a magnet for deep sea fishing, that renting their services must keep them in a lucrative business. Now walking back towards the tender landing, the vendors pretty much leave you alone. Only the restaurant folks try to get you to come into their lounges and bars with their 2-for-1 offers of margaritas and beers. They were doing a good job, because they were full of customers by 1pm.

 

We were back to the ship by 2pm, although we had to wait a while for one of the tender boats to move out of the way. Our boat driver, the same fellow we went over with, drove around the back of the boat so we could get a photo of the whimsical figures of Donald Duck painting the aft section with one of the nephews trying to cut the rope. Very amusing.

 

One odd thing was that the card reader onboard was not working. A crew member had to record everyone’s name and room number as we entered the ship.. What a pain for them, and we wonder how accurate they are?

 

And so ended a nice day in Cabo. The only thing we missed was our usual walk on the beach, but it would have been too long of a hike today. It is always fun watching the spring breakers partying on the shoreline. Even though most of the hardy party group goes nutty at night, those without hangovers carry on the traditional during the day.

 

The ship pulled out of the harbor by 4pm. The Captain very nicely pulled close to the rock formations as we sailed at a snail’s pace. That was fine for the camera lovers among us, and here were lots of them. Despite the heat of the plastic phony “teak” decking, several people came up to deck ten without shoes or sandals. Big mistake. This surface cooks your feet, and within seconds these same folks were running for a towel to stand on. Down below on deck nine, most all the decking is real teak. Sure it is expensive, but makes a huge difference in comfort. And it is never slippery like the plastic flooring.

 

By the time the ship sailed around Los Arcos, the breeze picked up, and we instantly knew we were headed towards cooler California weather. On the Amsterdam, half of our fun at sail away from Cabo on the aft deck is watching all the sunbather’s stuff blowing almost overboard, despite the warnings to stash everything away.

 

Dinnertime found only four of us there. Actually it was nice, because many folks did not go to the dining room this evening. At least we could have a good conversation with Mary and Bruce without yelling and straining to hear each other. The menu was a little funky with wild boar, venison, and Norwegian specialties tied to the “Frozen” theme. This was a new venue that will carry on through the Alaskan season. There was a performance at 9:45pm on deck nine, but it was so cold outside by then, we skipped it. Some of our tablemates will have gone and will tell us about it tomorrow. That is, if they show up.

 

Tomorrow will be packing day…..and we are ready, more than ready.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

[Lizzie68]

When we were in Cabo a few weeks ago I got photos of the sea lions, or seals, jumping on the "tailgate" of the boats for fish. Several of them did it. I guess it didn't take them long to figure that one out.:D

[Belle]

Know your one day behind in your blog..

so don't know if getting off on Friday the 15th...

If get to read this..on Thursday the 14th you had rain

in Clayton and thunderstorms. Some trees down

so won't be as dry when you get home.

CA got rain and Tahoe got snow in May!!

 

Some places got rain others didn't. SF didn't

but your town did.

 

Glad you enjoyed your Disney cruise even if very

different then the WC. You never told us how

your room was on Disney.

 

Safe travels home. Can't wait to read about your

next cruise and then next years WC.

[regnig]

Mary Ann & Bill

 

As your adventure comes to an end I send you many many thanks for taking your time to make daily posts. What an unselfish expenditure of your holiday time for all our enjoyment.

I look forward to "sailing" with you on your next adventure.

[WCB]

Report # 136 Sailing Towards San Diego, California May 14, 2015 Thursday Cloudy & 80 degrees (no way)

 

According to Oka, our waiter, he informed us last night that we would have a disembarkation letter of instructions, luggage tags, and a survey to fill out for this cruise. However, all we found were luggage tags with two white chocolate-covered rice krispy treats left on the bed. No letter, no survey. Hope that comes early tomorrow, so we know when to put our bags outside the room. As for the survey, Oka said the best marks would be excellent, and he hoped that was what we would check. However, if we had bad things to say, his name was Ralph from another table number. Very funny. We got lucky, as our waiters took care of us. Except if we had some kids at our table, we would have gotten a whole lot more attention, such as magic tricks and such. The nights we did have crayon puzzles, we think they were put there to amuse us, giving them more time to serve us.

 

This morning at breakfast, we finally caught up with the two gentlemen from the Amsterdam that also booked this cruise to get home. They had been very nervous about taking a Disney Cruise, their first like us. We knew this because one of them asked Stein Kruse at the big meeting why did the Zaandam leave a day ahead of our cruise? At least 40 of us world cruisers took that re-positioning cruise after the Grand Voyage. Mr. Kruse had no answer other than to say he didn’t believe it affected that many of us. Oh well……

 

So when they were leaving the restaurant this morning, we asked them if they were still “afraid” of this cruise. Obviously, they did not recognize us, because they did not join the Amsterdam until Dubai, and never frequented the same places we did. When we introduced ourselves, they felt free to let it all out. They said they would never do it again, and the only reason they were here was because it was the only option for them since they live in San Diego. They, like us, prefer not to fly very far. Especially after their long flight to Dubai. Their second remark was concerning the kids onboard, which are only 300. They said they were not bothered by the kids. Their biggest complaint was the extremely noisy dining rooms……Parrot Cay, the worst of all. We told them that we learned yesterday that there was a total of 1800 passengers on this particular trip. That puts them down 1000 passengers. Now if this ship was full, we would not want to be on it at all. Our HAL travelers, Bill and Roger, strongly agreed.

 

They did share a strange incident with us that was quite off-putting to them. They said more than once, their assistant waiter approached their table with a bucket for extra contributions so he can buy milk and food for his family at home, wherever that may be. Finding this very inappropriate, they have decided not to go to the dining room tonight. They made reservations in the alternate restaurant, Palo tonight. They said it would be worth the $50 not to be propositioned again. In fact, they were on their way to report this behavior at the front desk. We agreed that we would do the same thing. On a lighter note, they said they may be coming back to HAL’s 2017 World Cruise, because of the itinerary. They may consider doing the whole thing. So we said our goodbyes and wished them well.

 

It was downright cold this morning….no way it was 80 degrees anywhere on this ship. We could see the coastline of Baja California for most of the day. Close enough to see beaches and low-laying mountains in the back round.

 

We are fairly certain we saw a spouting whale on our morning walk. Must have been one, because many folks spotted them during the day on the horizon. We have lost all of the boobys, and now have some flocks of sea birds flying in a v-formation over the crests of the waves. Sometimes, if you follow these birds, you may see dolphins or whales, as the birds will get the leftover fish bits.

 

Spending all morning downloading photos from yesterday and packing, kept us both busy. Don’t know how we ended up with 20 extra pounds of stuff. Good thing we brought an extra duffel bag with us.( Note to self: be sure to check the condition of an older duffel bag, which has only served as the bag under the bed with toiletries. Thank goodness for duck tape, as we did have seams that were coming apart.) Hopefully the new luggage scale is accurate and not malfunctioning. It’s impossible to get a perfect reading while the ship is moving up and down.

 

We took a break for lunch for one last taste of the spicy chicken sandwich and a few chicken tenders. They are consistently good. We found that the Crew Show was performing on the stage with a big audience. This has to be the group that were on stage a couple of nights ago. They sure got a round of applause from the folks shivering in their swimsuits. Funny, there were still little kids in the kiddie pool, but the water is 84 degrees. They are fine as long as they don’t get out of the water.

 

This afternoon, we got the disembarkation letter stating that our breakfast would be in the Animator’s Palate at 8am. They advise us to take our hand luggage and purses with us so we can be called to debark from the restaurant. Our luggage has to be put outside the room by 10pm, or we would have to carry it off ourselves tomorrow morning. The usual advise of what not to pack like your passports, wallets, meds, and clothing to go home was in the instructions. We shall see how that works. Or not. We may skip breakfast tomorrow and not leave our room.

 

During the late afternoon, while the sun was still high, we took a two mile walk on the promenade deck. Watching for whales and dolphins was not fruitful. Few folks were outside, especially on the shady side. Much better to walk in the cooler weather, but we still find the jogging thing not a great idea. We saw one older kid about knock over an elderly guy trying to pass on the left in the narrowest of spots. The one good thing about this deck is that it has never been crowded. You just have to watch those shuffleboard poles…they could be lethal, especially in the hands of four year olds.

 

We relaxed in our room until dinnertime. We went early mainly to see how the folks would dress. Some of the younger girls wore something dressy, because if they had not worn that dress yet, this was their last chance. Did not matter if their parents were wearing shorts. Good for them. Anyway, we went to dinner and found all of us were there tonight. But then, so were all of the guests, and the dining room noise was raised a level higher. Have we mentioned that due to the lower passenger count, only two of the three dining rooms are opened for the second seating? It has been this way since day one, although we did not notice it. Naturally, the younger families eat early, so those rooms are full most every night.

 

Our dinner service seemed very slow this evening. Not sure why. But tonight, we had to be back to put out our luggage outside the door at 10pm. So did some of our tablemates. But there was no way we were going to miss our final Mickey Bar. Right after the entrees were eaten, our waiters all left the room and came out with a flag parade. This went with the international theme for dinner. It was difficult to say goodbye to all over all of the noise. We thanked our waiters and handed them the pre-printed slips showing their tips were paid on our accounts. Normally, they have access to this information on a list given to them from the front desk. That would have been easier. However, even if we forgot the slips, we think they would automatically get these tips anyway.

 

There was still luggage in the hall when we got back at 10pm, so now we don’t have to worry we will be pulling them off by ourselves tomorrow. They would have to be inspected by the customs and border patrol anyway, so we don’t see the advantage. We certainly hope that Disney handles their debarkation in a speedy way. Time will tell……..By the way, we got the survey tonight after dinner, even though there was a box outside the dining room to deposit the survey.

 

Will follow up with our final comments on both cruises when we get back to “real” life.

 

Bill & Mary Ann