Sue's Disney 3 Night Cruise, September 2003

Disney Wonder

Sept 2003

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 04, 2003:

Who: Sue, DVC Member

Patty, Cruise Virgin

Plan: Pick up Patty, board Disney Wonder, Golden Mickey show

Actual: I'd set the alarm for 8 but once again was up at 7. The cell phone was not charging - not sure if the problem is the phone or the charger, but I'll try charging it in the car on the way to the port. I have the phone through work, so I can send someone out to get the problem corrected on Monday - and I won't need the phone while cruising anyway.

The day looked very promising - the tropical system had stalled last night, so we have sunshine now. It's supposed to rain later this afternoon, but as long as we're already on the ship I'm not too bothered by that. Plus, at 5pm we'll be sailing away from it! I had an unusual breakfast - cappuccino with the rest of the prime rib sandwich and chocolate chip cookie from CBR. I had trouble staying online, so after losing the connection a couple of times I justgave up and started my offline time a bit early. After packing the rest of my stuff and putting it in the car, I drove over to pick up Patty at 10. I got there a little early and visited with Mary for a while, and soon we were on our way. The drive to the port was very easy - not much traffic at all and the weather was still nice. Once at the port we dropped off our luggage, parked the car, went through security, checked in, and got in line to board. It all went very quickly - no waits or delays at all.

They started boarding around 11:45, which surprised me! They announced the Holland & Thompson families, and Patty made some crack about being lesbians for the cruise. Without my boots though, I'd never be able to pull it off, lol! We were directed to Parrot Cay but chose instead to go to Beach Blanket Buffet. Once there we realized we weren't hungry at all, so we went and wandered around the ship. Patty loved it - the Wonder IS a pretty ship, and it's much nicer than the couple of cruise ships she toured in the past. We took lots of pictures and Patty kept remarking that it seemed like we were the only ones on the ship!

We snuck down to our stateroom - #5024 to take a peek. Prior to that she went under the barricade and went into someone else's cabin to take pictures - I was the "lookout"! Luckily we weren't caught and thrown in the brig! Our cabin is great - same as all the others on the ship, but with the "secret porthole". There are 6 cabins on deck 5 that have stuff outside the window blocking part of the view, so these are sold as category 10 rather than category 9.  We were happy with the amount of water we can see, and ours is the most obstructed of the 3 on each side of the ship. My Castaway Club (repeat cruiser) gift was the beach towel, along with a couple of pins. I gave one to Patty, since I don't need 2 more of them.

I was happy to see that my dining rotation request was met, so we're scheduled for Triton's on Friday night. This was important because we wanted to do Palo's on Friday night and Triton's was the meal I wanted to skip (there's not really anything on that menu that I really want). We're still on 1st seating, but we can live with that since it's only for 2 nights. We walked around some more, then went up to get something to eat. Neither of us ate much, but we loved the chilled strawberry/banana soup! Wow - I'd cruise just for the chilled soups . I took a chocolate mousse, but didn't eat it - couldn't detect any real chocolate taste so it wasn't worth the calories. Instead I ate Patty's other oatmeal raisin cookie - that was much better.

After lunch we went down to Wavebands and booked Palo for Friday night at 7:30. That done, we continued touring the ship, then went back to the stateroom and unpacked. Crew members were working outside our porthole so Patty tapped on the window and nearly gave the guy a heart attack ! He thought we were complaining about their noise, but we didn't care. Once the ship sails they won't be working, so it's no big deal. Our cabin steward Budi stopped by to introduce himself and make sure everything was ok.

We went back out and walked around some more, and took a tour of the Spa. I got to see the infamous surial bath room that Adie & Lisa tried to sign me up for. Why can't it be a couple of guys who invite me??? After the tour it was almost time for the lifeboat drill so we returned to our stateroom to don the life jackets. I found mine had the number of the stateroom next door, but up at the grill I ended up standing next to the woman staying there - wearing a lifejacket with our number! We switched after the drill.

We walked around the ship some more, showed Patty what Palo looks like (very pretty), and waited to sailaway. Departure was delayed while we waited for a DCL bus full of passengers. We sailed about 5:30, in the rain. Since we were on deck 4 I'm not sure how the rain impacted the Sailaway Party on deck 9. We had barely enough time to freshen up before dinner at 6. I changed, but Patty was already in a dress and was fine for dinner. Tonight we're in Parrot Cay. As we walked through the atrium Mickey and the Queen of Hearts were posing for photos. A piano player was doing a nice job providing background music, but I really felt someone of the caliber of Carol Stein would have enhanced the experience.

We're at a table for 8 against the window. The first people to join us were a couple with an 8-year old boy (oh joy). Next a single dad with his 2 young boys joined us. As you can imagine, I was decidedly less than thrilled, but then I remembered I'd called to change our dining rotation to suit the Palo plans, and realized it was my own fault we were seated in kiddie land. Fortunately, all 3 boys are very well-mannered and although I'd still prefer the company of adults, for only 2 nights we're both fine with the kids. Thank goodness it looks like the duct tape won't be needed on these 3.

For dinner Patty got the chilled avocado soup which she said tasted like salad dressing. It came with a small pistachio cheese wafer, which was interesting. She also got the crab newburg which was pretty good. Her entrée was the potato crusted grouper, which was ok. I got the fresh fruit, which was very good. My entrée was the mixed grill. I had a very dry piece of beef, shrimp (Patty said they were ok), small lamb chop and a piece of sausage. I ate a couple bites of each, plus a little of the macaroni & cheese. For dessert we both ordered the bourbon pecan pie, which was a LARGE piece and quite tasty. It was full of pecans and not overdone with that sticky sweet stuff. Overall we agreed dinner was good, but nothing special. It certainly doesn't live up to the food on my HAL cruises or many of the places Patty has eaten. That said, neither of us is really complaining - just stating the facts. We're still glad to be here.

After dinner we returned to the stateroom and found a cute towel dog waiting for us - wearing my sunglasses. We opened the drapes and folded Patty's bed back up into a sofa. She chose the sofa bed in order to be next to the window . Our stateroom location has proven to be extremely convenient to just about everything. We headed back downstairs so that I could get a kir royale. I'd always seen these listed in the Personal Navigator but didn't know what they were until someone suggested I'd probably like it. I got one on the Zuiderdam in June and it was delicious, so I was looking forward to them on DCL. We could feel the movement of the ship quite a bit during dinner, perhaps because

we were going faster to make up the time lost by the late departure. It was especially fun walking since I was wearing hooker heels tonight! We agreed if there wasn't any movement it would feel like we were at a hotel, so the movement is a good reminder we're on a cruise ship!

At the champagne station the sign said a free souvenir glass came with each champagne purchase. I ordered my kir royale and Patty ordered a bellini. The souvenir glass was a plastic champagne flute with the DCL logo and "Celebrates July 4, 2003" printed on it! How tacky is that?? After the poor confused cm got our charge tickets finished, we tried to toast our cruise but somehow the "plonk" of plastic wasn't nearly as festive as the clink of crystal would have been. Oh well, the plastic is pretty and there's a really nice little park near Mary's house where we can enjoy drinks in the future without worrying about broken glass.

After looking forward to the kir royale since June it was a bitter disappointment, and I'm not likely to buy another from DCL. It tasted more like mouthwash than a champagne cocktail - guess they use a different champagne than HAL since there are only 2 ingredients in the drink. Eventually I got used to it, but it lasted almost an hour before I finished it .

We went to the Walt Disney Theater and found seats for Disney Dreams. This show is THE big show for DCL so far, and Patty was impressed. I don't see it every cruise, but since it was her first time I didn't want her to miss it. They had some "commercials" before the show - basically showing other entertainment options for later tonight. They showed a clip from Barrel of Laughs, the dueling piano place. The clip was pretty bad - I overheard people changing "Carol Stein, Carol Stein" and someone whispered that there'd be no need for 2 pianists if they had the one & only Carol Stein.

After the show we stopped by the stateroom to drop off our fine plastic

champagne flutes - couldn't risk anyone stealing them from us when we weren't looking . We went down to Wave Bands for the 10:15 comedy/magic show Rich Purpura does. The room was somewhat smoky, since smoking is allowed in one section, so I thought it was pretty gross. It wasn't so bad I couldn't stay, though.  I've seen Rich perform at least a few times on Disney ships, and he's quite popular. He does a mix of standup and magic tricks, and picks on people in the audience. We both enjoyed his show - got several laughs!

When the show ended they had hors d'oeuvres and pastries set up just outside the door, but neither of us were hungry for any more food. We walked around out on deck, checked out the hot tub action, and paused to watch the teens playing a game on the stage by the Goofy pool. Back inside we browsed through the shops and I bought myself a cute girly shirt - black with glittery cruise stuff on it. After shopping we decided to call it a night, and returned to the stateroom since it was approaching midnight. I wasn't really tired, but I wanted to be up early in the morning and not waste the day!

Today was a terrific day, and a great start to this mini-cruise weekend!

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 05, 2003:

Plan: Nassau (enjoy ship), Palo dinner

Actual: I'd set my alarm for 7:30 but was up before 7. There wasn't any point to staying in bed when there was a whole cruise ship to enjoy. Like at the theme parks, the uncrowded early morning hours are my favorite time of the day. I took a quick shower and dressed in a gym outfit, then went up to deck 9 to make my cappuccino (brought my powder, used Disney's hot water). From there I went down to deck 4 (promenade deck) and walked 10 laps. We were approaching Nassau, and it was a gorgeous sunny day! I noticed a glass we'd seen abandoned on the ship on deck 4 yesterday was now gone - on HAL last June it took days for some of that stuff to get picked up, so cheers for Disney!

I went back to the stateroom to check on Patty & she was awake. We were pulling into Nassau's harbor by now. Patty jumped in the shower and I headed up to the gym to use the free weights to work the upper body, then intended to do the 9am Abs, Hips & Thighs class to work the lower. Patty hadn't brought her sneakers, so she wasn't able to use the gym. I was the only person who showed up for the class, so the fitness instructor asked if I would rather have a class in pilates - for which she said they normally charge $60. I had her show me one pilates exercise, then she took me through the gym equipment and served as my personal trainer for a half hour! The individual attention was great, and she was very complimentary about what I've been doing for fitness.

At this point it was after 9:30 and the breakfast buffet ended at 10, so I went to Beach Blanket Buffet. I got some melon, a small chocolate croissant, and mixed some strawberry yogurt with some meuselix. Patty had just finished eating her breakfast and came over to join me at a table outside. Everything was good, and the day looked beautiful at that point. She headed into Nassau to explore and I went up to deck 10 to lay near the adult pool. Soon it started to sprinkle, then it absolutely poured. I went down under cover on deck 9 to wait it out reading my book - the rain ended within an hour. When the rain finished I went back up to deck 10 and spent the next hour or 2 either laying on my chair or lounging in the adult pool.

Other ships in port included one from Royal Caribbean - most likely the one in port with us yesterday. It's on the other side of our dock, so I was able to get a good look at it, and I'm definitely NOT impressed at all. Too many of the little nice things I like about HAL are just not there and I know I'd be dissatisfied for that reason. On our other side is NCL's Nowegian Dream. This looks like a very new ship - and has the Statue of Liberty painted on the side. It's interesting, but again - NCL is not a line I consider for my cruises. On the other side of NCL is HAL's Zuiderdam, the ship I was on in June.  All I can see is the smokestacks, but I know it's a gorgeous ship, and the nicest of the 4 here today (although Disney is the prettiest from the exterior).

I walked around on the upper deck, then went down to the stateroom to get changed out of my swimsuit. From there I went back up to Scoops on deck 9 to get some ice cream for lunch, then back down to deck 4 to the Walt Disney Theater for the 2pm movie - Freaky Friday. It was starting to rain again, so the movie seemed like an especially good idea! There weren't that many people attending, and it was a cute movie. I thought the funniest scenes were all crammed into the preview, though - but I don't regret going.

After the movie I left the ship to go see the Zuiderdam up close, and took a few pictures. I didn't want to go into town so I just got back on the ship pretty quickly. I went walking around and found Patty on deck 4 so we hung out for a while. We found our boarding photo and enjoyed looking at the photos of the different princesses with the guests. Those princess faces were just frozen with the exact same smile in photo after photo, lol!

Patty went down to watch Bingo and I went to the stateroom to shower. We're eating in Palo at 7:30 tonight so there wasn't any rush to get ready by 6 today! Also, we won't have any kids at our table --in fact, no kids in the dining room at all (yay)! I updated the report and got ready for the rest of the evening. I needed to iron my pants for tomorrow night, so I went to the laundry room on deck 6 and took care of that today as well.

We left the stateroom around 7 and watched the Zuiderdam sail away on her way back to Ft Lauderdale. It's such a pretty ship, and the sun was starting to set in the background. At 7:25 we realized we'd better get to Palo, and hurried to the other end of the ship. At Palo they don't book it so every table is filled at all times - it's very uncrowded, and so much nicer than the regular dining rooms. Our server was very attentive and took good care of us. The breadboy brought some great bread and different spreads - all of which were delicious. We both got a glass of the Moscato white wine I used to always get at LeCellier.

For an appetizer Patty got the grilled portobello mushroom with polenta and I got the buffalo mozzarella and plum tomato. Both were delicious, and very attractively presented. Patty LOVED this restaurant! For entrees she got the salmon and I got one of the specials - veal. The salmon was a huge piece, served on a bed of risotto. The veal came with mashed potatoes and both meals were excellent. For dessert we both got the chocolate souffle with chocolate and vanilla sauces, plus vanilla bean ice cream. Yummmmmm! I ate every damn bite of all 3 courses, which is usually about as likely as being struck by lightning . I was hungry, plus it was all too good to leave on my plate to be thrown away.

After dinner we walked around on the deck, and photographed scenes from the Royal Caribbean ship sharing our dock. Let this be a lesson to everyone - when in your cabin at night across from another ship, CLOSE your damn drapes! We saw 2 women and couldn't figure out what they were doing, but with Patty's zoom we saw one was cleaning the other lady's ear. Eeewwww - more than we really wanted to see, lol! We were able to check out the dining room tables and see what people were wearing, but it was harder to tell specifically what they were eating. We saw enough to confirm that Royal Caribbean is NOT for either of us - the décor of this ship definitely has a low-budget look to it, with the exception of the dining room looking nice.

We walked around and peeked into the kitchen at Animator's Palate and saw them preparing the lobster/shrimp wrap for tomorrow night's dinner. From deck 4 there are 2 windows into this kitchen. We walked around some more, and went back to the stateroom about 10:30. Budi had left a towel elephant this time, along with our chocolate mints. We also got an invitation to the Castaway Club cocktail reception tomorrow before dinner. Yay - free drinks!

We went back out to watch the ship cast off - first from deck 4 and then up top on deck 10. Some people from Royal Caribbean waved us off, and it was pretty sailing out of Nassau with all of the lights. The deck party was in full swing - just a whole lotta noise, in my opinion. I generally hate the deck parties anyway, but at this one the band was loud and didn't sound very good. They had a buffet on the other side, but neither of us wanted or needed food! We went down by the adult pool, where a quieter musical group was performing. I didn't think they were much better in terms of quality of their singing, but at least it wasn't just noise. Damn, where's Carol Stein when you need her? She could have had the crowd rocking with her piano playing, and you'd be able to tell it was music .

I went back to the stateroom and finished up the report, then read for a short while. Patty went back to deck 4, hoping to see a falling star. It's a beautiful night to be on a cruise ship - standing at the railing, watching the water & the stars, slight breeze in the air - it doesn't get much better than this!

Today was a great day - despite the periods of rain. Patty got to see Nassau, so she doesn't feel like she's missing anything. I enjoyed working out, spending the morning relaxing on the ship, and our dinner at Palo was excellent! That will clearly be THE meal of the cruise - both for food quality/presentation and the wonderful kid-free environment!

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 06, 2003:

Plan: Castaway Cay

Actual: I was up on deck before 7, hoping to catch the sunrise as we approached Castaway Cay. I checked the Personal Navigator, but they don't publish the sunrise/sunset times - what's up with that??? That's basic info, so I was disappointed. I didn't want to turn on the tv to get it, since the tv was in Patty's side of the stateroom and she was asleep. I got into my swimsuit and went up on deck to watch the approach to Castaway Cay. The sun had just come up, so I missed that, but it was still pretty. Soon Castaway Cay could be seen, and we backed in to the dock. There was rain in the distance and it was coming towards us but ended up going around us instead of over the top of the ship. Crew members were busy scurrying around removing things that shouldn't get wet (salt & pepper shakers, etc). There was another rainbow this morning (one yesterday as well), although nothing near as big or pretty as the rainbows over Niagara Falls at the start of Mary's ride. These were stubby little half-rainbows here .

Docking was interesting - I watched them toss out the ropes and secure us to the dock. Those ropes must be very heavy when wet, as it takes 2 men to lift each one over the post. Around 8 I went to Beach Blanket Buffet and brought breakfast for both of us back to the stateroom, along with coffee for Patty. We ate at the little table by our porthole, which was nice. Patty filled me in on the rest of her evening - she saw a falling star then stopped by the Cadillac Lounge where the piano player was doing a terrible job. I'm not sure where they're finding their entertainment staff on this ship, but so far several have been mediocre or worse.

We went ashore around 8:45 and I was surprised there wasn't a huge crowd waiting to get off the ship as usual! We walked to the far end of the family beach and had the entire area to ourselves for as long as we were there! I've never seen Castaway Cay this uncrowded, but it sure was nice! Unfortunately, we had very little sun, thanks to the storm brewing. Patty went into the water, I laid on the hammock, and then we just lounged around reading our books for a while. By 10:30 or so it was starting to rain, and the sky from that direction was so black and stormy we decided to head back to the ship. Hordes of people were just arriving on the island - too bad, they all missed the only rain-free period this morning!

We dropped some stuff off in the stateroom, then Patty went up to the hot tub on deck 9 while I got us chairs for reading on the covered deck 4, facing Castaway Cay and the storm. By now there was thunder and lightning as well - terrible weather for a beach day. We had a thank-you note from our server at Palo last night, which is a nice touch.

I ended up freezing out on deck 4. The wind was blowing the rain towards me and it was quite chilly. It was so overcast at times I lost sight of the island - even though we were docked right there! I covered up with a towel and read for a while, then eventually went to wander around the ship. We both ended up back in the stateroom and sat around talking for quite a while, then went up for lunch about 1:30. They had the food normally served at Cookie's BBQ on the island brought back to the ship.

We ate at Beach Blanket Buffet since we were still in swimsuits, and everything was good. I had a few ribs and slice of pizza. Patty tried the lobster burger and some other stuff. Her favorite item was the mac & cheese from the kids' line, lol. We went back downstairs after lunch and hung out in the stateroom looking at photos for a while. Patty then went to try the hot tub again (it was too crowded before), and I started packing my stuff. I thought about trying deck 4 for reading again, but it was still raining and I didn't want to be out there if I couldn't stay warm. I've never had a rainy day like this on a cruise - guess it was bound to happen sooner or later!

In the end I decided to go up to deck 4 after all, but to walk rather than read. Soon I tired of that - actually, I grew weary of having some bratty kid dart in front of me out of nowhere when I'd be walking somewhere. Most of the kids on the ship are well-behaved from what I've seen, but there are always some who run wild and the parents either don't know or don't care. It was getting close to 4, so I returned to the stateroom and took my shower since the Castaway Club reception starts at 5:15.

Patty returned for her shower just after I'd finished. I decided against going down to deck 4 to watch the sail away since it was still raining somewhat. At 5:15 we went to the Castaway Club reception, which was held in Studio Sea. I had an idea the large Phillips group on board meant there were fewer repeat cruisers than usual, and I was right. They had the usual buffet of hors d'oeuvres - mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers, tea sandwiches, fruit, quiche, etc. Drinks were free - we both started with white wine and I had a 2nd glass to take with me. Captain Henry stopped by to chat - what a personable man he is! He's been with Disney (coming from Cunard) for 8 years and had a lot of say in DCL before the first ship sailed. A friend of Patty's worked setting up the entertainment venues back then, and the captain knew her. We each had our picture taken with him - he's truly one of the most friendly captains I've ever met on any ship!

Rachel the cruise director also stopped by, and she was a delight as well. I think it really helped having a small crowd, as we were able to have a pleasant conversation beyond "thanks - hope you had a nice cruise"! Kenny was on the piano providing background music, and sounded better than he did in the Cadillac Lounge last night. The place was just screaming for Carol Stein, though .

All of a sudden it was 6pm and we needed to get to dinner! Tonight we're in Animator's Palate, and the family with 1 boy was not there. Turns out they weren't there last night either, so it was just the single dad & his 2 boys last night. Tonight dinner was a pleasure. We enjoyed talking with the dad, and the 2 boys (age 6 & 8 or so) are really terrific kids. They earned the cruise by getting all A's and behaving well in school. As much as I really can't stand kids - I have to admit it was a pleasure having these 2 at our table.

For dinner tonight Patty had the lobster/shrimp wrap we saw being prepared last night, the butternut squash soup (not nearly as good as Puck's so she barely touched it) and the veal chop with corn risotto. I got the gazpacho and instead of an entrée ordered the caesar salad with some chicken breast sliced on top. It was more than enough, and very good. For dessert we both ordered the berry shortcake, which was different than in February and not very impressive to me at all. It had 3 slices of poundcake, which I don't care for enough to consume the calories. Patty liked it, though. Our server also brought us a piece of the cheesecake, which was her recommendation. I think I ate the entire piece - it was much better than the shortcake!

After dinner we walked on deck 4 in the wind, and saw a really pretty sunset. I ran back to the stateroom since it was only 1 deck away, and updated the report while Patty waited on a lounge chair. When I was done I went back to get her and we went to see Golden Mickeys - the new show. They're doing a red carpet thing, where guests walk down the red carpet by the shops and some are filmed talking to the paparazzi. Once they're seated, they see themselves on a giant screen in the theater.

Patty got us great seats while I went down to the Cadillac Lounge to get

another glass of wine - this time the good stuff! Kenny the Carol Stein

wanna-be was performing, but I was only there long enough to get my glass of Moscato. Surprisingly, it's cheaper on the ship than it is at LeCellier, even though both are Disney.

Golden Mickeys was a terrific show! It's like an awards show, and eventually most of the Disney character and major songs play a part. They even have a hunky half-naked guy as Tarzan - omigod, thank you Walt! Some of the characters I had to ask Patty "who the hell is that?" but I knew most of them. I'm just not even remotely interested in cartoons, so basically anything that came out after my son got to be a certain age I didn't have to go see! Anyway, the show was entertaining without being Disney sugary-sweet, the music was good, and the whole production was very enjoyable. I can only take Disney Dreams once in a great while, but this I'd gladly see again next time it's presented on

one of my cruises. Unfortunately it won't be on the Magic by the time I cruise with Sheila on 11/8 - it's a shame she won't get to see it!

After the show we went back to the stateroom to finish packing the bags we needed to put out in the hallway. Next we filled out the comment card - a joint effort. After that we sat around talking & laughing until it was time to get some sleep.

Today didn't exactly go as planned, thanks to the miserable weather, but we both still had a nice time. It's not the first time I experienced rain on Castaway Cay, but it's the first time the entire day was a washout! Of course, the worst day on a cruise still beats the best day at work!

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 07, 2003:

Plan: Leave Disney Wonder, Drive home

Actual: I got up early - shortly after 5:30. It was still dark outside, and we were already docked. I sat on deck 4 and read more of my book, giving Patty an extra hour to sleep. When I returned to the stateroom after 7, she was already up and had gone for breakfast . I packed up the laptop and we headed out. Beach Blanket Buffet wasn't terribly busy, so I grabbed something to eat while Patty got a table. Neither of us had any desire to report for breakfast in Animator's Palate at 6:45 am, and then be part of the hordes of people waiting to get off the ship at 7:30. Instead, we sat at Beach Blanket while all of that was going on, then easily walked right off the ship.

SUMMARY:

Rather than summarize stuff I've already written, I'll just toss out some random thoughts.
This was the first time I had a stateroom that connected with another, and I'll never do that again! We both loved the convenience of the location of #5024, but neither of us felt being able to hear the next door neighbors cough, sneeze and talk was acceptable. They were not loud people at all (we met them), but the connecting staterooms are just that poorly soundproofed.

This was probably the worst weather I've seen on my cruises, particularly the rain ALL day long at Castaway Cay. Even in Alaska we didn't have any days that were that rainy! However, although I would have preferred sunshine, I cruise enough that it's no big deal if I hit an occasional rainy day or 2. I'll look forward to better weather in November on the 7-day Magic, and on my 10-day HAL in March! We still enjoyed ourselves just being on the cruise, even with the rain.

There was a large group on board from a company called Phillips something. Of the 2400 passengers on board, 1300 or 1600 of them were this group. The owner of the company treated the entire staff & their families to the 3-day cruise. Despite their large number, they were a great group - there was nothing to indicate this was "their" cruise and the rest of us were just along for the ride. They had a banner up at the deck party and they did a group photo one day, but otherwise unless you saw the sea of red t-shirts you'd have no idea they were all together.

Palo - Omigod, don't miss it! Duct tape the kids if necessary & stuff them in the closet, but don't miss the chance to eat at Palo. It's so far superior to the quality of the food and the service in the dining rooms. It's what cruising "should" be. While the food in the dining rooms is good, the atmosphere is more like eating at Denny's rather than dining on a cruise ship. If you've only sailed on Disney, you probably think I'm sounding like a jerk, but there is simply nothing special about the regular dining rooms on the ship. The china is ordinary, the food is mass-produced, and depending on your seating & rotation you're surrounded by kids (some well behaved, some badly in need of duct tape). Definitely not our idea of "dining", but for 2 nights it was tolerable. In November I won't try to change my rotation - since by default they'll put us on the one with the least # of kids, plus I have late seating for that cruise.

I'd always said I'd never do a 3-day cruise, but here I am. As it stands, I'd never recommend it for someone who doesn't have the luxury of being able to cruise fairly often. It simply is not a "real" cruise - it's a taste, or a tease. Even the 4-day is borderline, but if you're planning a trip to WDW and decide you don't have time to take a cruise but want to tack on a couple of days afterwards before going home, then this cruise could fit that bill. I don't think it's worth traveling on just the cruise unless you live within an hour or so of the port.

My 5 nights at WDW before the cruise were fabulous - as always. I greatly enjoyed the shows at the Comedy Warehouse, and relaxing at Typhoon Lagoon - and spending time with a number of friends.

Despite anything that might be read as "negative" in this report, overall it was a fabulous week, and I'd repeat it all again this week if I could! Until next time - thanks for reading.

Sue

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