Think of all the joy you’ll find …….. Update - January 06

Palo brunch is always a treat!
Never heard anything after we left a comment about how she acted that day. Is oxtail soup so common in Britain? I did not come across it often in all my travels to London.

It was a canned soup , I don't know that it was common in restaurants as growing up we seldom ate out . I just remember Mum serving it at home !!
 
Merry Christmas to all our friends here on the DISboards!

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Good grief, last time I updated here was in May!!!! :scared1: And this trip report is from last year. :scared1::scared1::scared1: Time to finish that baby. ;) ::yes::

Playing catch up!

So do I. :rotfl2:

I've always wondered if they quarantined sick folks on cruises. That would stink having to spend the rest or majority of the cruise stuck in your stateroom.

We were told that they were quarantined for a day or two. Not what I would like to experience, but I guess it is better for the rest of the crew and guests, if a sick person stays in his room.

That would feel so weird having someone serve me from a buffet although I understand why. And wow that is a ton of servers!

It was so awkward to be at a buffet and have to tell someone what you would want. But we got used to it fast.

Oh my GOSH! Please tell me you made a report on her! That is absolutely rude, especially telling guests what NOT to eat and drink :confused3:confused3:confused3

No, we didn't report her. We didn't want to waste more time and breath on her. :laughing:

:rotfl:The dog was waited on too?! Disney gives the best service!

Yip, got its own little plate. pluto:

My one time at Castaway Cay was awesome , I can still picture a couple of the guys with their chairs sitting in the shllow water , they loved it !!We also had a visitor Capt Jack himself !! The buffet was awesome !!

It is such a lovely little island and we are both really looking forward to visiting it again in the summer of 2017.
We might have missed Captain Jack being in the water, he usually visits during the morning at Serenity Bay. And yes, I agree with you, the buffet at Serenity Bay is great. :thumbsup2


Hi Karin! I didn't realize that I was so far behind. We liked Cozumel and would like to go back. I don't remember the beach promonade. Looks a lot like Puerta Vallarta.

Tammie, I didn't realize how far behind I was. ;)
Tom and I are not huge fans of the Mexican destinations that DCL offers. We have been to Cozumel several times now and we just have a hard time there. I just can't stand the constant trying to get people into the stores and trying to overcharge you. Same goes for Puerto Vallarta. Been there, done that, no desire to go back, but that is just us. I am glad to hear that you enjoy those destinations. :thumbsup2


Of course Palo looks as good as ever. Such a beautiful sunset dyringbyourvdinber. is so fun how the crew and serves get to know you. Too bad about the "Mojito b****" trying to ruin your fun. Who wants to hear what not to eat while on vacation?

Palo is always such a treat. And especially when you know the people who take care of you. And DCL makes it super easy to get to know your servers as you know. On the other hand, lets not talk about the Mojito "lady". :rotfl2:

I have GOT to get there one day............soon! :goodvibes

You definitely have to! It is VERY beautiful and I am sure Pat would love it too.

This has to be the most extensive report about Castaway Cay I have ever seen posted! Such wonderful pictures you got, and what an absolutely fantastic way to spend a day! The sights, and the food, all look amazing!!! :thumbsup2

We like it there. ;) And how else would I get you to consider going on a cruise? :rotfl2:
 
Love all the beautiful beach and water pictures. I have over a year to see it again, but something to look forward to. We have to plan a cruise together again!

It is just great there, but you know that as well. Only 9 more months now, until you sail again and YES, we need to sail together again. Hope to see you next summer. :goodvibes

I must have worded it wrong, I also love desserts, just not the ones in Palo. I think I'm the only one who doesn't like the soufflé :laughing:

As I know now, you are not totally against desserts. ;) And if you don't like the souffle - that means, there is more for me. :rotfl2:

Your CC day is just amazing! The weather looks gorgeous, and how fun to have a cabana. I'm sad we won't be going there on the PC cruise, CC is always the highlight for us. Tom's shirt is awesome.

We usually get a Cabana - IF I can get one. The sun is really strong there in the summer and my eyes don't like that. By having a Cabana and being able to sit in the shade it helps us to make the most of our CC day.
He was so proud of his shirt. And it really looked awesome.


Castaway Cay. Just sounds heavenly and looks it too !!!!! :cloud9:

It is a heavenly place ...... guess you need to visit there too! ;)

Thank you , Karen. Merry Christmas to you and Thomas as well.....and to your kitty.

Merry Christmas to you too! :goodvibes
 
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Day 8, April 4

And a visit to Disney’s private island … - Part 4


After we had consumed most of our drink we decided it was time to head back into the ocean one more time.
By now the bank had turned into a small island and we waded out, sat down and enjoyed the sun.

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When it got too hot, we moved into the water a bit and watched sea life, washed shells to take photos of them and just enjoyed the view of the beach.

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When cast members started to close umbrellas we decided that it would be best to get back to the beach and our cabana.

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We showered, changed into dry clothes and sat outside on the porch for a while to soak in the sun.

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When the beach started to clear out we rang the bell for the cabana host, just to discover that he was already waiting to take guests from the two still occupied cabanas back to the tram. So we quickly grabbed our things and headed to the golf cart and in no time we were on our way to the tram. The tram was just starting to move out when the driver must have seen the golf cart and we quickly said goodbye to our cabana host and climbed onto the tram.

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There were several comments that it must be nice that even the tram stopped for guests with black lanyards in a golf cart, and everyone laughed and off we went. Soon we had to get off at Pelican Point

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and we took the time to have a look at the shop nearby, but there was nothing we really wanted, so we got in line and hopped onto the next tram to get back to the ship.

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When we got off an walked towards the ship we realized that everyone was directed to use the front gangway, as the aft one was reserved for crew members. So we walked all the way to the front and joined the really long line.

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At the screening point for your bags we noticed some commotion. There was a family and they were debated quite loudly that they wanted to bring their souvenirs on board. Well, their souvenirs were several large Conch shells and a few smaller ones. Everyone else got pretty quiet, while we were directed to the other screen and then finally the cast member let each child choose a small shell and kept the Conchs to be brought back to the island. First time we had seen them enforce the rules that you cannot bring anything from the island.
Back in our room we took showers, grabbed some drinks out of the fridge

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and sat outside on the veranda until the ship started to move again and we had to say goodbye to Disney’s heavenly island.

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Once it was out of sight we started to pack up our things. It turned out to be a bit tricky as we only had one more night left at WDW after disembarking and I didn’t want to spend hours repacking everything again, once we got there. But we had managed to pack most of our stuff before we had to get changed and head back down to the Walt Disney Theatre for this evening’s show. After that we made a last round through the shops, visited Oxana and then headed back to our room to get the tip envelopes for our servers. On our way to the restaurant we ran into cruise mates we had met on the DISboards and photos were in order and even our stateroom host joined in.

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Then we were off to dinner. Tonight’s dinner was in Animator’s Palate.

To be continued ..........
 
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Day 8, April 4

And a visit to Disney’s private island … - Part 5


Then we were off to dinner. Tonight’s dinner was in Animator’s Palate.


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We were quickly seated and our drinks, Diet Cokes were on the table in no time, together with the bread serving of the day, a

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Six Grain Country Bread, which was served with a

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Caramelized Onions and Sun-dried Tomato dip. Since this was the night when they did their animation show, we also found our drawing utensils and Tom got to work right away and drew some fun characters for both of us.

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They were offering an appetizer sampler so we both ordered it. And pretty quickly after Tom had finished drawing, we were served the sampler,

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which consisted of Smoked Duck Breast on Duck Confit with Pickled Red Onions, Sliced Mozzarella with Basil and Cherry Tomatoes, Dill Marinated Lobster and Shrimp with Tomato Mayonnaise and a Horseradish Cream. It looked very nice and tasted equally delicious. For our main courses we had both ordered the

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Beef Wellington, tender Beef Filet covered with Mushroom Stuffing wrapped in Puff Pastry and served with Fingerling Potatoes, Baby Vegetables and a Cabernet Black Truffle Jus. It was really nice and we finished every last bite. And right after we had finished it, the show started and all the drawings came to life.

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Once it was over, it did not take them long to serve desserts. I had chosen something I had had before, for lack of finding something else that tickled my fancy, so I was served the

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Baked Alaska, Sponge Loaf, layered with Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry ice cream and covered in burnt Meringue. Nice, but nothing special. Tom had not found anything either, but in the end went with the server’s recommendation of

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Seasonal Fruit with sugar less Cookies. The fruit were tasty and the cookies were quite nice as well. Once we had finished our dinner we said goodbye to our servers

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as we did not intend to have breakfast in the dining room the next morning and headed back to our room, where we found a towel heart,

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the comment card and two Ghirardelli Easter chocolates.

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We quickly changed into some clothes we had sat aside for the next day and finished packing and then put our suitcases outside. And then it was finally time to enjoy a little more time out on the veranda, enjoying the night air and watching the waves. Tom did not care for the Easter chocolates, so they were all mine, while he enjoyed a beer. It was so peaceful and time had gone far too quickly, but around midnight it was time to finally get to sleep.

To be continued ..........
 
The Ghirardelli Easter chocolates look awesome. I do not normally eat the chocolates left on the bed during our cruise but those I would have devoured, especially the one with white and dark chocolate.

I hope you and Tom have had a restful and fun holiday. When do you go back to school? How many "holiday" days does Tom receive? Here, in the states, postal workers only receive two, my spouse who works for the state of Michigan (public health), receives four.

How many winter holidays do you have from the school system. I, working at a college, receive two weeks... but since classes have to be up and ready by Jan 5th and since staffing and scheduling (one of my hats) has to be ready Jan 3rd, then I do not "really" have two weeks. BUT, I can do the scheduling and staffing from the comfort of home so no complaints here.

Kate
 
What lovely updates :)

The water on CC is so gorgeous! Makes me want to book another cruise that's going there immediately.

Dinner looks lovely. The drawing show in AP is lots of fun. There's just nothing like being on a cruise :cloud9:
 
I didn't realize that the Magic got the new update to the Animator's show. Looks like a nice last night on the ship.
 
The Ghirardelli Easter chocolates look awesome. I do not normally eat the chocolates left on the bed during our cruise but those I would have devoured, especially the one with white and dark chocolate.

I wasn't a huge fan of the Sleepy chocolates, but during our Panama Canal cruise we only got Ghirardelli chocolates and they were all put to good use. ;) Oh, and those Easter chocolates were yummy too!

I hope you and Tom have had a restful and fun holiday. When do you go back to school? How many "holiday" days does Tom receive? Here, in the states, postal workers only receive two, my spouse who works for the state of Michigan (public health), receives four.

Thank you! Yes, we had a lovely Christmas and I even got a week more, falling ill the week before Christmas. ::yes::
We go back to school on the first weekday after January 6 (3 Kings, which is observed here) and we started our Christmas vacation on the 23rd of December.
As for Tom ....... well, I think, it was not discussed on this thread a lot, but he retired August 1st of this year and we left for our vacation on the 3rd. :woohoo: He was very happy his retirement went through, even though he did not retire at the usual retirement age.
He has been on sickleave (with back pain) for the last 18 months (he got his full pay though), but it was hard to sneak away and we were not sure we would have to cancel our summer trip (did you check out that TR), but thankfully he got word that his retirement was going into effect about 6 weeks prior to us leaving. party:


How many winter holidays do you have from the school system. I, working at a college, receive two weeks... but since classes have to be up and ready by Jan 5th and since staffing and scheduling (one of my hats) has to be ready Jan 3rd, then I do not "really" have two weeks. BUT, I can do the scheduling and staffing from the comfort of home so no complaints here.

We get two weeks off for Christmas and a week for half term in February. But I am not complaining as we have lots of days off in between since all the catholic holidays are observed. And there is no preparation or anything here. We work a lot at home and only spend the hours we teach at school, so some days I only drive there at noon and get off at half past two. ;)

The water on CC is so gorgeous! Makes me want to book another cruise that's going there immediately.

It definitely is a beautiful island and we cannot wait to return in August, even though we cancelled the second one. I wonder how we will like our "old" itinerary (we used to stay on for three or four cruises before the Fantasy went into service).

Dinner looks lovely. The drawing show in AP is lots of fun. There's just nothing like being on a cruise :cloud9:

The drawing thing would be even more fun if I could draw. :rotfl2:But Tom is pretty good at it and he draws a lovely Mickey and Minnie. Could not agree with you more on the last sentence - well, maybe if you are able to do Food and Wine. ;)

I didn't realize that the Magic got the new update to the Animator's show. Looks like a nice last night on the ship.

Yes, they are doing the drawing show and the Magic now too. And even though we had a lovely last evening - having to get off the ship is never fun. ;)
 
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Day 9, April 5

Happy Easter! - Part 1


We were up early, as we wanted to make most of the remaining time we had at WDW.

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So shortly before 7am we were ready and headed up to Cabanas for breakfast. We just wanted to have enough “fuel” to get us going until we arrived at WDW, where we had planned to enjoy an Easter brunch. So I just put some scrambled eggs and bacon and two pancakes with some stewed strawberries and whipped cream on my plate, while Tom got scrambled eggs, bacon, corned beef hash, a hash brown and some toast.

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We quickly found a table and Tom went to get some Diet Coke and when he returned we discovered that our Palo server was looking after our section, so we quickly exchanged a few words. It was pretty busy and hectic, so as soon as we had finished our breakfast we left, headed back to our stateroom

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for a quick restroom break

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and by 7.30 we were rolling our carry-ons towards the aft elevator, went down to the lobby, turned around for a last look

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and then headed off the ship. There was a bit of a line to sign off, but we very quickly found ourselves in the customs area and asked a porter for help with our suitcases. Going through customs was a breeze and soon we were heading across the street and into the parking garage. We tipped the porter and loaded everything into the trunk which needed a bit of reshuffling of things as we had left a few things, we did not need on the cruise, in the trunk.
But shortly after 8am we were on our way.
There is a tradition, which is to drive back and wave goodbye to the ship and this time there was no exception. Tom turned around and we went back, said goodbye and then we were finally off.

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Traffic was light and we made good progress


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and shortly after 9am we were driving under the welcoming Walt Disney World arch.

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It did not take long and we arrived at our destination, the Contemporary Resort for Easter Brunch at The Wave. There was a long line of cars and most cars got turned around right after entering the resort, but with the ADR we did not have a problem to be welcomed in and we soon had our car parked and were heading towards the resort. We still had a little time to kill before we could check in, so we walked around the resort, where we had seen quite a few people. There was an Easter Egg hunt going on and kids were doing activities,

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so we stopped and watched for a while. Then we headed inside, took a quick restroom break and signed in for our reservation.

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We were asked to take a seat and told it might take about 15 – 20 minutes, but after 10 minutes we were called and led to a table.

To be continued ..........
 
Last mornings are much more palatable when you have some Disney time coming up. Well done for getting up so early! Sounds like a super smooth disembarkation.

Lovely to have Easter Brunch at Disney. I see my favorite Chipmunks in cute outfits :)
 
Last mornings are much more palatable when you have some Disney time coming up. Well done for getting up so early! Sounds like a super smooth disembarkation.

That is true, but if you only have a day and a half .............:sad2: And getting off the ship was far easier than the last time. ;)

Lovely to have Easter Brunch at Disney. I see my favorite Chipmunks in cute outfits :)

I had only found out that The Wave offered brunch a few weeks before we went. And it was the perfect treat. :thumbsup2
 
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Day 9, April 5

Happy Easter! - Part 2


We were asked to take a seat and told it might take about 15 – 20 minutes, but after 10 minutes we were called and led to a table. The server was there nearly right away and we ordered some drinks and were told where to find what and then he told us to help ourselves, while he was going to get our drinks. Well, we did exactly as we had been told, but first we went to take some photos of the goodies.

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They had regular breakfast food where the buffet usually is.

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And on the opposite side there were hot breakfast items. Then we walked a little further and there was an omlette kitchen, a carving station and an

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antipasti station, as well as a

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large selection of desserts. Photos done we went to grab plates and started at the breakfast station. It was easy to fill our two plates with yummies. Tom got some

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scrambled eggs, sausages and bacon, some cheesy potatoes, an Egg Benedict and an Egg Muffin while I had taken some

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scrambled eggs, an anemic looking sausage, grits and cheese potatoes, an Egg Benedict and an Egg-white Fritatta and soon we found ourselves sitting at the table again and tasting away. Everything was really good apart from the egg white soufflé, which was really under-seasoned and was left on the plate. And off we went to try some other things. Tom got some

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Feta cheese and some hard cheese, marinated olives, Prosciutto and Sopresa, carved Ham and some carved Roastbeef. He picked up some Pitta Bread as well, as some sauces, one being an orange based one and the other was a Mint sauce. There was so much to choose from and I was already starting to get full, but what do you do? So I got some

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Pitta Bread, olives, Feta and a piece of Brie as well as some Sopresa, some carved Ham and some freshly carved Roastbeef. I choose the horseradish sauce so we had all three to try. We headed back to our seats and started tasting away and everything was really really nice. It took us quite a while to finish everything off and there was still dessert to conquer. Tom got himself a

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Sugar Cookie and a Chocolate Chip one, a mini Muffin and a Fruit Tart. I had picked some of the other goodies, a piece of

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Carrot Cake, and a Chocolate Cake, a piece of a Crumble Cake and another piece of Chocolate Cake. The Crumble and Carrot Cake were my favourites, the chocolate ones were a bit too much on the sweet side. We were more than just stuffed when we paid our bill and rolled out of The Wave.

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We strolled through the Contemporary and headed up to the Monorail, but the station was just filled with too many people so we headed outside and walked over to the Magic Kingdom,

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or at least we joined the masses who were heading over there. We finally reached bag check and the turn styles and soon we were inside the Magic Kingdom.

To be continued ..........
 
Tom and I would like to wish all our friends here on the DISboards a very
Happy New Year!

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May 2017 only bring happiness and joy and lots of Disney fun!
 

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