Just Relaxin’ on the Wonder – Nowhere, Nothing, Nada. - Complete! and Final Thoughts

[bobbiwoz]

You write a great report!

I love the lamb at Palo!

Bobbi

 

[franandaj]

Just before 10AM we headed up to Palo for our last Brunch of the cruise.





Hristo was our server yet again, he is so attentive and such a great server. Plus he is a nice guy as well.



You’ve already seen the spread in the first brunch post so this time I just cut to the chase. Here is my first plate.



And Fran’s first plate, notice that we have both stopped on the “cutting down” part. Now it’s “time to cut loose!”



And of course she has a strawberry soup!



And there is the second strawberry soup. You can tell because her plate in the background is now practically empty!



I had an Eggs Florentine. I love spinach, and sometimes this is the perfect alternative for me for an Eggs Benedict.



Doesn’t that look yummy? Yolk cooked to perfection!



Fran, on the other hand went for the traditional benedict. They also offer one with salmon too.



And I couldn’t eat here without having their wonderful Chicken Parmesan.



Fran went for the pancakes with the Rum Syrup.



And then I had the Veal Saltimbocca. I think I split this with Fran and she had visited the restroom when it arrived. I was tempted to eat the whole thing, but I saved half for her.



Strawberry Soup #3, for those who are counting.



And a dessert plate for us to share. Remember I said on the first brunch that we were trying NOT to overeat this cruise? Well, we couldn’t help it and as you can that all went out the window on this second Palo Brunch!



Evidently I didn’t get enough for her, because she went back and got another plate!



After our Palo Brunch we had a Chocolate Tasting. Why does it always seem to work out that way? I rushed off to get us some seats while Fran settled up the bill. These were the different spirits that we would be tasting today along with chocolate.







And our instructor. I believe that he was the chief Sommelier on the ship.



Now we’ve done a number of these chocolate tastings, and it’s funny because we usually have the same drinks with each one, but the Sommelier pairs everything completely differently. If you look at the match up in this photo you will see that the White Chocolate is paired with the Tattinger champagne, The Lasseter Amoureux is paired with four different kinds of chocolate. The port wine is paired with Parmesan Cheese, and the Glenmorangie Whiskey ($800 per bottle) is paired with a milk chocolate.



In the past things have been paired totally differently, we’ve had the white chocolate with the Whiskey, the Parmesan with the Port, and milk chocolate with the champagne and a dark chocolate with the red wine, among the different combinations. The funny thing is that each Sommelier who runs the tasting has a good reason for every pairing, and when they are telling it to you it makes sense. I guess the bottom line is that you need to keep an open mind and enjoy each pairing. Everyone here sure did!



Here’s a closer look at all the beverages we tasted.







After the chocolate tasting we went back to the room to start packing. We were going to need to disembark the ship the next day and we needed to get packing.

 

[rentayenta]

Yay! I found it!

Your grapes and cheese are touching.

The chocolate tasting sounds amazing! Michael would love that. $800 for a bottle of whiskey.

How's the risotto with the chicken Parm? I am a risotto snob. One of these days you'll have to try Michael's.

 

[franandaj]

Yay! I found it!

Your grapes and cheese are touching.

Yay! I noticed that too when I was proofing the post. But grapes don't have any kind of sauce that would taint the flavor of the cheese.

The chocolate tasting sounds amazing! Michael would love that. $800 for a bottle of whiskey.

I really love doing it, so yummy! And fun to try all the different tastes together. I had to ask if I heard the $800 price on the Whiskey correctly!

How's the risotto with the chicken Parm? I am a risotto snob. One of these days you'll have to try Michael's.

The risotto is so good, It's just as big a part of the package as the Chicken Parm. I really look forward to getting to taste his risotto someday!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I'll be looking forward to that TR and you C2C TR as well.

I will start the coast to coast trip report the first Sunday in the new year. I have been busy pre-typing this. I am on day 8 at the moment and hope that I will get the California part all typed up this side of New Year.

You probably watched more Disney movies that night than I have watched on all our cruises taken together. I enjoyed the sunrise photos again.

Brunch looked amazing. You did really go all out this time. I am impressed that you still were able to do the chocolate tasting after this. This is still on my bucket list. The pairings did make sense to me, but I can see how different people have different opinions on this.

Corinna

 

[cruisehopeful]

I think with this particular menu I will be going with the pursettes as an entree until they put something more appealing on the entree list.

Can you describe it more? I've seen one person say it was filled with cheese, but another said the name of it was truffle pursettes which led me to believe it was filled with truffle mushrooms. If it isn't filled with mushrooms, it will probably become my entree, also.

 

[rentayenta]

Yay! I noticed that too when I was proofing the post. But grapes don't have any kind of sauce that would taint the flavor of the cheese.



I really love doing it, so yummy! And fun to try all the different tastes together. I had to ask if I heard the $800 price on the Whiskey correctly!



The risotto is so good, It's just as big a part of the package as the Chicken Parm. I really look forward to getting to taste his risotto someday!

I figured the no sauce made it acceptable. The risotto looks really good. We had some at CraftSteak in Vegas and I was very disappointed especially considering the price.

One day friend, one day. I hope sooner than later.

 

[franandaj]

I will start the coast to coast trip report the first Sunday in the new year. I have been busy pre-typing this. I am on day 8 at the moment and hope that I will get the California part all typed up this side of New Year.

I'm in the same boat, but I'm not sure that I can wait to start it. There may be a link to a new TR here in the near future.

You probably watched more Disney movies that night than I have watched on all our cruises taken together. I enjoyed the sunrise photos again.

Well technically I didn't really watch any of them except for 101 Dalmations. At home we sleep with the TV so I like to have sound going on in the background. I know that I did in fact sleep through all the Toy Storys.

Brunch looked amazing. You did really go all out this time. I am impressed that you still were able to do the chocolate tasting after this. This is still on my bucket list. The pairings did make sense to me, but I can see how different people have different opinions on this.

I didn't eat a lot of the chocolate, but then again they didn't give us much either, so that worked out OK.

Can you describe it more? I've seen one person say it was filled with cheese, but another said the name of it was truffle pursettes which led me to believe it was filled with truffle mushrooms. If it isn't filled with mushrooms, it will probably become my entree, also.

I think I mentioned somewhere earlier that they are just odd shaped cheese raviolis the truffle part is the truffle oil in the champagne sauce. They also sprinkle the pasta with shaved truffles.

I figured the no sauce made it acceptable. The risotto looks really good. We had some at CraftSteak in Vegas and I was very disappointed especially considering the price.

One day friend, one day. I hope sooner than later.

Yup, as long as both ingredients are "dry" they're OK. I remember you telling me about that Vegas experience. I've been known to make a pretty decent risotto myself. Trained by Chef Sutton himself.

 

[franandaj]

You write a great report!

I love the lamb at Palo!

Bobbi

Thanks Bobbi! You snuck in there when I wasn't paying attention!

 

[franandaj]

OK, I couldn't resist.....New Trip Report!

http://www.disboards.com/threads/the-75-all-new-trip.3470766/#post-54896312

 

[mvf-m11c]

Your sunset photos are very nice.

The brunch at Palo looks very nice and appetizing. The chocolate tasting sounds very interesting to try along with all those different drinks.

 

[ACDSNY]

Beautiful sunrise pics I'm usually sleeping through those.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I'm in the same boat, but I'm not sure that I can wait to start it. There may be a link to a new TR here in the near future.

I am looking forward to it. I am getting a brand new team in the new year and I am not entirely sure what to expect so I thought I better be organized before I start posting this. That way if there are teething problems that are taking up a lot of my spare time, I will still have updates at the ready.

Corinna

 

[pkondz]

In this instance our server took the photo. We did buy the photo package on the cruise, but the character handlers will also take photos with your camera at the photo ops. The ones that the photographers take come out better.

Ah. I wasn't sure if a PP came around the dining room and did it or not.

At Palo everything is cooked to perfection! We don't normally order calamari except at higher end restaurants so it's usually good when I've had it. Where have you had it overcooked?

Oh geez, I don't remember. I remember having some very good calamari in Toronto in the Greek area.
But I also remember having it here in town (and a couple other spots that I don't remember) where it was rubbery.

I woke up again in the middle of the night and either 101 Dalmations

Were running through your room!?!?!?

was on

Oh.

I found Toy Story on the Pixar channel and mostly slept through it as well as Toy Story 2 & 3.

That's a good 6 hours of sleep, right there.

38 pictures later, you can see it peeking out from the horizon.

38 pictures later...

Anyone wanting to see all 100 can contact my secretary

Because 38 wasn't enough!

Just before 10AM we headed up to Palo for our last Brunch of the cruise.

I'm beginning to really like this Palo.

Here is my first plate.

nom nom nom

notice that we have both stopped on the “cutting down” part. Now it’s “time to cut loose!”

I don't know how you lasted this long.

And of course she has a strawberry soup!

But of course.
There are some things that shouldn't be messed with.

I had an Eggs Florentine. I love spinach, and sometimes this is the perfect alternative for me for an Eggs Benedict.

I'm the opposite. Don't care for spinach.
Love bennies though.

Doesn’t that look yummy? Yolk cooked to perfection!

Spinach, no. Egg, yes!

Wait! Wait! Hold the phone!
Is that extra hollandaise sauce????

I was tempted to eat the whole thing, but I saved half for her.

Eat it!!!!!

Strawberry Soup #3, for those who are counting.

Counting? no.
Drooling?....

The funny thing is that each Sommelier who runs the tasting has a good reason for every pairing, and when they are telling it to you it makes sense. I guess the bottom line is that you need to keep an open mind and enjoy each pairing.

I think the bottom line is.
"Does this taste good? Yes or no?"

 

[franandaj]

Your sunset photos are very nice.

The brunch at Palo looks very nice and appetizing. The chocolate tasting sounds very interesting to try along with all those different drinks.

Thanks Bret! Brunch at Palo is always wonderful. I also enjoy the chocolate tastings, I just wish they were on separate days, but it never works out that way!

Beautiful sunrise pics I'm usually sleeping through those.

At home I would be too. But then I have a 14ft or something like that fence that keeps me from seeing sunrises anyways. I guess that could actually be something I could say that is not good about the new house. We can't really see the sunrise or sunset. However if that'sthe only thing I can come up with after a year and a half, I think we like the new house pretty well!

I am looking forward to it. I am getting a brand new team in the new year and I am not entirely sure what to expect so I thought I better be organized before I start posting this. That way if there are teething problems that are taking up a lot of my spare time, I will still have updates at the ready.

Corinna

I hope your new team works out well! I am guessing that we will be busy after the new year since we haven't done jack on the old house since we have been home.

 

[afwdwfan]

At home all there is to sleep through is World News Now.

But that is boring enough that it never fails to put me to sleep.

All in all, again I took over 100 photos, and just showed you the top 16 which show the progression.

Well, I guess one benefit of not sleeping on the cruise is the fact that you get to see the sunrise everyday and perfect your photography skills.

Hristo was our server yet again, he is so attentive and such a great server. Plus he is a nice guy as well.

It really is neat that you have this ongoing relationship with him over multiple cruises.

And Fran’s first plate, notice that we have both stopped on the “cutting down” part. Now it’s “time to cut loose!”

There's really no point in even trying to cut down.

And of course she has a strawberry soup!

Of course!

After our Palo Brunch we had a Chocolate Tasting. Why does it always seem to work out that way?

Who planned this?

Glenmorangie Whiskey ($800 per bottle) is paired with a milk chocolate.

Whiskey and milk chocolate... my 2 favorite food groups.

I guess the bottom line is that you need to keep an open mind and enjoy each pairing. Everyone here sure did!

Good point! Looks like a fun tasting!

 

[dizneeat]

All caught up! FAR too much to comment on, but I just LOVE your Palo experiences - brings back lots of good memories.

 

[franandaj]

Ah. I wasn't sure if a PP came around the dining room and did it or not.

They have been known to. I have a picture that they took on our 2012 cruise, and on the new report, you'll also see one from the MDR. Well, that is if you join in over there.

Oh geez, I don't remember. I remember having some very good calamari in Toronto in the Greek area.
But I also remember having it here in town (and a couple other spots that I don't remember) where it was rubbery.

I have had rubbery Calamari come to think of it, but most of the time that we order it we are in a pretty reputable place.

Were running through your room!?!?!?

Oh.

Cats yes, Dogs no. I even have two dalmation cats who have been known to run through my room.

That's a good 6 hours of sleep, right there.

Pretty much, and actually I don't really know if Toy Story 2 played because I fell asleep during the first one and woke up in the trash compactor scene of the third one, I just assumed based on the time that they were shown in order.

38 pictures later...

Because 38 wasn't enough!

I'm beginning to really like this Palo.

As well you should, I am quite fond of the place

nom nom nom

I don't know how you lasted this long.

But of course.
There are some things that shouldn't be messed with.

Strawberry Soup is one of those!

I'm the opposite. Don't care for spinach.
Love bennies though.

Spinach, no. Egg, yes!

Well the spinach lulls me into a false sense of being healthy!

Wait! Wait! Hold the phone!
Is that extra hollandaise sauce????

Yes it is. Mine did not come with Hollandaise, it had some other sort of champagne sauce, so he brought the extra hollandaise in case I wanted it on my eggs. I think Fran ended up using it.

Eat it!!!!!

I was too full!

Counting? no.
Drooling?....

I think the bottom line is.
"Does this taste good? Yes or no?"

Well then the answer would always be yes!

But that is boring enough that it never fails to put me to sleep.

Pretty much, except when they play the "World News Polka".

Well, I guess one benefit of not sleeping on the cruise is the fact that you get to see the sunrise everyday and perfect your photography skills.

I do sleep, just in strange little spurts.

It really is neat that you have this ongoing relationship with him over multiple cruises.

It is cool. A lot of people develop these friendships with servers and bartenders, well that is people who cruise a lot.

There's really no point in even trying to cut down.

I know. On my next trip, we threw it all out the window!

Of course!

What is a trip without Strawberry Soup?

Who planned this?

and it ALWAYS works out this way!

Whiskey and milk chocolate... my 2 favorite food groups.

Works for me!

Good point! Looks like a fun tasting!

One of my all time favorites!

All caught up! FAR too much to comment on, but I just LOVE your Palo experiences - brings back lots of good memories.

I can't wait to do it again! Only six months and about 6 days, but not that I'm counting!

 

[franandaj]

Just a note for my faithful readers, I'm sorry if I'm updating rather quickly, but at this point I now have three different trip reports going and it's a little crazy to keep track of it. So I'm sort of pushing ahead with this one, especially since we're on the last full day of the trip. Please feel free to join me here for the new adventures!

We were on our way back to the room to get packing, but first some shots on our way back to the room. Notice how peaceful and empty that this room is, and it’s not unusual for the Wonder.













After I did some packing, Fran urged me to take the “Art of the Theme Ship tour” which I have wanted to try for quite some time. We decided to meet up for Final Jackpot Bingo after the tour. She would pick up our handsets while I went on the tour. The tour started off in Palo.



She told us stories about the building of the ship in Northern Italy. These masks were made near the shipyard where the ships were built. The imagineers liked the idea of decorating Palo with them. So they went to order the masks and there was something to the story about the store keeper telling them to go next door to the “Paper store” and have a look around while they prepared the masks. It turned out that the same merchant who owned the mask store also owned the paper store. By the end of it all the menus, and leather covers for the menus for the restaurant were ordered from the same merchant.



After some more information about Palo, which eludes me right now, we went down to Deck 5 to the Buena Vista Theater. This theater is reminiscent of the Carthay Circle Theater where Snow White Premiered.



One of the things about a circa 1930’s theater was that they did not have cupholders back then, so there are no cupholders in the theater. We weren’t able to go in as a movie was showing, but a lot of the theater was also decorated with an Art Nouveau theme. Here are some nostalgic pictures hanging outside the theater. This is the Carthay Theater.



This is a shot of the Pantages back in the day. Thanks to Disney it was restored in all it’s grandeur as a stage show theater for the opening of the Lion King in LA. Now it is a thriving location for all sorts of traveling productions. We see several musicals here each year, in fact we were just there to see If/Then.



We stopped outside Flounder’s Reef, and she explained about how they had never envisioned that anyone would bring infants aboard the ship, but evidently they get quite a few babies between 6 months and 3 years old. Originally Flounder’s reef was a kitchen for the kids club, where they could prepare specialty meals for the kids at the club, but when they needed the space for the infants, the specialty kitchen was history.

Next we walked down the hallways where they had images of all the semaphore flags, they were listed from A to Z, and had an example of each letter as it is used at the beginning of a word. And then we reached the Atrium, she explained that Deck 3 has a very high ceiling, Deck 4 has a fairly normal sized ceiling, somewhat high, but Deck 5 has a slightly lower ceiling, and that’s not only to help the forced perspective in the Atrium, but also to make the kids feel a little better. They are more comfortable in spaces where they feel bigger and taller, so the ceiling height is on purpose.

The we looked at the Chandelier. It is a Chihuly, and the last one remaining on a Disney ship. Evidently this is a very Art Nouveau style sculpture, the reason that they replaced the one on the Magic is because that ship is Art Deco, and the new Chandelier is supposedly more in the Art Deco style. Whatever.



We went down to the Walt Disney Theater and I don’t remember what we talked about there, but she did mention that the picture of Walt in Preludes has been altered (this picture is from earlier in the TR) but if you look at his hand in the foreground, a cigarette has been photoshopped out of the picture. I couldn’t show that picture during the tour as you will see in a moment!



We moved on through Preludes where there was a photo op with Jack and Sally that had taken place right after the Nightmare Before Christmas Sing and Scream.



We moved on into the Hallway between the two Gift shops and she pointed out this sign, which spells Disney in Semaphore.



And this was our tour guide.



Then we went down to Deck 3. As we passed through Route 66 she mentioned that one of the “Billboards” had a picture of Walt on it. I meant to go back and get a picture, but forgot. Then we moved into Diversions where I split off from the group. Fran had saved me a spot at Bingo and it was going to be starting soon. I didn’t get any pictures, but the room was completely packed, it was standing room only. Everyone who had played Bingo before on the ship was evidently there! I didn’t win anything this time, but we had fun.

After Bingo we went out to meet Daisy Duck. Once thing about photographs on the Wonder is that the last day the PP Photographers aren’t out any more. If you want any pictures you have to bring your own camera and the handlers take the pictures for you. We were mostly waiting in lines to get the most of our picture package, so after Daisy, we didn’t bother to wait for any more characters.









And then I got my last DotD for the Cruise.





And a snack since it was at least four more hours until dinner.





I captured this Sunset from our Verandah.





[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

Tonight was our last night on the ship. While we had a great time, we were ready to get off the ship, otherwise it would have been 14 more days and we would be getting off the ship in Galveston! We spent most of the afternoon packing up our bags and getting them ready to set outside the stateroom door. Just after 8PM we headed down to dinner for the “Til we meet again..” menu.

I thought I knew what to expect, and was all set to order the same thing I had last time, but much to my surprise, they had completely changed the menu!









I started off with the Tomato Caprese (big surprise!)



Fran had the Grilled Potato and Goat Cheese Napoleon



We both ordered the Lobster Bisque. It was good, but I let Fran finish mine, she really likes Lobster Bisque, I’m OK with it, but not a huge fan.





Fran got the Baked Filet of Beef Wellington, she really likes this dish and gets it any time it is on a menu.



My dish was the surprise of the entire cruise. It was new to the menu. Tandoori Lamb Duo. There are plenty of Crew Members on the ships of Indian Descent, and I have heard that often times, when vegans are cruising, if there is no option on the menu, the chefs will sometimes make them some amazing Indian food from home recipes. I guess finally they decided to put something on the menu, though this was definitely not vegan! I love Indian food, and this dish was so tasty! I ordered another serving of the Raita, and ate every bite on my plate!



Then we received the dessert menu.





Fran went with the Baked Alaska



While I had a Mickey Bar. I knew it would be a while before I got another one of these!



And then it was sad, we went back to our lovely spacious room for the last time. We packed up the last of our clothes, making sure to reserve something to wear the next day! We placed our suitcases outside the door and went to bed.