Wonderful B2B on the Wonder from Galveston - 11/6/15 & 11/13/15 - COMPLETED

[ukintheus]

Back in our stateroom we continued our long time tradition of sitting on our verandah watching all the activities below.



We noticed that there was quite a bit of erosion on the shoreline that hasn't been improved, maybe from the hurricane?



And all too soon we were pulling out of the dock and heading back out to sea.



So the verdict on the cabana question, "is it worth the money?"? If you have that kind of money, then it's worth it. I wouldn't prioritize it over doing excursions in other ports, but we thoroughly enjoyed it and even though Serenity Bay was really quiet and not busy, having our own private space was a really nice special treat.

We watched the island fade into the distance while enjoying a nice cold glass of wine.



We had decided last night that we were going to skip the dining room tonight as the pirate party and fireworks were going to be at 7:30 pm, and we'd given our servers and our table mates the heads-up we wouldn't be there. We took showers and did a quick pixie dust candy distribution to the stateroom hosts on our floor and then went to Beach Blanket for dinner.

We both had the pot stickers, which were good and came out very quickly.



We also made a salad at the salad bar, which was something I didn’t know they had and we really enjoyed that. I would go back just for the chance to make my own salad.

Mine....you should know by now how I can tell.



Scott's...don't be fooled, that's cubes of meat.



Then I had the beef sirloin and Scott had chicken breast.





We decided to skip dessert and went to find OWayne and give him a tip for being our personal chauffeur for the day. After chatting with him for a bit we went to deck 10 to find a spot for the pirate party. It was already pretty crowded and by 7:45 it was absolute packed.





I love the fact that Mickey still zip lines to save the day.



We hadn't seen the fireworks in quite a while so it was fun to watch them. We noticed several small ships/boats out in the distance that seemed like they were out there just to see the fireworks.







It was busy after the fireworks ended with people needing to leave to get to second seating dining as it was just gone 8:15 pm. We went back to our cabin and had an early night.....boring!!

Piedad had left us this....there was a note making sure that everyone knew that all aboard tomorrow was early.



This whole itinerary had been changed so many times, I think even the crew weren't sure where and when we were supposed to be in port! Tomorrow we were due to be in Nassau. Arriving early at 7:30 am but also leaving early - all aboard was 12:15 pm. It made it difficult for people wanting to schedule excursions.

We also had this little guy hanging around. It was cute to get something that wasn't a monkey on Pirate Night.



Neither of us were feeling great, just enough of a cold for both of us to make us under the weather and we hadn't slept well in several days. We watched TV for a little while and both of us fell asleep early.

 

[ukintheus]

Day 12 - Nassau

We were due to dock in Nassau very early and I got up at 6:30 am and we were almost docked.



I decided to go back to bed as we had nothing planned for today and we had both slept really well the night before. Do you see a pattern here? Nosey Rosey has to get up and see what's going on, but Nosey Rosey also wants to still be sleeping.

At about 8:30 we decided to get up and go and get coffee. As we got to deck 10 the Dream was pulling in next to us and there were lots of crew and guests all up on deck to watch.



We were looking at them, and they were looking at us.





Good opportunity for photos, that's for sure.



They have an upper crew deck on the Dream and Fantasy, above Palo and Remy.



Not many people on the Aquaduck.



It was cool to watch them navigate her in from the bridge.



And finally they were side by side.



We stood there for quite a while watching. The Dream had just come out of dry dock a few weeks earlier and it looked so sparkling and clean compared to the Wonder, who is due for dry dock next year. Of course the Dream showed off by sounding its new horn addition "Do you want to build a snowman" for us, and the Wonder sounded its own horn back. It was really neat to see both ships side by side, and also see how excited some of the crew were to see friends on the other ship and wave to them. Even the cruise directors got in on it and started talking to each other over the ship's PA system. Fun!







The crew of the Wonder had been told they could go onto the Dream and look around, but every single CM we spoke to said they didn't have enough time off to go, which I thought was a real shame. Both ships had a crew drill while in Nassau.

We sat in Cove Cafe and had a chat with AJohn. He had been outside with us for a long time and kept peering through the glass to see if anyone was waiting inside to be served.

It was weird to look outside, my mind kept wanting to think it was a reflection.



We finally got ourselves moving to get to BBB before it closed for a quick bite of breakfast.

These biscuits were like hockey pucks I think we finally gave up trying to cut them.




The weather looked like it was going to be a nicer day so we took a walk around to see Nassau from the top deck.







As it looked like it was going to be promising weather-wise we decided to go to Cove pool. Along the way we ran into Deana and Mike and chatted to them for a little while. They had gone ashore and completely forgotten to take their wallets with them. Deana said it's way too easy to get used to just swiping your KTTW card for everything, they didn't even think to take "real" money.

We got a couple of loungers in the shade at Cove pool and plonked ourselves down. I decided to be very optimistic and went back to the cabin to put on my bathing suit. It began to fill up as obviously lots of people had decided to not get off the ship with the all ashore at 7 am and all aboard at 12:15 pm.



We got a morning special Bloody Mary and relaxed while looking at the Dream next door.



It was weird to see the smoke stacks next to us and we saw lots of crew on the Dream standing by the rail looking over.



We both read our books and I got caught up with my trip report. I had promised myself I would try and keep up with it frequently but I kept forgetting!

Then a Bahama Mama and beer appeared....





At about 1 pm we got underway and we watched from our chairs in Cove. The Wonder and the Dream both did a little horn battle. It got really windy right after we pulled out and everyone was grabbing things as they flew around - even a pair of flip flops from deck 10 came flying over.

Blue sky!! Finally!!



We got chatting to a lady that sat next to us for a little while, who turned out to be friends of someone from the online group, then we figured out that whole section of Cove was all online peeps!

Selkie was performing poolside, it was quite the happening spot, lots of talking, laughing and everyone seemed to really be enjoying themselves. Sometimes the adult area can be very quiet...today....not so much!





Scott went and got us a sandwich from Goofys and we split an order of fries. The wind died down after about an hour. At about 4 pm we decided to head back to the room but not without grabbing a pretzel and some pizza from Pinnochios first. The pretzels are already gone by the time we make it to the room.....here's the wrapper though!



Piedad had left us this notice. Because of the screwy schedule of this itinerary we were going to Key West AFTER we had been in the Bahamas, which meant that everyone had to clear immigration regardless of whether you were getting off the ship or not. Like I said, screwy....but there you have it. The notice was telling you where and when you had to be at immigration but the good news was that they were coming onto the ship.



We watched a couple of movies and waited to see if there would be a pretty sunset but if there was we missed it. Dinner tonight was Captains Gala, semi formal night, and we were back in Tritons. We got down to dinner a little after 8:15. Corby and Michelle were already seated and we had a nice chat with Nenad who showed us photos that Ashli had sent him and also pictures of his 4 year old little girl who was adorable.

Here's the snap of the night from Scott...Nenad was trying to not have the flash blind him.



And apparently I had incorrectly assumed that because it was Captains Gala that it was semi formal night, but instead it was cruise casual, oops. Oh well, we looked nice.

Both of us pretty much had the same thing. Fennel and smoked salmon salad and then lobster. Scott also had shrimp for an appetizer.


This was on the menu under salads. It was "advertised" as fennel and smoked salmon. It was really just smoked salmon with a small bit of fennel on top. Neither Scott or I are big fans of smoked salmon, so we didn't eat much of it.



The lobster was really good. It's one of my favorite menus tonight.



Alvito told us that he had been told they could release him a week early, so he was going to be leaving the ship on Friday when we we got to Galveston. He was very happy. He was going back to India for an extended visit of more than 6 months as it was the one year anniversary of his father's passing which has special significance for his culture. I can't remember how long he said he had worked for DCL, but it was a LONG time.

We got finished at just gone 10 pm and went to guest services to apply our Disney Rewards credit to our account. Back in the cabin we had our towel animal waiting for us.



Scott put on the TV and stayed up pretty late. Thanks honey. My face probably looked something like this at one point. It was about 12:30 when I finally got to sleep.

 

[ukintheus]

Day 13 - Key West

I had set the alarm for 7:30 am for us to go to immigration. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day in Key West and we had already arrived. There was a rainbow in the clouds this morning.





As I don't have a US Passport we had to be in Wavebands by 8 am. We did a quick get ready of brushing teeth, washing face, grabbing clothes and got there about 8:50 and they processed us very quickly. It was actually really painless and I wish they would always do it onboard so that we don't have to deal with the lines after getting off.

We headed back to our cabin and dropped our passports and then tried to go into Tritons but they were asking people to share tables and we just didn't feel like making small talk with strangers this morning so we headed back to Parrot Cay. The line was really long there, so up to Beach Blanket it was. On the way up the stairs we ran into Goofy who was wearing his pajamas and was extremely tired. He had to take a quick nap before he could continue.





Beach Blanket had a small line but it wasn't bad at all compared to the two dining rooms.

Mickey waffles for me



Scott had a mix of stuff.



We saw Mehmet and Nenad working up here. Nenad had a sore throat starting and so I offered to get him some OTC meds at CVS as he didn't have any time off today to get off the ship. We went back to our cabin and gathered some things and got off the ship at about 9:20 am. It was nice to be docked right next to Mallory Square. Our other trips to Key West from Galveston have had us at Navy Mole and you have to shuttle. Walking off the ship and being right in town is much nicer.



We stopped at CVS first and picked up a few things and then went to Starbucks to guy a gift card for Susana as she loves their coffee. The coffee available in the crew mess isn't great, plus she can use wifi there. Starbucks is usually a good bet for CMs gifts, most of them go there at some point.



We saw a sign pointing to a public beach so decided to go and check it out. It wasn't really a beach, just a small patch of sand and a small pier between condos/hotels/apartments.



There were a couple of people getting scuba/snorkeling lessons, and a guy throwing a stick for his dog.



We walked over to the marina and meandered around there.





They had a cute christmas tree made up of lights and fishing bobbers.



We ended up on some side streets just around the corner from the marina which had some interesting things to look at. I loved this nautical totem pole set up.



There was also a brewery that we have put on our "to do" list for next time.



And Scott was fascinated by this bike as Ford haven't made a motorcycle so someone was creative with the blue oval.



We had decided by this point that we were going to walk to Southernmost Point. We had been there before, but didn't take a photo of us there as the lines were long. We figured as we were the only cruise ship in town, today might be a better day for it. Kermit's was really close, and even though we weren't hungry, it was a now or never type deal - and never wasn't an option for me!

Kermit's has a nice garden with a Koi pond in it for a quick sit down while you eat. It's outdoors of course, so you get the full Keys humidity. Notice the new elbow brace from CVS for Scott. He did something to his elbow diving off the high point on our Jamaica falls excursion that had made it super painful anytime he touched it on anything. (As of end December it still is bothering him- don't know what he did! )



We decided to get the regular pie and the chocolate covered frozen one. I also bought some key lime juice, it makes really good margaritas. We both liked the regular pie best and ended up peeling the chocolate off the other one.



Mr. Kermit was outside posing for photographs. I have no clue what his real name is.



We decided to walk down Duval Street but the shop vendors were all outside and being annoying trying to get you to go into their store.



So we dodged over to Whitehead Street instead, which is much, much quieter. We passed this really interesting looking movie theater that had some great oldie movies playing.





The walk along Whitehead isn't too far, I'm guessing just over a mile, and there are some interesting things to see along the way. We just love Key West, it's a mixture of island/beach with southern charm buildings.

We passed this tree, which I think is by the court house, or some type of government building. It's a Kapok tree, and the sign (hopefully you can read it) has all the details about it. Lots of Key West roosters here too, you'd have thought the Hemmingway cats would have taken care of them all by now.







We made it to Southernmost point and the line wasn't too bad. The sun was out though and it was starting to get a bit warm.



People are very accommodating to help everyone get their photos taken, basically you just ask the person behind you or in front of you - everyone does the same thing.



The little boy behind us was telling us about the lizards on the other side of the fence that he had seen. He wasn't kidding! There were two HUGE iguanas sunbathing on the rocks.

 

[ukintheus]

The walk back was nicer as the sun was behind us and we snapped some photos along the way.







We cut through the Truman Annex which is a really pretty residential area to get to the Truman White House. We took a photo but didn't go inside.



This whole area was part of the naval station at one point and the grounds are kept beautifully.



If you continue on the cut through you end up back at the pier and we walked around a little.







We had been determined to go somewhere other than Hogs Breath as we always go there, but it is so convenient and somehow we are drawn there like a couple of moths. LOL. I had a couple of Red Stripes and Scott had a couple of Stella's.



We went to their gift shop and bought some T-shirts and some early Christmas presents and then came back to the ship at about 1 pm.

 

[ukintheus]

We dropped our stuff off in our cabin and got changed into our bathing suits and went up to Cove on deck 9. It was crowded but OWayne (golf cart guy from Castaway Cay) saw us and quickly pulled two loungers together for us, I felt very spoiled, and a touch embarrassed as everyone was searching for chairs and he just pulled two that weren't being used and put them on the end of the row for us! Not embarrassed enough to say no though! LOL



We ordered a bottle of Moët Ice as a special treat for all that walking and relaxed for the afternoon. The weather was beautiful and it was pretty much the same crowd from yesterday at the pool.



At 2 pm the ship sound its horn and then 10 minutes later it sounded it again. I had flashbacks of Falmouth LOL. Then there was an announcement looking for people, and it was quite a few. At 2:35 the ship sounded 3 horns, which seemed to all of us sitting at Cove that it was a "see ya" to those that hadn't made it back on board but we were all relaxed and joking around and nobody had a clue what was really going on, we were just making up stories as we went along.





As we pulled out of port our loungers in the shade became loungers in full sun and we lasted until about 3:15 and then gave up and came back to our cabin. I ran down to guest services to add gratuities for our wonderful servers and cabin host who had made our vacation so special. We sat on the verandah and enjoyed a glass of wine while listening to the waves.



There was a shrimp boat out there bobbing around and, not for the first time, we wish we had remembered our binoculars. .



We got a bit peckish and we'd had a few drinks by now, so food was necessary. I ordered room service and got chicken wings for Scott and the All Hands on Deck cheese plate for me. I asked them for extra crackers and they gave us a lot more!



We also saw this sail boat out there. He seems so small in that big ocean, I don't think I would feel comfortable out there on something so small.





Sunset looked promising tonight so we waited for the sun to go down.







Someone may or may not have fallen asleep while I took photographs.





We had a Palo reservation at 6:30 pm so we got ourselves ready and went to see Susana one last time.



We kept passing this on someone's door, and I finally stopped to take a photo. I don't know why, but it cracked me up that it was hanging out there.



Dinner was amazing tonight...we were truly spoiled rotten.



First up was the usual antipasto.



I had the grilled shrimp, which were delicious and we split a half order of the portobello mushroom.




So, Susana had talked to the chef and he made a couple of dishes tonight especially for us, we felt like we were true VIPs. They all ended up being served to Scott, but we shared everything.

This was calamari that was prepared Mediterranean style instead of the usual fried version. It was unbelievably good, and I don't usually like calamari - it has to be fried for me to eat it usually - but this just melted in your mouth.




And here it is....no caption necessary...



Next up for me was the spicy pappardelle pasta. It was good, and much spicier than I had thought it would be.



Scott was served scallops that were served on a white bean mash with truffle oil , again, amazing.



We both were served the palate cleanser, although neither of us ate much of it, we were already stuffed at this point.



I got the lamb and Scott got the filet.





Somewhere in here I had discovered that I had managed to get a big drop of something on the tablecloth. I knew Susana was going to be coming along any second with her little crumb scooper thingy, and so I disguised it with the cork from the wine and Scott put a piece of rose petal on top of it. This quickly led to utter chaos and we were all laughing and making such a noise I felt for sure we would get kicked out!



We were both so full that we couldn't manage a soufflé so we got a coffee gelato instead, we wanted to share one, but of course that wasn't allowed. LOL Susana decorated it for us, but by the time she served it, it was beginning to melt. Sillyness continued.

 

[ukintheus]

Then Susana presented us with an Anniversary plate and it all clicked in my mind as to why we were getting such special treatment as it was our anniversary a couple of days after we got off the ship. She is so sweet, she had even added her own decorative touch to it with the red and yellow dots and the strawberry.



Then the rose worked it's way on there.



The chef came out a few times and talked to us about the dishes he had made. He was very friendly and we asked him if he would mind if we took a photo with him.



By this time the table had got out of control with rose petals covering all the spills.



And the poor rose looked a bit worse for wear.



We took one final photo with Susana. Note the rose petal she is holding on her waistcoat to hide the button she had just lost. We had such a blast with her tonight, it was a lot of fun and hopefully we didn't disturb the other diners too much.



It was gone 10 pm when we got finished and so we said goodbye to Susana and hurried back to our cabin to grab the sore throat meds we had bought for Nenad to get them to him in Animators Palate before the dining room closed. We found him with a new slick hairdo and he sounded horrible, poor thing. After a quick chat we went to Promenade lounge to get a nightcap to take up to the room and we went to bed. We turned the clocks back tonight so an extra hour in bed for the night sounded really good. It was about 10:30 pm after the clocks went back and we read for a little while while before turning out the lights.

 

[ukintheus]

Day 14 -At Sea

Both of us had a bit of a restless night. There was some thing banging or clunking somewhere around us (we think maybe it was pipes or something) and that woke us up off and on. I was wide awake at 3:30 am and read my book for a little while before falling back to sleep. It was 6:30 when I woke up again but I turned back over and it was gone 8:30 when we finally woke up. We took our time getting up and getting ready and we headed to Cove Cafe to see AJohn for our morning coffee.



We chatted with him for a little while before saying our goodbyes until the next time and we had his coworker take a photo of us all.



We went down to Cove but it was already really busy and we grabbed a couple of loungers in the sun for a little while .... again with the help of OWayne. We ran into some more people from the online group! There were a lot of us on this cruise for sure and I had not done a very good job of keeping up with the group because it was the second group of our B2B and both groups for the two cruises had been really big. Thankfully we had run into them this morning, because they reminded us we had mixology at 2:00 pm today and we'd totally forgotten about it. At 11 am we decided we needed food and so headed to Parrot Cay. Our serving team were in Parrot Cay for an extended breakfast. There were two servers from prior cruises that we had been chatting to all week, Maggie and Onika, both from Trinidad. Nenad was there as well but gave up trying to get us on his table as the ladies were bossing him around. We chatted to both of the ladies for quite and while and caught up with them on what they had been doing since we saw them last. For the first time Nenad was speechless, he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Not super interesting breakfast food, but here it is all the same.





We eventually left and went back to our cabin to pack. We decided we wanted to get it over with early so that we could just enjoy the rest of our day. It's like taking off a bandaid, just get it over with!

Piedad had already left our debarkation forms. I can honestly say that it didn't feel like we had been onboard two weeks, it had gone by soooo fast!



It didn't take us too long and we were finished with the packing. I had read a tip on the DIS a few cruises back to pack your dirty laundry as you go along. It doesn't take long to do, we leave a suitcase open under the bed and just push it in and out, and it takes a LOT of time off packing.



We realized we had an hour and fifteen minutes before our mixology class, so we lazed in front of the TV and I got caught up with my trip report. At about 1:15 pm there was a knock at our door and we were delivered a tube with a glittery bow on it. Inside was a limited edition lithograph of the Wonder inaugural sailing signed by the Captain. It was from Deniece, who we had met at the Platinum & Gold reception, and is the manager of Guest Services. It was really nice and yet another thing that just spoiled us rotten on this trip. We had made out like bandits.

Ugg...another photobucket issue.


We went up to grab a quick bite from Goofy's Galley before our Mixology class.



The private mixology class started at 2 pm in the Cadillac Lounge. It was a really fun group and I think the best mixology we had ever had. We had a a lavender cosmopolitan, a pear vodka kamikaze, a tequila sunrise with blue Curaçao to make it green, a Washington Apple (not our favorite) and a B52.

The cosmo was waiting for us when we got there.




This was about half of us, it was a big group.




The pear vodka kamikazi, which was my favorite by far, and I've been taste testing to recreate it at home.



Blue tequila sunrise



Washington apple, which we didn't really like, it was too sour for us.



Then they picked people to go up and make drinks. Scott and I didn't volunteer this time.









B52 was last and we all attempted to make that one, neither Scott or I managed to get the layers to float correctly.





Aftermath...



After mixology people were talking about bingo and seeing as we had never done it we decide to give it a try. I went to guest services to change a $20 bill for tips at port in the morning and there was something going on in the lobby atrium and so I snapped a few pics. I still don't know what it was.





We went back to Wavebands and bought our bingo cards and sat waiting for the game to begin. Because it was the final big jackpot game it was pretty pricey, I think we paid just over $80 for the two of us to share a machine and get a few cards that you marked.




It was definitely fun and the cruise staff do a good job of making it entertaining.



One of our mixology buddies won the door prize.



Goofy stuff the cruise staff had to do to entertain us.






The mojitos were good.




There was lots of fun competition going on but it probably isn't anything we would do again. We just like to spend our money differently I guess, and neither of us are gamblers at all. We were way more interested in all that was going on around us than the game.

 

[ukintheus]

We came back to our cabin and had an envelope waiting for us in our fish. It was yet ANOTHER suprise. This time from the team at Palo, awarding us a "Magical Moment" certificate....and tucked inside were rose petals.



We sat on the verandah and commiserated with each other that this wonderful trip had to end. We were also gifted with the most beautiful sunset....ahhhhh, life couldn't have got any better at this point.











Out in the distance we could see oil rigs beginning to light up the horizon. That will bring you back to reality in a hurry!

 

[ukintheus]

I needed a bit more stationary, as I had used all of ours on notes to the crew. Piedad gave me some more and we took some photos with her.



We both felt a bit peckish and we still had about and hour and a half before dinner so we went up to deck 9 and shared chicken strips (no photos!) When we got back, Piedad was in our room, so we sat on the verandah while she finished. An early towel animal.



We had about an hour until dinner and Pirates, Dead Mans Chest was on, so we got involved in watching that and I caught up with my trip report. We both took quick showers and went down to dinner. We were in Parrot Cay tonight and our table mates weren't there when we got there, which was unusual, and Alvito told us that they were in Palo tonight.



Goofy photos because it was just the two of us.





Scott ordered ahi tuna, salad and tandoori lamb.







I got Croquettes Brandad, Lobster Bisque and Beef Wellington.








We also got a potatoes Napoleon courtesy of Alvito, but it had goat cheese, so Scott passed on it. I tried it and was surprised that the goat cheese wasn't overpowering at all as I'm not overly fond of it.



And then we also were served this....and for the life of me I don't remember what it was but it was vegetarian and had spinach, tofu and mushrooms. We must have looked hungry tonight!




We chatted a lot with Nenad tonight and had a good time with him, we got his email address so that we could correspond with him in the future. He was just one on those servers that you connect with sometimes and there's no rhyme or reason to it.

Before dessert, our table mates arrived to join us for the end of the evening, although they declined dessert as they had enjoyed a great meal with Susana in Palo. They had only needed one rose petal to cover up their spill faux pas.



Desserts were these, I didn't write down what the raspberry thing is that I had, but Scott had the apple pie.





We did the parade of nations and cheered and waved our napkins to celebrate another wonderful cruise coming to an end.



Nenad with his new hair do....or lack of it.





We said good bye to Alvito as we probably wouldn't see him in the morning before he left the ship.



The Nenad snapshot when he isn't ready for it.



And a photo of the dynamic duo who would probably be friends in the real world if they didn't kill each other by doing something stupid on their pranks first.



We got back to our cabin and did the little bit of last minute packing and after a quick peek out at all the oil rigs in the gulf (I tried to take some photos of all the lights but they didn't come out ) we were in bed by 10:15.

 

[ukintheus]

Day 15 - Back to Galveston

All too soon our vacation was over. We got into Galveston bright and early and not much had changed.

We got up about 7:30 and got ready.





The fueling vessel was already in place.



Over in the distance there was a huge tanker coming into the ship channel going to the Port of Houston.



This oil service ship went by and both of us looked at each other as it reminded us it was almost time to get back to work.



Brown pelicans. There are tons of them along the coastline in Texas.



We left our cabin at 8 am and said our final goodbye's to Piedad who had been so amazing for the past two weeks. We got down the stairs and the lines of people on Deck 3 were crazy so we just waited it out for a bit and got into the dining room at about 8:15.



Both of us ordered the same thing this morning, and the dining room was busy so we didn't bother Nenad too much. He was going to be moving to a server position with Alvito leaving and so had a lot more to do this morning.



And, as it always does, the end comes around all too quickly and they are kicking you off despite the fact you want to live there forever. It didn't take us long to find our bags and we didn't need a porter for them. Immigration was also super-quick because we had technically cleared already in Key West.

By 9:30 am we were on the shuttle bus to go back to the car and I took these last few (sad) pictures as we pulled away from the port.





Another fantastic vacation in the record books and another trip report coming to an end. Although we were sad to leave, we really weren't super-sad because.......as I finish this trip report, we will be back on the Wonder on Monday

We are on the repositioning cruise to San Juan out of Galveston leaving on January 4th with my Mum and sister.

Thanks for all those that followed along and all the kind comments. I had to get this trip report finished in a hurry before we leave and I start on the next one. It's a tough life to be us.

 

[bcwife76]

Oh gosh, can't believe it's over!! but yeah, not feeling super sad for you since you will be back on the Wonder in just a few short days Looking forward to that trip report We were actually considering doing that same cruise January 2017 and the only thing stopping us is the airfare from Puerto Rico to Vancouver so yeah, instead we are on the Bahamas cruise the week before Think I will go back and re read your trip report before our next cruise, you pack it full of so much great information!!

 

[cruisehopeful]

It was crowded but OWayne (golf cart guy from Castaway Cay) saw us and quickly pulled two loungers together for us, I felt very spoiled, and a touch embarrassed as everyone was searching for chairs and he just pulled two that weren't being used and put them on the end of the row for us! Not embarrassed enough to say no though! LOL

So, Susana had talked to the chef and he made a couple of dishes tonight especially for us, we felt like we were true VIPs.

We came back to our cabin and had an envelope waiting for us in our fish. It was yet ANOTHER suprisse. This time from the team at Palo, awarding us a "Magical Moment" certificate....and tucked inside were rose petals.

Lots of special touches and Disney magic for you on this cruise! This is the type of stuff that makes me love the DCL cruises so much and so fearful to try something else.

Another fantastic vacation in the record books and another trip report coming to an end. Although we were sad to leave, we really weren't super-sad because.......as I finish this trip report, we will be back on the Wonder on Monday

Heehee. The Wonder is now officially your vacation home.

 

[cindyzig]

Thank you very much for the wonderful and informative trip report! We were on the 5-day Magic out of Miami the first week of December, and it was our first cruise. We loved it, and we would like a longer cruise and a closer port next time, so the 12/9/16 Wonder 7-day cruise is one we might book this week. I wasn't sure how we would like the Wonder, but your review has made me very excited to sail on this ship. In fact, if we do it a 3rd time (which I am sure we will), I may try to figure out how to do it as a B2B!

 

[mandymouse]

Finally I've got round to finishing off reading your trippy Jenny ... thank goodness Christmas, New Year and all our birthdays are out of the way and normal service has resumed at home

Well what a fab report, it sounds like you've had a great time

Sorry to hear that you were both poorly It's a bummer when that happens, but thankfully it didn't slow you down too much

Love the sparkly shoes

It sounds like you enjoyed your Cabana, your pics are great of it, it's not something we've ever thought of having, but it looks like it was a lovely treat

Well thanks again for sharing, I hope you'll be starting your next trip report very soon

 

[nrexxma44]

Amazing repot!!! again i love your writing style...you have inspired me to write a report on my next cruise!!!

 

[carnationkila]

On our way back down the mountain we ran into Brownie Man!!



The kids couldn't figure out why we didn't take the brownies. We just left it as the fact they were "adult" brownies, the same way there are "adult" beverages. This will be a great photo to tease the kids with when they get older.



We arrived at Scotchies at about 11:45 am. I had read about this restaurant online and it got great reviews for their authentic jerk. Then, top that off with AJohn from Cove giving me all his favorites that he likes to eat, and I was ready for some jerk!! It's in Ocho Rios, and right next to a busy gas station. It doesn't look like much from the outside at all.



Dean came with us and helped us out with ordering. The menu was pretty basic, but bonus for us, it was a Tuesday and so they had ribs in addition to their normal offerings.





The meat is cooked on open pit but over green wood and then covered with tin. It's a massive set up that they have.




We told Dean to just order whatever he thought was good. He ordered chicken, pork and ribs, rice & peas and festival. Here we are patiently waited for our grub to show up.



I had been looking forward to it and it didn't disappoint us at all. It was all really good. Plus we each had another Red Stripe to wash it all down. We all also tried their scotch bonnet sauce which is really hot, but also sweet. Scott got addicted to it.





There was plenty of open air seating, and several different covered patios to choose from to sit at.


The parking lot had so much Bougainvillea in flower, it was really pretty.



Although we could have easily stayed and eaten even more, we eventually left Scotchies and Dean took us back in to the Ocho Rios town center to do a quick bit of shopping.





We wandered around a gift store/duty free place which also doubled as a currency exchange for locals trading in US dollars for Jamaican dollars. It was an interesting place! Dean gave us a hand in finding jerk seasoning and the hot sauce, although we later discovered after we got home that he obviously isn't the shopper in his family, as nothing he pointed out was the right stuff! Scott and I got a bottle of Appleton Rum and we bought some t-shirts for the kids.

When we went to get back into the van, this guy came up to us looking for a couple of dollars for his singing skills. We all forced Ashli to go back out and pose with him. Put him in some black clothes and he would look like he could be from a Pirate movie though, don't you think??



It was time for us to get going and get back to the port as we were beginning to get close on time and still had a decent drive from Ochos to Falmouth. Ashli sat up front and sang along to all the reggae songs.....maybe she snuck a brownie after all?

Back along the same highway - this time without the defogger lines.



It wasn't too long before we could see the Wonder and the Oasis of the Seas docked right next to her. Talk about little and large!



We said goodbye to Dean and thanked him for such a great day. It really was a fantastic experience and Courtney Taylor tours did a great job.



Still flush with our wonderful day, we meandered through the port. There were still tons of people milling about there and it was fairly busy.

(I'm working on trying to get this right side up)


We grabbed a fresh coconut that they opened for you and stuck a straw in to get the coconut milk.



And then when you had finished drinking you could take it back and he cut it open and cut all the meat out of it. It was really, really good.





Jacob had money burning a hole in his pocket but couldn't decide what fresh fruit he wanted to try. He wanted to get something he had never seen before. There was a lot of decision making and he took forever - LOL Even funnier was that he chose star fruit, and then didn't like it because it didn't have any real flavor.



So back to the fruit stand it was after the dud of the star fruit.

So, do you remember me mentioning earlier that we didn't have too much time left when we left Ocho Rios? Yeah, well, we forgot all about that!! While the kids were back looking at the fresh fruit stand for a second time, the horn went off on the ship! It was all aboard time and we hadn't even realized it! Never, ever have we EVER been that late...not even CLOSE to being that late. I told them all that we needed to hurry, and Scott and I walked quickly to get to security, all the while thinking that our friends were right behind us....NOT!!!

Right as we got through the security scanner June came running up to me and was by herself with a security lady chasing after her asking where her sea card was. Double Add into the mix of chaos the fact that there was a line to drop off your alcohol because of the new DCL alcohol policy. I told Scott to deal with the booze and I went back out with June and thankfully Ashli,Glenn and Jacob were just walking up. Apparently June just followed us, and we hadn't realized it. Ashli and Glenn had been in the line of people getting back on the Oasis of the Seas and not realized it. We all rushed through security and got on board without any problems and we weren't the last on by a long shot. It was something we laughed about later, but it was a closer call than we have ever had before and not something I would recommend if you value your heart continuing to beat for the remainder of your vacation! I guess we can say we used every minute of our day in Falmouth for sure.

We got back to our cabins and went out to watch us pull out of port. There were still people coming back to the ship. Normally I would have been shocked that people could leave it so late and questioning people's sanity. Today I was pretty quiet about it!

The Oasis is so big, the Wonder looked very small by comparison.





The port workers came out to wave goodbye.



One of the dock workers was very entertaining, and was shouting and getting everyone on the ship to shout back, lots of fun and he kept running further down the pier to keep shouting even as we were pulling away.



Tonight was Pirate night and we ran up to put pirate night stuff into the fish extender for the kids. I also had a Disney Visa rewards credit that I needed to apply to our stateroom, so we went down to guest services to get that done.

Instead of pirate night, Scott and I were off to Palo for the evening, so we had plenty of time to get ready. Just to show off how cute they looked, here's some pics of the kids that night that Ashli took.

I was wondering what type of rum Scott got in Jamaica that was worth all the trouble of leaving it with DCL until debarkation? I will be there in Sept. and was wondering if there was something better then what we get in the states.

 

[ukintheus]

I was wondering what type of rum Scott got in Jamaica that was worth all the trouble of leaving it with DCL until debarkation? I will be there in Sept. and was wondering if there was something better then what we get in the states.

It wasn't anything special - Appleton Reserve - I think you can get it over here. To be honest, I just wanted to check out the new DCL policy and see how it worked.

 

[DnA2010]

I am sooo late to the party, however I must say that your report was the perfect combination of pictures of the ship, the staff, your port plans, food and a favorited of DH and I also, the drinks

I really hope to go back to Jamaica as that excursion you did looks fantastic! The brownie pics totally cracked me up, as did your stockpile of wine in your fridge pic.

Can't wait to read about more of your adventures!

 

[ukintheus]

I am sooo late to the party, however I must say that your report was the perfect combination of pictures of the ship, the staff, your port plans, food and a favorited of DH and I also, the drinks

I really hope to go back to Jamaica as that excursion you did looks fantastic! The brownie pics totally cracked me up, as did your stockpile of wine in your fridge pic.

Can't wait to read about more of your adventures!

Thank you - you are very kind. I'm glad that you enjoyed it.

 

[NOKA06]

Jenny, another wonderful trip report!!! I've just now been able to get back to Disboards to finish it. We were on the second cruise with you all and it was great to relive it through your report. Looking forward to your next one!