Our Wonderful "Another B-E-A-U-tiful Day" EBPC & Halloween Cruise ~ October 2018 ~ Completed!

Day 12

Monday, October 29, 2018

Sea Day 7





As Natalie reminded us on several occasions, we woke up to another B-E-A-U-tiful day! We got up and headed to Cabanas for breakfast at about 9:00 AM.

I headed to Disney Trivia at 9:30 AM with DNC and DNM. We did really well but lost the tie breaker when Dustin asked the length of the ship. The other team said 964 and we said 987. Dustin declared the other team the winner. Oh well.

Captain Puckett did a talk on “WWII Secret Weapons to destroy the Panama Canal.” DH and DNJ went to it and found it fascinating. Evidently, Capt. Puckett has done a lot of research for this presentation.



The Photo Challenge for the day was Whozits and Whatzits. Get it? Some of them were easy, but it took a better part of the day for us to find them all. We found that several of the crew members were more than willing to provide hints, clues or even answers.



The Gold and Platinum Castaway Club member presentation was at 11:15 AM. We enjoyed our free mimosa. It was reported that there were 626 Gold and Platinum cruisers on-board. We also found a person who was on their 80th cruise! Wow!





The Captain came out and told us about the new ships coming and asked where we wanted them to go. The most overwhelming answer was, of course, Asia. But the captain wouldn’t give anything away.

Our speakers were from Show Development and Production.





They talked about how it takes 2 years to get a show from an idea to production on the ships. They also told us that they were on the ship with the new theater cast as they were not only learning the other shows on the ships, Golden Mickey’s & Frozen, but they were rehearsing the new changes to Dreams which would premiere on November 14th. Here’s the secret: The new changes are a segment added from Tangled! I can’t wait to see it in July!

After the talk we headed up to get our Mickey Rice Krispy Treats that I took home to DD.



DH and DNJ had booked another Chocolate and Liqueur Tasting that started at 12:15 PM. Capt. Puckett’s talk went a little over his time and there was a wait for DNM to get back through the handicap entrance to the theater, so DH and DNJ just made their tasting.

DNC, DNM and I decided to go up to Deck 10 and watch the Boat Building Bash. Basically, teams signed up earlier in the cruise to build boats. The only condition was that it had to be made of materials that you could find on the ship. I have to say that some of the boat designs were ingenious. They were then put in the pool with a full can of soda put on it to see if it was sea worthy.



The boats on the upper right and upper left of the photo won awards.



The guys joined us at Cabanas for lunch after their tasting. After lunch DNC and DNJ went to do the Chip it Golf in the Atrium at 1:45. It was fun to watch.





Afterwards, we went to find our clues on the photo challenge.

At 3:00 PM we went to another Hide and Seek with the Officers event. There were 6 more senior officers that went to hide on the ship. We thought we would do better this time now that we knew what we were looking for. We decided to split in to 2 groups since it is hard to get the wheelchair up and down quickly and we only had 25 minutes.



DNC and I headed up to Decks 9 and 10. We found one guy at the Family Pool bar. We also found another one at the desk to the Oceaneer’s Club. The third one was paining the rail on deck 4. Unfortunately, none of us found any others. One ended up in Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, one was playing basketball up on Deck 10 (we walked right by him) and another one was serving drinks at the goofy pool (again, we walked right by him).



At 4:00 PM, DNC and I went to another session of Disney Trivia. We scored a 20/25. Just missed again. Afterwards we had a very nice talk with Derrell. He is such a sweet kid and I hope we see him in July.

DH and I went back up to our stateroom. We had Palo reservations tonight.

Shortly after 5 we captured this incredible sunset.













To be continued. . .
 
So fun! Love the finding crew hunt.
We are gonna have to try this next month if its offered. My husband is a detective and says he never forgets a face, I'm gonna test him!!!
 
For some reason I haven't been getting alerts to your report but I'm happy to have found it again. Your photos of Tiana's Place are the best I've seen hands down. I'm so excited to be there soon. Thank you for the photos and the report.

Day 2 (Continued)

Dinner for our first night was in Tiana’s Place. We haven’t been on the Wonder since they opened this restaurant and I was excited to see it. It did not disappoint. Our serving team for the cruise would be Nino and Yayan.

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The details on the table were amazing.






We had the Let the Magic begin Menu.





I had the Chicken Bastillo and Clam Chowder


(I’ll just say right now, that I tried to get a picture of the menus and what I ate every night, but I wasn’t very consistent, my apologies for the Food Porn lovers out there).

I also had the Pork Tenderloin Wellington.



I loved the details on the plates.





Dessert.





I had the Magical Express Sundae.



I had put on our reservation that DH and I were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. So tonight was the night they decided to celebrate.



I will say that while I love the theming of the restaurant, it was very dark where we were sitting. There was a row of lights on either side of the main aisle they could have turned on, but they weren’t. I also noticed how badly the chandeliers shook.



As per usual, dinner service was slower than usual on the first night, so we did not finish in time to see the beginning of the Pumpkin Tree lighting. One of the activities crew member told a story behind the Pumpkin Tree and then “This is Halloween” started to play and the tree came to life and lit up. It was very short.




Based on past history, I wanted to get to the stores as soon as I could so that I would be able to get a Panama Canal shirt in my size. I was lucky to get a Panama Canal logo-ed, T-shirt, pin, magnet, ornament and a book about the Panama Canal.

After shopping, DNC and I went to see The Beverly Belles perform in the WD Theater. It was a scripted show with a lot of Disney movie tunes. The girls harmonized very well and their story was cute. After the show, I went back to the room to unpack. Just before 10:00 PM, DNC and I went down to Shutters for their drawing for some free photos. Unfortunately, we didn’t win.

We found a card on our bed that we were to move our clocks ahead one hour tonight, so we did.

Then we went to bed! Our first towel animal.



Next: Our first Sea Day!
 
Wow lots of fun updates! I love all the activities you are viewing and participating in!

Looking forward to the next one!
 


For some reason I haven't been getting alerts to your report but I'm happy to have found it again. Your photos of Tiana's Place are the best I've seen hands down. I'm so excited to be there soon. Thank you for the photos and the report.

Thanks! I loved Tiana's and can't wait to be there again in July!
 
I've never heard of Minnie's fashion show. It sounds like a lot of fun!

Let me just take a moment and wish Mickey Mouse a very Happy 90th Birthday! If it weren't for him, none of us would be on this board!

Day 7


Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Sea Day 4





We got up at about 8:15 AM to another beautiful day.



Our neighbors were at the VIP Character Breakfast this morning, so it was just the 2 of us for breakfast. We went up to Cabanas. While we were eating and enjoying the incredibly beautiful day while looking towards the aft of the ship, a passenger came up and said that looks like a great picture and offered to take one of us. I thought it turned out great!



After breakfast, we went down to the Port Adventures desk and got today’s Photo Challenge, which was floors.



We then went up to the Buena Vista Theater to wait for Capt. Puckett’s talk on the US Operation of the Panama Canal. We knew it would be crowded based on the last talk. We were able to get seats in the front row. DH has long legs and the seats in the theater are too tight for him.

Once again, the talk was fascinating and he explained very well why President Carter decided to give the Panama Canal to Panama and how it was a good thing for the US.

After the talk, we ran into our neighbors outside the theater, who were able to sneak in after their breakfast. We went back to their stateroom and I got some photos of their incredible balcony. The one problem was the noise from what ever compressors were behind the big vent. It was loud.








At 11:00 AM they were having a Hide and Seek game with the officers. Basically the steering committee, including Natalie, the captain and four other of his officers, would hide around the ship and we had 30 minutes to find them, collect a card and return to Azure.

It was not as easy as it sounds; this is what they looked like when they left to hide.



We searched but were only able to find 3. This is what they looked like at the end of the game.



They hid pretty well around the ship. We were only able to find Natalie, an officer at Pinocchio’s and one dressed in housekeeping on deck 5. We didn’t even think about going down to Medical. We actually walked by the Captain on deck 4.

We had Chocolate and Liqueur tasting at 12:15 PM. We got to the Cadillac Lounge and it was freezing. But not to worry, the alcohol would soon warm us. Craig, from South Africa, was our host. He is one of 4 sommeliers on-board and works out of Palo. He has only been with DCL for a few months. He was fantastic and knew so much about the liqueurs.

The tables were set for us.



Prior to the cruise, I got a manicure and got gel on my nails. As we were waiting to start, I looked down and noticed that one my nails was naked and had no polish on it. Well at some point later during the day I made my way to the salon to make an appointment to get my nails redone. I was able to get an appointment for the next afternoon. Back to our tasting.

We started off with champagne. I really enjoyed it and it tasted good with a melted chocolate drink.

Then we went to a red wine. Normally, I do not care for red wines. However, I haven’t tasted this delicious red wine blend from the Lassiter winery. It was delicious and while I thought it tasted good with the chocolate, it literally rocked with some really good Regianno Parmesan cheese.

The next was a port. Again, I never really had a Port before, but this one was not bad, especially paired with the cheese. I didn’t finish my glass though.

The last pairing was a 30 year old Scotch. It was paired with a chocolate drink. I loved the chocolate, but not so much the Scotch.




After the tasting, we decided to get some lunch at Cabanas. We sat outside and noticed some clouds coming up.





I finished lunch and went inside to get dessert when the heavens opened up and it started pouring out on deck. Servers had removed most but were frantically trying to remove the remaining napkins and salt and pepper shakers from the tables.

DNJ and DNM enjoyed the rain as they were, for the most part, under cover, while the rest of us found a table inside to enjoy our dessert.





At 3:00 PM DNC, DNM and I went to Minnie’s Fashion Show. By the time we got there, the staff was scrambling to get enough seats set up. Even they were surprised at the turnout. Basically, Melissa from the activities staff along with Daisy Duck, hosted a fashion show of all of Minnie’s fashions. Minnie would come out in her formal wear, beach wear, DCL wear, etc. It was fun for the kids who all got to walk the catwalk at the end. Mickey even came out in his formal wear to escort is gal. What a gentlemouse!







We then went down to Promenade Lounge and played Disney Charades with Mitch. It was a lot of fun. Our side of the lounge won!

By then, it was time to get ready for dinner which was in Animator’s Palate. It was the Land and Sea menu tonight.







This was one of those nights that I totally forgot to take pictures of my food. I ordered the Marinated Shrimp and Romaine Wedge. For my entrée I ordered the Center Cut Beef Tenderloin and Lobster Medallions.

Dessert.







I ordered the Lemon Light Cake



After dinner, we all headed down to Azure for 70’s music trivia. DNJ was my secret weapon. When we got there Tara found us to join or team, she asked if she could have the insulated bag we won the night before after all. Tara then left when her parent’s friends, who they were traveling with, came in. We actually did pretty well and DNJ knew a lot of the songs. I surprised myself and I knew a few they didn’t. Anyway we got a score 28 out of 40.

Then it was up to see John Charles in the WD Theater. I have seen him before on cruises and he is absolutely hilarious and extremely talented. I guess John and Capt. Puckett have formed a great friendship over the years as Capt. Puckett was in the audience and John called him out. We also saw them together at lunch several times on the ship. John said that this was their 22nd crossing of the canal together with Disney.

Anyway, we really enjoyed the show and John had fun with the “few” kids that were there. Of course, he finished his show with his ever popular hit “I’ve Got the Cleanest Hands in the World.”



After a very busy day, we were ready to call it a night.



Next: Thar be a squall ahead, matey!
 
Day 12 (Continued)

At 7:00 we went upstairs to Palo for our longtime highly anticipated anniversary dinner at Palo. We were led to our window side table. The restaurant was only about half full. Leo came over to meet us and ask our drink preferences. We told him we wanted wine, but didn’t know which one. Craig shortly came over and we told him how much we enjoyed the red blend from the tasting and that were going to have the filet and scallops. Craig recommended an excellent wine so we each had a glass.

We started off with the antipasti bar.





Dinner was absolutely fantastic and the wine went exceptionally well with it. Of course, we had to order soufflés’ for dessert. I had chocolate while DH had amaretto.





After dessert, Leo brought out this plate with chocolate for our anniversary.



He then brought out the complementary after dinner frozen drink made with Limoncello and brandy, among other things. It was amazingly delicious.



As much as I would have liked to see Josh Strickland in the theater, we decided just to relax after dinner in our stateroom as we had been running for almost 2 weeks. It was a wonderful evening.



Next: Sting rays and snorkeling!
 


Day 13

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Grand Cayman







DNC had booked a private boat tour for us at Grand Cayman through The Crazy Crab. Our tour started at 9:00 AM. Since we were tendering, we had to get a ticket at the Buena Vista Theater. We decided to meet at 7:40 AM.

I was up at 7:00 AM to look out and find we were not alone.



This is where we traveled overnight.



We knew the Fantasy was going to be here today too, so I was looking for it. We looked at the maps on the TV and could tell that the Fantasy was going to be arriving later.

We quickly got dressed for the day and headed to Cabanas for a quick breakfast. Afterwards, I walked along deck 10 and took some pictures.











Afterwards, we made our way to the Buena Vista Theater, got our tender tickets from Derrell, went straight down to Deck 1 Aft and quickly boarded the boat. Once we made it to the terminal we needed to grab a taxi to Camana Bay to meet our 25 foot Sea Ray boat and crew.





We were able to find a minivan taxi and shared a ride with another couple heading to 7 mile beach, which was across the road from where we were going. It cost us $5 per person.

We were super early, so we went to a local market and got some cheese and crackers and grapes for snacks on the boat since we wouldn’t be getting lunch.

The too familiar chickens running wild.



This area was very nice and I guess is a huge entertainment district with restaurants and boutiques. The little island was very cute.





Our boat and crew, Alex and Jacob (pronounced Yoku) Alex was Romanian but lived in Italy before moving to the island about 6 months before. Yoku was South African and acted as our driver and educator. They were both really great! Soon we were on the boat heading out towards the Caribbean. We saw an iguana swimming across in front of us.



Soon we were in open water and Yoku opened up. We went through a small squall but had great weather the entire time. It was nice to have the clouds.



Our first stop was going to be Stingray City. Yoku wanted to beat any bad weather they might have later. He was also hoping to beat some of the crowd,




To be continued . . .
 
Last edited:
Woohoo! This was the day we 'shared' with you as we were on the Fantasy! While my family and I did not get off in Grand Cayman, the other family we were sailing with did and they did a sting ray excursion as well.

There were several ships in GC that day, I think I counted 6 in total??
 
Woohoo! This was the day we 'shared' with you as we were on the Fantasy! While my family and I did not get off in Grand Cayman, the other family we were sailing with did and they did a sting ray excursion as well.

There were several ships in GC that day, I think I counted 6 in total??
After seeing some of the bigger boats at Sting Ray City, I am so glad we hired a private boat. At one point we were feeding the rays and a lady from another group came over expecting to feed the sting ray. Alex told her this was a private tour. She seemed a bit disappointed. Oh well!

Day 13 (Continued)

After anchoring (all the boat pilots tend to help each other out with that), Alex got off the boat and found us the sweetest female ray that we would be able to pet and feed. These were Southern Sting Rays and they were awesome.





We were there at low tide and standing on the sand bar the water only came up to our hips. However, the water was anything but calm and we were body surfing waves most of the time. But that was fun too.

We saw some rays swimming below us.





You can also see how many other people were there.



We took turns feeding and kissing the ray.





We even got to hold the ray, which wasn’t easy with the swells.





Then Alex found us a well behaved male ray. The males are much smaller than the females. This particular male had lost his barb.



Some more rays.





All too soon, it was time to move on,



Our next destination was Starfish Beach.



There was almost nobody here, We were told about the starfish (Sea Stars) and not to take them out of the water. The water was very shallow and very calm.



Yoku had us have a race with the starfish. He each had us take a starfish and put it on its back. The first starfish to rollover won. DNC’s was very fast.










To be continued . . .
 
Last edited:
Day 13 (Continued)

Our next destination was just outside Rum Point Beach for some snorkeling. Yoku found a great spot. The swells were a little high, but the water was crystal clear. I have never snorkeled outside of a swimming pool, so this was going to be a new experience for me, Yoku provided snorkels, masks and fins. He also provided a flotation device for me that I wore about my middle so I could stay at the surface. He also put out a line with a life ring that we would hold on to and tether to the boat. That was very nice. Being able to see fish swimming in their natural habitat was fantastic and so much fun!







I even saw a ray swim under me,

DSCF1359









It was an amazing experience, but after swallowing my fair share of salt water from waves going over my snorkel, I made my way to the boat and as ungracefully as possible managed to board. I ended up getting my big toe pinched under the boat somehow and a huge bruise on my thigh after climbing aboard. But it was all worth it to have that experience,

Our time was up and we headed back to Camana Bay.

We hadn’t had a chance to eat our cheese, and we couldn’t take it back on board, so we found a place with tables and restrooms that we could use. Is it our fault that it happened to also be a Gelato Shop? It was really good gelato that rivaled what we had in Italy on our Med cruise.



An added benefit was free WiFi. I was able to text with DD.

We then found a taxi back to the terminal so we could get a tender back to the ship. Our cool towels and cold water were waiting for us. I sat on the correct side so I could get some good pics of the Wonder.







Guess who finally arrived?



After we boarded the ship a little after 2:00 PM, we took some pictures of the Fantasy through the port holes.



We dropped our stuff in our stateroom and went to deck 10 to get some pictures of the Fantasy. We had never seen the Dream class ships before.













At 2:30, the atrium was empty.







To be continued . . .
 
Haha, so I actually looked VERY closely to see if I was in one of your photos of the Fantasy :rolleyes1 I'm not kidding, we stayed on the ship that day and we were on our verandah a lot, we were far aft, deck 10 so I squinted but yep, not in any of them :rotfl2:

Also, at one point my husband said to me (quite serious) "could we take our luggage and take a tender over to the Wonder and find a room?" Yeah, we like the Fantasy but we LOVE the Wonder :love:
 
I am so loving your trip report. Me, my bride and two boys (16 and 14) will be cruising WBPC cruise from NO in March 2020, we are so excited. Your trip report has given me so many ideas to make some great memories and I'm so thankful. Great pictures! :earsboy:
 
Haha, so I actually looked VERY closely to see if I was in one of your photos of the Fantasy :rolleyes1 I'm not kidding, we stayed on the ship that day and we were on our verandah a lot, we were far aft, deck 10 so I squinted but yep, not in any of them :rotfl2:

Also, at one point my husband said to me (quite serious) "could we take our luggage and take a tender over to the Wonder and find a room?" Yeah, we like the Fantasy but we LOVE the Wonder :love:

:rotfl:That is so funny, because we were wondering how many people would try to get on the other ship!

I am so loving your trip report. Me, my bride and two boys (16 and 14) will be cruising WBPC cruise from NO in March 2020, we are so excited. Your trip report has given me so many ideas to make some great memories and I'm so thankful. Great pictures! :earsboy:

Thank you! :flower3: There was so much to do on-board. You and your family with have a great time!
 
Day 13 (Continued)

We headed up for showers and then went back up to Deck 9 for a snack and a drink. DH had a Mai Tai and I had a High Tide.



We found DNC in the adult pool and she joined us for a drink of the day, a Golden Margarita, which she loved.

At about 3:30 PM, the Wonder started to bring up the anchor and head out of the harbor. I waited patiently for a horn battle that I thought didn’t take place. I later found out there was a battle but neither ship could hear the other because of the direction of the ships and the wind. Bummer! I was really hoping to hear a horn off. Oh well. Bye Fantasy!







At 4:15 PM, I headed down to the DLounge for Disney Tunes Trivia. There was some miscommunication as there was no piano set up on the stage when Bernadett walked in. The game was delayed by about 20 minutes while they set it up. DNC joined me and DNJ and DNM came in a little later. We ended up with a respectable 42 out of 45, but didn’t win.

Look, a hidden BB8.



Dinner was at Animator’s Palate tonight and it was “Animation” night. Our drawing sheets were waiting at our table. Policy is that you won’t be served a beverage until you finish your drawing.











I had the White Cheddar and Broccolini Soup. It was ok. Too much broccoli and not enough cheddar.



I ordered the Chicken Schnitzel for my entrée and it was delicious.

Dessert.







I ordered the Celebration Cake. I always peel off the gelatin coating off the top.



Then it was time to see our drawings in action.



At 7:30 PM they had a Crew Talent Show in Azure.



We headed there after dinner and were lucky to find a seat. It was packed. Several of the crew members (not just activity members) showed off their talents. Most sang, but the Port Shopping guy, Michael, did a magic trick. I guess he started out with DCL doing magic shows. Our friend Derrell did a great job singing “Don’t Rain on my Parade.” Another activity crew member, Brian, belted out “Broadway Baby” like he was actually on Broadway. Even maintenance and housekeeping crew members came out and sang. The show ended with a Kids Club counselor singing “This is Me” from “The Greatest Showman” and several other crew members joined her on stage for a big finale number. It was wonderful! The entire show was fantastic!

The act at the theater tonight was The Filharmonic. I guess they had been on the “Sing Off’ show or something. Anyway, they came out and totally harmonized in A Capella some Disney songs as well as current pop favorites. They had a beatboxer that was out of this world.





After that, I was ready to call it a night. But what a great day we had in Grand Cayman. It was my third time there and definitely my favorite time.



Next: Halloween on the High Seas.
 
Dh and I were at the adult pool when the Wonder went to sail off so I rushed up to deck 12. Obviously I heard our horn on the Fantasy but did not hear the Wonder :( Like you said, sailing into the wind and what not!
 
Dh and I were at the adult pool when the Wonder went to sail off so I rushed up to deck 12. Obviously I heard our horn on the Fantasy but did not hear the Wonder :( Like you said, sailing into the wind and what not!
:listen: :sad2:
 
Dear readers, somehow I missed an entire segment of my report from Grand Cayman and stuck it into one of my replies because it fit there perfectly. If you missed it, please go back and check it out!
 
Dear readers, somehow I missed an entire segment of my report from Grand Cayman and stuck it into one of my replies because it fit there perfectly. If you missed it, please go back and check it out!

Found it! That is a LOT of people interested in sting rays! The friends of ours who did it (with 3 kids in tow) did say it was quite choppy and a couple of their kids (8 yr old twins) kept floating away from the group :rotfl:Quite a site to see, all those rays in one place.
 
Found it! That is a LOT of people interested in sting rays! The friends of ours who did it (with 3 kids in tow) did say it was quite choppy and a couple of their kids (8 yr old twins) kept floating away from the group :rotfl:Quite a site to see, all those rays in one place.
Right???!! I had a hard time staying on my feet at times, hopefully the kids had floating devices on. Honestly, I expected to see more rays, but with it being so crowded there may have been more within the crowds. Any hoo, it was a great experience!
 

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