      
| |
Sunday, August
16 - Day 8
 |
We woke up at 8 and the ship was already
docked at Castaway Cay. We had breakfast in Parrot Cay and left the ship at 9:30.
The walk from the ship to the beach is seven minutes, but a shuttle ran continuously. I
bought snorkel equipment at Gil's Fins n' Boats while Judy scoped out a place for us to
sit. There were four lines, but it still took about 10 minutes to get the gear, which
included fins, snorkel mask, vest and a waterproof map and wildlife chart. I found Judy at
the other end of the beach, settled in and went into the water. When the color aquamarine
was invented, they must have used Castaway Cay as a model. The water was warm and clear.
The coral on the snorkel trail was all man made, and I thought that Disney could have done
more with it, but there was plenty of trail to cover. |
 |
We stayed until 1:00 and then headed back
to the ship for lunch. I'll
echo the sentiment expressed before, the bar-b-que menu is limited and
definitely not for vegetarians. The shuttle was not working, so we had
to walk back to the ship. Lunch in Parrot Cay was ordered from the
kitchen this time and Judy liked what the 5-year old sitting next to her
had, Mickey Mac and cheese, curly fries and goldfish. I had a turkey
club sandwhich.
After lunch we went back off the ship to Serenity Bay this time. The
shuttle was working again. Serenity Bay is the adult beach and it
is nicely secluded from the main beach area. We didn't get to spend too
much time in the water, as a threatening storm forced us out. We
reboarded the ship at the first call. We showered and relaxed in the |
 |
room while waiting for dinner. When
we got back to the room, there was a leak from the a/c vent and we called it in to
engineering.  |
Tonight was Palos. We arrived promptly at
6, and got the table we had
requested, window, right at the stern. Our server was Christophe, from
France. He was wonderful. Everything was served with attention, always
making sure our course was hot enough, or prepared the way we wanted it.
Judy had the salad and the catch of the day, which was...surprise,
salmon! I had wanted the portobello mushroom appetizer, but they were
out of it, so I had the minestrone and the loin of veal with polenta. I
broke any pretense of a diet this night by finishing off the meal with
tira misu and a cappuccino. Judy had the gelato. All in all Palos
fulfilled expectations. As I learned, waiting until the third night
meant missing on a choice dish, but there were tables available at the
earlier seating. |
 |
After dinner, we went to catch the 8:15 showing of Voyage of the
Ghost Ship. On the way, we ran into the assistant captain and we chatted with him for
a while. The captain of the Magic, Tom, will be taking over the Wonder once it's ready.
Tom was dining in Palos with us, with the other captains of the ships that are planned
after the Wonder. Henry told us that the Wonder may have some seven-day itineraries.
Voyage was by far the best of the three shows, with excellent staging, beautiful set
designs and incredible effects. It amazes me how they managed to stage three different
plays with the same cast having to
learn it all and the various sets that had to be maintained. This was the most original of
the three performances and while I felt at times that the music drowned out the lyrics, we
thoroughly enjoyed it. One observation from all three shows, I understand how tempting it
is for people to want to photograph these elaborate productions, but I really wish that
flash photography wasn't allowed, as it was a big distraction Another thing is the cup
holders in the seats. Antsy children amused themselves at times by banging them, which was
somewhat annoying. After the show, we headed to Off Beat once more and ran into Peter and
Antonella again. We had time until the next show, so Judy and I went back to the room to
put the luggage out. We then met the Croeses for the 10:15 show. Scott and Ginger also
showed up, and they sat at the table in front of us. After the show, we declined to join
the other two couples for bingo and went back to the room. I wanted to read out on the
verandah and enjoy it one more night.
Monday, August
17 - Back to Port Canaveral and Home
We had to get up at six the next morning for the early breakfast and disembarkation. You
have breakfast in the restaurant you ate in the night before (Palos not included.) We said
our good-byes to Peter, Antonella, Scott, Ginger, Paul and Dale. Dale took pictures of the
six of us with our cameras.
Exiting was a bit confusing, since people were lining up for the second seating at
Lumieres at the same time we were lining up to exit the ship. But we were off in no time
and easily found our luggage in our designated area. Areas are identified by color, and
the system seemed to work well. How appropriate that it started to rain as we got in our
car. In summary, we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. We were lucky in that we didn't run
into any of the problems described on the first voyage. We
are also neither connoisseurs of food or show critics, we only what we like. Finally,
after five days in the parks, we were looking to relax, so I may not have been very
critical of the activities provided. There seemed to be enough to do at night, between the
show and the clubs. Clearly, for people staying aboard ship once we were docked in Nassau
or Castaway Cay, there was no organized activities. When we sailed the Fantasy, there was
a day at sea, so it seemed more important to have ship board activities. Judy and I both
give the cruise a big thumbs up.
 
|
