But You Have Promised Me A Subtropical Paradise
- Thread starter dolphingirl47
- Start date
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
I had an amazing time on that excursion. I would have loved to study marine biology at college, but I could just not see a practical application. I may still do this at some point in the future. In the meantime I make good use of every opportunity I get to talk with marine biologists.
The soap is amazing. I think I may have to place an order through their website in the not so distant future.
The menu was the same both weeks and decidedly strange.
For our big trip next year we were thinking to do Aulani first and then the cruise on the Pride of America. Last year friends of ours did this cruise and were absolutely exhausted afterwards. So now we are leaning towards doing the cruise first and then go to Aulani. So I can most certainly understand your decision about the order of things for your trip.
We were so lucky with the weather. That day was the only day where the weather let us down a little during this cruise and it did not stop us from doing anything we wanted to do.
Corinna
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
Day 17
We had a more leisurely start to the morning, as we were not due into port until midday. After three early starts in a row, it had not set a wake up call the previous night and we had a bit of a lie in. We woke up at around 9:00 AM, got up and got ready for breakfast. We headed down to Triton's. We both had coffee and juice. Graham had the Express, which consisted of Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, Bacon, Grilled Ham, Tomato and Hash Brown. He also had some white toast. I had Dale's Omelette, which was filled with Sweetcorn and Turkey Sausage with a side of bacon and Hash Brown followed by the Peanut Butter and Jelly Typhoon, which is a Pancake with Peanut Butter and Jelly Drizzle and fresh Melon and Pineapple. This set us up nicely for the day.
After breakfast, we briefly went back to the cabin to get ourselves organised for the day ahead. Graham then went outside to his favourite spot on deck 4 while I filled out our waivers before doing some shopping. I wanted both Alaska pins and I had also fallen in love with the totem pole ornament that consisted of various Disney characters. I figured that this would be a nice thing to have signed by the captain. I also got myself some new Mickey hair ties. I took my treasures back to the cabin, got my little underwater camera and then I went to find Graham.
Even though it was still a while until we were due to reach Ketchikan, there were distinct signs of civilisation. It was not long afterwards that we were approaching the dock. We watched the process and took plenty of photos. As far as they towns themselves go, neither Juneau nor Skagway did a great deal for us although the surrounding landscape was stunning for both of those. Ketchikan looked a lot more promising. From where we were standing, it looked like a really pretty little town.
We had a more leisurely start to the morning, as we were not due into port until midday. After three early starts in a row, it had not set a wake up call the previous night and we had a bit of a lie in. We woke up at around 9:00 AM, got up and got ready for breakfast. We headed down to Triton's. We both had coffee and juice. Graham had the Express, which consisted of Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, Bacon, Grilled Ham, Tomato and Hash Brown. He also had some white toast. I had Dale's Omelette, which was filled with Sweetcorn and Turkey Sausage with a side of bacon and Hash Brown followed by the Peanut Butter and Jelly Typhoon, which is a Pancake with Peanut Butter and Jelly Drizzle and fresh Melon and Pineapple. This set us up nicely for the day.
After breakfast, we briefly went back to the cabin to get ourselves organised for the day ahead. Graham then went outside to his favourite spot on deck 4 while I filled out our waivers before doing some shopping. I wanted both Alaska pins and I had also fallen in love with the totem pole ornament that consisted of various Disney characters. I figured that this would be a nice thing to have signed by the captain. I also got myself some new Mickey hair ties. I took my treasures back to the cabin, got my little underwater camera and then I went to find Graham.
Even though it was still a while until we were due to reach Ketchikan, there were distinct signs of civilisation. It was not long afterwards that we were approaching the dock. We watched the process and took plenty of photos. As far as they towns themselves go, neither Juneau nor Skagway did a great deal for us although the surrounding landscape was stunning for both of those. Ketchikan looked a lot more promising. From where we were standing, it looked like a really pretty little town.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
When the ship was cleared, we still had a good 90 minutes until our excursion met. As the dock is right in town, we decided to get off the ship and explore a bit. The gangway was on deck 3 that day, but at the opposite side from what it normally would be. There were quite a few people getting off the ship. We had a wander around and had a look at some of the shops. A lot of it was typical tourist fare of variable price and quality, but some of the things on offer were quite unique. We walked away from the port for a bit and another offer at a jewellery shop caught my eye. They had a set consisting of stud earrings, a sterling silver chain and a pendant with Northern Lights Topaz for only $15. I really liked this. I went inside and then realised in horror that I had left my wallet in the cabin. Fortunately Graham had brought his and I was able to get this.
We carried on further inland and ended up at the Tongass Historical Museum, which is one of three museums in Ketchikan. We considered having a quick look, but it was$5 per person to get in and considering now little time we had, we could not justify this. We figured we could always come back later in the day after our excursion. I did however take some photos of the totem poles in the entrance area. We slowly made our way back to the ship and stopped to look at a little shopping centre on the way.
When we got back on the ship, we quickly went back to the cabin to get everything we needed for the day and then headed down to Wavebands where our meeting point was. This time round there were more people to check people in. As there were multiple excursions again, different people checked in different excursions. This kind of set up worked very well. Some people from our cruise meet thread that we also knew from a previous cruise were checking in for their excursion, too. They asked if we were really going ahead with the snorkelling and thought that this was absolute madness. This was coming from people who are passionate about diving. Hearing this from them made me wonder a little. Still, we were committed. Check in was very smooth and soon we were escorted off the ship. We were met by Fred, who is the owner of Snorkel Alaska as soon as we got off the ship. Fred is no stranger to the cruise industry as he was working for NCL for many years heading their diving and snorkelling programme. It was kind of fitting that an NCL ship, the Norwegian Sun, was docked right next to us.
The dive shop for Snorkel Alaska is a little way outside Ketchikan so we had a short ride on the bus. Fred explained to us what we were letting ourselves in for and how the day would work. There was something he said that I should have taken as a warning. He asked who had snorkelled before and then stated that those that had would learn to snorkel all over again. When we arrived at the dive shop, we were introduced to the rest of our guides and then were kitted out and told to get changed. I am pretty used to wetsuits and we do have our own shorty wetsuits. I also had to wear full length wetsuits including booties on occasion when I did behind the scenes programmes at SeaWorld or at the Living Seas at Epcot and I did not have too much bother putting those on. So I was surprised when this particular wetsuit seemed to defeat me. One of the dive shop staff came to my rescue. Apart from the wetsuit and the booties, our glamorous outfit also included a hood and gloves that were not dissimilar to my oven gloves. The hood was what bothered me most about this. I am not very good about having anything touch my throat and the hood was very tight around the throat. I had the feeling that I could not breath. I am not sure if it was just too tight and was really obstructing my airways or if I had a low level panic attack.
Once I was fully geared up, I went outside. Graham was already out there and looked rather excited. The other people who were outside with him did as well. He told me that he had seen a bear. Just as he finished saying this, the same bear wandered across the road about 50 yards in front of us. This was quite a sight. I had seen so much amazing wildlife on this trip, but this was most certainly the icing on the cake.
When everybody was assembled, we were equipped with snorkels, masks and flippers and the bags with our stuff were loaded in the back of the support van. Then it was time to get back on the bus for the short drive to the dive site. Getting on the bus was an interesting experience. Not only had the wetsuits added enough blubber for a self-respecting walrus, but we were also carrying all of our equipment and the flippers were slightly unwieldy. Eventually we were all on the bus and made the short trip to the dive site. We were warned that the tide was extremely low. This had two consequences: we would get to see a lot of things that we normally would not, but access to the dive site would be somewhat tricky. They were not kidding. We had to go down quite a steep hill with loads of rocks and doing this in booties that have very little grip and provide no support was not exactly a laugh a minute. What really impressed me was that one member of the group was a girl that normally used a wheelchair to get around. This was difficult enough for people with no mobility issues. I cannot even imagine what it would have been like for her, but with the help of her parents, she made it.
Once we were all down at the waterline, people took turns to sit down on the rocky ledge, put anti-fog in their masks, put the flippers on and then enter the water. This was a first for me. As I have quite high feet, I normally can never get my feet into flippers. However, they actually had flippers that fit me so I had no excuse not to wear them. Soon I was in the water and it was nowhere near as cold as I had expected. Even with a wetsuit when you first get in the water, you get a blast of cold. It is only once the thin layer of water between the wetsuit and the skin has warmed up that you no longer feel the cold. So I was quite surprised when I did not get this initial blast of cold. As soon as I left the shallows, I noticed another problem though. The wetsuit added so much buoyancy that my own feet tried to overtake me. Because of the flippers and the drag that they produce, I could not get my feet underneath me. I quite literally felt like a beached whale and panicked. One of the guides came to my rescue and we decided that I would lose the flippers and I felt a little happier without them. I started to wonder if I would have got on better with the weight belt that they had offered to people wanting to try free diving, but now it was too late. I still struggled quite considerably even without the flippers and because I did not really feel on control, I could not cope at all being among a group of people. I was too worried that I would get flipped over when my feet overtook me and would end up hurting somebody. I did actually end up on my back a few times.
One of the guides realised what the problem was and took me away from the group. Once it was just the two of us, I was a lot more comfortable. Markus is probably the most unlikely dive guide you could imagine. He is a geologist from Chicago who has made his hobby his profession. He had worked in many placed that I had snorkelled before. This was his first season in Alaska and he rather excitedly told me that he mainly decided to come to Alaska to see a specific species of fish. The previous week he had done a proper dive and had finally got to see this fish. We hit it off straightaway. We swam over to the shallows where a lot of critters were hanging out. I was introduced to all kinds of different wildlife. He started out with getting a sea urchin up and told me a lot about them. He encouraged me to gently touch it. I was a bit reluctant at first as it looked very spiky, but figured it could not do me any harm through my thick gloves. Next up was a Sea Cucumber. This must be the ugliest creature I have ever seen. Again I was encouraged to touch it, but I point blank refused. This did look unsavoury to me and even with my gloves I was not going to touch it. I was truly bewildered when he told me that the Sea Cucumber is considered a delicacy amongst Sushi lovers.
Staying on the subject of Sushi, we encountered an old friend, bull kelp. Again I was told that this is edible. Apparently apart from in Sushi, it is also eaten pickled. This did not make it any more tempting. What was impressive though is the sheer reach of the bull kelp. We have seen in Seal Beach when we had our beach day, in Victoria and now all the way in Alaska.
The creatures I was most fascinated about where the starfish. I had not appreciated that there are so many different types and some of them have a lot more arms then the characteristic five. I knew that they have an amazing ability to regenerate. I knew beforehand that they have the ability to replace any missing arms. What I did not know is that if you would snap a starfish in half, this would not kill it, but each half would regenerate creating two starfish. I was also fascinated by the fact that starfish have neither a heart nor a brain. They actually pump seawater around their bodies with a sophisticated hydraulic system.
By the time I had seen all the starfish, it was nearly time to get out of the water. We slowly made our way back towards the area where we had got into the water. There we bumped into another guide and some guests and he was showing them some crabs so we stopped and had a look, too. Then it was time to get out of the water and go mountaineering. It was difficult enough getting down the hill because of all the loose rocks, but getting back up was even more difficult. Still, we all made it even though a couple of people took a tumble.
When we got back to the top, we were relieved of our equipment and were encouraged to take of the gloves and the hood. I was not sad to see either of those go. They had a cooler in the back of the support van that instead of ice was filled with warm water. They also had some jugs and encouraged us to unzip the wetsuit and pour some of the warm water down between the wetsuit and the skin. I still felt pretty toasty in my wetsuit, but a lot of other people had started to feel cold. I have to say that even though I felt quite warm, the warm water felt heavenly on the skin.
Once we had handed in all the stuff that we no longer needed and retrieved our bags, it was time to get back on the bus. This was a different bus with plastic seats. We were asked to sit in the back half of the bus so that the front seats would be dry for our trip back to the port. When we got to the dive shop, we were all glad to get our booties and wetsuits off. They have showers out on the deck and we took turns to get showered. It was a bit strange to get showered outside against the Alaskan scenery, but the water was a lovely temperature and the sun was shining straight at the deck so the air did not feel cold either. Once I was showered, I got dried off and then went inside to get changed.
When we were changed, there were various hot drinks on offer. I had a cup of Earl Grey tea. They also sold a range of t-shirts and sweatshirts, but I resisted the temptation. Once everybody was ready, we headed back to the port. We did not go on the bus that had collected us from the dive site after all, but on the bus that had collected us from the port. The scenery was really pretty. Once we got back to the port, we decided to explore Ketchikan a bit more. We quickly took our wet swim stuff back to the cabin and hung it up. I got my big camera and then we headed out again. I am not sure what they made of us that day as we kept getting on and off the ship.
We carried on further inland and ended up at the Tongass Historical Museum, which is one of three museums in Ketchikan. We considered having a quick look, but it was$5 per person to get in and considering now little time we had, we could not justify this. We figured we could always come back later in the day after our excursion. I did however take some photos of the totem poles in the entrance area. We slowly made our way back to the ship and stopped to look at a little shopping centre on the way.
When we got back on the ship, we quickly went back to the cabin to get everything we needed for the day and then headed down to Wavebands where our meeting point was. This time round there were more people to check people in. As there were multiple excursions again, different people checked in different excursions. This kind of set up worked very well. Some people from our cruise meet thread that we also knew from a previous cruise were checking in for their excursion, too. They asked if we were really going ahead with the snorkelling and thought that this was absolute madness. This was coming from people who are passionate about diving. Hearing this from them made me wonder a little. Still, we were committed. Check in was very smooth and soon we were escorted off the ship. We were met by Fred, who is the owner of Snorkel Alaska as soon as we got off the ship. Fred is no stranger to the cruise industry as he was working for NCL for many years heading their diving and snorkelling programme. It was kind of fitting that an NCL ship, the Norwegian Sun, was docked right next to us.
The dive shop for Snorkel Alaska is a little way outside Ketchikan so we had a short ride on the bus. Fred explained to us what we were letting ourselves in for and how the day would work. There was something he said that I should have taken as a warning. He asked who had snorkelled before and then stated that those that had would learn to snorkel all over again. When we arrived at the dive shop, we were introduced to the rest of our guides and then were kitted out and told to get changed. I am pretty used to wetsuits and we do have our own shorty wetsuits. I also had to wear full length wetsuits including booties on occasion when I did behind the scenes programmes at SeaWorld or at the Living Seas at Epcot and I did not have too much bother putting those on. So I was surprised when this particular wetsuit seemed to defeat me. One of the dive shop staff came to my rescue. Apart from the wetsuit and the booties, our glamorous outfit also included a hood and gloves that were not dissimilar to my oven gloves. The hood was what bothered me most about this. I am not very good about having anything touch my throat and the hood was very tight around the throat. I had the feeling that I could not breath. I am not sure if it was just too tight and was really obstructing my airways or if I had a low level panic attack.
Once I was fully geared up, I went outside. Graham was already out there and looked rather excited. The other people who were outside with him did as well. He told me that he had seen a bear. Just as he finished saying this, the same bear wandered across the road about 50 yards in front of us. This was quite a sight. I had seen so much amazing wildlife on this trip, but this was most certainly the icing on the cake.
When everybody was assembled, we were equipped with snorkels, masks and flippers and the bags with our stuff were loaded in the back of the support van. Then it was time to get back on the bus for the short drive to the dive site. Getting on the bus was an interesting experience. Not only had the wetsuits added enough blubber for a self-respecting walrus, but we were also carrying all of our equipment and the flippers were slightly unwieldy. Eventually we were all on the bus and made the short trip to the dive site. We were warned that the tide was extremely low. This had two consequences: we would get to see a lot of things that we normally would not, but access to the dive site would be somewhat tricky. They were not kidding. We had to go down quite a steep hill with loads of rocks and doing this in booties that have very little grip and provide no support was not exactly a laugh a minute. What really impressed me was that one member of the group was a girl that normally used a wheelchair to get around. This was difficult enough for people with no mobility issues. I cannot even imagine what it would have been like for her, but with the help of her parents, she made it.
Once we were all down at the waterline, people took turns to sit down on the rocky ledge, put anti-fog in their masks, put the flippers on and then enter the water. This was a first for me. As I have quite high feet, I normally can never get my feet into flippers. However, they actually had flippers that fit me so I had no excuse not to wear them. Soon I was in the water and it was nowhere near as cold as I had expected. Even with a wetsuit when you first get in the water, you get a blast of cold. It is only once the thin layer of water between the wetsuit and the skin has warmed up that you no longer feel the cold. So I was quite surprised when I did not get this initial blast of cold. As soon as I left the shallows, I noticed another problem though. The wetsuit added so much buoyancy that my own feet tried to overtake me. Because of the flippers and the drag that they produce, I could not get my feet underneath me. I quite literally felt like a beached whale and panicked. One of the guides came to my rescue and we decided that I would lose the flippers and I felt a little happier without them. I started to wonder if I would have got on better with the weight belt that they had offered to people wanting to try free diving, but now it was too late. I still struggled quite considerably even without the flippers and because I did not really feel on control, I could not cope at all being among a group of people. I was too worried that I would get flipped over when my feet overtook me and would end up hurting somebody. I did actually end up on my back a few times.
One of the guides realised what the problem was and took me away from the group. Once it was just the two of us, I was a lot more comfortable. Markus is probably the most unlikely dive guide you could imagine. He is a geologist from Chicago who has made his hobby his profession. He had worked in many placed that I had snorkelled before. This was his first season in Alaska and he rather excitedly told me that he mainly decided to come to Alaska to see a specific species of fish. The previous week he had done a proper dive and had finally got to see this fish. We hit it off straightaway. We swam over to the shallows where a lot of critters were hanging out. I was introduced to all kinds of different wildlife. He started out with getting a sea urchin up and told me a lot about them. He encouraged me to gently touch it. I was a bit reluctant at first as it looked very spiky, but figured it could not do me any harm through my thick gloves. Next up was a Sea Cucumber. This must be the ugliest creature I have ever seen. Again I was encouraged to touch it, but I point blank refused. This did look unsavoury to me and even with my gloves I was not going to touch it. I was truly bewildered when he told me that the Sea Cucumber is considered a delicacy amongst Sushi lovers.
Staying on the subject of Sushi, we encountered an old friend, bull kelp. Again I was told that this is edible. Apparently apart from in Sushi, it is also eaten pickled. This did not make it any more tempting. What was impressive though is the sheer reach of the bull kelp. We have seen in Seal Beach when we had our beach day, in Victoria and now all the way in Alaska.
The creatures I was most fascinated about where the starfish. I had not appreciated that there are so many different types and some of them have a lot more arms then the characteristic five. I knew that they have an amazing ability to regenerate. I knew beforehand that they have the ability to replace any missing arms. What I did not know is that if you would snap a starfish in half, this would not kill it, but each half would regenerate creating two starfish. I was also fascinated by the fact that starfish have neither a heart nor a brain. They actually pump seawater around their bodies with a sophisticated hydraulic system.
By the time I had seen all the starfish, it was nearly time to get out of the water. We slowly made our way back towards the area where we had got into the water. There we bumped into another guide and some guests and he was showing them some crabs so we stopped and had a look, too. Then it was time to get out of the water and go mountaineering. It was difficult enough getting down the hill because of all the loose rocks, but getting back up was even more difficult. Still, we all made it even though a couple of people took a tumble.
When we got back to the top, we were relieved of our equipment and were encouraged to take of the gloves and the hood. I was not sad to see either of those go. They had a cooler in the back of the support van that instead of ice was filled with warm water. They also had some jugs and encouraged us to unzip the wetsuit and pour some of the warm water down between the wetsuit and the skin. I still felt pretty toasty in my wetsuit, but a lot of other people had started to feel cold. I have to say that even though I felt quite warm, the warm water felt heavenly on the skin.
Once we had handed in all the stuff that we no longer needed and retrieved our bags, it was time to get back on the bus. This was a different bus with plastic seats. We were asked to sit in the back half of the bus so that the front seats would be dry for our trip back to the port. When we got to the dive shop, we were all glad to get our booties and wetsuits off. They have showers out on the deck and we took turns to get showered. It was a bit strange to get showered outside against the Alaskan scenery, but the water was a lovely temperature and the sun was shining straight at the deck so the air did not feel cold either. Once I was showered, I got dried off and then went inside to get changed.
When we were changed, there were various hot drinks on offer. I had a cup of Earl Grey tea. They also sold a range of t-shirts and sweatshirts, but I resisted the temptation. Once everybody was ready, we headed back to the port. We did not go on the bus that had collected us from the dive site after all, but on the bus that had collected us from the port. The scenery was really pretty. Once we got back to the port, we decided to explore Ketchikan a bit more. We quickly took our wet swim stuff back to the cabin and hung it up. I got my big camera and then we headed out again. I am not sure what they made of us that day as we kept getting on and off the ship.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
We wandered away from the port and walked past the building that houses The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show. We then crossed the road and ended up on Creek Street. Creek Street is essentially a boardwalk by the river with lots of pretty houses and some unusual shops that are way above the normal tourist fare. Many of the shops sell locally produced goods including foot items, jewellery and toiletries. As we were entering Creek Street, we walked past Dolly's House and some of the staff there tried to convince us to come in and take the tour. In the olden days, Creek Street was the red light district in Ketchikan and Dolly Arthur was its most famous resident. We passed on this particular pleasure and carried on.
As we were walking along the river, something caught our eye. There were some seals in the river. Neither of us had expected to find seals in a river and we stood there for a while watching them. When we carried on, we came across the Creek Street Funicular Tram. This links Creek Street with Cape Fox Lodge on top of the hill. As we seemed to collect different modes of transportation this trip, we decided to take the trip, as a day pass was only $2 per person. The view going up was pretty stunning and it was even better up at Cape Fox Lodge. I took a few photos of the Wonder and then we took a walk around outside the lodge. There were some more totem poles up there for me to admire as well as some pretty flowers and some stunning scenery.
We wanted to have a look at the Salmon Ladder on the off chance that there may be some early salmon around. We could have walked there from Cape Fox Lodge, but this included going down a rather steep set of stairs. So instead we took the Funicular back down and then walked along Married Man's Trail. This was essentially a continuation of the Creek Street Boardwalk. Eventually we found the salmon ladder, but there were no salmon there yet. The river however was impressive.
As we were walking along the river, something caught our eye. There were some seals in the river. Neither of us had expected to find seals in a river and we stood there for a while watching them. When we carried on, we came across the Creek Street Funicular Tram. This links Creek Street with Cape Fox Lodge on top of the hill. As we seemed to collect different modes of transportation this trip, we decided to take the trip, as a day pass was only $2 per person. The view going up was pretty stunning and it was even better up at Cape Fox Lodge. I took a few photos of the Wonder and then we took a walk around outside the lodge. There were some more totem poles up there for me to admire as well as some pretty flowers and some stunning scenery.
We wanted to have a look at the Salmon Ladder on the off chance that there may be some early salmon around. We could have walked there from Cape Fox Lodge, but this included going down a rather steep set of stairs. So instead we took the Funicular back down and then walked along Married Man's Trail. This was essentially a continuation of the Creek Street Boardwalk. Eventually we found the salmon ladder, but there were no salmon there yet. The river however was impressive.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
We carried on walking towards the Deer Mountain Tribal Hatchery & Eagle Center. Unfortunately when we found this, it stated that they were no longer offering tours. I have since found out that due a lack of funding, all the birds have been transferred to a raptor centre in Sitka. The hatchery is still operational, but they no longer offer tours. We carried on towards the Totem Heritage Center. Unfortunately this was already closed for the day. I would have loved to have a look around. There were some totem poles on display outside and I took some photos of them. We then slowly headed back towards Creek Street. I had a closer look at some of the shops and then we walked back towards the ship.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
When we got back, I got changed and put my jewellery on. I decided to get some photos. When I got downstairs, the line for Mickey and Minnie was closed. I decided to have some photos with the moon backdrop and then went back upstairs to see if I could have some photos with Donald and Daisy. Their line was crazy and after all the activity that day, I felt quite sore. So I decided to pass. I was just about to head back to the atrium when one of the entertainment staff intercepted me and told me that Pluto's line was still open. I figured there would be no harm to check out how long the line is. What I did not expect was that absolutely nobody was there apart from Pluto, his escort and the photographer. I could not pass this up and had a really fun interaction. I then went back down to the atrium and managed to get my photo taken with the Ariel statue.
Graham joined me shortly afterwards and we went up to Animator's Palate for dinner. The menu that day was the Taste of Alaska Dinner Menu. My heart just sunk. I had a look at this menu before the cruise and there is next to nothing on there that I would enjoy. Last year they served this during the rotational night at Parrot Cay. This year however it was served on semi formal night. I ended up mixing and matching a lot that evening. Graham had Trio of Salmon; which consisted of Smoked Salmon, Gravlax and Salmon Canapé rolled in a Potato Wrap with a Dill and Sweet Mustard Sauce followed by Creamy Velvety Fish Soup served with Cod Dumplings and Dill. For his main course he had Juniper-Spiced Elk Tenderloin with leaves of Brussels Sprouts and Baby Carrots on Tiny Noodles with a Black Currant Sauce. He commented that the Elk tasted like Goat. I had Cheese and Carrot Soufflé with a light Wine Cream Sauce, which was actually surprisingly tasty. I did ask our server to leave the Watercress Salad off though. The Yellow Pea Soup garnished with Sour Cream and Bacon was utterly delicious. For my main course I was really struggling. In the end I went with Roasted Pork Tenderloin. As I did not like any of the sides that came with this, I asked for the Potato Gratin and a Cognac-Peppercorn Sauce that came with the steak. Graham was too full for dessert, but for me the dessert was the highlight of dinner, which is rare on Disney Cruise Line. I had the Poached Pear and Hazelnut Cake served with Butter Pecan Ice Cream, Pinot Noir Syrup and Salmonberry Wine Jelly. I should have made a meal out of soup and dessert that night and I would have been happy. As it was semi-formal night, there were photographers in the dining room. We had a photo taken together and we also each had an individual photo.
After dinner, Graham headed back to the cabin. I decided to hang around for some character photos. The lines were quite short and moved quickly as the characters could not sign autographs because of their gloves. I went to see Mickey first and then headed across to Goofy. Goofy was acting all strange and I could not understand at first that he wanted. Then the penny dropped. He had a bungee cord with a karabiner on his backpack. He wanted me to hold on to this so that we looked like we were mountain climbing together. This was so funny.
I decided that I was ready for bed and did not hang around for photos with Minnie. I went back to our cabin. I had a quick look at the Navigator, took a photo of our towel animal and then went to bed.
Graham joined me shortly afterwards and we went up to Animator's Palate for dinner. The menu that day was the Taste of Alaska Dinner Menu. My heart just sunk. I had a look at this menu before the cruise and there is next to nothing on there that I would enjoy. Last year they served this during the rotational night at Parrot Cay. This year however it was served on semi formal night. I ended up mixing and matching a lot that evening. Graham had Trio of Salmon; which consisted of Smoked Salmon, Gravlax and Salmon Canapé rolled in a Potato Wrap with a Dill and Sweet Mustard Sauce followed by Creamy Velvety Fish Soup served with Cod Dumplings and Dill. For his main course he had Juniper-Spiced Elk Tenderloin with leaves of Brussels Sprouts and Baby Carrots on Tiny Noodles with a Black Currant Sauce. He commented that the Elk tasted like Goat. I had Cheese and Carrot Soufflé with a light Wine Cream Sauce, which was actually surprisingly tasty. I did ask our server to leave the Watercress Salad off though. The Yellow Pea Soup garnished with Sour Cream and Bacon was utterly delicious. For my main course I was really struggling. In the end I went with Roasted Pork Tenderloin. As I did not like any of the sides that came with this, I asked for the Potato Gratin and a Cognac-Peppercorn Sauce that came with the steak. Graham was too full for dessert, but for me the dessert was the highlight of dinner, which is rare on Disney Cruise Line. I had the Poached Pear and Hazelnut Cake served with Butter Pecan Ice Cream, Pinot Noir Syrup and Salmonberry Wine Jelly. I should have made a meal out of soup and dessert that night and I would have been happy. As it was semi-formal night, there were photographers in the dining room. We had a photo taken together and we also each had an individual photo.
After dinner, Graham headed back to the cabin. I decided to hang around for some character photos. The lines were quite short and moved quickly as the characters could not sign autographs because of their gloves. I went to see Mickey first and then headed across to Goofy. Goofy was acting all strange and I could not understand at first that he wanted. Then the penny dropped. He had a bungee cord with a karabiner on his backpack. He wanted me to hold on to this so that we looked like we were mountain climbing together. This was so funny.
I decided that I was ready for bed and did not hang around for photos with Minnie. I went back to our cabin. I had a quick look at the Navigator, took a photo of our towel animal and then went to bed.
Love your trip report my sister visited me here in US took a ton of the polish brands you mentioned back with her to UK so much cheaper here
from Amazon and other sites she ordered so many my mail carrier complained of all her shopping as wouldnt fit in mail box she hates me shopping as we live on a hill lazy woman hates walking up to my door.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
I am glad I did it, but would not rush to do it again. It was not actually the temperature that put me off, but the fact that the wetsuit makes you so buoyant that I felt like I had absolutely no control over my own body.
Creek Street was a real surprise. I just loved it.
Welcome. I just had a look at Amazon and fell in love with two sets. I think I need to place an order before I leave and have it shipped to the hotel. I checked the Amazon UK site and they did not have those sets at all.
Well, this was a once in a lifetime trip unless we win the lottery so we have to make the best out of this.
Corinna
Pinkocto
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2011
Somehow I missed an update, just got caught up.
The snorkel excursion is the one mom wants to do in Ketchikan. Yes, I've already looked at all the excursions and bookmarked the favorites
I haven't planned my WBTA but I'm planning the Alaska trip. You've really gotten my looking forward to Alaska. What did Graham think of the snorkeling?
The totems are so cool. The ornament sounds really cute.
Good thing Graham had his wallet for the jewelry
I know I'm going to be in real trouble with shopping in Alaska.
Sorry dinner wasn't the best but glad you found a few tasty items.
The snorkel excursion is the one mom wants to do in Ketchikan. Yes, I've already looked at all the excursions and bookmarked the favorites
I haven't planned my WBTA but I'm planning the Alaska trip. You've really gotten my looking forward to Alaska. What did Graham think of the snorkeling? The totems are so cool. The ornament sounds really cute.
Good thing Graham had his wallet for the jewelry
I know I'm going to be in real trouble with shopping in Alaska. Sorry dinner wasn't the best but glad you found a few tasty items.
Corinna my sister said same thing colors not all available in UK and ones they had way more expensive cant wait for your next trip report thanks really enjoy your reports.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
Somehow I missed an update, just got caught up.
The snorkel excursion is the one mom wants to do in Ketchikan. Yes, I've already looked at all the excursions and bookmarked the favorites
The totems are so cool. The ornament sounds really cute.
Good thing Graham had his wallet for the jewelry
Sorry dinner wasn't the best but glad you found a few tasty items.
The people that run this excursion are absolutely amazing and I think everybody should do this once. Graham loved it. I can't wait to hear what you make of this.
The jewellery in Alaska is a very different proposition. Some of the big chains that you also find in the Caribbean are there like Diamond International, but there are lot of smaller and independent shops that go more along the line of cheaper jewellery.
Corinna
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
Day 18
We had another leisurely start. I had not set a wake up call and we woke up at around 9:30. This was a bit a blow as I had intended to go to the Captain's Corner Question and Answer Session, which was scheduled for 9:30. In all our cruises, I had never managed to attend this and it looked like I would not get to experience it this time round either. I was not too upset about this. I had obviously needed my beauty sleep and I figured that I would get plenty of other chances. I got up and got dressed.
Once I was ready, I said goodbye to Graham and headed down to the atrium. They had another Princess Gathering that morning and I had been advised that this would be the last opportunity to add photos to my CD. So I decided to check this out. The line was nowhere near as long as last time so I got into this. The view while in line was pretty stunning. We were back in British Columbia now and were sailing through a very narrow channel between islands, which meant that we were very close to the coast. So time just flew while I enjoyed the scenery outside the portholes. Soon I was at the front of the line. Snow White, who was the first in the line up seemed to go through families at the rate of knots, but the line then backed up for the other Princesses. I am not quite sure what went wrong that day. Eventually I had seen all the princesses. They all commented on the dress I was wearing. As we had Palo brunch later that day, I was wearing a Hawaiian sundress that I had bought on Oahu last year.
When I was finished with the Princesses, I went up to deck 4. Donald was up there in his nautical outfit, but his line was already closed. I was not that bothered as I managed to get a photo with him in this outfit at Disney California Adventure. I did however decide to hang around for Daisy who was due out shortly afterwards. I love this outfit as true to form for Daisy, it contains plenty of bling. Daisy had a photographer with her so this was an unexpected bonus. When I finished with Daisy, I quickly went to check in with Graham who was in his favourite spot on deck 4.
I had realised in horror that morning that I had never done a fish extender run that week. The gifts that I had made were still sitting in their bag in the wardrobe. So I decided to put this right. When I got back to the cabin, my Vinylmation that I had handed in to guest services had been returned. I had asked for the Princesses to sign this, but the Gang had signed it as well. I really liked how this had turned out. Now I have to figure out what I will have signed next time.
I picked up the Fish Extender gifts and my lists and headed out. I had made cuff links for the men. I had originally wanted them all to be turquoise to go with the ice at Tracy Arm Fjord, but I did not manage to get enough turquoise Mickey heads so I made some red pairs, too. For the girls I made hairpins with pink Mickey heads and for the boys I made pins with purple Mickey heads. The gift for the women was a happy accident. I was originally planning to make hair clips for the girls and had ordered transparent glitter resin Mickey heads for this project. Instead I received larger black Mickey heads that were covered in little black rhinestones. After my initial irritation had blown over, I figured they would make neat brooches and that is what they became. When I did my Fish Extender run, 3 cabins had already removed their Fish Extenders. In one of those cabins, I could hear people talking. So I knocked and handed the gifts over in person. For the other two, I managed to perch the card that I was giving out with the gift on the door handle and put the gifts on top. As they were some lightweight, this worked pretty well.
We had another leisurely start. I had not set a wake up call and we woke up at around 9:30. This was a bit a blow as I had intended to go to the Captain's Corner Question and Answer Session, which was scheduled for 9:30. In all our cruises, I had never managed to attend this and it looked like I would not get to experience it this time round either. I was not too upset about this. I had obviously needed my beauty sleep and I figured that I would get plenty of other chances. I got up and got dressed.
Once I was ready, I said goodbye to Graham and headed down to the atrium. They had another Princess Gathering that morning and I had been advised that this would be the last opportunity to add photos to my CD. So I decided to check this out. The line was nowhere near as long as last time so I got into this. The view while in line was pretty stunning. We were back in British Columbia now and were sailing through a very narrow channel between islands, which meant that we were very close to the coast. So time just flew while I enjoyed the scenery outside the portholes. Soon I was at the front of the line. Snow White, who was the first in the line up seemed to go through families at the rate of knots, but the line then backed up for the other Princesses. I am not quite sure what went wrong that day. Eventually I had seen all the princesses. They all commented on the dress I was wearing. As we had Palo brunch later that day, I was wearing a Hawaiian sundress that I had bought on Oahu last year.
When I was finished with the Princesses, I went up to deck 4. Donald was up there in his nautical outfit, but his line was already closed. I was not that bothered as I managed to get a photo with him in this outfit at Disney California Adventure. I did however decide to hang around for Daisy who was due out shortly afterwards. I love this outfit as true to form for Daisy, it contains plenty of bling. Daisy had a photographer with her so this was an unexpected bonus. When I finished with Daisy, I quickly went to check in with Graham who was in his favourite spot on deck 4.
I had realised in horror that morning that I had never done a fish extender run that week. The gifts that I had made were still sitting in their bag in the wardrobe. So I decided to put this right. When I got back to the cabin, my Vinylmation that I had handed in to guest services had been returned. I had asked for the Princesses to sign this, but the Gang had signed it as well. I really liked how this had turned out. Now I have to figure out what I will have signed next time.
I picked up the Fish Extender gifts and my lists and headed out. I had made cuff links for the men. I had originally wanted them all to be turquoise to go with the ice at Tracy Arm Fjord, but I did not manage to get enough turquoise Mickey heads so I made some red pairs, too. For the girls I made hairpins with pink Mickey heads and for the boys I made pins with purple Mickey heads. The gift for the women was a happy accident. I was originally planning to make hair clips for the girls and had ordered transparent glitter resin Mickey heads for this project. Instead I received larger black Mickey heads that were covered in little black rhinestones. After my initial irritation had blown over, I figured they would make neat brooches and that is what they became. When I did my Fish Extender run, 3 cabins had already removed their Fish Extenders. In one of those cabins, I could hear people talking. So I knocked and handed the gifts over in person. For the other two, I managed to perch the card that I was giving out with the gift on the door handle and put the gifts on top. As they were some lightweight, this worked pretty well.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
When I finished my Fish Extender run, it was nearly time to go down to Treasure Ketch for the Captain's signing. This turned out to be a bit complicated. When I first saw the Disney character totem pole, I knew that I wanted this and also that this was what I would ask the Captain to sign. I had found one that had no sticky label on the base, which was perfect. When I bought it, they insisted on giving me a boxed one. All my protestations that I had picked this out specifically fell on deaf earth. I was assured that the boxed totem poles did not have the label on the base as the label was on the box. Of course, when I unpacked it in preparation of the signing, I noticed that it did have a label on the base. I tried to remove this, but it left a horrible sticky residue. I went back to the shop to see if they had something to take the sticky residue off. They said that they had and to come and see them before I went to the signing. Of course, when I did, they just swapped it for the one that I had picked out originally.
With this out of the way, I got in line for the Captain's signing. The line was reasonably short and our cruise director was around to talk to people in line. We had a different cruise director for both parts of the back-to-back cruises, but they were both very nice. While I was in line, I discovered once more what makes Disney so magical. Right in front of me was a lady with her two grandchildren. Both of them had a china trinket box with a picture of the ship on the lid that they wanted the Captain to sign. Something had happened on the way to the signing and one of the lids got broken. They were discussing where best to ask the Captain to sign it and how they would try to glue it together at home. One of the merchandise staff overheard this and got them a new trinket box from the shop. The face of this little boy was a picture. Eventually it was my turn to have my totem pole signed. The irony was that although I handed the totem pole over base first, the Captain opted to sign the back of the totem pole. Something else interesting happened. The Captain asked me if Graham had taken any more interesting photos. I knew that they were discussing birds at one point during the cruise, as they are both avid birdwatchers. I just assumed that Graham had shown him some of his wildlife photos. I responded that he had taken a few. When I told Graham about this, we looked totally bewildered. When he and Captain Thord talked, this was on the first day of this cruise before he took the photos and Graham had not talked to him since. There were some members of the crew that had seen those photos as well as the naturalist. So one of them must have told Captain Thord about this.
I quickly retrieved Graham from his viewing spot and we went back to the cabin. I dropped off my totem pole and picked up my camera. Graham needed to get changed as we had brunch at Palo booked. Actually getting there was an adventure. The deck near Palo had been roped off on the port side. We cut across to the starboard side and walked all the way around. At least I got another couple of nice photos of the scenery in the process. When we got to the door to the elevator lobby, this was locked. We had to make our way back down to deck 9 and were then able to get to Palo through the elevator lobby by Beach Blanket Buffet.
As this made us slightly late, there was nobody by the entrance to check us in. One of the servers spotted us and sent the restaurant manager in our direction. We were seated and had a table right by the window. We were offered a drink. Graham had some sparkling wine and I had a Mimosa. Then we hit the buffet. Graham had some seafood and cold meats. He finally decided to have some crab. I decided to go for the pastries and had some of the nut and cinnamon bread and also a brioche with mascarpone and strawberry filling. I also had some melon and Parma ham. We then decided to share a pizza. We had half spicy Italian sausage and half Grape and Cambozola. We then both ordered the Chicken Parmigiana with Risotto. Graham enjoyed this and I think he now understands why I get this every time we have brunch at Palo. I had hoped that by passing on the cold meats and cheeses and not having the chilled strawberry soup. I would have some room for dessert, but I was still full to bursting. I did however have some chocolate covered strawberries with my coffee and Graham had some covered with white chocolate. We paid and said goodbye to Mladen and the restaurant managers whose name I never did find out. On the way out, I took some photos of some signed bottles from John Lasseter's winery and of some of the masks near the entrance.
I was in a mad rush when we left Palo. While I was in line for the Captain's signing, there was an announcement with the activities for the rest of the day. The one thing that attracted my interest was a question and answer session with the Captain. After I thought I had missed this yet again, I was given another chance at this. I am not sure if this had not happened in the morning or if they decided to offer a second session. We left Palo just as the session was supposed to start. I had asked Graham if he wanted to come, but he told me that I knew where to find him. So I went to Wavebands. They only had started when I got there. About 5 minutes later, Graham decided to join me after all. I learned a lot of interesting things. The staff turnover is extremely low and the retention rate is among the highest in the industry. I always assumed that all the fresh water was made on the ship, but they are actually taking on as much drinking water as they can in ports if the water quality there makes it safe to do so. We also learned that the technology for making fresh water on the ship is different on the classic ships and the new ships. On the classic ships, fresh water is made through a process of reverse osmosis whereas on the new ships they use a condensation process. Something else that was interesting is the incentive that they have for the crew in regards to recycling. I always knew that Disney Cruise Line recycles a staggering amount, both in terms of sheer volume and the different things that get recycled. Captain Thord explained to us that Disney Cruise Line has an agreement that all money that is made from the recycling is spent on the crew.
After this question and answer session, we went to Shutters. I had a look at the photos on and off all week, but Graham had not seen them. I also had to make sure that all the photos had made it on the kiosk. I was handed a rather large bundle of prints. Fortunately a table had turned up next to one of the kiosks. So I could have two piles for photos that I already had checked and for ones that I had yet to check. There was only one photo that had not made it on the kiosk. I took this to the counter and asked for it to be added.
Graham headed back to his favourite spot. I went back to the cabin to start the packing. Graham had already done so at one point. Even though we had done some laundry the previous week, we had a lot of laundry. I decided that I would do some laundry and then I would not have to worry too much about laundry when I get home. I could not get any washers on deck 6. Most of the washers were finished, but the owners of the clothes had not come back to put their washing into a dryer. I waited for a few minutes, but nobody came. So I decided to check out the laundry room on deck 7, which is the biggest laundry room on the ship. There I had not problem getting two washing machines. I set the laundry going, took my bags back to the cabin and joined Graham on deck 4 to enjoy the scenery. I kept an eye on the time and when I knew that the machines were about to finish, I went back to put my clothes into the dryer.
For the next couple of hours, I took turns checking if clothes were dry, folding and sorting them and putting them in the suitcase. This made the packing process easy and painless. In between I joined Graham to enjoy the view. I also had a last bit of shopping to do. I had fallen in love with the fleece blankets with sleeves that they had. They had red ones with Minnie and blue ones with Mickey heads. I had been in two minds about this all cruise, but finally figured that it would be really nice to have for flights as I am always cold on planes. So I went for it. As it was starting to get a little chilly, I tried it out straightaway. I so wished that I had already bought this for the Tracy Arm day. Still, I got good use out of it that afternoon.
We realised that we still had our bottle of wine in the fridge. So once all the laundry was done, I quickly went up to the drinks station on deck 9 to pick up a couple of the coffee cups, as they are a bit sturdier. Graham then went back to the cabin and filled them with the wine. We enjoyed our wine while watching the scenery.
About half an hour before dinner, we went back to the cabin. I had brought the luggage labels and the customs forms with me to deck 4 to fill out so they were all done. We packed the last few odds and ends, attached the luggage labels and then put them outside to be collected. We had been in two minds about this. If we kept them, we would be first off the ship. However, it was also tempting to put them out and have breakfast. In the end we decided that we would have breakfast on the ship. We had decided against the hop on hop off tour and were just going to head to Stanley Park the next day so we would not be in any rush.
Once the luggage had gone outside, we went to dinner one last time. Dinner that night was the Till We Meet Again menu and we were in Parrot Cay for dinner that night. Graham had the Lobster and Crawfish Bisque served with roasted Corn Relish followed by Garlic and Rosemary Marinated Lamb Sirloin with Onion, Leek, Potato Gratin and Sun-Dried Tomato Jus. I had Grilled Potato and Goat Cheese Napoleon with Balsamic-Basil Vinaigrette followed by Potato and Leek Soup garnished with Sour Cream and Chives. For my main course I had Roasted Filet of Beef Wellington covered with Mushroom Stuffing wrapped in Puff Pastry served with Fingerling Potatoes, Baby Vegetables and a Cabernet Black Truffle Jus. Graham passed on dessert, as he knew what would be coming. As soon as he heard Tinkerbell fly, which is the signal for the serving teams to return to the galley, he was out of there. I had the Baked Alaska for my dessert. I stayed to enjoy the show that night. I always find it very moving when all the serving teams parade around the dining room on the last night waving flags of all the nationalities represented on the ship to a Caribbean version of It's A Small World. When our serving team came back, they wanted to know where Graham had gone. I told them that he had gone to our cabin, but that we would both be back for breakfast the next morning. I finished my dessert, gave out the tip envelopes and then I left, too.
At some point I caught up with Graham again. I wanted to see Stitch one last time and convinced Graham to come with me so that I had somebody to take photos. We got into position in the spot where Stitch normally hangs out near the Future Cruise Booking desk. I went on the balcony overlooking the atrium as the characters normally come down the stairs and congregate in the atrium before going to their spots to meet people. Nothing seemed to be happening so I went back to where Graham was standing. He told me that Stitch had arrived and was outside on the deck. I went outside but by now the sun had set and it was freezing. Fortunately Stitch decided to come inside. When we were back inside and Stitch saw me properly, he slowly made a heart shape over his chest with both hands to tell me that he loved me. I nearly lost it there and then. I have had many wonderful interactions with Stitch, but he never told me that he loved me. We had another great interaction and Graham was snapping away with my camera. Eventually it was time to say goodbye. We both were tired and we still needed to sort out our hand luggage.
We went back to our cabin and packed the last odds and ends. I took a photo of our towel animal and got ready for bed. I was just about to get into bed and noticed that the message light was blinking. I thought I better listen to the message or else the blinking light would annoy me. It was Shutters to let me know that my CD was ready for collection. This was the first time this ever happened. So I got dressed again and headed to Shutters. As I walked past the atrium, they were just finishing off Till We Meet Again. Stitch was refusing to leave and everybody had to convince him that it was bedtime. I saw him one last time from a distance when he came up the stairs and headed into Studio Sea. Then I carried on to Shutters. There was hardly anybody there. I checked the number of photos that was printed on the label and realised that if the count was right, the photo that I had asked to be added had not made it. I mentioned this to one of the staff and she said she would check with the lab and if it had not made it on the CD, they would burn a separate CD with the photo for me. We agreed that I would come back the following morning to check. With my CD in hand, I went back to he cabin and finally went to bed.
With this out of the way, I got in line for the Captain's signing. The line was reasonably short and our cruise director was around to talk to people in line. We had a different cruise director for both parts of the back-to-back cruises, but they were both very nice. While I was in line, I discovered once more what makes Disney so magical. Right in front of me was a lady with her two grandchildren. Both of them had a china trinket box with a picture of the ship on the lid that they wanted the Captain to sign. Something had happened on the way to the signing and one of the lids got broken. They were discussing where best to ask the Captain to sign it and how they would try to glue it together at home. One of the merchandise staff overheard this and got them a new trinket box from the shop. The face of this little boy was a picture. Eventually it was my turn to have my totem pole signed. The irony was that although I handed the totem pole over base first, the Captain opted to sign the back of the totem pole. Something else interesting happened. The Captain asked me if Graham had taken any more interesting photos. I knew that they were discussing birds at one point during the cruise, as they are both avid birdwatchers. I just assumed that Graham had shown him some of his wildlife photos. I responded that he had taken a few. When I told Graham about this, we looked totally bewildered. When he and Captain Thord talked, this was on the first day of this cruise before he took the photos and Graham had not talked to him since. There were some members of the crew that had seen those photos as well as the naturalist. So one of them must have told Captain Thord about this.
I quickly retrieved Graham from his viewing spot and we went back to the cabin. I dropped off my totem pole and picked up my camera. Graham needed to get changed as we had brunch at Palo booked. Actually getting there was an adventure. The deck near Palo had been roped off on the port side. We cut across to the starboard side and walked all the way around. At least I got another couple of nice photos of the scenery in the process. When we got to the door to the elevator lobby, this was locked. We had to make our way back down to deck 9 and were then able to get to Palo through the elevator lobby by Beach Blanket Buffet.
As this made us slightly late, there was nobody by the entrance to check us in. One of the servers spotted us and sent the restaurant manager in our direction. We were seated and had a table right by the window. We were offered a drink. Graham had some sparkling wine and I had a Mimosa. Then we hit the buffet. Graham had some seafood and cold meats. He finally decided to have some crab. I decided to go for the pastries and had some of the nut and cinnamon bread and also a brioche with mascarpone and strawberry filling. I also had some melon and Parma ham. We then decided to share a pizza. We had half spicy Italian sausage and half Grape and Cambozola. We then both ordered the Chicken Parmigiana with Risotto. Graham enjoyed this and I think he now understands why I get this every time we have brunch at Palo. I had hoped that by passing on the cold meats and cheeses and not having the chilled strawberry soup. I would have some room for dessert, but I was still full to bursting. I did however have some chocolate covered strawberries with my coffee and Graham had some covered with white chocolate. We paid and said goodbye to Mladen and the restaurant managers whose name I never did find out. On the way out, I took some photos of some signed bottles from John Lasseter's winery and of some of the masks near the entrance.
I was in a mad rush when we left Palo. While I was in line for the Captain's signing, there was an announcement with the activities for the rest of the day. The one thing that attracted my interest was a question and answer session with the Captain. After I thought I had missed this yet again, I was given another chance at this. I am not sure if this had not happened in the morning or if they decided to offer a second session. We left Palo just as the session was supposed to start. I had asked Graham if he wanted to come, but he told me that I knew where to find him. So I went to Wavebands. They only had started when I got there. About 5 minutes later, Graham decided to join me after all. I learned a lot of interesting things. The staff turnover is extremely low and the retention rate is among the highest in the industry. I always assumed that all the fresh water was made on the ship, but they are actually taking on as much drinking water as they can in ports if the water quality there makes it safe to do so. We also learned that the technology for making fresh water on the ship is different on the classic ships and the new ships. On the classic ships, fresh water is made through a process of reverse osmosis whereas on the new ships they use a condensation process. Something else that was interesting is the incentive that they have for the crew in regards to recycling. I always knew that Disney Cruise Line recycles a staggering amount, both in terms of sheer volume and the different things that get recycled. Captain Thord explained to us that Disney Cruise Line has an agreement that all money that is made from the recycling is spent on the crew.
After this question and answer session, we went to Shutters. I had a look at the photos on and off all week, but Graham had not seen them. I also had to make sure that all the photos had made it on the kiosk. I was handed a rather large bundle of prints. Fortunately a table had turned up next to one of the kiosks. So I could have two piles for photos that I already had checked and for ones that I had yet to check. There was only one photo that had not made it on the kiosk. I took this to the counter and asked for it to be added.
Graham headed back to his favourite spot. I went back to the cabin to start the packing. Graham had already done so at one point. Even though we had done some laundry the previous week, we had a lot of laundry. I decided that I would do some laundry and then I would not have to worry too much about laundry when I get home. I could not get any washers on deck 6. Most of the washers were finished, but the owners of the clothes had not come back to put their washing into a dryer. I waited for a few minutes, but nobody came. So I decided to check out the laundry room on deck 7, which is the biggest laundry room on the ship. There I had not problem getting two washing machines. I set the laundry going, took my bags back to the cabin and joined Graham on deck 4 to enjoy the scenery. I kept an eye on the time and when I knew that the machines were about to finish, I went back to put my clothes into the dryer.
For the next couple of hours, I took turns checking if clothes were dry, folding and sorting them and putting them in the suitcase. This made the packing process easy and painless. In between I joined Graham to enjoy the view. I also had a last bit of shopping to do. I had fallen in love with the fleece blankets with sleeves that they had. They had red ones with Minnie and blue ones with Mickey heads. I had been in two minds about this all cruise, but finally figured that it would be really nice to have for flights as I am always cold on planes. So I went for it. As it was starting to get a little chilly, I tried it out straightaway. I so wished that I had already bought this for the Tracy Arm day. Still, I got good use out of it that afternoon.
We realised that we still had our bottle of wine in the fridge. So once all the laundry was done, I quickly went up to the drinks station on deck 9 to pick up a couple of the coffee cups, as they are a bit sturdier. Graham then went back to the cabin and filled them with the wine. We enjoyed our wine while watching the scenery.
About half an hour before dinner, we went back to the cabin. I had brought the luggage labels and the customs forms with me to deck 4 to fill out so they were all done. We packed the last few odds and ends, attached the luggage labels and then put them outside to be collected. We had been in two minds about this. If we kept them, we would be first off the ship. However, it was also tempting to put them out and have breakfast. In the end we decided that we would have breakfast on the ship. We had decided against the hop on hop off tour and were just going to head to Stanley Park the next day so we would not be in any rush.
Once the luggage had gone outside, we went to dinner one last time. Dinner that night was the Till We Meet Again menu and we were in Parrot Cay for dinner that night. Graham had the Lobster and Crawfish Bisque served with roasted Corn Relish followed by Garlic and Rosemary Marinated Lamb Sirloin with Onion, Leek, Potato Gratin and Sun-Dried Tomato Jus. I had Grilled Potato and Goat Cheese Napoleon with Balsamic-Basil Vinaigrette followed by Potato and Leek Soup garnished with Sour Cream and Chives. For my main course I had Roasted Filet of Beef Wellington covered with Mushroom Stuffing wrapped in Puff Pastry served with Fingerling Potatoes, Baby Vegetables and a Cabernet Black Truffle Jus. Graham passed on dessert, as he knew what would be coming. As soon as he heard Tinkerbell fly, which is the signal for the serving teams to return to the galley, he was out of there. I had the Baked Alaska for my dessert. I stayed to enjoy the show that night. I always find it very moving when all the serving teams parade around the dining room on the last night waving flags of all the nationalities represented on the ship to a Caribbean version of It's A Small World. When our serving team came back, they wanted to know where Graham had gone. I told them that he had gone to our cabin, but that we would both be back for breakfast the next morning. I finished my dessert, gave out the tip envelopes and then I left, too.
At some point I caught up with Graham again. I wanted to see Stitch one last time and convinced Graham to come with me so that I had somebody to take photos. We got into position in the spot where Stitch normally hangs out near the Future Cruise Booking desk. I went on the balcony overlooking the atrium as the characters normally come down the stairs and congregate in the atrium before going to their spots to meet people. Nothing seemed to be happening so I went back to where Graham was standing. He told me that Stitch had arrived and was outside on the deck. I went outside but by now the sun had set and it was freezing. Fortunately Stitch decided to come inside. When we were back inside and Stitch saw me properly, he slowly made a heart shape over his chest with both hands to tell me that he loved me. I nearly lost it there and then. I have had many wonderful interactions with Stitch, but he never told me that he loved me. We had another great interaction and Graham was snapping away with my camera. Eventually it was time to say goodbye. We both were tired and we still needed to sort out our hand luggage.
We went back to our cabin and packed the last odds and ends. I took a photo of our towel animal and got ready for bed. I was just about to get into bed and noticed that the message light was blinking. I thought I better listen to the message or else the blinking light would annoy me. It was Shutters to let me know that my CD was ready for collection. This was the first time this ever happened. So I got dressed again and headed to Shutters. As I walked past the atrium, they were just finishing off Till We Meet Again. Stitch was refusing to leave and everybody had to convince him that it was bedtime. I saw him one last time from a distance when he came up the stairs and headed into Studio Sea. Then I carried on to Shutters. There was hardly anybody there. I checked the number of photos that was printed on the label and realised that if the count was right, the photo that I had asked to be added had not made it. I mentioned this to one of the staff and she said she would check with the lab and if it had not made it on the CD, they would burn a separate CD with the photo for me. We agreed that I would come back the following morning to check. With my CD in hand, I went back to he cabin and finally went to bed.
Pinkocto
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2011
The last day already, how can his be!?
Those doofuses at the shop, why didn't they just give you the one you picked out from the beginning...
I'll have to bookmark the Captain question/answer event, that sounded great. I don't think I've ever noticed it on the navigator.
I hope they fixed the last photo.
Nice FE gifts, glad you remembered to give them out.
Those doofuses at the shop, why didn't they just give you the one you picked out from the beginning...
I'll have to bookmark the Captain question/answer event, that sounded great. I don't think I've ever noticed it on the navigator.
I hope they fixed the last photo.
Nice FE gifts, glad you remembered to give them out.
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
There is still a day in Vancouver and 2.5 days in Seattle to come, which were pretty spectacular, too.
The Captain's Corner Question and Answer session is usually around 10:00 on the last sea day on the classic ships. I am not sure if they offer this on the two new ships, too.
The photo was sorted out.
As to my totem pole ornament, I suppose they thought that a boxed ornament would be easier to get home, but the first thing I did anyway was to throw the box out and just wrapped the ornament in some clothes.
Corinna
dolphingirl47
In Search of the Tag Fairy
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2007
I'll definitely keep an eye on the navigator for this. I'll be on the Wonder, Fantasy, and Magic next year so hopefully I'll be able to catch it at least once. I also want to do a galley tour sometime.
I'm glad the vacation still has a few days
I was under the impression that the galley tours had been discontinued. I think I managed to do one of the last once offered in January 2011 on the Wonder.
Corinna
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