The magical WBTA 2022 - Transatlantic from Dover to New York - 18-30 SEP

[Karin1984]

I am right of the Disney Magic's Transatlantic. Currently waiting for the plane to bring me back home to Europe.

We had quite some adventures, we got rerouted from Plymouth to Portland/Weymouth because of fuelling issues, we had a medical emergency going to the Azores for a helicopter pick up and we were going to Bermuda, which meant lots of fun with paying $40, getting a test before and during the cruise (aka 'the disappearing guests, or, the lack of isolation rooms'), but we could also hug characters again!

The cruise was amazing, the guests and the cast members were wonderful and the atmosphere on board was the best.

There were 1.538 passengers, this was about 55% capacity.

I have a list of the activities and tastings etc on my laptop, that will follow in a next post

This was my second cruise. First was a 4 night on the Magic out of Miami to the Bahamas. I liked it. So, I have been looking to book a next cruise. Covid delayed a few things.

Why this WBTA cruise?
- price, it is reasonably affordable when you calculate the price per night and what you get in return.
- more entertainment, more character costumes, more shows.
- you can't do it all, not even on a transatlantic. But you do have a chance to do and try more.
- why wbta, 1 hour time back each night. Except when hopping between mainland and the UK. But also it is port heavy in the beginning and then it gets into relax mode.
- not a reason up front, but it was very nice to get to know guests and CMs better than you do on a shorter cruise. There was a small group of guests who went to all the characters and standing line with the same people, you bond. Same with photographers, servers, cruise directors, character handlers and who else came by.

I was travelling solo which I absolutely love. I love having the stateroom to myself and just do as I please. Sometimes I kept going, changing my mind a dozen times an hour. Sometimes I went back to my room to take a nap.

I had sent Disney a message about table mates. I was fine with other adults or by myself but preferably not sit me with a family with children, because then you are usually a fifth wheel.

I ended up at a table for 6, we were 4 solo travellers and 1 couple. The others were all from the US. We connected well, the couple shared a bottle of wine several times with the table. We found each other on the ship several times and did some activities together, either a show, trivia, anyone can cook.

Our server team was head server Talita from Brazil, on my first cruise the head server never came by. I think i only saw him once. Talita came by several times. For 3 nights she was replaced by Joel (Phillipines) due to her having back issues. One night I wasnt feeling well and she noticed, and came by the table to check on me. Artha from Indonesia (Bali) and Maxime from France (Bordeaux). Both were wonderful and definitely wouldnt mind having them again.

Other great among the server CMs, Goncalo from Portugal, Jojo from Portugal, Tierney (T) from Wales, Ross from Scotland.

My host was Kristina from Phillipines, she was on her first contract, and our entire hallway was raving about her. If there was a grade above 'excellent', she got it. 11 out of 10. A++++. We were almost fighting over who got to take her home she had the perfect bubbly Disney personality, she was very friendly, helpful and managed to exceed expectations and surprise each and everyone of us.

I did 2 brunches at Palo (both booked on board), both times my server was Srdjan from Montenegro. He and manager Sacha (Croatia) were absolute perfection.

More will follow, but please: Bring on your questions!

 

[Karin1984]

Below the lists of the activitities on board the WBTA 2022.
I'm sure I forgot a thing or two.

Musicians
- James Teal, violinst (Atrium or Promenade)
- Bernadett, pianist (Atrium, Promenade, Keys)
- Will Pearson, pianist/singer (Keys)
- Soul Duo (Atrium, Promenade, Fathoms)
- Morning Star Trio (Mainly O’Gills & Promenade, and Lantern festival in Rapunzel's)
Morning Star was specifically Irish/Celtic music, the others could be anything from Broadway, to Disney, to R&B, Jazz.

Characters:
- Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Pluto, Chip & Dale
Outfits: Classic, cruise casual, formal, pirates, swimwear, beachwear and loads of stuff they had on board for the European cruises. French, Italian, Spanish, Norwegian.
Sleepwalking Goofy came by once, I missed him.
In total we had 5 group pictures with above, classic, cruise casual, formal, pirates and beachwear.
- Princesses: Mulan, Snow, Cinderella, Ariel, Tiana en Rapunzel.
- Marvel: Captain America, Spiderman, Thor
- Toy Story: Woody, Jessie.
- Other: Captain Hook & Smee, Captain Jack Sparrow, Stitch (regular & pirate), Olaf, Joy
- Duos, they weren't always announce as duos: Goofy & Max, Goofy & Donald, Mickey & Minnie, Woody & Jessie
- There were magical shots, in Rapunzel's, in the gazebo on deck 9, on deck 4.

Movies in the Buena Vista Theater:
- Thor: Love & Thunder
- Pinocchio
- West Side Story
- Dr. Strange,
- Encanto
- Newsies
- Shang-Chi and the legends of the ten Rings
- Lightyear
- The Rocketeer
- Death on the Nile
- The love bug
- Free Guy
- Ford v. Ferrari
- Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers

Gym Classes on deck:
- Stretching
- Yoga
- Fab Abs
- Pilates
Classes in the gym: Spinning & Bootcamp
There was also Walk A Mile

Arts & crafts:
- Coloring
- Buttons
- 3D Crafts
- Origami creations
- Nautical knots
- Family crafts
- Napkin folding
- Memory pages
- Door hangers
- Masks (non covid ;-) )
- Towel folding

Trivia:
- Disney
- Villains quotes
- Hero quotes
- Frozen
- Aladdin
- Lion King
- Music trivia from all eras
- Pirates
- Marvel
- Disney tunes
- Pixar
- TV tunes
- Brain teasers
- Movie quotes
- Toy Story
- Know it all
- Theme park
- DCL
- Sports
There was also a pub quiz in O’gills.

Anyone can cook, John Ashton:
- Fish Sandwich with tartar sauce
- Shrimp & avocado
- Ragu alla Bolognese
- Margarite/key lime dessert.
- New York Cheesecake

Bruce Kimbrell (Disney imagineer):
- Magic of Main Street
- People of Main Street 1 & 2
- The Secrets of Disneyland (Walt’s apartment, Club 33 and Dream Suite)
- Disneyland 10 years and counting / announcement Disney World
- Walt Disney the Genius
- Disneyland Firsts & Flops

Spa talks:
- Herbs that heal
- Acupuncture
- Losing weight
- Facial rejuveniation
- Foot print
- Posture
- Tighten/lift/contour
- Wrinkle remedies
- Burn fat faster
- Digestive management
- Eat more to weigh less
- Cool sculpting

Dance classes (Alex & Kimberly)
- Cha cha cha
- Rumba
- Tango
- Waltz
- Jive
- Samba
- On Pirate Night they had a summary of the dances they had taught. Also they had a deck party Dancing Under the Stars.

Tastings:
- Champagne
- Cognac
- Stem to Stern
- Mixology
- Beer
- Martinii
- Chocolate & liquor
- Tea
- Cheese,
- Bourbon
- Tequila & margarita
- Rum
- Oil & vinegar
- Mojito & caipirinha
- Whiskey

Walt Disney Theatre:
- Graffiti Classics (3 violins and a chello + comedy)
- DNA
- The Fly Boys (modern songs in a vintage way)
- Twice Charmed
- Siegfried Tieber (close up magic)
- Jay Rawlings (juggler)
- Once Upon A Song
- John Kimmons (ventroloquist)
- Tangled
- Broadway Guest (Lisa Karlin)
- Crew Talent Show
- Disney Dreams

Fathoms: Graffiti Classics, DNA, Fly Boys, Siegfried Tieber, Jay Rawlings, Cabaret, John Kimmons, Frozen Phrases, Generation Quest, Match Your Mate, Majority Rules, Q&A, introduction to the art of magic (Siegfried Tieber), Talk to the hand (John Kimmons)

Deck parties:
- Sail Awave
- Fun in the Sun
- Freezing the Night Away
- Dancing under the stars
- Pirates

We also had: Animation classes, bingo, art of the theme tour, karaoke, silent dance party, Snippets, after hours dance party, photochallenges, Diamond/watch/shopping, Jack Jack’s Diaper Dash, Captain’s Reception, all kinds of family games in D-lounge (Mouseketeer madness, inside out, Pirate night), guess the Carat, friends of Bill W., Happy Hours, Photochallenges, boat building, Veteran’s Gathering, Grandparents brag session. Bridge Virtual Tours, Hide & Seek with the officers.

On the 19th they showed the Queen's funeral in O'Gills.

 

[Ronneeaght]

Oh my goodness, I’m getting on the Magic shortly for a 5 night to Bermuda and now you have me wanting to do the TA!! That’s an amazing list of activities. Following along, and thanks for all the information

 

[Karin1984]

Oh my goodness, I’m getting on the Magic shortly for a 5 night to Bermuda and now you have me wanting to do the TA!! That’s an amazing list of activities. Following along, and thanks for all the information

Do it!

I would definitely do a TA again, the biggest downside was 5 sea days in a row. It was too much for my taste and for most people I spoke to. There are plenty of pros to outweigh this con, but it is something you have to prepare for that by day 4/5 you start to long for other activities and see new things.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Wow! I loved Graffiti Classic!!

Looking forward to more of these kinds of offerings on our transatlantic next year!

 

[Silly Girl]

How was the weather throughout the cruise? We have decided to take the WBTA in 2023 and trying to get a feel for what to pack.

 

[Karin1984]

How was the weather throughout the cruise? We have decided to take the WBTA in 2023 and trying to get a feel for what to pack.

We were very lucky with the weather. It was sunny and warm for most of the time, the pools were open and well used on most days.
Day 1 in Dover wasn't cold, but it was clouded.
On day 6 or 7 we had a medical emergency and go to the Azores for a helicopter pick up, we had some rain due to tropical storm/hurricane Gaston.
Day 12 was the worst, the last day before New York, probably due to Ian we had a lot of rain and wind and the pools were closed till around 6 or 7 pm.

 

[Karin1984]

I have been thinking about how to do a trip report on this Transatlantic Cruise. I do want to report back on my experiences, however, with a cruise this long and especially with a lot of sea days in a row, you develop some sort of a routine.

For example, I woke up early on most days, therefore I joined the yoga/stretch sessions on deck at 7, had breakfast, on seadays Anyone Can Cook started at 10:15, but you had to start queuing early to get a (good) seat, lunch around 12, at 1 was the character group picture. Show at 6:15, something in between at 7:30, dinner at 8:30. And I filled up the empty time with either seeing more characters or the Rainforest Room.

So, some days will get very repetitive. I think I'll just write about my thoughts per topic. If there is anything specific you want to hear about, let me know!

My first topic will be... Mocktails!
I do not drink alcohol, but I like a good mocktail. My only issue when you look at the menus or the drink of the day you can see they are aimed at children. A fancy drink the kid can order while mum and did sip on their deliciousness. The non-alcoholic drinks of the day are usually not very exciting when it comes to using herbs/spices, or non-alcoholic liquors. They are usually just a blend of juices or basically a milkshake, made with only 3 or 4 ingredients. Which can be fine, but sometimes I want something a little more grown up and adventureous. It also helps if it's in a fancy glass ;-)

Luckily, most bartenders are creative enough to just make something for you

There were two bartenders who got confused when I asked them to make me something not on the menu without alcohol. And there was one weird incident. The bartender asked me why I don't drink alcohol, I answer about alcohol issues my father had (no issue for me to talk about it), he was taken aback for a second and then went on that maybe I should try alcohol one day. He dropped the topic after my firm 'no, I will not drink alcohol one day'. But it was a bit weird.

Mocktails were about $6-7 a piece. Twice I ended up in Keys or O'Gills during happy hour and they were 50% off. I was surprised that the drinks of the day weren't included in the happy hour discounts, but c'est la vie!

Let's get into the fun:
My first one with the white cliffs of Dover in the back. Made by Wilson from Portugal (I think this was made in Signals), and contained lime, agave, passion fruit, pine apple and a slice of dried orange. Yes, this one is mainly fruit juices, but the addition of lime gave it a nice twist. Lime / sour flavours are usually not on the list of ingredients of the standard non-alcoholic drinks of the day. My guess is that they try to keep the kiddie-cocktails as sweet as possible.

Day 2, basically a virgin pina colava with pineapple and raspberry, made bij O.J. in O'Gills
One of my favorites.


Day 3: Risa in Keys made me a Virgin Mango Mojito. It had lime, mint, agave, mango and sprite in it.
Also very good.


Day 5
Made by Sergio in Keys, virgin passion fruit martini


Day 6:
I don't remember who made it, but it was made in the Promenade Lounge.
Also no idea of the name, but I did wrote down some of the ingredients: Grenadine, orange juice, strawberry juice, lime juice, agave, whipcream and a cherry on top.


Day 7
This was in Keys: Citron juice, orange juice, agave, sweet & sour, fresh lime and gingerbeer


Day 8:
This was the non-alcoholic drink of the day. Made by O.J. in O'Gills, however he didn't know what the recipe was. I showed him the app, and he just made something with it. It wasn't supposed to be blended, I think. Delicious none the less. I guess this was named 'star night': Strawberry puree, orange passion guava juice and pineapple juice.


Day 10
The most adventurous non-alcoholic drink of the day: Purple Basil Lemonade, cranberry Juice, lime wedge, club soda and basil leaves.
The only issue was... The Promenade Lounge was out of basil leaves. it was the end of the European season and during the TA cruise... they slowly ran out of ingredients. The bar tender (Chris?) went on the hunt to find me some basil leaves. It took him a long time to return and I didn't dare to leave after all his effort. It was worth it. It was a great drink. Definitely will try to make this one myself.



Day 11:
Made in the Promenade lounge by Maddie (earning her ears, England), called a Bittersweet Sensation. She started off with cranberry and grapefruit and then asked me if I wanted sprite or soda. I said sprite, but bartender Natalija (had her ears earned, Croatia) didn't let her. She told her to add agave as well and then soda. No Sprite. I'm not a big fan of grapefruit, but it was a nice one.


Day 12:
This was the non-alcoholic drink at Rapunzel's for lunch. Salted Stitch: Coconut cream, pineapple, Hawaiian salted caramel and fresh lime juice.
Very nice.

 

[KEK1]

Wow those mocktails look amazing!! Right up my alley

 

[greensombrero]

Wow those mocktails look amazing!! Right up my alley

I’ll second that. Really appreciate you covering this topic because I don’t drink and generally just get something like a Virgin pina calava. Good to know the bartenders are willing to be more creative if you ask. Those look really good!

Love to see more topics like this in your report! I think a TA would be so fun because while it gets repetitive you also have more time to explore things like creative mocktails.

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

About the seadays.. tbh there were more activities and characters than on my previous TA's. I even didn't have tap for a nap or a coffee break. Both TA and Panama are seaday intense cruises. If you'r e looking for amazing ports, the TA (and esp this direction) is not for you. If you love seadays however, these cruises are the BEST deal. As far as night entertainment goes, you know Disney can't come up with an own production every single night so yes you will have quite a few nights with just guest performers or a movie etc. I personally rarely love the guest performers but used that time as a little downtime.

 

[Karin1984]

Let’s talk characters!

Characters are an important part of all my Disney trips. And on a Transatlantic cruise you can absolutely get a character overdose. Seriously, at a certain point I was charactered out! It was amazing. I had so much fun meeting all the characters in their different costumes. It was a highlight of my cruise.
(PS: I might spoil some magic, please keep small children and adults who want to keep the magic out of this post)

The three prime character spots are:

• The atrium, next to the statue
• 4th floor next to D Lounge
• Preludes, in front of the Walt Disney Theatre

And at certain times on the schedule you had one character after another in one of these locations and you could see the hardcore group of character hunters go from one line to the other. It was fun to make some friends in lines. It was also exhausting It does help with your step count without going in circles on the outside track on deck 4. You could meet characters most of the day on sea days. It could fill your day. Hence... getting an overdose ;-)

For those who have never been on a Disney cruise, a few things you need to know.

1. The character lines are shorter than in the parks.
2. The line is open for 15 minutes.
   When a character arrives at 12:00, you can queue before 12:00, you can queue till 12:15 and then the character will see everyone in the line and leave.
3. Rule #2 is not entirely fixed. Sometimes if you ask the CM nicely, they will still let you in line, or when the character is leaving you sometimes can sneak in a quick picture while they walk. (There is a secret door on the 4th between Shutters and the Diamond store)

Characters I have seen (and I have missed a few):
- Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Pluto, Chip & Dale
Outfits: Classic, cruise casual, formal, pirates, swimwear, beachwear, royal and loads of stuff they had on board for the European cruises, like French, Italian, Spanish, Norwegian, Scottish.
- Princesses: Mulan, Snow, Cinderella, Ariel, Tiana and Rapunzel.
- Marvel: Captain America, Spiderman, Thor
- Toy Story: Woody, Jessie.
- Other: Captain Hook & Smee, Captain Jack Sparrow, Stitch (regular & pirate), Olaf, Joy

Scottish Goofy on deck 4 next to Preludes (no idea why this one is so yellow)


Captain Minnie in the atrium



The Marvel characters had one set in the kids club during open house, so slightly better background than on deck 4.
There also was a set in Fathoms where they had a backdrop. (I made a complete fool out of myself during the meet in the kids club, I did not want to meet Cap again ;-) )



So, there is a lot of variety in costumes. You can see Mickey in all kinds of rare outfits (when you only go to the parks), which is a lot of fun. But in the end it’s Mickey again.

On my first cruise, we had 5 princesses, and no Marvel, but we did have Peter Pan and Tinkerbell on Pirate Night, Anna & Elsa, and I remember some Disney Jr. characters, at least Vampirina and I think Doc McStuffins. I think I prefer less variety in the costumes for the classic characters and have some other characters in return. You could see Anna & Elsa in the Freezin' the night deck party and Olaf was meeting for 1 set, I think it would have been nice if they had scheduled them for another one.

Roaming characters

Not all the characters are on the schedule. It sometimes happens that duos are meeting, but they are not announced as a duo. Like Mickey and Minnie, Donald and Goofy, Minnie and Daisy. Only one is on the schedule and then you have a nice character surprise.

Also, you can find princesses roaming around the hallways. Especially around the atrium and Preludes. On Bermuda day, we came into port late and there were a lot of characters on deck 4. Also on deck 9 near the pool characters sometimes drop by.

Deck 4 on Bermuda day


Promenade lounge



The group pictures
On longer cruises like this, they do group pictures with 7 or 8 characters: Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Pluto and Chip & Dale.
They did 5 group pictures on most sea days. The first day the lines were the longest, probably because people thought it was the same every day. But no! They dress up in different outfits. So first day they were all in their classic costumes, another in cruise casual outfits.

There is a photopass photographer taking two pictures and the castmember can take it with your camera. It’s short and sweet. No/hardly any interaction, no autographs. Pose, snap, pose, snap, pose, snap, pose, snap.

You do get only one group. You don’t get a picture with just the kids, and the grandparents and then the whole family. If you want different group compositions of your family, you have to line up again (and do it within the 15 minutes).

Once the line is cleared, you can also take a picture of just the characters. You line up at the exit and make a little assembly line with all the other guests and take your picture when walking by them (you can stop for a second to take a picture).

Definitely one of the pros of a longer cruise. When do you ever have the opportunity to meet the characters like this.

They don't announce which costume they will wear. During the second day, with 15 minutes to go before the characters arrived, one of the character handlers said 'oh they will be in their formal outfits', one by one the people in line rushed out to go back to their room to also get changed into something formal you have to match!

Also no idea why it's so yellow. Probably touched a wrong button on my camera.


Downsides…

While you can certainly get your character fix on a cruise, there are also some downsides. For me this was especially true about face characters.

Now, of course, when you believe in magic there has always been only one Snow White, but the real world creeps in on a long cruise.

One WDW trip I have met Princess Aurora 11 times on a 12 day trip. Only twice we saw the same actress. I like that for two reasons. 1. Every actress brings her own thing to a character, one Aurora was a bit sassy, the next was more mature, and one actually looked like a young Reese Whetherspoon. 2. It is like meeting her for the first time, every time.

When you only have one actress playing Snow White on a cruise ship, and she meets every day, and there are only 1.500 people on the cruise, with only a small percentage interested in meeting characters… Snow White starts recognising you.

This is great for kids, and some adults might not be bothered by this. I am a little self aware. And when I saw Snow White for the third time, and I heard that high pitched voice go “Well hello again, my dear friend. It's so good to see you again”, a voice in the back of my head started commenting: “You are a 30 something woman, nearing 40 and you are talking to an actress playing a fictional character as if she is real.”

No criticism of Snow White, she was absolutely perfect. One of the best I’ve ever seen. I love characters and in the parks I usually prefer face characters, on this cruise I started to prefer fur characters.

If you are in this mindset being self aware that the magic isn’t entirely there, there is another downside (Pay attention: more magic about to get ruined). The entertainment cast on the ship is not just in charge of playing the characters and performing in the Broadway-style shows in the Walt Disney Theatre, there are also the character handlers.

The character handlers can be roughly divided into three categories:

• Short women
• Very pretty women of average size and average sized men
• Tall men

I leave it to your imagination to figure out who they are friends with. Again, this can be a lot of fun, because you see each other over and over again, meeting all the characters. You get to know each other, you bond a little with the character handlers. But it is also a fact that you can recognize that Thor, Jack Sparrow and Flynn Rider in Rapunzel’s are the same as the character handler you met the day before when you met Mickey.

Again, if you do not mind and can believe in magic from beginning to end, great! If you can’t, but you really love your characters, just be aware that these thoughts can occur. The character handlers are amazing, they are a lot of fun. Don't just interact with the characters, the character handlers are part of the fun.

Goofy and Trey on Bermuda day on deck 4

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

And there you see how different everyone is; if there is one thing I love about DCL it is the personal approach. This was my 4th cruise on the Magic over the season. Our interactions go further where they left of the previous time, ongoing 'topics', they start to know what you like or don't like, what your expectations are. May be if you are just 'hi how are you' person it gets awkward but I love the more in depth interactions A LOT.
As for as overkill of characters, nobody says you have to come every day to every offered opportunity ;-) I personally had a little overkill of Captain Hook and the princesses. I would still go to the actual announced sets but on strolls I would just not go up to them at a certain point.
I've done more TA's and we had exceptional amount of character opportunities but this was due to a 'coincidence' that we were lucky enough to have during this cruise and which I do not wish to discuss on a public board (I would personally also refrain from some of the above comments/observations on a public board but as I said, everyone is different)

 

[Karin1984]

Can we talk about something? Sunrises. Sunrises at sea are gorgeous.

I didn’t get a lot of sleep on this cruise, even with the one hour clock back for several days. Partially not being in my own bed, the rocking perhaps, and the soft mattress. I prefer firm mattresses. The sleep I got was fine, it was just short.

I woke up between 5 and 6 most mornings. Earlier than I would like on holiday, but it did give me a chance to participate in the yoga / stretching sessions on deck, and see the sunrise.

The time when the sun rises and sets differs per day as you are moving. We went south to Vigo and then even further south to go to the Azores. You can see the difference in time between our first seaday from the UK to Spain and then the next day in Vigo. On your stateroom tv, and the tvs in some hallways (deck 5 near the Oceaneers Lab for example), you can find the position of the ship, the weather forecast and the time the sun rises.



Also with how/where you sail, the sunrise differs if you get the best views at forward, aft or at one of the sides. With this cruise we had good views at aft and at portside.

While doing yoga, one morning the sunrise was so beautiful people stopped doing their poses to snap some pictures. Our instructor Grant (from South Africa) knew very well he couldn’t win from nature. Also sailing into Portland was very beautiful.







This one is from Portland







Sunsets are harder to catch, as they occur when you are at a show, at dinner or preparing to go to either one of them. I wasn’t able to catch one sunset. I did make this picture when strolling on deck 4 around sunset time, but Goofy won from nature

 

[Karin1984]

Palo brunch

On my first cruise I just enjoyed everything that was included with my fare. This time I wanted to experience Palo. I had a Palo dinner reserved. But I couldn’t get a Palo brunch before the cruise.

First thing I did when I boarded was go to the promenade lounge, waited in line, and then finally saw Sacha from Croatia, manager of Palo. He was able to book me on our first sea day (day 4) at 10 for brunch.

This was actually a perfect time. All the people who had an early brunch time were seated at the window. People who arrived later had tables more in the middle of the restaurant.

This was an absolutely beautiful day. The weather was gorgeous and behind the glass on deck 10, it was warm inside!

My server was Srdjan from Montenegro. He was amazing. He was polite, friendly and nice to talk to. I was his only guest for the first part, and I was a solo traveller, he came by to talk often.

I know people mourn the loss of the buffet. I have never experienced it and I had plenty of things to try from the menu. I was happy with a menu, as buffets make it easy to overeat. However… I ate so much in 1,5 hours and I was so full, that from 11:30am to 8:30pm I didn’t eat. At dinner I wasn’t hungry. I did order a salad just to eat something, to avoid waking up hungry in the middle of the night. I only ate half of this salad. The following day I was still not hungry for breakfast.



I got a alcohol free drink instead of the mimosa.



The bread basket. I loved the ones with sundried tomatoes and the focaccia with blue cheese and onion. I also got a blueberry muffin.



First was the antipasti with meat: Sliced prosciutto, coppa, bresaola, salame gentile, marinated olives, roasted garlic, caciotta, parmesan and sweet pepperdew. Not a fan of the peppers and olives, but overall a great start.



Next was eggs benedict. The first egg came out very well done (is that the term with eggs?), while with a poached egg, your yolk should be runny. When I cut the egg, Srdjan noticed my face and immediately offered to take it back and ask for a new plate. Second was better.



Because everyone talks about it, I ordered the parmesan-crusted chicken breast. It wasn’t bad. Absolutely not. It just was very bland. It didn’t have any punch to it.



As I couldn’t chose what to take for my main course, I had also ordered the rollatini melanzane. This one was so good. The prosciutto really completed the dish and the combination of flavours was perfect.


Although… not as perfect as dessert. I was stubborn enough to finish both main courses. I didn’t really want dessert. Srdjan convinced me to take something light. I went with the vanilla berry panna cotta. One bite of this dish and it convinced me to book another Palo brunch. The strawberry basil sorbet was amazing. It almost made me cry. When you combined the panna cotta with the sorbet, the fruit, the merengue(?) and the jelly… I felt like Remy in Ratatouille.





Oh, one of the sweet things Srdjan did for me. The one thing that exceeded my expectations. During the brunch we talked about the activities on board, and I said I would look into the talks and demonstrations they offered in the app. For me that was the end of the conversation. But when it was time to leave, he came by with a handwritten note with the next talks they had this day! He had called guest services to find out what was on the program and made notes. That was so incredibly sweet and unexpected. Did I need it? No. I would have found it on the app. But the thought to go the extra mile… he increased his tip with this action.

 

[Karin1984]

Palo Brunch 2

I booked a new brunch, and cancelled my dinner. I had looked at the dinner menu and it didn’t appeal to me that much. I knew I would enjoy another brunch more. I booked it for Pirate night on day 9, so I could eat less or opt out from eating at dinner. I didn’t really like the menu on Pirate night the first time.

Something went wrong with my booking, and it was booked for day 10, instead of day 9. Guest services was able to change it to the right date.

It was quite a busy day with all the pirate characters. On my first cruise the characters didn’t change into their pirate gear till later in the day. My brunch was at 10, and there were 2 characters to meet at 9:15 and 9:45. So I left my room around 9:15 in a Palo approved dress. I go to deck 5 to meet Donald and I see… He’s already piraty! And I had a pirate outfit with me in my suitcase. I run back to my room to get changed and with a few minutes to spare, I meet Donald and then Daisy.



I have my Palo dress in my bag, I get changed into a bathroom and then go to Palo brunch. The menu stayed the same, but that was no problem as there were other things to try. Besides the bread and the muffin, loved them the first time, ate them again.





I went for the tomato soup for starters. Delicious, the olive oil added that little bit of extra flavour.

Next I went for the secret menu item: the gorgonzola and grape pizza.
While I don’t get the hype around this item, it was really good. And actually when you look at the toppings quite simple. Sometimes simple things are the best. I had a few slices, when Sacha came by and said, if I cannot finish it, they could BOX IT UP!


I eat half of the pizza and then continue with the main course I also wanted to try last time: the veal saltimbocca. It was great. While I was eating my main course, a couple was seated next to me. I couldn’t contain my joy and excitement about this dish, that the woman next to me wanted to know what I was eating. The melanzane is number one, but this dish came in a close second.



When it was time for dessert, I told Srdjan: no need to bring me the dessert menu, just bring me the panna cotta. The sorbet was amazing.

And Srdjan was so sweet to not just bring me the panna cotta, he brought me a martini glass with two extra scoops of the strawberry basil sorbet.





Because it’s my second time, and Srdjan (who was my server again) didn’t have to explain how Palo works, I thought I would spend less than 1,5 hours this time. However, it was busier, so service was a little slower. At 11:30 Pirate Mickey would meet, and as I had no idea how my day would go, I wanted to get all the character pics done as soon as possible. At the end of my brunch I had already changed my shoes under the table and added my pirate bracelets.

So, I want to run out as I want to meet Mickey, I forgot that this is Palo. Everything happens at a slower pace. When I asked Sacha for the rest of my pizza to bring with me. I thought I would get a doggie bag. Oh no, this is Palo. Slower pace and they don’t do carton boxes in plastic bags. They gave me the very heavy ceramics plate with a dome to keep the pizza warm. And I didn’t really plan to go by room first

Srdjan insisted carrying the plate for me and get the elevator for me. Therefore I couldn’t use the Palo bathrooms to get changed back into my pirate gear again. I wish I had taken pictures of the heavy plate. I put it on the floor while in line for Mickey and shoved it with my foot while moving. (The dome covered the plate perfectly).

As a reference, my picture with Pirate Mickey, and me in my pirate gear. Next to it me with Mickey on formal night a few days before. This blue dress was what I was wearing for my Palo brunch this day. So I had to change shoes (same shoes, different colour), the petticoat was under my blue dress, get out of the dress and into the white top, add the bracelets, earrings and my headband.



What you can see on this picture that I am only wearing one earring, that was not intentional. My left ear is not pierced correctly, so getting in earrings is always a pain, and I just didn’t get it through the pierced ear.

My second brunch was just as wonderful as the first, it was definitely an experience.

 

[KEK1]

Sounds great and what an amazing server!

 

[Karin1984]

Sounds great and what an amazing server!

If you ever need a great Palo server on the Magic, you cannot go wrong with Srdjan. I didn't request him for my second brunch, but I was so happy I got him as my server again.

 

[Flossbolna]

I just found your trip report and it is quite lovely! I hope you will continue!

I think your Palo manager Sasha was my first Palo server on the Wonder. He was amazing!

 

[BalooHoo]

Great report so far! Looking forward to more!

Do you have a list of the dining menus for each night in the MDRs?