Day 7 - Saturday 4th June 2016

Wake up Boo!
This morning we had a wake up call at 8:30 - Mickey rang to say “Get out of bed you lazy…”

Once I’d explained that that wasn’t the sort of language I expected from a 5’ 5” (including his ears) anthropomorphic mouse I put the phone down only for it to ring immediately after! This time it was room service, they’d FINALLY had gotten the hang of ringing us before delivering to the room. Better late than never!

Coffee and croissants arrived and Jo and I tucked in. Isabella eventually woke up. I know! She slept through three phone calls, room service and me eating….

She had her milk. She had a croissant. And then we all got ready. Jo and I put on our best clothes as we had a brunch date at Palo at 10:00. Anyone that’s ever been to Palo for brunch will tell you why we were very excited!


Morning!


Today’s view

Isabella was also excited as she was off to the kids club. There was an open house in the Oceaneer’s Club so we dropped her off at the Lab and made our way to deck 10 aft. It feels so special getting out of the lift on deck 10 and walking into Palo. We checked in and were seated straight away in nice seats next to the window with a gorgeous view of the open seas.






Palo

Good enough
Our server today was Victor from the Dominican Republic. We had toyed with the idea of requesting Andrew, our server from last year, but the servers in Palo are always excellent and Victor, despite seemingly new, was no different. He was enthusiastic, friendly and attentive throughout; we were glad we had him. He brought us our complimentary Kir Royales (we were also offered mimosas or prosecco as there is a choice) and we also ordered a bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling water.

Victor gave us the usual lowdown on how brunch worked then gave us a tour of the buffet - it looked so good, we couldn’t wait to get stuck in!


Brunch date




Cheers

Long term readers (hi you two! ) may recall that we have a system for buffets and Palo Brunch was no different; We attacked a section at a time starting with the antipasti - where else?!


Bread, meat and antipasti


My first plate


Jo’s first plate

First plate done, we had some more antipasti and some seafood; it was all sooooo good!


Seafood


My second plate


Jo’s Second plate

Next up we moved onto the pastries followed by some cheese.


Pastries


My third plate


Jo’s third plate


A plate of cheese

At this point we decided to have a bit of a break. There’s so much lovely food on offer, we wanted to make sure we had room for it all! During the break we took the opportunity to order some Oysters Rockefeller - far superior tasting than the ones we’d had in Cariocas on day 5.


Oysters Rockefeller (not the ones we ate)

After the delicious oysters we hit the buffet one last time for some miniature desserts and also ordered some coffee from the ever attentive Victor.


Desserts


My dessert


Jo’s dessert

And with that, Palo brunch was done. It was as delicious as ever; dinner at Palo is good but I’d highly recommend brunch if you can secure a reservation. There is a $30 per person upcharge (plus tip), but it’s definitely worth it and the service was top class as ever - cheers Victor!

Shakermaker
Just as we finished up we got a message from the club saying Isabella wanted picking up -it had been over an hour and a half! We made our way to the Oceaneer’s Club - she’d remembered the tunnel between the two . As it was lunchtime we asked her if she was hungry but she said she wasn’t so we went for wander, stopping to watch the Diaper Dash in the atrium. Jo and I wanted to change into something a little more comfortable so we popped back to the room.


Diaper Dash

After our costume change we headed down to Shutters to have a look at our photos - we needed to decide which ones we were going to buy. Unfortunately everyone had apparently had the same idea so we had to go old school and look at the physical prints in our folder rather than on the kiosks. We agreed that flicking through the actual pictures is actually a better experience than on a screen anyway - technology be damned!

We’d seen an offer: 5 photos for around $100 - so we picked picked out our favourite 5 photos and made our purchase - no photo $300+ photo cd this time around!

We left Shutters and walked back down to the atrium as we’d seen there was to be a character dance party which we thought Isabella might enjoy. The characters arrived via the main stairs; Pluto, Goofy, Chip n Dale, Mickey and Minnie. They mingled with the gathering crowd and then the dance party started. It was a slightly surreal experience watching Mickey Mouse busting moves to music more suitable to Ibiza or Ayia Napa; totally child inappropriate and Isabella wasn’t impressed!


Let’s get this party started


Not impressed






Mickey giving it large!

We made our excuses and left, instead heading up to deck 9 to get Isabella some lunch - she fancied a hotdog and chips. We got the food and found a lovely spot on deck 10 to sit and enjoy the sunshine.

Once Isabella had finished her lunch we went for a wander round the ship, picking up a coffee from deck 9 on the way and stopped to look at the art in the Vista Gallery; showing Isabella the Rapunzel picture we’d bought a few days earlier and looking at the other pictures. There’s so much detail in them and lots of Easter eggs, we spent ages just scouring them all.


Hot-dawg!


I see the sea


Enjoying the sunshine


Disney Art

As Isabella had some money left to spend we then headed down to Mickey’s Mainsail. We still had coffee to drink so we sat in the Preludes Bar area and finished it before hitting the shop. Inside Isabella bought an exclusive DCL Donald Duck cuddly toy and a Rapunzel magic wand - you know, like the one she uses in Tangled to, er, you know… oh, she doesn’t have one does she…?

As well as Isabella’s unrelated film tie in toy purchase Jo and I bought ourselves a new Christmas tree decoration.We left the shop and made our way back to the room so that Isabella could have a nap; she’d not been in the best of moods so far today and we hoped that a nap might put her in a better frame of mind, as she was in danger of putting a dampener on our last day on the cruise.








Relaxing








Many faces of the Sears


Trying on some ears


TinkerBell luggage tags

While she slept I went to Guest Services to enquire about Cabanas breakfast in the morning. It’s not advertised as being open but Jo had read somewhere that it was and we’d rather avoid having to get up to make our early breakfast sitting at 6:45am tomorrow - we were in no rush to leave the boat after all.

I found out that Cabanas was to be open from 6:30 till 8:30 which would suit us perfectly. I got back to the room to find that Jo was packing so I popped back out again to get some Coke Zeros, writing up my notes when I got back back.

Take it easy chicken
We woke Isabella up at about - she’d had an hour and a half but it didn’t look to have done much good. We’d always planned to go and see Zootopia/Zootropolis in the Buena Vista Theatre and were looking forward to it. Despite saying she wanted to see it before her nap Isabella had changed her mind and then proceeded to have a meltdown when we tried to get her to get ready and leave the room. This annoyed us immensely and the next hour or so was the least fun I’ve ever had on a cruise. We had eventually persuaded her to get dressed and leave the room but ended up arriving at the theatre 5 minutes after the film had started (annoying) to find that it was absolutely rammed with no seats available (doubly annoying!) Everyone was upset. Jo actually went off for a walk to clear her head for 10 minutes. I explained to Isabella why her behaviour had been unacceptable and she did seem genuinely sorry. With nothing to do we ended up wandering around the ship aimlessly for a bit, before eventually going for ice cream and watching a bit of Frozen on the Funnel Vision (the big screen above the stage in Goofy’s family pool area on deck 9).


Mrs Whippy




Look how proud she is

We finished our ice creams and then went back to the shops - White Caps this time to get some duty free. We bought a bottle of Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum and Canadian Club and the lady who served us gave Isabella a Tinkerbell pin. I also bought some aftershave for myself and then we returned to the room. Upon arriving at ur stateroom we found that someone had written a nice message wishing us a nice last day on our magnetic white board. We dropped off our purchases (not the alcohol - we had to pick that up in the morning from Port Adventures) and went back to the atrium to meet Chip n Dale, followed by Pluto. Isabella was excited about meeting them, fortunately she was in a better mood now after the earlier drama - I think she was feeling guilty.


TinkerBell pin


Not quite the right size


Thanks Ellie, Sophie, James & Cole from Vibe

Cut some rug
After the character meets it was time for our last dinner on board the Magic We got ready back at the room and made our way to Animator’s Palate. As we were 15 minutes early we stopped by the Promenade Lounge for a drink of the day. There was a lady playing the violin and Isabella wanted to dance to the music - it was super cute












Meeting Chip n Dale


Excited!






Meeting Pluto


Princess ready for dinner








Pre-dinner drinks in the Promenade Lounge

We finished our drinks and made our way to dinner. Tonight was the animation show so, as soon as we sat down, we got drawing.We had to draw characters in the supplied template which would then be animated on the screens at the end of the evening.

When it came to dinner Jo and I ordered Macaroni Cheese and Baked Potato soup in addition to the Appetizer Sampler Platter which everyone gets automatically. The sampler includes the following:

• Smoked Duck Breast with Pickled Red Onions and Craisins
• Dill Marinated Shrimp with Tomato-Mayonnaise and Horseradish Cream
• Smoked Salmon Tartar with Sour Cream and Cream Cheese

My creation


Jo's creation


Isabella's


Cute

The appetizers arrived but Ruben bought had bought Jo the soup instead. Once it was obvious she wasn’t getting an appetizer she asked Ruben if she could have one. I on the other hand never did get my soup, but Jo said it wasn’t up to much so I didn’t bother asking. Our servers had been so good all trip but I think they were a bit overwhelmed tonight; the drink service from Carla was also slow and she even disappeared for about 15 minutes at one point.


Appetizer Sampler

Onto the main courses - we ordered (and thankfully received) the following:

• Jo & I: Roasted Filet of Beef Wellington / Chocolate Decadence
• Isabella: Cheeseburger / Make Your Own Cupcake

Beef Wellington


Make Your Own Cupcake


Chocolate Decadence

Throughout dinner the various Disney drawings on the screens had come to life accompanied by music. At the end of the meal there was the grand finale in which featured everyone’s characters come to life. It is a very good show and we were all thoroughly entertained.




























Animations




Our characters coming to life

To the end
Dinner ended and it was time to hand out the tips to our servers, who had been so attentive and friendly throughout. Isabella wanted to hand out the tip envelopes, and they were all very grateful, it’s really nice to be able to show your appreciation for the great work that they do.

Once that was done she wanted to go to the club with the little girl from our table. So we dropped her off and I went back to the room to put our suitcases out. They are collected by cruise staff, and you collect them at the terminal in the morning. At the room I saw our stateroom host Claret and gave her her tip. We’d bumped into her a few times throughout the cruise and she’d always been so friendly and our room was always immaculate.

I said my goodbyes and went to find Jo. We then made our to Keys for a drink. Jo had a cranberry & Absolut Vodka and I had a Canadian Club with Diet Coke. We relaxed and listened to the pianist and reflected on what a great cruise we’d had.




Last drinks of the cruise

It was then time to collect Isabella and go and see “Disney Dreams – An Enchanted Classic” in the Walt Disney Theatre. We were a bit early so we popped into Mickey’s Mainsail so that Isabella could make one last purchase - a Rapunzel pen. You know, just like in the film when she has that pen to write…. oh, she doesn’t do that either does she?!

Now it was showtime! We’ve seen this show a few times and it’s always so good, tonight was no exception. It’s also had some updates to include more recent Disney films like Frozen - we all enjoyed it.

Following this show there was to be a farewell show in the atrium with all the characters and cast of the various shows but circumstances (i.e. Isabella) dictated that we go back to the room. We bathed her and put her to bed and then we finished watching 10 Cloverfield Lane on the iPad before going to sleep.

Not quite the end to the day, and the cruise, we had anticipated.


The last towel animal of the cruise


Day 7 by Isabella

Day 8 - Sunday 5th June 2016

Clover Over Dover
Our wake up call was for 6:45am. We had deliberately missed our scheduled 7:00am breakfast at Animator’s Palate in favour of the “secret” breakfast at Cabana’s. I went to get coffee and Isabella was up when I got back. We got ready, packed the last few bits and checked the room; in the bathroom, under the bed, in the safe, the bedside drawers (we left them the Bible…). Room clear, we headed to Cabana’s at about 7:30, found a seat and hit the buffet. For some reason the food was different to every other day we’d eaten there - the hash browns were a different shape, the beans were a different colour; it did not taste good! It was like they didn’t WANT people to eat there - very strange.

After we’d eaten we walked to deck 3, picked up our alcohol (no danger of forgetting that!) and made our way off the boat. Our timing had been perfect; the people with Main Dining had finished breakfast and were already off, the Second Dining people were still at their breakfast seating. We walked off, no waiting, and picked up our luggage with no issues.

We encountered our first queue upon exiting the terminal - welcome to England! It took about 5 minutes to get out the building then we had a 10 minute wait for a coach back to the car park. Turns out our car had been moved to a car park just outside the port, so even closer than when we came (which was pretty close!).


Leaving the boat...


Joining a queue...


And another one!


Where’s the bus?


The sad face of Jo


Can we get back on now?


Bye bye Goofy

We arrived at the car in next to no time. From leaving the boat to getting in the car had taken about 40 minutes. We packed the car up and reluctantly said a final goodbye to the Disney Magic. The drive home was pleasantly easy and we were back home in Hertfordshire within 1hr 40mins.


Hello car park


]Bye bye Disney Magic


]Homeward bound


These slippers were one of our Fish Extender gifts...


And they fit Isabella perfectly!


Day 8 by Isabella

So that’s it another Sear Family Disney Holiday over with. We had a great time, Norway was amazing and would definitely love to go back there. We loved being back on board the Disney Magic. If you’ve never done a Disney Cruise, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Doesn’t matter what age or situation you’re in; kids or no kids, young or old, there’s plenty of stuff for everybody.

As for forthcoming holidays, as I finish writing this we have 2 months left till our next trip to Walt Disney World (you can read the PTR here). Also, we’ve just this week booked a budget 7 day trip in December to celebrate Isabella’s birthday and New Year! So that, along with a tentatively planned trip in August next year (which may undergo some serious changes, including cancelling the Bahamian Cruise we booked on this trip ), means we’ve got three more holidays lined up at Disney World! That’s three more trip reports to write (and one of them needs to be done within a 7 week period! ).

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading along, I’ve enjoyed writing it and thank you all for your lovely comments.

Until next time… TFR

Really enjoyed reading this report Stu. Wow 3 trips in such a short time-fantastic!

Really enjoyed reading as always Thanks for sharing. The last two days were a nice distraction whilst I pretend I'm not really leaving for work this morning!

Palo brunch sounds and looked so good! Andy and I managed to get a reservation for our November Cruise we can't wait! Future plans sound awesome. Jo just said you're in SSR the same time as us in October! Off for a peek at your new PTR... see you there!

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for reading!



Thanks for reading and for commenting Kate.

Palo brunch is brilliant, you'll love it!

Jo mentioned we were there at the same time