Taking Stitch to Hawaii and NOT Leaving Him There

[dolphingirl47]

Once I had finished the Fish Extender run, I headed back to the atrium for the photos. The lines were the longest that I had experienced all cruise. I got in line for Mickey and Minnie in their Pirate outfits. Once I was done, I legged it up to deck 4 to try and get a photo with Captain Jack Sparrow, but his line was already closed. So I decided to get in the line for Pirate Stitch. It was still a good 20 minutes until he would appear, but the line snaked nearly to Wavebands. I got in line and by the time it was my turn, I had missed Chip and Dale, too. Still, it was mainly Stitch that I had wanted so I was happy. Once I had finished with the characters, I still had some time until I was supposed to meet with Graham so I had some photos done in front of the white backdrop. The photographer asked if I was after formal portraits or fun shots and I went with the fun. I had enough formal portraits for one cruise and we still had semi-formal night to come.

With the photos all done, I headed up to Beach Blanket Buffet. I got there just before the arranged time, but there was no sign of Graham. I was waiting for half an hour and was just about to give up when he arrived. The film had taken a lot longer than indicated in the Navigator. This meant that I would not finish in time to have the chance to get a photo with Captain Jack Sparrow. Graham suggested that we should go downstairs so that I could get my photo and then we could have dinner after. This is what we did. Captain Jack Sparrow was not out yet, but the line looked quite manageable. The line also moved very fast once he got there and soon we were back on our way to Beach Blanket Buffet.

During most evenings, Beach Blanket Buffet is a casual sit down dinner. I had tried to get a Palo dinner for that night, but to no avail. As we find the Pirate dinner in the dining rooms too noisy, we decided to give this a go. Beach Blanket Buffet is a training restaurant at night and boy, did it show. There was no butter on the table and nobody asked if we wanted something to drink other than water. Beach Blanket Buffet serves a slimmed down version of whatever is on the menu in the dining room. They did not have my favorite starter or soup, but they did have a Caesar Salad on the menu. Our server asked me if I wanted it with chicken or without. I asked for without only to be brought the Caesar Salad with the chicken. The main course was nice. I had The Dutchmen's Dijon-Crusted Sirloin of Beef with a deep Red Wine Glaze. This should have come with an Oven-roasted Sweet Potato, but I had spotted Fries on the menu so I asked if I could have those instead. I was not too optimistic, but I got my fries. Graham had their special , which was a Porterhouse Steak with Fries and Fresh Vegetables. He really enjoyed this. This was the one dinner experience all cruise that I did not enjoy and I doubt that I will repeat it.

After dinner, we went back downstairs to get some photos. The photographer with the white backdrop was still out. So we headed there first. We did a bunch of fun and silly poses. Unfortunately the magic shot did not make it on the CD. On the hardcopy of the photo and also on the kiosk, the photo with the raised sword had Tinkerbell perched on top of the sword. Looks like she has flown away. Once we were finished there, the photographer manning the Pirates of the Caribbean backdrop had also return. She was also in a silly mood and we got some more great photos.

By the time we had all the photos done, we were ready for bed. I took a photo of our towel animal and then we called it a day.

 

[LindaBabe]

Oh LOVELY! Wake up to a new installment! That pirate garb is awesome, Corinna!

 

[tiggrbaby]

Great pirate dress and fun pics!

 

[dgbg100106]

Corrina - thanks for another wonderful update, it looks like you both had a great time and I love all the silly photos.... You guys are too cute!

 

[Pinkocto]

I'm sorry I missed this update. Love all the silly pics, you guys are so cute!

Sorry dinner was unimpressive. I didn't know it was a training restaurant for dinner.

Captain Fabian's talk sounds fascinating. Glad you woke up in time.

 

[dolphingirl47]

We had so much fun with those photos. The photographer was amazing and a real character. By the way, the necklace that I am wearing in the photos is one of my creations.

I am not sure if the buffet on the new ships is a training restaurant in the evenings, too, but this is the case on the two classic ship and it showed.

Captain Fabian has just a fantastic personality. I have always had Captain Henry, who is now on charge of the Dream, on a bit of a pedestal, but he was very cruelly knocked of it. I am quietly hoping that Captain Fabian will be back on the Wonder for our next two cruises.

Corinna

 

[florida sun]

Corinna, Im all caught up again, great installments and brilliant photos

 

[disgeek009]

Hi! I just wanted to say I really enjoy your trip reports. I'm even trying a green tea frappuccino right now (for the first time)!

 

[Pinkocto]

I looked at this last update on my phone which made the necklace blurry. I zoomed in, and really like the colors, very pretty

 

[dolphingirl47]

Hi! I just wanted to say I really enjoy your trip reports. I'm even trying a green tea frappuccino right now (for the first time)!

Oh, what I would give to have one of them right now. Unfortunately they are not available in the UK. I have it on good authority though that we will get the Pumpkin Spice Latte for the first time this year.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Day 18

All over sudden it was the last sea day. This was hard to believe considering we had had so many. Graham had decided the evening before that he would skip the exercise classes that day and therefore we had given Mickey a day off. We woke up just before 9:00. I quickly checked the Navigator and realised that there were some character meet and greets starting very soon. I said goodbye to Graham and headed up to the atrium. He decided to get some breakfast. When I got to the atrium, Donald was there and there was next to nobody around. Donald's escort approached me and advised that Daisy was feeling seasick and would not be able to make it. I have to say, I did not even check which characters were supposed to be out. In any case, I was fine with whatever characters were available. I was so tempted so to make a remark along the lines of "It must have been a good party last night." A seasick duck does not quite do it for me. Anyway, I had my photo taken with Donald and then chatted with some people I knew who had also come for the characters. Suddenly there was something going. I just heard one of the character escorts say with a rather exasperated voice "If Daisy is seasick, she is seasick. There is nothing we can do." Obviously somebody was not happy about the change in the character line up. I quickly lost interest and was soon chatting with the other character escort. I had spotted something on the board listing the character meet and greets just saying "The Captains". So I had to ask what that would be. Apparently this was another first for Disney Cruise Line. Captain Fabian and Captain Mickey would be out together for photos.

By that time, Donald had left and soon afterwards, Minnie came out. Again, there was next to nobody around. I had my photo taken with her and then again spent some time chatting to people I knew. About 5 minutes into Minnie's set, Daisy arrived. The character escort with her announced that Daisy felt a bit better and had come out for two or three photos. She joined Minnie. The person who had created such a stir earlier was first in line. I stayed off to one side on purpose. I have to say I was rather embarrassed by the whole thing. Some other people joined the line and were advised that Daisy was only out for a short while. At some stage, one of the character escorts approached me and asked if I wanted a photo with Daisy and Minnie. I would have had to lie if I had said that I didn't. Instead I just said something along the lines that I did not want to bother Daisy if she was not well. He assured me that it would be no trouble at all and walked over to Daisy and Minnie with me. Daisy moved on a short time later and Minnie stayed out a bit longer.

Next up were Chip and Dale. As there was still hardly anybody around, nobody was in any hurry to get started with the photos. What happened next was one of the funniest interactions that I ever had. The character escort who was already at the atrium asked them if they had breakfast, which they confirmed very enthusiastically. He then asked them what they had for breakfast. Chip indicated a letter. I think the character escort thought that it was the letter A. He went through acorns and almonds, but that was not it. The letter was then repeated and it actually turned out to be the letter H. We all had a bit of a mental block and nobody could think of what Chip would have had for breakfast at first. Suddenly somebody said hazelnuts and Chip got very excited. The character escort then asked Dale what he had for breakfast and he pointed to the area between the lifts. Again that had everybody stumped. After a while somebody mentioned that what Dale was pointing at could be described as a wall and maybe he had walnuts for breakfast. When this was mentioned, Dale started to bounce around. This was obviously right. Now that we knew what they had for breakfast, we could get back to the photos. Once I had my photo taken with the two rascals, I still had a bit of time until the next character meet and greet. So I decided to check out the photos from the previous day. I was pleased how they had turned out. I also quickly checked that they all made it on the kiosk and then I headed back to the atrium. By then a little bit of a line had formed. I suppose people have started to wake up by then and Sorcerer Mickey is a bit special. The line was still manageable though and I joined it. When Mickey arrived, the line moved pretty quickly.

I had to quickly head back to the cabin to pick up some stuff once I was finished with Mickey. Next up was the Secret Mickey reveal. I had organized this with somebody else, which had the advantage that both of us could participate without knowing who was giving to us. My partner in crime had managed to get us the Cadillac Lounge for the reveal. It was still a bit early when I got there, but a few people were already there. It was nice to exchange experiences about the cruise with people that I had not seen much of during the cruise. Soon the time for the reveal arrived and it became very apparent that only about half of the people that we expected had actually turned up. I have to say I was very disappointed. The agreement had been that the final gift would be presented at this meeting and each Secret Mickey would reveal him or herself to the person they had been giving to. I absolutely understand that this is people's holiday and plans may change, but it would have been nice if people who could not make it for whatever reason had let us know. The whole situation was just awful for both the people they were giving to and the people who had given to them. My co-organizer had even arranged for a reminder call for everybody so it is not that people were not aware or had forgotten. On a personal level, I was lucky. The person I had been giving to was present. I had struggled for the whole cruise to keep a straight face. It just so happened that she was one of the people that I would constantly bump into and she was also somebody I really liked. So we ended up catching up with each other a few times every day. Quite often she told me about or showed the little things that her Secret Mickey had left her. I had to make sure that I was appreciative without giving anything away. The person who had given to me was also there. My final gift was a gorgeous dolphin sarong. I really have to find a suitable place to display this. It is far too pretty to be worn.

After the Secret Mickey reveal, I had arranged to meet with somebody to score their Scavenger Hunt. The family in question had left me a note at my door in the morning saying that they would not be able to make the scoring session in the afternoon and if I could score their Scavenger Hunt at another time. So I had asked them to come to the Cadillac Lounge after Secret Mickey reveal. This was just as well. I noticed that the answer to one question had changed and there was a second possible answer to another question. So that gave me the chance to verify those before the main scoring session. With this done, I rang all the people who had not made the Secret Mickey reveal. One of them was very upset. Not only had she got the venues mixed up and was the only person who turned up where she thought the Secret Mickey reveal would take place, but she had also posted on our cruise meet thread about a month before the cruise that she had changed cabins. This had gone under in the general chatter and the person giving to her had delivered to the original cabin. So I now had to hunt the person in question down so that at least the final gift would be delivered to the right cabin. Fortunately I found her just outside Parrot Cay still carrying the gift.

By this time, I was ready for my lunch. As Graham had eaten earlier on, I opted to go to Parrot Cay. Unfortunately the theme of the day was seafood. They always have some non-seafood options, but they get less from cruise to cruise. I ended up with assorted vegetables and a beef stir fry, which was very nice though. I did raid the dessert buffet on this occasion where I had a lime mousse and a couple of chocolate desserts. After lunch, I headed out to check the answers for the problematic questions before heading back to the cabin to get the things that I needed for the scoring session.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I caught up with Graham again and he decided to join me at the Promenade Lounge. The thought of a couple of Virgin Piña Coladas had proven to tempting. Even though we got there ahead of the scheduled time, there were already a couple of families waiting for us. For the first hour we had a steady stream of families coming by, but then it slowed down. Only about 10% of people who had requested the games pack for the Scavenger Hunt came to the scoring session, but that kept me plenty busy enough. It does not bear thinking about how busy I would have been if everybody had turned up.

Once the allotted time for the scoring session was over, I took everything that I no longer needed to our cabin and grabbed by swimsuit. I relaxed on a heated tile lounger and read. I had to briefly leave my comfortable lounger as Mickey and Minnie were only scheduled to be out before early dinner and I had missed them in this particular formal outfit on the first formal night. So I quickly went down to our cabin, put my evening gown on and headed to the atrium. Fortunately the gown I was wearing that evening was quite straightforward. I also got a bonus photo opportunity. Goofy was out in his tuxedo as well. So I joined him for a photo, too. Once I had my photos taken, I headed back to the cabin, got changed back into my sundress and headed back to the Rainforest Room. All in all, I had been gone for less than 30 minutes. I retired back to my tile lounger with my book.

At about 19:00, I got showered and headed back to the cabin to get changed and put my make up on. While I was putting on my jewellery, a matching hair clip that the jewellery artist had added to the parcel caught my eye. It was only small, but just the perfect size to go on the end of a braid. So an idea was born. I really liked having my hair out of my face on the second formal night. So I decided to try if my hair is now long enough to put into a braid. This worked like a charm. Once I was ready, we headed up to the atrium. We got in line for the photos with the two captains. Graham preferred to be standing next to Captain Fabian and I was quite happy with the company of Captain Mickey. Once we had this photo taken, we got in line for Chip and Dale. They looked so cute in their tuxedos.

By the time we had all the photos taken, it was time for dinner. The menu that evening was the Captain's Gala Menu. This is another menu that is quite heavily geared towards seafood. I also noticed that my usual go to dish was no longer on the menu. Graham had Oysters Rockefeller on the Half Shell followed by Baked Lobster Tail with Lemon Butter, Green Beans and Oven-baked Rice. He had Amaretto Cheesecake for dessert. I had Garlic and Herb Sautéed Shrimp, Minestrone and Oven-roasted Pork Tenderloin with Creamy Cheese Polenta and a Merlot Reduction. Our server talked me into trying the Warm Chocolate Lava Cake, but this ended up being way to sweet for me.

 

[dolphingirl47]

After dinner, we made the rounds of the photo opportunities. We decided to have some photos taken against the brown backdrop that they had used for the Captains photo earlier. They also had the backdrop with the ship at night out and we also had some more photos taken against the white backdrop. As we were kind of colour co-ordinated that day, it would have been a shame not to.

Once we were finished with our photos, we headed back to the cabin. Apart from our towel animal, there was also a surprise on the bed. There was a white box that contained 4 napkins embroidered with characters and the details of the cruise with 4 napkin rings that had the Disney Cruise Line logo on one side and Disney Wonder on the other side. I think this is probably my favourite gift of all theories that we have received on special cruises. Once I had admired this, I got ready for bed and then called it a day.

 

[tiggrbaby]

Great update! Loved your necklace!

 

[dgbg100106]

sounds like you had a wonderful time and got some great pictures!

 

[LindaBabe]

Awe gee Last sea day? booooo. this trip report could go on cruising for another week or two, as far as I'm concerned. When is your next cruise?

 

[disgeek009]

Another great update, thank you! Beautiful gown too; that color is gorgeous on you.

 

[Pinkocto]

Last day at sea, how time has flown! I have so thoroughly enjoyed reading about your adventure. I love the napkins, what a nice gift.

I'm sorry the gift exchange finale was a little awkward. Im with you, if you commit to something, at least have the curtesy to let the group know if you've decided not to come. Sounds like yours went well which I'm glad

 

[dolphingirl47]

Great update! Loved your necklace!

Thanks. For the necklace, I just told my favourite jewellery artist that I wanted something with a Hawaii theme and she came up with this I love it. I get a lot of wear out of it as well. It has some Wow factor, but is still understated enough to wear to work especially teamed up with a black blouse.

sounds like you had a wonderful time and got some great pictures!

Yes, it was a fun day.

Awe gee Last sea day? booooo. this trip report could go on cruising for another week or two, as far as I'm concerned. When is your next cruise?

There is still our post-cruise stay at Disneyland to come and of course also our last port. As to the next cruise, if everything goes according to plan, it will be in November. If not, then the back to back cruises next May.

Another great update, thank you! Beautiful gown too; that color is gorgeous on you.

Thanks. I love everything blue and this shade of blue is just gorgeous. It also seems to complement the colour of my eyes.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Last day at sea, how time has flown! I have so thoroughly enjoyed reading about your adventure. I love the napkins, what a nice gift.

I'm sorry the gift exchange finale was a little awkward. Im with you, if you commit to something, at least have the curtesy to let the group know if you've decided not to come. Sounds like yours went well which I'm glad

As mentioned before, the adventure is not finished yet. We still have the Ensenada day to come and some magical moments at Disneyland.

Corinna