Today is our last full day on the ship! Sad face!!! This morning we got up for an early breakfast at the buffet in Marceline Market.
They have a hand washing station as you walk in.
Today we ate in the cafe looking section up front. It’s v cute!
After breakfast I wasn’t feeling too well so I went back to the room for a lie down and CSP popped over to Castaway Cay to try and find some Stitch pins. He was successful and he also got some great shots of the ship while there!
He also saw another Lizard Man! Except this one had Jiminy Cricket instead!
I love all the free spirits you meet on a Disney cruise!
It was H-O-T HOT on Castaway Cay so when CSP got back we decided to just stay on the ship, explore, and enjoy the basically empty pools. I know- it’s a controversial decision but we’ll be back to CC soon!!!
These are the Neverland and Wonderland Cinemas. The last picture is the entrance to the Walt Disney Theatre. They show films in the cinemas and mostly live shows (but occasionally films) in the Walt Disney theatre. We knew we had limited time this cruise and with it being our first on the wish we didn’t want to commit 2 hours to a movie. But we do love being able to see the new releases at sea!
We went to Goofy’s pool for a while and found a shady spot to read. There are a bunch of smaller pools on the Wish instead of only a few larger ones and it’s really nice. We got hungry and went up to Deck 11 for some BBQ for lunch and sat by the helipad on Castaway Cay. The water is just beautiful here!
Back to Goofy’s pool for the remainder of the afternoon where we swam and read our books. CSP is reading a Daniel Silva book, The Kill Artist, or The English Assassin, I can’t remember which one. I read Natalie Barelli’s The Accident, which kept me glued to the pages! Finally it was time to go back to the cabin to pack and shower for our last dinner on the Wish (for now!).
Sunset from our verandah. While packing we decided to order room service one last time. I chose the cheese & fruit plate and CSP got some buffalo wings. The room service lady on the phone said it would be 30 – 40 minutes. So I decided to put off getting in the shower until after they left. But we were still in our wet swimsuits. I had just peeled mine off when (not 4 minutes after I’d hung up with room service) there was a knock at our door!!! I grabbed my suit and towel and CSP shoved me into the bathroom so he could answer the door!!! We were laughing so hard! FASTEST room service ever!!!
On the way to dinner we saw Rapunzel and Flynn Rider on the balcony in the Grand Hall!!!
Tonight’s last dinner was back in Arendelle.
CSP was v impressed with his Chilean Sea Bass!
Even though there wasn’t a show tonight, Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff came around to bid everyone a nice sleigh ride home!
We were able to snag a picture of our hard working server Pedro!
Pedro, our server!
While I was filling out the guest survey, CSP ran around the ship for some last minute night shots.
The last pic above is the Goofy pool, where we spent a good portion of the day.
Our towel animal tonight was a stingray!!!
Goodnight! Tomorrow we disembark the Wish and battle the aftermath of Hurricane Ian to get home!!!
This morning we woke up early to beat the crowds at Marceline Market buffet for breakfast.
Cool wood wall on the way in and out of Marceline Market
Click on the pics to enlarge!
We saw Lizard Man again this morning! You know how on a cruise or at an amusement park you tend to run into the same people over and over? Well for us on this cruise it was Lizard Man and Mrs. Lizard Man! LM has a tiny plushie toy Pascal the chameleon (Rapunzel’s sidekick from Tangled) on his shoulder. And Pascal has QUITE the wardrobe! I’ve seen it sporting mini Minnie ears, and a top hat and today’s princess hat! I have so many questions for LM like “How does Pascal stay up there? Does Pascal have his own suitcase?” and many more! I just love this guy!!!
After breakfast we went back to our room to get ready for the day.
Then it was time for the Hyperspace Lounge!!! This is the Star Wars bar on the ship and I swear we walked past the unassuming entrance more than once before I realized what it was!
Before our cruise you had to have reservations to get in to the Hyperspace Lounge. On our sailing we were limited to 45 minutes in the lounge as it’s small with limited seating.The light up box on the left is where you wave your hand to open the door.The screen behind the bar changes scenes periodically. You go into “hyperdrive” (complete with sound effects) then boom you’re in a new galaxy!
Quick tour of the Hyperspace Lounge
We ordered drinks. I ordered the Mustafar Berken’s Flow and CSP ordered the Tatooine Freetown Reserve. The server said it would taste like an Old Fashioned but a bit sweeter.
There’s a $200 drink and a $5000 (!!!) drink!!! Way out of our budget!!!
The server brought our drinks out to much fanfare! She finished making CSP’s drink at our table.
She put smoke filled bubbles on the surface of both of the drinks! I loved the smoke bubbles! We noticed a bartender creating them and floating them in the air.
We both enjoyed our cocktails very much! CSP’s even had a blue striped spherical ice cube- v cool!!!
I don’t drink very often at all so when we were finished we went up to Decl 11 to get some food on my belly!
Then we visited Joyful Sweets – the sweets shoppe themed after the movie Inside Out! It’s SO cute!!!
They sell gelato and macarons and these chocolate spheres and themed cupcakes! There’s also a section with prepackaged sweets including flavored popcorn and candies. I chose a couple of macarons and CSP picked a Hocus Pocus cupcake. We dropped the sweets off back at our room to enjoy later.
On the way back to our room we ran into Tiana! I WISH I’d had my phone out because she was gone in a flash, but I love that you can encounter characters all over the ship! We got some drink refills on Deck 11 then went to the Luna lounge for a new game show called Villains Game Night. We’d gotten there early (look at us learning!) and we (along with all the other early birds) promptly got kicked out and told to come back in 20 minutes because they needed to set up for the show. There went our front row seats!
Meanwhile, Captain Andy announced that we’d be passing by Castaway Cay in a few and the Fantasy was there. It’s extremely rare to spot another Disney ship at sea while you’re on a Disney ship since there are only 5! CSP got v excited because this 2 ships passing thing meant a horn battle would ensue! The Fantasy was leaving CC so while I waited in line to snag us some seats for the game show, CSP ran up to deck 12 to get a good spot to see the Fantasy.
The let me back into Luna
and I found seats next to this sweet couple who were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary! We chatted while we waited for the show to start. We were told to put our phones away because no photography was allowed for this show since it’s new. But I did manage to snag this pic:
You can JUST make out Villain’s Game Night on the curtain
Of course as soon as I put my phone away Chip & Dale came through the lounge in their Halloween costumes looking so cute! But you’ll just have to take my word for it! Ha! Then I noticed some commotion out in the hall behind me (I was seated in front of a window). It was Goofy in his Egyptian get up!
He did a little dance.
The show began with no sign of CSP! It was a cute show- think Hollywood Squares but with Disney Villains! Finally CSP joined me all hot and sweaty from being all the way up on Deck 12 in the sun watching the horn battle with the Fantasy. He got some good pictures of the ship and in the video (it’s about 5 minutes long, you’ve been warned) you can hear the horns. Disney ship horns are different. They don’t honk, they play tunes! It’s awesome!!!
Skip to 2:13 for the horn battle!
We went back to our room to change into our swim suits. We’d decided that we didn’t want to go to dinner at the Marvel restaurant again tonight since we weren’t crazy about it the first night and we’d just wing dinner.
A room near ours with amazing decorations!
We went up to the Quiet Cove adults only area and got in this little bench thingy. The water is about a foot deep and you sit on this tile bench (it’s comfy I promise) while water cascades down the bench and into the little pool at your feet. It was really nice.
The water bench thing. There’s one on each side of the adult pool.
More of the Quiet Cove area ^^^. We read and I found these awesome oversized, padded rockers that were SO comfy cozy!!!
CSP decided he wanted to try the AquaMouse while everyone was at dinner so I parked myself under one of the final stretches and had my phone at the ready to shoot a video.
CSP really liked this clock!
He went twice and pro tip- it’s really hard to see people at night when they are flying past you on a water raft!!! I took 11 videos of strangers to finally get this one of CSP!!!
CSP (I think!) on the AquaMouse!
We went back to the room and ordered room service for dinner then went to bed! Our towel animal tonight:
A towel bear! So cute!!!
CSP noticed the “pattern” we were sailing in trying to avoid Hurricane Ian. Basically we just drove in circles in the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean!
Today is a sea day. We woke up early and at 8am went to breakfast at 1923. 1923 is the year the Walt Disney Company was founded. On the way to breakfast we passed the luxury shops and the Bayou- a lounge. Early mornings is a great time to snap pics of the ship!
Luxury shops on the left.I love this painting of the Wish!The BayouMimosa station at the BayouThe Pumpkin Tree in the Grand HallThe bronze statue of Cinderella in the Grand HallLucifer, Jaq, & Gus GusWe ate on the Roy Disney sideWe had a great table by a windowStorm’s a coming!
After breakfast I went back to the room to get ready for the day and connect with people back home. CSP explored the ship. On the way back to the room we saw Tiana waiting to meet people.
We passed back by the Bayou and noticed they now had a Bloody Mary station.Loved this decorated door just a few down from ours! The ship’s horns are in the Classic °o° shape!
It was another rainy day. CSP came back to the room to pick me up and we went to lunch back at 1923.
Memorabilia from Alice in Wonderland in 1923
We had sailed directly into a thunderstorm. It was WILD to be on a cruise ship and hear thunder and see lightning! We could barely see the ocean through the windows of the restaurant!
Service at lunch was slow and disjointed. So slow that we missed the sports trivia activity we had planned on going to after. Five different people waited on us at lunch. It was odd. Normally you have a service team of two.
Hidden Mickeys we found after lunch!
This painting comes alive! I love how the lights in the hallways on our deck threw sparkly shadows!
After lunch we went to Mickey’s Mainsail gift shop again looking for Stitch pins. No luck. So we went up to the beverage station for drinks and also got some ice cream. We went back to the room to read and watch a movie. I was still looking on the app for some fun activities for us to do. We went to bingo but it was so packed an hour out that there was no room for us. Off to Keg & Compass so CSP could get a Guinness but people were spilling out of the small bar. With the rain everyone was inside so it was super crowded everywhere we went. So…. back to the room to read while CSP napped.
Beautiful mosaic
A little later we went to meet Daisy Duck. You have to stand in line to meet the characters.
Chip & Dale greeting people in the Grand Hall
Pluto was there before Daisy and every time he signed an autograph we cracked up! He’d hold the item he was autographing on his nose (!!!) and sign it that way. SO funny!
Pluto signing an autograph
Meeting Daisy was fun! And lest you think we were the only adults in that line, think again! Many, many adults line up to meet the characters. Something about being on that ship makes you a kid again!
It was time for the show so we ran up to the beverage station to refill our drinks. Tonight’s show was Aladdin.
It was REALLY good. They’d updated the Genie’s jokes. There was even a Pete Davidson joke! It didn’t go over too well but I got it! CSP isn’t normally a fan of musicals but he LOVED it!
We had to make a quick stop this evening back at Nassau for a medical emergency.
Back in our room we got ready for our first dinner in 1923.
Art Deco reigns in 1923Our Navigator app updated to show our extra days.Cinderella’s glass slipperTowel lobster!
Today is Castaway Cay day!!! Castaway Cay is Disney’s private island in the Bahamas. It’s a beautiful wonderland! Unfortunately, shortly after waking up, we learned that we could not dock at Castaway Cay today because of the weather and the wind speed (from Hurricane Ian).
You can see how cloudy is was today.
It rained off and on all day. We were super impressed with the giant screen – Funnel Vision. SO clear!!!
So we went up to Marceline’s Market (the buffet) for breakfast. While I was walking around gathering my breakfast I saw a man who was crouched down with his hands on his son’s shoulders. The son looked to be about 6. The man was SCREAMING in his face- “You listen to me! You calm down! CALM DOWN!!!” Yeah, that’s going to make him calm down- you all red faced screaming inches from his face!!! UGH.
Random thing I noticed today- the ship smells amazing! Disney must be pumping in scent because it smells good all the time!!!
We went back to the room to buy internet for the day and make some phone calls to update people at home about our cruise being extended. We had a hotel reservation in Florida for Friday night that I had to cancel since we’ll still be on the ship. I took lots of pictures of our room. I posted a video the other day but here’s pictures. Then we got ready for our day.
Lots of storage! And there’s a great (very powerful) hair dryer in your room.Plenty of room under the bed for your suitcases!I sleep SO well on a cruise!!! The walls are metal so we bring magnetic hooks for extra storage!Lots of closet space!I love the split bathrooms! So much storage space!The other bathroom (the one with the toilet). Lots of shelves here too.Lots of people decorate their doors with magnets! Helps to find your room!There’s a safe in each room too!
For lunch today we went casual and grabbed something to eat on Deck 11. I went to Donald’s Cantina and got a burrito bowl. CSP got brisket from the BBQ station. Pro Tip: the Disney ships have beverage stations (most of the time on the pool deck or deck 11). You have to use a disposable cup that they offer but the cups are TINY. So we bring reusable cups with us and fill them up at the drink station (using the paper cups to fill for sanitation’s sake). That way we can tote our drinks all around the ship and not run out so quickly! CSP uses a Swig cup and I used my new Stanley cup on this cruise. LOVE the handle!
Stan, my reusable cup
After lunch we went up to Deck 12 & Wheezy’s Freezies for a Dole Whip. SO good! We took my Dole Whip back to our room and read our books and relaxed on the verandah. We got some snacky snacks from room service (room service on Disney ships is free and fast! Tip your servers!). Then we showered and got ready for dinner. We found out that we aren’t docking back in Port Canaveral until Sunday!!! Wooot!!! The ship is really rocking due to the hurricane.
On the way to dinner we passed by the Grand Atrium and CSP took a quick video.
Dinner tonight is back in Arendelle and it’s Pirate Night!!! We joked that the hallway going to the Arendelle dining room is the longest one on the ship!
Tonight we have the pirate menu and no show from the Arendelle singers. After dinner we went up to Deck 13 to get a good spot for the fireworks!
You can see some people dressed up in their pirate gear! I love that the Disney fireworks are made from fish food so they are good for the environment!
On our way back down in the elevator to get to our room to retire for the night, a man told us that DCL was gifting everyone with free internet for the rest of the cruise because of the delays. Yay!
Today is Nassau Day!!! We woke up early and went to breakfast in 1923. 1923 is a gorgeous restaurant on the Wish that is decorated like old Hollywood. It’s divided into 2 sections- the Roy Disney side and the Walt Disney side. There are over 900 (!!!) pieces of memorabilia in the restaurant! So much to look at!!! Pictures to come when we have dinner there. On the way back to our room from breakfast we spotted a dachshund in a stroller! I WISH I’d had my phone in my hand so I could have snagged a picture!!! Sigh.
In our room we showered, got ready for the day, read our books, and relaxed for a while. It was POURING rain from Hurricane Ian so we didn’t get off the ship. Plus there were 4 ships in port today so it was v crowded!
2 Royal Caribbean ships docked next to us in Nassau.
Lunch today was in Marceline’s Market. It’s a buffet divided into many different sections. It’s more upscale than Cabanas on the other DCL ships (In our opinion). The food was great! SO much seafood and CSP ate ALL of it!!! We both had peel & eat shrimp, he had some crab claws too, and I had chicken tikka masala. They have a great variety!
You can see Atlantis in the distance through the rain!
After lunch we decided to go exploring a bit on the ship. We went up to the Quiet Cove Cafe, bar, and pool.
Quiet Cove area on the Disney Wish
This is the adults only area of the ship. We spent an hour at the Cafe where CSP got a Vietnamese coffee and I had a Thai Tea.
We were excited to learn that the Quiet Cove Cafe still has a punch card where after you buy 5 drinks you get one free. When we left the QCC the rain was coming down even harder! We took a right out of the cafe but ran into a dead end and had to go all the way around the end of the ship to get back to the elevators. By the time we reached the elevators we were both SOAKED! So we went back to the room to dry out and let me redo my hair! While in our room we watched some Hurricane Ian coverage and read our books.
Took some pictures as we left Nassau.
Then it was time to get ready for the show! Tonight we are seeing the Little Mermaid in the Walt Disney Theatre. No photography during the show, but it was FANTASTIC! The talent on the Disney ships is just downright amazing! You forget you’re on a ship in the middle of the ocean!!!
After the show CSP bought me the Jack Skellington popcorn bucket! It lights up! SO cute! It changes colors!
After the show we popped back to our room to freshen up for dinner. It’s also “Halloween” tonight as this is a Halloween on the High Seas cruise! CSP & I dressed up as tourists. Ha!
I had some festive bat earrings & Halloween Minnie Ears!
On the way to dinner we stopped back into Mickey’s Mainsail and bought a magnet for our souvenir.
Dinner tonight was in Arendelle, named for the village in the movie Frozen.
We sat at table 510 in ArendelleThe theme is carried over to the napkinsThe menu cover
After we ordered, the show began! A female singer, a guitarist, and a violinist came out and sang songs from the Frozen movies. They were incredible!
We had great seats. Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff came out to see everyone too! The idea is that we’re at the engagement party for Anna & Kristoff.
CSP got himself a trio of Nordic drinks. A Nordic wheat beer, Meade, and Aquavit. He loved it all!
The food in Arendelle is really great too. I had the scallop appetizer which consisted of a pastry baked over a broth with 2 scallops in it with some vegetables. It was really good.
There was a nice family seated to my right in the above picture. There was a mom, dad, and daughter of about 9 years of age. The daughter wrapped her clear retainer in a white paper napkin and put it on the table. Well, you guessed it, the server cleared the table and threw it out. She was SO upset. She was sobbing. Her parents were trying to make her feel better about it but she couldn’t be consoled. The server came over and asked what was wrong. Mom explained and told the server that finding the retainer would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Well their server went through the garbage and FOUND IT!!! He then brought her a cup to keep it in. She was so relieved she sobbed even harder! Poor girl! My heart broke for her, but WOW! What service and what luck that they found it!!!
The man on the left in the picture below is Luken, our host for the evening. That’s Kristoff with the horn. They led the entire dining room in a sing along of Let it Go from the original Frozen. It was awesome! Just think- 700 ish people singing at the top of our lungs! People were belting out the words. It’s my favorite moment from the cruise!!!
We had the late seating for dinner at 8:15 pm. At about 9 pm the captain came over the PA system to update us on Hurricane Ian. He’d already told us yesterday that it was likely that we wouldn’t be able to dock back at Port Canaveral until later in the day Friday instead of 6 am as scheduled. When he started speaking it fell silent in the dining room. You could have heard a pin drop. Captain Andy (who’s Irish btw- I LOVE his accent so much) said that because of Ian our cruise would be extended through Saturday or Sunday!!! When he said “Saturday” the entire room erupted in cheers and applause!!! 700 people clapping and whooping!!! Luckily he repeated his message so we could hear the whole thing!
After dinner photos on the way out of Arendelle!
The longest hallway EVER!!!
After dinner we went to the Luna lounge for my favorite cruise game show- Match Your Mate! Think the Newlywed game but there’s a newlywed couple, a long time couple of about 20 years, and a couple who’s been married over 50 years.
Luna was PACKED!!! I was able to score a seat in the balcony and CSP had to sit behind me. It’s SUCH a funny show!!!
By the time Match Your Mate was over it was almost midnight so we went back to our room for bed!!!
Ed made a pumpkin with our blanket and a washcloth!!! So cute!!!
Today we woke up at 7am and had to be at breakfast promptly at 8 in Tritons. We hung out in Tritons until they called our luggage tag (Blue Donald), said our goodbyes to Dede our server and then we disembarked. We found our luggage in the warehouse and found a taxi van to take us to the airport. American Airlines had pushed our return flight departure time back a few hours so we had almost 6 hours to kill. It was still hard to find a seat at our gate!
San Juan- y’all need to add about eleventy million chairs to your waiting areas! At least we had lots of fun subjects for people watching.
Our flight home was smooth. We both watched Shazam. It was cute!
Ok- some random things about the cruise that didn’t really fit into the other posts:
~In Bonaire CSP picked up these cute shells because he thought they were neat.
Pro Tip: I don’t think it’s advised to bring back shells. I don’t think the cruise ships like it. Maybe it’s a US customs thing? Anyway, CSP brought a handful back and handed them to me. I put them in the shallow vanity drawer. The next day I opened the drawer to put the Daily Navigator away. BTW, they don’t deliver the Daily Navigator to you every day now because all of the information is on the Disney Cruise app. But you can still pick one up each day at the Guest Services desk. So I opened the drawer and when I looked inside I yelled for CSP. His little souvenirs had moved! They were crawling up the sides of the drawer! They were ALIVE! Little snail-ish type creatures. Crazy! So CSP immediately put them back in the ocean. I hope he learned his lesson!!!
~You can bring beer and wine onboard the Disney cruise ships. We flew so we didn’t take advantage of this option on this cruise. Plus, we aren’t wine drinkers. In Bonaire CSP saw some locally made beer he wanted while we were at the supermarket. I told him that since we were in port if he brought the beer onboard they would confiscate it and hold it until we got back to Puerto Rico. So he just bought some water and a couple of Cokes instead. As we were boarding the ship that afternoon we asked the guys at the booze confiscation station about it. Turns out I was wrong and CSP could have brought back a 12 pack (6 beers for each of us. I don’t drink beer but they allow each person 6 beers). OOOPSIE. CSP was so annoyed! I said run back out and get some then! So the next day in Aruba CSP bought an Aruban beer (pack of 10). He proudly built a beeramid in our room, much to the delight of our room steward I’m sure. I swear I’m married to a 16 year old boy sometimes!
~By today my bruises on my leg had really started to bloom from my bathtub fall. I was able to get my sneakers on and walk through the airport just fine (thank goodness!)
~My friend Jennifer made me some Disney Cruise Line earrings to wear on the cruise. They are super cute and made from vegan leather so they are so lightweight you don’t even know you’ve got them on. I wore them 2 different days on the cruise. On the 2nd occasion we were at lunch in Tritons when the lady at the table next to us said “I love your earrings!” I thanked her. Her little boy (age 5) then piped up and said “Did you win them at Bingo??” I said no, and told them that they are Little Llama Designs originals. It was so cute!
~In one port our ship was next to another cruise ship that had this CRAZY ride on their top deck. You get in this wee pod/basket/capsule thing and it lifts you up SO high and swings you out over the ocean. OH HELL NO!!! There is not enough money in the world to get me on that thing! Kudos to the brave souls who ride it!
Whole lotta NOPE
~At the Alto Vista chapel in Aruba there are vendors waiting to sell you water and flavored ice and trinkets. We walked up and noticed right away that one vendor was selling vehicle license tags from the US. Minnesota was the state at the top of the string of tags on display. CSP is from Minnesota so he got a kick out of that. Can you imagine going all the way to Aruba (right off the coast of South America) and your souvenir is a car tag from Minnesota?!? So random!
~CSP is a bit nutty. He fell in love with the bathroom tissue on the ship. So when we got home he found it on Amazon and made me order a box for the house. EIGHTY ROLLS PEOPLE.
We had a wonderful trip! Even with the hiccup of my fall and our canceled resort for a day, it was a fabulous vacation and we can’t wait to go back to the ABC islands again one day!
Today we woke up early to beat the crowds to Cabanas buffet for breakfast so CSP could get one last plate of lox and salmon. I don’t know how he can eat fish for breakfast but he loves it. We went back to the cabin after breakfast for a little nappy nap. After waking up and reading for a bit we got ready for the day and went to Triton’s for lunch. Then back to our room to pack. The saddest part of the cruise! Once we were all packed up we read out on our verandah for a while.
Later we went down to the Crown and Fin pub for The Feud. It’s the Disney version of Family Feud. It was so fun!
After The Feud we went up to the pool for a while so CSP could swim and I could read. While up there I thought to myself that I could really go for a cranberry bliss bar from Starbucks. So we went into the Cove Cafe to get a snacky snack and found….cranberry bars!!! It was fate!
Finally it was time to go back to the room to get ready for our last dinner of the cruise.
Saw Captain Mickey in the way to dinner
Tonight’s dinner was in Triton’s.
Triton’s is my favorite restaurant on the Wonder. I love Tiana’s but it can be SO loud. Triton’s is beautiful and elegant. Tonight was lobster night. CSP had 2 of everything! Did you know you can do that? He had 2 appetizers and 2 entrees. They’ll bring you the whole menu if you ask for it! A cruise is a fabulous time to try new foods.
We woke up and had breakfast at Triton’s. Nice and quiet this morning! My toe was still bleeding a little and all bandaged up. And hurting. Same with my left leg. Wait until you see the bruise! We had plans today to do Resort for a Day in Curacao. But with my foot all bandaged up I can’t go in the pool. Whomp whomp. So we decided to stay on the ship today.
After a nap and getting ready for the day we went back to Triton’s for lunch.
Sebastian! Hidden Mickey in the stained glass at Tritons.
We then went up to deck 10 to take some pictures of Curacao.
We decided when we come back we’ll rent a car like we did in Bonaire to tour Curacao. Such a pretty island!
We hung out around the ship taking pictures
and reading and people watching until it was time to get in line to see Pirate Stitch. Stitch is my favorite character and we’ve never met Pirate Stitch in person.
The line for Stitch stretched all the way around Tritons and down the hall!
He’s a popular alien. He was super cute the way he interacted with us. He made a big deal about how tall CSP is (6 feet 4 inches) and Stitch is MAYBE 5 feet tall. And he gushed over my Stitch lanyard and Stitch pins. SO sweet! Turned us into little kids again!!!
After seeing Stitch we went down to the Crown and Fin pub for Disney trivia.
Man! That was HARD!!! Who knows this stuff?? Some questions were: Where were Walt and Lillian Disney married? Who composed the music for some ride at Disney in Asia? What year did cast members start wearing name tags? WHO KNOWS??? Answers: Idaho, Danny Elfman, and 1970 something. Out of 25 questions I got 7 right! FOR SHAME!!!! I drowned my sorrows in 2 coconut mojitos. Yum!
We then went up to the pool so CSP could swim. I read my book and sipped on a frozen mango margarita. The lady next to me had never had one so she ordered one too. I saw her on the way to the airport to go home and she told me she had like 5 more during the cruise! I’m good for business Disney! Give me some discounts!
Ok so 3 mixed drinks in less than 2 hours made me a wee bit drunk. Just a lil bit. But enough that CSP gave me grief for it! Ha!
CSP bandaging up my toe before dinner.
Dinner tonight was at Palo,
the adults only Italian restaurant onboard. It’s Pirate Night at all the other restaurants.
We’ve done Pirate Night and the menu isn’t our favorite so we always go to Palo on Pirate Night.
Nisha was our server tonight. So cute! She’s from Thailand. Dinner lasted from 8:30 to 11:00pm!!! Crazy!
Dinner starts with an amuse bouche.
CSP chose the cippino (a seafood stew),
antipasta (where they bring the cart around. It’s no longer automatic, you have to order it),
The bread service
and Dover Sole for his dinner.
Nisha filleting the Dover SoleSorry for the blur!
I had the calamari (which came with this HUGE shrimp),
the caprese salad,
Sooo yummy!!!
and scallops on artichoke risotto. We both got the Amaretto souffle for dessert and
Nisha also brought us a limoncello tart.
I had some hot tea with dessert.
Everything was amazing! We were there so late we didn’t get to go up on deck to see the fireworks, but we could see most of them through the window.
After dinner we waddled back to our room and hit the hay!
Saw this cool door with lights on the way back to our room. Not sure what this guy is
We woke up at 6:30 am to get to Cabanas for breakfast at 7 am. Then we went back to our room to get ready for the day. We applied copious amounts of sunscreen as this is the closest we’ve ever been to the equator.
We got off the ship and took a taxi to Arubiana. A couple months ago I’d found Arubiana online and booked us a UTV to use for the day! A UTV is like a jacked up golf cart / dune buggy but it’s street legal so you can drive it on the roads. There’s a roof but no glass, so no windows or windshield.
Arubiana is great because they have you download their app which is so helpful!
It tells you all the interesting places to go on the island, has a map, and can even alert the Arubiana staff if you break down so they can come get you!
First we went to the California lighthouse. So pretty!
Next up was the Alto Vista Chapel.
It’s this gorgeous chapel out in the middle of nowhere that was first built in the 1500s. They still have weekly services there on Tuesdays!
Look how giant the cacti are in comparison to people at the chapel!!!
On the way to the chapel we spotted a trail off the main road. So we followed it down to the coast. While there we reapplied sunscreen.
After the chapel we drove to the Natural Bridge.
It was gorgeous! They have a gift shop
with restrooms (for $1 a use) and they sell Dutch stroopwafels (waffles). They smell sooo good!
We headed back to the city of Oranjestad
They have these cool blue horses all throughout town
for lunch at Red Fish. Really yummy! It’s an open air restaurant and they have birds flying through all the time looking for snacks. Bold little birds!
Next we made a beer stop for CSP at the 2 story supermarket called Super Foods. Something I found interesting in Bonaire and Aruba is that there are a TON of supermarkets but we never saw 2 with the same name. They all seem to be independently run. Here you can’t go 5 miles without seeing 3 Food Lions or Harris Teeters etc.
We gassed up the UTV and took it back to Arubiana. They then drove us back to the pier entrance. Which was about a mile away from our ship! We showed our credentials to the guards and they told us a shuttle would drive us back to the ship. Whew! I had prepared myself for a loooong walk but was so relieved because by now we were exhausted from our big day!
Back in our room I looked in the mirror and realized I had dirt and sand ALL OVER MYSELF! My face and hair and body- covered! I went to hop in the shower. On the Disney ships they have bathtubs with high sides that you have to step into to take a shower. I slipped and fell tonight getting into the tub! My right leg went to the right and my left leg slammed into the side of the tub. I yelped and CSP came in to see what was going on. He said “Where are you bleeding from??” I had no idea I was bleeding! Apparently my right foot slammed into the tub drain and gashed my big toe open. I looked down and blood was errrrrywhere! CSP helped me up and I took my shower then he bandaged up my toe, because his name isn’t Cap’n Safety Pants for nothing- the boy brought a first aid kit! He put about 47 bandaids on my toe! So many I could barely get my sandals on for dinner.
I hobbled to Tiana’s Place for dinner.
CSP liked his wee charcuterie boardThe servers in a paradeLimbo!
Tonight was Mardi Gras!
They gave us Mardi Gras beads
They had the limbo and live music and beignets.
So yummy!
Biegnets and bread pudding
We went back to the room after dinner so CSP could drop me off. The ship didn’t leave Aruba until midnight tonight so I sent CSP outside to take pictures of the ship all lit up at night.
So pretty! I know I’m biased but I think Disney has the most beautiful of all the cruise ships.
We woke up at 6:30 am and went up to Cabanas buffet for breakfast. Dede, our server, was working the fruit bar. I swear those servers get precious little time off! But he always has a smile on his face!
We have rented a car for the day. So we got off the ship and walked into town a bit and were picked up by the Budget Rent a Car dude. He drove us to the airport kiosk to do our paperwork and pay for the car.
The airport there is crazy! It’s all outside! So you get off your plane and drag your luggage through sand and a parking lot to get to the car rental kiosk strip. Wild!
Once we were settled in our Hyundai Creta SUV (fun to drive!)
I drove to the Donkey Sanctuary. I’ve been looking forward to this for over a year!!! Ok so back in the 1500s donkeys were brought to Bonaire (pronounced BONE AIR) to help mine the salt. Once cars and machines became a part of the equation they didn’t need the donkeys anymore. But the donkeys were getting hit by cars on the roads and whatnot. So Marina founded the Donkey Sanctuary. There are still over 400 wild donkeys on the island. We met Marina at the ticket counter/gift shop. She only charges $9 each to get in. She needs to be charging $20! It’s so fun! So Marina tells you about the donkeys and the facility and you buy your bag of carrots (buy more than 1- there are 743 donkeys who need carrots!) and get in your car then drive through the sanctuary.
As soon as you drive in your car is MOBBED by donkeys! They stick their heads in your windows
and let you pet them and feed them and they run alongside your car
and fuss with each other over who gets to stick their head in your window. We had a BLAST!!! While we were there I FaceTimed my mom and she loved seeing all the donkeys. We were dumb and only bought one bag of carrots so next time we know to LOAD UP!
Flamingos at the Donkey Sanctuary!!!
After the donkeys we drove around the Southern side of the island. I don’t know about you but when I think island I think lush and green with white sandy beaches. Not Bonaire! They do have gorgeous beaches but a lot of the shoreline is super rocky.
And it’s not covered with lush jungle. It’s a desert island with cacti and wild goats! So interesting to see!
The rocky coast
We stopped at the slave huts.
TINY little structures the slaves lived in who mined the salt. Then we came upon the salt mounds.
Mountains of pure white salt amidst pinkish purple water! So neat! They have this giant conveyor belt that brings the salt out to the sea for the boats.
We drove back to Kralendijk for lunch. Let me just tell you, driving around this Dutch island was so fun! But confusing. My poor GPS guy in my phone, Nigel, would tell us to turn on these roads with the longest Dutch names and we were just like WHUT???? For instance, the Donkey Sanctuary is on Kaya IR Randolph Statius van Eps. And that’s an easy street name to understand! So we naturally got turned around and lost in some neighborhoods along our journeys today!
Anyway, back to lunch. Before the cruise CSP went on Yelp and Trip Advisor and found Julian’s Cafe in Kralendijk for us to go to for lunch.
It is right on the water and a Princess cruise ship was docked right in front of us.
I had the garlic shrimp and CSP had the mahi mahi. It was so good and fresh! There is a restaurant across the street from Julian’s. But their kitchen is located BEHIND Julian’s up the hill. So while we’re at lunch we were amused watching the food runners come up the stairs, cross the street, climb past us going up the hill to get to the kitchen, then carry the food all the way back to the diners!
Our bill came and CSP opened it and it blew out of the restaurant and down the sidewalk! CSP had to run after it while I had a good laugh!
After lunch we toured the North part of Bonaire. So many wild goats running around! I wanted to snatch a couple up to bring home as pets! And the cacti are HUGE!!! Also, the roads once you get out of the cities are all one lane.
Huge cacti!!!
So we were constantly pulling off road to let taxis and tour buses etc pass by. We toured Rincon City and then stopped by a supermarket, natch.
With CSP being a grocery store manager we end up in a supermarket in every new city we visit. The one we chose is Van Den Tweel. SO nice! I sat in the cafe and made some phone calls
while CSP toured the store and picked up some Coca~Cola with real sugar in it and some water. CSP is pretty much ready to pack up the pugs and move to Bonaire after seeing that store!
It was coming close to the end of our day so we had to fill up the car with gas. There are only 2 gas stations on the island (that we could find). So we went to the one closest to the airport. We had to wait in line and then CSP hopped out to fill up the car. I had taken a picture of the dashboard so we’d know how much gas to put in the car at the end of the day.
It was a guessing game for sure because you can’t pay at the pump. And when we pulled up some guy kept asking CSP “how much? how much?” and CSP was like I DON’T KNOW MAN! It was just weird because it didn’t appear that the dude worked for the gas station. Anyway, CSP put the gas in and asked me if it was enough. I cranked up the car and said yes. He paid and got back in and it was then that I remembered the picture! OOPS! I pulled up the pic and sure enough we were one indicator line short of gas. Dang it! So we had to pull around and get back in line, much to the delight of Gas Station Dude who laughed out loud at CSP! Oy.
We returned the car to the airport (only $83 for the day! MUCH less expensive than paying at least that much each for 2 excursions!!!), and they drove us right back up to the pier.
The Disney Wonder and a Princess ship
Back in our room we made some phone calls home then got showered and ready for dinner. Tonight was Semi Formal night.
Dinner was in Animator’s Palate again and tonight was the figure drawing night.
Your servers give you a marker and a big sheet of paper with outlines of a person on it. You draw in your figure and they animate it and project them on the screens around the restaurant. SO cool! CSP’s little guy got to dance with Cinderella!
After dinner we ran into Donald Duck in the hallway. CSP was oblivious and I’m yelling “Honey it’s Donald!” like a fool when I should have been snapping pictures! By this time we were exhausted from our fun day so we went back to our room for bed!
Tomorrow is another early morning as we will be in Aruba!!!
Bless Your Heart 