DAYS FOURTEEN AND FIFTEEN OF DISNEY PANAMA CANAL CRUISE

THURSDAY MAY 14, 2015

Our last full day at sea.

 We met Jim & Pat from Canada this morning to see some of their photos from Iceland.  They were there last fall and enjoyed it immensely.  They had some beautiful photos of falls as well as sheep and horses along with great scenery.  This sounds like a good spot to put on our list.  It is a volcanic island and you could tell that by some of the scenery.  

It is pretty chilly on the ship today and a great deal of passengers are wrapped up in blankets on the sunny decks.  The pool water today is definitely warmer than the air temperature. The hot tubs are very popular too which were not very busy the majority of the cruise.

Later we were able to get together with the main characters for a photo shoot.  These were the main 8 characters that most folks want to take pictures with.

The whole group of characters.  

Our last cruise photo with the characters all in one place.  This was taken in the Atrium area where we will disembark tomorrow morning.  It doesn't matter if 2 more characters were added to the group.

I had my Panama Canal book signed by the Capt. of the Disney Wonder.  I already had Capt. Pucket, a retired Panama Canal Pilot, sign it but this will be doubly special for memories.

FRIDAY MAY 15, 2015

We did arrive in the San Diego port very early in the morning. Brian was our friendly taxi service to LA.  It was good to see him since we haven't visited with him since Christmas.  We met Brian near the Sante Fe Depot in San Diego and then went to see the Air & Space Museum in the Balboa Park area.  We decided an indoor activity would work out best since it was raining. Can you believe that it actually did rain in Southern California?

 So here is my little conclusion to our special cruise. I had our last day at sea to think about this experience.

The cruise as a whole was great, but that is partly due to the Disney experience.  The staff or cast as they call themselves are absolutely terrific.  I know it is due to the Disney training, but there is more to it than that.  They do treat their cast members well and they in turn have wonderful cast members who care about the people they are serving.  There is a genuine concern for each other and it shows.  They say they are wearing costumes for their roles as cast members.  They are on the stage for the whole time that a cruise takes place.  That is a long time if you aren't genuinely enjoying what you do. Disney does have people from all over the world employed for them and they do hand pick threir crew.  There is a different feel from the time you enter to when you exit.  Not many cruises have your photo with the great Capt. Mickey as you enter.

We have been on other cruises with different cruiselines but this one seems so much friendlier and concerned about all that takes place.  We had superb entertainment that came from Vegas or elsewhere around the world.  The cleanliness is top notch too as cast members keep on top of any bit of untidiness.  Wet wipes are handed out like confetti as you enter any eating establishment anytime of the day or night.  They definitely want to keep out of the news concerning any virus onboard.

We had a splendid time.  It could have been shorter, but when you go completely through the Panama Canal, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, that is not an option.  We could have taken a cruise that goes part way and turned around, but we truly wanted to experience the whole Panama Canal.  It was an experience of a lifetime, especially since they are currently building new locks next to the old ones.  Also the prices continue to go up in order to pay for the new locks.  It  may be prohibitively expensive in the future to go through the locks due to the cost which is based on many factors. Size and weight are only two factors but surcharges and the urgency of your cargo can impact the cost.    Also too many cruise ships are currently too large or being built to be even too big for the new locks. There are not that many cruise ships that go through the canal at present due to size already.  Either way, we are so happy that we did go to the Panama Canal and couldn't have made a better choice than the Disney Wonder to experience this man made wonder of the world.  

Wait for our next adventure that takes place in June 2015.  Bet you can't wait.🇷🇺

DAY THIRTEEN OF DISNEY PANAMA CANAL CRUISE

WEDNESDAY MAY 13, 2015

CABO SAN LUCAS

Sunrise when coming into Cabo San Lucas.

We finally arrived in Cabo San Lucas.  It looked really lovely this morning as we anchored.  The sky is a beautiful blue that matches the water.  It is much more modern and built up than our previous visit many years ago.  We walked along the pier and along streets with all sorts of shops and eateries.  This area seems to be doing very well economically.  There were a slew of deep sea fishing boats leaving the port this morning.  There were also nice sidewalks and walkways that make strolling around a lot more fun.  You didn't need to constantly check your footing but could enjoy the scenery as well as the nice housing on the sides of the cliffs.  We did find another Starbucks and had some WiFi access.  WiFi this trip has not been terribly fast, but we eventually have found some.

Lots of restaurants and shops along the pier just for those folks getting off the ship.

You can make a decision to go to the pier or go to the market.

 Very nice apartments and hotels along the water's edge

This large yacht even had a helicopter, maybe for James Bond.

These young guys are ready for any irritable tourists.

Parasailing was also being done and it was a beautiful sight above the 

beautiful blue water.

When we arrived back on the ship we met up with Doc McStuffins, Jake the pirate and Sofia the 1st. There wasn't any info that said they would even be on deck.  This was a nice surprise for both of us.  Many of the land tours that folks booked didn't begin until about 10 AM.  Another cruise ship is also in port so that makes the walkways much busier.  These ports know how to take care of guests in a hurry so that they can get back to their ships in a timely manner.  All passengers for our Disney cruise must catch the 3:30 PM tender or be left behind.  If they are on a Disney excursion they will wait for you.  Others who wish to shop too long will just have to wave at the Disney Wonder leave the port.

Doc McStuffins looks very professional with these cruisers.

Sofia the 1st ready to greet guests.

We also were able to get some good photos from the deck of the ship.

A little dark, but photos of us none the less.  These were taken by one of the crew members in the crew section of the ship.  Nice views.

We can pretend to be bathing beauties.  

These are photos as we were leaving Cabo San Lucas behind.  You can even see the arch off in the hazy distance.  

Here is  the Jewel of the Seas ship in port as we leave.

Here is the neat arch.  It seems smaller than what we remember, but they have had some terrible natural disasters since we were last here.  It still looks very nice.

We did have a chance to finally see a sunset over the Pacific which was very nice but very windy conditions.

This is the first sunset we have seen due to very cloudy conditions in the evenings.

We went to the Cadillac lounge for what we feel is our last night of relaxation at sea.  There was a big Frozen Party from the movie but the weather was gnarly and attendance was not what they would have liked.  The wind was very cold, even some folks from Canada didn't spend long on that outside deck to see much. We were by ourselves for a little and the pianist played musicals for us to guess.  His name is Tim Moss and here is a photo of him.  He just played all those songs from memory.

DAYS EIGHT, NINE, TEN AND ELEVEN AND TWELVE OF DISNEY PANAMA CRUISE

LFRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY, MONDAY AND TUESDAY

MAY 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12, 2015

There are 4 days at sea which could be interesting since the Pacific tends to be much choppier.  😝. Now 5 days due to the fact we will not hit the Puerto Vallarta port.

 I have already used these but still felt just a little yucky.  My head felt woozy.  Hopefully I won't need them again.  Hey!  I can hope for magic since we are on a Disney Cruise. 

We do dock in Puerto Vallarta on Tues. May 12th, which seems like an awful lot of days at sea.  The captain thought the route looked pretty good, so we shall see.  The Capt. made a recent announcement that we will NOT be stopping in Puerto Vallarta since there has been some unrest in the recent week.  The Disney Cruiseline does not feel it is safe so we will be at sea one more day.  We sort of thought they might stop somewhere else, but I guess Cabo San Lucas will be our last stop before San Diego.  FIVE full days at sea. 😒

FRI. MAY 8, 2015

(Sorry about the sideways photos, can't figure out how to shift them)

This morning we had a character breakfast.  The characters of course are always cute.

Minnie looking fresh so early in the morning.

Mini Mickey waffles.

The characters look really cute-too bad those insolent folks got on the photo. 😀

We listened to another presentation with Capt. Pucket who was a pilot for guiding the ships through the canal.  He has lot of interesting information about the canal regarding past, present and future. 

Captain Kenneth Pucket a retired Panama Canal pilot who assisted ships through the locks. After seeing the locks and how narrow they are, guidance from the pilot is very instrumental.  He will continue to give talks until the end of the cruise.  He began with the history and how ships go through the canal and then spoke of the future of the canal.  There is also consideration of building a canal in Nicaragua.  We will hear more about that.  

It is neat to find characters onboard throughout the day.  Friday was Pixar Day and we saw Sully, Mike Wozowski, Mrs. Incredible, the Ant from THE BUGS LIFE and of course Woody & Jessie along with Remy and Dug.  We also were able to attend TOY STORY THE MUSICAL.  It was actually very well done.

Mike Wozowski has a nice smile for the crowd.

Sully was really quite tall and pretty fluffy.  He has trouble because he is so tall.  He had to stoop in the large elevator.  Poor Sulły.

We even got to see Dug from UP.  As you can see, it was dress up night again.

We checked out the Cadillac Lounge.  It was relaxing with a pianist playing in the background.  Very nice.

This huge grill is the bar.

The Cadillac fins are on the sides of the wall.  The red tail light is facing the ceiling.  These are much larger than the real car fins and grill, but look pretty classy.

Here is the entrance along with the fins on the wall.

We had to walk down Route 66 to get there.

SAT. MAY 9, 2015

Today is Pirate Day and it is pretty scary with all the little pirates and their parents.  It may prove to be really loud and scary tonight when they meet on Deck 10 for the pirate party.  We shall see if we can avoid any pilfering they may do.

Poor photo of us with Capt. Hook and Smee. It could be dangerous out on the high seas.

We did experience fireworks at sea as a culmination to Pirates Day.  There were pirate type of things all day long with dinner and also the party out by the pool deck.

Here is one mean pirate I would hate to come upon.

Nice photo with Peter Pan.

Fireworks over the ship were pretty neat even with the wind.

SUNDAY MAY 10, 2015 MOTHER'S DAY

Morning sunrise from out the window.

We had a diversion early in the day as we cruised into Guatamala for an emergency disembarkment of a family.  The ship dropped anchor at Puerto Quetzal and awaited a tug to take the folks to land.  This took place about 11 AM and we finally left the port area around 2:15 PM.  We had to wait until we had clearance to leave the port.  It didn't help that it was a Sunday so service was not very efficient.  Supposedly we are still to arrive in Cabo San Lucas on Thursday, May 14th at 7:30 AM.  It really doesn't matter that we are there that early since shops and everything else does not open very promptly in Mexico.  They will be good to go at 10 AM or abouts, at least that was true in Cozumel.  We just have to locate free WiFi somewhere near the port.

This is what we saw of Guatamala.

This is the tugboat meeting our anchored ship.

Nothing quite like taking a photo of a Disney ship while making an emergency stop to pick up folks.

The tugboat is finally ready to take the family with the medical emergency.

There are a lot of activities going on, lots of trivia, bingo, Disney info, cooking lessons, movies, musicals, talent such as Illusionists, magicians, singers, comedians and more.  It would not be a problem to be busy all day long if you so desired.  The characters are varied so the kids and adults can catch a glimpse or pose with them.  You won't see that on other cruises.  

This was in our room for Mother's Day.  It is towels folded in the shape of a rose along with some Giradelli chocolates.  We have had some very nicely folded characters each day.  They are really well done.  This one is white on the white comforter so may be difficult to identify.  Very nice.

MON. MAY 11, 2015

Another day at sea.  Five days is a long time at sea even if there are all sorts of activities.  After 5 days there begin to be repetitions or something so similar that you are tired of it.  How much napkin folding can a person do? 😀😀😀.   Either way it is time to get off of this ship and walk around a town and check out some different scenery.  We have seen all of the characters that they have onboard.  They change costumes but still, Mickey is Mickey whether he has a Captain's costume or a pirate outfit.  They are cute but who cares after 5 full days at sea.  I imagine that you picked up on the fact I feel a bit trapped after seeing water on all 4 sides for 5 straight days.  It is a wonderful cruise but after the Panama Canal, the rest is just anticlimactic.  Now off to Knot tying. 😀. I much prefer a glass of wine and will continue on my blog later. 🍷

I did forget that we had a great presentation from Capt. Pucket relating to the fact that Japan was very close to bombing the Panama Canal and dam in that area.  The Japanese were also very involved with doing major damage to the west coast of the U.S.  They had a huge submarine , the I-400 that could be used as a small aircraft carrier in that it held 3 airplanes that could land on water if they had the pontoons connected.  If the pontoons were not on, it was a suicide mission.  The Japanese also painted some of these planes with American insignias which could have really been a problem for the U.S.  These planes could have easily flown over the Panama area and wouldn't have been noticed very much due to the proper markings.  This huge submarine also had torpedoes that went farther and without a wake.  The sub had a crew of about 165-200 while most of the U.S. subs at that time held about 85.  It had technology that was not yet available to the U.S.  If we had not already taken out Admiral Yamamoto and the war ended this could have been disastrous.  It seems the Japanese army and Japanese navy had very poor relations and that the army seemed to have put Yamamoto in our crosshairs.  The army had been trying to secretly assassinate Admiral Yamamoto.  After Yamamoto was no longer there the army took control and forced the navy to only guard the coastline of Japan.  The navy was no longer the strong entity it had been.  When the war ended we found lots of these I-400 submarines and also some of the airplanes.  It wasn't until later that we discovered they had painted some of the planes with U.S. Insignias.  The U.S. also found the plans to bomb the Panama Canal and the west coast.  It was a good thing that army beat navy in this instance.

We were walking on the deck and Pluto waited for us.  What a nice dog, not like Goofy at all.  He posed for a photo and then we had our photo taken too.

Here Pluto is waving to us down the hall on deck.

We are a bit wind blown but we decided to try a photo anyway.

He played a little shuffleboard while we were there.

TUESDAY MAY 12, 2015

Another day at sea 😟.  At least tomorrow we will get to Cabo San Lucas and be tendered into port.  Hopefully we can find some free WiFi to get this blog out.  We did get to see Olaf this morning.  He sure is cute.  The line was starting at 8 AM and he wasn't to appear until 9:00 AM.  There was quite a line and we noticed that the Disney cast member even made the sign of the cross when he entered the room.  Poor guy.  Olaf was really good with the children and adults who were patiently waiting for him so that made it worth the wait. 

We played shuffle board with our table mates today.  None of us were very good so one gal changed the rules so that we could make a few points.  How pathetic is that.  The 8 of us had a good time.  Tonight was another formal night and the "Officers Ball" which entailed dancing.  That was sort of silly since the area for dancing is very small but the thought was there.  Photographers were out again to either take professional photos or candid type ones.  Some folks truly dress very formal with long gowns and tuxes.  We just don't pack that type of clothing unless you take a couple of steamer trunks.

There is additional entertainment we should be able to see but we do want to get off of the ship fairly early tomorrow if possible.  They are having us all meet in a large room where we will be given a number to embark on your tender at a given time.  They will start this process at 7:00 AM.  

We listened to Chuck Wagner a Broadway singer who is wonderful. He was the Beast on Broadway for Beauty and the Beast and has an excellent easy to listen to voice. We have seen and listened to him a couple of times while on the ship.

It is supposed to be hot tomorrow but the air at sea this evening is quite cool compared to what we have experienced up to this point.  We have had very hot and humid temps and later today we approached the area closer to the Baja Peninsula and it began to cool down.  Probably just getting us prepared for the cooler weather of CA.  😒