Solo On The 4-night Wonder
. . . continued
Dinner at Parrot Cay was exactly what I expected from previous experience there - my least favorite food of the cruise. But I can accept that.
After dinner I was in Wavebands with my table mates until midnight, trying to be sociable with them because they did seem like nice people after all. They danced. I took pictures of the goings-on. One of their kids was seriously ill from too much sun exposure and had to be taken from the kids' Oceaneer Club back to their stateroom. When will people learn? As a fair-skinned, blue-eyed blonde, I have a big investment in sunscreen lotion and I know when to get out of the sun.
I went back to my stateroom, sat on the verandah and continued documenting my cruise on my little Compaq iPaq Pocket PC. Then I went to bed and slept until 9 a.m., skipped breakfast altogether and went to the drink station to fill my big Disney Wonder soda mug with coffee to drink while attending the "Ask The Captain" session where he and other crew members answered questions from the audience. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but I felt I was being stared at occasionally as I sat on the aisle of fifth row center. Was it the Freeport issue? Okay, so I (and others) had been wrong.
I then sat through the debarkation talk, wondering how I would carry my Sorcerer Mickey and flowers ashore.
Next I went to lunch at Triton's. My assistant server was the very handsome young Sasa from Croatia (Yes, this was Sasa, not Sasha). I noticed him trying to read everything on my DCL lanyard, including the name on my DCL logo card. I told him I had seen his picture somewhere and heard good things about him. It was true. Since he had only been with DCL four months, he was shocked that anyone had ever heard of him.
Later I made my usual mint tea at the drink station and returned to my verandah. When I stepped back into the sitting area of my room, I saw that someone had brought a "Mouse Takes The Cheese" board full of cheese and fruit . . . right after my lunch! I hoped to save it for breakfast early the next morning before debarkation. I piled it into Ziplock baggies and stuffed it into the "cool box" mini refrigerator as well as possible.
Only one more night to the cruise. I felt a bit depressed, so before dinner I got up the nerve to stand in line to be photographed with Captain Mickey. Two pictures were taken. I bought both of them. I thought Mickey and I were a lovely couple in the pics!
Then I bought the new Captain Tom pin. Just after that the captain rounded the corner between the stairway and elevators and no one else was around, so I asked him if I could photograph him. Of course he obliged and posed handsomely. It's too bad I forgot to turn on the red-eye reduction on my camera.
I bravely and foolishly remarked that I once posted a photo of him in my signature on the DIS board, and some people had asked about "that gorgeous hunk." He seemed amused and flattered. Although it may have been inappropriate, I guess it never hurts to hear nice things about one's self.
There are some nice shows on the Wonder, but if you are an adult who grew up with Disney, the one not to miss is Disney Dreams. You will feel the magic!
Final night dinner was at my favorite, Triton's. I gave each server their tip envelope and they seemed quite pleased. I left Triton's with a touch of sadness.
Returning to my stateroom, I finished repacking and placed my bag outside the door. It was picked up within a few minutes. I made a quick trip to the Deck 9 drink station for iced water.
Around midnight, Brad from next door brought over his pin collection for me to photograph as planned. It was extremely difficult because the ship was rolling excessively as I leaned over the pin display, trying my best to steady my digital camera to keep from blurring the pictures. Even a tripod would not have helped. The rolling was so bad that Brad's wife Jenn had returned to their stateroom in the middle of dinner at Palo. Many people felt ill. I should never have waited until that last night to photograph the pin collection.
At 12:30 a.m. I received a call from the Treasure Ketch, informing me that the man who had bid an outrageous $250 for the autographed captain's hat did not show up by the deadline. She asked me if I still wanted the hat since I was the only other bidder. I said yes. Then she suddenly said she'd call me back.
Some time later I received another call from Candice at the Treasure Ketch. She apologized but told me that just as she had been telling me I could have the hat, the man who had bid $250 walked in and was furious when he overheard her. When they explained to him that he was two hours past the deadline and the rules of the silent auction were clearly displayed, he became irate and said he did not see the rules. He pitched such a fit that the manager decided to let him pay the $250 and take the hat.
I calmly stated that unlike that man I was not going to pitch a fit, but I thought they made a very bad decision by letting this man who totally ignored the rules have his way simply because he was such a verbally abusive tyrant. By doing so, they were dismissing the rules by which everyone else had to abide, and were actually rewarding bad behavior.
Candice agreed and said it had been the manager's decision. She then put me on hold to speak with the manager, then returned to me and said I could come pick up the hat (another identical hat) at 8 a.m. before debarking, and that they would send it to Captain Tom to be autographed first thing in the morning. Excellent.
I walked out onto the verandah and stared down at the restless sea. It was eerily dark and windy, but I could occasionally glimpse the waves thrashing below. I wanted to stay on the verandah the rest of the night, but knew I would need at least a few hours sleep to function in the morning. I went to bed and lay there listening to the wooden clothes hangers clanging against each other in the now empty closet as the ship continued to roll side to side. Earlier the closet doors were sliding as the velcro tabs meant to secure them under such conditions failed to hold them. Hearing the ship creak with each movement, I was awake much of the night thinking about this WONDERful cruise and wishing it would never end.
At around 4 a.m., I thought I heard pilot boats alongside us, but I might have imagined it. At 6 a.m. it felt as though we were docking. I got up at 6:30 and we were indeed in Port Canaveral again.
I washed my face, brushed my teeth, combed my hair, quickly applied makeup, and dressed. I ate a little of the fruit, cheese, and crackers I had put in the fridge. I checked every drawer and closet to make sure I left nothing behind.
As I picked up my small carry-on bag, my DCL duffle with sports bottle, and my Sorcerer Mickey pot with flowers, I opened the stateroom door and attempted to back out with the load. Fortunately, my stateroom host was in the corridor and held the door for me. He offered further assistance, but I explained that I needed to haul it all myself and head over to the Treasure Ketch to collect my captain's hat. I told him he was welcome to the rest of the fruit and cheese I left in the cooler, since customs forbids food to be brought off the ship back into the U.S. He seemed appreciative and thanked me.
I made my way down to Deck 4 and the Treasure Ketch. Candice had the captain's hat ready for me, signed by Captain Tom, carefully bubble-wrapped and in a big Disney Cruise Line bag.
Coming off the ship I was loaded down with carry-on, the captain's hat, DCL sports bag, my camera, and the Mickey pot (which I foresee using as a cookie jar) with flowers. I located my one rollaboard checked bag and had a porter load everything onto a cart. As we exited the terminal, an older, well-heeled looking woman standing alone holding an identical Mickey pot sans flowers asked me how I managed to debark with the flowers, since she had thrown hers away after being told she could not bring them off the ship. I answered that I had asked Customs and was told that since they were cut flowers and not a plant in soil, there was no problem. She was furious.
This Disney cruise was over. I got in the car and headed back to Daytona Beach with more than a tinge of sadness. Then suddenly I remembered the Minnie Mouse magnet I had placed on my stateroom door . . and failed to retrieve when I left. Alas, I had left my mark on the Wonder. I knew I would return again soon.
NEXT UP: 3-night Disney Wonder, 31 October 2002; 4-night Disney Wonder, 10 November 2002; 3-night Wonder WDW annual passholders cruise, 23 January 2003; 4-night Disney Wonder, 25 May 2003; back-to-back 3-night Disney Wonder, 25 September 2003 and 4-night Disney Wonder, 28 September 2003; Disney Magic 7-night Western, 11 October 2003. Hopefully there will be even more!
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