is coming home. After four days of being waited on hand and foot, all I get now are strange looks from the dog as I walk around the house looking for Deck 9 like some kind of deranged mental patient. There is a sort of culture shock that takes place after a cruise – think about it – you have somone to do everything for you – get your drinks, make your bed, cook your food, and rub oil over your body. I’ve tried to train Max to make the bed and call me “Mr. Peter” with a Malaysian accent, but it’s not going well.
I should apologize for not posting sooner – but we spent the last day of the cruise just soaking it all up. Walter and I don’t get a great deal of quality time together, so when we do – I hate to see it end. Of course, the last day couldn’t end without somekind of gastro-intestenal event – but this time the perpetrator was my own partner. I thought it was odd that he was downing pizza from Pinnochio’s just before we went to bed – but dear God that pizza should either be outlawed as a biohazard or it should come with a butt-plug. I was awakened from a rather restful sleep at 2am by a vile odor – at first I thought that Chemical Ali had read my blog entries and had broken into my room and was exacting his revenge. But no, it was Scar – and the revenge of Pinnochio’s pizza. Also, I want to go on the record and say that each and every fart story this trip was 100% true – no exaggeration. I don’t normally notice things like that, but for whatever reason I was assaulted by it each day of the trip – and I do mean ‘assaulted’. I’ve mentioned on the show at least once that I usually bring a new bottle of cologne on a trip so that I have a fragrance to remember it by – this trip the signature fragerence, unfortuantely, seems to be “Eau de Colon”.
But enough of the fart jokes.
We had a wonderful time on the ship, and I’m truly sad to see it end. At the same time though, I really missed Max and it was great to get home and see him. He nearly knocked me over when I went to Mom’s to pick him up. He hasn’t left my side since I got back, and was quite perterbed when I left the house for a few hours today to run some errands.
There were both good and bad elements to this trip. On the list of “good things” – the crew was amazing – especially our stateroom host Emy. Anyone who will fold my socks and scrub my toilet is a good person who deserves copious amounts of money.
Another gem was Don the bartender at Signals – a really nice guy who whips up a wicked virgin Pina Colada.
Another highlight of this trip (and every other trip I’ve taken aboard the Disney ships) is the Vista Spa. Yes, it’s expensive, and the Spa bots are a little affected, but of all the spa experiences I’ve had over the years, the Vista Spa continues to deliver one of the most unique and relaxing experiences around.
I really like the fact that they offer dining options if you don’t want to dress for dinner and go into the main dining rooms. The Beach Blanket Buffet offers a different menu each night from one of the three dining rooms, but you can ‘go as you are’ without feeling self conscious. This is a really nice option and one Walter and I used virtually every night of the cruise (as Scar neglected to pack more than one pair of dress pants and one dress shirt). He originaly said he would just go to dinner in jeans and a t-shirt – to which I replied “No you won’t”!
While the cruise was truly fabulous, there were some disappointments. The food was not as good as it should have been. Not that it was particularly bad, it just wasn’t the awe-inspiring culinary delight that it should have been given what Disney routinely charges for their cruises. I’ve also noticed that food on the Wonder seems to be a step below the food served on the Magic. I’m not sure why that is, and I have nothing but anectodal evidence to back it up, but it’s always seemed that way to me (and others I’ve spoken to). The presentation is always impressive, but it never tastes quite as good as it looks.
Also, I have to say that Walt Disney World is light years ahead of Disney Cruise Line as far as ‘healthier’ fare goes. As I mentioned in my Contemporary review on last weeks show, I found that the restaurants at WDW were doing an excellent job at including healthier options in the menu, and not just throwing them on as an afterthought. It seems that DCL has gone the after-thought route and should consider adding something more enticing than steak, broiled chicken and a vegetarian dish.
But my biggest disappointent is that things appear to have been stolen out of my luggage – somewhere between check in and delivery to my stateroom. a bluetooth headset (a spare) with a charger and two camera batteries are mysteriously missing. At first I thought I left them at home, but after a comprehensive search of the house – they’re not here. So, I’ve contacted guest relations at DCL to see what they can do. I’m doubting anything will happen since baggage handling is outsourced to a seperate company, and, as I found out with the internet issues, they are less than helpful on board when it’s another company providing the service (guest services wasn’t the least bit interested in my complaints about the problems with the internet connection).
Even still, it was a great cruise – and it makes me want to go back again. Oh, that’s right – I already have another one booked for May 10, 2009 – do you?? 🙂
Pete
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