This guest trip report was written by Rachel, whose family sailed concierge on back-to-back sailings on the Disney Magic – first a 5 night Marvel Day at Sea, followed by a 4 night Bahamian itinerary. You can start the trip report from the beginning here.
Day 5: At Sea
On our final day at sea we woke up to beautiful weather and I took a stroll around Deck 10 while our boys went with their friends to Cabanas for breakfast. My husband and I had brunch reservations with our friends at Palo at 10am so we skipped breakfast.
The kids went straight to the basketball court after breakfast and played on the sports deck and in our staterooms all morning. At 10am, the adults headed to Palo.
This was our first time having Palo Brunch post-COVID changes so we were curious about the buffet replacement. Our friends had previously had dinner in Palo, but not brunch, so this was their first experience.
I know all of the waitstaff in Palo is excellent, but we really loved our waiter, Roberto. He was from Italy so his pronunciation of all the menu items was authentic!
Bread service was first, which came out as a basket for the table along with two small dishes of olive oil with a drop of balsamic vinegar.
I always opt for a plain glass of prosecco instead of a mimosa for my complimentary drink.
At the time of our sailing, the buffet was replaced with a choice of a seafood platter or a platter of cured meats and cheeses. I did something unconventional and asked Roberto if he could just bring me some shrimp and cheese. In hindsight, I should have asked for some of the tuna as well because I had a bite from my friend’s plate and it was excellent. I just knew I would not eat everything on the seafood plate and did not want to waste it. And I HAVE to have the parmesan cheese in Palo – it is second to none.
I will say that I do definitely miss the other items on the buffet that are not available on either of these two platters. There was a much larger selection and variety on the buffet. So, I am hoping that makes a return, but overall we still really loved our brunch – and left completely stuffed even without the full buffet portion!
My absolute favorite dish to get at Palo Brunch is the Artichoke Ravioli. Second favorite is the Chicken Parmesan, of course.
Others in our group got some other dishes as well – the strawberry waffle, calzone, red snapper, lasagna, and eggs benedict.
And we were not leaving Palo without the Warm Amaretto Chocolate Fondant with Espresso Gelato. Our server also heard us discussing the Tiramisu and the 5 Layer Pistachio Cake, which we did not end up ordering. BUT, he brought them to our table to share and I can report that both are very, very good! I do not actually like traditional tiramisu, but as you can see below, this is not traditional tiramisu. I would get it again!
After lunch our boys were more than ready to get up on deck and do the slides. During our cruise there was still a limit on the number of people allowed in the pool at one time. When you were in the pool, it was for a set amount of time (10-15 minutes, I think) and then they rotated to the next group that was lined up around the pool. Because of this (and because the slides were more their “speed”) our boys did not swim in the pools.
They did LOVE the AquaDunk and Twist n’ Spout slides and rode both multiple times.
As our kids were enjoying the slides, my friend and I enjoyed the drink of the day and watched Ralph Wrecks the Internet and Toy Story 4 on Funnel Vision. Our boys eventually got hungry and had pizza from Pinnochio’s by the pool.
When we got back to our room later that afternoon, we saw a plate of Oreo pops from the concierge lounge that the team had left for us. These are my husband’s favorite, but we had the hardest time remembering to get to the lounge during the hours (around lunch time) that these were served, so they very thoughtfully put them in our room for us. And we ate them all!
We all showered and met in our dining room for the evening – Rapunzel’s Royal Table again. And on this night we go to see Rapunzel and Flynn in the little show.
We ordered the most “fun” dessert – Rapunzel’s Fry Pan Sweet Bread with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. It tasted like a funnel cake and was served warm. Very good!
After dinner, instead of the show (which was a repeat of the night before), we went to the magic show in one of the lounges. I was expecting a good show, but this magician, Seigfried Tieber, was outstanding. Our boys were fascinated, and so were the adults!
Our fun, relaxing day at sea ended with our towel animal – a bear, maybe? The next day our friends would be disembarking and my immediate family would be hopefully re-embarking for the second of our back-to-back cruises.
Up Next: Cruise 2
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