Note: You can see the daily navigators for this cruise here.
Our first full day on the ship was a sea day and we had a very important date that morning: Palo brunch!
We ordered room service for the girls for breakfast, dropped them off at the club, and headed up to Palo. Palo brunch is one of our favorite things about a Disney cruise so to say we were excited would be an understatement. We arrived right on time and were seated immediately right next to a window. The view from Palo is usually really nice but it was raining that day so instead of gazing out the window at the clouds and rain, we spent more time gazing at each other and also……the food. If you have never been to Palo, trust me when I say there is a huge difference in quality between the food in the main dining rooms and the food in Palo. You should try it at least once, although I promise you will be hooked once you do. I wish I could remember our server’s name, but he was a very nice man from…..I can’t remember that either. I am usually really good at remembering the names and countries of our waiters but for some reason I can’t remember this guy’s name. If I could, I would highly recommend him. He was great. He gave us the standard tour of the buffet and kitchen items and then let us have at it. This was my plate from the buffet:
These were the dishes that we ordered from the kitchen: oysters Rockefeller, a veal & prosciutto dish, and a pesto pasta dish. They were all excellent.
We were very careful to save room for dessert because the selection is so large. These are the four that I chose:
These are the four that my husband chose:
After brunch we waddled out of Palo and picked up the girls from the club. They were ready for lunch, so we grabbed them some chicken tenders from the pool deck but since it was raining, I think they ate in our room. We ended up spending several hours in the room because the weather was dreary and we all just felt like relaxing & watching movies. We would be up late that night watching the Golden Mickeys and then Santa’s Winter Wonderland Ball, so a few hours of rest was perfect. At one point I looked out the window and saw several oil rigs. It always amazes me that even in the smack dab middle of the Gulf, there are people and boats and signs of civilization.
Before we knew it, it was time to get dressed for formal night. I wanted us to be ready by 5:00 with the hopes of getting a family picture in front of the Christmas tree in the atrium before dinner at 5:45. We had Holiday Belle with us:
As well as Anna in her coronation gown:
And a 10 year old who is officially “too old” to dress up like a princess, and refuses to wear short skirts without leggings:
I noticed a pretty sunset out the window:
We went down to the atrium at 5:00 as planned only to find the line for a picture in front of the tree stretched all the way back down the hallway to at least Wavebands and possibly further. Waiting in that line was not an option. We just hung out until Triton’s opened at 5:45 for dinner with the plan of trying again after we ate and…our plan worked! Once we finished with dinner we went back to the atrium at 7:10 and BAM! Guess who was second in line for the christmas tree photo? Yep, this family. The photos in front of the tree were set to begin again at 7:15 so we had to wait all of 5 minutes. Score! I got the picture I wanted, although I don’t look too thrilled here and I’m not sure why……
After the picture, most of us wanted to change in to more comfortable clothes before the show, so we headed back to the room and found these:
After most of us changed clothes, we headed to the theater for the Golden Mickeys. One of us was bound and determined to be interviewed on the red carpet, and she got her wish!
After the Golden Mickeys, which is one of our favorites, we headed to the atrium for Santa’s Winter Wonderland Ball. It was a cute show, but unfortunately we didn’t have the best view. Here are some pictures that I took before the show started:
And a video that I took of most of the show:
Once the ball was over, we had promised karaoke and so we delivered. Tired as we were, we rallied and watched our little singer perform. After she sang one song, we headed back to the room and crashed.
I’m glad you were able to get the picture you wanted. You have such a beautiful family.