I'm Outnumbered! Parenting Alone Through The Panama Canal (EBPC 2017)

[happy wanderer]

Love your reports and cannot wait to hear more!

 

[arielmomma]

After dinner, Emily wanted to go swimming. We found that we preferred being on the pool deck in the evenings. The temperature was tolerable and the pool was mostly empty.





While Emily swam, I watched Tarzan.







After awhile, Jimmy, who had been in the Edge, joined me on the deck with his own entertainment. I couldn't blame him. It was a gorgeous evening.



After two hours of swimming fun, we returned to our cabin. The kids decided to stay in for the evening with their Halloween haul, while I went to Azure to play Majority Rules. As always, it was a hoot!



I stayed through to beginning of the adult Halloween Party. Some of the costumes were amazing! However, it was so crowded I could barely move so I cut out early. Look who I ran into in the hallway. Bucky Barnes (aka Willem) didn't stand a chance against Supergirl!



On my way back to the cabin I stopped by the Promenade Lounge for some snacks to take back to the kids. They really enjoyed me doing this for them each night.



As I suspected the kids were still wide awake and on a serious sugar high. Fortunately, a sugar high is generally followed by a sudden crash, and tonight was no exception. Shortly after the kids got ready for bed they were out for the count. I updated my notes and settled into to bed myself. What a great Halloween it had been!



Up Next...So You Think You Can Salsa

 

[arielmomma]

Enjoying reading your trip report. Looking forward to being onboard the Wonder for the WBPC in April.

Thank you! Less than a month to go! We'll be onboard before we know it!

Love your reports and cannot wait to hear more!

Thank you! Glad to have you along for the ride.

 

[arielmomma]

Day 8, Wednesday, November 1, 2017, Sea Day

I woke at 9am. The kids were sound asleep. I took advantage of the quiet cabin to do some yoga stretches and eat the baklava I'd saved from yesterday. Yum!

Jimmy and Emily finally woke at 10:20am. Though they were awake, they couldn't be called functional. Clearly they were plum tuckered out from yesterday's activities. I made a quick bagel run to Cabana's for Jimmy at his request, while they opted to stay in the room and watch Guardians of the Galaxy on the in-room TV.

When I returned to the cabin I informed them that I was headed to the D lounge for Anyone Can Cook. Today a chef from the Tusker House Restaurant in Disney's Animal Kingdom made shrimp and grits.





The shrimp was scrumptious, the grits, not so much. This wasn't surprising though because I've never cared much for grits.



I left the D Lounge and proceeded to check on the kids. I see why they wanted to stay in the room.



They had 40 minutes left of their movie, so I thought I'd squeeze in a bit of exercise. I headed to Deck 4 for a walk. The morning was lovely but soooo humid! I pushed through it though.

 

[arielmomma]

When the kids' movie ended we headed to Triton's for lunch.



Emily blowing bubbles in her milk.



She then moved on to fencing.



Finally our appetizers arrived. We all ordered the shrimp wontons. These were fantastic!



For his main course, Jimmy ordered the braised meatballs. He said they were good.



Emily and I both had the short ribs. In the past, these were tender and delicious. Unfortunately, our cuts today were nearly all fat. We each only had a couple of bites of meat. The flavor was good though.



For dessert, Emily had the pecan pie cheesecake. She didn't care for it.



So she ordered a Mickey Bar instead.



I had the cherry tart. It was good, but I make better at home.



Jimmy had the children's banana split. He devoured it!

 

[arielmomma]

Still hungry, Emily and I went to Cabana's, while Jimmy ran off to the Edge. I forgot to take a picture of my plate, but it was delicious. I sampled a variety of dishes, but a couple stood out to me: the Indonesian noodle salad and the salt cod and potato croquettes. Both were fantastic. I was disappointed when they weren't offered again later in the cruise. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for them in April!

In this picture Emily was afraid to try this shrimp cracker. I should have taken a second photo after she tried it. She liked it and returned to the buffet to get more.



All three of us went to dance class. Today we learned the Salsa. Jimmy hated this dance. He said that it was too fast for him. His father said the same thing on our previous cruises. After three cruises, I felt I was finally getting the hang of it. Emily simply watched us from the sidelines.



The class was a tad full. We were on the upper level in the overflow section.



After class, Jimmy returned to the Edge, while I convinced Emily to participate in the Toy Story Dance class with me. As if I wasn't already aware, I immediately discovered that I am nowhere near coordinated enough to be a professional dancer! It was fun though.



Emily and I then went to the Promenade Lounge to make lanyards. Emily turned hers into a necklace.

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Hi I know I've read your other trip reports and just stumbled upon this one. I'm going back to read now but wanted to say hello. I'm sorry about your losses and I hope this cruise was everything you wanted.

 

[lorimay]

We have less than a year till our PC cruise can't wait. I'm most excited for the dance classes, how fun!

 

[o&smom]

We have less than a year till our PC cruise can't wait. I'm most excited for the dance classes, how fun!

So exciting! I planned on checking out the dance classes, too. In 14 days we never made it to one dance class! We did have a great time, so I guess we'll have to do another some time.

 

[arielmomma]

Hi I know I've read your other trip reports and just stumbled upon this one. I'm going back to read now but wanted to say hello. I'm sorry about your losses and I hope this cruise was everything you wanted.

Thank you for the condolences. Glad to have you joining in!

We have less than a year till our PC cruise can't wait. I'm most excited for the dance classes, how fun!

It'll be here before you know it! You won't be disappointed in the dance classes. Willem and Natalia are the best!

So exciting! I planned on checking out the dance classes, too. In 14 days we never made it to one dance class! We did have a great time, so I guess we'll have to do another some time.

That's the great thing about these cruises. There's so much to do not accomplishing something simply means you'll have to take this cruise again!

 

[arielmomma]

Emily and I parted ways for a little while. She skittered off to the Oceaneer Lab, while I went for another walk. Holy moly, it was humid outside!

I met the children in Azure at 5pm for dance class already sweaty and ready to continue my workout. It was another great class. CM Michelle danced with Emily so that she had a partner. Michelle said that my family deserved a prize for participating in practically every activity offered onboard. We did stay pretty busy.

Tonight's dinner was in Tiana's Place with the Land and Sea Menu. I started with the Double Baked Gruyere Cheese Souffle. This was amazing! I had two of them.



Jimmy had the marinated shrimp...



and the children's mac -n-cheese.



Emily had the salmon gravlax. She adores smoked salmon if you couldn't tell.



For his main course, Jimmy had two more orders of marinated shrimp. He loved these!



Emily had the center cut beef tenderloin with lobster medallions.



While I had the venison loin. Yum!

 

[arielmomma]

For dessert, I had the caramel apple cheesecake and...



the warm banana bread pudding. The cheesecake was okay, but the pudding was fabulous! I wish I'd had room for another one.



Jimmy ordered double sundaes.



While Emily had a sundae and...



the triple chocolate terrine.



From dinner, Emily returned to the Oceaneer Lab, while Jimmy and I went to the D Lounge to watch So You Think You Know You're Family. We arrived a bit late. The families had already been selected. I was glad. Usually Jimmy tries to get onstage, and usually I don't mind. Tonight, however, I really just needed to relax and digest.

The game was a lot of fun. Jimmy and I discussed what our answers would be for each other as it went on. According to Jimmy, my most embarrassing habit is my laugh. He said I laugh like a horse. Apparently, he was not the only person to feel this way as you will come to see later in the evening...



After the game, we collected Emily and found seats in the Walt Disney Theater. Tonight's performance was The Golden Mickeys.

 

[arielmomma]

After the Golden Mickey's, the kids headed off to their clubs while I went to Azure to see Michael Harrison's adult show. As I mentioned earlier, his family show was only so-so. His adult show, on the other hand, made up for it. He was hilarious!

I was seated in the front row. During his performance, his puppet looked at me and told me that I laughed like I was sitting on a chicken. Apparently, Jimmy was on to something. I laugh like a farm animal! From that point on, throughout the show (and for some passengers, the rest of the cruise) I became known as the chicken lady. Bawk, bawk!



I stuck around after the ventriloquist to play Snippets. I was on the Brady Bunch Team. We won! No thanks to me, but I take advantage of the opportunity to claim victory where I can.





After the game, I made my customary stop by the Promenade Lounge. Tonight's offerings included jalapeno poppers and wings.



When I returned, Emily was still out, but Jimmy had returned to the cabin. He proceeded to devour the wings. When I informed him that I as heading out for a walk, he decided to join me on deck 4. It was a lovely evening.





When I was done walking, we went to the Oceaner Lab to check on Emily. She informed me that she wanted to close it down. So Jimmy and I left her playing with her friends. On our way back to our cabin, Jimmy stopped to get more wings. Both of my kids really loved the late-night wings.





I had just enough time to update my notes and get ready for bed before Emily returned to the cabin. It was time to turn in. We made sure to change our clocks before we called it a night. We had an early morning activity to get to!



Up Next...Welcomed and Forgotten

 

[tink1970]

Your children are so adventurous in their eating...I'm a bit jealous. On DD's first cruise she ate only bread and cheese and dessert. Over the years she's branched out to chicken fingers and pizza

I'm impressed with your walking so often during the day. Do you do a set amount of laps (like 3 every time) or just what you feel like? It's such a nice low impact (and calming) way to exercise.

Congrats on your big win, too!

 

[Camonkeygirl]

I can’t wait to read the rest of your trip report. I will be on the WBPC in just a couple of weeks

 

[arielmomma]

Your children are so adventurous in their eating...I'm a bit jealous. On DD's first cruise she ate only bread and cheese and dessert. Over the years she's branched out to chicken fingers and pizza

I'm impressed with your walking so often during the day. Do you do a set amount of laps (like 3 every time) or just what you feel like? It's such a nice low impact (and calming) way to exercise.

Congrats on your big win, too!

Thank you. I am pretty lucky. My kids will eat just about anything. The kids and I accompanied my husband, James, on a business trip when Jimmy was five and Emily was two. The company James went to visit took us out to this fancy Italian restaurant for dinner. As it was, I as worried about how well the kids would hold up because the meal didn't even begin until after the children's bedtime. Then they brought out the pre-ordered appetizer - grilled calamari with the tentacles still on. I though, "Oh no! The kids are going to freak!" Actually, they devoured it and asked for more. James' coworkers were so impressed (so were we!). To this day, their favorite part of calamari is the crispy tentacles.

As for how much I walked, I mainly just did it in between activities. So, I paid more attention to time than laps, and then it was only to head off to the next activity. I did put myself on a strict 3 lap minimum per day, though. It was very calming.

I can’t wait to read the rest of your trip report. I will be on the WBPC in just a couple of weeks

We leave in 15 days! I can't wait! See you there!

 

[arielmomma]

Day 9, Thursday, November 2, 2017, Sea Day


As usual, I was the first to wake. I basked in the quiet while enjoying the peanut butter cheesecake spider I'd saved from yesterday for breakfast. Yum! I manage to wake the kids and get them moving in time to make it to the Gold and Platinum Event in the Walt Disney Theater.



Rather than a party on deck like we've experienced in the past, we were offered a "behind the scenes" look at the Walt Disney Theater. I personally, loved the change.

As we approached the theater, we were offered a selection of beverages. We all chose the sparkling apple cider.





Inside the theater, we found seats near the front. If my notes are accurate, there were 357 gold and 273 platinum cruisers onboard. One couple was celebrating their 71st Disney Cruise! Wow!



While my children weren't particularly impressed, I was. I found the presentation about the running of the theater fascinating. It made me appreciate the amount of work that goes into each performance hosted in the theater.

On our way out, we were offered Mickey Rice Crispy Treats. We left with a whole bouquet of them.

 

[arielmomma]

We went straight from the Gold and Platinum Event to brunch in Triton's. Yes, I spelled it correctly - brunch. This was a first for us on DCL, but we agreed that it was an offering we hope they continue in the future.



CM's stopped by our table with an offering of pastries. Emily selected a chocolate chip muffin.



Jimmy chose a chocolate crescent.



For her appetizer, Emily had the eggs benedict "royale." I sampled this. It was glorious!



Jimmy had a bagel, hash browns, and scrambled eggs.



I only ordered one course - the steak salad. This unfortunately was rather disappointing. No matter. I helped Emily eat her "Royale."





For her main course, Emily had the Bucatini Carbonara. She loved this.



Jimmy had the Nurnburger. He didn't care for it, so he ordered...



The children's pizza.

 

[arielmomma]

For dessert, Jimmy had the sundae.



While Emily and I had the warm lemon pudding.



To walk off our meals, we decided to check out the offerings in Cabana's.

 

[arielmomma]