Our first full day on the Disney Wonder started with a fizzle (You can read more about our experience here). We wanted to try room service for breakfast but were afraid to fully commit. Instead, we ordered a few pastries and hot tea just to start our morning. Since we weren’t in a hurry to visit Catalina Island, we figured we could take our time. The pastries were awful, so we decided to get ready and head down to the main dining room for breakfast. Our luck did not improve!

And You Thought Toast Was Easy

​While the dining room staff was magnificent, the food itself was lacking. It is difficult to describe just how awful the food was; even the toast was bad. How can you mess up toast?!?! We ate what we could and made our way to the tenders to head ashore.

Let’s Shop

​Many ports lack docks for large cruise ships, so passengers use smaller boats, called tenders, to reach the shore. It’s a fun experience, but it can also be crowded. Fortunately, our timing was perfect, and we boarded the shuttle easily and were off to explore Catalina.

​Since we had been to Catalina before, we spent the morning wandering the shops and practicing my photography. We love a good shopping spree. I also needed to find the local grocery store so I could buy mouthwash. We picked up a few souvenirs and made our way to the Vons following the island signage. We went in a large circle, only to discover we had been two doors down from the entrance when we had started. 😂 I did like the parking lot though. It was all golf cart parking since it’s the primary form of transportation on the island.

​We had scheduled afternoon appointments at the ship’s spa, so we decided to return for lunch and some relaxation. We would have been better off eating in Catalina.

I’m Getting Use to the Disappointment

​Lunch was another disappointment. We went to the dining room again and were confronted with limited options, but decided to give it a go. We practically broke our teeth on the bread! After a few bites, we decided to go to the buffet. Although the buffet is usually my last choice, we had better luck there. They offered a freshly prepared vegan dish of the day that we enjoyed, so we decided the buffet might be our best bet when available.

Maybe a Spa Day Will Help

​We found the perfect way to recover from our mediocre food experience by enjoying a relaxing day in the spa. I had some reservations about getting a massage since my last spa experience, on  a different cruise line, had left me bruised and battered. Even though I had repeatedly asked the therapist to be more gentle, she didn’t listen. I ended up with very large bruises all over my body. It was not an enjoyable experience.

​I explained my concerns to  the masseuse on the Wonder, and she was very considerate, checking in with me, which I appreciated. It was a very different experience, and I would absolutely do it again, despite the unavoidable product sales pitch at the end of my session. It’s always part of a cruise spa visit.

​We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on our balcony prior to sailing away from Catalina. While the sofa in our room was rock hard,  the deck chairs were comfy. We also enjoyed that the TV programming was exclusively Disney. If you aren’t a fan of Disney movies and shows, this is not the cruise line for you.

Cross Your Fingers

​That evening, we begrudgingly headed to the Triton dining room for dinner, which is Little Mermaid themed. The buffet was not open during dinner, so our options were limited. We hoped for the best, but it wasn’t a great start.

​On the first night, we were assigned to table 66, and the staff told us we would sit at that table for the duration of our cruise. However, when we arrived, the staff informed us that our table number had changed. They told us we should have checked the ship’s app for updates. Since we were told we would keep the same table number throughout our cruise, we were confused. It worked out in the end because we sat at a table for two, which was more comfortable than the shared table from the night before.

Let’s Start Over

​Our new servers were amazing! They asked about our dietary restrictions and explained that we could order from the other restaurant menus. Where was that information the night before?!? The menu options were better, but the execution fell short. I ordered salmon, and it was extremely dry! Thankfully, I was able to get enough sustenance from my other dishes and had a delicious Grand Mariner soufflé for dessert. The best dessert I had onboard aside from the ice cream 😀

​After dinner, we headed back to our cabin to find our next towel animal, Remy from Ratatouille. Disney just gets this right! The only other decision we had to make was choosing which classic Disney movie we were going to fall asleep to.

​See what shenanigans we get up to at our next stop, Ensenada!

​Until My Next Musing!