On the last full day onboard our long awaited cruise on the beautiful Disney Wonder from Hawaii to Vancouver I woke up at 7:30am when one of the many alarms that I had set the previous evening went off. Whilst sitting in bed that morning I could not decide if the five days at sea since we had left Nawiliwili in Kauai had gone by quickly or slowly but the one thing I definitely knew for sure was that I felt exhausted (especially after yet another time change overnight) but it was in the best and happiest way possible as it meant that I had tried to make the most of every single minute of our time since we had first arrived in Hawaii two weeks previously.

After a much needed cup of tea to wake up fully, we got dressed and made our way down to Triton’s on Deck 3 for our first sit down breakfast of the cruise. I tend to stay away from the main dining rooms for breakfast onboard as I do not like the menu offered – everything on there either has egg or is a sweet option such as waffles and I do not like either. I usually go to Cabanas as I find that there are a lot more options for me to eat however I was able to order a delicious Plant Based scramble in Triton’s (which is not listed on the menu) along with some hashbrowns.

After we had finished our breakfast we saw that there were some characters out in the Lobby Atrium so we stopped by and met Goofy, Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, Rapunzel and Moana with no wait at all – there are usually long lines to meet all of the Princesses on other cruises so it was very noticeable how few children there was onboard for this sailing as it was so quiet.

At this time the French Quarter Lounge on Deck 3 was also empty so we took the opportunity to look around at all the details which had been a little difficult to see throughout the cruise as there had always been an activity happening or musicians playing every time we had walked past. The French Quarter Lounge was a new addition to the Disney Wonder since our last cruise on her in 2017 and I loved everything about it. The theming fitted in so well with the neighbouring Tiana’s Place restaurant and it looked so much better than the older Promenade Lounge that it replaced which is still found on the Disney Magic.

When we got back to our stateroom our luggage tags (which we did not need as we were going to carry our own bags off the ship the following morning) were waiting for us on the bed along with two Canadian customs forms. We had also been left a gift from Disney Cruise Line which was a beautiful limited edition lithograph called “Say Aloha to the Great White North” featuring Moana, Maui, Pua and Hei Hei by Don “Ducky” Williams. There was also a certificate of authenticity as well as a signed card from Captain Fabian. We also received one of these limited edition prints on our Transatlantic cruise back in 2015 and is one of the many reasons why I love and look forward to the longer and more unique sailings.

We did not have any other plans until lunch so we used this time to pack all of our bags so we could fully enjoy the rest of our last day onboard as well as our dinner at Palo that night. It did not take long at all and I also realised during this time that I had lost one of my lens caps at some point during the cruise so I simply used the chat function on the Disney Cruise Line app to talk to Guest Services to ask if it had been handed in – I loved this feature on the app as it saved me having to go down to Guest Services in person and wait in a long line of people.

After having a lighter lunch in Cabanas (we did not want to eat too much as we had dinner at Palo to look forward to that night) we met Donald who was at the Gazebo on Deck 9 at 1:00pm.

Chip and Dale appeared at the Gazebo at 1:30pm and as it was so quiet and there was nobody else waiting for photos, Chip and Dale (especially Dale) started getting up to a lot of mischief as only they can. Dale was walking around and picking up and moving all of the “Wet Floor” signs that were out on Deck 9 due to the weather and Chip was constantly chasing after him and moving them back before trying to stop Dale from moving any more of them around. This carried on for ages and we could not stop laughing and it’s another reason why I love these longer and much more relaxed cruises as the characters have a lot more opportunities to be themselves.

Pluto took over from Chip and Dale at the Gazebo at 2:00pm and as we were taking a photo of him I jokingly said to Pluto that he must be freezing as it was so cold outside so he should get a blanket and keep himself warm. Pluto quickly ran off and started searching around the Goofy Pool area for a blanket – it took him a minute or so but he did find one and ran back to the Gazebo with it before proudly wrapping it around himself. Both of these interactions with Pluto as well as Chip and Dale were two of my favourite character memories from this cruise and it just makes me smile so much to remember it all as well as look back at the photos and videos I have of them from this day.

After meeting Chip and Dale, Pluto and Donald we walked a few laps around a very empty Deck 10 – even everywhere inside the ship was also very quiet so I think that a lot of people were using this time during the afternoon to pack all of their bags ready to be collected later that night. If you want your bags to be taken off the ship and into the terminal for you, they have to be left outside your stateroom by 10:30pm on the final night of the cruise.

In the middle of the afternoon and after two days of grey skies, wind and rain, blue skies finally appeared as we got our first view of land in five days in the distance. We also got a mobile signal for the first time since we left Hawaii as the Disney Wonder started to turn into the Juan de Fuca Strait which separates the USA and Canada. Even though the signal was a little patchy I was able to send a few messages to family and friends back home as the free of charge iMessage and FaceTime feature had not worked for the majority of our time onboard like it had done when we sailed on the Disney Magic last summer.

As we walked around Deck 4, seeing land ahead of us made me think about what I was going to do the following day after we disembarked and I knew that I was already looking forward to going back through all of our photos from our time onboard as well as from our stay in Hawaii (and at the incredible Aulani) before the cruise as I knew that there were so many things I had already forgotten about – it’s one of the many reasons why I write a journal as well as take so many photos whenever I travel.

After having a shower we got dressed ready for our Palo dinner reservation which was at 6:30pm. Dining at Palo on the last night of our cruise would never normally be our first choice but due to the high number of Platinum Castaway Club members onboard for this sailing, there were hardly any reservations left for dinner at Palo when our booking window opened except for on our final night onboard which had all times available. On previous cruises we have always had a late dinner in Palo but on this cruise we decided to book one of the earlier times which we both preferred as we could enjoy our meal whilst it was still light outside as well as enjoy the stunning scenery of the Pacific Northwest around us.

The amazing Sylvester was looking after us once again and after looking at the menu, I ordered a Balsamic Grande cocktail to drink and we were also brought out a Gnocchi amuse-bouche to begin our wonderful meal.

The Palo dinner menu has also slightly changed since the last time we had dined there as there is now a Prix Fixe menu option for $45 (with very limited food choices) and you can also order individual items á la carte as well which we both did.

Sylvester also brought out a basket of freshly baked bread to our table (I absolutely loved the Garlic Flatbread) as well as some fresh Parmesan which was drizzled with a beautiful balsamic vinegar dressing. I ordered the Soft Potato Gnocchi to start followed by the Grilled Portobello Mushroom for my main course and I joked with Sylvester that it was always very easy to guess what I would order from any menu no matter where I was as three of my favourite foods in the world are Cheese, Mushrooms and Gnocchi.

My Gnocchi starter was heavenly and a few minutes later Sylvester arrived back at our table with an extra special plate of Mushroom and Cheese Gnocchi as he had told the kitchen that they were three of my favourite foods so the Chef decided to make this dish especially for me. It was so perfect and I felt a little emotional and so grateful for this amazing and special gesture – it’s little touches like this that will always make me continue to sail on Disney Cruise Line.

The Grilled Portobello Mushroom (I have always ordered it every time we have had dinner at Palo) was just as wonderful if not even better than what I remembered and Sylvester even bought out a little jug with some extra shallot sauce for me when I said how good it was.

As we were eating our dinner, Captain Fabian made an announcement to let everyone know that after 2444 nautical miles, we only had a hundred to go before we arrived in Vancouver and we were due to sail under the Lion’s Gate Bridge the following morning between 6:15am and 6:30am.

For dessert I ordered the Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta (as the Panna Cotta at brunch a few days beforehand had been so good) and as we had both been dreaming about the Warm Orange Almond Cake for years since our Transatlantic cruise back in 2015, we also had to order one to share between us.

We finished our amazing and incredible meal at Palo with a complimentary shot of Frozen Limoncello, Apple Brandy and Prosecco before paying our bill. Despite the change to the Palo dinner menu and ordering the á la carte options, we did not notice any difference to our final bill for our food as the items we both ordered still worked out roughly the same (give or take one or two dollars) as it had before all of the changes. The only extra charges to our bill came from the two bottles of San Pellegrino and the alcoholic drinks that we had with our dinner.

In my opinion, dinner at Palo is still completely worth the extra that it costs to dine there. The two hours simply flew by – it was an amazing experience, the food was spectacular and the staff in Palo (especially Sylvester) are just simply wonderful.

We left Palo completely full and as it was still just light enough outside, we walked around Deck 10 to help work off all of the delicious food we had just eaten. As already mentioned it had never been in our original plans a few years ago to have dinner at Palo on the last night of our Hawaii cruise but it worked out absolutely perfect and it truly was the best way to end our cruise on an absolute high on our final evening onboard.

We also went down to the Lobby Atrium to see our final characters of the cruise which were Chip and Dale as well as Daisy. We also chatted to and thanked many of the incredible Cast Members that we had got to know throughout the cruise and some that we had even sailed with before. They had all helped to make this cruise that we had waited so many years for the magical experience that it was and we were so grateful to all of them for the wonderful job that they do.

Back up on Deck 10 you could clearly see the bright lights of the city of Victoria on Vancouver Island in the distance and there was also a mist descending over the Disney Wonder which looked very dreamlike with the colourful lights on the outside decks of the ship.

I wasn’t ready to end our final day onboard as I knew that we were in the final hours of the cruise so I continued to walk around even more of the Disney Wonder by myself. I even took a few minutes and sat on one of the chairs on Deck 4 in the empty Lobby Atrium and looked around in awe at where I was and tried to take everything in and celebrate the fact that this cruise had happened after the last two years and it was a very surreal, wonderful and emotional feeling.

Everywhere onboard the Disney Wonder was so quiet (apart from a handful of people who like me were walking around the ship taking any last minute photos) and there was only one person at Guest Services which I have never seen before on the final night of any cruise as it is usually much busier.

After getting a drink for both of us from Deck 9, I got back to our stateroom just before midnight and our final towel animal as well as our end of cruise survey were waiting on the bed. I was happy that we had packed all of our bags earlier in the day as this meant that we did not have to rush around this late at night and could simply relax instead.

Just before we fell asleep, I made sure to set several alarms on my phone as we both wanted to be awake to watch our arrival into the amazing city of Vancouver a few hours later. It was strange knowing that our cruise that we had been looking forward to for so long was nearly over but there were no sad feelings at all – just gratitude and an unbelievable amount of happiness that it had finally happened!

Support Me and Buy Me a Coffee
Follow Me on Instagram
Pin this Blog Post on Pinterest
Follow Me on Bloglovin’