Jan 12 - The Panama Canal

I actually did it. I clawed out of bed at the crack of dawn and got myself to the front of the ship on deck 10. The aim was to vie for a spot to view the ship go through the Gatun locks of the Panama Canal. Alas, many others got up earlier that I did and the front of the ship was already full! I mosied towards what appeared to be a small opening. I was faced with two fat Americans standing with their feet wide apart and bags sprawled on the deck. They were minding spots for their family while everyone else were squished together. It was not a pretty sight.

A completely opposite pair of Americans saved the day! The generous couple shared their prime spot and took turns with the other passengers letting them take photos. They kindly allowed me to be their precious cargo, sitting at their feet. It is at times like these that I am eternally grateful for being small. I now had an unobstructed view with the rails to rest my camera on! We watched and snapped away as the Statendam (1 of the ships at Aruba with us) and a cargo ship passed through the two-lane locks.

The Panama Canal is truly one of the greatest engineering feats in the world. Through three sets of locks, ships moved through with the water levels being raised or lowered so as to be able to move to the next section. There is a large fresh water lake in the middle which supplies the water. This is designed such that the sections are filled or drained simply through the use of gravity. The experience of observing how the locks function was truly amazing! It took us eight hours in total to pass through the canal.

Once the bow of the ship passed throught the gates of the first lock, I rushed back to the aft of the ship to join the rest of the familiy for breakfast. We watched the locks close behind the ship and the waters start to fill. We decided to return to our rooms and take up our posts at the balcony. We hung up the Australian flag as well as the boxing kangaroo ready to represent our country. We also got our small flags out ready to wave. Mei commenced the "Aussie Aussie Aussie" cry but got it wrong! Luckily no one around us could understand the rubbish that was spouting out from our mouths...

We soon reached Gatun lake. It felt almost surreal that we were in Panama. There was pleny to do as the ship pushed through towards the Pedro Miguel locks. The deck party had already started where they had a special BBQ to commemorate the passage through the canal. It was difificult to get seats! We all squeezed in and used the one small table between us. It felt like we were eating back at a South East Asian country village!

By the time we finished lunch, I was ready for a nap. I woke up just in time up to watch the ship sail through the last set of locks, the Miraflores Locks. We readied ourselves for our celebrity status and practised our royal waves as the crowds cheered for us. We were finally through the last lock. Mal, of course, set off immediately for chip it golf. Sharon and I went up to the open decks for a drink and to take photos of the Bridge of the Americas. That was the last thing to to go through before we reached the Pacific Ocean.

I went back down to meet up with Mal as we had important business to attend to. We had to visit the future sales desk to book our next cruise. We are hoping desperately for Disney to visit the eastern Mediterranean. The itinerary for the second half of 2012 was not due for release until April/May 2011 so we booked a dummy cruise instead.

We had litle Samuel with us while Sharon watched the 5pm Tron session. This was the session for the late diners. We had to take turns so there would be someone to look after the children when we watched the 8pm Tron. The rest of the afternoon was somewhat of a blur. Sam was delighted to spot Donald on the way to picking up Lara and Elliot. I couldn't stop myself from entering the Treasure Ketch and Mickey's Mates (aka the shops) where I bought the Tangled soundtrack as well as more DIsney toy for the children. We also managed to take photos with Chip and Dale, and then Goofy before scoffing down our dinner at Parrot Cay.

It was finally our turn to watch the movie. Tron was a little disappointing all round. Firstly, they showed it in the Walt Disney Theatre as a "feature" and so we missed out on a live show. Secondly, it really wasn't a good movie. There wasn't even any decent eye candy! The plot was boring and somehow managed to be oversimplified yet confusing at the same time. It was almost as if they tried too hard to somehow make a plot out of the special effects which granted, were quite amazing.

The clock will be would back an hour tomorrow so we get to sleep for an extra hour tomorrow morning. Uh, apologies. A correction please. We get an extra hour of love with our children tomorrow morning!

The sun rising whilst waiting for our turn to go enter the first lock of the Panama Canal

Watching the ships before us go through the Gatun Locks. The ship of the left is the Statendam. It was docked in Aruba with us.

The cargo ship on the right moving on whilst the locks close behind the Statendam.

Water filling up and raising the Statendam. The cargo ship has moved on to the next level.

The tug boats getting the Wonder into position

The locomotives that will keep the ship steady as she goes through the locks.

The bow of the Wonder passing through the lock

It is an extremely tight fit! Not much space to play with hence the locomotives to help with guidance.

The characters were out in force celebrating the journey with the guests

Watching the stern of the ship

The ships behind us waiting

The waters draining on the left so the ship can enter

Gates opening for the ship on the left to enter

Ready to do our country proud!

Our flags came in all sizes!

A BBQ feast was put on so people could enjoy their food whilst enjoying the passage.

Sailing through Panama...

The crowds waving at us at the Miraflores Lock

The babies enjoying the view too!

Mal back to chip it golf at every opportunity

This place is becoming a regular haunt

Er...yep! Boardgames!

On deck waiting to pass under the Bridge of the Americas

Speak of the devil...

The locomotives in action

Not much space!

Panama city in the background

The ships on the Pacific waiting to get to the Atlantic

Jan 11 - Serene At Sea

Breakfast at Triton's was always a delight. We made the most of the full table service on sea days when we had the luxury of sleep-ins and lazy mornings. There must be something addictive in the belgian waffles...

Sharon and I ditched the two little boys in Flounders screaming but they soon settled. We never did receive the phone call to come and collect them. For a few brief moments, we were lost not knowing what to do with ourselves. Then we slapped some sense into ourselves. Malcolm had his heart set on the pingpong tournament and pleaded for me to be "the good wife", that is to serve and hit the balls back so he can practice various aspects of his game. He somehow manged to gather a personal cheer squad. Mei Simon, Sharon, Jason and Ethel came to do the rah rah. Unfortuntely, the ping pong tournament was cancelled due to lack of interest! Mal and Jason got themselves a free DCL cap each for their time.

Jonah throwing a tantrum and Sam watching in amusement

Malcolm had to be content playing with Jason. The competition were a no-show...

Sharon and I took the opportunity to do some shopping! We bought ourselves a DCL Panama Canal pin. We later learnt that there were commemorative pins for each port that had sold out within hours of release. People had lined up for hours just to purchase them. We were in awe of their dedication and wondered why Disney didn't make more. Surely more pins sold meant more money for Disney?

To kill time before our next planned activity, we attended the "How to have a facelift without surgery" talk. The beautician was shocked that we all didn't exfoliate. We felt like we had commited the worst sin ever in the whole wide world. We were too afraid to admit that we didn't know what toning meant either...

We met up with the other adults at the Walt Disney Theater for Disney's Voice Animation presentation with Dave Bossert and Kat Cressida. The content was interesting once we got past the guest speakers talking about themselves! As with all things Disney, everything you hear that needs a voice has been planned in great detail and has a distinct purpose. At the end of the presentation, they gave the audience a change to have a go at voice overs. We suspected that the first guy desperately wanted to be discovered. He had sat in the front row and was actively asking questions throughout. His voice also sounded semi-professional. The 2nd volunteer unfortunately sounded woeful! Especially taking into consideration the quality of the first volunteer. I am sure everyone secrely thought that she was rather brave to volunteer...but good on her for giving it a go with absolutely no shame!

Kat Cressida

All good things had to come to an end. Sharon and I conceded the end of our free time and picked up the little boys. We headed for lunch at BBB where there was an Asian menu!!! My excitement turned to panic when I discovered that I had lost my wavephone, left inside the loo outside the WD Theatre. I wasn't keen on surrendering $250...Thank goodness for Disney magic, by the time I returned to my room, it had been returned, sitting in the charger ready to be used. Phew! There was no better way to ease my stressful day thus far than with an afternoon nap. So I snuggled next to Jonah for a snooze...

We awoke recharged and ready for our poolside ice-creams, fries, and fruit. The swim was a bonus. While we munched, we watched Aladdin on the Ariel view television. It was a tough way to spend the afternoon. We had to release our poolside spot to go to the show dinner at Animator's Palate. The specially built restaurant slowly changed throughout the courses from black and white into colour. It finished with a special visit from sorcerer Mickey which was a highlight for the children.

Squeezing into the spa

The now colourful Animator's Palate

And the wait staff's uniform changed to match!

Our entertainment tonight came in the form of Los Pampas Gouchos, a trio from Argentina who performed dances and flashed multiple instruments around including a whip. What started out as a rather dubious show slowly built up to become quite enjoyable. They were hilarious! The leader with the crazy eyes, wild hair and psychotic look truly was the star. Andrew and Elliot were chosen again to be up on stage much to their delight! Elliot didn't seem to care that he was already in his PJs...at least they were Disney ones! I retired straight after the show. We had yet another early start the next day for our voyage across the Panama Canal.

Taking up our usual spots near the stage!

The boys about to get the flowers in their hands cut by the whip

Los Pampas Gauchos

Jan 10 - Aruba 2

Our day started with a 7am tour of Aruba. Sunny was there right on time and introduced us to Ricardo Thomas, our driver guide. Ethel, Sharon and I were in charge of the 4 little girls and 2 little boys. The other “boys” along with Mei had booked themselves a Mariokarting excursion around the island.

First up was a quick drive through the streets of Oranjestad, the capital of Aruba. This didn’t take long! We soon hit the “countryside”. Aruba was a lot drier than I expected. There were Cactus and Khwi trees everywhere. Our first stop was the natural bridge. Because we left so early, we were the first ones there! Baby Beach was next. It was a beautiful beach with turquoise waters that was calm and shallow. Although it was great for children, with 6 of them, it was extremely hard work! The sand was a royal pain in the behind! Ricardo-Thomas was fabulous with his run down on Aruba, he covered biology, history, geography, culture, politics, education and more right through our dive. We were taken around nearly the whole island. We returned to the ship via Eagle and Palm Beach where most of the big hotels were. There were four ships in port that day and I was glad that we were returning to the Disney Wonder for it was by far the most beautiful!!!

The markets outside the port in daylight and open!

Being whisked away for Mario Karting

A Mario Kart...

The Convoy

Mal and Elliot's kart

The rugged coastline of Aruba

Baby Beach

Jonah chose to smolder from afar

If you're wondering what Khwi tree is, they are the ones that are not cacti

wild goats

wild donkeys

By 1140, we were back on ship! We forgo the chance of shopping, even for diamonds. Ethel had attended the diamond shopping talk on the previous day. Aruba was meant to be the place to go! We have had enough of the kids. We posted our SOS message on our dry erase board. We attempted to go lunch but all the restaurants were still closed!!! We had to wait until 12pm for BBB to open. Luckily for us, we didn’t have to wait too long before re-enforcements came.

We bathed the children to rid them of all the mud and sand, and then attended to the highly stimulating task of doing the laundry. After a failed attempt at board games on account of Jonah, we retreated to the pool deck to join Ethel and her girls. We fed the little ones while we waited for the ship to set sail. The children really enjoyed waving to the crowds who had gathered to send the ship off. And how could anyone not be impressed by that horn!?!?!

The adults then dressed for their dinner at PALO. It was of course, another fabulous evening of fine dining with friends! Our entertainment that evening was ”Once upon a Song”, a show based upon the great Disney tunes. The musical arrangement was great with the orchestral backup recorded by the San Francisco Philharmonic recorded at Skywalker Ranch.

The ladies dressed for fine dining

We scored the private room and Cornelia again

Once upon a song

It was getting my materials ready for this post that I realised we had lost 4 days worth of photos from the cruise! It took me a while to get over this...We shall not name the culprit! But thank you to all my photographer friends who have been kindly letting me use their photos to plug my “gaps”.