Panama Canal Cruise Update: Day Thirteen

As I write this, Disney Wonder is sailing from Cozumel on our way to our final destination: Galveston, Texas.

Today was our final port day and we wrapped it up in style in Cozumel. This port is extremely popular and has so much to do, from shopping and food to great excursions. It’s one of the top diving destinations in the world and of course you’re not far from the incredible Mayan Ruins. We got lucky tody as the forecast called for rain but we only got a few short showers. Overall, a beautiful day in Mexico.

1100 of the 1900 onboard booked excursions for today and many of the rest went ashore on their own. So while they were gone, I took advantage of the mostly empty ship and shot what I think is a fun and interesting walking tour of the Disney Wonder. Since the WiFi is charged by the megabyte onboard, I’m not going to upload the video until I return but I think it will be a fun look inside a Disney ship for those who have never been onboard one. I’ve also got tons of photos that I will upload as soon as I have an unlimited Wifi connection.

This afternoon I also got to spend some time with the lovely Jenn Gambatese, our Broadway entertainer from last night. Today she did a meet-and-greet and CD signing in the Azure lounge. I’ve been lucky enough to meet many performers from the Great White Way and Jenn has to be one of the kindest hands-down. I hope she returns to Houston sometime soon (perhaps with the symphony or in a touring show) so that everyone can see her amazing talents.

This evening we had a delicious French-inspired menu in Triton’s, the restaurant modeled after Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.” On the Disney Magic, the Wonder’s sister ship, this restaurant is called “Lumiere’s” and is themed after “Beauty and the Beast” so that’s where the French inspired dishes originate.

We were lucky to have two great shows tonight. The first, in the Walt Disney Theatre, was a great night of illusions and fun from Kyle Knight and Mistie. Then, later on in the adults-only venue Azure, singer John Charles made another appearance. Disney bills him as the #1 most requested entertainer on the ships and it’s easy to see why. We’ve now seen three of his shows and they’ve all been filled with both great music and some hilarious comedy. If he’s ever playing on a ship you’re on, do not miss his shows. Tonight’s show was scheduled for 30 minutes and lasted almost 90.

Tonight we also finally “fall back” to standard time. While the rest of the country did this last Saturday, the ship stayed on daylight time to match our port’s local times. So for the last few days, we’ve been on Disney Standard Time and will return to Central time this evening. Nice to get an extra hour on our final day.

Tomorrow we have one final sea day before arriving in Texas on Friday morning and I’ll have one last blog post as well. Until then, good night from somewhere between the Yucatan Peninsula and the Gulf coast.