Panama Canal Cruise Recap: Day Five

Happy Halloween from onboard Disney Wonder. We’re celebrating with Halloween on the High Seas, one of Disney Cruise Line’s special voyages.

Today was our first of four days at sea as we head towards the Panama Canal. The day began with breakfast and then the second lecture from Captain Ken Puckett. Captain Ken has traversed the Panama Canal almost 1500 times, mostly as a pilot escorting ships through the passage. As we get closer to making our way through, he’s teaching us all about the canal and its history. Today, he focused on the construction of the canal. The engineering is incredibly impressive and we’re all very excited to see it for ourselves in a few days.

After Captain Ken’s presentation, our group split up to enjoy various sea day activites around the ship. Some chose to spend time at one of the pools, while the rest of us went to a cheese seminar. We tasted several great cheeses from around the world while our expert dining staff told us about the history of each product. They were all delicious but most of our group was partial to the Boursin.

Since it’s Halloween, there were also several fun events centered around the holiday. Disney Cruise Line does several “Halloween on the High Seas” sailings each year and they always feature these fun activities:

Mickey’s Mouse-querade Party: Shiver in delight during a scare-a-bration alive with ghoulish games, trick-or-treating, dancing and some favorite Disney Pals bedecked in Halloween attire.

Halloween Activities: Unearth frightful fun for the entire family, including mask-making and pumpkin-carving.

Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Sing and Scream: It’s “Season’s Screamings” during this interactive movie experience, followed by a meet-and-greet with Jack and Sally.

Haunted Stories of the Sea: Listen to a ghost story or two during an eerie campfire-style storytelling experience on deck.

Halloween Isn’t Just for Kids: Shudder and shake at this adults-only party that includes a costume contest.

One of the fun things about trick-or-treating throughout the ship was seeing all the great costumes. The majority of the passengers were dressed up, with The Flintstones seeming to be the most popular costume we saw. There were also plenty of Disney-inspired costumes, plus many folks choosing to dress like their favorite character from the Marvel or Star Wars universe. Our group included a Friar, Mario & Luigi, Pocahontas, Minnie Mouse, and I chose The Phantom of the Opera.

Tonight we were back in Animator’s Palate for dinner with the California Vista menu being served in all three restaurants. After the “rotational” nights, we still move to a different restaurant each night but the menu is the same in all three dining rooms. Tonight’s menu was inspired by California cuisine and it did not disappoint. We were also treated to a surprise extra dessert for the table in honor of Halloween.

Tomorrow is our second day at sea and will feature another lecture from Captain Ken, plus we’re going to enjoy brunch in Palo, the ship’s adults-only specialty Italian restaurant.

Until then, good night from southeast of Acapulco.