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Just starting in here....So did you have to prepay for parking in the garage? I know that was not the norm in the past. $75 is right thought for a 4 night cruise...$15 per day and they count the day you arrive and the day you leave as well. Our's was $60 for the 3 night cruise but we didn't pay till we got off the ship.
I am wishing your tablemates were Jennifer and Claire....from Ohio!!!
Seeing the adults only area of deck 13 forward on the Dream, I really wish they'd done it like on the Fantasy, with Satellite Falls. Does anyone know why they didn't? Was that something that was added to the Fantasy after the Dream had been built and they realized a small pool area would work better there?
I seem to recall Disney saying that the Dream and the Fantasy would have differences and I may or may not be right about this, but I thought it was stated fairly early on that the Fantasy would get Satellite Falls, while the Dream wouldn't. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong on that...
I wonder whether Disney do this to "test drive" things, knowing that if it's popular, they can then retro-fit it to the other ship(s) later on...
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Thank you so much for posting this Laurie!! My kids are going to be so excited for these updates for our Jan. cruise. I still think of the Dream as being too new for any upgrades, forgetting that it has been sailing for quite a few years now.
Well, we went on our inaugural sailing back in April 2011 and I think the first paid for sailings were January 2011, so it's over four years now. Where does the time go?
It was quite a surprise...and why I have no problem paying Disney for excursions...I know if we are late, DISNEY will take care of the problem. They went off on a 'cheaper' self-booked excursion...not so cheap as it turned out!
Not at all!
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Yes, Barcelona is where the Magic is!! Is Barcelona on the Dream or the Fantasy? I can never remember!
I want to say the Fantasy, but that's off the top of my head and may be completely wrong... actually it must be. I photographed all the cocktail menu at Skyline and that shows me the cities are Paris, Rio, New York, Hong Kong and Chicago. I am proud to say we've been to all but one and I have to confess I have no desire to ever visit Rio. Rio!
Just starting in here....So did you have to prepay for parking in the garage? I know that was not the norm in the past. $75 is right thought for a 4 night cruise...$15 per day and they count the day you arrive and the day you leave as well. Our's was $60 for the 3 night cruise but we didn't pay till we got off the ship.
we paid when we got there (they charge your credit card before you enter) and it's now a $75 flat fee, regardless of how long your cruise is. Great if you're on a longer cruise, but not so great for shorter cruises...
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I am wishing your tablemates were Jennifer and Claire....from Ohio!!!
Now that would be cool.... but just the two of you? Seems someone is missing from that line-up...
Right, here's today's update - sorry for the delay but my 12 hour work day is now over and I'm home relaxing and recovering... it all went well, so that's the most important thing.
Tuesday 24 February – part eight: will Palo live up to past glories?
We headed up to Palo just before 7:30pm, feeling a little light headed by now, and waited in the Meridian lounge when we got there.
I spotted this on the menu, which looked amazing, but not tonight! By the way, we're talking about the crème brulee martini!
We were taken in, and ended up in one of the tables by the wall with those beautiful paintings of Venice. I loved looking at them, knowing we had just been there in the summer.
We were looked after by Aleksandra, and wow, did she look after us! Given our previous issues with service on the Magic in the summer, I was hoping that tonight they’d redeem themselves, and my goodness, they did. She was just charming, and happy to chat away to us. We learnt that, although she was from Poland, she lived in the UK for a number of years, and is now married to a French guy, who works in Remy.
We were so impressed with her, we asked for her for our brunch, but she told us they now have a system, where you’re matched to your server for all your meals at Palo and Remy, which is good. She also told us that they’ve been trialling brunch at Palo and Remy on the day in Nassau for the last four months, which explains why that appears on the website, and the trial ends in a couple of months’ time. I did say to her that including something in the Navigator would be a good idea, as there was nothing in there for today, and she said she’d pass that back. It sounds like it’s been successful, albeit slow to get going, as she said they’d recently had 70 people for brunch, which sounded pretty impressive to us.
We started off with the antipasti…
… and the breads, all of which was wonderful.
Now I will say here that it’s a lengthy meal, but we weren’t bothered. I think by the time we finished that off, it was maybe 8:15pm, and we hadn’t even started the meal proper yet.
For our appetiser, I opted for my beloved mozzarella Caprese, buffalo mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, basil and virgin olive oil, as to me, this is a good way to judge how good an Italian restaurant is. I’m pleased to report that Disney have stopped their practice of serving up the mozzarella with no seasoning, which has annoyed me on the last couple of cruises, as I like a bit of salt with it. This was just perfectly seasoned.
Mark decided to try the fritto di calamari, lightly crusted calamari served with deep-fried cherry peppers, although he wasn’t sure about it, given his appalling experience at the Turf Club. This couldn’t have been more different. I sampled one, and it was absolutely beautifully cooked, and you could taste the calamari, unlike the terrible dish we had in the Turf Club.
We were talking to Aleksandra before we ordered, and she took the time to explain that they hadn’t changed the menu dramatically, which is what I thought they’d done, with my favourite dish removed. it was still there, just under the wine section, but she reassured us that we could order anything off that section, without having to order the wine pairings. Phew! My beloved lobster and mascarpone ravioli is still there. I love this dish, so I think you can guess what I ordered…
Mark debated between the beef and the lamb, but eventually went of the oregano and parmesan crusted rack of lamb with Sangiovese roasted shallots, olive oil baked Roma potatoes, potato torta and herb jus, and enjoyed it, although he didn’t like the potatoes at all.
I think it was about here that this woman came around…
I thought it was a lovely touch, and apparently she does a walk through of a piece in both Palo and Remy and then sometimes performs in the lobby. She was excellent, and I loved her dress – very fitting. Here I’ll say something about the dress code. Everyone, pretty much without exception, adhered to it, and turned up in their finery, which was so nice to see. I love it when people make an effort for a wonderful dining establishment like this!
We didn’t even need to see the dessert menu, as we both knew what we were going to have – the soufflé of course! Mine was specially baked, given my allergies and Marcello, the maitre d’ here came out a couple of times to check things with me. Boy, did I feel special!
I think we finally finished up in there just before 10:00pm. It had been a wonderfully relaxed meal, with some amazing service, and superb food, and Palo for dinner really has redeemed itself after a blip on the Magic in the summer. We’ll definitely be back.
We headed back to the room, where we found this creation…
As it was past 10:00pm (we always have a joke that we can never stay up this late on the cruise! ) we figured we’d done well and headed to bed.
The weather today was foggy first thing, then hot and sunny with temperatures in the high 80s. The best thing today was dinner at Palo. The worst thing today was how hot it got in the afternoon. Today we tried going in the adult pool and the adult hot tub And the result was we timed it perfectly, and got to enjoy them pretty much to ourselves. The most magical moment today was enjoying our superb dinner at Palo.
Sounds like Palo has totally redeemed itself. The service sounded wonderful and the dinner looked amazing. So glad you were still able to get your favorite dish
What a lovely dinner at Palo. DH & I are hoping to go on the Magic in October. As far as the dress code is a suit jacket required?
I don't know that it's required necessarily, but DH always takes his suit. Most people in Palo do tend to dress up, so I'd say if you have a suit or at least a jacket, you wouldn't feel out of place.
Sounds like Palo has totally redeemed itself. The service sounded wonderful and the dinner looked amazing. So glad you were still able to get your favorite dish
Oh, dinner looked amazing! Hope Palo on the Magic has upped their game and gotten back on track! I wonder if the pairing of servers is across the fleet? I'm happy to hear they add a little seasoning to the moz...my favorite thing is Caprese salad! I usually get that and Dave gets the calamari...and we split as we both love both!!
Interesting that they are considering brunch in port at Nassau now, but there does seem to be quite a few people who do stay on board at that port.
Oh, dinner looked amazing! Hope Palo on the Magic has upped their game and gotten back on track!
Me too.
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I wonder if the pairing of servers is across the fleet?
I think it's a great idea, so I hope so. I guess with so many of us cruising in the next few weeks and months, we may well find out.
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I'm happy to hear they add a little seasoning to the moz...my favorite thing is Caprese salad! I usually get that and Dave gets the calamari...and we split as we both love both!!
Interesting that they are considering brunch in port at Nassau now, but there does seem to be quite a few people who do stay on board at that port.
I've thought for some time that they should do more on board for the Nassau port of call for exactly that reason...
Very glad to hear that Palo was as good as before that experience on the Magic. I hope the Magic has solved its problems and we can again trust to having a lovely meal at any of the Palos!
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I think that's what we need to do next time as well! 
Rio!
we paid when we got there (they charge your credit card before you enter) and it's now a $75 flat fee, regardless of how long your cruise is. Great if you're on a longer cruise, but not so great for shorter cruises... 
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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