google.com, pub-4365197612565232, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0

Thursday, October 3, 2019

[Day 4] Disney Wonder - Mazatlan & Palo Dinner

This was my first time in Mazatlan, and maybe I should've done more research because I didn't realize what an industrial port it was.  My plan was "go to the beach" but apparently that's not a popular tourist thing to do in Mazatlan.

When we got off the ship, we boarded a tram which took us through the shipyard to the tourist center.

Mazatlan

We were immediately bombarded with people selling tours. All types of city tours. But I still wanted to go to the beach! We located a quiet bench to sit down, regroup, and decide what we really wanted to do. We had collected brochures from different tour groups, and there were beaches that they went to... but the idea of boarding a bus did not sound great to me. I wanted to ride in a Pulmonia, one of the open-air golf cart-looking vehicles.



We were about to head back into the tour-selling madness when we were approached by a taxi driver who had been lurking by our bench location. "I'll take you to all of the places on the list, just the two of you for $60." Sounded good to me! Aaron and I agreed - sounds great, let's go!

He walked us over to his taxis, and it turned out to be one of the Pulmonias! The driver was very friendly and accommodating.

Mazatlan

We stopped first at Lookout Mountain.

Mazatlan

Mazatlan

As we drove up and around, we could see the Disney Wonder -

Mazatlan

Mazatlan

Mazatlan

Mazatlan

Mazatlan

Not so sure about the guy leaning off the edge up there...

Mazatlan

Mazatlan

Mazatlan

Mazatlan

Another Disney Wonder sighting -

Mazatlan

This water feature is called Continuity of Life. Our driver dropped us off here to walk around and meet him back by Suicide Rock.

Mazatlan

I think we found Suicide Rock... don't do it, buddy!

Suicide Rock

Suicide Rock

Suicide Rock

Phew, he made it!

Suicide Rock

We then drove through Old Town.

Mazatlan

Mazatlan

Mazatlan

The Catedral Basilica de Mazatlan -

Mazatlan

Finally, time for the beach.  We left Old Town and headed to the Golden Zone.  When we got there, our driver had us browse through a jewelry store.  He told us that we didn't have to buy anything, just take a look.  He must be contracted with the store to bring in potential customers.  We decided that we'd go to the beach for three hours and meet him back at the store.

Mazatlan

Mazatlan

We found a spot to rent chairs from for $10 each, which I thought was reasonable.  More reasonable was the bucket of beer that we ordered - 6 beers for $10.  We were approached by many vendors on the beach selling trinkets - t-shirts, jewelry, beach toys.  Then a guy walked by with brightly colored serape blankets that I was interested in.  I told him that I just wanted one and I'd give him $20 for it.  He was determined to sell me two blankets.  I talked him down to two blankets for $30.  They're nice blankets - I brought one recently to picnic at the Hollywood Bowl.

There were nice restrooms and showers located in the hotel behind us (not the one under construction...).  They also had some water sports like jet skis and kayaks.  I enjoyed our time at the beach and am glad that I didn't give up on it!

Mazatlan

Mazatlan

Our driver was still at the jewelry store when we got back.  I assumed he would be, since we hadn't paid him yet.  When he dropped us off at the port, he reminded us of the $60 cost, and we tipped him an extra $15.

Mazatlan

We still had some more time before embarkation, so we stopped at a little bar in the port for some $5 margs.

Mazatlan

Then caught the tram back to the ship!

Mazatlan

Disney Wonder

Disney Wonder

Disney Wonder

Mazatlan

Back aboard, we grabbed an afternoon snack by the pool.  Philly cheesesteak today -

Cheesesteak

And more gyros....

Gyro

When on Vacation with Victoria, my companions often reach the point of "no more photos."  That point had come for Aaron....

Disney Wonder

Oh, come on, give me a smile...

Disney Wonder

That evening, we had booked dinner in Palo, the adults-only restaurant that's now (an outrageous) $40 per person surcharge.  We still had a few hours before dinner, so we thought we could take a little nap before getting up to get ready.....

BIG MISTAKE!  I'm not sure if I didn't set an alarm correctly... maybe it was AM instead of PM, or maybe it was because of the time change, but I woke up and....

Me: "Babe!  Wake up!  We have to go to dinner!"
Aaron: "Five more minutes."
Me: "No, now!  We have to be at dinner in 20 minutes!  Call the restaurant and let them know we're running late."

We called, and they said it was totally fine, no problem at all.  That was lucky!

We got ready as quickly as possible and headed up to Palo.  They were very nice when we arrived and seated us right away at a table by the window (but you can't see anything when it's dark outside).  I love how beautiful Palo is during the day, but I'm not a fan of the atmosphere at night.  It's just too dark - you can't see all of the wonderful details.

I'm forgetting now our Server's name, but she was okay (I preferred our Dining Room Team).  Toward the end of the night, she would disappear for a long time which really drew out the duration of our meal.

I told Aaron that this was $40pp so order everything that you want.  Anything that looks good, let's get it!

First course, I ordered the Ricotta Gnocchi.  It was good.  I liked it.

Palo

Aaron is a big fan of the soups, so he got the Tuscan White Bean soup -

Palo

I had the Heirloom Tomato Buffalo Mozzarella Caprese because, I dunno, "health"?

Palo

I took a risk on my main course with Osso Buco (veal!).  It was interesting to try and I didn't hate it... but I also didn't find it amazing.

Palo

Our pasta, Pappardelle -

Palo

Now Aaron's main course, Roasted Rosemarry-rubbed Rack of Lamb.  He took a bite and commented on how it was over-salted.  He had me try, and I agreed that it was ridiculously salty.... like something must have happened.  Maybe the lid came loose on the shaker or something.  I told him that when our server came back to check on us, that he should send it back.

Well, our server didn't take kindly to him wanting to send his food back.  She kept emphasizing, "It's too salty for your taste."  "We'll put the sauce on the side this time because that's probably what you found too salty."

No, lady, it was plain and simple over-salted.  It's an accident, and we get it, but stop trying to defer blame back to us here.  You're an elegant restaurant that is supposed to be known for good customer service - just apologize and bring out another one!

Sure enough, the next rack of lamb Aaron received was not over-salted.  Aaron said that honestly, he preferred the rack of lamb from the dining room.

And maybe I'm just a snoot, but I was very surprised that the chef didn't come to our table to make sure that everything was okay.  In the past when I (or someone else in my party) have returned food in a fine dining restaurant, the chef comes to the table because they want you to be happy with your food.

Palo

We had pre-ordered the souffle.  They take awhile to make, so they ask you in advance if you want one.... which I think is kind of weird.  Maybe they should just make them anyway and bring them out without asking because I have a feeling that everyone wants one.

Here is the Chocolate Souffle -

Palo

And the Amaretto Souffle -

Palo

Oh, it's me!

Palo

And Aaron!

Palo

I booked Palo Dinner for this cruise because Aaron is a foodie and it was a 7-night cruise, so otherwise we would have dined in one dining room (Tiana's) three times.  I had dined at Palo for dinner before back in 2014 on the Disney Fantasy, and we also had some weird server experiences at that time.  I didn't leave Palo thinking that it was exceptional, but at the time I figured it was just a one-off experience.  I really didn't expect for similar weird service to happen again.  Now, I'm convinced - dinner at Palo is an experience that I do not care to repeat.  The servers in here are not nearly as polite and accommodating as the servers in the rotational dining rooms (maybe because they're paid more and don't have to work as hard for tips or to move up in the ranks?) - it baffles me because if you're paying more for your meal, you'd think you'd also be paying more for good service.  And the food, in my opinion, is not far superior to the food that you receive in the dining room.  Maybe if I loved pasta more, I would better appreciate Palo's menu... but besides the pasta, it just doesn't seem that diverse from what is offered nightly in the rotational dining.

While I will not be returning for dinner, I did have a great experience at Palo Brunch in 2017 on the Disney Dream and would gladly do that again (unfortunately, it was all booked for this sailing).

Disney Wonder

Since dinner lasted so long, we were pretty tired and didn't spend much time hanging out on the ship before heading to bed.

See you tomorrow in Puerto Vallarta!

2 comments:

  1. YEA!! I'm glad you finally had time to start posting again; It has been 25 years since I was in Mazatlan and I didn't realize how beautiful the architecture and beaches are; Thanx for the posting and keep it going

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's slow-coming, but I plan to finish! My dad wants to do this itinerary in the future, so I need notes to look back on.

      Delete