Chapter 21
Luxury Dining

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Back on the Wonder, we headed to our stateroom first to drop off the day’s purchases. Here are the souvenirs we’d picked up in Sitka.

They included a magnet, a pair of whale tail earrings for Tracy, and then two thimbles for my collection. My favorite is the beaver fur thimble. Apparently, they can actually be used as thimbles, but it just sits in our display case.

Looking out from our verandah, the views were still excellent.

Feeling a little sore from our long day of walking, we went up to Deck 9 to take a dip in the hot tub. I don’t think I’ve remembered to mention it in previous updates, but this was probably the third time we’d gone to the hot tub in the Quiet Cove Pool area. The first night, we tried out the hot tub on the starboard side (I think) and found that its water was barely warm enough to be worthy of its name. Switching to the port side hot tub was much better—and it was almost TOO hot! One of the other nights at sea, we’d taken another dip in the correct hot tub and thoroughly enjoyed it. Today was nice because there weren’t a lot of people back on board yet since we still had a couple hours left in port, so none of the public areas (including the pools and hot tubs) were too crowded.

Here were some of the great views from out on deck.

Wandering around the ship, we found that there were some great characters out and about. We met Donald by Preludes (again, no wait in this hidden area).

We were also really excited to see that Minnie was already out in her Alaska gear as well.

And Mickey too!!

As we lurked around Deck 3, the characters rotated out, and Koda replaced Minnie.

Now I’ve only ever seen Brother Bear once—and that was when it was released in theaters—but we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to meet a bear here in Sitka after our earlier efforts had failed.

After all of our meet-and-greets, it was time to head back to our stateroom and change clothes. While there, we got a few more pictures of the lovely Sitka landscape from the verandah.

We were getting dressed up because tonight was our reservation at Palo! Notice that Tracy had already donned her new earrings.

We went for more of a semi-formal look because I REALLY didn’t want to wear a tie to this meal.

Here’s one more picture before we headed up to Deck 10.

Just checking in at Palo, it was clear that this was going to be a very extravagant dining experience. They set every table with their lovely plates, and they treat it like such a formal restaurant—honestly, you’d forget that you’re on a cruise ship if it weren’t for the views. Speaking of views, we pulled out of port just as Tracy and I arrived for our reservation, and we started making waves once more.

Our server’s name was Miladin, but when he introduced himself, it sounded like he said “Aladdin,” so that’s the name that stuck whenever Tracy and I would talk about him. He did a really good job of blending the elegance of the restaurant with the friendliness you expect from a Disney cast member. I’m sure it is not easy to move up the ranks to the point that you can become a server at Palo, and I think that Miladin told us he’d been cruising on the Wonder for five years.

After going over the menu, Miladin came out with our first course and took our orders. I couldn’t pass up food pictures at this restaurant.

Some of the menu descriptions I’m finding online don’t seem match up exactly with what we had, but I’ll try to identify the different selections as best I can. I think this was the Specialita’ Del Palo: Antipasto Freddo (Prosciutto, Bresaola, Parmesan Reggiano, Marinated Olives and Sun-dried Tomatoes). It was heavenly to dig into all these antipasto favorites, and we had to stop ourselves from eating everything in front of us because we knew there were still several courses to go.

We ordered two appetizers—not because we actually needed two, but because they both sounded excellent. First was the Sicilian Pesto Marinated Grilled Shrimp.

The description I’m finding online says that these are served over a Mussel, Crab, and Cherry Tomato Ragu, but that doesn’t quite match up with the picture or what I’m remembering. Instead, I remember the asparagus being really tasty. But obviously, the real highlight of the appetizer was those shrimp. It’s hard to get an accurate idea of proportions from a picture, but let’s just say that these were probably the biggest shrimp I’ve ever seen—let alone eaten—and they were incredibly delicious!

Our other appetizer was the Mozzarella and Plum Tomatoes with Balsamic Dressing (“Our modern interpretation of a traditional dish”).

Pretty much just a version of caprese, this was still extremely tasty.

 I don’t think we even asked for a table by the window, but our spot was awesome. Our reservation was for just after the restaurant opened, and I think that helped us score a great location. We’d actually remarked how empty the restaurant seemed for the first half of our meal. I think they must space out seatings a lot at the beginning of the night so that none of the servers are trying to juggle too many tables at once, so we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves at first.

Here was our view out the window.

 I’ve only ever been to one restaurant before that was fancy enough to offer palate cleansers between courses, but apparently Palo is upscale enough to give you this courtesy as well. Here was our bit of raspberry sherbet to get the tastes of all our previous courses out of our mouths.

As we looked outside, we noticed that the sun had finally decided to come out now that we’d sailed away from Sitka.

Now, it was time for the entrees. Tracy and I had each ordered our own entrees, and then we asked for a small portion of a third that looked too good not to try.

I opted for the “Our Beef Tenderloin ‘Palo'” (served with Palo signature Barolo red wine sauce or Gorgonzola Sauce). Since I thought both the sauces sounded delicious, our server gave me some of each.

Rarely in my life have I enjoyed a cut of meat as much as I did this filet. It was superb! I ended up thinking both sauces were really tasty, but my favorite was the gorgonzola.

Tracy chose the Pappardelle con Aragosta (Lobster, Parsley, and Fennel with Chili and fresh Tomato Sauce).

She was on the fence, because she really wanted the lobster, but neither parsley nor fennel are among her favorite seasonings. Luckily, these didn’t end up being dominant flavors at all, and she was really happy with her entree as well.

Can we take a moment to admire just how beautiful the dishes are here at Palo? I think they are actually available to buy—for hundreds of dollars.

The last entree, which we asked to have turned into a side, was the Wild Mushroom Risotto (with Freshly-shaved Parmesan and a Chianti Reduction).

There was certainly nothing wrong with the risotto, but it definitely didn’t hold a candle to the other meals we got, and we were glad that neither of us had sacrificed other entrees to try it out.

When we were first placing our dinner orders, we let Miladin know that we had already made up our minds about dessert—it was going to be the soufflé for us. This menu item was the one thing I’d heard about in advance when planning our dinner at Palo, and we knew it was a must-try.

Our soufflés came out about 10 minutes after we were done with our entrees, and they looked amazing. We had already eaten so much food and were on the verge of bursting, but there was no way I could pass up this little piece of heaven.

Not only did I finish my chocolate and vanilla bean sauces (and my entire soufflé), but I also ate the last few bites of Tracy’s when she simply had to give up.

For one final course, Miladin brought out an after-dinner drink that I think was some sort of lemony alcohol with a lemony sherbet. It was very refreshing and the perfect way to cap off the perfect meal.

At the end of dinner we had the experience of paying for our food for the first time in several days, but the upcharge for coming to Palo was totally worth it. This meal was amazing on every level, and we were so happy with our decision to give the restaurant a try.

Overview of Palo Dining Experience
Service: Excellent. Miladin was a fantastic server who really knew how to make the experience feel elegant and classy without being a snob. 5/5
Atmosphere: I don’t think you can really beat the atmosphere of Palo—especially sailing through the beautiful scenery of Alaska. 5/5
Food: Phenomenal! Everything we tried was delicious, and we left the restaurant with that feeling that only washes over you after eating an amazing meal. 5/5

First Visit?: Yes
Will Return?: Absolutely! I think this will be a must-do for us whenever we can get a reservation.

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