As exciting as it is to explore a new or a favorite port of call, nothing beats a sea day! Just being able to enjoy the amenities and, especially in the case of Disney, VIP treatment onboard is really what a cruise vacation is all about to me. This would be my last visit to the fitness center, and I had purchased a one day Rainforest Room pass, so I planned to use that on this day as well. Id read on the boards that it tends to get crowded on sea days, but I figured if I went as soon as it opened, Id be ok.
On my way to the gym I encountered Staley98 who was heading there as well. As always, I was there before opening, so we stretched and chatted in the hallway with a couple of other early birds waiting for the CMs to open the doors. Once they did, we climbed onto adjacent oceanfront ellipticals and chatted about being educators, parents, runners, and all the other things we had in common. I was so engrossed in conversation that before I knew it, my cardio was finished, and I hadnt even switched on my NOOK or cranked up my iPod! Another great time getting to know one of the friends Id made on the DIS boards months earlier.
When I finished working out, it was still a little too early to do the Rainforest Room, so I grabbed my breakfast and returned to the spa. The Rainforest Room was now open, so the CM at the front desk of Senses took my key card and, in exchange, gave me a little rubber bracelet that I would use to open any keyed areas. She sent another CM to give me a tour of the facility and answer any questions, and then I was on my own
literally! There was not another soul in the spa this early. I went to the locker room and changed from my gym gear to my swim suit. This area is co-ed, so one must remain clothed in the saunas and jacuzzis. In the locker rooms, there were sandals and robes available and combination lockers to hold your belongings.
I crossed the hall and went into the Rainforest Room. There were several pitchers of ice water when you entered flavored with various fruits. Big fluffy towels are available right inside the door as well. I tried one of the tropical showers, but I didnt like it too much. It was supposed to be a warm mist, but it came out cold at first, giving me a bit of a shock to the system, before warming up. Maybe when youre not the first person of the day to use it, it comes out warm on the first blast, but there are few things I hate more than a cold shower, so that was the end of that. I tried all three sauna rooms with varying degrees of dryness and moisture. They were pretty nice, but you definitely dont want to get too far from your sandals in those, because the floor gets pretty hot.
Probably my favorite part of the experience was the tile loungers and the jacuzzis. The loungers are heated and curved to support your body in a reclining position. Id read some reviews from people who claimed the curvature did not fit their bodies comfortably, but it was perfect for me. Id brought my NOOK with me, so I relaxed on one of those for a while and read. Then I got into one of the jacuzzis which are in a windowed area overhanging the side of the ship. The bottom of the jacuzzi is curved like the tile loungers, so you can recline comfortably in it as well. It was quite relaxing!
After a while, I gathered my stuff from the locker room and headed back to my room. I definitely enjoyed my me time relaxing in the Rainforest Room for a $16 one day pass, but I couldnt see myself buying a weeklong pass. There are too many other ways to spend my time, and I can relax just as easily reading on a sunbed or jacuzzi for no extra charge in the adults areas on the upper decks. On my way back, I encountered this notable tourist.
Back at the room, the boys were still snoozing, so I spent a little more time reading on our verandah. Soon I heard DS stirring within, so I went inside to greet him and ask him how he wanted to start the day. Predictably, he wanted to check out the third case in the Midship Detective Agency game, so we grabbed our gear (LOVE the wave phones,
DCL), and headed out to play.
Along the way, DS spotted this interactive artwork on Deck 5 that allows you to steer a digital boat around a lake and decided to give it a try.
I meandered toward the atrium to get some shots of the chandelier and architecture.
Then I looked down and noticed a crowd had gathered. I saw Prince Ali chatting up a couple of young princesses.
Peter Pan was also mingling among the crowd.
People were obviously in anticipation of something, but what? Within moments, the cause for the excitement became clear. We had stumbled upon the Princess Gathering! One floor down Snow White, Belle, Ariel, Tiana, and Cinderella appeared at the top of the grand staircase and greeted the crowd.
They descended, lined up, and gave a spin to properly array their royal gowns.
I was far more excited to witness this pomp and ceremony than was DS, although he came over and gave a peek just to humor me. I kind of miss the starry eyed five year old from our last cruise on the Magic who turned to mush in the presence of these ethereal creatures. BTW, with Jasmine nowhere in sight, I found myself wondering what Aladin was doing hanging out at the princess gathering
True to form, DH buzzed us on the wave phone just as we were finishing our game, so we met up with him.
At that point, the boys decided it was time for some more Arrrcade, so that left me free for some more me time. This was turning out to be an excellent day! We trucked on up to Deck 11, and I told them Id be in the adult area with my NOOK. I stopped at the drink station for an iced tea, and continued on my way. I found a nice sunbed under some shade, and settled down to some serious relaxation. While I was reading, we encountered a little sun shower. It was no worries for me; my shade protected me from both sun and rain, so I stayed put, and the sprinkles eventually passed us by. This is one of my favorite views on a cruise ship.
After a while, I checked my wave phone and saw that the boys had checked in. I decided to pack it in and ran down to Arrrcade to see what was going on. Apparently, there was an issue with the card machine. It wouldnt allow people to add credits to their cards. DH and another dad were becoming frustrated trying to add credits to no avail. I called guest services while the guys were struggling with the machine and was told I would need to bring the card down and they would charge it up manually. DH commented that hes had issues with points earned for prizes being accurately reflected and even double charged during redemption for which hed already seen guest services. I volunteered to take the card down and wait in line, which I did. It took a pretty long time during which the boys gave up and went back to the room, but eventually the issue was resolved. Word of warning to those who use the Arrrcade!
The rest of the afternoon was pretty mellow. We hung out at the room and discussed our remaining gift card balance on our stateroom account, which was still quite sizeable. I had originally intended to buy a cd from Shutters, but with only a day and a half left we only had nineteen images on our account. I told DH that I thought it would be better to select my favorite poses from the different photo ops and just order the set of 20 prints. We also discussed buying a painting from Vista Gallery. Wed both visited there separately and liked this painting best:
but we both agreed that at $425, the price was a bit steep for our budget. We discussed several others wed seen at more reasonable prices and had two that seemed to be our favorites.
It was semi-formal night for dinner, and we were finally going to dine at Royal Court. Our first rotation there was our Palo night, so I was looking forward to finally experiencing that restaurant. As usual, Marijan and Allwyn greeted us like old friends and provided us with exceptional service. I ordered the Oysters Rockerfeller, a favorite of mine, for my appetizer, followed by the Wild Forest Mushroom Soup. Neither disappointed. For my main course, I had been looking forward to the Lobster Tail, which Marijan removed from the shell for me at the table. It was a decent size and nicely cooked. For dessert I ordered the Bananas Crème Brulee, another favorite dish. DH and I both enjoyed the meal.
DS stuck with his usual bread and french fries.
It was an enjoyable evening, especially when DH and Allwyn joined forces to tease DS.
We left the restaurant and walked right into Shutters photographers set up for formal portraits. I hadnt noticed this in the Navigator, and I guess few others did as well, because there were no lines! We stepped right up and got a few more shots taken.
We walked around the ship some more and ended up at the family dance party in the D Lounge. We got our groove thing on for a few songs.
Then the hostess announced some games. DS participated in one where the kids were given pedometers to see who could take the most steps in the specified amount of time. DS did pretty well, except for periodic breaks he decided to take. Even so, he came in second! If hed kept at it, he would have won easily.
We visited the art gallery and decided to purchase this painting.
They wrapped it for us and told us theyd deliver it to our room later. As we walked out, we saw Captain Mickey posing for pictures. The line was pretty long, but DH offered to wait on it while DS and I did some more wandering about. After a few, we returned and got some nice shots with the big cheese!
We decided to go back to the room to change and let me and DS nap before the big midnight PremEAR of Monsters University. DH would wake us in time to get decent seats. When we arrived, this guy was waiting for us (I think hes my favorite)!
DH woke us at around 11:15, and we headed straight to the Buena Vista Theatre. It was showing in the Walt Disney Theatre simultaneously in 3D, but because DSs migraine condition is often triggered by 3D movies, we tend to avoid those. There were plenty of seats at our selected screening at the time we arrived, and DH decided he had more than sufficient time to run up to Deck 11 to get some drinks for us instead of paying to buy them at the concession stand. He did, however, spring for a bag of popcorn! We hadnt gone to any movies on our two previous Disney Cruises, and we really enjoyed taking advantage of the offerings this time. The theatres are beautiful; check out this lighting fixture.
The seats are comfortable!
And if youre fortunate enough to catch a PremEAR on board, they really make it a fun event.
A cast member came onstage to introduce the movie, and onscreen we saw a video link to the crowd in the Walt Disney Theatre. The CM really got the crowd psyched, and then the movie began. We enjoyed it so much that we decided wed try to catch another screening the following afternoon. I impressed myself by staying awake through the entire movie, but once it was over, I knew I needed to hit the hay if we were going to get up and at em for Castaway Cay day in the morning!
Next Up: Castaway Cay, Fun Onboard, and Animators Show
it's the same pin trading that they do at the parks! We are planning on starting this for our DD this trip as we think she's old enough now. Maybe yours will too along with her Daddy!
we will see
