Narnia_girl
He's not a tame lion, but he is good.
- Joined
- May 11, 2009
Sail Away--Part II
Enjoying the view!
Next up we get ready for the mandatory safety drill. On our last cruise we arrived early and stood in the sweltering sun for 20 minutes. This time we found our assembly station right away, but stayed nearby inside until just before it was the required time.
Our assembly station was just outside the Gallery on Deck 4. Rick read the Navigator while waiting for the Assembly Drill while the boys used their 3G coverage while they had the chance. (Once we sail away, all phones were put on airplane mode to avoid international data charges.)
At the drill they crowded us together but since Im the shortest in the family I got to stand in front and it wasnt so hot there. They went over the usual safety demonstrations and then something went wrong on the intercom system. They actually played the dismissal notice before the drill was over. People started to drift away when they corrected themselves and said go back. It was kind of chaotic, but didnt take too long.
After that it was finally time to get that boat moving.
Hurry up before that storm hits! (Our last cruise had a stormy sail away party so we didnt want a repeat.)
We stationed ourselves on Deck 12 and watched a little bit of the Sail Away party but not too closely.
Our families in the midwest were watching the Port Canaveral Webcam (portcanaveralwebcam.com) so we had told them where to look for us. It took a long time to sail away and was actually after 5 p.m.
I made cheap sail away banners for us to wave. Using a $1 plastic tablecloth I cut arrows with long tails. This is what they looked like.
I used the rectangular part to knot a loop. Then we slipped the loop onto our wrist so it wouldnt blow away and the triangular part flapped in the breeze. I was hoping this would catch the attention of the webcam operator and it did, although by the time we got in front of them we were tired of waving. Our family did see us though!
Goodbye!
All that waving makes you hungry, and since we had the late dinner seating, it was time for a snack. In case you dont know, grill type food is available all day at the walk up counter.
and off to see the Golden Mickeys. We all really enjoy this show. We got to the theatre about 15 minutes early but I felt cool right away so I ran back to the room and got a wrap. The theatre did end up getting more crowded but there was never a show when it was completely full.
The Golden Mickeys are based on an award show and feature some of the best-loved Disney songs and performances. It hadnt changed much since our first cruise in 2009 with one notable exception: Roy Disney gave the opening speech (via video) back then. In 2014 it was the CEO of Disney.
We returned to our rooms after the show and relaxed.
Is that a Royal Caribbean or Carnival?
Here is our Castaway Club gift: a rope-handled tote bag and write-on/wipe off board. After you have sailed on Disney one time you are a member of the Castaway Club and you receive little perks like this gift. The more cruises you take the higher your level (silver, gold, platinum). Since we had two staterooms, we got two gifts.
Dinner tonight was in the Royal Palace. This was my favorite restaurant of the cruise. We were seated in a little back room which made it feel more secluded and personal. Plus we had a port hole table which was good for about 20 minutes until it turned completely dark out.
Notice Cinderellas Carriage Bread Basket?
About this time I started to feel a bit seasick. I remembered from our first cruise that it hit me right about dinner time. It wasnt bad just queasy. For the next three nights I took Less-Drowsy Dramamine an hour before dinner and it seemed to help.
Our server was Gilbert from the Philippines and our Asst. Server was Onica from Guyana. We thought both of them did an excellent job. Gilbert highly recommended I try the Chateaubriand roasted steak and it might have been the best thing I had the whole cruise.
I am also a soup lover so I had soup at every meal. This time I opted for Belles French Onion Soup and the Potato-Leek soup. Both were excellent!
Christian tried the non-alcoholic Prince(ess) Drink drink and loved it.
Andrew and Caroline both tried the fried baked Brie with chutney and gave it the thumbs up. (My photos turned out too dark here so I borrowed a couple from the Photographers Wife. She has also written a cool report on her blog.)
Christian had the duck confit appetizer (just okay) and the duck entrée (loved).
Overall it was a very good dinner and I would have been happy to eat there twice. We walked to the Atrium and watched Greta Salome play violin for a while. She was very good.
Then we strolled up to Deck 11 to enjoy the beautiful evening.
I couldn't believe it when the guys decided they should get pizza since they were right there! I was still very full.
We headed to the D Lounge to see Family Fusion game. I expected it to be Disney trivia which the audience could at least answer in their heads, but it wasn't that at all. It was a game show with questions pertaining to the individual families (which character are you most like, etc ) None of us found this very entertaining so after a while we headed to our stateroom for bed.
Something I learned:
Waving a cheap banner does get you recognized by the Webcam operator.
If you want two soups instead of an appetizer and souporder two soups! Start taking seasickness meds the day before.
Soups eaten: 2
Enjoying the view!
Next up we get ready for the mandatory safety drill. On our last cruise we arrived early and stood in the sweltering sun for 20 minutes. This time we found our assembly station right away, but stayed nearby inside until just before it was the required time.
Our assembly station was just outside the Gallery on Deck 4. Rick read the Navigator while waiting for the Assembly Drill while the boys used their 3G coverage while they had the chance. (Once we sail away, all phones were put on airplane mode to avoid international data charges.)
At the drill they crowded us together but since Im the shortest in the family I got to stand in front and it wasnt so hot there. They went over the usual safety demonstrations and then something went wrong on the intercom system. They actually played the dismissal notice before the drill was over. People started to drift away when they corrected themselves and said go back. It was kind of chaotic, but didnt take too long.
After that it was finally time to get that boat moving.
Hurry up before that storm hits! (Our last cruise had a stormy sail away party so we didnt want a repeat.)
We stationed ourselves on Deck 12 and watched a little bit of the Sail Away party but not too closely.
Our families in the midwest were watching the Port Canaveral Webcam (portcanaveralwebcam.com) so we had told them where to look for us. It took a long time to sail away and was actually after 5 p.m.
I made cheap sail away banners for us to wave. Using a $1 plastic tablecloth I cut arrows with long tails. This is what they looked like.
I used the rectangular part to knot a loop. Then we slipped the loop onto our wrist so it wouldnt blow away and the triangular part flapped in the breeze. I was hoping this would catch the attention of the webcam operator and it did, although by the time we got in front of them we were tired of waving. Our family did see us though!
Goodbye!
All that waving makes you hungry, and since we had the late dinner seating, it was time for a snack. In case you dont know, grill type food is available all day at the walk up counter.
and off to see the Golden Mickeys. We all really enjoy this show. We got to the theatre about 15 minutes early but I felt cool right away so I ran back to the room and got a wrap. The theatre did end up getting more crowded but there was never a show when it was completely full.
The Golden Mickeys are based on an award show and feature some of the best-loved Disney songs and performances. It hadnt changed much since our first cruise in 2009 with one notable exception: Roy Disney gave the opening speech (via video) back then. In 2014 it was the CEO of Disney.
We returned to our rooms after the show and relaxed.
Is that a Royal Caribbean or Carnival?
Here is our Castaway Club gift: a rope-handled tote bag and write-on/wipe off board. After you have sailed on Disney one time you are a member of the Castaway Club and you receive little perks like this gift. The more cruises you take the higher your level (silver, gold, platinum). Since we had two staterooms, we got two gifts.
Dinner tonight was in the Royal Palace. This was my favorite restaurant of the cruise. We were seated in a little back room which made it feel more secluded and personal. Plus we had a port hole table which was good for about 20 minutes until it turned completely dark out.
Notice Cinderellas Carriage Bread Basket?
About this time I started to feel a bit seasick. I remembered from our first cruise that it hit me right about dinner time. It wasnt bad just queasy. For the next three nights I took Less-Drowsy Dramamine an hour before dinner and it seemed to help.
Our server was Gilbert from the Philippines and our Asst. Server was Onica from Guyana. We thought both of them did an excellent job. Gilbert highly recommended I try the Chateaubriand roasted steak and it might have been the best thing I had the whole cruise.
I am also a soup lover so I had soup at every meal. This time I opted for Belles French Onion Soup and the Potato-Leek soup. Both were excellent!
Christian tried the non-alcoholic Prince(ess) Drink drink and loved it.
Andrew and Caroline both tried the fried baked Brie with chutney and gave it the thumbs up. (My photos turned out too dark here so I borrowed a couple from the Photographers Wife. She has also written a cool report on her blog.)
Christian had the duck confit appetizer (just okay) and the duck entrée (loved).
Overall it was a very good dinner and I would have been happy to eat there twice. We walked to the Atrium and watched Greta Salome play violin for a while. She was very good.
Then we strolled up to Deck 11 to enjoy the beautiful evening.
I couldn't believe it when the guys decided they should get pizza since they were right there! I was still very full.
We headed to the D Lounge to see Family Fusion game. I expected it to be Disney trivia which the audience could at least answer in their heads, but it wasn't that at all. It was a game show with questions pertaining to the individual families (which character are you most like, etc ) None of us found this very entertaining so after a while we headed to our stateroom for bed.
Something I learned:
Waving a cheap banner does get you recognized by the Webcam operator.
If you want two soups instead of an appetizer and souporder two soups! Start taking seasickness meds the day before.
Soups eaten: 2