in·ner sanc·tum - Noun
1. The most sacred place in a temple or church
2. A private or secret place to which few other people are admitted
3. A secluded location where literary super villains coordinate and control all aspects of their diabolical plots; it serves as both a nerve center and a convenient single pinch point where a lone defending hero can ultimately thwart every aspect of said operation and defeat the mastermind’s entire private army without raising any suspicion or awareness among the general populous.
The first definition up there explains the origin of the phrase, but it’s the second one that I plane to focus on in this part of the chapter (and we’ll get to the third one in a bit, so just be patient). Aboard the Disney Dream, it would be the Concierge spaces that “best” meets the letter of this description…
…but then again, the entire ship really qualifies. Certainly not everyone gets on board, and even being a cruiser doesn’t mean that you’re cruising on board the Dream. But there are number of individual secluded hideaways aboard this massive ship. The various kid’s clubs come to mind (separated by age group and excluding even the parents), as does the spa (which requires a little extra cash to partake of), and a couple of the dinning rooms (which will get discussed latter on). But there are very public spaces that have the feeling of a sanctuary. One of those is the Walt Disney Theater.
Even though the main theater takes up a fairly large space, it still feels intimate, and comforting. It was with this sense of comfort that we settled into some good seats (drink cups in hand and 3D glasses at the ready) to enjoy movie night aboard the Disney Dream. Our show for the evening was a first run Pixar film that had debuted only a couple days before (and the thing which both inspired the theme I’ve been using for this chapter and meets that third definition of “Inner Sanctum”)…
Now I for one believe that the folks at Pixar are just about the best storytellers in the land and are also making films that are as much fun for the adults and they are for the young’ens. That being said the two “Cars” films, have taken a good bit of abuse on the critical front. But I’m going to take a moment here to defend these two films. I rather liked both of them. I actually think the story line was better in the first film. It’s basically a “mentor” film where a self assured hot-shot finds himself learning a thing-or-three from a grizzled, overlooked veteran and uses that learning not to become just another hero, but a better individual instead.
The second film, however, is a whole lot more fun. There are actually two types of stories intertwined here. First it’s an action packed spy thriller along the James Bond genera. It was almost certainly inspired by the single greatest spy car ever to grace the silver screen…
The Aston Martin DB5 initially made famous in the film adaptation of Ian Flemming’s novel: “Goldfinger”
The stylized personification of this icon appears in the character of “Finn McMissile”.
Voiced my Michael Caine and every bit the dashing secret agent that we’ve come to expect form this type of adventure. The other type of story plot line that is being used here is that of the “mistaken Identity”. In this instance character of Tow Mater (voiced by Daniel Lawrence “Larry the Cable Guy” Whitney) is wrongly identified a brilliant American secret agent…
…and form there both comedy and mayhem ensues…
This plot device has fueled some of the most entertaining and award winning cinematic performances in film history, and was a regular tool in Alfred Hitchcock’s arsenal (along with the
MacGuffin). Yet in this film the story is a lot less reminiscent of…
…and a whole lot more akin to…
…and identifying those two movies should be no trouble at all for most of my regular readers. In any case, it’s actually a rather entertaining film (especially seen in 3D while sipping a fine rum cocktail in the main theater during a family cruise aboard the Disney Dream).
You get racing action…
Evil geniuses wielding devastating hi-tech weaponry…
Bungling henchmen…
Hidden armament upgrades…
Last minute escapes…
And when it’s all said and done, it’s actually this guy that will inadvertently save Lightning McQueen’s life…
“You gott’a respect the classics man…”
Amen to that Fillmore… amen to that.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
After the film, we popped back by the cabin (our own personal inner sanctum) to drop off the drink cups and dress just a little better for dinner. We found that our steward had already prepped the room for the evening and left us this little bit of tom-foolery…
There are two things of interest in that image (aside from the elephant in the room that is). The first is that according to the magic-porthole we were leaving Nassau behind us, and the second was the little bits of cloth in the bottom left corner, which helps explain why we were the first ship out of Nassau that day. The cloth was three “pirate” themed bandanas that we were invited to use and part of our dress for the rest of the evening. Why? Because… it was “Pirates in the Caribbean” night aboard the Dream. This was to be an evening of Disney fun that would ultimately be crowned with a fireworks show at sea (and
DCL is still the only cruise line that can pull off this entertainment trick). Actually, the fireworks is why we left Nassau at around 7:00, so that we’d be well out to sea by the time the pyrotechnic extravaganza was scheduled to commence). Here’s the card that came along with those bits of swag that explains the upcoming festivities pretty well…
But you never want to start blowing things up on an empty stomach. First things first… it was time for a little bit of dinner. On cruses longer then three days, “Pirate” night will have a menu all it’s own and it will be the same in all three major dinning rooms. Generally you will also be having dinner in the same spot that you were in the night before. For us this meant a return trip to
Animators Palate.
The huge screens that Crush used to maneuver around the dining room the night before were now hidden behind sliding walls bearing smaller pieces of art and screens. The various video screens around the room were displaying and rotating though random cells, drawings, paintings and animator’s sketches in both “pirate” and generally nautical themes from the bygone age of sail. The vibe was very casual and more boisterous then the night before. This is probably the only one of the three main dining rooms that can affect that type of change in both look and feel. Given our location in a cozy corner of one of the “rooms” we honestly had no idea that there were over three thousand other guests aboard that night. As you might expect… I was rather pleased to be here for our Pirate’s feast.
As I said earlier… The menu on pirate night is the same for everyone and during our tenure aboard the Dream… it looked like this:
Appetizers
Black Beard's Jumbo Crab Cake
with golden raisin-carrot and coconut slaw
served with a spicy Calypso dressing
Pirates Golden "Pot Stickers"
oriental pork "dumplings" deep fried and served
with a tamarind-ginger soy sauce and pickled vegetables
The Buccaneer's Sun-Ripened Pineapple
fresh island pineapple with a coconut covered banana
and orange glaze
Pearls of the Caribbean
crabmeat, shrimp and salmon mixed in pearls of couscous
with lemon grass infused vinaigrette
Soups and Salads
Chilled-to-the-bone Honeydew Melon and Watermelon Soup
Caribbean-style Conch Chowder
with sherry, sweet peppers, onions, tomatoes, thyme, and garnished
with diced potatoes and crispy bacon bits
Jerk Chicken Salad
jerk-seasoned chicken strips over fresh crispy greens
with a citrus dressing and plantain chips
Mr. Smee's Bibb Lettuce Salad
with bibb lettuce, baby greens, chicory, tomatoes, toasted pine nuts
and raspberry vinaigrette
Bread Service
Johnny Cake with a pigeon pea relish
Main Course
Castaway Chicken Breast
rubbed with Pirate Island Spice, rice and beans,
and fried okra on rich spiced glaze
Jolly Rogers Barbecue Rib Salad
Shredded cabbage, carrots, and corn mixed
with Romaine lettuce and fresh parsley with a spicy baked bean dressing
Treasures of the Seas Grilled Shrimp and Seared Scallops
served on strings of pasta and fresh creamy tomato sauce
Jack Sparrow's Barbecue Marinated Beef Short Ribs
Rubbed beef short rips with tamarind-barbecue sauce and served
with onion red bliss mashed potatoes and plantain chip
Sunken Vegetable Treasure
Black-eyed pea and quinoa croquettes
with a mushroom sauce
Captain Hook's Macadamia Nut-dusted Mahi Mahi
Jasmine rice and sautéed pineapple
on a mild curry sauce
The Dutchmen's Dijon-Crusted Sirloin of Beef
thick cut of beef with oven-roasted sweet potatoes and a black spot tomato
with deep red wine glaze
Tiger Lilie's Savory Pancakes
stuffed with tofu, spinach, and lashed to the deck
on a pool of pepper coulis
Baked Salmon and Oven-roasted Chicken Breast available upon request
Now… given that menu and what you know of me so far what do you suppose got ordered?
+1 if you said: Pot Stickers, Conch Chowder and Dijon-Crusted Sirloin of Beef (as I’ve said… I-R-A-carnivore).
Being Pirate Night, all the servers (and a good percentage of the guests) were dressed for the part. Everyone was very relaxed and just enjoying the evening. It may also be that now midway through our cruse, we’d all settled in and gotten comfortable with one and other. Another difference, for us anyway, was in the make up of the folks at table #66. Our tablemates had split up this evening. The girls were on their own and chose to join us for dinner at AP (with the two youngest deciding to re-début their prized “Minnie” dresses). Mom and dad had decided to try out the adult experience at Pallo. In the near… I’m going to make a point to talk about that particular restaurant, which can be found on all DCL ships (and most certainly qualifies as an inner sanctum), in greater detail (probably as a full fledged Bonus Feature… probable the next Bonus Feature). For the time being however, lets just say that since the young ladies form Iceland weren’t that talkative (in English anyway), for my family, it was a lot like having the entire dinning room to ourselves. In a word… it was: relaxing.
After dinner of course there is always time for desert.
That menu looked like this…
Desserts
Sweet Temptations
a trio of fruit cobbler, floating island and chocolate cake
Fruit Cobbler
with vanilla ice cream
Floating Island
crisp meringue, vanilla anglaise and marinated fruits
Rum Soaked Chocolate Cake
with raspberry glaze and whipped cream
[/]Crunch Time Sundae[/u]
Rum Raisin Ice Cream, Pineapple, Whipped Cream and Croquant
No Sugar Added
Banana-Chocolate Crepe
with mango coulis and coconut
Angel Food Cake
with strawberries and whipped cream
So what did we indulge in? …Banana-Chocolate Crepe
(one of the recommendations that I probably would have over looked otherwise – trust your servers)
and…
Rum Soaked Chocolate Cake
(what it lacked in size… it made up for in: “Ohhhh Myyyyy”).
Oh… one last little story before we head topside for the rest of this evening’s festivities. Do you remember our two little Minnies that were sharing out table? Well apparently the girls had themselves one mighty big day out and about in Nassau. I say this because the youngest was so completely tuckered out that she fell asleep head down on the table between dinner and desert. Big Sis couldn’t even roust the girl from her slumber long enough to pick a desert. Daniel told the group not to worry; he had the perfect answer for this situation. When the dishes hit the table, sure enough, there was one specially designed for Sleeping Beauty…
After dinner we were heading out to walk the promenade for a bit before heading up to Deck-11 and the Buccaneer Blast. On the way, we encountered these little bits of Epcot inspired luminous art built into the floor of the AP merrily leading us onward toward our next adventure…
Now we’d had a bit of dinner and found a bit of magic… it was time for something completely different.
It was time to watch things explode.
Thats about how I see it as well.
