Day 9 - St. Thomas
Groom POV
St. Thomas! I know this is a popular destination for contestants of Wheel of Fortune, but, for better or worse, we stayed on the ship and spent another day sunning ourselves on deck. And also Scotiabank?
It was like being in Canada in the Caribbean--hey, that sounds pretty good, let's make that happen!
Scenery!
Rain!
Nicole's reaction to said rain.
Nicole: Reeeeeeeaaaaallly?
(I hope you don't think we're too boring, in actual fact we were really resting up on this cruise because we knew the last leg of our honeymoon would be an intense whirlwind--it was!)
We lined up for the Aquaduck a few minutes before it's opening for the day. (We weren't first in line.) Nicole wrote in her notes that "it could have been more thrilling." It could have gone under the ship! There could be two ships sailing side-by-side and you could ping-pong back and forth between them! It could pop you out of the funnel like a whale's spout in any number of Disney shorts! Whadda ya think Disney? Huh, huh?!
In between the deck-side "sunning," soaking and sleeping, Nicole snuck away to grab lunch from Flo's Cafe. Nicole grabbed a bratwurst with sauerkraut, which was pretty good but not as good as it could have been thanks to a distinct lack of available mustard. She made up for the disappointment by loading it up with olives. And a side of banana and strawberry ice cream from Eye Scream.
I apparently had two sandwiches? A turkey and cranberry sandwich, which was soggy, and a brie, bacon and tomato panini, which was crispy.
In the afternoon we went back inside the ship to watch Iron Man 3 in the Buena Vista Theatre. It's kind of silly to feel good about saving $15 on a movie ticket when you're on a $1000-plus Caribbean cruise, but I can't help it. It felt good. And it was a pretty good movie, too.
The theatre itself has a lovely art deco design. The 3-D glasses are comfy, like the ones you get at Star Tours, and not uncomfy like the ones you get at an actual movie theatre you pay to go to. The seats are wide and gently recline back, and chances are there will only be ten other people in the theatre with you. For some reason, you have to pay extra for popcorn. I can understand charging for packaged candy, but my feeling is they could afford to give you popcorn. Especially after paying $1000-plus for the cruise...
After the show we dressed for, what is, in my opinion, not only the best Disney restaurant on land or sea, but perhaps my favourite restaurant in all the world. I dunno, I just love Remy. Even without the Ratatouille connection, I'd love Remy. With a flat charge of $75, it's a steal and frees you from the otherwise prohibitive costs of fine French dining. It also a allows you to relax a little and appreciate the attentive service and ease into the measured pacing of the meal. I think some folks are intimidated by a dinner at Remy, but, having dined at Michelin-starred restaurants around the world, I can tell you it's about as accessible and enjoyable as fine dining gets.
Dinner begins with a champagne cocktail, made table-side. We also got a little tip here, toss in some strawberries, and they'll bring forth bubbles in a flat champagne.
This amuse bouche is a clever take on soup and bread, with the centre of the cube yielding warm tomato soup when bitten. Yum!
Next up: bread course. Nicole went for the baguette, and I for the herby brioche.
Herby brioche seen here.
Frenchy, French bread
The French sea salt caddy is a must-have for any fancy bread course. Fancy bread course is redundant.
Part of the accessibility of Remy is that they streamline the ordering of food considerably. You have two menus, each designed by a distinguished chef: Scott Hunnel of Victoria and Albert's, and Arnaud Lallement whose L'Assiette Champenoise was awarded a third Michelin star in February. No matter which menu you choose, you're getting a creative menu executed to perfection. If you don't like a particular dish in your menu, you can swap out that dish for another from the bottom page. You could probably get any combination of any dish, but the chefs know what they're doing, so it's better to go for the menus. Nicole doesn't like fish, so she swapped loup de mer (seabass) for a homard lobster dish.
The last time we were at Remy on the Disney Dream, the French menu was deemed to be the lighter choice and the American menu the heavier one. This time, it was the opposite with the French menu leaning towards heavier ingredients like beef and salmon, while the American menu using lobster, chicken and pork. Ironically, it was the French menu that held more surprises by referencing American fast food.
At least you were able to reschedule Palo.
)
