Our all-too-brief cruise was winding down. *sniff*
We got back from
Castaway Cay, and the girls elected to lay out by the pool for a bit. Sorry, ladies ... include me out. I found a shady spot and just watched the world go by. I even caught Ariel by herself:
It finally reached time to get ready for the evening. So, per cruise protocol, we got a little more spiffed up than usual.
Dress-up night sure is open to interpretation. I wore a tie. Now, I have to wear a tie at work most days. Hate 'em. But it seemed reasonable, out of respect for the evening and fellow passengers, to just go a little further along than cruise casual. More on that later.
We ran across this guy, and had the Disney photographers capture the moment with their camera and mine:
I had a Mickey tie on, which Mr. Mouse fussed over. Funny.
We then headed to Disney Dreams, after picking up some snacks. Again, I can be a pathetic sap. I didn't take any photos during the show - I don't turn on the flash anyway, but it just seemed, I dunno, irreverant. Invariably there is some yahoo in the theater who routinely ignores the "no flash" admonition and acts like a paparazzi. I guess they feel "entitled" (and don't get me started on vacationers who feel like they're above mortals and can do/say/act as they please.)
People, I fell for this show, as I had previously, with a sentimental thud. You fellow Disney geeks know just exactly what I'm talking about. Heck, I get all misty-eyed watching "Wishes." So when Anne Marie goes on her little late night pilgrimage and we're treated to vignettes of Disney favorites - punctuated with the show-stopping performance of "Circle of Life" - I am totally enraptured. And I wasn't alone - there was a young lady and her male companion sitting next to us, and she was just radiant. Then Tinkerbell works her little magic on the ship, and the crowd is in ecstacy. When Mickey shows up during the finale, it's as though we'd been visited by royalty. We clapped, and cheered, and sniffled, and gave ourselves over to pure joy. I will say ... grouches and grinches need not trouble themselves with this show. You'll find your sober, cynical, non-sentimental sensibilties offended. For Disneyaholics - you know who you are! - it doesn't get better than this.
After the show we ducked into Studio Sea and watched some young'uns dance and sing in a High School Musical show. One little lady, festooned with blonde curls, knew every song, every gesture, and I thought, "She thinks this cruise was designed just for
her." Loved watching them.
Dinner was at Triton's. I'd rearranged our seating rotation so we could end up here on the last night. It just lends itself to being "dressier," y'know? But a scan of the dining room showed us that "dress-up" means different things to different folks. There were a few full suits and ties, some jackets only, a goodly number of nice polo shirts and khakis, but next to us was a table of about eight folks in shorts and T-shirts. Hey, it's their vacation, and they could come in their skivvies as far as I care. Still ... hopefully not being judgemental, or a Disney snob ... I just wish folks would embrace the occasion and go along for the sweet ride. One nifty thing about Triton's - in keeping with the whole "under the sea" ambiance, the lighting changes subtly throughout the meal, going from a warm white to a cool aqua blue - not gaudily, but tastefully.
I loved our servers even more tonight. I had escargot, and when I'd polished off these wonderful little garlic critters, I took some bread and dunked it in the leftover juices. Tacky? Maybe, but it sure was good. I also had a Normandy salad. Honestly, it wasn't my favorite ... it didn't have a whole lot of taste, but the mixture of textures made it fun. For my entree - well, heck, I was stymied. Egi saw I was struggling, and his suggestions of either the duck or the lamb shank got me even more confused. "Which way are you leaning?" he asked.
"Honestly, all the entrees look terrific, but I'm really torn between the duck and the lamb."
"I'll take care of you."
You know what happpened, of course. He brought me both. According to him, the lamb shank had been braised in its own juices for hours. Assistant servant Galena hovered nearby. I looked up at her, and she just smiled this megawatt grin. "I just wanted to watch you bite into it," she said.
I obliged. Oh, my goodness. It was fall-off-the-bone tender, a lot like the Italian veal osso bucco. It was the best entree of the trip, served with potatoes, braised veggies, and portobello mushrooms.
The duck wasn't too shabby, either, and Amy ate some of it, too. Duck is tricky, and this consisted of a leg and a sliced breast. Very moist and flavorful, with a citrus glaze. Didn't come close to the lamb, though.
Amy, in addition to working on the duck, had coquilles St. Jacques. She loves scallops, and these were some big ol' plump dudes in a mornay sauce. She wanted to lick the bowl. She also had the same salad as I did and a leek and goat cheese quiche, which was as fluffy as a souflee.
Teresa, who'd looked at the menu with some anxiety, said, "I'm not gonna eat chicken tonight." So she had tomato and basil soup, which was so thick it was almost like a marinara, and the prosciutto cup with mixed leaves. Cute presentation - the ham was molded around a little ring, with different greens stuffed in the middle and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. Yum. And she finally bit the bullet and went with dijon mustard roasted beef tenderloin, stating firmly that it needed to be well done, to my everlasting shame. It came out perfectly cooked and she demolished that sucker. Yay! She also had a bite of my lamb, which she was leery of, and declared it "delicious." There's hope for her yet, if she could just eat
seafood.
Desserts? Egi said, "there's nothing to have but creme brulee," which is an all-time favorite of mine, but I told him, "I'm gonna do something different," and opted for the Grand Marnier souflee. It was good ... but not exceptional. I'm still haunted by memories of the souflee from Palo. The girls had creme brulee, and it was spot on. I'm a purist here, too - WDW is prone to do things like pistachio creme brulee, or coffee, or something else clever ... sorry, guys, I want the authentic thing. I nibbled at Amy's, and Egi, who spotted this, disappeared and came out with one for me, too. "You're
killin' me," I said.
"But, Tony," he said with a grin, "you're on va-
caaaaaa-tion!" True enough.
Dinner ended with a parade of our servers, carrying their national flags:
And the best servers on the ship:
Just a little more and I think I can wrap this thing up. Stick around!