So we headed down to Deck 3 with our dining tickets in hand. They looked at them the first evening and that was it. All our dining companions were already there, and at first I thought they knew each other since they were all from Canada.
I did this same thing when I met some Californians down in Florida, thought for sure Alison would know them
We were lagging by now from being up at 4am and all the excitement of the day, mom much more so than me. I tried chatting with everybody but the family of 4 was a bit stand-offish. It was their first cruise as well, and I'm not sure they knew they'd be sitting with strangers. There was also a mother/daughter pair who had been on many cruises previously, the daughter actually worked on the Magic which was pretty cool.
We were seated at one of the tables next to the walls, and I've read that's where you want to be if you want to be involved in a conversation with Crush. I actually would much prefer to be in the middle where I can see the screens better because the screen next to us was so big I couldn't take in the sight without moving my eyes aroud.
And the screen was so bright it projected it's colors onto my pictures. But look at that cute butter knife shaped like a paintbrush! You could buy them in the gift shop.
We were at table 118. You are assigned a table number and serving team for your cruise. Your serving team follows you to each of the three main dining rooms and you sit at the same table number the whole time. The only time you have different servers is if you go to one of the adult only restaurants, Palo or Remy, or if you choose to skip your main dining and go to Cabanas. It was such a great experience having the same servers every night because they got to know your likes and dislikes and remembered them perfectly.
We both started with the 'Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes', Pasta Purse filled with Truffle scented Cheese and coated with a delicate Champagne Sauce. These were wonderful, probably should have gotten two orders for myself.
I also got the Wild Mushroom Risotto and Porcini Twist. This was too strong for me, but mom really liked it.
I skipped the soup/salad course, but mom had the 'Curly Endive, Arugula and Watercress Salad Sliced Peaches with Toasted Almonds and tossed with a Sherry Vinaigrette'. She enjoyed it. I realized halfway through I hadn't taken a picture.
I was not sure about entrees. I had of course poured over all the menus for months, and nothing stood out to me so I got the 'Grilled Pacific Black Cod With Sautéed Morel Mushrooms on a Yellow Split Pea Purée'. I totally forgot to get a picture and actually sent it back. The texture of the fish was not pleasant. I would normally never send anything back, but I've read countless people say your serving team wants you to be happy and you can order as many things off the menu as you want so make sure you're happy. I resorted to the 'White Shrimp Pennette Pasta Tossed with a Basil and Reggiano Parmesan Cheese Sauce and topped with a Parmesan Cheese Wafer'. I was not in the mood for shrimp but figured I could pick through them. I should have just asked for the pasta because I did exactly that a few times later in the cruise and there was no problem at all. Somehow I forgot a picture of that also.
I did remember to take a picture of mom's 'Black Bean Chipotle Cakes Over Corn Kernels and Brown Rice topped with Tomato-Cilantro Salsa'. I don't think she finished them, but she did like them. She wanted to save room for dessert.
Since her birthday was on our reservation they first brought her a birthday dessert. Crush must have been back since the blue sheen had returned. She said the cake was fabulous.
She also had the 'Sweet Temptations' A Trio of Crunchy Walnut Cake, Pineapple Financier, and Lemon Mousse. She couldn't finish anything but the Crunch Walnut Cake which she said was fabulous.
I had both of the sugar free desserts. I somehow don't have a picture of the Lemon Mousse With Mango Coulis and Dark Chocolate, but this is a picture of the Dense Chocolate Cake Brownie, Caramel Sauce and Whipped Cream. It wasn't the best, a little on the dry side.
Another picture of the restaurant. It did change colors a little bit but definitely not to the extent of the Magic and Wonder. I think the color changing went along more with Crush's show. The servers outfits did not change at all. From what I've heard the Animator's Palate in the Fantasy will be more like the other ships.
Overall this turned out to be my least liked restaurant on the ship.
have you booked one already? I'll try to remember to include all the tips I learned, it was so helpful to know some things ahead of time.
It's reminding me how much I loved the Dream and how clean and NEW everything was. We're sailing on the Magic in June for the first time and I'm getting nervous that it will just not measure up to the Dream. Looking forward to reading more.
And the prize we received for being one of the first five to have a meeting was a beautiful leather organizer. Well since I had traded the one mom had won earlier she was the lucky receiver of this much better one. 
It saved about $2400 using points so I'll be using points to cruise whenever I can. 
