wilma-bride
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- Joined
- Jul 13, 2005
- Messages
- 22,681
Saturday 26th October (yes, still, but don't worry, it's almost over)
Our dining rotation meant that dinner tonight was in Animators Palate. I was excited to see the dining room and how it differed from Animators Palate on the other ships. I absolutely loved it. We arrived at the dining room and were escorted to our table table number 97.
We werent at all surprised to discover that our group of 26 had been split over four tables, however we had different serving teams looking after our tables, which seemed a bit odd to me (and would cause some confusion later in the trip). The four of us were seated at Table 97, which was a table for 12.
Sat with us were Chars (Carnival Cruise) friends Bobbie and Gerald, their son Lane, daughters Emma and Anna and Chars daughter, Cassie. There was an empty seat at the table when we arrived and it didnt take us long to figure out who should be sat there none other than Chars 16 year old son, Evan, who had not been seen since lunchtime that day. Char quickly realised that she hadnt made it clear to Evan that he was expected to appear for dinner each night and we figured he was probably still swimming and eating ice-cream.
We soon met our serving team Toto and Isabella. They were both lovely and seemed very professional (a complete turnaround from the serving team on our last cruise). We later discovered that this was Isabellas first cruise, however probably the only indicator was that she seemed slightly nervous and a little too eager to please. She really was wonderful though and we quickly came to love them both. I seemed to recall having read about Toto previously and wondered whether he had been a server on one of Mandymouses cruises (he later told us he had worked for DCL for 15 years so very possibly).
As I previously said, we were split over 4 separate tables and, unfortunately, the layout wasnt very conducive to being able to talk to our fellow cruisers as you can see from this picture.
Char and Nate were sat at a 4-top with their two boys, Gabe and Luke.
Wendy and Rich, Mum and Dad (Chars parents), Jen and Rob and their son, Logan, were at a table for 8.
And, finally, Megan and Dustin (Geralds sister and her husband) and Megans Mum and Aunt were at another 4-top nearby.
It was a little odd but gave us a chance to get to know Bobbie and Gerald, and their family, a little better. Here is a picture of our table (shamelessly stolen from Char).
I loved the animation in the dining room various Finding Nemo characters would swim past on one of the many screens set into the walls. Our nearest unobstructed screen was directly behind where I was sitting so I did spend a lot of the meal turning around to take pictures (although, sadly, they didn't come out very well).
Menus were handed out and drinks were ordered. I wont bore you each day by telling you that Daniel ordered pink lemonade, Sian chose Sprite and Gary ordered Diet Coke if it changes, Ill let you know. Im sure, though, that you will be pleased to know that I had one of these
Blueberrilicious - Tequila, fresh blueberries, passion fruit juice, orange liquor and freshly squeezed lime juice.
I have said before that tequila and I are not on good terms well, we certainly built some bridges that night. It was delicious blueberrilicious, in fact.
I was determined that I would try to be more adventurous on this cruise and try some things that I wouldnt normally order so I chose the Black Truffle Pasta Pursettes for my appetiser - pasta purses filled with truffle-scented cheese and coated in a delicate champagne sauce.
Unfortunately, I really didnt like this at all. The cheese filling was far too strong and completely overpowered everything else. I offered a taste to Gary, who didnt like it either. Even Daniel, the only adventurous eater in our family, turned his nose up at it.
Sian ordered this
Sliced Serrano ham with tomato bread and Spanish olives (minus the olives). She loved it and polished it all off.
Gary had the butternut squash soup, which he really enjoyed.
Daniel, having skipped the appetisers, ordered pasta for his main.
Pennette pasta mixed with a rich Bolognese sauce garnished with shaved parmesan regganio and toasted garlic ciabbata. No sooner had Isabella placed this in front of him than it was gone. Every. Last. Drop.
It was a similar story with Sians herb crusted veal chop, served with sun-dried tomato risotto and a Barolo wine sauce.
I had the lemon-thyme marinated chicken breast with roasted root vegetables and a baked potato (subbed for mashed potatoes). Absolutely delicious.
And, finally, Gary chose the seared red snapper with scallops, crushed new potatoes and salsa verde. Daniel had been dying to try scallops so Gary ordered this primarily so he could try. Gary (and Daniel) loved it.
And so it was time for dessert.
Daniel and Sian both had the Cookies n Cream Sundae
I ordered the Sweet Temptations a trio of white chocolate fudge cheesecake, lemon-raspberry tart and chilled mango mousse. I loved the lemon tart and ate it all. I had half of the cheesecake and let Daniel finish that and the mango mousse.
Gary chose the White Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake.
Suitably stuffed and satisfied, we went back to the room to get a cardigan. Wendy and Rich asked if they could come with us to get a peek at our balcony so we all wandered back. On arrival, we discovered our wonderful room host Vivek (who we had briefly met earlier) had left us a dog.
Luckily it hadnt eaten the candy we left on our bed. I adored the fact that Vivek, while not moving anything from the bed, would tidy up all the junk I left lying there and folded all my clothes neatly, leaving everything in neat little piles on the bed and sofa. By the end of the week, I had decided I wanted to bring Vivek (and the kids stateroom host, Ronald) home with us.
Ronald had left the kids a black swan very cool.
We had a little bit of time before the show so we went up to Edge, the tween club on board the Fantasy. Daniel, being on the cusp of 11, wanted to see whether he would be allowed in, and also whether he might prefer it to the Oceaneers Lab. After a quick look around and confirmation that Daniel would be most welcome, we left to see the show which, tonight, was A Fantasy Come True. Honestly, I didnt really enjoy this show and I could have gladly skipped it but the shows are one of the things Gary loves about the cruise so we all went as a family. It wasnt really bad and I do love to see the characters but it was just very cheesy. I got a little thrill from seeing Daniels face light up when Pluto came on stage though every time I think my boy is all grown up, he does something that makes me realise hes still my baby.
After the show, Daniel headed for Edge, having been told he should be back in the stateroom by midnight. I made it clear what would happen if we caught him wandering the ship and told him, if he left the club early, he was to go straight back to the stateroom and nowhere else. It was nice to be able to give him a little more freedom on this cruise, and I think he relished it.
Gary, Sian and I decided to go and check out the adult only lounges. The adult only areas on the Fantasy are amazingly themed. There is a whole area (La Piazza) that is like a cobbled Italian street so cool.
Having arranged to meet some of the others in The Tube later, we decided to pop into Skyline first, for a drink. I think Skyline was definitely my favourite lounge on the ship. For those who arent aware, the walls feature panoramic views of various European skylines (hence the name) that change form day to night. There are animations and even hidden Mickeys in the pictures and the lounge is very chic, if a little dark.
I had read online about the Skyline passport, which you buy for $59 and entitles you to 6 martinis of your choice. They have a themed cocktail menu, featuring a couple of drinks themed on each of the European cities showcased in the lounge.
I loved the fact that the menu here lit up when you opened it. I tried and failed several times to take a picture. Gary opted for a beer while my first drink of choice had to be the Paris 75 Grey Goose Citron Vodka, Peach Schnapps, Blue Curacao and pineapple juice, all served in a martini glass with sugared rim and glow cube.
Et voila!
And with yours truly!
You can see by Sians face that she was not impressed with not being able to drink (even though she claimed she was fine).
After a little while, we decided to take our drinks through to The Tube, which is just next door. It was still quite empty and we managed to bag a big booth.
The Tube is themed around the London Underground but obviously much cleaner. And way cooler!
We were soon joined by Wendy and Rich. Adriana and Randy turned up next and joined us, then Mum and Dad arrived.
We had another round of drinks and Sian ordered a Sprite Zero and was unnaturally excited about the fact that it came in a blue can.
Match Your Mate started and we realised that couple number 1 were a couple from our Facebook Group, Helene and Kyle.
Match Your Mate was extremely entertaining, as usual. When it finished, Sian said she was going to go back to the room. We stayed for another drink and then headed back to the room ourselves. It had been a very hectic day. We poked our head into the kids room to make sure they were both back. They were, and were tucked up in bed watching TV. Sian was excited about a gift bag which had been left hanging outside the stateroom, which had some lovely gifts in for her and Daniel. Arriving back at our room, we discovered we had one too.
Heres what was inside.
We were a little confused. Given that none of our group was participating in the Fish Extender Exchange, we had decided between ourselves we would do a gift swap (Secret Mickey), just among the adult couples. So this couldnt be from our Secret Mickey as we werent supposed to be buying for the kids.
As I was wracking my brains to think who it might be from, my eye was caught by the Mickey Duct Tape and I suddenly recalled a discussion between myself and Wendy, where she had offered to get me some Mickey duct tape. Hmmm, I wonder. Determined to solve the mystery the very next day, we went to bed and were soon fast asleep.
Our dining rotation meant that dinner tonight was in Animators Palate. I was excited to see the dining room and how it differed from Animators Palate on the other ships. I absolutely loved it. We arrived at the dining room and were escorted to our table table number 97.
We werent at all surprised to discover that our group of 26 had been split over four tables, however we had different serving teams looking after our tables, which seemed a bit odd to me (and would cause some confusion later in the trip). The four of us were seated at Table 97, which was a table for 12.
Sat with us were Chars (Carnival Cruise) friends Bobbie and Gerald, their son Lane, daughters Emma and Anna and Chars daughter, Cassie. There was an empty seat at the table when we arrived and it didnt take us long to figure out who should be sat there none other than Chars 16 year old son, Evan, who had not been seen since lunchtime that day. Char quickly realised that she hadnt made it clear to Evan that he was expected to appear for dinner each night and we figured he was probably still swimming and eating ice-cream.
We soon met our serving team Toto and Isabella. They were both lovely and seemed very professional (a complete turnaround from the serving team on our last cruise). We later discovered that this was Isabellas first cruise, however probably the only indicator was that she seemed slightly nervous and a little too eager to please. She really was wonderful though and we quickly came to love them both. I seemed to recall having read about Toto previously and wondered whether he had been a server on one of Mandymouses cruises (he later told us he had worked for DCL for 15 years so very possibly).
As I previously said, we were split over 4 separate tables and, unfortunately, the layout wasnt very conducive to being able to talk to our fellow cruisers as you can see from this picture.
Char and Nate were sat at a 4-top with their two boys, Gabe and Luke.
Wendy and Rich, Mum and Dad (Chars parents), Jen and Rob and their son, Logan, were at a table for 8.
And, finally, Megan and Dustin (Geralds sister and her husband) and Megans Mum and Aunt were at another 4-top nearby.
It was a little odd but gave us a chance to get to know Bobbie and Gerald, and their family, a little better. Here is a picture of our table (shamelessly stolen from Char).
I loved the animation in the dining room various Finding Nemo characters would swim past on one of the many screens set into the walls. Our nearest unobstructed screen was directly behind where I was sitting so I did spend a lot of the meal turning around to take pictures (although, sadly, they didn't come out very well).
Menus were handed out and drinks were ordered. I wont bore you each day by telling you that Daniel ordered pink lemonade, Sian chose Sprite and Gary ordered Diet Coke if it changes, Ill let you know. Im sure, though, that you will be pleased to know that I had one of these
Blueberrilicious - Tequila, fresh blueberries, passion fruit juice, orange liquor and freshly squeezed lime juice.
I have said before that tequila and I are not on good terms well, we certainly built some bridges that night. It was delicious blueberrilicious, in fact.
I was determined that I would try to be more adventurous on this cruise and try some things that I wouldnt normally order so I chose the Black Truffle Pasta Pursettes for my appetiser - pasta purses filled with truffle-scented cheese and coated in a delicate champagne sauce.
Unfortunately, I really didnt like this at all. The cheese filling was far too strong and completely overpowered everything else. I offered a taste to Gary, who didnt like it either. Even Daniel, the only adventurous eater in our family, turned his nose up at it.
Sian ordered this
Sliced Serrano ham with tomato bread and Spanish olives (minus the olives). She loved it and polished it all off.
Gary had the butternut squash soup, which he really enjoyed.
Daniel, having skipped the appetisers, ordered pasta for his main.
Pennette pasta mixed with a rich Bolognese sauce garnished with shaved parmesan regganio and toasted garlic ciabbata. No sooner had Isabella placed this in front of him than it was gone. Every. Last. Drop.
It was a similar story with Sians herb crusted veal chop, served with sun-dried tomato risotto and a Barolo wine sauce.
I had the lemon-thyme marinated chicken breast with roasted root vegetables and a baked potato (subbed for mashed potatoes). Absolutely delicious.
And, finally, Gary chose the seared red snapper with scallops, crushed new potatoes and salsa verde. Daniel had been dying to try scallops so Gary ordered this primarily so he could try. Gary (and Daniel) loved it.
And so it was time for dessert.
Daniel and Sian both had the Cookies n Cream Sundae
I ordered the Sweet Temptations a trio of white chocolate fudge cheesecake, lemon-raspberry tart and chilled mango mousse. I loved the lemon tart and ate it all. I had half of the cheesecake and let Daniel finish that and the mango mousse.
Gary chose the White Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake.
Suitably stuffed and satisfied, we went back to the room to get a cardigan. Wendy and Rich asked if they could come with us to get a peek at our balcony so we all wandered back. On arrival, we discovered our wonderful room host Vivek (who we had briefly met earlier) had left us a dog.
Luckily it hadnt eaten the candy we left on our bed. I adored the fact that Vivek, while not moving anything from the bed, would tidy up all the junk I left lying there and folded all my clothes neatly, leaving everything in neat little piles on the bed and sofa. By the end of the week, I had decided I wanted to bring Vivek (and the kids stateroom host, Ronald) home with us.
Ronald had left the kids a black swan very cool.
We had a little bit of time before the show so we went up to Edge, the tween club on board the Fantasy. Daniel, being on the cusp of 11, wanted to see whether he would be allowed in, and also whether he might prefer it to the Oceaneers Lab. After a quick look around and confirmation that Daniel would be most welcome, we left to see the show which, tonight, was A Fantasy Come True. Honestly, I didnt really enjoy this show and I could have gladly skipped it but the shows are one of the things Gary loves about the cruise so we all went as a family. It wasnt really bad and I do love to see the characters but it was just very cheesy. I got a little thrill from seeing Daniels face light up when Pluto came on stage though every time I think my boy is all grown up, he does something that makes me realise hes still my baby.
After the show, Daniel headed for Edge, having been told he should be back in the stateroom by midnight. I made it clear what would happen if we caught him wandering the ship and told him, if he left the club early, he was to go straight back to the stateroom and nowhere else. It was nice to be able to give him a little more freedom on this cruise, and I think he relished it.
Gary, Sian and I decided to go and check out the adult only lounges. The adult only areas on the Fantasy are amazingly themed. There is a whole area (La Piazza) that is like a cobbled Italian street so cool.
Having arranged to meet some of the others in The Tube later, we decided to pop into Skyline first, for a drink. I think Skyline was definitely my favourite lounge on the ship. For those who arent aware, the walls feature panoramic views of various European skylines (hence the name) that change form day to night. There are animations and even hidden Mickeys in the pictures and the lounge is very chic, if a little dark.
I had read online about the Skyline passport, which you buy for $59 and entitles you to 6 martinis of your choice. They have a themed cocktail menu, featuring a couple of drinks themed on each of the European cities showcased in the lounge.
I loved the fact that the menu here lit up when you opened it. I tried and failed several times to take a picture. Gary opted for a beer while my first drink of choice had to be the Paris 75 Grey Goose Citron Vodka, Peach Schnapps, Blue Curacao and pineapple juice, all served in a martini glass with sugared rim and glow cube.
Et voila!
And with yours truly!
You can see by Sians face that she was not impressed with not being able to drink (even though she claimed she was fine).
After a little while, we decided to take our drinks through to The Tube, which is just next door. It was still quite empty and we managed to bag a big booth.
The Tube is themed around the London Underground but obviously much cleaner. And way cooler!
We were soon joined by Wendy and Rich. Adriana and Randy turned up next and joined us, then Mum and Dad arrived.
We had another round of drinks and Sian ordered a Sprite Zero and was unnaturally excited about the fact that it came in a blue can.
Match Your Mate started and we realised that couple number 1 were a couple from our Facebook Group, Helene and Kyle.
Match Your Mate was extremely entertaining, as usual. When it finished, Sian said she was going to go back to the room. We stayed for another drink and then headed back to the room ourselves. It had been a very hectic day. We poked our head into the kids room to make sure they were both back. They were, and were tucked up in bed watching TV. Sian was excited about a gift bag which had been left hanging outside the stateroom, which had some lovely gifts in for her and Daniel. Arriving back at our room, we discovered we had one too.
Heres what was inside.
We were a little confused. Given that none of our group was participating in the Fish Extender Exchange, we had decided between ourselves we would do a gift swap (Secret Mickey), just among the adult couples. So this couldnt be from our Secret Mickey as we werent supposed to be buying for the kids.
As I was wracking my brains to think who it might be from, my eye was caught by the Mickey Duct Tape and I suddenly recalled a discussion between myself and Wendy, where she had offered to get me some Mickey duct tape. Hmmm, I wonder. Determined to solve the mystery the very next day, we went to bed and were soon fast asleep.
Loving the cocktails at the Skyline too 
