Day 4, July 26
Wheres the magic? - Part 3
We took our sweet time to finish our drinks before heading back to our stateroom before it was time for the lifeboat drill.
We had just a little time left and sat outside on the veranda for a few more minutes before we headed to our station. There were cast members directing us to behind the scenes stairs which we climbed down and soon we were in line to be accounted for. The cast member did their best to entertain while we waited for the drill to end, but the family on our left kept talking very loudly which was highly distractive. But finally the drill ended and it was high time to head to the DVC meet. We had not been too happy to hear that the meet started about half an hour before the ship was to leave the harbour, but since this was the way it was we just decided that we would leave once the ship was moving. They were already letting people into the D-Lounge when we arrived and we quickly found a table to the left of the stage. We settled in and got some drinks
and were waiting for the presentation to start, when someone came over to our table and asked if I was Karin. I could not believe it, but it was Bobbie, a new found cruise friend, who we had been talking too via FB and email. And once we had hugged each other we asked her to sit with us, so she quickly went over to the other side of the room to get her daughter, Connie, to sit with us as well.
We had a lot of fun catching up on the days leading up to the cruise and did not really pay much attention to the presentation and suddenly Tom noticed that the ship had started to move, so we picked up our stuff and headed to the door where we were handed some mash backpacks. And while we received those we could see that quite a lot of the other guests were leaving as well. Bad choice of time for a meet.
We walked up to the top deck and the front of the ship and stood at the rail watching the ship slowly gliding out of the harbour.
And once we had made it out of the harbour Bobbie and Connie got themselves something to eat as they had missed lunch. Shortly after they had finished their very late lunch we said our goodbyes and headed back to our stateroom for a little rest.
We sat out on the veranda watching the waves and soon it was time to head to the Welcome Show. Unfortunately there was something else that really started to annoy me lateron.
Not only did Brent, the cruise director give his daily speech, but he had a Spanish sidekick, who really loved to hear his voice as he kept on talking for quite some time. We both didnt mind that much the first day, but lateron in the cruise, Armando became a mayor pain and so was Brent, who I just could not come to like very much. He always sounded somewhat fake to me. Well, to cut this long story short, about 20 minutes into the show we left as we both just did not like what we were seeing.
Instead we headed for the shops. I had wanted to pick up one of the very new Dooney and Bourke handbags and Tom wanted a Helmsman Mickey statue and a model of the Magic. We had a look at the Med Merchandise they were offering and were surprised that they already had T-shirts with Greece on it on display. I had thought that they would sell those once they got there, but who knew. So while browsing we debated if Tom would pick up his little statue right away or not and I thought it might be a good idea to get shopping for things we definitely wanted out of the way. When the cast member at the till found out what we were talking about he mentioned that it was a great idea to buy the statue right away, as they had just restocked them. They had been out of them for the last two cruises.
Wow!
You should just think they would have had enough supplies shipped. Once we had asked for all of Toms things, we asked about the new Dooney and Bourke and the answer was a simple, were out of it, which seemed to become the motto of the cruise, and definitely became the motto of my trip report.
Purchases in hand we headed back to our stateroom to change for dinner. We had some time left as dinner was really late, at 8.45, so we relaxed in our stateroom and while getting ready for dinner I noticed that smell in the bathroom again. I first thought I might just be imagining something, but then asked Tom about it and he had noticed it as well and it started bothering both of us a bit, especially, since the bathroom door had to be pulled shut, otherwise it would not stay closed.
But again, it was now time to head out, so we had to let it go for the moment. The elevators had lines going down, so we walked down the four flights of stairs to Lumieres. We checked in and were led to our table, which was right along the main walkway into the restaurant, but it was just a table for two. And as soon as we had sat down, our servers, Jason and Jay were at our table to introduce themselves. They were both really nice and enthusiastic, we just had a bit of trouble understanding Jay.
And with that our order for soft drinks were taken and we were left to study the menu, which was Let The Magic Begin. We both had the feeling that our cruise vacation had finally started and we got into the right mindset and mood. So we both decided on having a drink with our dinner. The
Keylime Margarita peeked our interest and was quickly ordered and so was our dinner. It did not take long and the drinks and bread service for the night,
Freshly baked carrot and scallion loaf with a
Cumin and cilantro dip, were brought out, quickly followed by the appetizers. Tom had decided on the
Fried Spiced Calamari, served with Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise, while I had ordered the
Smoked Salmon Carpaccio, with Capers, finely chopped Shallots, pink Peppercorns and Honey Mustard Dressing. Once we had finished our starters, Jason brought out Toms soup, the
Clam Chowder, served with sourdough croutons. Next course were the
Grilled Grain Fed New York Strip, served with Cheddar Cheese and Onion Smashed Baked Potato, Roasted Green Asparagus and Red Wine Jus, which he liked quite a bit. My choice for the night was the
Pork Tenderloin Wellington, roasted Pork Tenderloin wrapped in Mushroom Duxelles, Crepe and Puff Pastry, served with Gratin Potatoes, Roasted Baby Vegetables and a Rich Bordeau Wine Sauce. It was every bit as yummy as it had sounded on the menu and we were both pretty happy. Again, once we had finished this course, our servers were quick at hand to remove the plates and hand us the dessert menu. We had a good look and then Tom decided on trying the
Passion Fruit and Dark Chocolate Dome, layered with Raspberry Jelly and a White Chocolate Spiral Décor. I had my heart set on the
No Sugar Added Chocolate Truffle Cake, Chocolate Biscuit layered with Chocolate Cream and Raspberry Sauce. They both looked delicious and tasted very good as well. While we were still enjoying our desserts the head server, George, paid us a visit and we chatted for a while.
At the end of the conversation he broke a bit of news to us and let us know that he was happy to announce that on port days there would be no table service breakfast option, but Cabanas was open early and on sea days they would offer brunch instead of breakfast on some days at Lumieres.
Um, yeah, not really happy news to us, as we both dont really care for buffets as your food is usually luke warm at best, once you finally sit down to eat. Plus it really messed with our plans, as I had planned and made reservations for our tours only to begin after we had had a nice sit down breakfast.
Plans out the window and my happy vacation mood had gotten quite the damper. After George had left and we had finished our desserts, we said goodbye to our servers and headed back to our stateroom where we were greeted by a fun towel animal
and a bit of a smell in the room as the door had not been quite closed. Now, with the prospect of no leisurely table service breakfast and the faint smell in the room we were not off to a good start.
We spent a bit more time out on the veranda, then, around midnight we were finally tired enough to head to bed.
To be continued ..........
)
But organization/logistics were not what we were used to. So the experience was not what we had hoped it to be. 
Coffee looks yummy, but sorry you had a small difficulty with the waitstaff getting it in a glass 
so much for going green, right? 
And so lucky I called to inquire about the seat refund and getting the change fee back as well. 
