moet7 said:
Can you tell me the topics of the lectures that were given during the day?:
I'll try to tell you what I remember. Usually there is someone related to Disney sailing so they have lectures in the Buena Vista Theater (sometimes elsewhere) and they talk about their specialty. So it could be something about Walt Disney World,
Disneyland, the Cruise Line or other Disney parks around the world. They give you information about where the company was, where it is going. Disney is known for having great business speakers so even if you aren't into Disney, they are usually very interesting speakers. The last couple of cruises I was on were special cruises so we were very lucky to have Don "Ducky" Williams on board who gave very interesting talks about his position as the Disney Marketing Artist.
I believe they usually have some small lectures about photography or things from the spa as well. (It isn't like the lecture series on the Queen Mary where they have guest speakers in on every cruise from varied arts and science backgrounds. But they are typically very interesting and an option to sitting by the pool.)
moet7 said:
Also what "type" of activities did they offer?
They have a whole range of activities going on during the day. Some of them I can remember are: pool games, golf chipping competitions in the atrium, teams building vegetable racers, an ice carving demonstration, trivia contests (themes included general knowledge, sports, music and of course Disney), bingo - usually twice a day, art auctions, sometime the performers would hold workshops (like a magician or ventriloquist), learn to draw Disney characters. I'm sure I'm forgetting a whole host of them.
moet7 said:
Do they show movies during the day and if they do are they the children movies?
They do show movies in the Buena Vista theater during the day. I think a lot of them are children's movies but they do get some more adult movies in there. (I don't think they show the R movies until late.) But we've seen quite a few movies on board. (To know what to expect, I look at what movies the Disney companies (Walt Disney Pictures, Buena Vista Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, etc.) have released in the 6 months before I sail.
moet7 said:
Would you be able to explain what the "Navigator Series" is?
The Navigator Series is 3 or 4 meetings (you can attend any one or all of them) they have during sea days. They have different topics related to the operation of ship. The speakers are usually the senior officers on the ship. They give you a lot of interesting information about sailing in general, about themselves and about the Disney Magic. I'm not a sailing buff but I always find these very interesting. I believe now, the first is a walking tour of the ship. The others are sit down in Rockin' Bar D. It used to be part of this series that they would give you tickets for Bridge Tours but I believe now you can just go to Guest Services to get those tickets. (Bridge Tours are held on Port Days.)
I should mention here that they also have another Adult Entertainment series called the Art of Entertaining. This also has a series of lectures, presented by the Dining/Kitchen staff. They cover different food/wine topics and you always get a sample. They usually also have a napkin folding one which is hands-on and lots of fun. Usually if you attend this series, you get tickets to do the Kitchen Tour. Which in my opinion isn't overly fascinating but should be done at least once.
