Beyond the Sea: Day 10 - Unexpected Sea Day

[Gill H]

<<<Day 9

So for those who have forgotten Day 9, a quick recap:

The scheduled port day at Villefranche isn’t happening because the tender boats can’t run due to ‘high winds’. So today is now a sea day. And tomorrow (which was to be the sea day) we’ll now be docking at Marseille. (I never know whether it’s Marseille or Marseilles? My instinct would be to end it with an S, but the Navigator had it without.)

Anyway, on to the delights of today. Despite not having to be up early, we’re awake by 7am and soon grabbing a coffee and a few pastries in Cabana’s.

We are being heroically restrained about breakfast, because last night we managed to snag ourselves a booking for Palo brunch!

So, what to do until then? The crew have expertly switched the programmes around and put on a full day of quizzes, character meets, bingo and other delights. We could have stuffed our day full of activities (looking back now, I see we could have done the ‘Art of the theme tour’ where they take you round the ship explaining all the theming, which sounds fun). However, when we meander into the Atrium, we notice two things. Firstly, that there are several princesses standing around waiting to meet people. And secondly, that there is virtually no-one waiting to meet them!

Before we went, I knew there was a special ticketed princess meet at some point on the cruise, and I hadn’t really paid much attention. I knew tickets went like hot cakes, and I couldn’t bear the thought of some poor little kid missing out on meeting their favourites because some greedy adults snapped up the tickets. But whether it’s because of the time we arrive, or whether the switch of days confused people – the Atrium is practically empty.

We ask if it’s OK to meet the princesses if we don’t have tickets, and are told that of course we can. So we spend a fun few minutes chatting and posing with Rapunzel, Tiana and Belle. Of course we tell Rapunzel that we’d enjoyed seeing her show last night and visiting the Snuggly Duckling.

Naturally we discuss cooking with Tiana and tell her that Peter is a chef.

And since Belle is in her ball dress we talk about ballroom dancing
- and are polite enough not to mention that ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is in totally the wrong time signature for a waltz…!

Next we go over to the Guest Services desk. Yesterday we changed some of our Euros into dollars, as we don’t expect to spend many more Euros. So we now have $107 in cash which we want to use to pay off some of our balance. Let’s just say, this is pretty much how we are able to do Palo brunch today! It’s no problem doing this, and we get an updated list of all our transactions.

[Gill H]

A brief stroll to our next destination – the Promenade Lounge, where a Disney trivia quiz is just finishing up. But we aren’t here for that. Instead we have decided to try our hands at drawing one of our favourite characters – Stitch. Now, neither of us are exactly known for our drawing skills. But we’ve done this at WDW and DLP at the animation classes there, and it’s a fun thing to have a try at.

So for the next half hour or so, an enthusiastic CM guides us through how to draw Stitch. And we end up with something which won’t get us a job with Disney Amination Department – but at least you can tell who it’s meant to be.

If I remember rightly, we sat near some Dibbers at this point, but didn’t realise until later. So (as GopherLass’s trippies often say) if that was you - hello!

As we leave the Promenade Lounge, a young CM comes up to me and says he was one of the tech team desperately trying to fix the karaoke machine last night! He compliments me on my rendition of ‘All That Jazz’ which he says is a big favourite of his. I love the fact that everyone on the Magic seems so friendly, whether CMs or guests. Is it like this on other cruise ships, I wonder? Or do we just all have our invisible Mickey ears on when we're on a Disney ship? (Incidentally, I have my real ones on this morning!)

[Gill H]

So we take our drawings back to our stateroom and get changed for Palo brunch.

Now, back when we were planning this cruise we debated for a good while whether to book for brunch or dinner, and had chosen the dinner because after all, how good could a brunch be? Well, as wonderful as our dinner was, I have to admit – the brunch is even better.

We are given a hearty welcome, shown to our seats and then our friendly server gives us a tour of the buffet.

There is a huge array of offerings, taking in pastries, meats, cheeses, a breathtaking range of seafood, fruit, desserts and cakes. As if that wasn’t enough, you can also have a range of hot dishes – everything from pancakes and waffles through egg dishes to soup, pizzas and even steak. Fortunately we have brought our appetites with us!

An alcoholic drink is included in the price, so I go for a mimosa (that’s a buck’s fizz to us Brits) and Peter has a kir royale.

I start by grazing on some breads, cheeses and meats with their various accompaniments. This is my kind of food!

Peter does much the same but hits the seafood earlier than I do.

But don’t worry, I make up for lost time!

The lobster is particularly good, as are the crab legs and the trout mousse. That little round pastry has bacon and cheese in it, and is just so delicious!

We then order our hot dish, so that we can have a little break from the food while we wait! But it’s not long before our dishes appear. Mine is eggs florentine and Peter goes for the classic eggs benedict.

Both hot and fresh, and the eggs are cooked perfectly. We could have gone for something more substantial as a hot dish, but we’re glad we didn’t, as frankly the cold offerings are so good that I want to take most of this buffet home with me in my suitcase…

I mentioned that the service here is ‘next level’ and I assume that CMs have the opportunity to get trained up for it. During the meal we spot our regular assistant server, Amphie, who is busy clearing tables (or ‘bussing’ as they call it, though I’ve never figured out why). Hope the poor girl gets a break sometime today!

And so to dessert. These are just a few of the many delicious desserts on offer. I resisted the temptation to try them all, but it was close...

Everything is such good quality, and the service is perfect – friendly and helpful without being overbearing. A wonderful experience, and although our dinner earlier in the week was superb, I think I am now firmly in the brunch camp. I like the fact that you can have as much or as little of things as you wish, and don’t end up too full to enjoy your dessert. Having said that – if the opportunity presented itself again, I’d go back for dinner, but just make sure I left room for my soufflé this time!

[Gill H]

After our brunch we decide that something not too active is called for, and on checking the Navigator we discover there is a show on in the Walt Disney Theatre soon, so we head there. The show is described as ‘The comedy and percussion of JunNk’ (note the extra N) and basically features a bunch of enthusiastic guys who combine singing and acrobatics with percussion on everything from oil drums to watering cans. It’s kind of Stomp meets Blue Man Group – very engaging and fun.

Once JunNk have done their thing, we go back to our stateroom so Peter can change out of his suit. I chose to wear a smart skirt and top to Palo rather than my ‘posh dress’ from earlier in the week, so I don’t bother changing. I do pick up my Vera Bradley ears again though – don’t think they would have been welcome in Palo!

We relax in our stateroom for a while, and then we head back to the Promenade Lounge again, this time for ‘Disney Tunes Trivia’. We find ourselves some seats and are just settling down when who should rock up but Jerri and Andy, who we met at DLP and again during embarkation. We’ve bumped into them a few times over the week, and so of course we invite them to make a team with us. Soon the quiz is under way, and we are doing pretty well – between the four of us, our knowledge of the different Disney film eras is good, and we manage to get most of them. OK, so there are one or two from the recent live action films we don’t get (Camp Rock, anyone?) but on the whole we feel pretty confident. However, there’s one tune we just can’t get. It feels like we should know it, but it is literally just a few seconds of music which is about to lead into a song – and that song just won’t come to mind!

Once the answers are read out, we’re kicking ourselves – it was Bella Notte from Lady and the Tramp! If only the accordion had kicked in, we would have got it. This means that our score is 36 points – and the winning team have 37. Close, so close!

We say goodbye to Jerri and Andy and head over to Fathoms for another session of bingo. We know this is the big jackpot game and that prices will be higher, but we didn’t realise how much. On our last game we paid $40 for a pack of two books of tickets. Today it’s $40 per book! Not wanting to slap down $80 we decide to share a book between us instead.

As before, the game is fun, and this time there is a bit of excitement when we get 3 numbers away from a full house – or a ‘blackout’ as they call it. But alas, someone else gets there first and goes away with $3, 000. (Is it surprising my first thought was “that’s two weeks in Saratoga Springs!” Yep, I’m a true Dibber.)

[Gill H]

After a quick trip to Deck 9 for some drinks, we head back to Deck 4 where a small queue is waiting to meet Captain Hook and Mr Smee – so we stop for a few words with the dashing captain and his friendly sidekick.

Then we nip to the shops to treat ourselves to one of the cute little butterknives they use at Animators’ Palate.

And then it’s down one deck to the Atrium, to meet Pirate Stitch. Because, folks, tonight is Pirate Night!

So we go back to our stateroom to have a rest before we get changed into tonight’s gear. We haven’t gone ‘full pirate’ as frankly we have neither the money nor the luggage space! So Peter is wearing black jeans, a striped t-shirt and a nautically themed shirt. I’m wearing my flowered skirt from earlier, which I think looks vaguely bohemian, plus a black ‘serving wench’ style top, which I’ve sewn a row of plastic coins onto. We have also been given bandanas, which were left in our room last night. Unfortunately they are teeny-tiny and won’t fit our big heads, so Peter uses his as a pocket square, while I fashion mine into a hair tie.

As we come back upstairs we see people waiting to have their ‘photo of the day’. These are usually a big canvas showing somewhere the ship has been today, and as such we’ve not really thought them worth bothering with -why would I want to have a photo in front of a picture of Pisa, rather than actual Pisa? And it seems even more pointless having a photo in front of a picture of somewhere we didn't actually go to.

However, tonight’s is a rather nice pirate-themed background, so we decide to go for it and have a photo. The photographer gets us doing various poses - I'm not sure what this one was supposed to be!

[Gill H]

Then it’s time to go up to Animator’s Palate for tonight’s dinner – a much anticipated event. You may remember how much we enjoyed the ‘turning from black and white to colour’ effect the last time we ate there. Well, tonight’s experience is going to go one better, and allow us to become part of the show!

We greet our tablemates with a hearty ‘Arrr!’ and swap stories of what we’ve been doing today. They are very keen to know what port adventures DCL will organize for tomorrow’s unexpected docking at Marseille, but these won’t be announced until later tonight. So meanwhile we settle down to enjoy dinner.

I know some people have been less than thrilled with the pirate night menu. However, either DCL have dropped it this year, or Animator’s Palate have stuck with their usual menu for this experience, because there isn’t any pirate theming to the menu at all.

We start with sourdough bread and a roasted red pepper dip, and then have the appetizer sampler platter, which is the only choice offered. The menu describes this as “smoked duck breast with pickled red onions and ‘craisins’, dill-marinated shrimp with tomato-mayonnaise and horseradish, smoked salmon tartar with sour cream and cream cheese’. I’m afraid I don’t seem to have taken any photos of this!

In my defence, it’s a bit of a busy time. In between taking our orders and bringing our food and drink, Nikola and Amphie also furnish us with our special sheets of paper and pens. We’re instructed to each draw a character. There are some very specific restrictions – we have to draw inside the frame, keep the face forward, and not use any letters, words, symbols or numbers. As you saw earlier today, neither of us are skilled artists, but I end up with a figure vaguely reminiscent of me in my ‘serving wench’ top.

Peter meanwhile has gone for a completely different character – and why not, there’s no reason you have to draw yourself? We also have to add our name and table number (no, we are not claiming to be aged 12, that’s our table number…)

Once we’ve handed these in, our entrees arrive. I’ve gone for the ‘oven-baked lobster tail with sun-dried tomato, lemon pesto mash and roasted asparagus’. Let’s face it, how many times in my life will I get to eat lobster twice in one day?

Meanwhile Peter has chosen ‘pan-seared venison medallions with marinated red cabbage, potato croquettes and a port wine juniper sauce’. Both really good dishes with lots of flavour.

For dessert I have the ‘raspberry vanilla crème brulee with madeleines’. Now, normally madeleines are little boat-shaped sponge cakes, and famously the memory of eating them once inspired the philosopher Proust to write an entire book. Well, I’m not sure what these would have reminded him of, and perhaps it’s best not to ask…

Peter has chosen ‘chocolate lava cake served with double chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream’. (Incidentally, how do you tell if something is ‘double chocolate’ rather than just chocolate? How do I know how much chocolate the chef uses otherwise? Is it me?) Anyway, both desserts are pretty good.

Once the dishes are cleared away and we’re enjoying our coffee, the real fun begins. Mickey pops up on the screens to announce that the animation show is about to begin, and that we’ll all be starring in it. And then – well, it’s difficult to describe, but basically there’s a show on the screens putting together classic Disney clips – and our drawings have been brought to life as part of the show. We’re dancing with the characters and generally having a great time.

I'm going to embed Peter's video for today in here, to show you what I mean. If you like what you see, please do check out his other videos! (End of shameless plug.)



The thrill of seeing our drawings, rudimentary as they are, sharing the screen with Disney legends, is just amazing. And at the end, the credits roll, and our names are shown as Disney animators! This has got to be one of the best things I have ever seen done at a restaurant. I know it’ll never happen, but if DLP used this idea for a dinner show at Café Mickey, they would have people queueing right through the Village to get in.

[Gill H]

After dinner we take a quick trip back to our stateroom. Peter’s managed to get something on his stripey t-shirt and has to change, but fortunately his ‘explore’ t-shirt is still rather pirate-y.

We then go to Guest Services to do some more paying off. It might seem we’re doing this often, but there’s a reason. We are on something of a tight budget (I was supposed to be due a bonus at work, but it won’t be paid now till the end of the month) and we want to make absolutely sure how much we have left in dollars. This is because we’ve decided to buy a 10-photo package from Shutters, which will cost about $200. Wow, and I thought the DLP photopass was pricey!

Anyway, we drop by and pay off our balance, and say hello to a Stitch plushie who’s getting into the pirate mood. Cute!

We also pick up a new copy of the Navigator which now has details of the port adventures for Marseille tomorrow, but decide to stick to our original plan of just having a wander around, and coming back to the ship for lunch.

We consider queueing to meet Captain Jack Sparrow, but he is far and away the most popular character on the ship today – the queue to meet him is massive! So we give it a miss, and instead go to the Walt Disney Theatre for tonight’s show.

It’s a rather odd choice tonight – not a mini-musical, but a solo concert by a Broadway star. DCLdo a series of these – I would have loved to have seen Kerry Butler, who was on the ship in August. Her album ‘Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust’ contains some lovely reworkings of Disney songs, including a song written for Aladdin which got dropped – a sarcastic little number for Jasmine entitled “Call Me a Princess”. And I know that the transatlantic sailing is due to have Scarlett Strallen, who we’ve seen in many shows in the West End.

Tonight we have Josh Strickland, who is a new name to me, but was the original Tarzan on Broadway in, well, Disney’s Tarzan. And if you are now saying “Wait, there was a Tarzan stage show?” – yes there was, but it’s not yet come to the UK, though Germany has seen it already. Those lucky Germans have seen Disney’s stage version of ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ too, which is yet to come here.

But anyway, back to Mr Strickland. He’s a personable chap who takes us through a few of his favourite Disney stage numbers and explains their context and his connection with them. The stage is bare of decoration, and holds only Josh and his accompanist. After the elaborate sets of Twice Charmed and Tangled, this is a bit of a shock to the system. However, Josh certainly has the voice and personality to fill the space.

He starts with ‘Endless Night’ from The Lion King stage show. This comes at the point when Simba is missing his father’s guidance, and is originally a heartfelt song. But in this version it’s done in an upbeat, jazzy style that seems totally at odds with the lyrics.

However, he then moves on to the beautiful ‘Proud of Your Boy’ which didn’t make it into the film of Aladdin, but was reworked to go into the stage show. This is a song which never fails to elicit a tear or two from me, and Josh gives an excellent performance.

Next is Prince Eric’s song from the ‘Little Mermaid’ stage show. (Yes, there was one. No, it didn’t come here. Apparently it didn’t go down too well with audiences, who didn’t care for an Ariel who skated around on Heelys.) The song is ‘Her Voice’ and cleverly echoes some of the melody from ‘Part of Your World’.

Josh then gives us a version of ‘Under the Sea’ which is well sung, but so ‘white bread’ it’s not suitable for the gluten intolerant. Or indeed those who can’t have cheese. But you know me – cheese is always a good thing.

The next number is from Tarzan (and some of the audience may be thinking ‘About time!’) But there’s a twist. It’s in German! Josh performed in the German version as well as the Broadway one, and he does a good job of ‘Strangers Like Me’ or (dusts off rusty A-level German) ‘Fremde Wie Ich’. I still think that a Phil Collins song and a Broadway voice are not necessarily a perfect match, but if anyone can make it work, Josh can.

The next song is ‘My Strongest Suit’ from Disney’s ‘Aida’. This is definitely one for the ‘obscure’ list as it’s never been a film, and again, never made it to the UK. The song is a fun number with witty lyrics from Tim Rice, and though it is usually sung by a female character, that’s the joy of doing a solo concert – you can sing anything you like!

The last song is from a stage show that has yet to be performed, but of course everyone there knows the film, and most are probably word perfect on the song. Yes, it’s ‘Let It Go’ from the ubiquitous Frozen. For obvious reasons, he’s unlikely to be cast as Elsa (yes, that's right, he's far too old…) but it’s nice to hear it sung by a male voice for a change, and of course he encourages everyone to join in.

All in all, a very different evening, and perhaps not one that appeals as much to children, but for two theatre fans like us it’s great fun.

After the show there’s just time to pop to Shutters and order our photo package. There are 20 photos on our account, all of which are decent. If we’d booked the full package we probably could have racked up a lot more, but we’ve managed to get these without really spending any significant time queueing. It’s a shame we didn’t have the opportunity to have a photo in Palo, which I gather they do usually offer, but there was no photographer around during our dinner. Still, we manage to choose 10 photos and put our order in for the package, which we’re told we can pick up tomorrow.

And now folks, it’s finally time for the evening’s main event (or should that be mainsail event?) Yes, it’s the pirate deck party! Or to give it the official name, the ‘Pirates IN the Caribbean Party’ – even though we are not in the Caribbean right now. We know this gets popular, but we manage to get a spot fairly near the stage without too much trouble. There’s a fair bit of pushing and shoving going on, but we’re used to this and manage to let the little ones around us have a good view of the stage, without letting their parents use them as an excuse to barge past us.

I don't seem to have got any photos apart from one scene of roistering and revelry... no idea who these people are but again ... hello!

The pre-show features the hard working entertainment crew, dressed in pirate garb, who introduce each other and get the crowd doing some actions – waving, raising the sails and so on. Then we have an announcement from Mickey (who appears in silhouette on the screen) to say that ‘No matter what happens tonight, I’m on your side!’ Ooh, should we be worried? Anyway, with that, Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale take the stage in their best pirate gear and proceed to dance energetically to various pop songs, encouraging the crowd to join in.

The proceedings are interrupted by what I can only describe as a stage invasion by the cast of ‘Rock of Ages’. Yep, these guys are evidently the bad pirates, as opposed to Minnie and co who are the good pirates – are you following this? The bad guys, who are led by Captain Hook, proceed to commandeer the stage and dance to a selection of 1980s big-hair rock songs. Maybe it’s an age thing, but I like the bad guys’ playlist a bit more than Minnie’s. I never pictured Captain Hook as a Bon Jovi fan though. With his dress sense he’d have probably been a New Romantic.

Some ‘junior guest pirates’ are brought on stage to play air guitar to ‘The Final Countdown’ and then the proceedings are interrupted by Captain Mickey, who has arrived to scare off the bad guys. Normally Mickey ziplines down from the top deck, but tonight the winds are evidently too high. Instead he appears on the top deck, and then by a bit of ‘Mickey magic’ almost immediately takes the stage. He tells Hook and his crew where to get off, and scares them away with some fireworks. Yes, fireworks off the side of a cruise ship, to an amped-up version of the POTC ‘He’s a Pirate’ theme tune. That’s the Disney difference, folks.

The party continues with some more kid-friendly pop songs. If you have read GopherLass’s excellent trippie “The Uttermost Parts of the Sea” you’ll know that these include a song by Justin Timberlake – or as we must now call him “Justin Timberleg” (thanks for the joke, Poot!)

Once the party is over we decide to head for bed. We fancy a little taste of something, but of course Deck 9 is very crowded and it would take ages to wait for pizza, so instead we go back down to our stateroom and call room service. As you know by now, there’s no such thing as too much cheese – so we share a cheese platter, which just finishes off the day nicely.

And with that we put our pirate gear away and hit the hay after another fun sea day. Join us tomorrow for a wander round Marseille!


>>>Day 11

[Guest]

Hmm...should have taken notes on this post...but hopefully I will remember all the things I wanted to say!

We were always told that the "bus" in busboy is short for "omnibus" - because busboys do ALL the extra little jobs in a restaurant/club. That may not be true - but it's what I was taught as a kid.


Loved the pirate togs! We (did as you did and) made do with just a hint of pirate (our homemade hats and Poot's charity shop waistcoat - which I trimmed with silver anchor buttons) - but some people had REALLY gone to town. Forgive me if I've already rambled about this in YOUR trippie (but I *think* it was in mine...) - there was an English family on our sailing who had full Disneybounds packed for EVERY character meet and greet - as well as complete costumes for Pirate Night and (formal) gowns/tuxes...I'm sure their photos were fab, but HOLY CRAP! - can you imagine the luggage?!


And as for Broadway stars...we did not get Scarlett - we got a chap (whose name I don't remember - but who might have been YOUR man - as our sailing followed yours). Poot didn't fancy that show, so we skipped it, but Mrs. Arkansas described the performer as "Ham on a stick".

We also missed Junnk (slept through the show...but in our defense, the days leading up to the cruise had been rather...manic). Even though we missed the show - we appreciated the name - as now whenever we see something deliberately misspelled...Poot and I look at each other and say "Junnnnnnnnk". So thanks, lads!


PS: Thanks for the plug. And Poot will be gratified to hear that his joke...wait for it...has legs.

PPS: It never occurred to me to draw myself at AP! I wonder if most people do...

[Gill H]

Originally Posted by GopherLass

Hmm...should have taken notes on this post...but hopefully I will remember all the things I wanted to say!

See more...

Now you know how it feels ...

Thanks for reading and commenting!

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Gill H

Now you know how it feels ...

Thanks for reading and commenting!

See more...

Lol...I remembered what I forgot when I was talking to you back in my thread...it was about Disney Trivia CHEATERS!

But I also meant to say...those ain't no madeleines. Had Proust written a book about THOSE...well...that would have been a very different book!