All at Sea: DCL UK Staycation Day 2 - 21 Aug 2021

[Gill H]

<<Day 1


I had set my phone alarm for 6:50 am so I could throw some clothes on before our coffee and pastries arrived. However, due to the current restrictions the crew were just knocking the door and leaving trays outside the room, so I needn’t have worried – by the time I opened the door there was no-one there. It was at this point that I discovered I wasn’t able to tip via the app, but I did add a tip later by visiting Guest Services.

I woke Peter and we had a nice time on the verandah eating our pastries and drinking coffee, before getting ready for the day. Today was ‘Marvel Day at Sea’ and we planned to search out a few characters first thing.

First of all we headed to Fathoms where there was a small queue to meet Spiderman. I wish you could have seen the awesome costume of the young woman next to me in the queue – I’m not sure who it was, but definitely someone Spiderverse related, and she had obviously gone to a great deal of trouble with it. As usual, there were people showing their ‘Marvel side’ with t-shirts, ears and a few more elaborate costumes too. I loved how easy it was to strike up conversations with complete strangers on the ship – everyone is friendly and everyone ‘gets it’.

Spidey was fun, and was kind enough to record a brief birthday message for our friend David in Florida. I can tell you that David was thrilled when we sent him the video! But we were so busy doing that, we didn't have time to pose for a picture properly.

We moved on to O’Gills for a Marvel trivia quiz, at which we scored a disappointing 9 out of 25. Must try harder! Then just as we came out of O’Gills we spotted Black Widow going into Fathoms, so we joined the queue and had a good chat with her. I always try to think of unusual things to say, so I said we were thinking of visiting Budapest and wondered if she had any tips. She suggested avoiding the railway station! (If that makes no sense, watch ‘Black Widow’.)

Then it was up to the Walt Disney Theater to meet Chip and Dale in their Thor and Loki outfits. We had a great chat with a lady in the queue whose daughter was dressed as Rapunzel. We asked if they were going to the Tangled show that night – and as we had heard a little gossip in the queue, we were able to tell the mum that the CM looking after the meet was friends with Flynn Rider…!

Chip and Dale were fun, although we weren’t able to persuade them to do ‘Get help’. But they did some ‘strong arm’ poses for us.

After a browse in the shops we came back to our room to get changed. We had to go for a brief wander first, as Wibi was making up our room, but we still had plenty of time to get ready for our brunch at Palo.

[Gill H]

On our previous cruise we had experienced both brunch and dinner at Palo. However, on such a short cruise we didn’t want to miss any of the main dining rooms, and so had decided on brunch. We knew there had been a few changes to arrangements, including the removal of the much-loved buffet section. This had put quite a few people off booking – the buffet is utterly superb. But we had decided it would still be worth the upcharge (which had gone up to $45 per person, another unpopular change!) I have to say though, it was worth the money. The service was flawless and the food amazing. Again, I’m afraid I hadn’t taken note of the names of our servers but all the staff were excellent and went out of their way to make the meal special.

We began with a complimentary bellini and our choice of baked goods. Mine was a pastry with crčme pâtissiere and berries. Peter went for a blueberry muffin. Both were incredibly light as well as delicious. We could have had more but wanted to save space!

Next it was time to investigate the bread basket, which came with olive oil for dipping.

Peter had chosen the antipasto meat platter and I had gone for the seafood one, so that we could share everything.

Next we chose egg florentine for me and egg benedict for Peter – both perfectly cooked.

Then it was time for the main course. I chose the chicken parmigiana, which comes highly recommended, and I could see why. Simply one of the best things I have ever eaten.

Peter went for the lasagne, which he enjoyed but once he tasted the chicken parm he decided that would be his choice next time. And oh yes, there will be a next time.

At this point, Peter asked whether a photographer would be coming round. Apparently this normally happens at Palo, though we must have missed it on our last cruise. We explained that we were celebrating our 25th anniversary (OK, just over a year late, but if Disney can stretch out their celebrations so can we!) We were told that this was not happening routinely at the moment, but they would phone down and ask a photographer to come to the restaurant.

Meanwhile we ordered two lattes to go with our desserts. When the lattes arrived, they were accompanied by a ‘Happy anniversary’ plate which was a nice touch.

At this point I went over to say a quick hello to Robyn and Simon again, as they were sitting further into the restaurant. I’m sure they enjoyed their meal just as much as we did.

The photographer then arrived and took some lovely photos which we were very pleased with. He ended up going round the whole restaurant so other people got the benefit too.

My dessert was the tiramisu which was beautifully presented.

Peter went for the Limoncello almond torte, a nice refreshing end to the meal.

[Gill H]

After such a wonderful meal there was really only one thing to do – head back to our stateroom for a little time inspecting the inside of our eyelids. When we got to our room we discovered that we’d been left a present – some Mickey rice krispie treats. Needless to say, we left these for another day!

Some time later, we changed into our ‘normal’ clothes again and went to Fathoms to try our hand at the theme park trivia quiz. As we’re hosts of a Disney park related podcast this was definitely one we wanted to win! However, we ended up coming second with a creditable score of 21 out of 25. Following the quiz we stuck around for a game of bingo, hosted by the energetic David who was great fun and kept the atmosphere lively. We didn’t win anything but we had fun nevertheless.

We spotted Captain Mickey and Captain Mickey in the D-Lounge so went to say hello.

Then it was up to deck 9 for a cold drink, and Peter grabbed a bratwurst from the Duck-In Diner.

We wandered for a while before going back to our stateroom to change for dinner, which tonight was at Lumiere’s. We decided to change back into our Palo outfits for dinner, and stopped by the atrium for some more photos.

[Gill H]

Lumiere’s was beautiful, and the addition of a pianist enhanced the atmosphere. It’s interesting that many people seem to regard it as the odd one out these days, since the other two restaurants both have a ‘show’ element now. It certainly feels the most ‘grown up’ of the three.

I started with deep fried brie with a cranberry and orange chutney, and Peter had the escargots. Both were excellent, and the meal was off to a good start.

For the main course, I ordered the rack of lamb with dauphinoise potatoes, buttered brussels sprouts and a burgundy rosemary sauce.

Peter ordered the roasted duck breast with cabbage, shallots, honey parsnip mash and a red wine jus.

Both were of excellent quality and beautifully served, but unfortunately both arrived cold. Not just ‘not quite hot enough’ but almost completely cold. We discreetly flagged down our server, who took them away and replaced them with versions which were just about hot enough. Sadly they were also a little overcooked this time, whereas the previous versions had been just right. We decided to cut our losses and eat them – they were nice enough but could have been so much better.

For dessert, I ordered the Grand Marnier souffle.

Our server told us that as we were celebrating our anniversary that day, he had a little something for us, so Peter didn’t order a dessert. Sure enough, a lovely little chocolate cake soon arrived, and we shared both desserts.

[Gill H]

After dinner we went to Fathoms for Disney tunes trivia, and then went to the theatre for tonight’s show, which was Tangled. They really have done an excellent job adapting the story for the stage, even adding some new songs such as ‘Flynn Rider, Wanted Man’ which is fun. The show was superb and we were particularly impressed with the actress who played Mother Gothel – who you’ll hear more about in tomorrow’s trippie.

Then it was off to the D-Lounge for a family quiz based on ‘emotions’, as we knew there would be a character appearance at the end. I have to be honest and say that I think you really need children with you to get the most out of the family quizzes, but both participating families had fun, and we got to have some pictures with Joy from Inside Out afterwards.

We grabbed a cold drink on deck 9 and shared a slice of pizza from Pinocchio’s, before going back to Fathoms for karaoke. Robyn and Simon were there with a friend, and we joined them for a drink and a chat. I had a glowtini, or a ‘Blue Tang’ as they are known on the ships. It looks more green than blue here, and certainly wasn't the colour of Dory, who is the most famous blue tang I know!

I tried my hand at a karaoke favourite, Dolly Parton’s ‘9 to 5’ and all I can say is, never try to sing that song in a mask! It really wasn’t my finest hour. Peter joined me for a go at ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ which wasn’t too bad considering we couldn’t really hear ourselves. And with that we headed back to our stateroom, phoned to order coffee for the morning, and were asleep almost straight away.

Join us tomorrow for magic photos, tequila tasting and our last full day on board.

>>Day 3

INDEX

[P&S]

Another lovely day, just s shame the food is not hot, a real dislike of mine! It all looks delicious though. Some lovely pictures today