What the ship has to offer ……..

Today was a day at sea, so we slept in a little, then around 8am got up and ready to have some breakfast. Again, we walked down to Lumiere’s and were quickly led to a table, where a server was already waiting and asking for our drinks order. Tom ordered some coffee, while I stuck with tea and we both ordered some orange juice. Next we were offered some Danish, which we both declined but soon the first part of our breakfast arrived.

We both had gone with our standard starter dishes, Tom had ordered the Swiss Bircher Muesli, Muesli with Raisins, Shredded Apples and Yogurt, while I went with the Mornin’ Tug Boat, fresh blend of Strawberries, Bananas, Almonds, Raisin Granola and Low-fat Yogurt. Both were as good as we remembered them from previous cruises and soon our mains arrived. This time Tom had ordered the Traditional Eggs Benedict, Toasted English Muffin with Grilled Canadian Bacon served with Poached Egg topped with Hollandaise Sauce, grilled Roma Tomatoes and link Sausages, while I had another favourite, the French Toast and Pineapple Stack, Layers of French Toast and Grilled Pineapple, topped with Strawberry Coulis, Maple Glaze and Fruit salad.

First off we headed into Fathoms and had a good look around. It’s an underwater theme, with jelly fish on the ceiling and fish on the walls. It was funny to see a display of Moet Ice in one of the bar windows, as this was one of the articles they had been “out of” during our summer cruise in 2014. Once we had finished our inspection we moved on to O’Gills. It was nice to take in some of the detail while the bar was empty. Our next stop was Keys, but they were just closing the doors to prepare for an event, so we headed upstairs and on to deck 4. It was a lovely day, so we just walked around the ship and enjoying the fresh air. By then it was time to head  back to the room to freshen up and get ready for our next appointment, the Castaway Club reception.

So, after chilling for a few minutes and getting changed, we walked down to the D-Lounge. We were greeted at the door, then asked inside, where we were offered some drinks, by our friend Nuna. We both decided on one, but she insisted we taste the rest of her drinks as well, so we ended up with two glasses each. It didn’t take long after we had sat down until a server came by to offer some canapes. I picked a cracker with some Camembert and a raspberry and some salmon, decorated with some caviar and chives. Tom had opted for the baguette, topped with green pepper chiffonade rolled into some prociutto and a virgin Bloody Mary shooter topped with a shrimp.

And while we started tasting our goodies the officers present were introduced and we were stunned again, as one of our favourites, hotel director Lloyd from India was on board as well. The officers made their rounds and we talked to some of them and finally it was Lloyd’s turn to make it to our table. One look and he smiled and said that he remembered us. Didn’t we go on a back to back the year before? Well, he got the year wrong, but the rest of his details was spot on. Very impressive. We chatted for quite some time, and since he asked about where we had been the summer before, we told him about our troubles on the Magic during the Med cruise. He was truly shocked and hoped that we had a better impression of the ship now. But then it was time for him to step aside as the reception was now in full swing and Captain Mickey and Commodore Tom were on stage. Captain Tom gave practically the same speech he always does and didn’t really answer the more substantial questions. And soon the reception was over and we were given Rice Krispy Mickey heads as a thank you for coming to the reception. We again headed back to our room and after emptying the Fish Extender again we chilled in the room for a while before starting to assemble our next Fish Extender gift bags. Once we were done with them, we stored them all in our delivery bag and headed back to Lumiere’s for lunch.

Again, we were greeted at the entrance and quickly led to a table and handed the menu. And while we were still studying it, our server, who came from our neighbouring country of Hungary introduced himself and the assistant server. We were then served our Diet Cokes before we put in our order. There was also a basket full of fresh dinner rolls and slices of Baguette, which we enjoyed with some butter. We both ordered the same starter, the Vegetable Quesadillas, served with Guacamole, Sour Cream and Pico de Gallo, which were as good as we remembered them. The restaurant was pretty empty, so we got to chat with the server for a while before our main courses arrived. Tom had ordered The Angus Chuck Burger, a grilled half pound burger, served with bacon, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and onions and served with Coleslaw and French Fries. Needless to say Tom needed some ketchup as well and so the assistant server created the perfect Mickey ketchup. My choice was easy as well, as I just love their Grilled Halibut with a Tomato, Olive and Garlic Sauce, served with Herb Safron Rice. I am not a huge fan of Herb Safron Rice, so I asked if they could substitute mash for the rice and it was not problem. Both dishes were really nice and I have to admit, that Tom’s portion was pretty big and there was no chance he could finish it. For dessert Tom had ordered the Apple Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream and I stuck with my old favourite, the Key Lime Pie, Lime Custard on Graham Cracker and a Meringue Topping.

Once we had enjoyed our desserts we headed back to our room for some rest. We grabbed some drinks out of our fridge and sat out on the veranda, enjoying the view of the deep blue sea.

But soon we had to leave again, as we wanted to watch the “Anyone Can Cook” presentation, which was apple strudel that day. On the way to the D-Lounge we passed the DVC desk and one of the representatives looked very familiar. So we stopped and asked if he had been on one of our former cruises and yes, he had been. It was no wonder that he did not remember us, but when we mentioned that we had handed out Milka chocolate on that cruise, he quickly remembered us. So we chatted for a while and he introduced us to his colleagues before we had to leave for the presentation. Watching someone prepare strudel is so fun to us as strudel is something so common here and you can spot any mistakes right away.

We sat and watched and had a lot of fun and even enjoyed the sample we got to try. The wine they offered with it was far too sweet for us, even with dessert.

After the presentation we wandered the ship a bit, looked at the artwork they had to offer before we headed back to our room to pick up our Fish Extender gifts and handed them out all over the ship. When we were done we went back to our room and had a little downtime before we headed to the Walt Disney Theatre for this evening’s performance of “Twice Charmed: An Original Twist on the Cinderella Story, which we had already seen before and quite liked. We arrived a bit early and enjoyed the theatre and the hustle and bustle before the show. The show itself was as cute as always and we really enjoyed it. When it was over we went to visit Oksana for a while as there was no one in her little shop and she had lots of time to chat.

Soon it was about time to get back to our stateroom to get ready for dinner. Dinner was in Animators’ Palate today and we arrived shortly after they had opened the door, so no long wait for us. We were greeted at the door and taken to our table which was close to a serving station. Our assistant server was quickly at hand with our Diet Cokes and asked if we wanted something else, but we did not find any specialty drink that tickled our fancy, so we declined. He  then went and got us a basket full of the freshly baked bread, which had this day's special bread, the Garlic and Herb Focaccia, served with Rosemary Virgin Olive Oil.

We had had quite a lot to eat over the day, so we were not overly hungry and only had one starter each. I had known which one I wanted to have, long before we even sat down, the Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes, Pasta Purses filled with Truffle-Scented Cheese and coated with a Champagne Sauce. Tom chose another old favourite, the Baked Potato and Cheddar Cheese Soup, with bacon bits and chives. Main courses arrived soon after we had finished our starters. Tom had the Seared Red Snapper with Scallops, Crushed New Potatoes, Leeks and a Red Wine Sauce. My choice was the Ginger Teriyaki dusted Angus Beef Tenderloin on Wasabi Mashed Potatoes with Bok Choy and a Tamarind Barbecue Reduction.

Both did not disappoint and while we were still eating we found it quite cute to see the “older” show where the servers change their waist coats and watch the pictures on the screens come to life. Mickey leads a procession around the room and it was really fun to watch. After that we were served our dessert, being some of the last people who had not had dessert before the show. Tom had ordered the Cookies’n’Cream Sundae, Cookies’n’Cream Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce and Chocolate Chip Cookies, while I had ordered the Duo Chocolate Cake, Layers of Brownie and Truffle Mousse with Caramel Sauce. After finishing our desserts we said goodbye to our servers and went to chat with Oksana again, but since she was now more busy, we headed on to O’Gills to check in with Nuna. She was busy too, but found us a seat and we soon found ourselves ordering some drinks. Tom wanted to have an O’Gills, since they had been out of it during our summer cruise and Nuna told me that she had something special for me too. Soon she returned with the beer for Tom and glass of Moet Ice. We all laughed,  and she mentioned that since I had not been able to order it during the summer, she was sure that I needed to catch up with it again. It was such a cute thought of her and well appreciated. We sat for a while, with Nuna stopping by whenever she could but we were getting tired and left about half an hour later to return to our stateroom and fall into bed.