The ABCs of a Very Merry Christmastime Land and Sea Adventure-E is for: Eggs-eptional Brunch with Exceptional Service! (1/21)

[pkondz]

Nope not a drinker. Must be one of those enzyme things--I've taken a sip from time to time to test this for science, but each time, my taste buds just recoil at the bitter alcohol flavor. Just a no go for me....so Liesa was definitely well supplied tonight.

That's me and red wine. I like sweeter whites and would've most likely been fine with the bubbly, but...

I don't like raw proteins...nope, nope, nope.

Whelp. I was going to send you a fine selection of tuna tartare, but...

I have been known on past occasions to disguise unexpected seared fish under the accompanying side of mashed potatoes.

As you may have detected, I've not ingested much at this point.

Had noticed.
Did you get something to eat after?

My cow protein in particular must be brown--no red, no pink, so stringy bits just nice well done brown.

Well, dang!
Here I'd just put the kibosh on the tuna and now you're saying the beef tartare is a no go too?

Whelp, there's one thing left that's a sure thing...

I am not big on chocolate, especially dark chocolate,

Three strikes I'm out! There goes my fine collection of Belgian dark chocolates.

(I don't particularly care for dark chocolate either. Love milk chocolate, thought.)

but considering I was starving, I did clean my plate on this one...

Pretty dessert.

 

[Malia78]

I'm confused why she wanted to attend this, then?

I've been on a lot of Disney cruises and this wasn't about me--sounded like something Liesa would enjoy and I wanted the trip to be the best it could be.

Did you get something to eat after?

Technically speaking, I did eat the chocolate left with turn down service. Nothing else that night though...

 

[pkondz]

I've been on a lot of Disney cruises and this wasn't about me--sounded like something Liesa would enjoy and I wanted the trip to be the best it could be.

Awww...
Very nice of you.

Technically speaking, I did eat the chocolate left with turn down service. Nothing else that night though...

Bet you were ready to eat when breakfast time rolled around!

 

[Steppesister]

That is wildly bad service!! I'm so surprised! Maybe because it was such a large group seated at your table?? I haven't sat at a table more than 4, so I'm not sure, but this definitely seems out of the ordinary. Poor Kari--that baked bree is totally delicious. I would've been sad to miss it, LOL!

I honestly had no idea what to expect. AT all. So I just thought maybe that's the way it was- kinda helping you have a leeeeeeeeeeeeiiisurely dinner. LOL! I truly wasn't that annoyed but was pretty thirsty. I certainly could be that it was a large group. Maybe @Malia78 has more thoughts. They more than redeemed themselves at upcoming meals so got good reviews in the end.

Such a lovely picture of you ladies!! Glad you got to enjoy the extra drinkables, as well. My Mom isn't a drinker either, so on our cruise, I got to have doubles at the mixology class and chocolate/liquor tastings. Lucky us!

It was far too much for me. <hiccup> but I powered through the extra gifts and safely made it home. LOL! I think @franandaj has done double dipping as well at some of her tastings if I remember, when Fran didn't care for some things.

 

[Steppesister]

I think that's fairly common?

Perhaps? I can only compare to HAL and Celebrity but yes, there are 2 set times you can choose from (first come first serve at choosing and I have been on one cruise where the early option was sold out) but there has also been open seating in a different area that you can choose to go to.

Really! So not always in a main dining room. That makes it better... I think?

IT does give variety...

Interesting. I wonder if that's the industry norm.

Again, I can only compare with the 2 other cruise lines, but no I don't think it's an industry norm. The other lines had the buffet option open until 8:30 or 9:00 and you could go there, the fast food places, OR the Main Dining Room. I like to have options in case I am running out of steam from a long day of shore excursions or just don't want to sit through a waited event. However, I will say DCL makes the venues so fun with the theming and there is definitely something to be said for a consistent staff over the course of the entire trip. They really get to know you and your tastes and that does add a special touch. I liked that.

How does one go about having a Kari-led vacation?


Asking for a friend.

LOL!! It'd be fun to do another group trip. We all had a lot of fun at the PNWMM!!!

I've seen those napkins before. Such a nice touch.

MOST definitely! Disney is all about the scrumptious details!

Yikes. I don't know if I'm naive, but this thought never occurred to me.

Yep, roll the dice and take your chances. It all ended up fine in the end, but was definitely a little awkward at first.

Almost an hour wait to not get a salad...

Was odd for sure.

 

[Steppesister]

Sorry for the split reply. The DIS wouldn't let me quote after where I left off. Weird!!!

It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out what I was looking at.

Ha! I wonder how many folks catch that? Same with the details in the parks. So many just run on by so they can catch the next ride.

Love this!

Wonderful detail of design.

Even in the original language.
Interesting that the title is slightly different.

Pray tell... I can run it through a translator, but why when you can tell me?

A first night event, only on the first night? How odd!

Okay, fine, bad use of semantics. BUT, I wonder if they could make a killing doing a series, and add "Secondi Notte"?

I'm confused why she wanted to attend this, then?

Because she's a wonderfully amazing friend and thought I'd enjoy it.

I did.

Immensely.

Lovely shot of you both.

(And nice of Kari to hold your glass for you. )

To be fair, she did take one sip.

Huh. Had no idea. Now need to try them side by side.

... in the right stemware.

Good thing. You need all the food you can put in your stomach right now.

Understatement of the year.

A far cry from your last foray into trying to eat.

For sure.

Yeah... It's apparently quite common to pass off inferior cuts as wagyu to justify a price increase.

I get that. And maybe some would be fooled. Not this chick. Gimme the good stuff!

Did they shut you down???

Nope, Kari gave me a word of warning/reminder/clarification and I complied.

If the ship's a rockin'
It's because Liesa's been a knockin'
(them back with wild abandon)

 

[Steppesister]

Three strikes I'm out! There goes my fine collection of Belgian dark chocolates.

(I don't particularly care for dark chocolate either. Love milk chocolate, thought.)

Weirdos.

I've been on a lot of Disney cruises and this wasn't about me--sounded like something Liesa would enjoy and I wanted the trip to be the best it could be.

You are simply the bestest! I had just the most marvelous time! It was so relaxing and I loved being pampered and seeing what all this DCL hype was about.

I've been initiated.

 

[pkondz]

Again, I can only compare with the 2 other cruise lines, but no I don't think it's an industry norm. The other lines had the buffet option open until 8:30 or 9:00 and you could go there, the fast food places, OR the Main Dining Room.

Odd that they wouldn't do that, then.

I like to have options in case I am running out of steam from a long day of shore excursions or just don't want to sit through a waited event.

LOL!! It'd be fun to do another group trip. We all had a lot of fun at the PNWMM!!!

We did!

Sorry for the split reply. The DIS wouldn't let me quote after where I left off. Weird!!!

I (and others) have been having some issues with the Dis, lately. I made a post on the tech board. We'll see...

Pray tell... I can run it through a translator, but why when you can tell me?

Oh, nothing major. The English title is 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea whereas the French one is 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas (plural).

Okay, fine, bad use of semantics. BUT, I wonder if they could make a killing doing a series, and add "Secondi Notte"?

Nah. Disney rarely tries to make extra money off its guests.

Because she's a wonderfully amazing friend and thought I'd enjoy it.

I did.

Immensely.

I saw that.

To be fair, she did take one sip.

You allowed that? Generous of you.

Nope, Kari gave me a word of warning/reminder/clarification and I complied.

Poop. Would've been more fun (for us) if it had been a CM.

Weirdos.

Actually, it's two against one here, so that technically makes you the weirdo!

 

[Steppesister]

E is for: Eggs-eptional Brunch with Excellent Service!​

It may not surprise you too terribly much that I didn’t feel too well the next morning. My head was swimmy til quite late, and I woke up incredibly thirsty and with a horrible headache a couple of times during the night. Hangover much?

By the time our morning needed to get started, though, I was feeling well enough to head to our next hoity-toity event- yep, back to Palo for a lovely Brunch. It was perfect in every way.

We’d tied up at Nassau in the wee hours, but I had no plans to venture out. We’d both decided that a relaxing day onboard was a better option for us and what a better way to begin it than by pigging out at a window table with a view? Did I take a photo of the view? Nope. But I did take a picture of the exquisite atrium on the way there. It never got old.

​

We were seated right away and given a lovely bread basket to start with. I also ordered a latte and was offered a mimosa. I mean why not? It’s not like I had very much booze the night before. Kari chose an OJ, if I remember right?

​

I guess I’m easily amused but I thought the sugar assortment was hilarious. I’ve never been served a variety of sugar options quite like this, but I went with my usual- the turbinado. He even explained how each one would “behave” in the coffee, this one or that one taking longer to dissolve, etc… At this point he also offered to bring us a fresh croissant; I chose almond. @Malia78 did you get a chocolate one? My notes are TERRIBLE from this day! When the server brought our drinks, he took our orders.

​

I chose to begin with the celery soup and follow with the Wild Mushroom Ravioli. While I was feeling better than during the night, I still wasn’t feeling amazing or ravenous either, even if we’d not eaten a real dinner the night before! Kari, please help me out with what you ordered! I *think* you got a bowl of the tomato soup and for sure a margherita flatbread that I had a piece of, but I for sure don’t remember what you had for your main. Was it the chicken parm?

I can only speak for my own food and declared it outstanding. The soup was out-of-this-world! It was very flavorful and not too thick and gloppy or too thin either. Just yum! The flatbread that I tried of Kari’s was quite good as well. I was already getting a bit filled up from the croissant and soup and knew I still had an entrée coming, so only had one small piece.

​

The ravioli made up for the prior night’s lack of quantity in gnocchi, however it wasn’t quite as tasty as that was. This ravioli had lots of great flavors, but the dough was a bit on the tough side. Despite that, I made a pretty decent dent in it and ate 3 of them. Oink. I loved the sauce which helped with the chewy pasta.

​

Kari wanted dessert and ordered Zabaglione. When she ordered it, I confused that with Pavlova so was perplexed when it arrived. HAHA!! It was basically custard with fruit, not a crunchy meringue. Silly me! It’s not my favorite, but I did taste it and as custards go it was fine. I don’t do pudding/custard-like foods like plain yogurt without crunch, oatmeal unless it’s steel-cut, bananas, etc… It’s a texture thing. Blech.

​

With that, Brunch at Palo was over and it was time for a nap. Yep, this old fogey went to bed and slept until 3:15. It was glorious, and I woke up feeling pretty good. In fact, I was feeling pretty spicy and ready to get my Pirate on. While not every Disney Cruise has a Pirate Night, most do, including this one. Admittedly, Kari probably told me about this, but if she had, I’d forgotten. I had not one single thing to gussy up with but luckily, the ship provided every guest with small bandana that I made good use of. I also used the scarf I’d packed as a sash of sorts. Good enough. On the way to dinner, I ran into an old friend. He noticed the bling on my scarf, and I let him know I’d be willing to barter- he said he had some rum to trade; after my previous night’s debauchery, I told him he could keep it- no deal. We yo-ho’d it up a bit, I stole his boat, and off I went.

​

I hoisted sail I ended up in other locations. Oddly, it turned out to be a glass bottom skiff which gave me a great view of the reef in Cabanas. (Which was closed)

​

Sailing further on, I found myself near Atlantica to say hi to Eric and Ariel. Unfortunately, they were busy and not receiving guests.

​

My ocean voyage ended back at yet another royal palace and I’d shown up just in time for dinner!

With a regal welcome, we were seated at our table of 8 and given these super fun menus. Mickey’s own pirate barquentine with a sail emblazoned with his unique Jolly Roger was also anchored offshore to join in the ruckus. As host, this seemed fitting. He’s taken the spirit of piracy to new levels best exhibited by the prices exacted in his established cities near Orlando, Anaheim, and Tokyo.

​

The service was so much better than the previous night and started with a heartfelt, sincere apology for how things had gone. Drinks came very quickly, and our orders were placed promptly. I do not have a photo of the menu choices for the meal, but I do know I started with a crab cake. Had this been all I ordered I’d have been satisfied. It was a good-sized portion and fairly filling.

​

But that’s not how things generally go on cruises. So, I behaved appropriately and ordered a butternut squash soup and a big plate of pasta with seafood. The soup was yummy, the pasta so-so. It wasn’t because it was lacking in flavor so much, but the oddest thing happened here. Just as I was about to dig in, the under-server came over and started to shell my shrimp. It didn’t come out easily and by the time he was done my meal was lukewarm. I’ve never seen this before. Sure, definitely with lobster, but shrimp? Huh! Anyway, by the time he was done, the dish was just not a great as it could have been nice and hot. I will say the scallops were done very well with a nice sear and still juicy and tender.

​

You’d think surely, I was done. No way! The dessert menu looked tantalizing, and I ended up with one of these. I cannot tell you which, so it must have been acceptable but not overly memorable. I do remember being grossly overfull and needing to walk off some of the extra I clearly had no business ordering.

​

As we strolled, we came across the lighted-gift photo op and took advantage. I consistently look outrageously cheesy. Oh well. LOL!

​

We also ended up browsing in the gift shop and I bought a pin for the pin board. I was a bit sad that there wasn’t a Merrytime Christmas pin with the ship’s name on it but this sufficed. And with that we headed to the room. There were a couple more goodies to put on our tree while Davy Jones made an appearance to round out our pirate-themed evening.

​

The weather was absolutely terrible with rough seas that would only grow worse… much worse. I was sure they’d scrap the fireworks and decided to forego the windy decks. I was a bit sad to find out the next morning that they indeed proceeded with the party and fireworks. Ah well.

Instead, I’m pretty sure that this was the evening I put on Moana 1 and tried to digest my overindulgence. I made it through about 2/3 of it and gave up. To this day I still have not seen the entire movie. I ditched Disney+ years ago when I found myself paying for a service that I just don’t have time to use. Kari had fallen asleep sometime during the movie; I turned it off and fell asleep myself ready to dream of chests of (pirate) gold I’ll never have.

And now for our ABC's of Christmas...

D is for:

Dreidels

​

and Dancers and Drums!

​

E is for:

Elves

(You gotta hunt a bit to find this elf!) ​

And Eggnog

(The eggnog custard was phenomenal!)​

 

[Malia78]

I certainly could be that it was a large group. Maybe @Malia78 has more thoughts.

8 top is a larger table size but big family groups or multi- family/friend groups are not uncommon. The serving teams are assigned a certain number of diners--should not have been more than they could handle. Just a rough opening night.

The other lines had the buffet option open until 8:30 or 9:00 and you could go there

The buffet restaurant was a sit down option for dinner pre covid. Never came back after covid.

 

[pkondz]

It may not surprise you too terribly much that I didn’t feel too well the next morning.

Can't for the life of me figure out why that could be.

My head was swimmy til quite late,

Well, sure... you'd pickled it. Makes sense.

and I woke up incredibly thirsty and with a horrible headache a couple of times during the night. Hangover much?

what a better way to begin it than by pigging out at a window table with a view?

Did I take a photo of the view? Nope.

TR fail!!

But I did take a picture of the exquisite atrium on the way there. It never got old.

Okay... you've redeemed yourself.
That's one stunning atrium!

I also ordered a latte and was offered a mimosa. I mean why not? It’s not like I had very much booze the night before.

I guess I’m easily amused but I thought the sugar assortment was hilarious. I’ve never been served a variety of sugar options quite like this, but I went with my usual- the turbinado. He even explained how each one would “behave” in the coffee, this one or that one taking longer to dissolve, etc…

I actually find that fascinating. Who knew!

My notes are TERRIBLE from this day!

Gee... can't imagine why that would be...

I chose to begin with the celery soup and follow with the Wild Mushroom Ravioli.

Sounds pretty good to me.

I can only speak for my own food and declared it outstanding.

Great!

Now I want good celery soup... and the best I can think of is Campbell's.

The soup was out-of-this-world! It was very flavorful and not too thick and gloppy or too thin either. Just yum!

Man, that sounds good!

This looks delicious!

This ravioli had lots of great flavors, but the dough was a bit on the tough side.

Unfortunate. So had great promise but failed on the execution.

Despite that, I made a pretty decent dent in it and ate 3 of them. Oink.

Yep, this old fogey went to bed and slept until 3:15.

I had not one single thing to gussy up with but luckily, the ship provided every guest with small bandana that I made good use of. I also used the scarf I’d packed as a sash of sorts. Good enough.

Smart. I don't think I would've been as creative.

he said he had some rum to trade; after my previous night’s debauchery, I told him he could keep it- no deal.

I actually thought maybe you'd try to drink him under the table...

We yo-ho’d it up a bit, I stole his boat, and off I went.

You look terrific! Wouldn't have guessed you hadn't planned your outfit.

It's tile?!?!?!?!?

I found myself near Atlantica to say hi to Eric and Ariel. Unfortunately, they were busy and not receiving guests.

Snobs.

My ocean voyage ended back at yet another royal palace and I’d shown up just in time for dinner!

At first I was confused... Wait... didn't you just eat?
Forgot about the nap.

sail emblazoned with his unique Jolly Roger

I like that.

He’s taken the spirit of piracy to new levels best exhibited by the prices exacted in his established cities near Orlando, Anaheim, and Tokyo.

Touché!

The service was so much better than the previous night and started with a heartfelt, sincere apology for how things had gone.

Hmmm... had you (or Kari) complained? Or was it just based on you leaving without eating?

I started with a crab cake. Had this been all I ordered I’d have been satisfied. It was a good-sized portion and fairly filling.

[][/]

Looks huge. And... the green onions look like Mickey.

But that’s not how things generally go on cruises. So, I behaved appropriately and ordered a butternut squash soup and a big plate of pasta with seafood.

Smart. It's Pirate night so let's see if you can explode yourself!

Just as I was about to dig in, the under-server came over and started to shell my shrimp. It didn’t come out easily and by the time he was done my meal was lukewarm. I’ve never seen this before.

Ummm... what? That's... very unnecessary. And frankly, I'd be a bit annoyed. "I'm trying to eat, here."

I do remember being grossly overfull and needing to walk off some of the extra I clearly had no business ordering.

<urp>
And off waddles Steppesister.

Cute. I like that shot.

Cool pirate towel!

I was sure they’d scrap the fireworks and decided to forego the windy decks. I was a bit sad to find out the next morning that they indeed proceeded with the party and fireworks. Ah well.

Oops. Lesson learned... and opportunity missed!

I’m pretty sure that this was the evening I put on Moana 1 and tried to digest my overindulgence. I made it through about 2/3 of it and gave up.

Did you digest the other 1/3 the next day?

(You gotta hunt a bit to find this elf!)

Found it!

And Eggnog

[][/]

Wowza!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I guess I’m easily amused but I thought the sugar assortment was hilarious. I’ve never been served a variety of sugar options quite like this, but I went with my usual- the turbinado.

The sugar assortment looks unusual. I would think that it would be tricky to get the correct amount of sweetening with those "clumpy looking" granules.

This ravioli had lots of great flavors, but the dough was a bit on the tough side.

They must have made the ravioli ahead of time and then sautéed it or something before serving.

I had not one single thing to gussy up with but luckily, the ship provided every guest with small bandana that I made good use of. I also used the scarf I’d packed as a sash of sorts.

You look very pirate-y.

Just as I was about to dig in, the under-server came over and started to shell my shrimp.

One of my pet peeves is having shrimp in the shell on an entree. There is no way to peel it when it is served hot and on a plate with sauce without a lot of trouble.

Davy Jones made an appearance to round out our pirate-themed evening.

It's cute, but what is it?

I was a bit sad to find out the next morning that they indeed proceeded with the party and fireworks. Ah well.

I've heard that once the fireworks are loaded, they have to set them off or it becomes a fire hazard. You'll find that in the parks when delayed fireworks go off in the middle of the night, after a rain delay.