The Widow & the Spinster Take a Bougie WBTA Cruise That Didn't Suck! - Yet Another Day at Sea, and a Little Too Much Mixology! 3/6

[franandaj]

Day 14

As I mentioned in the last update, ever since we left Ponta Delgada, we had been setting our clocks back one hour. Considering that Jill and I were asleep by 9PM, it was difficult to sleep all the way through the night. I woke up at the new 6AM which I figured was a reasonable time to get up.

I figured that no one else would be doing it so I started some laundry. I was wrong.

Two machines were already in use when I got to the laundry room. I went to Deck 5 where there were five machines. I only had one load anyways, so it was fine. I brought the hamper back to the room and went down to the Vista Cafe and got coffee. About this time my washer was finished so I switched the laundry to the dryer and set it for 40 minutes.

Here is our progress across the Ocean.

Jill and I went up to the buffet and got Breakfast. I was craving those Mickey Churro Waffles and they were so good again! The Special K wasn't so good. I forgot that the cereals are British and not American. It tasted stale to me, but I'm sure it's just a different recipe. It was well within the date.

While we were eating breakfast I got the notification that the dryer was done. It had only been 20 minutes since I put it in!

I picked up my laundry on the way back from breakfast. When I got back to the room Jill was watching the documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty. It was a 2009 look back at the Jeffrey Katzenberg era of Disney when Animation seemed dead, and how it was resurrected through a series of movies in the early 1990s.

After that was over, we decided to play another round of Midship detective. This time we solved the case of the lost puppies. This is the unique ID card that you get to identify yourself to the pictures on the walls.

This is the ship map to show you where the various pictures are located.

And your list of suspects.

You stand on the sensor on the floor and wave the card at the pictures and this symbol appears and registers your ID card.

Then the pictures becomes animated and reveals part of the story.

When you leave the picture goes back to what it was before you activated the game.

We finished just in time for lunch. I think this is when this happened, and if not, it’s as good a time as any to share this story. Because of how terrible the Remy Dinner was, we did not want to return for our second dinner, and we really didn’t want to do lunch there. Also, I had looked at the MDR menus for dinner, and our second Palo Dinner was on the same night that we would be having the lobster menu.

We decided to go up to the check in desk for Remy and Palo, and see if we could change the Palo dinner to the night we would have previously dined at Remy. And then we canceled our remaining Remy reservations, saving us both a ton of money! However, that meant we were going to be having a “Double Dip at Palo” in the coming days.

The horror!

Neither of us were terribly hungry but we decided some food would be good since we didn't have plans to eat again until dinner. We went to the Royal Palace again.

I ordered the Beef Satay Skewers. I also asked if they could give me a serving of the yellow rice that went with one of the other dishes in the menu.

Unfortunately the skewers were much more like a kebab and not a thin satay. They ended up being much more food than I expected and a little too charred for my taste. I actually liked the rice best out of everything on the plate.

Jill got the Farfalle pasta without the sautéed mushrooms, but with sun-dried Tomatoes, and a light Italian parsley prosecco cream sauce. She said that it was pretty tasty.

We decided to split an order of the Apple Strudel. The bottom was a little overcooked, so it was hard to cut. We ended up just eating the filling with the ice cream.

At 1:00 there was a Costuming presentation in the Walt Disney Theater. The show on the Disney Dream is Beauty and the Beast. Now that we had canceled the meals at Remy, I had “extra money”. We stopped in the jewelry store where I bought this necklace. (the top one, in a Mickey head).

At the presentation we learned that there are four ladies in charge of costumes. Each one serves a different role from actual costume maintenance, make up and costume changes, to everything else. Mostly they showed us how the super quick costume changes worked. First the Hag witch who curses the Beast at the beginning wears this.

In the next scene she is a villager while Belle sings her opening song. So she just drops the wig and outer robe puts on a cap, and instant villager.

This gent is some sort of dancer in the early part of Be Our Guest.

Later he turns into what they called a “cheese boy” for the dining room scene. There were three of them in the show.

This guy was a veggie platter.

She is a fruit and cheese platter.

And this gal is a salad, or at least a head of lettuce.

They brought Belle out onstage and showed us how her wig actually had magnets inside, which helped with various headdresses that she might wear during the show. In fact most of the costumes are equipped with magnets so that props can be easily attached.

They let the show cast members go, and continued with a Q&A session, until it was time to end. It was a fun and informative session.

We went back to the room for a few minutes. This was our stateroom door.

[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

Jill stayed and relaxed while I went down to take a few photos with the photopass photographers. They called this first one a “Tiny World Photo.”

I was able to get a photo with Captain Minnie.

And Donald and Daisy.

I got back to the room just in the nick of time to head to Mixology. We were all assigned seats. We got the back row. It was nice that they gave everyone water bottles to keep us hydrated!

This was our bartender today and had been for our last two visits to Skyline. He called me “Belvedere” when he was asking who had visited the bar before. He's been with DCL since day 1. After this cruise he was flying to the Philippines for a couple months break. When he came back he would be assigned to the Treasure. He chose drinks which were quite large, and we think he was trying to use up leftover alcohol because they planned on restocking once they got back to the US.

We were served our first cocktail, which was a watermelon Liqueur with prosecco added. Jill didn’t like it at all, so I drank both of ours.

I volunteered to make the next drink. First we muddled limes and pineapples.

Then we poured 6 seconds worth of vodka in each glass. Then we added some ice, and finally Ginger Beer. This was tasty! I drank both of these too.

Jill volunteered To make the next one. It was Rum based. She poured Rum and Amaretto in the shaker, and then added orange & pineapple juices.

Then shake it up.

Pour it amongst the various glasses, and top it with a dark rum float.

I finished mine. Thank God I didn't drink Jill's!

I'm not sure if our classmates mixed the next drink or not. But it was really good. It had Bailey's and other delicious Liqueurs. And the first drinks were kicking in. Jill drank this one.

Then we poured our own shot. Kahlua, Amaretto, and Bailey's. B52

I did both mine and Jill's shots.

I don't think I realized how hammered I was until we got back to the cabin. Jill let me sleep until 5:30 when we got up to go see the show in the Walt Disney Theater. It was Beauty and the Beast. The one that we had seen the Costuming presentation for.

There was no photography or videos allowed. I had brought the water bottle from the Mixology session and I drank that to help hydrate and sober me up. Luckily the show was engaging and I did not fall asleep.

Walking back to the room was a bit of a challenge, but I made it. Jill let me have another 20 minute nap before we went down to dinner. She said I snored really loud!

Luckily dinner was in Animator's Palate. We had picked our stateroom specifically for it's location to the Aft elevators. It was a decision that came to bite us every time we wanted to go up to the spa or Midship, but it was great for getting to Palo and Remy, as well as Animator's. Our table was just a few steps away from the entrance near the elevators, and I made it there easily.

Jill wouldn't let me have any wine with dinner, and at one point I called her “my keeper”. But she had only my best interests at heart. There was this maquette of Sully and Mike on one of the shelves. I actually have a similar piece. They’re not supposed to leave Imagineering, but many years ago we were buying a legit Big Figure off of a guy who used to be an imagineer. Once we got to his house, he offered us some things that weren’t supposed to be sold. He said that he had received the maquette as a parting gift when he left the company.

Here’s the menu

I believe we both had the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup. It was good but not as good as the Le Cellier version. I need to make that when I get home.

I ordered the Prime Rib (again). It was great. I ate at least half my piece.

Jill got the Chicken Kiev and said it was just OK.

We passed on dessert, and she successfully got me back to the room. The maid was still making up the room which was annoying. So I had to sit on the couch and wait while she finished making the bed and our towel animal. Jill said I could have wine now that we were back in the room, but the booze was wearing off and now that I had food in my tummy, I just wanted to go to sleep.

 

[missjackiemcg]

However, that meant we were going to be having a “Double Dip at Palo” in the coming days.

The horror!

The absolute horrors of multiple meals at Palo!!!!

That's really pretty! I'm not sure I've seen either one, but they're both lovely. I'm looking to add a Wish charm to my Pandora bracelet in May.

Later he turns into what they called a “cheese boy” for the dining room scene. There were three of them in the show.

#1 I think I should have a cheese boy at my house to just bring me cheese throughout the day! #2 that sounds like such an interesting presentation with the costuming ladies! I would definitely be interested in attending something like that

I love these tiny world photo ops! My favorite one is in Epcot!

Jill let me have another 20 minute nap before we went down to dinner. She said I snored really loud!

So Mixology was a smashing success!!!

He said that he had received the maquette as a parting gift when he left the company.

That's a really awesome piece to have in your collection!!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Oh man.

You had yourself a great time. Glad Jill was looking out for you.

I too understand reaching the need sleep level of drinking while on a Disney Cruise.

 

[jedijill]

I was craving those Mickey Churro Waffles and they were so good again! The Special K wasn't so good. I forgot that the cereals are British and not American. It tasted stale to me, but I'm sure it's just a different recipe. It was well within the date.

Those waffles are great! I never like the foreign cereal...I prefer mine with lots of awful food dyes and sugar!

When I got back to the room Jill was watching the documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty. It was a 2009 look back at the Jeffrey Katzenberg era of Disney when Animation seemed dead, and how it was resurrected through a series of movies in the early 1990s.

Quite a good documentary! Not sure if its on Disney + but worth watching.

After that was over, we decided to play another round of Midship detective. This time we solved the case of the lost puppies.

These are so fun and lots of other folks were playing as well.

We decided to go up to the check in desk for Remy and Palo, and see if we could change the Palo dinner to the night we would have previously dined at Remy. And then we canceled our remaining Remy reservations, saving us both a ton of money! However, that meant we were going to be having a “Double Dip at Palo” in the coming days.

The horror!

It was a terrible cross to bear but we volunteered to carry the heavy load!

Jill got the Farfalle pasta without the sautéed mushrooms, but with sun-dried Tomatoes, and a light Italian parsley prosecco cream sauce. She said that it was pretty tasty.

It wasn't bad!

We decided to split an order of the Apple Strudel. The bottom was a little overcooked, so it was hard to cut. We ended up just eating the filling with the ice cream.

The ice cream was quite yummy!

At 1:00 there was a Costuming presentation in the Walt Disney Theater. The show on the Disney Dream is Beauty and the Beast. Now that we had canceled the meals at Remy, I had “extra money”. We stopped in the jewelry store where I bought this necklace. (the top one, in a Mickey head).

First necklace we looked at was $17,000!!! We quickly went to the other room and found the affordable stuff!

They let the show cast members go, and continued with a Q&A session, until it was time to end. It was a fun and informative session.

It was a great presentation and it was fun to see the B&TB costumes and performers later that night.

This was our bartender today and had been for our last two visits to Skyline. He called me “Belvedere” when he was asking who had visited the bar before. He's been with DCL since day 1. After this cruise he was flying to the Philippines for a couple months break. When he came back he would be assigned to the Treasure. He chose drinks which were quite large, and we think he was trying to use up leftover alcohol because they planned on restocking once they got back to the US.

He literally had zero "fs" to give. He kept telling us to pour more.

I volunteered to make the next drink. First we muddled limes and pineapples.

Alison enjoyed this a lot!

I'm not sure if our classmates mixed the next drink or not. But it was really good. It had Bailey's and other delicious Liqueurs. And the first drinks were kicking in. Jill drank this one.

He said he made it up that morning....it was tasty but STRONG!!! No mixers!

Walking back to the room was a bit of a challenge, but I made it. Jill let me have another 20 minute nap before we went down to dinner. She said I snored really loud!

Alison thoroughly enjoyed herself.

Jill wouldn't let me have any wine with dinner, and at one point I called her “my keeper”. But she had only my best interests at heart.

I was the meanie.

Jill got the Chicken Kiev and said it was just OK.

It was dry and all the filling had come out.

We passed on dessert, and she successfully got me back to the room. The maid was still making up the room which was annoying. So I had to sit on the couch and wait while she finished making the bed and our towel animal. Jill said I could have wine now that we were back in the room, but the booze was wearing off and now that I had food in my tummy, I just wanted to go to sleep.

I'm not sure if our room host was overwhelmed with the number of cabins or slow but there is zero excuse for not having the room done by the end of late dining!

Jill in CO

 

[franandaj]

I stand by my work

Then you didn’t stay in long enough

We were getting too warm.....

Really? That surprises me

Disney's IT sucks.

Great minds…

Ah! Good point.
I would think the longer the cruise, the fewer the kids.
<books 100 day cruise…>

I couldn't be away from my kitties that long.

 

[DnA2010]

The Special K wasn't so good. I forgot that the cereals are British and not American. It tasted stale to me, but I'm sure it's just a different recipe. It was well within the date.

Interesting, I wonder if I'd taste the difference

This is the ship map to show you where the various pictures are located.

I actually don't remember getting this map, do you remember what was on the other side?

Because of how terrible the Remy Dinner was, we did not want to return for our second dinner, and we really didn’t want to do lunch there.

Good for you guys, why spend the money again

a little too charred for my taste.

I like char, but these look a bit much indeed

Now that we had canceled the meals at Remy, I had “extra money”. We stopped in the jewelry store where I bought this necklace. (the top one, in a Mickey head).

That's super pretty, I look forward to seeing it in person!

That's quite the costume!

This guy was a veggie platter.

And this gal is a salad, or at least a head of lettuce.

I actually laughed out loud at these, so creative though

They brought Belle out onstage and showed us how her wig actually had magnets inside, which helped with various headdresses that she might wear during the show. In fact most of the costumes are equipped with magnets so that props can be easily attached.

Well that's very clever, what an informative talk

This was our stateroom door.

Very nice magnets!

They called this first one a “Tiny World Photo.”

This is any interesting shot, I don't think I've a PP pic like this!

He's been with DCL since day 1. After this cruise he was flying to the Philippines for a couple months break. When he came back he would be assigned to the Treasure.

Wow day 1! he must be good if he's heading to the treasure, new ship, demanding guests I bet

a watermelon Liqueur with prosecco added

I'm not sure I've had much for cocktails with watermelon liqueur

Then we poured 6 seconds worth of vodka in each glass.

6 seconds seems like a long pour, no wonder you got hammered!

Then shake it up.

like a Polaroid picture Jill!

But it was really good. It had Bailey's and other delicious Liqueurs. And the first drinks were kicking in. Jill drank this one.

Dessert!

Then we poured our own shot. Kahlua, Amaretto, and Bailey's. B52

A classic, I think I need to have one of those some day

Walking back to the room was a bit of a challenge, but I made it. Jill let me have another 20 minute nap before we went down to dinner. She said I snored really loud!

Lol it happens!

I ordered the Prime Rib (again). It was great. I ate at least half my piece.

That looks like a delicious piece of PR indeed!

Makenna appreciated that they were generous with the chocolates, we brought a bunch home and she loved getting them as treats in her lunches!

 

[pkondz]

I figured that no one else would be doing it so I started some laundry. I was wrong.

Why aren't people sleeping? It's a vacation, people!

I brought the hamper back to the room

Hamper? Was this a travel hamper or something? Or just a laundry bag.

I was craving those Mickey Churro Waffles

You really like those, don't you.

The Special K wasn't so good. I forgot that the cereals are British and not American. It tasted stale to me, but I'm sure it's just a different recipe.

Interesting.

I remember having Special K when I was a kid and liking it. I bought some not long ago and was very surprised at both the appearance and taste. Very different from what I remembered. Now I'm wondering if it's because when I was a kid it was imported from the US and now it's manufactured here or something.

While we were eating breakfast I got the notification that the dryer was done. It had only been 20 minutes since I put it in!

Quick!

This time we solved the case of the lost puppies.

Thank you for keeping those kennels empty.

This is the unique ID card that you get to identify yourself to the pictures on the walls.

Did you get to keep that? Or do you have to return it when done?

This is the ship map to show you where the various pictures are located.

And your list of suspects.

Thanks for those. Explains a lot.

You stand on the sensor on the floor and wave the card at the pictures and this symbol appears and registers your ID card.

Huh. Neat.

Then the pictures becomes animated and reveals part of the story.

Ah!

When you leave the picture goes back to what it was before you activated the game.

I don't know if I'd give those a second glance and never know they did anything.

Because of how terrible the Remy Dinner was, we did not want to return for our second dinner, and we really didn’t want to do lunch there.

Can't say as I blame you. Did you tell anybody after? A survey perhaps.

And then we canceled our remaining Remy reservations, saving us both a ton of money!

I'm sure saving money was the primary motivation... not.

However, that meant we were going to be having a “Double Dip at Palo” in the coming days.

The horror!

Oh, no!

I ordered the Beef Satay Skewers. I also asked if they could give me a serving of the yellow rice that went with one of the other dishes in the menu.

Nice they could accommodate.

We decided to split an order of the Apple Strudel. The bottom was a little overcooked, so it was hard to cut. We ended up just eating the filling with the ice cream.

Oh well... that's the best part anyway.

We stopped in the jewelry store where I bought this necklace. (the top one, in a Mickey head).

Bling!

Mostly they showed us how the super quick costume changes worked.

That's cool.

So she just drops the wig and outer robe puts on a cap, and instant villager.

Cool!

She is a fruit and cheese platter.

And this gal is a salad, or at least a head of lettuce.

No mistaking that one.

They brought Belle out onstage and showed us how her wig actually had magnets inside, which helped with various headdresses that she might wear during the show.

Huh. Interesting. Never would've thought that.

Lots of decor on your door.

(I'm a poet!)

Fun little shot.

I was able to get a photo with Captain Minnie.

Didn't know she was the captain.

Cute shot.

He called me “Belvedere” when he was asking who had visited the bar before

He chose drinks which were quite large

Oh, that's too bad. I'm sure you were distraught.

We were served our first cocktail, which was a watermelon Liqueur with prosecco added. Jill didn’t like it at all, so I drank both of ours.

That sounds good.

You look so happy here.

Then we poured 6 seconds worth of vodka in each glass.

Then we added some ice, and finally Ginger Beer. This was tasty! I drank both of these too.

I'll pass. Not a Ginger Beer fan.

Jill volunteered To make the next one. It was Rum based. She poured Rum and Amaretto in the shaker, and then added orange & pineapple juices.

I'm going to shock you...

That sounds good. I'd try that.

I finished mine. Thank God I didn't drink Jill's!

I'm not sure if our classmates mixed the next drink or not.

Can't remember, huh? I wonder why not?

Then we poured our own shot. Kahlua, Amaretto, and Bailey's. B52

I did both mine and Jill's shots.

I don't think I realized how hammered I was until we got back to the cabin.

I had brought the water bottle from the Mixology session and I drank that to help hydrate and sober me up. Luckily the show was engaging and I did not fall asleep.

Good thing, considering your snoring comment later.

Walking back to the room was a bit of a challenge, but I made it. Jill let me have another 20 minute nap before we went down to dinner. She said I snored really loud!

Luckily dinner was in Animator's Palate. We had picked our stateroom specifically for it's location to the Aft elevators. It was a decision that came to bite us every time we wanted to go up to the spa or Midship, but it was great for getting to Palo and Remy, as well as Animator's.

Ah! I wondered when I started reading that sentence why you'd want aft. Makes sense now.

Jill wouldn't let me have any wine with dinner, and at one point I called her “my keeper”.

Jill's mean!

There was this maquette of Sully and Mike on one of the shelves. I actually have a similar piece. They’re not supposed to leave Imagineering, but many years ago we were buying a legit Big Figure off of a guy who used to be an imagineer. Once we got to his house, he offered us some things that weren’t supposed to be sold. He said that he had received the maquette as a parting gift when he left the company.

Huh! I'd imagine it would be worth a fair bit to a collector?

I believe we both had the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup. It was good but not as good as the Le Cellier version.

I saw that, but... not my first choice.

I need to make that when I get home.

Oh? Hmmm... I might look into that too.

I ordered the Prime Rib (again). It was great. I ate at least half my piece.

Now that was my first choice.

Jill got the Chicken Kiev and said it was just OK.

That was my last choice. And looks like I was right.

We passed on dessert, and she successfully got me back to the room.

The maid was still making up the room which was annoying.

Yeah, I'd not be thrilled with that either.

Jill said I could have wine now that we were back in the room

She doesn't have to carry you anywhere.

but the booze was wearing off and now that I had food in my tummy, I just wanted to go to sleep.