Sea Day! Yay! After our Mediterranean Disney Cruise, Chris and I decided that the next time we paid for Disney, we wanted to be able to spend more time on the boat, as that is Aly’s favorite part, and honestly what we feel like we are paying extra for with Disney. So, Caribbean cruise it was this time. All of us, Aly especially, had anticipated some swimming time on the sea days. Let me tell you, it was not to be today. It was quite windy on the boat, and still not warm enough according to our standards to be in the pool. We did spend some time on the pool deck, though. I got in a nice run and workout first, while Chris and Aly went to breakfast. They also managed to squeeze in an animation class and learned how to draw Goofy, and then we all met back up and went to the shops on the boat. As did everyone else. Like, it felt like the whole boat was in the shops. Disney loves to put out cruise specific products only available on the ships, and in my experience, Disney lovers love to buy these items. Word has it, there was even a good fight over the New Orleans themed items, this being the inaugural cruise and all! We didn’t spend much time in there before I felt claustrophobic, and then went back up to the pool deck for the Descen-dance party! Aly. Was. Pumped. Descendants music, dancing, and themed poolside games for 45 minutes. This girl was on a Descendants high!
Then, it was time for, what else. . . . .eating!!!! It seems that days on a cruise ship revolve around what you are eating now, or what you are eating next, so we popped into the buffet for lunch, before our dinner later this night 😉 Aly then wanted to spend some time in the Kids’ Club, which was good for us as we had a Tequila and Margarita tasting planned for this afternoon. The tasting was in the Cadillac Lounge, which is honestly a part of the boat I hadn’t even been to, as we are usually either, a)eating b)going to a show c)hanging out with Aly.
There were probably about 30 of us in the lounge, at tables set up with 3 shot glasses of tequila in varying shades, as well as two small glasses of margaritas. The bartender, Ashley, walked us through the history of tequila and the process of making the liquor, as well as the different styles of tequila. First, we tasted the silver (what we are mostly used to). The best part was that we were supposed to dip our lime in salt to take with the shot. Due to the lighting, none of us (Chris and I, plus another couple across the way), could see the salt piles on our plates, so we instead all dipped our limes in cinnamon and then wondered why it tasted weird!?! Ha! Next up was a gold, and then a reposado. Despite the “lower quality,” my fave was the silver. Just what you’re used to, I guess.
We also got to enjoy a classic lime margarita sample, then a mango and passionfruit, and lastly, a bonus of a jalapeño margarita-delish! Ashley told us the trick to making a good jalapeño margarita at home is to add a splash of pineapple juice.
Feeling like we had more to drink than we normally do at 2 PM :), we picked up Aly and went to the theater to watch the newest version of the Lion King. One of the best things about being on a Disney ship is that they show newer Disney movies throughout the day in the movie theater, so we often catch several during our cruises.
After the movie, it was time for. . . . .you guessed it. . . . .dinner!!!! Tonight was formal night, so Chris googled “how to tie a tie,” I helped Aly take a quick bath and even used the blow dryer on her hair, and I. . . .well, I changed my clothes. Formal.
We didn’t have time to wait for pictures before dinner, so we went straight into Animator’s Palate. Being the first night in there, it is the night where the artwork changes from black and white to color during dinner and a special guest comes out near dessert! We met our table mates, two other families each with one daughter (one girl was 8, and another 9) and enjoyed our conversation with them. Aly, of course, ended her meal with a Mickey Bar, the highlight of dinners on the cruise ship for her!
After dinner, we had time to take a few family photos, though we are admittedly not good at the posing required for such formal family photos. Then it was to the main theater for the show of the night, The Golden Mickeys, which is a Broadway style show of various classic Disney productions (highlighted were Cruella de Ville, Tiana, The Lion King, and Snow White, among others). While we were waiting for the show to start, Aly was asked if she wanted to go up on stage during the show, to which she replied “Yes, please!” With a huge grin on her face. We were told she would be up there with Snow White near the beginning, and that we could take a few photos despite the warnings not to. Turns out, she got to be a dwarf, dancing around the stage, and holding hands with Snow White!!!!
She was so thrilled, and we said this was going to be that video they play in 20 years when she is a Broadway star and they show the “first performance video from when you were a kid.” What a memorable night for our girl! We let Aly do a photo-op with Belle after the show to end the night on a high note.
