THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2022
So first let’s start by saying this was originally supposed to be, and still is, a Day at Sea for us. With the last two nights being late to sleep (after midnight), we both ended up waking up around 8am. Deciding we were still tired; the ship was still smoothly sailing; and having nowhere to be, we each fell back to sleep. It was roughly 11am (no kidding), when I started with a shower followed by Kara.
At noon Captain Andy communicated we would be on our way back to Nassau for just a very brief stop tomorrow/Friday (or at least we thought we heard Friday, but nope, it was tonight). We don’t know why and I can only hope it’s not early in the morning!
We headed up two decks to get one of our favorite meals: Chicken Tenders (& for Kara fries) with BBQ sauce at the quick service location, Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods. We each thought our tenders might have been slightly undercooked, as they were not as magical as usual -specifically not as crispy.
Having it at the next station, we each tried Sweet Minnie’s Ice Cream soft-serve - chocolate-vanilla swirl for Kara and strawberry for Gayle. The soft-serve is famous on Disney Cruise Line because it’s included in your fare (as much as you want) and open the vast majority of hours (11am-10:30pm). It was far better than either of us remember, keeping in mind it’s probably been a decade since we last had it! Pro Tip: You can grab a cup at the drink station and they will fill that with soft-serve instead of the cones. This gives you more ice cream and in a far less messy container!
Gayle: Now awake and fueled, I proposed finishing the final two quests of Disney Uncharted Adventure. We completed the Moana and Tiana Quests in just one hour and 8 minutes. It seemed like more people were playing this today, and then we likely discovered why: we were now sailing through rain. Even though a hurricane is pounding Florida, Captain Andy & Team did a wonderful job (as usual) navigating us toward sunny waters for the overwhelming majority of the cruise! There is some type of final event related to Disney Uncharted Adventure tonight, so we’ll see if we can make that between dinner and our show.
After completing our adventure, we aimlessly walked through Mickey’s Mainsail again. My focus now was to find David Doss’ new print of the Disney Wish. I have a lot of his prints of the other ships, but as expected none were to be found.
A note on shopping: As has been the issue since even prior to COVID, Disney still can’t seem to stock their ships appropriately. In just this blog we’ve already noted not having t-shirts in usual sizes or the art prints. By now I think a lot of us are no longer accepting “supply chain issues” as the excuse, because again this was a pre-COVID problem too. First & honestly, I wouldn’t have an issue with this if I could order these items from shopDisney, but that’s not currently an option (& it’s never an option for the David Doss art)! We are literally trying to give Disney our money, but they aren’t providing options for us to do so. Second, the majority of shops on this ship are “high end” bags/purses, jewelry, etc. This is completely perplexing as even the Disney Fantasy (that sails the longer/more expensive itineraries) couldn’t make their onboard Tiffany’s work. Maybe Disney Wish thinks this approach might work since this ship has double the number of Concierge staterooms? Only time will tell….
The afternoon was spent with Kara pleasure-reading and Gayle finally putting in her share of equal effort on this blog!
Kara: I always enjoy looking out at the water - it’s effect is very calming. Several times when I glanced up from my book, I noted a ship off in our distance but it was blurred by the fog/haze. The first time I was able to get an image of it I swore that it was the Disney Fantasy because it appears to have two smoke stacks. I did finally get this shot in which Gayle finally acquiesced that there was a ship out there and it probably was the Disney Fantasy.
In order to check my theory, I turned on the television and tried to see where both ships were physically located. I was amused by the little twisty turns we’ve been making (photo)
We got ready for dinner which tonight would be in 1923. 1923 has two physical sides (the two sides, we learned tonight, do not physically connect to one another). We were on the Walt Disney side in the very back of the restaurant - and we were seated at a porthole. This was especially interesting since - we actually docked in Nassau tonight. We don’t know why we docked but saw an ambulance come and go along the dock area so we assume it was some sort of medical emergency. Once the ambulance pulled away we were back off the dock and headed back away from Nassau again. All of this happened within the span of our dinner.
Gayle: Post-cruise Note During this time we learned/discovered a few things:
The lack of connection of the sides of the restaurant present a challenge, especially to our Head Server, who had tables on both sides. Even his only access was to exit the front of the restaurant and go over to the other and back. The layout of the restaurant is due to the elevators, now that this ship has two unlike the other Disney ships that have 3 elevator banks. It seems clear the architects/powers that be didn’t think through the crew use of this!
The tables in this restaurant are closer together than I’ve ever seen anywhere! It’s more than awkward and a significant challenge to the servers.
Coming in and out of Nassau we were sailing as close as I’ve ever seen to two other ships (Carnival and Virgin). Being seated at the portholes was a lovely addition to this dinner.
I noted we docked right at 6:30pm, which is when the early stage show would begin. I was concerned for the performers with the ship movement for docking. However, this was an incredible smooth docking and I’ll bet the folks in the theatre didn’t even realize it!
As much as I love the food in Arendelle, and immersive feel in Worlds of Marvel, for a sophisticated, relaxing dinner, 1923 is at the top of the fleet. It was glorious to be surrounded by Disney Animation historical archive art and props, while listening to instrumental (piano & jazz) music. I can only hope they install this concept in the Parks & Resorts.
Kara: For dinner, I started with the Burrata mozzarella Cheese & Prosciutto de Parma. I was especially fascinated with the brûlée blood orange. It was delicious.
Gayle and I both had the Pulled Guinea Hen Corn Chowder.
Tonight’s bread service was a Fig and Olive Break with Honey Butter - yum! We also had a fill-in assistant server tonight as Pitinard was filling in as a Server covering someone else. Our assistant server tonight was Edesa from the Philippines. She had her “Earning my Ears” ribbon on and had only been on the ship one week. She was very attentive and an excellent server.
For the entrée, Gayle got the Seared Verlasso Salmon Filet with Californian Wild Honey Parsnip Purée, Orange Fennel Essence, and Sautéed Black Garlic Rapini. I got the 1923 Peppered Filet Mignonette with Buttered Long Green Beans, Smoked Bacon, Crushed Fingerling Potato Hash, Pink Pepper Café Au Lait. Both were delicious.
For dessert we both got the Churros Calientes which comes with a Dulce de Leche dipping sauce. Gayle also added the Hollywood Hills Hot Chocolate Fudge Sundae (which served as its own kind of dipping sauce).
We returned to the room following dinner. I don’t remember what brought us back here, but it was a chance to check in on the The Weather Channel. (We were a little surprised to find our tip envelopes and sheets already in our staterooms). As we watched the devastation in Florida, we checked in via social media on a few friends who live in Florida. We’re praying for all those impacted by this storm.
We headed down for Aladdin- A Musical Spectacular right at 8 p.m. and were shocked at how full the theatre already was! We got side wing seats that had a slightly obstructed view (the Proscenium itself was obstructing). Gayle stepped out for a moment and as she came in she observed how many seats in this theatre have a severely obstructed view - something we hadn’t noticed on previous evenings (or other ships for that matter).
As Glen, our cruise director, took the stage he indicated that he was seeking approval for several special activities typically reserved for longer sailings. We found out before and after the show we’ll be getting a game show typically only done on the Panama Canal sailings and we’ll be getting some dance time with one of the performers from the theatre.
Gayle: I was SUPER excited about the last part, which we've only had on one other sailing.
Kara: After the show we headed to Hero Zone to take part in something I’ve been trying to do for several sailings now - a Silent DJ Party. Hero Zone is a PERFECT venue for this with loads of open space, the ability to control the lighting, and the option to play games. We opted for a little dancing and a little ping pong in one of the open spaces to the side of Hero Zone.
We stopped on the way downstairs for our water bottle refill, I took a photo with our Dog/Pluto Towel/Blanket creature (whose face I muddled) and now we’re updating the blog, checking in on Internet-y things and I’m sure we’ll turn on The Weather Channel at some point for a few minutes before we finally settle into bed.
Gayle: Clearly Kara is missing her pup, Kona. The towel version just isn't the same! Good night from the Disney Wish.
Disclaimer: I (Gayle) am a travel agent with Authorized Disney Travel Planner agency - Off to Neverland Travel. Contact me today for a no-obligation quote!
As to Disney artwork, logos, and properties: ©Disney | Ship Registry: The Bahamas | CST# 2090317-40 / Fla. Seller of Travel Ref. No. ST37203