The Adventures Away party began at 4:30 p.m. We chose to watch it from Deck 10 so that the kids could have a better view, and because our family is not big on participating in dance parties.
This was our cruise director, Trent Hitchcock. He was from Australia and had a charming Australian accent. Trent was funny and a bit corny, but not in an annoying way. You could not help but like him. He was perfect for the job!
At last, we were on our way!
Bon Voyage!
It was windy, as you can see.
We stayed on Deck 10 until we passed under Lions Gate Bridge.
There were some people on the bridge who waved to us.
Then we headed back to our room. Our luggage was delivered right before we had left for the pool, so we were able to do some unpacking.
Well, I did some unpacking. The kids mostly watched some Zootopia. The television had Disney movies running 24/7.
I also decorated our door with magnets I had made from Perler beads. I am not sure if this is the case with other cruise lines, but decorating your door is definitely a thing on Disney cruises. It did help make finding our room easier in the long corridor. Plus, it is just cute, don’t you think? Here is the sign I made in Word, if you want to make one for yourself!
Before we knew it, it was time dinnertime. We had the early seating (5:45 p.m.), and our first assigned restaurant was Animator’s Palate.
The restaurant is surrounded by screens that showed different sketches of Disney cartoons that changed throughout the meal.
We had our own table for ten, which was nice.
This was the first time that we met our servers that would be with us for every dinner: Shahrang and Julie.
Clockwise: Garlic & Herb Focaccia (The theming of this restaurant is so cute–paintbrush knives!); Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes (so yummy!); Spinach and Arugula Leaves; Ginger Teriyaki dusted Angus Beef Tenderloin (one of my favorite main courses!); Grilled Tuna Steak; Creamy Butternut Squash Soup (only disappointment–much too salty).
The servers totally spoiled us. They cut our kids’ meat for them!
The kids had their own menu every night, but many nights our kids ordered off of the adult menu.
There was a special guest at the end of dinner!
Warm Sticky Date Pudding and Blueberry Tart
When we returned to our stateroom, Francis had done his magic. There was a towel animal (lobster?) on our bed, and Ghiradelli chocolates.
The couch area had been transformed to a bunk bed. The kids were so excited. n screamed and then said “I just HAD to scream!”. Haha! They worked out a deal where n could sleep on the top four times if k could choose which three times she slept on the top. She chose the first night–haha.
Francis even arranged our slippers (which had been strewn about the floor), by size.
Finally, we went to the Be Our Guest Stage show at 8:30 p.m., which featured an introduction by Trent, as well as previews of the Disney productions that we would see later that week.
All of the musical acts were excellent, but pictures were not allowed. There was also a juggler who was pretty entertaining, and a ventriloquist who I was not too crazy about.
This sunset picture (along with the crescent moon) was taken from our verandah after the show.
We all fell asleep quite easily that first night!