End of Summer. Day 5. Sea Ya Real Soon.
Thursday was our day at sea. If I haven’t mentioned this before, this cruise is great because it basically goes nowhere. We left Florida, sailed to Castaway Cay—which is in the Bahamas—then to Nassau, also in the Bahamas, and then back to Florida. Because the distances are so short, the ship never has to speed anywhere. It moves so slowly that it feels as though we’re just hanging out in the middle of the ocean. On other cruises we’ve taken, the ship has had to travel much farther between destinations, so it moves quickly and there can be a lot of rocking. On this cruise, I felt nothing. It was fantastic.
Hallie woke up first and went with Tzvi to the Haunted Mansion Parlor, which was having a special family hour when children could come inside, experience the space and take pictures. Eventually, Madeleine woke up and wanted to go too, so we all joined them. The girls took some very cute pictures inside the bar.
Then we headed to breakfast for one of the most important events of the cruise: churro Mickey waffles. On the final morning of each sailing, the buffet serves Mickey waffles that have been battered again, fried and covered in cinnamon sugar. They are essentially Mickey-shaped churros, and they are phenomenal. They may be the most delicious things ever.
After breakfast, I went to the gym for a little while, which made me feel better. Tzvi had a work call, so Shir took the girls back to Hero Zone to play air hockey and some of the other games. We met up again for a character dance party in the Grand Hall. All the characters came out and formed dance circles with the kids. Our girls were too shy to actually dance with them, but it was still cute to watch.
Afterward, we rode the AquaMouse again and then headed to the pool deck for lunch. In addition to the buffet and dining rooms, the ship has Mickey & Friends Festival of Foods, a collection of quick-service stations serving pizza, tacos, barbecue, burgers and ice cream. We ordered veggie burgers from the burger station, which were good. The barbecue station had a huge selection of meat, and I took a picture because if I ever make another bat mitzvah or kiddush, I want a station exactly like it. In addition to all the meat, they had vegetarian collard greens, corn, cornbread and sweet potato fries. Everything was delicious. Aside from Enchanté, this may have been some of the best food I ate on the ship. I loved that station.
After lunch, the girls went back to ride the AquaMouse with Shir while Tzvi and I relaxed by the adults-only pool.
Then came the sad part: We had to return to our rooms and pack. Once we finished packing, we got ready for dinner at Pride Lands: Feast of The Lion King. The experience is essentially dinner and a show. In the center of the restaurant, performers sing music from The Lion King throughout the meal. It was very well done and enjoyable. During dinner, we finally had an opportunity to really speak with our server, Anthony. He told us that he had worked as a server for 18 years on several different ships. But he also explained that Disney sometimes sends him to the shipyards to help build the ships. He had been in Germany helping to build the Disney Destiny alongside German and Italian workers—wearing a hard hat and safety vest and everything. I asked him how he had learned to do that kind of work. He said he had literally learned by working alongside the Germans and Italians. That is kind of nuts. Anthony’s contract was ending the next day, so he would be leaving the ship to return home to his family. He didn’t know whether Disney would send him back to the Destiny as a server or have him help build the new Disney Believe. We also talked about the design of the ship. Anthony said the servers were given opportunities to provide input, and he agreed with something we had noticed throughout the cruise: The dining areas feel very cramped. There isn’t much room between the tables, and the kitchens are also tight. That creates a constant sense of hustle and bustle. The servers on this ship always seemed to be operating at a heightened level of stress. I don’t want to say they appeared completely stressed out, but they definitely seemed tense. Everyone was constantly rushing, and the whole dining experience felt a little frantic. On ships like the Disney Fantasy, there is much more room for servers to move between the tables. On the Destiny, Anthony said there is sometimes only enough space for one person to pass. He hoped Disney would correct that problem on the Believe. If not, perhaps they’ll fix it when they introduce the next class of ships. It was fascinating to hear his perspective.
After dinner, we got in line for Frozen, A Musical Spectacular. We had already seen the show on the Disney Fantasy, but obviously we were going to see it again. Following Frozen, we headed to the Grand Hall for the “See Ya Real Soon” farewell party. During the first 15 minutes, characters and princesses come out for meet-and-greets. If there is someone you haven’t met during the cruise, this is your final opportunity. I think the girls met Moana. The next portion was a farewell to the villains. They didn’t pose for individual pictures, but they appeared as part of a story and interacted with the crowd. It was very cool to watch. Then Mickey and his friends came out to say goodbye, which was a nice—and slightly sad—way to end the cruise.
At around 10:45, we took the girls to The Sanctum, the ship’s Doctor Strange-themed lounge, where they the special glowy lemonade, and also a strawberry daquiri because Hallie didn’t feel like she’d had enough of those yet. Tzvi got a drink that when you touched the side of the glass it looked like there was electricity running through it. Afterward, we went to get pizza.
At around 11:30, we stumbled upon another rehearsal on the pool deck. This time, rather than rehearsing the songs, the performers were working on the choreography. Someone was directing every individual movement, which was fascinating to watch. I approached one of the officers overseeing the rehearsal, who told me she was in charge of the ship’s entertainment. I mentioned how interesting it was to see a rehearsal because Disney guests rarely get to watch anything behind the scenes. She explained that we happened to be sailing during a “crossover” period. A crossover occurs when a new cast boards the ship to observe the current shows and rehearse before taking over. The existing cast would be leaving within the next week or two, so both casts were currently on board. That was why so many late-night rehearsals were taking place. I should also mention that this woman was wearing the highest heels I have ever seen. They must have been five inches high, with no platform. I had no idea how she was walking in them.
I finally asked, “Are those magical shoes?”
She explained that she had been a ballerina, so her feet were comfortable in that position.
I was very impressed.
Eventually, we returned to our rooms and sat on the balcony for a while. There was crazy lightning off in the distance, and also tons of cruise ships, including one that was so close I felt like we could reach out and touch it. Then we went to bed. It was another good day.
Friday morning, we were all awakened bright and early at around 7:00 by an announcement telling everyone to stay off their balconies while the ship was being refueled. I think the real purpose of the announcement was simply to make sure everyone was wide awake.
We got up, had breakfast at the buffet and then it was time to leave the ship, which was very sad.
Now back to Fort Lauderdale and on to our next hotel!