Day 2 - Evening onboard

Back in our room, the towel animal of the day (compliments of Herold our stateroom host), as well as the Personal Navigator for the next day and a reminder that we would be sailing across time zones - we had to set our clocks one hour back (GMT -9).

  

We also received the following information from Flounder's Nursery, on our 'fish' outside the room, as well as confirmation of the time booked the next day.

• Flounder's Nursery Information and Activities

Dinner

Dinner was at Triton's that evening,,. dress code was formal. We got all dressed up and headed back up to the restaurant, which is on deck 3 mid-ship. There was a looong line to get in - the ship's photographers (our fellow South African Andre, and another) had set up outside the restaurant and were taking family photos before everyone went in. The photographers were great - very thorough, taking the time to set up everyone, rearranging stance, pose etc. Notice how Andre had DD1 put her right hand behind DD2, to hide the bright yellow Oceaneer's band on her wrist.

There were also backdrops set up on either side of the main photo area, but we decided to skip these shots because they were way too cheesy, even for us. (One was a sunset backdrop with the Disney Wonder, the other was a lit-up Disney Wonder docked at night.)

The photographers came around to all the tables again.

  

Dinner at Triton's was excellent (sorry, we're not foodies, so no grand details of the food/ menu). DD1 was once again kept busy with the menu/activity sheets for the first half hour. Levy and Bojan had remembered our drinks orders and seating arrangements, so we were shown to our table with DD2's high chair next to DH and chocolate milk waiting, awesome!

After dinner, Levy showed DD1 the water and pepper "magic" trick and the look of amazement on her face was priceless. She called him "Magician Levy" from then on. For the amusement of DH and myself, he set up a brain teaser using the crayons ("matchstick puzzles") - he laid out the crayons with the numbers 100 and said to remove two to make ten. Tricky. Next, was the fish puzzle, which we easily figured out.

After dinner, Goofy was just outside Triton's, so we lined up for a photo. Of course, Goofy was in his formalwear, too! (Goofy turned out to the the character we saw the most on the cruise).

The Golden Mickeys show

Each night, there is a performance in the main theatre - there are two performances (6pm and 8:30pm), to accommodate the two dinner seatings. 

After dinner, we went straight to the Walt Disney Theatre for "The Golden Mickeys" show - look who we came across wandering the corridors outside the retail stores. (Ariel was also the Princess we saw the most on the cruise).

Just outside the entrance, they had a glammed up television 'host' (complete with camera crew) interviewing people before heading in to the theatre. We declined, unsure of what exactly was going on. Basically, it was a mock red carpet and the 'celebrity' (cruise patrons) interviews were being broadcast on the large screens in the theatre to those who had already taken their seats. Gee, we missed our opportunity to be on the red carpet :)

We had arrived about 15 minutes before the start of the show, but the theatre was essentially full - people were already standing at the back and some kids were sitting on the steps in the aisle. We walked closer to the front and were able to find two seats together, so we sat with the kids on our laps.

The show itself was wonderful - the "Golden Mickeys" are basically an Oscars-type award show, and the premise of the show is a backstage crew member, Ensign Benson, who has to take over the host's duties. The ship's Captain is meant to host the awards show, but he cannot be found. Ensign Benson is very shy and there is a video "chat" from the CEO of Disney, who encourages her to be more confident. Various songs from Disney shows are then performed, showcasing strong and confident characters and how they overcame adversity - Snow White, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tarzan, Mulan, Cruella de Ville, Pocahontas, and The Lion King (there were possibly more, those are the ones I recall). Ensign Benson reluctantly participates in the songs at first, but by the end, is much more confident and part of the show. Mickey and Minnie come out at the very end.

One of the advantages of being on a cruise is the short walk back to the room after the show. DD2 was exhausted, so whilst I got her ready for bed, DH took DD1 to the Mickey and Minnie character meet, since she had missed out earlier in the day. They were still dressed from the Golden Mickeys show.

  

  

Next - Day 3, the morning before cruising in the Tracy Arm Fjord