The second day of our cruise was a wonderful relaxing day. It was a full day at sea! I love days at sea, because you can do, or not do, anything you want. It is a day just to relax.
Naturally, after getting up and ready, we headed to the buffet breakfast in Cabanas. Yes, there is a restaurant open, but we like to be able to see the water, so we like going to the buffet. The buffet has just about anything you can think of for breakfast. My favorite items I had each morning was corned beef hash, grilled tomatoes, and fresh fruit. While the has is a bit on the greasy side, I just couldn’t pass it up each morning. It was calling my name!
After breakfast we went back to the stateroom to get books/Kindles for reading and my husband got his large travel cup and I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. The pool deck, in the adult area, is a great place to sit at a table looking out over the ocean and reading a book. Before we went to sit down, we stopped by the beverage station where my husband got his cup filled with a soft drink. I decided to have a hot chocolate. I know, the weather was too warm for that, but hey, it was chocolate, and I don’t care for soft drinks. We sat down in the adult area (it’s always more quiet there) and read and talked. We then took a walk around the ship to discover more of what was on board (and to get a little exercise).
Since I also had to work while I was on the ship, Wayne decided to go to the gym on board to work out. I took that time to do what work I had, which took only an hour. By that time, Wayne got back, so I sat out on the balcony while he showered.
It was then time for lunch! Again, my husband has to have the peel and eat shrimp, so back to Cabanas (the buffet). There is always a good variety of food there with at least one meat at the carving table. There are even kid-friendly options (but you don’t have to be a kid to eat them). Everyone should be able to find something. If you have special dietary needs, all you need to do is ask.
While there are a number of dessert options, sometimes you just get too full to try them. So, we decided that we could get ice cream later in the afternoon.
During the afternoon, we decided to go to the Disney Vacation Club (DVC) presentation. No, you don’t have to go, but we were curious. We know people who have DVC and we wished we had bought when the price was still low. Now that our children are older, it’s not so much a big deal anymore. But still, we wanted to hear what they had to say. Just for attending, you got a beverage of your choice and a special pin you can only get by attending a presentation. Were they pushing trying to sell? No. Basically, they believe if it is right for you, it will sell itself. So, it was a painless experience, but we also learned a lot, too. If you have some time to do the presentation, it will allow you a bit of time to relax before moving on to the next thing you want to do.
In the morning, we had checked the “Navigator” (the daily sheet they leave in your room to tell you what’s happening on board) and decided to see one of the movies instead of going to the live show. It’s always great to see movies on a Disney cruise, because they are recent films.
The movie theater is smaller than the main theater where they have the live shows, and while it got full at times, it was never full to capacity. Just know that if you want a snack from the venue outside the theater, you will need to pay for it. If you want to save some money, take some cookies or something else from the buffet or one of the fast food places to bring to eat. You can also bring soft drinks from the beverage station. I’ve seen people with a whole big plate of pizza piled high, and others who decided to stop by one of the counter service food stations on the pool deck and eat their dinner while watching a movie.
By the time the movie was over, it was getting close to dinner time. It was formal night, so we went and dressed for dinner. Formal night is optional. You do not have to dress formal, so your typical cruise casual is fine. Not everyone dresses up, so it’s ok if you don’t.
Dinner again was great, and the company wonderful. I should mention, too, that our servers were top notch! Later in the week one of the servers was helping in Cabanas. He saw me and immediately brought me a little bowl of lemons. He remembered that all I drink is water with lemon!
We told everyone about the movie we saw in place of the show, and they all decided that they wanted to go see it sometime while still on the ship.
With dinner starting at 8:15 pm, and the group of us gabbing and taking our time with dinner, it gets late fast. While we slept well each night, sometimes that sea air gets to you and you end up wanting to go to your stateroom and relax a bit and then turn in.
To be continued…