Pirates of the Tennessean - Dave and INC's Dream Cruise!

[liv luvs disney 2]

It's so hard for me to get any work done when I get on here, but I sure am glad I did!

[mgsmom 9]

Thanks for the info! Well, tell INC thanks!

I can't wait to read about Pirate night!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Hey Dave-

I just remembered to go back and look at one of the photos from my trip, because this photo of yours reminded me of something:

I posted several photos in my TR of some fine duct-tape work on that cone shaped item to the right of Donald's feet. For example, this one:

It looks like they got that thing fixed between my cruise and your cruise.

TCD

I'm not sure what they fixed, but if it was because of leaks they have more work to do. I found out you can't really stand underneath the AD without getting dripped on.

It's so hard for me to get any work done when I get on here, but I sure am glad I did!

Thanks for stopping by, Liv!

Thanks for the info! Well, tell INC thanks!

I can't wait to read about Pirate night!

I am going to try to get an update posted tonight. It has been a very busy day!

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

update update update update.... excuse me while I go take my meds

[DaveInTN 3,247]

When we arrived back on the ship after our time on the island, there were pirate bandanas waiting for us on our beds.

That's right...it is Pirate Night! :thewave1:

I thought we had a pirate smiley?? Am I missing it?

In any case, before we could leave the room for the festivities we needed to clean the sand from ourselves. And as I was doing that, I had one of those "wow, engineering is amazing" thoughts.

After a day at Castaway Cay, there have got to be thousands of people showering to prepare for dinner within a few hour window. It is amazing to me that there is enough hot water, and enough water pressure, to accomodate all of those showers within a confined cruise ship in a short period of time. Absolutely amazing when you think about it.

Ok, with that said, let's move on to Pirate Night!

Pirate Night is a special feature of all Disney Cruises (I think all of them anyways) where they have a special menu at dinner, a pirate themed show up on Deck 11, and fireworks off the starboard side. Every restaurant serves the same menu that night, so it really doesn't matter where you are assigned...you are getting the same food.

We donned our bandanas and went to explore a bit. And lookie who we came upon!

Arrrrr!!!

Our restaurant assignment was at Enchanted Garden.

This is a beautiful restaurant on Deck 2 that is themed like a Victorian garden. You start dinner out in "daylight", and throughout dinner the restaurant transforms to nighttime. We had a good table to watch this transformation, very close to the center of the restaurant.

Here is the restaurant early in our dinner.

We'll check back on that later...

For appetizers, here are our selections.

Pirates Golden "Pot Stickers" - oriental pork "dumplings" deep fried and served with a tamarind-ginger soy sauce and pickled vegetables

These pot stickers were a big hit with my girls.

Stella and Anna had the kids mozzarella sticks.

I wanted to try...

The Buccaneer's Sun-Ripened Pineapple - fresh island pineapple with a coconut covered banana and orange glaze

So good!

For the second course, INC and I tried the Caribbean-style Conch Chowder - with sherry, sweet peppers, onions, tomatoes, thyme, and garnished with diced potatoes and crispy bacon bits

So far, so good.

For the entrees, the little ones wanted some chicken and fries.

Gotta love those steak fries!!!

Several of the ladies ordered the Treasures of the Seas Grilled Shrimp and Seared Scallops - served on strings of pasta and fresh creamy tomato sauce

They all loved this dish!

I ordered the beef short ribs...which I swear were served differently than this description...Jack Sparrow's Barbecue Marinated Beef Short Ribs - Rubbed beef short rips with tamarind-barbecue sauce and served with onion red bliss mashed potatoes and plantain chip. In any case, they were good.

I had some troublesome pirates at my table.

It's kinda hard to tell in the pictures, but the restaurant was transforming to night.

Another troublesome pirate!!

Getting darker.

The natives are continuing to get restless...

Picture limit.....

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Continuing...

We have arrived at dessert time!

A couple of the girls, including Anna, tried the brownie with ice cream.

INC ordered the Rum Soaked Chocolate Cake - with raspberry glaze and whipped cream

My older girls were into trying the Sweet Temptations most evenings...which gave you a sampling of 3 of the night's desserts. I tried it along with them on this night.

Sweet Temptations - a trio of fruit cobbler, floating island and chocolate cake

Tomas didn't even have to ask Stella what she wanted.

She looks satisfied, don't you think? :rofl2:

A pirate ghost appeared behind Emma and turned her into a Pilgrim!

Freaky, I know. :rofl3:

Actually, Tomas made napkin hats for all the girls.

We also had more of Tomas' crayon tricks to contend with.

This one had something to do with a cow and an arrow being shot at it. We had to rearrange two of the crayons to save the cow, without touching the arrow.

I'll hold off on posting the answer to give you time to consider...

It got darker yet...

And with that, our Pirate Night dinner was over....but Pirate Night was just beginning. And, in case you were worried about us wasting away, there was more food coming up later in the evening.

A LOT...OF.....FOOD! :rofl3:

Coming up...

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

That restaurant looks beautiful! Your ribs are making my mouth water! and now for my fave pictures.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Priceless pics

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Pirate dinner is lots of fun!!! Can't wait to see your pictures of the pirate party since we skipped and chose to watch the fireworks from our verandah.

[LORNADUCK 261]

I just got caught up, great updates. I love your attention to detail, I was on the same boat and didn't notice 1/2 the amount of things that you point out. Or maybe I am just forgetting LOL. You all look like you had such a great time, the girls are such good sports.

[SCTigerCock 171]

Awesome pics Dave! I'm happy you and the family are having a great time.

I'm starting to understand why my Uncle took his 4 kids on Disney Cruises so ofton.

[stefa70 205]

That's the best looking group of pirates I've ever seen...well, ok, right under Johnny Depp.

I guess I really am a kid at heart (and size) the cheese sticks and chicken fingers look delicious!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Beautiful family, beautiful restaurant, delicious-looking food, and a pirate party about to begin!

[Family of Bears 98]

I gotta know how to save the cow. The suspense will kill me.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I don't want to save the cow. Bring me a steak!

You're lucky you got a good table in Enchanted Garden. Our table was way off to the side, and I didn't even notice that there was any kind of special effects until one of my daughters pointed them out. We really couldn't see much from our table.

I can't wait to see all of you at the Pirate party. This would have been your last chance to get yourself projected up on the big screen.

TCD

[We4mickey 6]

You had the same rotation as us. I never noticed anything changing in this restaurant. I guess we were just too busy stuffing our faces. lol

[fortpartyof4 108]

So many times while reading this, I have said "holy eyes!"!!! Wow your daughters have some strikingly beautiful eyes!

I think I have gained 10 pounds reading your TR. Please finish it up so I can get back to exercising, not sitting on my can! It's like a good book that I can't put down!

(edited) - meaning I'm gaining weight just looking at all of this fabulous food!!!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

That restaurant looks beautiful! Your ribs are making my mouth water! and now for my fave pictures.

Thanks! I like those two pics as well. Anna cracks me up in the one.

Priceless pics

Thank you Nicki!

Pirate dinner is lots of fun!!! Can't wait to see your pictures of the pirate party since we skipped and chose to watch the fireworks from our verandah.

The pirate party was a lot of fun....and was crazy busy! I have pics of that coming up in my next update.

I just got caught up, great updates. I love your attention to detail, I was on the same boat and didn't notice 1/2 the amount of things that you point out. Or maybe I am just forgetting LOL. You all look like you had such a great time, the girls are such good sports.

I tried to notice as much as I could, but you could spend a month on that ship and not take it all in.

Awesome pics Dave! I'm happy you and the family are having a great time.

I'm starting to understand why my Uncle took his 4 kids on Disney Cruises so ofton.

Yeah, I just wish they weren't so darned expensive.

That's the best looking group of pirates I've ever seen...well, ok, right under Johnny Depp.

I guess I really am a kid at heart (and size) the cheese sticks and chicken fingers look delicious!

The kids food on the ship got rave reviews. But none more than the steak fries. :heart:

Beautiful family, beautiful restaurant, delicious-looking food, and a pirate party about to begin!

I know! I'm bursting with excitement!

I gotta know how to save the cow. The suspense will kill me.

I'm sorry Brandy! I'll post the answer to that next.

I don't want to save the cow. Bring me a steak!

You're lucky you got a good table in Enchanted Garden. Our table was way off to the side, and I didn't even notice that there was any kind of special effects until one of my daughters pointed them out. We really couldn't see much from our table.

I can't wait to see all of you at the Pirate party. This would have been your last chance to get yourself projected up on the big screen.

TCD

That would be one waxy tasting steak.

I remember you saying your EG table was not ideal. These things are hit or miss on the cruises. I don't know if they purposely rotate the tables in your dinner rotation...our Royal Palace table was way over to the edge of the restaurant....or AP table was kinda in the middle, not next to a screen but fairly close, and our EG table was prime.

And don't hold your breath on me getting on the big screen. Although there is something to report there. So on second thought, hold your breath.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

You had the same rotation as us. I never noticed anything changing in this restaurant. I guess we were just too busy stuffing our faces. lol

LOL! It is easy to miss the effects when you are busy eating. I had read about them ahead of time and was on the lookout. Otherwise I probably would have missed it too, or at least just wondered why it seemed darker.

So many times while reading this, I have said "holy eyes!"!!! Wow your daughters have some strikingly beautiful eyes!

I think I have gained 10 pounds reading your TR. Please finish it up so I can get back to exercising, not sitting on my can! It's like a good book that I can't put down!

(edited) - meaning I'm gaining weight just looking at all of this fabulous food!!!

My girls get their eyes from their Mama. Except Anna. I have been told that she has my eyes.

Funny story regarding my eyes. INC has always been noted as having big beautiful eyes. I on the other hand have small eyes, and it is physically impossible for me to open them any wider than they are. A few years ago I went to get a new drivers license, and when I got home I showed it to INC and the kids cause they wanted to see the picture. Emma noticed that next to "Eyes" it said BL (for blue). But she thought "BL" stood for "barely".

They all laughed pretty good at that one. All except for me. :banghead:

:rofl2:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I remember you saying your EG table was not ideal. These things are hit or miss on the cruises. I don't know if they purposely rotate the tables in your dinner rotation...our Royal Palace table was way over to the edge of the restaurant....or AP table was kinda in the middle, not next to a screen but fairly close, and our EG table was prime.

And don't hold your breath on me getting on the big screen. Although there is something to report there. So on second thought, hold your breath.

Hurrry, up already, how long do you think I can hold my breath?

Interesting that your table moved around. Ours did too. Which is different from how it was on our previous cruises. On our previous cruises, the table number we had was in the same approximate space in each of the dining rooms. On this cruise, we bounced around in the same general area, but the table moved by quite a few spaces. I really did not like where we were in RP the first night. There is actually a little side room off one of the corners- and we were in there. There were only three other tables in there. At first, I thought it was cool, but we felt really isolated. At AP, though, we were right against one of the big screens, so that was good. Since we got that primo spot in AP, we probably got relegated to a less favorable table in EG. It really wasn't a big deal, but, it kind of is dumb how they have so many tables that can't see the show in EG.

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

My girls get their eyes from their Mama. Except Anna. I have been told that she has my eyes.

perhaps you have some red terror in your ancestry or personal history...

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Hurrry, up already, how long do you think I can hold my breath?

Interesting that your table moved around. Ours did too. Which is different from how it was on our previous cruises. On our previous cruises, the table number we had was in the same approximate space in each of the dining rooms. On this cruise, we bounced around in the same general area, but the table moved by quite a few spaces. I really did not like where we were in RP the first night. There is actually a little side room off one of the corners- and we were in there. There were only three other tables in there. At first, I thought it was cool, but we felt really isolated. At AP, though, we were right against one of the big screens, so that was good. Since we got that primo spot in AP, we probably got relegated to a less favorable table in EG. It really wasn't a big deal, but, it kind of is dumb how they have so many tables that can't see the show in EG.

TCD

It is odd that they didn't make more than just the center of the EG restaurant change from day to night. You'd think they could easily have done the entire restaurant that way...it's really nothing more than fake arbors with frosted glass panels covering lights that dim.

perhaps you have some red terror in your ancestry or personal history...

If you had ever met my grandma you would guess that to be true.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Ok, for those of you wondering about saving the cow, here is the answer.

Here again is the original configuration of crayons, representing a cow (on the left) about to be shot with an arrow (on the right)

The task was to move only 2 crayons to save the cow, and you could not touch the arrow.

And here is the solution. You make the cow lay down, so the arrow passes over it.

Now if you ever go on a Disney Cruise and get Tomas as your server, you can dazzle him with your problem solving skills. :rofl3:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

And here is the solution. You make the cow lay down, so the arrow passes over it.

Sorry, but if the cow lays on the ground, how is it saved?

Doesn't it end up being ground beef?

:rofl3:

TCD

[HappyRedhead......Betsy 16]

Sorry, but if the cow lays on the ground, how is it saved?

Doesn't it end up being ground beef?

:rofl3:

TCD

Beat me to that one TCD! :rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2:

Great trip report! Thanks!