Our 1st Proper Halloween - Pacific Coast Cruise Leg - Completed 4/24/2013 About This Page:

[Big Sister]

To reach about our first leg at Universal Studios Hollywood, please click here.

Sunday, 30 September 2012: Setting sail down the Pacific Coast on the Disney Wonder

Got up at 9.18am to have a shower. Woke Nest up afterwards so he could have his shower, while I finished packing last minute items and simultaneously looking out at the window at today's crowd for the park, envious that pretty much most of them would be riding Jurassic Park River Adventure today, and I wouldn't My envy didn't get too out of hand once I reminded myself that I'd be going on a real cruise lasting seven days, and not a pretend one that only lasted four minutes

I had written a list of must dos before going to bed the previous evening, so I set about crossing them off: removing our Qantas flight tags from our luggage, and replacing them with Disney cruise ones; copying the details of our last two meals from room service (gotta be precise with these things!); and, packing the soft toys lining Nest's bed head. The other two tasks required me to leave the room - printing off our limo confirmation e-mail in the Business Centre, then going to the gift store to buy snacks and drinks (in case there weren't any in the limo), and postage stamps for Nest's letter and my postcards (can't believe I didn't manage to send any from Universal this time round!)

When I logged into my e-mail, there was no confirmation e-mail waiting As we had limited time till pick up, I briefly sent our bros an e-mail, saying that we had been having an awesome time, sorry we had been missing their calls, and our run-in with the chainsaw-wielding bunny. I also sent my boss/friend a one-liner, saying that Nest had left me in the middle of the backlot the previous night, surrounded by zombies! (She was the one who got me onto The Walking Dead in the first place.)

At the gift store, I was spoiled for choice with snacks! When faced with this dilemma, it takes me ages to make a decision I came away with four bottles of water, a tube of cheddar cheese Pringles, a packet of pretzels (we had made short work of our previous packet), a packet of Skittles, and a packet of Rolos (chewy caramel covered in chocolate), and ten international postage stamps

By the time I got back to our room, we had ten minutes till limo pick-up. A quick bathroom break, followed by security tagging our luggage, and we left our room for the last time that holiday, not knowing when we'd be back. It wasn't until the door had clicked shut behind us, did I realise I didn't take one last look at the view Oh well, I'll always have the photos

Wheeling our suitcases and struggling with our day bags, we made our way outside and found a shady spot to sit. We were surprised that the limo wasn't there already waiting for us, seeing as it was right on 11.30am. After ten minutes of waiting in intense heat despite being in the shade, I went to the Tours and Transport Desk to ask for assistance. Thank goodness Linda was on duty, and knew the history of our request. Her colleague was already on the phone on behalf of another guest, and found out the main highway had been closed for a marathon (who exercises and races outside in such intense heat?! ), and that the limos were having to use back roads to get to us (why couldn't the marathon runners have used the back roads?! ) Linda had received a confirmation e-mail on our behalf, so I didn't worry about not having received one personally.

Throughout our prolonged wait (we had moved into the air conditioned lobby by this stage), Linda periodically came up to us, apologising and saying the limo company had called again, adding yet another ten minutes to our wait time. She seemed really worried we'd miss the ship, but I explained to her that 1.30pm was the check-in time window I had chosen, and that our deadline was actually 4pm. I definitely wouldn't have been as relaxed as I was if the sail time was actually 1.30pm! She also gave us bottles of water to drink, despite me already saying we already had some.

Nest and I were so happy and excited to see a black stretch limo finally make its way up the driveway. A manager appeared from out of nowhere and gave me his business card, saying that he had arranged for us to get a discount due to the delay, and that if I didn't, to contact him. Linda gave me her card also, to cc her in the message, and thanked us for being so relaxed during the whole thing. (Being agro and difficult wouldn't have made the limo appear any faster.)

As our driver loaded our luggage, we loaded ourselves into the beautiful plushness of the limo, where we could help ourselves to yet more iced water, sparkling cider, ginger ale, 7up, and red 'n white striped peppermints. We just ended up having a 7up each, and snacking on salted pretzels and cheddar cheese Pringles while watching the world go by.

Inside, the very comfortable seats were grey leather with matching cushions. Ever changing coloured neon light tubes lined the ceiling and bar levels. The different sections of the refreshment sections, lit up from below, giving the glasses a beautiful golden glow. Most importantly though, we had air conditioning! I sat in front of one of the vents the entire way, in the curved part going backwards. Nest sat on the back seat below the row of buttons that controlled the sun roof and refreshment lights.

I was soooooooooooooo surprised the drive only took around 50 minutes! Nest was the first to spot the Disney Wonder, and seemed visibly excited, as if it had suddenly sunk in that all this excitement was real and ready to begin. I got massively excited too, especially when I spotted a big welcome banner flanked by Mickey and Donald.

Our first view of the Disney Wonder

I seriously couldn't believe how smooth the check-in process was! It probably took all of 15 minutes, from curb side drop, to boarding the ship! We said goodbye to, thanked and tipped our limo driver.

Even before our suitcases were out of the boot, a luggage handler was on hand to take the suitcases away and make sure they got on the ship. We showed our passports and cruise book at the door to the terminal, and were let inside.

Right inside, we stopped and filled in a two question health survey (it took forever ) Then we went up the escalators (after having received our first copy of the Daily Navigator) and checked in (the people checking in next to us, were from Albury Wodonga - almost right next door to our hometown! ) I was surprised at the lack of crowds. We showed our passports, signed and submitted our online reservation form, had our photos taken, and received our Key to the Worlds cards (blue with Captain Mickey on them), and another card with our boarding number and time on it (which ended up not applying.)

Went outside and had our pic taken with some of the characters from the Cars movies.

Went through Customs - the lady loved Squeaky Koala Bear, who Nest was carrying around in his top shirt pocket. Out of Customs, we stopped at a hand sanitation station. It was cute how they had spouts at adult and child levels. Then we walked through an enclosed see-through ramp, and then suddenly we found ourselves on board the Disney Wonder!!

Nearly there!

Getting closer!

A cast member asked Nest, who boarded first, for our family name, and then announced in a really loud voice, "Ladies and gentlemen - please welcome the Carriage Family!", and everyone nearby started clapping! Neither of us were expecting this, and it put even bigger grins on our faces

After our royal welcome, another staff member approached us and told us there was food available in Parrot Cay, or a buffet up in Beach Blanket Buffet. Nest and I headed up to deck nine to Beach Blanket Buffet. It was another stinking hot day, and the first thing I noticed once on deck, was a table with fantastic arrangement of traffic cone drink things (what with this being a Pixar cruise) - they were awesome, and attracted me like a magnet! I bought one each for Nest and myself. They contained a really yummy tropical cocktail drink.

Up at Beach Blanket Buffet, the lady cast member took a liking to the traffic cone drinks, and asked if we had gotten one for her. Then she spotted Squeaky Koala Bear tucked into Nest's shirt pocket, took him out, and confiscated him , saying that animals weren't allowed in the dining room, and gave him to the male cast member on the other side, saying that he collects soft toys.

After talks of a $10 ransom, Squeaky Koala Bear was returned, and Nest and I began our journey up the buffet line, trays at the ready. I had some prawns, a pesto and sun dried tomato pasta, mashed potato with Monteray Jack cheese (was thrilled to see that! ), and an assortment of cheeses. From the dessert bar, I pretty much took one of everything! There were double shot glasses (marbled effect with little Mickey heads on them) with peach jelly, peach pieces and mini marshmallows on top (this was super delicious!), peach cobbler, raspberry and white chocolate mousse, a chocolate brownie square (super rich), cheesecake square with a crumb base and raspberry couli topping, and a petite cake with a choux ball on top containing custard. I could detect a hint of citrus about it. Nest had a marinated chicken breast (which was apparently very yummy), some cubes of cheese, a mini tuna roll, and heaps of desserts (the peach jelly one I had, fruit crumble, choc chip cookie, chocolate slice, mini New York cheesecake, and others.)

It was well after 2pm once we had done with the buffet, so Nest and I decided to check out our stateroom: number 8074 on deck eight - a deluxe family stateroom with balcony

It was smaller than I imagined, and the separate loo and bathroom were tiny, plus we only had one king-sized bed (and a coach that could be made into a bed), but we managed, and were still really happy.

Explored our stateroom, took photos, and sat out on the balcony, relaxing.

View from balcony

Were introduced to the announcement system, and the emergency warning system. The latter was so unbelievably loud, it was worse than my old work fire alarm made for a factory environment and not an office environment. We didn't relax too much though, as we had to be on the ball for the mandatory safety drill at 3.30pm, which took around half an hour.

Think the sail away party began at 4.30pm. Nest and I went up to check it out. There were cast members walking around with trays of cocktails - I bought one for myself, and got a mocktail for Nest. The cast member then kindly offered to take a photo of us, cocktails in hand, with her tray in the foreground, as if they were all ours. It turned out to be one of my favourite photos of the whole trip. While we were mucking around like this, Mickey and friends were dancing and singing on stage - exciting background music to our introduction to cruising

Once we were all sorted, a cast member came on stage, hyping everyone up and putting the Party Rock Anthem on. Loads of kids and some adults got up on stage and began dancing. Nest and I were watching from up on deck ten. We both love the song, and I couldn't help but move around to it a bit myself. I videoed a portion of it to preserve the intense happiness on board. I only stopped when Nest told me we were moving - I hadn't even noticed! It was so smooth! We rushed to the side, and eventually the front, to record the beginning of our maiden voyage. If I was massively happy on reaching Universal, then I was euphoric on finally being on a Disney cruise after four years of badly wanting to go on one!

Judging from the look on his face, I think Nest was getting 'over-excited' at me taking so many photos of him

Retreated to our room and relaxed (think we watched MIB3) until it was almost time for our pre-dinner show, Welcome Aboard : Let the Magic Begin! On the way to the Walt Disney Theatre, we dropped our entry into Shutters to win two free photos. We didn't know when the results were going to be made known, but I was sure we'd find out if we were the lucky winners. We still had a bit of time before the show began, so we decided to check out the shops. We were one of the first people in the door of Treasure Ketch when it opened for the first time during our cruise, which was exciting. It was if we were getting a special preview. I picked up a really pretty hoody, which I was told was a discontinued line, and three postcards for my collection. We had a massively quick look in the store opposite, Mickey's Mates, but didn't make any purchases, as it was show time.

The show was hosted by Jimmy, the Entertainment Director. The show was done in about three segments, and was about a family boarding a Disney cruise just like we had done, and all the excitement they were experiencing. It then focussed on the boy's dream of becoming a sailor, and of one day becoming the 'Big Cheese' (ie. Captain) like Mickey.

In-between these segments, Jimmy would get to know the audience, and tell us what to expect over the course of the next seven days. He also said that all diets weren't applicable on the cruise, and to just eat everything we saw! No worries there, especially as he said the most weight we could gain was about seven pounds! He also said he liked high fives, so for the kids and adults to feel free to come up to him and give him a high five whenever we saw him. (Nest and I came across him once, and held our hands up as we walked by, smiling, and he returned the favour )

In one of the show intermissions, we got to see a preview of a comedy show for the following night, by two comedians we'd never heard of before, called Alfred and Seymour. They were so funny , that we both made a note that we just had to see their full show the following night! Thank goodness for this preview, otherwise we wouldn't have known just what we were missing! Here were some of the highlights from their preview:

· We learnt, on no account, to be late to one of their shows, as either Alfred or Seymour would approach every single latecomer, and engage in some kind of embarrassing banter with them. We also learnt never to sit in the front row
· They were also going on about how since a lot of us had paid over $5000 to go on the cruise, and how we were going to get none of it back (stamping their foot to accentuate this fact), that we should eat as much as we could.
· Another thing they said we should do, was to let the laughter out, otherwise if we held it in, it would just come out as farts
· Alfred was going to do some dancing, and Seymour was going to put on some dance music. Seymour kept on putting the wrong music on (for eg. Barbie Girl and I Wish I Were Taller (as Alfred's shorter than Seymour)), and Alfred was getting annoyed. Finally Seymour put the right music on, and Alfred did some hip hop dancing.
· Near the end of their set, they said we should get all of our luggage in from the corridors by the end of night, otherwise or they would be doing some shopping later on that night

The last Disney show segment was the infectious song and dance number, Be Our Guest, from Beauty and the Beast This signalled that it was time for the people with second seating, to go to dinner ... in an hour's time.

Leaving the Walt Disney Theatre, we popped into Mickey's Mates, seeing as we didn't have any time to purchase goodies before the show. Mickey's Mates was so exciting! There was so much inside that I wanted to buy! There was a Halloween display right on entering, that I spent ages pouring over. I came out with:

· A Mickey Mouse ghost lantern that glows or flickers. You can store candy in the head part. (It wasn't until a lot later, when Nest discovered that it projected a Halloween Mickey on the ground when it was turned on - so awesome!);
· A glow-in-the-dark Disneyland Halloween t-shirt. There are even ghosts on the back of one of the shoulders - a cute touch;
· A Pacific cruise Summer 2012 pin;
· Three Halloween pins (Mickey & Minnie ghosts, Halloween Minnie, and Halloween Duffy); and,
· Two packs of twelve postcard memories (one pack to write on and sent, and the other pack for my collection.)

After shopping, we went back to our stateroom to get ready for dinner. On entering our stateroom, we found a towel swan and two chocolates with Sleepy the Dwarf on the wrapper, waiting for us. We were to learn this was going to be a nightly occurrence, which we were thrilled about, as we've always wanted towel animals waiting for us on a regular basis after a big day out. (Previous to this, out of all our Disney travels, we've probably received only two towel animals.)

Our dinner was scheduled for Triton's, which was putting on a French dinner. On the back wall, was a beautiful large mosaic of King Triton and Arial. Parts of the ceiling were made up of blue and pink lights, which reflected beautifully in our glassed beverages and shiny silver cutlery.

Dinner was absolutely divine! I had:

· Cocktail: The Royal: white wine, creme de cassis, and peach schnapps (thanks to Nest making a selection of liqueur cheesecakes back home, I didn't have to wonder what creme de cassis was);
· Appetiser: Market green salad with goat's cheese and a raspberry vinaigrette (this was so nice);
· Main: Braised lamb shank in red wine with creamy polenta and mushrooms (the lamb shank was so HUGE, I began to panic! LOL!);
· Dessert: Chocolate mousse (a small round circle (they must've known I could barely fit anything else in after my huge lamb shank!) with a cherry on top and a chard of white and dark chocolate resting against it. There was also a smear of chocolate on the plate, a blob of cream, and three dots of citrus sauce.)

Nest had:

· Drink: Diet Coke;
· Appetiser: Market green salad with goat's cheese and a raspberry vinaigrette;
· Main: Slow roasted chicken breast with steamed vegies and a baked potato;
· Dessert: Creme brulee.

Sometime during the evening, we went to Shutters and got our boarding photos and Cars photos. I bought a special album with a beautiful photo of the Disney Wonder going under the Golden Gate Bridge. Inside the album, is our boarding photo and a formal photo of the main Disney characters.

How do we top the night of our very first cruise? By doing our washing, which had amassed during our time at Universal! It took us an hour and twenty minutes, and we weren't able to crash into bed until well past 1am as a result!

We were just so excited at the prospect of doing our laundry

As I went to sleep, I looked back excitedly on the day, how much I had thoroughly enjoyed it, and how super happy I was to have been able to share it with Nest. I also thought it was great how all the Disney staff we met from the second we arrived at the pier, were so super friendly, helpful and happy - their mood was like ours, and if was as if they'd be joining us for a week's worth of cruise excitement.

Next entry: First day at sea

[lauriep]

What a fantastic first day on the ship and introduction to cruising! You just can't beat the wonderful DCL CMs. They really do make every moment on board special.

[chezp]

Glad you had such a wonderful day on the cruise!

[Dlandmom2]

Great start to your cruise! I'm living vicariously through you until I get to take my first Disney Cruise!

[pamcarey]

What a great start to your first cruise! How neat to see some of the special Pixar touches!

[clio]

Great start. I love those traffic cone drinks. I can't wait to read more.
Liz

[mushu22]

Great start

[shazza]

Great start. I love your enthusiasm.

[Principessa_di_Fata]

Love this so far! Great photos, and love the traffic cone drinks! I'd have had to get one of those, too!

[ctsmom116]

Great Start can't wait to finish reading about your cruise

[Big Sister]

Originally Posted by lauriep

What a fantastic first day on the ship and introduction to cruising! You just can't beat the wonderful DCL CMs. They really do make every moment on board special.

Thank you I agree - just a little bit of kindness from complete strangers, goes a long way to making such an occasion feel that more special and memorable! I seriously can't imagine cruising with any other company as a result.

[Big Sister]

Originally Posted by chezp

Glad you had such a wonderful day on the cruise!

Originally Posted by pamcarey

What a great start to your first cruise! How neat to see some of the special Pixar touches!

Originally Posted by mushu22

Great start

Originally Posted by shazza

Great start. I love your enthusiasm.

Originally Posted by ctsmom116

Great Start can't wait to finish reading about your cruise

so much, everyone! We were so excited to finally be able to live the dream we had spent so long dreaming about, and I'm now excited to be able to share our experiences with like-minded Disney fans!

I just finished writing about the cruise last weekend The San Francisco entries took me forever , but I hope you all excuse my bro and I for the upcoming entry being so short, despite the number of activities available on board during an at sea day (we needed a lazy day )

[Big Sister]

Originally Posted by Dlandmom2

Great start to your cruise! I'm living vicariously through you until I get to take my first Disney Cruise!

Thank you . I look forward to hearing about your first Disney cruise! You have an awesome new discovery experience ahead of you!

[Big Sister]

Originally Posted by clio

Great start. I love those traffic cone drinks. I can't wait to read more.
Liz

Originally Posted by Principessa_di_Fata

Love this so far! Great photos, and love the traffic cone drinks! I'd have had to get one of those, too!

Thanks, ladies! Those traffic cone drinks certainly did grab my attention - there was no way I could walk by without getting my bro and I one each (even if they did prove difficult to transport home afterwards ) I so love novelty items like this!

[Big Sister]

Monday, 1 October 2012 : First day at sea

Woke up at 10.55am. We had been meaning to get up at 10am so we could attend the 11am session of bingo. As it was obvious we wouldn't be making it as hoped (unless we rushed straight on down in our pyjamas and unkempt hair ), we cut our losses and relaxed in our room. While Nest watched TV and wrote his journal from the comfort of his king-sized bed, I wrote out on the balcony ... or at least tried to. I kept on nodding off, as it was such a hot day, and I found the sound of the waves very hypnotic and relaxing. Nest kept on coming out and catching me asleep, to which I denied the fact, insisting that I just had my eyes squinted trying to see ocean dwelling creatures

Around 1.30pm, we ordered room service for lunch. Nest had:

· The "All hands on deck" cheese platter: crackers, edam cheese, smoked cheese, blue cheese (this remained untouched due to a past traumatic taste experience ), another soft cheese (brie or camembert - I can never tell the difference ), swiss cheese, red Leicester cheese, a bunch of grapes, and celery sticks;
· Crispy chicken tenders with BBQ sauce and fries; and,
· A little carton of milk

I had a delicious steak sandwich which came with fries and a small bowl of coleslaw. To share, we also ordered two 'Big Island' extra large choc chip cookies, and a six pack of Evian water.

We attended the 4pm bingo session in WaveBands down on deck three, which was the $5000 mega jackpot The session included four games, the last of which was for $5000 within 46 numbers called, of which no one won (phew - there was still hope for us yet!)

In-between each game, Disney bags of goodies were raffled off to a few lucky individuals. Nest won a prize of $122 on the third game, which we redeemed at Guest Services afterwards - I was so happy for him, as I know how intense with determination and hope he can get when it comes to games with cash prizes. Unfortunately, Nest neglected to do bingo dance reserved strictly for winners, which we had all practiced before the games began. Perhaps he was thinking how if that other person hadn't won the third game also, that his prize would've been $244 instead of $122.

To celebrate Nest's win, we went to Pluto's Dog House up on deck nine for weenie dogs with mustard, tomato sauce and fries. While Nest minded our food and table, I got him a hot chocolate and myself a Sprite from the drink station. It was great eating Nest's celebratory snack with views of nothing but the sparkling ocean surrounding us.

After our celebratory snack, we went back to our stateroom to get a bit more relaxing in before our 6.15pm pre-dinner show, tonight's one of which was called The Golden Mickeys. We were aware that the dress code for tonight's dinner was formal, but we thought it would be ok if we rocked up to the show in our casuals. While it was ok to do that, I felt a little embarrassed when everyone else seemed to be rocking up in their formal gear, especially as they had photographers lining the red carpet leading up to the theatre entrance, madly snapping away with flashes going off, as if they were the paparazzi and we were famous! I was soooooooooooo relieved when I later found out there was no film in those cameras. If, on the other hand, there had've been, it would've been a hilarious memento of our fashion faux pas

Nest described The Golden Mickeys as such: "It was famous Disney characters/movies being given Golden Mickey statues. It was pretty much just a show full of singing and dancing with lots of the Disney characters (nooooo! Too much singing!)" Poor Nest! I really appreciated him accompanying me to the shows and group dinners, as I know they're not his thing. He knew how important seeing all the different dining rooms were to me, sampling all the different menus (especially when the room service menu was so limited), and giving the shows a go - what a great bro!

My favourite part of the show, was when Tim Allen came on to accept the Golden Mickey award for the Toy Story movies (via video screen.) I can't remember his exact words, but he was saying that utility belts were great, unless they were worn too low and tight. I believed I was the only one in our section of the theatre to have a chuckle over that

After the show, we returned to our stateroom to get ready for our formal dinner at Animator's Palate. Nest wore black dress pants and shoes, with a short sleeved collared maroon silk shirt. I also wore black dress pants with heels and a layered short sleeved peacock blue top.

We were looking forward to dining at Animator's Palate, as we had heard (and seen on documentaries) that the black and white sketches of Disney characters on the walls, slowly change to colour over the course of your meal, as did the cast members' uniforms. I was seated against the wall, so had to keep on turning around throughout our meal to get a good look at them, only to find out they hadn't changed.

We were later to find out that in keeping with the formal theme, they wouldn't be changing to colour this night, which we were really disappointed in. Oh well, at least we will be prepared for this on formal night during our next Disney cruise (if I can convince Nest to come with me, that is - he's not a fan of dressing up. He loves nothing more than to relax and be casual ... which I must admit I do too - it's far less stressful.)

While waiting for our meal to arrive, we had a variety of breads with garlic dressing. For dinner, Nest dined on:

· Drink: Diet Coke;
· Appetiser: A baby green leaf salad consisting of lettuce, tomato, turkey, avocado, and chives with a gruyere cheese dressing;
· Main: Roast turkey with a delicate tomato sauce, sweet mashed potato, buttered green beans, and a scoop of stuffing with cranberry sauce on the side (Nest thought the stuffing tasted a bit weird, as it had apple in it);
· Dessert: Golden Mickey: Choc mousse consisting of a thin chocolate cake base, and topped off with chocolate icing

I had the same, except instead of Diet Coke, my beverage of choice was the Golden Dream cocktail, consisting of mango puree, Malibu rum, and peach schnapps.

Straight after dinner, we returned to our stateroom, quickly changed back into our casual clothes, then headed for the Walt Disney Theatre to line up for Alfred and Seymour's adult variety show at 10.30pm. In no way did we want to walk in late after witnessing what happened to the latecomers from the previous evening.

The variety show was seriously awesome, thoroughly entertaining, and hilarious. We both thought how it was refreshing in this day and age where almost anything goes, that they didn't swear once, despite the show being aimed at adults - we were so impressed by this Comedians don't need to swear to be funny. (On returning to Australia, I bought Alfred and Seymour's dvds and book as part of Nest's Christmas present. I seriously couldn't believe on opening these gifts, that Nest didn’t recognise them straight away!! )

Selected highlights of the show, were:

· When a group came in late, hurrying to get a seat up the back before being noticed, a spotlight was put on them. Seymour ran up to them and began talking. Alfred asked Seymour what they were saying, to which Seymour replied, "They asked if I knew where to get some good weed."

· Near the start, Seymour did some awesome robot techno kind of dance, once Alfred had finally put the right kind of music on.

· They told us how they were nearly late for the cruise because they had had a show in Seattle, then caught a plane to LA, where they hired a rental car to drive to the port in San Pedro. On the way they got a flat tire because there was a fork in the road (to this day, Nest still doubles over in laughter at that ) They got out to change the tyre, when a car pulled up behind them and a big beefy guy jumped out, who went up to the front of the car and popped the hood. The guys were like, "What's going on?", then the beefy guy said, "If you're taking the wheels, then I'm taking the battery!"


There was a guy called Steven, who was sitting in the front row, and was getting an awful lot of attention throughout the night from Alfred and Seymour. Luckily for all concerned, he took it good-naturally, and played along. Things involving Steven that night, were:

· It all started when a tray of drinks arrived and were handed to Steven. As Steven was handing a girly looking cocktail to a member of his party, Alfred and Seymour said, "Stop passing it off to someone else - we just know it's yours!"

· Three guys were chosen from the audience to participate in a dance sketch, with one of them being Steven. Seymour got them all to copy his dance moves, and then had a dance off with them one-by-one. Steven was the first cab off the rank, and was surprisingly ok. Alfred and Seymour were surprised and laughing so much saying this was supposed to be easy. The second guy was ok also. You could tell the third guy was a bit embarrassed, but still managed to do a good job, at the end taking Seymour's hat, putting it on, dancing, and then threw it on the ground. Seymour said, "Oh no he didn't!", to which we heard a lone voice in the audience call back, "Oh yes he did!" Steven was deemed the winner, and got a signed photo for his efforts.

· Steven was hauled up onto the stage later on, with Alfred and Seymour asking the audience what colour he was. After various answers they said he was peach, as he was not like white like his t-shirt. They then explained that white people change colours due to different factors: blue when cold, red when angry, green when sick, grey when dead. They then went on to fuss that why then, are black people the ones called coloured people?! They explained that their wristbands were black, while their skin was brown. They then explained that they stay brown, whether they're cold, angry, sick, or dead, which just goes to show that it's white people who should be called coloured. Fair call. Steven was given a second signed photo for participating.

On returning to our stateroom after the show, we found an elephant towel animal, choccies, the following day's Personal Navigator, a really exciting booklet on future Disney cruises, and a leaflet on Disney Pixar art, waiting for us. It was really nice to have had a fully relaxing, yet fun, day after all the exciting full-on ones we had been experiencing. I was keeping an eye on our Personal Navigator throughout the day, bringing particular activities to Nest's attention I thought he may enjoy, such as attending the 2pm presentation by Harley Jessup, production designer of some of the Disney Pixar films, but choosing to relax won over each time And I was suddenly too busy sleeping trying to spot ocean dwelling creatures out on the balcony, when the Secrets to a Flatter Stomach presentation began at 1.15pm

Next entry: San Francisco : Day 1