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[chezp]

Originally Posted by pamcarey

Tiana's Place certainly does look different than Parrot Cay! Maybe it's just the angle of the picture, but it looks smaller to me, too.

I didn't notice it was any smaller, but it could look that way, perhaps with the darker colours? I guess maybe they could have expanded the kitchen slightly too?

Very cool that "Ironic" by Alanis Morrisette is one of your favorite songs. I'll be seeing a new musical next May based on her Jagged Little Pill album!

Oh wow - that sounds very neat!

[SuperDave]

Too bad with the crowded Rainforest as that is not something you want at the spa and the fewer people the better! I had the same problem you did on my Magic cruise and there were no robes when I had to change for my treatment. Had to go to front desk to get one! It wasn't crazy busy either but good traffic.

Can't believe the problems you are having with the service at the Wonder eateries. Should be much better on a Disney cruise and not what you expect. It couldn't have been any better on mine.

I guess you have a new favorite with the Chocolate Martini! I guess I'll have to have one of these one day and find a place in WDW that does them well!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by SuperDave

Can't believe the problems you are having with the service at the Wonder eateries. Should be much better on a Disney cruise and not what you expect. It couldn't have been any better on mine.

Sadly, as you know from some of my previous trip reports, this is not the first time we've had such problems with service on our cruises.

I guess you have a new favorite with the Chocolate Martini! I guess I'll have to have one of these one day and find a place in WDW that does them well!

Oh that's been one of my favourites for a while!

[chezp]

Monday 6 March – part seven: “who is she?”

We were very lucky, and Miss Tiana was literally walking past our table as we arrived, so I got Mark to get a photo of me with her. I was very excited to see her, although I got the impression Mark was like “who is she?” Sometimes some advance knowledge is a good thing…



Now what I wasn’t expecting was to enjoy such a wonderful show almost all the way through the meal from the Crawfish Crooners (what a great name! ). They were great, and played tunes that I mostly recognised, including some Disney numbers, although I will confess that they were a bit loud, which made conversation a bit difficult. Because we were sitting next to Laura and Nicole, we were talking, but quite often Laura, who was right next to me had to then pass on what I’d said to Nicole, as she couldn’t hear a word I was saying, which was a bit frustrating. I wish I’d known that in advance, and in a way, I wish it had been a little later in our cruise, once we’d all finished getting to know each other, and were chatting less, if that makes sense?

However, I can’t fault the enthusiasm of the band, or how well they played. They really did get the whole place jumping.



We also had a starring appearance by Louis, the alligator from the Princess and the Frog. I felt terrible, as I didn’t even know his name, never having watched the movie. I think I’m going to need to rectify that, having enjoyed dinner here. Unlike Sorcerer Mickey the night before, where if you miss him once, that’s it – tough, there were plenty of opportunities to see him, as he kept coming out again and again during the meal, which I really liked, as my first shots weren’t that great, as I just wasn’t expecting him.



Towards the end of the meal, there was another parade by the servers, which was really good fun…



We also all got beads to wear, which added to the atmosphere. I felt this show absolutely knocked the one in Animator’s Palate for six. Don’t get me wrong, that is fun, but my goodness, it’s nothing compared to the good feel of this one, and this has the bonus of continuing throughout the meal, whereas theirs is very much once your meal is concluding.

Ok, so it’s fairly obvious I loved the entertainment here, but what about the food, especially after our disappointment last night?

Well, I skipped the appetisers altogether, as there was nothing on there that appealed to me, but Mark had the ahi tuna tartare with mango, pine nuts, radish and wasabi. After my incident with the tuna last night, I just couldn’t face that dish, and the fact it came with wasabi didn’t inspire me either.



However, please don’t think that meant I went hungry! Instead, I had two options from under soups and salads. I started with the New Orleans seafood pepper pot, a Creole Bouillabaisse with calamari, shrimp, scallops and flat leaf parsley, and my goodness, this was excellent. It was easily the best dish I’d had on this cruise, and in fact probably for many cruises. The flavours were excellent, and everything just worked.



I then went on to have the pickled gulf shrimp and satsuma orange salad with confit red onions, spinach leaves, and frisee leaves, as did Mark. I felt the shrimp and orange went beautifully together, although I thought the leaves were a little too peppery for my taste, but it was still a very nice dish.



For entrée, I had the Cajun spiced sea bass on shrimp jambalaya with crisp fennel salad, and remoulade. Once again, this was so good, and beautifully flavoured. So far, this meal was turning out to be a real winner with me.



Mark had Big Daddy’s roasted prime-rib of beef with a double baked potato, broccolini, sweet roasted carrots, and a red wine veal sauce.



Now personally I thought the desserts were a little too heavy for me. The options were Tiana’s buttermilk beignets, chocolate doberge gateau, Mama Odie’s white chocolate bread pudding, and the New Orleans bananas foster sundae. Instead, I asked for some chocolate ice cream…



Mark went one step further and got a Mickey bar!



Although we didn’t get any of the desserts, others on our table did, so I could see what the bananas foster sundae and the beignets looked like…

The pace of the meal was definitely a lot better, and we were right on target along with everyone else, rather than lagging behind.

Tiana’s Place

Appetiser 10 7
Soup or salad 7½ 9
Entrée 9 9½
Dessert 8 9
Service 7 8½
Atmosphere 10 9

Average score: 8.63

It was a bit surreal as we left the restaurant to see other ships still sitting in dock in Nassau in the dark, as obviously usually none of us are there…



Next: “if only it was that easy!”

[Tara O'Hara]

What an awesome and fun meal!!

[DMA]

Your meal looked wonderful! The Cajun and creole spice must have been very subtle since I know you don't usually care for anything too spicy.
The entertainment sounded fun!

[disney_duke]

Oh wow, what a great meal! So glad it all turned out so good - food and entertainment. Beignets are somewhat light, if they're done correctly. But yeah, maybe more filling than ice cream!
It's a cute movie, I'd recommend it.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by DMA

Your meal looked wonderful! The Cajun and creole spice must have been very subtle since I know you don't usually care for anything too spicy.

You're so right. I was worried about that, but everything worked out for the best.

[cubfancolleen]

How fun to have a live band at dinner! I really love the description and look of the restaurant! Maybe I need to plan a Panama Canal cruise sooner rather than later. Or a return to Alaska...but with WBTA in September, and Aulani in December of 2018, not sure my bank account allows anything soon. But clearly a BIG improvement over Parrot Cay!

[lindawdw]

Your dinner sounded like such a fun evening and your food all looked delicious! Your New Orleans Seafood Pepperpot is definitely something I would enjoy along with the shrimp salad!

[pamcarey]

Oh wow, how cool to have the characters and band at dinner! And the food looks great too!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by cubfancolleen

How fun to have a live band at dinner! I really love the description and look of the restaurant! Maybe I need to plan a Panama Canal cruise sooner rather than later. Or a return to Alaska...but with WBTA in September, and Aulani in December of 2018, not sure my bank account allows anything soon.

Oh my goodness, I hear you on that one!

But clearly a BIG improvement over Parrot Cay!

I honestly cannot begin to tell you how much of an improvement it was. Mind you, I was never a fan of Parrot Cay, if I'm being fair.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by pamcarey

Oh wow, how cool to have the characters and band at dinner! And the food looks great too!

It was such a good night and the food, the band and the characters were all just wonderful.

[Poobah7206]

Wish they had that restaurant at WDW--those plates are so cute!

[chezp]

Monday 6 March – part eight: “if only it was that easy!”

We made our way over to the shops, although I thought their selection of women’s clothes was sadly lamentable. The men seemed to have much more this time around. There was a brilliant Grumpy T-shirt, but they didn’t have it in Mark’s size, which was a shame and poor planning, given this was only night two of this cruise.



As we came out of the shops, we spotted Carly, our cruise director, and got chatting to her, as she’s from Norwich in England. It turns out she’s only into week two as the cruise director. You really wouldn’t have a clue, but then again, she did spend three and a half years as an assistant cruise director, so I guess she pretty much already knew her way around the role…

By the time we’d finished talking to her, a line had formed to get into the Walt Disney Theatre. Doors were due to open at 8:00pm, and we got in line, but just a little bit further up, we spotted Daryl and Barb, so we headed forward to see them. When we were finally allowed to enter the theatre a few minutes later, we pretty much had our pick of seats, as everyone seemed to gravitate right to the front. I was happy being further up, so long as we were in the middle, and pretty much centre stage, and we snagged four seats that met that criteria.

We chatted away, and the half hour between getting our seats and the show flew by. By 8:25pm, the theatre was full, and people were standing. However, I say it was full, but technically it wasn’t. Barb had an empty seat next to her, there were two empty ones in the row behind us and the row behind that. By the time you repeated that all over the theatre, if everyone moved up and filled every available seat (as you’d have to do in a Disney park), then there would be room for everyone to sit. I really was surprised that no such announcement was made. I thought that was a bit unfair on latecomers, although I guess everyone should have an idea that this was going to be packed, but sometimes you can’t help getting there late.

The reason I mention this is that it did also detract, to a certain extent, from the show itself, as they have shadow figures on the side walls of the theatre in the first scene, and it’s really impressive. We both sat there wondering how the heck they did it, but what happened was you were watching the shadow figures, and all you could see was people standing at the sides of the theatre. Ugh!

Anyway, as I half started to talk about the show, let’s move on to discuss that. I really had no idea what to expect, and frankly I don’t really remember that much of Frozen. I’ve seen the movie once, when it first came out, whenever that was – it must be a good few years now – and I don’t think I’ve ever watched it again. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but I didn’t love it – well apart from Sven and Olaf of course, who were absolutely adorable. Therefore, at times, I was trying to think what might come next.

I knew it started with Anna and Elsa as children, and I did wonder how they’d do that, but the answer was very simple. The women playing them (and we’ll discuss them more in a moment…) had miniature puppets to represent them, which was very clever. I was spellbound by the puppets and what a brilliant idea it was, so much so, that I really didn’t look at the women themselves, except to think how they both had amazing voices, and they sounded very similar to the movie.

It was a couple of scenes later that I realised something about Elsa. She was being played by a black singer/actress. I was quite taken aback by that, given how Elsa’s hair is very much blonde/white, and I thought it was a pretty brave decision by Disney to do that. I had no problem with it, it just surprised me, as I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show where a character has changed so radically from the original film.

As we watched the show though, I realised how Anna is the real star, and is in so many scenes, compared to Elsa. It’s a shame for her in a way, as we all remember Elsa for Let It Go, and I think sadly Anna gets forgotten about. There was a slightly risqué scene of Anna in bed, being woken up for the coronation, and when she gets up, she’s in her underwear, which I’m sure made quite a few of the men in the audience wake up. She then slips into her coronation ball gown, and from “bed hair”, it suddenly disappears to reveal her usual hairstyle underneath. As Barb said to me, “if only it was that easy!”

The ballroom scenes were wonderful, and very carefully choreographed, as was Anna’s meeting with Hans, and their very quick engagement. They were also beautifully acted, which is why I mentioned earlier about actress/singer, as I find it hard to categorise, when they’re patently so good at doing both…

From here, you then move to Elsa in the castle, and this is where my memory of the movie is very dim, but I could’ve sworn the Let It Go sequence is a lot later in the film. Here, it came very early, which surprised me. It was beautifully done, with Elsa moving her arms, and “firing” ice everywhere, with a very clever combination of lighting effects, meaning the sides of the stage appeared to turn to ice, along with the sides of the theatre. I suspect there is no way Disney could have attempted to do a production like this just a few years ago, as they probably needed today’s technology to do it, if that makes sense?

Half way through the song, she literally throws off her cape, and it turns out it’s on a wire, and is whisked into the air away from her, revealing the blue outfit you associate with her. She was a superb singer, as you’d expect, and really had some serious stage presence, as she was literally the only thing on stage the whole way through the number. You didn’t need anything else, as you were absolutely transfixed by her.

After this, we then get to meet Kristoff, and I’d been very curious as to how they were going to do Sven. Well, essentially it’s an actor (or it could have been an actress – we were a bit far away ) with a body over her, with Sven’s face and antlers in front of them that they manipulate like a puppet, and then the mechanism going into the two back legs as well. Think along the lines of War Horse, and you’re sort of there. It was brilliant, and it meant that we got to see Sven’s usual features, which was my only concern.

The scene with the sleigh ride away from the wolves was again brilliantly coordinated, with scenery of the forestry again beamed on to the stage, and the surrounding sides of the theatre, so you really did feel as if they were galloping along, with Sven leading them. The wolves were played in a similar way to Sven, although no back legs, as far as I could see. You certainly found yourself catching your breath during this scene.

Then it was time to meet Olaf, and again I was wondering how they’d do him, although given what we’d already seen with Sven, and the younger princesses, I suspected he’d be a puppet of some kind, and he was. Again there was an operator behind him, and Olaf was probably just over half his height, and he looked exactly as he did in the movie, complete with different part of his body, sticks for arms, and his carrot nose. He was operated by the guy literally shuffling his feet to get Olaf to move along, and then he’d operate the sticks from behind. Once again, it was so cleverly done and I was absolutely transfixed by it.

I think, by the point we’d got through Olaf’s big musical number about the summer, they did hatchet down the movie considerably, at least from my vague recollection of it anyway. You had the confrontation between Anna and Elsa, where Elsa strikes her sister down (and yes, her hair magically changed to white – amazing!), then Anna and Kristoff go to meet the trolls and have a musical number, and from there, you’re pretty much into the conclusion. I definitely remember more to the film at this point.

If I’m right, I counted about 15 – 20 artistes in the show, and while I know some of them had multiple parts, a lot of them didn’t, for example Olaf, Sven, Anna, Elsa etc. It’s a tough gig for those people, as they had a lot of scenes, and a lot of different talents were required from them.

The whole thing lasted about an hour, and to me, it is a “not to be missed”. I think it’s by far the best Disney show I’ve seen on board the cruise line, although in fairness, I haven’t seen Aladdin on the Fantasy, and from reports from Laura and Nicole on our table, they told us that was pretty incredible too.



All in all, I felt tonight’s meal at Tiana’s Place, followed by Frozen, made the entire cruise worth doing, and both made the price almost worth it, which is saying something.

We headed out, and said our goodbyes to Daryl and Barb, and made our way down to deck three to check out the Sea Treasures shop. I thought I’d seen a T-shirt I liked, but close-up it wasn’t what I wanted. However, Mark bought a couple of Star Wars items, so all was not lost.

We then headed into the Crown and Fin pub, and I was a bit disheartened to see that the various TV screens were on. Ugh, I am so not a sports person at all, and I nearly walked straight out, but then I heard them talking about Venus Williams. Ok now tennis I can do! It turned out to be something ESPN appeared to be sponsoring that was Team Americas vs. Team World with some interesting rules – nothing like the real thing, but fun all the same, so I settled down to watch that.



I ordered a glass of White Zinfandel (not on the limited menu – very good for beer, but not a lot else, but they had much more available when I asked), and Mark got a beer, and we got a few snacks.



As we sat there, we finally felt ourselves leaving, and indeed we were pulling out of Nassau around 10:00pm, which is roughly when I thought we’d leave.

We finished up our drinks, and headed off to the room, where we had this waiting for us…



Mark reckoned it was an elephant. I was convinced it was a brontosaurus.

The weather today was dry, but cloudy and windy, with temperatures in the low 70s.
The best thing today was our dinner at Tiana’s Place.
The worst thing today was not knowing if we’d get to Castaway Cay the next day.
Today we tried watching the Frozen stage show
And the result was it was amazing.
The most magical moment today was having the Rainforest all to myself first thing in the morning!

Next: poor lonely Stitch…