A 40th celebration to end the world! COMPLETED 4/23 About This Page:

[Cam22]

Great updates! Glad the massages worked out in spite of the torrential rain and strong winds. Too funny about your capris! The next time we sail I need to do more research on spa treatments and then spoil both Luke and me. Your pictures of the Dream all lit up are so beautiful!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by mommapants

so far you birthday sounds just about perfect. sorry the rain ruined the massage on CC but of course it is Disney so they more than made up for it.
Can't wait to hear about your dinner.

I have to be honest, with the weather, it wasn't exactly what I'd call perfect. Our day at Castaway Cay certainly wasn't what I'd hoped for...

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Cinderbrella

I'm reading your updated trip report with a huge Grin on my face!!!! Mark is too cute getting his extra close shave and facial. Sign me up if it'll take away my crows feet!!

Your shots of the dream are breathtaking!! What a beautiful ship, especially with her nighttime lighting!

Thank you - she does look even more beautiful at night.

Glad you were able to stop by AP for a quick meet with your tablemates. Your Godiva chocolate martini looks just as good as the first one.
Hope your birthday dinner is memorable in a magical way!!

Well, it was certainly memorable....

[chezp]

Originally Posted by lfredsbo

Sounds like a much better massage on the boat!

It was.

And great pics of the Dream!

Thank you.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by cubfancolleen

How cool that the Dream ended up right in front of your stateroom like that!
And Mark's skin looked pretty good in those after pictures, so I'd imagine it was even better in person. I love facials!

Well, I guess in fairness you guys will be able to judge from photos over the next couple of days. The next day was a lot of travelling, but there will be photos of him when we get to California....

[chezp]

Originally Posted by DrDolphin

Just got all caught up - your day on Castaway Cay sounds scarily familiar with our day on CC in February!! Almost exactly the same - although I called it when I was getting sandblasted on the beach while Chris snorkeled!! Glad you got your massage - and an extra 100 points sounds great. We've talked about it - but I think I got my new car instead (for now).

What a shame you had a similar experience.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Cam22

Great updates! Glad the massages worked out in spite of the torrential rain and strong winds. Too funny about your capris! The next time we sail I need to do more research on spa treatments and then spoil both Luke and me. Your pictures of the Dream all lit up are so beautiful!

You should, as they are wonderful, but equally you don't have to book beforehand, as they do have some great offers once you board.

[chezp]

Friday 21 December – part seven: celebrating my 40th at Remy

Once we were done with our drinks, it was time to head up to Remy. We checked Zoe had her chocolates, then asked to see Vicky, as we had supplies of PG Tips teabags for her. They were reluctant to let us go in to see her, but we saw Alex and Jessica on the table nearest the door, so popped into see them. They seemed to have had a great dinner, and Alex had three desserts surrounding him – that’s no surprise, given his track record so far this cruise!

Vicky came out, and her face was a picture when we presented her with her goodies. It turns out she and Zoe were room-mates, so they were both delighted. We later found out that word had gone out amongst all the Brits who work in Palo and Remy to head to their room, so that they could all enjoy some good tea together. I’m so glad we could do that for them. We also Igor again, and had to get a group photo of them all….



With that, we headed out to be seated, and while waiting in the Meridian lounge, the smoothie Nicolas came out and kissed my hand to wish me a before we were seated. He told us it was too quiet for them to open the Gusteau Room, which I was really gutted about but he said he’d got a superb table for us, and it was too – it was right at the furthest end of the restaurant, closest to Meridian.



We had Neto serving us again, and I told Florian I had a bone to pick with him, after seeing him and Sheldon high tailing it out of Castaway Cay, while we were soaked on the tram. He admitted he’d done really well, and was undercover when the rain struck, so he escaped the worst of it. Unbelievable!

We ended up with a complete surprise dinner, with Neto picking each course for us, which was fine, but also a bit daunting, as I’ve never had that happen before.

We started off with the champagne “Colette” cocktail, although I had a different version, as the standard one comes with pear vodka and obviously I can’t have that with my tree fruit allergy. It was interesting that Mark’s fizzed much more than mine did, because it had an apricot in his (something else I can’t have )




First up was the chef’s twist on tomato soup. It may not look like much, but we were told to eat it in one go, so that we didn’t get soup down us, as sure enough, this contained tomato soup. Unbelievable I know, but my goodness, it was good.



Then it was the amuse bouche, which has changed from the traditional ratatouille we had before to a potato mash with a quail’s egg in it. You look at this, and you wouldn’t believe it was potato. It also didn’t taste like it – it’s very creamy, and Neto explained that they’re there shaking it all up with different types of cream. It was amazing to hear about some of the work that went into creating these dishes. It gave you more of an understanding as to why you pay so much to dine here.



Florian came to see us, and we told him that we had a sweeter tooth when it came to wine, so he set us up with a glass of this stuff:



It was very good, certainly sweeter, but with another tone to it – maybe cognac or port. Here you can see Mark getting a closer look…

Our first course was the sandwich a la Truffle Noire, Crème Truffle or the black truffle sandwich with truffle creamthat Neto had been telling us about yesterday. It costs something like $70 for the truffle I seem to remember. I liked this, but I didn’t love it, something to do with the fact that I don’t like my bread too well toasted, and this was definitely very well toasted.



Next up was the shrimp masago with tsukemono, soba noodle salad and Asian emulsion. Oh wow, all the flavours in this just combined brilliantly together, although they were very strong in their own right. You could tell this was Scott Hunnel’s dish. There is just no way a French chef would come up with a dish like this, and Neto had told us yesterday how the French chef tends to go for simple flavours, with often only three or four ingredients maximum, and this definitely had more than that.



The next course up was Alaskan Kind crab with artichoke and violet mustard. Oh this was absolutely divine, although it was very rich, which I would say was a trend throughout this meal. Considering we came hungry, the fact everything that was served was so rich filled me up quicker than I expected.



For entrée, we did diverge, with me getting the bar, poireaux et pomme de terre or sea bass with leeks and potato and shellfish emulsion. Now this was where things started to go wrong with me. The lobster bisque, on top of all the other rich food I’d had this evening, was a bit too much. I was starting to feel the motion of the ship more and more (the captain had said it would get rough and really bad after 10:00pm tonight ), and rich food wasn’t helping that. I just about finished it, but left a fair bit of the bisque, as it was too much for me.



Mark had the bison tenderloin, short ribs, parsnip puree and caramelized parsnips and absolutely loved it. I think he was much luckier, as I don’t think his dish was anywhere near as rich as mine.



By now, it was time for the cheese course. I was feeling a little bit unwell by now, but I thought I’d try some. The first two I tried were beautiful, very understated flavours, but it was when I had the goats’ cheese that things went downhill. I love my cheeses, but this was very strong, and I didn’t like it at all. It was too much for my rapidly deteriorating stomach, and once I’d eaten a bit of it, I couldn’t get the taste out of my mouth, no matter what I tried.



I did ask for water, but the assistant server was slow getting it to me. In the end, I said to Neto that I needed some fresh air, and he took me outside of Meridian, where I sat for a few minutes, and felt better. He also got me a Coke, which helped to get rid of the awful taste of that goats’ cheese. Soon I felt well enough to go back to the table, where we were now up to dessert.

The dessert was Tanzanian chocolate timble with orange scented milk chocolate, but when it arrived, beautiful as it was, I just knew I couldn’t take a mouthful of it. I was at the stage where I now felt OK, but I knew if a bit of that dessert passed my lips, I really would be sick. Mark told me it was rich, so I definitely made the right decision.



They then brought out what was supposed to be my birthday presentation. Now I speak French, and I spotted the mistake, but I felt too lousy to make a big deal of it, so I left it, but sure enough, I’d been given the wrong dish – this one is for an anniversary.



Here’s the right one…



We quickly settled up the check, while Neto bundled up all our chocolates, and we headed back to the room. I hate how the meal had ended, but I’d done my best to get through it, and given the conditions at sea, missing only one course was a pretty good result for me.



Remy:

First course 9 10
Second course 10 10
Third course 10 10
Entrée 9 10
Dessert N/A 9½
Service 9½ 10
Atmosphere 10 10

Average score: 9.77

When we got back, we were greeted with this…



Mark finished the packing, and I pretty much went to bed, as I thought that was the easiest way to deal with the movement of the ship. I had a feeling we were in for a rough night…

The weather today was cloudy first thing, then torrential rain, with very high winds for the rest of the day, with highs in the low 70s.
The best thing today was dinner at Remy and celebrating my 40th…
The worst thing today was the weather.
The funniest thing today was Mark’s facial.
Today we tried having a cabana massage
And the result was it would’ve been very nice, had it not been for the rain.
The most magical moment today was seeing the Dream alongside us.

Next: farewell to the Fantasy

[Thomhazel]

So sorry the rough weather made you feel unwell during your special meal.

I loved the look of the bison.

I must be turning into a hobbit because now I need 2nd breakfast

[Disneybine]

Glad the food was outstanding at Remy, even if you didn't feel well towards the end of the meal.

[Cinderbrella]

It's nice that you take the time to make good connections with everyone on board; I'm sure that they can get a bit homesick.
Your meal looked delicious, sorry that the richness of the food combined with the extra motion of the ship had you feeling unwell. Glad fresh air seemed to help. Your pictures of everything really have me looking forward to our trip. Thank you for sharing them!!

[lauriep]

What a shame to have that rough weather on your last night, Remy birthday night! The meal looked wonderful, but I agree, very rich. Sounds like you made a lot of crew members very happy with your tastes of home for them. I think just getting into bed is the best way of dealing with weather like that at sea. I'm feeling a bit off just thinking about it!

[num1DVCfan]

I'm glad you were able to feel a bit better and return to the table. It looked like a fantastic birthday meal and it was so sweet of you to bring treats and tea for the servers.

[honeybee723]

Looked like a fabulous meal, too bad you felt lousy because of it. You can definitely tell the staff of Remy took to the both of you though.

[Russi01]

Sorry you were feeling lousy during the last part of your meal. Gald you were able to go back. Hope the night was not too rough!