That evening was the final formal night and I had made an appointment to have my hair put up and the tiara put in. I quickly went back down to the cabin to collect my tiara. I noticed that our message light was flashing on the phone. We had a Champagne and Tiara Meet planned that afternoon and this was supposed to be in the cabin of one family on our cruise meet thread. Unfortunately they had both got ill and that somebody else had offered to host this. I could understand the name of the new host, but not the cabin number. So I ended up not being able to go. Still, that made the day a little less hectic and we enjoyed the bottle of sparkling wine that I had brought as my contribution while we were staying in San Diego.
I headed up to the spa and the hairdresser was ready for me. We discussed different options and I decided that I wanted something quite soft and wavy rather than having it all put up. I told her that I wanted a similar hairstyle to Belle and she did not know what I was referring to. I was quite amused that somebody who works on a Disney ship did not understand what I was talking about. In the end we did manage to understand each other and I rather liked the result.
Unfortunately I somehow managed to mislay Graham. He had originally planned to wait for me on the sofas in the spa reception, but he had gone by the time I was done. As he needed to tie me into my gown, I was a little stuck. They had another group photo that afternoon with the characters in their formal wear. I figured that the line for this would be long and I better get a head start if I wanted the chance to get this photo. I was wearing one of my Hawaiian sundresses so I did not feel completely underdressed. Even though I got there with plenty of time to spare, the line had already snaked around the back wall of the atrium and into the corridor that links Tritons with the Promenade Lounge. I was just around that corner. I had come prepared though as I knew there would be a wait and had brought my book. Just before the characters were due to arrive, Drew walked up to the couple behind me and told them that they had been selected as the family of the day and asked if they would like to see the characters first. I had never witnessed this before, but did not really think much about this. The characters arrived and shortly afterwards, applause and cheers came from the atrium. It transpired that the man had arranged this to propose to his girlfriend. It was so nice that
DCL was able to help him with this. What a truly magical proposal. After this the line moved pretty swiftly and it did not take long until it was my turn for the photo. Even though I was not quite as formal as I would have liked, I really like the photos.
As I did not want to mess up my hair, I decided to stay inside and headed back to the cabin to read my book. At some stage, Graham arrived and tied me into my dress. I put on my jewellery and some make up and then I headed off to get some more photos. They only had one time slot for photos in that session and had Goofy and Donald out on deck 4 midship and Mickey and Pluto in the atrium. I headed to see Mickey and Pluto first and then went up to deck 4 to catch Goofy and Donald. The lines were not too bad and moved pretty swiftly so I had no trouble catching both sets of characters. Then I headed back to the cabin to read a bit more.
I headed back upstairs at around 19:30 to get a photo with Mickey and Minnie. The line was pretty long as this was the only character meet and greet at the time, but it moved steadily and I was entertained while I was waiting. They had an Officers Ball on in the atrium. While I was watching what was going on down there, I could feel myself welling up. I suddenly came to the realization that for me the reason I love my Disney cruises so much is really not about the itinerary or even the beautiful ship although of course this contributes to the overall experience. What really makes the cruises so special is the people that work on the ship from the housekeeping, maintenance and serving teams all the way up to the Captain. I got my photos with Mickey and Minnie and then I headed down to the atrium.
I was hoping that I may be able to snag a dance with our character manager Drew, but he kept well away from this. I did however manage to catch up with him as he was passing through to thank him and to tell him what a fantastic time I had with the characters. After 13 cruises with some of them special cruises, I can honestly say that this was the best character interaction I ever had. When I stepped back into the atrium, I did get asked for a dance. My dance partner was the staff captain Grgo. It turned out that before he joined the cruise industry, he worked on ships on the Manchester Ship Canal so we could exchange some notes about our hometown. Once our dance was finished, I thanked him and by then it was time to find Graham and head for dinner.
Dinner that night was at Parrot Cay and we had the Captain's Gala Menu. This is one of my least favourite menus and fortunately I was not particularly hungry that evening. Graham had the Aged Prosciutto served with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Shaved Parmesan and Roasted Garlic. I would have bet that he would end up with the Oysters Rockefeller on the Half Shell, but our server was up to a few surprises that evening. He then got the Wild Forest Mushroom Soup swirled with White Truffle Oil. For his main course Ahmed brought him the Pan-seared Venison Medallions with marinated Red Cabbage, Potato Croquettes and a Port Wine and Juniper Reduction. He also got a Lobster Tail on the side. I think our tablemates were less than impressed when he told them he was having Bambi for dinner. I went with just the main course and had the Oven-roasted Pork Tenderloin over Creamy Cheese Polenta with Merlot Reduction. It was nice to catch up with most of our tablemates and exchange stories of what we had done during the two port days. However, once we had finished our main courses, the photo opportunities called me. Our server did not give us a hard time about this that evening, as there was a dessert buffet later on. However, we passed on that, too. We said goodnight to everybody and headed off.
No way, never ever ever on the snake. 
