nancy drew
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2005
Day 2! Finally!
We slept in, because we could. When we woke up, I checked the Cruise Compass to see what was still open for breakfast.
by the time we were all awake, dressed, and ready to go, our only options were Park Cafe or The Windjammer buffet. We were still trying to avoid the buffet so we went to Park Cafe. I did not take any photos. Park Cafe is located in Central Park, next to the Trellis Bar. Park Cafe is home of the famous Kummelweck sandwich, which is a famous roast beef sandwich that I did not try once on the cruise. I fully intended to, but I was ordering steak or prime rib almost every night at dinner, and I did not want more red meat for lunch. Park Cafe had a few options for breakfast, including grab and go fruit, and pastries. We got some pastries and they were eh. Not great. DD was mad because she couldn't have one, because of her allergies, but I truthfully told her she wasn't missing anything. I mean, we have some AMAZING donuts here in Chicago (if you are ever visiting, you must try either Stan's or Do-Rite Donuts). These were worse than Dunkin Donuts (and I won't turn down a Dunkin Donut).
So we decided to get lunch instead. Well, DS went to the Teen Club and DD and I went to get lunch.
It was St. Patrick's Day, so naturally we went to El Loco Fresh and got nachos.
Isn't that what you are supposed to eat on St. Patrick's Day? No? Oh well.
They were good. The beef was OK, but I am guessing the chicken would have been better. The chicken in the quesadillas was pretty good, so if that's what they had out for the tacos, then I think it would be great on nachos. BTW, as I posted earlier the nacho section has the chips, then they have a vat of chili beef (basically chili, which I got another time on the chips and it was better than the steak/beef you see in the photo) and a vat of cheese. But next to that is the taco bar, so you can pile stuff on from there, too. Don't feel limited by the setup.
After lunch, DD and I went on a search for chairs near the pool. Or anywhere on Deck 15 or 16. It was tough. It was REALLY windy up on both decks, and all of the chairs were taken. We eventually found some, but I wasn't happy with the location so DD held those chairs and I went searching for better chairs. My persistence and refusal to accept the first chairs we found paid off, and we ended up near the Toilet Bowl slide. Somehow this became our spot, and we sat there again another day. It was a pretty fun place to be, because you could hear people screaming as they went down the slide. Sometimes there was just an initial shriek as they went down the tube. "AAAAAAAh" We tuned those out because they were too boring and predictable. Sometimes they didn't shriek until they got into the Toilet Bowl, and that was more entertaining because you could hear them going around and around, and if they weren't keeping their body together they slid around and it was all "WhhHHHhhhOOOooooOOOooAAaaaAAAA" as they swirled around. Those were funnier. Sometimes they just screamed the entire time "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" which was kind of funny, because most people didn't scream at all. And it was both men and women screaming equally.
We had show reservations today, for 2 shows. The first show was 1977, which is one of the skating shows. FYI there are 2 skating shows. 1977 is the "main" show, and you need to make reservations in Cruise Planner. iSkate 2.0 is the other show, and you do not need reservations but I HIGHLY recommend this show. I highly recommend both shows. HIGHLY recommend.
I forced DS to go to the show. He didn't resist much, but it was a skating show and I could tell he was a bit reluctant. I promised him Flow Rider time if he went, and said it would be worthwhile. And afterward he said he really enjoyed it.
The Key: We had reservations for the show, and I am glad we did. As we entered they were scanning Sea Passes and WOW Bands and turning away people without reservations. They had to go stand to the side and wait. AS we entered I asked where the Key seating was, and I was directed to the giant sign that said "SUITES, PINNACLES, DIAMOND +" but said nothing about The Key. I asked if this was our section, and showed our wristbands, and I was told yes, and there were 5 seats left. Luckily 3 of them were together. Our section was one of the sides, in the first several rows. 2 minutes after we sat down they removed the sign and opened up the section to anyone. Our seats were OK, but I would have preferred center seats. We were in the 2nd row and had heads in our way. It was my fault for being late (this would become a recurring theme) but I still wish the seats had been in the center, not off to the side. This was a semi-benefit to us, as without The Key we would have ended up much farther back, but I sort of wonder if we would have been able to see better from farther up?
Meanwhile... we were there for the show, and it was AMAZING. That is actually an understatement. I recorded a lot of the show, and I don't want to spoil the whole thing so I will only post one video of the beginning. If you want to scroll past to avoid spoilers, go ahead. But this is by far the coolest way to open ANY show, ice skating or not.
After the show, the CD made a comment about the opening and how it was a great way to spend a million dollars, or something. It was pretty bold of him, IMO, but also really funny.
The show has a story, but it would be totally fine with me if it didn't. These skaters were incredible. The ice is so small, the ship is rocking, and they are doing jumps and spins and backflips... it was amazing. Have I said that yet?
The costumes were amazing. This particular woman did like 25 quick changes in 2 minutes, or so. It was crazy!
It was amazing. Go see the ice show. Don't be all "Really? An ICE show???" Go see it. I command you. Ok not really, but go see it.
We slept in, because we could. When we woke up, I checked the Cruise Compass to see what was still open for breakfast.
by the time we were all awake, dressed, and ready to go, our only options were Park Cafe or The Windjammer buffet. We were still trying to avoid the buffet so we went to Park Cafe. I did not take any photos. Park Cafe is located in Central Park, next to the Trellis Bar. Park Cafe is home of the famous Kummelweck sandwich, which is a famous roast beef sandwich that I did not try once on the cruise. I fully intended to, but I was ordering steak or prime rib almost every night at dinner, and I did not want more red meat for lunch. Park Cafe had a few options for breakfast, including grab and go fruit, and pastries. We got some pastries and they were eh. Not great. DD was mad because she couldn't have one, because of her allergies, but I truthfully told her she wasn't missing anything. I mean, we have some AMAZING donuts here in Chicago (if you are ever visiting, you must try either Stan's or Do-Rite Donuts). These were worse than Dunkin Donuts (and I won't turn down a Dunkin Donut).
So we decided to get lunch instead. Well, DS went to the Teen Club and DD and I went to get lunch.
It was St. Patrick's Day, so naturally we went to El Loco Fresh and got nachos.
Isn't that what you are supposed to eat on St. Patrick's Day? No? Oh well.
They were good. The beef was OK, but I am guessing the chicken would have been better. The chicken in the quesadillas was pretty good, so if that's what they had out for the tacos, then I think it would be great on nachos. BTW, as I posted earlier the nacho section has the chips, then they have a vat of chili beef (basically chili, which I got another time on the chips and it was better than the steak/beef you see in the photo) and a vat of cheese. But next to that is the taco bar, so you can pile stuff on from there, too. Don't feel limited by the setup.
After lunch, DD and I went on a search for chairs near the pool. Or anywhere on Deck 15 or 16. It was tough. It was REALLY windy up on both decks, and all of the chairs were taken. We eventually found some, but I wasn't happy with the location so DD held those chairs and I went searching for better chairs. My persistence and refusal to accept the first chairs we found paid off, and we ended up near the Toilet Bowl slide. Somehow this became our spot, and we sat there again another day. It was a pretty fun place to be, because you could hear people screaming as they went down the slide. Sometimes there was just an initial shriek as they went down the tube. "AAAAAAAh" We tuned those out because they were too boring and predictable. Sometimes they didn't shriek until they got into the Toilet Bowl, and that was more entertaining because you could hear them going around and around, and if they weren't keeping their body together they slid around and it was all "WhhHHHhhhOOOooooOOOooAAaaaAAAA" as they swirled around. Those were funnier. Sometimes they just screamed the entire time "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" which was kind of funny, because most people didn't scream at all. And it was both men and women screaming equally.
We had show reservations today, for 2 shows. The first show was 1977, which is one of the skating shows. FYI there are 2 skating shows. 1977 is the "main" show, and you need to make reservations in Cruise Planner. iSkate 2.0 is the other show, and you do not need reservations but I HIGHLY recommend this show. I highly recommend both shows. HIGHLY recommend.
I forced DS to go to the show. He didn't resist much, but it was a skating show and I could tell he was a bit reluctant. I promised him Flow Rider time if he went, and said it would be worthwhile. And afterward he said he really enjoyed it.
The Key: We had reservations for the show, and I am glad we did. As we entered they were scanning Sea Passes and WOW Bands and turning away people without reservations. They had to go stand to the side and wait. AS we entered I asked where the Key seating was, and I was directed to the giant sign that said "SUITES, PINNACLES, DIAMOND +" but said nothing about The Key. I asked if this was our section, and showed our wristbands, and I was told yes, and there were 5 seats left. Luckily 3 of them were together. Our section was one of the sides, in the first several rows. 2 minutes after we sat down they removed the sign and opened up the section to anyone. Our seats were OK, but I would have preferred center seats. We were in the 2nd row and had heads in our way. It was my fault for being late (this would become a recurring theme) but I still wish the seats had been in the center, not off to the side. This was a semi-benefit to us, as without The Key we would have ended up much farther back, but I sort of wonder if we would have been able to see better from farther up?
Meanwhile... we were there for the show, and it was AMAZING. That is actually an understatement. I recorded a lot of the show, and I don't want to spoil the whole thing so I will only post one video of the beginning. If you want to scroll past to avoid spoilers, go ahead. But this is by far the coolest way to open ANY show, ice skating or not.
After the show, the CD made a comment about the opening and how it was a great way to spend a million dollars, or something. It was pretty bold of him, IMO, but also really funny.
The show has a story, but it would be totally fine with me if it didn't. These skaters were incredible. The ice is so small, the ship is rocking, and they are doing jumps and spins and backflips... it was amazing. Have I said that yet?
The costumes were amazing. This particular woman did like 25 quick changes in 2 minutes, or so. It was crazy!
It was amazing. Go see the ice show. Don't be all "Really? An ICE show???" Go see it. I command you. Ok not really, but go see it.