Virtual Maiden Voyage – Day One
Cruising may be temporarily paused, but at Premier Custom Travel, we’re counting down the days until we can get back on the water. One of our favorite memories is being onboard Disney Fantasy for her Maiden Voyage in March of 2012. We thought it might be fun to re-live that amazing experience with a series of blog posts…a “virtual” maiden voyage, if you please. Each day for the next week, we will post as if things are happening that day. We’ll share menus, photos, onboard events, and more.
DISNEY FANTASY VIRTUAL MAIDEN VOYAGE – DAY ONE
Location: Port Canaveral, Florida (Embarkation)
All aboard: 3:30pm
Sunrise: 7:13am Sunset: 7:40pm
Evening Attire: Cruise Casual
Time change: Set clocks back 1 hour tonight
Dinner menus:
Animator’s Palate: Pacific Rim Cuisine
Enchanted Garden: Continental Market
Royal Court: French Dinner
Our dining rotation: AERAERA Table: 20 Dinner: Second seating (8:15pm)
(On Disney Cruise Line, you “rotate” to one of three different “main dining” restaurants each evening. You have the same table number and waiters at each and a different theme nightly)
Drink of the day: Paradise (Alcoholic) and Espresso Chiller (Non-Alcoholic)
Room type: Category 4A Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah
Stateroom number: 10116
Mandatory Lifeboat Drill: 3:45pm
Lifeboat station: K
Walt Disney Theatre entertainment: Justin Willman: The Coolest Variety Show on the High Seas (6:15pm & 8:30pm)
Buena Vista Theatre movies showing this voyage: Cars 2 (G), Disney Nature: African Cats (PG), The Help (PG-13), John Carter (PG-13), The Muppets (PG), Pirates of the Caribbean 4 (PG-13), Real Steel (PG), Tangled (PG), Toy Story 3 (G), War Horse (PG-13)
Character Meet & Greets today: Aladdin, Ariel, Aurora, Belle, Chip & Dale, Cinderella, Daisy Duck, Donald Duck, Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Princess Tiana, Snow White
Here are the highlights from today’s Personal Navigator:
Tonight we will dine in Animator’s Palate. Here is our menu:
One of the cool things about Animator’s Palate is the three theme shows you might see while dining there. In one of the shows, the restaurant “animates” throughout your meal, finishing with a salute to great “transformations” in Disney movies and a magical ending that will thrill and delight. Some evenings, you might get a visit from Crush the Turtle from “Finding Nemo.” Crush swims from table to table, chatting with guests, asking and answering questions, and even calling everyone by name. It’s an impressive feat of Disney magic. But perhaps the most impressive is the third show, where every single guest gets to be a Disney animator for the night. You’ll draw a character before dinner, and during dessert you’ll get to watch your character come to life inside scenes from famous Disney films. This restaurant is pure magic.
BOARDING THE SHIP
As we enter the grand atrium lobby of this beautiful ship, one of the officers will announce our family name and a line of crew will be waiting to welcome us aboard. This tradition is observed on every Disney Cruise Line ship and is a wonderful way to feel special from the moment you step on the ship for the first time.
This afternoon before sailing, we’ll have a mandatory safety briefing and learn where our lifeboat station is located. Once that’s concluded, we will set sail for the Caribbean and enjoy a Sailaway Deck Party on the Lido deck.
Some other things we might experience today include character meet-and-greets:
We’re definitely going to check out tonight’s variety show in the gorgeous Walt Disney Theatre:
There’s also lots of live music throughout the ship. Dan & Emma are “The Dreamers Duo” and they will be playing at various venues throughout the cruise. They’ll be joined by several other artists, including ventriloquist Taylor Mason, who will perform both family-friendly and adults-only shows throughout the voyage.
After a long first day, you might choose to head to bed early and rest up for a busy week. You can bet a nice surprise will be waiting for you.
Tomorrow is a day at sea and April Fool’s Day. We’re sure the characters will be up to no good!
In our next blog, we’ll share more fun memories from the maiden voyage then. Until we meet again, a virtual “good night” from onboard Disney Fantasy.
