Day 4--Meeting the Fantasy

We got up, loaded the car, had some pastries from Java Coast, and said our goodbyes to Lola and the Gaylord. I have no doubt we will see them both soon. Off to Port Canaveral we went. Lily took a nap for the whole trip, which was a very good thing. Once we arrived, we checked our bags with a porter and parked the car (Level 3, terminal side). We went through security, which went smoothly aside from Lily bursting into tears when we had to go through the metal detector. Not sure what that was about. When we got into the port, we had no line to check in and had our keys in had in moments. We started walking into the Mickey gate, and saw Minnie on the way. We didn't get a picture in the port because it was almost time for Minnie to go get lunch, but we told Lily that Minnie would be on the ship. Later, when we were waiting for our room, we could hear the names of guests being welcomed on board, and one name that was announced was Minnie Mouse. Yep, she made it on board!

She's a big ship, she is!

Learning how to get around was a bit of a challenge. We are on deck 2 midship, but we ended up walking aft to get away from the crowds. We checked in at the London club (called The Tube) and got even more stuff. Oh, did I mention we had a big thing of water and juice plus 20 pounds of electronics and a toddler in a stroller? Next cruise I hope Lily will be okay with standard apple juice so we won't have to carry all that, and hopefully Erwin won't need a work laptop in tow. 
Somehow, we made it to deck 11, Cabanas, even with everything in tow. Lunch was good, although not painfully remarkable. The peel and eat shrimp made me happy because they were deveined. We got down to our deck and had a half hour before the room was ready, but we passed the time with a Mouse. We got in and our luggage arrived quickly thereafter. Once we unpacked, it was time for the safety drill. Lily did awesome for that, even with the alarm noise.

After the safety drill, we got ready and headed to the sail away party. It was a cute show, and our first time meeting up with the AllEars folks. The ship was so smooth when it moved that I didn't notice we were moving at first!


Our first night was in Enchanted Garden, which was nice because it is the most mellow of the three. Although we could order an appetizer, soup/salad course, entree, and dessert, we opted to order a lot less,going with either the salad or appetizer. With the rocking of the ship being a new sensation and with a decent lunch earlier, we weren't overly hungry. We were supposed to have another family with us, but they didn't show, so we had a private table. (We found out later that they were at Remy.) When the entree came out, Lily needed a diaper change, so Erwin took her for that and somehow injured himself on the Diaper Genie. Thankfully the restaurant was near the stateroom, so he got bandaged up (once he was able to get the first aid kit open). We finished our meal without incident and headed back to the room.

Kid's Mac'n'Cheese

Thyme and Garlic Brioche
with mushrooms 

Spinach and Raspberry Salad

Caramelized Sea Scallops
with roasted asparagus, sun-dried
tomatoes, and pearl pasta

Roasted Pork Tenderloin
seasoned with smoked salt
with citrus flavored polenta cakes,
oven-roasted carrots, parsnips,
and caramelized Granny
Smith Apples

Banana Foster Sundae

Steamed Lemon
Buttermilk Pudding

After we got Lily ready for bed, I went to turn off the overhead lights, leaving only the nightstand ones on.... And nothing happened. We finally figured out that a switch was busted, which meant we couldn't turn the lights off. The only saving grace was that the room has an energy saving feature. You have to have the room card in a slot by the door or the lights dim and go out. So, the options were all lights on or all lights off. We put a call into maintenance, but when they didn't show up in a half hour, we called back to cancel for the night. (They came in the next morning when we were at breakfast and fixed the switch.) Even so, we had a good night's sleep. That is a good thing, because the next day was even more busy. Fin Day 4.