Pirate Night Menu

Disney Cruise

Appetizers, Soups, Salads, Bread Service
Appetizers, Soups, Salads, Bread Service

We recently went on a 9-Night Southern Caribbean Cruise on the Disney Fantasy. While on board, we were able to enjoy the Pirate Night Menu.  Here are pictures of the menu as well as some of the food (some pictures are from this cruise, some are from prior cruises).

 

 

 
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Disney Cruise

Day 3 - Cabo San Lucas
Day 3 – Cabo San Lucas

Our day in Cabo started with us waking up as the Wonder glided into the harbor.  This was a new port for us, so we were excited to get off the ship and explore the town.   We couldn’t see the famous arch of Cabo San Lucas but we figured we would get to see it when the ship left the port.

We decided to start our day with a large breakfast at Cabanas.  We were going to have lunch in the town, but it wouldn’t be until later in the day.  Cabanas wasn’t too busy this morning, probably because most people had already left the ship.  We didn’t have a planned excursion for the day, choosing instead to just look around.

After enjoying our breakfast, we headed down to the Buena Vista Theater to catch a tender boat.  We took the tender boat off the ship and were dropped off at one end of the inner harbor. 

We wanted to head to the other end of the docks, but got a bit turned around.  We ended up walking near a Navy Pier.  Since we obviously weren’t headed in the right direction, we turned around and headed back to the harbor area (thankfully, we had google maps turned on).

We got back to the harbor area pretty quickly and started walking.  There were lots of street vendors selling items in the harbor area.  Some of them had some pretty interesting items, but we didn’t end up buying anything.  There were some with various animals that would try to place them on you and take a picture for money.  My youngest one artfully dodged one of them when she tried to place an iguana on her.  She later told me that she doesn’t really like lizards. 

We got to the other end of the harbor after about an hour or so.  We ended up walking past a second Senor Frog’s in Cabo San Lucas.  The girls had been begging us for years to go to Senor Frog’s, mainly in Cozumel.  We would never go, mainly because it isn’t our scene (we aren’t big drinkers).  We finally decided to head inside to get one drink so the girls could experience it.

The place was empty (I think because it was early and it was on the far end of the harbor).  Nancy and I ordered margaritas and the girls got virgin Pina Coladas.  The drinks were relatively good and weren’t too expensive.  We mainly rested there for a while and enjoyed the view from the second story.  I never did ask the girls if the reality lived up to the hype.  I think they thought they would get served alcohol (not that we would have let them drink).

After we finished our drinks, we decided to go get some lunch.  Nancy had picked out a great restaurant, Mi Casa.  It was located a few blocks away from the harbor.  It was nice to get a bit outside of the tourist bubble and see some of the rest of the town.  We got to the restaurant after a few minutes of walking.  The outside of the building really didn’t prepare us for what was inside though.

Just inside the entryway were two awesome rooms.  The one to the left was filled with crosses.

The other area was the bar.  I loved all the old wood that was in the bar.

After checking out the two rooms, we were greeted by the hostess.  She let us into the courtyard, which was fabulous.  The tables and chairs were all very colorful and there were great murals painted on the walls.

We took a seat on the far end of the courtyard and ordered some lunch.  As we waited for lunch, more patrons started to come in.

  Our food arrived relatively quickly.  It was really delicious, although I don’t really remember exactly what it was. 

I have no idea what this dish was.

After lunch, we decided to head back to the ship.  We headed off back towards the tender dock.  It took about 15 minutes to get back to the dock.  There wasn’t a line, so we jumped onto the next boat that showed up.

After a few minutes, we left Cabo San Lucas and were headed back to the Wonder.

As soon as we got back on the ship, the girls headed off to enjoy the ship.  Nancy and I got changed and went up to the adult area.  The ship was still relatively quiet at this point, so we were able to read and relax some.  After being at the pool area for a few hours, we went into Cove Cafe and grabbed some coffee. 

We took our drinks down to the Promenade Lounge.  There was a round of Spin the Wheel going on that we wanted to watch. It is Disney Cruise’s version of Wheel of Fortune.  They divide the room into two halves and let them fight it out.  There is a lot of good-natured cheering and booing going on, but it was all in fun.  After the game was over, we headed back into the room to change for dinner.  We managed to get a nice shot of the Arch as well as a beautiful sunset.

Nancy and I had scheduled Palo dinner for tonight.  We knew that it was Pirate night based on the schedule from the Disney Cruise Line website.  Since we had already enjoyed that menu several times, we decided to head to Palo for an early dinner.  We could then join the girls for their dinner in the main dining room.   The dinner was really good, but not as good as brunch in our opinion.  It was definitely nice to experience something new on a Disney Cruise though.

We headed to the dining room to meet up with the girls.  They were already into their dinner in Triton’s.  It was not long before the pirates were getting out of hand.  Our waiter Shane was getting into the act as well!

 After dinner, we headed back to the room to change.  While we were changing, we caught some of the Pirate fireworks from our balcony!
   

As the fireworks were ending, we remembered that they were having the Pirate Buffet tonight.  We had never managed to get up to the Pirate Buffet.  We certainly weren’t hungry, but we did go up to get some pictures.  We went back to the room after getting our pictures.  We had to clear this guy off the bed before we could go to sleep though.

Next up, we get to enjoy another great sea day, hopefully with less sunburn!

Planning | Travel | Boarding | Exploring | Sea Day | Cabo San Lucas | Sea Day | Ensenada | San Diego | Home

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St. Maarten Day
St. Maarten Day

Today was our first port stop of the trip at the beautiful island of St. Maarten (or Saint Martin).  The last time we were on St. Maarten, we took a bus tour of the Dutch and French side.  This time, we decided on something much simpler.  We were planning on a self planned beach day.  We started the day off with a quick breakfast at Cabanas.

One of our favorite podcasts, the DCLDude, had discussed a recent seven night eastern Caribbean cruise his family had taken.  When his family stopped in St. Maarten, they had visited the Holland House, which is a beachfront hotel in St. Maarten.  We decided to look into it ourselves.  Here is the information we found on their Facebook page:

--- INFO ON BEACH CHAIRS & DAY PASSES ---

Dear Friends, We are getting many request for information about day packages for 
the beach from those of you who are visiting us on a cruise. The following 
information might be helpful and we look forward to welcome you!

The package we offer is $25 and includes;


- 2 beach chairs and 1 umbrella from the time you arrive
- 4 beverages consisting of beers, water and soda.
- Free WiFi
- Shower on the beach that you can use.

- We serve lunch on the beach and have a full cocktail menu available for your.
- Bathrooms are inside of the hotel and free to use.
- First come, first serve. We do not take reservations.
In case you want to make reservations for lunch,

please email oceanlounge@hollandhousehotel.com

Kind regards! Holland House Team

The Fantasy docks at the double dock on the southern portion of the harbor, so we had to get over to the Holland House.  We decided to take the water taxi.

As you enter the port area, there is a mini shopping mall with most of the stores you would expect in a port area (Diamonds International, Majesty Jewelry, etc).  There are also a few places to drink if you would like.

There is a sign as well if you want to get your picture taken next to it.

There is a booth in the shopping area for the water taxi.  If you look in the above photo, it is the light blue booth with the sign pointing to it.  You can buy one way or round trip tickets.  We selected round trip tickets and we received wrist bands.  The wrist bands would allow us to to board the water taxi at either end.  The person in the booth then directed us to the water taxi dock.  The path takes you through the stores and down a pathway next to the water.  You can go onto the dock from there.

Here is a map I made with the help of google maps.  The Holland House is also marked on the map.

As you enter the dock, there is another booth to purchase tickets for the water taxi.  If you already have a wrist band, you can go on board the water taxi.  The water taxi is a huge catamaran with lots of seating. 

Once on board, it is a short ten or so minute ride over to the main dock, which is located in the middle of the beach strip.  During the trip, the crew of the boat was selling water, sodas, and beers for $1 each. 

 Here is a look back at the Fantasy.

As you approach the water taxi dock, you can see the the Holland House with the white umbrellas.

Here is the water taxi after it dropped us off.

After you land at the dock, you take an immediate right to head to the Holland House.  There are a number of hotels that pretty much have the same deal as the Holland House.  Two Chairs, Umbrella, and a number of drinks for $20-$25.  Most of them have WiFi available as well. 

We checked in at an outside bar were we got the WiFi password (which never worked at the beach but was fine near the bar).  We decided to wait a bit on our drinks, but didn’t have any problem getting them later delivered in a bucket filled with ice. 

 

Right next to our chairs was an area where you could rent jet skis.  In hindsight, we probably should have sat at the other end chair section (away from the Fantasy).  The problem wasn’t the jet skis themselves, it was the guys smoking who were renting out the jet skis. 

The beach was great though.  The sand was nice and the water was clear.  The island views were fantastic and we had great weather.  We could go inside the Holland House (which is a hotel) to use the restrooms.  You can also order food or drinks directly to the beach (the wait staff walks around).

After sitting at the beach for a few hours, Nancy headed back to the ship because she wasn’t feeling well.  The rest of us decided to stroll around the town for just a bit, then we would head back.  There are a lot of bars and restaurants trying to get tourist business.

We spent another hour or so walking around and looking in shops, then boarded the water taxi for our return trip to the Fantasy.  Since we hadn’t eaten in the town, the kids and I headed to the pool deck for a quick service lunch.  The ship was pretty crowded at this point, which meant it took quite a while to get some food.  Then I promptly dropped my tray.  So, I spent another ten minutes getting more food and finally met up with the kids (who were smart and got their own food).  We ate and discussed what we should do.  We finally settled on riding the Aqua Duck.

We returned to the room to shower off after our beach day and found this waiting for us.  It was our first platinum welcome gift, a box of chocolates.  We received a note in our stateroom when we first checked in offering us a fruit tray, sparkling wine, or chocolate and we selected the chocolate.  It was delivered to Nancy while the rest of us were still at the beach.

There were five chocolates inside the box.  We ate a few and they were delicious!

We rested until it was time to leave St. Maarten.  We got to see the St. Maarten Coast Guard ship as it escorted the Fantasy out of the harbor.

We were also treated to a wonderful sunset!

Tonight was the Pirates in the Caribbean party, but we decided to take a pass on it.  I don’t actually remember what we did instead of the party, probably watched movies in the room.  Tonight’s dinner was in Animator’s Palate, but was the Pirates in the Caribbean Menu.  The normal screens that show Crush were instead showing various Pirate themed scenes.

Nancy still wasn’t quite feeling up to snuff, so I headed back to the room with her.  Here was our towel animal for the night.        

As we were getting ready for bed, my youngest daughter came back a bit early from the Edge.  She said she was going to watch “Solo” in the Buena Vista Theater.  It sounded like fun, so I headed off with her to watch the movie.  There was a light crowd there considering that it started around 11:15 pm or so.

Once the movie ended, we headed back to the room to get some sleep.  Tomorrow we would be stopping at St. Thomas!

Boarding | Exploring | Sea Day 1 | Sea Day 2 | St. Maarten | St. Thomas | Sea Day 3 | Castaway Cay | Disembarkation

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Day 4 - Castaway Cay
Day 4 – Castaway Cay

Today was Day 4 of the cruise, which meant it was time for a stop at Disney’s private island of Castaway Cay.

 

We had not planned any excursions for the island.  Other than Nancy doing the Castaway Cay 5K race, we just planned on enjoying the beach for the day.  Nancy got up early to get some breakfast, then headed to the meet up for the race. 

 

The race participants are led off the ship in a large group.  They had to walk to the starting point, which is down by Flipper and Floats at Pelican Point.
 

Along the way, Nancy passed by the equipment rental area.
 

Nancy took a few photos during the race.  The 5K starting point is near the bike rental location, and takes runners/walkers the length of the old airplay runway and bike path loop (2x) before heading back toward the starting point. 

 

While Nancy was busy exercising, the girls and I got ready.  We always have to put on a lot of sunscreen for Castaway Cay because the sun is quite strong in the Bahamas and it’s easy to get burned if you’re not careful — we’ve gotten sun burns before when we visited.  Once we were ready, we stopped by Cabanas to grab a quick bite while we waited for guests to be allowed ashore.  Once we heard the announcement, we made our way downstairs and out onto the island.  We grabbed some towels at the end of the gangway.  We decided to get some water and a cooler as well since it was a bit hot. 

We walked down to the Pelican Point area (the second tram stop) and headed to the far end of the family beach.  Nancy was going to meet us there so we grabbed some chairs to wait for her to finish the race.  Our oldest daughter headed off to hang out with her friends from the Vibe as she usually does.  Our younger daughter went over to Pelican Plunge for a while.

 

We rented a float and spent the morning enjoying the sun and water.  I went to the restroom and walked by Cookie’s Too BBQ, one of the two dining locations on the family beach.  There are four different serving lines that can be used when lunch is served.

There is a large beverage station with four different soda dispensers.  On the other side of the soda dispensers are the soft serve ice cream machines.

 

After we had lunch, Nancy wanted to head over to the Heads’ Up bar, which is located at Pelican Point.  Scott Sanders of Disney Cruise Line Blog had talked about a drink that is served there that she wanted to try, the Pelican Mule.  Nancy thought it was pretty tasty.

Around 3 pm, we were pretty much done with the beach, so we decided to start making our way to the ship.  Our trip back takes some time because it involves looking at EVERYTHING on the way to the ship, including all the shops and other attractions.  It also involves stopping for ice cream as well.  Our first stop was the Spring A Leak splash pad for little ones.  We had never actually looked inside since our kids were older by the time we started cruising.
 
 

Our next stop was the combination of Monstro Point and Scuttle’s Cove Activity Center.

 

Monstro Point is a giant dig site that has a giant buried whale skeleton.  Unfortunately, we didn’t get a picture of it.  It was a giant sand pit.  I don’t imagine I would be very happy to sit here for an extended period of time while my kids dug in the sand, since there is not a lot of shade.  Luckily, we are past those years.

 Scuttle’s Cove is the kids club on the island that takes the the place of the Oceaneer’s Lab and Club.  There are lots of activities that take place in this space, all under the supervision of the counselor staff.  Plenty of shaded areas are provided as well.  Parents can check their kids into Scuttle’s Cove and go on to enjoy the adult beach if they would like.  I don’t have a lot more details because our kids have never been in this area.  When they were young enough to go here, they wanted to stay with us for the day.

After checking out the kids area, we continued back to the ship.  We always take a long time to get back to the ship because we spend so much time stopping and taking pictures.
 

As we approached the ship, we coordinated with our older daughter to make sure she was headed back to the ship as well.  We don’t get back onto the ship (both adults) until everyone is ready to get back on board.  Just a safety thing for our family even if we aren’t all together during the day.

Since everyone got back on at the same time, there was some congestion for the shower.  I decided to head up to get some soda from Deck 9.  While up there, I went up to Deck 10 to take a few pictures.

 On the way back to the room, I was greeted with this sight.  I’m not sure exactly what was going on, but it looked like a take over of the elevator.

I also meant to mention earlier that I activated TravelPass while I was on the island.  TravelPass is an option you can get on your Verizon Wireless account with no sign up fee.  When you are in another country, you can connect your phone to the local carrier and you will get charged $10 a day (per device).  You will get 1/2 GB of high speed data.  I wanted to test this functionality before we tried it on a future trip to Europe.  When we arrived at Castaway Cay, I turned off airplane mode and it connected right to the local cell carrier.  I received a text letting me know I just spent $10.

 

For the rest of the day, I was able to use my cell phone without any issues.  Unfortunately, I forgot to turn off podcast downloads as well as app updates, so my data got used up before the end of the day.  I received this text to let me know that my high speed data allowance was done.  I did get a little data after that, but it was REALLY slow.  If I had been more careful, I could have easily have spent the entire day using data, including for navigation. 
 

After cleaning up, Nancy and I headed to Deck four to watch the Wave Goodbye as we left Castaway Cay.  It is one of Nancy’s favorite things about cruising to Castaway Cay.
 

One of the things that excited us about this cruise was that Castaway Cay wasn’t the last night of the cruise.  Usually we have to return to the ship and start packing up, which kind of puts a damper on the Castaway Cay fun.  Since we had another night, Nancy and I decided to check out some of the entertainment on the ship.  The first one was the Latin music band.  We had watched them in another venue earlier in the week.
 

After the Latin band finished, we headed up to the adult area to catch the acoustic band from Rapunzel’s Royal Table, this time without their costumes.  They were really good.  Tonight was the Pirates in the Caribbean show at the main pool area, but we missed it.  We did get to see the fireworks from the adult area though.

 

Tonight’s dinner for us was in Lumiere’s with the traditional Pirate’s Night menu.  While the dinner was good, everyone was pretty tired after a long day in the sun.  The kids did manage to head off to their clubs, but Nancy and I barely made it back to the room.
 

Tomorrow would be a sea day as well as the last full day of the cruise.
Planning | Travel | Boarding | Key West | Nassau | Castaway Cay | Sea Day | Disembarkation
 

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