At Sea, Day One

This morning, we mostly woke up at the same time, around 7:30, which is early for Mal (actually, I was awake at 6:30 and James was up shortly after that, looking outside to catch the sunrise). We got dressed and Mal and I went to the Windjammer buffet for breakfast; James was trying out the main dining room (MDR) for a sit-down breakfast.

I picked out several things, but Mal liked the waffles the best. James ended up joining us for a bit as the MDR didn’t open until 8:30. He ended up accompanying Mal to the mini golf course while I finished up my breakfast, then we traded off. Mal and I went to spend some of his arcade credits, and then the store Mal wanted to visit was open.

He likes Pez dispensers, so I’ve chalked the expense up to this being a thing he collects on trips. They have Shimmer and Shine dispensers here, and he got both. While we were in the store, James found us. Mal said he was hungry again, so we went back to the Windjammer to get him second breakfast (more waffles.) 

Next, we went to check out the kids’ club. They had just been playing with toys but were putting them up for a structured activity when we got there. Mal wanted to play with the toys, so after taking off his shoes and washing his hands, he declined to stay. Instead, we all returned to the room together to change for the pool.

Mal was really upset when I took him to the kids’ pool area. He wanted a life jacket and to go into the main pool. He tried just walking off from us, and I ended up having to YELL at him to get him to stop. We’ve lost sight of him as he rounded a corner and then panicked because he didn’t know where we were already. Don’t want that happening at the pool, especially.

We went over to the main pool, got Mal jacketed, and then he felt like the pool was too cold. James jumped in to encourage him, but no. So we took the life jacket BACK off (after I yelled at him again because he just abandoned us to go back over to the other side of the pools) and went to where we’d started in the first place. He ended up having a great time playing in the splash pad area, and we stayed long enough that James and I got some light sunburns, although Mal didn’t. He did have on a rash guard, too, but so far he’s never burnt.

We stopped by for pizza from Sorrentos to bring back to the room. They had an amazing seafood salad, and some tomatoes and mozzarella. They were just putting out these prosciutto and goat cheese roll-ups and, man, they were incredible. After lunch in the room, we hung out for a while. Mal asked for more pizza, but the line was super long so I got him fries, mashed potatoes, a cupcake, and a slice of watermelon from the buffet. Then we went to the ice rink to see the skating show “Encore.”

Although Mal was initially concerned about attending the program (as he’s trepidatious about anything new), he enjoyed it a lot. He even yelled out “What the heck?!” at a quiet break in a song when the skaters had done a particularly difficult trick. The performers were extremely talented, and one couple in particular was amazing. The theme of the show was basically a look back through famous musical performances, from early opera to broadway to Vegas-era Elvis. 

One part that made me uncomfortable, however, was the kabuki section. The costumes felt… inappropriate? I don’t know; maybe I’m overly-sensitive. But I found myself looking around the room to see if there were any Japanese guests giving the side-eye. I mean, they had “geisha” costumes as part of it, but, of course, it was only the head-pieces and shoulders and make-up that gave it away, as they were wearing typical skating short skirts. It felt off. 

Still, overall the show was super enjoyable. It made me laugh out loud at the last bit, when the announcer reviewed the musical styles we’d visited, and how all music culminates in… Las Vegas and Elvis. Mmmkay. But it was certainly a crowd-pleaser.

James came back to the room to rest his ankles, which aren’t super happy about all of the walking. Mal and I went back to the pool, but sadly there wasn’t a lifeguard on duty at the splash pool area where he’d played this morning.

Mal was disappointed, but we just sat out by the pool in the shade, eating fruit snacks and playing silly games together. Then it was time to come back to the room to get ready for dinner. Of course, we picked up some pizza for Mal on the way. His hunger knows no time frames.

This evening was a semi-formal night, and so we all got a bit fancier than usual. Mal’s dinner surprise tonight was a rainbow spinner, which delighted people at other tables all around us. Mal had plain noodles and French fries, with a tiny bit of vanilla ice cream. James and I both had a seafood puff pastry appetizer, then he got the duck a l’orange and cheesecake whilst I opted for the seafood linguini and seafood cake. Just kidding. I got a peach shortcake.

After dinner, while it was still light, we finally managed to walk the promenade deck together. The wind was something fierce, and although Mal ended up walking out to the helipad, we ducked out pretty quickly because it was difficult for him even to walk out there!

It’s interesting: tonight’s headliner is the exact same person D and I saw on the Navigator of the Seas in 2010: Lance Ringnald. Mal was ready to stay in the room after our post-dinner outing, so we have laid low and I’m the only one awake, but not for long.