I found myself the recipient of an interesting invitation: the chance to sing the songs of composer Stephen Schwartz on the maiden voyage of the newest addition to the Disney Cruise Lines’ family of ships, the Disney Fantasy.
I wasn’t really a big fan of cruises. A few years ago, Rob, Nicole and I, plus members of Rob’s family, took a cruise around Hawaii. The experience wasn’t a lovely one, what with rude passengers, less than stellar food fare, and seasickness and diarrhea going around (one by one, members of our family got sick).
However, since it was Disney this time, I expected a better experience.
I was working in the West Palm Beach/Boca Raton area of Florida in the days leading up to our boarding the ship, so we weren’t able to stay for the full seven-day cruise. But despite the abbreviated time onboard, we had a wonderful time.
The day after our final concert at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts with the Palm Beach Pops, we headed off to the Boca Raton airport to board a jet headed for Mahahual, Mexico.
‘Lucky lady’
A waiting van (along with Disney World representative Patty Kalber) then drove us to Costa Maya, the Fantasy’s current port of call. Once our luggage was brought on to the ship and we had all checked into our stateroom, we headed for a quick lunch at Cabanas (the ship’s buffet restaurant) before rehearsals with Stephen himself.
The concert would be an evening of his music, with a couple of my Disney songs thrown in.
Rehearsals began with Stephen acquainting us with some of his songs from “Pippin,” “Wicked,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “Pocahontas,” among others. His wife Carol then treated us to a rendition of “In Just No Time at All” from “Pippin.”
Then it was my turn to have a run-through with “Colors of the Wind” (“Pocahontas”), “That’s How You Know” (“Enchanted”) and “Someday” (“Hunchback of Notre Dame”), plus “Reflection” (“Mulan”) and “A Whole New World” (“Aladdin”).
Finally—and this was thrilling for me on very many levels —we got to rehearse “Defying Gravity” (from “Wicked”). It was a version that I was used to singing in concert, one specially made for solo performances. We did one pass, and that was enough.
I couldn’t help but talk about it on Twitter. Even if I never ever get to play Elphaba in “Wicked,” I consider myself a very lucky lady to have sung the song with Stephen playing it.
Backstage thrill
The next day was a busy one. We did a 2:30 p.m. sound check, and then we had to be back at the theater for two performances—one at 6:15 and another at 8:30. I thought that I wouldn’t be all that steady on my feet in my higher than high heels, but the seas were calm. Whatever the captain did to keep things peaceful most assuredly worked!
After our first show, Disney Animation honcho John Lasseter and his wife Nancy went backstage to see us. Rob was probably more thrilled than I was, and understandably so. John is one of the pioneers of Pixar, having directed “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life,” and “Cars,” among others, and served as executive producer of many more animated films. He is a very sweet man, and gave us generous hugs. According to Stephen, John is also a very gracious host to visitors of his winery in Northern California.
Little vacation
It wasn’t until the shows were done that we were able to enjoy a little vacation. We got off the ship at Castaway Cay for a little beach time (until the weather turned cool and cloudy, which prompted us to return onboard). We also whooshed down the Aqua Duck (a water slide on the ship), and watched “Beauty and the Beast” by the pool as my daughter swam and made new friends.
Rob and I were likewise able to partake of the amazing cuisine at Remy (named after the lead character in the movie “Ratatouille”). The dishes were sublime, and we were fortunate to have both head chefs in the kitchen preparing all the delicious food.
I was also able to take in a couple of shows over our stay—“Wishes” and “Believe,” both of which I enjoyed. I’m sad I missed “Aladdin” —it would’ve been fun to see it.
The seas were a little rough that evening, which made packing a bit of a challenge. But overall I was glad to have taken the cruise.
To the staff of the Disney Fantasy (including over 250 of its Filipino members), thank you for making us feel so welcome and for taking such good care of us! We will definitely return with the rest of our family, and this time, we shall stay for the full week.