The third day of our Disney Cruise brought us to Disney’s private island Castaway Cay. That evening becomes Pirate Night aboard the ship! The fun and festivities culminates in a special pirate-themed dinner menu at all three dining rooms, a pirate dance party on the pool deck, and fireworks at sea!
Some of these menu items are loose interpretations of pirates or pirate themes, and some liberties have been taken to consider pirates as a whole globally, not just …Of the Caribbean.
That’s cornbread, sir.
For bread service on Pirate Night, we were served Johnny Cakes with Mango dip. Now, I’m not going to insult your intelligence here. You and I both know that’s cornbread. So what is a Johnny Cake? Well, it’s actually Johnnycake, it has Native American origins, and it’s a cornmeal flatbread!
Okay, so it’s not a Johnnycake, but is it good cornbread? It wasn’t terrible! I’ve had bad cornbread, as I’m sure you have as well. It wasn’t dry and crumbly, so that’s a plus. That evening I also learned they do not have corn bread in Quebec. I thought this would be a fun experience for my Canadian tablemates, but they were unimpressed.
The mango dip was…odd. A very odd choice to pair with bread. Not a fan of this at all, please pass the butter.
Indian Sea pirates?
I do enjoy a good samosa, but I was not expecting to see this on a pirate night menu. Not wanting to pass it up, I of course had to try it. As with most veggie samosas, this was filled with potatoes, peas, garlic, and cumin. My only complaint was the small quantity of sauce drizzled around it. Overall, good, but needed more sauce.
Shrimp is/are good.
Must have been a bad day shrimping. These are Angelica’s Lime Marinated Shrimp, with white corn, sweet potato, and onion. There’s actually three shrimp in this dish. To quote Forrest Gump, “A couple more and you could have yourself a cocktail!” Skip the shrimp, unless you’re looking for a light appetizer. Emphasis on light.
Soup or a smoothie?
Okay, okay, maybe I should have ordered the carrot soup, but you don’t know if you don’t try, right? This is the Chilled Mango Soup and it was so different! I’m used to hot soups and this was like eating a smoothie with a spoon. Yes, it’s chilled. Yes, it’s fruit. But yet, it was oddly refreshing. Completely not what I would expect for soup, and yet I couldn’t tear myself away from it. Recommended if you’re looking for something different.
This chicken is a jerk!
My server assured us that the Tia Dalma’s Jerk Chicken was marinated for 48 hours. I told him it tasted like it was only marinated 47. Grilled and served with rice and peas, with a pineapple salsa, the jerk chicken was a tasty option for dinner. The jerk seasoning wasn’t overpowering, and the rice and peas added a traditional Jamaican side. Overall a fine dinner choice if you’re looking for something familiar but with island flair.
I was promised rum raisin!
I had been looking forward to this dessert since I walked onto the ship. “Rum raisin sundae! Rum raisin sundae!” When we arrived to Arendelle for Pirate Night dinner, imagine my surprise when I found there was a menu substitution for dinner this evening. There would be no rum raisin sundae!
Instead, we were treated to what I could best describe as a Pina Colada Sundae! Pineapple and coconut with whipped cream and a chocolate Mickey. It’s no rum raisin, but having a pina colada sundae felt very on-brand for both a cruise and being in the Caribbean. I’ll let it slide tonight. It was very good!
Of the three desserts I’ve tried on Pirate Night, the sundae so far has been the best. Our least favorite, the most un-piratey, was the fruit cobbler. Well, unless warding off scurvy is a theme for a dessert, then I guess it fits.
Pirate night details.
For pirate night, whichever dining room you had on the previous night will be your dining room that evening. The normal shows at Marvel and Arendelle do not run for that night. While the second dinner seating may miss part of the pirate party happening on the pool deck, you will be able get up there with some time to spare to watch fireworks.
Keep in mind that the right side of several decks will be closed off during fireworks, and guests are encouraged to not watch the show from their verandah, but instead from viewing areas on decks 11, 12, 13, and 14. For safety and potential fire hazard reasons.
I couldn’t think of a better way to end this article than with a little taste of the fireworks at sea on Pirate Night. Enjoy!
Disney Rover 