May 26 - June 2, 2012 From Reality to Fantasy

[Dawncala]

great report, waiting for more thanks for taking the time to write it!

Thank you, and thanks for reading it! I can't believe I'm still only writing about day 2. The cruise itself flew by, but it does seem our days were action packed and I'm remembering more details than I thought I would.

 

[Dawncala]

Awesome!. A marvellous review....

Thank you!

 

[Dawncala]

Ah…The Spa!

The main entrance is located on Deck 11 Forward

The DVC presentation ended and it was time for DH and me to go to Senses Spa for our scheduled treatments. DH was getting an Express Shave for formal night, but then he also decided on the spot to get a haircut since they had availability. I was getting a treatment called Ionithermie. I had read about how this cell detoxifying procedure is common in Europe, and that sometimes you could find it on cruise ships. When I saw the Fantasy offered it I was curious, so what the heck, I booked it.

My spa CM was Nicole from England. She was awesome! She was very knowledgeable about the procedure and just plain pleasant to chat with. Due to a sense of modesty I’m not going to post the details of my treatment. (We don’t know each other that well yet) I will tell you I went back for two additional treatments at a discount, and that DCL did offer to sell me the “at home” version, but it wasn’t a hard sell and I felt comfortable declining.

My spa room had a lovely view of the ocean.

NOTE: While I was there Nicole told me the coolest “trivia” fact I’d heard about DCL. She told me about how the ship was altering its schedule and would be staying in Costa Maya until 1:00 AM the next night so the cast members could have a night off in town. (That is not the cool fact.) BTW: Guests were also welcome to stay ashore until 1:00 AM.

Nicole mentioned how it really doesn’t take as long as it seems to travel from port to port. I told her I had read that on most “days at sea” cruise ships really just go in circles until it is time to dock again. She said that a Disney cruise doesn’t go in circles. It makes a hidden Mickey head. (How cool is that! …or am I just easily entertained?)

Tips & Tricks: Before I end my Spa post I also have a tip for you. (Although on our next cruise I hope I don’t regret telling) The spa has HUGE shower stalls in the bathroom/locker room area. I used one after my treatment and I liked it so much I came back four other times. Even the cabins with split-bathrooms only have one shower (and our cabin didn’t even have the split bathroom) so I found it much easier, if we all needed to be getting ready at once, to go to the Senses Spa showers. It had towels, razors, shampoo, conditioner, soap, toner, q-tips, lotions and hair dryers. I was set and had plenty of elbowroom. I even took DD with me a couple of times and we were each able to shower and do our hair at the same time. We never once had to wait for a shower either.

One of the huge spa showers with attached changing area.

 

[LittleGirlGrey]

The same thing happened to us on one of the Western Caribbean cruises. We were docked in the FL Keys until 1am. Which was good, because I had time to get an awesome tattoo!

The one sad thing though is our head waiter was playing in a vollyball tournament and hurt his ankle and couldn't wait on us for the rest of the week. But we sent him get well soon notes.

OH! And when I went to get my tattoo the guy who did my tattoo had JUST done a tattoo for Goofy! Apparently the CM got this huge tribal tattoo on his back in an hour *which believe me HURTS doing it that quickly* so I can never look at Goofy the same anymore. :-D

 

[DisneyDoc5]

no Perry in the Spa????

 

[Dawncala]

no Perry in the Spa????

No male platypus allowed in the women's locker room. I belive he was off running on a treadmill. A secret, secret agent has to keep in shape you know.

 

[Dawncala]

Rescue at Sea

After my spa treatment, as I was finishing blowing my hair dry in the spa locker room, an announcement came over the intercom. Cruise Director Ray informed us that the captain noticed some people on a boat and they seemed to be in distress. He was turning the ship to go check it out. I finished my hair and walked out onto deck. I think a good 50 percent of the passengers were pressed up against the port railing of the ship. I was surprised the ship wasn’t tilting.

About the time I was going to look for an empty spot to peer out my son came up behind me and asked me if someone had fallen overboard. Before I could answer him a cast member, who overheard him say the words “fell overboard”, hurriedly came up to question me about what she thought she heard. It seems neither of them had heard Ray’s announcement. I explained what he had said was going on. DS, apparently not more curious than that, took off for the soft serve ice cream machine. (turns out he was only up there for a cone and bumping into me was accidental)

When Ray said “boat” he was using the term liberally. It turns out these men were adrift at sea for three days on what is obviously an inflatable raft with no shelter. They were brought on board, taken to be checked out by medical, then remained on board until we returned to Cape Canaveral. I do not know what happened after that. I wish them well and hope things worked out for them.

I did find some photos another passenger posted of the rescue. I hope they don’t mind me reposting them here.

DCL sent out a boat to check on the men in the raft.

I chatted with the CM for another couple of minutes, then decided I didn’t feel like fighting the railing crowd so I went back to the cabin in search of DH to see how his spa service had been. He enjoyed it. His face was smooth and his hair nicely cut. He said he had 30 minutes between the shave and the haircut so if you happened to see a freshly shaved guy napping in a chair in the Senses Spa lobby that morning, that was him.

 

[Dawncala]

The same thing happened to us on one of the Western Caribbean cruises. We were docked in the FL Keys until 1am. Which was good, because I had time to get an awesome tattoo!

The one sad thing though is our head waiter was playing in a vollyball tournament and hurt his ankle and couldn't wait on us for the rest of the week. But we sent him get well soon notes.

OH! And when I went to get my tattoo the guy who did my tattoo had JUST done a tattoo for Goofy! Apparently the CM got this huge tribal tattoo on his back in an hour *which believe me HURTS doing it that quickly* so I can never look at Goofy the same anymore. :-D

I have a fairly small tattoo and I know how long mine took. I can't imagine having it rushed. If I got a tattoo on a Disney vacation I'd probably get a hidden Mickey. (and not tell anyone where it's hidden )

Were you able to go in the sun on the rest of the cruise with your fresh tattoo?

 

[davale4]

Enjoying your TR and how detailed it is . Great pictures you found of the rescue.

 

[LittleGirlGrey]

I have a fairly small tattoo and I know how long mine took. I can't imagine having it rushed. If I got a tattoo on a Disney vacation I'd probably get a hidden Mickey. (and not tell anyone where it's hidden )

Were you able to go in the sun on the rest of the cruise with your fresh tattoo?

Hidden MICKEY! That is SUCH a great idea!!!!

Yeah, I was pretty bad about the tattoo *I have over 30, I think that was my 23rd or something like that* and I was in the sun and in the ocean. I didn't go into any of the pools though. It just took longer to heal then normal and it hurt a little more *mine was rushed as well* but it turned out great! I love it so much and the guy who did it loved it as well. He never gets to do girly tattoos.

 

[cruiselover1191]

Just subscribed and ready to hear more about your trip!...going on this ship next April and I am interested to read about everyone's experiences onboard...thanks for sharing

 

[Dawncala]

Lunch in a Cupcake

Today seemed as good a day as any for my lunch in one of the special round booths in the Enchanted Garden restaurant. When we arrived there were several empty booths so I asked for one. The CM who sat us called them the “cupcakes”.

We were given the last “cupcake” on the left next to the buffet. I slid in the booth and immediately asked DH to take a photo.

I wish I'd taken off my floppy sunhat before this photo.

The buffet is divided into two identical halves so you can start from either end. The food is the same in either direction and meets in the middle at the desserts and ice cream freezer. It’s a smaller spread than at Cabanas, but they did have chilled shrimp and crab, a carving station, a whole section of hand scooped ice cream, (six or eight flavors) and they had pumpkin pie. (One of my very favorites) I’m not sure if they have pumpkin pie every day because we only ate lunch here once, but today it made me happy.

DD's lunch with the buffet in the background.

My lunch

Ice cream and pumpkin pie

DD turned the ice cream into a hidden Mickey with the salt and pepper shakers.

 

[Dawncala]

Meet Me at the Matinee

Something new to me was the addition of a 3:00 PM matinee performance of the shows on sea days. Both Aladdin (1st sea day) and Disney’s Believe (2nd sea day) had one additional show which I think is a pretty awesome idea. I like having options available.

We decided to attend the 3:00 Aladdin performance basically because we weren’t already doing anything else, and so we could see what having all that open time at 6:15 felt like. Just DH, DD and I attended. DS was hanging in the Edge and isn’t partial to the stage shows anyway. We were going to sit in the balcony, but discovered that they do not open it for the matinee performance. By the time we relocated to the main theater the center sections were nearly full so we chose fairly good seats in the back upper left section.

We had seen the Aladdin stage show at Disney California Adventure many years before and knew DCL had to modify it for the smaller venue of a cruise ship. I frankly didn’t remember the DCA version well enough to figure out many of the differences though. The biggest difference was probably the flying carpet scene. At DCA Aladdin and Jasmine actually fly out over the audience on a carpet suspended on wires. On the ship, they stay on stage and the moving carpet is attached to something like a mechanical bull mechanism. It moves up, down and sideways while billowing fog mostly hides the mechanics and the view changes on the screen behind them. Overall the effect is pretty good.

It’s an entertaining little show which basically follows the storyline of the movie and includes all the big hit songs. We noticed that the gentleman who played the Dad in the Welcome Aboard show was playing Jafar in this production. Our favorite character was the Flying Carpet who got to dance, slide and flip all over the stage and had tons of personality while having absolutely no speaking lines. Iago is a puppet controlled by a puppeteer on stage. While you can see the puppeteer at all times, you kind of forget he’s there and focus on the bird. He did a spot on Iago/ Gilbert Godfried impersonation. The Genie did a commendable job too and was quick with his punch lines which contained several current references. I find the blue costume he has to wear to give him the color and puffed up chest just weird though.

There was one minor glitch during our show. During the “Friend Like Me” song and dance number one of the retracting elevator floor panels did not finish closing properly and was now a tripping hazard in the middle of the stage. The menagerie of “genies” carefully danced around it, avoiding it, and the show continued for about a minute. Then the curtains closed and an announcer came on to inform us about a “technical difficulty” and to “please stand by”. A few minutes later the show resumed. They started the show from the beginning of the number and all the props worked properly this time.

In my opinion the DCA version is better, but maybe it’s just because it was new and fresh to me at the time. Had I not seen the show before I might have enjoyed it more. The DCL cast did a commendable job and it is impressive how much they were able to do on a small stage on a moving ship.

 

[Dawncala]

The Walt Disney Theater

I don’t actually have photos of the inside of the Walt Disney Theater, but I do have a few from outside it. This area is mostly a central hub/holding area with a few benches. It is rarely crowded except for before and after the nightly shows, and occasionally it is used for photo opportunities. For instance, this is where you can get photos with Jack Sparrow on pirate night.

Every surface is so polished and reflective.

A shot of the WD mural reflected in a mirror

One of the inset rugs with Walt's initials leading into the theater.

A statue of Mickey located in an alcove on deck 5 near the theater doors.

 

[Dawncala]

Been There, Bought That

Located just outside the Walt Disney Theater on deck 4 is the shopping district. There are stores to the left and right (when leaving the theater) and one in the center. The stores on the left have mostly adult items. It contains jewelry, those coveted Dooney & Burke handbags, brand name sunglasses, and the duty free liquor store. Keep an eye on the little ones in here as there are some pricey breakables on the shelves. The store in the center is more all-purpose with a little something for everyone. It has branded clothing, statues, kitchenware, photo frames, auto items, etc… The grouping of stores on the right are more kid oriented and have stuffed animals, costumes, books, toys and trading pins.

When we have time to spare, before or after a show, we usually wander in and out of the stores. I know I want to purchase something as a souvenir, but I can rarely decide early in the cruise and have to go back multiple times to see if anything catches my eye. Just make sure you make your purchases before the final night. It becomes a real mob scene in there.

Note: Stores will not be open when the ship is docked.

Looking down the right hallway towards the theater. I took this early one morning and the stores were not yet open.

Where's Perry?

 

[Dawncala]

Shuffle “Not at all” Board

If you’re looking to kill 15 to 30 minutes and would prefer to not get all sweaty in the sun, then shuffleboard on walking Deck 4 might be just what you’re looking for. You can get in a little bonding time with the kiddos and stay cool in the shade. And for those not playing there are comfortable loungers and the view is usually quite pleasant.

DD challenges me to 2 out of 3, which turned into 3 out of 5. (I was on fire!)

DH was watching the clouds drift by (through his eyelids). Is it just me or does that cloud look like Donald Duck waving?

 

[princess333]

I am so enjoying reading your TR. Thank you. I truly can't wait till my cruise on the Fantasy in September 2013. Keep up the good work.

 

[eacdabney]

Loving your trip report! We cruise on the Fantasy in December! First Disney cruise for us! My hubby was excited when I read him your post about the liquor store on board and wanted me to ask about it. Can you take the liquor with you or is it something they have to hold for you until the end of the cruise? Also, did you happen to see if they sold mixers (i.e. club soda, tonic, etc) in there as well? Thanks in advance!

 

[DisneyDoc5]

Where's Perry?

you're killing me with this! Your daughter is adorable, love the two of you in the 'cupcake' - you will cherish this photo forever! Interesting info on the Walt Disney Theatre, the matinee may be a good way to free up evening time! Love the pictures and the humor, keep it coming!

 

[DisneyDoc5]

oh, and how interesting was your situation with the guys on the inflatable raft - I am so glad they were rescued! Imagine having to take your own life into risk to try and get to our free country, we should all appreciate our freedom!