Rock the Boat, Don't Tip the Boat Over! Fantasy 10/20-10/27 Completed Post #277!!

That green dress is super flattering on you. Very nice color.:thumbsup2

And I continue to think that your Most Interesting Man is my drink ordering twin.

Can't wait to read more! I'm *this* close to getting my Stepdad to go on a Disney Cruise with me, so I'm really interested in reading your drinking and eating reviews, so I will know where to refuel myself.
 
When it comes to sheer laziness Jay and I likely have no equals; we've so perfected the art of inaction that we each have a butt groove in our living room furniture. And so perhaps you better understand why we adore days at sea ... nothing to do, nowhere to go, and plenty of time not to do it in. It's blissssssssss!

Our second day at sea started much like our first - we were up early; hit Cove Cafe just as it opened at 7AM and spent a peaceful hour there with our coffee and our tablets catching up on some reading; we then stormed the Rainforest Room where we took a warm, lovely cat nap.

Our schedule for the day included two things: book a future cruise for my parents and us; and indulge in a champagne lunch at Remy. We've learned that it's best to re-book early to avoid long waits ... that morning we walked right up to the cruise desk and within 20 minutes had two four-night cruises booked for November 2013. It helped that I had my parents information with me and we had hashed out the details before leaving Stinktown; like us they received a 10% discount and an on-board credit, which is $100 for the shorter cruises.

With the cruises booked and paid for, Jay and I had extra time to kill before our Remy lunch, which was scheduled for 12:15, the final seating of the day. We decided to visit the Mid Ship Detective Agency and get the scoop on all the moving artwork throughout the ship.

What's that?

Oh ... I see.

Pardon me, I have just been informed by a reliable source that the artwork on the ship doesn't move, it's enchanted.

Now who's been drinking too much?

Ahem.

The premise is actually a lot of fun - it's an interactive game that requires an activated badge, which guests obtain from the detective desk along with a casebook. The badge is held up in front of certain pieces of artwork around the ship - that triggers the interactive elements of the game which provide clues to help solve the mystery. The Fantasy offers three mystery games: The Case of the Plundered Paintings and The Case of the Missing Puppies both of which incorporate traditional Disney characters, and The Case of the Stolen Show which features the Muppets. We started the Plundered Paintings mystery but ended up finishing it later the next day - never solve a riddle today that you can put off until tomorrow, especially when there's alcohol to be consumed.

I wish my desk at work were this well organized
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I have no doubt that you fine readers already know at which watering hole Jay and I decided to seek refreshment.

That's right ...

Meridian!

The lounge was much more crowded this morning - no doubt word had spread that one of the Fantasy's best bars was open early on sea days. Jay and I pulled up a bar stool and proceeded to make friends with Gabriel and Fletcher, both of whom used to work on the Wonder. They gave us some great tips for our September 2013 Panama Canal cruise on the Wonder (the only Disney ship we have yet to sail) and they made some mean drinks as well. Jay ordered the Gin Garden which included Hendricks Gin, fresh muddled cucumber, fresh lemon juice, and sprite. I tried the Chambord Mojito Martini made with Bacardi Limon, Chambord, fresh muddled lime, and mint leaves. Both drinks were extremely good, and provided a bit more of a buzz in one of us than expected.

Gin Garden and Chambord Mojito Martini
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Wendy and her mum joined us for lunch at Remy and I feel comfortable telling you that they were not surprised to find us hanging out in the bar. They probably would have been more surprised not to find us in the bar.

Let's talk about Remy's champagne lunch, shall we?

The Maitre d' escorted us into the wine room, where we were each offered a complimentary glass of Taittinger Champagne and a plate of Pata Negra aka Jamon Iberico Ham. This stuff was amazing - rich and flavorful and so thinly sliced that it practically melted in my mouth.

Pork is the candy of meats!
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Bubbles
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Pink Bubbles
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Tiny Bubbles
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Icy Bubbles
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The price of the lunch, which includes one glass of champagne, is $50 per person. It is an additional $25 per person for the champagne pairings but well worth the cost, something I admit being skeptical of going into the event.

Now that's a view!
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Wendy and mum ... I just adore these two ladies!
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Still drinking ...
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The first course of the day was Gnocchi Chili - the gnocchi were wonderful and tender ... dare I say exquisite? The chili foam was a nice touch, adding both color and some spiciness to the dish.

Gnocchi Chili
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Yes, exquisite
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Our second course was Lobster Cannelloni with Caviar; this was one of my favorite dishes of the lunch and I'm not typically a big fan of lobster. The flavor was delicate and slightly sweet - just delicious!

Lobster Cannelloni
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So good it deserves another shot!
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Course number three was Sea Bass with Egg and a Thai Sauce. I liked the sea bass quite a bit but didn't really care too much for the egg glop that it was served on, nor did I care for the sauce. I'm pretty sure that I let Jay finish this for me ... the bubbles were all starting to go to my head by this point!

Sea Bass
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Our fourth course was a pork tenderloin with caramelized turnips - this pork was really tasty and well prepared but it was a big portion after everything else we'd had to eat so I wasn't able to finish it. The turnips served with the pork were outstanding; even though I was full, I could have eaten a whole plate of them and asked for more!

Gascogne Pork with Turnips
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And then there was dessert: Chocolate and Chocolate! A lovely chocolate mousse roll swimming in a slightly spicy chocolate bath ... what's not to like? Actually, I can admit that I didn't like the Moet & Chandon Ice that was served with it; I know this was one of those beverages people were buzzing about this year at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival, and while I'm glad to have tried it, I will never drink it again. It was too sweet and heavy after all the champagnes we drank with earlier courses and I just did not care for it.

Duo Chocolate
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And if that's not enough, the serving team showed up with more goodies. Not even Jay and I had room to eat these at the table, so our server Yannick (who was fabulous!) packaged them up in a pretty to-go bundle for our future enjoyment.

I can't eat another bite
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Before we left - and the four of us closed the restaurant down - Harry Potter aka Florian the Sommelier showed up to chat with us. That is actually his nickname among the staff ... as we were told by Novak, Yannick, and even Florian himself. I'm a little fuzzy on how it all went down, but Jay and I ended up choosing a bottle of champagne with him for our Remy dinner, scheduled for Tuesday night. He was so nice and so helpful - if you need suggestions or help picking something special for your dinner at Remy Florian is your go-to guy!

Harry Potter ... the sommelier?
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Tuesday night's bubbles - the best we've ever had!
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Good times with good people!
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I'm going to level with you all right now ... I walked out of that lunch with a buzz that would not quit. Jay and I both took a long, fat-with-food-and-drink-nap that afternoon while the Fantasy sailed into beautiful seas.

Pretty
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Upon waking, we did what any rational pair of DINKS would do in a similar situation ... we went to Skyline for drinks. In hindsight this was not the most intelligent vacation decision I have ever made. While I did attend dinner that night, the sight and smell of food absolutely turned my stomach and I left the restaurant early to grab some ginger ale before heading to bed. Apparently I reached my limit with three straight days of champagne and various cocktails. At least I know now that I have a limit. :rotfl2:

Let me finish off with our drinks from Skyline for the evening: Jason ordered the Apollo, which was made with Ouzo, Blanton's Special Reserve Bourbon, freshly muddled raspberries, fresh cilantro, and honey. It was strong but very, very tasty!

I ordered a drink called A 38 Hajo which included Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos (a Hungarian dessert wine that is the bomb), Palinka, Elderflower Liqueur, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and apple juice. This was just too good for words and so full of wonderful booziness that I really do wish I were drinking it right now.

Apollo
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A 38 Hajo
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Coming soon ... Day 4 in St. Martin and St. Maarten! We visit the French side of the island ... we find the Guavaberry Emporium ... we walk more than five miles before dinner ... and we spend the evening at Remy making pigs of ourselves yet again! Thanks for reading so far - hope you've enjoyed!
 


That green dress is super flattering on you. Very nice color.:thumbsup2

And I continue to think that your Most Interesting Man is my drink ordering twin.

Can't wait to read more! I'm *this* close to getting my Stepdad to go on a Disney Cruise with me, so I'm really interested in reading your drinking and eating reviews, so I will know where to refuel myself.

Thanks for the kind words ... I love that dress and hope the dry cleaners can eliminate the drink stain that I couldn't with club soda.

You and your step dad really need to think about that September 2013 Panama Canal cruise ... two weeks on a ship ... random craziness with Jay and Bendy ... good times!
 
I'm here!! I'm here!!! :cool1: WOOHOO!!!!!:wave2:

PS-reading this has put me in a Disney kind of mood!! We're leaving at the crack of dawn...well, in a few hours!!! WAHOO!!!
 
Great trip report, loving every post. :) and looking forward to the next instalment.
 


I love reliving our trip through this! Remy lunch was amazing made all the better by such great company.
Wendy
 
So glad to hear your report of the Remy brunch - I might be able to convince Jay's doppleganger to check it out! :thumbsup2
 
Loving it so far! :cool1:

Sad to hear that there were children in one of the bars!!! :scared1: I would have made a big stink about it!

When we first cruised with DCL (before Kira) having our own place away from the bazillion crazy kids was a huge selling point for us. Unlike RCCL, who didn't care that all the adult areas were overrun by children, DCL was always really good about keeping everyone in their respective places. And now that one of those bazillion crazy kids is ours, we enjoy the kid free zones even more... while she is safely confined to a kid friendly space :lmao:

I find with the new ship set up, it's not as easy to do that though :sad2:

By the way, Jason's handwriting rocks!!! :worship:::yes::
 
That Remy brunch looks amazing.:love: Glad to hear the champagne pairings were good as well. Enjoying every update and as always looking forward to the rest!!
 
Jay and I have joked over the last few years that turning the corner on our respective 40th birthdays means that our geriatric genes have begun to come to life. For example, we fight irrational urges to don black socks, stand on the front porch, and yell at kids for walking through our yard; we find ourselves reminiscing about the good old days of rotary telephones, non-air conditioned schools, and Chocodiles; and we seem constitutionally unable to stay up past 10:30PM, even on the weekend.

And who was it that just today said that she couldn't stay up past 8:30 p.m. anymore? LOL!!!! :rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2: Bendy, you and Jason are still ok though. Once you start pacing the living room floor in the morning in your bathrobe, yelling at the paperboy for highjacking your store coupons, you're no where near "old". Um, that's Chuck....not me, of course. ;)

So Remy lunch is not like Palo's brunch at all? I mean, the buffet part. You order from the server instead? :confused3 I'm thinking I'd love the gnocchi. And the dessert sounds awesome.

Can't wait to hear how you clocked 5 miles on the old pedometer at St. Sint Martin, Maarten. Sounds like something we did back in '05 on the M.E. cruise.:thumbsup2
 
Loving it so far! :cool1:

Sad to hear that there were children in one of the bars!!! :scared1: I would have made a big stink about it!

When we first cruised with DCL (before Kira) having our own place away from the bazillion crazy kids was a huge selling point for us. Unlike RCCL, who didn't care that all the adult areas were overrun by children, DCL was always really good about keeping everyone in their respective places. And now that one of those bazillion crazy kids is ours, we enjoy the kid free zones even more... while she is safely confined to a kid friendly space :lmao:

I find with the new ship set up, it's not as easy to do that though :sad2:

By the way, Jason's handwriting rocks!!! :worship:::yes::

The bars are used for family activities up until 9:00 pm. I don't know what the time game was. If it was before 9:00, then it is allowed.
 
I'm here!! I'm here!!! :cool1: WOOHOO!!!!!:wave2:

PS-reading this has put me in a Disney kind of mood!! We're leaving at the crack of dawn...well, in a few hours!!! WAHOO!!!

Glad you're enjoying so far - have a great trip!

Great trip report, loving every post. :) and looking forward to the next instalment.

Thanks very much!!

I love reliving our trip through this! Remy lunch was amazing made all the better by such great company.
Wendy

Lunch was far better than I expected and we had so much fun with you two ... wish we could do it every week!

Great report & great pics....thanks for sharing

Thanks - enjoy your cruise!!

So glad to hear your report of the Remy brunch - I might be able to convince Jay's doppleganger to check it out! :thumbsup2

Hopefully you don't have to work too hard at the convincing ... it's a pretty amazing meal!
 
Sorry I'm late, it's been a bit busy around here. Catching up now :goodvibes

No sorry needed ... it's for anyone to read whenever there is time. Hope you enjoy it!

Loving it so far! :cool1:

Sad to hear that there were children in one of the bars!!! :scared1: I would have made a big stink about it!

When we first cruised with DCL (before Kira) having our own place away from the bazillion crazy kids was a huge selling point for us. Unlike RCCL, who didn't care that all the adult areas were overrun by children, DCL was always really good about keeping everyone in their respective places. And now that one of those bazillion crazy kids is ours, we enjoy the kid free zones even more... while she is safely confined to a kid friendly space :lmao:

I find with the new ship set up, it's not as easy to do that though :sad2:

By the way, Jason's handwriting rocks!!! :worship:::yes::

Cass, we were surprised at the number of times people brought kids into adult only areas. It is harder to avoid with the layout on the new ships and if people walk through quietly and relatively quickly I don't have a problem. I do have a problem with people who bring their kids into Cove Cafe ... I do have a problem with kids who pull up a seat at the Cove Bar ... I do have a problem with kids being in the pub at 11PM. Not only do I think it's inappropriate but it's disrespectful ... the number of areas on the ship that are not open to kids is minimal relative to its size ... we don't bust in on the kids club with a bottle of bubbly and belch the mickey mouse club song at the youngsters before passing out.

But maybe we should ... :rotfl2:

Anyway ... I sound like a crank and I don't mean it that way but it happened more than one time on our cruise ... at least four that I can think of off the top of my head ... it didn't ruin our fun but you can't help but notice.

As for the handwriting ... you do know that's not Jay's right? ;)

That Remy brunch looks amazing.:love: Glad to hear the champagne pairings were good as well. Enjoying every update and as always looking forward to the rest!!

Remy is fabulous, Kat! Thanks for reading along with us!

And who was it that just today said that she couldn't stay up past 8:30 p.m. anymore? LOL!!!! :rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2: Bendy, you and Jason are still ok though. Once you start pacing the living room floor in the morning in your bathrobe, yelling at the paperboy for highjacking your store coupons, you're no where near "old". Um, that's Chuck....not me, of course. ;)

So Remy lunch is not like Palo's brunch at all? I mean, the buffet part. You order from the server instead? :confused3 I'm thinking I'd love the gnocchi. And the dessert sounds awesome.

Can't wait to hear how you clocked 5 miles on the old pedometer at St. Sint Martin, Maarten. Sounds like something we did back in '05 on the M.E. cruise.:thumbsup2

There is no buffet or item ordering at the Remy lunch ... it's a fixed menu, so what you see is what you get unless you have an allergy or something along those lines. Knowing you ... I think you should stick with Palo. :goodvibes

The bars are used for family activities up until 9:00 pm. I don't know what the time game was. If it was before 9:00, then it is allowed.

It was after 10:30PM that night because we had second seating for dinner and this was after we'd changed out of our clothes from formal night and walked a couple of laps around the outside of deck 4.

I know it's allowed in that area during the day and I don't have an issue with that ... I just don't know why anyone would want their kids to be there in the evenings when there are more age appropriate areas for them to hang out. This was the first time in four cruises that it happened enough to be noticeable to us and that's really why I remarked on it.

Thanks again for taking the time to read ... I really appreciate it!
 
There is no buffet or item ordering at the Remy lunch ... it's a fixed menu, so what you see is what you get unless you have an allergy or something along those lines. Knowing you ... I think you should stick with Palo. :goodvibes

Ooooooh, loved Palo brunch! :thumbsup2:thumbsup2 You know me well. :goodvibes
 
No sorry needed ... it's for anyone to read whenever there is time. Hope you enjoy it!



Cass, we were surprised at the number of times people brought kids into adult only areas. It is harder to avoid with the layout on the new ships and if people walk through quietly and relatively quickly I don't have a problem. I do have a problem with people who bring their kids into Cove Cafe ... I do have a problem with kids who pull up a seat at the Cove Bar ... I do have a problem with kids being in the pub at 11PM. Not only do I think it's inappropriate but it's disrespectful ... the number of areas on the ship that are not open to kids is minimal relative to its size ... we don't bust in on the kids club with a bottle of bubbly and belch the mickey mouse club song at the youngsters before passing out.

But maybe we should ... :rotfl2:

Anyway ... I sound like a crank and I don't mean it that way but it happened more than one time on our cruise ... at least four that I can think of off the top of my head ... it didn't ruin our fun but you can't help but notice.

As for the handwriting ... you do know that's not Jay's right? ;)



Remy is fabulous, Kat! Thanks for reading along with us!



There is no buffet or item ordering at the Remy lunch ... it's a fixed menu, so what you see is what you get unless you have an allergy or something along those lines. Knowing you ... I think you should stick with Palo. :goodvibes



It was after 10:30PM that night because we had second seating for dinner and this was after we'd changed out of our clothes from formal night and walked a couple of laps around the outside of deck 4.

I know it's allowed in that area during the day and I don't have an issue with that ... I just don't know why anyone would want their kids to be there in the evenings when there are more age appropriate areas for them to hang out. This was the first time in four cruises that it happened enough to be noticeable to us and that's really why I remarked on it.

Thanks again for taking the time to read ... I really appreciate it!

We were on this cruise also. If it were after 9:00, I would have complained. We had a screaming child by the adult hot tub one afternoon and called over a CM, who asked them to leave. There are far more kids areas on the ship than adults areas - use them.
 
Ooooooh, loved Palo brunch! :thumbsup2:thumbsup2 You know me well. :goodvibes

you wouldn't be happy at Remy, Ms. Goose .... stick with Palo and you will be. :hug:

We were on this cruise also. If it were after 9:00, I would have complained. We had a screaming child by the adult hot tub one afternoon and called over a CM, who asked them to leave. There are far more kids areas on the ship than adults areas - use them.

Ooooh ..... the hot tub ... ugh! Good for you for saying something. We didn't say anything at the Pub since we didn't want to stay, but did make a few quiet comments to CMs about the other incidents we noticed for the same reason you stated at the end of your post. I even remarked on it when I filled out our comment card at the end of the cruise. Sometimes I think it's just a training issue and sometimes I think that there are adult guests who are just nicer than I am and don't say anything about it. ;)
 

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