The Royal Voyage: Fantasy Eastern Caribbean Nov. 3 10, 2012!!! (with Pictures!!!)

[Linda67]

I know it's been said many times already but your photos are just stunning


I absolutely love the night shots you took

 

[krazoguy]

You photography is terrific. I have to ask....what is your gear setup.

 

[SrisonS]

Thanks, everyone!!!!!

You photography is terrific. I have to ask....what is your gear setup.

I shoot with a Canon Rebel T4i.

For it, I have:
Canon 10-22mm (what I used the most this trip)
Canon 18-135mm (what I use the most any other time)
Sigma 30mm (for handheld indoor/night shots)
and an external flash and tripod

 

[SrisonS]

IMG_0913 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



After solving the mystery, it was about time for our daughter to head to the Its A Small World Nursery. This day, we made the most of our time; and had brunch at Palo. For all of the adults out there, doing brunch or dinner at one of these fine dining restaurants is something Id highly suggest. Compared to everything else youll be doing, this is something just totally different. Theres great food. Its a great setting. And you forget that theres a whole bunch of hustle and bustle going on all over the ship. Even though nothing in there screams Disney; you still get that excellent Disney service. And the attention to detail in designing that space was just perfect!!! I wish I couldve spent an hour just roaming around in there to take pictures. Maybe thats something to look into on our next cruise.



I was a little overdressed&..
IMG_0900 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


IMG_0908 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr




So brunch starts off with a complimentary drink (I cant remember the 3 choices, but we had Mimosas); and a little tour of the buffet area. You have setups of cheeses, breads, seafood, pastries, meats, desserts, etc.; and sample plates of entrees that are prepared to-order. As far as those special entrees are concerned, we tried the sausage pizza (which was pretty good), and the chicken parmesan (which was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!!!.... one of the best things we had all cruise). Whenever we go out to dinner, my wife is pretty predictable. Shell usually go for some kind of chicken dish; with chicken parm being the main thing shell pick. I on the other hand usually look past anything chicken related; because thats what I usually cook at home anyway. But that chicken parm from Palo&. Mmm mmm mmm!!!! Theres no way I could ever pass that up if I had the chance to get it again. It was just phenomenal. Our waitress said the Italian cooks there would usually make a couple orders for themselves at nights end, just because they liked it so much.


(clickable)



One of the Cast Members told me to use the flash for this shot. I was thinking to myself, I have this under control. No flash is needed.. But because of the material that wall is made of, it can give the impression that youre looking out at actual buildings.
IMG_0910 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr




After our lovely meal, we head over to pick up daughter. Although we had her booked for the 3rd day, we decided to cancel it. We didnt have any other adult only activities planned; and our DD had been such a delight after the 1st day. So we didnt see the need. Heck, we even picked her earlier than scheduled this day, because there wasnt anything else on the agenda.




IMG_0930 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr

IMG_0962 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



So my wife and daughter went to take a nap, while I roamed around outside to get some pictures. On vacation, I try to not sacrifice family time for photography reasons. Sure, Ill grab shots here and there, but I definitely tone it down. But I can also guarantee that theyll be taking naps at points throughout the trip. So I just wait for those moments to really do my exploring. It works out better for everyone that way.




IMG_0917 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


IMG_0919 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr

 

[AndrewWG]

Excellent trip report! If you don't mind me asking, what is your camera setup? I just got off the Thanksgiving Fantasy trip and although I enjoy my photos, I find that yours are a bit clearer and the colors pop quite nicely. Perhaps it is your post processing expertise as well. My photo/video slideshow is in my signature.

 

[SrisonS]

Excellent trip report! If you don't mind me asking, what is your camera setup? I just got off the Thanksgiving Fantasy trip and although I enjoy my photos, I find that yours are a bit clearer and the colors pop quite nicely. Perhaps it is your post processing expertise as well. My photo/video slideshow is in my signature.

Your photos don't look bad at all. And I do at least a little something to all of my photos before I post them. I mainly just try and give them a little extra pop. I use Lightroom for my pictures. And for most of the pictures in this report, I do pretty basic adjustments.

I didn't do anything really unique as far as camera settings though (I listed my gear right before that recent update).

 

[Tami0220]

I will say it once again, amazing pics!!! Disney should hire you to take pics for them, then you could cruise whenever you wanted, lol

 

[Linda67]

Wow, your photos take me right back to The Fantasy

 

[KCmike]

I'm joining in. Now I need to go back and start at the beginning. Always enjoy your photography Scott.

 

[SrisonS]

I will say it once again, amazing pics!!! Disney should hire you to take pics for them, then you could cruise whenever you wanted, lol

Wow, your photos take me right back to The Fantasy

I'm joining in. Now I need to go back and start at the beginning. Always enjoy your photography Scott.

Thanks!!!!!

 

[KCmike]

double post.

 

[SrisonS]

IMG_1078 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



For dinner this night, we would be going to Royal Court. This French themed restaurant has such an elegant décor. You could be in there eating a greasy hamburger and soggy french fries (no pun intended), and still feel like you’re doing some fine dining. The overall feel is subtlety royal (pun intended). And there are beautiful murals on the walls, depicting the various Prince/Princess couples of the Disney universe.

One of the things I really look forward to during our cruises, is getting the chance to try new and unique foods. It’s quite nice knowing that you can just get something else if the trial food doesn’t work out; with no extra cost to you. Plus, I don’t get many other opportunities to try some of the items on these menus. Sure, I could possibly seek them out. But if I don’t like it, I’m screwed. On our previous cruising adventures, I had first time tastings of such things as lamb, duck, and caviar (which it actually pretty good). So maybe not the most exotic of foods; but still firsts none-the-less. This night would be no exception.



IMG_1083 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



For my appetizer, I decided to go with the escargot. This was something I’ve never really had the urge to try. During the Food & Wine Fest at EPCOT, I noticed a lot of people ordering it. But my curiosity with it had never peaked. So tonight, I had a “what the heck” moment, and went ahead and ordered it. I can’t say I’ll do that again anytime soon. Knowing that they were snails, but also knowing this was a delicacy; I assumed the snaillyness would be disguised more. I was COMPLETELY wrong on that end. It actually looked worse than I thought it would (they’re black and slimy, and sitting in a brown liquid). It didn’t taste horrible. But I think that knowing what it was, and it having kind of a unique texture (though kind of expected); it seemed a little off-putting. I believe there were like 8 of them; but I only ended up eating 1. I was soooo on the edge of trying another (again, it wasn’t horrible); but I just couldn’t do it for some reason. I did let one of our tablemates try one; because he had never eaten them either. And he actually kind of liked it. Heck, he tried lobster for the first time this cruise; but was more a fan of the escargot. He even said that he wouldn’t eat lobster again unless he was stranded on a desert island…. AND IT WAS GOOD LOBSTER!!!!! I see who I’ll be forming an alliance with if we’re ever on Survivor. At least we won’t be fighting over food.

For my main course, I tried something else that was new for me… Wild boar. And I gotta say, it was VERY good!!! It seemed a little gamey (I guess… I don’t know); but I still really enjoyed it. I also got a serving of the lamb chops. Our server had highly suggesting this, so she just happened to bring some out for me. And those were quite good as well. For dessert, I went with my one of my faves…. Crème brûlée. This was actually something I tried for the first time on a different cruise. But I instantly fell in love with it. I make it at home quite often. And I’ll usually try it if it’s on the menu somewhere. So tonight, it was unsurprisingly very good. I also had a raspberry version another day, which was I also enjoyed. My wife tries chicken parm wherever she goes… I try the crème brûlée. I will say that Tony’s Town Square, at the Magic Kingdom, has an excellent pistachio version. If they sold that in a bakery at one of the parks, I’d probably get it almost every visit. And there’s hardly anything I’m like that with. So quite the adventurous night, food-wise. But still a reason I really like cruising.




IMG_1081 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



My Disney Pics on Flickr!!!!

 

[KCmike]

One more photography question if you don't mind Scott. Do you always shoot in raw?

 

[SrisonS]

One more photography question if you don't mind Scott. Do you always shoot in raw?

Yes, I do. I like knowing I don't always have to totally get everything right when I'm shooting. And when it comes to post-processing, RAW is definitely better. You can pull a lot of detail from the shadows, as well as parts that might be somewhat overexposed.

I also saw on Flickr that you're hesitating on doing a cruise. What are your worries????

 

[GoHabsGo]

One more photography question if you don't mind Scott. Do you always shoot in raw?

I tried that once but the CMs told me I was scaring the kids and implored me to put my clothes back on!

 

[KCmike]

I tried that once but the CMs told me I was scaring the kids and implored me to put my clothes back on!

Hilarious! Does Disney Cruise Line frown on this?

 

[SrisonS]

The show for this night was Disney Wishes. It’s basically about a few high school students ending their senior year, and celebrating each other’s friendship. But throughout the show, they’re transported though various Disney scenes, to help drive the point of the story home. So it wasn’t too bad.

Afterwards, our night pretty much dwindled to an end. We did end up stopping at Flo’s V8 Café, so my wife could get a little something to eat. This is pretty much the only spot to go for some late night snacking (I’ll mention the other in a minute). It’s open until 12:30 AM, and they have pizza (which was pretty good), cookies, chips (I think), hot dogs, sandwiches, etc…. Because of our earlier dinner, this was always a good place to stop, so that we didn’t go to bed too hungry.



IMG_0979 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



When we got back to the room, I decided that I wanted to check out another place to get some munchies. On our previous cruises, I remember being pleasantly surprised to see a little late night food station, over near the adult clubs. So it was great to find out about the same type of thing on the Fantasy. So I headed over to La Piazza (with a quick stop to check out a few minutes of Monday Night Football on the Funnel Vision) to see what they were offering. There wasn’t a big selection or anything. But it was nice for a late night bite. They had beef turnovers, jalapeño poppers, fish nuggets (I really enjoyed these), mozzarella sticks, a couple of small desserts (chocolate ones), and a couple of other things. I came back here 1 or 2 other nights, and they had pretty much the same things. They did rotate out a couple of the servings, and had chicken wings and mini pizza bagels though. So if you’re partying the night away, and just want to grab something quick; be sure to stop over at La Piazza.

But time to rest up; because the next day, we’ll be stopping in St. Thomas!!!!

 

[TomsRiverNJMickeyFan]

The show for this night was Disney Wishes. It’s basically about a few high school students ending their senior year, and celebrating each other’s friendship. But throughout the show, they’re transported though various Disney scenes, to help drive the point of the story home. So it wasn’t too bad.

Afterwards, our night pretty much dwindled to an end. We did end up stopping at Flo’s V8 Café, so my wife could get a little something to eat. This is pretty much the only spot to go for some late night snacking (I’ll mention the other in a minute). It’s open until 12:30 AM, and they have pizza (which was pretty good), cookies, chips (I think), hot dogs, sandwiches, etc…. Because of our earlier dinner, this was always a good place to stop, so that we didn’t go to bed too hungry.



IMG_0979 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



When we got back to the room, I decided that I wanted to check out another place to get some munchies. On our previous cruises, I remember being pleasantly surprised to see a little late night food station, over near the adult clubs. So it was great to find out about the same type of thing on the Fantasy. So I headed over to La Piazza (with a quick stop to check out a few minutes of Monday Night Football on the Funnel Vision) to see what they were offering. There wasn’t a big selection or anything. But it was nice for a late night bite. They had beef turnovers, jalapeño poppers, fish nuggets (I really enjoyed these), mozzarella sticks, a couple of small desserts (chocolate ones), and a couple of other things. I came back here 1 or 2 other nights, and they had pretty much the same things. They did rotate out a couple of the servings, and had chicken wings and mini pizza bagels though. So if you’re partying the night away, and just want to grab something quick; be sure to stop over at La Piazza.

But time to rest up; because the next day, we’ll be stopping in St. Thomas!!!!

Scott:

So totally enjoying your take on this cruise and your photos, as I was on this sailing with my family as part of the Election Day Escapees group. Really enjoying your photos and seeing it from another view as we were overwhelmed trying to see it all!

 

[IheartMickey]

I dabble with photography as well. I have a Canon 60D and a Nikon 3100. I really love your photos.

 

[magrudersmakes3]

I love your report! You have a beautiful family!!