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

[SrisonS]

Thanks, everyone!!!

 

[GoHabsGo]

Hilarious! Does Disney Cruise Line frown on this?

No, mostly just snickers...

 

[jstkpswimming]

Loving your TR! Your photography is just beautiful. I know that my soon-to-be husband will be exactly the same way as you with the photography on our DCL honeymoon cruise through the Panama Canal in May!

 

[cstorm65]

I have definitely enjoyed your report so far. DW wants to take a cruise in the summer of 2014. We are doing to Disney World next summer and our DS will be 16 months old, but we are looking at a cruise when he is just over 2 years old. So I am interested to read about the rest of your trip with a younger child.

 

[SrisonS]

Day 4: Voyage to Paradise Point


IMG_0986 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


IMG_0983 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr




Woke up in the morning, and we’ve finally arrived at out 1st cruise destination… St. Thomas. The very first thing I did was get up, draw back the curtains, and take in our “beautiful” view of the tourist shopping area. There’s a Sushi Bar, a Scotiabank, a Port of Sale shopping plaza, a wonderful place for wings... Hooters, and a van that has “Ford Sucks” spray painted on top. So quite the exquisite sight. But to be fair, that view is also mixed with the greenery of the lovely hillside behind it. I also take note of where we’ll be going for our only excursion of the day; the St. Thomas Skyride. This is one of the first things you’ll take notice of when looking from the starboard side of the ship; and it’s definitely in walking distance. The good thing about this excursion is that you can leave for it whenever you’re ready. So no having to get up super early and rush through breakfast or anything. We still headed out at decent time though. That ended up being a wise decision; because there was a nice little line waiting to board the skyride when we were coming from there.




Near the middle, you can see the various posts for the cable car….
IMG_1095 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


IMG_1040 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



There might’ve been construction when we were there a few years ago as well…..
IMG_0991 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



Heading to the top…
IMG_0995 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



Still heading to the top…
The House on the Hill by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr

 

[SrisonS]

IMG_1017 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



The skyride takes you up to Paradise Point, where you’ll get AMAZING views of St. Thomas. If you want good pictures of the ship, with some scenic St. Thomas in there, this is your excursion!!! A cable car takes you to the top, where there are a couple of main viewing areas. At this destination, the area that’s a little higher up is like a nature trail with a few “wild” animals; goats, peacocks, geese, a couple of caged birds. For a portion of that part, there are some wooden steps to guide you along. [You have to be careful near the railing though; some of the beasts leave presents.] But at a certain point, you’ll just be walking on dirt and rocks, through some forestry. You can completely avoid that aspect of the trail though. I didn’t really get too adventurous here (I didn’t say “we” for a reason), because I was trying to be quick with my journey. There is also another section that has a bar and a couple of little shops. Now this is the spot to really get the good views!!! When you’re up on that nature trail, you see the roof the stores, and the loading area for the cable cars. But right outside of the bar, there’s a railing with nothing in front of you except beautiful St. Thomas. There are a few houses on the hillside, you see the ships in port (even the ones in a further out port), the shops are less of an eyesore from up there, the layout of the waterways is just perfect, and you see the other various hills/mountains of the island. So all-in-all, not much in terms of adventure with this excursion. But for something low-key that will still give you a sense of St. Thomas, I’d definitely suggest doing this.



IMG_1008 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


IMG_1012 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



The view from the trail….

IMG_1042 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



IMG_1032 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



Pretty much the total view from the bar area….

IMG_1037 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



One thing I really have to mention though, is that this excursion is not the most child friendly; at least if you have super young kids. Not really knowing what we’d experience at the top of this hill/mountain, but also helping out on the walk over, we decided to take our daughter’s stroller. If anything, we were lucky we had the umbrella one for this trip, so it was somewhat easy to deal with. But there is no use for any type of stroller when you get to the top. Not one single bit. When the cable car drops you off, you have to use stairs to get to/through the nature trail, as well as getting to and from the bar/shops area. So needless to say, I started off carrying this thing around. And to make matters worse, it was incredibly hot this day. So after my wife had enough of carrying out daughter up the stairs in this heat, they eventually just sat near the bar to wait for me to walk around a bit. But at least the bar is open-air, and you can still get somewhat of a view when in the shaded part of it. I guess I could use the term “bar” pretty loosely though. Yeah, they served drinks and all. But it was completely family-friendly. Not that there was anything super great about it. It just wasn’t off-putting, I guess you could say. I will say that they have a very good $7 Virgin Piña Colada though.



IMG_1073 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr

 

[goeva]

Love your trip report. Great photos. Thanks for sharing. :

 

[MomToPrincePhillip]

I know I've commented on your photos before (as have many others) but I just have to say just how exquisite they are! Amazing! I also love all the tips you are giving us in this TR, thanks so much for sharing!!

 

[KCmike]

IMG_1017 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr

Love this shot. The view is awesome. Seeing the ships and the gorgeous blue ocean is just perfect. The buildings on some of the other shots though are eye sores for sure.

 

[SrisonS]

IMG_1091 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


IMG_1092 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr




So after our pleasantly harrowing experience, we head back to the boat to grab some lunch at Royal Court. I just ended up getting a burger there; but it was actually very good. After we finish eating, my wife and DD go down for a nap, while I go out to walk around St. Thomas a bit. When we were here a few years ago, I walked from the boat to the main Downtown shopping area. But this trip, I wasn’t really feeling up to it. It’s quite the distance. Plus, I didn’t want to be too far from my family, in case they woke up earlier than expected and wanted to actually do something. So my journey basically stuck to going just a little past the resort/marina that can be seen right next to where the ship is stationed.




IMG_1102 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


IMG_1130 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


IMG_1162 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



Taking this walk is good if you want to get some really good pictures of the ship. You can get right up on the front of the ship; and you have a pretty unobstructed view of the Port side of the boat. You can also get some great foreground with the smaller boats in that marina; as well as a nice background with the hill that has Paradise Point. BUT, you’ll also have a chance to see wild iguanas!!! My words can’t do justice to how cool and creepy it is to see one of them about. They’re surprisingly big, and they have quite the odd motion when running fast. Luckily, they make it a point to stay away from human contact. The last thing you’d want is one of them running after you. It would definitely spur nightmares.




IMG_1157 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


IMG_1149 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


IMG_1167 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr

 

[KCmike]

Nice series of shots. What lens are you using again?

 

[Linda67]

Wow, wow, wow

Your photos are stunning yet again

 

[bitlerzx4]

LOVE all your pix! I mean seriously beautiful!


will you ask your wife where she got her BEAUTIFUL dress for formal night? I love it and she looks beautiful in it!

 

[SrisonS]

Nice series of shots. What lens are you using again?

Thanks, everyone!!! And I was using a Canon 10-22mm for most of these St. Thomas shots.

 

[GoHabsGo]

Really great report - photos are awsome.

 

[SrisonS]

LOVE all your pix! I mean seriously beautiful!


will you ask your wife where she got her BEAUTIFUL dress for formal night? I love it and she looks beautiful in it!

We both thank you!!!! And she got the dress at Dress Barn.

 

[perdidobay]

I am so enjoying your trip report, as I'm going on the ship in a few weeks on the eastern.
Your talent with a camera is amazing, good equipment is one thing, but your composition of the photos is brilliant. Thank you so much for sharing!

 

[SrisonS]

IMG_1218 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



So after my solo photowalk, it’s time to get ready for Pirate Night!!! My daughter would be donning a snazzy little pirate costume (which she also wore for Halloween), and I would be in my Pirates of the Caribbean shirt (which I also wore for Halloween). This was probably one of our DD’s favorite nights. I don’t know if it’s because of Jake & the Neverland Pirates or what, but she loves anything Pirate. If we’d let her, she’d run around every day in her pirate costume shouting “Ahoy Matey!!!”. So before dinner, we took pictures with Chip & Dale (who were appropriately dressed) and Captain Jack Sparrow. Hook, Smee, Peter Pan, and Mickey were out as well.



IMG_1221 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



For dinner this night, we ate at Animator’s Palate. This ended up being one of the highlights of our particular dining rotation. No other restaurant on the ship could set the Pirate Night mood like this one. All of the screens in there were constantly showing various conceptual drawings and artwork from the POTC films and attractions. It didn’t even appear as if any of the images repeated. There was that much of it. And I was basically glued to them the whole time!!! It was truly something. I wouldn’t mind a screen in our apartment that just shows tons of POTC art all the time.
Another special part of this night was that it was our “little” tablemate’s 3rd birthday!!! Some of the wait staff gathered around to sing ‘Happy Birthday’, and his parents ordered a cake that was brought out. And a couple of things about the cake…. They aren’t allowed to light any candles you might want to put on there. Also, the cake was HUGE!!!! I know it’s pretty pricey; but they really did a great job with it. It also tasted VERY good.




IMG_1230 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


IMG_1235 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


IMG_1240 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr




Around 10:15, we head to Deck 11 for the Pirates In The Caribbean Party. The show with the bad pirates taking over the ship was pretty cool; and the fireworks were pretty nice. And afterwards, they had food at Cabana’s. We didn’t go to crazy there (like a plate full of turkey legs or anything); but we did grab a few desserts. So overall, it was a great night.

After turning in for the night, we stayed up until the Presidential Election was called (oh yeah, that was going on!!!). It’s funny that we didn’t really think about the election at all this day. And Disney made no reference whatsoever concerning it. So it was nice to completely escape it all, if that’s what you wanted.



IMG_1261 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr

IMG_1267 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr

IMG_1268 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr

IMG_1270 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



A few “gold doubloons” were on the bed when we got back… “Hey hey, well done crew…..”
IMG_1248 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



My Disney Pics on Flickr!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jocelynt01]

Great TR! I see you also have pics on flickr...it's like you had you own photowalk on the cruise. My family went on the fantasy on Dec 15. It was a bit rocky, so my tripod didnt really help. Love how you explored every nook and cranny possible. Can't wait to read more.

 

[Melissa&Shawn]

Wonderful report!!! Love your pictures!!!