Fantasy February 16, 2013 - 7 Night Western Cruise Meet

[DizJohn]

It's so sad to be back in port and we are less than 2 hours from getting off. It was a great cruise got to meet a few of you. Thank you all again for wonderful FE gifts. John, Colleen, Liam & Eileen 8080

 

[jmcross]

If someone happens to check this board while on the ship this week I have a question/favor. If you happen to have Sergio from Montenegro could you ask him if he'll still be onboard the April 20th sailing? We've requested him, but want to know if he'll be there. Thank you!! Have a great time!

I wish I had read this sooner than today. We just got off the ship and had Sergio from Montenegro! We loved him, too!

 

[EllinK]

I'm seriously considering driving from New York (Staten Island) to Florida for the cruise.

I am also from SI! But I've been in CA for a long time. See you on the ship

 

[DisDream09]

I hope everyone checks back on this thread now that the cruise is over. I am sorry I did not get to meet all of you. Although I did bust some of you giving out your gifts, LOL. This was my first time doing the FE and all I have to say is WOW!!! I was amazed by all the wonderful gifts we received. The creativity and thought and effort that went into each and every gift just blew my mind. My daughters LOVED going back to the room and checking the FE. My husband said at one point he saw 2 kids looking through our pockets, he wasn't sure if they were just being nosey or if they were helping themselves. So at that point we would clear out the pockets and put everything on the bed if the kids were not with us.

To the person that did the scavenger hunt.....what an amazing idea!!! Unfortunately we ran out of time before we could do it. I was so bummed!!!

Thank you to all of you. Each and every gift was SO appreciated. And each one made it home........my suitcase was 9 pounds over weight!!!!

Looking forward to doing this again someday!!!!

 

[KingRichard]

What a great trip!

I hope everyone booked a new trip while on-board.

We spent one night at the Animal Kingdom resort with Savanna views and it was incredible. If you get a chance, do it. I wish we had more then one day there. Next time for sure.

 

[Luckymomoftwo]

I can't believe we are back home already. It seemed to go by way too fast! Seven nights on the ship, and we still didn't get to do everything we wanted to do. Well....I guess part of the reason is I spent the first full day at sea in bed trying to sleep out the motion sickness. But, no worries....the rest of the cruise was smooth sailing for me. My DS13 got a really awesome souvenir from Costa Maya.....it was a Predator sculpture made from fish bones. I have this totally irrational fear of bones, so I won't ever be touching that thing. DS13 loved Costa Maya....we went into town and he liked seeing how the culture was there. Of course, he wouldn't venture off anywhere at Cozumel, except for that mall right there when you first leave the docks....so that wasn't anything different for him....he sees the mall here all the time. But he was just too tired to venture out anywhere else. So, back to the ship we went and DD9 rode the Mickey slide for about two hours straight.

So, I have to ask....what did you all think about the food? This was my 11th Disney cruise and I have to say I was NOT impressed with the food at all. We were always in dinner until after 10:00....our service was so slow! And my server kind of ticked me off a couple of times. I was trying to take pictures of the menu's and he would grab them from me. Neither server interacted with us....especially the drink server. He brought our drinks and that was it. So, I was a little disappointed by that....normally we get servers that do little magic tricks for the kids and talk to us a little more. Other than that, the CM interaction was awesome, they were all very nice and had smiles on their faces all the time.

Overall it was a great cruise. My kids had a blast. My DS13 met some new friends and exchanged phone numbers so he could keep in touch. My DD9 took advantage of the kids clubs more than she ever has in the past. We did the Detective Agency twice. And the weather at Castaway Cay couldn't have been better!!!! Although the water could have been warmer! I wonder when Disney will find a way to heat that water in the winter?

 

[Luckymomoftwo]

What a great trip!

I hope everyone booked a new trip while on-board.

We spent one night at the Animal Kingdom resort with Savanna views and it was incredible. If you get a chance, do it. I wish we had more then one day there. Next time for sure.

It sure was a great trip! We weren't able to book another discounted trip while on board because we already have one booked from the last time we cruised that we haven't set sail on yet. They only allow you to have ONE discounted cruise booked at a time.

We spent one night before the cruise and one night after the cruise at Animal Kingdom Jambo in Concierge level. That was pretty cool!! Until it was time to check out yesterday....that was pretty depressing. But...we have another trip planned for September, so that helps.

 

[jengrabinski]

Did your server happen to be Allywn from India? And Brooks from Jamaica? Allywn was terrible the 1st few nights, brooks told us it was his 1st day back on the boat. We had a table of 4 & relatives at 2 other tables of 8 each & they would finish before us almost every night. They had different servers.

 

[KingRichard]

It sure was a great trip! We weren't able to book another discounted trip while on board because we already have one booked from the last time we cruised that we haven't set sail on yet. They only allow you to have ONE discounted cruise booked at a time.

We spent one night before the cruise and one night after the cruise at Animal Kingdom Jambo in Concierge level. That was pretty cool!! Until it was time to check out yesterday....that was pretty depressing. But...we have another trip planned for September, so that helps.

That is not true?

I have 2 booked right now?

I think they only allow 1 per adult while on board and I believe you can book 2 rooms as long as it is the same sail date.

Others can add if they know please?

 

[jcarwash]

...I spent the first full day at sea in bed trying to sleep out the motion sickness...

...So, I have to ask....what did you all think about the food?...

I too had awful sea-sickness on Sunday. I wasn't expecting it as on my previous cruise I had no issues. Once I was able to keep the Bonine (meclozine) in my system I felt much better.

My wife and I thought the main dining room food was outstanding, to the point that saw a small incremental difference between the dining rooms and Palo. We may not look to go to Palo on the Fantasy next time.

Our server team was wonderful and one of the highlights of our cruise. We had head server Faisal, server Andre, and assistant Maria. All three were great.

 

[kshark1958]

The food was fantastic. Being first timers I have no other cruises to compare it to. We ate at Palo one night the food there was maybe a slight step above MDR but not much. We may not even bother with Palo the next time. Our servers were excellent. Our head server was Faisal, server was Lumilla from Indonesia and Daniel from Portugal.They were friendly and quick.We could have been out of the MDR by 9:30 if we wanted. They also did a great job with my wife and her food allergy.

 

[Luckymomoftwo]

Did your server happen to be Allywn from India? And Brooks from Jamaica? Allywn was terrible the 1st few nights, brooks told us it was his 1st day back on the boat. We had a table of 4 & relatives at 2 other tables of 8 each & they would finish before us almost every night. They had different servers.

No....they weren't our servers. Honestly....I don't even know our server's names. That's how little interaction there was. (I'm sure someone in our group knows, though....Wally, Terrie, Jason, Karen, Shawn, Milford, Dan, Sue, Jim, Laura, Andy, Mike, Debbie???? Anyone remember their names?) I'm thinking the drink server may have spoken very little English and that may have been the problem, but since he didn't even hardly talk to us, I couldn't say for sure.

I too had awful sea-sickness on Sunday. I wasn't expecting it as on my previous cruise I had no issues. Once I was able to keep the Bonine (meclozine) in my system I felt much better.

My wife and I thought the main dining room food was outstanding, to the point that saw a small incremental difference between the dining rooms and Palo. We may not look to go to Palo on the Fantasy next time.

Our server team was wonderful and one of the highlights of our cruise. We had head server Faisal, server Andre, and assistant Maria. All three were great.

I'm glad your dining experience was so good. Our head server was Liam and he was FANTASTIC! He brought us different dishes each night that weren't on the menu. However, I wasn't able to have a couple of them due to shellfish allergies.

Let me give a little history on previous servers that might help explain why it was so disappointing this time: in September 2011 Simones and Leo a/k/a Brian were our servers. They were so awesome! Leo would have our drinks sitting there waiting for us when we entered the dining room. Simones was right on top of everything. They were so much fun that we almost didn't want to leave dinner! We sailed again in January 2012 and they weren't our servers BUT....they remembered us and kept coming over to our table to ask how everything was. I felt bad for our servers because I think they were a little intimidated by that. They didn't speak very good English. But, they were still ok.

Don't get me wrong....the food was good....but it wasn't as good as it's been in the past. And the funny thing is, as I sit here and type that....I'm wondering if any of my work clothes are going to fit me when I go back to work tomorrow. It is definitely diet time for me starting today! Oh wait...we just had pizza for lunch....ok...diet starts tomorrow.

 

[momtoleasawav]

We had a great time on the ship and loved our servers! I did have a few disappointments, the biggest was Palo brunch. We went on the first sea day and I was not feel good from the waves. So as I watched my husband devour plates of good food the head waiter brought me a green apple The apple did help though!
I was really disappointed to miss Grand Cayman. It was then I realized all those months of planning and not everything is going to go perfectly as planned but that doesn't mean the trip can't be perfect. It was a wonderful vacation!!

 

[Luckymomoftwo]

We had a great time on the ship and loved our servers! I did have a few disappointments, the biggest was Palo brunch. We went on the first sea day and I was not feel good from the waves. So as I watched my husband devour plates of good food the head waiter brought me a green apple The apple did help though!
I was really disappointed to miss Grand Cayman. It was then I realized all those months of planning and not everything is going to go perfectly as planned but that doesn't mean the trip can't be perfect. It was a wonderful vacation!!

We were in Palo Brunch the first sea day, too! We had a group of about 10, I think. I was trying to stay in there to enjoy the brunch, but when they took us over to see the pizza's, the smell made me even worse. So, I went back to the room, took some Bonine and took a short nap. When I woke up I felt better so I went back up to Palo. Sat there for a couple of minutes and the upset tummy came back. They offered me some ginger ale....it helped a little. But I went back to the room and took a two-three hour nap. Then when I woke up, I felt MUCH better. The server told me that ginger ale and green apples help with motion sickness. It's something in the skin on the green apples.

I'm sorry you weren't feeling well that day, either. You're right....you can plan and plan and plan, and all that planning can just go right out the window when it comes down to it. I didn't plan ANYTHING for this cruise. I let my hubby do some planning....so I was just along for the adventure. It wasn't the most fun I've had on a cruise (nothing to do with his planning or my lack of planning), but my kids and my hubby enjoyed it, so I'm good with that. I *did* have a good time, but I think I might have had a better time without the kids....they did a lot of bickering and it ruined my mood quite a bit. But, like I said, they had a great time, so I'm happy with that!

 

[BrownieBites]

Overall we had a really wonderful trip! I was traveling with my husband and both sets of parents. It was his parent's first DCL cruise and my parent's first cruise of any kind.

My dad and MIL were so sick on that first sea day. This was my third Disney cruise and I've never felt constant motion like that first day and night. MIL skipped Palo brunch and my dad sat there white as a sheet, took a few bites, and then sprinted for the room where he stayed in bed until that night. MIL threw up everything that touched her stomach until the next day. Having two members of our party so sick and then the port cancellation right after that was a depressing way to start the trip, but things improved after that so all was well.

I agree that out of the Disney cruises I've been on (Magic and Dream).. the food on this one wasn't the best. It was good, don't get me wrong, but just.. not AS good. My husband and I were feeling a little embarrassed because we had been raving about DCL and finally convinced our parents to join us on a big family vacation, and instead we ended up people being sick and then, when they could keep something down, not fully enjoying their food.

We had first dinner seating on AERAEER rotation. Our server was Lily from Canada, asst. server was Aleksander from Serbia, and head server was Ivo from Croatia. All were very nice, and Lily had some cute crayon and napkin folding tricks.

edit: funny to see that so many others were at the Palo brunch that first sea day! We were there around 12:30. We had Aneta (sp?) as our server.

 

[calypso726]

That is not true?

I have 2 booked right now?

I think they only allow 1 per adult while on board and I believe you can book 2 rooms as long as it is the same sail date.

Others can add if they know please?

You only get the discount on one future cruise up to 2 rooms for the same sail date booked. We used to be able to book 2 or more future dates, 4 rooms per per future date and get the discount. We have a couple of dummy dates floating around in case we decide to do another cruise between now and our Alaska cruise on the Wonder in 2014.

 

[calypso726]

No....they weren't our servers. Honestly....I don't even know our server's names. That's how little interaction there was. (I'm sure someone in our group knows, though....Wally, Terrie, Jason, Karen, Shawn, Milford, Dan, Sue, Jim, Laura, Andy, Mike, Debbie???? Anyone remember their names?) I'm thinking the drink server may have spoken very little English and that may have been the problem, but since he didn't even hardly talk to us, I couldn't say for sure.




I'm glad your dining experience was so good. Our head server was Liam and he was FANTASTIC! He brought us different dishes each night that weren't on the menu. However, I wasn't able to have a couple of them due to shellfish allergies.

Let me give a little history on previous servers that might help explain why it was so disappointing this time: in September 2011 Simones and Leo a/k/a Brian were our servers. They were so awesome! Leo would have our drinks sitting there waiting for us when we entered the dining room. Simones was right on top of everything. They were so much fun that we almost didn't want to leave dinner! We sailed again in January 2012 and they weren't our servers BUT....they remembered us and kept coming over to our table to ask how everything was. I felt bad for our servers because I think they were a little intimidated by that. They didn't speak very good English. But, they were still ok.

Liam, the head server was awesome!!! Our drink server's name was Kristijan and our food server's name was Rajesh. I think they tried really hard to get our orders correct and out as quickly as they could. From a technical standpoint I would say they did everything with regards to placing orders and delivering the meals, drinks and refills correctly. That said, there was no personality or interaction delivered with the service of the meal so the experience was rather dry. I will probably forget their names within the week.

Simones and Leo will always be some of my favorites. From a technical standpoint they were not as good as Kristijan and Rajesh IMO.

Simones wore his stress level and easy frustration on his sleeve (which was rather comical) and got stuff wrong or forgot things. However, when he was not stressed he was sweet, personable, and did make an effort to engage us in conversation and interact. Leo would get drinks wrong, spill them, not reflll quickly enough etc. However, he had loads of personality, was witty as heck once he realized we enjoyed that type of banter and spoke sarcasm rather fluently But I really enjoyed my dining expereince with them. They were a blast so I didn't care that the technical parts were lacking. I still gave them excellents on my comment card simply because what they may have lacked in the technical aspects of the job, they more than made up for in personality and the enjoyment of my rotation dining. We have had several cruises since the Simones/Leo expereince and I still remember their names. If they were still with DCL I would request them in a heartbeat

 

[calypso726]

Here is the Pink Champagne Girls group picture as promised.

 

[Smittycait]

I'm kinda glad to hear other people were so sick on Sunday. I thought I was being a wimp. Guest services gave me some Sea-Calm and I was good too go after that! Definitely bummed about Grand Cayman, mostly b/c after being sick on Sunday I just wanted to set foot on dry land! I agree with people that the wait service was slow. Now, I'm a first timer, but you'd think they'd get you out in time to see the show. We missed the show every night!!! BUT I have to say...at the end of the week when my youngest caught a stomach bug in the nursery and I was stuck in the room with him, they sent my food and dessert up to the room with my boyfriend and my older son. Now, hearing all that, you'd think we had a horrible time...WRONG!! We are in love! Booked another cruise (4 nights bahamas - dream) for next year!!! And our Stateroom Hostess, Nicol, was AWESOME!!!

Also, I was on a dolphin excursion in Cozumel to dolphin discovery. I was taking pictures of my oldest son and my boyfriend in the dolphin encounter. Some guy asked me to take pictures of his family during the encounter and we'd exchange emails at the end. I had to leave early b/c my youngest was acting up and didn't get your email. If you're apart of this message board and that was you...please PM me your email...I have the pictures and they came out really good and I'd like to email them to you. We were in the tank next to the dolphin "giving birth". (no, the dolphin wasn't really giving birth...the dolphin was a male and they were collecting "samples" from him...but someone thought it was giving birth. lol)

 

[silmarg]

Hi Folks! Here is my mini Trip Report...

Plucked DDs out of school at lunchtime on Friday the 15th to drive (2.5 hrs) to Allentown airport for a cheap flight to MCO. Flight was great... ended up sitting in front of a DISer (I think it was MOMTOLEASEAWAV)!

Budget Car Rental at MCO was trying their best to foil my plan of making it to Epcot to ride Test Track before the park closed. "No cars on this side of the terminal"... "pay for an upgrade"... "insurance"... "gas"... wait 30 mins for a car to come from the other side of the airport.... give me the wrong parking spot... ugh... but we made it to Boardwalk Villas at 10PM and run to Epcot. Test Track was very cool. Queue is totally different. Pizza on Boardwalk at 11:30pm and off to bed.

Morning was uneventful. McD's for breakfast and off to Cocoa Beach. Stopped at CVS to pick up some last minute items (incl a 12 pack of water and hid it in luggage). We stopped by the DIS store front. Walter Echols was there along with the store manager Rob. They gave each of my DDs a vinylmation and were very friendly. Gassed up, returned car, waited a bit for the shuttle bus back to port. Checkin was smooth and walked onto the ship. We got on fairly late. Rooms were ready and luggage came shortly there after. We sent out DDs to deliver the roaming gnome off for the trip. The gnome did appear at trips end back on by door! Here she is:

We did the sail-away party. Visited the Edge and were disappointed that they would not let DD10 stay w DD13 there. DD13 was not interesting in going solo (very shy), but DD10 did occasionally goto the Lab on her own.

The rooms was the best condition we have ever had in 5 DCLs (it was near a service elevator... so there was some noise). The balcony was great (though I wish we were port instead of starboard).

Our server was pretty good (I Made from Indonesia). Food was pretty good - but I agree with some previous posters... it used to be better.

On day 2 we did Remy brunch. While pricey, we thought the food was excellent and the server Yannick was great.

We did not find the cruise all that rocky... but it sure was windy and cold. I could not believe the folks in the aquaduck and pool. I think it was around midnite on day 2 when were were getting pizza on deck 11 when I could not believe the kids in the pool... it was wicked cold out!

By this time we had the DDs deliver most of the FEs. We gave out two FE gifts, one was the DCL logo decal that ideally should be affixed to a car window (which I should've explained in more detail). In full disclosure, I rec'd this gift on my Canadian cruise in Sept and asked the giver if I could do the same on this cruise. Here's what it looks like on my SUV:

The other FE gift is one I have been doing for years, but the glue I used was different that prior and it was not holding the coins if you bend the poster board. When intact, it should look something like:

We were bummed about Cayman, but were happy to get into Costa Maya early. I booked a private excursion to the Chacchoben ruins. I was able to push back the excursion start time to 11AM (from 1:30) which worked out well as our excursion was with about 8 other folks from the Norwegian ship in port and our lead tour guide was the president of the company who grew up in the ruins. He had a ton of stories. And at about half the price of the DCL excursion, this was a big win.

At Cozumel we did the DCL excursion called Salsa & Salsa where you learn to make two different margeritas (virgin for the DDs) and seven different salsas... then they teach you how to dance the salsa. All in all, a real fun time.

On the next sea day we did a Palo brunch. It was pretty good, but not as good as Remy. I wish we did Palo first and Remy second...

On Castaway we were the only ones to do the Powerwalk (we considered the 5k, but then smarter heads prevailed). Matt from DCL basically showed us so much of the island. We ate at Cookies when it first opened... DDs went on the ship to do a few runs of Aquaduck while DW and I rented bikes to further tour the island.

Back in Fla, Alamo car rental was super quick. Drive to Bay Lake Tower but the room is not ready (rats). Drop car off at Car Care Center, they take us to MK. We enjoy many attractions and New Fantasyland (the Belle attraction was super) and had dinner @ Be Our Guest. That is an awesome venue. Food was fairly good, but the setting is beautiful! We ran back to BLT to watch the fireworks from the balcony (with music piped in!). Another great day.

Flight back was uneventful, but when we were about 4 cars from the toll plaza at the George Washington Bridge, my SUV died! We had to be pushed across the bridge. I had to call a tow truck and my brother in law to take DW, DDs and the luggage home. Fuel pump went bad. And its $1000 later (they have to remove the gas tank to access it) and reality has set in.

DCL... take me away!!!