Sarah's Fantasy come true (9-28 to 10-5)

[sgc1107]

Sarah, great trip report! Of course, I like it even more than most because, well, we were right there on that sailing with you! The meet was awesome, love the group picture. I am so glad we went. It was your effort to keep this non FB person in the loop that got us there, so I really do appreciate the fact that you kept that info alive on the Dis as well as on FB. We were in Palo at the same time. Well we actually came in at noon so we did overlap our times a bit. I know I saw you because I remember the top you were wearing. I thought you looked familiar that day, but I wasn't really sure. We had never been to Palo before, and we were very busy trying to take in the whole experience. We were at a table by the window, not too far from the buffet area. So far I am seeing many similarities in our cruise experience. We also had one of the round booths in Enchanted Garden, but if I remember right what day you said you were there, we were there on different days. We were in the show with Ricky Kalman when Wayne was on the stage. He was really funny holding up the flip flop. Barry and I were both glad we weren't the ones up there on the stage! Wayne was a great sport about the whole thing. I hope he didn't keep doing it the rest of the night! I'm glad we finally ran into you a few times during the cruise. Your door really was great. We were glad we went to check it out. Using pics of favorite CM's from past ruises was a great idea. I am looking forward to the rezt of your report. I'm in a bit of cruise withdrawal right now, so this trip down memory lane helps to lessen my withdrawal symptoms. I'm glad you decided to write a report.

Hello! How are you guys doing?

We actually bought a stuffed simba who will travel with us to take pictures! I will never forget that day! We are planning a trip 2hr south to see Ricky kalmon in January! Can't wait! And I'm sure if he can Wayne will be on the stage again!

We too are ready to sail again but we'll have to wait until sept 28th again! We actually going with some dissers from our cruise (sue & Lenny).

Glad to hear from you! Hope you guys are doing well!

 

[perfectmatch300]

Hello! How are you guys doing?

We actually bought a stuffed simba who will travel with us to take pictures! I will never forget that day! We are planning a trip 2hr south to see Ricky kalmon in January! Can't wait! And I'm sure if he can Wayne will be on the stage again!

We too are ready to sail again but we'll have to wait until sept 28th again! We actually going with some dissers from our cruise (sue & Lenny).

Glad to hear from you! Hope you guys are doing well!

We are doing great, thanks for asking! We sure were tired when we got home from that cruise, though! Guess that means we had a good time.

We booked onboard for a 3 day Dream cruise for Sept 2014. It was meant to be a dummy cruise to be moved to a southern itinerary in 2015, but I'm really not liking the prices that have come out so far. Fortunately, we booked the dummy for our anniversary weekend, so we may just take the cruise we booked. Or maybe I can convince Barry to move to a slightly longer itinerary. We will have to wait until the rest of the 2015 schedule comes out before we decide.

How awesome you're going to see Ricky Kalmon again! I'm sure he will do a great show!

I'm looking forward to the rest of your review and pics, this from someone who loves to read reviews but never seems to write them.

 

[cmhand30]

I like reading your TR. Giving me an ideal of what to do on our Western Cruise in December. Love the pictures also.

 

[perfectmatch300]

I like reading your TR. Giving me an ideal of what to do on our Western Cruise in December. Love the pictures also.

I noticed we're almost neighbors. We live in Leesburg. Small world........
OK, now I have that song running through my head!

 

[TheRichFam]

Such a great TR! We're headed on the same trip in January and cannot possibly be more excited. Thanks for posting!

 

[sgc1107]

I have plans this weekend to add some more if not the rest of it!!

 

[sgc1107]

Wednesday October 2, 2013 (Arr matie)

Cozumel Mexico (8:30am to 5:30pm): We woke up early for an excursion, the sun was shining, and it was a beautiful looking day! We went to cabanas for breakfast before meeting in the Buna vista theater for disembarking. We choose the 3 reef snorkel, I have now rated this excursion one of our favorites we have ever done! From the ship it’s a short 3 minute walk to where the charter boat picks you up. We stepped aboard a nice looking boat with a nice area fully undercover for rain protection (just in case). We took a 10 minute ride to our first location. I don’t like jumping in the water and prefer and easy entrance, this boat was perfect for this, the stairs went at a nice slant that made it easy to get in and out of with fins on (huge plus for me seems how I consider myself “Pooh” sized). At the first stop we saw so many fish, there were two guys from the charter in the water with us, and one of them had food so there were fish everywhere! If you got close enough to him you’d get some nibbles from the fish. The best thing about this location (and the second stop) is they dropped us off up current and you barely had to do any swimming, you could just float along. After 30 minutes it was time to head to your next location (a spot they called paradise, they had names for all 3 stops but I can’t remember them all). The second stop was even better! Different fish to look at, being interested in marine life (we have a saltwater tank at home) this spot was my favorite! At this stop there were now 3 guys from the charter in the water with us, 1 guy was taking underwater pictures with the fish! Our main guide was diving down and blowing out air to make a ring, and then he’d swim through it. After 30 minutes we headed off to the 3rd stop. I had swallowed some saltwater at the previous stop so I wasn’t feeling so well but I had to see what this location offered! The 3rd location wasn’t as nice as the first two but it was still full of fish and corals. After our 30 minutes we then boarded the boat and were offered chips, soda, water, or beer during the ride back to the ship. During this time we realized we left our cash onboard and had no way to tip them! We asked them if they would wait for us to run up to the room and grab money and sure enough who wouldn’t wait for money! We ran back to our room and I took the fastest shower of my life put on dry cloths and were back inline within 10min. to disembark, while inline I spotted what I had been waiting for (No not mickey mouse), I saw Taylor Mason’s bags on the gangway! He was nowhere in sight but I knew that he was the only one boarding the fantasy with a giant keyboard and a hockey bag (that’s how he carries his puppets). The guy with our pictures also waited around so we could purchase some photos too, we got a good deal too, 3 for $20 when before we left to get the money he was selling them for $10 each! We then went ashore to do some shopping and find some food. We chose to eat at senior frogs, this was our first and will be our LAST time ever eating at one! We got two drinks (They are rather large but very watered down) chips & salsa, and two cheese burgers…. How much would you pay for this at a normal burger place? Maybe $30 or so right…. Ha we paid $70! I was so mad I had to pay that much for watered down drinks and burgers, at least the burgers were good but still I’d never pay $70 at a burger joint! Back onboard we went, shortly after all aboard time Commodore Tom made an announcement that we were going to travel through a tropical depression that had been named_____ and we would experience some movement (eek!). I was kind of disappointed because on our NYE cruise we also had a rocky night on pirate night so I didn’t feel like eating at the 11pm snack buffet. The show this night was planes 3D, I don’t do well with 3D it makes me sick after about 45 minutes so we choose to go see monsters university instead, I might as well seen planes in 3D because half way through the show the ships started rocking…. Bad! After the show Arrr mates, time for pirate getup before dinner in Enchanted Garden! Getting dressed was even a challenge with the ship rocking! We met Lenny & Sue and headed into enchanted garden (Pirate Menu, drink of the day was sunken treasure). The food looked so good but I was too sick to eat! Joel even asked if he should call medical, I must have looked really bad. I sure did feel like my face should have been the color green! During dinner they made and announcement that the pirate deck party and fireworks would be cancelled due to weather but the buffet would continue. After Wayne finished eating I went back to the room to lay down (Tip: if you lay sideways on your bed you will feel better). Wayne decided he would see if Lenny wanted to do the midship detective game while Sue & I took some relaxation time. I stated to feel better just before Wayne left and thought I might try and join in on the fun. Well that didn’t last long before I wanted to lie back down! Just before 11pm Wayne came back to get me for the buffet, I felt ok, I dozed off a bit and thought I’d be in the mood for a snack. Once we hit the 11th floor the intensity of the rocking doubled from what it was on the 7th floor! The water from the pools was sloshing around the deck like a small river changing direction. I locked arms with Wayne in fear of falling (I’ve seen people fall from the slippery deck!), I was really scared! We got inside Cabanas out of the wind and it was better but by then I didn’t feel so good again, looked at the food and decided I was ready for bed!

 

[sgc1107]

Thursday October 3, 2013

Sea Day (semi-formal night): I was excited because this was the night Taylor Mason was going to be in the Tube! We got up early because we had the Art of the ship tour (there were actually 2 dis families there too Andy & Baja and Heather & her family). We noticed while walking to meridian all the clean rooms we walked by had a card telling everyone Taylor Mason was changed to 2pm because they were going to do the fireworks at 8pm. I slightly panicked because our dis group had set up a personal mixology class and it was so big we had to split it into two groups, one at 2pm and one at 4pm. We were supposed to be in the 2pm mixology but I really wanted to see Taylor Mason. We ended up calling Sue & Lenny to see if they wanted to change classes with us and we were able to get all 4 of us changed so I could go see Taylor at 2pm. As I sat in meridian Wayne called guest services trying to get our reservation for mixology changed, he came back and said we weren’t signed up for mixology! Thank god another dis family overheard our conversation and said its all under the lady (Sarah C) who put it together for us. A quick call back to guest services and they said they would look into it and call us back. Mean time we found out Joshiie was the one giving the tour so it was awesome! We learned some neat stuff but I’m sure there are so many little details we missed! Some neat things for example were the color of the carpet is different so you can tell if you are aft, midship, or forward. In the hallways (where staterooms were located) if you see the globe picture and the ships are correctly placed you are heading forward and if they are upside-down you are heading aft. After the tour we went to guest services to see if they got our time for mixology changed. The lady made a few phone calls and before I knew it we were all set for the 4pm mixology! We decided to try out a sit down lunch in Royal Court, It was very good, and before I knew it was 1:30pm! We headed down to the theater, glad we did because people filed in right behind us. We picked some choice seats and enjoyed the show! After the show I was dying to meet Taylor, I waited patiently in line and it was my turn he looked at me and said “hey, I know you! Hello Sarah!” It felt so good he knew who I was! We got our picture with Taylor and Romeo (one of his puppets), I got to put my hand in Romeo’s head and hold his mouth open for the pic! It was so nice talking to him in person. We went back to our room to start some prepacking and it wasn’t much longer before we headed to mixology, got a snack first so we had food in our stomachs! It was nice to be with a group of people you kind of already knew. The cost was $15 per person and we had 5 drinks. How they did it was a certain number of people would make each drink for everyone there, taking turns. A few were a bit tipsy leaving mixology! The show was Disney’s Believe which we enjoyed it, it’s one of my favorites, Gosh I loved seeing the genie again! Dinner was in enchanted garden (Captain’s Gala menu, our favorite menu! Drink of the day was the high tide, how cliché) I enjoyed my favorite mushroom soup while Wayne & Lenny indulged in two lobster tails each! After dinner the match your mate show was on again. The first one was better because this one was rushed for the next act coming on. Steve Carte the juggler and comedian was next. This guy was so inappropriate and hilarious! I would not miss his adult show again for anything…. Except maybe Taylor Mason! He had great charisma the entire show, it was an all-around great show! After the show we headed to bed, the next morning we were going to my favorite place in the world… Castaway Cay!

 

[sgc1107]

Friday October 4, 2013

Castaway Cay (9:30am to 4:45pm): We got up in time to see the ship pull into Castaway. While waiting for the ship to be cleared we ate breakfast at cabanas, we picked a seat so I could see the island while eating! Once we could go ashore we headed straight to serenity bay! The water was a bit on the cool side compared to the water we’d been in the previous days but to us it felt really good! Wayne and I brought our snorkel gear with us and we ended up going out quite a ways to the sandbar we saw 4 starfish, tons of sand dollars and tons of shells! Next time we will go straight out there, we waited around for Lenny & Sue for a bit before we got in the water so they could have some chairs next to us. On the swim back we saw some huge fish, no idea what type they were! When we got to the beach we noticed some other Dis friends (Andy & Baja) found us! The six of us sat around for a bit talking and drinking Andy’s beer he brought. I then noticed another dis couple behind us (Amy and her husband)! It was so nice to have met all the people we did before the cruise on dis. I have to say this group was the best group of people I could have ever asked to be on the same cruise with. I hope my future meets can live up to this one! We all headed over to the buffet at serenity bay for some steak and ribs! OMG it was so good! Too bad we stood in line so long they were closing everything down when we got our first plates (we would have had seconds!). Don’t mess around if you want to eat on Castaway Cay, the time the buffet ends is when it really ends! They were closing umbrellas on the tables as we were leaving and there was no sign of food! After lunch we headed over to pelican plunge for Wayne & Andy, Baja and I got some great photos! Really what happened was the guys worked on the sunburns! Then we headed to do some Castaway shopping before heading back to the ship. Wayne and I stood up on deck and we watched the porters wave us off with their mickey hands. I got a bit teary eyed leaving, after all Castaway Cay is my favorite place in the world, there is only one way to get there and you never stay long enough! I told myself it would be just under a year before I saw her again… that didn’t help… A year is a damn long time! We went back to our room and watched us sail away from Castaway and then started packing. We’ve learned to start the day before castaway day and it will go better. We packed all but our dinner cloths for that night, and the stuff we needed for showers and disembarking morning. The show was An Unforgettable Journey, not one of our favorites, maybe that’s because we know we’re leaving soon! After the show we did some last minute shopping (big mistake) and went to shutters to get some photos (tip: they suggested we come back right after dinner, we did NO line!). We then for the FIRST time the entire cruise saw the cruise director Leslie out and about on the ship! Wayne wanted to say hello to her. Wayne then asked her “can you do us a huge favor?’ She replied “sure anything!” Wayne told her we wanted so badly to meet the genie from the show, we had looked all day, every day, everywhere and we never saw him. She tried immediately to make a phone call and spoke with someone (she walked away from us so we couldn’t hear her). She came back and asked if we had a wavephone on us (by luck we did), she said I’m waiting for a phone call back and I will call you when I get an answer for you. Only about 5 minutes later the phone rang! She said he will meet you in the lobby (by the bar Bon Voyage) at 10:15pm, we were excited! Our last dinner was in Royal Court (sea ya’ real soon menu, drink of the day was the sting ray). It was bitter sweet saying goodbye to Irena & Joel. We had come to understand Irena’s accent…. Somewhat! And we made Joel learn some new magic tricks to show us, now he can share with other cruisers. We got their emails so I can send them all the pictures we have of them. The funniest thing we found out about them is Joel had a crush on Irena! But at times we could tell he would do things (only trying to help in his eyes) that would upset her, she’d never say anything but she had a “look”! After dinner we ran back to the gift shop forgot our photo frame, and as a memory we bought a stuffed simba! As soon as they swiped our card Wayne took it and ran to shutters. I walked up the stairs and he was right there all cashed out! Ran to our room to change and put our bags in the hallway, then back down to meet the genie (his name I cannot remember but everyone calls him Coco he said). He was there waiting for us, I told him how great he was and that we saw him back on NYE and were so glad to see him again. You could tell from the way he responded he was so flattered to hear how much we loved him! We found out it takes an hour and a half to put on his blue! The days he plays the genie are called his blue days, I thought that was hilarious! We talked with him for about 15 minutes then he had to go, not before taking a picture with us! We then raced to The Tube to get good seats for Taylor Mason (adult show), we walked in and it was packed! We had to stand up but it was well worth it to me! After his show the cast did their cruise staff farewell show. Well when Taylor was done we walked out into the crowd and exited where everyone normally does and I had to say goodbye to him so Wayne and I headed towards the door. We talked to Taylor for a good 10-15 minutes, he’s such a down to earth guy. After another picture we headed back into the tube, we had missed almost the entire show but caught the end. We then headed into skyline to drink up the rest of Wayne’s passport with friends. Before we knew it was time to say goodnight one last time, but not before one last picture….. Wayne holding simba in front of the Minnie statue in the atrium lobby! We caught a favorite CM walking buy (Kelly) and she posed with simba & Wayne for a picture. Then sadly it was time for bed, only one more thing was needed to be done…. Updating our tape messages! On NYE Wayne stuck a few pieces of tape is unseen areas with his initials and the date, we found them 9 months later so we added the new date and hope to see them in a little less than a year! We reluctantly crawled into bed for the last time.

























Coco AKA Genie

 

[sgc1107]

Saturday October 5, 2013
A sad day: We were not ready to leave! We got up early to shower and finish packing. I said goodbye to the lovely blue blanket (God I loved that thing! I was told if I really wanted it that it was going to cost me $250! It stayed on the bed!) Away we went to our goodbye breakfast in royal court. We ordered the BBQ chicken omelet, I wish they had this on other days, it is so good! Unfortunately Sue and Lenny had to leave early and couldn’t join us for breakfast. After we ate we walked over to say goodbye to Baja and Andy, we ended up walking out with them to the terminal where we said our goodbyes. In no time we were through customs and on the sidewalk waiting for our shuttle. We then saw Baja and Andy again and they waited for their shuttle alongside of us. It was about 20-30 minutes before our shuttle arrived, 10 minutes later we were packing up the car and heading north! We stopped in Port Orange, FL again for an hour to visit with Wayne’s grandparents one last time. We arrived home at about 9:30pm. I dreamed of that comfy bed as a tossed and turned in mine! Zzzzzzz

Favorite Staff this trip:

Joshiie: Cast member (currently on the Magic)
Kelly: Cast member (no longer with DCL)
Mike: Assistant Cruise Director
Irena: Our server
Joel: Our beverage waiter
Coco: The Genie
Taylor Mason: Ventriloquist
Rickey Kalmon: hypnotist
Henry & Pat: our NYE dining staff

THE END

I hope you all enjoyed the ending!

 

[Princess Michelle]

Really enjoyed your report and pictures!

 

[perfectmatch300]

Great TR, Sarah! Actually, it was a great trip for us, too!

Seems like our paths crossed a few more times where we didn't notice each other. I have no idea how it happened that we didn't see each other.

I see that you posted a picture of our note on your dry erase board. That is why you posted that picture, isn't it?

We were at Serenity Bay when you were. I snorkeled, Barry did not. I spent most of my snorkel time above the plane wreckage. I was amazed at the fish I saw there! We ate at the buffet just before it closed, too! We were part of that same long line. We knew they would be closing, so we made sure we got everything on that first trip. My steak was delicious!

I wish I had thought to try and meet the Genie. He really did a great job. Loved the picture you got with him!

Taylor Mason was really good. How cool was it that he remembered you! I'm sure he meets a lot of people, so you must have made a good impression.

Barry's daughter is visiting us now so it may take a few days for him to get to it, but I'm going to have to make him read your TR. He doesn't usually go on the Dis, but I think this is one time he will want to come here.

Hopefully, we will find ourselves on the same cruise again sometime. Could happen since we both seem to celebrate our Sept anniversaries on Disney cruise ships. We both wish you and Wayne smooth sailing until we meet again. If you are headed for WDW, send me a PM, we are only 45 min away so we are there frequently.

Nancy

 

[sgc1107]

Great TR, Sarah! Actually, it was a great trip for us, too! Seems like our paths crossed a few more times where we didn't notice each other. I have no idea how it happened that we didn't see each other. I see that you posted a picture of our note on your dry erase board. That is why you posted that picture, isn't it? We were at Serenity Bay when you were. I snorkeled, Barry did not. I spent most of my snorkel time above the plane wreckage. I was amazed at the fish I saw there! We ate at the buffet just before it closed, too! We were part of that same long line. We knew they would be closing, so we made sure we got everything on that first trip. My steak was delicious! I wish I had thought to try and meet the Genie. He really did a great job. Loved the picture you got with him! Taylor Mason was really good. How cool was it that he remembered you! I'm sure he meets a lot of people, so you must have made a good impression. Barry's daughter is visiting us now so it may take a few days for him to get to it, but I'm going to have to make him read your TR. He doesn't usually go on the Dis, but I think this is one time he will want to come here. Hopefully, we will find ourselves on the same cruise again sometime. Could happen since we both seem to celebrate our Sept anniversaries on Disney cruise ships. We both wish you and Wayne smooth sailing until we meet again. If you are headed for WDW, send me a PM, we are only 45 min away so we are there frequently. Nancy

Definitely posted that pic just for you guys!! We ways will sail the last weekend in September so I'm sure we will cross paths again! After our next one (sept 2014) we may take a few years off. Doing two this year was rough, didn't seem like we had any down time before we turned around and we're paying on another cruise. And we don't have kids yet so we'll be considering that too! Stay healthy and you can ways get ahold of me on here!

 

[perfectmatch300]

Definitely posted that pic just for you guys!! We ways will sail the last weekend in September so I'm sure we will cross paths again! After our next one (sept 2014) we may take a few years off. Doing two this year was rough, didn't seem like we had any down time before we turned around and we're paying on another cruise. And we don't have kids yet so we'll be considering that too! Stay healthy and you can ways get ahold of me on here!

We did 2 cruises this year, too! We cruised on Princess in April. Then , of course, the Fantasy with you. I had to promise Barry when we booked the April cruise that we would take 2014 off from cruising. As you see by my countdown clock, that isn't going to happen! We booked a 3 day Dream cruise onboard the Fantasy on our actual anniversary. It is meant to be a placeholder for when the fall 2015 dates come out, hopefully a southern itinerary. For now, we are planning to stick with what we have already booked but I will be looking at those dates for fall 2015.