Disney Fantasy June 22-29th 2013: Boardwalk, Boat, and Boston! 2nd Wedding Annivesary

[disneybarbie]

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Our beautiful ship!










Once back in our stateroom, I made a start on packing our suitcases.. we couldn't believe it was our last night already!


DH took some photos of the island  as we sailed away, we could see the crew members who live on the island cleaning up the beach.. what a place to live!







Sailing away!




Once most of the packing was done, we got ready for dinner  very excited as tonight we were going to Remy... the meal we'd had there on the Dream was the best meal of our lives (so far) .

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[MEK]

Thanks to you and Dave for answering the question about the 5K. I am doing a double dip next october and I normally run on vacation, so it looks like I've got to do the 5K, especially if it gets me off the boat early.

Lovely pictures from CC, I can't wait!

 

[Leshaface]

I'm shocked you didn't run up to see Mr. Sparrow. I would have JUMPED up to go see him Disney always has good looking Jacks

I remember when we were there in 2011 and an eel swam up and I definitely stayed out of the water for a bit!

 

[disneybarbie]

Thanks to you and Dave for answering the question about the 5K. I am doing a double dip next october and I normally run on vacation, so it looks like I've got to do the 5K, especially if it gets me off the boat early.

Lovely pictures from CC, I can't wait!

Hope you do get to do the 5k - definitely a great way to start a trip to Castaway Cay

I'm shocked you didn't run up to see Mr. Sparrow. I would have JUMPED up to go see him Disney always has good looking Jacks

I remember when we were there in 2011 and an eel swam up and I definitely stayed out of the water for a bit!

.. I think I didn't go for a photo as I had a bit of sunburn from the day before... wanted to stay in the shade!



I just got our waterproof camera developed today from Castaway Cay!

Here are some of the photos...









(This is my usual 'pose' while in the sea/pool.. keeping my nail extensions out of the water )








Who would run along here




Sand-proof Corona!







Emma x

 

[klacey1]

Yum, that bbq food looks delicious! The last night is never fun, but you guys definitely had a wonderful cruise!!

 

[disneybarbie]

....

As a gift to our room steward and servers, I had brought some sweets and presents from home to give to them along with their gratuity envelopes. I put the gift bags together, and left Vivek's (our room steward) out on the side.





We made our way up to deck thirteen at 6.30pm, our reservation wasn't until 7pm but we wanted to go a bit early to enjoy the view from the Meridian lounge.




We were invited through to the restaurant a little while later, our table was right by one of the windows – beautiful view while we ate!



Our waitress was Patrysha, from Poland, she'd lived in England for many years so recognised our accents!

The restaurant manager came over to welcome us, he asked if we'd dined at Remy before, and we said we had but on the Dream. He asked if we remembered who our server had been (we did – as he'd been so outstanding, Gabrielle) – and the manager knew him from when he'd worked onboard the Dream! Apparently Gabrielle recently moved back to France, as his fiancee was expecting their first child. It was great to hear a story like that about such a fantastic crew member from our first cruise.



As we had drinks still from the Meridian bar, our server said that rather than give us the pre dinner champagne cocktail, she'd bring us a glass of champagne at the end of the meal instead (this was fine – except, thinking about it now – we didn't actually get it.. but we must have forgotten after all the food!).


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[disneybarbie]

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First we were started with 'tomato soup' … it looked like a little potato crocket though! The server suggested eating it all in one go.. and that was great advice, because as soon as we bit into it – the warm tomato soup escaped from the cheese and breadcrumbs.



To eat, we each chose one of the set menus – I went for the 'Gout' menu as it only had one dish that contained nuts, so the chef suggested swapping that for one from the 'Saveur' menu.



The amouse bouche was served in a martini glass, like a vegetable mousse – it was very light and tasty.



Each course was outstanding – and beautifully presented, nearly all of them had a garnish or a sauce that was added to the plate once it was set on the table in front of us.

My courses were – lobster salad, seabass, chicken and crab, pork two ways and a cherry tart.



DH had a tomato salad to start (that included a glass of clear tomato juice!), salmon, seabass, a Mexican-style wagyu beef and a chocolate praline dessert.





We also had the cheese course –



Fresh napkins provided for dessert...





and were later served freshly made marshmallows, petit fours and lollipops.



While we ate, it was interesting to see how busy the sea was around us – I guess we were now approaching the US coast.

At one point, the waitress asked if I'd like another glass of wine – I said yes – and then ten minutes later she arrived with the drink, apologising for the 'wait'.. apparently Meridian, Remy and Palo had run out of this particular wine, so a waiter had had to run down to one of the other bars on the ship to get it! Amazing Disney service.


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[disneybarbie]

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During the meal, the chef came out to speak to us too – he is the French chef of the two (the other is Scott Hummel who also runs the Victoria and Albert at the Grand Floridian).

We were presented with a red rose and small box of chocolates at the end of the meal,



We were there for nearly three hours – it had been a fantastic experience once again. We were also treated to a special plate from the kitchen...







Once back at the room, I noticed that Vivek hadn't taken his gift bag – even though the room had been turned down! Luckily I found him just a few doors down in another stateroom, so I gave him the bag – he looked very surprised, I hope he liked it!

One last towel animal...


We got changed and packed our Remy evening wear in the suitcases, and then put them outside the stateroom ready to be collected.

We went for a walk around the ship, enjoying the last few hours onboard! We went to look at the Monsters University merchandise in the shops, I had hoped for an 'OK' or 'PNK' vest – but they didn't have any.
We stopped at Shutters to buy a couple of our photos – one on Castaway Cay (post race!) and another of us at dinner on pirate night.

By then it was about 11pm, so we decided to go to bed – ready for an early start in the morning, and the next chapter of our vacation!

 

[JKSWonder]

I want to try Remy, I really do, but neither DH or I eat seafood of any kind and I can't imagine how that would work out.

I know. We're weird.

 

[klacey1]

Your Remy experience sounds amazing!! And you and your DH look fantastic!
The gift bags were a sweet addition to the gratuities.
I had also hoped for a cute Monsters University top when we went to WDW in September, but there was nothing!

 

[disneybarbie]

I want to try Remy, I really do, but neither DH or I eat seafood of any kind and I can't imagine how that would work out.

I know. We're weird.

Hope you get to try Remy one day.. they do have an a la carte menu too..

Your Remy experience sounds amazing!! And you and your DH look fantastic!
The gift bags were a sweet addition to the gratuities.
I had also hoped for a cute Monsters University top when we went to WDW in September, but there was nothing!

Aww thank you! I wore a dress that I'd bought for a wedding earlier in the year - it was a discounted Calvin Klein dress, seemed the right thing to wear for Remy!
I had a look in some other Disney Stores and online for more MU clothing.. not found anything yet!


Emma x

 

[disneybarbie]

Saturday 29th June 2013


I had set an alarm on my phone for 6am – except that my phone was still on Mexico time, so I was awake from 5am!

Even so – we were already back at Port Canaveral.



I slept a little more, then we got up and ready for breakfast. We hadn't stayed for the breakfast on our first cruise, as we just wanted to get going to WDW! But this time, our flight wasn't until 1pm – so we didn't want to get to MCO too early.

We made our way down to Enchanted Garden.

Goodbye room!






We waited about 10 minutes outside the restaurant for our seating – everyone around us looked so sad... I don't think anyone was ready to get off the ship!


Once seated, we were again reminded that it was the end of our trip...




It was so strange, we still had another week of vacation – and couldn't wait to visit Boston – and yet we were both feeling glum.. the Disney Cruise magic is pretty amazing!



I had a salmon bagel dish, DH had eggs and bacon.



It was nice to see our servers one last time – and I got to give them their gift bags in person. Luciana was so pleased with hers, she said that she'd never seen anything like it! She gave us both a hug before we left, and said that she wanted to see us again in the future – but with babies!!

Then, sadly, it really was time to say goodbye.



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[disneybarbie]

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We collected our suitcases with no problems, and quickly got through customs. There were plenty of DCL coaches waiting to take us to the airport, and very soon we were on the road back to the airport.





I watched the DCL video, and then after that there was some of 'America's Funniest Home Videos' – it was the perfect thing to show on the screens, as it got all of us laughing and smiling again!



Once at the airport, we had a short line to check-in.. this was our first ever flight with Jet Blue.


It was only about 10am, so we had plenty of time before our flight. We stopped in the food court for coffees, and DH had a doughnut. I switched on my phone and connected to the wifi for the first time in a week.. and watched as email after email pinged though (nothing of any importance, I really like being disconnected while on the cruise!)




We wandered around the shops, and then went through security about 11.30am, we decided to get an early lunch at 'South of the Border' – we had a sharing platter, it was nice – but we'd been a bit spoilt by all the amazing cruise food.

The 'worst ride in Orlando'... the monorail to the gates!










Soon it was time to find our gate and board the plane... we're shipping up to Boston!!

 

[georgiasmom]

Looking forward to the Boston trip report. I live next to 2 major tourist sights. (Bunker Hill Monument and USS Constitution) Wonder if you walked past my house!


A

 

[Dugette]

Just caught up on a whole bunch of your updates! Congrats on your 5k and finishing 3rd...that's great! I'm not a runner at all - I can't imagine doing that. I bet it was a huge sense of accomplishment, though. Glad your DH ran with you.

Remy looks quite impressive! All that food is so cool-looking and creative. I'm glad you had another great meal there.

That was really nice of you to put together the gift bags for the crew members!

Can't wait to hear about Boston!

 

[Linda67]

Well I've just finished reading your whole TR in one sitting!
What wonderful pictures and it really does look like you had a wonderful cruise
I hope you both enjoyed Boston, such a great city

 

[Leshaface]

What are nail extensions? Is that the same as acrylic nails?

Whoa! I don't recall ever seeing a bottle like that at Castaway before. Very neat!

I love your dress! And you have a nice sun-kissed glow too

What a great idea to show those funny videos on the way back to the airport! Brilliant.

Can't wait to hear about Boston!

 

[dmwang9]

Thanks for an awesome cruise recap. As someone who was on the same cruise, I really enjoyed reliving the memories through your eyes.

Now on to Boston!

-- Dave

 

[disneybarbie]

Looking forward to the Boston trip report. I live next to 2 major tourist sights. (Bunker Hill Monument and USS Constitution) Wonder if you walked past my house!


A

Hi! Next part of our trip coming up soon... I wonder if we did walk past your house - loved that part of the city!

Just caught up on a whole bunch of your updates! Congrats on your 5k and finishing 3rd...that's great! I'm not a runner at all - I can't imagine doing that. I bet it was a huge sense of accomplishment, though. Glad your DH ran with you.

Remy looks quite impressive! All that food is so cool-looking and creative. I'm glad you had another great meal there.

That was really nice of you to put together the gift bags for the crew members!

Can't wait to hear about Boston!

Thanks for reading! I'm really pleased we did the 5k - although it was soo hot, it was so much fun.. I think I might be tempted to do it again on a future cruise
Remy is an amazing restaurant, great experience as well as wonderful food!

Well I've just finished reading your whole TR in one sitting!
What wonderful pictures and it really does look like you had a wonderful cruise
I hope you both enjoyed Boston, such a great city

Thank you so much for reading!
The cruise was so amazing, can't believe it's already 6 months ago... Boston coming up....

What are nail extensions? Is that the same as acrylic nails?

Whoa! I don't recall ever seeing a bottle like that at Castaway before. Very neat!

I love your dress! And you have a nice sun-kissed glow too

What a great idea to show those funny videos on the way back to the airport! Brilliant.

Can't wait to hear about Boston!

Hi Lesha! Yes nail extensions are acrylics - I nearly always have them, although I've not for the last few months... miss having nice looking nails, but think my real nails needed a break!

Thank you, I really like that dress.. bought it last year in an outlet in Florida, it was such a bargain too! I think the sun-kissed glow was more DH, I was definitely a shade of pink that evening.. but the Remy lighting was very good

I have a pretty childish sense of humour, so those funny home videos were the perfect thing to cheer me up post-cruise!

Thanks for an awesome cruise recap. As someone who was on the same cruise, I really enjoyed reliving the memories through your eyes.

Now on to Boston!

-- Dave

Thank you for reading along! I really enjoy writing about trips, another way to relive them



Emma x

 

[disneybarbie]

Saturday 29th June 2013 – Boston MA


(I'll keep this part of the trip report quite brief, as it's not Disney, but there are lots of photos!)

The flight from MCO to Logan was really good – it was a bit bumpy, but the pilot told us it would be before take off, and took less time than planned – we landed just before 4pm.

They served my favourite iced tea onboard! I read some celebrity magazines I'd bought at the airport, and DH watched a live soccer game on the tv,



I liked flying up the coast line of the USA – and the landing into Boston was really pretty, not the city landscape we had expected.




We were quickly off the plane (it was nice for us not have to go through immigration again!), we got our bags and then got a taxi to our hotel – Loew's Back Bay Hotel on Stuart St.

The drive there was fun, seeing some of the sights I'd read about/seen in movies – after a while the taxi driver noticed my enthusiasm and asked if it was our first time in the city then he started to point out some things for us to look at!

Soon we were at our hotel and checking in, and then taken up to our room.

I don't know if it was after being on a cruise ship for a week – but we thought the room seemed huge!

View from the window...


The hotel used to be the police station, there were some photos on the walls of how it used to look – plus the bar was called 'cuffs'.

I unpacked, while DH watched some local baseball




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