Photos from Fantasy Eastern Concierge cruise

[jegsnakkernorsk]

Less then exciting food photo for you but it tasted good to me and I liked the price.



Mom and dad stayed on the island to do some shopping and sis and I headed back to the ship for lunch. We went straight to the counter service Cars themed area. I grabbed a half sandwich before seeing the pizzas and had a slice of Margaritta as well (it was very different from Palo pizza but was very good. I liked the crispiness of the crust and that it was freshly made.) I had a beer from the island still and Sis had some soda from the room. Was nice not having to bother with fountain drinks this cruise.

While we ate we watched Muppets on a DVD we had with us (picked up the day before the cruise while at Animal Kingdom). We also napped during the movie (our first time watching it - we were just so tired this day).

In our room was left this by the concierge team...


Today was the day that Avengers was playing in 3D in the large, main theater. As sis has said we rushed to meet our friends there to see it and really enjoyed watching it as the ship left port towards the end of the movie and made it seem like it was in 4D with the ship vibrating so.

[chris31997]

Thank you for posting this in the Wedding forums. I am looking at planning a vow renewal. We decided on doing it on Castaway Cay. You have convinced me that we need to splurge and upgrade to concierge. We have cruised with DCL before and . You could say we are DCL hehe

It was very sweet of you and your sis to plan this for your parents. Your parents looked lovely in the pictures. Thank you.

Looking forward to reading more

[jegsnakkernorsk]

Originally Posted by chris31997

Thank you for posting this in the Wedding forums. I am looking at planning a vow renewal. We decided on doing it on Castaway Cay. You have convinced me that we need to splurge and upgrade to concierge. We have cruised with DCL before and . You could say we are DCL hehe

It was very sweet of you and your sis to plan this for your parents. Your parents looked lovely in the pictures. Thank you.

Looking forward to reading more

Cool! While snorkeling we saw a wedding the morning we were at Castaway Cay. It was just near the end of the snorkeling beach. the bride was taken out in a decorated golf cart!

I saw that prices have gone up for weddings/vow renewals since we bought. We did have to reserve it about a year in advance.

I think we're hooked on DCL too!

[jegsnakkernorsk]

So after watching Muppets in our room


We met our friends to see the Avengers and then raced out of the theater to Meridian Bar and Remy for our dinner reservations with our parents.



The view was neat from leaving St. Maarten. There is a table for Palo outside there as well. Would be nice on a nice night. I think it was cast members eating there that night. Seemed like a table of young people having fun.



I didn't want to detract from the sophistication of Remy by taking photos so I only have this one.



But by the time dessert came around I was feeling too good from the wine pairing and cocktails and there weren't many people still dining at this point, so out came the camera...



This is also part of my dessert



We missed the Pirate show and went to our room to watch the fireworks from our verandah.









Afterwards we threw our bathing suits on and raced up to meet our friends at the aquaduck to do it at night - since magically it was open this night for an hour after the fireworks ended.

[jegsnakkernorsk]

I just want to share the worst experience I had on the cruise. That was shopping in St. Maarten for a camera. I wasn't planning to get one there but mom had been to the onboard session on shopping in St. Maarten and she told me this store was one Disney recommended - it was not - she was confused. So Mom tells me to go into Boolchand's to buy Pandora (that was fine - the prices are the same no matter where you get Pandora) and to get a camera. The camera is the mistake.

Boolchand's has a selection of cameras and they will verbally quote you a price and they "throw in" a cheap case that has their logo on it and a cheap memory card that is generic. I wish I had looked at camera prices before I left because I was quoted $375 for a Nikon S9300 and I said $350 and they sold it to me for that. I got a flyer in the mail today from Target saying it was $349.99 and now is $299.95. Huge bummer.

This camera takes much better photos than my old camera, but the battery dies in less than a day - I always had to charge it every night. Not sure if that is normal for this camera.

Boolchand's also takes the products out of the packaging and the receipt forbids any returns or exchanges.

Never walk into a Boolchand's. They are also in St. Thomas, Aruba and Curacao. But they are really just street vendors under the same roof with the same cashregister. It's a very shady operation and I hope you don't make the same mistake I did.

[reimero]

I was fairly disappointed in St. Maarten shopping as well. It was obviously set up for high-pressure, no-research purchasing. That's one thing I did do: I scoped out domestic price ranges for some stuff (MUCH harder to do with jewelry!) and came away fairly disappointed with what they were offering.

Also, the "Disney Recommended" shops are shops that pay Disney to get listed on the maps and mentioned in the onboard shopping sessions. I figure Disney would dump a company that was selling fake goods, but despite what the cruise lines tell you, there is no guarantee you're getting the best deals or best service. You're just buying from somebody who advertises through the cruise line.

There is one exception to the above, though (it's not the most cruise-friendly thing, but well worth the excursion if you have the time and money): Tijon Parfumerie in Grand Case (on the other side of the island) was absolutely wonderful. It took a rather pricey taxi to get there, but we really enjoyed it.

Sorry for the threadjack...

[jegsnakkernorsk]

Originally Posted by reimero

I was fairly disappointed in St. Maarten shopping as well.
Sorry for the threadjack...

Very helpful! Thanks for posting! There is always something for me to learn.

[reimero]

Originally Posted by jegsnakkernorsk

Very helpful! Thanks for posting! There is always something for me to learn.

By the way, I'm sorry we missed you on the cruise, we were on the same sailing!!

[jegsnakkernorsk]

Originally Posted by reimero

By the way, I'm sorry we missed you on the cruise, we were on the same sailing!!

cool! Wish we were still sailing!

[jegsnakkernorsk]

For the most part our cruise had what we call in Naples, Florida, "Chamber of Commerce Weather" where it only rains at night or before the tourists are out of bed. As we arrived in St. Thomas the rains lingered from the night before's thunderstorm. Even with the storm we had smooth waters - so no sea sickness for any of us.





loved the big weather sky. but dad was beginning to doubt he'd be golfing this morning.

[jegsnakkernorsk]

It was fun to sit on the verandah and watch us come into St. Thomas and the way the ship backed into the port.







Back in the stateroom - our roses from last night at Remy are looking great!



They lasted the whole cruise.



Our room had postcards and concierge stationery.



This is a folder each stateroom/family gets from the concierge with all your appointments and your itinerary in it. You get it the first day when you meet the concierge in the lounge and they help book you anything you didn't before you left.

[speedo]

Dad had golf first thing in the morning and was off with 4 other men from the Fantasy to the Mahogany Run Golf Course. This was a Disney arranged excursion. I did research it before I signed my dad up for it. It seemed like a great course for an avid golfer such as my dad. It also included a nearly impossible devils triangle challenge where you’d get a certificate if you didn’t lose any balls on three of the toughest holes. I knew this would add even more fun for my dad so signed him up for it through the concierge onshore team.

We three women met with the sisters from Buffalo for breakfast in the Royal Court. We got to point out our royal court table to mom who was in Palo the first night we ate there. Breakfast was really good and we had a nice table by a porthole. We watched a security boat go by us several times. It would seem Disney hires security to circle the ship while in port? It wasn’t coast guard – definitely private security.

We headed on shore for just a little bit and went to the port store that sold us the camera in St Maarten the day before. There is another store by the same name at the port in St Thomas. They are only linked by name and would not give us a refund. I really find those stores to be shady. The receipt says no exchanges or refunds. They are just enclosed street vendors as far as I am concerned. So definitely won’t step foot in one again.

We went to the US post office and mailed a couple postcards and letters off. They got home before we did!

Then it was back to the ship. My sister and I went to the Spa for the rainforest room while my mother found a quiet spot to read. The spa was nearly empty which was so nice! We tried out all of the different showers. I liked the tropical shower the best. Some of the settings in the showers were too cold for me - but definitely had fun trying all of them. We also sat in the steam room and the sauna. Neither was too comfortable. I remember the Magic had more comfortable seats that enticed you to sit longer. We also sat in the hot tub for a bit. Those were nice - looking out to St Thomas. But again, I had a difficult time relaxing so I tried out the warm stone loungers. These were not very comfortable and not very warm. On the Magic they were so comfortable that I fell asleep! When we went back to the locker room, I noticed another steam room so I sat in it for awhile. It was actually better than the one in the rainforest room. I would go there in the future and skip the cost of the rainforest room : ) In conclusion the rainforest room was nice and I am glad I tried it but I like the rainforest room on the Magic better.

My sister and I found our mom reading in the shaded area near satellite falls but we decided to spend some time on the concierge sun deck. I love the seats they have there! So comfortable. Finally got to relax a bit. Soon, our dad found us and he was sporting new Mahogany Bay Golf gear. Hat, shirt and a certificate for conquering the Devils Triangle! He was the only one from the group to get the certificate. So needless to say he was happy!

At some point later that afternoon we were in the concierge lounge when the concierge team presented another certificate to my dad for having the best golf score from the Fantasy! This certificate came from the Fantasy and had a magical moments button along with it. My dad said he had to represent the concierge floor. The concierge team seemed as happy as my dad about his good golf game!

Back in our room was a paper cutout of our private cabana along with 9 cabana wrist tags for Castaway Cay!

My sister and I skipped the show that night. I think it was a comedian but we couldn’t get ready in time. We met everyone at Ohh La La for drinks before dinner. It was the best bar for our group. Not ever being crowded, we could always stake out a corner with enough space for all of us. I brought the cabana cut out wrist tags to hand out to our friends. Well actually I forgot it at first and had to go all the way back to the room to get it : )

We were at Enchanted Gardens for Dinner and once again dinner was fantastic. It was the prince and princess menu that night and I ordered the Tom Turkey dinner. So good! We attempted to have leftover wedding cake for desert but it was dried out already.

I was too tired and was sick with a sore throat so I didn’t go out after dinner with the rest but went back early instead.

[Holly123]

Thank you so much for ALL of this information. You have been amazing and I feel like you have already made our trip so much more enjoyable due to all of the information I was able to gain. Thank you for this major effort on your part!We already made the decision to go concierge - mainly because my DH is high maintance - but you have really made me trust my decision.

[Alohagirl73]

Loving this trip report. Setting sail on Fantasy in a little over a month. This is making me even more excited than I already am. Thanks for sharing your report along with your awesome pictures.

[chris31997]

Ladies, you are doing a great job with your report. Making it very difficult not to book a cruise right now

On a side note, I am from Naples, FL originally also My family is still there. I am tickled pink to find someone else form Naples on the DIS Board who like DCL.