7 Night Western Fantasy With Two Young Kids: Just Keep Swimming COMPLETED. Navigators included

[It's Magical Blog]

SOME ME TIME
My eyes opened wide at 6am and I was ready to get up. I decided before working out I would check some emails since I had been so busy the day before and didn’t have a chance to. I spent about 30 minutes checking and answering some work emails and then decided to head down to the gym to ride the elliptical for a while. The gym was fairly large and definitely had plenty of modern equipment and weight machines. I did about a 20 minute climb on the elliptical and then decided it was a good time to take care of some things down at guest services. I headed down to the guest services desk which is located just off the main lobby and gave them my Disney visa rewards redemption card (I had racked up $1000 in rewards points using my Disney Premier Via card - well worth the $50 fee) to make sure it was applied to our on board charges. I also asked if my $50 on board credit that I was suppose to get for using my Disney Visa to pay off my entire vacation was on my account. It wasn’t, but after waiting just a few minutes it was quickly fixed and I was informed that it was all set. I got a print out of our charges to date and headed back up to the room. However, on my way back to the room I ran into this beauty in the lobby with no line so I couldn’t help myself.

I just love Belle! My #2 favorite princess
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BREAKFAST ON THE STERN & SWIMMING
It was 8:00 at this point and everyone was still sleeping (WOW – wish that could happen back home). I decided to grab my book and head up to the pool deck to do some relaxing. I found a comfy little love seat chair located near the hot tub in the adults only area and snuggled in to read some of my book. I could have stayed there all morning, it was so comfy. I had the opportunity to update my journal, review the stateroom charges I had been given, and also check out the navigator app and make some plans for the next few days. I also got to check out Jamaica and while I was there the Royal Caribbean pulled in next to us. It was neat to watch that. After about an hour I went back up to the room to find Darren and the kids out on the veranda. He said they had just woken up. I hadn’t made any planed excursions for Jamaica so we figured we hang out on the boat and maybe put the kids into the kids club at some point so Darren and I could check out the port. We decided to get ready and head up to deck 11 for breakfast in cabanas followed by some…guess what..swimming! We decided to sit outside on the back deck of the boat which is located at the very back of cabanas. It was a beautiful breezy day and we had some beautiful views of Jamaica and the ocean. I went with the regular – scrambled eggs, English muffing, bacon, tomato, and spinach – they had it! I also grabbed another big dish of fresh fruit for us all to share. We hung out on the deck for some time and even grabbed a few photos. It was another top moment.

Another door photo



My boys!!




The kids love taking selfies




Me and my moo moo



Me and my bug



Daddy and Benny



Daddy and Jack



The view from the Stern



Jamaica baby
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After breakfast we went to the Mickey Pool and the kids took turns between the pool, the Mickey slide, and Nemo’s splash pad. We also did a few turns on the AquaDuck. I’m glad we rode it during the day as it is definitely a different experience. I have to say I really liked the AquaDuck and Jack loved it but I didn't understand why the first half started off with a few dips and turns but the whole second half was more of a lazy river experience up in the sky. I kept waiting for some excitement. But it was such a neat experience and very fun to watch those down below and also see the view from up above. The boys also discovered the little slide in Nemo's Reef during this time. It's definitely more for little ones (like under the age of three) but it really rips and without any little ones around I let the boys go for it. The pool itself was nice and empty during this time and I even got to enjoy it.

Nemos Reef



The boys discovered the nemo slide



Nemo slide part II​

A BREEZY PORT
Around noon we decided to take the kids to the kids club so we could head off to Port. We headed back to the room to change into dry clothes but not before stopping to get some ice cream. I passed this time as I was looking to grab some lunch in port but the kids and Darren treated themselves. We dropped the kids off no problem and off the boat we went. The port in Falmouth Jamaica is definitely the nicest of the three we visited. It is a really fun little court with a variety of shops – a mix of known brands and local gift shops. There are also different food vendors and some chain locations. It was really windy out and while it made the heat a little more bearable it also made walking around a little uncomfortable. I mean REALLY windy where I had to take my hat off and they had turned the fountain off in the port. We decided to check out the Margaritiville for some drinks and some food. I was excited for Margaritiville. I heard good things about it and there is even a swim up pool bar, but overall our experience was just ok. The service was incredibly slow. I mean it took us about 30 minutes to get our first drink and then forever to get our second. Darren actually ordered 2 beers the second time around cause he knew how long it would be inbetween. I ordered a premium deluxe margarita and it was horrible. I asked for salt – no salt, but it wasn’t even good. Oh well! I will say the food (even though we didn’t have plates or silver wear the whole time and even napkins for quite some time) was pretty good. We had the Volcano Nachos and Jerk BBQ Pork Tacos. Nachos are my favorite and these ones were no disappointment. Margaritiville also had free WiFi for patrons. You had to ask to get the password but it was pretty fast and worked great. I was able to do some emails and chatting and even some Facebook updates without feeling the pressure of using up all the mega bytes. We didn't get to try out the pool because our drinks and snack probably took about two hours. The music played was ok. They played a mix of Jimmy Buffet songs and Rap songs. It was actually kind of odd. But some people did tempt the dance floor. Margarititville was something to do that was easy and right in port. It wasn’t horrible but the service was really bad. I said to Darren maybe it’s just because we are so use to the incredible Disney service but it was BAD. Once we finally got the check (that was another process) we walked around a bit more and headed back to the ship. We picked up the kids and went back to the room for a quick nap. It was the first time that I was really tired and was looking forward to a nice long nap. Unfortunately it couldn’t be too long as we had some very special appointments coming up.

Time with Darren at Margaritaville​

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[It's Magical Blog]

AH HOY MATES
After a quick but really necessary snooze I took a shower and got dressed into my pirate outfit. Then it was time to wake up the boys and get them dressed into their pirate outfits and ready for the Pirate League appointments. On Pirates night Bibiddi Bop Boutique is transformed into a pirate themed place where boys and girls can get made over into a variety of pirates. The boys took turns getting their pirate makeover. They each were assigned a pirate name, got to pick their pirate face, got their makeover, and at the end took the Pirates oath before everyone says “Yo Ho we have a new pirate.” It was a cute experience, the cast was great and I definitely think it was worth what we paid for it.

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After some pirate photos we decided to go in line to meet Peter Pan but much to our surprise we ran into Peter on the stairs. He quickly asked the boys if they were good pirates or bad pirates and when they replied good he threw them a chocolate coin and flew away. We got on the line for Peter and soon after he came down. He also spent some time goofing around with Chip and Dale. The kids got their autograph books signed and photos taken and we went to meet Hook and Smee. More autographs and photos and we decided to get in line for Captain Jack Sparrow. The line was long but since we had time to kill I decided to wait anyway. Darren joined us from his longer nap about half way into the wait. The line took about 40 minutes and we ended up being a few minutes late for dinner but it was worth it. Jack Sparrow was great. He really played up the part and definitely took his time to interact with each of us. The cutest part was when he asked Jack his name and when Jack said "Jack", Jack Sparrow looked all confused and said "no, I asked what's your name not my name. I know my name is Jack." This went back and forth for a bit and my Jack couldn't stop giggling.

Peter playing with Chip & Dale



My favorite pirates





















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Tonight's dinner was a special Pirates in the Caribbean menu no matter which of the three MDR’s you ended up in. We were in Royal Court, which I would have thought would be a little awkward because it is the most elegant main dining room and here we were in our pirate outfits but it actually was fine and the waiters and staff being in pirate attire help with the theme a lot. The meal itself was ok tonight. I had the pirates golden pot stickers (7/10), conch chowder which was quite good (8/10), and the macadamia nut crusted mahi mahi which was just ok (6/10). For dessert I went with the coconut crème treasure because I love coconut (7/10). Overall it probably was my least favorite meal. Not bad just not as good as the others. There was no real highlight for me during tonight's dinner. My favorite was the conch chowder and I was glad I decided last minute to order it. We used our third and final bottle of wine left on our package and went with a bottle of Sparking wine that was very good. The kids each got a special glowing pirate mug with a smoothie. There was a small charge for them but it kept them happy throughout dinner along with their new buddies. For dinner the kids had the usually - chicken fingers and fries for Jack and penne with butter for Ben. For dessert I believe they both went with vanilla ice cream.


After dinner we ran to the shop, since during our long wait for Jack Sparrow the kids had begged to get another blind box each. I had told them ok and that we would has soon as the store opened. The stores are closed while the ship is docked in the different ports. It has to do with international laws. However, the shop opened as we were meeting Jack Sparrow and we were already late for dinner so I promised them if they were good at dinner we would go right after. So to the shop we quickly went, knowing we had to get upstairs to get a decent spot for the first pirate show. My husband who was definitely trying to do the right thing offered to pay for the blind boxes. Yes they chose blind boxes again However his credit card wouldn’t go through because of connectivity issues and instead of him just using the KTTW card like I kept instead he was intent of finding a card that would work. Eventually he did, but I was annoyed because I knew we should have been in a rush. I later felt bad about it and knew I shouldn’t have overreacted but oh well, I did. The elevator bank was crowded and it took awhile to get an elevator with room in it but finally one came and up to deck 11 we went. Deck 11 was very crowded and we found the best spot we could. I decided to buy a fancy looking drink from a tray (which I later realized was non-alcoholic – whoops – it did taste good) and we watched the pirate show. The pirate show had Mickey and friends (Donald, Daisy, Minnie, Goofy, etc) battle Captain Hook. Of course in the end Mickey wins and everyone cheers. It was cute and the kids definitely enjoyed it.


After the show I decided to take the kids back to the room to shower them. The pirate make-up was starting to get all over the place, especially on my younger son and since I knew it would be a late night with the fireworks I figured this would be the best opportunity. When we got to the room we were greeted by a towel monkey hanging from the ceiling. It was really cool. We showered up the kids and got them dressed in their pirate PJs. Since we had time to kill before the fireworks I gave them the choice of going to the kids club or meeting more characters. Jack (my older one) picked kids club and Ben picked characters. So instead of making one of them settle we took Jack to the kids club and Darren and I hung with Ben. Darren actually wanted to stay and hang out in the room but I quilted him a bit and made him come with us. Ben had a chance to get autographs and meet Pluto, Minnie, and Pirate Mickey. It was really cute and none of them had really long lines. We went to pick up Jack from the kids club with plenty of time to spare before the fireworks (about an hour) as I wanted to make sure to get a decent spot this time. When we got there to pick up Jack, Peter Pan was in the club playing with the kids so instead we let Ben go in and Darren and I grabbed a quick drink in the lobby bar before picking them up and heading up to deck 11. We got a good spot (it was about 30 minutes before start time at this point). I got the boys some milk to drink while we waited and it wasn’t too long before the show began. This show is with Captain Jack Sparrow and his pirate friends and non-friends. It’s definitely more thrilling and less cute than the earlier one. We all (kids included) agreed we liked this one best. Also the show culminates in fireworks. I don’t think we had the best spot to view the fireworks, the aqua duck was in our way but it was still really cool. I would definitely recommend going up to deck 12 to watch the show and get the best view of the fireworks. After the show they have a DJ come out and have a pirate dance party. We actually danced to a few songs as did many others. I expected it to clear out quickly but a lot of people stuck around to party. Before heading back to the room we decided to check out the pirate buffet in cabanas. I actually was kind of hungry believe it or not. I didn’t eat most of my fish and just had a bite of two of my dessert. The buffet offered way more than I though it would. There were a lot of both sweet and savory selections. I ended up with a turkey leg, some tacos from the make your own taco station, and a caramel crunch dessert that was really good. We took our plates back down to the room, but not before stopping at the ice cream station to get the kids some more self service ice cream. Once in the room, we put on Pirates of the Caribbean and enjoyed our late night snacks while watching the movie and drifting off to sleep.

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[TestingH2O]

The boys also discovered the little slide in Nemo's Reef during this time. It's definitely more for little ones (like under the age of three) but it really rips and without any little ones around I let the boys go for it.

That slide IS fast! DD loves it. Just watch out for adults who think it looks fun. They will take you out!

The port in Falmouth Jamaica is definitely the nicest of the three we visited. It is a really fun little court with a variety of shops – a mix of known brands and local gift shops. There are also different food vendors and some chain locations.

This is the first positive things I've heard about that port. It makes me hopeful that we can at least get off and check it out. Maybe even get some local food from a vendor. There isn't much in the way of excursion choice for DD who will be 4 on our trip.

Love your pirate outfit. Easy but different than ones I've seen before.

 

[It's Magical Blog]

I would definitely get off and check out the port in Falmouth. I don't know if I would leave the port but you can get a local Island feel in a nice kept area. Thanks for your nice compliment on my pirates outfit. I had the sweater already so it was perfect! And I just ordered the skeleton tees online for me and the hubs. Enjoy the Fantasy!!! You will love it.

 

[It's Magical Blog]

A LESS HECTIC DAY AT SEA
The clocks went back one-hour last night and we were feeling the effects of it. We had our Frozen Meet and Greet this morning and I could not get anyone out of bed. I finally got everyone up but no one wanted to go meet the sisters from Arandelle. I probably should have just let it go, but I kept thinking about how long we waited on line to get the tickets. Wait…did you see what I just did there. I swear it wasn’t on purpose…I said we should just LET IT GO. Ha Ha! Anyways, I finally bribed Jack to come with me. I think I told him we could get another blind box from the store or promised him more swimming time. The meet and greet was set up in Animator’s Palate and it was done really nicely. Anna and Elsa joked around with Jack for a bit and had him show them how he threw snow balls. It was cute and I was glad I had gotten him to come. I wish Ben had joined us since he insisted we watch Frozen like every day for a year but oh well.

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After the Frozen meet and greet, Jack and I went up to deck 11 to check out the game room. It was actually pretty cool. Small but they had a decent selection of games and you even got electronic tickets in your game card and got to use a machine to redeem them for a prize. We played a few rounds of knock hockey and then my stomach started growling. We went to get Darren and Ben and decided to try Enchanted Garden for breakfast.

Enchanted Garden was a nice alternative to Cabanas. They had a similar selection of buffet items (not as large but the staples were there) and you had a waiter who served you drinks. I started feeling lousy during breakfast. A bit nauseous and got a headache. I tried eating hoping that would make me feel better but not so much. Instead of my go to breakfast, I decided to try a ham and cheese croissant and add some scrambled eggs to it. I think I was trying to replicate the bacon, egg, and cheese croissant they have at The Mara at Animal Kingdom Lodge. My replication was good but definitely not the same. After breakfast, we decided to put the kids into the kids club. I figured they would complain about not swimming but they were excited to go play.

Darren and I went back to the room to get our swimsuits on to head up to Satellite Falls, an adults only lounge area with a wading fountain up on deck 13. However, I decided to lay down since I wasn’t feeling great. I rested for about 15 minutes but I wasn’t falling asleep so I decided to just suck it up and head up to the pool area. We found some comfy loungers on Deck 13 (I love how they have comfy loungers in the adults only area. I kind of wish they had them everywhere on the ship) and I decided to head down a take a dip in the adults only pool. Jumping in the pool actually made me feel a lot better. Not sure if it is the cold water or just the overall refresh but it really worked. So I headed back up to Deck 13 and we checked out the waterfall. Darren loved it and said he could have stayed in it all day. I wasn’t a huge fan. I found the water spraying on me a bit annoying so I headed back to the chair to lounge, enjoy some music, and take a nap in the sun.

It was almost time to pick up the kids but I was feeling a little hungry, probably because of my lack of eating breakfast. So we decided to go grab something light in Cabanas. But first we took a quick detour to check out Goofy’s Deck on the other side of Deck 13. It was the one area we hadn’t explored. There were basketball courts and a mini golf course. The mini golf course looked like a lot of fun and I’m sure the kids would have enjoyed it but we just never found the time to make it over there. Also, it was hot!! The people playing didn’t look especially comfortable. We got to Cabanas and I decided to try a little bit of everything. I had some pizza, fish bites, Swedish meatballs, and of course peel and eat shrimp. Everything was great with the exception of the pizza, which was hard and cold. Darren and I went back up the room to change to get ready to pick up the kids and catch the 2:00 3D showing of the Jungle Book, which was a special showing being played in the Walt Disney Theatre. Darren picked up the kids and I went back up to deck 11 to fill up the BB8 cups with drinks for the movie. I met the rest of the crew, we got some popcorn and found some seats. The movie was good but Ben was pretty restless. We hadn’t taken the kids to a 3D movie yet at home and while Jack did great I think Ben was a little to young to understand the concept of the glasses and being willing to keep them on. He kept taking them off and since you can’t even see anything without the glasses he quickly got bored. About halfway through the movie I decided to take him back to the stateroom so Darren and Jack could finish the rest of the movie. Once we got back to the room, we put on a movie and Ben and I relaxed. I realized the kids hadn’t eaten any lunch so I order 2 uncrustables and milks from room service. Darren and Jack returned from the movie and the boys enjoyed the uncrustables, while Darren took a nap and I started some organizing and packing. It made me sad that I was already packing up so I decided to take the boys up to the pool for a quick swim before we had to drop them back off at the kids club for our second adults only meal of the cruise, this time at Remy. (AMAZING, but let me not get too ahead of myself). Jack. Ben, and I hung out in both the Mickey and Donald pool and the boys took some runs on the Mickey slide. They both really loved the Mickey slide.

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A PERFECT MEAL & SOME DISCO FUN
After swimming we went back to the room where they relaxed a little while Darren and I got showered and ready for Remi. Our dinner at Remi wasn’t until 7:00 so after dropping the kids off we had about 45 minutes to spare. We went to get a photo taken by the photographers in the lobby but since it was in between dining services they were closed. So we decided to go check out Europa, the adults area with bars and a disco. We went to have a seat in La Piazza, the first bar when you walk into the area. It’s an Italian themed bar and it’s really cute. However, when we walked in there were a few people in there who definitely had just finished some kind of mixology class (we later found out it was a tequila tasting) and they were a bit loud. One of them even started heckling with my husband a bit so we decided to keep on moving and had a seat in Oh La La, the champagne bar. The bartender recommend a glass of Rose, which was quite delightful. There was another couple in the bar that were heading to Palo for the first time so we chatted with them a bit about our experience and our recommendations. Once they left we chatted with the bartender about his time with Disney and on the Fantasy. Shortly after Mr. Heckler (the guy who had started heckling my husband) decided to join us. He was wasted. He was actually really nice but boy was he wasted. It was definitely an amusing 20 minutes. I joked with my husband later about how he always attracts them! We got another cocktail (me another glass of champagne) and headed up to Remy.

The next two hours were simply amazing. I have been fortunate enough living just out of NYC and working right in Manhattan to have many excellent meals but when it comes to fine dining Remy is definitely at the top of my list. The service, the food and the entire experience were all top notch. We were escorted in and some of the really neat details of the restaurant were pointed out to his including the bottle of wine that the food critic orders in the movie which they had in their wine cellar that goes for an outrageous price of several thousand dollars. Upon being seated at a lovely table we met our waiter. I can’t remember his name but he was fabulous and he told us a little bit about the menu and what to expect. He then made us tableside their signature drink, The Collette. The drink was really nice and I definitely enjoyed it. We also decided to order a bottle of wine and had the sommelier help us select a bottle of red. Even before we ordered our food we were brought some delights from the kitchen. The first was the tomato soup bite, which I read all about, and the reviews I read were correct. It was awesome. Hard to describe but tomato soup that was probably frozen and then breaded and fried but when you bit into it there was such an incredibly flavor profile. I definitely could have gone for another but we were quickly next brought a foie grass mouse which was also incredibly tasty. So good that I could have licked the glass it was served in, but I promise I didn’t. Bread selection came out and I selected a baguette and we were given some butter and sea salt. Yum – even the bread was extra special and extra delicious. Then the entrée plates started coming. There are two main tasting courses at Remy. They also have special menus like a wine pairing menu and al la carte items but Darren and I decided we would each pick one of the main tasting menus so we could each taste it all. I decided to go with the French Chef Arnaud Lallement's menu and Darren went with Chef Scott Hunnel of Victoria & Albert's at the Grand Floridian in Disney World’s menu. The waiter explained that was the most common selection and that the French menu was usually selected by the ladies since it was lighter. I can’t tell you everything that I ate, I wish I could, but it was absolutely divine. Each plate kept getting better and while I did try Darren’s plates as well which were also delicious I was very happy with my decision and early on declared myself the winner. I do know I had some scallops, a leak puree that was to die for, lobster, fish, an artichoke mouse of some sort, duck, and plate with some of the most amazing chocolate desserts I have ever had. And like that wasn’t all enough after our dessert plate they come around with a cheese cart that has every type of cheese imaginable and how can you say no – it’s dessert cheese. So after each cheese was thoroughly explained we asked to try a little of each. I personally preferred the soft cheeses – the goat and the blue cheese. And then more desserts came out including some home made candy lollipops and other little bites. There were these caramelized cake bites of some sort that were FREAKEN AMAZING! Now i’m sure the 2 glasses of champagne, the Collette martini, and the bottle of red we shared made them taste even better but wow they were so good. I shared with our server how much I enjoyed those tiny bites of amazingness and out come another four of them wrapped up to go along with a box of truffles. I walked out of dinner feeling fantastic. I had spent an enjoyable evening with my husband, I was feeling nicely buzzed, and pleasantly full. If you are a foodie and appreciate fine dining I HIGHLY recommend Remy. It was truly fantastic and definitely worth the extra price of $75 per person.

Darren's lamb dish


My duck dish​

We went to the kids club to pick up the kids, but Jack begged to stay later. He was playing with his table buddy and didn’t want to leave. I figured why not, it’s vacation. At that point I was kind of hoping both of them would stay but Ben was ready to go back to the room. We went back up to the room, I got Ben ready for bed, and then told Darren I was going to go walk around and then pick up Jack. I figured why not squeeze in a little nightcap. I decided to head back to Europa, the adults bar area for one more cocktail when I ran into our table mates. They were heading to pick up their kids from the kids club but we decided to all go ahead and grab one more drink together. We went to skyline lounge, where I sampled one of the city martinis. It was quite tasty.

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After our drinks we went all went back to pick up the kids but the other mom and me decided it would be fun to bring the kids back to the room with the hubbies and check out the nightclub. I picked up Jack and brought him back to the room and went back down to meet my table buddy and we decided to grab another drink, this time at La Pizza. I had a glass of champagne and then we headed over to the nightclub. However, I would have thought we had stumbled across the teens club, because besides us there were about 6 other people and they were all between the ages of 18 and 21. We definitely were feeling a little out of place but we made the best of it and danced for a few songs before calling it a night. I actually ran into my table buddy the next day at Castaway Cay and she told me she was up all night getting sick from drinking too much. Whoops! Maybe we should have gone to bed with the kids. But all in all it was a great day and a wonderful evening. I went too bed looking forward to a day I had been waiting for for quite some time.

 

[It's Magical Blog]

TIME TO CASTAWAY
Today the boat was docking at Castaway Cay (pronounced key not kay), Disney’s private island in the Bahamas. I had heard such amazing things about it so I was really looking forward to an amazing day on the beach. I wanted to get off the boat early so instead of fussing with going up to Cabanas I had ordered some room service the night before. Many people don’t know there is breakfast available for room service because the menu isn’t included in the main book with the rest of the menus. Instead there are door hangers in the top draw of the desk that you use to select what you want and hang it on your stateroom door the night before. However, it is important to note that it is a continental breakfast. There are limited hot foods available. I ordered some muffins and a few toasted bagels, juices, ice tea (for me), and coffee (for Darren). I also decided to run up to Cabanas, much easier to do on my own then to drag the little guys, and grab a plate of some eggs, bacon, sausage, etc. for Darren and I to share and some fruit for us all to share. I don’t remember the exact muffin I had but it was good and even better accompanied by a few strips of bacon. After eating breakfast, we got ready and headed down to the gangway. Successfully, we were off the ship by 9:30. We stopped to take a few photos with the professional photographers.

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After we took the tram to family beach #2. I was surprised by how crowded it already was but we were easily able to find chairs, just not close to the water. The island was gorgeous and I couldn’t believe how much there was to do. Honestly, I would have been happy being docked at Castaway Cay the whole week. We played in the ocean for quite some time. I rented a tube for $12 for the kids to play and purchased a pail and shovel for $6. I left it behind because I knew I wouldn’t have any room to bring it home but the $6 was worth the fun they had with it on the Island. We also spent a lot of time in the Spring A Leak play area, which has fountains for the kids to splash around in.

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There was an ample amount of servers on the beach to take drinks orders and just before noon (hey, it’s 5:00 somewhere, right?) we ordered a few drinks. Darren got a Corona and decided to go for a Pina Colada (when in Rome, right?). The Pina colada was delicious and I was more than happy with my decision. It was actually one of those perfect moments while we were splashing around the ocean and I was enjoyed my pina colada. I didn’t want it to end. Around 1:00 we decided to head up to Cookies Two for lunch. It was a typical BBQ buffet but with a decent amount of choices. I got a burger, some chips, and coleslaw and while the burger wasn’t the best I ever had it definitely hit the spot. I have to say I quite enjoyed my lunch as did everyone else. With no chicken or pasta in site, my boys feasted on hot dug buns and fruit. Whatever they seemed happy. The also had soft serve ice cream machines on the Island but while Darren, Jack and Ben obliged I actually was too full and passed on the ice cream. To this day I kind of regret that decision. Banana Ice Cream on castaway cay would have been heavenly but I really was too full. After lunch we went back to Spring A Leak for a little before heading back to the ship. I wasn’t ready to leave I felt like we still had so much to see and do. We hadn't checked out the other Island, or done a dance party, or crab races, or met any of the characters - you really could spend more than one day at Castaway Cay for sure. But Ben was in desperate need of a nap and while I seriously considered just letting him nap on the beach (which he would have done he was so tired) I knew I need to start packing so I could have my bags out by 10:00 that evening. We got back on the boat after taking a few more photos and the boys (all of them) quickly crashed out. I decided to turn on one of my favorite Disney movies, Beauty and the Beast and started packing. The boys later said they could hear my sing while they tried to sleep, whoops J

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OUR FINAL NIGHT WITH GUESS WHAT...MORE SWIMMING
Since we had missed seeing the characters on the Island and there was still a few characters we wanted to get autographs from I really wanted to make the See You Real Soon party at 4:30. I had heard that the earlier one is a lot less crowded then the one later at night, so I practically had to drag the kids out of bed and downstairs. I am not kidding when I say drag. They did NOT want to wake up. I got them dressed as they cried that they didn’t want to go but we finally got downstairs and they got to meet characters and score some last minute photos and autographs. Then the characters do a cute little song to say goodbye and down drops lots of mickey confetti. It was really cute and the boys said they were happy we made it. For me it was definitely a bitter sweet moment, because I knew it was signaling the end of the cruise. Important note: there are no Disney photographers out the last night. I had to use my own camera to take photos of the characters and to take a family photo. One of the reasons I had fought so much with the boys earlier on was that I had really wanted to take a nice family photo (out of our formal wear) but unfortunately that was going happen. I remember how I had slightly yelled at my husband as I was leaving to take a shower and make sure he wore something nice to dinner, so I decided to call him and tell him he could go more casual. He actually still wore something nice and we got someone to take a photo of us and it happens to be one of my favorite from the cruise.

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Since at this point we still had 45 minutes until dinner we decided to check the kids into the kids club to give them one last opportunity to play and I headed over to Shutters to take care of my photos. I decided to add the print package (since I had paid the pre-boarding price for the digital package they honored the pre-board price for the print/digital package so how could I say no). I picked up my folder of prints and was told to pick up the USB with the digital files in the am. We then picked up the kids and headed to Art of Animation for our See You Real Soon dinner which also happened to be our animation magic night. Upon arrival you are given a special place mat with special markers to draw your character and later in the evening those characters actually become part of the show. I wont go into to much detail and spoil the show but it is very cool and a definite do not miss.

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For dinner that night we got a sample appetizer plate (there was no choice) that includeda smoked duck breast on duck confit with pickled red onion, sliced mozzarella with basil and cherry tomatoes, dill-marinated lobster and shrimp with tomato mayonnaise and a horseradish cream. All of which were fine. I would give the plate in its entirety a 6/10. Then we were served a Macaroni & Cheese Baked Potato Soup (8/10). I though it sounded odd but it was actually quit tasty.

For the main entrée I selected the Trenette pasta with which was actually very good (8), and I ordered a Mickey Bar (10) for dessert. It was so good and it was the perfect treat for the last night. I only wish I had enjoyed more Mickey Bars while on the cruise but there is just too much good stuff. After dinner we stopped by the shop to pick up our final blind boxes and some last minute souvenirs (very small souvenirs). And then up to the room to change into our swim suits for our final night of swimming. We did a final ride on the Aqua duck and then the kids splashed around in the pool, which they pretty much had all to themselves that evening. Up was on funnel vision and Darren and I took the opportunity to sit and watch and soak it all in. Around 9:30 we had to call it quits so we could head back and finish packing. We said goodbye to our favorite deck and went back to the room put on Pirates again and me and Darren finished packing while the boys crashed out hard.

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[It's Magical Blog]

DEMBARKATION: A SAD DAY
I unfortunately had set our alarms the night before knowing that we had to be out of our rooms by 8:00. I was the first to wake up and I decided to run downstairs to pick up my digital photos. On my way back I noticed in the main lobby there were a bunch of people lined up waiting to disembark the ship. At exactly 7:00am when the ship doors open a song was played on the loud speakers and signs dropped that said See You Real Soon. I couldn’t help but welling up at the very moment. It meant that this was really the end. I went back to the room, took a quick shower, got ready, and then got the kids ready and we were out. We had decided there was no way we could be in our assigned main dining room for breakfast at 6:30am so instead we went up to Cabanas. I don't think a lot of people know this is an option since Disney highly promotes you going to the MDR but it is a very good alternative. We grabbed a table and enjoyed our last meal. I snuck in all my favorites that were available and even decided to add in a Krispy Kreme donut. Why not, right. After breakfast we said goodbye to the ship and made a way out of the main lobby back into the port.

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The disembarkation part was fairly easy. We had participated in the airline check-in program since we were flying a participating airline (JetBlue) and had purchased DCL transfers. After we put out our luggage outside our stateroom door the night before we didn’t see it again until we reached NYC. It was really nice not having to worry about checking in the luggage or lugging it around. The line for customs was fairly long but it moved quickly and I would say we were on the bus heading back to the airport about 30 minutes after stepping off the ship. I sat next to Jack on the bus and he seemed so sad. He put his head on my shoulder and we both watched the ship get smaller and smaller as pulled away. He turned to me and said “Mom, I’m going to miss the Disney cruise.” My response “I am too Jack, I am too.”

We got the airport with plenty of time to spare. Our flight wasn’t until 2:15 so we did some shopping. Jack bought a Harry Potter shirt and socks from the Universal store and Ben bought a few things from the Disney store even though I can’t remember what. We had lunch at On The Boarder and I squeezed in one of those Express Spa foot massages before we loaded on the plane. The boys both conked out not more than 10 minutes after take off. Ben slept for at least half the flight and Jack didn’t wake until we were landing. I actually got to sit back and relax while getting a chance to reflect on the week that had just passed. We got home and after getting a little settled in I decided we should watch one last Disney movie while enjoying some of the Disney chocolate that we had brought home and we did just that before going to bed and waking back up to reality.

 

[It's Magical Blog]

OVERALL TAKEAWAYS
I can't believe it has been more than 2 months since our amazing time on the Disney Fantasy. In all honesty it actually feels longer. Unfortunately it is way too easier to get back into the daily grind and let the memories fad away. That is why I am so glad we have amazing pictures and stories (and this trip report) to remember the absolutely wonderful time we had. I wanted to share some overall thoughts/takeaways. Sorry if these are a bit random, but these are the things I wanted to pay special attention to:

#1: Great Family Vacation
I wanted to find a vacation that would have a good balance of family time and couple time for me and my husband to celebrate our ten year anniversary. I think the cruise was perfect for this. We had plenty of time together has a family and Darren and I also got to spend some quality time together not having to worry about the kids since they were having the time of their lives in the kids club. That was the other thing, I think every member of the family got to do what they wanted and had a great vacation in the own right. The boys got to do plenty of swimming, playing, watch movies, and get their blind boxes. Darren got to find time to relax and take naps. For me, I got to see my kids having an amazing vacation, saw lots of characters, relaxed by the pool and on the beach, and got to eat lots of yummy foods and desserts.

#2: Really Consider Excursions Carefully
The least favorite part of the vacation for me was the excursions. I'm not sure if we picked the wrong ones for our family or what, but I just found them to be more work than what they were worth. Both the Dolphin Excursion in Cozumel and the Submarine in Grand Cayman involved A LOT of waiting around. If I were to do it again I would spend more time on the boat (perhaps let the kids go to kids club more and relax by the adults only pool or relax as a family by the family pools) and I might try doing a beach excursion. Castaway Cay was by far my favorite day of the Cruise.

#3: The Food Is Great: Highly Recommend Palo and Remy
The food in the main dining room was great. We live in the NYC area so we constantly eat good food but many of my meals were better than good and I would be more than happy to eat them again. Palo was an extremely enjoyable dinner. I would compare it to any really good Italian restaurant here in the city. Great service and delicious food. Definitely something special compared to the MDR and it was a great way to celebrate our anniversary. I would recommend Palo to everyone. Remy on the other end is truly a remarkable experience. One of the most memorable meals I have ever experienced. The food was truly fine dining and very unique. I would definitely recommend Remy to foodies, people who appreciate really fine dining. Otherwise I could see how the experience could get lost on some. I on one hand will definitely be enjoying a Remy dinner on my next cruise. Next tim, perhaps I'll try brunch on Palo.

#4: Character Greetings
There are SO many opportunities to meet the characters. I think it is important that you prioritize this item based on your family because you could spend the majority of the cruise doing so. While my boys like the characters, I wouldn't say they are obsessed so we picked out a few important ones and made sure to meet them. Each interaction and experience was great. Definitely beats waiting on huge lines at the parks. However, when in the parks we usually are not the family waiting on lines for character meets. We prefer to spend our times on the rides and will try to maximize character dining. The majority of lines on the cruise were about 15 minute waits with the exception of one or two - Captain Jack Sparrow was the longest we definitely waited. However, it was the kids favorite and a memory that was well worth it.

#5: Door Magnets & Fish Extenders & Mixology
Before the cruise I heard a lot about door magnets (customized magnets you hang on the outside of your stateroom door), fish extenders (things you hang from your door that get filled up with little goodies by other participants of your Fish Extender group), and mixology (a class where you create and drink a variety of alcoholic beverages). Both the Fish Extender group and mixology where organized by our cruise Facebook group. The mixology was fun. It was relatively inexpensive, I believe $30 a person and you got to sample a bunch of different drinks. You also got to meet others on your cruise. While I wouldn't say it was a must do, I would consider doing it again. It was definitely a fun time. We skipped the Fish Extender, mostly because I couldn't imagine packing all that extra stuff to give out and then bringing home all the stuff we received. I was a little nervous that the kids would see these all around the cruise and ask about them and be upset we weren't participating. But that wasn't the case at all. We barely saw any. Maybe like 2 or 3 doors. Not saying people weren't doing it, just it wasn't overly in your face. Lastly, door magnets..i highly recommend. It was a great way for the kids (and myself) to spot our door and it added a little bit of personality.

#6: Formal Night
Our cruise, since it was 7 nights, had a formal night. It was not mandatory but highly suggested and the majority (I would say 80% of guests) seemed to participate. I'm glad we decided to participate, but in a slightly less formal manor (at least for the boys). I personally love to dress up, so I went ahead and purchased a new gown for the occasion. I was happy I did so. However, my husband and kids are a little less enthusiastic about dressing up. I bought the kids linen shirts and tan linen dress pants and my husband a collared shirt. He surprised me by wearing a jacket as well. Him and the boys looked very handsome and it was fun to all get dressed up together and the photos are a very nice memory.

#7 Take Photos
I highly recommend purchasing a photo package through Disney. They have photographers throughout the ship that take your photos. It saves the hassle of having to do so yourself and you also get lots of photos of the whole family. After the 7 night cruise I had nearly 75 photos. I could have had a lot more if I had found time to take more, but time just went too quickly. You can pre-purchase a package for $295 which will give you all digital images or all print images. You can also purchase a package which will give you both for $395, a package of 10 prints for $149 or 20 prints for $249. I highly recommend the all digital prints for $295. You get them on a USB and can print them at home, use them for a video, photobook, etc. It's also about a $50 savings to purchase them pre-cruise. When I got on the boat I feel in love with the prints that I decided to buy them. They allowed me to pay the pre-cruise price of $395 for both, so it was just an additional $100. While they were fun to look at and I try to remember to pull them out as often as possible I probably should have saved my $100 and just went digital. Unfortunately they are still sitting in the envelope. I used the digital along with all my own photos to make a Shutterfly book which is what we use for display and to share.

#8 On Demand TV
We actually got a lot of use out of the On Demand TV in the stateroom. You could start and stop Disney movies and TV shows at your convenience. It was great and we used it while getting ready in the mornings, during afternoon naps, and while falling asleep. I loved this option.

#9 Broadway Shows
Unfortunately I can't comment too much on the shows. We only saw the Aladdin show, which was great! The other nights we did other things on the boat, mostly go to the pool and swim. I wish we had seen more shows but swimming was important to my family and doing it at night in nearly empty pools was awesome. However, based on what I did see the shows are great quality and a lot of fun. I think my husband actually enjoyed it the most of all of us. Aladdin was fun for the adults and the kids.

#10: Don't Try and Do It All
There is SO much to do on the ship. And while we tried to do as much as possible we couldn't get to it all. Sometimes I think I even pushed the family to do too much. You have to find the groove and priorities that work for you and your family. Pick a few must do things and make that a priority.

AND FINALLY...The Galvani Family's Favorite Part of The Disney Fantasy Cruise 2016:

Me (Kristie, Mom) - Castaway Cay, the massage, and Remy
Darren (Dad) - Castaway Cay
Jack (6 year old boy) - Aqua Duck, Mickey pool, ice cream, kids club, pirate night
Ben (3 year old boy) - Mickey pool and Mickey slide

 

[SS_Mama]

Thanks for this. Our kids are the same age and we take a 7 day on the Fantasy next April. It's our 2nd but I still learned so much from your report. I particularly wanted to know about the photos package and Remy. We didn't do either the first time because of the expense but now I will. Plus, I appreciate the feedback about excursions. I will probably save money there. Thanks again!!

 

[It's Magical Blog]

Thanks for this. Our kids are the same age and we take a 7 day on the Fantasy next April. It's our 2nd but I still learned so much from your report. I particularly wanted to know about the photos package and Remy. We didn't do either the first time because of the expense but now I will. Plus, I appreciate the feedback about excursions. I will probably save money there. Thanks again!!

So jealous. I can't wait to go on my second. Definitely do the photos just go for the digital package and if you can afford it Remy is so worth it. Definitely a very special evening. Did you do the Fantasy your last cruise?

 

[Rabb it]

Great report! One of the best ones I've read yet!

 

[It's Magical Blog]

Thanks so much! I'm glad it's helping others. It actually took way longer to write than I thought it would. But it's super fun to read and reminisce.

 

[SS_Mama]

So jealous. I can't wait to go on my second. Definitely do the photos just go for the digital package and if you can afford it Remy is so worth it. Definitely a very special evening. Did you do the Fantasy your last cruise?

We did! It's such an amazing ship and even with all the research, we didn't do everything I wanted to do. I was just so excited and overwhelmed. As we pulled up to the port and my then 3 year old saw the ship - she said "oh! Are we going on that spaceship?!" LOL!

 

[It's Magical Blog]

Ha ha. My boys want to know if we can buy a cruise ship. °o°

We did! It's such an amazing ship and even with all the research, we didn't do everything I wanted to do. I was just so excited and overwhelmed. As we pulled up to the port and my then 3 year old saw the ship - she said "oh! Are we going on that spaceship?!" LOL!

 

[Henry Jones Jr.]

Did you save your navigators each day? If so, would you mind posting them?

 

[It's Magical Blog]

Did you save your navigators each day? If so, would you mind posting them?

I did! I will scan and post them this weekend!

 

[SomeImaginationHuh]

Sounds like you had a great cruise! Our first cruise is in January, so I'm taking in as many trip reports as possible! Did you have to pre-book BBB for pirate makeovers? And if so, how far in advance did you book? Thanks!!

 

[It's Magical Blog]

Sounds like you had a great cruise! Our first cruise is in January, so I'm taking in as many trip reports as possible! Did you have to pre-book BBB for pirate makeovers? And if so, how far in advance did you book? Thanks!!

I am so excited for you! You will love it. Yes we did book the Pirates league in advance. I did it online when my booking window opened 75 days before, same time for exercusions, port arrival time, etc.

 

[It's Magical Blog]

I did! I will scan and post them this weekend!

Sorry for delay. My scanner isn't working. I ended up taking photos. I will upload them all now in a new reply

 

[It's Magical Blog]

SATURDAY NAVIGATOR: EMBARKATION DAY