From the Sea to the World - Holiday Edition - Completed

[AAshleySEG]

This was when I realized that I liked the balcony, but I really did not need it.

I agree with you completely! I think that is the reason we never book rooms with balconies on the ships. I feel like if I got it for free I wouldn't be upset or anything, but I don't like paying for them because I would feel like I needed to stay in the room more. I love my interior rooms...haha! They make me get out and explore the ship more often!

 

[glennbo123]

It took me a few minutes, but I figured out the crayon puzzle. I couldn't go on to the next chapter until I got it!

Hey, a photo hunt...always like those!

Good to know about the balcony; I think I'd be in the same boat (no pun intended). Do the interior rooms have a video "porthole" showing what's happening outside?

 

[Flossbolna]

I've just caught up on the last few updates.
I really liked the look of San Juan, well at least the part you went to. So many interesting historic things to see, I loved the colourful old houses as well.

I think the old city of San Juan is pretty nice throughout. You can tell that there is a lot of tourism money coming in. And it really felt like a place with a lot of history.

Not too sure about the blanket animals, that last one would probably scare a small child walking in to the room.

Oh, I never thought about that. But that thing was indeed a bit scary!

I love that they had a huge gingerbread house on the ship, it must be held together with extra strong frosting!

I wonder whether they "enhance" the frosting somewhat...

 

[Flossbolna]

I agree with you completely! I think that is the reason we never book rooms with balconies on the ships. I feel like if I got it for free I wouldn't be upset or anything, but I don't like paying for them because I would feel like I needed to stay in the room more. I love my interior rooms...haha! They make me get out and explore the ship more often!

I only had a few nights in an inside stateroom on my last cruise until we got to change stateroom, so I don't have the full inside experience yet. But for Norway we are in an inside 11B sideways and are looking forward to it. I find on the the newer ships the price difference between inside and oceanview is not that big, so I think there I would opt for a window. But once the price difference is several hundred dollars, I don't see a point in getting a window or even a veranda. I love hanging out in the public areas on the ship.

It took me a few minutes, but I figured out the crayon puzzle. I couldn't go on to the next chapter until I got it!

Well done!!

Hey, a photo hunt...always like those!

Good to know about the balcony; I think I'd be in the same boat (no pun intended). Do the interior rooms have a video "porthole" showing what's happening outside?

The Dream and the Fantasy have those. The older ships just have a large mirror. Depending on the price difference, I think an oceanview (i.e. window) cabin can be worth it. But for example on the Norway cruise that would be 500$ more. I happily take a mirror and those 500$ dollar towards other travel! And the TV in your room always shows the view from the bridge on one channel. So if you want to know what the weather is like, you just switch on the TV.

 

[Flossbolna]

Wow!

Well, before we start with the wow experience, we had to do some other things. The first one was to get cleaned up. In order to speed things up I headed up to the spa to shower there while Michael used our bathroom. I have to say that I actually liked showering there. The shower is nice and spacious and the one in the cabin always feels a bit closed in, especially because the ceiling appears to be so low. I just put my shampoo, my comb and my hair gel into a bag together with some fresh clothes and then walked up the two flights of stairs and there I was in a wonderful shower stall with a private dressing area (I would not have minded changing in the public dressing room either, but this was definitely nice!).

Yes, showering on ships must really not be fun for anyone much over 5-9. Since I'm shorter than that it isn't quite as bad, but there isn't much room.

Once we were both clean it was time to head to the show. Today we decided to sit on the balcony and that was a really nice view from there as well. However, don’t sit in the first row, there the railing is in your line of vision. We sat in the second row therefore (I think I made Michael move around a few times…).

This was our view from the balcony:

The show today was Disney’s Believe. The little blurb on the navigator about the show was this: “Genie from Aladdin and many of Disney’s most beloved magic makers take a father on a magical journey to show him that anything is possible if you just believe.” I knew from reading on the DIS that it was a story about a father and a daughter and it just all sounded so sickly sweet to me that I was totally expecting to not like this show at all. And it turned out to be absolutely wonderful! Yes, it was very sweet, but not too much overdone (at least for me). I really enjoyed the story, the music, the effects and even the acting was better than in Wishes. One thing that I noted was that different songs featured different films and interestingly they did not pick the obvious choice for many films. To me it was the most enjoyable show I have seen on DCL so far. Aladdin, which we saw earlier in the cruise, is the more sophisticated show and what I would generally say the better show. But Believe just really made me happy!

Yes, I would say it was my second-favorite show on the Fantasy behind Aladdin. And it is nice when the shows don't use the two most-popular songs from the films, but other great pieces that are less out there.

And that besides the fact that the surrounding circumstances made me nervous! The show started and then it stopped. I think suddenly part of the sound was missing. So they had to restart the show. We had to wait quite a bit for that to happen. And we had places to be at a certain time! So I was starting to get worried about when the show would finally finish. We had found out on the last cruise that the Navigator makes it look as if the show is only 45 minutes, it is in reality 60 minutes! The later show does show that it is longer, but the early show does appear shorter.

Germans and having to be on time. ... I just wish their trains where as on-schedule as their women!

Currently the trains are not just a few minutes late - they are on strike. Since Tuesday already. Very tedious... But back to the trip report.

Luckily the hold up was not too long and we returned to the room to get changed into our dinner clothes and were greeted by a blanket crab – and something very sad: The tipping envelopes together with the sheet that can be torn into several slips that have the name of the server, assistant server, head server and stateroom attendant and their respective tip on it.

I always find it sad because it also reminds me of how much the cruise experience costs!

This is always a sad sight as it means that your cruise is coming to an end. The tips are automatically charged to your stateroom account at the level that Disney recommends (which comes to a total of 12 $ per vacationer per day). But if you want to adjust that amount you can go to guest services to do that. One tip: If you have a server that you think you might want to request on a future cruise, take a picture of that sheet as then you will get the full name of the people you are tipping.

And then it was time for the wow experience! I guess the title of this update is already a spoiler, as you already know that we really loved this experience!

Loved it?!?! That is putting it mildly. Sometimes, I'll start fantasizing about ... YOU (sorry, dear readers, I think Michael means me, flossbolna, and not you the readers with this you, but I have failed to ask him, so maybe I am taking things for granted that I should not) and then wind up thinking about this meal instead. Yeah, it was that good. Easily my best meal on a cruise ever (and I do have 19 now under my belt ... well, I never wear belts, but if I did, then this would have been my 19th.) Just phenomenal really. The worst thing? At a classy place like this, they tend to look down on you if you lick the plates. Remember that cruisers in case you have the urge!

It was our dinner at Remy! Originally I had hoped have time before dinner to have a drink in the wonderful bar that is between Palo and Remy, but that time was eaten up by restarting Believe.

When we arrived a chef was standing at the podium and speaking French with someone else there. I looked at his clothes and he had his name embroidered on. It was really the French chef that I talked about earlier, Arnaud Lallement. And he definitely looked like he had been working in the kitchen. From that moment on I knew that I would pick the set menu that was designed by him. How often do you have the chance to eat the menu designed AND cooked by a Michellin 3-star chef?

Not nearly enough!

We were greeted very nicely and led to our table. We were seated in the private dining room. This room is designed to look like the restaurant in Ratatouille. Lot’s of reds and a picture on the wall where you can “look” into Remy’s kitchen.

This is a picture from the Fantasy photos here on the DIS:

When we were there, the big table was split up into four square tables. We sat at the window in the far end, the other window table was taken by a couple that was nearing the end of their meal and the other two tables were empty, so a very quiet experience.

We were greeted by our server Sebastien. He was from France and pretended to be very impressed with my experiences of travelling in France. Michael has only been to Paris with a short trip to the coast, but I have been to quite a few different regions (Provence, Loire Valley, Bretagne). Sebastien was very nice and he seemed to be very enthusiastic about Remy himself. He definitely helped to set our dining experience.

While Michael has 'only' been to Paris (and immediate surroundings ... like DLP!), he has been to Paris many times. I can't even come up with a number because I don't know. And that short trip to Normandy was an amazing experience ... and a moving one (and not just because we drove there). But I get what you are saying: we need to spend more time in France. I'm all for that.

I have read a few comments about how people found Remy to be too stuffy and to formal. I was surprised how comfortable it felt. Everyone was very friendly. To me the service in general felt very “American” and not “European” and with that I mean the personal attention that seems to be common in the US. In Europe it is not considered to be part of good service that your server introduces themselves by name (I think in Germany everyone would start laughing if a server came to their table and said “Hello, my name is Herr Schulz.”). However, the service was absolutely impeccable and had some little fun additions like giving me a little stool for my hand bag:

I wonder if Herr Schultz would then claim 'I know noooothing. Nothing!' Let's see how old this group is by who gets this reference.

(I am pretty old, but have no clue - I guess it is an American thing...)

Or that when you go to the restroom you will get a new napkin afterwards and will be walked by one of the hosts at the podium out front back to your table.

To me it did not feel stuffy at all. But maybe we just lucked out with Sebastien.

To be fair, the best 'bellhop' at any Tower of Terror attraction in the world (and I've done them all) is also named Sebastien and works at the Walt Disney Studios Paris park.

The whole experience started with a champagne cocktail:

Not sure if we got the menu before or after. We were a bin confused by the menu as it mainly stated one term like “scallop” and then maybe one word for the side. Some of it was even in French like “Poullet Rouge” (red chicken, don’t ask me why it is red, I guess it is the race). Sebastien was very nice in explaining every dish to us in detail.

When I looked at the menu, I saw that the menu designed be Monsieur Lallement was very seafood heavy. And I got a little worried. It had langustini (king prawn) and I don’t eat shellfish. I have a theoretic allergy against it, but it has never broken out. But I don’t like it very much anyway, so I have been told to stay away from it. It also had the afermentioned scallops and I usually don’t like those. Sebastien encouraged me to give them a try and made them sound very delicious in his explanation. He also said that I could change out the langoustine for another dish and I chose the Poulet Rouge instead.

For Michael both of these menus did not work, but there is also the possibility to order a la carte. Michael only eats beef, chicken, turkey and bacon normally. And the more exotic a meat is, the less likely it is that he would want to try it. And he eats nothing that lives in the water. My tasting menu had four courses before the cheese and the dessert course and Sebastien encouraged Michael to order as many dishes as well, so that he would not sit around and wait for me. The dishes were not really separated into typical appetizers and entrees, but they were all mixed up.

Now, c'mon, I eat more than that. I eat pasta. I eats almost any/all fruits and veggies, even kale. I eat duck, mostly when in China where they know how to prepare it. I also eat crab (though not crab legs). I also eat virtually any desert, although ice cream makes me particularly happy!

I admit, my comment above might have painted a wrong picture. Michael can be very adventurous with regard to food. But not with regard to meat types.

We finally got the ordering done with the help of Sebastien and could settle into the experience.

We were very soon served our first little bit to eat:

This is fried tomato soup! A breaded cube of warm tomato soup. It was very nice to start us of.

Who knew you could put that much flavor into such a tiny cube? Obviously the chef!

Then Sebastien came with the bread basket. Which did not mean that he placed it on our table, we could chose what we wanted and that was placed on our bread plate and then the basket disappeared (we asked for more later on and that was not a problem). I actually thought that this was very helpful. Michael and I both like bread and we would have eaten the whole bread basket and would not have had enough appetite for the rest of the wonderful meal!

What is German for bread basket? Anything like chest basket? Or slimebag? -- Yes, these are inside jokes between M and myself. I think if you want to know what they mean that you should take us out to dinner, so long as it isn't McDonald's!

We then were visited by the Sommelier as we both wanted to order wine. I was thinking of starting out with a white wine for my sea food and chicken dishes at the start of the meal and then get a glass of red for my beef course. The sommelier seemed to disapprove of that strategy and tried to convince me to get the wine experience with my menu which would have included a paired wine with every course. He kept telling me that it would be the same as two glasses of wine. I totally did not understand him. The wine experience was 100$. How could ever two glasses of wine be 100$??? I later found out that the pours in the wine experience are so tiny, that he meant the amount of alcohol I would get would be equivalent to two glasses. Well, if we are talking 100$ for wine I expect to get more than the equivalent of two glasses in volume!! So, this was the only not so magical experience in Remy for me. I settled on a white wine that he recommended and then he never reappeared to talk to me about a second glass of wine. And with the champagne cocktail at the start, I was actually fine and another glass would have been even a bit too much.

I think I missed this as I was in paradise with whatever was being devoured in my mouth. But I do recall trying to talk you out of wine pairings before we went to dinner.

Yes, and regardless of price, the wine pairing would have been too much for this meal.

While we were talking the next course was being served:

Sebastien was busy with his other table once the sommelier was gone and we wondered if we could start eating it. But we were hungry and decided to dig in before we had been told what this was, as this was another course that was not officially in the menu.

It tasted heavenly. It had a mousse like consistence, very creamy and there was something sweet in the bottom. At first I thought this could be some sort of creamy potato soup, but then I thought it tasted of foie gras. And then Sebastien appeared and asked us if we knew what it was. And it turned out that my guess was right. I think that was the point where Sebastien started to treat me like an “expert” in French cuisine.

It was a foie gras mousse with salted caramel and macadamia nuts. It was truly divine! (And just to save myself typing it out – the same was true for every single thing we were served that night!)

Yes. while I've had foie gras, I'd never say it's a favorite food. But when you have top chefs, truly top chefs, creating the meals, everything seems to just be so good that it doesn't really matter whether it's something you'd normally pass up or only eat when no choice exists. Everything was so good.

After we had finished this course the sommelier reappeared and let us taste the wines that he had chosen as recommendations for us. Be both were very happy with his recommendations. The wine by the glass was not cheap, but still less than 50$ per glass. And it was definitely the type of wine that usually is not served by the glass. I had a Chardonnay and Michael a Bordeaux. Both classic French wines. Both excellent.

The whole meal was paced a little bit slower, there was time between courses to sit and chat. But the courses were never too far apart.

Our next course was the official first course.

For me it was “Scallop”. They were served with a ragout of black trumpet mushrooms, regular mushrooms and with a mussel-citrus sauce:

The black stripes are the trumpet mushroom ragout. The scallop was delicious. It had a wonderful caramelized crust on it. It was a great combination between the very light meat, the sweet crust, the earthy tones of the mushrooms and the citrus sauce.

The sauce was so good that I had a very hard time to not lick my plate!! And that was true for all the sauces. The courses were usually served by two servers simultaneously for both of us and then Sebastien would serve the sauces to us. They were always poured at the table. And towards the end of the meal we were just sitting there looking at the wonderful plates and patiently waiting for the best part being added. It was such a nice ritual!

Michael’s first course was “Pheasant”. This was a concession that he made because we were eating at such a nice place.

His meal consisted of pheasant in two different ways. One was a slice of breast on aioli with poached apple (those are the little white balls in the middle of the plate) and then a kind of “chicken” salad with nuts. This was one of the dishes on the tasting menu by the head chef of Victoria and Albert at WDW. I found that it was definitely more American than my dish with the mushroom ragout.

The next course was the same for both of us. We had the “Poulet Rouge”.

It was a slice of the breast with an incredible tasty and crispy skin on top. It was served with a butternut squash mousse and chips from squash and sweet potato. The sauce might have had truffle or estragon in it. I don’t remember, but that seems to be the two likely explanations for the little dark specks. As I said before, everything was fantastic!

I thought the peasant was great, but then I had the chicken and OMG!!!!!!!!

I am usually a fast eater, but in this meal I had not problem eating very slowly and have tiny bites of everything, just to be able to savor it as long as possible!

Another thing I love about true fine dining is that ability. The only Disney restaurants in the US that I've had this type of experience would be V&A's at the Grand Floridian and Napa Rose at the Grand Californian. I used to love the California Grill and dine there multiple times a year, but you can't call it fine dining with children running around under tables and people coming in dressed like they just spent 10 hours in the sun at the MK and others on the DDP who want to know why there are no burgers on the menu.

Around this time we asked for more bread and I chose a slice of a brioche type bread that looked and tasted delicious:

The next course for me was “Seabass” (I think it was on the menu with its French name even):

Sebastien had told me that it was going to be served with celery and celeriac (or bulb celery as we call it in Germany). I don’t like celery very much, so I was not so sure about this dish.

You can see the sea bass in the middle and the long thing on the left is the celery (it looks like rhubarb, but it was not) and on the right is a slice of celeriac that is folded in half. The sauce was coconut based and there was a hint of curry in the seasoning. This was the only time in my life when I loved eating celery!

Michael had beef for that course. It was Wagyu beef, which is a very high end beef. Michael usually has his beef well done, but was convinced by Sebastien to order it medium well:

Was it medium well? I thought it was medium. I usually order my beef 'DEAD' as in well done or as my grandfather used to say when ordering ''it must be well done''. Sebastien told me the chef recommends it as medium rare and that just isn't happening, so I think I said 'medium well' and he talked me down to medium. And it wound up being closer to medium well anyway if I recall. All I really recall was this course was so incredible that it made me almost forget all the great food I had already had.

Oh, I remember that he talked you down one grade, but you are right, you might have started out with medium well, making concessions already!

It was definitely a very nice size! Compared to the other coursed we had, the piece of beef was considerably larger. The courses were not really tiny, but they were not big either. However, since we had four of them, we really did not leave the table hungry!!

It was served with an onion sauce and some onion “confiture” which was the rectangular piece on the right. It was rather hard. On top of that were caramelized small onions.

For my next course, I had exactly the same beef. Or nearly exactly as mine was medium rare

The beef was wonderful, but there was a bit too much onion going on for me. While I loved the dish, I loved the sauces in my previous courses even more. Still, the beef in itself was so delicious that the slight sauce disappointment was really minor. I would not have remembered it if I had not noted it in my trip notes.

Michael’s next course was “Pork”. I think it was Kurobuta pork, which is to pork what Wagyu is to beef. (And yes, this Michael branching out again).

This was a piece of tenderloin and of pork belly. It was served with spätzle and a mustard sauce and grilled endive. He liked it, but since this was again a rather large portion and he is not the biggest pork fan, I ended up getting quite a nice piece of his pork belly.

The tenderloin was great, but the pork belly was the only think I had the entire night that was just OK ... that's why I let you have it!

Next was the cheese course. Sebastien came with a trolley with all kind of different cheeses. This is exactly what I experienced in restaurants in France. Even in rather simple places in small towns. If you chose the menu with the cheese course, they will bring a trolley or a large board and cut small pieces for you. My father, who has traveled extensively in France when he was young, says that you are supposed to chose three or maybe four different cheeses to get a piece from. Here we told Sebastien to chose for us. Michael is not the biggest cheese fan, so he said I should get what I love. Michael likes mild cheese, I like stinky and creamy. Sebastien was happy to put a selection together and kept telling me which ones I would like best and he was totally right.

And I was very happy that this was not France and we got a very large cheese plate to share (of which I got to eat the larger part!!):

In my experience they were all rather mild as compared what you can get in Europe, especially in France. My trip notes say that I liked the “Delice” the best, Michael liked the “Petit Basque” best. And with that those were exactly the cheeses that Sebastien had said that we respectively would really enjoy after telling him about our cheese taste. He was really good!

Doing some internet research, I think the Delice is the yellowish blob at 4 o’clock. The Petit Basque is a sheep milk cheese (I am pretty sure Michael did not expect that!) and should be the one from 8 to 9 o’clock.

Besides the dried fruit (to go with the hard cheese) and the honey, we also got some dry fruit bread slices:

It was all good to me!

And then it was time for dessert. It was called “Chocolate”:

This was final a dessert that was fully approved of by the dessert critic I was travelling with. I think it was different layers, some crunchy. Not sure what the ice cream was, I think it was something more fancy than vanilla, but I did not make notes about it, sorry!!

And then we were served a selection of candy and biscuits:

We each tried one or two and then asked Sebastien to pack up the rest of the candy. We asked him whether the lollies had specific flavouring and were told one was lemon and the other one was strawberry (?). We both started to argue who should get the lemon one while he was still around. So, when he came back with ours packed up, he gave Michael an additional lemon one because I had won the argument earlier…

We also got a box with four chocolates to go and when we got back to the room, there was a card thanking us for visiting Remy. I also got a wonderful red rose and in our room was a small vase already waiting for it.

All in all this was an amazing experience! Remy was an upcharge of 75$ per person, now they raised the price to 85$ per person. In my opinion the whole experience was totally worth it. We were there for 3 hours. At one point we had the private dining room even to ourselves when the other couple disappeared. It was all around the perfect date. The upcharge does not cover the tip for Sebastien, so that was extra.

Would we do Remy again??? Yes, Remy is one of the reasons why we loved this cruise so much. I was amazed that they were able to offer that kind of quality on a ship! I would even (begrudgingly) pay the 10$ more they charge now. Palo also had a price hike up to 30$ recently. And I think in comparison, that is no longer an upcharge that I would want to pay.

I will not take the Fantasy without a meal at Remy. It is that good and it is worth putting that formal wear on. I agree about Palo. At this point, I think I'd do it only once and only on the ships that don't have Remy. After three cruises in a row with two meals (a brunch and a dinner) at Palo, I still enjoy it. But I don't need to go there every cruise.

After our incredible meal we decided that we needed to move a bit and changed into more comfortable clothes and walked around the ship, taking some more miscellaneous pictures.

This was the ship map in our forward elevator lobby:

Enchanted art, this is the picture that you previously saw advertising Alaska:

We headed down to Animator’s Palate:

The elevator lobby there has a special compass rose:

Animator Christmas tree:

Some staircase art:

I love the Minnie one!

Up on deck at night:

And then it was time to go to bed! Tomorrow we are going to be at Castaway Cay for the last day of the cruise!

Up next: A Lazy Day on the Beach

 

[dolphingirl47]

I happily take a mirror and those 500$ dollar towards other travel!

The sideways cabins do not have the mirror.

Today we decided to sit on the balcony and that was a really nice view from there as well.

How nice that this is an option.

I just wish their trains where as on-schedule as their women!

I have to say it is a while since I left Germany to start a new life in the UK, but I used to be able to set my watch after the German trains.

and were greeted by a blanket crab

I have to admit I do not get the crab vibe with this one either.

Michael only eats beef, chicken, turkey and bacon normally.

That sounds a lot like my meat choices although I do enjoy pork in general.

I always feared that there would nothing for me in Remy that I would actually eat if we ever make it to the new ships, but I loved the look of the pork and beef dishes.

And he eats nothing that lives in the water.

Again, I feel much the same.

Palo also had a price hike up to 30$ recently. And I think in comparison, that is no longer an upcharge that I would want to pay.

I am just glad that I don't have to pay for my Palo dinner. That is probably the nicest Platinum perk.

Corinna

 

[glennbo123]

Colonel Hogan! (That was for Michael.)

I'm glad that you had such an incredible meal. It sounded amazing.

 

[Flossbolna]

The sideways cabins do not have the mirror.

Ah, that is good to know. But I am sure we will like the sideways cabin without a mirror equally well!

I have to say it is a while since I left Germany to start a new life in the UK, but I used to be able to set my watch after the German trains.

Exactly! That is what my childhood memories are like as well. When did you leave Germany?

I have to admit I do not get the crab vibe with this one either.

Since the blanket animals were the only thing that was not perfect with our wonderful stateroom host, we did not complain. But we thought that it was quite amusing. I rather have a stateroom host who is efficient and keeps the stateroom in perfect order.

That sounds a lot like my meat choices although I do enjoy pork in general.

I always feared that there would nothing for me in Remy that I would actually eat if we ever make it to the new ships, but I loved the look of the pork and beef dishes.

I wanted Michael to go and speak to them before our meal there as I knew that he was a bit limited with his meat choices, but loves vegetarian dishes. However, he never did. And I knew that I would not have a problem, so it really was his choice. I think they dealt with his preferences very well. So, if you are worried, just go and speak to them a few days before your reservation and I am sure they will accommodate you! I don't think they are that good to throw things together on the evening as those dishes are very much "designed". But have a look at the menu and discuss it with them beforehand.

I am just glad that I don't have to pay for my Palo dinner. That is probably the nicest Platinum perk.

I totally forgot about that. But then the money you spend for going on 10 cruises to become a Platinum Castaway Club member is a little more than 30 $...

 

[Flossbolna]

Colonel Hogan! (That was for Michael.)

I'm glad that you had such an incredible meal. It sounded amazing.

I have no clue about Colonel Hogan, but I will make sure to ask Michael!

And the meal was truly amazing. The bad thing is that it really made me want to try Victoria & Albert at WDW now....

 

[Flossbolna]

Bonus Update!!

It is a lovely sunny May Sunday here in Germany and I went for a walk into the city where I stumbled across something that I thought you might be interested. People often ask me how authentic the setting at the Biergarten at Epcot in WDW is. And I tell them that it is actually a very nice version of something that is common here in Southern Germany: town fairs. Pick a weekend in the summer (often for the Saint's day of the local church) and there will be tables and benches on the market square, a band and food and drink stalls around. Today there was a version of this happening here in Nuremberg. It actually was a special event put on by the local "Chamber for Craftsmen" which is a body where all the different professions that are considered "crafts" are governed. They are responsible for education etc. So, this was supposed to promote crafts, but it mainly was about what I think one might call artisanal food and beverage production. There were plenty of local butchers, bakers, candy makers etc. selling their stuff, less shoemakers, tailors etc. (all crafts as well). And what they had was nothing else than a typical market square fair complete with band:

As you can see, the concept is really the same as in the Epcot version!

And just because it was a beautiful day, a few general pictures from around Nuremberg as well:

 

[Flossbolna]

A Lazy Day on the Beach - Part 1

Today we are at Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island in the Bahamas. It is a tiny island, it’s official name is Gorda Cay. Disney has leased it from the Bahamas on a long term lease and built a dock. The beauty of it besides being a beach free from any serious development, is that you just walk off the ship and enjoy the island. There is food and drinks, you can pay for cocktails and souvenirs with your Key to the World card. It is like being on the ship, but you are at an actual beach. In a way it reminds me of Typhoon Lagoon as the whole island is themed to be a castaway’s island. Less waterslides though.

I call it an 'island waterpark' and that is really what it is. It is beautiful, but I've been to better beaches in the Florida Keys.

I was excited to be back at CC as we had missed it on the Panama Canal cruise, so this was only going to be my second visit ever.

I got up at 8:30am and found out that the ship was already docked at Castaway Cay.

However, they were still busy setting up the island. Our ashore time was 9:45am. We were in no hurry to get off the ship. On my first visit there I had made Michael rush off the ship and in the end we both had far too much sun. So, we decided to take it slower this time. There is only a certain number of hours we can hang out on a beach before it gets too hot and sunny for us (well, for some people sooner than for others, but those are the people who don’t sit under an umbrella like I do!).

So, I did my usual morning routine of picking up my stuff, head out of the cabin and find some breakfast. Today I had a mission: Early on in the cruise I had found out about warm croissants at the Cove Café, but that was after I had breakfast at Cabanas (I think it was the flying bacon day). I decided that that would be a perfect pre-beach breakfast today!

The Cove Café was empty:

I decided to take my breakfast outside as well:

I had gotten my breakfast tea from the general drinks station and just went into the Cove Café to pick up the baked goods. I could not resist getting a tiny cinnamon roll as well. Both pastries were delicious! Especially the croissant. I considered getting a second one…

I sat there, watched empty CC and worked on my trip notes. I had quite a bit of catching up to do.

At 9:45am there was the announcement that the ship was no cleared and we could get onto the island and I decided that it was time for Michael to wake up. I could see people disembarking from our balcony:

I found it interesting that the Fantasy is so long, that the front exit is not really at the dock anymore, but needed to walk over a real bridge to get on land.

We slowly packed our stuff for the day at the beach (including the 5 towels according to my patented towel system). And by 10:30 am we were leaving the ship.

View of the Aqua Duck from below:

CC was decorated for Christmas as well, here the beachy Christmas tree:

more decorations:

and the backside of decorations:

I found that tag fascinating. I am always interested in how things get organized. And obviously you can’t just throw all the decorations from all the ships in one warehouse and then sort through it before of the start of the new season (like I do with my stuff).

View back to the ship:

I have to say that the classic ships have better looking bums. Or had. The Magic got really ugly with her duck tale that they added now. So, the Wonder is the only ship that still is really pretty at the back. However, considered to some other cruise ships out there, the DCL ships are still among the prettiest when viewed from the back.

Michael had to take a picture of me:

Yes, you made me. I think you said, 'If you don't take the blanking picture of me, then you aren't sailing back to Florida with me.'' I'm not sure, though, because I still don't know enough German!

Do I look like I would say any those things to Michael???????

You can see a blue bag standing in front of me. That is the bag that I won at the DVC event. We used it only for that one time. Then I passed it on to some friends of Michael in Orlando. I just don’t have much use for a beach bag.

We walked towards the family beach area and passed the beach where you can rent all kind of water craft:

This is one part of the family beach:

There are some shops run by locals:

And there are also Disney shops:

We browsed the shops for a little while and met our friend Craig from Scotland there. The ship merchandise CMs work merchandise on the island. We also found out that while Michael got a 10% discount as a Gold Castaway Club member on the ship, that discount did not apply on the island.

Disney is soooo cheap.

We then boarded the tram that takes you to the adult beach. One could walk, but the way there is along an old airstrip, so very sunny and hot asphalt, not a nice walk in my book. To go with the airstrip theme, there is some decoration along the way:

And then we were at our destination: Serenity Bay, the adult only beach:

It was a bit more crowded than during our cruise on the Wonder in April 2013. But it was not overcrowded at all! We found nice chairs about halfway down the beach and settled in. I had also booked us floats, so be both picked up a tube. I had booked those because last time I really wanted one, but then somehow could not be bothered to pay for it and go and pick one up. So, my strategy was that by pre-booking I made sure that I got one. In hindsight I have to say that I am not such a fan of them and most likely would not book one again. But it was fun trying it out!

I guess at this point I should mention that I woke up with a cold. Not the flu. Not norovirus. Just a pesky cold that developed overnight (and thankfully didn't ruin Remy!) But as soon as I was off the ship, I knew I wasn't feeling great, which was a shame because ...

We were really lucky with the weather! Castaway Cay is in the Bahamas and is actually not very far south. It is slightly south of Orlando, but north of Miami. So, the type of weather that we had in Florida could easily occur there and since it had been so cold before our cruise, I was already wondering what we would do on a cold day at CC. Luckily the weather was perfect! Warm and sunny! The water was a bit refreshing, but I found it absolutely fine to swim in.

It was the best weather I have ever had at CC. The air temp was about 80 and sunny, but with no humidity and a slight breeze. It would have been like paradise. Had I felt better.

I really had no idea that Michael was feeling that bad. I knew that he was not feeling perfect, but not that it was that bad...

I love Serenity Bay. But it really is nothing else than a stretch of sand. It has a very shallow bay that goes out quite a bit and then end with a sand bank. Depending on the tide, it is very shallow or just shallow and the sand bank gets larger at low tide and is nearly all covered up at high tide. I think it is perfect as it is crystal clear turquoise water. It also is open to the sea. At the family beach there is a wall at the end and a fence at the side to protect you from wildlife. I don’t like the wall as you can’t look out to the horizon and just look out over the blue sea, you see black stones out there in the horizon…

Michael did not want to get wet just yet, but I could not wait to get into the water. So, I splashed around for a bit.

After a while I decided to make our way back to land as it should be time for the lunch buffet to open!

We were not the first ones, but it was still quite empty when we arrived at around 11:30am.

This is the menu board:

It is not a huge buffet, but I actually really enjoy it. To the right you can see people lining up, this is the different salads and then at the far end, left of the pole, there are the grills. There is also a toppings bar with the essentials like lettuce, sliced tomatoes, cheese, condiments. There is a small dessert buffet that has tropical fruits, cookies, soft serve and cake (nothing fancy with cream though).

We grabbed our first plates and this was Michael’s choice:

He loves the DCL hot dogs.

I got a burger:

I found the buns they serve far too large. I really did not want my meal to consist mainly of eating a massive burger bun. So, I decided to just take the upper part and break it in half and put my burger between those and left the lower half. Much better meat/bread ratio!

Michael started thinking about getting seconds and that he would like a burger, but thought it would be too much food. I really enjoyed my burger as well and was thinking about a second one, but had the same reservations. And then I had the most brilliant idea of the week!! I had never tried that, but I had read about it that some places serve burgers wrapped in lettuce leaves (as a low carb alternative). So, I suggested we could share one burger patty and wrap it in lettuce. Michael was up for this and that is what we did. I really enjoyed my lettuce wrapped burger!!! And I think this is something that I will keep in mind for the future. I don’t subscribe to a low carb diet, but I watch my calories. And carbs just have a lot of calories. So, why eat lots of empty burger bun calories if I can eat tastier things instead (like fries for example!! ;-) ).

While we were enjoying our lunch I saw that one of the servers clearing the tables there was Meible, our assistant server. I called out to her when she was passing our table and she was very happy to see us and we chatted for a bit. I think she introduced us to her husband then. And we told her about how wonderful Remy had been. We talked a bit about good food and good restaurants. She sounded like she was quite a bit of a foodie back home!

At least the cold didn't destroy my appetite as I still enjoyed most of what I consumed.

For dessert I just got some fruit:

Papaya, mango and pineapple. All were delicious!

I think I also grabbed a packet of chips for an afternoon snack later on. And then we went back to the beach.

I think I grabbed about four bags that went back to WDW with us. Why pay for them there when they are free on the island, right?

We floated out to the sand bank where Michael started to chat with some ladies. I started to become bothered with my tube though. I nearly lost it once and when trying to go and catch it, I fell kind of on my nose into the water. It was not painful and I don’t mind falling into the water as I am kind of a water person (as a kid I was the “fish” in the family, who would never want to leave a pool). So, I decided to take the tube back to our chairs and went all the way back to the beach. Once there I had huge trouble finding our chair! They all look so much alike! And then I returned to the sand bank without the tube. Much better! Michael was still chatting with his new friends. I think they were comparing their different cruise line experiences or so…

At some point we saw some very nice shells really close to the beach and I got the camera to take a picture:

I am glad that the water is so clear, I would not want to step on these!!

After the big sand bank excursion, I felt that I had earned a drink!

This is the famous Konk Kooler. It is one of those hyped items on the DIS – kind of the cruise line equivalent to a Dole Whip. It has white and dark rum, coconut cream, passion fruit, orange and pineapple juices. It is one of the things where I can understand the hype. It truly is delicious. I am not sure if I went to the bar to pick it up myself, but there are lots of bar servers walking up and down the beach (what a workout they get on those days!!) and you can just order from your beach chair. Very nice for a lazy day at the beach.

At one point in the afternoon we started to chat with the couple next to us. They were from Canada, but originally from Greece. They were really nice and it was a shame that we met them the last day of the cruise. They were going to the MK the next day for one day and had no idea about FP+, so we gave them a primer as to what to do about that once they got there… I hope they had a great day!

At some point in the afternoon, we decided to relocate to the family beach to go and try the water slide there at Pelican Plunge. And to do some shopping. Michael had seen a rather nice Castaway Cay postcard that he wanted to get and I had convinced him that it made more sense to pick it up at the end of the day than to carry it around with wet towels and in the sand.

Talking about wet towels: One of the convenient things about CC is that you can bring the ship towels with you, but you don’t have to bring them back with you. They have towel collection stations all over the island and you just dump your towels there and the CMs collect them and bring them back to the ship. I would love it if they also had towel distribution stations everywhere! That would be a fantastic improvement!!

Continued in Part 2

 

[Flossbolna]

A Lazy Day at the Beach - Part 2

We arrived at Pelican Point:

You can see that the light already looks like it is later in the day, but it really was not that late. All Aboard was 4:45 pm and it was still quite a while until then.

Pelican Plunge is quite fun as the water slides are on a platform that you have to swim out to. The slides are about the same as a typical WDW resort pool slide. Not very long, but fun enough. One is open and one is enclosed. We tried both. There really was no wait at all for both slides, maybe because water and air were already quite cool by then. I am sure Michael would not have gone on it, if I had not insisted!

Normally, I would have. I just wasn't feeling great. But since M was going, I felt it my sworn duty to accompany her.

Ah, he really is my knight in shining armor!!!

We visited the shop where Michael picked up his postcard:

And then it was time to head back to the ship. Leaving the island was difficult, so I kept taking random pictures:

There was a huge Christmas tree at the dock:

As always on the dock they had iced water available before you boarded the ship, as well as cool towels. Usually the water came with different flavours like orange or watermelon (besides plain water). But here at CC they offered lemonade and hot chocolate! I think it was for the Christmas theme. It was definitely not a day for hot chocolate. I got one anyway. Just because it was fun!!

And then it was time to head back onto the ship via the convenient forward walkway that brought us directly to the elevators closest to our room.

We were back on the ship by around 4 pm. Michael wanted to hang out in the pool a bit, but I sat up on deck 13 by Satellite Falls to read my book and enjoy the view. It was getting darker rapidly:

And then I decided it was time to head down to the stateroom to do the one thing I dread on every cruise: packing!!!

Up next: How We Destroy the Fantasy!!

 

[franandaj]

Boy did I get behind in the past week, and you have been updating like crazy!

The fort had some incredible views, it looks like a great place to visit.

I would have had a field day in the spice shop! We have been known to buy an extra suitcase to bring home things we pick up on vacation!

You really do need to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! It is a classic movie with all kinds of tunes that stick in your head and become earworms very quickly. In fact now I have "Truly Scrumptious" stuck in my head!

I want to know what salad bar place? Souplantation (AKA Sweet Tomatoes on the East Coast) is one of my favorites!

I understand about wanting the free food, but I will keep in mind if I ever get to San Juan, to talk up the staff to find out the good places to eat locally. Then I'll have to see if Fran is up to being adventurous. I love raw onions! I pile them on my salads and burgers!

Your dinner looked really tasty! Especially the salad. I really hate that the main dining room can take so long, but I really enjoy having the servers take care of me, so I would not like skipping the MDR for a QS place. And I have no idea what that blanket animal was supposed to be!

I know what you mean about cruises going by so fast. I can't imagine doing a three day cruise. I am sad that my 5 night B2B (2+3) would have started this Friday. But at least we got our money back. I can't imagine how much fun a 15 night cruise would be!

I would not have liked the breakfast that you had with the French Toast with pineapple. We have talked before about foods touching and your entire plate was touching! The dining room itself though looks quite pretty!

Interesting to note that US and German manicures are different!

From the individual pictures of the shopping area, I was thinking it looked a lot like the Wonder, but when you posted the panoramic pictures, it looks quite different!

The raspberry soup sounds like something that I would totally love! I like it that the burger is always on the menu. I really liked it on the Wonder, and the steak fries were really good. I'm always afraid of ordering pork out places because it is so easy to over cook it. I mostly stick to my own cooking when it comes to pork.

I love the gingerbread house.

I, on the other hand, love my balcony rooms, and when I want a second drink, I just go to the cooler and pour another one! it's so relaxing for me to go out there in the morning and watch the sunrise, or just wake up. Fran doesn't like to get up too early in the morning, but unlike you, I don't leave the room much and badger her until she wakes up!

I got the Hogan's Heroes reference! Also they give you a little purse stool at V&A's. Poullet Rouge is a special kind of chicken that they breed in North Carolina (I think) they are almost always serving it at V&A's (at least when I've eaten there). I've heard about that little tomato cube, I can't wait to try it! Oh my gosh! That scallop looks divine!

I agree with Michael on his assessment of CA Grill. I wish that they would enforce the dress codes. However, since the remodel I have not been impressed by the menu.

I can't wait to eat at Remy in December! Your meal looked wonderful!

I loved seeing the pictures of Nuremberg!

The picture of you at Castaway Cay is a great photo of you. I was kind of thinking about what Fran and I will do at Castaway Cay. We are not really sit down on the beach people, but I really want to enjoy our day there.

I haven't finished reading but my computer just crashed. Luckily the new DIS saves things and I can finish this post from my phone.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I'm back from Florida and all caught up!

A 7-night cruise goes very quickly compared to a 14-night one. That was one thing that I did not like about this cruise…

Every vacation goes way too quickly. Drives me crazy.

I am usually not a huge fan of French toast, but I liked the idea of the pineapple mixed in. And I was surprised how delicious it was! And it was even better because I added the bacon!

I love French toast, but I'm glad you are still proving that pineapple and bacon are two of the foods that make everything better!

I'll just add that I did NOT get my nails done. Or anything else for that matter.

Good for you, Michael. I go to a barber who charges $16.50 for a haircut, and that's the sum total I spend on personal grooming.

(He really wanted to be turned into a princess at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and still is bitter that they did not take him... )

I also grabbed a picture of one of the “enchanted art” pictures around the ship. Those are the pictures that play a role in the Midship Detective Agency. If they are not used for the game, they just display pictures. But when you walk past them, something moves in them. For example in this one the Wonder would sail out of the picture:

Very cool! I love the art, too.

I think he mainly got it because he wanted the steak fries!

Talk about a disappointment--what did he get, 5 french fries?

The snowman was from a Dollar store in Florida and I just put magnetic tape on the back.

So the tape cost more than the snowman!

I always find it sad because it also reminds me of how much the cruise experience costs!

I wonder if Herr Schultz would then claim 'I know noooothing. Nothing!' Let's see how old this group is by who gets this reference.

Hogan's Heroes!

Michael only eats beef, chicken, turkey and bacon normally. And the more exotic a meat is, the less likely it is that he would want to try it. And he eats nothing that lives in the water.

Sounds like Michael and I would get along very, very well. Although I'll add pork and ham to the list.

I eats almost any/all fruits and veggies, even kale.

I take it back. KALE?!?!?!

This is fried tomato soup! A breaded cube of warm tomato soup. It was very nice to start us of.

Who knew you could put that much flavor into such a tiny cube? Obviously the chef!

That sounds really, really interesting to me for some reason. Probably because it's fried.

He kept telling me that it would be the same as two glasses of wine. I totally did not understand him. The wine experience was 100$. How could ever two glasses of wine be 100$???

They'd better come with a TV or something.

I used to love the California Grill and dine there multiple times a year, but you can't call it fine dining with children running around under tables and people coming in dressed like they just spent 10 hours in the sun at the MK and others on the DDP who want to know why there are no burgers on the menu.

Ok, I thought I had never met Michael. But obviously he has seen me and my family before. Next time, don't be shy! Come on over and say hi!

Was it medium well? I thought it was medium. I usually order my beef 'DEAD' as in well done or as my grandfather used to say when ordering ''it must be well done''. Sebastien told me the chef recommends it as medium rare and that just isn't happening, so I think I said 'medium well' and he talked me down to medium.

This is one of those things that rubs me the wrong way about fine dining. I'm the customer. I know what I like. Don't force things on me!

People often ask me how authentic the setting at the Biergarten at Epcot in WDW is. And I tell them that it is actually a very nice version of something that is common here in Southern Germany: town fairs.

I think this would be worth visiting for those pretzels alone!

And just because it was a beautiful day, a few general pictures from around Nuremberg as well:

Thanks! I love the photos. Looks like a charming city.

In a way it reminds me of Typhoon Lagoon as the whole island is themed to be a castaway’s island. Less waterslides though.

Somebody should get to work on that.

I have to say that the classic ships have better looking bums.

Michael had to take a picture of me:

Yes, you made me. I think you said, 'If you don't take the blanking picture of me, then you aren't sailing back to Florida with me.'' I'm not sure, though, because I still don't know enough German!

Oooh, when do we get to learn German curse words??

Do I look like I would say any those things to Michael???????

I think I grabbed about four bags that went back to WDW with us. Why pay for them there when they are free on the island, right?

Absolutely! And a much better deal than $100 for 2 glasses of wine.

They were going to the MK the next day for one day and had no idea about FP+, so we gave them a primer as to what to do about that once they got there… I hope they had a great day!

Uh oh. That sounds like trouble...

Normally, I would have. I just wasn't feeling great. But since M was going, I felt it my sworn duty to accompany her.

Ah, he really is my knight in shining armor!!!

I'm trying to remember when Julie stopped feeling this way about me. I think it happened when we had kids. Suddenly she was less interested in having me around than she was in having me keep the kids away.

Up next: How We Destroy the Fantasy!!

 

[dolphingirl47]

When did you leave Germany?

In July 1996. So this year it will be 19 years and I was only meant to be in the UK for a year.

I totally forgot about that. But then the money you spend for going on 10 cruises to become a Platinum Castaway Club member is a little more than 30 $

Yes, but we got so much more out if those cruises than just a free meal at Palo.

I was excited to be back at CC as we had missed it on the Panama Canal cruise, so this was only going to be my second visit ever.

I absolutely loved all the photos. I can't wait to get another chance to see Castaway Cay. Out of my 13 Disney cruises, I only made it to Castaway Cay on for occasions. We have done a lot of west coast cruises and twice when we should have gone to Castaway Cay, we were not able to dock there.

CC was decorated for Christmas as well, here the beachy Christmas tree:

I love all the photos of the Christmas decorations.

The Magic got really ugly with her duck tale that they added now.

Initially I was not too keen on this, but the duck tail has grown on me.

We also found out that while Michael got a 10% discount as a Gold Castaway Club member on the ship, that discount did not apply on the island.

I did not know this. I suppose the last time I was at Castaway Cay, we were still Silver Castaway Club members.

Corinna

 

[michellekcm]

So is Michael suggesting I'm old if I understood the Hogan's Heroes reference? .

I've really been enjoying your trip report. Maybe we'll bump into you on the Fjords cruise - you are on the first one right?

 

[Flossbolna]

Boy did I get behind in the past week, and you have been updating like crazy!

And you commented like crazy!!! I am impressed!!

I would have had a field day in the spice shop! We have been known to buy an extra suitcase to bring home things we pick up on vacation!

I have started to pick up spices and stuff like that on vacation. I like to buy souvenirs that have a purpose!

You really do need to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! It is a classic movie with all kinds of tunes that stick in your head and become earworms very quickly. In fact now I have "Truly Scrumptious" stuck in my head!

Oh, I need to talk to Katharina whether we are going to see it this weekend!

I want to know what salad bar place? Souplantation (AKA Sweet Tomatoes on the East Coast) is one of my favorites!

I will have to ask Michael next time we talk!

I understand about wanting the free food, but I will keep in mind if I ever get to San Juan, to talk up the staff to find out the good places to eat locally.

That is the plan for my next visit there as well!

I know what you mean about cruises going by so fast. I can't imagine doing a three day cruise. I am sad that my 5 night B2B (2+3) would have started this Friday. But at least we got our money back. I can't imagine how much fun a 15 night cruise would be!

So sorry that you are missing out on your cruise! For me the two weeks were just perfect, there is a point where I want to get off the ship. But a 2-night cruise seems just like a waste of money to me! So, your idea of combining those short cruises makes total sense! You are doing this in the fall as well, aren't you?

I would not have liked the breakfast that you had with the French Toast with pineapple. We have talked before about foods touching and your entire plate was touching!

I guess that is the concept of the dish to combine the foods! ;-)

Interesting to note that US and German manicures are different!

I know we talked about pedicures on your thread already...

From the individual pictures of the shopping area, I was thinking it looked a lot like the Wonder, but when you posted the panoramic pictures, it looks quite different!

You can tell that the same style of decor was used for all four Disney ships. But the space itself is really quite different, that is why I was trying to capture it with a panoramic shot.

I'm always afraid of ordering pork out places because it is so easy to over cook it. I mostly stick to my own cooking when it comes to pork.

Pork is very common in Germany and I never really have problems with it being over cooked. But then very often you get it as a roast and it comes with gravy etc.

Also they give you a little purse stool at V&A's. Poullet Rouge is a special kind of chicken that they breed in North Carolina (I think) they are almost always serving it at V&A's (at least when I've eaten there). I've heard about that little tomato cube, I can't wait to try it! Oh my gosh! That scallop looks divine!

Michael said that he could see how this is kind of a V&A on the seas. He has eaten there and thought it quite similar. And I think you and Fran would be in heaven at Remy!

I loved seeing the pictures of Nuremberg!

I am glad you enjoyed them!

I was kind of thinking about what Fran and I will do at Castaway Cay. We are not really sit down on the beach people, but I really want to enjoy our day there.

I guess you aren't really bike people either... But you should definitely take the tram to Serenity Bay and have a drink at the bar there. Maybe grab lunch while there as well. I think there are some excursions with glass bottom boats to go on as well.

I haven't finished reading but my computer just crashed. Luckily the new DIS saves things and I can finish this post from my phone.

 

[franandaj]

I finished up your last update at CC. Sounds like a nice relaxing day, even if Michael didn't feel all that well. I would like to try a Konk Kooler, but I don't know how I'll feel about the coconut flavor in there.

I have started to pick up spices and stuff like that on vacation. I like to buy souvenirs that have a purpose!

We have started picking up food souvenirs and I really like it. I brought home some Amish made Egg Noodles from our trip to Ohio last summer and they were really good. I have half the bag left, and unfortunately can't eat it now. Maybe on a special occasion.

So sorry that you are missing out on your cruise! For me the two weeks were just perfect, there is a point where I want to get off the ship. But a 2-night cruise seems just like a waste of money to me! So, your idea of combining those short cruises makes total sense! You are doing this in the fall as well, aren't you?

The 2 & 3 night cruises were a quick way to boost up our status to Platinum. I did book at 2 nighter in front of our 5 nighter in October when I realized that we were most likely canceling the 2 & 3 B2B. At least I will get the B2B experience. What will be funny is that we will board the 2 nighter as silver and the 5 nighter as Gold. Fran will have to hold off shopping for two days!

Michael said that he could see how this is kind of a V&A on the seas. He has eaten there and thought it quite similar. And I think you and Fran would be in heaven at Remy!

That's why I can't wait to sail on the Dream or the Fantasy!

I guess you aren't really bike people either... But you should definitely take the tram to Serenity Bay and have a drink at the bar there. Maybe grab lunch while there as well. I think there are some excursions with glass bottom boats to go on as well.

That's what we did the very first time we went to CC, although we did snorkel in the bay. It was so new there was nothing growing there. Fran wants to try and snorkel again. Hopefully she will be up to it by December. Then we will hit Serenity Bay for a drink and lunch. I might sign up to go parasailing.

 

[Steppesister]

Just finished your update on the Remy experience. All I can say is WOW! What unbelievable food and impeccable service. I am seriously, like really seriously considering doing V&A's on my trip, possibly even all by myself if that's necessary. I've never done a 5 star, but am ready. This is the 2nd review for this kind of meal (yours and one from V&A) and I know I'd really enjoy it a lot.

I enjoyed your reactions and descriptions SO much! Each course had my mouth watering.

LOVED your pictures of Nuremburg as well. Such a sweet town; we'd go back and have a do-over in a NY minute if we could. Someday....

Ok, I can't keep my eyes open any longer, so will have to read the "Bonus Update" next time I can sneak a few minutes on the DIS.

Oh, by the way. I am old and watched Hogan's Heroes everyday after school for years.

 

[glennbo123]

Loved reading about Castaway Cay...hope I can get there someday!