Get Off The Ship - we are running out of towel animals! Update 10/25 Day 31

[dizneeat]

Wow, I can't believe you bumped into your cruise buddies from your FIRST CRUISE!! The DCL world is so small.

Mmmmm, day of food. That frozen cappuccino looks REALLY good.

That lunch at Remy's is beautiful. My mouth waters just looking at your food porn. In fact, it made me get myself a bowl of ice cream.

I've never had champagne...but now I really want to try it.

Oooh, your pictures make me miss cruising so much! Cruising in Asia is a different beast I hear.

I can't believe someone stole your Stitch magnet! People stole our dry erase pens...though I can't understand why you would do that.

Those fish extenders goodies look so cool! I can't wait for my first DCL cruise so I can join in on the fun.

We have a special bond with our first table mates. We cruised with a Disney group and had so much fun, they were a huge part of that fun. So seeing them again was the icing on the cake.

Yuki, you would LOVE a Remy lunch! And you really need to get the champagne pairing with it. The champagnes are sooooooo good.

Okay, what is different when cruising in Asia?

In 2012 there was a "gang" of boys from Concierge who stole most of our magnets AND everything that was in the FE, so just losing the Stitch magnet wasn't all that bad this year. I just was not going to replace it right away.

When you get to go on your Disney cruise you HAVE TO sign up and do the FE, Yuki. It is so much fun.

 

[dizneeat]

Okay, so before I post another update, let me tell you how I was able to produce a huge mixup on the MyDisneyExperience page.

First things first .......
When they first launched the MDE page we both had a hard time getting into our accounts and finally gave up on Tom's (as it kept crashing) and opened a new account in his name with a different email address.

Now, back to this week.
Since we missed out on trying out the Magicbands in the summer I was checking every other day if there was a chance for us to try them in February. And as I mentioned in an earlier post I was surprised and delighted that we got a shot at them and got them customized right away.

Now, on Sunday evening I played around with the site and low and behold it asks me if I want to choose FP+. I knew I was way too early, but why not just try. So I went with it and clicked on it and get to choose who will be using them and it offers the FP+ to me but Tom is not eligable. So I thought I might have to add him somewhere.
I tried out whatever I could but there was no way to "add" him and then I realized - there were two different avatars connected to his name. Our travel plans were connected to one, his tickets to the other. Oh shoot! Somehow we had been able to get into both accounts and got everything mixed up.

There is NO way to "untangle" a reservation so I had to call Disney support and they are now supposed to change over Tom's assignements. So far no news on it, but the CM on the phone said it can take up to two weeks! We'll see. If not I have a few other sets of tickets I can add to Tom's account so we might get those things in order.

But lucky that I tried out to get into FP+ when I did, as it didn't let me book any way in the end, but so we will be prepared once everything is cleared up and our window opens.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 7, August 13

A visit to the Netherlands and France before Captain Jack takes over the Fantasy - Part 2

And after having taken numerous photos and a few more words with our friends we headed downstairs and got our things ready for our excursion before heading to the Royal Court for breakfast again.
The tour we had booked would not start until 10am so there was more than enough time to have a decent breakfast. So, again we were led into the restaurant, seated towards the middle of the restaurant we ordered some drinks, coffee and ice-water for Tom and orange juice for myself.
Having been disappointed in the Bircher Muesli and the Morning Tugboat we skipped them today and just ordered, yes you guessed it,





the Traditional Eggs Benedict, toasted English muffin with grilled Canadian bacon, served with poached egg topped with hollandaise sauce, grilled roma tomatoes and link sausages.
We had a good laugh as consistency was not really the best. Tom’s eggs were cooked perfectly, while mine were overcooked, but not wanting to fret about it, I just enjoyed them the way they were. It did not take long and we had finished our breakfast, tipped our servers and went back to our stateroom.
We changed into comfortable clothes and shoes as we had a longer excursion planned, picked up our tickets for it and our IDs and went down to the D-Lounge about 15 minutes early. The D-Lounge was packed.
They were checking people off their lists and we got in line and showed them our tickets. And then we encountered the first quite rude cast member ever. She looked at us and told us to go sit down again, we had not been called yet, we were holding up other people.
We both could not believe what we had just heard and were too shocked to say anything, instead just went and found a seat. At around the time our tour should have left the tour they had checked in was ready to leave. They started checking in people for our tour right after they had left and now that “friendly” cast member told everyone that they were already running late, people should hurry over to check in. Well, I have to admit that I took my sweet time to get myself over to her.
We were all issued a sticker and then herded downstairs to get off the ship.







On dry land we were led towards some waiting buses and we were lucky to get on the second one. They had filled the first one to capacity, then directed the rest of us over to the other waiting bus. We were lucky as the seats were SO small, people were literally sitting on top of each other. But since the second bus was not full, everone had their own “row”.



The driver introduced himself and off we went.



First we went through Sint Maarten and then up into the hills



to a lovely viewing point.















We got a few minutes to get off the bus and take some pictures and off we went again. After about 30 minutes of driving around we reached the French side of the island







and were shown some of it while still driving around. Then finally we reached our destination.
There was a little market



where the bus stopped and we were let off with an hour’s time to explore on our own. Right behind the market was a walkway up to Fort Louis and we decided to hike up and enjoy the view from up there.

To be continued ............

 

[JKSWonder]

I encountered my very first rude CM at Magic Kingdom this past August at the ice cream parlour on Main Street. I asked a basic question about the menu (whether or not something could be ordered a certain way) and received a response so rude and so unexpected that it literally brought tears to my eyes. I had never had that happen to me at Disney World before and it did put a serious damper on my day. I hope your rude CM didn't out a damper on yours!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Hearing about your magicband customization gets me so excited!! We were lucky enough to take part in it on our August trip and all 8 of us loved our magic bands.

OH no, it's too bad you burned yourself! Believe it or not, the other night I burned my arm in the shower XD

Wow, what a weird mix-up with MDE you had. I hope everything clears up soon!

Ok, that IS a rude CM. We encountered a few of those on our Disneymoon and it was really weird...You come to expect a standard from Disney and when it's not like that, it just throws you off.

The start to your tour looks beautiful so far! We sat in one of those tight buses and I sat in the front, between the driver and another passenger...

 

[jenseib]

That burn looks horrid. I hope it is healing well now.

don't get me started on the MDE. It is AWFUL!!!!!!! The bands appear to be working better at the parks now, but the whole online/ap thing is still totally messed up. don't try to change anything once you make it or you will be making a visit to guest services.
They do not have enough tech support staff on the phone end either to take care of the daily calls they are getting. Yet they keep telling us how easy and wonderful it is. NOT!

Loving he pictures from St. Maarten!

 

[scottny]

OUCH! That arm looks bad.
Great pics from the ship.
I have had a nightmare with magic bands and fp’s. I hope you get yours straightened out.
Nothing like a rude CM.
The view on the way to the French side was pretty.
Looking forward to seeing the other side.

 

[Linda67]

Eek Karin - that burn looks really painful
Hope it's healing quickly
Excited to read about your excursion as we will be stopping there in June

 

[eandesmom]

OW OW OW on that burn!!!!!!!!

Very annoying on the rude cast member and a bit disappointing on the breakfast.

As to the MDE thing...I've had that issue more than once with multiple profiles. They can actually fix it while you hold...I've had to do it twice now so you may want to call back. There is the special IT line or you can access it sometimes faster via the member services number.

I'm sure they will be able to fix it for you but right now as things are in flux I am a believer in fixing things now...versus waiting till there. If you make your selections now, you can always just copy them to his once he is fixed.

 

[englishrose47]

Now you know I am drooling over those eggs benedict !! Carol and I did lunch last week and when I saw eggs benedict immediately asked for them as the menu said till 2 p !!!They were delish !!!Sorry about the rude cm . How rude !!!The views of the island looked great !! Can't wait ti hear about your hike and maybe the shopping there !!

 

[HowieHowie]

Hi Karin....I can't believe that I have away from your trip report for so long. So much to catch up on. I just needed a block of time at the computer and I finally had the chance.

Glad you have all your future trips planned. They sound wonderful! I especially love the look of The Hotel New York....the Mets signature!!

Congrats on your airline compensation.

The Fantasy looks beautiful. Love the bathrooms. The food looks delicious. Rachel would have loved to go to "Anyone Can Cook" no matter when it was, but how disappointing that the chef was not good on his presentation. I will have that cappuccino and dessert. How exciting to run into people from your first cruise and what are the chances that they were in the same wine tasting session you were in.

The Angus Grilled Beef Tenderloin looks delicious and, of course the Grand Marnier Souffle is amazing. Love the pictures of the ship and ocean and I could really go for that frozen Cappuccino. Remys looks delicious, especially the dessert.

Your door magnets looked great....how sad that someone took the stitch magnet. Great towel animals.

Sorry about your arm. I hope it's healing nicely and you are feeling better.

Very nice pictures of the ship sailing into St. Maarten. Also the views of St. Maarten and the ship in the background are beautiful. Can't wait to hear about your adventures on the island.

Congrats on your magic bands. Hope the problem gets straightened soon.

 

[KatMark]

Somehow I missed the post about your arm and the burn. I hope it is getting better.

I have to be totally honest. I am not in love with the whole MB/FP+ idea and do not think I will like it in three weeks (especially the FP+ portion).

Your tour of St. Marteens looks lovely.

 

[Leshaface]

Oh man! It's bringing back memories of all the junk I went through with Disney Support and our MB's! Hopefully yours gets resolved quicker than mind did!

Wow! What a very rude CM! I'm sure it was busy and hectic in there, but she should have maintained some composure..

The Island is so pretty. I love the flag that says, "Welcome to the French Side!" Really cute!

 

[annmarieda]

Okay, so before I post another update, let me tell you how I was able to produce a huge mixup on the MyDisneyExperience page.

First things first .......
When they first launched the MDE page we both had a hard time getting into our accounts and finally gave up on Tom's (as it kept crashing) and opened a new account in his name with a different email address.

Now, back to this week.
Since we missed out on trying out the Magicbands in the summer I was checking every other day if there was a chance for us to try them in February. And as I mentioned in an earlier post I was surprised and delighted that we got a shot at them and got them customized right away.

Now, on Sunday evening I played around with the site and low and behold it asks me if I want to choose FP+. I knew I was way too early, but why not just try. So I went with it and clicked on it and get to choose who will be using them and it offers the FP+ to me but Tom is not eligable. So I thought I might have to add him somewhere.
I tried out whatever I could but there was no way to "add" him and then I realized - there were two different avatars connected to his name. Our travel plans were connected to one, his tickets to the other. Oh shoot! Somehow we had been able to get into both accounts and got everything mixed up.

There is NO way to "untangle" a reservation so I had to call Disney support and they are now supposed to change over Tom's assignements. So far no news on it, but the CM on the phone said it can take up to two weeks! We'll see. If not I have a few other sets of tickets I can add to Tom's account so we might get those things in order.

But lucky that I tried out to get into FP+ when I did, as it didn't let me book any way in the end, but so we will be prepared once everything is cleared up and our window opens.

I think that it will be a while before everything works the way it is intended. Right now, it all is just a headache. I had to "friend" myself on MDE in order to see everything. It was nuts! I am glad you found that you had an issue now rather thank later.

We changed into comfortable clothes and shoes as we had a longer excursion planned, picked up our tickets for it and our IDs and went down to the D-Lounge about 15 minutes early. The D-Lounge was packed.
They were checking people off their lists and we got in line and showed them our tickets. And then we encountered the first quite rude cast member ever. She looked at us and told us to go sit down again, we had not been called yet, we were holding up other people.

How rude! I am sorry that your tour started out on that note.

On dry land we were led towards some waiting buses and we were lucky to get on the second one. They had filled the first one to capacity, then directed the rest of us over to the other waiting bus. We were lucky as the seats were SO small, people were literally sitting on top of each other. But since the second bus was not full, everone had their own “row”.

Sounds despite the rude cm...now you were having some good luck!

[

We got a few minutes to get off the bus and take some pictures and off we went again. After about 30 minutes of driving around we reached the French side of the island and were shown some of it while still driving around. Then finally we reached our destination.
There was a little market where the bus stopped and we were let off with an hour’s time to explore on our own. Right behind the market was a walkway up to Fort Louis and we decided to hike up and enjoy the view from up there.

Sounds like a nice time with some nice views.

 

[dizneeat]

I encountered my very first rude CM at Magic Kingdom this past August at the ice cream parlour on Main Street. I asked a basic question about the menu (whether or not something could be ordered a certain way) and received a response so rude and so unexpected that it literally brought tears to my eyes. I had never had that happen to me at Disney World before and it did put a serious damper on my day. I hope your rude CM didn't out a damper on yours!

To be honest, here in Europe we are "kind of" used to rude CMs at DLRP. I was just so shocked to come across them in the US.
It really sets the tone and it is hard to snap out of it, even on vacation. Thankfully we lucked out on the bus, so my mood good a boost.

Hearing about your magicband customization gets me so excited!! We were lucky enough to take part in it on our August trip and all 8 of us loved our magic bands.

OH no, it's too bad you burned yourself! Believe it or not, the other night I burned my arm in the shower XD

Wow, what a weird mix-up with MDE you had. I hope everything clears up soon!

Ok, that IS a rude CM. We encountered a few of those on our Disneymoon and it was really weird...You come to expect a standard from Disney and when it's not like that, it just throws you off.

The start to your tour looks beautiful so far! We sat in one of those tight buses and I sat in the front, between the driver and another passenger...

Yuki, I am really hoping to be able to enjoy the Magicbands, but at the moment it does not look good.
When I last checked, they have now linked Tom's MB to the wrong account and his ticket is still not on it. I am going to email them again and call again, but since this is a long distance call and they put you on hold forever I am not looking forward to it.

I hope your arm is much better now, Yuki. Mine is definitely doing much better.

We have always adored the US CMs because they are always so cheerful and friendly. Now the same goes for the CMs on DCL. This one was really out of line.

The tour was really interesting and nice and we had such a beautiful and fun day.

That burn looks horrid. I hope it is healing well now.

don't get me started on the MDE. It is AWFUL!!!!!!! The bands appear to be working better at the parks now, but the whole online/ap thing is still totally messed up. don't try to change anything once you make it or you will be making a visit to guest services.
They do not have enough tech support staff on the phone end either to take care of the daily calls they are getting. Yet they keep telling us how easy and wonderful it is. NOT!

Loving he pictures from St. Maarten!

Thanks Jen! The burn is much better now. I was just happy there were no blisters. Now, the skin is still a bit pinkish, but it does not hurt any more.

For us at the moment it is not how the MB works, it is how to unlink it.
When I last checked they have even messed it up more, as now Tom's MB is linked to the wrong (Donald) account, but his ticket is still on the other (Tinkerbell) account. I had asked them to just put his reservation (Donald) account to the Tinkerbell one. But no they had to do it the other way around. Not looking forward to have to call them again.

OUCH! That arm looks bad.
Great pics from the ship.
I have had a nightmare with magic bands and fp’s. I hope you get yours straightened out.
Nothing like a rude CM.
The view on the way to the French side was pretty.
Looking forward to seeing the other side.

The arm really hurt the first day. But thankfully it is much better now.
It seems about everyone has issues with the MBs! I really hope to get ours straightened out soon.
Sint Maarten was really beautiful and it even had such a European feel. I loved seeing all the prices in Euros as well.

 

[dizneeat]

Eek Karin - that burn looks really painful
Hope it's healing quickly
Excited to read about your excursion as we will be stopping there in June

Thank you, Linda. The burn was pretty bad in the beginning, but it is much better now.
We LOVED the Eastern itinerary. Both Sint Maarten and St. Thomas were awesome destinations.

OW OW OW on that burn!!!!!!!!

Very annoying on the rude cast member and a bit disappointing on the breakfast.

As to the MDE thing...I've had that issue more than once with multiple profiles. They can actually fix it while you hold...I've had to do it twice now so you may want to call back. There is the special IT line or you can access it sometimes faster via the member services number.

I'm sure they will be able to fix it for you but right now as things are in flux I am a believer in fixing things now...versus waiting till there. If you make your selections now, you can always just copy them to his once he is fixed.

The cast member actually got to me more than the overcooked breakfast. She really put a damper on the day, but thankfully we forgot about her soon, as it was a beautiful day.

Cynthia thanks for letting me know they can fix the MB issue while you are on hold. I would not mind paying for that long distance call IF they were able to fix the issue. The other call I had to made took me almost 45 minutes at international rates and NOTHING got fixed - they messed it up even more.
Guess I am trying the member service number this time.

It's not all that urgent for us, as we are still outside the booking window, but I cannot book ANY FP+ for him, as on one account he needs a room reservation and on the other he needs a ticket. The ticket is linked to one account and the room reservation (and now MB - which they changed to the wrong account) is linked to the other.

Now you know I am drooling over those eggs benedict !! Carol and I did lunch last week and when I saw eggs benedict immediately asked for them as the menu said till 2 p !!!They were delish !!!Sorry about the rude cm . How rude !!!The views of the island looked great !! Can't wait ti hear about your hike and maybe the shopping there !!

I knew you would understand about the Eggs Benedict, Rosie! They just spell vacation to me.
The island is beautiful! Hike and view from the top of the hill are coming up shortly.

Hi Karin....I can't believe that I have away from your trip report for so long. So much to catch up on. I just needed a block of time at the computer and I finally had the chance.

Don't worry, Elaine, you have a lot on your plate, so I do understand about not having time for the DIS all the time. But it is great to have you back.

Glad you have all your future trips planned. They sound wonderful! I especially love the look of The Hotel New York....the Mets signature!!

We just changed/booked another one on Wednesday. I think, Mickey senses that there is a dollar in my pocket and tempts me with something else.

Congrats on your airline compensation.

Thanks, we were pretty excited ourselves.

The Fantasy looks beautiful. Love the bathrooms. The food looks delicious. Rachel would have loved to go to "Anyone Can Cook" no matter when it was, but how disappointing that the chef was not good on his presentation. I will have that cappuccino and dessert. How exciting to run into people from your first cruise and what are the chances that they were in the same wine tasting session you were in.

The Fantasy IS a beautiful ship. We loved every minute on board. It looks very similar to the DREAM, but then there are so many different areas.
Elaine, that was exactly what we said, it IS a small world, because, what are the odds that your table mates from your first cruise will sign up for the same tasting as yourself on your 11th cruise.

The Angus Grilled Beef Tenderloin looks delicious and, of course the Grand Marnier Souffle is amazing. Love the pictures of the ship and ocean and I could really go for that frozen Cappuccino. Remys looks delicious, especially the dessert.

The food was so good again. And Remy lunch was outstanding, we really enjoyed it. The dessert was HUGE and a bit on the heavy side, but it was heavenly.

Your door magnets looked great....how sad that someone took the stitch magnet. Great towel animals.

We had so many magnets and FE gifts stolen the summer before that we were lucky they only took the one. We did bring a backup but we did not want to lose that one a well.

Sorry about your arm. I hope it's healing nicely and you are feeling better.

Thank you! It is healing well.

Very nice pictures of the ship sailing into St. Maarten. Also the views of St. Maarten and the ship in the background are beautiful. Can't wait to hear about your adventures on the island.

We loved the Eastern itinerary. The ports were absolutely beautiful. And the view from the top of the hill we were about to climb was absolutely stunning.

Congrats on your magic bands. Hope the problem gets straightened soon.

I really need to call again about the MBs. They have now been mixed up even more with their help.

 

[dizneeat]

Somehow I missed the post about your arm and the burn. I hope it is getting better.

I have to be totally honest. I am not in love with the whole MB/FP+ idea and do not think I will like it in three weeks (especially the FP+ portion).

Your tour of St. Marteens looks lovely.

My arm is getting MUCH better, Kathy! Thank you!

I do understand about the MBs, Kathy. We were not able to try them in the summer and I was giving up hope we would get to try them in February. Now, with the mix up I am not sure what I was hoping for.

You are so close to your trip!

Oh man! It's bringing back memories of all the junk I went through with Disney Support and our MB's! Hopefully yours gets resolved quicker than mind did!

Wow! What a very rude CM! I'm sure it was busy and hectic in there, but she should have maintained some composure..

The Island is so pretty. I love the flag that says, "Welcome to the French Side!" Really cute!

I did think of your MDE problems when I first found out. I really hope they CAN get things sorted out.

Sint Maarten is pretty! We really enjoyed our day there. There were so many European touches, it made us feel right at home.

Going to DLRP a lot we should be used to rude CMs and I don't even mind/care about them there, but I was really shocked to encounter someone like that on the ship. All the CMs on the ship usually are SOOOOO friendly.

I think that it will be a while before everything works the way it is intended. Right now, it all is just a headache. I had to "friend" myself on MDE in order to see everything. It was nuts! I am glad you found that you had an issue now rather thank later.

With all the changes it was so hard to stay on top of things and then when it did no longer recognize Tom's account we thought the easiest thing to do was create another with a different email.
HOW we were able to link the old account to the reservations and the MB and ticket to the other is beyond me.

How rude! I am sorry that your tour started out on that note.

We should have been prepared, as she WAS from Europe, but usually if they work in the US, they are not rude at all.
Oh well, we got over it.

Sounds despite the rude cm...now you were having some good luck!

Yes, at least we were comfy in our seats during the tour.

Sounds like a nice time with some nice views.

The views from the hills were absolutely awesome and stunning. We really enjoyed the tour.

 

[MEK]

Hi Karin -

Sorry I have been MIA for awhile. Between vacation and a crazy work schedule I am finally getting back on the boards.

I hope your arm is well on its way to healing. Ouch. That looks like a pretty bad burn.

yay for less than 100 days until your feb trip!!!!

Beautiful pictures of pulling into port. Just lovely!

Looking forward to getting caught up!

 

[Teri1]

Karin I am sorry you are having such a problem with the MDE, it worked so well for us in Sept. We had everything planned out when we got there, dinning and fast passes. One morning we slept in and I jumped on my iPad when we got up and moved our FP reservations for that day back two hours and went to the park no worries. Of course this may not be so easy now that more people are using it and the magic bands. We can just be glad we got to try it when it worked the best and had a great experience, like when we got to try the free dinning plan when it covered appetizers and tips, that was an awesome week at WDW we will not soon forget. I am hopeful Disney will get yours and Toms accounts linked and you can enjoy your visit using the MB's, we loved using them for everything.

 

[englishrose47]

Good Afternoon Karin !!! I am enjoying my forced time off , gives me lots of Dis time !! Apart from a headache from cutting back on caffeine , I feel fine !!Can't believe how close my trip is getting !!!!