Our First Cruise - Fantasy 7 Night Eastern Caribbean

[RipperSB]

17 Jan 15 - Embarkation Day

Celebrating our 30th anniversary, we booked a 7 night eastern Caribbean cruise, aboard the Fantasy, with stops in Sint Maarten/Ste. Martin, San Juan, PR and Castaway Cay.

All aboard!

We bookended our cruise with 5 night resort stays and so we met our cruise guide at the BWV and made our way to the bus. A couple of more stops at other resorts and we are on our way. The trip is over before we know it and going through security and checking in is a breeze.

The official embarkation photo.

We are announced as we board and there is much rejoice as crew members applaud our arrival. We head to our cabin to check it out and it is fantastic! We are in #9650, a Cat 5A deluxe ocean view with veranda.

Our unofficial embarkation photo.

We go for a walk about to check out the ship, prior to the mandatory Emergency Stations Drill, to check out where some things are located. After a little confusion, we find our emergency station is located in the Tube… cool, ship is in trouble and we head to the bar!

After the drill is concluded we head to Senses Spa so DW can book a hair appointment, for our formal night at Palo and a spa day. Next, we head to the main deck for the departure party.

Time for dinner and we have the main (early) seating. We meet our wait staff which consisted of Faisal (Indonesia), the Manager, Nelson (Honduras) the Head Server & Carlos (Dominican Republic) the Assistant Server. I order the pasta pursiettes, cheese potato soup, and the Angus tenderloin. DW tries the sliced Serrano ham (which she was not fond of), roasted red bell pepper salad and the jumbo shrimp salad. For dessert, it’s Sweet Temptations for DW and I get the Duo Chocolate Cake. Our serving team then bring out an extra chocolaty dessert for us to share and they then sing “Happy Anniversary”, nice touch.

After dinner we head to the shops which are now open as we are no longer in port. DW grabs the DCL plush toy line, we get some t-shirts and I also pick up a DCL lanyard.

We then spend the rest of the evening hanging out and meeting people. We also take advantage of Luigi’s extended evening hours with a late night pizza snack.

 

[RipperSB]

18 Jan 15 - At Sea


I start the day off early with a trip to the fitness centre. Good thing I went when I did because it filled up fast. I did an elliptical machine as I wanted something to hang on to. With the motion of the ship, I was worried I would fall off a treadmill. As this is my first cruise, I can’t compare, but I wasn’t really expecting to feel that much motion. PT is finished, eat the banana (no kidding, they actually had a bowl of bananas there for you), get cleaned up and wait for DW to awaken.

We make our way to Cabana’s for our first breakfast. The buffet seems the familiar brunch fare and it is hot and tasty. You can’t go wrong with eggs, bacon, potatoes, croissant and a coffee.

We go for a walk on deck and do a little more shopping as DW has her eye on some DCL coffee mugs. After dropping those items off in the cabin we decide to find the laundrette and take care of our formal wear for dinner tonight. DW would like to steam her dress and I need to press my shirt. I am a little amused that DCL charges you $2 per use for the washers & dryers and DVC provides them free at the resorts.

Lunchtime rolls around and we head to Flo’s V8 Café to check what Mater’s and Fillmore’s has to offer, having already had Luigi’s Pizza. DW goes to Fillmore’s for a wrap and discovers they have several that they serve cut into two-bite pieces, so you can mix ‘em up and go for a variety. I get a burger and fries from Mater’s and it is very tasty. Still feeling a little peckish, DW goes back for a hot dog and lets me take a bite. Even with just mustard and ketchup, it is one tasty dog… big too. We top it off with some ice cream and then head back to the cabin for some quiet time.

After quiet time, DW goes to senses for her hair appointment and I settle down to watch the NFC Championship game (wow… just… wow). After she is done, looking beautiful as always, we head to Palo for our dinner.

We check in and wait, briefly before being shown to our table. As I sit down, the hostess points out that because I am wearing a dark suit, she will replace the white line napkin with a black one. It’s that attention to detail that, for me, defines Disney guest service. As we are seated, we take in the décor of the place and it is rich and detailed. From the glass blown chandelier to the handles on the wine cooler doors (crafted from the gondola poles or palo straight from Venice) everything about the place is rich and stunning.

Our server is Predrag (Serbia) and he is very charming and helpful with his suggestions (or, sometimes, instructions) as we navigate the menu. DW opts to start with the Grilled Portobello and then the Lobster & Mascarpone Ravioli for entrée. I am having a tough time deciding but eventually settle on the White Bean Soup to start and the Angus filet. Predrag starts us off with assorted breads and an antipasti plate. One new thing we learn is to drizzle balsamic vinegar onto chunks of parmesan cheese, it was so good! We have flavoured balsamic vinegars, at home, and were marvelling at the possibilities. For dessert, I consider the tiramisu as it is one of my favourite all time classics. Predrag, however is praising the chocolate soufflé as the house specialty so I relent and DW and I both get the soufflé. It is served with chocolate and vanilla bean sauce and a big dollop of vanilla gelato. Predrag pierces the soufflé, pours both sauces on and drops the gelato into the centre of the soufflé to help cool it. The taste is out of this world; decadently rich, smooth and just the right amount of sweetness. He also brought out a tiramisu just so I wouldn’t miss out on my favourite but after the soufflé, I could only eat half.

If you are planning a cruise, dinner at Palo is an experience you won’t want to miss. This was, quite simply one of the finest dining experiences I have ever had. The quality of the food and the service make it worth every penny. We are really looking forward to returning for the brunch, later in the week.

Dinner at Palo

With Capt Mickey

 

[amandalynne621]

Love reading this! and I love your details! Can't wait for the rest

 

[RipperSB]

19 Jan 15 - At Sea


I get up a little later this morning and the fitness centre seems a little less crowded, I guess timing is everything. Afterwards we head to Cabana’s for brunch and, this time, I take a look at all the buffet has to offer as I am in the mood for something other than scrambled eggs. Mission accomplished as I find Eggs Benedict and they are cooked perfectly.

Today is DW’s spa day so she heads to Senses for some relaxing while I head down to the pub (O’Gills) for the trivia contest the Personal Navigator says is about to begin. I used to think I was good at trivia but this contest is brutal! I do OK but not well enough to win. After that, I do some exploring around the ship and end up topside lounging in the adult-only area when DW calls to see how I’m doing (Wave phones are cool).

She joins me on deck and then we decide it is snack time and head down to get some ice cream (it is self serve, all you like). They have chocolate, vanilla & strawberry or you can swirl chocolate-strawberry or chocolate-banana, so good!

DW and I head back to O’Gills for another trivia game. This time it is TV tunes, I’m all over that! Alas, once again we do well but just not well enough to win.

Our dinner tonight is at the Royal Court and DW and I are impressed with the stylish décor. Right down to the napkins that are folded to resemble small dinner jackets, Royal Court is fancy-schmancy! The French inspired cuisine starts with the bread service which is an herbed brioche. DW starts with the escargot, moving on to the onion soup and, for the entrée, lobster macaroni. I opt for the deep fried brie and also go for the onion soup and decide on the oven baked salmon for my entrée. For dessert I select the vanilla crème brule (my second favourite) and DW can’t decide on one so she orders the dessert trio. The fantastic meal is an excellent finish to a nice relaxing day.

 

[RipperSB]

20 Jan 15 – Sint Maarten / Ste. Martin

The ship pulled into Phillisburg just before we have to get up. Our tour of the island and visit to the butterfly house departs early (relatively speaking). We are already up when the alarm goes off and we are out the door with plenty of time for a breakfast at Cabana’s of tasty bacon and eggs. After breakfast, we head down to the theatre to check in for our excursion. There’s a bit of a hurry up and wait when they finally call our group and we file out of the ship and meet up with our tour guides.

It turns out to be a bit of a route march to get to the bus which then has to wait as there is only one exit to the parking lot and it seems to be blocked. We finally get a move on and the driver starts relaying information pretty much as I expect. He tells us about the history of the island, how it got divided as well as explaining who the statues at the round-a-bouts were and what they were noted for commemorating. Then he starts getting really detailed pointing out grocery stores, animal hospitals, schools, etc. It was like he was a realtor trying to sell us a house.

We stop about halfway to the butterfly house, the driver says he has to “feed the kids” and tells us it’s going to be a 10 min stop and invites us to join. Curious, we follow him off the bus as he grabs a bag and throws shredded lettuce on the ground. Several iguanas scramble out of the bush and start chowing down. It’s quite a sight as there about a dozen in the brush and on the ground in front of us.

Hungry, hungry iguanas!

We get back on board the bus and head to the butterfly house. We disembark and are herded into the screened enclosure housing the butterflies. We sit (actually stand) through a 10 min lecture learning all about the life cycle of the butterfly and what we can do to help (cultivate butterfly-friendly flowers).

Butterflies!

We are then free to look about, which we do, before heading back. Overall,, we found the excursion package a little under-whelming and head back to the ship for an afternoon at the pool.
We change and head for the pool deck and DW says she wants to ride the Aqua-Duck. We stash our stuff and get in the queue. It’s a really fun ride but there’s another “one and done” ride for her. After sunning ourselves on the deck for the afternoon we head back to our stateroom cuz it’s Pirates in the Caribbean Night.

Pirates!

Dinner is back in the Animator’s Palate and the servers are all dressed up in their costumes as well. Speaking of our servers, they are really starting to hit their groove. Having gotten to know us, they do more confirming than asking. DW starts with the Sun Ripened Pineapple & Coconut Banana. Her soup choice is a chilled Honeydew & Watermelon and, for the entrée, Seared Shrimps & Scallops. She absolutely loved everything about the meal. I start with the Pirate Potstickers, Jerk Chicken Salad and Grilled Mahi-Mahi for the entrée. I had to agree, that was one tasty and satisfying meal!

After dinner, we head to the atrium for photos (like the one above0. The photographers are really good at getting you into the spirit of things.

Arrrrrrr!

The deck party is a fun affair with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald & Daisy. Mickey is instructing all of us new members of his crew so we can be proper pirates. Capt Hook shows up with his cronies and spoils everyone’s fun by trying to take over the ship.

Uh-oh… I’ve got a bad feeling about this!

Mickey challenges him to a Captains duel and we, as Mickey’s new crew, help defeat Capt Hook who now has to leave. Good riddance!

Next more ruffians show up, looking for Capt Jack Sparrow. Apparently, he had stolen from them – something called the Gauntlet of Power which, apparently, can spit fireballs or something like that. Jack appears at the top of the funnel and rappels down to the deck and hilarity ensues as the bad guys try and capture Jack in a hilarious Benny Hill-like manner. Long story short, bad guys lose because they forget one thing… he’s Capt Jack Sparrow! Jack asks the crowd if they would like to see what the Gauntlet can really do. There’s a roar from the crowd as he points the Gauntlet skyward and fires off a flare which starts the fireworks. It is a rather spectacular display that, judging from the applause, was enjoyed by all on deck.

Pirate selfie.

 

[RipperSB]

21 Jan 15 - San Juan

Similar start this morning to yesterday – get up, get breakfast, check in for our shore excursion. This seems a little better organized and is also way smaller, maybe because it is an adult only island and Bacardi distillery tour. It is a much better tour of the city with our guide/driver “Not-So-Speedy Gonzales”. We visit the San Juan National Historic Site, which includes Castillo San Cristobal and Castillo San Felipe del Morro. We are a little disappointed as we only have 50 mins to visit Castillo San Cristobal and only do a drive by of del Morro. Having visited the Halifax Citadel, Louisburg, Port Royal and Old Fort Henry, I could have spent the a lot more time at Castillo San Cristobal.

Graffiti in the dungeon.


The drive to the Bacardi distillery is a bit of a drive (which explains the short fort time). As we pull up to the distillery, it is an impressive site that greets us. The welcome centre is stylized to mimic their bat symbol and they have their own wind turbines.

The tour is impressive, beginning with a short film on the history of Bacardi rum from the very beginning to the present. Our guide then gives us the history of the most popular drinks made with Bacardi – the mojito, the daiquiri and the Cuba Libre.

We move to the production area where we get the step by step process of how rum is made. Interesting to learn how the wind turbines provide 7-10% of their power requirements. We also learn that they have developed a macrobiotic process to deal with the amount of waste produced by the rum-making process. The methane gas produced by that process goes back to fuel the boilers. Here’s another fun fact – all of the rum produced is then shipped to Jacksonville, FL, for bottling and then distributed worldwide, including back to San Juan.

DW in front of “the Cathedral of Rum”.



After we’re done at the distillery, Not-So-Speedy Gonzales takes us back to the dock. There are some tables set up and we take a look but the only interesting thing seen is the sheer number of “private tour guides” offering a 1 hr tour for $10/person. We decide to head back aboard.

Dinner tonight is in the Enchanted Garden, our first time as we dined at Palo during the previous rotation. Enchanted Garden looks spectacular and Nelson tells us how the look is going to change as the evening goes on. One thing I noticed about this dining room, however, is that the tables seem a little closer together and there is less space to move around. This brings me to another point…
Now I don’t wanna go off on a rant here but – I understand that a Disney cruise (or Disney vacation) is going to involve children, I expect that. DCL (and WDW) have gone to great lengths to provide fun places for children to run and play and essentially be children but I just don’t think the dining room should be one of those places. I don’t think it is too much to ask for children to sit in their chairs and enjoy the meal with their family. Tonight, we noticed a large group was dining a few tables over. There were about 10 adults and 6 kids. They set themselves up so that all the adults were at one table and the kids were left, pretty much, to themselves at their own table. We saw other children running around the dining room on previous nights and just shuddered at the thought of some server tripping over a loose child and spilling a tray of up to 16 meals. Well, it happened this night. I didn’t see it (but I did hear it) as it happened behind me. DW tells me though it happened just as we thought it would, fortunately nobody was hurt. Of course I don’t blame the kids but that’s just my opinion, I could be wrong.

For our dinner, DW starts with Roasted Roma Tomato & Herb Goat Cheese and orders slow roasted Breast of Chicken for her entrée. I get the Blue Cheese Polenta Cakes, Potato & sausage Casserole Soup and my entrée is Roast Turkey Breast, with all the trimmings. Once again it is another tasty and satisfying meal. DW is starting to feel the day’s walking so she stays in the stateroom while I check out the magician show in the main theatre. Two-time world champion (and Canadian) Shawn Farquar puts on a spectacular display of comedy, sleight of hand and pure magic.

 

[RipperSB]

22 Jan 15 – At Sea

Not a lot to write about today. It’s our last “at sea” day and our first order of business is our champagne brunch at Palo. Our server is Predrag again and the whole experience is really beyond fantastic. Predrag gives a tour of the buffet, before we start, pointing out and describing each item. He also explains that one of the servers fills your plate for you, you just have to point. Predrag goes to prepare our mimosas while we start in.

We share a pizza to go along with the variety of breads, fruit, antipasti, seafood and desserts. I even try caviar for the first time and enjoyed it very much. The food is outstanding, exceeded only by the service, which is stellar. Once again, we enjoy a Palo experience that will be long remembered.
Nothing for us to do after that but lie around the deck all afternoon and soak up the sun, so that’s what we did.

The evening dinner is the Captain’s Gala, a semi-formal affair, and our servers continue the service extraordinaire.

Carlos and Nelson, once again, exceed our expectations as they continually anticipate our needs.

Marion starts with the sautéed shrimps and a garden salad before moving on to her lobster tail. I go for the sautéed shrimps, as well, mushroom soup and fettuccine with parmesan crusted chicken. Everything was soooo good.

While we were enjoying our coffee, Nelson comes over tells us how he is very interested in becoming a professional magician. He then proceeds to entertain us for the next 15 mins with some impressive sleight of hand magic. He put on a really good show, dude has some impressive skillz.

Speaking of skillz, it just occurred to me that I had not mentioned our room host. I Putu (Philippines) provided outstanding service. Dude was like a ninja – we never really saw him, just his work like the fun towel animals every day.

After dinner, we head to the atrium for some more portraits.

After the portraits we head to the theatre for the show, BELIEVE. It was another fantastic show and a great finish to a magical day.

 

[RipperSB]

It’s a beautiful day in the Bahamas! My day starts a little earlier as I have signed up for the Castaway Cay 5K. Putting on the PT gear I head down to The Tube for check-in and then study the route as I don’t want to make a wrong turn somewhere. Once everyone has checked in, we file off the ship and head for the start line. It’s a bit of a walk but I figure that it’s a good warm up. We get to the start line and, when they are sure they have everybody, the race begins. I was hoping to finish the race in less than 30 minutes and so I was really happy when I crossed the finish line at 28:30!

My first race medal!

I actually run into DW as I am heading back to the ship to change. She was heading to Serenity Bay to relax while I got cleaned up from the race. I shower, change and stop by Cookie’s BBQ for some lunch before catching up with DW at Serenity Bay. I load up my tray with some coleslaw, a hot dog and a cheeseburger and fries (hey, I just ran a race!) simple BBQ fare and it was tasty!

I find DW at Serenity Bay and she tells me about a encounter she had with Capt Jack Sparrow. Apparently he took notice of the jewellery she was wearing and inquired as the purity of the gold and the quality of the diamonds. Sensing her apprehension he asks why she appeared so nervous, “because”, she replies, “you’re Capt Jack Sparrow!”

She has secured some loungers and we spend a good part of the day just sitting on the beach, soaking up the Bahamian sun!

Serenity Bay

Part of our fun package for today was to go snorkeling. We strap on the gear and start wading into the water but DW decides it’s not really her thing. I got at it solo for a while, swimming around the lagoon to see what there is to see. I spot lots of different fish and I had heard there were stingrays in the area but I did not get a chance to see any. Overall it was a lot of fun. We stop by the post office and mail out some postcards that we purchased and then head back aboard the ship.

A view of the ship from Castaway Cay

We had heard about DVC presentations going on on board and DW said she would like to sit in on one just prior to dinner. We are already DVC members but figured we’d see if there is anything new. Well they did talk about the new studios and bungalows at the Polynesian Village Resort and went over some of the current incentives for Aulani but, overall, we really did not learn anything that we did not already know.

For dinner this evening, we are back in the Animator’s Palette and there is something special this evening. Our servers give us some markers and a sheet of paper with which to draw our characters. The papers are all pre-formatted so it is simple and not too difficult to draw, even for a horrible artist like me. They then collected them from us, informing that they would be part of the show, later on.

Our characters.

When it is time to order, we share and appetizer sampler and I also have the macaroni and cheese soup, which was delicious. DW has the Seafood Fettuccine for her entrée and I have the sliced Beef Wellington, which is fantastic! For dessert, we both choose the Baked Alaska and it is very good!

While dessert was going on the show started. They had, somehow, scanned all the drawings and animated them and incorporated them into scenes with Disney characters. It was magically entertaining, especially when they rolled the credits, at the end, and listed everyone’s name as “Animators”.

After dinner, we take one last stroll around as we will be putting to Port Canaveral tomorrow.

By the elevators.

Entering Cabana’s.

This is the life!

 

[RipperSB]

24 Jan 15 - Port Canaveral

It’s an early wake up this morning.
As we had the Main Seating for dinner, we get the 0630 timing for breakfast, back in the Animator’s Palette. DW opts for the fruit plate while I go all out with the Route 66 – it’s like the lumberjack/hungry man breakfast with bacon, sausage AND ham with your eggs. Yum!

We say goodbye to our servers, thanking them so much for the outstanding service. We really felt they had exceeded our expectations and had no qualms about tipping higher than the recommended amount.

Returning to our stateroom, we pick up our carry on bags (having packed our main suitcases the night before they were picked up and deposited near customs) and make our way off the ship. We find our suitcases fairly quickly and queue up for customs. The customs officer clears us and we make our way out to our transportation back to WDW. Turns out it’s a 7 pax van which, because it is full, is a little more cramped than the DCL motor-coach that brought us (that’s a bit of a let down!) but it does get us to OKW and we begin the next part our trip.

FINAL THOUGHTS
We had a fantastic time on this, our first, cruise. The attention to detail, especially with guest service, went beyond what were expecting. The stateroom size and layout was excellent, especially for the two of us. If you’ve read this far, you should already have a pretty good idea of what I think of the dining experiences and I have run out of superlatives to use. The ship board entertainment was stellar with the shows, performances, BINGOs, night club action all providing something for everyone, all the time. The only areas for improvement would be our shore excursions.
Having said all that, we’re not sure we’re going to taking another cruise anytime soon. While it is worth every penny, it still is expensive and we have our DVC membership for us to enjoy WDW with. As this trip was to celebrate our 30th Anniversary, maybe we will enjoy another cruise to celebrate the next milestone.

 

[PhiSigKris]

Thank you for sharing!!! I've really enjoyed reading your report & sailing along with you!

 

[wendiloveswalt]

Enjoyed your report. I'm glad you had such a great time, but agree that if I were DVC I would find many fun ways to bide my time until the next cruise!

 

[Lizzards]

Thanks for your report! I have enjoyed reading it! Happy Anniversary!

 

[RipperSB]

Thanks for commenting, I'm glad you all enjoyed it.

 

[moremouse]

Just finished your review. Thanks so much for taking the time to share.

 

[perditax]

I also wanted to say I've been lurking and I really enjoyed your report and pictures. Your obvious enjoyment of the trip came through loud and clear.

 

[fireworks fan]

Great trip report. Thanks for sharing!

 

[TAK]

What a great report! Thanks for sharing it, and happy anniversary!

 

[ukintheus]

Great report, thanks for sharing!

 

[DnA2010]

Really enjoyed your report! Great pictures, I especially lived you both dressed up, great tux, and your pirate costumes were great!

 

[lulucornbread]

Great trip report! I loooooved the palo tiramisu too!!!