The Royal Voyage: Fantasy Eastern Caribbean Nov. 3 10, 2012!!! (with Pictures!!!)

[WanderlustNZ]

Great update and more beautiful pics.

Weather wise, what a perfect day you had. That water looks so inviting

 

[kalel29]

What kind of camera are you using?

 

[Embraer]

Question was asked earlier in the thread

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=46879036&postcount=63

 

[SrisonS]

Aquaduck (Know The Ledge) by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



Now that we were back on the ship, it was time to do something that was a total must…. tackle the Aquaduck!!!!!!! My wife was more thrilled than I was about this; but I couldn’t NOT go on there. And I gotta admit, it was GREAT!!!! Sure, the water was a little too cold for my wussy self; but I still had fun. So we ended up going down twice together; then my wife went down once by herself. And as chance would have it, our tablemates happened to see us during the first ride, and were able to get some nice candid shots of us. I of course got some shots of them as well. So it was a nice final “adventure” for our trip; as the rest of the day would be pretty easy going.



IMG_1799 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


IMG_1809 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr




Afterwards, I also had my final solo photo outing, while my wife and daughter went to rest-up. I was able to get a few shots of Castaway Cay from aboard the ship. And I also noticed that you could get some cool views from the steps that lead up to the Aquaduck loading area. You could really only see the pools and the Funnel Vision screen. But it was nice to get a different look at things. Just adjusting your vantage point can make a world of difference sometimes. (Quick photo tip: When taking pictures of people, keep the camera at their eye level. Try not to shoot up or down at them. Test on a little kid or with someone sitting. You’ll instantly see the improvement).



IMG_1806 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


IMG_1835 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


IMG_1862 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


IMG_1884 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr




A little while, we venture out to the “Sea Ya’ Real Soon” character meet and greet, in the Lobby Atrium. All of the main characters were there (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy….) as well as some of the princesses. So it was a great way to get those last minutes autographs and pictures. Even better that it wasn’t crowded at all. And at the end of the session, the characters do a little dance number on the stairs there. Can’t say this is a MUST SEE. But if you’re on the ship, and you have time, it’s nice to check out.




IMG_1893 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


IMG_1905 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr




Something that we MUST do though, is to make our final selections for our Shutters photos. I put in my 2 cents for a couple of minutes, before my wife just took over. Not because I wasn’t a help or anything (because I thought I was); but because we had already made the decision on most of them during other days of the trip. We ended up getting the disk with a lot of pictures, but where we can select 10(?) to officially download. We still haven’t made our selection of pics (procrastination). So hopefully there isn’t some type of expiration date involved. And one thing that helped to keep our picture count low, was the fact that I was able to get some pretty decent shots with my camera. For the professional setups on the ship (with the pretty backdrops), you weren’t allowed to just hand your own personal camera to the photographers. So there was no “I think I got a good enough shot there”. But for some of the other situations, it was nice to have a few different photos to choice from; especially when 2 of you (you and the PhotoPass person) are shooting from different angles, or the little ones aren’t consistently stable from shot to shot.



IMG_1920 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


IMG_1915 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


My Disney Pics on Flickr!!!!!!!!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Great shots, Scott.

I was surprised to read that you were also having Shutters photos done. And then I realised that you probably got into the Shutters pictures more than in front of your own camera.

 

[SrisonS]

Great shots, Scott.

I was surprised to read that you were also having Shutters photos done. And then I realised that you probably got into the Shutters pictures more than in front of your own camera.

Actually, I could usually just hand my camera to the character's handler, so I could be in some shots. And not to knock them or anything, but I think I can handle my camera better than some of them. The main issue being that they usually don't zoom in or out (so I'd have to crop the picture more than i like). And they might not snap away and get the candid moments, which are really special in my book.

 

[lovefromkatie]

I absolutely loved reading your trip report and your pictures are fantastic! Headed for the Fantasy in August, can't wait!

 

[SrisonS]

I absolutely loved reading your trip report and your pictures are fantastic! Headed for the Fantasy in August, can't wait!

Thanks a lot!!!

 

[ohMom]

i randomly clicked on your TR as we are going on an Eastern this summer and am amazed (as everyone already said, but i can't help myself) at your photos!! wow! and your family is adorable

 

[SrisonS]

i randomly clicked on your TR as we are going on an Eastern this summer and am amazed (as everyone already said, but i can't help myself) at your photos!! wow! and your family is adorable

Thanks!!! I really appreciate it!!!!

 

[SrisonS]

Just to let everyone, Scott Sanders (who is also on the DisBoards) has an AWESOME Disney Cruise Line Blog!!!! Check it out for a lot of great info.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Just to let everyone, Scott Sanders (who I believe is also on the DisBoards) has an AWESOME Disney Cruise Line Blog!!!! Check it out for a lot of great info.

Thanks for the link!!

Another site for vicarious salivation and living!

 

[SrisonS]

Disney's Human Element - In A Bibbidi Bobbidi Bind by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



While my DW was getting things worked out, I decided to wander around a little bit with my daughter. We didn’t go too far, but we headed over to where the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique was located. I mainly wanted to see if there were some cool shot opportunities to be had near it. But we actually happened to come across a neat little find; an Enchanted Art game. The “picture” on the wall looked like a nice piece of cartoon art; but the ship’s wheel in front of it let you know otherwise. The object here is just to direct the pirate ship to the treasure. Nothing really more than that. And there aren’t different levels or scenes or anything. So everyone can get a turn at this, without having to wait long. But since it’s not in a high traffic area, most people won’t even see it. If anything, finding this proves why it’s a good idea to just “get lost” on the ship. You never know what you might find.



IMG_1935 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


IMG_1945 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr




Of all the cool things this cruise has to offer, one of the coolest would fall on our last dinner of the trip…..the Animation Magic Dinner Show!!!!! So earlier in the report, I mentioned how much I liked our rotation because of how we landed in Animator’s Palate on Pirate Night. And we’re back in AP for this!?!?!?! Gotta love it!!! Going in, I had heard about how great this dinner experience would be. And I absolutely enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I didn’t even think to look up video of Animation Magic before our trip; but I probably wouldn’t have done it anyway. It’s nice go into new situations and be totally surprised. If you know everything going in, you’ll miss out on the magic of discovery….. says the one who’s posting tons of pics. But for those that don’t know, the Animation Magic show has you draw out a character before your meal. And near the end of the dinner, all of the characters get animated into a show. I’m assuming that the screens in your section only show characters that were done in that particular section (your table number is written on your sketch); because mine appeared quite a few times, while my wife’s only appeared a couple of time; but our DD’s didn’t show at all for some reason. I’m almost thinking that they didn’t put it in there because the little boy at our table didn’t have his dance either. But he definitely didn’t follow the rules with his drawing (hey, he’s only 3); and I drew my DD’s for her. So that was the only thing I could think of; unless it was just pure coincidence.



IMG_1947 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


With Jessyca and Fiona….
IMG_1951 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



The show this final night was “An Unforgettable Journey”. I can’t totally remember all of the details of it; but it was a nice little goodbye. There was one moment of the show that stood out for us though. For one part of it, there was a big memory book showing pictures from throughout our cruise. And although there weren’t a ton of pictures shown, my in-laws happened to make it in there!!!! I wouldn’t be surprised if some people in the theatre didn’t realize that some of the pictures up there were from our particular cruise. I might not have thought it myself, if not for my in-laws making an appearance. And if I wasn’t so afraid of getting yelled at, I might have even tried to grab a quick pic of it. But they made it clear during all of the shows that photography wasn’t allowed. And almost everyone stuck to keeping their cameras away. If I remember correctly, photography without a flash was permitted when we were on the Magic a few years ago. I have quite a few pictures of the shows. So I know I wouldn’t have gotten that many off by being negligent of the rules. But it was nice to just sit back and enjoy. Plus, my daughter tends to always want to sit on my lap whenever we’re watching any of the shows. And that definitely keeps me from getting pictures. I don’t mind though.


Stephany was the room attendant for the set of rooms next to ours; but we saw her A LOT. And she would always interact with our DD.
IMG_1967 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



Valentino (our room attendant) was flat our awesome!!!! (I think this was his last cruise though). Our DD seemed to gravitate towards him; and Stephany would always joke about that, and act all jealous and stuff. It was fun to see.
IMG_1968 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



And now, our final night has ended. No late night walks for us tonight. And no stopping by Luigi’s pizza for a quick bite to eat. We head back to the room… pack our bags… and set out our luggage, before saying goodnight.




IMG_1969 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr



My Disney Pics on Flickr!!!!!

 

[SrisonS]

Sea Ya' Real Soon!!!


IMG_1976 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr




Morning arrives, and our final breakfast with our tablemates and serving crew is in Animator’s Palate. The food was basically the standard fare. But it was a nice time to get those final group pictures…. get those final hugs…. exchange e-mails… and say your final goodbyes.

We still keep in touch with our Aussie tablemates though; and there’s a slight chance they could be on our next Disney Cruise. They even sent us an Australian care package. It mainly had a few cute things for our DD; but there were also Tim Tams (which were very good), and Vegemite (which we are still afraid to try). I’m sure they’ll make a Disney World visit in the future. And as long as we’re still living in Orlando, we’ll definitely make time to meet up with them.




IMG_1981 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr




All in all, the cruise was absolutely fantastic!!! There was great food, great all-around service, and great company. It was nice to occasionally get out on my own; but even better that I had some unforgettable moments with my family. I loved everything about being on the ship; but REALLY enjoyed the destinations. I saw how different a cruise can be as a newlywed couple, compared to traveling with a toddler. Is it any different? Abso-freakin’-lutely!!! But either way, it is still a VERY satisfying experience. And with a cruise, you can’t beat the feeling of totally getting away, but still going everywhere. You may sail the same ships. You may see the same beaches. You may even see the same people. But every voyage will produce its own legacy.

So to the Disney Fantasy… to our Aussie friends… and to the various cast and crew… I bid a momentary adieu. And Sea Ya’ Real Soon!!!!




IMG_1982 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Awww, sad, it's all finished.

Thanks for this trip report. It's been a delight to read and look at all your beautiful photos. You've certainly helped build the excitement for my turn on the Fantasy in 4 1/2 months time.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Scott - Thanks for sharing. I've enjoyed your trip report and hope that there is more holidays; and Disney, in the foreseable future for you.

 

[SrisonS]

Awww, sad, it's all finished.

Thanks for this trip report. It's been a delight to read and look at all your beautiful photos. You've certainly helped build the excitement for my turn on the Fantasy in 4 1/2 months time.

Scott - Thanks for sharing. I've enjoyed your trip report and hope that there is more holidays; and Disney, in the foreseable future for you.

Thank you both!!!! I loved sharing our experience. Hopefully I was of help to people. And there will always be Disney in my future. I'm only 30 minutes from there. So that's basically what we do.... DISNEY!!!!

 

[SKEEWEE 96]

Scott, thank you so much for your TR. All I can say is WOW! WOW! to everything: your family, your photos and your report. Just reviewing your post has created such an excitement for me and my DGDs trip in March 2014. Again, thanks and WOW! WOW!

 

[Fatshe Leso]

There are a number of talented photographers here on this forum but none better than you! Great commentary as well. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

 

[SrisonS]

Scott, thank you so much for your TR. All I can say is WOW! WOW! to everything: your family, your photos and your report. Just reviewing your post has created such an excitement for me and my DGDs trip in March 2014. Again, thanks and WOW! WOW!

There are a number of talented photographers here on this forum but none better than you! Great commentary as well. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Thanks!!!!