The Super Secret, Christmas Spectacular, NYE Cruise on Fantasy

[pontikes67]

681 days later...it's here! If you followed the PTR you know this was a well kept and longtime secret. First from everyone in the family, then just the kids...

So it's me (Dad, 47), my wife (42), and the kiddos (9yo son, 7yo daughter)

Day 1 - Embarkation
Day 2 - At Sea
Day 3 - At Sea Pirate Night

Christmas finally had arrived and it was time for the reveal.

I was up until 2am getting Christmas put out with my wife and then putting out the clues for the treasure hunt.

You can read all about the preparation for The Super Secret, Christmas Spectacular, NYE Cruise on Fantasy in my PTR

So Christmas comes, the kids rip through all their presents and then find a clue for a treasure hunt which includes 12 clues and a 270 piece puzzle that had the final clue on it. They did a great job putting it together and then we went to find that final clue and this is how it played out...

Well that was the start of 36 hours of killing myself to get ready! We finished up Christmas morning just in time to go to my SIL house for Christmas lunch/dinner. When we got home, we packed, and packed, and packed. The next morning I was up at 6am, we had 8 hours to take down Christmas and finish up last minute things around the house. Let me tell you, that was one hard core 8 hour cleaning session. To add a little stress and drama at 2am on the 26th my daughter had awoken with a fever...are you kidding me? 680 days we hadn't had anyone sick and she's got a fever the day before we leave! Thankfully, it lasted less than 24 hours so by the time we hit the ship, we were fever free and ready to cruise.

Before leaving for the airport, there was one last surprise for the crew, including my wife...

I swear it's just SPRITE the kids are toasting

We made the airport in record time (slow down...we're not in a hurry) and enjoyed dinner (yes, enjoyed dinner at the airport) at Pappasito's at DFW. I worked for the Pappas family years ago and gotta tell you, the airport Pappasito's is one of their best locations! Who knew?!!

With full bellies, we boarded our flight, enjoyed a pretty seamless journey other than the new roller suitcases we purchased were so weighted down they STRUGGLED along any carpeting and arrived at the Hyatt MCO for our overnight!

We got in about 9:30 so we didn't have to wait too long before catching the DCL Shuttle first thing the next morning!

So a few minor speed bumps (literally, when you factor in the Limo driver's Indy 500 performance) but so far so good...

Next Up! Magical Cruise Transportation & Embarkation!

 

[pierresgirl]

Roll call, I'm here! Limo? I like traveling in style

 

[lizzyb]

How exciting! Can't wait for the rest!

 

[Off to Neverland 7]

So exciting! I read you PTR and can't wait to see how your trip went!

 

[dglilbit]

What a great story and surprise! I'm enjoying reading your trip report!

 

[PryncessLace]

Yay! I've been waiting for your TR! Ok, I'm going to start reading now!

 

[princessnpirate]

I cannot wait to hear about it!

 

[lulucornbread]

love it so far!!

 

[pontikes67]

painful lesson...use ctrl-a then ctrl-c before hitting submit. 2 hours of work right down the drain as the system autosigned me out. wow. disappointed. i'll start again later.

 

[pontikes67]

Still bummed...ha.

For now, enjoy this

http://youtu.be/Ew9G2DZhBj4

 

[pontikes67]

Okay, so I'm kicking myself, because what I crafted last night was my best...and I can't begin to think how to start again...here goes (in smaller sections

681 days had finally passed and I was pretty excited I must admit to embark. Today was the day! I woke up early, as I typically do on our trips and prepped for us to to depart from the Hyatt at MCO. I showered and dressed and not one soul moved as I did so, so I headed out to grab some coffee for myself and see what I could scrounge up for the kids and my wife at the airport terminal culinary corner known as the food court of Terminal A. I headed back to the room after hitting Krispy Kreme, and McD's with a carb-loading feast and as I opened the door...there was still no sign of life

Slowly the room came to life and in a very un-Disney like move (I'm typically the drill sergeant when it comes to Disney and getting to places on time) I said we were in no rush, we are able to board whenever we arrive. My son however, was having none of that, as he wanted to be on the first bus out and board as soon as possible.

So we began to repack the bags, and ready the crew. This next part is one of my favorite parts of the Disney experience.

I love Disney and the way they tend to every detail. I totally appreciate the little things and one of the best is Magical Express and luggage handling. Disney Cruise Lines of course has a similar deal, if you tag your bags at your home airport and are flying in on the same day as your cruise, your bags basically get dropped at the home airport and the next time you have to touch them is when you are unpacking in your stateroom. How great is that. But that magic works for you even if you are traveling before the cruise date, like we did!

Here's how it works. Unlike traveling on the day of the cruise, you do NOT put your bag tags on your luggage but rather you grab them at Baggage Claim when you arrive, like normal. The day of your cruise, (the next morning for us) we then tagged our bags, everything we did not want to carry, and that was everything but the wine roller and the backpack we always have at Disney with electronics and other critical items like ID's etc. And here's the 'detail'...after tagging the bags and zipping everything up, you leave the bags in the room and Hyatt's bellman comes to the room and grabs your stuff. You never have to touch them again, until they show up in your stateroom. What a small blessing as the bags were so stuffed and so big, it was just a hassle.

So we leave our bags all together in the alcove inside the room by the room door as instructed, with a tip (I'm including all the times we tipped. As a first timer prior to the cruise, I remember worrying about tipping and I didn't know who or when or how much). My deal on tipping was $2 a bag and I tipped anyone that touched our bags, so the Bellman was number 1. Now you gotta have a little faith that the bags will actually get picked up and end up on the right ship and the right room, but this is Disney, right?! Actually, full disclosure, I bumped into the bellman that morning and he happened to be the guy who handled the bag pick up. He checked his list and sure enough, we were on there, so I was feeling pretty good about the transfers.

Back to readying kids...we had heard some of the best times to swim and use the Aqua Duck were when you first boarded the ship. Since we were boarding Concierge, which allows you to board first, we figured, this was a great chance to beat the crowds, so we dressed in swim attire / cover ups that looked appropriate for boarding and took a change of clothes with us in the roller bag. We left the luggage in the room, and headed down to Ground Transportation in Terminal B.

As we were greeted upon approaching the queue at Magical Express, we were directed to the left of the ropes in a much shorter array of stanchions where they handle Cruise guests. A request for us to have ID for 18 and older guests and our cruise doc that had our bar codes on it was all we needed to board the bus. A couple of minutes later we were boarding the bus!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0cDND-P_n8

Now my son, as you'll see in videos etc, is typically pretty quiet, but he was SOOO excited, which of course thrilled us to no end. Our daughter, is a much easier read, she was pumped as well and so we boarded the bus.

Because we were catching the tail end of the intitial bus heading out, we got split up on the bus, with me sitting next to a nice man from Alabama and my daughter pairing up with another little girl and my wife and son finding seats together. I could hear them chatting it up back there as I listened to a women continue to call my name and give me instructions. I'm like "how does she know my name", finally I realized, the man I was sitting next to had the same nickname I do and she was talking to him. We had a good chat on the way over and he was a veteran who had a cruised a few times and couldn't say enough good things about DCL.

Finally, as we approached we got our first glimpse of the ship!

Lauren spots it...

Zachary does too...

There she is, our home for the next 7 days!!

As the bus empties, I'm first off and I grab the bag from under the bus, tip the driver $2 for the bag and $3 for...well being the bus driver We rally and head to a decently sized line, but it's just a matter of minutes until we've had our bags x-rayed and we've passed through the metal detector and we head up the escalator to the Cruise Terminal.

The terminal is huge, it's bright, and of course Disney clean! We head over to the big ship model and take a pic there and then head to the Concierge check in on the right side all the way down on the opposite end of the terminal.

We wait briefly at the check in line and then it's our turn to make it official. The kids waited with my wife in the lounge area until it was their turn to come up and get their kids club wrist bands.

After confirming all of our check in items with our CM, we waited in the private lounge area for the first boarding call. In the lounge, which is surrounded by smoked glass to the rest of the terminal and glass doors and windows where you can see the ship we waited with a couple that was doing the second stage of their back to back cruise. Eventually, they with a few other back to backers got to board before anyone else, and we waited for the call to board. As I'm waiting, I double check to make sure I have all my items and I can not find my cell phone. I pat myself down, look around, question my sanity, and if I'm getting too old to remember where I leave things and as my panic begins to grow I hear my name YELLED out above the buzz of the terminal...Again, my name is called out. I look up over the smoked glass and there are my two buddies (okay, this was actually my first time to meet them and actually talk to them in person, but we'd "known" one another via facebook for nearly 2 years and had corresponded a lot over the past several weeks). I'm looking at them and wanting to go over to say hi, but can NOT find my cellphone...of course my wife finds it on the floor as it had slipped between to the two seats we were waiting on. Thank You! NOW, I run over to say hi to the boys, who give me a load of crap for being Concierge! Turns out, they were as nice a group of guys as I had thought. We hung out a lot on the ship and have kept up since then as well.

So with phone in hand, they call for boarding. We step through the doors and up the walkway, scan our KTTW cards and it's up the gangway to the 3rd Deck and at last we hear

"Please welcome aboard the Pontikes Family"

681 Days has finally come to an end and we are officially on

OUR DISNEY CRUISE

NEXT UP...A tour of the Ship and Concierge Meeting!

 

[pierresgirl]

Love love love how you intro'd the Aquaduck, how awesome! Can't wait to read more and I have also lost an entire days worth of writing The worst!

 

[daneenm]

Excited to read your TR. We are sailing Concierge in August so I am reading carefully!

 

[lulucornbread]

Love the Aquaduck video!!

 

[pontikes67]

So we'd never been on The Fantasy or any cruiseship, as a family. While we were eager to secure passes to the Rainforest and to meet Anna and Elsa, we felt pretty confident we had a little time. The kids really wanted to check out the kids club (and so did we). As noted early, my son is the quiet one, in groups of people he doesn't know, he can be pretty shy and he's not a fan of some of the kids clubs, like at our gym. I liken it to Lord of the Flies. It's a free for all. There are never enough counselors, there are too many kids and they really just run crazy. He hates it. Well with 1600 kids on the ship we were pretty worried that he'd experience the kids club ONCE and declare he was out. Not that we didn't want to spend time with him, but we had entertained the thought that we'd have adult time on this cruise too AND more importantly, we didn't want his experience to be miserable.

So our first stop...Oceaneers Club and Oceaneers Lab. The kids toured the whole facility, played in Andy's room and the Monsters room and ran all over the place, but in the end they spent most of their time on the Lab side. As we toured, the kids found that handwashing had never been so fun and they washed their hands more time in a 10 minutes than they had for the week. We visited with counselors, feeling out the process and how many kids they expect and just giving them a heads up on Zachary and Lauren too . Everyone seemed very nice. We were under the impression, that the first night the club would be insane, so we were a bit hesitant to return worried that Z would have a terrible time and that'd be it. Well enough of all the fear and loathing...the counselors were great, and assured us, he'd have a blast and they'd keep an eye out for him.

I want to keep this in chronological order, but I'll kill the suspense and tell you, the "PACKED" Kid's club, was NOTHING! There are so many counselors, and so much room that I never thought it was crowded when I dropped off or picked up. While he was pretty much interested in playing the dodge ball, some other 'ball' and 4 square he did do some sketches and play some video games. I think he skipped the sloppy science and cooking classes, but the club was such a hit, many times, he'd say, I'm going down to the club and he'd check himself in. We had the option to let him check himself out, but being our first time around, we opted to leave it for us to do. Lauren was not an option and while we've focused on Zachary, she liked the clubs as well. Drawing, Dancing, Pluto PJ Party...I felt bad she missed a dance lesson or two...she's my dancer for sure!

Bottom Line, the kids clubs have plenty of counselors, plenty of fun things to do even if it's just watching movies and hanging out. Sold Out Cruise and we thought the kid's club was staffed great and was never at capacity!

As we headed out of the club, we felt pretty good about the set up and planned to come back for the first real test (as noted above, success!). We stepped in to the elevator and mentioned to a Cast Member about the Anna and Elsa meet and something else and they said we should check with Port Adventures Desk, they were under the impression everything had to go through them regardless of the deck you reside. Well, that being a priority we thought we better checkin upstairs with the Concierge to see what we needed to do to secure those passes.

So we take the elevator to deck 12 and there's a reception going on and a small group has gathered at several tables visiting. There are 3 ladies and a few extra helpers working the event as well We were welcomed, offered a bite, offered a drink and a seat and my wife and I toasted one another! I may not have told her about the cruise, but I did a great job with the Concierge idea as this was really living.

The kids watched some cartoons and we enjoyed a light lunch and then we met Julia from Germany! She was awesome as was Kemesha, and Amanda (the 3 concierge) and there were a few bartenders, helpers in the lounge, our favorite by far was Jesse! He was awesome and had a glass of wine and a Maker's Mark with Diet for me at the ready at all times.

So Julia introduces herself and after pleasantries, I mention do we need to run down to guest services to get Meet and Greet passes and then Julia spoke those wonderful words "No, you don't need to go anywhere, we will take care of EVERYTHING for you this week" That was worth the price of admission. Because I'm the Uber planner I didn't think I'd need a lot of help with changes or adds or cancellations. I was wrong! While I thought I had a fool proof plan, there were many things I changed in the course of the week and all of them were simply "Julia (or Kemesha or Amanda) can you move this to here and see if they can do this then and can we cancel that"...the reply was always "Of course", and then moments later it was done!

I felt like Aladdin! You ain't never had a friend like me.


"I think they left off out my son's Tux", "I'll find out about it right now" 10 minutes later, doorbell and Vicente (our Stateroom attendant) is there with a Tux for Z!

I remember, it might have been our first night for dinner or possibly it was New Year's (it's all one awesome memory now). I needed a shirt pressed right away, we were late and I was running around..."Amanda, last minute anyway we can get this shirt pressed", "Of course", not sure it was even 10 minutes...DONE!

I don't know what i'll do next cruise...Concierge is the life!

So much more to tell, but I'm so tired...I'll get back to Concierge details and touring on the first day!

 

[Mrs Green]

Subbing. My husband's birthday is NYE and I think it would be an amazing time to cruise. Definitely want to hear all about it!

 

[dglilbit]

:tappingfoot:

Your loyal readers need an update!!!



(JK, sort of...enjoying your trip report!)

 

[pontikes67]

Updates coming Just crazy busy! Thanks for following!

:tappingfoot:

Your loyal readers need an update!!!



(JK, sort of...enjoying your trip report!)

 

[eeyorefanuk]

Loving this

Really liked the reveal

Look forward to more

 

[pontikes67]

Well it's been quite a while since our last post, but the memories are still quite fresh. As Julia gave us a run down of the events, information about our room, spa treatments, and let us change plans we had already made while the kids watched their cartoons, and we enjoyed a heavy snack. Our kids were quite eager to hit the Aqua Duck. Julia, probably could have spoken to us for hours, but she could read the kids were wanting to go ride AD. Luckily with all the reading and planning I had done, she was telling us things we knew, but still I would have preferred to have had her continue on, but it was obvious to us all...AD is the priority! We had worn our swim gear as boarding attire (the girls had worn coverups) so essentially we were ready for a ride. Rather than having to tote our bag around, Julia of course said she'd hold it for us and away we went to ride the ONE thing the kids really knew about; Aqua Duck! At port, and not having been boarding for very long, the line was non existent. It was literally 10 kids and parents riding over and over. As time progressed it did grow, but by then we'd enjoyed it enough that Mom and Dad could bow out and let the kiddos go up the stairs over and over. We found a great little spot and just relaxed with our drinks that we had strolled out of the lounge with and looked for the kids passing above in the clear tube.

Our first ride together (Mom and Daughter) (Dad and Son) was really awesome and for the old folks...REALLY COLD! LOL. The water is chilly, not terrible but as you go down the first dip and go up the hill the wave you create splashes down on your back and OH MAN...the raw video footage is of me yelling "oh man that's cold". Now I videoed our first ride (with my Coolpix water proof camera) but the Cast Member did tell me, they'd prefer me not to video, I said no problem, but he quickly said, it's okay this one time. It was perfect, I got a great video and I was done with that and able to simply ride and laugh and have fun with the kids. I'm a big guy and was worried about feeling claustrophobic inside the tube, but that was not the case at all. Really so much fun!

Suggestion: Get on the ship (bring or wear you suit) and make riding a priority so you can experience with minimal weight.

Our room was ready earlier than expected and at the suggestion of some experienced cruisers, we did the job we didn't want to do, but thought we must do... "UNPACK"! While the kids explored the room (2 seconds), and the deck, we tried to quickly organize and put away everything from our bags. That was a little tougher than expected, but we managed to get ourselves situated pretty well. By the time we had gotten situated, the Muster drill was upon us and we headed out to our Muster station in the Walt Disney Theater. This was a bit inconvenient, but a necessary evil. Essentially, they made sure every cabin was there, gave the simple instruction that we would come here if instructed to do so and we were then released. It took a little while, but we were entertained by a cast member who did magic tricks while the leaders reviewed instructions with different areas of the theater. When it was done, we headed back to our room and finished organizing then enjoyed the view as we began to push away from the port.
At one point, we realized, we're missing the Sail Away Party! Doh! So we ran down the hall to Deck 12 and got a birds eye view of the party...actually Deck 12 was perfect for viewing the parties unless you want to be a part of the frenzy! I'll need to work on photo upload as my pics are too big according to the new board. But we hit the party, then got ready for dinner.

Okay, so the one thing we'd change...Dinner time! 5:45pm, was just too early for us. At home we are 5pm 6pm dinner people, but that's because we're on a pretty firm schedule with school and kids and sports etc. The cruise is so much more relaxed and the kids were always having fun or we were relaxing and then it was like Woah! it's 5:30...we gotta go. Next cruise we're doing second seating no doubt. With all the snacking and activities half the time we weren't starving anyway.

One other note: you'll notice my daughter's blue band on her right arm...that was the Aqua Duck identifier that she had to ride with someone (based on height). They would not let her go up the stairs if she was not accompanied by a non-tag wearer (my son fortunately.

So as we fly around the room getting dressed for dinner (we noted many people that didn't do the same, but like the idea of getting dressed for dinner) my wife and I say, next trip 8:30dinner!

Our first dinner; Royal Court!