A fantabulous 40th - Eastern on the Fantasy! Dec 14-21, 2013

[noahsketomom]

I am contemplating taking a Disney Cruise to celebrate my 40th. We are going to do the 4 night Bahama cruise as this will be my first voyage on DCL. I want to take my parents with me. Am I better off getting two rooms for us? Or one room for all of us to share?

Is it just the three of you? It's really your preference and comfort level with being in close quarters with your parents, but financially speaking…one cabin will be a TON cheaper. I will tell you this -- we had two connecting cabins for EIGHT people (Four kids and four adults) and we had plenty of room. But we do like each other and don't have a problem seeing each other in their PJs!
We considered booking three cabins for our next cruise, but it's so much $$ that we figured it didn't make sense.

We hardly spend too much time in the cabin and with the split baths (one room for shower/sink and the other for sink/toilet) it was never an issue.

 

[STUR]

Happy New Year
Great Pictures
we are booked on the Fantasy July 26 for our 50th Wedding Anniversary Total of 7 of us

STUR Dayton, Ohio

 

[noahsketomom]

Happy New Year
Great Pictures
we are booked on the Fantasy July 26 for our 50th Wedding Anniversary Total of 7 of us

STUR Dayton, Ohio

You will have a blast! Great vacation for families of all ages!

Happy New Year to you too!

 

[noahsketomom]

Okay….sorry for the delay….

Just getting back on board the



after a fabulous day on St. Maarten/Martin!
I've heard of people not liking the island that much, but maybe it's because they don't venture far from the port? IDK

I've been here twice now and met the NICEST people and seen some beautiful sights!

Anyhoo, I digress.
Upon getting back on board we rode the aqua duck a few more times (pool deck was fairly quiet), grabbed some snacks, and chilled out. As a reminder, it was the big guy's 40th birthday and we REALLY wanted to make it to the fireworks this time!

Here's a shot of us setting sail



It was PIRATE NIGHT. So after a bit we all got gussied up. We had stocked up on post-Halloween sales. I never did get a group photo, but here are a few of pre and during the deck party.









We had a good view from deck 12, near the aqua duck entrance.

Of course the birthday boy's costume stole the show. My husband is pretty low key, so the fact that he agreed to wear this wig was huge. It helped that he kept getting a ton of comments. We still laugh when think about all the people who saw him that night.





We were off to dinner at ANIMATOR'S PALATE that night. It was cool to be there on pirate night since all the video screens had pirate scenes and pictures on them.




The ketchup was even getting into the pirate theme…..




The food was just ok compared to what I remember. When I was on the dream I had the mahi mahi, which was delicious. Since we had already had fish for lunch, I had the chicken salad and lettuce salad, which were both good. (The lettuce salad was better than the chicken) The crab cake was awful and dry though.

But regardless, we had a fantastic dinner and they serenaded Brian for his birthday.





A few of us were tired, but we rallied to see the fireworks and glad we did!!



The deck was NUTTY CRAZY, but a nice show. We rushed to bed afterwards because we had a CRAZY EARLY meeting time (8am!!!) for our excursion. Whoever picked an excursion that would meet so early!!!???!!!



We found this guy hanging around our cabin when we finally crashed! (My favorite towel animal of the trip.)




Next up: Super fun, but sunburned day, on the sea in St. Thomas!

 

[niftyswifty]

Loving your trip report We are leaving on 1/11 on an Eastern Fantasy cruise. So excited about hearing an alternative plan for St. Martin because I have been a bit stuck on what to do there!

Can't wait to hear more

 

[niftyswifty]

I was just looking into Loterie Farm - would you recommend renting the cabana, or just skipping it? We are traveling with 2 Grandparents that certainly will not be participating in any highly physical activities. Others in our party are 4 adults, 5 kids - ranging in age from 7 - 11...

It looks like you get a discount on the other activities if you do have a cabana, but would like to get your overall opinion...

Thanks!!

 

[noahsketomom]

Loving your trip report We are leaving on 1/11 on an Eastern Fantasy cruise. So excited about hearing an alternative plan for St. Martin because I have been a bit stuck on what to do there!

Can't wait to hear more

I think St. Maarten/Martin gets a bad rap, but I've enjoyed both times I've been there - this time especially!

The same friend who recommended Loterie Farm also recommended Grand Case beach. It's a ton quieter than Orient, but just as nice….so they tell me! We decided to hit Le Gallion because our taxi driver thought there were inflatables there…but as it turned out it was the pool and rafts…not necessarily any inflatables. But we were still very happy there.

Have a great trip!

 

[noahsketomom]

I was just looking into Loterie Farm - would you recommend renting the cabana, or just skipping it? We are traveling with 2 Grandparents that certainly will not be participating in any highly physical activities. Others in our party are 4 adults, 5 kids - ranging in age from 7 - 11...

It looks like you get a discount on the other activities if you do have a cabana, but would like to get your overall opinion...

Thanks!!

Hmmm… tough call. Since we had 8 people (a big party like yours) we figured that it was worth it to get the cabana if we all used the pool….especially with the discount for the ziplining. But as nice as the folks were there, it was obvious they wanted a certain "zen atmosphere" in the pool area. The kids had been on a boat for two straight days and I didn't want to keep saying "let's be quiet, kids" or "No splashing", no running, etc. We live near the water and my kids LOVE swimming and although this pool was absolutely BEAUTIFUL, it was definitely an adult pool. As soon as it started raining for us, that made the decision easier -- no cabana.

If the grandparents wanted to, they could just pay the 5 euros (I think - check the website) and walk the grounds (beautiful rain forest…or hang out in the cool bar/snack area there while you do the course. If it isn't busy, you should be through the course in an hour or so. And it's FREE WIFI in the bar area…in case the non- zip liners are into that.

Hope that helps. The nice thing is that Loterie is accommodating. They didn't make me put a deposit down for the cabana and certainly understood when I canceled it.

Also….a few things:
1. Bring bug wipes…we ended up with several mosquito bites
2. It might be helpful to have something around your neck that you can put your camera in….I wish I had taken more pictures and videos! The course was very pretty, fun and challenging -- we kept saying we felt like it was from a scene in the TV series "Lost"!

Good luck making a decision -- we were so happy we went to Loterie…the adults in particular keep talking about it!

 

[lianne_0325]

Inquiring minds must know, did you rebook onboard for a 2014 or 2015 date?!?

I have loved your trip report thus far.

 

[tow-mater-1]

Hi Beth! I've been absent from the boards over Christmas so I was happy to see that you were doing a trippy I will totally be looking into Loterie Farm for our next cruise!

I was thinking about you on the Saturday you departed and was longingly wishing I was cruising again. Looking forward to reading the rest of your adventure!

 

[niftyswifty]

Hmmm… tough call. Since we had 8 people (a big party like yours) we figured that it was worth it to get the cabana if we all used the pool….especially with the discount for the ziplining. But as nice as the folks were there, it was obvious they wanted a certain "zen atmosphere" in the pool area. The kids had been on a boat for two straight days and I didn't want to keep saying "let's be quiet, kids" or "No splashing", no running, etc. We live near the water and my kids LOVE swimming and although this pool was absolutely BEAUTIFUL, it was definitely an adult pool. As soon as it started raining for us, that made the decision easier -- no cabana.

If the grandparents wanted to, they could just pay the 5 euros (I think - check the website) and walk the grounds (beautiful rain forest…or hang out in the cool bar/snack area there while you do the course. If it isn't busy, you should be through the course in an hour or so. And it's FREE WIFI in the bar area…in case the non- zip liners are into that.

Hope that helps. The nice thing is that Loterie is accommodating. They didn't make me put a deposit down for the cabana and certainly understood when I canceled it.

Also….a few things:
1. Bring bug wipes…we ended up with several mosquito bites
2. It might be helpful to have something around your neck that you can put your camera in….I wish I had taken more pictures and videos! The course was very pretty, fun and challenging -- we kept saying we felt like it was from a scene in the TV series "Lost"!

Good luck making a decision -- we were so happy we went to Loterie…the adults in particular keep talking about it!

Thanks so much for the information! It's so helpful and I really appreciate it!!

 

[DisFan01908]

Thanks for a wonderful trip report with lots of great pics! Trying to keep my mind off this awful winter weather and impending storm & yr trip report has really helped. Thanks again!

 

[noahsketomom]

Inquiring minds must know, did you rebook onboard for a 2014 or 2015 date?!?

I have loved your trip report thus far.

Hi LiAnne!!! Currently it's January 2015! I wanted to go around my 40th (April 2015), but the prices were double this past cruise. No thank you! And I love getting out of new england in the winter!!!

Hi Beth! I've been absent from the boards over Christmas so I was happy to see that you were doing a trippy I will totally be looking into Loterie Farm for our next cruise!

I was thinking about you on the Saturday you departed and was longingly wishing I was cruising again. Looking forward to reading the rest of your adventure!

I'm enjoying yours too!!!! This one will be abbreviated….but hopefully wrapped up soon!

Thanks for a wonderful trip report with lots of great pics! Trying to keep my mind off this awful winter weather and impending storm & yr trip report has really helped. Thanks again!

Well the storm might keep me home the next day or so and with my inlaws on their way back home, I might be able to finally wrap this one up!!!

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Really enjoying your TR!!!!

 

[noahsketomom]

ST Thomas!!!!


We awoke WAY TOO EARLY, but were greeted with a beautiful view of St. Thomas….



We had an 8am meeting time for our excursion…The Full Day Snorkel and Sail to Turtle Cove. We had preordered room service, and while everyone was getting ready, we ran up to Cabanas and grabbed some hot breakfast items as well. I had been warned that it was a rough ride out to Turtle Cove so I wanted everyone to have a good breakfast -- and Bonine ahead of time.

We all took Bonine (except my 8yo who refused and said he promised not to get sick. ) but it was not needed because we got the catamaran (more on this later).

We met up in the Walt Disney theatre with the rest of the excursions. When checking in the woman called it a "tour". Suddenly my 8yo son gets soooo mad…."I don't want to go on a TOUR!!!" He changed his tune pretty quickly……

Getting off was pretty easy and there was a VERY short walk to the dock….but there was a delay getting on board.

We stood here for a while ----


There were a ton of ships in port that day (5+?) and it was rush hour getting all the excursions chugging along. It was around now that we were all split up into two groups -- one group got the "pirate ship" and the other got the catamaran. At first we were bummed that we got the catamaran, but it ended up being AWESOME. 1. Nobody got sick (not true for the pirate ship folks) and 2. We got to pull right up to the beach for lunch (the pirate ship had to tender…or swim).

Our trusty new boat -- slightly smaller than the other one!



Yup, we docked right in front of (or underneath, actually) the Fantasy!



Pretty soon we were off and loving the breeze, splashes, and sights!




When we got to Turtle cove, it was RUSH HOUR again! Yup, all the other folks had beat us there and there was no open mooring. The crew decided to take us to another cove closely until there was room. So we were going to get to snorkel twice!

The first place was VERY CALM. There wasn't much to see but some coral and fish, but the kids LOVED it because it was so calm!!!!



After about 30 min we headed over to Turtle Cove, which was MUCH rougher that day. The kids had gained confidence jumping in……



But they didn't last. It was rough and they were swallowing a lot of seawater. I was determined to see a silly turtle though so I trucked on…..and caught one just as it was heading up for air…..BEAUTIFUL! I will try to link the video here later…..

After snorkeling, we were off to honeymoon beach….but not before Nicole came around with the "painkillers". YUMMO….but dangerously YUMMO. She did a good job trying to keep the glasses filled…which might make you think you weren't ever finishing one!! LOL!




En route Alex let a couple of the kids drive the catamaran!





The lunch there was very good -- typical BBQ fare -- and we were starving so it probably tasted even better than it actually was!



The time on Honeymoon beach was perfect -- probably about an hour and half? I was not caring about the time at all….it was the picture perfect day!







We ate, swam, and played…..



Brooks was so awesome to play football with my son and his new buddy!



Before long, it was time to head home….another beautiful sail before we saw the Fantasy awaiting our arrival.





All in all the excursion was pricey, but well worth the $$$ and I was glad we went with the full day. Because the snorkeling spot was rough, it would've been a bummer to have just had that and then head back. It was nice to have the beach time and we all LOVED the catamaran…it'll be hard to convince any of us next time to not do a catamaran excursion! The crew was FANTASTIC…great with the kids and adults alike.

Back on board, we grabbed some more grub from Flo's, and then headed to see FROZEN in the Walt Disney Theatre. Even though I was exhausted by this point, it was a great movie and the kids all LOVED IT!!!

Before dinner I caught these beautiful sunsets over the USVI. This view never gets old!







Up next -- a well needed low key day at SEA!

 

[plannermom]

Thank you for the great read.

 

[kagarvin]

Thanks for the report- sailing in June and can't wait!

 

[DreamBound23]

Fellow Rhode Islander here! Enjoying your TR. :

 

[tara98]

More Rhode Islanders here!! Thank you for the great report and pictures! You have a beautiful family.

 

[Linda67]

Sounds like a great excursion