A long time ago on a Fantasy far far away...Feb 2016 SWDAS TR, 5/17 CRUISE EPILOGUE - The End!

[soniam]

I would sadly never have the guts to ask, unless it was in a jokey manner. I will never feel that entitled, probably not even if we were in the Walt or Roy suites. I even preordered the higher-end cheese platter to be waiting in our stateroom on arrival. Any type of cheese is great, and you will never see me say "no" to a daily All-Hands-on-Deck cheese plate, but I feel that embarkation deserves a nice selection of cheese and a bottle of Fairy Tale Cuvee waiting for me. Ahhhh.... so relaxed, just thinking of it. Three weeks, one day.... Three weeks, one day..... Three weeks, one day.....

I don't think you've said yet - did you book another cruise while on board this one??? Either I missed it, or you're just keeping us all in suspense.

I love having a snack waiting in our room. I like to get an adult beverage, cheeses, and chocolates. DS likes the chocolate, but who am I kidding, we do too

 

[daisyx3]

I am loving your reports! I go on the Dream Monday and on the Fantasy next March, and I have been reading everything I can! Yours are so fun!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Catching up after a busy week at work!!

Grand Cayman..one day I'll visit that beautiful port hopefully!!

The menu prices didn't seem that far off compared to come chain restaurants around Orlando that I go to!

Remy..3 hours??!!!! I suppose if you are on a 7 night cruise you have plenty of time to have a 3 hour dinner and the food looked amazing!!

If CS did a TR, she should call it, "The Search for New Selfie Sticks!!!"…love it!

Looks like you are taking full advantage of the RFR. I did on sea day for the Dream and it was pretty crowded and I never got a chance to sit on the heated chairs bc they were always taken but again on a 7 night cruise, I'm sure the crowds were sporadic especially when you're at port!

Have a good weekend

 

[kastoney]

Catching up on your last few updates. Cozumel looks like authentic Mexico, especially with that Hooters Cayman on the other hand is gorgeous. Kudos to your travel agents for all their great port planning

And wow, wow, wow to Remy's. What an amazing experience and views. Fois gras (which we affectionately call foe-e grow-e in our ouse) and caviar would have been enough to satisfy me. And then all that cheese. Looks like perfection. Love that you all shared so you could try some of everything. We splurged on our honeymoon and had dinner at The French Laundry in Napa and did the same thing. Your food looks pretty on par with that experience. Can't believe you were having it on a cruise ship!!!!! What was the truffle tasting they were offering!

 

[chunkymonkey]

I would sadly never have the guts to ask, unless it was in a jokey manner. I will never feel that entitled, probably not even if we were in the Walt or Roy suites. I even preordered the higher-end cheese platter to be waiting in our stateroom on arrival. Any type of cheese is great, and you will never see me say "no" to a daily All-Hands-on-Deck cheese plate, but I feel that embarkation deserves a nice selection of cheese and a bottle of Fairy Tale Cuvee waiting for me. Ahhhh.... so relaxed, just thinking of it. Three weeks, one day.... Three weeks, one day..... Three weeks, one day....

You're right, I would probably not have the guts to ask and I'm usually shy about these things! Well, maybe I'll ask for some Camembert only...
How is the higher end cheese platter? Is it worth it? I was wondering about that but I thought it was just a larger All Hands on Deck. The AHOD platter was a very nice snack and I see myself ordering it more often on another cruise...I felt we were just all over the ship a lot on this cruise and didn't get to do room service much after that one time.

Fairy Tale Cuvee!! Sounds dreamy... Can you buy it outside of Disney?

3 weeks 1 day!!!
I should hopefully my SWDAS posts up before then! Unless you don't want any spoilers?

I don't think you've said yet - did you book another cruise while on board this one??? Either I missed it, or you're just keeping us all in suspense.

Oh you bet we did! We just didn't pick a specific one, we put in a placeholder booking. Was waiting for more of their 2017 itineraries to come out so I'll have to see what piques my interest!

I am loving your reports! I go on the Dream Monday and on the Fantasy next March, and I have been reading everything I can! Yours are so fun!

Thank you!! Welcome! Have a great time on the Dream! Jealous!!! Will you be doing a trip report?

Catching up after a busy week at work!!

Grand Cayman..one day I'll visit that beautiful port hopefully!!

We didn't get a chance to explore much of the island but the port seemed to be like other Caribbean ports we've visited. One day I'd like to go to Seven Mile Beach...if someone would actually plan a port day other than me!

The menu prices didn't seem that far off compared to come chain restaurants around Orlando that I go to!

Yeah the prices on Grand Cayman were what you'd expect for a touristy port, although they are listed in Cayman dollars. Next time I'd do some research myself and make sure we're going to an authentic local Caribbean joint far from the tourist area!

Remy..3 hours??!!!! I suppose if you are on a 7 night cruise you have plenty of time to have a 3 hour dinner and the food looked amazing!!

Yup it was 3 hours but honestly did not feel like it since we were eating pretty much the entire time.

If CS did a TR, she should call it, "The Search for New Selfie Sticks!!!"…love it!

I know!! She's gonna be the reason they ban selfie sticks from DCL in the future...lol

Looks like you are taking full advantage of the RFR. I did on sea day for the Dream and it was pretty crowded and I never got a chance to sit on the heated chairs bc they were always taken but again on a 7 night cruise, I'm sure the crowds were sporadic especially when you're at port!
Have a good weekend

We sure did! We'd luckily come at odd hours so it was never totally crowded. I'm sure it's much more different on the Dream when everyone is trying to cram as much as they can into the sea day.

Have a great weekend too!

Catching up on your last few updates. Cozumel looks like authentic Mexico, especially with that Hooters Cayman on the other hand is gorgeous. Kudos to your travel agents for all their great port planning

What can I say, my travel agents are totally on top of things.

And wow, wow, wow to Remy's. What an amazing experience and views. Fois gras (which we affectionately call foe-e grow-e in our ouse) and caviar would have been enough to satisfy me. And then all that cheese. Looks like perfection. Love that you all shared so you could try some of everything. We splurged on our honeymoon and had dinner at The French Laundry in Napa and did the same thing. Your food looks pretty on par with that experience. Can't believe you were having it on a cruise ship!!!!! What was the truffle tasting they were offering!

It was amazing and you'd totally love it!! Wow, French Laundry!! I'm so jealous! I tried to get reservations a long time ago when visiting SF but I couldn't get them! We did dine at Per Se two years ago and that was amazing. Definitely a pretty penny so Remy seems like a BARGAIN compared to that. Now that I think of it, I think we could have gotten 2 dinners at Remy with the caviar course and still be less than what we paid to eat at Per Se. I'm gonna have to convince DH on that one...

The truffle tasting was pretty much rich French food with fresh truffles shaved on top of everything. It did sound great but after 5 courses I'm sure it would have been a little too much for me. I felt it would have been a bit too mushroom-y in aftertaste and I like mushrooms! (don't you have an aversion to mushrooms??)

 

[disnygirl55]

How is the higher end cheese platter? Is it worth it?

I've never ordered it - but it looks very similar to one of the daily "treats" we got from concierge when we were on the Wonder sailing from San Diego to Vancouver. The cheese was a bit more substantial (and included some nice stinky cheese to boot) and some honeycomb and different crackers and fruit. So my hopes are high that it will be similar. Hopefully it will also save well in the fridge if we can't finish it. I would hate to throw out perfectly good stinky cheese!

Fairy Tale Cuvee!! Sounds dreamy... Can you buy it outside of Disney?

It is my favorite champagne. To be completely up front, it probably tastes so delicious just because it is infused with "vacation". It's made by Iron Horse Vineyards especially for Disney. I've never been able to confirm, but it may be the same champagne that they sell that you can buy just about anywhere, called Celebration Cuvee or Wedding Cuvee, I think. One of our local wine stores carries it, but they never have it in stock when I'm in the mood to spend $50 on a bottle of champagne, which is practically never. Give me a $20 bottle of pinot noir and I'm just about as happy.

 

[Dugette]

All caught up!

Nice to see the ports, even if you didn't do anything major.

Very cool to see all the details of your dinner at Remy. I am with you on the champagne, tomato soup ball, bread, cheese assortment, and dessert. Other than that, probably wouldn't eat any of it - maybe the beef. (I swear, I'm actually not a very picky eater, but when the food gets uber fancy and unfamiliar, I get uneasy). If I could go to Remy for just champagne, dessert, and that cheese board, I'd love it!

 

[Cali Cat]

I've never ordered it - but it looks very similar to one of the daily "treats" we got from concierge when we were on the Wonder sailing from San Diego to Vancouver. The cheese was a bit more substantial (and included some nice stinky cheese to boot) and some honeycomb and different crackers and fruit. So my hopes are high that it will be similar. Hopefully it will also save well in the fridge if we can't finish it. I would hate to throw out perfectly good stinky cheese!



It is my favorite champagne. To be completely up front, it probably tastes so delicious just because it is infused with "vacation". It's made by Iron Horse Vineyards especially for Disney. I've never been able to confirm, but it may be the same champagne that they sell that you can buy just about anywhere, called Celebration Cuvee or Wedding Cuvee, I think. One of our local wine stores carries it, but they never have it in stock when I'm in the mood to spend $50 on a bottle of champagne, which is practically never. Give me a $20 bottle of pinot noir and I'm just about as happy.

Iron Horse Vineyards is in my neck of the woods. I've been to their tasting room and the lady there told me there wedding cuvée is fairytale cuvée at the Disney parks. It was good, but they do have many other sparkling wine that I liked better. Here's there website if you want to buy online: http://www.ironhorsevineyards.com/Shop-Wines/Sparkling-Wines

By the way CM I've really enjoyed reading your trip report. I can't wait to hear about your Star Wars day. You got me thinging about taking a Star Wars cruise.

 

[disnygirl55]

I've been to their tasting room and the lady there told me there wedding cuvée is fairytale cuvée at the Disney parks.

Mystery solved! Thanks, Cali Cat!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Mystery solved! Thanks, Cali Cat!

Check the WDW resort gift shops, they usually sell it there. They also sell it during Food and Wine at Epcot but they have to transport it to the front of the park which can take 3+hours to arrive (they don't do resort shipping since its alcohol.)

 

[Elevationist]

I'm super late! But I just read through the whole report thus far, and OMG... If I only ever kinda wanted to go on a Disney cruise, now I NEED to go! Everything seems absolutely amazing! I can't wait to hear all about Star Wars Day, also!!

 

[natebenma]

Arendelle- Wow! The Animator's Palate looks incredible in blue. They really set the mood for the meet & greet. I also love that you are all dressed in blue. Your pictures look great.


Mixology- That looked like a lot of fun and really was a bargain at $20 per person. All of the drinks sound interesting and you got to muddle! Too funny with the video of the aftermath.

Your update took me back- way back- 25 years ago- to my first cruise. Mark and I went on an excursion and the bartender was pouring VERY strong fruity drinks. It was the first time I was ever so plastered that I blacked out, passed out and got sick from drinking. It was also the LAST time I have been drunk. I did NOT like the feeling of not remembering a chunk of time. Thank goodness for Mark, because I don't know how I got back to the ship. It was our formal dining night too, and I stuck with the beef consommé instead of the escargot.

 

[natebenma]

I love your dress for formal night and especially that it was a bargain! You all looked fantastic on formal night.

How cool that the characters all have formalwear too.

Dinner sounded great- bummer about the blue hue on some of the food porn.

I would love the dessert sampler your DH got.

I'll have to see the other restaurants, but I think Animators Palate would be my favorite because of the exciting change-of-décor

 

[beccawes7471]

What an awesome review, thanks so much for sharing. We just got off a 4 night Magic last week and rebooked a 5 night Magic next year, but we were heavily considering a 7 night Fantasy that just so happens to be SW themed. So now, after stumbling upon your review, we are leaning toward changing to the Fantasy. I am going to go back and read your Magic review also. We went with the Magic as we were concerned about crowd size on the big ships. Since you've been on both what did you think? Also, I love all of CS's themed dresses, too cute. Cant wait for more!

 

[natebenma]

I enjoyed reading about your Cozumel morning.

The formal, seated breakfasts on the cruise are nice. I am not really used to being pampered, so if I can get someone to slice a banana into my cereal, I'm in!

Your street drink sounds really refreshing.

The restaurant you went to looks like a winner. Nice job on the extensive research by your DH!!!

It is easy to forget how connected we all are until you get to a place where you aren't able to contact each other.

Yum. Second lunch.

CS and DH had a few of theses:

Did DH and CS eat all the crab claws? How shellfish!

 

[Ajojo]

Loving the Trip Report! Cant wait to see your Star W.ars day. We are about 75% done with our costumes for the April 16th sailing

OMG, do I really want to try Remy. I so would love to sample those cheeses. I think that we are going to do the Desert Tasting.

 

[chunkymonkey]

I've never ordered it - but it looks very similar to one of the daily "treats" we got from concierge when we were on the Wonder sailing from San Diego to Vancouver. The cheese was a bit more substantial (and included some nice stinky cheese to boot) and some honeycomb and different crackers and fruit. So my hopes are high that it will be similar. Hopefully it will also save well in the fridge if we can't finish it. I would hate to throw out perfectly good stinky cheese!

Ah ok, I see. I'll wait to hear your feedback on the deluxe cheese platter! I'm sure it'll be just delicious!

It is my favorite champagne. To be completely up front, it probably tastes so delicious just because it is infused with "vacation". It's made by Iron Horse Vineyards especially for Disney. I've never been able to confirm, but it may be the same champagne that they sell that you can buy just about anywhere, called Celebration Cuvee or Wedding Cuvee, I think. One of our local wine stores carries it, but they never have it in stock when I'm in the mood to spend $50 on a bottle of champagne, which is practically never. Give me a $20 bottle of pinot noir and I'm just about as happy.

Oh I see, I have not tried it I don't think, but I have been to Iron Horse before many years ago and we did a tasting back then (early 2000s) in what was their makeshift tasting room...outdoors on a slab of wood made into a countertop. We really liked their sparking wines though! I will have to look for it when I get a chance!

All caught up!

Nice to see the ports, even if you didn't do anything major.

LOL, yeah we certainly missed the ball on our port planning...

Very cool to see all the details of your dinner at Remy. I am with you on the champagne, tomato soup ball, bread, cheese assortment, and dessert. Other than that, probably wouldn't eat any of it - maybe the beef. (I swear, I'm actually not a very picky eater, but when the food gets uber fancy and unfamiliar, I get uneasy). If I could go to Remy for just champagne, dessert, and that cheese board, I'd love it!

They do have a dessert tasting at Remy on the Fantasy! I'm sure it's very good, but since we have been eating so many sweets on board (plus we were doing the Symphony in the Stars dessert party at WDW the next wee) we opted to not try it. One day we will!

Iron Horse Vineyards is in my neck of the woods. I've been to their tasting room and the lady there told me there wedding cuvée is fairytale cuvée at the Disney parks. It was good, but they do have many other sparkling wine that I liked better. Here's there website if you want to buy online: http://www.ironhorsevineyards.com/Shop-Wines/Sparkling-Wines

Thanks for the link! Pretty cool that we can buy it online.

By the way CM I've really enjoyed reading your trip report. I can't wait to hear about your Star Wars day. You got me thinging about taking a Star Wars cruise.

Thank you so much! It was a lot of fun. I actually wished SWDAS was spread over 2 days. It would annoy the non Star Wars fans, but I think what they need to do is sell the cruise as a Star Wars cruise up front. In any case, I would totally do this again!

I'm super late! But I just read through the whole report thus far, and OMG... If I only ever kinda wanted to go on a Disney cruise, now I NEED to go! Everything seems absolutely amazing! I can't wait to hear all about Star Wars Day, also!!

Hi Billie! Glad you've joined!! The cruises are amazing...we love everything about them. The boats are beautiful, the services is awesome, and theming in all the areas is what you'd expect from Disney. The characters are awesome too.

Arendelle- Wow! The Animator's Palate looks incredible in blue. They really set the mood for the meet & greet. I also love that you are all dressed in blue. Your pictures look great.

I didn't realize I was dressed in blue! It must have been a subconscious thought. But I'm happy to have matched the theme!

Mixology- That looked like a lot of fun and really was a bargain at $20 per person. All of the drinks sound interesting and you got to muddle! Too funny with the video of the aftermath.

LOL, good times for sure!

Your update took me back- way back- 25 years ago- to my first cruise. Mark and I went on an excursion and the bartender was pouring VERY strong fruity drinks. It was the first time I was ever so plastered that I blacked out, passed out and got sick from drinking. It was also the LAST time I have been drunk. I did NOT like the feeling of not remembering a chunk of time. Thank goodness for Mark, because I don't know how I got back to the ship. It was our formal dining night too, and I stuck with the beef consommé instead of the escargot.

Oh no, that sounds terrible! At least you made it back to the ship! I am careful not to get black out drunk anymore, but it has happened before and I absolutely loathe the feeling too. Blech. Luckily I was more happy drunk this time, whew!

I love your dress for formal night and especially that it was a bargain! You all looked fantastic on formal night.

Thank you!! It was fun to dress up for once!

How cool that the characters all have formalwear too.

Yup! They all had themes to match the evening. Very cool!

Dinner sounded great- bummer about the blue hue on some of the food porn.

I would love the dessert sampler your DH got.

I'll have to see the other restaurants, but I think Animators Palate would be my favorite because of the exciting change-of-décor

Animator's Palate was definitely our favorite theme. I just love the interaction and the fact that there is something to watch while you're eating. It definitely had a lot of dim and changing lighting though so it was challenging taking pictures. But the food was actually pretty good despite cruise food not having the best reputation.

What an awesome review, thanks so much for sharing. We just got off a 4 night Magic last week and rebooked a 5 night Magic next year, but we were heavily considering a 7 night Fantasy that just so happens to be SW themed. So now, after stumbling upon your review, we are leaning toward changing to the Fantasy. I am going to go back and read your Magic review also. We went with the Magic as we were concerned about crowd size on the big ships. Since you've been on both what did you think? Also, I love all of CS's themed dresses, too cute. Cant wait for more!

Thank you for reading! I really loved the Magic, there was something about it that reminded me of being with an old friend, even though it was our first time on it. The Fantasy is newer and bigger and it really is amazing in design and theme. It is hard to choose but i would probably choose based on the itinerary next time. I really like the idea of longer cruises too...it goes by so quickly so the more days the better for me! The Fantasy did have more people but since we were 3 adults I felt we did not notice crowds as much than if there were kids in our party. The lines for characters were about the same...it can get long on both ships. And I loved the Rainforest room so it'll be hard to give that up on the older ships. The Magic did feel like the service was more personable...we had a great camaraderie with our servers and we saw our stateroom host more often. Not that the Fantasy was bad in any shape or form, but since it's bigger we saw the same castmembers less.

I enjoyed reading about your Cozumel morning.
The formal, seated breakfasts on the cruise are nice. I am not really used to being pampered, so if I can get someone to slice a banana into my cereal, I'm in!

It was nice to be able to try breakfasts in all the different dining rooms!

Your street drink sounds really refreshing.

It was like a sweet banana snow cone now that I think about it...it was good though!

The restaurant you went to looks like a winner. Nice job on the extensive research by your DH!!!

I know right? He's a keeper based on his planning skills alone.
In actuality I was gonna just do it myself (and happy to do so) but got too overwhelmed when figuring out our costumes and packing so I delegated it...sigh...this is what happens. At least we all had fun though, and I wouldn't change what we did as it was all an experience!

It is easy to forget how connected we all are until you get to a place where you aren't able to contact each other.

Totally! It's like we're in a backwards era! What do you mean no WIFI???

Yum. Second lunch.
Did DH and CS eat all the crab claws? How shellfish!

Yes they did, very shellfish of them!!! And very clever of you!! (sorry, I couldn't come up with anything clever and witty!)

Loving the Trip Report! Cant wait to see your Star W.ars day. We are about 75% done with our costumes for the April 16th sailing

Thank you!! Star Wars day coming up soon! Hopefully will get to a few of them this week! You will have a great time, and the interaction with other fans is the best part...seeing all the costumes was awesome! You'll have to post pics after your cruise!!

OMG, do I really want to try Remy. I so would love to sample those cheeses. I think that we are going to do the Desert Tasting.

Great idea! I heard it's really good! I wish they do a cheese and dessert sampling together. I like dessert but sometimes I find having too many sweet things is a bit too one note...I'd prefer something savory to go along with it!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Day 4 Part 2: Royalty on board the Fantasy!

This evening's theme was the Prince and Princess dinner. I was not really sure what this entailed but I know there were going to be some royalty on board! So I chose to wear this maxi dress which got the most votes in my PTR as the maxi dress to bring!

Good choice everyone! Thanks!

Tonight's show was a variety act, a hypnotist. Although I would have probably gone to it regularly I wanted to do some shopping instead, so DH went to the show and CS and I headed down to Deck 3 to get some pictures and to do some shopping!

My sister wore a white dress that had little Minnie heads on it. In addition she had brought along her minnie gloves! I didn't realize she had packed them but thought it was pretty funny.

So now I know why tonight is called the Prince and Princess theme...there was a mini show where Cinderella welcomes everyone to her court and all the little princesses get escorted down the stairs. It was really cute to watch. I'm not sure how the little princesses got selected but they were all wearing princess costumes so that's probably a good indication.

At the bottom of the stairs each little princess got to meet with Cinderella.

The princesses were out tonight! So if you didn't get Princess Gathering tickets now would be a good time to get to their pictures. We went to wait on line for Tiana since we weren't sure if she would be part of the Princess Gathering or not. From what I've seen, she may or may not be there.

Tiana is always fun to talk too! She has some attitude!

Then it was Mickey time!

He liked my dress too!

I decided to go shopping while CS continued her picture gathering...

Oh and the Minnie gloves were a big hit with Minnie herself!

What a cute pic!

I went to drop off the stuff I purchased in the stateroom then went back down. I didn't buy anything big, just the Han Solo "Captain of the Ship" t shirt for DH, and a hoodie for me, oh and an Alex and Ani bracelet which I'll show later!

When I came back down, DH came to join us, so we had to get another Tiana picture.

I also decided to wait in line for Tinkerbell right before her appearance. The line got REALLY long after me so it was good I decided to get in line at that moment.

Never grow up!!

Then right before we had to go for dinner we all squeezed in another picture, this time with Belle!

Tonight's dinner was very befitting of the evening, Royal Court! I'm really liking this particular rotation on our cruise! (RAERAAE)

Before we went in, I told DH I needed a porthole picture of him so he obliged with this very casual pose.

Coming up...dinner at Royal Court...Ooh La La...and a sneak peak at Star Wars Day at Sea!!
​

 

[bcwife76]

Loving all the princess photos! That one with CS and Minnie and their matching hands....I'm dying from all the cuteness!!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Loving all the princess photos! That one with CS and Minnie and their matching hands....I'm dying from all the cuteness!!

Haha thanks! We tried!