A Mother's Day Cruise on the Fantasy sandwiched between BCV (Complete 10/12, p.33)

[Pinkocto]

We went up to Satellite Falls to see how close we were to port





And then we must have gone to fill up our water/soda bottles because we wouldn’t have gone this direction otherwise.









Then up to the room to get ready for the day. Our magnificent room steward left us more presents.



I turned on Aristocats while waiting for the shower. I was a happy camper now that we knew how to access the movie channel.

We went down to the Walt Disney Theater to await a tender at 11:35, we waited less than 15 minutes, it was a very smooth process.

In the tender



They really tried to get as many people on as possible







Our plans were to get a taxi to Seven Mile Beach and there was a guy with a sign $5 each person. We were stuffed into a van like sardines and driven to part of the beach.






The place was gorgeous!





I got us some loungers, $5 each again. We lounged, mom read her book, and I wrote in the journal. It was absolutely gorgeous. It was overcast most of the time, but that was a good thing. When the sun poked through the clouds it was very very hot. After catching up in the journal I spent my time enjoying the ocean and just relaxing on the lounger. It took quite a bit for mom to get in the water, but she finally got in. She didn't stay in long.





I was quite amused by this little crab



He must have been trapped under the sand for quite a while because he was digging out his entrance







Ooohhh, my little friend was back again



Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous



The clouds started to get dark and we decided to head back early.



I know all these pictures look pretty much the same, but you can see most of the people have left.





The van that drove us to the beach said they’d be back at 4:00. Well since we were leaving early we just got in the one that was there. They said they’d be leaving shortly. And kept saying they’d be leaving shortly. We sat in that bus for 45 minutes. We had specifically asked if they’d wait for the bus to fill up and they said no. Lies. A family that was in there with us started to get mad and told the bus driver to let them off, they’d be going with the next bus. Our driver literally stood in the door not letting them out until things got quite heated. It was very uncomfortable. It was hot in the bus. If they had just been honest and said they’d leave when the bus was full we could have done some shopping at the little stands by the beach. Finally we were on our way, and I could tell mom was either mad or not herself. Come to find out on the tender boat back to the ship that she had a bad headache. Advil was in the bag, why didn’t she have any I asked. Sometimes you’re just miserable and can’t think about how to fix it. The heat of the bus and sitting there so long did her in. And she mostly sat in the sun instead of cooling off in the ocean. This would come back to haunt her.

The ride back to the pier was like being in the twilight zone. Two little boys were allowed to play with the bus’s microphone, and talked nonsense at the top of their voices. Their parents tried to stop them but they were seats away and powerless. There was no way they could get to the kids the way they had crammed us in the bus. And then the wife of the bus driver started singing koombaya or some other bizarre song with one of the passengers. Finally, FINALLY, we were back to the pier.

We looked around at some of the little shops but we both really wanted to be back on the ship. DCL kindly provided cool flavored water at the pier and the way mom drunk hers I should have known something was wrong. She had definitely let herself get dehydrated. We had brought ice water, which I had encouraged her to drink everytime I drunk mine. I really think the difference was that I cooled off in the ocean and she didn't.

My afternoon was not spoiled by the whole thing with the bus but it sure was a dark spot in the day. Seven Mile Beach was gorgeous and I’m glad we went out and did our own thing instead of an excursion. Next time however, we’ll be taking a personal taxi and not a bus. It will be more expensive I’m sure, but waiting on the bus was a waste of time.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Thank you for update

Jo does that with coffee cup for me they never offer you enough. Like thimbles those cups lol. Looks like a yummy breakfast yum re mango yogurt and double yum for french toast

The Royal Court looks gorgeous on The Fantasy I love the carpet and the artwork! They look like very comfy chairs too.

The Cayman Islands look lovely lol re your new little crab friend. Isn't he cute.

So sorry Mom got headache but no wonder in the hot bus for that long and getting dehydrated. Easily done thank goodness you had advil and there was water at the other end. I hope she felt better after.

 

[hstrickland]

Good info about the bus, and note to self about NOT using that. How long does it actually take to get to the beach?? Can't imagine being on a hot bus for so long. I would have been car sick for sure. Too bad they don't have an actual dock/port in the Caymans. Bill's thinking about doing some sort of fishing excursion if possible.

 

[Pinkocto]

Thank you for update

Jo does that with coffee cup for me they never offer you enough. Like thimbles those cups lol. Looks like a yummy breakfast yum re mango yogurt and double yum for french toast

Ridiculous how small the cups are. It's makes more work for them, having to fill them up. That French toast was delicious. Different than the ones up in Cabanas which I really like too.

The Royal Court looks gorgeous on The Fantasy I love the carpet and the artwork! They look like very comfy chairs too.

Very beautiful restaurant. They really go above and behind with the details.

The Cayman Islands look lovely lol re your new little crab friend. Isn't he cute.

I was so amused by that little guy.

So sorry Mom got headache but no wonder in the hot bus for that long and getting dehydrated. Easily done thank goodness you had advil and there was water at the other end. I hope she felt better after.

Eventually she did.

 

[Pinkocto]

Good info about the bus, and note to self about NOT using that. How long does it actually take to get to the beach?? Can't imagine being on a hot bus for so long. I would have been car sick for sure. Too bad they don't have an actual dock/port in the Caymans. Bill's thinking about doing some sort of fishing excursion if possible.

The bus price was good but not worth the hassle. Next time we'll just get a taxi. It was only about a 10 minute drive to the beach. If only the driver hasn't lied about waiting until the bus was full we could have sat outside in the breeze. We learned our lesson that's for sure.

 

[rentayenta]

How gorgeous in the Royal Court? Wow! The mango smoothie looks delicious.

More toiletries? What am I doing wrong? I have one lotion left. Think it'll last until October 2015?

How was the tender other than crowded? We have to tender in Cabo I think.

That beach is gorgeous.

Sorry the bus driver was a crud. I get making a buck but not at the comfort of those they're serving.

Uh oh, hope your cute mom didn't get sick or too burnt from the sun.

 

[dolphingirl47]

The restaurant photos are gorgeous. If you end up at Grand Cayman again, I can really recommend Royal Palms. We still were on a mini bus, but they were very honest with us about the waiting time and stuck with it. I think we had to wait 10 minutes going back and about half that going out. What a shame that your mom had a headache and that bus ride would not have improved the situation.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

How gorgeous in the Royal Court? Wow! The mango smoothie looks delicious.

They really did an amazing job with that restaurant!

More toiletries? What am I doing wrong? I have one lotion left. Think it'll last until October 2015?

You must become friends with your steward, smile and chat with them in the hallways. But it could be yours was just stingy.

How was the tender other than crowded? We have to tender in Cabo I think.

It was great, a very very smooth process. Anybody that wanted to go ashore had to go to the Walt Disney Theater where counted us into groups that would fit on a tender. When another tender had arrived they'd take us down and scan our KTTW cards and let us onto the tender. When we got back to the pier at the end of the day there were tenders to take us back to the ship. No issue at all.

That beach is gorgeous.

It really was

Sorry the bus driver was a crud. I get making a buck but not at the comfort of those they're serving.

All they had to do was tell the truth, we would have waited outside. It was painful.

Uh oh, hope your cute mom didn't get sick or too burnt from the sun.

More to come

 

[Pinkocto]

The restaurant photos are gorgeous. If you end up at Grand Cayman again, I can really recommend Royal Palms. We still were on a mini bus, but they were very honest with us about the waiting time and stuck with it. I think we had to wait 10 minutes going back and about half that going out. What a shame that your mom had a headache and that bus ride would not have improved the situation.

Corinna

I will write down Royal Palms. I remember you had a nice time there. All they had to do was be honest and we'd have been fine. Next year is the same itinerary and right now we're thinking Cozumel will be such a full day we might just stay onboard at Grand Cayman. But things can change in an instant.

Royal Court is pretty stunning. Sadly it's the one they keep giving us the least.

 

[rentayenta]

They really did an amazing job with that restaurant!

It's just lovely. The entire ship looks gorgeous.

You must become friends with your steward, smile and chat with them in the hallways. But it could be yours was just stingy.

I thought he and I were friends. Next time, I'm tipping at the beginning. In cash.

It was great, a very very smooth process. Anybody that wanted to go ashore had to go to the Walt Disney Theater where counted us into groups that would fit on a tender. When another tender had arrived they'd take us down and scan our KTTW cards and let us onto the tender. When we got back to the pier at the end of the day there were tenders to take us back to the ship. No issue at all.

That's good to know. Cabo should be easy too hopefully. Disney is so dang organized.

More to come

You know how I hate suspense.

 

[MEK]

Breakfast looks delicious and that restaurant is gorgeous! Glad you had a nice lazy morning.

Ugh to the tender and bus transportation. The beach is really beautiful and I have to agree that having a slight overcast day makes it so much easier to hang on the beach.

Ugh - your poor mom. I have had those type of headaches before and its the WORST. I am sure hanging out on that bus for 45 minutes did her in. That sounds so NOT fun! I hope she felt better after getting on board and getting some more water and some advil. Poor thing.

But I do love the pictures of the beach and those cloud formations are beautiful.

Ugh to the annoying kids.

 

[Leshaface]

^^^^

Mary Ellen sounds like me!


Definite 'Ughs!' in this update - the kids, the AWFUL bus ride. What the heck?! Seriously, I can't believe the driver stood up to block the door. I would have been a little frightened/mad.

But the beach looked gorgeous and sounds relaxing.

Aw your poor Mom! She sounds like she was just terrible.

 

[franandaj]

I thought he and I were friends. Next time, I'm tipping at the beginning. In cash.

Jenny, Cabo does tender but the boats aren't as nice as Grand Cayman.

Try chocolate or Nutella they can't bring either of those items on the ship.

Pam,
I'm glad you had a relaxing day on the beach but too bad about the bus and your mom getting dehydrated. Your breakfast looked lovely, I can't wait until my next breakfast on a ship!!!!!

 

[Pinkocto]

It's just lovely. The entire ship looks gorgeous.

It's impossible to pick a favorite, they're all so gorgeous, but the Fantasy seems to have extra touches.

I thought he and I were friends. Next time, I'm tipping at the beginning. In cash.

and at some point early on ask if you can have some extra. That seems to encourage them. And hide all the extras!

That's good to know. Cabo should be easy too hopefully. Disney is so dang organized.

They really are, Disney is amazing. I saw Alison said the boats aren't as nice. But the process should be as easy and organized.

You know how I hate suspense.

Coming up immediately my lady!

 

[Pinkocto]

Breakfast looks delicious and that restaurant is gorgeous! Glad you had a nice lazy morning.

A lazy morning is so nice, especially being waited on. I love WDW, but being able to go find food and not have to exchange money on the ships is so nice. Oh, if you do a sit down breakfast or lunch on your cruise you do not have to leave a tip. These servers are the same as the dining ones, and your tips at the end of the cruise covers these meals as well.

Ugh to the tender and bus transportation. The beach is really beautiful and I have to agree that having a slight overcast day makes it so much easier to hang on the beach.

When the sun poked through the clouds it was really sweltering. We were lucky with the clouds. The bus situation was totally avoidable. The guy was scared of losing fares, but this just made sure that we will never get on his bus ever again. His name was Maxwell.

Ugh - your poor mom. I have had those type of headaches before and its the WORST. I am sure hanging out on that bus for 45 minutes did her in. That sounds so NOT fun! I hope she felt better after getting on board and getting some more water and some advil. Poor thing.

Eventually she felt better. I thought she was just being quiet, but I should have known better, she is rarely quiet.

But I do love the pictures of the beach and those cloud formations are beautiful.

Thank you that beach was gorgeous. The sand wasn't as wide as I was expecting but the water was the perfect temperature.

Ugh to the annoying kids.

It started off funny, they were giving us a tour. 'On this side of the bus there are bushes, and on this side of the bus are rocks' we all laughed and that just encouraged them. They got louder and started talkging nonsense. Why the bus driver let it continue as long as it did was the big question.

 

[Pinkocto]

^^^^

Mary Ellen sounds like me!

Definite 'Ughs!' in this update - the kids, the AWFUL bus ride. What the heck?! Seriously, I can't believe the driver stood up to block the door. I would have been a little frightened/mad.

I couldn't believe he tried to stop them from leaving. And it wasn't just a few seconds, it was a stand off.

The kids were out of control. And their parents really tried to stop them, but they were safe out of reach and not obeying.

But the beach looked gorgeous and sounds relaxing.

It really was. That part of the day was fabulous.

Aw your poor Mom! She sounds like she was just terrible.

She was, I felt bad I hadn't realized.

 

[Pinkocto]

Jenny, Cabo does tender but the boats aren't as nice as Grand Cayman.

Try chocolate or Nutella they can't bring either of those items on the ship.

Pam,
I'm glad you had a relaxing day on the beach but too bad about the bus and your mom getting dehydrated. Your breakfast looked lovely, I can't wait until my next breakfast on a ship!!!!!

Remind me when your next cruise is. It's coming up soon isn't it?

The beach was great. I'm going to have to pay more attention to mom. She's a stubborn lady sometimes, and thinks she invincible to the sun.

 

[Pinkocto]

Day 5 continued:



I left off with us going back to the ship after a lovely afternoon at the beach. We arrived back at 4:40 and first went in search of a bathroom. There’s one immediately above on Deck 2 so we walked up there. One of the kiosks for the Mid Ship Detective Agency is right there too so I took advantage and signed us up. You can only register between certain times in the day, but once you’re registered you can play 24-7. There are three different cases, but countless combinations of clues and who will end up being the bad guy. So you can play the games over and over and get a new scenario every time. I signed us up for the Case of the Missing Artwork.




We didn’t start playing, but went in search of some food. Up to Flo’s V-8 Café we went. Due to the time we had missed the buffet again. It was 5:00 when we got food. We pretty much had our usual.

Mom had a veggie burger and fries



And I had a slice of pizza and salad and fries



It was super hot so we sat inside the Cove Café in the airconditioning. The food was delicious and fresh as always. Since we were right in there anyway we got a small treat from the case.

Mom had a chocolate chip cookie brownie bite again. (recycled picture)




And I had a peanut butter blondie bar. This was really good.




With the view




And then we got a little icecream



We’re not that far from dinner folks, we probably should not have eaten all these delicious things…


Then we headed down to the room where the stars had aligned for the most magical moment. Just as we were going into the elevator we heard somebody ask us to hold it. We looked out and it was Minnie Mouse and a CM. MINNIE MOUSE! I started fumbling with my camera and asked her if I could take a picture. We had just arrived at our floor and Minnie said in her silent way, let’s take a picture out here together. Flabbergasted and awestruck I had a moment with Minnie.

This one is a little blurry but I like my smile better so I’m going to post them both.





Mom was in the back of the elevator the whole time, starstruck. I asked her if she was coming, this was our floor. She was so caught up in the moment she had forgotten we were going somewhere. It was the very coolest thing EVER! As we were walking away a little girl, maybe 4 or 5 walked up to the elevator with her mom. And just stood there looking at Minnie in shock. They were invited into the elevator where I’m sure they also had a very magical moment.

Now I can’t ignore, that if we hadn’t waited in a stuffy old bus for 45 minutes, or gotten extra dessert, or done everything exactly as we had, that the stars most definitely would not have aligned. All the frustration of the afternoon evaporated and I was on cloud 9. We passed a man in his 60’s in the hallway and told him what happened. He got it. We also told our room steward and he was like ‘and….’ some people don't get it.


I can’t remember when we looked at the Navigator but there was an adult only ventriloquist show at 10:30 that I really wanted to go see. We cleaned up and watched Bolt, and ended up staying in the room until dinner. I also caught up in the journal. We went through a bad thunderstorm at one point. I can’t remember doing that before.

Mom ended up falling asleep while we watched Bolt and I left her alone until it was time to go to dinner. When I woke her up she said she wasn’t hungry and all she wanted to do was sleep. She did this exact same thing to me on the last cruise. Had a veggie burger too close to dinner and fell asleep early. This time I think too much sun and the headache also played into the scenario. She said if I ‘let’ her skip dinner she’d come with me to the ventriloquist show. I didn’t believe her but I wasn’t going to miss dinner so I left her sleeping. I put out the do not disturb sign which meant no towel animal for us.

The really sad thing was tonight was the special show in Animator’s Palate. First they have you draw on these placemats, anything inside the lines. Then they scan them into a computer and at the end of the show all our pictures come alive on the screens, dancing with characters along to the music. During the meal there are movie clips being played all around the restaurant. It was reminiscent of a dinner show.

Here is my creation



Sadly the mom who had been sick was missing again. She really was not having a good cruise. And the two mystery tablemates had still not shown their faces…

I had the baked potato and macaroni and cheese soup. Only a few noodles in here, ok flavor but I’m not much of a soup fan. It was like tomato soup with noodles.



Then I had the smoked salmon salad. This was really good, but there was so much salmon. Not only that giant rose on the top, but lots of it underneath too. It was too much.



And I had the sugar free strawberry and cream mousse for dessert. It was ok.



Dinner was very nice. I absolutely loved the show and know mom would have too. Next year I’ll drag her to dinner if necessary, this is not something to be missed.

There was a bit of time until the show so I stopped in the shops before going up to get mom. Lots of cute shirts and mugs caught my eye but I didn’t buy anything at the moment. Surprisingly mom was easily roused and we headed to the show at 10:15.

We got there a little early and had to wait until the current show had ended to try and find some seats. I didn’t realize until last minute that it was in the Tube and not the Walt Disney Theater. I wouldn’t have stopped in the shops if I knew where it was. Last cruise we had to sit in an overflow area the show was so busy.



We did get closer to the stage but didn’t manage any seats. This show was absolutely hilarious. The ventriloquist was AMAZING! At one point he had two puppets, both singing, and him talking to both of them. He did not move his lips at all. Some parts were beyond funny and others were crude. Mom and I don’t like toilet jokes. He had an old man puppet come out and talk about how difficult it was to go to the bathroom… but the funniest part was this girl bird puppet.

Sorry this is a terrible picture



He had her take a fancy to a guest in the audience, Steve, and told him that he should leave his wife and take up with her, the bird. I’m not funny and can’t remember the jokes, but we were laughing so hard. After the ventriloquist put her in a box in the back and had started with another puppet, he had the girl bird ‘talk’ from the suitcase, saying that she was thinking about Steve, and he should come and join her in her box. Very worth going to see. After that show they started a dance party. Some CMs came out and danced for us to get the party going. They were fabulous, and we stayed until they were done and then headed out.

We happened to walk behind them on the way back to the room.





I had yet to cross shuffleboard off my list



Back in the room we turned on Brave. Because of mom’s nap she was able to stay awake until the end. I fell asleep around 12:30. It had been another fabulous day of vacation.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Ok so I'm taking a mental note here if I should ever cruise with you and Mom police Mom and the veggie burger eating time lol if we want to see her at dinner! Distraction city! Oh Mom look over here!

Omg re Minnie in elevator what a twist of fate and total reward for the bus ride! I would have been on cloud 9 also! That was just priceless! I love the way on the cruise you do bump shoulders with characters.

That peanut butter blondie sure did look good I would have liked to take that and put ice cream on top!

Glad you enjoyed the show and nice to round it off with Brave. Love that movie

 

[Pinkocto]

Ok so I'm taking a mental note here if I should ever cruise with you and Mom police Mom and the veggie burger eating time lol if we want to see her at dinner! Distraction city! Oh Mom look over here!

you are so right!

Omg re Minnie in elevator what a twist of fate and total reward for the bus ride! I would have been on cloud 9 also! That was just priceless! I love the way on the cruise you do bump shoulders with characters.

That was such an awesome experience. I totally turned into a little kid, just like at Chef Mickeys.

That peanut butter blondie sure did look good I would have liked to take that and put ice cream on top!

Both things were delicious. You could put the blondie on the bottom of a cup and icecream on top. But that might make the peanut butter really hard.

Glad you enjoyed the show and nice to round it off with Brave. Love that movie

That show was so funny! And we were happy campers with all those Disney movies available.