Am I Gonna EAT? Or Am I Gonna STAAAARRRRRVE To Death? Eastern Fantasy UPDATED 06/12/15

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Taxi ride back to port

Dominos! boy could i go for some pizza right now - starving!

We stopped back at the ship for a quick lunch (hey - free food!) and to change since we were all soaked and sandy. Then we headed right out to explore the port area of San Juan.

Don't Zoe and Piper look thrilled to be stopping for yet another pic?

You have to pass through the security area to get to the ships from the port - you can see some security personnel in the dark pants and tan shirts in between those gates

looking back at the port entrance/walkway

the Fantasy

you can see taxis lined up along the walkway - they are always there

there's a Sheraton right there and Senor Frogs

another shot of the Fantasy

We had no specific destination in mind - just walking around so we headed up the sidewalk

past Senor Frogs

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

We turned right and went up a hill i think and found our way to a neat walkway that went towards the water so we headed down

I snapped pics of everything along the way

They had quite a few holiday decorations up since it was close to Christmas - I loved this tree!

We could see the water ahead so we kept walking

We made it!

photo time!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Fountain details

Then we went to check out the water

The waves really crash up here - it was soaked

One of the girls almost lost a flip flop when the waves came up so watch your shoes lol

As we headed back towards town we saw a cat - my girls were thrilled. There are cats everywhere.

we were quickly back by Senor Frogs

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

The girls were dying to take in some of the shops - they had money burning a hole in their pocket! This little street we turned up by Senor Frogs is right across from the port area. There are a whole ton of vendors up these streets with all kinds of t shirts, bags, jewelry, etc. Super cute area! And here we go!

The girls bought a couple of woven bracelets - $1

Piper bought a purse that had dolphins on it and said Puerto Rico - I think it was $5 but it might have been less than that

All kinds of paintings

You can SEE the Fantasy in the background - shows how close you are

moving along

walking around

We found a guy selling necklaces that the girls really loved - you picked out whatever pendant you wanted and it came with a black rope type necklace. He said he paints them all by hand. $5! Bargain!

We walked around more and I bought some earrings from one of the venders - 3 pairs for $12. They were super cute so I brought a pair home for my sister and mother.

We enjoyed walking around and then decided to head back to the ship. Delightful selfie time! This one's a treasure

When we got back to the ship they had cold flavored waters and also washclothes soaking in ice water they were handing out. AWESOME!

You can see the little rolled up washcloth in Zoe's hand below

This is the "mom we're boiling hot, tired, and want to get on the ship" face

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

We got back on the ship and went on deck to take some pics. I REALLY wanted to go to the fort but with everything else we did there just wasn't time. So that will be on our agenda for a future trip!

the fort

Andy

drink of the day goodness

They were having some kind of Tropical Holiday deck party

It was called Deck the Deck and had all the characters out

So we watched that for a few minutes

Do the Yuletide Slide!

this was TOO CUTE!! I LOVE shows!!!

Lilo was in the back

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

a couple more pics of this cuteness

They danced around the deck

there they go!

I tried to catch Stitch but he was super quick

bye characters!

We walked through empty Cabana's

and we left San Juan!

Time for dinner!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Back to Enchanted Garden

We had to see our favorite server Stipe so we didn't starve to death!

it was the Prince & Princess dinner - here are the menus

Slow Roasted Duck and Cheese Quesadilla - I have never liked duck - and surprisingly - these were really tasty! We ate a bunch of them!

Not sure what this was lol

The kids had Oven Roasted Tom Turkey breast dinner

Andy and I both got the Peppercorn crusted NY Strip. I was really excited about this because I love steak done with peppercorn seasoning. Mine was SOOOOO covered in SPICY peppercorn that the first bite made my mouth feel like it was on fire! Andy ate mine and his - but even he (who loves spicy food) couldn't believe how hot it was!

So the wonderful Stipe brought me Roasted Portobello pasta instead. it was absolutely yummy!

desert menu

after dinner drinks

Princess jasmine banana bread pudding. this was SOOOO GOOD!!!!

I couldn't decide between the bread pudding and the Princess Aurora sundae so Stipe brought me both. Oh. My. Goodness!

We rolled out of dinner and look who we found standing by herself with no line

She was so sweet and she spent quite a while with the girls and even posed for her own pic

We saw sailor Minnie was out so we jumped in her line

Then we went to check out the art gallery

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

We stopped back at the room and this little guy was on our bed

Donald was hanging out

and then it was time to head off to the show

Pinocchio was out by the theater

The girls did their best puppet imitation

Then we jumped in line for sailor Mickey

After the show we called it a night!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Wow, so many updates. I love it!

 

[sager1969]

Loved your tip about St. Maarten! We are doing a private tour and then we will think about beach time! The Delightful selfie is the best picture! Too funny! I love that you saw Pinocchio. I plan to stalk him on our next cruise. I somehow always seem to miss him.

We are going to the Chocobar. San Juan looks like an easy place to walk around. Is it easy to find things?

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Wow, so many updates. I love it!

Thank you! Thanks for reading along through all that, I appreciate it! I know it was a ton of pics, glad to see people are still along for the ride! I had some extra time so I wanted to get as much done as possible. Hopefully I will have this one wrapped up and can start a pre trip report and do a trip report on our May cruise on the Dream! Now that I've been on a cruise I feel like I will be better prepared for this next one and hopefully I can get a lot of pics and info to bring back!

Loved your tip about St. Maarten! We are doing a private tour and then we will think about beach time! The Delightful selfie is the best picture! Too funny! I love that you saw Pinocchio. I plan to stalk him on our next cruise. I somehow always seem to miss him.

We are going to the Chocobar. San Juan looks like an easy place to walk around. Is it easy to find things?

Oh my goodness when I was going through the pics I was seriously dying looking at that selfie - I was soooo not going to post it then I was like oh why not, it's hysterical. LOL. Glad the St. Maarten info was helpful! If you have any questions just let me know! I really want to go back there and spend more time over in that little beach/shop area exploring, eating at one of the restaurants, etc. It had a fun vibe to it there. Oh I LOVE Pinocchio! I never expected to see him on the cruise! I loved the pic of him and the girls in their puppet pose. He's soooo cute and was adorable taking his time with the girls that night. I really hope you find him! Chocobar sounds excellent! San Juan was definitely an easy place to walk around. It's not really a large area so we just explored. When you get off the ship there are a lot of taxis, etc there waiting and they can pretty much take you anywhere. I believe there is also a trolley you can hop on to go around the area but I need to research that. We didn't make it to the fort because we went the wrong way so I would just ask directions unlike us My husband thought he knew where it was lol!

 

[ShellB8585]

have just found your TR and love it. you have an adorable family!!

Thank you for sharing with us

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Loved your tip about St. Maarten! We are doing a private tour and then we will think about beach time! The Delightful selfie is the best picture! Too funny! I love that you saw Pinocchio. I plan to stalk him on our next cruise. I somehow always seem to miss him.

We are going to the Chocobar. San Juan looks like an easy place to walk around. Is it easy to find things?

I also meant to ask you what private tour you are doing?

have just found your TR and love it. you have an adorable family!!

Thank you for sharing with us

awwwe, thank you very much for the kind words! Thank you for reading along and joining me on this adventure! We really enjoyed our first cruise! Stay tuned for more updates shortly!

 

[sager1969]

We are doing Bernard's private tour. I get a little sick on buses so we decided to treat ourselves. We get to decide where want to go. We are going to Marigot for shopping. We couldn't decide on a beach yet. I know that Orient is out. I have yet to really find anyone that liked it. Can't wait for more up dates!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

We are doing Bernard's private tour. I get a little sick on buses so we decided to treat ourselves. We get to decide where want to go. We are going to Marigot for shopping. We couldn't decide on a beach yet. I know that Orient is out. I have yet to really find anyone that liked it. Can't wait for more up dates!

I have read a lot of good reviews about Bernard's private tours! You will have to let us all know how it goes!

 

[sager1969]

Yes, I would love to do a trip report, but I am horrible at pictures and really lazy about writing stuff down. I am usually good for a couple of days and then just get too busy or too relaxed!! But, I really appreciate everyone who does so I think maybe it is my turn.

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

The next morning I noticed there was an early character meet with Doc McStuffins. Since we collect character autographs/photos and we hadn't met her before, I really wanted to get an autograph and pic. None of the kids were up/ready/interested but I talked Andy into heading down to the meet and greet. I didn't get in the pic because I was basically just rolled out of bed with sweats and a tshirt on but Andy humored me and agreed to do the photo. There were probably 5 families in front of us and the line got HUGE behind us so i was glad we got there early

She was so cute! I should have taken a picture of her autograph because she made a little band aid on it, adorable!

After the autograph was accomplished we headed to Cabana's for some breakfast. Here are our plates:

We all got ready after breakfast and headed to our usual laying around the pool all day destination.

The kids had taken off on their own and so Andy and I were heading towards the adults only pool area when we noticed something....something SUPER exciting. Yep, MICKEY PRETZELS!!!

We immediately investigated and found out they were at Flo's so we headed on over. They had a TON of them. They were plain and then there was some kind of butter you could put on them, salt, and cinnamon/sugar. There was also cheese. They were flying out of there like hot cakes.

I decided we should grab one for our friends/the older kids we were meeting up on the adult only pool deck so here were our plates

Could they BE any cuter? Oh my goodness

We attempted to carry them up the stairs by the Funnelvision and it was SOOOO windy that the plates almost blew away and we literally had to turn around and take them back down by the main pool and drink station. the wind was CRAZY that day! I couldn't risk losing a delicious Mickey pretzel to the wind It didn't matter that I had just eaten a buffet. I was eating this pretzel.

As we were walking with the pretzels and also sitting there eating them you would not believe how many people were asking us where we got them. I can not even imagine how many they must go through when they have these. It was pretzel mania LOL.

When we went up to the pool deck, we ran into Zach who was in pants and a shirt - unfortunately he got a little too much sun in San Juan so he was covering up to avoid more. He didn't want to be sunburned for Castaway Cay tomorrow. Which was his 25th birthday! whoop whoop!

Sunburned Zach

I basked in my Mickey Pretzel glory all day in the sun. Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for dinner. Tonight was the Captain's Gala dinner. I was looking forward to this bad boy the whole trip because I am a HUGE lobster fan. I love seafood!

The menu

Garlic and herb sauteed shrimp appetizer

salad

mushroom soup

oysters Rockefeller

Fettuccine with Parmesan chicken - Andy had this as he doesn't like lobster

and here it is - the lobster

they came around and removed them from the shell and poured melted butter - YUMMO!

Something happened here which seeing Zach's cocktail above just reminded me of. Zach ordered the drink special of the night which was a Tuxedo. Mariya said OK and then seriously...disappeared for I will say a SOLID 10 minutes maybe more. Usually we would see her running back and forth but she was gone. Then, she reappears with a drink for Zach, sets it down with a glass and starts to head off. Zach raised his hand a little to motion like he had a question and she said she'd be right back. I *think* she thought he wanted her to pour it maybe? She had brought him a COKE ZERO. she must've thought he said Coke Zero when he said Tuxedo. Seriously, we were dying. I felt so bad as WHO KNOWS where she must've gone to get that coke zero, I'm thinking maybe a bar? You should've seen her face when she realized he said Tuxedo lol. She was cracking up with us over the whole scenario. BUT, it just goes to show you they realllly do try to do anything to make you happy at dinner, even run around after a can of coke.

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Yes, I would love to do a trip report, but I am horrible at pictures and really lazy about writing stuff down. I am usually good for a couple of days and then just get too busy or too relaxed!! But, I really appreciate everyone who does so I think maybe it is my turn.

No worries! That's what vaca is for - to relax! That's why I didn't really usually take pics or anything during the day this trip while we were on the ship - we spent the day lazing around the pool deck - it was AWESOME! I definitely found it a lot more relaxing than a lot of vacations I've gone on because you didn't feel like you had to go anywhere - you could just be content doing nothing - LOVED IT

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Here was desert:

Zoe and Miss M at dinner

The ever fabulous Stipe came back around to do magic tricks for Piper and Miss A

After dinner the Fine Whines were entertaining the crowd

We stopped by the tree for a pic - they had a photographer taking pics there

We stopped at the shops for a minute to pick up a souvenier Miss A had her eye on

After stopping back at the room we decided to get some characters that were out before we went to the show

Love Minnie's Christmas dress!

That night, this was our towel animal

Next up - Castaway Cay!

 

[nny2k]

Wow, great pics! And I Loooovvveee National Lampoons Vacation! Good thing you didn't end up on the roof of the car