Baby on the High Seas - A Fantasy Eastern Caribbean Trip Report *new 4/15*

[schmass]

I'm glad you found a lookout and were able to see some animals. And then to find them looking out on your balcony.

Yay...you are at the ship. So excited to hear about it.

Yes, the view was a great surprise!

Glad you were able to get in some good animal-viewing during your short stay at Kidani!

That is super weird about the check-in person - some people really don't have any filters. How awkward to be asking a stranger about the conception of their child.

I know, right?! He seem to feel awkward about it at all, though!

Joining in too! We are cruising in a few weeks on the Fantasy with DS who will be 17 months old. We cruised with him last year when he was 6 months, but as you mention with your plane flight experience, I am sure it will be a whole new set of challenges now that he is a toddler! Also, happy to hear we aren't the only crazies flying in on Friday night and staying at WDW for just a few hours before going to port the next morning! I, too, have been hoping for some morning swimming... I guess you can't really count on a midday pickup. I'll keep that in mind to be flexible!

Thanks again for posting... Can't wait to hear more!

Hi, welcome! Where are you staying the night before the cruise? Are you doing the Eastern itinerary? I'll try to post as much as possible before your trip, but if you have any specific questions before you go, let me know!

 

[schmass]

Day 2 – Part 2 – We’re on the ship!

Finally, the moment that we had been waiting for was here – our name was announced and we walked into the beautiful lobby of the Disney Fantasy. After a quick conversation with a cast member, we headed up to Cabanas for lunch. Michael’s parents were already up there, so we found them and joined them for lunch. They were really excited to see Rory, as they hadn’t seen him since May, when they came out to visit for his first birthday.

I ate quickly because I had some things to take care of. First I needed to go to the Royal Palace restaurant so that I could discuss Rory’s food allergies. This is also where they were taking reservations for Palo and Remy, as well as changing dining assignments. It was a pretty quick conversation, and they mainly said to speak with the Head Server at dinner that night and he would make sure Rory was well taken care of. I had mentioned this in my PTR, but for those who are new readers, Rory has food allergies – peanut, tree nut, and dairy. My Travel Agent had put me in touch with DCL Special Requests prior to our trip, and the man I spoke with told me to make sure to follow up when we boarded the ship. Everything that we had discussed was in the computer, and our servers were well aware and ready to take care of Rory.

My second task was to run up to the spa to buy Rainforest passes for Michael and me. We had bought the length of cruise passes on the Dream and thoroughly enjoyed it. We skipped it on the Magic since I was pregnant, so we were ready for the one on the Fantasy! I had been dreaming of the heated tile lounge chairs for a looong time. I bought the passes and realized it was 1:30, so our room was ready. I headed to the room, but Michael and Rory weren’t there. I found them still up at Cabanas and then we headed back to our rooms.

We were in 6562. It was a great location – deck 6, so we could take the stairs easily to dinner and the shows which were mainly deck 3, and could also walk up to deck 11 for the pool, spa, Cabanas. We try to utilize the elevators as little as possible since they are usually crowded and we try to work off as much of the food as we can. Our room was also mid-ship, so it was convenient wherever we were coming from, mid, forward or aft. The only downside worth mentioning is that it’s over the movie theater, so sometimes there would be rumblings from that. It never bothered us, though.

We were excited to see that there were a few gifts in the room for us! One was from DCL for being Silver Castaway members – a tote bag and dry erase board for our door.

The other was a really nice gift basket from Dreams Unlimited, our travel agent. There was all kinds of useful stuff in there!

I couldn't wait to tear into it!

DCL also had a pack n play and Diaper Genie waiting in the room for us, along with the diapers and wipes I had ordered from Babies Travel Lite. Ordering from them was a bit expensive (the shipping is what got us!), but worth saving the room in our suitcases.

Rory wanted to check out the veranda!

At 2:30, we were still getting settled in our room, and it started pouring rain. There was lightning and the rain was coming down sideways – it was crazy. My ILs said that it had done that pretty much all day the day before. I was hoping it would stop in time for the Sail Away party.

We headed to a DVC member get together. We’re not in the market for any more points at the moment, but I was hoping to hear more about the Polynesian DVC (which we didn't!). And really I was hoping to win the $200 on-board credit (also didn't happen!). Plus, I heard there were free drinks (there were)! They also gave away DVC backpacks and hats, which Rory enjoyed wearing. The meeting took place in The Tube, one of the adult areas on the ship.

When the get-together was over, we headed back to the room to put Rory down for a nap. I realized that the life-boat drill was going to be happening soon though, so I wasn’t too upset when he wouldn’t go down. I thought about trying to get him to take a stroller nap, but then realized that we wouldn’t be able to use the elevator during the drill anyway. Soon it was time for the drill and we headed to our meeting location, which was the theater. We were lucky, because I think it was still raining at this point. I remember when I was little and went on a cruise with my family, I was so miserable during the lifeboat drill. Disney does a really good job of making it pretty quick and painless.

After it was over, it was time for the Sail Away Party! It had stopped raining, though the skies were still looking a little ominous.

It did end up starting to rain a little, so I took the opportunity to bring Rory back to the room to try to nap. Again, no such luck.

Next up: Dinner and a Show!

 

[Flossbolna]

Sounds like a good start to the cruise! And you were lucky that you got to sit in the theatre for the life boat drill. My two cruises had me standing outside both times and it is crowded and hot and generally not pleasant. I would much prefer a theatre! Of course, in the case of an emergency, I think I would prefer to be closer to the lifeboats!

So, the DVC hats are light blue now? We got white ones on our cruise in May. That might be a reason to go to the meeting again, just to get the new hats. Oh and a free drink of course!

 

[lundve]

Can't wait to hear more - taking our newly turned ten month old in December on the Fantasy.

 

[KatMark]

Great start to the cruise. I'm glad everything went smoothly with Rory's allergies and they had it all in the computer. I'm sure that was a huge relief for you.

Nice surprises in your room for you when you got there.

And how stinkin' cute is Rory in the DVC hat.

 

[tlynk]

Loving your trip report! Your baby is so adorable! DH and I will be on this same cruise/itinerary in a couple of weeks. Thank you for sharing!

 

[Dugette]

Yay, you're on the boat! I like hearing all the details, as we still are tentatively planning a Dream cruise next May. Sorry it was so rainy, but glad you still got to enjoy the sail-away show. That is a nice gift basket - makes me wish we hadn't booked directly through Disney. Oh, well. Looking forward to more! Oh, and Rory looks so cute in that hat!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Yeah for getting on the boat and that your "errends" seemed to go smoothly - though further reminder of how much stuff related to Disney cruises I know nothing about. :lol:

Glad things went smoothly with the dietary restrictions - definitely something Disney seems to do well

Glad the rain let up (at least some) for the Sail Away party. That would be a bummer if it had been cancelled or anything

 

[schmass]

Sounds like a good start to the cruise! And you were lucky that you got to sit in the theatre for the life boat drill. My two cruises had me standing outside both times and it is crowded and hot and generally not pleasant. I would much prefer a theatre! Of course, in the case of an emergency, I think I would prefer to be closer to the lifeboats!

So, the DVC hats are light blue now? We got white ones on our cruise in May. That might be a reason to go to the meeting again, just to get the new hats. Oh and a free drink of course!

Yes, we were very lucky with the theater location. We were outside last time and it wasn't fun - definitely hot and crowded!

Yup, blue hats now. Free stuff and free drinks are always good!

Can't wait to hear more - taking our newly turned ten month old in December on the Fantasy.

Welcome! I'm sure you all will love the Fantasy!

Great start to the cruise. I'm glad everything went smoothly with Rory's allergies and they had it all in the computer. I'm sure that was a huge relief for you.

Nice surprises in your room for you when you got there.

And how stinkin' cute is Rory in the DVC hat.

Yes, from the moment we got on board, we felt like we were so well taken care of - one of the reasons we love Disney cruises so much!

Loving your trip report! Your baby is so adorable! DH and I will be on this same cruise/itinerary in a couple of weeks. Thank you for sharing!

Aw, thank you! We thought this was a great itinerary and even plan on doing this same one again!

Yay, you're on the boat! I like hearing all the details, as we still are tentatively planning a Dream cruise next May. Sorry it was so rainy, but glad you still got to enjoy the sail-away show. That is a nice gift basket - makes me wish we hadn't booked directly through Disney. Oh, well. Looking forward to more! Oh, and Rory looks so cute in that hat!

Yes, the gift basket was so nice - they really thought of very useful items to include in it. We will definitely work with them again in the future.

Yeah for getting on the boat and that your "errends" seemed to go smoothly - though further reminder of how much stuff related to Disney cruises I know nothing about. :lol:

Glad things went smoothly with the dietary restrictions - definitely something Disney seems to do well

Glad the rain let up (at least some) for the Sail Away party. That would be a bummer if it had been cancelled or anything

Disney cruises are much easier to plan for that WDW - if you book a cruise and then hang out on the cruise forum for a bit, you'll be up to speed pretty quickly!

Yes, I have never felt so comfortable with Rory's food allergies as during the cruise. They really took it seriously.

We were lucky with the weather!

 

[schmass]

Day 2 – Part 3 – Dinner and a Show

I was really excited for dinner this evening – it was at Animator’s Palette. I had requested a dining rotation of AERAERA with our travel agent, and was pleasantly surprised that we got it. We headed to the restaurant and saw that we were at a table with just the 5 of us. In the past, Michael and I have always been paired with other couples, and have really enjoyed meeting new people and getting to know them over the length of the cruise. With Rory though, it was probably just as well we were at our own table so we could focus on him. We met our servers, Alexa from Romania and Lea from the Phillipines, and they were amazing. They took such good care of us, especially Rory. They really made our dining experience special each night, and Alexa gave great recommendations.

When we got to our table, there was a cup of water with a straw and lid with Rory’s name on it, as well as crayons for him and a children’s menu. Michael, MIL and I opted for a bottle of champagne, and FIL drank coffee, as he always does.

Rory checking out the menu with Michael

And apparently excited about his choices!

I apologize, I was really bad about taking pictures of our food. I think the only time I really got any was during our meals at Palo. Anyway, I had the Black Truffle Pursettes for an appetizer, the Seared Red Snapper, and then Crunchy Walnut Cake for dessert. Everything was really good, but the appetizer was amazing! Rory had a tomato and vegetable soup (Michael and I tried it and agreed it was excellent!) and pasta with steamed vegetables, in addition to eating his weight in bread. Alexa also brought him Rice Dream, which was his first experience with that. He loved it! She brought him two scoops and he ate all of it. I told her if she brought it for him again, one scoop only, please!

Each night towards the end of dinner, Alexa would bring me the children’s menu for the next night so that we could decide what Rory could eat. She would also order a special puree for him for breakfast (rice milk, strawberries, banana, and spinach), as well as a special lunch for him. We arranged to pick up his meals at Cabanas and it worked out really well. Having a child with food allergies can be scary and difficult at times, but Disney really made it easy for us.

We headed back to the room and Filip, our Stateroom host was just finishing up when we go there. He apologized and said he’d come to our room earlier from then on. It was no problem, we just walked around for a few minutes and then went back.

We found this on our bed!

Michael put Rory straight to bed while I grabbed a couple of wine glasses from the bar. The ILs had brought some wine on board for our stateroom, so we each grabbed a glass to take to the show. Michael’s dad said he’d rather read than go to the show that night, so he came to our room to read and babysit while Michael and I went to the show.

The show was “A Fantasy Come True” and I thought it was really cute. We headed back to the room after that since we felt bad staying out much later, and we were in bed around 10pm. It was a long, but great day!

Up next: Waking up at Sea!

 

[princessnpirate]

Subbing in! Great report so far.

 

[Dugette]

Sounds like they handled Rory’s food allergies really well! Nice that they really do try to take the worries out of your vacation and make it smooth sailing!

How nice to have FIL watch Rory while you went to the show. I think that will be one of the hardest things for us – trying to see shows with no in-laws on board (well, unless we talk them into coming, I suppose…they do like cruises…)

 

[KatMark]

It sounds like a lovely dinner an so happy that they handled Rory's allergies so well for you. I'm sure that was a big relief.

I'm glad that you and DH to go to a show. But an early night was a good idea after such a long day.

 

[schmass]

Subbing in! Great report so far.

Thank you and welcome!

Sounds like they handled Rory’s food allergies really well! Nice that they really do try to take the worries out of your vacation and make it smooth sailing!

Haha, yes they do!

How nice to have FIL watch Rory while you went to the show. I think that will be one of the hardest things for us – trying to see shows with no in-laws on board (well, unless we talk them into coming, I suppose…they do like cruises…)

I think a cruise is a great vacation to take with in-laws...you can see them as little or as much as you want because there is so much for everyone to do!

It sounds like a lovely dinner an so happy that they handled Rory's allergies so well for you. I'm sure that was a big relief.

I'm glad that you and DH to go to a show. But an early night was a good idea after such a long day.

Ha, 10pm for me is actually on the late side in "real life".

 

[ShannonMB]

I can't wait to read the rest of your adventures! We are going on our first Disney Cruise in March (a 7 night Eastern Caribbean!) so I'll be watching this like a hawk!

I love the idea of staying overnight at AKL before heading to port. We aren't DVC members, though. Could just anyone do that and take the ME to the port the next morning?

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Glad you got the restaurant rotation you wanted! Definitely think I would want Animators Palette as much as possible just given how unique it is

That's really cool that they had the water cup with Rory's name waiting for him.

I read in another DCL TR how much they loved the Black Truffle Pursettes appetizer so that seems to be a consistently great option

That is awesome that they would go through the next days meals with you - I am sure that made things easier for you to know that was taken care of and one less thing to think about

 

[schmass]

I can't wait to read the rest of your adventures! We are going on our first Disney Cruise in March (a 7 night Eastern Caribbean!) so I'll be watching this like a hawk!

Thanks for reading! We loved this itinerary - I hope you do, too!

I love the idea of staying overnight at AKL before heading to port. We aren't DVC members, though. Could just anyone do that and take the ME to the port the next morning?

Yes, anyone can do it. You could either book directly through Disney or rent points from a DVC member. As far as the bus to the port, there is a $35 one-way charge, and you book it through DCL. Depending on the amount of people in your party, it could get pricey, but they sure make it easy.

Glad you got the restaurant rotation you wanted! Definitely think I would want Animators Palette as much as possible just given how unique it is

That's really cool that they had the water cup with Rory's name waiting for him.

I read in another DCL TR how much they loved the Black Truffle Pursettes appetizer so that seems to be a consistently great option

That is awesome that they would go through the next days meals with you - I am sure that made things easier for you to know that was taken care of and one less thing to think about

Animator's Palette is awesome - especially the night that they do the show!

Most of the food I had was excellent, but yes, that appetizer was definitely a winner!

Pre-ordering Rory's meals was nice because if the ILs were watching him during the day, nobody had to worry about what he was eating. They could just pick up his order and everything was all set. I had heard that Disney/DCL does a great job with food allergies, but they really went above and beyond.

 

[gfly]

very interested in your report as we are taking our just-turned-2-year-old son on the Fantasy on the 18th. We have him signed up for some time in the nursery.

 

[schmass]

Day 3 – Part 1 – Sea Day #1

The next morning I woke up at 7:15, and Rory slept until 7:30! He woke up very happy. I couldn’t believe he actually slept in! We headed up to Cabanas around 8am and let the Head Server working our section know that we had a special order puree (I was told before the cruise by DCL Special Services that if we asked for a smoothie we’d be charged, but if we asked for a puree it would be free). When he brought it out, it was in a bowl and I told the server I was going to pour it into Rory’s cup. He asked if I’d like him to do it, and as I looked at the small cup and the large bowl, I said yes please! He took it into the kitchen and came back with Rory’s cup full of the green smoothie. Rory also had plenty of breakfast potatoes and fruit. Did I mention this boy can eat!?

Happy boy after eating his breakfast!

We made it back to the room around 9:30 and spent a little time on the veranda.

We saw something in the Personal Navigator called Toddler Time from 10-10:30, so we headed up to Goofy’s Sports Deck to check it out. We didn’t know what to expect, but basically they brought up a bunch of baby/toddler toys – balls, cars, dolls, etc and let the kids do whatever they wanted for 30 minutes. Rory enjoyed it, even though it was really windy up there!

After some fun in the sun (and wind!), we went back to the room and Rory went right to sleep. Michael said he’d stay with him, so I headed up to the Rainforest Room. Since I don’t think I really explained the Rainforest Room when I mentioned it before, I’ll do my best at describing it. There is a sauna area which includes a Hammam (steam bath), a Caldarium (steam room) and Laconium (dry sauna); 4 aromatherapy showers, which have different hot/cold settings; 2 hot tubs that overlook the water, and my favorite part which are these heated tile lounge chairs. You also get a robe and unlimited cucumber or lemon water while you are in there. You have to be at least 18 to enter, and it is pure relaxation. When I checked in that first day, they asked me if I wanted a scrub. I said no, because I remember on the Dream in 2011 they charged extra for the scrubs. Plus, I really just planned on reading on the tile lounger that day. After some nice relaxing reading time, I headed back to the room to get ready for lunch.

We headed up to Cabanas and met Michael’s parents there for lunch, and discussed our plans for the afternoon. I had seen that Buzz Lightyear was going to be in the Atrium at 1:45 so I wanted to take Rory to that. Rory has a Buzz themed nursery, he was Buzz for Halloween last year, and he had a Buzz themed first birthday party. When we took him to WDW when he was 9 months old, he loved meeting Buzz, and we have this picture framed in our living room. Rory always points to it and says “mama, dada, buh!” So I thought he was going to love this character meet – I was wrong. He started crying and wanted me to hold him.

Started off okay

I want my MOMMY!

I think part of the issue may have been that he was ready for another nap. We brought him back to the room and he went right down for 1 ½ hours. This time Michael went to the Rainforest Room while I read in the room. When Michael came back, he had a scrub with him and told me that they’re included now and we could get a new one every day!

When Rory woke, we got him ready to go up to Nemo’s Reef, the splash area for toddlers.

I'm ready!

We weren’t sure how he’d react since he loves water, but likes it to be really warm. He was unsure of it at first, but then he ended up loving it. It got to a point where whenever we walked past it to go to Cabanas he’d practically lunge out of our arms trying to get into the splash zone.

We couldn’t stay up there too long because we had to get ready for Formal Night! I was very excited for Rory to wear his special Formal Night outfit, but would he actually wear it??

Up Next: Formal Night

 

[schmass]

very interested in your report as we are taking our just-turned-2-year-old son on the Fantasy on the 18th. We have him signed up for some time in the nursery.

Welcome! We put Rory in the nursery one evening, but if we didn't have my in-laws with us, I think we would have utilized it a bit more.

I hope you enjoy your cruise!