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

[schmass]

Dinner sounds very nice, especially your appetizer - though I can see if the whole meal didn't "wow" you like brunch has being a little disappointed. You just need to get them to add that appetizer to the brunch menu

It was definitely a nice dinner, just not quite as enjoyable as brunch was.

Oh, that is sad hearing about Rory being cranky and upset ... I get why they have the rules but still sucks that they had to walk him out of the nursery.

I know, poor little thing had just fallen asleep only to be woken up.

Wow, St John is gorgeous! So nice to get out and do an excursion with your little man too. Dinner for just him sounds pretty funny, but at least he was dressed cute! The evening sounds nice and the food looks delicious! Maybe we'll plan a late-night dinner, that way we wouldn't miss any shows? hmmm. That is sad that he was so upset in the nursery though I would have been mad that they didn't call me. Nice that he can sleep at the nursery though vs. the kids club which Aria would have to stay awake during her time in there...

St. John was amazing! Dinner at Palo takes quite a while, so depending on how late Aria can happily stay up, you might just want to miss the show that evening. Or do an early dinner and try to make it to the 8:30 show!

It sounds like a lovely adult dinner out. I don't do mushrooms so your appetizer would have been out, but I have to say that Michael's dinner has me drooling all over my keyboard.

It was a very nice dinner, and nice to not have to worry about Rory wanting to run around the restaurant or play in a porthole while we ate!

I'm with you...not a big souflee fan either.

I feel like we must be the only ones. Everyone else was raving about the souffles.

I'm sorry that Rory was rather cranky while you were away, and hope he got a good night's sleep.

Hmmm...see next update!

Great report. I am enjoying reading this. I will be going on the Eastern cruise in 2 months and am getting very excited. Can't wait to read more.

Thank you! You are going to love it! It's a great itinerary.

 

[schmass]

I am falling behind on this TR – so sorry! We have had some exciting new things happening at home, which have been taking some of my attention. Add that to an extra busy period at work, and I am struggling to find time for the Dis. I will do my best to get back on track though!


Day 6 - Part 1 - Final Sea Day!

We were expecting Rory to sleep in after his previous late night. So I was surprised (not so pleasantly!) when he woke up at 6am. He wasn’t in the kind of mood where he’d snuggle with us in our bed for a while, so I ended up grabbing the camera and taking him up to Deck 11. While we were up there, I took a lot of pictures of an empty ship.

We went to the mini golf area and Rory thought he was in heaven when he saw the area with all the balls. He started to get a little frustrated though, when he realized he couldn’t actually play with any of them because they were secured to the ground. It didn’t stop him from trying every.single.one. though!

He finally found a golf ball that was left behind so he was happy with that for a while.

I realized the sun was rising so I tried to get some pictures of that.

Documenting the time of the sun rise!

I tried to get coffee but Cabanas wasn’t open yet, so we headed inside to see if there was anywhere I could find specialty coffee.

Pictures of the lobby:

There was no specialty coffee to be found inside, so after we killed a little more time we went back to Cabanas and waited for the coffee bar to open.

Selfie on the elevator

Pictures of Cabanas:

I got my latte and at that point the continental breakfast was open, so I grabbed some fruit for Rory and I. After he had a little fruit, we headed back to the room. Michael was up and was thinking about breakfast, so we headed back to Cabanas.

After breakfast round 2, I headed to the Rainforest Room. I was happily surprised when Michael met me there. His parents wanted some Rory time, so Michael and I got to enjoy the Rainforest Room together for the first time this cruise.

Up next - the remainder of our final sea day!

 

[KatMark]

Awww...sorry Rory didn't sleep in for you, but selfishly I'm happy because your pictures of the empty ship are wonderful.

I love the photos of Rory trying to get to each of the balls firmly secured to the ground. He looks very happy though.

And the sunrise pictures are absolutely stunning.

Love your selfie in the elevator.

What a gorgeous lobby.

 

[Dugette]

Great to hear about your Palo dinner. I was debating dinner, but really thinking about the brunch, so your input helps! Really just now starting to think about our cruise in May and getting excited!

Love that Rory had dinner in a puppy suit - so cute!

The empty ship pictures are great - neat to see it without crowds.

Rory playing with all the balls is totally something Izzy would do. Glad he found one that wasn't attached.

I took a whole bunch of elevator selfies at Aulani too - great minds.

 

[KatMark]

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[schmass]

I hope to have an update posted soon. I have been so busy at work, and this time of year is just so busy outside of work, too! We just booked a quick spring trip, so I'll do a little update on that soon, too.

Awww...sorry Rory didn't sleep in for you, but selfishly I'm happy because your pictures of the empty ship are wonderful.

Thank you. It was kind of nice being the only ones up and about.

I love the photos of Rory trying to get to each of the balls firmly secured to the ground. He looks very happy though.

It was really funny. He was very happy when he found a loose golf ball.

And the sunrise pictures are absolutely stunning.

Thank you!

Love your selfie in the elevator.

Ha, thanks.

What a gorgeous lobby.

It really was so gorgeous. I loved this ship.

Great to hear about your Palo dinner. I was debating dinner, but really thinking about the brunch, so your input helps! Really just now starting to think about our cruise in May and getting excited!

I would definitely do the brunch at the very least. You are going to love your cruise!

Love that Rory had dinner in a puppy suit - so cute!

It was pretty funny. He seemed to enjoy wearing it, too.

The empty ship pictures are great - neat to see it without crowds.

Yes, it was definitely a different view than we were used to.

Rory playing with all the balls is totally something Izzy would do. Glad he found one that wasn't attached.

Ha, yes he was happy about that, too!

I took a whole bunch of elevator selfies at Aulani too - great minds.

​

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, too!

 

[schmass]

I'm embarrassed at how long this has taken, but I finally have the next installment ready to go (if anyone is still reading!).

Day 6 – Part 2 – Final Sea Day

When we left the Rainforest Room, we headed back to the room and discovered a waking Rory. He was up from his morning nap, so we decided to take him to his favorite place, Nemo’s Reef. After playing in there for a while, Michael and I decided it was time to ride the Aquaduck. We hadn’t done it yet this trip, so it was definitely time! MIL was with us so she watched Rory, and we got in line. The posted wait time was around 25 minutes, but in reality we only waited about 5. I don’t know if it is a better ride on the Fantasy than on the Dream, or if it’s just more fun than I remember, but it was a blast! I was screaming the whole way down, it was so much fun. When we met back up with MIL and Rory, we were told that they saw us coming down the slide and that Rory was waving to us. So cute.

We went back to the room to change very quickly and then headed up to Cabanas for lunch. After lunch we had special plans. FIL had gotten us a reservation for the Galley Tour, and had also reserved another hour for Rory in the nursery. Michael and I have both worked in restaurants in the past, and I actually am a culinary school graduate, so we were really interested in this tour.

We brought Rory to the nursery and found that there actually wasn’t a reservation for him. FIL had made the reservation when he got the tickets for the Galley Tour, so we were really confused, but the cast member was insisting that the only reservation was for the night before. She said they could still take him, but it sounded like it was going to take a little time to get him checked in, the tour was about to start, and Rory was being a little cranky, so I said forget it, I would just skip the tour and take him for a nap. I think I took a little nap as well (while watching Divergent again!).

When Michael got back, he said I didn’t miss much. It was interesting, but not a must-do. I felt better after hearing that. He did take a few pictures – lots of stainless steel!

It looks like they also checked out an empty Animator’s Palette.

FIL was really upset about the nursery reservation, so he went there to find out what happened. It turns out they had put it under his room number, not ours, so they couldn’t find it in the system. They felt really bad, so they said we could have one free hour in the nursery. We didn’t end up bringing him again since it was so close to the end of the cruise, but I noticed on our final bill that they only charged us for 2 hours on the Palo night.

Rory was still sleeping so I headed up to deck 13, which was a blissful adults only area, and read for a while. Rory woke up while I was doing that so Michael took him to do the Midship Detective Agency. He is too little to really understand it, but he still had a good time with it. I met up with them and we saw Mickey taking pictures in the lobby, so we got in line.

As we neared the front of the line Minnie replaced him, but that was fine. Rory was so happy to see Minnie! He was giving her high fives and playing with her nose. He did start to get a little shy towards the end, but overall it was a pretty good meet!

Up next: Day 6 – Part 3 – Semi-Formal Night

 

[Benchley]

I'm still here! Reading with interest. I was thinking about the galley tour, but your comments are making me think again

 

[Imagineer5]

Aw cute ending to the update. That really stunk about the nursery reservation but you handled it well and glad you didn't miss that much with the galley tour. The Aquaduck sounds like so much fun, wish the Wonder had it!

 

[MrDisneyFan]

Just got back from an Eastern (C) on the fantasy. Enjoying your TR!

 

[VbChristy]

I am not much of a beach person either (though that is much more so up here in MA where the water is WAY too cold to be enjoyable IMO) but it sounds like a nice day. Though I hate pushy sales people and the whole process of having to pay for the chairs and such would turn me off to something like that, I think. Nice that you got a little walk in to town. I am trying to figure out which stroller to bring with us, considering the City Mini because it does recline for nap time, but not sure if it is still too big for the cruise ship? It would be nice if Aria would take her afternoon nap in it when we are at Castaway Key and also when we are on the ship vs being stuck in the room.

Anyway can't wait to hear about pirate night!

HI there. I am a later comer reading along. We have cruised twice with my son (currently 18 months old) and taken him to Disney world 4 times (I like to travel). I would say the city mini is too big. Our Joovy Umbrella stroller could barely fit through the cabin door on the Fantasy in March. But I would recommend our umbrella stroller- it does recline and has a HUGE sunshade. My son slept in it a lot at ports on his cruise at 10 months.

 

[schmass]

I'm still here! Reading with interest. I was thinking about the galley tour, but your comments are making me think again

Hi there! Thanks for sticking around! Regarding the galley tour, I don't think they regretted doing it at all, and it was free, so if it interests you, I say go for it!

Aw cute ending to the update. That really stunk about the nursery reservation but you handled it well and glad you didn't miss that much with the galley tour. The Aquaduck sounds like so much fun, wish the Wonder had it!

I was a bit disappointed about the tour, but I probably enjoyed my nap more than they enjoyed the tour.

The Aquaduck was a blast - way more fun than I had remembered!

Just got back from an Eastern (C) on the fantasy. Enjoying your TR!

Thanks for reading along, and welcome back from your cruise!

HI there. I am a later comer reading along. We have cruised twice with my son (currently 18 months old) and taken him to Disney world 4 times (I like to travel). I would say the city mini is too big. Our Joovy Umbrella stroller could barely fit through the cabin door on the Fantasy in March. But I would recommend our umbrella stroller- it does recline and has a HUGE sunshade. My son slept in it a lot at ports on his cruise at 10 months.

Thanks for reading. Sounds like our sons are just about the same age!

 

[VbChristy]

Thanks for reading. Sounds like our sons are just about the same age!

Yes they probably are. I cannot wait for Blake to play in the sand next month for our next cruise. He was too young on the last ones. Btw - your play by play is making me super excited about my cruise. I cannot wait to try the chicken parm at the palo brunch.

 

[Imagineer5]

HI there. I am a later comer reading along. We have cruised twice with my son (currently 18 months old) and taken him to Disney world 4 times (I like to travel). I would say the city mini is too big. Our Joovy Umbrella stroller could barely fit through the cabin door on the Fantasy in March. But I would recommend our umbrella stroller- it does recline and has a HUGE sunshade. My son slept in it a lot at ports on his cruise at 10 months.

Hi! Thank you for the tip. Argh I know my DH will NOT go for a 5th stroller hahaha so we might just make do with the city mini and fold it to get through the doorways - I need to sell our maclaren as I just hate that stupid thing. But an umbrella stroller that reclines well would be really nice, thank you for the comment!

 

[Dugette]

Sorry you ended up missing the tour with the nursery confusion.

I'm excited to ride the Aquaduck (even if it will be on the Dream)!

Yay for a fun meet with Minnie!

 

[KatMark]

I'm sorry...I got a tad behind (bad week at work).

Glad Rory got more time at Nemo's Reef, and that you got to enjoy the slide and had so much fun with it.

Too bad about the screwup with the nursery and that you had to miss the galley tour. I'm glad they took a bit of time off of your bill.

Cute pictures with Minnie.

 

[schmass]

Yes they probably are. I cannot wait for Blake to play in the sand next month for our next cruise. He was too young on the last ones. Btw - your play by play is making me super excited about my cruise. I cannot wait to try the chicken parm at the palo brunch.

You should try the lasagna at Palo brunch, too!

Hi! Thank you for the tip. Argh I know my DH will NOT go for a 5th stroller hahaha so we might just make do with the city mini and fold it to get through the doorways - I need to sell our maclaren as I just hate that stupid thing. But an umbrella stroller that reclines well would be really nice, thank you for the comment!

My mom has a Maclaren for my niece, and I can't stand it, either. We have the First Years Ignite, and really like it - only around $50, and a great stroller for that price. The recline isn't excellent, though.

Sorry you ended up missing the tour with the nursery confusion.

Rory and I got nap time, which was probably better than the tour, anyway.

I'm excited to ride the Aquaduck (even if it will be on the Dream)!

I'm sure you will love the Aquaduck on the Dream, too! It is so much fun. I just remember that at the end of the ride, you hit the bottom really hard, and that didn't happen on the Fantasy. But I bet it was either a fluke, or they have fixed it by now.

Yay for a fun meet with Minnie!

Yes, we did have fun! It was nice to see him get more and more comfortable with each meet.

I'm sorry...I got a tad behind (bad week at work).

No need to apologize, I know how that goes!

Glad Rory got more time at Nemo's Reef, and that you got to enjoy the slide and had so much fun with it.

Yes, fun afternoon in the water for all of us!

Too bad about the screwup with the nursery and that you had to miss the galley tour. I'm glad they took a bit of time off of your bill.

It's okay. I was surprised and happy to see that they did that for us!

Cute pictures with Minnie.

Thanks!

 

[schmass]

Day 6 – Part 3 – Semi-Formal Night

We got ready for dinner and then did a little walking around the ship.

Glowsticks were part of the welcome basket that we got from the Travel Agent, and Michael gave one to Rory. He was very entertained by it. A little more Midship Detective Agency…

Visiting some of the shops onboard…

We were at Royal Palace again for dinner.

This was the restaurant that Rory had been playing in the porthole during dinner a few nights prior. I’m not sure if it was a coincidence, but the table was distinctly further away from the porthole than it had been when we last dined there. I think they were trying to tell us something – oops.

Rory was funny during dinner. He at his whole meal (at this point I can’t remember what any of us had) and some rice cream for dessert, and then went for his broccoli! He wouldn’t stop eating the broccoli, it was so cute.

We got back to the room after dinner and were sad to see that the tip envelopes were on the bed. This signified that the cruise was almost over .

Rory was acting a little goofy before bed and we had a little fun with him before putting him down for the night.

FIL generously offered to come read in our room again, so once he arrived, Michael and I headed off to the show, Disney’s Believe. I wasn’t actually that excited about seeing this, as we had seen it on a prior cruise and I didn’t love it. However, this time, it was great! I don’t know if it was the different actors that made the difference or what, but I really enjoyed it, and was glad that we went.

After that it was bedtime, as I wanted to get some rest before running the Castaway Cay 5k the next morning!

Up next: Castaway Cay!

 

[KatMark]

Rory is just so cute...no matter what he is wearing...his dinner clothes or just his diaper. He just has the cutest smile.

So glad you enjoyed the show this time. I think the performers make a huge difference in whether or not you enjoy something.

Wishing you and yours a very

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[schmass]

Merry Christmas, everyone!