Boardwalk to the Beach Club.. with a cruise inbetween! April 2015

[Grumpy's Wife]

It sounds like your first day at sea was awesome. Our first cruise we had first seating for dinner but we are going to try second seating next time. I felt like the day was too rushed. Did you like second seating?

 

[Dugette]

I was a bit behind, but so glad to read through all these updates!

Great morning at the Beach Club and Boardwalk before the cruise. Interesting to hear about taking the DCL bus to port, as we drove (and followed a DCL bus at the end).

I love how relaxing your cruise time is. Sounds heavenly. (tends to be slightly less relaxing with a 2-year-old )

We did a Mixology class too and LOVED it. Ours was a private one with DISboards people only and it was so much fun! I'd do that again in a heartbeat. And, yes, many of us did have kids in the clubs/nursery and were hoping to not be too unsteady on our feet as we picked them up.

Your Remy meal sounds like such a great experience. Most of what you had really appeals to me (like that cheese plate). But I am a little bit of a picky eater, in that I won't eat any seafood/fish/overly exotic things, so we stuck with Palo dinner on our cruise. You are sure tempting me to go to Remy sometime, though.

 

[rteetz]

I know I'm late to the party but I'm joining in and loving your report.

 

[lffam]

I just read your whole trip report from start to finish. Thank you for sharing such great insight, experiences and photos. We are staying at the Boardwalk in December and also doing a 7 night cruise on the Fantasy so to see some of what we will experience was fantastic. Loved the Epcot tour idea, especially if comes with a VIP illuminations viewing area, I wonder if this is offered on this tour all the time? We would have loved to do it but I just saw that its for over 16 years old and our son is only 12.

thanks again.

 

[cynditech]

Following along - just caught up on everything. Your dinner at Remy looked amazing - wow!!! We just booked a cruise on the Dream for next Oct 16. Can't wait to see more

 

[jedijill]

Catching back up! Yay for boarding the Fantasy! I love that ship. Remy is amazing! Your meal sounds fantastic.

Jill in CO

 

[oceanmarina]

That picture of the cheese plate looked so amazing! I think I will order it at Narcoosees at our trip next week. (It was on the menu last time)

 

[TheLittleKatie]

I'm all caught up and I'm loving this TR! I love the idea of incorporating a Disney Cruise into a trip to WDW, it sounds like so much fun! I've never done a cruise, but the more I read about it the more intrigued I am Looking forward to hearing more!

 

[my2lovedisney]

Loving your entire TR!

 

[Leshaface]

I so miss cruising. I miss driving up and seeing this!

We stopped for the pre-cruise photo (it was ok, but we didn't buy it.... I think i've read that they take this one to activate the face-recognition for all the other photos you have taken onboard)

I think you're right.

And then it was time to walk/skip up the gang way and onto the ship! I love how they announce each party onto the boat and then the crew (and even some guests) applaud!

I was so embarrassed the first time! My SIL had told us that they were going to do it, so I was a little prepared, but I hate all that attention!

Awesome!

That is so gorgeous.

(always a slight worry that our bags won't make it on the ship )

I wonder if this has ever happened on a Disney ship before. If so, i'm sure they would give HUNDREDS in clothes vouchers and whatever else.

We made our way to Royal Court for dinner, on arrival we were surprised to be led to a table for eight!

That is a big table! Our first cruise (the one you were on too, which i'm still bummed about that we didn't know each other then ) was just DH, me, DB and DSiL. Our second cruise was a table of 6, but the 3rd couple never showed up!

I'd always thought I'd find the arranged seating a little awkward on cruises, but we both agreed that it was so much fun to sit with the same group each evening – hear about what we'd all been up to during the day and learn about each other too

Same here, but it is really, really fun to meet new people and be able to run into them on the ship later.

(I didn't take any photos of dinner, first night sat with table mates and I didn't want to be 'that guy' taking food photos )

Cute dress! But you're always dressed cute.

DCL app to check through what activities we wanted to do (this app was so useful to us – we could set reminders of activities we had booked/wanted to do, check out menus for each evening and also message each other free of charge).

That's nice! When did they implement the app, do you know? Definitely after 2011 cause I never got to use it.

I NEED THAT BASKET!

Best view ever from a treadmill..

Definitely.

So many glasses

The group we were in was really good fun, there seemed to be lots of parents/couples whose kids were happily in the kids' clubs so they could enjoy themselves too!

Ahh yes. I'd be doing this as well

This is one of my favourite Disney movies (kid in the early 90's!) and I really wanted to see the show. I got ready while DH napped.. but 5 minutes before showtime.... he was still asleep! I was about to feel disappointed that we weren't going to make it in time – when I remembered, there is a camera in the theatre which is linked to a channel which you can watch in the stateroom!

You're so nice. I, on the otherhand, would be pushing DH out of bed However, his favorite movie is Aladdin so I think he would have been pushing me out the door in this case.

I'd got to see the whole thing while sitting comfortably in our room, in my new DCL bath robe!

Yep, that does sound nice

I'd still managed to get a bit too much sun this day and had fairly pink knees (which our bar server pointed out!)

I'd pay $75 for the cheese alone! For reals, they have the best cheese offerings and accompaniments.

Lovely picture of you two.

 

[heidijanesmith]

Fantastic trip report. We are headed to the BW soon and I can't wait, loved your pics and info!

 

[disneybarbie]

The Fantasy is so beautiful! We did a 3-day on the Dream,but I'd like to try each ship! The mixology class looked so fun, and I'm glad you got to watch Aladdin right from your room! Remy looks amazing! We are going to try Palo on our Wonder cruise next summer.
Can't wait to hear about your relaxing day at sea!

Hi - thanks for the comments.. I'd love to go on the other Disney ships some day too, interested to see what the Magic and Wonder feel like in terms of size compared to the Dream and Fantasy! Remy is an incredible restaurant, definitely a must-do for use on a Disney cruise

Absolutely genius. Well played Disney (and you for remembering!) Also every single one of your bar drinks looks and sounds delicious. If the parks have beverages like that on their menus I'm going to have a hard time coming in under budget. LOL!

I thought it was such a great idea to show the stage shows on the TV! There's also channels that are cameras from the bridge, also a map channel that shows you were you are in the ocean, the ship's speed, direction etc. I always seem to take pictures of the cocktails as they look so pretty when they're served!

Nice updates! Love the picture of sunset at sea at the Meredian bar - just beautiful! Makes me want to book another cruise.

What an unforgettable meal at Remy. The food looked amazing. It must be a great community of cast members on the ship, it must have been nice to get updates on cast members from your previous voyage.

Delivering the British candy - how sweet, what a thoughtful idea!

I had to laugh about your DH falling asleep before the show, same thing happened to me years ago on the Wonder. I hate to wake anyone up from a much needed nap, so I let him snooze away

Can't wait to see your next update!

Thank you for your comments! Looking through my photos of the cruise and WDW is making me want to go back so badly too

Yay you're on the Fantasy!!! How fun.

We also had Damien as our Mixology instructor - his class is excellent! By far and away one of the best bartenders I've ever met.

I agree, he seemed to genuinely enjoy his job and took the mixology class so well - we all learnt a lot but had fun too!

It sounds like your first day at sea was awesome. Our first cruise we had first seating for dinner but we are going to try second seating next time. I felt like the day was too rushed. Did you like second seating?

We really like second sitting - nice to have more time to get ready in the evenings and then enjoy the bars/shops when the majority of guests are on 1st dining or watching the shows

I was a bit behind, but so glad to read through all these updates!

Great morning at the Beach Club and Boardwalk before the cruise. Interesting to hear about taking the DCL bus to port, as we drove (and followed a DCL bus at the end).

I love how relaxing your cruise time is. Sounds heavenly. (tends to be slightly less relaxing with a 2-year-old )

We did a Mixology class too and LOVED it. Ours was a private one with DISboards people only and it was so much fun! I'd do that again in a heartbeat. And, yes, many of us did have kids in the clubs/nursery and were hoping to not be too unsteady on our feet as we picked them up.

Your Remy meal sounds like such a great experience. Most of what you had really appeals to me (like that cheese plate). But I am a little bit of a picky eater, in that I won't eat any seafood/fish/overly exotic things, so we stuck with Palo dinner on our cruise. You are sure tempting me to go to Remy sometime, though.

Hi! Hope you do get to try Remy one day... I'm sure the chef/servers would adjust the menu to suit you and replace any dishes that you wouldn't like... they definitely did that for me with my nut allergy The DCL bus on the way to the cruise is always so much fun, you can just tell that everyone on board is soooo happy and excited (unlike the bus on the way back to the airport afterwards!)

I know I'm late to the party but I'm joining in and loving your report.

Thank you for joining in! More to come soon..

I just read your whole trip report from start to finish. Thank you for sharing such great insight, experiences and photos. We are staying at the Boardwalk in December and also doing a 7 night cruise on the Fantasy so to see some of what we will experience was fantastic. Loved the Epcot tour idea, especially if comes with a VIP illuminations viewing area, I wonder if this is offered on this tour all the time? We would have loved to do it but I just saw that its for over 16 years old and our son is only 12.

thanks again.

Thank you so much for reading and your comments! Hope you get to try the Epcot tour in the future, there wasn't much that we saw/learnt that wasn't child-appropriate - but obviously the part where we got to see the wardrobing department could be potentially unmagical

Following along - just caught up on everything. Your dinner at Remy looked amazing - wow!!! We just booked a cruise on the Dream for next Oct 16. Can't wait to see more

Thank you for reading! I wish I'd got more photos of the dishes at Remy.. I think I did for our 2013 cruise... but I'm trying to curb my habit of photoing food all the time! - very jealous you have a future cruise booked!

Catching back up! Yay for boarding the Fantasy! I love that ship. Remy is amazing! Your meal sounds fantastic.

Jill in CO

Thank you! It was a great meal, I feel very lucky to have eaten there three times in my life so far!

That picture of the cheese plate looked so amazing! I think I will order it at Narcoosees at our trip next week. (It was on the menu last time)

Hope you had a fantastic trip and got to try the cheese plate at Narcoosees!

I'm all caught up and I'm loving this TR! I love the idea of incorporating a Disney Cruise into a trip to WDW, it sounds like so much fun! I've never done a cruise, but the more I read about it the more intrigued I am Looking forward to hearing more!

Hi! Thanks for reading - I was never quite sure that we'd enjoy cruises compared to WDW.. but within 24 hours of our first one onboard the Dream we were both completely in love with it! I adore WDW, and then the cruise line is like another step up.. I think it's because you get to know the crew and other guests during the cruise. I love too that we only have to unpack once and then get to visit several different places!

Loving your entire TR!

Thank you! More to come very soon.

I so miss cruising. I miss driving up and seeing this!

I think you're right.

I was so embarrassed the first time! My SIL had told us that they were going to do it, so I was a little prepared, but I hate all that attention!

Awesome!


That is so gorgeous

I wonder if this has ever happened on a Disney ship before. If so, i'm sure they would give HUNDREDS in clothes vouchers and whatever else.

I joked that we would both be wearing head to toe DCL merchandise if our suitcases didn't show!

That is a big table! Our first cruise (the one you were on too, which i'm still bummed about that we didn't know each other then ) was just DH, me, DB and DSiL. Our second cruise was a table of 6, but the 3rd couple never showed up!



Same here, but it is really, really fun to meet new people and be able to run into them on the ship later.







Cute dress! But you're always dressed cute.

Thank you!

That's nice! When did they implement the app, do you know? Definitely after 2011 cause I never got to use it.

I think it was late last year... it worked really well for us, and they seem to be adding more and more features to it. We liked being able to check out menus and set reminders for any activities we wanted to do while on board - there was a chat feature too so DH and I could text each other (not that we were apart that often!)

I NEED THAT BASKET!



Definitely.



So many glasses



Ahh yes. I'd be doing this as well



You're so nice. I, on the otherhand, would be pushing DH out of bed However, his favorite movie is Aladdin so I think he would have been pushing me out the door in this case.

Hehe!

Yep, that does sound nice





I'd pay $75 for the cheese alone! For reals, they have the best cheese offerings and accompaniments.

Definitely! After our first cruise, I went shopping in search of honeycomb, just so I could eat it with goats cheese like they'd served at Remy!

Lovely picture of you two.

Fantastic trip report. We are headed to the BW soon and I can't wait, loved your pics and info!

Thank you! Hope you have a great stay at the BW - my 'other' home!


So sorry for the long delay between updates all... more to come very soon!



Emma x

 

[disneybarbie]

Monday 20th April 2015


Day at Sea


We woke up a little before our scheduled room service time – breakfast on the verandah at sea felt very luxurious! (The food is all included in the price of the cruise, we just paid a tip to the crew member who delivered the tray)





After eating our fruit, cereal and bagels, we made our way up to deck 13 and spent some time reading and sunbathing. I got a coffee from the Cove Cafe (speciality coffees are an additional cost, about $3 for a large latte I think, but I really like the location – lots of pictures on the wall of Walt and Lillian Disney. We also found out this cruise that the mini pastries on offer are complimentary! The two servers in the cafe were from the UK – one from where my parents live and the other from where I went to school... small world!


Enjoying the very front of the ship...




DH went to the gym late morning, I decided not to (after not feeling great the day before after a post-breakfast workout!) but sat in the shade at the front of the ship and finished my book (Gone Girl) – I enjoyed it so much! As soon as I put the book down, a lady nearby asked if I'd liked it and if I'd seen the movie yet.. we talked books for a little while, she mentioned she'd not read Gone Girl yet, so I offered her my copy... she was so pleased! I made way back to the room, feeling great that I'd passed a book onto someone... then suddenly remembered... someone had actually lent me that book to read, and it wasn't mine!! (All turned out ok and the original book owner didn't mind at all ).


I always mean to take more photos of the beautiful artwork around the ship...





Once back at the room, DH was still at the gym so I did some exciting ironing in the laundry room opposite, and took some photos of our stateroom while it was reasonably tidy.











Once DH got back, we made our way up to Cabanas for some lunch – again we both stuck to salads, keeping it light so that we'd be hungry for dinner later (the duck and avocado salad was sooo good!)





Not a bad view for lunch...






After eating, we went to the shopping district to buy a few souvenirs, including something that we've only just come to accept after 5 years of Disney marketing....









Our very own Duffy the bear!

.........

 

[disneybarbie]

Walking back through the atrium I noticed that the Princesses were doing a meet and greet...








For the afternoon, we had a couples villa booked at the Senses spa, we'd done this on both our previous cruises and both really enjoy the treatment.


We checked in and were shown the changing rooms, once in our robes we met up in the relaxation room and filled in the health questionnaire – one of the questions is 'how stressed are you on a scale of 1-10' … which on day 2 of a Disney cruise is pretty much 0!



Then we met the masseuses and they took us to the spa villa – I don't have any photos as my phone was put away in the locker, but they really are wonderful! We were led outside and seated while we had a foot soak treatment, the ladies asked what treatments we would like, then they left us with some iced lemon water while they went to prepare the room. We spent about 30 minutes in the hot tub and on the day beds, then we had our treatments – DH had a deep tissue massage, I had a body rub and facial.

Both were excellent, afterwards we spent some more time out on the verandah with some green tea and a fruit platter.


The only small complaint we had about the treatment was the fairly hard sell at the end for buying spa products... it seemed much stronger than on previous cruises (or at other spas I've been to), and not very Disney! We remained firm that we didn't need any of the products, so it turned out ok.



Back at the room we spent some time on the verandah before getting ready for the evening, I phoned room service to ask for a wine glass (as we'd brought a bottle onboard with us) – and within minutes this was delivered....





Cute!


We got ready and then made our way to O'Gills Pub to try something new.... a quiz!


It was general knowledge but did contain a few Disney questions … it always surprises DH (and me!) of the random trivia I seem to know.


And what do you know.... we won!! We each got a medal. It was a free activity and a nice way to spend some time before dinner.





After that we went to Skyline to get a few more drinks from our passport.








Tonight's dinner was at Enchanted Garden, I had scallops to start and seabass for main – both were excellent. For dessert I had the honeycomb sundae...





(Getting braver and taking photos of food while with table mates )


Our server challenged us to a puzzle at the end of the meal.. DH and a tablemate solved it!





For once we weren't exhausted after dinner, so we decide to go to the Tube for a drink and see the quiz taking place there – it was men vs. women and was fun to watch.











We got back to our stateroom at about 11.30pm.. late for us!


Tonight's towel animal....






I'd been a little unsure about having two consecutive days at sea on this cruise itinerary, but it turned out to be really nice to have a lot of time to explore the ship and really unwind after a week at WDW.


Tomorrow... the US Virgin Islands!

 

[Dugette]

Wow, your cruise experience sounds so wonderfully relaxing!

Haha, that's funny about passing on the book that wasn't actually yours. Glad it worked out fine.

That is a cool little wine glass/corkscrew set. Good to know they do that. We had brought our own corkscrew and I think we just used the regular (non wine) glasses. We didn't have much wine, though - just a bottle that we barely finished.

Sounds like a great day at sea!

 

[disneybarbie]

Wow, your cruise experience sounds so wonderfully relaxing!

Haha, that's funny about passing on the book that wasn't actually yours. Glad it worked out fine.

That is a cool little wine glass/corkscrew set. Good to know they do that. We had brought our own corkscrew and I think we just used the regular (non wine) glasses. We didn't have much wine, though - just a bottle that we barely finished.

Sounds like a great day at sea!

Thank you! We definitely planned our vacation this way so that we'd busy at WDW then relax on the cruise

 

[disneybarbie]

Tuesday 21st April 2015


St Thomas and St John


I woke up to a very beautiful view...











St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands! It was nice to see land after two days at sea











We went up to Cabanas to have some breakfast before heading to our meeting point for our excursion -a catamaran trip to St John's.

We had to meet in D Lounge, so we made our way there – signed in and received our Disney character stickers (each excursion has a different character so you know which crew member to follow off the ship.. they hold a paddle with a picture of that character on it!)


As we were led off, we got to to see the crew out cleaning the ship!








The Princess 'Royal Princess' cruise ship was docked behind us, with the Carnival ship from Port Canaveral behind that.





We were led to some open air buses (a bit like the trucks in Kilimanjaro safaris!) There wasn't quite enough seats so DH got to sit up front with the driver! He said it was good fun as they chatted about soccer and cricket.

After about 20 minutes, we arrived at the dock and made our way to the catamaran.


It was a really beautiful day.





Our crew gave a brief safety spiel and then we set off! The journey was about 45 minutes, the sea was pretty calm too.











Soon we arrived at Honeymoon Beach on St John's. (Sorry... photos still on disposable camera that is yet to be developed!)


There was an option to snorkel or swim over to the beach... I'm not the strongest of swimmers though so took the dingy boat option!


The beach was perfect, we walked up and down it and spent some time in the water and on the sand. Many people from our group spent the time snorkelling, they said it was excellent and there was so much to see – including turtles, barracudas and Dory fish!


After about an hour, we all made our way back on board and sailed slowly back to St Thomas – there were some light snacks available (bread, cheese and fruit) which we didn't have as we planned on finding some lunch at the port, and there was also beer, sparkling wine, fruit punch and soft drinks... all of this was included in our tour price.





We had a really relaxing morning on the catamaran, the crew were entertaining and also gave out some interesting facts and a brief history about the islands while we sailed.


Back to St Thomas, we boarded our bus and were driven back to the port, it was about 1pm by this time.

............

 

[disneybarbie]

...........







We walked around the shopping area first, it was very nicely laid out and had some good stores. We felt very safe and there weren't any shop owners or stall holders trying to get our attention (as we'd come across in Nassau and Cozumel on previous cruises!).

















We decided on some lunch at a little bar, we just got a couple of appetisers to share – the food was fine although we had hoped to find something Caribbean... we ate chicken wings and onion rings!

The bar had wi-fi so we quickly went online to send some messages to family!


We made our way back onboard, and got to see the lifeboats being checked over..

Next stop.. ice cream on deck 12!

We had a couple of hours until we set sail, DH took a nap but while the boat was steadier I decided to head to the gym.


Not a bad view!

Back at the room, I sat out on the verandah with my book and some US celebrity magazines I'd bought at the Boardwalk (love these compared to the ones we get over here!)

Duffy in the Caribbean..

..................

 

[disneybarbie]

..........

The Princess ship left before us, it was fascinating to watch it manoeuvre sideways out of the space and then turn!














We got ready for the evening, and went up to Deck 13 to watch the ship set sail – we got a drink at Currents, which must be one of the best bars in the world... perfect location!

We had heard of a bar on deck 14 – Outlook - and were determined to find it on this cruise... we did... but it was closed for a private party that night!


(Proof we found deck 14!)




Instead we went for a champagne cocktail at Ooh La La









Walking through the atrium, we saw Daisy Duck and Captain Mickey doing meet and greets..

And then made our way to Royal Court for dinner – again, sorry, no photos – but we had a really great meal and it was fun to catch up with our table mates and find out what they'd been up to on the islands.


We got a relatively early night as we had another busy morning planned... in San Juan!

 

[DVC Judith]

Great Report I am loving all of the pictures and can't wait to see more!