**Fantasy Becomes Reality** Group--5/19/2012 (INDEX/ROLE CALL, PAGE 1--ENTRY 1)

[Boomerang4]

I was suddenly inspired to do a trip report. I'm almost blind with fatigue, so please forgive rambling, but here is what I cobbled together initially. It's really for newbie cruisers, not you experienced lot, but I'd love feedback or direction anyone has....

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2935452

I'm with Tony, when can we board again!!!

 

[barbreis]

Hi everybody. Well, it's been as crazy as I thought it would be coming back to work and trying to find a new home to rent. I enjoyed meeting everyone from here and the All Ears group - a lot of awesome people. Glad I got to meet everyone, will be staying in touch with some and hope to see you on future cruises. Thank you for the awesome FE gifts. I haven't had time to go through my pictures yet and post anywhere - I will try to do that soon. Enjoy everyone and stay in touch. If you want to use Facebook, I am listed as Barbi Reisinger - just remind me you're from Dis so I know to accept. Enjoy your Sunday!

Barb

 

[5Dreamers]

We had a great time and would lilke to thank everyone who gave us the FE gifts! This was our fist time, and we were overwhelmed by the innovative, creative, tasty and fun stuff!

Also, thanks again for the wristbands to the unknown donator and to all those who helped order them and distribute! My son is still wearing his to this day! It really helped to identify those who were part of this DIS group.
It was nice to meet and chat with those whose paths we crossed during the week! We bumped into Tony and Susan the most, and really were so glad to meet in person.

We had a full itinerary, with my brother getting married in New Orleans 2 days before the cruise. We slept in 5 different places over the span of 12 nights! I have never unzipped and zipped up our luggage so much in such a short period of time. I've learned a lot about packing for the next time. Luckily, it all worked out.

I have to tell you that George and I never made it to the Adults only pool area, cafe, nor the spa. I only saw Alladin, missed the rest of the shows. We did try Palo and Remy, so that is part of the reason. I don't know where the time went, but is seemed to go so fast. We did a 'dummy' booking, just in case we decide to cruise again some time in 2014.

I have to say I got the best sleep ever on the cruise! The first night, I sat on the bed and felt like it was wiggling underneath me. I was scared I'd never get sleep. However, I think I must have passed out within minutes (very unusual for me to fall asleep so fast) and slept so well the entire week. Does anyone know what type of pillows they had in the standard inside cabins?

I'm still getting settled back home, but my appetite is still in vacation mode! Hoping to get our pictures printed and organized so we can show them to our family/friends. I'll be checking this board on occasion.

 

[DizDaddy]

We had a great time and would lilke to thank everyone who gave us the FE gifts! This was our fist time, and we were overwhelmed by the innovative, creative, tasty and fun stuff!

Also, thanks again for the wristbands to the unknown donator and to all those who helped order them and distribute! My son is still wearing his to this day! It really helped to identify those who were part of this DIS group.
It was nice to meet and chat with those whose paths we crossed during the week! We bumped into Tony and Susan the most, and really were so glad to meet in person.

We had a full itinerary, with my brother getting married in New Orleans 2 days before the cruise. We slept in 5 different places over the span of 12 nights! I have never unzipped and zipped up our luggage so much in such a short period of time. I've learned a lot about packing for the next time. Luckily, it all worked out.

I have to tell you that George and I never made it to the Adults only pool area, cafe, nor the spa. I only saw Alladin, missed the rest of the shows. We did try Palo and Remy, so that is part of the reason. I don't know where the time went, but is seemed to go so fast. We did a 'dummy' booking, just in case we decide to cruise again some time in 2014.

I have to say I got the best sleep ever on the cruise! The first night, I sat on the bed and felt like it was wiggling underneath me. I was scared I'd never get sleep. However, I think I must have passed out within minutes (very unusual for me to fall asleep so fast) and slept so well the entire week. Does anyone know what type of pillows they had in the standard inside cabins?

I'm still getting settled back home, but my appetite is still in vacation mode! Hoping to get our pictures printed and organized so we can show them to our family/friends. I'll be checking this board on occasion.

Hey Maria. It was great seeing you and George and the kids. I hope they enjoyed pin trading! Hopefully the fact that you rebooked will ease all the tears the kids had on debark day-----unless George goes 'dastardly' and follows thru on the 'adults only' quip!!!

We loved the pillows also, and took the covers off of them to photograph the manufacturer's info on them. I'll have Susan send you the info or post it in the thread here.

We likely won't sail again until 2014----maybe our paths will cross again! I hope so!

 

[5Dreamers]

Hey Maria. It was great seeing you and George and the kids. I hope they enjoyed pin trading! Hopefully the fact that you rebooked will ease all the tears the kids had on debark day-----unless George goes 'dastardly' and follows thru on the 'adults only' quip!!!

We loved the pillows also, and took the covers off of them to photograph the manufacturer's info on them. I'll have Susan send you the info or post it in the thread here.

We likely won't sail again until 2014----maybe our paths will cross again! I hope so!

The kids really caught the Pin Trading bug! So nice for them to start and have memories of it begining on this cruise.

I was holding it together just fine, till Melissa broke down when it was time to get off the ship. Luckily, Melissa cheered up once we drove to WDW and shopped at Downtown Disney and had great fun at the pool and games room. I'm so glad I planned the one night at a Disney resort after the cruise to help us all from severe withdrawl.

If we do cruise in 2014, or at any other WDW vacation, it would be amazing if our paths crossed!

I'm having so much trouble getting motivated to do things around the house today and am spending waaaay to much time on-line! Shhh, don't tell DH.

 

[dznyacct]

What a great cruise, huh ?!?!? We couldn't have had better weather or better travelling companions . Like many others have said, we seemed to run into Tony and Sue more than anyone else . Did you guys ever sleep ?? We did a dummy date booking; most likely a 2014 sail date. I'm dreaming of Hawaii , but we'll have to see how the 'ol vacation budget is . We LOVED LOVED LOVED the bed and bedding . I would totally ditch our current bed and buy a replica of the bed on the cruise. It was absolutely heavenly. Last night Brian was asking if I knew who made the sheets because he liked them so much (and he NEVER asks about stuff like that ). Remy was an incredible experience with a great friend . Did anyone confirm the rumor that was circulating that Johnny Depp was on our cruise?? I uploaded almost 1,000 pictures on facebook and love to relive the trip by looking at them all and smiling....a lot .

 

[nonni]

What a great first DCL cruise! Enjoyed visiting with those we were able to meet. Kathy was the first to introduce herself to us at the port, made us feel so welcome. Like others, we ran into Tony and Sue the most. Did you guys clone yourselves?! Saw John and Pam several times. Meet Maria at shutters looking for Aqua Duck pictures, she found one of ours and put it out for us to find. Thanks Maria! Saw Elaine and family several times, and Barb, and Jenny and her family. Sat next to Lisa (Sourgrapes) at one of the shows had a nice chat with her. Lisa, I hope Gavin got to do something at Castaway Cay. I think I saw Amy and her mom, and Mati around the ship but never got to officially meet them.

We also never really made it to the adult areas or cove cafe. Guess we'll just have to go again. The first time doing FE, was a great experience. So overwhelmed by all the gifts. Thank you everyone! Michael was so excited to check the mail everytime we went back to the room. He doesn't do that at home. Thank you all for making it so special for him.

We went to DW for a few days after the cruise. Not sure that was the best idea, although we really couldn't have gone before. If we have the option in the future we would probably do the cruise last.

We booked a dummy cruise, thinking maybe late May or early June 2014. Wanting to take the grandsons so will have to work around their schedule. Kind of leaning toward the Fantasy again because I know they would love the Aqua Duck and the Aqua Lab. We'll see when the itineraries come out.

Hopefully we shall cruise with some of you again!

 

[LivingtheWDWdream]

We had a great time and would lilke to thank everyone who gave us the FE gifts! This was our fist time, and we were overwhelmed by the innovative, creative, tasty and fun stuff!

Also, thanks again for the wristbands to the unknown donator and to all those who helped order them and distribute! My son is still wearing his to this day! It really helped to identify those who were part of this DIS group.
It was nice to meet and chat with those whose paths we crossed during the week! We bumped into Tony and Susan the most, and really were so glad to meet in person.

We had a full itinerary, with my brother getting married in New Orleans 2 days before the cruise. We slept in 5 different places over the span of 12 nights! I have never unzipped and zipped up our luggage so much in such a short period of time. I've learned a lot about packing for the next time. Luckily, it all worked out.

I have to tell you that George and I never made it to the Adults only pool area, cafe, nor the spa. I only saw Alladin, missed the rest of the shows. We did try Palo and Remy, so that is part of the reason. I don't know where the time went, but is seemed to go so fast. We did a 'dummy' booking, just in case we decide to cruise again some time in 2014.

I have to say I got the best sleep ever on the cruise! The first night, I sat on the bed and felt like it was wiggling underneath me. I was scared I'd never get sleep. However, I think I must have passed out within minutes (very unusual for me to fall asleep so fast) and slept so well the entire week. Does anyone know what type of pillows they had in the standard inside cabins?

I'm still getting settled back home, but my appetite is still in vacation mode! Hoping to get our pictures printed and organized so we can show them to our family/friends. I'll be checking this board on occasion.

We aren't sure where the time went either and we didn't book on the ship for a future cruise since we are cruising on the Dream in 2013 we will rebook on the ship next year for 2014 or 2015. If something were announced now that we just HAD to book we would move the 2013 cruise and just book a new reservation for the shorter cruise.

I hope that your able to settle back in soon and check in again. We actually sat at the table right behind you at Animator's Palatte.

The kids really caught the Pin Trading bug! So nice for them to start and have memories of it begining on this cruise.

I was holding it together just fine, till Melissa broke down when it was time to get off the ship. Luckily, Melissa cheered up once we drove to WDW and shopped at Downtown Disney and had great fun at the pool and games room. I'm so glad I planned the one night at a Disney resort after the cruise to help us all from severe withdrawl.

If we do cruise in 2014, or at any other WDW vacation, it would be amazing if our paths crossed!

I'm having so much trouble getting motivated to do things around the house today and am spending waaaay to much time on-line! Shhh, don't tell DH.

I cried getting off the boat as well, unfortunately no day at WDW to cheer me up though just lots of unpacking! So I should have done what you did!

I am glad we got to meet and it was so neat seeing your DH on stage. Too bad you missed it. You should be proud of your daughter she was so respectful of her dad.

Hope you get your motivation soon!

What a great cruise, huh ?!?!? We couldn't have had better weather or better travelling companions . Like many others have said, we seemed to run into Tony and Sue more than anyone else . Did you guys ever sleep ?? We did a dummy date booking; most likely a 2014 sail date. I'm dreaming of Hawaii , but we'll have to see how the 'ol vacation budget is . We LOVED LOVED LOVED the bed and bedding . I would totally ditch our current bed and buy a replica of the bed on the cruise. It was absolutely heavenly. Last night Brian was asking if I knew who made the sheets because he liked them so much (and he NEVER asks about stuff like that ). Remy was an incredible experience with a great friend . Did anyone confirm the rumor that was circulating that Johnny Depp was on our cruise?? I uploaded almost 1,000 pictures on facebook and love to relive the trip by looking at them all and smiling....a lot .

Yep we seemed to see or run into Tony and Sue most often as well...they must be cloned or something for sure

I'd love Hawaii too but we would never be able to afford the cruise and airfare!

Those beds are AWESOME! They are Sealy Posterpedic Premium Europlush there is a thread on the main boards that talks about it and its on DCL's website under the room descriptions.

If he was boy am I sad that I never got to see him. OMG I would have probably caused a Bright Star emergency had I seen him. (died)

I did see the guy who is on Storage Wars, he is the auctioneer, he was on the ship. Ran into him in La Piazza.

I am writing a trip report and that is in the trip report section of the DIS for DCL. I am sharing as many photos as I can. But if you would like to see our photos from the cruise feel free to take a sneak peek at (http://iamgrumpy.smugmug.com/DisneyCruisePhotos/Disney-Fantasy-Cruise-2012 )

What a great first DCL cruise! Enjoyed visiting with those we were able to meet. Kathy was the first to introduce herself to us at the port, made us feel so welcome. Like others, we ran into Tony and Sue the most. Did you guys clone yourselves?! Saw John and Pam several times. Meet Maria at shutters looking for Aqua Duck pictures, she found one of ours and put it out for us to find. Thanks Maria! Saw Elaine and family several times, and Barb, and Jenny and her family. Sat next to Lisa (Sourgrapes) at one of the shows had a nice chat with her. Lisa, I hope Gavin got to do something at Castaway Cay. I think I saw Amy and her mom, and Mati around the ship but never got to officially meet them.

We also never really made it to the adult areas or cove cafe. Guess we'll just have to go again. The first time doing FE, was a great experience. So overwhelmed by all the gifts. Thank you everyone! Michael was so excited to check the mail everytime we went back to the room. He doesn't do that at home. Thank you all for making it so special for him.

We went to DW for a few days after the cruise. Not sure that was the best idea, although we really couldn't have gone before. If we have the option in the future we would probably do the cruise last.

We booked a dummy cruise, thinking maybe late May or early June 2014. Wanting to take the grandsons so will have to work around their schedule. Kind of leaning toward the Fantasy again because I know they would love the Aqua Duck and the Aqua Lab. We'll see when the itineraries come out.

Hopefully we shall cruise with some of you again!

I think we ran into each other on Castaway Cay at the island photo meet. But maybe I am mistaken. I came running up (paid for that later pain wise) and when the photos were done I had to get back as we were eating lunch at that point and my mother was waiting to go get her plate.

I would agree that doing the parks after the cruise ruins the relaxed state your in after a cruise but by going to the parks first and cruise last you can at least recoup from the parks and relax on the ship.

I'm sure your grandsons would love the Aquaduck but would love the classic ships as well the clubs are pretty cool on the classics as well. But that Aquaduck sure is awesome. Hope it all works out for you.

 

[5Dreamers]

We aren't sure where the time went either and we didn't book on the ship for a future cruise since we are cruising on the Dream in 2013 we will rebook on the ship next year for 2014 or 2015.
....
I hope that your able to settle back in soon and check in again. We actually sat at the table right behind you at Animator's Palatte. .

I'm not a really observant person, and hadn't recognized anyone at dinner, until the last night. I think I was looking around because of the animation show and caught a glimpse of you and your mom. I was going to come say "Hello!", however the servers were so rushed and we were trying to get pictures and give them their tips, etc., so by the time we settled down, you had gone. It was nice bumping into you a few times during the cruise! I just read your awsome trip report! Too bad you weren't table mates with us instead. We lucked out with a nice family from Kentucky.

I cried getting off the boat as well, unfortunately no day at WDW to cheer me up though just lots of unpacking! So I should have done what you did!

I am glad we got to meet and it was so neat seeing your DH on stage. Too bad you missed it. You should be proud of your daughter she was so respectful of her dad.

Hope you get your motivation soon!

Sorry to hear your had tears too! Nice to have another cruise to look forward to.

I wish I didn't miss the magic show with DH and DD
However, it cheered me up to hear from you and Debbie (nonni) about it. George also did a DVC competition thingy to try to win a prize and had people recognizing him afterwards who were "on his team" and lent him things for the competition or just cheered him on. DH is very outgoing and enjoyed those opportunities!

I'm looking forward to Susan letting us know what type of pillows were on the cruise so we can maybe buy some for home.
I've checked out the mattress brand, not sure which ones locally compare since Sealy makes a number of Euro-top matressess, none fitting the exact description given on the DCL website.

 

[5Dreamers]

What a great first DCL cruise! Enjoyed visiting with those we were able to meet.

... Meet Maria at shutters looking for Aqua Duck pictures, she found one of ours and put it out for us to find. Thanks Maria!

... We also never really made it to the adult areas or cove cafe. Guess we'll just have to go again.

...We booked a dummy cruise, thinking maybe late May or early June 2014. Wanting to take the grandsons so will have to work around their schedule. Kind of leaning toward the Fantasy again because I know they would love the Aqua Duck and the Aqua Lab. We'll see when the itineraries come out.

Hopefully we shall cruise with some of you again!

I'm so glad I found one of your pictures in the stacks on the table at Shutters! You are very welcome!

It be great if some of us booked again on the same cruise May 2014!
We don't know yet, also waiting for the itineraries.

I kind of am leaning toward the Fantasy too since we missed so much, but am also interested in experiencing the older ships.

 

[DizDaddy]

Kathy----I wish I'd been able to chat with Brian some more. I don't think I saw him after push-off!!!

OK, so now I'm a stalker and a liar!

I did see Brian again when I took a family photo of you guys at the Skyride to Paradise Point.

Speaking of, I tried to get many family photos, and I will work on posting them first. There's some really great shots, I must say.

Thanks, everyone, for complying with my request for a photo!

-Tony

 

[5Dreamers]

Susan is saying that she doesn't know if she can go back to the older ships until they are retro-fitted, since she has been spoiled by The Fantasy.
... For the pillow info, here's a couple of pics----sorry, I left them supersized so the text would be readable: ......

Susan will be mighty upset if y'all snatch up their stock before we can get some ordered!!! LOL.....

I'd want the beds retrofitted too!
Thanks so much for the pillow information. I looked on-line, however it seems they sell to Companies, not individuals. There is a toll-free phone# listed, so I may call tomorrow or later in the week. No pricing listed.

 

[5Dreamers]

I called the toll free phone # and was given the company website for retail sales. They only have the 'standard' size compared to 'queen' that was on the ship and it retails for $32.95. Unfortunately, they do not ship to Canada at this time.
They said billing and shipping adresses would have to be US.

 

[5Dreamers]

------------------------------------
Originally Posted by 5Dreamers
Kathy----I wish I'd been able to chat with Brian some more. I don't think I saw him after push-off!!!
------------------------------------
OK, so now I'm a stalker and a liar!

I did see Brian again when I took a family photo of you guys at the Skyride to Paradise Point.

Speaking of, I tried to get many family photos, and I will work on posting them first. There's some really great shots, I must say.

Thanks, everyone, for complying with my request for a photo!

-Tony

I just noticed it says 'Originally posted by 5Dreamers' in reference to the above comment. I don't recall posting the sentence that started with "Kathy---". I'm not sure who Kathy is, nor Brian, and think maybe an error was made in Quoting me (5Dreamers). I don't know what any of it means.
No sweat if it was just a mis-quote.

 

[dznyacct]

OK, so now I'm a stalker and a liar!

I did see Brian again when I took a family photo of you guys at the Skyride to Paradise Point.

Speaking of, I tried to get many family photos, and I will work on posting them first. There's some really great shots, I must say.

Thanks, everyone, for complying with my request for a photo!

-Tony

You're so funny Tony . We were happy to oblige with a photo at the skyride. The view from the top was absolutely gorgeous .

 

[DizDaddy]

I just noticed it says 'Originally posted by 5Dreamers' in reference to the above comment. I don't recall posting the sentence that started with "Kathy---". I'm not sure who Kathy is, nor Brian, and think maybe an error was made in Quoting me (5Dreamers). I don't know what any of it means.
No sweat if it was just a mis-quote.

I claim ownership. I went in to amend a post where I said I hadn't seen Kathy's (dznyacct) husband Brian after we pushed off, and wreaked havoc all over the place. The pillow tag pics are gone, so is my comments about being seen all over the ship. I wanted to dispel the rumor that we are 1) cloned, 2) insomniacs, and 3) stalkers!!! All I did was mess things up more. I guess it was just my sea-legs causing me sea-brain also.

I had also commented that we also met Carol and Amanda while waiting in the shuttle pickup area after disembarquing. That comment is also *poof* gone.

Man, if only I could figure out how to use this dang DisBoard thing....

 

[DizDaddy]

 

[DizDaddy]

Who were your servers?

Where there any non-tipped staffers that made your cruise more special?

What did you have signed?

What did you splurge on?

What do you regret not doing?

If you've sailed other DCL ships, how did the Fantasy compare?

Favorite part of the ship?

Favorite rotation restaurant?

Favorite excursion?

Favorite activity?

What was the highlight of the week for you?

Who did you want to meet but didn't get the chance?

What picture (that you took or was taken) do you like most? (Share!)

Anything that you regretted doing? (what happens on the sea.....)

Who is still suffering from post-cruise-blues?

 

[DizDaddy]

Because it's his birthday, I'll first share Michael's photos with his parents!

I'll try to upload more photos this evening.

The people we bumped into most are Joe/Chris (reimero & pirategrrrl), Jenny (donaldsgal) and family, and Maria and George (5Dreamers), and Mati (Texfinn). I must have run into Barb (barbreis) 10 times in one day!

So here are the pics I promised:

 

[reimero]

The answers below are mine; Pirategrrrl will probably mention several things I've forgotten.

Who were your servers?
Edward (Dominican Republic) and Lea (Phillipines)

Where there any non-tipped staffers that made your cruise more special?
Tina from Michigan (one of the activities staff)

What did you have signed?
A book we're going to fill with other mementos

What did you splurge on?
Souvenirs

What do you regret not doing?
A B2B cruise.

Favorite part of the ship?
Probably Decks 2-13.

Favorite rotation restaurant?
Very tough one. I'm leaning toward Enchanted Garden.

Favorite excursion?
We didn't do any Disney excursions. I loved the perfume making class in Grand Case we did, though. Strongly recommended!

Favorite activity?
Chillaxing. Lazing about was a close second.

What was the highlight of the week for you?
It was our first cruise. The whole week was one big, extended highlight.

Who did you want to meet but didn't get the chance?
I don't think we actually got to meet Dznyacct, I'm kinda bummed about that.

What picture (that you took or was taken) do you like most? (Share!)
I'll post soon-ish.

Anything that you regretted doing? (what happens on the sea.....)
Almost regrets are more on the "didn't do" side, mostly from planning, but also not taking enough time to explore the ship. The one big exception is I felt the jewelry shopping seminars were a complete and utter waste of time. We thought they would be, but there was nothing else going on at the time.

Who is still suffering from post-cruise-blues?
This guy.