Get Off The Ship - we are running out of towel animals! Update 10/25 Day 31

[dizneeat]

Hi Karin Just keeping up with all the chatter

Congratulations on the cruise!!!

The view from up on the hill is amazing! Great shots.

Ooh, the food looks so good at the Hard Rock. I've only been to one HRC and that was in San Francisco for some beers only.

Thank you! We are so excited about the cruise!

I was amazed at how nice the food at the Hard Rock actually was. We had been to the one at UO before and I had not been impressed, but that salad and pulled pork sandwich were delish!

I'm playing catch up...again (and I know you know how that is).

Beautiful photos on your excursion.

I am now drooling over Tom's fried onions on his sandwich (I love those things).

Oh, playing catch up ...... that's a game I'm playing almost daily.

Glad you enjoy the photos. We took so many and I am having a hard time deciding which ones to post.

The sandwich was delish. He really enjoyed it ..... and those fried onions were great, so crispy!

 

[KatMark]

Oh, playing catch up ...... that's a game I'm playing almost daily.

Glad you enjoy the photos. We took so many and I am having a hard time deciding which ones to post.

The sandwich was delish. He really enjoyed it ..... and those fried onions were great, so crispy!

And I went and snuck in a second update after you posted on my first one. By the way, yes, we have seen the Osborne Lights. We saw them for the first time last December on Mark's surprise 60th birthday trip.

LOVE crispy fried onions.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 7, August 13

A visit to the Netherlands and France before Captain Jack takes over the Fantasy - Part 5

And after a short deliberation we decided not to walk back to the ship, but use the water taxi that was offered there. We asked about where to pay for it and they told us to just get on board and pay once we got off. So we walked over and there was a boat ready to leave, but they waited and made room for us and another family who was behind us. The ship was FULL, but we did find a seat and were even able to purchase a bottle of icy cold water.







By the time we made it to the dock next to the Fantasy the bottle was empty and I had a few more small bills. When we got off the ship we were directed towards a certain exit, where we were able to pay our fare.











Then we headed over to the small shopping area right at the harbour.





We had a look into one or two of the shops there before walking back to the ship.













It was awesome to see that they had put up a tent and some drinks dispensers for their guests before we all headed back on board. Security was a breeze and we headed back up to our stateroom.
And after having had a shower we sat outside on the veranda with a drink. Tom tried one of his



new beers, while I gave t





he sparkling wine we had received from DCL a try. We had already received a lot of sweets and so we nibbled on the sweets and enjoyed our drinks. And while we were still sitting out on the veranda there was a knock at the door and a cast member brought a model of the cabana we had booked at Castaway Cay and our wristbands.





We were a bit surprised they already handed them out so early, but it was nice to have as a decoration in the stateroom.
There was no show that night as it was Pirate Night and at around 6pm we got ready to go to Palo for dinner. At 6.15 we walked up to the restaurant and were asked to take a seat inside Meridian until our table was ready. It didn’t take very long and we were taken to our table and greeted by our server, Ophelie from France.

To be continued ............

 

[dizneeat]

And I went and snuck in a second update after you posted on my first one. By the way, yes, we have seen the Osborne Lights. We saw them for the first time last December on Mark's surprise 60th birthday trip.

LOVE crispy fried onions.

I forgot your 60th birthday trip was over Christmas, silly me.
Need to head back to your report to read the update I missed. Thanks for the heads up on it.

 

[KatMark]

I think I'm catching up and then you put in another update. You are very sneaky.

The foliage is beautiful, and I saw my husband eyeing your wine as I was reading the update (he's become a wine lover).

Yay for your Castaway wristbands.

 

[englishrose47]

Karin the pix aren't showing up right now but I will check later !!

 

[englishrose47]

Now I see the pix !!! The shots of the Ship are great !!! Love the model Cabana !!!

 

[amykay618]

Love your report! Thanks

 

[basketlacey]

Karin - I love reading your trip reports. We are doing our first Disney cruise in Feb. I can't wait!

 

[perfectmatch300]

Karin, great trip report!

I started reading late, so I've been busy trying to catch up. Figured it was about time I jumped in to say thank you for the great job you're doing. I will continue to follow along with the rest of your journey.

 

[dizneeat]

I think I'm catching up and then you put in another update. You are very sneaky.

The foliage is beautiful, and I saw my husband eyeing your wine as I was reading the update (he's become a wine lover).

Yay for your Castaway wristbands.

I learned from the best to sneak in another update. Thank you for sneaking another update in onto your TR while I thought I was all caught up.

It is a beautiful island. But it has a very European feel. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I felt like we were in Europe.
I really enjoyed the Prosecco we got .... Tom was quite happy with his beers so that bottle of bubbly was all mine - but I might have shared it with Mark.

Karin the pix aren't showing up right now but I will check later !!

Now I see the pix !!! The shots of the Ship are great !!! Love the model Cabana !!!

I am glad it worked out and you were able to see the pics. There are a few pics of the ship which came out really well, thank you!
We have already gotten a few of those model Cabanas and they are so cute. It is the perfect reminder of the real thing that will be our home for the day soon.

Love your report! Thanks

Thank you! I am glad you enjoy it!

Karin - I love reading your trip reports. We are doing our first Disney cruise in Feb. I can't wait!

I am glad that you still enjoy my trip reports.
So you are going on your first Disney cruise in February? Which ship are you on and at which date? We will be on the Dream February 16th!

Karin, great trip report!

I started reading late, so I've been busy trying to catch up. Figured it was about time I jumped in to say thank you for the great job you're doing. I will continue to follow along with the rest of your journey.

Thank you for joining in and your kind words. I just love to get to know my readers.
There is a lot more to come. I hope you are going to enjoy it as much as our adventures so far.

 

[podsnel]

Oh, Karin- your poor arm! I hope it is much better by now!

Good to know about AP, i thought they had done away with Crush completely.

Also glad to hear the meusli got better! Hopefully it will be delicious when we board for NYE!

Glad you got to enjoy seeing St Martin- really don't like how rude that CM was to you tho-

All caught up!

 

[dizneeat]

Oh, Karin- your poor arm! I hope it is much better by now!

Good to know about AP, i thought they had done away with Crush completely.

Also glad to hear the meusli got better! Hopefully it will be delicious when we board for NYE!

Glad you got to enjoy seeing St Martin- really don't like how rude that CM was to you tho-

All caught up!

My arm is a lot better, thank you, Ellen.

Unfortunately Crush got to stay. Not that he is not cute, but it is so noisy in that dining room when it is on.
Tom quite liked the muesli in the end. He said it was still a bit on the cinnamony side, but otherwise really good.

We were in awe with Sint Maarten. Such a beautiful place. We really enjoyed it there and I cannot wait to go back.

 

[podsnel]

We are headed there on NYE day- I have a boat tour booked outside of Disney and some other DISers are joining us- I am really looking forward to it!

I hope they straighten out your Magic Bands soon! I am having trouble with mine- I had no problem doing my client's, but mine are an issue. Well, I'd rather be the one having the problem anyway in that case!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 7, August 13

A visit to the Netherlands and France before Captain Jack takes over the Fantasy - Part 6

It didn’t take very long and we were taken to our table and greeted by our server, Ophelie from France. She gave some recommendations on the menu, before asking for our drinks order. We just asked for some water, which they serve with a slice of lemon it. And while we were still thinking about what to order she went to fetch our drinks and then brought over the antipasti Ferrari. She filled a plate with tasty antipasti,



mixed olives, artichokes, Bresaola, Prosciutto, marinated peppers and chunks of aged Parmesan cheese. She went on to drizzle everything with aged balsamic and then went to bring out







the freshly baked bread. We ordered our appetizers and sat and enjoyed the antipasti and the view while the ship sailed away from Sint Maarten.



We were still nibbling on our antipasti when our appetizers arrived.
Tom had ordered an old favourite, the





Fritto di Calamari, lightly crusted Calamari served with deep fried Cherry Peppers and Marinara Sauce. I had ordered another favourite of mine, the



Sicilian Pesto Marinated Grilled Shrimp on a mussel, crab and Cherry Tomato Ragu. Both were as nice as we remembered them and we cleaned our plates. They were soon taken away and replaced with the palate cleanser,



lime sorbet. For his main course Tom had ordered the



Pan seared Calves Liver Mele e Cipolle, on polenta cake with caramelized apples and onions, garnished with aged Prosciutto. As we have learned it is one of their less popular dishes, but they prepare it really well and Tom loves it. I had my staple, the



Beef Tenderloin “Palo”, on top of mashed potatoes and wilted greens, served with Gorgonzola sauce. Yum! We had not been overly hungry when we had arrived at the restaurant, but the food was just too good to pass up. And while we were still eating our main courses, Ophelie stopped by to ask if everything was to our liking and if we had decided on dessert yet. There was no question what we both were to order,





Palo’s famous Chocolate Souffle, served with Vanilla Bean sauce, Chocolate sauce and Vanilla ice cream. That is one dessert that we just cannot leave behind and even Tom enjoyed it to the fullest.
Before Ophelie brought our bill she brought two small glasses with



Prosecco, topped with lime sorbet. Then she put the bill on the table and it was nice to see that the balance was actually zero. It was the first time sailing as Platinum Castaway Club Members and DCL treats you to a meal at Palo.
We had no idea if we needed to let them know, or if it would just be taken off our bill. So we left Ophelie a nice tip and some sweets and then headed back to our stateroom.





We changed into some more casual clothes and rested in the stateroom for a while, watching a movie, having some beer and sparkling wine and sitting out on the veranda in the dark.
It seemed like a very short time until it was time to head up to deck 12 again to view the fireworks.
We loved the Pirate show on the Wonder, but are not impressed with the one on the Dream and Fantasy, so we just watch the fireworks. We found a nice spot to stand, leaning against the railing and waited. The fireworks went off only about 5 minutes late and were beautiful as always.
I had talked Tom into not bringing a camera and enjoying them for a change. Once the fireworks were over we followed the masses down, then made a beeline for Cabanas and picked up a few late night snacks from the buffet. Tom filled his plate with





some kind of Chili, some Tortilla chips, a HUGE turkey leg and some nice small breads. I had just picked up two desserts, a



Profiterole and some



chocolate cake dipped in fresh coconut. We took our “nibbles” back to our stateroom, got some more drinks out of the fridge and the TV on and had a picknick in the room. It was close to midnight when we finally went to bed.

To be continued ............

 

[dizneeat]

We are headed there on NYE day- I have a boat tour booked outside of Disney and some other DISers are joining us- I am really looking forward to it!

I hope they straighten out your Magic Bands soon! I am having trouble with mine- I had no problem doing my client's, but mine are an issue. Well, I'd rather be the one having the problem anyway in that case!

Ellen, that sounds like a perfect way to celebrate NYE! I cannot wait for that TR.

So far, my MBs are still a mess, so I guess I will need to call and get it all straightened out.

 

[englishrose47]

Tom ordered a fav of mine Liver !! We cook it at work at least once ayear and 9 of the 10 guys LOVE it !! Every month when I do at meeting with them that is a request !! Strange how so many people don't like it !! Your shrimp appie looked great too !! What a wonderful surprise to have a ZERO bill !!

 

[dizneeat]

Tom ordered a fav of mine Liver !! We cook it at work at least once ayear and 9 of the 10 guys LOVE it !! Every month when I do at meeting with them that is a request !! Strange how so many people don't like it !! Your shrimp appie looked great too !! What a wonderful surprise to have a ZERO bill !!

Tom loves the liver at Palo! We never cook it around our house, as I do not really like the texture and taste.
The Zero bill was the icing on the cake.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Hi Karin! I love the view of the evening port from Palo! Looks like another lovely meal - I love that tenderloin. The best part was the FREE meal! I didn't know they did that. I only have 8 more cruises to go~

 

[dizneeat]

Hi Karin! I love the view of the evening port from Palo! Looks like another lovely meal - I love that tenderloin. The best part was the FREE meal! I didn't know they did that. I only have 8 more cruises to go~

We were so lucky. We had an early ADR and scored one of the tables right next to the glass window. It was so peaceful to watch Sint Maarten glide by while we had dinner.
The free meal at Palo is one of the perks they have for Platinum Castaway Club Members. And we made sure we rang up a bit of a bill.