How 7 Days with DCL Trumps 5 Trips to WDW~ Fantasy Eastern Caribbean, Oct 4-11

[oopsiDAISY]

If you know me very well, or you have followed my reports for very long you may already know this...but I LOVE fall! Fall fun has been delayed for us this year since we took the cruise the first week of October. It took a while to get all unpacked and settled back in. I needed a week or so before digging out the fall decorations, and getting started on some fall fun. This past weekend we finally brought the Fall decorations down from the attic:



Last year Jillian took over the tast of decorating the mantle. She does a fabulous job, doesn't she?



BTW~ I fixed that fireplace grate AFTER I took the photo...



And some gifts from Cheekypoppins and someone in our cruise Fish Extender group on display in my kitchen:



Tuesday night we had a fun Halloween themed dinner...because I miss my movie nights. Never fear, the movie nights will be returning in the very near future.

Anywho... a few decorations and the food from our Halloween dinner:





Mummy Dogs (made by Gabe and Charity):




Spider Cheesball and Crackers (made my ME):



And Candy Corn Crispy Treats (made by Jillian):



We have more fall fun tomorrow night at our church festival, so I will try to post photos of that next week.

As we say in the South...HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!!!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Love all of the Fall decorations! You all did a fine job with decorating and the foods for movie night. I've decided that the minute we get home from our Thanksgiving trip to Tennessee, that I'm pulling out all of the Christmas decorations. I seem to start decorating later and later every year.

 

[Chicago Mo]

cannot wait for movie night at your house..


I LOVE FALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Show me the boat.

 

[KatMark]

Trying to catch up, Connie (a task I don't think I'll ever complete).

All of your food looks so yummy the night before your cruise and my tummy is now telling me it needs food.

I just have to let you know that we LOVE Waffle House and go at least twice a trip.

I love all of your fall decorations, and what a fun meal with the mummy dogs, etc.

 

[disny_luvr]

The food at Fishlips looks delish. I found out recently that the Dream sails away the night before our Fantasy cruise. So, our plan is to go see the Dream sail away and then go eat at Fishlips. Your pictures definitely confirmed that Fishlips is the right decision. Does it get pretty full there?

 

[disny_luvr]

One other thing - It took me quite a few months to watch the Fantasy (or any Disney ship) sail away via the webcam. Now that we have our next cruise booked, I can watch again.

 

[petals]

I love your little Fall party

 

[Chicago Mo]

How did you make your decision on which boat to go on?

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Love all of the Fall decorations! You all did a fine job with decorating and the foods for movie night. I've decided that the minute we get home from our Thanksgiving trip to Tennessee, that I'm pulling out all of the Christmas decorations. I seem to start decorating later and later every year.

I have to wait until Brian is finished with his schooling for the term before I can decorate or Christmas...because he is the one who has to bring all that suff down from the attic.

cannot wait for movie night at your house..


I LOVE FALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Show me the boat.

Boat? What boat?

Trying to catch up, Connie (a task I don't think I'll ever complete).

All of your food looks so yummy the night before your cruise and my tummy is now telling me it needs food.

I just have to let you know that we LOVE Waffle House and go at least twice a trip.

I love all of your fall decorations, and what a fun meal with the mummy dogs, etc.

Kathy, I know that feeling. So many awesome reports to read and write, so little time.

The food at Fishlips looks delish. I found out recently that the Dream sails away the night before our Fantasy cruise. So, our plan is to go see the Dream sail away and then go eat at Fishlips. Your pictures definitely confirmed that Fishlips is the right decision. Does it get pretty full there?

Oh but, here is the fun part...you can watch the Dream sail away FROM Fishlips! That is the beauty of that restaurant. They have outdoor seating on the first and second floors of the restaurant. It is the PERFECT viewing place for any sailaway from Port Canaveral.

Yes, it can fill up fast, so get there early if you can.

One other thing - It took me quite a few months to watch the Fantasy (or any Disney ship) sail away via the webcam. Now that we have our next cruise booked, I can watch again.

Yes, I have not tried to make myself watch again yet.

I love your little Fall party

Thanks!

How did you make your decision on which boat to go on?

What boat?








So, our decision was not really based on what boat, it was based on length of cruise, departure port and destination. Fantasy and Dream dock out of Port Canaveral, within driving distance of our house. So that decision was easy. Fantasy does the longer cruises, Dream does the shorter, Bahamas cruises. We knew we did not want a short cruise, we wanted the full experience. So we landed ourselves on the Fantasy.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

So, I fell asleep very easily on Friday night since Thursday night was spent in a van. BUT...I was WIDE awake by 4 in the morning. What does one do when you are in a hotel room with others who will wake as soon as you stir at all? I-phone to the rescue. I got on FB, and apparently I wasn't the only one from our cruise group who could not sleep. People were posting like crazy! About half an hour later, one of the other cruisers, who had a port view room, posted a photo of the Fantasy as she pulled into port upon her return from the Western Caribbean...it was happening, folks...we were about to embark up on our first cruise!!!!

I dosed off and on until the alarm went off. Woke the family. We got up and dressed, and headed down for some breakfast.



What was funny was the Brian and I came back to the table with the exact same food on our plates. The eggs were gross, so I ended up eating only the sausage and potatoes, but they were good.

While at breakfast, I finally got to meet someone who had fast become one of my cruise BFF's through the FB page, Robin (KRDotson) and her family. They live in East TN, and we had tried to arrange meet ups a couple of times, but it just never worked out. Brian and I had a great time chatting with them during breakfast. Brian and her hubby got along really well, and ended up chatting quite a few times throughout the cruise.

The breakfast area was PACKED that morning. There were lots of folks with matching t-shirts, and shirts that said Disney Fantasy, etc. We were chatting with one the hotel employees who were "hosting" the breakfast area, and she said there were THREE cruises going out that day (hence the update title). Indeed, it was a busy day in Port Canaveral.

So after breakfast, we got back up to the room to brush teeth and throw our last minute stuff into our bags. We got down to the van, and Rochelle and her family had just gotten down there to load, too. We were READY TO GO!!!!

Our first glimpse of this beauty that morning as we were driving to the terminal:



EEEKKK!!! SLKFDNID NVJKDNINT KHNIHJ!!! It was happening!

The plan was for Stephen and Brian to drop Rochelle, the kids and I off at the port with all the luggage. We would wait for a porter to get the luggage while Stephen and Brian took the van back to the hotel for weeklong parking. The guys would bring the hotel shuttle back to the port and meet us before going into the terminal together. This worked out really well. After the porters got all the luggage, we found a nice shady area to sit and wait, just inside the terminal gate, for our men to arrive. Our FB group had t-shirts made, so we saw and got to meet LOTS of our new friends as they walked by headed into the terminal. Before long, we saw this...



It seems little E had left her Minnie ears in the van, so Stephen was kind enough to grab them for her.

After meeting up, it was time to dive headfirst into the organized chaos that is the terminal...but not before taking a really super cute photo of two really super cute kiddos:



And...I think I will stop here. It is time to start the weekend!

 

[KatMark]

Funny that none of you could sleep and you were all on FB.

I don't like eggs, but the potatoes look yummy.

Three ships all in same day? I would have probably boarded wrong one.

Cute pic of two cute kids, and I love Stephen in the Minnie ears.

Have a good weekend.

 

[jedijill]

I understand about being excited and waking up early! I just want to get on the ship!!!!

Love the Minnie ears!

Have a great Halloween and a wonderful weekend!

Jill in CO

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Funny that none of you could sleep and you were all on FB.

I don't like eggs, but the potatoes look yummy.

Three ships all in same day? I would have probably boarded wrong one.

Cute pic of two cute kids, and I love Stephen in the Minnie ears.

Have a good weekend.

It was easy to board the right ship since only one of them was a Mickey ship!

Stephen wearing those Minnie ears had us cracking up. He stands head and shoulders taller than the average person anyhow... so, when we first spotted him, it was just this floating Minnie head moving along in the line. It was hilarious

I love that picture of the "littles." One of my favorites from the trip.

I understand about being excited and waking up early! I just want to get on the ship!!!!

Love the Minnie ears!

Have a great Halloween and a wonderful weekend!

Jill in CO

So much excitement and adrenaline was running through me that morning. It was a day I will never forget!



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Well, I have confessed on Mo's TR, guess I need to make my confession here now... we skipped Halloween this year. I worked that day, and after work a professor friend did a private Ghost Walk on campus for few of us (it is something she does publicly every year, and I never get to make it for various reasons.) ANYWHO~ after being out in the cold and wind for just 30 minutes for that Ghost Walk... I wimped out on the Fall Festival. I went home and told the kids it was going to be Chili and a Halloween movie that night instead. They were disappointed, but two of them have asthma, and knew that being out in the weather would be bad...so it was fine. I consoled myself with the fact that we had all dressed up and gotten candy while on the cruise.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Well, I left you standing at the cruise terminal door...but at least I left two cutie pies to keep you company!

We got through security, and dove headfirst into a sea of....humanity. PEOPLE EVERYWHERE! But, in true Disney fashion, it was organized chaos. We got in line, got processed, got our boarding pass and headed over to the youth activities line. We got Gabe all registered for Oceaneer's and were just finishing up when our boarding number was called!!

A lovely photo Jillian took of the big terminal window:



Out the windows you can see the ship, and the big giant black mass to the left is the Mickey tunnel to the gangplank. We were on our way, folks!

We asked the family behind us in line to take photo before we entered the tunnel...She got us, but not the whole Mickey tunnel.



I handed the camera off to Jillian, she wanted to take photos of the atrium as we got our first glimpses of the Fantasy. Upon entering, your name is called: "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fantasy is excited to welcome the Sink Family!" Applause and a line of cruise CM's to greet you as you cross the threshold onto the ship.

And here is Jillian's perspective of our surroundings upon entering:





The crown jewel of the atrium (and Mo will be proud, because Jillian lived by Mo's mantra of "look up!):



The Fantasy was all decked out for Halloween on the High Seas:



This is one of my favorite photos of those first few moments on board:



Upon entering Brian headed straight to Guest Services to take care of a few things right away like wi-fi, applying some gift and rewards cards to our on-board account, etc. Charity and I headed up to Deck 4 to get in line to get tickets to an Anna and Elsa Meet and Greet. Yep, you read that right...Anna and Elsa and the Princess have ticketed M&G's, so that you don't have to stand in line for long waits. They have specific times and they only alot a limited number of tickets for each M&G session. We loved that!! Wish they would do that at the World!

Tickets in hand, we headed back to meet the rest of the family for lunch. The masses typically head to Cabana's, the main buffet. for lunch. But we had the inside scoop on a lesser known, quieter lunch destination, so that is where we headed...

 

[DMGeurts]

Ok - loved the fall themed night - seriously - that food looks delicious... And even though those mummy dogs wouldn't be good for my current eating situation - I think I could scarf one of those down with out a problem! Everything looks soooo good - thankfully I am making dinner.

Eeeep... So cute with the Minnie Ears... Loved that dad grabbed them for little E!

And check out that ship - OMG!!! Some day, I want to do that so badly... Maybe I can talk Josh into it? It would be sooo FUN! Well, for me anyways. LOL

EEEEPppp... The first glimpse of the ship is fantastic!!!

I love your matching shirts - they are so cute! And you are just an adorable family - I love you all to pieces!

Yay - Jillian looked up!!! Awesome photo - love that!!!

Oooh - can't wait to see where you eat.

Some day, when I finally get to go on a cruise - I am going to be calling you, my friend, for all of your tips and tricks!

Super excited for the rest of this TR!

D~

 

[disny_luvr]

That first glimpse of the ship is magical. I remember our excitement and I think I shed a tear or two.

I love the picture Jillian took in the terminal with the ship in the background. I think I'm stealing that picture idea for our cruise next year.

The terminal is completely chaotic, but as you stated, it is organized chaos. I can't wait to hear where you ate. We went to Cabana's.

 

[solana131]

Ahhh that's first glimpse......
Do you find the pictures just don't do it justice?? The ships are just so HUGE, you really can't comprehend unless you have been standing next to one!
Oh I really shouldn't have started following this......now I need a cruise.....

 

[Chicago Mo]

I....




LOVE.....




THIS!!!!!!!


Oh a girl after my own heart. She looked up and got a frame worthy picture of that gorgeous chandelier! the tiers of the decks! I cannot tell you how much i am loving every second of following your report.
the decorations are beautiful!
Yes you had a WAY better Halloween on the ship v/s boring ol' trick or treating in the neighborhood!

like Suzi said this ship is ENORMOUS! it dwarfs all the other ships!

Do they announce every family who enters? that must take some time!!!

You did your research on the cruise didn't you!

Umm Ghost walk? and didn't tell me about this?!?!? need to know more!


you cannot leave me hanging now. Need to know all about this amazing Halloween adventure you are having!!!

​

 

[KatMark]

you have crossed the threshold! It must be fun to have your name announced.

Jillian did great with the pictures...including looking "up."

I love the picture of Charity in the porthole window.

I can't wait to hear where this secret lunch is.

 

[CaseFace5]

Hi Connie! I'm all caught up! Love the look of that ship!! and the fall decorations!! I still haven't seen my neighbor to see if she was in the FB group.

That chandelier is amazing! What a good girl to "look up." I also love the picture sitting in the port hole.

We went on a cruise in January and we went to the Bahamas and when we got there we were docked next to one of the Disney Ships and I tried to get Sken to think about doing one but he wasn't having it. Who knows maybe after this next trip he will want to!