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

[disny_luvr]

Great updates! I have so much to comment on...

We loved Enchanted Garden - It was our favorite of the three dining rooms. I love the interaction with the wait staff. Our waiters, Dewa and Modester (You didn't happen to see anyone onboard by those names, did you?) still hold a special place in my heart. They were wonderful and the interaction between them and my boys was awesome! My boys aren't very affection towards strangers (which I guess is a good thing) and by the end of the week they were hugging them and begging for pictures with them. We still talk about our waiters to this day.

Your room looks great! We didn't have a verandah but do have one for our next cruise! The rooms are rather spacious and the split baths are awesome. I don't think I could ever book an inside room just because I love the split bath so much. Aren't the beds comfy?

Your door looks fab, too. I love the FE and all the door magnets!

We, too, had a lousy spot for the Sail Away Party, but we had a great spot to actual view sail away from Port Canaveral. It's so fun waving to everyone watching you sail away.

I can't wait to read more.

One other thing - How did you get the $300 OBC from DU? Were they running a promo or something? I only ask because we are booked with them for our cruise next year and we are only receiving a $200 OBC.

 

[krdotson]

It's time to head for lunch, anyone hungry?? As I said in the last post, most cruisers head to Cabana's for lunch upon embarkation. BUT, since I am a Diser, and know more than the average bear...we headed downstairs to Enchanted Garden for lunch. EG did have a buffet set up for lunch, but you were seated at a table, and had a server to get drinks, etc for you. MUCH less hectic than the Cabana's cattle call.

We lucked out when we were seated at a table with a view...



And this photo begins my obsession with the folded napkins on the cruise (considered yourself warned):



We promptly placed our drink orders and headed for the buffet. The buffet had an assortment of cold cuts and cheeses, salads, and hot foods. Here is what my ONLY plate looked like....yes, I had but one. I have heard too many horror stories of rapid weight gain on cruises, and I was determined to keep my portions reasonable! Anywho, my plate:



Cold cuts and a few cheese cubes, carrots and snow peas (loved this, I have since made this at home), lamb chop (didn't care for this), rice with the sauce from the lamb on it, and behind the lamb was bacon wrapped salmon with a green pea puree - this was my favorite thing on the plate.

On to dessert (though the photo looks large, the dessert was a mini):



This was so yummy. It was supposed to be chocolate mousse, but it had the taste and texture of a cake or brownie batter...YUM!

During lunch, our waiter decided to entertain Gabe a bit.



Hmmm,. what could he be up to?



He made Gabe a "pet" to keep on the cruise with him. Wait~ I thought only service animals were allowed on this cruise!

He proceeded to hold and pet this little puppy. He told Gabe to pet the puppy, then caused it to POP from his hand when Gabe touched it. It was so cute. And here is the proud owner of the cruise puppy:



He told Gabe he could keep the puppy, so now that puppy has a home on Gabe's dresser at home.

Coming up...our room is ready!!!!!

Chocolate Marquis!!
Decadent and I attribute it for all of my cruise weight gain.

 

[KatMark]

What a great update!

Love the gift bag you got...so fun.

Your door looks great!

And love how Gabe decorated the verandah door.

Your drink looks marvelous and I could certainly go for one right now.

What's with the antsy people pulling down the rope and then being late for the drill? Why do people feel they are more important than others?

 

[Pluto0809]

That room looks massive compared to what I was expecting!

Love all of the door decorations! Where did you get the Disney Halloween window clings? I looked everywhere for some so I could decorate our window at POFQ last month. I've also looked everywhere for Christmas ones with no luck!

 

[Campbem]

Thanks for the info, great reporting. I love the photos and details. My family and I are sailing on the Fantasy in 17 days!! Can't wait to see more.

 

[DisneyMagicMomma]

Subbing in! So excited to read more about your cruise.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Oh My goodness your door is simply adorable amazing LOVE that Daisy face around your room number!!! did you make all that?!?!

Love the rooms! you weren't squished?! that's my one fear is no space. love the fact your waving goodbye to.. No one on the dock!
ohhh i hope the girls get their luggage soon!!!!

I made quite a few of the decorations, but some of the designs were done by a lady here on the Disboards, Barb. She does them for free, and they are customized. We were NOT squished at all. Just like at WDW, you just don't spend a lot of time in your room, so it worked out just fine for us. We loved that room. Our room steward cleaned twice a day: once in the morning to put the beds up, and during dinner to pull the beds back down.

Well, eventually there were CM's out there with the big Mickey hands waving. We also passed Fishlips, so there were folks there to wave at as well.

I'm following this trip report!

Reading your report makes me want to be able to go ahead and book a disney cruise. We've never sailed either so reading all about yours makes me think we will be fine too.

Can't wait to read more!

Welcome! Not sure what is holding you back from booking, BUT:

If it is motion sickness, Bonine works. Jillian is terribly prone to motion sickness, and she never got sick once.

If it is the cost...save and BOOK IT! We sacrificed financially as a family for a year and a half to save for this cruise. And let me tell you...IT WAS SO WORTH EVERY BIT OF SACRIFICE!

Seriously, I cannot stress too much about what a true dream vacation this was for us. We loved every second of it!

Yep, burns my biscuits (a/k/a chaps my butt) when people try to go around the rules. When we cruised, there wasn't even a thought in my mind that we'd sneak or push our way to our room early.

Your cabin looks really roomy. What category stateroom did you book? We had a family room, I believe, and we loved the split bathrooms too.

Our room was category 4D- Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah. We loved the room. Next time we may get that same room, but with a big porthole rather than the verandah. But it was definitely roomy, and the split bathrooms was wonderful! It worked great for us.

Great updates! I have so much to comment on...

We loved Enchanted Garden - It was our favorite of the three dining rooms. I love the interaction with the wait staff. Our waiters, Dewa and Modester (You didn't happen to see anyone onboard by those names, did you?) still hold a special place in my heart. They were wonderful and the interaction between them and my boys was awesome! My boys aren't very affection towards strangers (which I guess is a good thing) and by the end of the week they were hugging them and begging for pictures with them. We still talk about our waiters to this day.

Your room looks great! We didn't have a verandah but do have one for our next cruise! The rooms are rather spacious and the split baths are awesome. I don't think I could ever book an inside room just because I love the split bath so much. Aren't the beds comfy?

Your door looks fab, too. I love the FE and all the door magnets!

We, too, had a lousy spot for the Sail Away Party, but we had a great spot to actual view sail away from Port Canaveral. It's so fun waving to everyone watching you sail away.

I can't wait to read more.

One other thing - How did you get the $300 OBC from DU? Were they running a promo or something? I only ask because we are booked with them for our cruise next year and we are only receiving a $200 OBC.

Gabe LOVED our main waiter...he loved him from the first night. You will see in a later update, that he wanted a picture with Sawek that first night.

We loved the verandah, but for the sake of saving a bit we are considering a Porthole room next time. We shall see. Yes, that queen bed was so comfy. And I am SOOO picky about pillows....loved the pillows, too! It just felt like sleeping on a big, fluffy cloud every night.

We got the $300, I am assuming because of the cost of the Cat 4D room, and being five of us. Our cruise total was well over $6k. My guess is that the amount of OBC Dreams Unlimited offers depends on the amount you spend on the cruise.

Chocolate Marquis!!
Decadent and I attribute it for all of my cruise weight gain.

Ooooh yes, that's it. It was SOOOO delicious!!! As was most of the food on the cruise, for sure!

What a great update!

Love the gift bag you got...so fun.

Your door looks great!

And love how Gabe decorated the verandah door.

Your drink looks marvelous and I could certainly go for one right now.

What's with the antsy people pulling down the rope and then being late for the drill? Why do people feel they are more important than others?

Thanks, Kathy! That drink was very yummy, and just sealed the feeling of actually being on vacation.

The rudeness of people just baffles me at times.

That room looks massive compared to what I was expecting!

Love all of the door decorations! Where did you get the Disney Halloween window clings? I looked everywhere for some so I could decorate our window at POFQ last month. I've also looked everywhere for Christmas ones with no luck!

Yes, DCL rooms are fantastic! We got to peek into one of the handicap access rooms, and they were ginormous. Disney just does things right!

Those Disney Halloween clings were actually a gift from KRDotson, months before the cruise. Not sure where she got them, but she had found them on clearance the year before, I do believe. She just happened to have a "stash" of them that she shared with us. She mailed them to us.

Thanks for the info, great reporting. I love the photos and details. My family and I are sailing on the Fantasy in 17 days!! Can't wait to see more.

OMG, you are going to have the BEST TIME!!! Please let me know if you do a TR, I will certainly hop on over and follow it!

Subbing in! So excited to read more about your cruise.

Welcome!!! Glad you are enjoying the report. Please chime in anytime with comments, criticism, heckling, etc.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

I forgot to mention in my last update, that before muster drill we had tried to visit the clubs during Open House. We hit it at such a time that they had all closed for a couple hours. This was due to “all hands on deck” for muster drill. Although we didn’t get to see them yet, we were glad we had taken the time to locate them ahead of time. Those tween and teen clubs are pretty well hidden!

Now, to pick up where I left off in the last update. After the Sail Away party it was time to get dressed for dinner. When we got back to the room, ALMOST all luggage had arrived. I say almost, because there was just one bag missing at this point…the garment bag with Jillian and Charity’s dresses in it. They were so disappointed! One of the things they had most looked forward to on the cruise was dressing up for dinner.

The rest of us set to getting dressed, and the girls did what they could to freshen up. Then the heavens opened up, and the angels sang as the missing garment bag showed up… 20 minutes before dinner! The girls quickly changed, and we headed out for dinner. Where were we going?

For those of you not familiar with it, DCL has rotational dining. There are three main dining rooms, and you rotate through a different one each night. Your wait staff rotates with you, so that you have the same servers every night of your cruise.

The three restaurants are: Animator’s Palette, Enchanted Garden, and Royal Court. Your rotation is noted by the first initial of each restaurant on your Key to the World Card when you receive it. There were many folk s in our FB group who called DCL ahead to request a very specific rotation, which would be AERAERA…Animators, Enchanted, Royal, Animators, Enchanted, Royal, Animators. I am not still not sure why this one is the favorite, other than maybe folks just like Animator’s and want it three times. We decided to leave our rotation in the hands of the Disney gods, and just take what we were given. And we got AERAERA…without even requesting it!

As we headed down to Animator’s Pallette for dinner, we stopped for our first dinner pictures:





Just before entering the restaurant, the kids wanted a photo in front of one of the big portholes. They portholes were decorated for Halloween, too! The photo did not turn out well, but here it is:



Upon being seated at our table, we found this waiting for Gabe:



That DCL magic was already in full swing! And let's not forget my folded napkin obsession:



We then met Sawek, our server for the week. He was fabulous...but you will have to wait until later to see him for yourself.

We were started with a bread service every night. Tonight's bread service was:

Garlic and Herb Foccacia
with a Rosemary Virgin Olive Oil Dip


It was not anything out of the ordinary on this night, but it was still quite tasty.

Next was appetizers:

~Smoked Salmon Tartar with Dill, Capers, Onions, Pickles and a Horseradish Cream


This was fantastic! The salmon was encased with a cream cheese base. It was so tasty!

Rochelle got: Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes~
Pasta Purse filled with Truffle scented Cheese and coated with a delicate Champagne Sauce


She thought this was delicous as well.

I am uncertain whose this was, but it is:
~Sliced Serrano Ham with Tomato Bread and Spanish Olives


After apps, it was time for soup or salad. My choice for this course was: Creamy Butternut Squash Soup Garnished with Chives and drizzled with Sour Cream


SO YUMMY!!! I let my family try it, and they were not fans. I was disappointed as I would have LOVED to add this to our menus at home from time to time.

I don't seem to have any other soup/salad photos. I do know that the rest of my family ordered:
Baked Potato and Cheddar Cheese Soup
With Bacon Bits and Chives

No wonder I didn't take a photo...this is something I make at home a LOT during the winter. How unimaginative of them. I do recall that they liked it, though.

At this time Charity found out she could order a Shirley Temple at no extra charge (sometime specialty drinks have an additional fee). She ordered it, and was excited to see that it was FULL of cherries...until she fished this out of the glass:



I will say now that for the rest of the week, Sawek had a Shirley Temple waiting at Charity's place at the table, and none of the others were gifted with a bunch of stems.



I will leave you here, and we will have entree's later this week!

 

[disny_luvr]

I think you are right about the correlation between the cost of the cruise and the OBC. We originally booked a cruise for next summer at the tune of $8000 (hence why we switched our cruise) but had we kept the cruise, we would've received a $600 OBC from DU.

I think you will really enjoy an ocean view room and the added money savings would be a great bonus. We stayed in an 8C (ocean view) and we loved that category. The rooms were huge and my boys loved sitting on the cushion seat in the window. I don't know if I missed the verandah because I never sailed with one, but we were in our room so little that I don't know how much use I would have gotten out of that verandah. Plus, there were so many great places to sit around the ship so we took advantage of those often. With that being said, we booked a 5E (one of the rooms all the way AFT) so we'll have one of the huge verandahs with the two loungers. The reason I booked that room category was because we had a 10% discount from rebooking on our cruise. We are actually paying less for our cruise next year with a verandah than what we paid for our cruise last year without a verandah.

You are so lucky! I requested the AERAERA rotation on our cruise but we didn't get it. I think the reason it is the most desired rotation is because it puts you in Animator's for Pirate Night and I think Enchanted Garden for formal night and Royal Court for semi-formal. The rotation we ended up getting was RAERAER so we were in Animator's for formal night and Enchanted Garden for semi-formal. Looking back, I loved our rotation and I've decided I'll never request one again. The food looks delish!

 

[Chicago Mo]

Very cool update! Interesting about the rotation. and awesome you got the popular one!!!
Love the family photo! So beautiful!!!!!

I won't be on so i thought i would say:

 

[KatMark]

Love the family pictures.

Dinner looks yummy.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your wonderful family.

​

 

[petals]

All that food makes me hungry. You're room looks great though. Love how you decorated the door.

 

[condorthb]

bump

 

[oopsiDAISY]

In my typical fashion, I have been avioding the Disboards for a few weeks while I sort through my Disney blues. This is my promise to all of you that I wil be back this afternoon with replies and another update.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

I think you are right about the correlation between the cost of the cruise and the OBC. We originally booked a cruise for next summer at the tune of $8000 (hence why we switched our cruise) but had we kept the cruise, we would've received a $600 OBC from DU.

I think you will really enjoy an ocean view room and the added money savings would be a great bonus. We stayed in an 8C (ocean view) and we loved that category. The rooms were huge and my boys loved sitting on the cushion seat in the window. I don't know if I missed the verandah because I never sailed with one, but we were in our room so little that I don't know how much use I would have gotten out of that verandah. Plus, there were so many great places to sit around the ship so we took advantage of those often. With that being said, we booked a 5E (one of the rooms all the way AFT) so we'll have one of the huge verandahs with the two loungers. The reason I booked that room category was because we had a 10% discount from rebooking on our cruise. We are actually paying less for our cruise next year with a verandah than what we paid for our cruise last year without a verandah.

You are so lucky! I requested the AERAERA rotation on our cruise but we didn't get it. I think the reason it is the most desired rotation is because it puts you in Animator's for Pirate Night and I think Enchanted Garden for formal night and Royal Court for semi-formal. The rotation we ended up getting was RAERAER so we were in Animator's for formal night and Enchanted Garden for semi-formal. Looking back, I loved our rotation and I've decided I'll never request one again. The food looks delish!

We have talked about taking another cruise in August of 2017....but when I price cruises for summer~ Holy cow!!! They are $4000 MORE for the same cruise we just took! So, I have no clue what we will do.

I had sort of hoped for ERAERAE. This would have put us in Royal Court for formal night, which would have been cool. But we were still happy with our rotation.

Very cool update! Interesting about the rotation. and awesome you got the popular one!!!
Love the family photo! So beautiful!!!!!

I won't be on so i thought i would say:

Thanks, MO! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at the beach, and with family. I took photos with every intention of doing a mini-tr. But, my NEW photobucket account is ALREADY at 97% with the vacation photos. I suppose I should just break down and pay for a subscription.

Love the family pictures.

Dinner looks yummy.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your wonderful family.

​

Thanks Kathy! I hope your Thanksgiving was great as well.

All that food makes me hungry. You're room looks great though. Love how you decorated the door.

Want to feel hungry again? I haven't even posted the entrees yet....

 

[oopsiDAISY]

So, we left off with the soup and salad course. Lots of food on this cruise for sure. Are you ready for the main event???

First we have Andrew's dinner: Seared Red Snapper with Scallops, Crushed New Potatoes and Salsa Verde.



Next up is mine: Ginger-Teriyaki dusted Angus Beef Tenderloin on Wasabi Mashed Potatoes with Bok Choy and a Tamarind-Barbecue Reduction.



YUM! This was definitely delicious. I had never tried Bok Choy before, but even that was good. Not sure if I could prepare the bok choy myself, but it was quite tasty.

Next, Jillian and Charity both went for the chicken dish: Lemon-thyme Marinated Organic Chicken Breast With Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, roasted Root Vegetables and Grain Mustard Jus.



They enjoyed it, but I am quite certain the beets were not eaten.

Biran went for the veal:. Herb Roasted Veal Chop Brushed with Dijon Mustard and crusted with Herbed Breadcrumbs served with Sun-dried Tomato Risotto and a Barolo Wine Sauce.



He enjoyed the actual veal, but I do recall that he did not like the risotto at all. I tried it, because I typically love risotto...it had a very weird taste.

Gabe and little E both got burgers or chicken tenders from the kid menu, and Stephen and Rochelle must have gotten duplicates of what we ordered since there are no more entree pictures.

Time for dessert!!!! Gabe and Little E went for what we all love in the parks, the Mickey's Premium bar!



I ask that you please take note of the sprinkles on that ice cream bar...for there will be more on that later in the report.

Two cuties with a handful of magic:



Someone else at the table (not sure who at this point) chose: White Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake with Whipped Cream and Raspberry Coulis.



Brian and the girls chose: Crunchy Walnut Cake- Dark Chocolate Mouse with Raspberry Coulis.



I am baffled about why they choose to call this cake. It is basically a walnut crust with chocolate mousse on top. Really good, though.

I was pretty stuffed by dessert time, so I chose a lighter selection: Chilled Mango Mousse with Tropical Fruit Sauce.



It was so good. It just hit the spot.

Gabe had made a friend for life, so we had to have photo evidence of the BEST SERVER EVER! Sawek and Gabe:



Upon leaving Animator's Palette, I HAD to get a picture of the super cool chairs:



Can I have these in my dining room?

Upon returning to our room each night, we were always greeted with a gorgeous towel animal, and chocolates:



The girls made their first trips to their respective clubs, and my little man settled into his cool bed for the week to watch some television:



There were twinkle lights that glowed on the ceiling above his bed when the lights were out, very cool .

Goodnight, sweet friends....

 

[Chicago Mo]

Thanks now i am STARVING!!! everything looks so dang good i don't know what i would order!
Server: May i have you order?
Me: yes. the menu.
Server: yes ma'am you have the menu
Me: No... i am requesting EVERYTHING ON THE MENU.

those chairs!!!! I want them too!!! they even have a pull out bar on the back! LOVE IT!

 

[disny_luvr]

The food looks delish!

The top bunk with the twinkling lights is the best. My boys took turns sleeping there each night.

 

[KatMark]

The food looks wonderful and I love the pic of Gabe with his new best friend.

Wishing you and yours a very

 

[DMGeurts]

Hi Oopsi!!!! I am seriously so far behind here - I need to take some time to catch up soon! I always forget that you have a TR going over here in Cruise-line land. It doesn't mean I love you any less - because I still do. I promise I will catch up soon...

Until then...

Just stopping by to wish you a...

Merry Christmas!

D~