I'll Be Good Next Year- Fantasy Eastern NYE 13/14 Updates 6/17

[Wicket's Mom]

OMG, I would be in martini heaven! Pods was doing a super job, but I don't know about his recipe!

We are at the stage where we are the last ones standing at weddings during the couples dance. When Bob is asked what the secret to our marriage longevity is, he says just agree with whatever she says! I could see having problems at the game on the cruise! LOL.

Our friends are doing fairly well, they have bad moments of course, but taking the loss in stride.

 

[Beth D]

MMMM……..Martinis! Love me some! You ladies get an A+++++++ for that class, and PODS gets a participation check +!

My old boss makes some wicked martinis! All my pics from his last party are of my empty glasses. He makes his own syrup, muddles fruit, and everything.

Next cruise I need to start drinking regular coffee with dessert, and not the decaf stuff. Maybe also try late dining? Think that would keep me up later than 10 PM?

 

[RGirl]

I am so sorry to hear about your SIL, Ellen. She sounds like an amazing woman. My thoughts are with your family.

Thanks for the quick WDW update - sounds like a great “business” trip.

Great cruise updates too!

I hope to one day see some of the adult-area entertainment - it always sounds like a pretty hilarious good time. I need to make myself a note that says “Elderbubble” for our 2015 cruise - YUM!!!

The martini tasting looks like so much fun!!! Another thing that I will one day manage to do on a DCL cruise - booze tastings!

 

[podsnel]

After our minitinis we spent the rest of the afternoon just lazing around up in that adult area- kind of. It was after 2 when we got up there, so on a sea day, as you can imagine, there were not alot of lounges to find at this point. Still, we found them. I must have gone back to the cabin for something because I took a pic of this-



But ended up sitting here when I got back (I could not find Pods anywhere)



Looking down-



What I thought was interesting on the Fantasy was how empty this adult pool was on a sea day- on the Dream, it would have been PACKED as the only adult water feature. But on the Fantasy, there are additional water features- up there in Satellite Falls, it was hoppin! I think that made a big difference in the area over all.





I do not like being alone- I get bored (and I am an only child- makes no sense!) so I decided to look for Pods again. Before I found him, I saw Timmy shooting hoops with all the others from Vibe-



He always says he has a great time on that sports deck on DCL. I did eventually find my husband, workin up the power drool near Satellite Falls. He had been there the whole time, he said- no idea how I missed him! We enjoyed the sea day, relaxed and read our books, then I grabbed a Pumpkin Spiced Late-



And headed back to the cabin to shower and dress up- tonight, Pods and I were dining at REMY, and I had a good feeling it was going to be incredible! We did, however, manage to make it to the 6:15 show- tonight we were entertained by Hypnotist Ricky Kalmon- it was VERY entertaining-

 

[DWGal210]

Timmy looks so happy on that court! So sweet!

The latte looks delicious! I went to Cove Cafe more times last cruise than I had before, and I always thought the lattes were really good.

Can't WAIT to hear about Remy!! So exciting!!

 

[podsnel]

Tonight was Pirate Night (we had a kind of odd schedule this cruise because everything was rearranged due to NYE being in the middle of the week) and we had decided we wouldn't mind missing that menu the most of all of them this week for booking Remy.





Because what they would be serving in Remy tonight had nothing to do with any pirates! We hit Meridian first to have a cocktail...I was going to enjoy one of the minitinis from earlier in the day that I had liked, but in its true martini size- I think it was a Pomegranate Passion- pomegranate passion liquer, passion fruit sorbet and Taittinger Champagne.



Yummmmm...have to say, again, I REALLY love the inventive cocktails on these Disney ships! Especially when they involve champagne! The bartender was another one who had come from the Dream, I actually remember her shadowing Alex in Pink on my last cruise.



Pods was having something else, I think a Balsamic Grande? Grey goose, balsamic vinegar and muddled strawberry?



Whatever it was, I loved it- mine, i mean (pretty sure it was the Passionfruit one, I had LOVED that one during drinking lessons). Pods' drink was very unusual. Unfortunately, I am not that bright, and I left the garnish balancing- which eventually it dumped, and splashed all over my dress (glad I was wearing fuscia!!!). UGH. You can dress me up, obviously, you can not take me out.

Pics of the afore-mentioned high class hooch in Meridian-





Save your Benjamins for this one-



A one ounce pour is $105. But 2 ounces is a bargain at $200. Not so interested in that Louis guy, but these ladies looks like they could be a WHOLE lotta fun!



All those Taittinger sisters are just so pretty!

Our table was ready, and I headed over to Remy in humiliation in my wet (but quickly drying) dress.....

To be cont'd sometime later....

 

[podsnel]

I wonder if I would be able to walk out after all those drinks. Looks like you had lots of fun. Bottoms up.

Sure you would! Everyone could- it was very happy in Meridian, but no one was wasted or sloppy or anything- I think alot of the minitinis were not super duper strong- just the gin one seemed very potent- which it was!

what an awesome update!!!!!!!!!!!!

How much fun!

THANKS!!! I will stop by your TR soon- so sorry I have been MIA- have a little more time now.

We may have to consider a mixology class in September after all!

Mixology is a lot of fun- we did that one on the 2nd sea day!

OMG, I would be in martini heaven! Pods was doing a super job, but I don't know about his recipe!

LMAO!!! I will tell him!

We are at the stage where we are the last ones standing at weddings during the couples dance. When Bob is asked what the secret to our marriage longevity is, he says just agree with whatever she says! I could see having problems at the game on the cruise! LOL.

SO sweet! You should definitely get up there- and make sure someone videos it, so we can all see.

Our friends are doing fairly well, they have bad moments of course, but taking the loss in stride.

So glad- that is the worst thing imaginable.

MMMM……..Martinis! Love me some! You ladies get an A+++++++ for that class, and PODS gets a participation check +!

LOL! Well, he is good at drinkin them, he is just not too good at making them!

My old boss makes some wicked martinis! All my pics from his last party are of my empty glasses. He makes his own syrup, muddles fruit, and everything.

LOVE that- he sounds like a super boss!

Next cruise I need to start drinking regular coffee with dessert, and not the decaf stuff. Maybe also try late dining? Think that would keep me up later than 10 PM?

There is so much FUN after 10! Sleep when you're dead- or after 11:30pm, take your pick-

I am so sorry to hear about your SIL, Ellen. She sounds like an amazing woman. My thoughts are with your family.

Thanks much, Roni. I think they are doing ok- I asked Steven if he and the boys would want to meet us in HHI at the Disney resort next summer- he said it sounds great, and he sounded good-

Thanks for the quick WDW update - sounds like a great “business” trip.

I LOVE being a TA!!! I had so much fun this week watching all my travelers on FB- I had/have people in WDW, DCL, St Lucia, Costa Rica & Turks and Caicos. A great perk of this new job, knowing I had a little part in their happiness.

Great cruise updates too!

I hope to one day see some of the adult-area entertainment - it always sounds like a pretty hilarious good time. I need to make myself a note that says “Elderbubble” for our 2015 cruise - YUM!!!

Yes- try to get it in one of the champagne bars, Pink or Ooh La La- it just tastes better there.

The martini tasting looks like so much fun!!! Another thing that I will one day manage to do on a DCL cruise - booze tastings!

Good luck!

Timmy looks so happy on that court! So sweet!

He was- loves it out there-

The latte looks delicious! I went to Cove Cafe more times last cruise than I had before, and I always thought the lattes were really good.

I agree- they were all delicious, I had a few-

Can't WAIT to hear about Remy!! So exciting!!

It IS exciting, and well worth all the hype it gets - and the expense.

 

[rentayenta]

Cynthia, loved our mixology class. It was private so I'm not sure how it differs but it was a total blast.

Great looking couple Ellen. Love how dressed up you both get. Can't wait to see the food at Remy.

Joshua loved the sports deck too but the soccer and ping pong. I think he was intimidated by the older kids on the basketball court.

 

[jedijill]

Mmmm, those cocktails all look amazing!

Remy, the love of my life! I would dump my drink on my dress too...I'm a total klutz!

Jill in CO

 

[DWGal210]

You both look so nice! So swanky!

YUM, those cocktails look amazing! I bet the balsamic one is an interesting taste, but probably good-interesting.

I feel your pain on spilling on your dress; I cannot wear anything white, I always manage to spill something on myself.

 

[podsnel]

Here we go.....



We were seated against the wall, I loved it, and we were next to another couple- who was not from our meet, but we chatted it up with nonetheless. We were started with that lovely amuse bouche- the teeny tiny little deep fried cube of tomato soup. I hate tomato soup, but not this time! This tomato soup was de bomb.



Literally. It exploded tomato flavor in your mouth when you ate it- YUM!



We were then presented our menus- I was ordering this tasting menu, created by Chef Arnaud Lallement-



Pods was having the menu created by Scott Hunnell (of Victoria & Albert's fame)-



But we were not doing the wine pairings- we just ordered a bottle instead. I LOVE wine and food pairings, but I had heard the pours here were ridiculously small, and for $99 each, I figured we would be able to get a VERY nice bottle of wine to share instead. Our dinners were $75 each. I liked doing the tasting menu because we got to try so many things, but of course, we could also have chosen to order from the ala carte-



Or the truffle menu- ohhhhh....the truffle menu...at $250 (that is without the champagne pairing at an additional $119). Chef Arnaud Lallement received the 2013 award of Chef of the Year by Gault Millau, and he celebrated by creating a special menu featuring French black truffles for Remy. (He also has 3 Michelin Stars- they are very proud of him at Remy). I would have LOVED to have indulged in this menu, but I just could not do it to Pods! They did bring the truffles around to entice us, but I was still able to control myself. The nice woman at the adjacent table, however, went for it- and she was a lucky girl (not that I am complaining about my luck in the slightest!), it looked incredible.





On with our meal! We were both brought the Ratatouille, with the olive oil sorbet- which was amazing, and I am not a huge ratatouille fan- however, I am a HUGE fan of savory sorbets- this was all delightful. No wonder the snooty critic in the movie cried when he ate it!



My first course from the menu was a scallop-



While Pods had King Crab-





While his was very beautiful, and also very good, my scallop was heavenly.

Next I had gnocchi-



And Pods enjoyed a black cod creation-



I loved the drama of each course-



Next for me was Fletan- which is halibut-



For Pods, Quail-



All sooo amazing.



We had a little down time, so I took photos of the Christofle silver-





That is some mighty fancy flatware! Next for me was Biche, which was venison loin-



For my honey there was Marcho Veal-



This meal! So unbelievable that we were on a cruise ship, it was spectacular! We could not say enough good things about it to our lovely server, and so she brought the chef over to say hi so we could tell him ourselves. And the sommelier who had helped me choose a bottle of wine (which I forgot to photograph, but was a very nice red, along with the glass of white, again, no pic, that we had with our fish).



Cont'd next post.....,

 

[podsnel]

Next up was the best of all- the cheese course. Complete with the Cheese Whiz and our server, the lovely and talented Nina.



Which cheeses would we like to try? Yes. We'll have one of each please! BRING IT!!!!



Isn't it so pretty? That weepy one was so good, I want to weep too that I am not eating it again right now-



It was still time for dessert- I had the chocolate Praline-



For Pods, it was Peruvian Chocolate-



It was also time for our Colettes- since we had come in with cocktails (both in the glass and on my dress) we were served this champagne cocktail with our dessert.



Cheers!



Of COURSE there were even more sweets-





Which we obviously had packed up and brought back to the cabin. Remy-



Prettier without a flash-



They all invited us to come and try the champagne brunch, but we declined- but NEXT time, I am going!!

Pods took my pic- I was laughing at something Nina said- she was so stinkin cute!!



I really like that photo- I feel like it looks like I am in Paris. Each time I went out to the ladies' room during the course of our 3 hour meal, I was escorted back by this guy-



so I tried to go to the loo every ten or fifteen minutes. He kinda looks like I wore him out! LOL!

EVENTUALLY, though, it was time to go.....but not before I took a little pic with my new girlfriend from France, Nina.



And, oh yea, one more with my main squeeze-



Remy was just the best best best experience...I hope I can do it again sometime soon!

Back in the cabin, there was all kinds of stuff waiting for us, including MORE candy from Remy- 4 truffles were in that little box-



We jumped out of our fancy clothes, and then got as pirate as we were getting (which was not at all, lol). aaarghhhh...



Then went down to Ooh La La again to see who was around-



Well, I guess they were next door working on their passports AGAIN! We did not stay long, and went back to our cabin to sit out on the verandah a bit-



Before calling it a night. Excuse me...before calling it a great, wonderful and amazing night. PERFECT! Best pirate night ever!

Up next- Sea Day #2 (isn't the eastern itinerary the best???).

 

[KristiMc]

Thank you for taking such nice pictures at Remy. I didn't take a camera and it is nice to relive all of those wonderful dishes. We did the same thing as you. I had the Saveur menu and Steve had the Gout tasting. We did sample each others dishes and each dish was amazing.

 

[KristiMc]

The cheese course was the best. She really likes her job and did a great job presenting the different offerings.

I was so stuffed after that meal.

We must have been working on the Passport . We ended up skipping Pirate Night - the boys were not interested.

 

[pillow]

We LOVED Remy as well. I was shocked at how much we enjoyed that food. I tend to shy away from French food since I tend to think of heavy sauces, but the food in Remy wasn't heavy at all. It was incredible! We did skip the cheese course though. I just can't get past eating cheese toward the END of a meal. Just when you're getting full . . . well, lets eat some cheese! Nina was our server as well, and we laughed about our different traditions/customs. It was a great night. Wish I could eat there every day. And OMG the coffee was probably the best I've ever had. YUM! YUM! YUM!

Jodie

 

[jedijill]

What a wonderful meal at Remy! I can't believe you passed on the champagne brunch...it is amazing as well.

You guys look so cute together.

Jill iN CO

 

[DWGal210]

OK, that settles it.....FOR SURE putting Remy on the "have to try" list. Your meal looked INCREDIBLE. And a handsome man in a suit escorts you back from the bathroom?! I'm sold - where do I sign?

I'm glad you had such a nice time; what a memorable meal!

 

[eandesmom]

What a lovely update! Literally. You looked lovely and so did your food!

You two clean up well some great pics of you guys.

Seems like Remy is into the current trend of "foam" on every dish. I admit, I am not a fan but it didn't seem to mar any of your dishes. I kind of wish I could get excited about Remy (not that we have a cruise planned where it would be an option) but I don't know. Perhaps it is simply too many years in that business or having been to too many of those kind of dining experiences that somehow it lost the magic and turned into a chore. I know that sounds odd but I've gotten to this point where I am just not into the number of courses, small plates, sheer length of time for the expeirence and the unfortunate tendency (though clearly not here) for some of those kinds of dishes to be more interesting than delicious. Jeff would never go for it (I can hear him in my head...where's the food? You call this a serving? ) so it's probably just as well.

All that said, I love reading about it, especially when someone enjoyed it as much as you clearly did!

 

[Linda67]

Love, love, love this update!
Firstly you and Pods look fabulous!
I adore your dress and the color is perfect in you
Ah Remy, honestly one of the best meals I have ever had. Even DH, who rarely raves about food thought it was incredible
We aren't doing the Remy dinner next time but we are doing the champagne brunch so I will report back
Argh, this is getting me sooooo excited for our upcoming cruise!!

 

[dizneeat]

Ah, Remy! Memories of the rat's restaurant!

Sorry, got carried away. I love the update and was surprised that some of the dishes we had had on the Dream looked completely different to what you had.
We have only done brunch at Remy lately as I that 7 course meal is just a bit too much for me.

BUT ..... I am glad you met Nina! We know her from when she was an "assistant" on the Dream in Remy. She has worked her way up and best of all you got to meet Benoit!!!!!!!!!
We got to know him on the Dream as well, when we had those super fun Remy experiences with Mathieu. I am happy to hear that he decided to come back to the Fantasy - when we saw him in August he wasn't sure he would come back.
He is fun, but Mathieu was the ultimate fun.

I can really relate to spending the rest of the evening on the veranda. After Remy you need to have time to "digest" the experience.
But PLEASE, try brunch on your next cruise - we love it more than dinner - yummy food AND equally yummy Champagne!