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

[Linda67]

OK, so I know I should be commenting on you fab first day on the ship, awesome photos, happy smiling faces, etc. etc. but something has stopped me in my tracks

THEY HAVE MOËT & CHANDON ICE AT CURRENTS BAR !!!!!

You know where to find me in October

 

[RGirl]

I love that moment when you first see the ship from afar. That anticipation and excitement is just awesome!

Your boarding pic turned out really great!

All the food from Cabanas looks really tasty. We didn’t do the lunch buffet on the first day this year - the DCL transportation gets you there so late! We thought it was easier to just order room service.

First adult beverages of the cruise! Woot!!!

I love that even the kids clubs were decorated for Christmas. You got some great pics of the clubs. I really enjoyed seeing what Vibe is like - very cool.

Isn’t Royal Court such a pretty restaurant? We really enjoyed it a number of times on our trip. It looks even better with Christmas decorations! Whoa! Your menu was definitely different from what they had in August - no duck confit on my menu!

 

[dvc4life]

OH CHRIS!!!! Now I am tearing up!! We will definitely meet again someday! I have no doubt about that- you and Bobby and your "Bs" are such a great family- when you came up to me at the meet, that was one of the BEST HUGS I have EVER gotten! Loved every minute we spent together- especially the speed drinking class, lol- THAT was the icing on the cake!! Drink any coffee shots lately???

Oh, that drinking experience was quite fun and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. But I will let you have my coffee drink. Blech!

 

[KristiMc]

Chris - That was a great moment watching you drink that shot!

 

[JKSWonder]

Off to a great cruise!

Loving reading about it, but this is making me so anxious for our August Fantasy cruise. It's seems sooooo far way. And it doesn't help that I've been freezing since November and I am totally desperate for sun, any sun, anywhere.

 

[dvc4life]

Chris - That was a great moment watching you drink that shot!

Thanks Kristi! It was fun but so yucky! And it was really great meeting you and your hubby on this cruise. Hopefully I didn't startle you while we were in the parking ramp and recognized you. My DH thinks I'm crazy when I say hey, aren't you from the DisBoards.

 

[KristiMc]

Thanks Kristi! It was fun but so yucky! And it was really great meeting you and your hubby on this cruise. Hopefully I didn't startle you while we were in the parking ramp and recognized you. My DH thinks I'm crazy when I say hey, aren't you from the DisBoards.

You didn't startle me . My family says the same thing about me when I recognize someone from online. On our 2011 cruise, I noticed Kara's(karajeboo) husband walking by (recognized him from her trip reports) and had to go over and say hi. My whole family thought I was weird to go up to a group of strangers but I didn't feel like they were strangers because I had read so many of he reports - I felt like they were friends .

 

[Beth D]

Great updates Ellen! You are making me sad though. One week since we debarked from the Wonder! I guess we'll have to figure out a date for our rebook on board!

I love the PC port. The one in Miami was just boring. No real Disney touches, no Mickey pictures, and no ship models. Plus it was small. Although we had fabulous weather throughout, including perfect pool time before sail away deck party.

Looking at your menu I was comparing it to what I ordered on that first night!

Can't wait to see how the rest pans out!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Hi,
So just to clarify, the sites MAGICFOR2 enjoyed are actually in Victoria. And it looks like Disney dumped Victoria from the schedule this year -- too bad. My dad enjoyed going down to see the Wonder whenever she was in port!
I get a kick out of people touring Craigdarroch Castle -- way back in the last century I had my piano lessons there when the Victoria Conservatory of Music leased the joint!
For Vancouver, your Chewies friends will of course give you lots of tips -- but Stanley Park and the seawall are tops for anyone. A drink overlooking English Bay, a visit to the Granville Market -- there's your time filled before you depart and head north up the Inside Passage. You'll enjoy your view of the North Shore from the Pan Pacific -- what a great score!
Best, from one of your (many) Canadian fans!!

That is so cool that you had piano lessons at Craigdarroch We did that tour because I love history and old mansions! Dunsmuir, CA is not so far from our home town in Oregon - part of the family history from that castle, so it was even more fun (or sad) to learn about them.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

About time! It's really hard to write 2 TRs at once!



I am very much looking forward to Stanley Park- Where is English Bay? And yes, it ws an amazing score- I poted it on our FB thread and there are a big group of us staying at the Pan Pacific pre-cruise. Thanks so much for the tips- and the compliment- and I LOVE Canada!

Thanks for the tips! We are staying right at Coal Harbor, our plane lands at 10am (I LOVE West Coast vacations when we are coming from the east!). So we will hopefully have some time to go to Stanley Park and rides bikes on the Sea Wall (YAY for Timmy! 3rd Times a charm! )



Thanks! Can't wait to relive it!

Timmy on a bike? Maybe you should just let him drive the rental car.

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I'm so glad I found this trip report. I've really enjoyed reading all your others. I'm waiting on the 2015 dates to be released so I can book a cruise for our family. I've been reading all the cruise trip reports and can't wait to experience it myself.

 

[knewton64]

Hot temps one day down here in DFW.......

next day, temps below 32......



Hmmm......
I feel like I am going thru "THE CHANGE"
and it stinks!!





ANYWHO -
YOUR TR HAS JUST BRIGHTENED MY DAY!!
THANK YOU.




Gettin' caught up -





T.T.F.N.
&
Cheers Y'all

 

[MEK]

Yay for boarding and being on your way. Thanks for all the great pictures from the kids areas. So very cool! And those bathrooms - so, so adorable!

Oh - and I love the group shot. Smart idea to arrange your meet early on.

Nothing like a special drink to toast sail away.

Dinner looks marvelous. How nice that you got to sit together as a family and have some quiet time.

The Christmas decorations are all just stunning. It must be really fun to cruise during the holidays.

Great updates!

 

[eandesmom]

Ah, I can feel the excitement in every single post! LOVE that you were unpacking for a week. The shorter ones just aren't long enough. I have zero advice on printers for magnets, I've given up. That and iron on transfers. Forget it.

What a fun and HUGE meet. 1000 DVC members? What is that...1/5 of the whole manifest? More?

I'd have wanted to meet Kristimc and her hubby too

I love that Santa just "happened" to give the boys coordinating shirts that they could use on the cruise

Love even more that they are finding friends right away, you are right, you can't ask for more!

 

[rndmr2]

The Fantasy is a beautiful ship!

That was a big meet and greet!

Great first night dinner. That souffle looks yummy!

 

[jenseib]

Dinner looks great!
I love all the Christmas decor too. One of these days I will sail the Fantasy and one of these days I will see Holiday decor on the ships!

 

[MrsJames]

That is SOOOO great that you met/made new friends...what a blast. Hubby and I are hoping for the same experience!
Can't wait to read more!!!

 

[podsnel]

SO.....Hi everyone- I apologize AGAIN for being MIA for so long- March was a busy, busy month. First, I was away for a week- down in WDW for my first AEP- I had a GREAT roomate, Katie, who works for the same agency I do.



We toured lots of resorts and the Disney Dream, had many great meals, and learned so much- plus met some really wonderful people- all while staying in a GORGEOUS room at the Yacht Club (plus one night at AoA). I followed it up with one last night at OKW with my BFF Lonnie, and didn't fly out until as late as possible (after 9 pm!). Here are some pics from that experience.....

Slept in beds in our adorable AoA Little Mermaid room-


First things first- La Vie en Rose Slushie JUST for F&G- oh soooooo yum!



Yummy mussles at Citricos-



Our enormous and elegant corner room at the Yacht Club-



One of our tours- we ALL drooled over the new villas at the GF- DROOLED as in PUDDLES- they are beyond beautiful, and FIVE in a studio!! WOOHOOOOO!!!!





Our excellent lunch at AoA's Landscape of Flavors- I think I had Tandoori Chicken? It was delish!



It's AoA, but it looks like Carsland in Ca to me!



Festival of Fantasy Parade- BEAUTIFUL!!!











BEST Tink EVER!! SO SUPER SAUCY!!!



















Cont'd next post....

 

[podsnel]

We enjoyed some RnR time in Stormalong Bay...



Knocked off some more 1st time restaurants (for us) like Nine dragons- this was Peppery Shrimp-



Breakfast at Cape May Cafe with a GREAT group!



And the BEST BEST BEST server in the place- Dorothy-



A tour of the Dream- we were FIRST on!!!









Unfortunately, we were also first off, but it was a nice tease all the same- AND we got to see the Concierge floor- woah. Gotta figure out how to convince Pods about THAT one someday!







The CLEARLY superior Chandelier-



Remy-





The characters were EVERYWHERE we went!



Yum for lunch in Cabanas! So weird to be at this lunch....and then leave! That was the hardest thing!!





We LOVED these girls- this was pre- duck attack, lol.



This was at Illuminations, we had a special viewing area in UK and dessert.



On Friday, we all got our Diplomas from the College of Disney Knowledge-



Then Katie and I went off to celebrate with....



Seriously the best slushie in the universe!

Epcot was gorgeous with Flower and Garden going on-



We shared a Piggylicious cupcake...it was...very different, we both thought...



Then we headed over to DAK, because Katie couldn't WAIT to ride EE...lol....



And we had to see Mickey's Jammin Jungle Parade one last time before it goes away...



Cont'd next post...

 

[podsnel]

My BFF Lonnie was waiting for us at AKL- we were having dinner in Sanaa-



It was great as usual, the bread service with all the dips is one of my favorite things to eat on earth- but I tried the fish that is slow cooked in gravy- it was Mahi- and did not like it. Which was ok, because the rice and the Butter Chicken were still fantastic. We dropped Katie off at POFQ after our meal, ran into Jen Seib (who we also work with) and daughter Claire, messed up and forgot to take a photo! Grrrr....then went over to OKW for the night, where Lonnie and I paid a visit to the temporary Gurgling Suitcase for a Turtle Krawl (or actually for 2) then stayed up until the wee hours chatting and catching up.



The next day, we hit Epcot, and tried some lunch at Spice Road Table, the new restaurant on the water in Morocco. I encourage EVERYONE to visit this great addition to WS- our samplers were fantastic- as were our cocktails (I had a strawberry frozen drink, Lonnie had a Sparkling Sangria).



YUMMMMM...





The day flew by and we returned to OKW for my DME, but not before having dinner at Olivia's. Which was very reasonable, and quite yummy. My scallops and grits-



Afterwards, we waved goodbye to Joe, everyone's favorite bartender, who was outside in his temporary location-



A peek in at the newer, smaller GS-



Can't quite figure that one out, but, oh well....

SO...that about sums up my trip there- but......unfortunately, that is not all I did last month when I was busy. When I crawled into bed that night at home, Pods rolled over gave me a kiss, and informed me that my dear Sister in Law, Mariana, had passed away earlier in the evening- she had been battling brain cancer (she had a glio blastoma) for 20 months, and it was finally over. You may remember this sister in law of mine, because she has been in a couple of my TRs from HHI- she was married to Pods' younger brother, Steven, and their 3 boys, Daniel, Drew and Joey are adorable every single one. Mariana was the most courageous woman (I know everyone says this, but she REALLY was- when she was diagnosed with a terminal illness, she was the first one to speak in the room, and she said, "I am ok with this diagnosis- I am going to live out my days and make everyone count, and I am going to have faith in God that it will all work out the way it is supposed to. I am not afraid." She was a remarkable, incredible woman, who we all loved dearly. She had the most incredible faith in God, and she was beyond inspirational to everyone who knew her. Can't even say she will be missed, because that is not even close to how we all feel. And she truly was not afraid, her faith was that strong. Just a beautiful, beautiful person. So a few days after I got home from Fla, we flew to Ohio (Pods & I and Timmy and Tyler), along with all the brothers from NJ and Florida, to say goodbye. It was sad, but it was inspirational- she had such a great, great family in Ohio, and from elsewhere, and she was truly cherished by one and all. It was so good everyone came to gether to support my BIL, Steven, and his kids. Really, really good.

Here is a pic of Mariana and I, taken in HHI on our first visit there, when it was just our 2 families-




Thanks for reading, I will be back soon with another update from the cruise, and for replies-

Ellen