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

[KristiMc]

Beautiful tribute to your SIL. Continued prayers to you and your whole family during this time.

You look like you had a great time on your AEP trip. Love the picture of you and Mickey.

 

[franandaj]

So what does AEP stand for anyway?

It looks like you had a marvelous trip! And nice that you learned so much!

You had me in tears with the tribute to you SIL. So glad that everyone was there for her and each other.

 

[podsnel]

What a great first day on the ship! And so wonderful that the boys connected with friends in Vibe and wanted to hang out there. My brother and cousins found the same during our cruise, with the 18-21 group.

I am so glad, Katie- from what I saw on this cruise, many of the 18-21s were hangin together- it gives me hope Tyler will still want to cruise after June 2015 when he turns 18!

A great DIS meet! How fun is that! We had some great people we met on our trip in June, too. We connected with a family from the UK before the trip via Facebook and had such a great time; I'm going over there next year for their daughters wedding! LOVE Disney friendships.

OH!!!! So THAT is who the wedding is for! Excellent!

Oh that MENU. OMG I am salivating. I have dreams about that french onion soup there. And the souffle?! Be still my beating heart!! Is it too silly to book a cruise JUST for the souffle?!

Well, you know what I think, lol-

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 !!!!!

Well, they technically did not have it, but they were very willing to go and get it! Definitely made sailaway even better!

You know where to find me in October

I will just be buying the bottle in the future, I think!

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

Yea- it never gets old!

Your boarding pic turned out really great!

Thank you!

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.

I have only done the bus once, and it was fine, we arrived around 1 I think? But I have heard of others getting there very, very late.

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.

EVERYTHING was decorated- they really have stepped it up!

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!

I do love that restaurant, too- it is so nice. I think our menus were kind of all switched around because we had a special menu on NYE.

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!

DEAL!

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

Yes, definitely a highlight of the week!

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.

It will be here (and unfortunately, gone) before you know it! I hope things are sunnier for you now- today is glorious here in NJ!

 

[MEK]

OMG Ellen - you totally just made me tear up! I am so very sorry for your loss. Sometimes I swear that only the strongest people and the most special people have cancer. I don't think they instantly turn tough when they get the diagnosis. They were just tough all along and cancer makes them totally step up and take charge and respond in remarkable ways. Your sister in law sounds pretty special. Over the last 9 months (since starting my new job) I made friends with a young man (mid 30's) whose wife recently passed from gliobastoma (in September) and she was so gorgeous and vibrant its almost hard to believe she is gone.

Your work trip sounds like so much fun! I really still want to be a TA, but I've got to stick it out in my current job. Still, it looks like so much fun. Thanks for posting pictures of all your fun and your great rooms. How fun to stay at AoA, the YC, and OKW all in the same trip. Cynthia and I will be at OKW in a month!!!!! Woo hoo!

What's up with the Gurgling suitcase? I love that place? They remodeled and made it smaller! Is that even possible? Can't wait to have a Turtle Krawl (or two).

So excited about the October cruise. Denny is totally on board with the food tour of Nassau. Just tell me when to get buy the tickets! It's going to be SO. MUCH. FUN!

 

[podsnel]

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!

Sorry! I did not mean to make you sad! Hopefully you have rebooked now with the new cruises out and are feeling cheerier!

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.

Our next cruise is out of Vancouver- it will be odd not sailing from that beautiful terminal in PC.

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

So what did you have?

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

It was all fabulous- my favorite cruise ever. The Fantasy is just really alllll that!

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

HOLY CRAP!!! No WAY am I ready for that wild ride!!!!

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.

Well YAY! Welcome back! And thank you! So did you book? Where are you going? It really is the BEST vacation- I can't say enough good things about it-

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!!

Trust me...you are NOT going through the change, just DFW is along with the rest of the country. UGH.

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

Awwww...I'm so glad!


Gettin' caught up -





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

Cheers! Happy Spring!

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!

PLEASE go see the kids areas when you board in October! You will LOVE them! They are absolutely incredible!

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

Mine have always been early, but they have also always been during those other events, which cuts down on attendance. But then , some people were not onboard yet. Really there is no perfect time- you just hope folks can come!

Nothing like a special drink to toast sail away.

And that is THEEEE drink to toast with, my friend....

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

The most tables are for 4, I think- we have always been seated alone.

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

Great updates!

I was very excited about that part- looking forward to the Halloween decor too, on our Oct cruise! I have been on the Magic twice for Halloween, but this year I think they really stepped up their game fleetwide.

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.

I just booked a 5 night- hopefully that will be better than the 4s are! I had luck printing magnets for a client this week- I took all the paper out of the tray, and did only one sheet at a time. That worked once before it all jammed up. So I did the rest for them on regular paper that I laminated and put magnetic strip on the back of. I hope they like them!

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

More like 1/4+ .

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

YOU WOULD LOVE THEM!!!!!!! They are up for EVERYTHING!!!!!

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

Yes- Santa is very fashion foward....

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

BEST. THING. EVER.

The Fantasy is a beautiful ship!

She sure is- my favorite!

That was a big meet and greet!

It was bigger- people had already left-

Great first night dinner. That souffle looks yummy!

The souffle is excellent!

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!

It is worth it, I promise!

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!!!

Hi Mrs James! It was great meeting everyone- we really did have a fantastic time, and a lot of that was because of all the awesome peeps we were onboard with- make sure you are chatting with them now for yours- it is a great thing to always be able to say hello!

 

[podsnel]

Beautiful tribute to your SIL. Continued prayers to you and your whole family during this time.

Thanks, Kristi- I appreciate that so much.

You look like you had a great time on your AEP trip. Love the picture of you and Mickey.

We did! It was a lot of early rising (which is not my "thing") but it was well worth it- they offer them at DLR and on DCL, too- can't wait to do those- I hope I can do the DCL one next year.

So what does AEP stand for anyway?

Agent Education Program.

It looks like you had a marvelous trip! And nice that you learned so much!

Yes! It was really good- one of the best things was visiting the resorts- we really got to see the differences between Value, Moderate, Deluxe and the Villas. And OMG- be VERY excited about your next trip staying at VGF- I can't wait to book it! I could have switched our fall stay to it in Oct- but ended up staying with BWV because of F&W. Next time!Maybe!

You had me in tears with the tribute to you SIL. So glad that everyone was there for her and each other.

Thanks Alison- I did not mean to make anyone cry. She was such a great person. More good deeds and kind acts than you could possibly count-

OMG Ellen - you totally just made me tear up! I am so very sorry for your loss. Sometimes I swear that only the strongest people and the most special people have cancer. I don't think they instantly turn tough when they get the diagnosis. They were just tough all along and cancer makes them totally step up and take charge and respond in remarkable ways. Your sister in law sounds pretty special. Over the last 9 months (since starting my new job) I made friends with a young man (mid 30's) whose wife recently passed from gliobastoma (in September) and she was so gorgeous and vibrant its almost hard to believe she is gone.

I'm sorry MEK! For making you get teary and for the loss of your friend's wife. How is he doing?

Your work trip sounds like so much fun! I really still want to be a TA, but I've got to stick it out in my current job. Still, it looks like so much fun. Thanks for posting pictures of all your fun and your great rooms. How fun to stay at AoA, the YC, and OKW all in the same trip. Cynthia and I will be at OKW in a month!!!!! Woo hoo!

You can do both- just be comfortable in the first job before you take on the TA stuff. It is a really fun job- it also has me wanting to go on about 50x the trips I usually want to- for Spring Break I have people going to Beaches in T&C, on a Magic Cruise/WDW stay (both 1st time!) and another family going to ST Lucia for 8 days- I want to do them ALL!!!

What's up with the Gurgling suitcase? I love that place? They remodeled and made it smaller! Is that even possible? Can't wait to have a Turtle Krawl (or two).

No idea- they all are kind of confused about it- I think they expect people to sit outside or something.

So excited about the October cruise. Denny is totally on board with the food tour of Nassau. Just tell me when to get buy the tickets! It's going to be SO. MUCH. FUN!

EXCELLENT! I will tell you when to book- we don't need to yet, maybe in a few weeks. Doesn't that tour look SO COOL!!!

 

[KristiMc]

EXCELLENT! I will tell you when to book- we don't need to yet, maybe in a few weeks. Doesn't that tour look SO COOL!!!

Are you doing the Tru Bahamian Food Tour in Nassau? We booked this for our 3-night cruise in June. I saw it on TripAdvisor and it looked like a neat way to learn some history and taste some yummy food.

 

[podsnel]

Are you doing the Tru Bahamian Food Tour in Nassau? We booked this for our 3-night cruise in June. I saw it on TripAdvisor and it looked like a neat way to learn some history and taste some yummy food.

Yes!!! I saw it a year ago when I was going on the Dream with Timmy- and while I knew it wasn't something he would want to do, I did think it would be perfect for our upcoming all adult cruise (Timmy can be a picky eater). I LOVE the movie!

 

[KristiMc]

Yes!!! I saw it a year ago when I was going on the Dream with Timmy- and while I knew it wasn't something he would want to do, I did think it would be perfect for our upcoming all adult cruise (Timmy can be a picky eater). I LOVE the movie!

Cool! I will let you know how it is. I'm looking forward to the stop at the Chocolate place

I so wish we could do the cruise in October with you - it would awesome - but the schedule does not work. We WILL get together again some time.

 

[podsnel]

Cool! I will let you know how it is. I'm looking forward to the stop at the Chocolate place

I so wish we could do the cruise in October with you - it would awesome - but the schedule does not work. We WILL get together again some time.

We just booked a 5 night Magic May 10th- it would make a REALLY nice Mother's Day gift!

 

[JulieODC]

I'm sorry about your SIL - she sounds like a wonderful person who will be very, dearly missed.

 

[MEK]

EXCELLENT! I will tell you when to book- we don't need to yet, maybe in a few weeks. Doesn't that tour look SO COOL!!!

Sounds great! Just say the word.

My friend seems to be doing well on the outside. He is one of these guys who is very gregarious and knows everyone at work. But I know that on the inside he must still be very torn apart. He's known his wife since high school but I don't think they started dating until post college. I wish I had known him better before his wife was so sick. It's hard to meet someone and their wife dies like a month later. What do you say? Sorry just doesn't seem to cut it.

 

[jenseib]

First off I am so sorry to hear about your SIL. I am sure she is in a better place now, but it is still hard on all those she has left behind.

I am loving your parade photos...but were you standing in the middle of the street? It looks like you got head on pictures. We loved that parade. We saw it twice and both times were fabulous! Did the Dragon blow fire? the first time I did not see it, but the 2nd time I did.

It was great running into you...almost literally. We were at the right spot at the right time! it was great to see you again, even though we were all super tired. I had a fleeting thought of a picture, but I knew we were all so tired and we probably would all look like death in it anyways.

 

[jedijill]

Looks like a great trip and I bet it was nice to see Lonnie again...She is so much fun!!!

They are making the GS smaller?!?!?!?! I didn't think that was possible!

What a beautiful tribute to your SIL. She sounds like she was a very special person.

Jill in CO

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Well YAY! Welcome back! And thank you! So did you book? Where are you going? It really is the BEST vacation- I can't say enough good things about it-

We booked a 4 night on the Disney Dream for next May. I really want to do a 7 night on the Fantasy but since my kids have never cruised we are trying a 4 night out first. I'm such a planner and list maker, I'm having so much fun reading and learning from all you experienced cruisers.

I'm so sorry to hear of the loss of your dear sister in law. She sounded like a truly remarkable lady. I'm sure she's in a better place now.

 

[JKSWonder]

So sorry about your SIL. What sad news to come home to. She sounds like she was a wonderful person. Prayers for you and all of her family.

Your travel agent trip looked both fun and successful. I still want to try that slushie!

 

[rentayenta]

I am so sorry for your loss friend.




I'm with Alison and would like to know more about the travel agent trip. Who is it through?

 

[DWGal210]

First off I am so sorry to hear about your SIL. I am sure she is in a better place now, but it is still hard on all those she has left behind.

I am loving your parade photos...but were you standing in the middle of the street? It looks like you got head on pictures. We loved that parade. We saw it twice and both times were fabulous! Did the Dragon blow fire? the first time I did not see it, but the 2nd time I did.

It was great running into you...almost literally. We were at the right spot at the right time! it was great to see you again, even though we were all super tired. I had a fleeting thought of a picture, but I knew we were all so tired and we probably would all look like death in it anyways.

Jen, I don't want to speak for you ladies, you both looked great - but I CAN attest I looked like death that night. I was SO TIRED.

We got a great parade viewing spot right in front of Tony's, and we stood right behind a garbage can so no one would be in front of us.

 

[DWGal210]

We had SUCH a great time!! I knew I would like you, Ellen, but I feel like we really became good friends! Can't wait to see you again!

I'm so sorry about your sister in law, she sounds like a beautiful woman. I'll continue to pray for her husband and children.

 

[podsnel]

I'm sorry about your SIL - she sounds like a wonderful person who will be very, dearly missed.

Thank you so much Julie- you are correct- she is very missed by many....

Sounds great! Just say the word.

Excellent! It will be so fun!

My friend seems to be doing well on the outside. He is one of these guys who is very gregarious and knows everyone at work. But I know that on the inside he must still be very torn apart. He's known his wife since high school but I don't think they started dating until post college. I wish I had known him better before his wife was so sick. It's hard to meet someone and their wife dies like a month later. What do you say? Sorry just doesn't seem to cut it.

I'm so sorry- and yes, sorry doesn't cut it- but it is something, which is better than saying nothing. So sad all around.

First off I am so sorry to hear about your SIL. I am sure she is in a better place now, but it is still hard on all those she has left behind.

Thanks Jen- I agree, and she even agreed, she is in a better place now. But definitely hardest on those who are left behind- my BIL seems fine, so do the boys, but I still worry about them.

I am loving your parade photos...but were you standing in the middle of the street? It looks like you got head on pictures. We loved that parade. We saw it twice and both times were fabulous! Did the Dragon blow fire? the first time I did not see it, but the 2nd time I did.

I don't remember any fire- and now I do remember reading that there was- maybe because of where we were standing? Which, as Katie said, was a great spot- when you stand behind a garbage can, no one can stand in front of you! But I got only 1 bad pic of Anna & Elsa- YOUR pics are AWESOME of them!!

It was great running into you...almost literally. We were at the right spot at the right time! it was great to see you again, even though we were all super tired. I had a fleeting thought of a picture, but I knew we were all so tired and we probably would all look like death in it anyways.

I KNOW!!! I just wish we could have had more time together- I was SO TIRED- and then I ended up chatting in bed until like 2- how crazy!! And I thought you looked great! All happy and smiles as usual!

Looks like a great trip and I bet it was nice to see Lonnie again...She is so much fun!!!

HAHA- yes, Lonnie is very easy going, and will do anything unless it involves a roller coaster, lol-

They are making the GS smaller?!?!?!?! I didn't think that was possible!

Oh, it is possible and it has been done.

What a beautiful tribute to your SIL. She sounds like she was a very special person.

Jill in CO

Mariana was amazing- thanks for thinking of her-