Mandymouse's Fantasy Back2Back ~ Part 2

[mandymouse]

Friday 19th September

We both slept quite well and woke around 7am (which is very good for me). We decided to start the day with a jaunt around deck 4, and once we completed our 3 laps, had a shower, had some brekkie and I'd had my usual skinny latte, we disembarked onto the beautiful Castaway Cay

It was already 28C and bright and sunny. We strolled down onto the island taking pics and popping into the shops, we then caught the tram to Serenity Bay

We ran into Dave & Becky at the tram stop, so we all found some loungers on the adult beach. It had just gone 10am and we had hardly sat down 5 minutes when a waiter went by asking if we needed the bar service. So it would've been rude not to get Konk Koolers all round. Over the next couple of hours we sunbathed, sat on chairs in the sea, and had another Konk Kooler each, it was heaven

... Cont'd

 

[mandymouse]

...

Around 1ish we headed to the Serenity Bay BBQ for some lunch. The food was ok, the usual salads, burgers, hotdogs, chicken, fish, fruit etc, and of course the steak was rather tasty too

After a cup of ice cream we had a Stingray cocktail at the Castaway Air Bar, then we chilled on our lounger for another hour

First thing this morning it had been very hot and sunny, but as the morning drew on it had become increasingly cloudy which made it very humid and sticky. There had been rumblings of thunder in the distance, but nothing came close to us. When we moved back to the family beach, it had started to spit with rain, but nothing came of it. We took more photos, then called at the Conched Out Bar where it was happy hour. We ordered two Konk Koolers, and boy, the rum float on it was amazing, we could only have one as we would've been unconscious for the rest of the day

... Cont'd

 

[mandymouse]

...

We did a little shopping then caught the tram back to the ship

After a quick shower we went to the afternoon 'See ya real soon' show in the atrium, and saw a few characters. At 5pm it was time to sail away from Castaway Cay

Tonight we had a reservation at Palo for dinner. We showered and got ready and enjoyed a glass of Rosa Regale in our room. We arrived at Palo on time and checked in at the podium. The girl there asked us if we would like to keep Marco for our waiter the next week, and as he hadn't been that attentive on Sunday at Brunch, we asked if we could have someone else (though didn't say anything bad about him). We were shown to our table, and Marco greeted us. Well what a difference a few days make, this time he was on top form. We had a wonderful meal. We ordered a couple of Cosmopolitans, and Marco brought us some breads and we chose some meats and cheese from the anti-pasti trolley

I couldn't decide whether to have the portobello mushroom or the mozzarella and tomato, and took far too long to decide, when I reached my decision Marco brought both out (lol), and Paul had the ravioli, all of it was lovely

Next we had a refreshing palate cleanser, then our mains arrived. We both chose the Palo Beef Tenderloin, I had both the cheese and red wine sauce, and Paul chose the red wine sauce, it was all de-li-cious !!

For our desserts I had the tiramisu and Paul had the panna cotta, and to finish off we had a limoncello shot each

After our delicious meal, we stopped by the Palo podium to apologise to the girl for being a nuisance, and to ask if we could please have Marco the following week, we then headed down to Animator's Palete as the Animation show was going to shortly start. We just had time to do our drawings, and mine was shown a few times, it was fun

We handed out our tip envelopes and said our goodbyes and thanks to our servers and friends. We quickly changed into something not so tight (lol) and joined Dave & Becky in the Skyline Lounge for a final cocktail for this week with Lindsay

Last year when we did the back2back we had to change rooms, so had to pack, not that it was a biggy, but this time it was wonderful not having to pack or move. It was so cool knowing we had another week on the Disney Fantasy, so we slept well knowing there was no early disembark for us

Tomorrow ~ Port Canaveral & Re-embark

 

[mandymouse]

Summary of our first week

Stateroom ~ Our stateroom was #8551, an inside stateroom with a magic porthole. We loved the location between the forward and mid elevators, we will hopefully stay here again

Dining rotation ~ We had ERAERRA (E- Enchanted Garden, R - Royal Court, A - Animator's Palate). A lot of people like to request certain dining rotations, we've never done that, we're happy to go with flow. We were also on late dining which was at 8.15pm

Servers ~ We noticed quite a few differences on this cruise. We have been known to be still waiting for our desserts at 10pm in the past, but this time we were always out by 9.30pm. Our serving team were very prompt and efficient, but I was a little put out that they never mentioned us by name .. not once. The friendliest of our team was our assistant server Daniel, who always made time to speak to us either at dinner or when he was working up at Cabanas in the morning, we made sure to give a better tip than the others

Our Head Server on our night before last asked if we would be happy to stay with the team the following week, but as we knew our assistant server was heading home for a few weeks, we asked if we could have another team, just so we could meet some new cruise staff

Palo ~ Brunch, as always the food was lovely, the only thing we didn't like was having someone put the food on your plate. They explained it was for hygiene reasons, but Paul felt it was a way to stop you taking too much. Although our server had been rather slow/busy/pre-occupied during Brunch, he more than made up for it at dinner. Dinner, one word, amazing !!! Can't wait to do both Brunch & Dinner again next week, and with Marco as our server again

Other ~ As ever the DCL staff work their socks off, and were always polite and cheerful. We were given our Comment Card on the last evening, and thankfully we hadn't been pressured at dinner to make Excellent comments (nothing gets my back up more than every night at dinner they remind you that the food is excellent or the service is excellent, which we have had in the past). We did make a few 'very good' comments, just on small things like the food in the MDR could do with being a little hotter. I wish the comment card gave you more room to leave comments and a larger part for the people who have made your cruise special (that turned out to be most of the bar staff )

Fish Extender Exchange ~ We had a fun Facebook/Dis group, so it was great to see all the Fish Extenders and magnets that people had created for everyone. We didn't take part in the exchange as the group was too big for us, plus it would of cost too much to bring them along with us. Saying that, thank you to the two kind DISers who left me a couple of gifts, that was very kind of you

 

[dolphingirl47]

It sounds like you had another fantastic day even though it was cloudy and was spitting a little. I am glad that Palo dinner was a much better experience.

Corinna

 

[Chilly]

Yes I much prefer to serve myself at a buffet.

 

[ukintheus]

Wow, you guys packed a lot into CC day!! Exercise, shopping, sunbathing, food, drinks, a show and Palo! You can tell you got up early! LOL. Can't wait to hear about Part 2.

 

[ukintheus]

...

That has to be the most rum I've ever seen on a Konk Kooler!!

 

[mandymouse]

That has to be the most rum I've ever seen on a Konk Kooler!!

Us too Jenny ... plus it was Happy Hour so 2 for 1 ... result !!

 

[mandymouse]

Saturday 20th September

We woke around 7ish and we could hear the various announcements as people were urged to go to breakfast and leave their staterooms

We got ready and left our room just after 8 and I went to get my daily latte from the Cove Cafe, and Paul got some orange juice and croissant from Cabanas

We chilled on deck 4 above the atrium as the procedure for this morning was for us to disembark by 9am, go through customs, then head back up the escalators in the DCL terminal and check-in would begin at 9.30

We took some photos, checked-in then were allowed to wait in the Concierge area of the terminal, where once the ship was cleared, we would be allowed to embark before general boarding began

When you do a B2B, you don't get the embarkation photo done (though we always bypass this anyway) unless you wait for general boarding. You also won't get announced back onboard, but neither of these things bother us when re-embarking, it's just nice to be able to get back onto an empty ship

We were able to access our room, which we knew had been serviced even before we disembarked, Raj from India had been a great room host

This week our dining rotation would be RAERAER (R -Royal Court, A - Animator's Palate, E - Enchanted Garden) and again we would be doing the later seating

At 10.45am those doing the B2B, which was about 7 families, were allowed back on board. We wanted to have a look around the kids club, so as we waited for them to open at 12 we dropped my bag back at room, took some photos in the pool area before it filled up and I grabbed another coffee

... Cont'd

 

[mandymouse]

...

At 12 we wandered over to the kids clubs for their open house session and we (though mainly me lol) enjoyed playing around in the cool areas. They really need to build an adult version of this

After having fun we went up to Cabanas for some lunch. Unfortunately the hot sunny weather had turned to windy with spots of rain, so after lunch we chilled by the Cove Cafe as the rain came down

It rained for a couple of hours so we took shelter at the Cove Bar and enjoyed the drink of the day .... Bahama Mamas !!!!

The muster drill was at 4pm, so around 3.45 we headed to the Walt Disney Theatre again. Once it was over we grabbed our England flag and went back onto top deck as we sailed away. Once again we were on the Port Canaveral Webcam (lol)

We enjoyed a few more Bahama Mamas, then shared a cheeseburger and fries, then it was back to our room to get ready for dinner

We saw Andrae and Julian at the Bon Voyage bar where Andrae awarded us with a Magical Moments certificate that he had wanted to give us the previous evening for our last cruise (lol)

Dinner tonight was in the Royal Court. We met our new serving team Emmanuel (sever) and Stacey from the UK who was our assistant server, and we met our new table mates too

We had a lovely meal, I had leek & potato soup, Paul had onion soup, then we both had lamb (which our server told us was called Barbara ... as in Baaa-bara lol). Well Barbara had the last laugh as she was as tough as old boots (lol), though she was tasty

For dessert I had the creme brûlée which was delicious and Paul had mango cheesecake. We had a lovely time with our new serving team, and felt we had more interaction with them on our first day than we'd had with our team the previous week

We started a new passport at the Skyline Lounge (where you can choose 7 cocktails for the price of 5), then it was time for bed

Tomorrow ~ Day at Sea

 

[dolphingirl47]

Looks like the change over went really smoothly. One of those days we are going to do a back to back from Port Canaveral. I loved the photos from the kids' clubs.

Corinna

 

[ukintheus]

Sorry I missed you on the webcam second time around!! My computer screen had frozen and I didn't realize it. I was thinking to myself, I wonder why they aren't moving yet....I wonder what's wrong...then saw the time on the webcam....ARRGGGG!!! At least you got one on deck with the flag. The kids clubs look fun. Bahama Mama as the DOTD is never a bad thing.

 

[Chilly]

Must be wonderful to do a B2B

 

[meldobe]

Loving your trip report, looks so relaxing on the cruise.

 

[mandymouse]

Looks like the change over went really smoothly. One of those days we are going to do a back to back from Port Canaveral. I loved the photos from the kids' clubs.

Corinna

Yes very smooth Corinna, and so much better when you don't have to change rooms

Sorry I missed you on the webcam second time around!! My computer screen had frozen and I didn't realize it. I was thinking to myself, I wonder why they aren't moving yet....I wonder what's wrong...then saw the time on the webcam....ARRGGGG!!! At least you got one on deck with the flag. The kids clubs look fun. Bahama Mama as the DOTD is never a bad thing.

Aww no worries Jen, it was fun messaging you from the ship. The kids club was so much fun

Must be wonderful to do a B2B

You'd love it Claire

Loving your trip report, looks so relaxing on the cruise.

Thank you

 

[mandymouse]

Sunday 21st September

I didn't sleep well at all, though Paul slept like a log. We got up around 9am and got changed into our swimwear as we were going to chill on deck 13 for a couple of hours before it got too hot. I grabbed my usual skinny latte from Andrae and we relaxed till gone 11 as we had to get ready for our 12 noon reservation for Palo Brunch

My back had been hurting during the night, so I felt that my kidneys were trying to tell me something and to try and avoid alcohol today , which was going to be hard with our champagne brunch and the free cocktails being handed out at the Captain's Reception that evening. So as I typed this at 10am from top deck, you can see my intentions were good, lets see how long this lasts (lol)

Just after 11 I went back to our stateroom for a shower and to get ready. We arrived at Palo shortly before 12, and the girl on the Palo/Remy podium came over to inform us that Marko was unable to serve us as he had hurt his hand, but would pop by to say hello. A few moments later Marko showed us to our table and introduced us to his friend who would be serving us. Marko got us some water with lemon and served us our Mimosas (I didn't drink mine .. This was just for the photo )

Anyway although his finger was in a lot of pain due to it being trapped in a fire door, he then decided he would serve us after all. Once again he showed us around the buffet where we chose our favourite things

I didn't bother with an egg dish as Paul had mentioned that he would like to try the spicy sausage pizza, and I didn't mind ordering it as long as he shared it with me. So he had the eggs Julia and we shared the delicious pizza, which was so good, that by the time I remembered to take a photo, this was all that was left, oops !!

Our mains dish was next, and we both had lasagne which was delish, Paul also ordered another mimosa after finishing both his and mine

Finally I had the lovely lemon meringue dessert that I'd had the week before, and we also ordered a pot of English Breakfast tea. Once again we had a wonderful meal

Around 2pm we rolled ourselves back to our cabin, where Paul promptly plonked himself on the bed. We were full and tired, so I suggested we put Godzilla on the tv (wish we hadn't bothered, it was rubbish, especially as I love the Matthew Broderick version from years ago) and relax

We chilled till gone 4, then sat out in the sun as it was starting to get more comfortable, thank goodness for that sea breeze. We lasted a couple of hours, then decided to pop to Guest Services to put some money on our room, then we took a leisurely 3 lap walk around deck 4 where we talked about our next holiday ... should we do another back to back, should we do one cruise and a week at the parks, or should just do a park holiday ?? (this latter suggestion was quickly quashed lol. No firm decision was made)

We went back to our room to get ready for dinner. Tonight was the Captain's Gala, also known as Formal Night. Although I had lasted out all day without a drink, I decided to have a glass of wine to take into dinner. Paul had a free cocktail, then a lager from the bar, then we made our way to Animator's Palate. Tonight was the Crush show again, though we weren't as close to the screen this time

I started with sweet potato soup, Paul had salmon tarte, then for our mains I had the beef tenderloin and Paul had a veal chop. To finish off we both had cookies & cream sundae and Emmanual brought out 4 more desserts for us all to try. Once again we had a lovely meal and the service from our server and assistant server was second to none

I managed to make my glass of wine last through dinner (that must be some kind of record for me ), and after dinner we wandered into The Tube for the first time. The Dj was playing some songs we knew, so we sat down. My good intentions for the day went well and truly out of the window, as I ordered a Pomegranate Cosmo (oops!!). The Tube quickly filled up as Quest was about to start, where teams would go off and find items. It was fun to watch the carnage from the safety of the bar, but it was sad to see that people were already prepared, they must always ask to 'find' the same things each time

Anyway we had one more drink (yep I failed miserably there), then we were off to bed

Tomorrow ~ Another Day at Sea & Mixology Class #2

 

[ukintheus]

In the grand scheme of things 3 drinks is "almost" none at all!! Did you have table mates for this second sailing? You are looking lovely and brown now Mandy, I never thought of how much sun you must get on a B2B. Oh, and I love that little silver clutch/bag!! I REALLY need one of those!!

 

[mandymouse]

Monday 22nd September

We woke around 8am, and decided on a 3 lap walk/jog around deck 4. After a quick shower we set off to breakfast for some fruit. On the way I called into the spa as I had broken a nail and they were able to fit me in at 10.45. After brekkie I grabbed my skinny latte from the Cove Cafe, then we found some loungers on deck 13 and chilled for a few hours, (except for when I nipped to the spa to get my nail fixed). It was really blowy on top deck, but I didn't mind as it made it much more comfortable to sit in

Not long after 12 we went to Cabanas to get some lunch to line our stomachs for our Mixology class at 1.30pm. I had the vegetable lasagne which was very good, and Paul tried a little of the lasagne, chicken pie and some fish. It was all very nice

We arrived early at our class and sat with some of our Facebook group. Once again the class was lots of fun. Lindsay was our host again and we made 5 cocktails, a Paris 75, French Mojito, Devine, Pomo Cosmo and B53

I won't lie, we left the class feeling rather squiffy so we decided to continue having fun at the Cove Bar with Sam and Katy. On our way we passed by the Future Cruise desk and someone was free and before we knew it we were walking away having booked a back2back for next September (woohoo !!!)

After a few hours relaxing at the Cove Bar, we headed back to our room where we found our Castaway Club for this week. We hadn't touched the sparkling wine from the week before so we chose some chocolates instead, and I can safely say they didn't last two minutes

All this eating and drinking was exhausting so we decided on a bit of a kip Paul woke me around 7.45pm to get ready for dinner, but I really wasn't in the mood to get dressed up, so we left our room at our usual time for dinner and had cheeseburgers and fries from deck 13, and very nice they were too

We weren't in the mood for a late night so I had a latte from the Vista Lounge above the atrium and we headed back to our room for an early night once we guessed Raj had finished sorting the room out

Tomorrow ~ St. Marteen

 

[mandymouse]

Tuesday 23rd September

After our early night we were up bright and early, and the ship had already docked on St. Marteen. We had breakfast then disembarked to find a taxi to take us to Maho Beach

Maho Beach is such a cool place. The airport runway ends a short distance from the beach, and the planes fly in really low, and I could certainly think of worse places to spend a couple of hours in the sunshine. It was a lovely warm morning so we found somewhere on the beach to watch the planes land. The main plane of the day, a KLM, was due to land around 11am, so we had time for a bottle of water for me and a lager for Paul at the Sunset Bar. There were three ships in port today, so Maho Beach was heaving. We found a spot to watch the big KLM plane and some smaller ones, then as it was about 1 1/2 hour turn around for the KLM plane, we went back to the Sunset Bar for a cocktail or two. It really is a great to watch the planes take off, but I'm not sure I'd want to be on a passenger

Anyway after a couple of drinks to tie us over till the KLM plane left at 12.30, we took a taxi back into St. Philipsburg

... Cont'd