Third Time's a Fantasy? 6/18/22 Western Caribbean Cruise

[Geomom]

Third Time's a Fantasy? 6/18/22-6/25/22 Western Caribbean

Introduction:
Our traveling party from MA: DH, myself, DD22, and DD18
.
Cruise 1: 8/16, Disney Wonder Alaska
Cruise 2: 8/18: Disney Magic Baltic Sea
Cruise 3: 8/20: Disney Dream plus Disney

8/21: Disney Fantasy plus Disney​

6/22: Disney Magic Greek Isles​

6/22: Disney Fantasy plus Disney​

Like many others, our travel plans were upended by the pandemic. In addition to our family trips being affected, DD22 missed out on a semester abroad (planned to do Vienna sometime during junior year), and DD18's 4/20 school trip to Japan was postponed to 4/21 and then cancelled. Our TA was put to work moving our placeholder multiple times. By 12/21, the fact that we would need to test 3x (to get to Italy, to get on the ship, and to come home) made us switch to a US based cruise…since at least here we could drive home if we had to. This was the girls' graduation trip–college and high school. I made the switch 6 months out to get the DVC rooms we wanted and since Southwest had just opened up the summer fares.

Planning: We decided to do the Undercover Tourist rental car deal since we needed park tix anyway. (Buy any type of Tix, get ½ off a Budget or Avis rental.). Thinking we would be testing at port, we got the rental for our full stay (just in case we had a positive test)–16 days, $543 for an intermediate car. DCL changed to paying for your own pre-test shortly before our cruise…Walgreens had just stopped doing free travel tests, so thanks to these boards we found Onpoint testing. DD22 got a 90 day recovery letter from the college health center (tested positive at the start of senior week in May…thankfully was out of isolation and allowed to walk by the graduation date.). Onpoint testing went down to $10/person, plus I had a coupon code, so it cost us $25 to test 3 people with our free government tests.

We got our Dreams Unlimited gift basket. Maybe this trip will actually happen!


Trip report links:
6/16/22 Travel Day
6/17/22 Vero Beach 1, Vero Beach 2, Vero Beach 3
6/18/22 Port Canaveral 1, Port Canaveral 2, Port Canaveral 3, Port Canaveral 4
6/19/22 At Sea 1; At Sea 2, At Sea 3
6/20/22 Cozumel 1, Cozumel 2, Cozumel 3, Cozumel 4
6/21/22 Grand Cayman 1, Grand Cayman 2, Grand Cayman 3, Grand Cayman 4
6/22/22 Jamaica 1, Jamaica 2, Jamaica 3,. Jamaica 4, Jamaica 5, Jamaica 6
6/23/22 Sea day 1, Sea day 2, Sea day 3, Sea day 4
6/24/22 Castaway 1, Castaway 2, Castaway 3, Castaway 4, Castaway 5
6/25/22 Port Canaveral
Notes

 

[Geomom]

6/16/22: Travel day?

DD18 and I had our Onpoint appt at 11am, DH had his at 11:30am–thankfully all negative! Results emailed within 30 minutes, we uploaded them to Safe Passage and we were cleared to sail by 4AM.

At 2:30pm we headed to the airport (MHT), checked luggage, zipped through security (I love small airports!), and our 5:30pm Southwest flight was delayed 20 minutes…so we got an early dinner at the sit down restaurant near our gate.

Like usual, I had paid for early bird in the hopes of sitting together. We boarded the plane and sat there and sat there and sat there. They announced the skies were closed for the whole East Coast due to storms in the South. Eventually they had us get off the plane with all our stuff. DH bought some snacks, kids had just opened them, when they told us to line back up, we had a brief window to depart. So back on the plane and we took off at 7:10pm! We landed in Orlando at 10:15pm. DH went to the Budget line while the kids and I got the luggage. We met up with DH just as he was finishing with an agent. We were given a Mitsubishi Outlander vs the Toyota Corolla I expected, so a slight upgrade! We stuck our EZ pass on the dash and drove 1 ½ hrs to Disney's Vero Beach resort for our first stay there. Checked in at 1am. We used our DVC pts for a standard inn room, since we would just be there 2 nts. Went to bed around 1:30am.

 

[Geomom]

6/17/22: Disney's Vero Beach, part 1

This morning, DH updated his EZ pass account to add the rental car plate #. (Didn't have a chance to do it before leaving the airport. Thankfully all the charges went through our EZ pass, so no extra charges from Budget!)

It was a gorgeous day in Vero Beach–84F vs the 97F in Orlando…so glad we chose to stay here before our cruise!

DH and I walked around the resort and brought some breakfast (and cupcakes!) back to the room.



When the kids woke up, I gave them class of 2022 graduation ears.

We got to the pool area around 12:30pm. First we did the 9 hole mini golf (free for DVC blue card members.).



Then we enjoyed the pool for a while.

Next we had lunch from the pool bar:, kids chicken/fries/grapes, hummus/veggies/pitas, chicken pita with fries, and a Mickey Pretzel!!! A cucumber mint mojito for me, strawberry smoothie for DD18, and vitamin water.

We took a walk on the beach. The kids went back to the room to shower/rest, DH and I walked on the beach more, then around the grounds, before heading to the room to shower.


Turtle nests!

We were shocked at how quiet the beach was, it was awesome!

 

[Geomom]

6/17/22: Disney's Vero Beach part 2:

30 days before, I made a 6PM Open Table reservation for Wind and Waves Grill.



Kids both had the Earidescent 50th drink,

DH had the Iceberg wedge

And Fish and Chips

I had the Watermelon Margarita

And Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin,

DD18 had the Pan Roasted Chicken

DD22 had the Bacon Crusted Salmon

 

[Geomom]

6/17/22 Disney's Vero Beach, part 3

Desserts:
Turtle Tiramisu

Key Lime Cheesecake

Peach and Berry Cobbler

After dinner, we checked out the shop, bought a Vero Beach ornament,and just relaxed in the room/balcony, had cupcakes, and made sure everything was all set for tomorrow!

S'mores cupcake!

 

[Geomom]

6/18/22: Port Canaveral! Part 1:

At Disney's Vero Beach, we packed up the SUV rearranging some stuff to leave the dirty laundry behind with the 'just Disney World' bag. Then we went to breakfast at Wind and Waves Grill (made a 10:15am reservation with Open Table 30 days before.)

DD18 thought it was too early for food, so she just ordered breakfast potatoes and shared some of DHs fruit bowl.

DD22 had the Key Lime stuffed Waffles

I had the Mickey Shaped Waffle

DH had the breakfast special

Then we hit the road! We took A1A "the scenic route" straight up the coast to Port Canaveral, took 1hr 10 minutes.

We got to port right when our PAT started, 12:45PM. They checked our 'clear to sail' status and took our luggage. We paid $136 and parked in the garage on level 3, walked over, docs checked to get in the building. Went through security. It was open boarding at that point, so we walked right onto the ship having our name announced as we entered. (On the ship by 1:15pm!) We sat near the atrium to check out everything on the app, including our dining rotation.

DH went to guest services to add Disney Rewards dollars to our account (short line at that point!) We went and found our assembly station and completed that, then headed up to deck 11 for some food, including our first soft serve ice cream of the trip! (Day 1 was just vanilla/chocolate, other days also had strawberry/banana, and mango/chocolate.).

 

[Geomom]

6/18/22 Port Canaveral, part 2:

The rooms were ready by 2:30pm, so we went there, got our key cards and papers listing our OBC–$200 from DCL from our 2018 placeholder, and $225 from Dreams Unlimited. This was our first time on the bigger ships, so we splurged for a verandah. Thanks to the boards, we knew to avoid aft rooms (Fantasy vibration issue), so we chose 9034 by the forward elevators, a very convenient location for our party of all adults!






Our luggage arrived before 4pm, so we unpacked. Our amazing stateroom host was Lovi from The Philippines. Once done unpacking, we started the 'paintings' mystery from the Midship Detective Agency–our first time playing and a big hit with my girls!

They cancelled the sail away party due to weather, so we just took pictures from the deck 4 promenade.


We got a pic with Captain Mickey before dinner! Because the app didn't list 'who' was meeting at the character meet and greets, all the pics we got were just when we were in the area or just came across while walking around the ship.

 

[Geomom]

6/18/22 Port Canaveral part 3:

We initially had late dining due to booking 6 months out. We were on the waiting list from the start and I was checking the app daily to see if I could switch to main dining as 6pm is our normal dining time at home and DH normally doesn't eat anything after 8pm. Finally, 10 days before our cruise, I was able to switch! Hurray! I had emailed DCL in advance asking for a private table, and making a note of graduation celebrations for the girls. We got our private table, #93. We had AERAERA rotation, which was perfect for us–pirate night in AP, formal in E, semi formal in R–it was awesome! Our head server was Claudia from Peru who visited the table daily, Lissie server from Peru, Noel assistant server from The Philippines, and occasionally Roy (earning his ears) helping with beverages. First night was Animator's Palate with the Crush show. We weren't seated near any screens, but could see them from a distance. Night 1 was the AP menu.

DD18 had Chicken and Walnut Salad

And the lighter note Chicken with rice

DD22 had the Loaded Potato soup

And Lemon Thyme Chicken

DH had Smoked Salmon Tartare

Serrano Ham/Manchego

And Tuna Steak

I had Black Truffle Pasta Pursettes

Arugula and Beet Salad

And Sesame Halloumi Parcel (I actually ordered a different vegetarian dish, but they misheard me, so I ended up with this tasty dish instead!)

 

[Geomom]

6/18/22 Port Canaveral part 4:

Specialty drinks:
Nonalcoholic Bora shake for DD18

Great Reef for me

For desserts we had:

Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake

Deconstructed Carrot Cake

Lemon Icebox Pie

Cookies and Cream Sundae

Crunchy Chocolate Walnut Cake



Since tonight's theater show was the new Chip and Dale movie that we had recently watched on Disney +, DH and I decided to enjoy the Cove pool and whirlpool while people were busy. It was just us there!

Afterwards, we brought the kids olives, bread sticks, and lavash from Cove Cafe, fries from Flo's, and probably cups of ice cream.

 

[greensombrero]

Following along, thanks for writing this! I haven’t seen too many recent Western Fantasy TRs and we are on one in 2 months. Excited to see if I can pick up any useful info .

 

[Geomom]

6/19/22 At Sea:

Happy Father's Day!

DH and I got coffee from the beverage station and pastries from Cove Cafe, then sat on our balcony to enjoy breakfast with a view. (We did this most days, and also enjoyed ending the night on the balcony, sitting in the dark, listening to the waves. I sat outside with DD18 one night and she found it terrifying…while I found it relaxing.)

I went to the Art of the Theme show tour in Meridian at 9:30AM It took me forever to find it as I didn't realize the aft elevators on the pool deck are IN Cabanas. A nice CM led me to them. DH joined me halfway through the tour, when we were in Ooh La La. I love this tour on all the ships. We discovered why the adult bathroom hallway is so crazy–they modeled it after the Gaudi buildings. It's also why the interior of the bathrooms have a Spanish theme. Our CM couldn't understand why they would do this to drunk people on a ship!

DH got DD18 ice cream for "breakfast"... because today they had mango!

DH and I got some food from Flo's and the grill area before my Champagne tasting.

My vegetable panini with fries

DH bratwurst and stuff...

I had a Champagne tasting at Noon in Ooh La La. ($38…now $50) Khen was the knowledgeable host. In order we had, Tattinger Brut, with popcorn, Veuve Clicquot yellow label with a strawberry, Pommery Rose, with a chocolate truffle (unfortunately mine was a mint truffle which didn't go well at all!),

Bollinger Special Cuvee 3 yr aging with a macaron,

and Moet Chandon Ice, with a raspberry and blueberry .


The rest of the group ran into Dr. Strange while wearing their grad ears. (The girls saw Thor later in the cruise). Dr Strange asked if they were studying to become doctors, lol.

More Midship detective agency, starting the Muppets!


DH and I watched Dr Strange and the Multiverse of Madness in the balcony of the Walt Disney Theater..

We were sailing off the coast of Cuba today but it was raining in that area...so didn't really see land.

 

[Geomom]

6/19/22 At Sea part 2:
Formal night dinner was in Enchanted Garden with their signature menu.

I had the Golden Leafs drink,

cucumber garden roll,

Spinach & raspberry salad,

And seared pork tenderloin medallions.

DD18 had a kids garden salad,

And kids Mac and cheese

DD22 had the romaine wedge,

And prime rib

DH had the ahi tuna and avocado tower,

And the lighter note salmon.

 

[Geomom]

6/19/22 At Sea part 3:

 The girls were given origami butterflies today.

Desserts:
Southern style pecan tart,

chocolate brownie sundae,

chocolate garden torte,

lemon raspberry mousse bombe,

orange almond cake

We took some pics by the fountain before leaving Enchanted Garden:



After dinner we came across the Captains reception in atrium, I grabbed a free cocktail on the way to the theater to see the Aladdin show.

After the show we grabbed more late night snacks for kids.

Clocks go back 1 hr tonight.

 

[Geomom]

6/20/22 Cozumel part 1

We had room service breakfast from the order card put out the night before while we were getting ready for the day. I enjoyed watching our approach to Cozumel from our verandah.

Our excursion met in the theater: CZ80 Cozumel Ruins, Chocolate, & beach break, $75/adult. We were given a bottle of water each. Our tour guide, Juan, was good.

It rained/poured at the San Gervaiso ruins, but we still enjoyed it, as I really wanted to see some Mayan ruins.

 

[Geomom]

6/20/22 Cozumel part 2

We had a short stop at a honey place next for a Mayan shaman blessing and shopping (Earrings for DD22 and DH got me an obsidian/mineral turtle.) At the Mayan Cacao company, we learned how chocolate is made, ate mole on soft corn tortillas, tried chocolate, and bought chocolate bars in the shop ($9 each).


Afterwards, we got wristbands and drink coupons for Playa Mia (basically in the same complex as the chocolate company.). We walked straight to the outdoor restaurant since we were starving. I had a margarita, DH tonic water, DD18 non alcoholic Pina colada, DD 22 non alcoholic lime daiquiri,
DH fajitas

I had chicken tacos,

DD18 chicken quesadilla,

DD22 chicken enchiladas.

The total was $33 before tip as we had the drink coupons. We enjoyed the free wifi and just hung out at our table.


Back on the ship, we went to the DVC member gathering with free drinks, I had the alcoholic one, everyone else had the juice, and we grabbed a couple bottles of water. After the video and game show,they had a meet and greet with Daisy.

Then we caught a pic with Goofy and Pluto while walking around

 

[Geomom]

6/20/22 Cozumel part 3

Dinner was in Royal Court, with their signature menu. We were supposed to be celebrating the kids' graduation but after they ordered they were both feeling a bit seasick (lots of people in our section were a bit seasick after we left Cozumel.) So our server, Lissie said we'd do it another night…and brought them green apple slices when we asked. The funny thing is DD18 hates green apples...but ate them anyways to try and feel better.

I think I went to the room and grabbed the Bonine (while DD22 takes it every night starting the night before the cruise, DD18 started it tonight as she felt fine until now.)

I had the Imperial Illusion drink and
DD18 had the Princess Delight

I had the Red Wine Bosc Pear Salad

DD18 had the kids garden salad

DD22 had the Leek and Potato Soup

DH had the Breaded and Deep Fried Brie

DD18, DD22, and I had the Chateaubriand

DH had the Oven Baked Salmon Royale

 

[Geomom]

6/20/22 Cozumel part 4

Desserts…I think today was the start of our ordering at least 1 of every dessert off the menu…

Grand Marnier Souffle...so yummy, I get it every cruise!

Apple Tarte Tatin,

Tahitian Vanilla Creme Brulee,

Strawberry Shortcake Sundae,

Classic Opera Gateau,

Duo Chocolate Slice

Tonight was the Frozen show. We decided to watch it from the balcony where there are fewer people seated (easier to get out after the show.)

I'm sure we fetched snacks for the kids again...olives and bread sticks from Cove Cafe, Fries from the grill. And soft serve ice cream.

 

[BKlose]

The food... the drinks...WOW!! LOVE!

 

[Geomom]

The food... the drinks...WOW!! LOVE!

Thanks! If you want to see ALL the MDR desserts, you're in the right trip report.
I think we ordered all of them every day starting with day 3...we had 10 desserts on the table one day..for 4 people... because some of us are piggies and don't want to share certain desserts...like the Grand Marnier Souffle, that's all mine!

 

[Geomom]

Following along, thanks for writing this! I haven’t seen too many recent Western Fantasy TRs and we are on one in 2 months. Excited to see if I can pick up any useful info .

Thanks! I hope it's helpful!