Well, that didn't go just quite as planned ..... an Aug/Sept 17 Update 07/12

[franandaj]

Glad you are back and updating! We will be eating in that same restaurant in just a few weeksish.....I can't wait to have the Grand Marnier Souffle, twice!

 

[jedijill]

Being sick on vacation is horrible! I CANNOT wait for those Grand Marnier shuffles....don't judge me when I inhale them!!!!

Jill in CO

 

[dizneeat]

Love the mickey and minnie key chains that you got!!!

They are SO cute! I have them hanging on a pinboard too afraid we might loose them using them for keys.

Your dinner looked so delicious.

It definitely was. They do a very good job with the food on board.

Sorry you started to feel like you were coming down with a cold. I hope you were able to head it off with the cold medicine.

Sickness hit me hard last trip. Not to get ahead of myself, but I seem to be immune to the US variety of cold meds - this year I am bringing my own from home.

So glad to see you back Karin!

Thank you, Jen! I missed being able to post even though I did read TRs, but there was never enough time to comment on them.

And extra glad to see ship pictures...I booked a last minute cruise for next week and I just can't wait....your food made me think....I need to plan my eating strategy!

I am so happy for you to be able to get on the Fantasy. You are all going to love it (as always) just sad, it is such a short trip.

Glad you’re back Karin and you’re trip is right around the corner

Thank you! I am so happy to be back and able to comment and update again. And YES, we are already within a month's time for our next vacation. So looking forward to it.

Great shots from your balcony

We just love sitting out there and taking pics (and nibbling on something )

I’m glad they had cough syrup on the ship

Me too! Even though none of the stuff I tried seemed to help. This coming vacation I come prepared! I'm bringing some stuff from home.

You’re dinner looked delicious

It definitely was. There are always too many choices on board and all of them are so delicious!

 

[dizneeat]

The Nassau port is so beautiful.

They were still trying to restore it from some storms and I guess Hurricane Irma coming through a little later didn't help as well. I just love the sight of the lighthouse.

Glad you are back and updating!

Thank you, Alison. It was a hard year with work and some health issues.

We will be eating in that same restaurant in just a few weeksish.....I can't wait to have the Grand Marnier Souffle, twice!

Hm, ......... come to think of it. We might be dining there as well again. And we hope to share a table with you guys.

Being sick on vacation is horrible! I

Tell me about it.

I CANNOT wait for those Grand Marnier shuffles....don't judge me when I inhale them!!!!

They are sooooooooo good! There will always be space to fit them in, even after a nice big meal, as they serve on board.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 9, August 30

Cast away - part 1

I didn’t have a really good night as my head cold was keeping a tight grip on me and I guess my cough kept Tom up as well.
Nevertheless we were up by 7am and while one of us took a shower the other waited for our breakfast to be delivered. We were both showered and dressed when our room service breakfast arrived.

We usually have it out on the balcony, but today we just stayed inside as I didn’t want to get any more sick than I already was. We put everything on the little table and Tom had his

coffee while I brewed myself a lot of tea, which made me feel a lot better. Tom had ordered some bagels of which I forgot to take a photo and I had asked for some

cornflakes and

croissants. We had also ordered two

fruit-bowls and were now exchanging fruit, as I do not eat anything melon and Tom can’t eat pineapple, which gives him heartburn. So we swapped fruit, had a leisurely breakfast and enjoyed the morning.
Around 9am we had docked at Castaway Cay and we were off the ship within a few minutes. We had gotten another Fish Extender gift that morning, a lovely big Mickey bag,

which was perfect for the day at Castaway Cay as everything we needed fit in there perfectly. We had not even forgotten to put on our Cabana wristbands and so when we got off the ship, we were not even offered a towel.
We slowly made our way to the tram

and when we got closer we saw that they were ready to leave and they just left as we walked up. What to do, walk or wait. Well, with me not feeling 100% well, we decided to wait it out and take the next tram. It took quite some time for one to come, and we were lucky to get on it, as people were pushing and shoving to get on.
When we got to the end of the line we took some time to peek into the shop, but there was nothing that really interested us, so we went back outside and a tram to Serenity Bay was just arriving, so we hopped on and off we went.

The Cabana hosts must have eyes like hawks, because we were not quite off the tram when he walked towards us to greet us and introduce himself. We got onto the golf cart and off we went to our Cabana. We were lucky to score one in the first place and today we were really happy as I was not sure if I would have made it through the day without it.
Our host explained everything to us, told us to page him if we needed him and then he was gone.
We enjoyed the view, took some photos of the Cabana

and then applied some sunscreen as we wanted to head into the ocean right away. A few minutes later we were on our way into the nice warm waters. It was way deeper than the last time we had been there and it was just fun to drift around a bit.

After some time we swam through the deeper part and soon were able to sit on the little bank. I think we were out there for about 40 minutes, before we returned to our Cabana.

We had now gotten neighbours as well and once we were back we used the towels which we had hung into the sun to dry ourselves off after taking a quick shower. I sat out in the sun wrapped in my towel for a while, but I had developed a headache and had to take a headache pill. I had to lie down on the sofa in the back of the Cabana for a while for it to kick in, but we did not want to cut our beach day short.
We snacked on the fruit in the fridge, had some water and soda out of the fridge and Tom even had brought some cans of beer

which we had taken onto the ship in the beginning of the cruise. Around midday we talked about going up to the buffet, but I didn’t have a huge appetite and Tom wasn’t too keen on it either, so we just stayed and had some chips before we wanted to brave the ocean again. My headache had gone, but I was still coughing and I had used a lot of meds on my eyes.
But before we wanted to drift around in the warm waters of Castaway Cay there was one more thing Tom wanted to do, searching for the Geocache on the island.
We knew it wasn’t too far off, so we decided against picking up bikes that were included in the cabana rental and just walked along the dirt road. We walked for about 5 minutes until we found the spot where the cache was hidden. I am not very good at finding them, but it did not take Tom very long and he had the box in his hand, signed the logbook and we were on our way back.
Once we were back in our cabana we needed another drink and then it was time for the ocean. Before we headed into the ocean we applied a lot more sunscreen, but Tom always is sooo afraid to get too much on and was rather stingy with it. Guess you know what’s coming. Again we played in the ocean for quite some time,

before returning to our Cabana.

We had some more fruit and chips and Tom called our Cabana host to get us some drinks.

To be continued ........​

 

[rdkeim]

Seems like having a cabana is the way to go! Especially since you weren't feeling 100%. That water is so clear and blue - lovely!

 

[dizneeat]

Seems like having a cabana is the way to go! Especially since you weren't feeling 100%. That water is so clear and blue - lovely!

The Cabana definitely was a saving grace this trip. I could not have stayed at the beach as long as we did without it.
And we just love the waters at CC. So beautiful, so clear and LOTS of fish.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Glad to see you back on the Dis!

 

[dizneeat]

Glad to see you back on the Dis!

Thank you! It has been quite the year, but I am determined to finish this report before starting my new LONG one for this year.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Thank you! It has been quite the year, but I am determined to finish this report before starting my new LONG one for this year.

Karin, I understand completely! I was missing in action from my own trip report for over two months. Life has been busy!

 

[jmb4118]

I'm loving your report! we are staying at the Grand Floridian in October, and seeing some the thing you did is giving me idea's for our trip!

 

[lizzyb]

That's an awesome fish extender gift especially the day of Cast away Cay!

 

[Stasieki]

That cabana looks lovely. So sorry you weren't feeling well.

 

[jedijill]

I can't wait for breakfast on the veranda! That cabana looks awesome! I can't take the sun for too long so the cabana would be the way to go!

Jill in CO

 

[franandaj]

Sounds like the cabana was a great escape for you!

 

[Pinkocto]

I missed two updates, not good.

I’m sorry the cold got worse. Terrible thing to happen on any day much less vacation. The last time we were on the Fantasy I got sick.

Glad you had the Cabana and were able to enjoy CC. I can’t wait to get there again the water is so gorgeous. Its funny, the lunch at SB is something I really look forward to.

I know the stress of losing a lanyard and card. Glad they were able to get Tom a new one without incident.

 

[wdwnut61]

I love room service really makes you feel like you’re on vacation
Wow you’re Cabana looks wonderful great way to escape the heat and relax
Beautiful shots of the water it does look inviting

 

[dizneeat]

Thank you all who are still here for your patience.

I thought I would be able to finish this before the new one gets started, but again I failed. BUT I will post on both TRs! I promise!

So, before I get to answers here and post the new update - here is the link to my new TR.

It's kind of fun to do the impossible - 32 days of fun and friends
https://www.disboards.com/threads/i...mpossible-32-days-of-fun-and-friends.3708839/

 

[dizneeat]

Day 9, August 30

Cast away - part 2

We had some more fruit and chips and Tom called our Cabana host to get us some drinks.
I had a

PinaColava, while Tom had gotten a

Konk Kooler for himself. It was wonderful to just sit there, sip a nice drink and enjoy the warm sun.

It even let me forget my cough for a minute or two.

We knew that there wasn’t much time left, so we went for one more swim in the ocean before we had to pack up. We went back to our Cabana when they started to close the umbrellas and packed up our things, then called our Cabana host to hand him his tip. He picked us up with his golf cart and told us that if we didn’t mind, he would take us right back to the ship.

Mind?
No, we would love it!

And he did take us back while I was quietly telling Tom to “wave to the poor people, who had to take the tram”.
It is quite the drive back to the ship and we thanked our host profusely for his service and I think his tip showed it as well. Back on the ship Tom let me have a shower first and when I was done I needed to lie down for a while as I was completely done.
Tom took a shower too and when he returned he complained about his shoulder hurting and when I looked a bit closer I did see that he had been really sunburned.
Since we had skipped lunch we ordered room service again, but decided not to order too much as we had a dinner booked at Palo. About 20 minutes after we had ordered our food was delivered.

There was a

Mickey bar,

two chocolate chip cookies and

Buffalo Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese and Honey Mustard Dip.
Tom got his wings, while I had the Mickey Bar.
We shared one of the cookies and then relaxed for a little while and watched the ship pull out of Castaway Cay.

Today was Pirate Night and since we do not like that menu we were dining at Palo.
As always I had planned on having an early dinner, so we might even be able to take advantage of the pirate buffet lateron.
So at 6pm we were on our way up to Palo.
We were met by the Maître‘d and introduced to our server and off we went to our table. One of the advantages of having an early Palo ADR usually is that you get a nice table by the window and today was no exception. We were taken to a table by the window with a great view outside,

handed some menus and then left to read and decide. I felt better at that time, so I ordered a glass of the

Moet Ice, while Tom had decided on a glass of

white wine after we had decided on our food. Didn’t take long and our server came by with the antipasti cart and filled a plate with yummy food.

There was Prosciutto and Bressa Ola, marinated olives, peppers and artichokes and a good number of chunks of Parmesan Cheese. When we were offered some Balsamic Vinegar we happily agreed to it and then we started to enjoy our antipasti together with the wonderful

bread basket that had been put on our table. It took a few minutes and then our starters were served. We had decided to share our appetizers and both, the

Soft Potato Gnocchi, tossed in Piennolo Tomato Sauce, garnished with Kale and caramelized Grape Tomatoes and the

Fritto di Calamari e Gamberi, deep-fried Shrimp and Calamari with

Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise and Marinara dippings, were really good. Only downside was that we had eaten our room service “snacks” shortly before and after tucking into the antipasti and the starters we already started to feel full.
Thankfully the server left us a little time to digest and enjoy the

palate cleanser lime sorbet, before the main course was served. Tom had ordered the

Sea Scallops, Celery Root Purée, baby Vegetables and crispy Leeks served with a Prosecco and Black Tuffle Sauce, which were as good as they looked. I had thought that ordering pasta would get me a smaller plate, but I was mistaken. Even if the plate didn’t look piled high, my choice the

Caramelle di vitello, Pasta stuffed with Milk braised Veal, Pancetta and Porcini Mushrooms, was quite a lot. It was super delicious though, but very filling, so I only managed to eat two thirds of it. Thankfully it took a while until our desserts were ready, which was as always, the

Chocolate Soufflé with Vanilla Bean and Chocolate Sauce. It was as good as we remembered it, but by the time we were done, my headache had returned and I felt cold again. So we asked for the bill, which was on Mickey anyway, we added a nice tip and the server brought out their farewell drink,

which is their lime sorbet and some kind of alcohol. I usually like that drink quite a bit, but this one had a funny taste to it, so Tom had his, but mine was pretty much untouched. We headed back to our room

and since I didn’t feel too well I decided to take a nap while Tom watched a little TV.

Turned out that my little nap took a little longer than expected and I woke up from the sound of the fireworks.
I looked over at Tom, who had gone to bed as well and was fast asleep. So far for trying to see the fireworks and grab a few items off the pirate buffet. But the early night was not bad either.

To be continued ........


New trip report for our 2018 vacation has started

It's kind of fun to do the impossible - 32 days of fun and friends
​

 

[jenseib]

Nice to see you back!

Wow those are some fancy towels!!!