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Thread: fairestoneofall - December 15-22, 2012 - Disney Fantasy

  1. #1
    Registered User fairestoneofall's Avatar
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    fairestoneofall - December 15-22, 2012 - Disney Fantasy

    Travel dates: December 15-22, 2012
    Travel method: Delta air from LAX to MCO. Happy Limo from MCO to Port Canveral. Happy Limo from Port Canaveral to Bay Lake Tower. Disney Magical Express from Bay Lake to MCO.
    Resort: Country Inn Port Canveral (12/14). Bay Lake Tower post cruise
    Accommodations: Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah. 05E. Deck 8 Room 8070.
    Ages Represented in Group:Myself 37, DH 37, DS5, DS6
    Disney Resort Experience Represented in Group: First time cruisers.
    Comments:
    Cast of characters:Myself, DH, DS5, DS6

    On Thursday night, December 13th we flew the red eye on Delta out of LAX. The flight was a direct flight and I won't bore you with the details since this is really a cruise trip report. We arrived at MCO and were met by Chris, our Happy Limo driver, who promptly escorted us to Country Inn in Cape Canaveral. Our room was ready and we were allowed to check in immediately, even though it was only 9am. The owners were working the desk and they encouraged us to take advantage of the breakfast bar that would be available for just 30 more minutes. We quickly put our bags into our room and headed down for breakfast. We were very thankful for the early check in because we were ready for a nap. Our flight was only four hours long, so we really didn't get much sleep. After we woke, we called a cab and went to explore Cocoa Beach. We wanted to head to the port and watch another ship sail out, but we missed the RC cruise ship that sailed that day. Once it was gone, the port was empty for the remainder of the day. We spent the afternoon shopping at Ron Jon for a few additional cruise items, eating dinner and taking a walk on the beach. We turned in early since we knew Saturday, which was sail away day, would be full of excitement.

    If you can dream it, you can do it. ~Walt Disney

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  3. #2

    Sounds like fun! Looking forward to more trip updates...

    Donna ~ Next trip - Disney World in November 2014.

  4. #3
    Registered User fairestoneofall's Avatar
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    Sorry it's been so long between posts. I have a lot going on with our Tinker Bell Half Marathon team.

    OK- Satruday!
    Today is sail away day! We slept in as much as we could, but for those of you who know me, know that's a joke. I woke up just after sunrise and peeked the window of our hotel room. The port was socked in with fog! I wanted to she the Fantasy so bad but she was not visible. Knowing that she was there made me feel better.

    So we all got up and moving around and after showers we looked outside again. Low and behold, our ship was there waiting for us! Whee! We packed up what little we had unpacked the day before and made sure our carry on had all of the essentials in it to enjoy some time on the pool deck before we were allowed into our staterooms. We had a little complimentary breakfast in the hotel and then checked out. Our driver from Happy Limo was on time for our pick up. We made it to the port quickly and the process of getting on board was underway. Everything went so smoothly and so quickly that I have trouble remembering the details. We had an 11:30 boarding time so we arrived at the terminal a few minutes after 11am. Check in took about 5 minutes, they are very efficient. We were greeted by a DVC host who gave us our DVC lanyards and the invitation to the mixer the next morning. While DH was finishing the check in I got in line to register for the kids club. But, before we made it to the front of the line we were called to board. So, we happily abandoned that line and went to board the ship. We took our photograph and then waited for the crew to announce our family's embarkation. I cried. I couldn't help it. The atrium was so beautiful and the look on my boys' faces was just priceless. I will never forget this moment as long as I live.

    Once on board, we had a plan and we executed it immediately. DH took the boys up to deck 5 to register them for the Oceaneer's Club and Lab and I went to guest services. I put us on a waiting list for a cabana (that I later removed), signed up for the gingerbread house workshop and signed up for three beverage seminars. We met at the pool deck almost exactly at the same time. DH took the boys on the Aqua Duck and I ordered a drink! Once the boys each had a couple of turns on the Aqua Duck we made them stop for lunch. I grabbed some pizza, wraps and fruit from quick service and that satisfied everyone. By this time we were allowed to go into our staterooms so DH tool the boys and I had to meet with my FE group at O'Gills.

    When we reached our room we were greeted by some magical surprises that our dear friends had sent to our stateroom. A memory book with a DCL picture frame in it for DH and I and a plush ship with DCL dressed Mickey and friends inside. What a welcome! Additionally, DH's tux was hanging in the closet and ready for him to wear. I'm so glad we pre-rented it through DCL, it took such a load off of us and was probably the best $100 I spent that week. Well, maybe.

    We got things unpacked and we got dressed for dinner just in time for the safety drill. It was very well organized and went very quickly. I'm guessing that means everyone cooperated. Once that was checked off the list we headed straight up to the pool deck for the sail away party. It was so much fun! The live stage so was great and the music was awesome. Kids of all ages, 3-83 were singing, dancing and waving their arms. When we officially were underway they sounded the ships whistle with "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" and we were off. They boys were startled by how loud it was, but thought it was cool none the less. We stayed up on the pool deck until we had sailed away from the port. After that, we headed to deck 4 for our first night's dinner at Animator's Palate.

    Dinner was excellent. I must admit, I was a skeptic about the food. Everyone always told me how good the food was on cruises and how much you could eat. Well, to me, quantity is not quality so I was prepared to be underwhelmed. I was wrong. The food was really good. I never did get the "all you can eat" part of it, even as the week wore on. I never ordered more than one item per course and I usually didn't even do that. Anyhow, we met our servers the first night and they were great. We had Sheree from the Philippines as our main server and Anxious from Zimbabwe as our assistant server. Both were full of energy and wonderful with the kids. We were spoiled! I will admit that this is the worst area of the ship to be during rough seas. I had a little bit of a queasy stomach, but nothing serious. DH said I had the look he had seen on several rookie sailors during his Navy years.

    That evening, after dinner, the kids were begging to go into the kids club, so we let them. DH and I wanted a chance to explore the ship a little bit so this gave us that opportunity. The boys ran into the club, never looking back. DH and I headed down to deck 3 to the Europa district. We landed in O'Gill's and never left! We met a ver sweet couple from DC and chatted the evening away. When it was about 10pm we decided that we had let the kids stay out way too late and went to get them.

    We turned in by 11 that night. I was feeling the rough seas so I did take one motion sickness pill. Once I fell asleep I felt nothing. When I woke up the next morning the seas were more calm and I was getting my sea legs.

    More later.....

    If you can dream it, you can do it. ~Walt Disney

  5. #4

    Loving it! I was so looking forward to this trip report!

    Siggy aka Jill

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    Looking forward to reading more. My family has been thinking about taking a Disney cruise.


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    Loving it so far, I'm looking forward to more!

    Our First WDW trip is coming up... March 2016!
    Staying 10 nights at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, and 4 nights at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort!
    Me, DH, DS11, DS8, & DS5

  8. #7
    Registered User fairestoneofall's Avatar
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    Day Two- Sunday - Day at sea

    Sunday we woke up at our leisure, which you all should know means around 6:30 am. We took our time getting up and ready, which really just meant getting our day bag ready for the pool. On our agenda was the DVC mixer, some pool time, a martini seminar and massages for DH and I. Also, Remi. Oh yes.

    So, we checked our Navigator for breakfast times and went to grab food. We ate at Royal Court for breakfast. I had eggs benedict, minus the bread. They served it on slices of roasted tomatoes and I loved it! After breakfast we went to the Tube for the DVC mixer. Upon arrival we were given reusable tote bags, DVC ball caps and a really nice leather-ish portfolio folder. They played games and gave away prizes, but I mostly just enjoyed free flowing mimosas (yes! cross that off of my drink scavenger hunt list!)!

    After the mixer we took the boys up to the pool deck for a bit. We all rode the Aqua Duck and it was a blast. We took the kids to the kids club and then DH and I headed to the spa for our massages. I had a seaweed wrap with my massage. My therapist was very good, although I didn't enjoy the sales pitch at the end for their overly priced spa product. My treatment room had one wall that was a window to the outside. I was lucky enough to have my massage as we were sailing by Cuba. That was very cool. After my massage I took a quick shower to rinse off before my cocktail seminar. I stopped by Cabana's to grab a quick salad and shrimp cocktail so that I had food in my tummy for the martini class. From there I headed up to Meridian for our martini seminar. I learned something extremely important. I do NOT like traditional gin martinis. Nope, not even a little bit. That was our first cocktail. The next was a Vesper martini, which, if I remember correctly, was one part vodka to two parts gin, vermouth and a twist of lemon. That was better thank the first, IMO, but still not for me. I think I'm not a fan of juniper and that could be my problem. Next up was a sidecar martini and I LOVED it! I can't remember if it was made with vodka or gin or neither, but it also had cognac and Cointreau and a twist of lemon. It was delicious. Next up was a hazelnut martini made with fangelico, creme de cocoa (and maybe vodka?) and served with a honey and cinnamon rim. Holy cow! Dessert in a glass! For the final cocktail he made an espresso martini and it was my favorite by far. It was espresso, vodka, Kahlua, and creme de cocoa. I think the rim was cocoa powder but I can't remember, I was five martini's in by this time!

    After the seminar DH went to get the kids from the club so they could take a nap and I went back to the room to start getting showered and ready for dinner. Before dinner we had an appointment with the sommelier to discuss our wine preferences and our menu options. The boys took a nice nap, it seemed to be a pattern that was forming that they would fall asleep easily after some time at the kids club. I got dressed and DH put his tux on. A little before five we woke the kids up and got them dressed. We took them back to the kids club (yes, again) and informed the CM's that they boys would be eating dinner there as DH and I would be attending dinner at Remy. This meant that we were missing the Captain's formal dinner, but we didn't mind. We met with with sommelier, Florian, to discuss our wine preferences. He also showed us our menu options and did a brief translation of the French menu, letting us know that our server would cover that in depth. We left feeling confident that our food and wine experience would be all that we expected.

    We relaxed in Meridian before dinner. When they called us for our reservation we were given a short little tour of the dining room by the Maitre Di, where he pointd out all of the very subtle but very Disney touches. Remi was everywhere! We were seated at a lovely little two top table next to the window. During the summer there would have been a beautiful view, but at 6pm in December it's quite dark. We started with a palette cleansing cocktail made of Tattinger, pear vodka, crushed strawberry and diced candied apricot. The apricot provided "pixie dust" in the glass as our waitress described it. It was lovely! I enjoyed mine much more than DH enjoyed his. We ordered our meals. Both of us chose a pre fixe menu, I chose the French menu while DH chose the American. Both were phenomenal and perfectly paired with wine. All of my pairings were with European wines, and I was quite satisfied with that. DH, on the other hand, had a mix of American and French wines. While the food was fabulous, my favorite course was the cheese course. The brought around the most amazing cheese cart, most of the cheeses were completely new to me. I tried several and loved them all, skipping the more pungent cheeses, as they are not my style. DH did the opposite, his philosophy is the stinkier the better. After dessert and coffee were served they brought out this ridiculous candy tray full of amazingly delicious little things. My favorite was this little lemony candy. The texture of the lemon (creme) was somewhere between creme brle and cheesecake. After our experience was over we were sent home with a box of truffles and two anise lollipops.

    I was too happy to go back and get into my PJ's and enjoy a book. While DH was getting the kids from the kids club I ordered cookies and milk for them from room service. We all went to bed happy that night.

    If you can dream it, you can do it. ~Walt Disney

  9. #8
    Proud Disney Family dlfansx4's Avatar
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    Woo Hoo - more updates!!!! I can't wait to hear the rest

    "All your dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them."
    -Walt Disney
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  10. #9
    Registered User fairestoneofall's Avatar
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    Monday - Day At Sea

    Today we woke up in the middle of the great big blue once again. Another sea day meant another day to explore the ship.

    We headed down for our breakfast at Enchanted Garden when they opened. As we were walking into the restaurant we noticed that our regular evening server was working here this morning. We didn't get seated in her section but we were OK with that. When our server did walk up and introduce herself to us I just about leapt out of my seat! I looked at her and said, "Oh my gosh! Line, I was supposed to come find you at the Port Adventures desk and you were not there!" She proceeded to look at me like I had four heads. Then I explained to her that she had been dlfansx4's server on two other cruises and she had asked me to look for her to tell her hello. Well, I found her! Line remembered dlfansx4 and family and was so surprised by the greeting. She hit it off with my boys right away and we were happy to learn that she was a server on our rotation so we would be able to see her every evening. Breakfast was good, but finding Line was better!

    After breakfast we headed to Animator's Palate to participate in the Gingerbread House workshop that we signed up for upon embarkation. We had a great time and decorated a lovely little house that we brought back to our stateroom and nibbled on.

    Surprising as it may seem, the boys wanted to go on the Aqua Duck again. You're shocked, right? So we spent some more time at the pool and had some lunch. After lunch DH and I had an Old World wine seminar followed by a mixology class. Uh, big mistake to have those back to back. So, the boys went to the kids club ane we headed to Oh La La for a wine class. We tasted some lovely wines from Italy, France and Spain, but none that changed my life. We learned a few things from the sommelier, Sheridan and we enjoyed being seated with some really nice people.

    Next we headed over to Skyline for the mixology class. Little did we know that we would return to Skyline night after night, meet some great people and have lots of fun with fabulous bartender! The mixology class was great. It was taught by Novak, a brilliant bartender from Serbia. He passed around the bottles and allowed us to make our own drinks. SO FUN! We made a Bahama Mama, tequila sunrise, berryoska, a champagne cocktail and a shot called Final Fantasy that Novak made up. We sat with some REALLY hysterically fun people and we really enjoyed ourselves.

    After the class I went back to change for dinner and DH got the kids from the club. They had a little nap before dinner, and that made all four of us happier. Dinner was at Royal Court. When I sat down I was served a glass of Iron Horse sparkling wine. I don't know if DH ordered it for me or our beverage server brought it based on my preferences the first night. I like Iron Horse, so it was welcome. For dinner I had the lamb and it was good. Not the best lamb I've ever had (that would be Napa Rose) but certainly good.

    After dinner the boys told us they wanted to go back to the kids club, but we "made" them have some family time first. As we were walking back to our room we ran into Cinderella, who was walking the halls. We hung out a bit and explored the ship as a family but the boys had had enough, they wanted to go back to the club. So, we let them and then we went back to Skyline. Did I mention I had an adult beverage scavenger hunt I was trying to fulfill? So, we were entertained by Novak and before we knew it, the couple that we had met on the first night walked into Skyline. They sat down and joined us for a cocktail and some conversation. I'll spare you the long ugly story of the crying lady that we later ended up "ditching" when she went outside to smoke. I'll just leave it at we moved to Oh La La to spend the remainder of the evening.

    We turned in early this night because we knew we had adventure waiting for us bright and early in St. Thomas the next morning.

    If you can dream it, you can do it. ~Walt Disney

  11. #10
    CL--DLR Trip Planning and DVC Toocherie's Avatar
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    Oh it sounds like you had so much fun! On the eggs benedict--for Christmas dinner I made creamed spinach stuffed tomatoes and of course made way too many. So a couple of days later I heated a couple up, plopped an egg on them and ate them like eggs benedict and they were delish! I didn't make hollandaise because the creamed spinach already was saucy. But it was really really good!

    "Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

  12. #11
    Registered User fairestoneofall's Avatar
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    fairestoneofall - December 15-22, 2012 - Disney Fantasy

    Yummy.

    If you can dream it, you can do it. ~Walt Disney

  13. #12

    I am loving the updates!

    Donna ~ Next trip - Disney World in November 2014.

  14. #13
    Tortoise Thief bennette's Avatar
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    I expect to hear the crying lady story at some point. It will be nice to know I am not the only person this has happened to.

    "The white coating is filmy and there’s another creamy layer in there that’s kind of like cream cheese or perhaps unscented foot balm." Cybele May; Candyblog.net

    The most expensive thing I ever had was a free kitten.

  15. #14

    Loving the updates. Can't wait to hear about St. Thomas, but I will be patient as I know you have been busy helping dff4.

    Siggy aka Jill

  16. #15
    Proud Disney Family dlfansx4's Avatar
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    I was so excited to hear that you ran into Line. She is the best!!! I'm looking forward to the next update.

    "All your dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them."
    -Walt Disney
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  17. #16

    That candy tray sounds awesome! LOL. This makes me want to book a cruise. My husband would love being able to drop off our daughter in the kids club for dinner! I could see her spending all her time there or in the pool!

    Donna ~ Next trip - Disney World in November 2014.

  18. #17

    Although we talked about the cruise in WDW, Im really enjoying the report to refresh my memory.
    Two years before we "cruise", but oh how sweet it will be!! Cant wait!


  19. #18

    I can't wait to hear about the FE exchange.. LOL. I think it would be so much fun to get gifts on your door! Did you take any pics of them hanging there?

    Donna ~ Next trip - Disney World in November 2014.

  20. #19
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    We want more!

    Our First WDW trip is coming up... March 2016!
    Staying 10 nights at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, and 4 nights at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort!
    Me, DH, DS11, DS8, & DS5

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