Trip log, day two. At sea.
7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Disney Fantasy – Itinerary A from Port Canaveral, FL
March 9, 2014
As I mentioned last night, dawn comes early on a boat. Sure enough, just like Anna, as soon as the sky was awake, so was our daughter. However, even with the loss of an hour due to daylight savings, it did not matter, as I slept like a baby and was well rested for our first sea day.
The ladies wrote their breakfast order down for me to bring it back to the room, and I headed up to an almost empty Cabanas for an early breakfast. By the time I returned, Emily was almost finished with her Insanity workout on the verandah and Isabelle was ready to eat.
After browsing our Personal Navigator (Day 2), we had some time to spend before our first activity, so we decided do a little morning shopping. I could not pass up the new oxford shirt with the Mickeys in the collar and cuffs, which is a variant on the version sold in the parks with an embroidered DCL logo rather than Mickey Mouse.
Our first event of the day was the Castaway Club reception, which was held in The Tube (which is part of Europa, the adult entertainment district). We had the opportunity to have our photo taken with the only titanium Castaway Club member; the one and only – Captain Mickey.
Our next stop was just around the corner in O’Gills to play some board games before heading over to La Piazza for Disney tune trivia and family craft time where Isabelle made a door hanger. Isabelle was having so much fun with the craft, that she passed on getting in line to meet Princess Anna from Frozen.
The morning flew by, and just after the noon announcements, all seven of the ship’s horns were played. We decided to head up to Cabanas for some lunch with a view!
After lunch, Isabelle spent some time in the Oceaneer Club, while we took a casual stroll around the ship and hung out in the Cove Cafe. We picked up Isabelle from the club and headed over to matinee of Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular in the Walt Disney Theatre. The 3:00 PM matinee shows are an excellent alternative if you are not spending your afternoon on the upper decks. The matinee shows are also great for nights when you have reservations at Remy or Palo and you still want to see the shows together as a family. If we are going to attend the shows, we always choose the matinee if available.
After Aladdin, we headed back to our stateroom to get ready for formal night. A little after 5 PM we made our way to the atrium for the Captain’s reception, where you can enjoy a complimentary adult beverage and mingle with the officers. That’s right… a free drink! On formal night, there are also set ups to get family photos taken with the Captain, or with the bronze Mademoiselle Minnie statue, or with the atrium staircase as the backdrop. We chose to go up and visit Flapper (Mademoiselle) Minnie Mouse.
We arrived in Animator’s Palate and had an enjoyable evening. The Talk with Crush show appears to have been reworked. There was less guest interaction with Crush during dinner. Instead, it is near dessert time we all stood up and joined in with the interactive show which was totally awesome!
Isabelle wanted to go back to the Oceaneer Club after dinner, and since we saw the matinee show, we checked her in and headed to Europa, where we settled in Ooh La La. I ordered the Tropicale, which is a Champagne cocktail with mango puree and maraschino liqueur. It was delicious! It smelled and tasted like cotton candy somehow, but wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet.
After we finished our drink, we picked up Isabelle and headed back to stateroom for the night. Some people are starting to wonder if we are going to more human-type places. (If you didn’t get the last line, go watch Captain Ron there will be more quotes to follow)
Click here to jump to Day 3 – At Sea
Great looking family Scott/Emily (all except for those mice that keep jumping in between you). Thanks for taking the time to let us join in your vacation. Looking forward to the rest of our your trip. We’re down to 60 days now for the western cruise and can’t wait (wishing my life away for Disney again, I’ve gotta stop that).
Thanks Bill. Glad to hear you are enjoying the daily updates. 2 months is just around the corner and will be there before you know it.
Silly question – how did your lovely wife do the workout on the balcony? Ipad? I’d love to figure out how to get some Zumba time in on our next cruise without having a dvd player.
And thanks for the live updates! So many of us are enjoying vacation this week through you!
Yes, we ripped the DVDs and loaded them on an iPad.
Beautiful family Scott!
Mary Ann, thank you!
Great updates Scott. Minus the fact I am jealous, its the next best thing to going. Keep up the updates and pictures. Fantasy, I will see you again soon enough….
I am curious to know if at St. Maarten, there are signs of the mosquito abatement. Is Disney saying anything about the CDC or State Dept. warning about Chikungunya fever?
I was there in mid-February on the Fantasy, DCL said nothing about mosquitoes. None of our party experienced any pest problem there, though the tour operator did pass around repellent on the bus ride.
There is a brief blurb on the back of the Personal Navigator with the heading Sunscreen/Insect Repellent Advisory. However, nothing was specifically said to us, at least not that we heard.
What room are you in? I may have missed that in one of your earlier posts.
A 5E aft verandah.
This is the category I just made reservations for in October on Fantasy but it was a GTY rate so I’m not sure if it’s what we will get. Which room number if you don’t mind me asking?
Thanks for the updates, hope you’re having a great time!
Any tidbits or hints from the Gold/Platinum reception this morning? Excited to book something Scandinavian!
Nope, our cruise director Ray was the only person to address the entire group and it was just to introduce the arrival of Captain Mickey and to start the video. The only interesting tidbit was that there were ~2000 Castaway Club members sailing on this cruise.
I’ve never seen the matinee’s listed for the main shows. Is this something that is done on every cruise? Thanks!
On the Disney Fantasy, yes on sea days.
Hi Scott, Is that the same performance that they do in the evenings (i.e. 3 performances a day)? That might solve our problem of late dining since we’re still wait listed. If that’s the case we may not need to change.
Yes, it is the same performance.
We were on the Dream in January…loved it, but am really looking forward to the Transatlantic in September. We have done the Transatlantic twice before and Panama Canal several times, and the special European itineraries and love the longer cruises. I have two dummy cruises booked for next year, and depending on the prices of the new special itineraries, we may do one new itinerary, or possibly the Panama Canal and a shorter cruise again! Enjoy your magical cruise!
Enjoy your trip! We saw the updated rotational-night menus from Fall 2013 on your blog. Please let us know if the remainder of the main dining room menus have had any changes! Thanks!
The menus were the same from the fall. The special menus remain unchanged.
Enjoying your daily TR!
Really loving this trip report!! We sailed on the dream last march and really want to try the fantasy!!
If you enjoyed the Disney Dream, you will love the Disney Fantasy.
Scott, Thanks so much for the trip report. Our first Disney Fantasy cruise starts this Friday on your same itinerary. Family is excited. Curious on the morning temperature at your port stops in St. Marteen and St. Thomas. Was it too cold for snorkeling in the am.
The water in St Thomas/John was not bad. However the temps can change either way over the next week.
What are your daughters favorite Oceaneer Club/kid activities? My daughter is 7 and we are going on our first Disney Fantasy cruise in May 2014. We know not to miss Pluto’s PJ party. What are the other activities for kids not to miss?
Our daughter enjoys the various crafts and designing her own Disney Fairy in Pixie Hollow. This past sailing she really enjoyed the virtual ship simulators where she could helm the Disney Ships at various ports. She also had a blast with group activities that utilized the magic play floor.