Adventure is Out There --A Pixar Day at Sea Adventure

[PurplePencil]

Hi there and welcome to another edition of PurplePencil says they'll do a trip report, let's see if that actually happens!
I know a lot of questions are floating around about Pixar Day at Sea, and since the January 7th Fantasy Sailing is the "guinea pig" cruise, I figured a trip report could help those planning and provide some insight into what to expect. I'll try to note any spoilers so I don't ruin the magic, but I don't expect anything out of the ordinary.
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The Cast:

Me (PurplePencil)
College Student
Favorite Pixar Character: Roz or Boo


Mom
Favorite Pixar Character: Mike Wazowski


Dad
Favorite Pixar Character: Lightning McQueen


Bro
Grad Student
Favorite Pixar Character: Lightning McQueen

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[PurplePencil]

Contents
The Plan: 7-Night Eastern Caribbean with Pixar Day at Sea

Day 0
Day 1 (Embarkation)
Day 2-Part 1 (Sea Day 1)
Day 2-Part 2
Day 3-Part 1 (PDAS)
Day 3-Part 2 (PDAS)
Day 4- Tortola, BVI
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[PurplePencil]

Day 0

Bro dropped the cat off at a friend’s house the night prior so that we wouldn’t run into any issues in the morning. Our flight was scheduled for 1pm, so Mom and Dad got some work done before we all headed to brunch at 10. After brunch, we loaded up the car and headed to the airport, which was eerily quiet pre-security. We were the only people in line at TSA, which went super quick and smoothly. We had 45 minutes before boarding our flight to Orlando. We landed at 2:50 and were on the fake-o-rail at 3:05, picking up our checked luggage shortly after getting to baggage claim.

Since we were spending the night near the port, we rented a car, providing flexibility in our dinner plans. Last time Mom and Dad were on property, Jiko had not reopened, so when we saw that Jiko had availability we immediately knew that was our dinner plan. We had an easy drive onto property, with enough time to spare that we moved our 6:30 reservation to 5:05. After dinner, we headed to Port Canaveral, checked into the Country Inn and Suites, and Bro returned our rental car.

 

[Jax1023]

Have fun! I’ll be following along, we’ll be on this itinerary in March! First Disney cruise, very excited.

 

[wizardtho]

I hope the title is from the AJR song. If so, you should definitely keep the title. My family and I love them.

 

[PurplePencil]

Day 1

Prior to heading down to Florida, we called the Country Inn and Suites to schedule their cruise shuttle, which is $7 per person. Our shuttle was scheduled for 11:30, and we left the hotel at 11:31. Arriving at the port was effortless, as a porter grabbed our tagged luggage from the bus luggage trailer, and we had all our documents available. After showing our passports, we got in the 12:15 PAT line, and were immediately welcomed inside. We informed the line greeter that we are Platinum, and we were done with check-in within 15 minutes of arriving at the port. After going through security and check-in, we took seats in the terminal, and after connecting to DCL WiFi, I was able to book Incredibles Encounter and Hey Howdy Breakfast, both of which were full prior to the cruise.

Due to a Coast Guard Inspection, boarding didn’t start until closer to 1, and our staterooms were not ready until 2:30. After boarding (boarding group 13), we headed to Animators Palette for sit-down lunch. We were originally quoted a 30 minute wait for a table, but after getting in line to put our room on the wait-list, we were seated.

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Lunch finished right around the time that staterooms opened up, so after we finished lunch we headed up to find our home for the next 7 days: 9618. While we were unpacking, we met our room host Gilbert and explained the arrangement of beds we wanted. Since Bro is too tall for the top bunk, we made sure to book a Cat 4 that included the top bunk, sofa and murphy bed. I took the top bunk, while Bro took the Murphy Bed, allowing us to keep the sofa as a seating area even when the beds were down. After orienting ourselves with the ship (all of our first time on the Fantasy) and playing some Disney trivia, we headed to our assembly station for the Safety Drill. Some people had trouble understanding the concept of 1 line per stateroom party, with people trying to put their entire traveling party together in blobs, but the assembly drill was pretty quick.

After the safety drill, mom, dad and I stuck around on Deck 4 to watch the preparations for sail away. There seemed to be a load of luggage running late, so we watched the luggage for a while before Dad decided that he needed a nap, while I went into the hot tub and Mom read a book near me. We began sailing around 5:15 while i was in the hot tub, so mom and I headed up to Satellite Falls to watch the rest of sail away. At 7:30 I went to Cove Cafe for the 1820 Society Welcome Event. There was a large number of young adults on the sailing, mostly college students still on break. For 1820 events held in Cove and other locations with up charge items, Disney pays. Since there were so many of us, coffee drinks took a while, and so I met my family at dinner instead of the stateroom. After dinner, we were all tired, so we headed back to the stateroom to chill.

 

[PurplePencil]

Day 2- Sea Day 1 (Formal Night, Aladdin)
Part 1
Today was a pretty chill day all around. Mom and I woke around 8:15/8:30 with the intentions of going on the Art of the Theme Tour at 9:15. Unfortunately, my bed got the best of me, and we decided to try later in the cruise, and instead headed to Cabanas for a leisurely light breakfast at 9:05. During breakfast we could really feel the motion of the ship, so mom and I walked around the lower decks where motion wasn’t too bad.

The entire family met up in the room at 11:45 for our excitement of the day: Palo Brunch. Since we’re platinum, Brunch was free, but mom spent our visit trying to determine if Palo Brunch is worth it without the buffet (spoiler alert: she determined it’s still worth it). There were so many options on the menu for us, that we didn’t have to inquire about off-menu items that met our dietary needs. When we sat down, our server inquired if we had anything scheduled that we needed to get to after brunch. We did not so we were able to enjoy brunch at a leasiurly pace.

Very happy enjoying Palo Brunch

Eggplant Rollatini ​

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Joining in! We are on the 1/28 PDAS sailing, so I’m excited to hear about all the Pixar stuff!

 

[PurplePencil]

Day 2
Part 2
After brunch, the fam split off for some nap/rest time (a common theme throughout the cruise). Afterwards, Mom, Bro and Dad headed to a Chocolate and Liquor Tasting while I headed up to Eye Scream for an 1820 Society Ice Cream Social. During the Ice Cream Social, my friends were talking about Midship Detective Agency, so 3 of us decided to embark on the case of the Muppets Stolen Props. We traversed the ship from Deck 12 to Deck 2, and every deck in between. After we solved the case, I was worn out, so I returned to the room for a nap. Upon returning to the room, I found some leftover chocolate from the Chocolate and Liquor Tasting, but no family members as they had gone to one of the lounges to listen to a musician. I took a much needed nap before heading upstairs to the spa to shower and get ready for Formal Night. With 4 people in our stateroom, I found it easier to shower in the spa where there was ample space to get dressed and I wasn't getting in the way of my family members.

Every day there was different towel art in the Adult Pool Area
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We originally were planning on getting some family photos done before dinner, but Bro procrastinated quite a bit in taking his shower and getting dressed, so by the time we made it to the atrium, every photographer had a very long line, with the exception of the Pixar Day at Sea atrium decor. We mingled with the ships officers in the atrium before heading to Animator's Palette for Dinner (Turtle Talk with Crush Night). After Dinner, we returned to the atrium and waited a few minutes for the photographers to return and we got our family photos. Afterwards, Mom, Dad, and I strolled deck 4 for a bit before calling it a night in preparation for an exciting day: The First Ever Pixar Day at Sea!

All dressed up for Formal Night


Atrium Decoration (Earlier in the day)​

 

[tortoni]

Following. We go in 2 weeks so looking forward to hearing more about your adventure

 

[PurplePencil]

Day 3- Sea Day 2, Pixar Day at Sea (Morning)

Today's the day everyone's been waiting for! I woke up relatively early in anticipation for what the day had in store. Mom and I headed up to Cabana's to grab a quick breakfast (Side Note: I saw on social media that the second PDAS had Pixar posters in Cabanas, those were not present on our cruise). Afterwards, Mom waited for Dad to head to Cabanas, while I headed to the atrium hoping to meet Joy and Sadness. The line for Joy and Sadness was long, reaching down the hall towards Animator's, but kept moving, and a Crew Member ensured that everyone in line at the designated time was able to meet them. I brought an Inside Out shirt with me, and Joy was very excited to see her and her friends on it, drawing an air heart. I asked the Character Crew Member if she could take some photos of the interaction and she happily obliged.

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After I finished up with Joy and Sadness, I caught up to Mom and Dad on Deck 4. Approximately every hour, there was a fun little PA announcement from a Pixar character, so we paused our walking to listen to Dory. After walking, the entire family met in Royal Court for lunch. Bro, Dad and I enjoyed Impossible Burgers, while Mom got a pasta dish. Right after lunch, Mom and I headed out to watch Jack Jack's Incredible Diaper Dash, which was adorable as always. At the end, Edna Mode came out to congratulate the winner. I still had much more to look forward to, so I headed up to the room to take a brief nap. Mom woke me just before 2 so we could head to one of the coolest events of the day: Pixar Meet the Storytellers.

Disney brought onboard Bob Peterson, a director, animator and voice actor for Pixar. Bob showed us an episode of the Disney+ series Dug Days, before explaining his journey to working for Pixar and sharing some fun stories. I really related to his background because he studied Mechanical Engineering and is from my home state. For the roles of Roz, Mr. Ray and Dug, he provided the voice acting as a temporary fill-in until a better voice actor could be found. They couldn't find a better voice actor, so his voice stayed in the films. He mentioned that his family had fun in Animator's Palette when Mr. Ray swam by, mentioning to everyone around them that he is the voice. After his talk, I ran up to the front of the theatre to thank him for his talk and mention how inspirational it was to my current academic journey. Mom was waiting at the top of the stairs, and so I talked to the Cast Members next to her. One of the CM helped arrange Bob's travel and thanked me for my enthusiasm as it showed that her job was successful.

I'm going to leave this section as is, as Pixar Day at Sea is nowhere close to done, but this is getting kinda long.

Bonus PDAS photos:

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[PurplePencil]

Day 3- Sea Day 2, Pixar Day at Sea (Afternoon)

After Meet the Storyteller's, Mom and I headed straight up to Remy for another exciting event: The Remy Dessert Experience. Since I'm too young for alcohol tastings, Mom thought that something different (and equivalent in value) would be fun for us. We both have big sweet toothes and I have an interest in culinary science, so this was perfect for the two of us. We arrived at Remy and were seated at a booth next to the kitchen, providing us a perfect view of the chef when he came out to describe each dessert. We were introduced to our server Nuno. The desserts were so spectacular that words won't do them justice, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. There was a total of 6 desserts, but I didn't think to take photos until after the first dessert.

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The dessert experience was quite enjoyable, and each dessert was perfectly portioned, we didn’t feel full until the very end. After the dessert tasting, Mom and I met up with Dad who had just finished watching the second session of Meet the Storyteller's. I headed off to the Incredibles Encounter while Mom and Dad walked around the ship. The wait for Incredible's was a bit long, but it was really fun watching all of the interactions while waiting. This was a meet and greet that I had booked, but later in the cruise there were Incredible's meet and greets that did not require tickets. When it was my turn, Edna commented the outfits on my shirt, and we had a conversation about Jack-Jack and fashion. I hadn't realized it at the time, but the conversation I had with Edna and Helen perfectly tied into the deck show occurring later in the night. Again, I asked the character CM if I could get pictures, and he happily took some, including giving me my phone at the end of the interaction so I could get a selfie. I enjoyed the face characters as it really added to the interaction and we were able to carry on a conversation.

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After my Incredible's Encounter, I headed up to Quiet Cove to swim and soak in the hot tub for a bit, while the rest of the family headed to the Tube for Open Mike Nite (which they gave sub-par reviews). I cleaned up by showering in the spa, before heading to O'Gills for Team Trivia. The family has typically enjoyed trivia onboard the ships, but this cruise the trivia wasn't the greatest, with questionable answers and sub-par host engagement. I think part of the issue was with new medals and prizes, a lot of people were interested in attending trivia so they could get the new prizes.

After trivia, we all headed to Animator's Palette for the first ever Pixar Day at Sea Dinner. We all really enjoyed the Emeryville Salad. The past few nights we had asked about soups being vegetarian, so our serving team proactively began checking every night, which we really appreciated. While the starters were delicious, the entrees left a bit to be desired. I order the Seared Grouper Filet since Dad had a similar dish during Palo brunch that he really enjoyed, but my fish was incredibly dry and the flavor profile was very off. I ended up ordering the Vegetable Tagine, which Bro had ordered and gave raving reviews of. I ended up getting slightly overstimulated, so I left before dessert, but Bro and Mom said dessert took a while to serve.

Later in the cruise, I interacted with DCL's head pastry chef, and he told me that all of the desserts were new for the cruise, so I am assuming that contributed to the delay. After dinner, Bro and Dad headed to a Whiskey tasting, while Mom and I headed up to Deck 12 to watch the Incredible's Deck Show and Fireworks. While the plot was a bit cheesy, it was definitely family friendly, and it was fun to watch the characters "explore" the ship in search of Jack-Jack. The deck was quite busy, but Mom and I were able to find a spot allowing us to enjoy both the deck show and the fireworks.

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[PurplePencil]

Day 4- Tortola, BVI

Today was another day of taking it slow. I woke up in the middle of the night with some pretty bad nausea, so I went up to the pool deck to get some peppermint tea before going back to bed (around 4am). Mom, Dad, and Bro woke up around 8:45, while I stayed in bed until 9:30. I met Mom and Dad for a quick breakfast in Cabanas before we headed into town for a brief walk. There was an artist that Dad was trying to find, but we had no success. I headed back to the ship at 11 to change and grab a bite to eat. I had a Grilled Vegetable Panini from Filmore’s on the Pool Deck. Bro and I headed to D Lounge at 12:45 for our excursion TT08 Forest Hike and Beach.

There were very few excursions of interest, but the Forest Hike and Beach was reasonably priced and seemed enjoyable for both Bro and I. The excursion was nothing to write home about, but fortunately was almost all adults which meant we weren't waiting for slow children. While the hike was relatively short, it was quite muddy and involved some creative traversing along the trail to avoid falling. After the hike and a small beverage (fruit juice or rum punch), we headed to the beach. One upside of our excursion being so late in the day is that the beach was empty except for our excursion. One downside however, is that our beach time was cut short due to the hike taking too long, and needing to get back to the ship before sail away. We ended up with just over 60 minutes, which was enough time for Bro to grab a beer while I read in a lounge chair.


The family has never had good luck with Pirate night menu, so it was decided when booking window opened that we would be spending Tortola night at Remy. Due to the Pixar menu, there was not a Pirate night menu, but our rotational dining menu didn't have many options that we could all eat, so Remy ended up being a phenomenal choice. Since Mom and I had been to Remy for the desert tasting, we had Nuno as our server again (Disney tries to seat you with the same server if you've had a previous interactions). To the pleasure of Dad and Bro, we were seated in the wine room, which gave us our own semi-private area for dinner. I was really impressed by the non-alcoholic options offered to me. We stopped by Remy during embarkation day to discuss our dietary restrictions, which were verified at the beginning of the meal. We were given some choice in the trajectory of the meal, but Mom and Dad suggested that we do whatever the chef recommends. We had a combination of the French and American menu, and we had no complaints about any of our courses.

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Towards the end of dinner, my nausea was coming back, but fortunately we were able to add the leftover desert to the box of chocolate that Remy gives, so I was able to enjoy the desert at a later time. I don't remember much else from the night, but none of us were inclined to watch the Pirate Deck Party.

 

[PurplePencil]

Day 5- San Juan, PR

I still was not feeling well this morning, so I slept in while Mom, Dad and Bro woke up and got ready to explore San Juan. I headed up to Cove Cafe around 10:45 to grab an Almond Milk latte and croissant. I sat at the bar and read for a while until Mom texted me via iMessage with an update. Since PR is considered part of the US, we had cellular service. The rest of the family grabbed lunch in port, so I decided to head to Cabanas to get myself lunch. While in Cabanas I discovered a "Plant-based Daily Special", which I hadn't noticed earlier in the cruise. I ordered the plant-based Mild Chicken Curry, told a CM where I would be sitting and within 10 minutes (the absolutely delicious) food arrived. Right as I was finishing lunch, the family returned to the ship, and Mom and Dad met me in Cabanas and were impressed with my lunch.

Almond Milk Latte


Cabanas Placard for Plant-based Special​

After I finished my lunch, Dad headed to the cabin to take a nap, and Mom and I headed to the gangway so I could explore Puerto Rico. The family visited the fort earlier in the day, so Mom and I just wandered around central Old Town San Juan, walking to the Capitol building, and taking in the sights. After our leisurely stroll we decided to grab a beverage before heading back to the ship. While I'm a strong proponent of supporting local businesses, we didn't see any coffee places so we stopped by a Starbucks in Old Town. We both found drinks we've never seen before, so it ended up being a great choice. I got a Mango Frozen Starbucks Refresher, and Mom got a molten chocolate latte.

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