The 75% All New Trip! - All done! Bonus Material finished, Link to new TR!

[IowaTater]

I love those chairs at Animator's Palate. Absolutely adorable.

Now if you poured over this as carefully as I did, you would have noticed a Tequila tasting at 4PM the next day! I went right down to Guest Services and signed us up for that!

Haha! I did notice that!

Congrats on your May trip coming together!! I'm still in a holding pattern for our October trip and it's driving me NUTS!!

 

[jedijill]

I agree that they really improved on the design with the Fantasy. Some of the decisions they made on the Dream were just odd.

Your plans for your May trip are really coming together!

Jill in CO

 

[RedHatDisney]

Finally finished other trip report, now here for this one. You wear me out! lol

 

[Pinkocto]

Great update, I love seeing the ship. I know I keep saying it but the pictures are really getting me excited And all the holiday decorations are so pretty.

I'm really confused at the CM saying there was no Mickey jewelry??? They have a special case specifically for the Mickey jewelry... I couldn't care less about all the non-Disney stuff they have in the shops, and it does confuse me why there's so much of it.

Dinner looks great and I'm glad you had some nice tablemates. I'm a bit nervous about who we'll be paired up with this upcoming trip. Some have been fabulous and others just not. Do I spy a delicious sundae

Very exciting about your May trip plans Love it when a trip comes together! Congrats on getting the Poly studio so late in the game, that's awesome. And bonus to save on the airfare.

 

[franandaj]

Looks like you had a successful first night! We like the way the Fantasy is set up better than the Dream - it seems they learned some lessons after they completed the Dream for the Fantasy. Its always interesting getting to know a new ship.

That's good to know. Just a little over a year until we cruise on the Fantasy. The Wonder is our next Disney ship.

I think this is one of the first times I've looked at one of your trip reports & Fran had no luck shopping! Sorry that the Art Gallery & the shops had nothing that stood out for you!

I said that I had no luck at the shops. Fran came back with plenty of stuff. Yesterday she was even wearing a "Star Wars at sea" hoodie that she picked up on the ship. But yeah, she only came up empty at the Gallery.

We always end up skipping Animator's Palette for the first night as my husband isn't a fan of being put on the spot. Glad you enjoyed your drink at Skyline! That bar is awesome

I may be more inclined to skip restaurants once I have been to all of them. Especially on the Dream and Fantasy with both Remy and Palo available. I do like those truffle pursettes though!

Palm Steakhouse is awesome! You would love it.

I've been to a Tequila dinner at the one in Downtown LA, and we had lunch at the one in Vegas, but I've never actually ordered a steak there. Looking forward to that.

Overall - good plans for your redo trip! Seems like you will get a decent amount done but still have a chance to

I hope so. As you will see, we don't chill a lot. Spoiler.

Your plans sound great! Awesome score on the Poly Studio so close to the time.

Thanks! It should be a lot of fun!

Artist Point will be nice for your B-day dinner, we really enjoyed it there when we went on our last trip in 2014. (I love the Seared Diver Scallops!)

I remember reading about it in your TR. I'm looking forward to trying it.

Just catching up! I love that if you stay at MCO hotel you can get the bell hop to send your bags to to cruise. We have often considered this so now this has won me over. We have similar bags to yours Jo says they are a godsend.

I think it would be a great idea for you two. Makes things very simple!

Nice dinner at mac Grill! Your room at hotel looks good. You got to the port at a good time too. Nice photo of you both on embarkation.

I think it all worked out well!

Your stateroom is lovely. Lunch looks nice we like the Enchanted Garden. Dinner at Animators Palette too. I am not a fan of this place. Try to avoid it. Book Palo's or do double dip the other restaurants. Too stimulating for somebody who needs a quiet dinner space. Food is good though. .

I think of the three restaurants this one is now my least favorite too. I would be more inclined to skip this one, especially if they turn pirate night into a Star Wars day at sea on all the ships.

I like cabanas we go early to avoid the crowds! The off

I found it to be crowded all the time!

Exciting about your April/May trip!

I love having three or four trips in the works. Keeps me sane.

 

[pkondz]

Just before my last cruise they put extension cords on the prohibited list. Something about surge protectors and grounding and the lack of grounding in the ship. If they find them in your luggage they confiscate them until after the voyage.

I believe you mentioned that before, but I didn't realize that they'd then have cords to give out.

I certainly don't want a ride on your train of thought.

I like that! Gotta try and remember it.

Maybe he was getting something from underneath the bar. If the bottles and stuff were out it was open. Those little bars folded up all compact when they were closed, I noticed that one morning when we were on our way to breakfast.

Ah. Or maybe he just stepped out of camera range for a second.

I wanted to go there but was never hungry enough when it was open.

A tragedy of epic proportions.

on the Dream they had two full rooms dedicated to separating you from your $$$.

Of course they did. Sheesh.

In fact we even found several pictures there that we already own!

Did you happen to notice the prices? Were they similar to what you'd paid? Higher? Lower?

I had my own little sail away party on the Verandah.

I like that.
While if I ever did a cruise I think I'd like to do a party, I do like the relaxation of doing this instead.

Yep. Definitely armed.

Wow. I wonder just what he's expecting to see on a cruise ship?

There’s the Kennedy Space Center off in the distance.

Biiiiiiiig building.

Then I decorated our door and already found two FE gifts out there!

That was fast!

I realized on the last day of the cruise why I didn’t really like the shops on this ship. On the Wonder the stores are whimsical and very “Disney store” like. These shops look more like Macy’s .

I totally get that.

They also sold a lot more than Disney merchandise. I couldn’t actually tell you what they were selling, because I don’t know designer names.

I can teach you designer names.
Look at the stuff. If it's way more expensive than it has any right to be, it's designer.

The “Windows” you’re looking out rotate between these locations.

I'd heard about that somewhere. I really like that.

I don’t want to give away too much, but let’s just say that throughout dinner, the screens became animated and were able to talk to you.

Cool!

A Tomato Tart to start with

No caprese salad?

Pretty room.

Now if you poured over this as carefully as I did, you would have noticed a Tequila tasting at 4PM the next day! I went right down to Guest Services and signed us up for that!

This surprises... no one.

 

[franandaj]

I love those chairs at Animator's Palate. Absolutely adorable.

Haha! I did notice that!

Congrats on your May trip coming together!! I'm still in a holding pattern for our October trip and it's driving me NUTS!!

Thanks! When will your October trip be if everything comes together?

I agree that they really improved on the design with the Fantasy. Some of the decisions they made on the Dream were just odd.

Your plans for your May trip are really coming together!

Jill in CO

That's good to know about the Fantasy, I'm looking forward to checking out that ship, and a longer itinerary!

Finally finished other trip report, now here for this one. You wear me out! lol

Well, we don't do a lot else besides these trips, so I get plenty of time to rest!

Great update, I love seeing the ship. I know I keep saying it but the pictures are really getting me excited And all the holiday decorations are so pretty.

You should be excited! Is yours a Star Wars Cruise?

I'm really confused at the CM saying there was no Mickey jewelry??? They have a special case specifically for the Mickey jewelry... I couldn't care less about all the non-Disney stuff they have in the shops, and it does confuse me why there's so much of it.

Well, she did point to a case, and maybe they had one necklace. I either already had it or it was cheesy looking. I suppose that's good, with my taste in jewelry, I can get into trouble.

Dinner looks great and I'm glad you had some nice tablemates. I'm a bit nervous about who we'll be paired up with this upcoming trip. Some have been fabulous and others just not. Do I spy a delicious sundae

They were great tablemates! Probably the best that we've had on cruises. We had a lot to talk about even if we didn't have all that much in common.

Very exciting about your May trip plans Love it when a trip comes together! Congrats on getting the Poly studio so late in the game, that's awesome. And bonus to save on the airfare.

I'm so happy about the May trip plans, one thing left to do is get Jim over here so we can call Disney IT and somehow get Alberto hooked up as my friend so I can make our FP+ reservations, we probably need to make sure he has a ticket too! I guess there is still a lot to do!

 

[franandaj]

I believe you mentioned that before, but I didn't realize that they'd then have cords to give out.

Well they have to do something. Folks with a medical necessity requiring power need a solution. I was surprised at what a heavy duty cord they gave me. On the other ship I was given a totally flimsy cord.

Ah. Or maybe he just stepped out of camera range for a second.

That too.

Did you happen to notice the prices? Were they similar to what you'd paid? Higher? Lower?

Most of the pictures ran from around $195-$995 depending on the artist and how many were in the run. However Fran doesn't even pay attention to price tags when it comes to stuff like that, she says if you have to look, you can't afford it.

I like that.
While if I ever did a cruise I think I'd like to do a party, I do like the relaxation of doing this instead.

I don't like being stuck in the middle of large crowds with loud dance music playing, so I like privacy of my verandah.

Wow. I wonder just what he's expecting to see on a cruise ship?

I'm just wondering what the possibility of him needing that gun is?

I'd heard about that somewhere. I really like that.

It was cool, and the scenes moved slightly, like you were in one of those rotating restaurants.

No caprese salad?

You won't be seeing one of those for probably a week now.

This surprises... no one.

 

[IowaTater]

Thanks! When will your October trip be if everything comes together?

We are booked for October 19-26th. I'm just getting antsy because I can't really plan meals or FP+ or daily plans yet. Plus we're waiting to decide if we are going to get MNSSHP until we hear if WDW is going to lift the costume ban. I like to plan things

 

[franandaj]

We are booked for October 19-26th. I'm just getting antsy because I can't really plan meals or FP+ or daily plans yet. Plus we're waiting to decide if we are going to get MNSSHP until we hear if WDW is going to lift the costume ban. I like to plan things

Where are you staying? We're at BCV the 18th-28th. I am planning on a proper F&W trip with lots of kiosks, several special lunches, maybe a dinner or PFTS. We should plan a meet up to say "Hi". I think you were there the time I went with PIO and you were following her PTR and maybe did a meet up. I like to plan too but I have at least three trips in some form of planning before that one! I did create the worksheet for that trip today in my excel spreadsheet!

 

[dolphingirl47]

These shops look more like Macy’s . They also sold a lot more than Disney merchandise. I couldn’t actually tell you what they were selling, because I don’t know designer names. There were watches, jewelry, handbags and beach clothing.

That is a real shame. This was the one aspect I did not like on Royal Caribbean. Somehow I cannot see myself buying designer stuff on a ship

Not that they didn’t have plenty of Disney merchandise, but when I asked about “jewelry with Mickey on it”, they had none.

How strange.

On the Wonder the gallery is a Hallway on Deck 4, on the Dream they had two full rooms dedicated to separating you from your $$$.

I would have loved having a good look around.

When you get out of the elevator on Deck 3 you’re actually practically in the middle of Animator’s Palate.

That seems a strange way of organizing things.

OMG! We got a standard view studio for the one night!

Wow, that was a bit of luck.

Yay! I love it when a plan comes together!

I am glad that things are coming together.

Corinna

 

[pkondz]

Well they have to do something. Folks with a medical necessity requiring power need a solution.

Good point.

However Fran doesn't even pay attention to price tags when it comes to stuff like that, she says if you have to look, you can't afford it.

I have to look.

I don't like being stuck in the middle of large crowds with loud dance music playing, so I like privacy of my verandah.

I hear that. Although I'd like to see the ship, of course.
But going to my own sanctuary is a must.

It was cool, and the scenes moved slightly, like you were in one of those rotating restaurants.

Cool!

You won't be seeing one of those for probably a week now.

How will I go on???

 

[ljcrochet]

OMG! We got a standard view studio for the one night! There were no lake view, nothing at the VGF, or BLT, but there was a Standard View Poly Studio at 4 mont

One of the best things about poly studio is 2 night stands.

 

[franandaj]

That is a real shame. This was the one aspect I did not like on Royal Caribbean. Somehow I cannot see myself buying designer stuff on a ship

Yeah, exactly. I know on the Wonder they did have some non Disney watches and jewelry, but not much and I wasn't interested in any of it.

That seems a strange way of organizing things.

I'm wondering if that is one of the changes that I will see on the Fantasy.

Wow, that was a bit of luck.

Yes it was! I was astonished to say the least!

I am glad that things are coming together.

Me too, and we have several trips where things need to come together so I'm glad they are going in sync!

 

[franandaj]

Day 3

I guess I slept through the night as I have no notes about what I watched in the middle of the night. Oh yeah, now I remember! Fran had put MSNBC on the TV and it kept droning on about Donald Trump slinging mud about Hilary Clinton. I’m not going to get into any politics here, but I think no one wants to hear about that BS ever, much less on vacation. It was 6:15 and so I started the movie Enchanted.

Now the thing that is very different about the Dream from the Wonder is that there are not movies constantly playing. However, you have a huge library of “On Demand” movies to watch. Thinking back, I prefer the “loop” of movies because you only have to choose from half a dozen choices. On this ship, there was almost every Disney movie made and it was really difficult to select when I had that many choices.

While the movie played, I wrote in my phone to document what we did the day before so I would remember when it came to this TR. This worked out really well! At first I just had cliff notes, one word buzz words to help me remember the sequence of events, but as the trip went on, I found myself writing almost full paragraphs so that the end of the TR will be a lot easier for me since it’s already half written!

Back to the in room movies, the thing that I DID like better about the movies on the Dream, was that I could pause the movie when I went out on the verandah to attempt sunrise pictures. The Navigator said that sunrise was going to be at 6:40, so I was out there in plenty of time. However, the weather did not want to cooperate. The sun was out there somewhere.



And so was this.



I kept looking for the sun on the horizon, but I also had no idea which way was East.



And then we sailed right into the storm, well for a Southern Californian it was a storm. It was wet.



So I gave up on the Sunrise and went back to watching Enchanted. I started working on the “wake up Fran” project. And around 7:40 we turned off the movie and started getting ready to go out for breakfast. We arrived around 8:15 at the Royal Palace and were only the second or third party to be seated in the restaurant.









I thought this little bread basket was so cute!



The menu was identical to Triton’s on the Wonder, which was nice because then I didn’t have to think about what I wanted!





They came by with a tray of pastries and I went with a Blueberry Muffin.



Fran went with a cherry Danish.



We both ordered the Eggs Benedict which was served to us very quickly. I guess when you’re among the only customers, service is fast.



By the time we left, the place was fairly crowded. I don’t remember if I went back to the room with her before heading up to the spa for my treatment. But this picture that I posted on FB tells me that I did come back to the room because @ACDSNY was on the Wonder that was docked next to us and I posted this picture at 9:07AM.



Then I went up to the spa for my treatment.



I got a really cool treatment. They rubbed me with these herbal “mushroom things”. And then massaged me, the “mushroom things” were supposed to release all sorts of toxins.



The gal let me take them with me since my final destination was in the US, but she told me to make sure that I let them air out really good and I could reuse them, but if they didn’t dry properly they would grow mold. They really smelled and I let them air out for the whole rest of the cruise and then I put them in a ziploc bag. Evidently that wasn’t good enough because I had to throw them away a couple days ago since I noticed mold growing on them.

When I came out it was definitely raining. When I went back to the room Fran was resting in bed. I wasn’t hungry for lunch yet and decided to finish up Enchanted. After that I started the cartoon version of Robin Hood. Eventually I got in the shower.

Next chapter coming soon....

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I love those movies on demand but you are so right sometimes too much choice leaves me channel hopping and indecisive! On vacation a loop make my choice for me!

Shame about the weather today good job there is so much entertainment on DCL! Looks like a njce breakfast I love this restaurant but it takes all my will power and resolve not to put that cute ole bread basket in my wheelchair bag! I just adore it. I wish they sold them! We got a really nice Cinderella coach wine stop from WDW at Christmas.

Ohhh a spa treatment I have not seen this mushroom deal! Sounds interesting. Nice of the person to gift you those mushrooms shame you had to throw them away. We had our nails done last year with that shellac coating. Loved the experience and they looked great but never again! Ruined our nails! Just nail polish next time!

Looking forward to reading more about this day. Good idea to write it up each day.

 

[IowaTater]

Where are you staying? We're at BCV the 18th-28th. I am planning on a proper F&W trip with lots of kiosks, several special lunches, maybe a dinner or PFTS. We should plan a meet up to say "Hi". I think you were there the time I went with PIO and you were following her PTR and maybe did a meet up. I like to plan too but I have at least three trips in some form of planning before that one! I did create the worksheet for that trip today in my excel spreadsheet!

As of right now, we are staying at All Star Movies. We were there at the same time as you an PIO but we never got a chance to meet up, even though we found that we were in several of the same places at the same time. I'd love to catch up with you guys. We love F&W. In fact, we haven't booked any TS on that day because I'm planning on mainly doing the kiosks. Other than that, we don't have anything special planned except for maybe MNSSHP. I'd love to do the afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian but that kind of stuff isn't exactly my husband's cup of tea.

Enchanted is one my favorite Disney movies. What a bummer about that storm moving in Hopefully it didn't ruin your day. Wait, was this day the day of the tequila tasting?

 

[jedijill]

Too bad the sunrise was muted due to the storm but breakfast and the spa sound lovely!

Jill in CO

 

[skier_pete]

Hi there! I've been reading along but I haven't chimed in because I haven't had much to say - Now I do - but not really about the cruise TR.

First off - looks like a nice long trip in April/May. I've already commented on wanting to see your Bungalow pix. When we were there we didn't realize they give DVC members tours of the Bungalows. I know I'll never stay in one so I really wish we had taken the time to see one. Good that you got a spare night at the Poly. Moving within a resort is a lot easier than moving between resorts. It will also give you a chance to check out the Poly studios to see if they are somewhere you'd ever want to stay. I know you usually go with 1-bedrooms, but the Poly rooms are bigger than typical studios. We moved there from the BCV studios, and there was a HUGE difference.

Second - I noticed that you mentioned to @IowaTater that you will be in WDW October 18th - 28th. Looks like we will be overlapping trips! Currently planning a big ABD-BSM reunion trip for October 15th - 23rd. We'll be staying at "home" at the AKV. We've got a lot of DISmeeting going on on that trip - we'll be likely arranging our schedule around that group - but maybe we'd have time to share a glass at food and wine one day with you and Fran!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

That spa treatments sounds really cool! Too bad that your detox mushrooms molded

Glad you enjoyed Enchanted and started the day with a nice breakfast!