Our Double Fantasy - back to back July 14-28, 2012 - pictures added

[noahsmom]

In celebration of our 25th wedding anniversary we decided to try back to back 7 night cruises on Fantasy. This was our 8th & 9th cruise, the Fantasy's 15th & 16th sailings.

Cast:
Me (50), DH (48), DS (14)

These cruises were both the result of booking dummy dates on board. I can't emphasize enough to people - if you have any thoughts of taking another cruise book on board! You can always move the date and you will not find a better price. We were in 10664, an veranda room. These cruises were booked as soon as the dates were released.

For the past few trips we have passed on the airport and drive ourselves. It's a long trip, leaving home (south central Wisconsin) at 4 am, arriving in Atlanta around 7 pm for the night. Leaving Atlanta hotel by 6 am so we get through Atlanta before traffic gets heavy and arriving WDW about 2 pm. Pre cruise we spent Friday night at SSR (we are DVC members). We dropped DS off at Disney Quest then checked into SSR. We had a studio since it was just one night. After checking in, DH & I walked over to Downtown Disney and shopped. Amazingly we didn't buy anything (this did not continue). We went to DQ to track down DS. We had dinner at the quick service attached to Raglan road. It was ok, I wish we would have stuck with our original plan of Earl of Sandwich - live and learn. After we ate we walked by to our room (we were at Congress Park). All the time in the car made us tired so we watched a little TV and turned out the lights pretty early.

Embarkation day - up next

 

[noahsmom]

Our port arrival time was 11:00. We had reservations for Park n Cruise for our car. Being early risers we packed up the car and drove over to the Polynesian for breakfast. We ate at the Kona Cafe which was very nice. The character breakfast at 'Ohana is one of our favorites but I couldn't justify the coast when we would soon be on Fantasy and more food than we could possibly want. We walked around the Poly a little, it was the location of our 1st trip to WDW - our "once in a lifetime" trip for our 15th anniversary. Boy we had that wrong!

After a trip on the monorail we got back in the car and made our way to Port Canaveral.

Park n Cruise is GREAT! Very convenient, friendly service, no wait for the shuttle to take us to the port. On our way to the port the driver told DH that the port authority was trying to shut them down by charging outrageous fees for them to transport passengers. So far they've been able to fight it, but they didn't know for how long. Sad if they aren't allowed to continue. Paying $5.99/day vs $15/day is a big savings!

We arrived about 11:10 and had no lines. I must say the arrival times seem to be doing a good job. There was no line at security, no check in line, and the masses of people waiting for boarding numbers to be called is greatly diminished. We had boarding number 3 and were in Cabanas well before noon. In fact, Cabanas wasn't ready for guests when we arrived.

The ship is BEAUTIFUL! I think it's my favorite with Wonder a close 2nd. The attention to detail is amazing. Even the elevator floor is beautiful. I'd love to know how many different types of marble was used on this ship.

We were in room 10664. It can't get much more aft than this room. We had an extended veranda which was great in theory. There were 2 loungers, 2 chairs, and one table. Here's the problems we had with the veranda. It's aft, behind the stack, exhaust fumes were strong when we were moving. In the morning there was soot on the floor and chairs. There is also very little air movement due to being aft, the large overhang and large walls. On the plus side, we had great views when in port, especially Castaway Cay. There have been many reports of vibrations and noise in the aft rooms. Being on deck 10 put us directly beneath the outdoor seating area of Cabanas. Every morning at 6 am the chairs are moved and the floor is clean. This is very loud. We didn't notice much vibration so had no issue with this. Bottom line on this room - we would not book it again. The veranda is not much use so why pay extra. It did show us that a ocean view room suits us just fine. When DS was younger a veranda was very important, now not so much.

Our stateroom host was Nigel and he was terrific! He was very efficient and accommodating. Our luggage was waiting for us at 1:30 when we could go to the room. He seemed to know when we left in the morning because no matter how long we were gone the room was always made up when we returned. He was also very generous with the shampoo/conditioner/body lotion.

Sail Away - we aren't big on these parties, the crowds aren't our thing. Instead, we prefer to go to the front of the ship as we leave port. The problem with this on Fantasy is this is now an adult only area (Satellite Falls). This rule seems to be waived during sail away as many families were there. I think this is fine, it's a great place to be as we leave the port and if kids were banned I think many people would be disappointed. We had 3 dolphins frolicking at the bow as we pulled away from the dock which was fun to watch. It amazes me how many people line the channel to waive the ships off. I should mention that we brought beer and rum onto the ship with us as that is our drinks of choice and we could save a few $$. Well by the time we pulled away from the dock DH & I were on drink of the day #2. We ended up bringing beer back home....next time DH tries to increase the alcohol budget I will let him.

Dinning - we were main seating and our 1st restaurant we Royal Garden. Our table number we 74. This was our 8th cruise and we have always enjoyed our table mates and were excited to meet them. We were shocked when we were seated at table 74 and it was a 4 top. Seriously - we were shocked, didn't know what to do or say. Even DS was disappointed. I know that many people prefer to have their own table but to us, table mates are part of cruising. It's great to meet another family, share our experiences, etc. In fact next summer we are sailing with former table mates for the 3rd time. We are really looking forward to seeing them again! Our server was very short with us, seemed very flustered by the number of tables he had. They were all single family tables and he had at least 6. I think it's more difficult juggle that many small tables. The asst server was even worse. When we made a comment about not having table mates she said "don't worry we will get you out of here fast." Um, we're on vacation - there's no rush!

After dinner we talked to the head server and he said he'd see what he could do to get us table mates. We didn't go to the show the 1st night. DH & I explored the ship, DS went to Vibe. In fact we were asleep shortly after 10, we were tired. DS came in around midnight - like a bull in a china shop!

Day 2 - day at sea, coming soon.

 

[disneychic]

I'm really enjoying reading your TR! I sail the Fantasy in 2 weeks and I am super excited. Can't wait to read some more!

 

[cblack]

Subbing! Sounds like a fun trip so far!

 

[Joanna71985]

Following along! Great TR so far

 

[noahsmom]

I'm really enjoying reading your TR! I sail the Fantasy in 2 weeks and I am super excited. Can't wait to read some more!

I'm jealous, can I come with! You will have a great time.

 

[noahsmom]

Day 2 - Day at Sea

This day was very relaxing. We started out with brunch at Palo. First we went with DS to get him some breakfast (he still likes to do things with us, he was ok with us just sitting with him, he didn't want to eat alone). After he ate he was off doing his thing, I think he went to the arcade until Vibe opened. DH & I went up to Palo and were pleasantly surprised to see Dragan as the head waiter! We love Dragan, he was our server during a past cruise. Last summer he was on the Dream and we ran into him at Cabanas. We had issues with our room last summer and he was very concerned and contacted the hotel office on our behalf. He was the Palo head server on Dream so we weren't expecting to see him this summer. It amazes me that he remembered us. He meets hundred/thousands of people and yet he remembered us. After our reunion Dragan took us to our table. Gabi was our server. He is a very nice man, somewhat reserved. DH liked him right away, I thought he was a little too stiff. He took us to the brunch area and explained the food then left us to fill our plates. DH ordered a sausage pizza before Gabi left us. We filled our plates and went back to our table. I fell in love with the Almond croissants - OMG I could have eaten them all! We ordered the tilapia with asparagus risotto - wonderful, an egg fritata - very good, and the pizza arrived. Gabi was very attentive, refilling drinks, taking plates and answering questions. He asked how we liked the pizza, I said it we good. He said "just good? What is wrong, shall I get another?" I said no it was fine, it's pizza (DH is the pizza lover in the family). Gabi was appalled that I didn't love the pizza. I assured him that it was good, just not my thing. After that whenever he asked how something was I told him it was wonderful. Which wasn't a lie - everything at Palo is wonderful. Anyway, this broke the ice between us and he enjoyed the inside joke between us.

After brunch DH & I went to check out the Rainforest. We had purchased a week long pass and had never done this before. Wow! It's a wonderful place. I loved reading on the heated lounger, DH loves the super hot sauna. It's never busy. I think the busiest it ever was for use was 4 other people.

We also saw a movie but I don't remember which one - we saw many over the 2 weeks! Then it was time for dinner. Tonight was Animator's Palate and we would find out if we got table mates. We did!! A very nice family from Sacramento. The kids were younger than DS but they didn't spend much time at dinner - they were having too much fun in the kids clubs. This was fine, the dad was a gamer so he and DS had lots to talk about. Animator's was fun and our new servers made it even better. Dwayne was our server and Franco was the assistant server. They LOVED to have fun. Many jokes were played over the week. Franco like to stump us with puzzles.

After dinner DS went to Vibe and we just wandered the ship. We didn't feel the need to go to the show, we could do that next week! Relaxing was the theme for this trip. We checked out the night club area, walking through each bar. You can really feel the vibrations in Skyline, loved the leather smell in O'Gills. Ooh la la was too much for both of us.

This was a boring night to write about, we really didn't do anything and went back to our cabin pretty early. We had to get lots of rest - the next day was another busy day at sea.

 

[noahsmom]

Day 3 - Another day at sea.

This will be short - we spent time at the rainforest, satellite falls (a fabulous addition!), and wandering the ship. DS was in Vibe all day, we didn't see him until dinner.

We were in Enchanted Garden, DH had a steak that was very good. Everything was good but nothing really memorable. We enjoyed getting to know our table mates some more.

I just looked at my pictures to see if I missed anything. I don't have many pictures from this day, we really got into the relaxing mode! Day 4 is more exciting - St. Maarten and our 1st snorkel excursion. Most of our excursions were snorkeling. Because of this we decided about a month before the cruise to get our own masks and snorkels. We went to a local dive store and they fitted us with masks, then we took a snorkel class. I'm very glad we did. We had no issues getting in the water and knowing what to do. Best money spent preparing for the trip!

So here's day 4 - St. Maarten!

We docked on the Dutch side of the island and our excursion was with Captain Alan. I booked them myself after researching options. Captain Alan arranged for taxi pickup and they were waiting for us when we got off the ship. We did feel a bit rushed, we needed to get off as soon as the ship was cleared. Our excursion time was 8:45 and we were to be at the marina 15 min before that. We waited briefly for another family but they didn't show so off we went. We arrived at the marina right on time - but no one was around! It was only a couple of minutes before someone arrived. They said there was a booking error and we weren't leaving for another hour! He said we should have received an email - we did not. I also thought that if they had notified us of the time change, wouldn't the taxi pickup have known about it also? Not much we could do but sit and wait.

The tours the day before were cancelled because of a small craft warning, so we were lucky we could go out, but the excursion was fully booked, trying to accommodate those who were supposed to go the day before. There were 2 boats with 14 & 15 people on board. The ride to the 1st snorkel spot was bumpy, the boat was airborn a couple of times. It was about a 15 min ride to our 1st spot. We were very excited, this was our 1st time snorkeling in the open ocean. In we went, I popped up to hear DS say, "Mom there's a jelly fish right next to you!" This sends me into a small panic trying to get away from it. The tour guide assured me it wouldn't hurt me but I didn't want to find out for sure. Off we went. It was wonderful! Lots of fan coral, lots of other coral swaying with the waves. Very cool. Once everyone was in the water they took the boats to the other end of the snorkel area. So we knew when we were done and could just get back into the boat. They kept a close eye on everyone to make sure all were safe.

The next stop was for a mud bath. The anchored off a beach and we swam to the beach. They mixed the mud and we were to cover ourselves with it. They said it was very good for the skin. The problem was it removed all sunscreen. Once the mud was applied we had to wait on the beach until the person still on one of the boats said it was ok to come back. She was making sandwiches for everyone (both boats) and it took about 45 min. All this time we are baking in the sun! We all ended up with sun burns, DH's back was really bad. We believe this is the reason because we didn't burn on any other excursions. it did impact our pool time on the ship later.

Once we got the ok to go back to the boats we had to swim out to them. This was a bit challenging and the waves were coming in about 2-3 feet high. Once everyone was back we went to Pinal island where they anchored and we ate. People could get out and have some beach time if they wanted. We stayed on the boat. The sandwiches were very good - fresh baguettes with Gouda cheese and apple slices. Some had salami. There was also water, beer, and soda. After we ate it was off to the next snorkel area. Here it was a little scary, the waves were high and we had to be careful not to get too close to the coral which was pretty high. Clearance in some areas was only a couple of feet. At the end of this snorkel area is a lot of sea grass and sea turtles are often found here. We did see one turtle, which was a nice bonus.

This was our last stop so we headed back to the marina, it was a nice ride back, choppy but fun. The taxi was waiting for us which was really nice. Soon we were back on the ship and ready for showers and aloe!! We were really red and very tired. I don't remember where we ate dinner, I didn't even take pictures which is really unusual for me. We did go see the show, which was Brave 3D in the Walt Disney theater. We enjoyed the movie. After that DH & I went back to the room and to bed, DS went to Vibe.

The next day is St Thomas. DH & I go jewelry shopping (always a traumatic adventure) and DS goes on a teen excursion....

 

[jessrose18]

Subbing

 

[sue]

Would love to see some pictures when you get the chance

 

[noahsmom]

I will add some pictures. If there's anything in particular you'd like to see let me know. I took over 1200 pictures.

 

[noahsmom]

St Thomas -
Last time we were here DH went golfing, DS & I were going to do the helmet dive at Coral World. The day before DS was getting a stuffy nose and cough so I told him we weren't going to do the helmet dive. Turns out we didn't do anything, he was not feeling well at all. We walked to the butterfly conservatory but he was not well so we went back to the ship and he slept the rest of the day. Next day he was fine - go figure.

This time DH & I went shopping, DS was scheduled to go on the Screaming Eagle jet boat excursion with the teen group.

DH wanted me to get some jewelry for our anniversary. I had a hard time buying nice jewelry because I get sticker shock in the worst way! So we had breakfast and then went off to shop. The taxi ride to downtown was interesting as the traffic was heavy. The 1st store we walked through was the Ammolite store, which if full of beautiful pieces. The next store was Tanzanite International. Here we did some serious looking. I did leave there with a beautiful, simple pendant. It's just under a carat and I really like it. I'm not into the ones surrounded in diamonds - they are beautiful but I have no where to wear something like that, so I went with a simple oval cut in a deep blue color. DH had a budget amount which I thought was too high and spent half of his budget. I was done.

We continued walking down the main street, almost every store was jewelry and they all want you to come in and see their pieces. I kept saying no thank you and kept walking. Finally DH said we are going in the next one. Once inside they saw the piece I had purchased (I was wearing it) and tried to sell me earrings. I don't wear earrings much because my hair covers them so what's the point. Finally she pulled out a ring that matched my necklace perfectly. By this time they had given DH a chair and beer. He enjoys seeing me get nervous about buying jewelry, he says I shouldn't worry so much about the cost, if I like it get it. So I did! He was shocked that I said yes to the ring - guess I showed him!

Once the ring was sized (about 30 minutes - which makes me wonder how they can do it so quickly but back home it takes 2 weeks...) it was time to head back to the ship. We met up with DS for lunch and then got him off to the teen excursion. The rest of the afternoon was relaxing in the Rainforest.

This was also DH's birthday. Dinner was in Animator's Palate, our 2nd time which meant this was animation night. We drew our characters on the placemats, they put them in the computer bring them to life. It's a very cute show!

 

[noahsmom]

Day at Sea
This day was similar to the other days at sea - very relaxing. This was the day of my mixology class. Great fun! Damian, the bartender in Skyline, teaches the class and does a great job. If you are interested in Mixology make sure to sign up as soon as you board, they fill quickly. DH wasn't interested so I went by myself.

Damian has everything set up when you arrive. There are 4 stations set up behind the bar and you get a chance to try your hand at mixing a drink. Each class makes a cocktail, a champagne cocktail, a muddled drink, a martini, and a shot. The cost is $15/person and it lasts about an hour.

By the 3rd drink everyone is having a good time, laughing as mistakes are made, cheering on the bartenders. My favorite drink was the shot. Damian called it a Squished Frog. I loved it so much I wrote the ingredients on a post it and stuck it in my lanyard. It's a layered shot, first is Midori, then Baileys, finally a little bit of grenadine. YUM!!!

I left class feeling very happy (5 drinks in an hour will do that). We were eating at Palo so I had to go and change quickly. I was telling DH all about the Squished Frog. We got dressed up, took DS down to main seating (I believe this was pirate night also) and headed to Palo. We were a little early so I took DH to Skyline for a Squished Frog - this became a common practice. In fact we'd walk into Skyline and Damian would say "2 frogs?"

Dinner at Palo was amazing as usual. Gabi was our server again and we had a good time. In fact, we ordered 2 Squished frogs which we found out later caused quite a stir. Gabi had not heard of them but didn't blink when we ordered them. When he brought them to us Dragan came along. They thought it was the perfect drink for Palo because of the colors. I asked them if they'd had one and they hadn't so I encouraged them both to try it.

After dinner we strolled around the ship, it was a beautiful evening. We had perfect weather for both cruises! Back home it was very hot (90-100) and humid. We were in the mid 80's the entire time.

 

[dgmommie]

Dwayne was our server and Franco was the assistant server. They LOVED to have fun. Many jokes were played over the week. Franco like to stump us with puzzles.

We were on the cruise the week of the 14th, and they were our servers too! We were a 6-top table - my family plus my brother-in-law. Were you at the table that had a young boy coloring a big (very cute) picture on the tablecloth in Enchanted Garden one evening?

Edited to add:
DH just saw that you were main seating, and we were late seating. Guess our paths didn't cross. But I have to say, Dwayne and Franco were the absolute BEST servers we've had in all our cruising - so much so that I contacted DCL and gave glowing comments on them!

 

[noahsmom]

Castaway Cay
This is by far our favorite place! We just love everything about it. We make sure do get off the ship as soon as it's cleared and we head for our spot. We get off at the 2nd tram stop and go to that end of the family beach. We really like it there. It's close to bathrooms, Cookies Too, float rental, snorkel entrance - perfect!

DS didn't leave the ship with us, he was going to Vibe to participate in the Teen Getaway. They rode bikes to the other side of the island where they got into kayaks, after the kayaks they went snorkeling and then to lunch. We didn't see him until almost 2:00.

In the meantime, DH & I went snorkeling. We were both shocked at how great the snorkeling is at CC. This was the 1st time we've snorkeled there, just was never anything we wanted to do, usually we get floaties and relax. Here are some of the beautiful things we saw:

After snorkeling we went to Cookies Too for lunch. It was ok, better than last time we were there but we've had better BBQ. After lunch we relaxed in our loungers. About the time DS found us we were about ready to head in. Usually by 3 we are ready to go back on the ship and get cleaned up.

It was a picture perfect day at CC. The evening was terrific too. During the planning process this was the one night I was really looking forward too. The last night of the 1st cruise and I didn't have to pack! We didn't get luggage tags, none of the usually "end of cruise stuff". Although I was concerned that we had no information on the debarkation/re-entry process. I called down to Guest services and the person who answered said we just had to leave the ship by 9 and go directly to the terminal. We did not have to go through customs. That just didn't sound right to me. As we were walking around the ship taking in the last night activities we stopped at Guest Services and asked again. This time we received slightly different instruction and we did have to go through customs. No information on where we could go once back on board, she said we could go wherever we wanted. I asked if would be able to go back to our room and do laundry and the answer was yes.

I got a special thrill seeing the luggage in the hall and not being part of that sad and annoying packing process!

Next up - the one thing about this trip that made me angry, the total lack of communication on what we were supposed to do!

 

[noahsmom]

We were on the cruise the week of the 14th, and they were our servers too! We were a 6-top table - my family plus my brother-in-law. Were you at the table that had a young boy coloring a big (very cute) picture on the tablecloth in Enchanted Garden one evening?

Edited to add:
DH just saw that you were main seating, and we were late seating. Guess our paths didn't cross. But I have to say, Dwayne and Franco were the absolute BEST servers we've had in all our cruising - so much so that I contacted DCL and gave glowing comments on them!

We agree! So much fun. We were sad to hear it was Dwayne's last cruise so we couldn't have him our 2nd week. Franco didn't know who he'd be with. We did see Franco often and he was always happy to see us and gave us hugs. Dwayne said he had signed another contract so he will be back.

 

[noahsmom]

Back in Port Canaveral
Usually this is a sad day - but we don't really have to leave!! We were going to skip breakfast in the main dining room and go to Cabanas but we wanted to experience Dwayne & Franco one more time. It was so nice to be able to go there without all of our carry-ons. This breakfast has always seemed rather un-Disney to us - hurry up and eat then get off the ship. Not today and that was more because of Dwayne & Franco than anything else. They never made us feel rushed or that they were rushed. We had as much fun at breakfast as we did during dinners.

After breakfast we went back to our room. We didn't need to leave until 9 so we checked emails, voice mails, called home, etc. Nigel had given me a customs form just in case we needed it. At this point I still wasn't sure what we were supposed to do. I read every trip report on back to back's I could find and even asked on the boards what the process was. Everyone seemed to get a letter in their stateroom telling them the process and what they could do and where they could go once back on board. We had nothing. It made me a little concerned that we wouldn't be coming back on.

At 9 we headed down to deck 3 and were surprised by how many people were still on the ship! We walked down the gangway and before the escalator down to luggage I told a CM we were back to back and he said we had to go through customs. Glad I filled out that form. It wasn't a big deal to go through the line, we didn't have to gather luggage or juggle carryons. The customs guy questioned the lack of luggage but once we said back to back he waived us through. At the escalator back up to the terminal the security guy questioned us, told him we were back to back and he said ok. The terminal was EMPTY - there was absolutely no one around! Cool for pictures but not cool when you aren't sure what you should be doing.

We took some pictures and looked around. You notice things when there's not a bunch of people walking around. I never realized the floor was a map of Florida and the Bahamas. We knew there were things in the floor but didn't realize the entire thing was a map. Soon a couple of CM's arrived and were at the concierge check in. They didn't question us but I went over to find out what we needed to do. The man told us to give him about 5 more minutes, the computer needed to switch cruises and then he could check us in. He was right, about 5 min later he checked us in. Then he told us to find a place to be comfortable and when they were ready to reboard us they'd find us. We were given a boarding card with no number on it.

We waited about another 30 minutes and finally someone came over to us take us back on the ship. As we walked through the concierge waiting area another family was there - they were also back to back and they had received a letter telling them the process. ARGH! I was also disheartened when we got our new Key to the World cards and table 74 was listed again. When we requested table mates during the 1st cruise I told the head server we were back to back and he assured us we'd have table mates. So this really set me off. Now I needed to go and get this taken care of at 1:00. I also wanted to go to Palo and book another brunch. Dragan was disappointed that we weren't planning a visit to Palo during the 2nd cruise. This was our anniversary week and we were eating at Remy the night of our anniversary so we thought we'd skip Palo. Well we reconsidered and book Palo for our 1st day at sea. We had no problem getting the reservation.

Once back on board we could go wherever we wanted. First we went back to our state room where we had a lovely surprise.

My sister and niece sent us gifts! The champagne and chocolates were from my niece and her husband, my sister sent the fruit basket for DS and she also purchased a day pass to the Rainforest for DH & I. DS was thrilled with the fruit basket as he was hungry (he's 14 and always hungry). There was nothing indicating the Rainforest pass, we found out about it a day later when the spa left us a message asking when we wanted to book the spa treatment we had booked online. This was confusing because we hadn't booked anything online. We went to the spa and they were able to explain. Thankfully we had decided not to purchase a week long pass the day before. I wonder what they would have done with that...

There was no food anywhere for us, which was fine. I decided to do laundry, dragging our laundry basket to the laundry room 4 times before I found it open - this was frustrating. I went to switch the laundry to find one of the washers stopped working during a rinse cycle. I called Guest Services and a maintenance person came. It took about 40 min to get it fixed. I did get the price of the wash removed from our charges.

It was fun wandering the empty ship. We never saw the other family, there was a tour group of travel agents being shown the ship. We went up to satellite falls and waited for a bar to open so we could have a Stingray, the drink of the day.

More later - we have to go run some errands. Reality is just sooo much fun!

 

[jenpink]

enjoy the report

 

[noahsmom]

We were able to find a bar to get our Stingrays and they were beginning to allow others on our ship - the nerve!!! We went down to Guest Services to sign up for Mixology - this time DH is going to join in on the fun. We signed up for both classes offered. This cruise is a Western and the itinerary is Day at Sea, Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, Cozumel, Day at Sea, Castaway Cay, Port Canaveral.

After signing up for Mixology, DH & DS went to Cabanas to get some lunch. I went up to Palo to get brunch ressies then back down to Royal Court to get our table changed. This whole table assignment thing was the most annoying part of the trip. After waiting what seemed like forever two head servers showed up to help people with dining requests. I was happy to see one was our head server from the last cruise. Quickly I became angry when he acted like he'd never seen me before and knew anything about our request. After a few minutes of looking at the computer screen he told me to come to him at dinner and he'd have an answer on if we could get a different table. I was so annoyed! I went to get something to eat and find my family. They were in our stateroom watching a movie. By the time we left the ship there wasn't a movie they hadn't watched.

Here are some pictures from our wanderings around an empty ship, the Senorita and matadors are found in the bathrooms in the night club area. They are tile mosaics and are beautiful:

DS went down to register at Vibe and get his Vibe key to the world card. He came back to our room and announced that we had a new table assignment, his card now had table 100. That made me feel a little better. So off we went to dinner. We had to meet the head server and he took us over to the check in kiosk and showed us all his hard work to find us a new table. I didn't care for this attitude, he really made me feel like we had asked for the moon. We were then taken to table 100 which was a 6 top with a chair/place setting added to the end of the table. Our table mates were from Orlando they had 2 DS's one 15 and the other 11. They were a nice family but the boys rarely made it through a meal. They ordered off the kids menu, ate and left. Our DS enjoys the dining experience and likes to try new things. This year he tried escargot. He was surprised they didn't try anything and always ordered mac & cheese. Our new servers were nice, Clara was the server and Tom was the asst server. Very nice and efficient but not Dwayne & Franco. After dinner DS went to Vibe, DH & I went down to visit Damian in Skyline!

When we entered Damian there was another CM at the side of the bar talking to him, no one else was there. Damian saw us and welcomed us back, asked if we wanted Squished Frogs. We said yes and the other CM said "did you hear that someone ordered those in Palo on the last cruise?" We all laughed and Damian said "it was them, they are doing back to back." Damian than told us the bartender in Meridian claims to know all drinks, he didn't know this one and had to call Damian to find out how to make it. It made Damian's day!

 

[disneychic]

Can't wait to read all about your Western Caribbean cruise! 2 weeks from today I'll be on the Fantasy

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