Bring Your Swim Trunks and Your Flippie-Floppies. It’s a Fantasy Cruise Report!

WishIWasAtWDW · Jun 27, 2013

I loved how they added animation drawings to the screens around the restaurant.

Super cute menu.

Wes watching the animation show

Dinner was a pretty set menu tonight with only a few actual selections that we could make. Appetizers were a sampling of things. I don’t remember what each one was but it was pretty good.

Next up was corn three ways; caramel corn popcorn, corn soup and cornbread. I really liked it! One of our tablemates thought it was very strange but I couldn’t stop eating it. Hahaha It was really good if you put the popcorn in the soup and then dipped the cornbread in the soup. Really tasty.

For entrees, I went with the pasta and Wes got the beef.

After we finished our entrees it was time for the show to start! I was so excited! And the very first animation we saw on the screens was from our table!! Go Table 98!

Iron Man courtesy of Table 98

The next animation showed up and it was also from our table! We were on a roll!

Iron Man and Afro Man

Sadly, I missed taking a picture of our characters. By the time I realized that they were ours, they were off the screen.

It was really neat seeing our characters animated. Having the animation dinner be on our last night was pretty awesome!

There we are! My name is on the far left, two above the scratch out.

For dessert, I got the sampler and Wes got the other option.

WishIWasAtWDW · Jun 27, 2013

After dessert, we asked Cristian to give us one final brainteaser. He put some toothpicks on a plate and told us to make them into a star with only one move.

Before

We were pretty stumped and quickly asked Cristian to show us the answer. He took a straw and got a little bit of water and placed a drop in the middle of the toothpicks. Like magic, they formed a star. It was pretty awesome!

After

LaToya came around and gave us all of our animations with official animator stickers on them. I love it! Free souvenirs are the best.

We exchanged contact information with our tablemates so we could stay in contact after the cruise. It was so great getting to know them all this week. It was a drastic change from our previous cruise where we barely talked to any of our tablemates. One couple invited us all up to Deck 11 to drink some tequila they bought. Count us in!

Apparently, they had bought over the allowed amount for customs so they needed to drink one bottle before we docked. That’s a lot of alcohol to buy!

So we said goodbye and let them know that we would be up in about 30 minutes after we finished packing our bags and set them outside our room.

Neat feature on the floor

Perhaps my favorite towel animal of the trip

We quickly finished packing and set our bags outside the room. I was a little sad that I couldn’t go see the See Ya Real Soon show but I figured that socializing with our new friends and helping them drink their tequila was more important.

We got up to Deck 11 and met our tablemates right outside Eye Scream. One of our tablemates was as obsessed with the ice cream as Wes and throughout the week they would ask each other what number cone they were up to.

We started drinking the tequila and I just couldn’t drink it without anything else. I decided to go get some Sprite from the drink machines and it actually tasted pretty good with the tequila. Hahaha We sat and talked for awhile, drinking the tequila, and the guys got some ice cream right before they closed. Around 11:30 we said our goodbyes to our new friends and called it a night.

I wanted to go take some more pictures up on Deck 12 before we went back to the room.

The Muppets on Funnel Vision

We got back to our room around midnight and fell asleep watching another onDemand Disney movie.

Tomorrow we would leave our beloved Fantasy for reality.

PartOfYourWorld · Jun 28, 2013

The last night on the trip is always the worst

The See Ya Real Soon show isn't very long at all. They show a random little video (that was kinda strange in my opinion) and then good bye to everyone! It actually made me tear up because we had had such a good time I didn't want it to end.

Glad you had great tablemates! We were worried about that too, but we all exchanged contact info in the end too and I've talked to a few on facebook since then! It's nice to meet other people!

I find it funny looking at some of your pictures because I have some that are basically the same except of the Dream. lol. So sad to be seeing this trip report come to an end

WishIWasAtWDW · Jun 30, 2013

PartOfYourWorld said:
The last night on the trip is always the worst The See Ya Real Soon show isn't very long at all. They show a random little video (that was kinda strange in my opinion) and then good bye to everyone! It actually made me tear up because we had had such a good time I didn't want it to end.

Glad you had great tablemates! We were worried about that too, but we all exchanged contact info in the end too and I've talked to a few on facebook since then! It's nice to meet other people!

I find it funny looking at some of your pictures because I have some that are basically the same except of the Dream. lol. So sad to be seeing this trip report come to an end

I hate the last night of a trip. I try so hard not to think about it but it's hard to ignore.

We really had wonderful tablemates this trip! I was a little worried that on this longer cruise we would be stuck with people who didn't talk for a whole week but we all had a lot in common and had lots of fun dinner conversations!

I'm working on getting this trip report finished. I think I have been dragging it out because I don't want it to be over already, just like I didn't want the actual trip to be over.

PolynesianPrincess · Jun 30, 2013

Awwww I'm so sad the cruise is almost over

I must say, I'd be doing the same thing as Wes, getting all that ice cream. I LOVE ice cream... Soft serve, hand scooped... I love it all!! lol

WishIWasAtWDW · Jun 30, 2013

derelicte19 said:
Awwww I'm so sad the cruise is almost over

I must say, I'd be doing the same thing as Wes, getting all that ice cream. I LOVE ice cream... Soft serve, hand scooped... I love it all!! lol

I'm sad too.

It was such a great cruise! I didn't want it to end!

I asked Wes how many cones of the soft serve he had and he asked "Is this for your trip report". When I said yes, he told me not to tell you all because he was ashamed of the number! Hahaha

Let's just say it was a lot! It's nice to know that other people are as crazy about ice cream as he is.

WishIWasAtWDW · Jun 30, 2013

Saturday May 18th – Well That Went By Too Fast

Well the dreaded final morning of our trip had arrived.

I was so sad for this trip to end. I decided to wake up super early today so I could go up to Deck 12 and take some pictures. I woke up at 6, quickly got dressed, grabbed my camera and went up to take some pictures.

I forgot that my lenses would be super foggy but I didn’t have time to wait it out.

I went back to the room around 6:20 and told Wes it was time to wake up.

Final shots from our verandah

At this point, I still wasn’t sure if I could salvage any of my pictures so I took some more pictures of our stateroom before we left.

Goodbye Brent Davies! I will miss your Australian accent.

WishIWasAtWDW · Jun 30, 2013

It was time to leave our room if we wanted to eat the early breakfast so we sadly said goodbye to stateroom 8074 for the last time.

Now a cruise tradition for me to take a picture outside our stateroom on our last morning.

Took this picture so you could see where our room was located in relation to the stairs.

People waiting for express debarkation.

We were supposed to be going to the late breakfast service but since we had a 12:10 flight, I knew that we needed to eat earlier if we wanted to make sure that we made it to our flight. We had told LaToya last night that we would need to try to go to the early breakfast and she told us to talk to the head host guy up at the front because her section was completely full. We talked to him when we left and he told us to get there at 7 to see if there were any no-shows and they could seat us.

We got to Animator’s Palate at 7:04 and talked to a server at the front. We said we were supposed to be at the second seating but wondered if we could eat early since we had an early flight. He went off to find the head host guy and we continued waiting. As we were waiting, another cast member came up and asked us what we were waiting for. We let him know that someone had helped us already and we were waiting to get a table but we were supposed to be in the second seating, yadda yadda yadda. While we were standing up front, 2 other cast members came to ask us if they could help us and we told them the same thing we told the other 2 guys. They both mentioned that we could go eat at Cabanas if we wanted but we had already waited and I didn’t want the original cast member who went to get the head host guy to come back to us not being there.

It was a little frustrating that it was taking so long for us to be seated. I know that we showed up for a seating that wasn’t when we were supposed to but the guy last night told us it shouldn’t be a problem. Finally, another cast member came up to us and asked us what table number was ours. She went off to look at the table and then came back to take us there. So after all of that waiting, we ended up eating at Table 98.

Pictures while we waited. Cute floors.

Last meal at “our” table

We got to Table 98 and I was surprised that the entire area around our table was empty. We should have just walked back there when we first got to the restaurant. Oh well.

LaToya and Cristian came over and were our servers again.

I felt bad and like we were such a nuisance for trying to go to the early breakfast but LaToya and Cristian were very nice about us being there.

We ordered almost immediately and got our food very quickly.

My plate

Wes’ plate

We are pretty quick eaters so we were done with breakfast by 7:30. I wanted to say bye to LaToya and Cristian but we couldn’t find LaToya. We said goodbye to Cristian and then made our way off the ship.

Final picture of the atrium chandelier

Goodbye atrium

I so did not want to leave the ship. I was almost in tears at this point because we had such a great time on this cruise! Don’t make me go!!!

We were off the ship by 7:40 and through Customs and on a bus by 8:04. There was a baggage handler in front of us in the Customs line who started up a conversation with Wes because of his Redskins hat. They talked football and fantasy football the entire time we were in line. What fun.

I had a great view of the ship from my seat on the bus. I took a ton of pictures as we started to pull away from the port. I just couldn’t stop.

I love these seats.

WishIWasAtWDW · Jun 30, 2013

We got to MCO at about 9:20, were through security by 9:58 and were at our gate a little after 10am. I was worried that our flight was too early but we made it to our gate with plenty of time. Our flight home was through AirTran and I wished it wasn’t. I am a Southwest girl all the way. I didn’t like how AirTran did their boarding process and I really don’t like that they charge for checked bags. Besides my picky-ness when it comes to airlines besides Southwest, we had an uneventful flight that wasn’t full so I was able to get a window seat.

And that’s it. We landed around 1:50 and were home shortly thereafter. It was a great cruise and we can’t wait until October 2014 to do it again for our 3rd wedding anniversary!

Thanks for reading!

WishIWasAtWDW · Jun 30, 2013

Final Thoughts of the Trip

We had a fantastic cruise! We couldn’t have asked for better weather! I was a little worried that the 7-night cruise would be a little too long but now I’m worried that our 4 night cruise next October will be too short. We just absolutely fell in love with cruising even more on this trip. We did 3 excursions, a ton of trivia, saw a bunch of movies and still got to enjoy some sun by the pool. Even though we got to do a ton of stuff, there were still things that we didn’t have time to do! It’s crazy how much stuff there is to do on the ships!

As soon as I got home, I realized that I forgot to do one very important thing on the cruise…take popping out pictures!

I couldn’t believe that I forgot to take them. It was such a relaxing vacation that I wasn’t even thinking about taking my popping out pictures! Crazy. I have decided that on the next trip, I will set a reminder on my phone so I don’t forget. Hahaha

We had a great time on the cruise with just the two of us but I really hope we can get some of our friends and family to join us on a future cruise. I think it would be so fun to go with a large group!

I mentioned it in the report but I am really starting to prefer the cruises over WDW. Wes already felt that way after our first cruise but I am slowly starting to agree with him. I never thought I would love anything more than WDW but the cruises are just so great! Don’t get me wrong. I still love WDW but cruises are quickly becoming the new favorite.

PolynesianPrincess · Jun 30, 2013

This makes me so excited to go on the girls cruise in September! I wish you were coming with us!!!

I think if we enjoy it, we may re-book while we're on board to take advantage of the discount! Do you remember how much your discount was? (I think you said you re-booked while you were on board but I could be imagining things... lol)

Thanks for sharing your adventure with us Ashley! I'm so glad you had such a great time!!

AndyS2992 · Jun 30, 2013

Never really been interested in DCL but this report has made me think otherwise and spent the last hour reading it which is unusual since I usually don't like reading trip reports

I'm confused with how the dining works though

This is going to sound really stupid lol
There is like five different restaurants on the ship right? Then how come you had LaToya most nights even though you went to different places? And how come, If you are designated a set table number eg 98 and I assume you have the same table buddies all week but what if you went to the Animators place while everyone else went to another one? Would that mean your table would be filled with other people or would you have the table to yourself? AND can you go to eat at any time of the day or do you have a set time frame you can only go?

I apologize for all the questions and stupidness

PrincessNelly_NJ · Jul 1, 2013

"Poor Tiana had no line. She just kept twirling around. All I could think of was “I’m gone with the wind fabulous. Twirl. Twirl. Twirl.”

(Real Housewives of Atlana…anyone? Anyone?)"

OMG! I just died with laughter.... haha... poor Tiana!

Billy6 · Jul 1, 2013

Excellent report Ashley! Brought back lots of memories! You're not alone with your feelings about cruising. I have the bug too and am definitely itching for another cruise. However, I am one that can't get enough of WDW and would go anytime I could.

Great stuff as always!

WishIWasAtWDW · Jul 1, 2013

derelicte19 said:
This makes me so excited to go on the girls cruise in September! I wish you were coming with us!!! I think if we enjoy it, we may re-book while we're on board to take advantage of the discount! Do you remember how much your discount was? (I think you said you re-booked while you were on board but I could be imagining things... lol)

Thanks for sharing your adventure with us Ashley! I'm so glad you had such a great time!!

I so wish I was going! If you all organize another one I am going to sign up ASAP so I don't miss out on the fun again! If you book your next cruise onboard, you get a 10% discount and only put a 10% deposit down. You also get onboard credits depending on the length of your future cruise. It's a great way to save some money. I am still kicking myself that we didn't book a future cruise from our first cruise. I won't let that happen again.

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I can't wait to read all of the fun filled trip reports when you gals get back from the girls cruise in September!!

Andys2992 said:
Never really been interested in DCL but this report has made me think otherwise and spent the last hour reading it which is unusual since I usually don't like reading trip reports

I'm confused with how the dining works though This is going to sound really stupid lol
There is like five different restaurants on the ship right? Then how come you had LaToya most nights even though you went to different places? And how come, If you are designated a set table number eg 98 and I assume you have the same table buddies all week but what if you went to the Animators place while everyone else went to another one? Would that mean your table would be filled with other people or would you have the table to yourself? AND can you go to eat at any time of the day or do you have a set time frame you can only go?

I apologize for all the questions and stupidness

I was the same way with the cruises until I started reading some trip reports and now I'm hooked!

Don't apologize for asking questions! I was clueless before I cruised for the first time.

Disney does a rotational dining. There are 3 rotational restaurants on the ships and you are assigned to one of those restaurants each night. Your tablemates and servers all rotate around the restaurants with you. That is why we were seated at the same table with the same tablemates and servers each night. You are designated a dinner time, but if you don't want to eat at that restaurant, you can still get food other places. There is also a buffet style restaurant, quick service options, room service and two adult only restaurants that you could choose to go to instead of whatever restaurant you are assigned to that night. I hope that makes sense. It's a little confusing at first but once you do it once, it is actually a pretty neat setup. We weren't sure if we would like it at first but we really enjoy it now!

PrincessNelly_NJ said:
"Poor Tiana had no line. She just kept twirling around. All I could think of was “I’m gone with the wind fabulous. Twirl. Twirl. Twirl.” (Real Housewives of Atlana…anyone? Anyone?)"

OMG! I just died with laughter.... haha... poor Tiana!

I'm glad someone else enjoys the craziness that is RHOA. Have you heard Kenya's song? It's so darn catchy. Hahaha

Billy6 said:
Excellent report Ashley! Brought back lots of memories! You're not alone with your feelings about cruising. I have the bug too and am definitely itching for another cruise. However, I am one that can't get enough of WDW and would go anytime I could.

Great stuff as always!

Thanks! I can't wait to cruise again! Oh, I would live at WDW if I could but the cruises are just so new and exciting to me. It's like a shiny new toy but WDW is my childhood favorite. I'm torn with these new feelings but WDW still holds a special place in my heart.

Hahaha Is that analogy cheesy, or what?

Billy6 · Jul 1, 2013

WishIWasAtWDW said:
Thanks! I can't wait to cruise again! Oh, I would live at WDW if I could but the cruises are just so new and exciting to me. It's like a shiny new toy but WDW is my childhood favorite. I'm torn with these new feelings but WDW still holds a special place in my heart. Hahaha Is that analogy cheesy, or what?

Not cheesy! Couldn't have said it better myself! All except the shiny new toy bit....

AndyS2992 · Jul 1, 2013

WishIWasAtWDW said:
I was the same way with the cruises until I started reading some trip reports and now I'm hooked!

Don't apologize for asking questions! I was clueless before I cruised for the first time. Disney does a rotational dining. There are 3 rotational restaurants on the ships and you are assigned to one of those restaurants each night. Your tablemates and servers all rotate around the restaurants with you. That is why we were seated at the same table with the same tablemates and servers each night. You are designated a dinner time, but if you don't want to eat at that restaurant, you can still get food other places. There is also a buffet style restaurant, quick service options, room service and two adult only restaurants that you could choose to go to instead of whatever restaurant you are assigned to that night. I hope that makes sense. It's a little confusing at first but once you do it once, it is actually a pretty neat setup. We weren't sure if we would like it at first but we really enjoy it now!

Oh I see, that's very interesting setup, but what if you don't get on with your tablemates?

lol Thanks for clearing that up

Once again, amazing trip report and I am glad you enjoyed yourself.

fractal · Jul 1, 2013

Great report and pics! Love the Mickey ketchup and Capt. Sparrow on the beaches of Castaway Cay. Very cool!

Pooh Lover · Jul 1, 2013

Wow....what an awesome trip report! I couldn't quit reading, it really was like being there and love, love, love all the pictures. Sorry about your camera woes but you still came away with a ton of pictures. Thanks for taking the time to put this together. It was truly enjoyable.

I know what you mean about cruising over WDW. For me, if I'm at WDW I feel like I'm wasting time if I'm not at a park, running here and there. I feel much more relaxed on a cruise and don't feel guilty about just sitting on my balcony watching the seas or taking an afternoon nap. Very different vibes.

PartOfYourWorld · Jul 3, 2013

Ugh I feel your pain from that morning. Mike and I skipped breakfast actually and went straight off the ship...I was practically crying too. It was so so sad

I'm very happy to hear though that you will be going back next year. And I second what Darolyn said! I wish you were coming on the girls' cruise tooo!!!! Do they offer on board credit for 7 night cruises? or you don't know? I'll be booking our 1 year anniversary cruise when i go on for the girls' cruise and I was wondering.

Bring Your Swim Trunks and Your Flippie-Floppies. It’s a Fantasy Cruise Report!

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