Trip Report Buffalo, Bugs, and Beer - A lostpro9het Surf 'n' Turf report.

Alright, alright, alright let’s get this beast going! As pointed out in the PTR, this trip had some purpose to it and I wont rehash the reasons why here. I will say that we had an amazing time saying goodbye with some great surprises along the way. With that, lets go!

Saturday May 11th
We got up bright and early at 04:00 and were pulling away by 04:30. This seems to be the only time one can navigate through Atlanta without hitting traffic, sadly the same cannot be said for Henry County’s traffic. Anyway, our go-to pit stop is always Tifton where we fueled up and grabbed some breakfast at Starbucks, we skipped ChikFilA for some reason. About an hour later and we passed the boarder.

All was going swimmingly until around the time we hit Gainesville. Then it was tick….tick…tick..tick. The swarm made its first appearance. The windshield started to look like a Jackson Pollock painting that could not be undone with wipers and fluid. I swear, lovebugs bleed quick dry contact adhesive, more on this later. Soon we were hitting the turnpike and then 429 to Western Way. We made right for home.

 

[lostpro9het]

Thursday May 16th, Day at sea, cont.

So after our drawing class we made our way to the D Lounge for a first for me, and about a third for my DW.

Anyone Can Cook is a complimentary seminar lead by one of the chefs from Remy. The chef goes through the process of preparing a particular dish then we all get to eat it! This can be a great thing if the food is in your wheelhouse. Otherwise, its a chance for free wine. Before the seminar started I had to find a restroom and ended up walking by the atrium and passed this:

Jack-Jack's Incredible Diaper Dash was just finishing up and apparently it was an exciting finish as the whole crowd really erupted at the end.

Back at the D Lounge the Remy chef was getting started.

Today's dish was Lobster Ravioli paired with a white wine. Prophet don't eat the seafood so my bride was getting a double portion today. The wine was decent. It was semi sweet and slightly chilled.

 

[lostpro9het]

Thursday May 16th, Day at sea, cont.

After the cooking seminar we decided to pay Vanellope's a visit for a treat. We ended up getting a coupe scoops of chocolate and mint, tasty.

 

[riverside]

Anyone Can Cook

They haven't met me

 

[imahistorygeek]

3 things:

Anyone can cook - The lobster ravioli looks suspiciously like machine-made ravioli. It had a strong lobster flavor and by the time it was ready to be served it was cold. I didn't care for the food, but I really liked to see how it was prepared.The wine was refreshing. I'm really branching out into the whites. If you have some pinot grigio or pinot gris recommendations, let me know.

Vanellope's - I'm on the fence with this one. The ice cream is fine, but I think if I just want chocolate, I should stick to the soft serve. Nothing about the chocolate at V's blew me away. The mint chocolate chip was not for me. I'm not into "fancy" ice cream. It's a very cute place and certainly draws the eye.

Seafood station in Cabana's - Some of you may remember the Wendy's Superbar back in the day. It was a popular all-you-can-eat buffet of different types of foods at Wendy's. I'm talking spaghetti, burritos, seafood salad, regular salad and I'm a big fan of clean up your mess if you drop something. Don't be the person that just leaves the food on the bar. I feel for the crew member that has to clean that up. I had to clean up the Superbar and murder was on my mind about 99% of the time. With that said, I really like the peel and eat shrimp. I've not tried the crab (Jonas?) claw. Should I?

 

[Rista1313]

Seafood station in Cabana's - Some of you may remember the Wendy's Superbar back in the day. It was a popular all-you-can-eat buffet of different types of foods at Wendy's. I'm talking spaghetti, burritos, seafood salad, regular salad and I'm a big fan of clean up your mess if you drop something. Don't be the person that just leaves the food on the bar. I feel for the crew member that has to clean that up. I had to clean up the Superbar and murder was on my mind about 99% of the time. With that said, I really like the peel and eat shrimp. I've not tried the crab (Jonas?) claw. Should I?

Wow... that was really a stretch to my memory recall.... I remember the super bar... and I remember spaghetti, but not seafood... why in the world did Wendy's have that anyway? They didn't even serve spaghetti!

 

[imahistorygeek]

Wow... that was really a stretch to my memory recall.... I remember the super bar... and I remember spaghetti, but not seafood... why in the world did Wendy's have that anyway? They didn't even serve spaghetti!

The seafood salad was faux crab, the vegetable mix used in the chili, and a tartar sauce like mix. It smelled disgusting. People LOVED it. The Superbar also served bean burritos along with chips and taco meat.

Superbar Commercial

 

[Rista1313]

The seafood salad was faux crab, the vegetable mix used in the chili, and a tartar sauce like mix. It smelled disgusting. People LOVED it. The Superbar also served bean burritos along with chips and taco meat.

Superbar Commercial

I think I remember the chips... I also think I recall Rotini noodles with a cheese sauce?

 

[imahistorygeek]

I think I remember the chips... I also think I recall Rotini noodles with a cheese sauce?

YES!

 

[LadyBelle]

They haven't met me

Or me.

 

[lostpro9het]

Thursday May 16th, Day at sea, cont.

So after ice cream we made for the theatre for the BatB stage show. I brought along another exchange pull with me. My Untappd notes read JDUBS Milk Chocolate Porter, 3.25/5, tastes more like tootsie roll than chocolate.

The show was excellent as always. The entertainment on the ships are always enjoyable. It was also cool seeing our table mate's kiddo perform for the first time. After the show we made our way back to 687 for 2000's music trivia. Turns out we're pretty terrible at 2000's trivia as the millennials in the room kicked our tails. I did get to enjoy a La Fin during our embarrassing performance. I first got to enjoy the La Fin at HS back when the Brown Derby Lounge was selling them, sadly they no longer do.

 

[lostpro9het]

Thursday May 16th, Day at sea, cont.

Our final night of rotational dining had us at Animators Palate. I think I prefer AP on the Fantasy a lot more than The Dream. The animated drawing finale on the Fantasy is a lot of fun. Talking with Crush during dinner aint so bad but the focus with the talks is on the kids, as it should be. Anyhow, last night of dining can always have a somber tone as this is usually the last goodbyes between table mates and serving staff.

 

[lostpro9het]

Thursday May 16th, Day at sea, cont.

We don't typically mix things up at AP because the menu is pretty simple and we know what we like. Tonight would have a twist towards the middle, though. For starters we went with the tried and true truffle pasta and Soranno ham.

For mains I went with the beef tenderloin and the DW had the chicken.

While ordering we asked Leo about the "unwritten" menu that was suppose to include various curries. He acted like it was common knowledge and told us he would bring our some variety. This variety included a pair of curries, basmati rice, and flatbread. The curry was very good and I could easily add it to my regular rotation.

For desserts we went with chocolate fudge cheesecake and the crunchy walnut cake.

Crush paid another visit during dessert.

 

[lostpro9het]

Thursday May 16th, Day at sea, cont. and Friday May 17th,

During dinner Leo gave us the lowdown on the breakfast process during disembarkation. We had the option to walk off the boat as soon as the ship was cleared or we could come back to AP for breakfast. We told him we would be back for breakfast in the AM and bid our table mates a good night. As we returned to our room we could see that Nicki had been busy.

It was a beautiful full moon out and we enjoyed the last few minutes from our veranda.

We did get to grab a quick selfie with Nicki before the night was over with.

We skipped the evening events tonight in lieu of doing some final packing and getting some rest before we disembarked for a day at the parks. We slept great and morning came fast and beautifully.

 

[MinnieM123]

I'm consistently impressed with the meals, throughout your entire cruise. Everything looked so tasty (especially since I'm here eating a cheese sandwich for dinner. LOL . . . ) The presentation of everything they served was so attractive as well.

 

[lostpro9het]

Friday May 17th, cont.

So we got up to a beautiful morning, collected our things and made our way down to AP. Back at table 89 it looked like Team Buffalo and Team Canada decided to walk off early today as we had the whole table to ourselves.

Most of AP was pretty lite this morning.

We started things off with coffee and went with some pancakes for the ride home.

We said our goodbyes to Leo and wished him well with hopes of seeing him again in the future. He and his staff were excellent this trip.

With that, we made for customs then Bay Lake Tower. Did I mention the bug?

I'm consistently impressed with the meals, throughout your entire cruise. Everything looked so tasty (especially since I'm here eating a cheese sandwich for dinner. LOL . . . ) The presentation of everything they served was so attractive as well.

They do a great job of plating and presentation of some great food. To be fair, we don't know if this is "cruise normal" or just DCL flair. We will have a comparison this Thanksgiving as we dip our toes in the Norwegian Cruise Line waters in between a few DCL trips.

 

[blreinsel]

Of course we do! Sadly, probably 98% of the members here, and one ornery grammar nazi, probably think you've been drinking the Prophet kool-aid a little too hard. ;-)

Is Prophet kool-aid different than a Castaway Cocktail? I think that both varieties fuel my DCL obsession, so I’m fine with it either way.

 

[lostpro9het]

Is Prophet kool-aid different than a Castaway Cocktail? I think that both varieties fuel my DCL obsession, so I’m fine with it either way.

Different mix, same result

 

[Zipadeelady]

We will have a comparison this Thanksgiving as we dip our toes in the Norwegian Cruise Line waters in between a few DCL trips.

Wait, What!!? Just when I think you can't surprise me anymore, you go and do something like this. I'm very interested in your comparison. Especially since we're going to be on RCL in January.

 

[imahistorygeek]

Wait, What!!? Just when I think you can't surprise me anymore, you go and do something like this. I'm very interested in your comparison. Especially since we're going to be on RCL in January.

We are going in with Managed Expectations™. We know it will be different and that's ok. The same cruise for Disney is insane in price. We are just going to relax and have fun.

 

[lostpro9het]

Friday May 17th, cont.

So we had a pretty uneventful drive to the bubble. We checked our bags with BLT bell service and walked over to MK. Love being able to walk to MK. The park was hopping.

We had some FPs lined up for this morning and first up was JC. Nothing like "front of the line access" our FPs are providing us! We spent the extra time we had in line to book an ADR for lunch. Well payed Iger...well paid.

We eventually made our way up to meet our skipper and got our journey underway.

We had a decent skipper and there were a few newbs on board that got to hear the jokes for the first time and their reaction is just as enjoyably as the skipper's act. As we exited we made for lunch. We ended up getting an ADR for LTT and pretty much walked in and were seated.

The DW and I were in tune for lunch today, we both had a hankering for some fish and chips and LTT obliged us!

Speaking of obliging, LTT is playing the game now and we ordered up a couple of proper drinks.

Wait, What!!? Just when I think you can't surprise me anymore, you go and do something like this. I'm very interested in your comparison. Especially since we're going to be on RCL in January.

I know, right! Fear not, though, we have an array of DCL trips in the shoot right now including one in 43 days! As my bride said, going in with some seriously managed expectations. NCL is helping me manage mine by providing us unlimited adult beverages on this trip as well as free wifi and upgraded dining. We added a night at VGF and AKL after cruise to start the rehabilitation process.