Make Sure You Get My Shake in the Pic *~* A Lavenous SWDAS Trip Report *~*3/4/17*~*

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

*~*All Aboard*~*


We breezed through security and soon found ourselves at the Castaway Club check in desk. Check in was smooth and we were given boarding group number 5. I planned on checking to see if there was any port upgrades available so we headed over to the line to see what there might be. There were absolutely no rooms left open on the ship in a higher category than what we already had (5A – Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom With Verandah) so that was easily settled!

As we waited for boarding Zoe was face timing her best friend who we usually travel with. I took a pic of her "coming on the cruise" with us. Hi there BFF! See her on the phone?

I absolutely love the model ship in the port. It's really neat if you look up close at all the details. You can see Minnie in the background but her line was huge and the girls didn't want to wait so I just took some pics by the model ship.

Isn't the ship neat?

There is a small outdoor waiting area near the concierge area that may be for smoking etc. but we stepped out to look at the ship. They were loading supplies and it entertained the girls for a little while.

There was another cruise ship in port and I couldn't help but think about how pretty the Fantasy was. So exciting!

We discussed going over to get Piper's wristband for the kids clubs - we figured we could check it out and if the line was long we would wait until we were onboard but if it was short we'd get it out of the way. The line was HUGE! Just as we were thinking about hopping in line, they announced that boarding was about to begin. So much for that! Most likely Piper wouldn't spend much time in the kids clubs but she really wanted the magic band as it unlocks extras on Disney Infinity and last cruise she had turned it back in at the end. Since she'd be 13 by the next cruise this was her last chance to get one for her collection.

They announced boarding groups 1-6 by the time we made our way over to the Mickey Cruise ears entrance. I had visions of a super cute entrance photo happening before we went through the ears. Can you tell how exciting the girls thought that idea was?

After pausing momentarily for that outstanding photo op we headed down the hall to happiness. We stayed to the right to skip the photo opportunity they have when you go through the hall. I knew we wouldn't be purchasing it and we couldn't wait to get on the ship and begin our trip!

We started talking about what family name we should use for the boarding announcement. We definitely wanted it to be Star Wars related so we ended up deciding on the Skywalkers. We were next to board when the family in front of us was announced - the Skywalkers! UH OH! We momentarily went into panic mode and quickly decided we would be the Solo family instead.

As soon as we entered we saw the Star Wars Day at Sea photo background. We knew it would be here the whole trip and there was a line at that time so we all agreed to try it another time. But the excitement really set in then. We were on a Star Wars sailing!

At this point we split up so Andy could take Zoe and Piper to Cabana's to get some lunch while i headed to the Port Adventures desk to get tickets for the princess and Frozen meet and greets and the Disney Jr. character breakfast.

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Yeah!!! cant wait to continue to read your TR! Hoping your dd is better!!

She is doing much better thank you!

So sorry to hear that! I'm glad you're back though.

Thank you! I'm glad she's on the mend and I am able to get caught up now!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

*~* Lost & Found *~*
​

It was about 11:45am when we got on the ship. I made my way to the Port Adventures desk to secure tickets for the meet and greets and the character breakfast. There were no issues getting the tickets but I am very excited about the new ability to sign up for meet and greet experiences online before the cruise as this will save the hassle of waiting in line to take care of this. Good stuff! Now if they would just add character breakfasts, tastings, Mixology, etc. it would be awesome!

I found the rest of the family having lunch in Cabanas and I grabbed a plate of peel and eat shrimp with cocktail sauce and macaroni salad. From the looks of it, Zoe was having chicken fingers and fries and Piper was into the deserts.

After lunch the girls really wanted to put on their bathing suits and go on the Aqua Duck. The rooms wouldn't be ready for a little while but I had packed their swim suits in a carry on bag so we went to find a spot to sit around the pool. There were seats available right in the row in front of the pool and funnelvision so I grabbed a couple of chairs for Andy and I and the girls went off to the bathrooms to change. It was quite chilly out so Andy and I planned on enjoying a drink while the girls went swimming. There weren't exactly a lot of people braving the pool when we first arrived - just the lifeguard.

I ordered a Drink of the Day in a souvenir glass which was the Bahama Mama and Andy ordered a Banana Caribe which is his favorite cruise drink and I must agree they are quite tasty! With an extra $2.50 for tip the total for the two drinks came to $21.00. Here they are:

Just as we settled in with our drinks Zoe and Piper came back from getting changed. Zoe was rifling through the bags and suddenly panic ensued as she realized she left her iphone in the restroom while they were getting changed. She ran back to the bathroom with Piper to see if they could find it. They came back and Zoe had a piece of paper in her hand which was a handwritten note from some fabulous fellow cruiser who left a note saying that her phone had been turned in to Guest Services. Isn't that amazing? Good old Disney spirit in action right there folks! Zoe and Andy went down to Guest Services and sure enough, it was there and they were back within a few minutes! PHEW! Serious crisis averted! If whoever found it happens to be on the DisBoards - seriously - thank you!!! Cheers!

After successfully retrieving the cell phone we were finally able to relax after all the mishaps and begin to settle in to vaca mode. Both girls went on the Aquaduck and I tried to get a pic of them but I was not very successful. I got some good ones later in the trip though!

You can really see the clouds in the Aquaduck pic and get a feel for the weather that day. We didn't let it put a damper on our day but brrrrr!!!

I watched trivia and other miscellaneous things they had playing on Funnelvision.

They kept showing pics of Disney Cruises leaving from the NYC port which I was super excited about since we are from NY however they seem quite pricey to me so I think we will be sticking to Port Canaveral.

The pool was starting to fill in cruisers and Piper decided to join them.

You can tell in the pic that she has Sea Bands on for sea sickness. She quickly abandoned them and stuck with a sea sickness patch for the rest of the cruise. They really did seem to help her last cruise but she just didn't want to wear them this cruise for some reason.

We decided to pack up our stuff and head to see if the rooms were ready. The girls took a quick dip in the hot tub to warm up and then we were off to check out our room. It had definitely gotten quite a bit busier on the main deck by that point.

​

 

[RMaas1]

Joining in, great report so far!


Oh, go Ravens

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Welcome to the party!!! Thanks for joining in! I won't tell my husband the Ravens part

 

[DisneyEcho]

So much has changed since my last cruise in 2005! I'm enjoying your pictures and report while gathering info for my Fantasy cruise coming up next year.

 

[Lildancer]

Surprising my 3 yr. old and husband with a cruise on the Dream in November! I can't talk to ANYONE about it so I'm loving the trip reports!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

*~* Stateroom 10550*~*​

Our room was 10550 which is a wonderful room location on the 10th floor. Our first cruise on the Fantasy we were a room away from this room and we actually have this same room booked for our 3 next cruises. The location really suits us as it is midship and very close to the stairs and elevators. It's great being just a few doors down from the elevators/stairs and it is super easy to find. It's just a quick walk up one flight of stairs to get to the main pool deck, Cabanas, etc. Plus it's a nice spacious verandah room.

We met our Stateroom Host Conrad right away and he was AWESOME!!! Loved him so much! So sweet and always working so hard to keep everything spotless and everyone happy. He is a genuinely wonderful person to talk to and we are hoping we are lucky enough to have him as our stateroom host again in November. Fingers crossed! I just wish I would've asked him for a photo. I definitely will next cruise as we did chat with him before we left and he anticipates being there in November in the same area!

There was a Star Wars Day at Sea character meet and greet selection form waiting in the room. I will get into more details on this later but you turned it in ahead of time to prioritize the meet and greet opportunities for later in the week. There were 3 choices: Bespin, The Dark Side, and Tattoine. You put a 1,2, and 3 in the boxes to rank the one you wanted most. They didn't guarantee which one you receive and you were notified of the outcome with a selection and time via tickets in your stateroom.

The rooms have one main bed as well as a couch that turns into a bed with a pull down bunk over it.

The trunk in front of the couch provides additional storage space.

There is a desk area which has outlets for charging phones and also for the hair dryer. There is a hairdryer in the drawer so no need to bring one along if you don't want to. The wave phones are also located there for use on the ship during your cruise. We really didn't use them much at all this trip. The hardcover book has the very important room service menu inside We also had a port adventures envelope waiting for us as well as more info on Star Wars Day At Sea.

The Star Wars Day At Sea information sheet listed information on picking up pre ordered merchandise as well as pins and other artwork, etc. that you could purchase if you were interested.

There are two closets in the room which provide a nice amount of storage for hanging clothes as well as shelves to place things. There is a safe in one of the closets as well as the life jackets are located in them. Across from the closets is the split bathroom, one with a sink and shower/tub, the other with a 2nd sink and also the toilet. This really is helpful when everyone is trying to get ready for dinner or the day at one time.

There's a print on the wall of each of the ships

We spent a few minutes on the verandah

We studied the Navigators for a bit as we wanted to go to the open house at the kids clubs. Here's the personal navigator for Saturday 2/6/16:

Open House was going on until 3:30 so it was time to head to the Oceaneer Club/Lab.

When we arrived we were able to quickly get Piper's wristband and make sure she was all set to attend as I had pre-registered her before we left home. You set up a password for picking them up - ours was always Disney related of course.

They have automatic hand washing stations when you enter the clubs which is nice.

The kids clubs have several different themed areas to explore so we started with Toy Story:

Look at all the Mr. Potato Heads! Awesome! We used to collect the Mr. Potato head Disney pieces from Once Upon a Toy at Disney Springs when the girls were younger. We still have them all.

There's even a slinky dog to crawl through:

Next up the kids club continued!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

So much has changed since my last cruise in 2005! I'm enjoying your pictures and report while gathering info for my Fantasy cruise coming up next year.

Thanks for reading! The Fantasy is so amazing! Which itinerary are you doing? Is it a Star Wars cruise? I'm sure you will have an amazing trip!

Surprising my 3 yr. old and husband with a cruise on the Dream in November! I can't talk to ANYONE about it so I'm loving the trip reports!

Oh my gosh! You must be SO excited! They will be THRILLED! What an amazing surprise! Is it your family's first cruise?

 

[DisneyEcho]

Which itinerary are you doing? Is it a Star Wars cruise? I'm sure you will have an amazing trip!

It's the 7-night Fantasy Eastern Caribbean to Tortola, St. Thomas/St. John, and Castaway Cay starting September 9, 2017 -- so most likely it will be a Halloween cruise.

 

[Lildancer]

I've been on several cruises, so has my husband, but it is the first Disney Cruise!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

It's the 7-night Fantasy Eastern Caribbean to Tortola, St. Thomas/St. John, and Castaway Cay starting September 9, 2017 -- so most likely it will be a Halloween cruise.

I would absolutely love to try that itinerary as well as one of the Halloween cruises! The pumpkin tree looks awesome!

I've been on several cruises, so has my husband, but it is the first Disney Cruise!

So exciting! It would be amazing to be surprised with a Disney cruise!

 

[SonyaShay]

all caught up and joining in

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

all caught up and joining in

Welcome! Glad you joined in!

 

[elphie101]

Joining in on the fun! I found one of your TRs awhile ago and it made for great lunchtime entertainment at work - glad to see you're at it again!

 

[tink1970]

I really appreciate the details you put into your TR--the room configuration, location, etc. Your pictures are great too-especially love your DDs happy faces--thought mine was the only one who'd perfected the "MOOOOOM why are you photographing me" look

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Joining in on the fun! I found one of your TRs awhile ago and it made for great lunchtime entertainment at work - glad to see you're at it again!

Hope this latest report can help make work a bit more enjoyable Thanks for reading along!

I really appreciate the details you put into your TR--the room configuration, location, etc. Your pictures are great too-especially love your DDs happy faces--thought mine was the only one who'd perfected the "MOOOOOM why are you photographing me" look

I seem to get those MOOOOOM looks quite a bit! Glad you are enjoying the report!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

*~* Your Magnet is Higher Than Mine*~*
​

Before we continue on our journey through the kids clubs, I want to back up to tell you about our stateroom door magnets. Before we had left home, I had secretly ordered Star Wars themed cruise magnets for our door off of etsy. I was super proud that I pulled that one off and couldn't wait for everyone to see them. When we got to our room I surprised everyone with them so we could decorate our door. I sent the girls out to the hall to put the magnets together and that is when the first and only "fight" of the trip broke out. All of a sudden I could hear the girls arguing so I went out into the hall to find out what was going on. If you can believe this one, they were arguing over where the stormtrooper magnets with everyone's names on them were going to go. Yes. You read this right. They were arguing over magnet placement. Apparently, and you may not know this, but if your magnet is higher on the door than someone else's, you think you are "better" than them. I couldn't make this stuff up and I'm sure I have saved you a great deal of grief by bringing this to your attention By some miracle I was able to fit TWO small stormtrooper magnets on the top of our door so no one could be "better" than anyone else. Boy, Andy and I must be total losers having our magnets so far down!

Now back to the kids clubs!

We actually spent more time than I thought we would exploring the clubs with the girls. The different themed areas are super fun!

Next to Toy Story there is a Monster's Inc. play area

There is a Tinkerbell fairy area with computers, movies, etc. and Tarzan was playing at the time - love that movie!

There are pint sized mushroom chairs - how cute is that?

Zoe spent a few minutes playing a princess game on one of the computers

and Tinkerbell's fairy tree house is there!

Mine, Mine, Mine....

Zoe could NOT resist having me take a picture of her touching "the butt" in the Nemo area. That part of the movie always cracks me up!

Castaway Cay I can't wait to see you in a few days!

We ended up spending the most time in one of the areas with an interactive floor. They had CM's playing games with the kids and Piper joined right in. They were playing a pizza game.

Zoe took the opportunity to color while Piper was playing the pizza game. There are small rooms throughout with different crafts and game stations.

After the pizza game Piper decided to try a "Ports of Call" simulator game in one of the rooms.

At that point Andy and I wanted to go to La Piazza which was the designated location to sign up for the various tastings that were offered on the cruise. I had my sights set on the chocolate tasting but the girls didn't want to leave the club yet. We decided to let them stay while we ran to sign up and then we would come back and pick them up.

 

[starousse]

Joining in.