I woke up bright and early ready to start the day. I took a stroll around the Polynesian Village grounds, which are so tranquil in the morning…
When I returned I slowly woke up the rest of my family. The kids and I headed to Captain Cook’s to retrieve everyone’s breakfast as the rest of the adults showered.
Breakfast was delicious! The Tonga Toast was far bigger than we expected- 1 order for 2 people would have been enough as it is equally as filling as it is huge in size.
Before we knew it, the time had come for Bell Services to help us with our bags and start heading to Port Canaveral!
We hired private transfers for the trip, which are far more cost effective when traveling in a group (we were 10 people in total at this point). We also made a stop for mixers and alcohol to take with us on board. It is important to note- Disney Cruise Line announced on August 17th that they will now limit the amount of alcohol to 2 bottles of wine and a 6 pack of beer per adult over the age of 21 in each stateroom effective September 30, 2015.
Check in always seems overwhelming, but the lines do keep moving, especially the Castaway Club line (the Castaway Club is something every passenger joins as soon as your first cruise is completed with Disney Cruise Line). We were given an embarkation group that was already been called to board- which was amazing. We took our group picture and were ready for some lunch!
We decided on Enchanted Garden for lunch instead of Cabanas. The restaurant didn’t seem crowded, but the buffet line was quite long. There isn’t much of a selection for children either. Once we were settled, a group of the kids (they know they ship quite well at this point bc we have all cruised quite a bit on Disney Cruise Line) headed up to deck 11 for something to eat at Cabanas and brought it back down to Enchanted Garden on deck 2 to eat with us.
After lunch, Tricia and I headed to pick up tickets for the Anna and Elsa meet and greet and also signed up for the Princess Gathering that was being held just prior. From there we headed to our stateroom and their balconies…
The balconies are massive in category 5e Aft rooms- and we had 3 right in a row in which we were able to open the doors between so we could flow between the staterooms. Two of our rooms connected, so it gave the illusion of more space (though, to be honest- I did miss more cabin space. Our cruises prior we were either in a suite or a deluxe family stateroom which has more cabin square footage).
We decided to skip the traditional Sail Away Party on deck 11 (our rooms were on deck 10) and have our own on our balconies after the mandatory safety drill. We had invited another family we knew who was sailing with us from California to meet us and watch Port Canaveral float away from our balconies as well.
Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for dinner and tonight was Animator’s Palate! Mikey was particularly excited as we were meeting his cousin, Connor, at dinner (he could use another little by to spend some time with as he is constantly surrounded by girls!). On the Disney Fantasy, your first night at Animator’s you are visited by Crush.
The menu is actually pretty great. I had…
Animator’s Palate is a really hard place to have your first night’s dinner. It is traditionally louder than the other main dining locations because of the screen shows, and the tables are closer together- making the servers’ jobs that much harder.
Right after dinner, Mikey, Connor, and Connor’s Mom (Cathieann) headed to finish up registering the boys for the kids’ clubs on board. We had begun the process online before we left, but we needed to get the boys there special magic bands. Just as we were finishing up- Pluto snuck up on the boys! After meeting Pluto, the boys decided they wanted to ditch their parents and spend some time in the Oceaneer’s Lab together.
Then we went to the evening’s show, A Fantasy Come True, which was great. The story line really hits home with those of us cruising with teenagers. From there we headed to The Tube in the adults’ only, Europa section of the ship before calling it a night (Mikey headed to bed in the stateroom with Nana, the girls all took a few more spins on the AquaDuck) but not before watching the Match Your Mate Game show hosted by the Adults’ Entertainment Cruise Director, Tisha- who is FABULOUS!
