Escape to Concierge

[dizneeat]

I am so happy you are here. I am sorry we did not get to meet up in WDW. Life got in the way and we had to come home sooner than we had planned. When will you be starting your next report? Or has it started?

Smiles,
Kate

Finally caught up!
WHAT a trip!! Looks awesome so far and I love all the photos. Your room looks wonderful (and so does all the food. ) It's awesome to see the ship all decorated for Halloween and all the activities, too.

As for my TRs - I have started my 2018 one, but have been lazy with it, but then I am in the process of finishing off 2017's and once I am done - 2018 will need to get going as we had an awesome time AND even though I said we would not travel to the US in 2019 we will return for 3 weeks.
(Planning is in the 2017 TR and links are in my signature )

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

I was recently complaining to Rob that on the Concierge cruise I never sat down long enough to be bored - or even read a book (although I did take time out to do some work, almost all of our vacations involve me working at least an hour or so per day. Better a working vacation than no vacation). After looking back at our photos I see why I never was bored. We were busy from sunup to sundown.

I left off in the previous posting at the beginning of dinner. This night we were in the Enchanted Garden. The Specially Cocktails at the top are for an additional fee, I believe gratuity is included in the additional fee or at least, automatically tacked on.



This was one of my favorite menus. Sadly, we were chatting so much we forgot to take photos of our apps.




For an entree, I had the scallops, very tasty. Plus, I am a huge fan of asparagus. Ours should be popping up in the garden soon.



And Rob had the lamb, which also was very tasty. I know because we always sample each other's food. And sometimes even trade.



We tend to be more "salty" folks than "sweet" folks and rarely have desserts at home but when on a cruise... Our server tended to like to pad our desert choices so often we would end up with more than one dessert per person. The items on the left side of this menu are "extra charge" items and are not included in the price of your cruise.



Those on the right of this dessert menu are "free".



I had the Sticky Date Pudding. YUM!



And Rob went for the Choc Brownie Sundae, which surprises me since he is not a chocolate ice cream type person.



And then there was the Mystery Desert which our server gave us.. I have no idea what it is. I think I remember it being good.



See the crayons above, I really do not like it when the servers "give us a puzzle". I want my dinners to be quiet and classy, a time when I can sit and chat with my spouse or stablemates, not a time when folks are distracted trying to solve table puzzle. Heck, I even like to dress up a bit for dinner on the ships.

Opps, I met that to be table mates, not stablemates but stablemates is funny so I am just going to leave it in and explain it rather than correct the spelling.

After a couple of nights the puzzles seem to stop, probably because we tend to ignore them.

After dinner we returned to our room where I crashed and Rob did a quick fresh up and then took a walk. Deck four has a great walking/running area which we took advantage of daily.

We were celebrating our anniversary this cruise, a bit early but knew we could not get away for the actual date. Tonight's towel animal were these beautiful swans.

 

[dizneeat]

This night we were in the Enchanted Garden.

Love Enchanted Garden - only complaint is that it seems the tables are even closer together than on the other ships.

I had the Sticky Date Pudding. YUM!

One of my favourites - so yummy!

See the crayons above, I really do not like it when the servers "give us a puzzle".

That makes two of us ........... yikes, how I detest having to play along with it, when it is just the two of us and we are having a nice conversation.

 

[CarolynK]

Nicely decorated ship for Halloween.
2 drink tastings in one day, sounds like something I'd like!
I think the crayons/puzzle idea is a bit out of place for dinner, good that the servers got the hint. Was it a table just for you two?

 

[franandaj]

OK, just got through page 2 and the stateroom photos. The room looks so nice. We did Concierge on our second cruise (11 years after our 1st Disney cruise). Our room looked a lot like yours, but not all the lights in the bathroom. I miss that room! But we decided to take twice as many cruises instead.

I'm slowly catching up. I didnt realize you started this so long ago. Thank you for the heads up!

ETA: You keep mentioning that you're at your picture limit after only a few pictures. Do different users have different limits, because I can post 35 pictures per update before it starts to give me grief.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

As for my TRs - I have started my 2018 one, but have been lazy with it, but then I am in the process of finishing off 2017's and once I am done - 2018 will need to get going as we had an awesome time AND even though I said we would not travel to the US in 2019 we will return for 3 weeks.
(Planning is in the 2017 TR and links are in my signature )

I love your reports, I will need to pop over and start reading.

That makes two of us ........... yikes, how I detest having to play along with it, when it is just the two of us and we are having a nice conversation.

I find the whole crayon bit an irritation. It would be different if we had kids with us who liked to solve puzzles but we have so little time to just sit and talk with one another in privacy that I do not like being distracted by a server trying to engage me in a game.

Nicely decorated ship for Halloween.
2 drink tastings in one day, sounds like something I'd like!
I think the crayons/puzzle idea is a bit out of place for dinner, good that the servers got the hint. Was it a table just for you two?

We thought we could handle the two tastings but it proved to be a bit much for us. It was fun though.

Yep, the table was just for us two. I have asthma and cologne and residual cigarette smoke are my two biggest triggers. There is no way to ask one's table mates before hand if they smoke or to not wear cologne so as much as we would love to visit with others during dinner, we just always ask for a private table. The only time it has been an issue was our last cruise when they said they had no private tables, until I explained the reason and told them I had documentation if needed. At that point a private table was found for us.

When traveling, I always carry a form given to me by my doctor explaining my issues, I am aware I could be challenged since they are not visible to most folks.

[QUOTE="franandaj, post: 60490034, member: 258028"
ETA: You keep mentioning that you're at your picture limit after only a few pictures. Do different users have different limits, because I can post 35 pictures per update before it starts to give me grief.[/QUOTE]

Disboards is limiting me to uploading ten photos at a time. No idea why unless it is because I "drag" the photo from my desktop screen into the post? Oh well, it prompts me to access how much time I have spent on disboards and then move on to another project.

 

[dizneeat]

Disboards is limiting me to uploading ten photos at a time. No idea why unless it is because I "drag" the photo from my desktop screen into the post? Oh well, it prompts me to access how much time I have spent on disboards and then move on to another project.

That is just strange. I think it limits me to 30 pics (if I am not mistaken). I use smugmug and am quite happy with it. No more photobucket for me.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Today was Castaway Cay day. We are not really beach people but do enjoy the quietness of Serenity Bay (the over 18 area of the beach).



First though, breakfast! Most mornings we just grabbed some cheese, fruit and bread from the Concierge but today we visited the Royal Palace.

Can you tell, I like bacon. I REALLY like bacon, and we seldom cook it at home. This was not a particular item on the menu, I just said "May I have...."



Rob's breakfast. We did not snap a photo of the menu so I have no idea what his was called.



I keep trying Disney's coffee, hoping that someday it will be drinkable. NOPE. IT SUCKS! BAD, BAD, BAD. Disney does so much right, you would think they could provide a decent cup of coffee without you having to pay a visit to the Cove and pay for a cup.



I think most everyone on the Disney Cruise board is aware that Castaway Cay is Disney's private island and a highlight of most Caribbean and Bahaman cruises. We are not beach folks but do enjoy hanging out in Serenity Bay. We wanted to hit Castaway Cay early, walk about, eat lunch and then head back to ship and take advantage of our Rainforest day pass that we bought before we left for the cruise.

Serenity Bay - just beyond where the chairs are sitting.




Mount Rustmore




The walkway to the beach. There are trams but we always walk. We like to walk and tend not to be in a hurry when on Castaway Cay.



Signage. I love the attention to detail and how Disney creates signs to fit in with the environment.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

"Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign"

Sand wheel chairs. I assume the are complimentary.



The family beach area.




Just in case you need to spend more money, except the stores do not accept cash, you must charge to your room card. I have finally learned to watch and recheck my spending daily so I do not end up with a nasty billing surprise at the end of our cruise. Now that you can check your account via the Disney app, it will be easier to keep track.

One cruise, when we were in Alaska, Rob was charged incorrectly for a tasting. When he brought the bill back to Guest Services, they corrected the charge and comped him the tasting.



More cute signs.



Hair braiding. We used to do this for Sarah when she was younger. Once I had my done also. My students thought it was a hoot to see their professor with a single string braid.



This was an accident photo. I tend to take a lot of photos of ... the floor, my pant's leg and sometimes even my face.



Someday I am going to buy one of the "Mine Mine Mine" souvenirs, maybe a cup since I do not have a need for a towel.



One of the several bars on the island. Pretty much every seat was taken when we walked back to the ship.



The tram. If we had little ones we would certainly use it but since we spend part of our vacation trying to walk off all the calories we gained from eating and drinking...



We did pick up the Serenity Bay tram when the sidewalk ran out. It appeared you were not supposed to walk there????

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Continuing on with our trip to Serenity Bay.

In the morning, there is a 5K run held on the island. Frankly, even that early I think it was too hot to participate in a run but many, many, many people did.



When we returned to Castaway Cay this past March, we hiked this trail. It was not very long and was quite enjoyable - but you have to watch out for the bikers.






Once we were dropped off at the adult beach we grabbed a couple of chairs and relaxed for a bit. Rob was soon up though and searching out photo ops.



Finally, time to eat again! This area is for adults only and on this trip, the food was good. Actually it has been great every time except for our March cruise. That time it seemed like the MDRs and Castaway Cay were having chef problems ... or something.





Rob's lunch.




My lunch.



After lunch we headed back to .... relax some more.

 

[CarolynK]

I love the picture of Serenity beach, the first one with the sand...beautiful! We've done 2 DCL cruises, both when our kids were young, so there was NO adults-only anything for us back then!

 

[franandaj]

Slowly catching up. I think if I did Concierge on the Dream or Fantasy, I would never go to the dining rooms cause I would be too full from all the CL offerings!

Is HC the official designation for how Disney refers to Handicapped Accessible rooms?

Very nice towel animal!

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

I love the picture of Serenity beach, the first one with the sand...beautiful! We've done 2 DCL cruises, both when our kids were young, so there was NO adults-only anything for us back then!

On our first cruise, our daughter was fifteen and wanted to spend the day with her Vive friends so we signed her up for one of their excursions and headed to Serenity. Since then our cruises have all been on the west coast or Alaska until this cruise so we have never experienced the family beach other than walking by. It does look a bit busy. Serenity is very, very nice.

Rob does enjoy taking nature photos so I use that as a carrot to entice him to give up valuable vacation days and travel. I am sure he would be just as happy being home and digging in the dirt but he is a great travel partner so I am glad he accommodates my travel bug.

Slowly catching up. I think if I did Concierge on the Dream or Fantasy, I would never go to the dining rooms cause I would be too full from all the CL offerings!

Is HC the official designation for how Disney refers to Handicapped Accessible rooms?

The lounge food was very fresh. We enjoyed all the food we had on the Dream, including the food from the dining rooms. This past March we sailed the Fantasy for the first time and for the first time on any of Disney's ships, we did not enjoy the food except when dining in Cabanas and/or ordering from room service.

HC, not sure if that is how Disney refers to Handicapped Accessible rooms, if I wrote it earlier than it is probably just "I" left off the A (bad professor for not proof-reading). At my college we use the abbreviation HCA and everything we post online or do in the classroom must be "HCA". When I lived in Washington, this was referred to as Disability Accessible, I prefer that term. Personally, I do not feel "handicapped", I just need something different from other folks to handle the needs of daily life.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Till next time Castaway Cay.



Once we were back onboard we stopped by the room to freshen up. Rob snapped a couple of photos from our verandah.





And this was waiting for us. The swans from the previous night had been repositioned and re-sprinkled with roses. Such a nice touch. We had great CMs from the C. lounge to stateroom hosts to dining servers to CMs walking around the ship doing whatever their job was to do.







Before our cruise I bought day passes to the Rainforest. This was the first time we visited the Rainforest and for me, it was meh. Probably because it was already hot and I did not need the warm loungers, hot tubs, sauna, etc to get warm. I think I might enjoy it more on an Alaskan cruise. I ordered our passes via the "Onboard Gifts" section of DisneyCruise. https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/in-room-gifts-and-shopping/ The passes were $16+tax each.

Flavored water and regular water. I tend to prefer the regular water although the flavored water looks pretty.



The Rainforest was empty today. Most folks were down at the beach which is why we choose today to use our pass.



I thought I had a photo of the hot tubs but this is the only one I could find. --- which is mostly a photo of my feet.

There are several of these "special" showers to enjoy. I stepped in a couple but it seems weird to me to shower with clothes on my body and I am too modest to take off my clothes in public, plus I do not think you are supposed to remove your clothes since the Rainforest is coed.


Rob enjoyed the sauna for a bit. I stepped in and then stepped back out. Too hot for me.


Up next, a special visitor up on the Concierge sun deck.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Our time in the rainforest was limited since we had been invited up to the Concierge sun deck for a 4:30 p.m. special gathering to meet a celebrity. Although the brochure from our Concierge hosts said Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic beverages would be provided all I saw was a smoothie type non-alcoholic drink. Not that it mattered, we had a Konk Kooler while on Castaway Cay and were not ready for another drink - yet. http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2013/...kooler-from-disney-cruise-lines-castaway-cay/




STITCH!!! One of my favorite peoples.



After the visit from Stitch we popped down to the C. lounge to grab a drink to carry to dinner. Tonight was pirates night so we also donned our pirate attire, Rob wore a white linen shirt with a "pirate vest" and a pirate bandana and I just wore black t-shirt with pirate stuff on it.

We must have been really tired from relaxing all day as we seem to be lacking in photos from dinner. No photos of our apps or soup/salads...



Many folks do not like the food from Pirates night. We do enjoy it, except for the Johnny cake. Corn bread is not supposed to be sweet.





Below is a photo of the Johnny Cake and since they called it cake, I guess it can be sweet. I still do not like it but do like the rolls that were also in the basket.
I still am not a fan of the dips that come with the breads. And I am a big, big fan of mango but I could not taste the mango in the dip, even if it was called Mango Dip.



I had the Jerk Chicken. Very good. I am also a big fan of rice and beans so this meal was right up my alley.



Rob is big on seafood and will almost aways order it if it is available. He had the grouper which he said had good flavor.



I do not remember who had which dessert but since we tend to share...





After dinner we walked around deck four a few times before heading up to the lounge to hang out and then off to dream land.

 

[franandaj]

Yay! I finally got all caught up! It sounds like you cruise a lot like we do. Well without all the walking.

I like the Martini Tastings too and I love a good Chocolate Martini. The Citron one sounds good as well!

Hi Alison! Great to see you here. I am thoroughly enjoying your trip reports. I love seeing and catching tidbits on facebook but really enjoy the details in your trip report.

Thanks. I'm trying to keep up on it. Life is sorta busy right now.

How are the four legged babies? Any new additions to the family?

Perish the thought! After Momma cat arrived with 5 babies in her belly, I started to realize that with a 20 year potential life span, we really need to think hard about taking in any more cats. I mean Fran is a bonafide senior, and I'm catching up quickly! We don't want the cats to outlive us.

Disboards is limiting me to uploading ten photos at a time. No idea why unless it is because I "drag" the photo from my desktop screen into the post? Oh well, it prompts me to access how much time I have spent on disboards and then move on to another project.

Ahhh, so the DIS is hosting your pictures. At some point you will run out of space. I remember looking into the DIS as a hosting site when Photobucket lost their minds, but I would have likely filled the allotment with one TR. I think it was 50 megs.

I use our business website for my pictures now, and I like to think I have more control of that. Photobucket came back to their senses and now I pay like 50 bucks a year so my old TRs won't disappear, and if I want to post pictures on the fly from my phone, I can use it, but I'm not going to place all my stake in them anymore.

That is just strange. I think it limits me to 30 pics (if I am not mistaken). I use smugmug and am quite happy with it. No more photobucket for me.

Yeah I'm happy with uploading the pictures to our domain for my TRs. When Photobucket offered more reasonable plans like they had when I used them I decided to pay just to preserve my old TRs.

I keep trying Disney's coffee, hoping that someday it will be drinkable. NOPE. IT SUCKS! BAD, BAD, BAD. Disney does so much right, you would think they could provide a decent cup of coffee without you having to pay a visit to the Cove and pay for a cup.

I've given up. I just go to the Cove.

We wanted to hit Castaway Cay early, walk about, eat lunch and then head back to ship and take advantage of our Rainforest day pass that we bought before we left for the cruise.

That's what we do, minus the walking. And definitely have a drink at Serenity Bay!

Just a note about the Rainforest room in Alaska. That would be on the Wonder, and from what I hear there are not as many amenities, like no hot tubs, but I haven't been since my first cruise in 2001.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

It sounds like you cruise a lot like we do. Well without all the walking.

I love to walk and can walk miles, as long as there is not an incline. I can no longer do hills. When I was a kid, my sister lived at the base of Jump Off Joe mountain (Washington) and I loved to roam about the trails "up" the mountain, often by myself, which was probably stupid since the mountains contained mountain lions, bears, etc. And we did not carry cell phones so if there had been an issue....

I like the Martini Tastings too and I love a good Chocolate Martini. The Citron one sounds good as well!

If you are ever in our neck of the woods, come to dinner and we will make you a Citron Martini. Bring Fran.

Perish the thought! After Momma cat arrived with 5 babies in her belly,

Softie! But we would also have problems rejecting the Momma cat in need.

20 year potential life span, we really need to think hard about taking in any more cats. I mean Fran is a bonafide senior, and I'm catching up quickly! We don't want the cats to outlive us.

True, cats live a long, long time. I am also a bonafide senior and it changes the way you think. I bought my last car a couple of years ago and I thought very hard about what I wanted to drive for the next 20+ years (we keep our cars until they are vintage...)

DIS is hosting your pictures.

Ah, now I understand. Rob just informed me that he has a subscription to a photo-server and has had it for years. I had no idea, I guess we need to talk more. But for now, I will keep doing as I am doing, at least for this report. Maybe I will do something different for the next one.

I pay like 50 bucks a year so my old TRs won't disappear,

So nice of you. I am one of those folks who often refer back to old reports to find some tidbit of information. Currently I am searching for one of Ellen's about Hawaii. Any chance you have the link? (podsnel) I have tried the search function and can't seem to go back far enough.

I just go to the Cove.

We go to the Cove and use an AeroPress. Sneaky me, I gave one to Rob a few years ago for a gift so when we travel, he is always the one to make the coffee. The aero press does a great job of providing a good tasting cup of coffee.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018RY8H0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

the Rainforest room in Alaska. That would be on the Wonder, and from what I hear there are not as many amenities, like no hot tubs

I think my issue with the Rainforest is that I am an introvert to the max and am not comfortable hanging out in my skimpies with folks I do not know.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Today has been stressful. Two of my f2f (face-to-face) early ending classes have "ended" and as always there are a few students who have not turned in their "big" paper, which frustrates the heck out of me since turning it in almost guarantees a perfect score (if they provided quality answers) and will boost their final grade by at least one point (maybe two if they are mid-point range between grades). I just want to shake them but all I can do is send email after email... The other stressor was I had to turn in FMLA (family medical leave...) forms for my mother so I can take "my" sick days for her when she needs me. UGH, she lives with us, she is 92 and she needs me to stay home with her when her aides do not show. There may be two to four times a year when I cannot find someone on the spur of the moment but when that happens I need to be available. I have thirty plus weeks of sick time built up, it is not like I take advantage of the situation...


Off my venting box and on to more positive stuff. The weather here in mid-Michigan is great! We have been able to take the pups for walks almost every day for the past week or so.

I believe we left off with our returning to the room where we found this cute towel animal.



It saddens me that Disney and other cruise lines are cutting out the "magic", i.e., towel animals (Disney has not yet), individual shampoos, conditioners, lotions, (using my leftovers has prompted me into booking more cruises) and this one really ticks me; not providing a to-go bag when you spend money in their gift shops. The "reusable bags" they are pushing and charging for are not environmentally friendly. They are still plastic and will still end up in landfills and oceans. If Disney was really environmentally friendly they would 1. stop selling balloons, 2. provide paper bags make out of recycled paper, 3. use natural projects (not plastic) in their building projects and 4. only sell clothing/cloth items made from natural products (no polyester or rayon).


Anyway…

As usual we were up early the next morning and did a walk about the ship with a purpose. This was the day we wanted to take photos of all the places we have neglected. Since we were up before the lounge opened we walked around the pool deck snapping photos of all the places we did not eat this time around.



I have heard great things about their pizzas. I know we love the pizza on the Wonder so I imagine it would be as good on the Dream.






Moving on from pizza we found Tow Mater. Cars is an awesome movie. One of the lucky students at Sarah's high school had a dad who apparently was very good at renovating cars and he created for her, a replicate of Tow Mater for her. Sadly, I did not have a cell phone during that time so never snapped a picture of the cool reproduction of Mater.



Following Mater was Fillmore's, right up my alley being a child of the sixties. I still would love to have a volkswagen bus like this.





This one is pretty, however, you pay for the items in this shop. Vanellope Sweets and Treats, seriously though, why pay for food when most of the other food is included in the price of your cruise. It was very tempting though and we did (shhhh) stop by for a free sample.



By this point more folks were moving about and the crews were finishing up the cleaning of the pool areas.



This pool gets a bit crowded during the day.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Continuing our walk around the pool deck we find hair braiding and complimentary life jackets for the wee ones.





Even at this early hour, there was a movie on the pool big-screen. Dory. I love Dory, maybe even more than Stitch. I can relate to both...



Speaking of Dory, the wee ones' area is call Dory's reef. I wish we had a wee one so we could experience it.





Is this not the coolest place ever!






After checking out Dory's Reef we moved on to the adult areas of the pool deck.



Only $46 for a shoulder massage. I can get one on campus for $15.... Plus I would never be able to relax and enjoy the massage with folks walking by.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Continuing along in the adult area (I am so glad I am an adult, I like the adult areas.) I love this sign. Please, if you are a kid, no offense but stay away and allow the adults to enjoy the quietness of the adult... and if you are a noisy adult - go to the kids' area....




Really like the coffee at the Cove but I wish that Disney would provide decent tasting coffee everywhere. For the price they charge for a cruise they should provide quality coffee. Not the Joffrey's crap...It is as bad as the old Nestle stuff they used to provide.





I could hang out in the Cove all day. In fact, when we were on our earlier cruises we did hang out for hours in the Cove, especially when we cruised Alaska. You can order non-alcoholic drinks or drinks with a bit of a kick. I do not know the lady below but I like her shorts.






In the olden days you could serve yourself for the snacks but now you must ask one of the CMs to serve you. Still free but a bit of a hassle when they are busy. I prefer the old way. The snacks are great! Better even then in the C. lounge in my opinion and you can grab a few to take back to your kiddos if you wish.



On our last cruise we brought on a drink carrier and one of us would go up to the Cove, grab a couple of coffees and croissants and "treat" the other. Don't forget to bring your frequent coffee card, buy five and get the next one free. When you are buying for two folks the numbers add up quickly. So far you have been able to bring the cards back on "future" trips but this may change at any time.



And unless they have changed you can even get one for frozen drinks.