Our friend, Sarah Tolch, recently went on the Disney Fantasy for a 5 night Bahamian Cruise. While on board, she was able to enjoy the Pirate Night Menu. Here are pictures of the menu as well as some of the food (some pictures are from this cruise, some are from prior cruises).
We recently went on a 9-Night Southern Caribbean Cruise on the Disney Fantasy. While on board, we were able to enjoy the Pirate Night Menu. Here are pictures of the menu as well as some of the food (some pictures are from this cruise, some are from prior cruises).
If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints in addition to our cruise trip reports!
Today was one of our most anticipated stops for multiple reasons. When we originally discussed taking this cruise, I asked the girls what they most wanted to do on the trip. Our younger daughter said she wanted to try riding Segways. St. Lucia was the only stop that Disney offered a Segway adventure, so we signed up for this excursion right after we got our sea day Palo Brunch. We were also excited to visit St. Lucia because our daughter’s preschool teacher was from St. Lucia and would always tell us how beautiful the island was. Her descriptions left us with the desire to visit.
Our excursion today would be leaving from the Azure lounge (one of the adult area clubs) at 10:15 am. We woke up around 8:30 to get ready and go to Cabanas for breakfast so we wouldn’t be hungry during our trip. After breakfast, we made our way to Azure to get signed in, which was relatively painless. After sitting for a few minutes, we were led off the ship.
Our group was relatively small, maybe 12 people total. We were led to a small tour bus and introduced to our guide and Segway leader, Lloyd (pictures down below).
The trip to the Lucian Style Experiences store took about 30 minutes and Lloyd kept us entertained the entire time. He gave running commentary on the island, some of the places we were passing, and kept the mood really light. Once we arrived, we were led into the store.
Once we entered the store, everyone got helmets and wrist guards if we wanted them. We also signed tons of forms releasing the company from any liability. There were restrooms and a water fountain if you needed them. They also stored any backpacks that we had brought with us since they said the weight would throw the balance off when we were on the Segways.
After everyone got helmets and signed forms, we went across the street to a practice area. Lloyd (pictured below) then demonstrated the workings of the Segway, including starting, stopping, and turning. It looked complicated at first, but he explained that the Segway will do a lot of the work for you. You lean forward to move forward, and lean backwards to slow down. If you are going too fast, the Segway will lean back to slow itself down. You move left and right by moving the handlebar in the direction you want to go. After a little bit of practice, it really is very easy to control.
After the explanation, they helped each person one at a time onto a Segway and followed closely for a minute to make sure you understood how to operate it. After they were sure that you understood the operations, they sent you on a small dirt track to practice while they helped other riders get comfortable on their Segways.
Once everyone got some practice time in, we were off. Lloyd led us out of the parking lot and onto a nearby trail. The trail was a part of some land that had been used by the US Military during World War II. We stopped a few minutes into the tour so the guides could show us some of the natural spices and flowers that grow on St. Lucia.
After the brief stop, we were back on the Segways and moving through the woods. We eventually stopped at an overlook so we could take in some of the natural beauty of the island.
We were then back on the Segways and headed up to higher into the woods. We stopped occasionally to see some of the fortifications that were built to hold either guns or ammunition.
After about an hour on the Segways, we stopped and were led to a small Koi pond that had been built for a nearby spa that went out of business. The tour participants were encouraging us to rest and put our feet in the pond, where the fish would nibble on their skin. That isn’t really our thing, but we did get some nice family photos that the guide took. While one of the guides talked about the various plants around us, Lloyd had prepared a light snack of fresh fruit for everyone to enjoy.
There was a small gazebo that you could sit in and enjoy the view.
After resting for a bit, Lloyd adjusted the Segways so they would go faster. We took off at a rapid pace flying around the various trails in the woods. Eventually, Lloyd led us down to a small beach. There was a restaurant (Marie’s Fish Shack) along with vendors selling wares at the beach. My daughter ended up buying a necklace she liked from a vendor. The beach was a part of Rodney Bay, where there are a lot of tourist destination hotels.
After resting a few minutes on the beach, we mounted back up on the Segways and returned to the Lucian Style Experiences store front. We turned back in our helmets, collected our backpacks, and got ready to return to the ship. Our return trip to the ship on the bus seemed much faster. Everyone had a great time and readily agreed this was one of the best excursions we had ever done.
The bus dropped us back off at the ship, but we decided to walk around the port area a bit before re-boarding. Right next to the terminal was a farmers market that we walked past. We were walking to the craft market that was a block away. The craft market reminded me of the straw market in Nassau. Most of the goods were the same between the stalls.
After quickly looking around the craft market, we returned to the Wonder. Our first stop was Cabanas so we could grab some lunch. We ran into our wait staff and spent a few minutes chatting with them. Once we finished lunch, we headed to the room to change and then up to the pool deck. Deck 9 was full, so we moved up to Deck 10 to get some sun and a good view of funnel vision.
We spent the afternoon watching movies (Planes and Ratatouille) in between grabbing snacks and going down to the Cove Cafe to get some ice coffee.
We stayed so long on Deck 10 we got to watch the sun go down!
Once it started to get dark, we went back to the room to shower and get ready for our Pirate Night dinner in Animator’s Palate! The tip-sheet and envelopes were waiting for us on the bed. We had already prepaid our gratuities (and added to them) for the cruise, so we just needed to put the slips in the envelopes and hand them out tomorrow.
The Pirate night menu is a standard across the fleet. Usually, this is a great night to head to Palo for dinner. We decided to skip Palo dinner on this cruise since we had brunch scheduled for tomorrow. After dinner, we headed up to Deck 9 for the Pirate’s in the Caribbean Party!
We’ve seen the party quite a few times, but its always fun to see fireworks at sea!
The other part of Pirate’s night that fascinates me is the buffet that follows the party. Since we had just finished dinner thirty minutes prior, we’ve never eaten at these buffets. We really like the various fruit carvings though.
After getting pictures of the buffet, Nancy and I headed to the room for bed. We found another fantastic towel animal waiting for us.
Tomorrow, we would be enjoying our only sea day of the cruise!
Planning | Travel | Boarding | Ship Exploration | St Maarten | Antigua | Martinique | Barbados | St. Lucia | Sea Day | Travel Back
If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints in addition to our cruise trip reports!
I had the great privilege and honor to be invited on The DCL Dude podcast again for a game of “Carry It, Keep It, or Can It”! Doug McKnight (of Rope Drop Radio), Sarah, Wes and I discuss which current Disney Cruise line amenities should be “Carried” over to the new ships, which ones are fine to “Keep” on the current fleet, and which ones should be “Canned”.
The DCL Dude Podcast is a show dedicated to all things Disney Cruise Line! They talk recent DCL news, share travel tips, interview guests, go over the best and worst (ok, mostly best) that DCL has to offer, share trip reports, and hopefully interact with their listeners!
You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes. Make sure to follow them on Facebook and X (@theDCLdude) as well!
If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints in addition to our cruise trip reports!
Our day in Cabo started with us waking up as the Wonder glided into the harbor. This was a new port for us, so we were excited to get off the ship and explore the town. We couldn’t see the famous arch of Cabo San Lucas but we figured we would get to see it when the ship left the port.
We decided to start our day with a large breakfast at Cabanas. We were going to have lunch in the town, but it wouldn’t be until later in the day. Cabanas wasn’t too busy this morning, probably because most people had already left the ship. We didn’t have a planned excursion for the day, choosing instead to just look around.
After enjoying our breakfast, we headed down to the Buena Vista Theater to catch a tender boat. We took the tender boat off the ship and were dropped off at one end of the inner harbor.
We wanted to head to the other end of the docks, but got a bit turned around. We ended up walking near a Navy Pier. Since we obviously weren’t headed in the right direction, we turned around and headed back to the harbor area (thankfully, we had google maps turned on).
We got back to the harbor area pretty quickly and started walking. There were lots of street vendors selling items in the harbor area. Some of them had some pretty interesting items, but we didn’t end up buying anything. There were some with various animals that would try to place them on you and take a picture for money. My youngest one artfully dodged one of them when she tried to place an iguana on her. She later told me that she doesn’t really like lizards.
We got to the other end of the harbor after about an hour or so. We ended up walking past a second Senor Frog’s in Cabo San Lucas. The girls had been begging us for years to go to Senor Frog’s, mainly in Cozumel. We would never go, mainly because it isn’t our scene (we aren’t big drinkers). We finally decided to head inside to get one drink so the girls could experience it.
The place was empty (I think because it was early and it was on the far end of the harbor). Nancy and I ordered margaritas and the girls got virgin Pina Coladas. The drinks were relatively good and weren’t too expensive. We mainly rested there for a while and enjoyed the view from the second story. I never did ask the girls if the reality lived up to the hype. I think they thought they would get served alcohol (not that we would have let them drink).
After we finished our drinks, we decided to go get some lunch. Nancy had picked out a great restaurant, Mi Casa. It was located a few blocks away from the harbor. It was nice to get a bit outside of the tourist bubble and see some of the rest of the town. We got to the restaurant after a few minutes of walking. The outside of the building really didn’t prepare us for what was inside though.
Just inside the entryway were two awesome rooms. The one to the left was filled with crosses.
The other area was the bar. I loved all the old wood that was in the bar.
After checking out the two rooms, we were greeted by the hostess. She let us into the courtyard, which was fabulous. The tables and chairs were all very colorful and there were great murals painted on the walls.
We took a seat on the far end of the courtyard and ordered some lunch. As we waited for lunch, more patrons started to come in.
Our food arrived relatively quickly. It was really delicious, although I don’t really remember exactly what it was.
I have no idea what this dish was.
After lunch, we decided to head back to the ship. We headed off back towards the tender dock. It took about 15 minutes to get back to the dock. There wasn’t a line, so we jumped onto the next boat that showed up.
After a few minutes, we left Cabo San Lucas and were headed back to the Wonder.
As soon as we got back on the ship, the girls headed off to enjoy the ship. Nancy and I got changed and went up to the adult area. The ship was still relatively quiet at this point, so we were able to read and relax some. After being at the pool area for a few hours, we went into Cove Cafe and grabbed some coffee.
We took our drinks down to the Promenade Lounge. There was a round of Spin the Wheel going on that we wanted to watch. It is Disney Cruise’s version of Wheel of Fortune. They divide the room into two halves and let them fight it out. There is a lot of good-natured cheering and booing going on, but it was all in fun. After the game was over, we headed back into the room to change for dinner. We managed to get a nice shot of the Arch as well as a beautiful sunset.
Nancy and I had scheduled Palo dinner for tonight. We knew that it was Pirate night based on the schedule from the Disney Cruise Line website. Since we had already enjoyed that menu several times, we decided to head to Palo for an early dinner. We could then join the girls for their dinner in the main dining room. The dinner was really good, but not as good as brunch in our opinion. It was definitely nice to experience something new on a Disney Cruise though.
We headed to the dining room to meet up with the girls. They were already into their dinner in Triton’s. It was not long before the pirates were getting out of hand. Our waiter Shane was getting into the act as well!
After dinner, we headed back to the room to change. While we were changing, we caught some of the Pirate fireworks from our balcony!
As the fireworks were ending, we remembered that they were having the Pirate Buffet tonight. We had never managed to get up to the Pirate Buffet. We certainly weren’t hungry, but we did go up to get some pictures. We went back to the room after getting our pictures. We had to clear this guy off the bed before we could go to sleep though.
Next up, we get to enjoy another great sea day, hopefully with less sunburn!
Planning | Travel | Boarding | Exploring | Sea Day | Cabo San Lucas | Sea Day | Ensenada | San Diego | Home
If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints in addition to our cruise trip reports!
During our recent April 2019 sailing on the Disney Wonder, we managed to stay awake long enough on Pirate Night to grab some pictures of the Pirate Night Buffet that was available after the Pirates in the Caribbean Fireworks in Cabanas.
In addition to the food, there were a number of fruit carvings that were great!
If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints in addition to our cruise trip reports!
Here is the menu from Pirate Night from a recent sailing aboard the Disney Wonder. The menu is similar to the one on the Disney Fantasy and the Disney Magic.
If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints in addition to our cruise trip reports!
Today was our first port stop of the trip at the beautiful island of St. Maarten (or Saint Martin). The last time we were on St. Maarten, we took a bus tour of the Dutch and French side. This time, we decided on something much simpler. We were planning on a self planned beach day. We started the day off with a quick breakfast at Cabanas.
One of our favorite podcasts, the DCLDude, had discussed a recent seven night eastern Caribbean cruise his family had taken. When his family stopped in St. Maarten, they had visited the Holland House, which is a beachfront hotel in St. Maarten. We decided to look into it ourselves. Here is the information we found on their Facebook page:
--- INFO ON BEACH CHAIRS & DAY PASSES --- Dear Friends, We are getting many request for information about day packages for the beach from those of you who are visiting us on a cruise. The following information might be helpful and we look forward to welcome you! The package we offer is $25 and includes; - 2 beach chairs and 1 umbrella from the time you arrive - 4 beverages consisting of beers, water and soda. - Free WiFi - Shower on the beach that you can use. - We serve lunch on the beach and have a full cocktail menu available for your. - Bathrooms are inside of the hotel and free to use. - First come, first serve. We do not take reservations. In case you want to make reservations for lunch, please email oceanlounge@hollandhousehotel.com Kind regards! Holland House Team
The Fantasy docks at the double dock on the southern portion of the harbor, so we had to get over to the Holland House. We decided to take the water taxi.
As you enter the port area, there is a mini shopping mall with most of the stores you would expect in a port area (Diamonds International, Majesty Jewelry, etc). There are also a few places to drink if you would like.
There is a sign as well if you want to get your picture taken next to it.
There is a booth in the shopping area for the water taxi. If you look in the above photo, it is the light blue booth with the sign pointing to it. You can buy one way or round trip tickets. We selected round trip tickets and we received wrist bands. The wrist bands would allow us to to board the water taxi at either end. The person in the booth then directed us to the water taxi dock. The path takes you through the stores and down a pathway next to the water. You can go onto the dock from there.
Here is a map I made with the help of google maps. The Holland House is also marked on the map.
As you enter the dock, there is another booth to purchase tickets for the water taxi. If you already have a wrist band, you can go on board the water taxi. The water taxi is a huge catamaran with lots of seating.
Once on board, it is a short ten or so minute ride over to the main dock, which is located in the middle of the beach strip. During the trip, the crew of the boat was selling water, sodas, and beers for $1 each.
Here is a look back at the Fantasy.
As you approach the water taxi dock, you can see the the Holland House with the white umbrellas.
Here is the water taxi after it dropped us off.
After you land at the dock, you take an immediate right to head to the Holland House. There are a number of hotels that pretty much have the same deal as the Holland House. Two Chairs, Umbrella, and a number of drinks for $20-$25. Most of them have WiFi available as well.
We checked in at an outside bar were we got the WiFi password (which never worked at the beach but was fine near the bar). We decided to wait a bit on our drinks, but didn’t have any problem getting them later delivered in a bucket filled with ice.
Right next to our chairs was an area where you could rent jet skis. In hindsight, we probably should have sat at the other end chair section (away from the Fantasy). The problem wasn’t the jet skis themselves, it was the guys smoking who were renting out the jet skis.
The beach was great though. The sand was nice and the water was clear. The island views were fantastic and we had great weather. We could go inside the Holland House (which is a hotel) to use the restrooms. You can also order food or drinks directly to the beach (the wait staff walks around).
After sitting at the beach for a few hours, Nancy headed back to the ship because she wasn’t feeling well. The rest of us decided to stroll around the town for just a bit, then we would head back. There are a lot of bars and restaurants trying to get tourist business.
We spent another hour or so walking around and looking in shops, then boarded the water taxi for our return trip to the Fantasy. Since we hadn’t eaten in the town, the kids and I headed to the pool deck for a quick service lunch. The ship was pretty crowded at this point, which meant it took quite a while to get some food. Then I promptly dropped my tray. So, I spent another ten minutes getting more food and finally met up with the kids (who were smart and got their own food). We ate and discussed what we should do. We finally settled on riding the Aqua Duck.
We returned to the room to shower off after our beach day and found this waiting for us. It was our first platinum welcome gift, a box of chocolates. We received a note in our stateroom when we first checked in offering us a fruit tray, sparkling wine, or chocolate and we selected the chocolate. It was delivered to Nancy while the rest of us were still at the beach.
There were five chocolates inside the box. We ate a few and they were delicious!
We rested until it was time to leave St. Maarten. We got to see the St. Maarten Coast Guard ship as it escorted the Fantasy out of the harbor.
We were also treated to a wonderful sunset!
Tonight was the Pirates in the Caribbean party, but we decided to take a pass on it. I don’t actually remember what we did instead of the party, probably watched movies in the room. Tonight’s dinner was in Animator’s Palate, but was the Pirates in the Caribbean Menu. The normal screens that show Crush were instead showing various Pirate themed scenes.
Nancy still wasn’t quite feeling up to snuff, so I headed back to the room with her. Here was our towel animal for the night.
As we were getting ready for bed, my youngest daughter came back a bit early from the Edge. She said she was going to watch “Solo” in the Buena Vista Theater. It sounded like fun, so I headed off with her to watch the movie. There was a light crowd there considering that it started around 11:15 pm or so.
Once the movie ended, we headed back to the room to get some sleep. Tomorrow we would be stopping at St. Thomas!
Boarding | Exploring | Sea Day 1 | Sea Day 2 | St. Maarten | St. Thomas | Sea Day 3 | Castaway Cay | Disembarkation
If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints as well as our cruise trip reports!
If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints in addition to our cruise trip reports!
You must be logged in to post a comment.