Fantasies and Stalkings

Even though the Maiden Voyage of our fair Fantasy fell into perfect timing with school Spring Break, we decided not to sail on her then. Having worked many years in the hotel industry, we decided it was best to give them a few sailings to work out any kinks so to speak. The first few weeks of any new hospitality environment can always be a little challenging. I have the utmost confidence in the new cast and crew to provide every guest with the best magical experience, but I also know that they are only human and mistakes are usually at the highest in the first few weeks. After that time, everyone gets more comfortable with their surroundings and fellow "cast mates". They are more at ease as the newness and some excitement wears off and they can provide a better guest experience. This is not to say those first few sailings will not be amazing, but for me, I notice these "little" behind the scenes things and it would be a bit of a distraction. I don't think I would be able to stop myself from jumping in and helping, making myself an honorary Cast Member, much to the horror of my Hubby and Thing 1 and 2. Oh, come on! Don't look at me like that! It's only happened a few times. . . .  I am sure even as I type this, our Fantasy cast mates are in the middle of hours and hours of training that only a company like Disney can provide. When doing my almost daily check of the Port Canaveral webcam http://portcanaveralwebcam.com/ . I was surprised to see that today she wasn't there! Now where could she be? I quickly did an AIS search. . . .  I love watching Fantasy on this little site I found on the Cruise Critic boards http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/ . It came in handy today when I had the system search the globe for my missing Fantasy. Imagine my even greater surprise when I saw her in Cozumel! I also saw her with my own eyes on the Cozumel dock webcam. Yeah, I am sure by now you've guessed it, I have become a bit of a Fantasy stocker! Knowing Disney like I do, I'm sure they were taking Fantasy out for a little stretch of her legs and maybe some debarkation training at some of the ports. There could also be a boat load of some very lucky people getting a little mini cruise on her as they are still working the P.R. for her and training with sea trials. One of these days, I will be cleaver enough to figure out how to get myself on some of those special Disney "insider" trips. . . . but until then, I am stuck with cyber stalking!

I have been stalking Fantasy since that fateful night in cruise planning that I first discovered her existence and that she was still being constructed. What an amazing thing to be amongst some of the very first (several thousand) cruisers on her! I was enthralled with watching her progress on the Meyer Wharf cam. Thank you again Cruise Critic boards! What a marvelous experience to watch the very ship that you will be sailing on in a few months, be constructed. I am sure it's a once in a lifetime unique opportunity that doesn't come around very often. I also got Thing 1 and Thing 2 hooked on watching her progress too. I love when they really get excited about something with me! We learned of the Float Out, and couldn't wait to watch the videos posted on Youtube. Watching live wasn't an option due to bedtimes and time changes. Darn school! Gosh, why do I have to be so responsible? Peter Pan had it right! After school, we watched the float out with all the grandeur, Mickey and Minnie, fireworks, and adoring German fans. Living in a military town and my neighborhood being a bit of a United Nations, I asked my German neighbor to scan the youtube posts for any comments. I was going to cancel immediately if any of those posts in German had even a hit of, "My cousin worked on that ship, and you couldn't pay me to sail her!" Thankfully, she had said all was well. I think she likes me, so she wouldn't lie, right? Hummmm. . . . . We also used the AIS system after that to randomly check on her at Meyer Wharf, as well as the webcam to watch her at night. (yes, we have cable, but have you seen what's on T.V. lately? Watching an unmoving ship is much safer than explaining the latest Hardees ad!) We then watched all the videos and the pictures of her trek from Meyer Wharf in Papenburg to Bremerhaven. Just before she was to set sail on her trans-Atlantic cruise to New York, we also started watching the Disney Cruise website for their new series of videos on the Fantasy. We waited with giggles and cheers as we watched Fantasy sail into New York Harbor. I am sad to say I was alone in watching her live, but after school they ran into the house and watched all the re-caps. We "watched" her Christening live via Twitter and saw all the pictures and video the next day. Our excitement  almost reached a fever pitch as we watched that magical creation float into Port Canaveral, arriving home, for the first time. It almost brought a tear to the eye watching her float in, horns blaring When you Wish Upon a Star , putting on her best fireworks performance for her new neighbors. Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy were also watching from the docks. She is finally home, only hours away from us now. After all these months of watching her across the seas, our time on her is now quickly approaching. The kids realized this too and became more and more giddy dancing and singing begging for a new video from another angle. Yes, I have turned my children into Fantasy stalkers too. The amount of Fantasy information they can now rattle off would blow your mind, or make you call C.P.S! There are very few times in life that you can get your child's interest and keep them engaged. There are even rarer times that it's a subject you can enjoy with them. I know their Disney love will dwindle as they get older, I can only hope that with these fond memories they have built now, they will someday return.

With the Maiden Voyage off the list of possible cruise dates, we started voting on the other 5 cruises still on our list. After the polls closed, all votes were tallied and double checked for the absence of hanging chads, we had our winner! We decided on a cruise in the beginning of summer. It should still be early enough that the threat of hurricanes should be at a minimum. . . . fingers crossed, fingers crossed, fingers crossed. Also, the Fantasy crew should have enough cruises under their mouse ears that most of the glitches should be worked through and perfected. We chose the 7-night Eastern Caribbean Cruise. We all liked this itinerary the best because of the 3 days at sea in the schedule. We are going on this cruise to cruise, to be on the boat, so the more days on the boat, the better! This of course also means more days for the kids to enjoy the kids club! Hey, they want to be in there, so they say. I won't make them go if they don't like it. Besides they have already been told they must get their daily dose of Vitamin D and they need to have their little booties on that Aqua Duck at least 4 times a day! We didn't just choose this beautiful new boat because it's beautiful and new, we want the SLIDE! Although, it will be nice getting some alone time with the hubby, if my little bosses allow it. I honestly think I am going to have to force them to spend time with us. Yippie! I love a good challenge! I can see it now, mommy dancing with Mickey mid-deck, children scarred with the heat of adolescent embarrassment. . . . .  Hey, no one said I wasn't allowed to have fun here. My life long dream is what is getting them on a boat with my mouse, they'll have to cut me some slack as I live out that dream! I can see it now, "This is a family vacation darn it! We will have some family time and you are going to enjoy it whether you like it or not!  Now get out here and dance with me and Mickey!" Yeah, I don't know if they will really enjoy the kids clubs, but I think they are going to be begging to get in there either way!