Guest Trip Report: December 14, 2019 Eastern Caribbean on the Disney Fantasy – Day 5

This day was our second port day – San Juan, Puerto Rico! San Juan is not a usual stop for the Disney Fantasy, they only go once or twice a year, so even the cast members were excited.

I decided to try Royal Court for breakfast with my husband and mother-in-law. I ordered the vegetable omelet, which was OK. I had forgotten to charge my phone the previous night, so I do not have any photos from this meal.

Many of the adults in our party had signed up for the Bacardi Factory Tour through Disney Cruise Line. I had offered to stay back and help watch the kids, since I am not a fan of rum. They all really enjoyed the tour and Keith took some pictures for me.

For awhile, the kids just wanted to stay in the rooms and play, so I enjoyed sitting on the verandah. We were docked next to a Carnival cruise ship and they must have been doing some sort of drill or maintenance with their lifeboats, as they were all out in the water. It looked kind of cool, so I grabbed a picture of it.

My sister-in-law then took the little guys to do the Mid-Ship Detective Agency, and I took the older kids up to Decks 11 and 12. I grabbed a turkey sandwich while I was up there for lunch, which tasted good after having so much rich food the past few days. Finding Nemo was playing on funnel vision.

After the adults got back from the Bacardi Rum Tour, a group of us decided to head out to explore Old San Juan. The first thing we wanted to see was the fort, Castillo San Felipe del Morro. We were easily able to find a cab to accommodate all of us. It was an approximately 10 minute cab ride for $21 each way for nine of us (although he charged half price for the kids). I have heard other people walk it, but it would be a long uphill walk and we only had a few hours left at port. 

The fort was amazing. It was right on the ocean, so the background was beautiful. We did not do a tour, but just roamed around the fort, reading the signs to learn about each area. We all found it particularly interesting that some people lived in the fort their entire lives, never leaving.

When we got back to the port, we still had a little over an hour, so my mom, daughter and I decided to walk around the streets of Old San Juan. It is such a beautiful area with the painted buildings and the cobblestone streets. Kate bought a few bracelets and a dress in two of the little shops.

When we returned to the ship, Kate and I played shuffleboard and then went to Sweet on You for ice cream, which was delicious!

Sweet on You is a small sweets shop on the ship that requires an extra charge. It was so cute and the ice cream was definitely worth it!

Then it was time to get ready for our second Animator’s Palate dinner! You definitely do not want to miss this dinner on a 7-night itinerary aboard the Disney Fantasy! It is spectacular! As you sit down at the table, you are given a placemat with an empty character and a crayon. Everyone (adults included) are expected to color in the character and give it to your server (and no, I am not an artist!).

Throughout dinner, the screens play very cute montages of Disney characters having dinner. Then towards the end of the meal, you are treated to a video featuring the characters drawn by all the guests! I know the Disney company performs magic on a daily basis, but to put together an entire animation sequence in less than an hour, really takes it to a new level. My adult cousin had never seen it before and was blown away! It is definitely one of the cruise highlights for most of my clients!

The dinner itself was good as well. The bread service came with a sun dried tomato paste, which I did not care for, but I also don’t like sun dried tomatoes, so I am probably not the best judge.

The appetizer choices were tomato caprese, sesame crusted tuna sashimi, porcini sacchetti and Malaysian chicken satay.

Tomato caprese is one of my favorite foods on earth, so I had that, as did Keith and we both thought it was excellent.

The soup and salad options were lobster bisque, white cheddar and broccolini soup, dill and lemon marinated shrimp and a crisp romaine wedge.

Keith chose the lobster bisque (I did not get a photo) which he said was very good, while I opted out of this course. 

The main dinner selections were grilled garlic marinated shrimp, roasted salmon steak, chicken schnitzel, herb crusted rack of lamb and roasted filet of beef wellington.

I had the shrimp (no photo), which was great and Keith had the lamb, which was OK.

Neither of us got dessert that night, but the choices were celebration cake, orchard peach tart, chocolate decadence, very cherry chocolate sundae and amaretto cheesecake.

I can’t remember if it was before or after dinner, but an announcement came over the loudspeaker that there had unfortunately been another medical emergency and we needed to head back to San Juan. I found an article online that a baby had to be rescued from the ship by the Coast Guard, but I do not know anything else about this emergency and truly hope he or she is doing well.

After dinner, my daughter and mother-in-law went to see Maleficent, while Keith and I relaxed on the verandah. Suddenly, another coded announcement came over the loudspeaker, alerting us to another emergency. Rumors throughout the ship were that a cast member had fallen and broken a bone. They were able to keep him comfortable for the next couple of days, but he would not be able to exit the ship until we docked in Port Canaveral.

We all really enjoyed San Juan, but were ready for another sea day to rest.

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