Halloween on the High Seas Cruise Review Part 2

    This is part two of my review of my Halloween on the High Seas Cruise aboard the Disney Fantasy. Please check out part one of this two part blog to get a full scope of my thoughts on this cruise.

    Picking up where I left off, lets take a look at the food offerings on this cruise. Overall I felt the quality of the food ranged from just okay to put of this world good. I feel like there was a solid hierarchy of food based on where you got it from. The food by the pool deck reminded me of standard quick service stuff such as sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, etc. I had a couple burgers that were mediocre at best. 

    Thankfully the buffet, Cabanas, was a big step up for lunch. Their breakfast menu was pretty standard of a breakfast buffet, but their lunch menu was super varied and even varied by day. I can't say any of the food I had from Cabanas was anything less than good. Everything was fresh, hot, and tasty. I also really like that they have you wash your hands prior to hitting the buffet. With so many kids on board it made it feel much cleaner than a standard buffet.

    The three rotational restaurants were all solid and offered a unique environment each night. Our three servers were all great and attentive. Whether they wrote it down or just remembered, it was really nice to just be asked if I wanted the same drink I had the previous night. I can't think of a time where my cup was empty and I can only recall one time where someone in my party didn't get a coffee they ordered. The first restaurant I ate at was The Enchanted Garden. This restaurant gave the illusion of dining in, well, a royal garden at night. The lighting changed to represent the evening sky and the flower shaped lights actually opened. The ceiling gave the impression of being in a greenhouse with a very nice fountain in the middle. Overall a nice batch of subtle changes during the meal coupled with a pretty tasty menu both times I was in the restaurant made it an enjoyable experience.

    The Royal Court, as it's name suggests, is a princess themed restaurant. Again I have zero complaints about the food. Both meals were quite tasty, but the theming left a bit to be desired. I guess for those more into the princesses the restaurant is probably more enjoyable, but I just found it to be the most plain of the three. Artwork of the princesses adorn the walls and Disney did do a very nice job of making it feel like you were dining is some kind of royal restaurant. I feel like this restaurant could have greatly benefited from at least one of the princesses walking around to give it a bit more excitement, but that's a pretty tall task given the way Disney operates their dining and just how many people are in the restaurant given it's size. Animator's Palate also had a delicious menu, with the exception of the final breakfast which was easily the worst food I had on the cruise. That said, that's not on Animator's Palate as all the restaurants served the same things that morning. This was my favorite themed restaurant. Lots of sketches of characters and fun Easter eggs adorn the walls and provide a very fun atmosphere. I only got to have dinner here once and was joined by Crush from Finding Nemo as he cruised from area to area via screens and chatted with guests. It was kind of like having Turtle Talk with Crush over dinner. The second dinner apparently featured guests drawing stick figures that would then do random things on the walls. Really fun stuff here. All three of these dining experiences did not cost anything extra unless I ordered a specialty drink, which I did not do.

    Lastly I had both a dessert and a dinner at Remy. Remy is the pinnacle of fine dining on the Disney Fantasy. Formal wear is even required to enter for dinner. The food here was absolutely incredible. Every single course, whether it was dinner or dessert, offered incredible flavors and experiences that I can honestly say I've never had before. I even ate things I would never normally eat such as lobster and mussel sauce. Dinner gave the option of a French or American menu (I made a shocking French choice to totally remove myself from my comfort zone) while dessert just one menu.

    The price for these experiences is not cheap. If my memory serves, dinner landed at around 120 per person with dessert being around 80? Either way, you certainly get an experience worth the price. Your server goes over the details in how each dish was prepared and even how the chef recommends eating it. Both chefs from Remy are two of the top chefs in the world which puts this experience on par with Victoria and Alberts, which is no small feat. The theming in the restaurant was also subtly amazing. Based on the movie Ratatouille, there are small rat designs hidden in the seats and plates. There is a crystal little chef up on a chandelier as you enter and Gusteau's logo on the carpeting. Really awesome subtle stuff that only fans of the movie would pick up on, otherwise it all just looks super elegant. The dessert experience lasted nearly two hours while dinner lasted nearly three. The amount of food at both experiences was more than enough to leave me feeling full, so I would one hundred percent do either of these experiences again. What makes that even more likely is that the menu changes every few months, so chances are I'd be getting something new. The only prohibitive barrier on these experiences are those high prices, but you certainly get what you pay for.

    Lastly I need to rave on how the entertainment team knocked everything out of the park. Keep in mind, this is my first cruise so I have no idea how other cruise lines handle their entertainment, but the activities that were available covered literally every age group pretty much the entirety of the day and into the night. Prior to boarding I was concerned as to whether or not I would find myself bored or just watching movies on days at sea. I can say that I watched most of Bambi early one morning over breakfast and Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl late at night and that was it. The ship was loaded with trivia, tours, character meet and greets, evening parties, talent shows, and of course, Halloween on the High Seas entertainment. That's not even touching on all the other things for kids, families, teens, and adults. It seemed like there was ALWAYS things going on. 

    We came into contact with two entertainers, Yoyo and Kendall, the most as they were largely involved in the adults only entertainment. These two were both incredible. Yoyo especially went out of his way to provide an absolute blast of an experience regardless if it was trivia, costume contests, and pretty much anything else. He'd also hang out after the activities and just chat with guests about whatever for a bit which was also really great to see. While not hosting activities, the entertainment team was constantly busy doing other things such as hosting evening parties, dance parties, ushering guests into the Walt Disney Theater, providing entertainment at Castaway Cay, and about a dozen other things I'm sure I'm missing.

Yoyo

    Speaking of entertainment, I was elated to hear that Disney offered three Broadway level shows on the cruise. The first was Aladdin. I've seen both movies and have seen Aladdin on Broadway. This was yet another retelling of the classic story, and just like it's Broadway counterpart, it made some changes to the script. All actors did a superb job and the crew certainly made the most of the stage in terms of set. This show may actually have my favorite version of A Whole New World with a ton of dry ice fog (at least that's what it looked like) making it truly appear that the carpet was flying over the clouds. The genie was beyond hysterical and broke the fourth wall a bunch of times which only added to the humor. The carpet had no lines, but showcased a good amount of gymnastics and hilarious facial expressions. Ten out of ten on that show.

    The second show was Frozen. Again, the set design and cast did an incredible job. Many of the same cast members that were in Aladdin appeared in here as well. Unlike Aladdin though, Frozen largely keeps the same story and the way the story is told. Very minor differences, such as Marshmallow not being in it, really didn't impact the story much at all. It was still a really fun show with a lot of talented people. I just really wish Disney would do something more with Frozen at this point than retelling the same story in the same way. Lastly was an original show called Believe. Not going to get into spoilers here, but this show nearly brought a tear to my eye as once again, much of the cast from Aladdin and Frozen return for a truly heartwarming adventure. Believe hit home in a similar way that the movie Christopher Robin hit home a few years ago. Such incredible stuff from everyone involved in all three of those shows.

    Finally we arrive at Halloween on the High Seas! Halloween on the High Seas was an overall fun theme that I wish Disney had expanded on just a bit more. For example, I heard multiple people saying that Jack and Sally from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas are normally on these cruises, but they were nowhere to be seen. The Halloween on the High Seas party was fun, as was the trick or treating on the pool deck, but honestly my favorite Halloween thing happened very early on in the cruise. The lobby is home to the pumpkin tree and late on the first night there was a tree lighting show. During this show the legend of the headless horseman was told, This is Halloween from Hallowishes blared, lights were flashing and changing colors. It all led up to the pumpkins on the tree all lighting to the screams and cheers from a packed lobby. 

    From the night of the Halloween party the music on the ship changed to be Halloween which certainly helped the theme. The characters though all returned to their standard cruise garb with the exception of Minnie, Daisy, and Clarabelle whom were dressed as the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus. I would have liked to see the Halloween festivities continue past the night of the party, but the ship's lobby had enough decoration to remind us of the season. In addition to Halloween, the ship held a pirate night.

    Pirate night was also a lot of fun. There was a fun stage show on the pool deck of Mickey and the gang recruiting everyone to their crew followed by Muppet's Treasure Island playing on the pool deck, followed by another stage show that led up to a Pirates of the Caribbean themed firework show. While certainly not the caliber of one of the nighttime shows in the parks, the fireworks were great for being on a cruise ship. As far as I know Disney is the only cruise line to routinely do fireworks (again as far as I know). Pirate night honestly felt more fulfilling than Halloween night, but neither were a disappointment. 

    As you can probably guess, I really enjoyed myself on this cruise. I would absolutely go on a Disney cruise again. The price I paid for what I go I feel like was fair. I didn't at any time feel bored or thought I had wasted any of the money I spent. I ate more than I thought I ever could, had a blast at each of the shows, and never felt like the crew/cast members who we were in contact with didn't care about how I was doing. Even our room host was incredibly attentive and really just fun to talk to. If I had to pick two things I felt could be improved on it would be the final breakfast and the Halloween offerings. I have no idea what happened for that breakfast, but it just seemed incredibly unorganized compared to all of the other meals and the food was just not great at all. The Halloween offerings, while good, could be upped a bit I think. I understand it's a ship and only so much can be done, but perhaps more Halloween themed trivia and other activities throughout the voyage would help keep that Halloween spirit afloat. Anyway, if you are on the fence of doing a Disney cruise I would say pull the trigger on it and do not be afraid to splurge on Remy either!      

*Note: I apologize for some of the image quality in this blog. Blogger did not like the way I uploaded them apparently. I will try to fix it for my next blog and if that works I may come back and fix the images here.