Dining at Remy on the Disney Dream

Those of you who are regular followers know that Mr. Photos From The Parks and I are Disney foodies. Not only do we love a dole whip whenever we can find one, we've also dined at Victoria and Albert's more than once, enjoyed Lunch with an Imagineer in Hollywood Studios and have mourned the passing of our favorite Bistro de Paris. We like to try new things and love inventive foods. And for the most part, we are always pleased by what Disney has to offer.

It is no understatement for me to say that the meal I had at Remy, aboard the Disney Dream, is quite possibly the best meal I have ever had. Ever. In the movie, Ratatouille, Anton Ego remarks in his review of Gusteau's that "to say that the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement." I have to concur with this foodie. You will not be disappointed.

Remy, the restaurant, is themed beautifully to the movie Ratatouille. If you have not watched it before and you are a food lover, you must stop what you are doing this minute and watch. If you find yourself on a Disney cruise, you can always pull it up on demand before your reservation. It is amazing the attention to detail in this restaurant. Everything from floor to ceiling is like you would see it in Ratatouille. And Little Chef is there too. Your server can help you spot him if you wish. But don't be deterred by the theming. It is as elegant as any restaurant we've been to in Paris. We were seated in the Gusteau Room. It was very intimate with a gorgeous view of the sea. We had the privilege of watching a storm roll in and may have made a few bad jokes about how our meal tasted "lightening-y."

I will not go through the entire menu, but I will offer up this bit of advice. We let our server know that we considered him and our chef the experts of the evening and we were entirely at their mercy. We did not order from the menu, but let them choose for us what we would be served. I had never before had the experience of a server telling me that he was proud to be serving me that evening. And our server, Juan, was amazing. He walked us through the water menu (yes, I said water menu), brought over the sommelier who helped us make the perfect selection for a bottle of wine that paired with every course, was only as attentive as we needed him to be, determined our food preferences and dietary restrictions, and brought us stunning course after course. Our cheese master, BB, was exceptionally knowledgeable  about the cheese course too, letting us know which ones would be for the more adventurous palate.

I never once had to worry about my food sensitivities; once they were mentioned, I was all set. From the start, they brought me gluten free bread that actually tasted and felt like baguette. And they brought me ghee instead of butter. The entire meal was that way. Before I even had the chance to ask, Juan would tell me about the special changes to my meal that made them gluten and dairy free. I felt like a princess! And everything was delicious. More than delicious. It was delectable.

From the moment we arrived to the last bite of the evening (and the sweets they sent home with us!) we were delighted. The experience of dining at Remy is one I will not soon forget. For my money, it's worth every dime. If you are hesitant about taking the time out of your cruise or finding the money in your budget, I would encourage you to do it. I am still dreaming of the loveliness of that evening.

Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

Our First Disney Cruise Was Not So Magical

I'm conflicted about writing this post. I know that our experience is not the one most people have while cruising with Disney, and our family has some special needs that contributed to making our cruise what it was; but I am a huge proponent of honesty in parenting (and in living, really) and as such I feel this post must be written.

Let me start by telling you about our family's vacation style:

We are a high maintenance family (and we know it) with a strong love for all things Disney. We are DVC owners. We've been to WDW over 40 times. We have food allergies, as well as food and skin sensitivities. Our younger kids typically spend their days with a nanny or at preschool and are used to having personal attention and structure throughout the day; we also have a very independent, confident teenager. We consider ourselves free-range parents and like our kids to try new things and solve their own problems whenever possible. What we love about Walt Disney World and Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort is that the cast members are never surprised by our requests or how to care for all of our needs. They often go above and beyond to accommodate us, which is what makes Disney destinations so enjoyable. We usually stay at villas so we have all the comforts of home. (My packing mantra is: if we left it at home we can always get it when we get there. Or as my aunt likes to say, all you need are your pills and money.) We don’t mind lots of walking and our kids often spend long hours in the car traveling to our various vacation destinations. One of us (the 3 year old) is very demanding and wants her needs met immediately and without exception; the rest of us can be relaxed and go with the flow. Staying well fed and rested is a key to our family happiness.

My expectations for this cruise were as follows:

• Our free range style would be an asset to cruising. 
• Our kids would adore the kids club. 
• Our servers and the chef at each dining location would meet my high expectations for eating with food allergies and sensitivities as they concistently do at WDW. 
• There would be plenty for us to find to do at our own pace (as there is in the parks). 
• We would adore cruising in the same way we adore all our other Disney experiences. 
• Dining at Remy would be out of this world. 
• Renting a cabana would enhance our Castaway Cay day. 
• We would be able to have down time in our room the same way we do at WDW for nap time.
• Disney magic would find us everywhere.

This was our reality:

• Our free range style was hard to maintain with such a strict schedule on such a short cruise. When I say strict schedule, I mean that unlike the parks, you can't choose from 12 dinner ADRs; there are two seatings. Take the time you want or don't eat in the dining room that night. If you want to see the show, there are not 4 times to see it, there are two. You will want to make sure you get there on time to find a good seat. We are not very good at that sort of thing as a family. We tend to get there when we get there. It was hard for us to adhere to a schedule we did not set for ourselves.
• Our kids loved the kids club at open house times, but hated the kids club when we were not there with them; they cried the entire time they were there. And even 30 minutes of them being in there alone (and crying) was not enough to convince them to stay. The counselors called us on the wave phone and requested we come get them.
• Our dining experience was exceptionally disappointing in the main dining rooms and with room service. Our food allergies and sensitivities made me feel like we were a burden. This has never happened to me with Disney before this experience. And my understanding is that it doesn't happen this way for most. I think our experience was abnormal, and my failure to research ahead hurt us, but still, it happened and our vacation was definitely worse off for it.
• There was plenty for us to do but not at our own pace; we found we needed to be much more regulated than we usually are, which contributed to our overall frustration with one another. There was a lot of hurry up going on with our family or deciding too late to try an activity.
• We do not adore cruising with toddlers. Especially our toddlers, who need lots of individual attention, cannot express their desires adequately, and require special food. 
• Dining at Remy was out of this world and I loved every single moment. I would book that experience over and over again. Everyone from the sommelier, to our server, to the cheese master made our evening sublime.
• Renting the cabana on Castaway Cay saved our vacation. It was far and away the most wonderful thing we did. We finally felt like we were a part of something Disney. And we were finally pampered in every way imaginable. Even the little ones were happy to be independently playing in the water and able to spread out.
• Our children never napped. No not once. And trying to nap in the stateroom is a fools errand to begin with. The 5 of us maxed out the space in the room. While it was very nice for everything else, trying to rest midday was a total misfire.
• Disney magic was sparse on this trip. And that was the most disappointing thing of all. We certainly had some magical moments, and the concierge staff when above and beyond to make our stay as lovely as possible, but the overall tone of this trip was definitely in a minor key.

Here's the long and the short of why this was a dreadful trip for us:

• We should have booked a longer cruise. This felt like a such a compact cruise with barely enough time to see and do the standard cruise things. We really needed AT LEAST another day to fully enjoy all there was to see and do, and to get there on our own timetable.
• Our toddlers are just not fit for cruise travel. They are slow moving, and they were tired and cranky for most of the time we were on board. Imagine having a 30-pound howler monkey tied to your hip for 3 days. That was us. The little ones simply would not spend any time on their own. I was actually in tears our third morning at the prospect of having to literally drag my family around the ship one more day. Fortunately, Castaway Cay saved me.
• Our food allergies and sensitivities made it VERY DIFFICULT to find food in any reasonable amount of time and our head server seemed very new to the Disney way. This was a huge disappointment for us. I'll do a whole write up on that later but suffice it to say, this was sorely disappointing next to the stellar service and quality we receive in the parks. In fact, it was the #2 reason our trip was so trying.
• We simply could not get what we had forgotten to bring with us. The ship's shops were closed every time we were in port (which on a 3-day cruise is every day); we would have purchased the things we forgot to pack (hoodies, sunglasses, packaged snacks and sunscreen) had we had the opportunity.
• I failed to do any substantial research for our cruise. I cannot emphasize this enough. I didn't even know about debarkation. THAT was a spectacular fail. I'll tell you all about it in a separate post. It's comical how badly we failed that; you would have to try very hard to do it worse than we did! I wish I had researched what to expect in the dining room, with food allergies, at the pool, and traveling with toddlers. All of that would have gone a very long way to make our vacation more enjoyable. If we hadn't had the concierges to guide us I think our entire family might have been reduced to bloody stumps of people.

In all, I think we are a poor fit for cruising right now due to the age and temperament of our little ones. If you are a family who always enjoys being together, who generally finds parenting to be rewarding and you can't understand how other people find parenting so difficult, or you find living in tight quarters fine, you would probably love cruising. If you don't have little kids, you would might love cruising. If you have little ones with special needs (of any kind) I would not consider the 3-day cruise at all, as it will be frustrating. I would certainly think that at 4-day cruise or longer would be a much better experience.

Will we try it again? Probably. We would either wait a couple years for the little ones to be a bit more self reliant, or we would consider going just as the adults and leaving the little ones with the grandparents. And we would definitely book a longer cruise. Three days was just too short. And now that I know what I need to know more about, it can only help us to plan better and be more proactive about making sure our travel meets our expectations.

I'd love to hear about your cruise experiences here! If it was great and you love to cruise, share what makes it so marvelous for you. If you have grizzly stories, well, misery loves company! Bring them on. I'd love to hear about them too! Until next time, fellow Disney travelers, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!