May 26 - June 2, 2012 From Reality to Fantasy

[Dawncala]

Did perry need a passoprt?

Actually we're not sure how he got in and out of the country.
We would just say "Hey, where's perry?" and there he was.

 

[Dawncala]

DAY 2

Ghost Ship

With the three hour time difference between Seattle and Florida you’d think I’d sleep in until 9:00 or 10:00 easy, but I woke up promptly at 7:00 AM just like I do on the west coast. The sun shining on the water in the magical porthole was a pleasant sight to wake up to. The family was still snoozing away so I got dressed, grabbed a Wave phone and my camera and went up on deck to do some exploring.

Except for a few cast members cleaning around the pool deck, and an occasional guest wandering by, I felt like I had the entire ship to myself. You would never know there were four to five thousand people onboard. It was so quiet and peaceful up there, and I felt so relaxed, that it didn’t feel quite normal. (if you know what I mean)

I hung out in a lounger in the Mickey and Donald pool area watching the funnel vision screen for a bit. If I’m remembering correctly it was playing a promo type video about the Fantasy and Disney Cruise Lines. Then I walked around and took photos of the empty pools.

The one and only time I saw these pool empty.

 

[Dawncala]

Splishin’ & a Splashin’

Right next to the main pools is the Nemo’s Reef splash zone. It is well shaded from the harsh Caribbean sun under the aft smokestack. A great idea for the young cruisers it is geared towards. It is totally adorable and I wished my little nephew was traveling with us so I could go play in there.

The new Aqualab is pretty neat too. It seemed popular with the younger ages, but my 11 and 13 year old said it was just OK. I thought all the detail that went into the theming was great and it was nice to be able to walk through with my camera while the water was off so I could take my time looking at everything. Disney could have just put in a boatload of water nozzles and called it a day, but all the duck footprints, and pipe blueprints and extra touches show that they really thought about it even though I bet most children running around in there never notice.

The area is quite large and encircles the entire backside of the aft smokestack.

"Duck Boy" paint cans...that's punny.

Knobs and levers to pull and spin.

One of the many detailed blueprints in the area.

I don't know if these crazy cans squirt water or if it was just a decorative touch.

The view of the dinghy from the deck above. Sadly someone had thrown their drink cup in it.

 

[nursemomof2]

Great report! I look foreward to each of your posts

 

[stitch101]

How do I subscribe to your thread I can't wait for more posts.

 

[Strawberry's mom&dad]

I was up between 5-6am most mornings. I was jogging around deck 4. Had it to myself. I loved the quiet mornings.

Enjoying your report.

 

[toy]

I am really enjoying your report. Your pictures are great.

 

[15isto2]

Actually we're not sure how he got in and out of the country.
We would just say "Hey, where's perry?" and there he was.

Does not like he does much though

 

[jahber]

Does not like he does much though

He's just a platypus, you know. They don't do much ; )

 

[Dawncala]

How do I subscribe to your thread I can't wait for more posts.

Hi Stitch,
You do have to be a DIS member so you can log in.

To Subscribe: Log in. Go to the blog you want to subscibe to. At the top there is a bar titled "Thread Tools". Click that and choose Subscribe. Then you can choose how you want to be notified when there are new posts.

Thanks for following along!

 

[tgropp]

Sounds like you had an amazing cruise. Your report is putting me in the mood for our Feb Fantasy cruise. Thanks!

 

[STLEdge]

Dawncala - I am really enjoying your trip report; it convinced me to register here so I could subscribe for future updates. We're taking the Western itinerary on the Fantasy in October and counting the days!

 

[Dawncala]

I was up between 5-6am most mornings. I was jogging around deck 4. Had it to myself. I loved the quiet mornings.

Enjoying your report.

Hello northwest neighbor! I expected to be up at 5 or 6 too, but except for that first day at sea I slept in until 8:00 or so most days. I even had to set an alarm on our last morning. Those beds were soooo comfortable.

 

[Dawncala]

Dawncala - I am really enjoying your trip report; it convinced me to register here so I could subscribe for future updates. We're taking the Western itinerary on the Fantasy in October and counting the days!

Welcome! The DIS boards are great. I think you'll enjoy them.

 

[Dawncala]

Gettin’ Your Game On

The first area you encounter on the Goofy Sports deck is the basketball court. There was just one lone boy up there shooting baskets this morning. I took a few photos of the court, and then took a few shots at a hoop. I decided I wouldn’t move on until I made at least one basket. It took me about 10 tries. (In my defense I was shooting one handed while holding a camera.)

With this small goal under my belt I proceeded back to where the nine crazy holes of putt putt golf are located. I’ll talk more about the golf and include pictures in a later post.

There are also foosball tables and ping pong tables. If there had been some sort of shading above this area we probably would have spent more time up here. The heat during the day is rather intense and wind can also be an issue. On one occasion when we were up here the ping pong players were chasing that little ball everywhere because the wind kept taking it.

I believe there are sport simulators located in this white building, but we never went in there and we didn’t try them. (We have to leave something to do on a future sailing)

Foosball tables and bathroom entrance

The back two ping pong tables. I think there were three total.

I understand that there is only so much real estate on a cruise ship, but I didn’t understand why they would plan it so the sports deck, that is sure to be filled with children all day, looks directly into the adult only Meridain outdoor deck. I wonder if any golf or ping pong balls have found there way down there. “Look out below!”

The golf area overlooks Meridian's outdoor deck.

Having seen everything in this area I did an about face and headed forward again.

The funnels and Aquaduck tube from the top of the sports deck stairs.

The flags blowing in the morning breeze.

 

[Dawncala]

On Deck

Next I went down to deck 4 where you’ll find a nice wide outdoor walking/jogging deck. Here I began encounter more cruise guests…the ones who come on vacation and still exercise. (My son thought it was insane that anyone would want to run for fun in this humidity.) Perry and I took a leisurely stroll, stopping occasionally to take some photos.

Overhead are the very large life boats.

Safety first

Perry occasionally had to stop and rest. It's a long way around on those short legs.

As you enter the bow and stern the open railing becomes open port holes.

 

[LittleGirlGrey]

Love Perry and love you TR. I'm doing my 4th cruise with my mom going to Hawaii in October! But its fun to see the Fantasy. I'm trying to talk her into going just ONCE on it. :-D

 

[DisneyRhondaKay]

Absolutely loving your trip report!!!!!!! I'm a little addicted. Counting down the days until our Fantasy cruise in September! My first Disney Cruise and my DH and DD (4 1/2) first cruise ever!

 

[davale4]

Great trip report! The pictures are great...looking forward to reading more !

 

[Dawncala]

Europe Before Breakfast

When we (we being me and Perry) went back inside again we decided to check out the adult party district named Europa. I figured this might be the only time I’d get to see it when it wasn’t stuffed with guests. (and I was right)

Europa is located on Deck 4 Aft, and while it is remarkable, the layout is terribly weird. There are a few ways to enter the Europa district. The first is up or down the Aft stairs and elevators. Another way is down a long hallway running from mid ship back on the port side of the ship. If you enter from that hallway you have to cut through La Piazza and either O’Gills or the bathroom hallway to get to the back two bars and the stairwell/elevator area. I believe there is also an entrance next to The Tube from the Deck 4 walking deck, but we never came in or left that way.

Many family activities take place in The Tube during the day, and it felt a bit odd to have to take the kids through the bar areas to get around back there, but it was also no big deal.

Photo of the elevetor bay from the stairwell