Just Off The Fantasy - Any Questions??

[Itinkso]

We had a fantastic Fantasy Western cruise!! Here are a few cruise facts...

Fantasy Western Facts from 9/29 Sailing:
Our Port Arrival Time was 12:00 - we arrived at 11:15 via Cruise Parking of Port Canaveral and checked-in; walked through the Mickey Ears @ 11:50
Family Announcement: We were announced as the Ohana Family, so, technically the "Family Family"
Palo & Remy reservations > Palo/Remy - the posted time in the Navigator was 1:00 - we made the changes at 12:05: added Brunch and changed our Palo dinner seating
Dining Assignment Changes > Royal Court
4-tops, 6-tops, and 8-tops: No 2-tops in MDRs or in Palo; we were seated alone at a 4-top in the MDRs and in a booth @ Palo where we did see parties of 3 seated in the booths
Aladdin > 2nd Night/Sunday
Mixology > 1st Sea Day @ 3:30; 2nd Sea Day @ 3:00 > Skyline *I sat in and watched DD mix drinks without having to buy a ticket
Late Night Snacks > La Piazza > 11:45
Late Night Snacks > Luigi's > 12:30 a.m.
Pirate Night Fireworks @ 10:30 - We watched from Deck 13 a little forward of Currents Bar and were the only people in that section - great view!
Staterooms 7162 and 7164: the wide metal siding/decor was between these two verandahs - the numbered Dream photo is off by one stateroom...instead of 7160 and 7162 it is 7162 and 7164. It was approximately a 14 inch encroachment which didn't block our view from inside the cabin - our couch was on the right/forward side of the stateroom and when seated and looking out from the stateroom to the horizon, we couldn't even see the metal siding. But, when seated on the verandah and looking forward, the siding was very noticeable; if I were booking a cabin well in advance and paying full fare for a 5C stateroom, I would choose a different cabin which didn't have a slightly obstructed view.
Magnets: Our stateroom was adjacent to the aft stairwell and we put up a total of twelve magnets and had all twelve magnets at the end of our cruise!
Frankenweenie Premiere! > 12:05 a.m. Friday morning
Cabanas > open on the disembarkation morning!!

[Woodmnky]

Thanks for the info.

[Belle4]

Welcome back! Which excursions did you do?

[disneyfamily12]

Thanks for all the great info! We are leaving for the western in a week. How was the weather overall for your trip?

[WDW Princess 71]

Did you do any excursions in ports? What did you think of the short port times in Grand Cayman and especially Costa Maya- did you feel rushed in those ports?

[Itinkso]

Originally Posted by Belle4

Welcome back! Which excursions did you do?

Originally Posted by WDW Princess 71

Did you do any excursions in ports? What did you think of the short port times in Grand Cayman and especially Costa Maya- did you feel rushed in those ports?

We did two independent excursions and had a great time on each!

Grand Cayman: Turtle Farm on our own. We booked through the website and paid $36/person for the full park admission. We were transported to and from the Turtle Farm on the DCL Excursion bus! So, we had no worries about returning to the ship on time! The Turtle Farm does request that you email and let them know you are booking independently and will use their transportation so they have an accurate count for their buses.

Costa Maya: Booked the Mayan Ruins tour with Native Choice. We arrived at their office at the blue Clock Tower at 12:45 and our driver, Jefe, drove up in a new Camry. Our guide, Joel, DD and I were then off to the ruins on this very private tour. I had been expecting to go in a van with a small group so this was excellent! Joel was very informative and shared fascinating info on the way over. When we arrived, we were the only people at the ruins - well before the twelve DCL busloads. We toured the complete site and Joel discussed the Mayan history, culture and the calendar with us. He also volunteers with the archaeologists who preserve the site so he had a lot of great inside information. We were back to the port area well before the DCL guests. We thoroughly enjoyed this tour and highly recommend them.

Cozumel was rainy and dreary and we had previously canceled our on-land spa appointments and enjoyed the Rainforest Spa onboard.

DD and I were very pleased with our port excursions and they definitely were amazing experiences!

[lsenquiz]

What about the shows? Did you enjoy all three?

[Itinkso]

Originally Posted by disneyfamily12

Thanks for all the great info! We are leaving for the western in a week. How was the weather overall for your trip?

The weather was a little windy in Grand Cayman and partly cloudy with some sprinkles. It didn't seem to affect the people who snorkeled at the Turtle Farm. Costa Maya was hot!! Fortunately, Native Choice supplied us with Costco bottled water from the moment we reached their office and throughout the tour. Tuesday night and Wednesday morning was filled with thunderstorms and non-stop lightning. Cozumel's streets were flooded and excursions were canceled. The staff handed out ponchos on the gangway as there was a steady drizzle for most of the morning. We got off to use the wifi at Starbucks and then reboarded. DCL brought out more characters in the Atrium and they ran more movies. DD and I spent hours in the Rainforest Spa area so we didn't notice how crowded the ship was. Castaway Cay day was a beautiful day. Some people complained it was too hot and stayed onboard! Unbelievable!! We snorkeled at Pelican Point and then went on to Serenity Bay and snorkeled there too!
Overall, we thought the weather was very good. We did feel for everyone who had excursions canceled in Cozumel but there still was a lot to do at the immediate port area and onboard.

[Itinkso]

Originally Posted by lsenquiz

What about the shows? Did you enjoy all three?

Aladdin: We had seen Aladdin when it was at Disneyland and this show was very similar. We sat in the first row of the second orchestra/mezzanine section so had a great view of all the performers as they came in from all areas of the theater.

Wishes: DD rates this show as very good. The singing was great and all the performers did a great job.

Believe: DD rates the dancing as very good. This was our least favorite storyline of the three shows.

Overall, we did enjoy all three shows. DD is in entertainment and knows the Disney standards and always appreciates the shows, the performers and the energy.

[disneyfamily12]

Originally Posted by Itinkso

The weather was a little windy in Grand Cayman and partly cloudy with some sprinkles. It didn't seem to affect the people who snorkeled at the Turtle Farm. Costa Maya was hot!! Fortunately, Native Choice supplied us with Costco bottled water from the moment we reached their office and throughout the tour. Tuesday night and Wednesday morning was filled with thunderstorms and non-stop lightning. Cozumel's streets were flooded and excursions were canceled. The staff handed out ponchos on the gangway as there was a steady drizzle for most of the morning. We got off to use the wifi at Starbucks and then reboarded. DCL brought out more characters in the Atrium and they ran more movies. DD and I spent hours in the Rainforest Spa area so we didn't notice how crowded the ship was. Castaway Cay day was a beautiful day. Some people complained it was too hot and stayed onboard! Unbelievable!! We snorkeled at Pelican Point and then went on to Serenity Bay and snorkeled there too!
Overall, we thought the weather was very good. We did feel for everyone who had excursions canceled in Cozumel but there still was a lot to do at the immediate port area and onboard.

Thanks for the detailed weather info. So happy to hear you had warm/hot temps..looking forward to it!