xcitedtogo
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2012
OK, so I am not into writing a full blown trip report because frankly, I spend too much time on this board already but I wanted to give people who are new to this fantastic website a bit of my "reality".
My family consists of Myself, DH, DS 10, DS 8, DD 4 and Grandma!. We just completed a trip that consisted of 3 nights at Pop Century and the parks and a 7 day Western Fantasy Cruise.
I am going to start by saying I am not knocking the parks as there are soooo many things to do there but my kids would tell anyone, the most exciting part of our trip was the ship. When we do it again it will be just the cruise.
I will also tell people this, I found amazing tips and great sharing on this sight but I think that if you become too involved in the planning and overthinking, you will become dissapointed because there are some EXTREME expectations set by some posters. Again, take it all with a grain of salt and make your vacation what you want it to be. ( please do not flame me)
After rushing through (part of the problem) the parks and seeing what we could in 3 days, we relaxed and let Disney take care of our transportation. This was nice but we did arrive quite later than most and missed lunch and some of the stuff on the ship day one....not a big deal and nice after running in the parks...
Our rotation was ERAEERA and had us eating at Royal Court on both formal and semi formal night..it was cool but any rotation was good for us as I do not think it would have been a deal breaker.
Our wait staff was simply fantastic, in fact my kids cried on the last night they were so amazing. Our room host was good, not the cater to every whim kind but our room was clean and anytime I needed something he was more than willing to help.
I took an over the door hanger which started to scrape the paint so we took it down and did not really need it. There is more than enough storage space in both bathrooms. THE HAIRDRYERS are fine!!! I was worried but on the Fantasy it was as good if not better than what I had at home, do not pack one!!
Magnets on the connecting room doors are sufficient, no bungee cords needed.
I took a softsided cooler (not needed) and a hamper (also not needed) there is a laundry bag in the closet you can use to take your clothes to the laundry room.
Sea days in the pool were horrendous and my only dissapointment came from all of the adults who were in the Mickey pool...it is for kids people, and if they are wearing a pull up/swimmer then they are not supposed to be in there anyway. That would explain the 2 evacuations and cleanings that were needed on both sea days. The signs are posted everywhere and there are splash zones for smaller kids too..let them play there.
The chairs were not a big deal for us either but yes, people keep them reserved and are never sitting there but again, not a deal breaker for us. We went early enough or late enough for it not to really matter.
We had the early seating and this trip it worked well. We did feel a bit rushed to get back to the rooms to get 6 people cleaned up but we worked out a system of the kids heading to the club while the adults got ready and my daughter would have never made the late seating.
Food was amazing, I am not sure where some people eat on a regular basis but there is absolutely NO comparison to a meal on the Fantasy to any pub grub, family restaurant or even fine dining out there...again, my opinion.
I encountered only one rude Server on the entire 7 days and as I grabbed a plate to grab some cookies for my kids she snapped that she would get what I wanted and I told her I was only getting cookies...but again, not a big deal and it would not have ruined my trip!!!
We took advantage of many of the things offered but did not get to the D lounge or mini golf very often. Kids liked the club/lab and all stayed together but did different things...NOTE - the Toy Story Boot Camp Green Soldier scared the crap out of my daughter...it took her a bit to want to go back.
We had a drink in every bar to experience it and it was nice. We also brought our own wine on board for in the room. Ordered room service on occaision and it was quick and good.
We did an excursion on Grand Caymans - island tour and turtle farm and that was enough for us there.
We did our own taxi to Paradise Beach in Cozumel and shopped a little after - was enough for us there.
We did not get off the ship in Costa Maya- no interest and had an amazing day on the ship!
We LOVED Castaway Cay and played on the beach all day - rode the bikes (some with training wheels for little ones) and had a great time
Brent the tour director was amazing and the shows were really well done. Pirate Night was fun and I was glad the kids dressed up. The Genie from the shows was our favourite and the kids loved him!
Character greetings were great, get to princess gathering early, we were 3rd in line with 150-200 behind us...we got there 30 minutes before.
Avengers Midnight showing was a highlight for my hubby but boy was he grumpy the next day
All in all, the best vacation I have been on. We go on a least one trip a year to all inclusive which will now not even come close to holding a candle to this.
My biggest take away is this, plan your vacation but do not plan every minute. Allow for the "family fun" time and enjoy yourself. If you have been to disney, you know they do not do anything small and the cruise is absolutely no exception. We rebooked a dummy date and hope to cruise same time 2014. It gives me something to look forward too as there were no chocolates on my pillow last night...I told my husband it was his job!!
My family consists of Myself, DH, DS 10, DS 8, DD 4 and Grandma!. We just completed a trip that consisted of 3 nights at Pop Century and the parks and a 7 day Western Fantasy Cruise.
I am going to start by saying I am not knocking the parks as there are soooo many things to do there but my kids would tell anyone, the most exciting part of our trip was the ship. When we do it again it will be just the cruise.
I will also tell people this, I found amazing tips and great sharing on this sight but I think that if you become too involved in the planning and overthinking, you will become dissapointed because there are some EXTREME expectations set by some posters. Again, take it all with a grain of salt and make your vacation what you want it to be. ( please do not flame me)
After rushing through (part of the problem) the parks and seeing what we could in 3 days, we relaxed and let Disney take care of our transportation. This was nice but we did arrive quite later than most and missed lunch and some of the stuff on the ship day one....not a big deal and nice after running in the parks...
Our rotation was ERAEERA and had us eating at Royal Court on both formal and semi formal night..it was cool but any rotation was good for us as I do not think it would have been a deal breaker.
Our wait staff was simply fantastic, in fact my kids cried on the last night they were so amazing. Our room host was good, not the cater to every whim kind but our room was clean and anytime I needed something he was more than willing to help.
I took an over the door hanger which started to scrape the paint so we took it down and did not really need it. There is more than enough storage space in both bathrooms. THE HAIRDRYERS are fine!!! I was worried but on the Fantasy it was as good if not better than what I had at home, do not pack one!!
Magnets on the connecting room doors are sufficient, no bungee cords needed.
I took a softsided cooler (not needed) and a hamper (also not needed) there is a laundry bag in the closet you can use to take your clothes to the laundry room.
Sea days in the pool were horrendous and my only dissapointment came from all of the adults who were in the Mickey pool...it is for kids people, and if they are wearing a pull up/swimmer then they are not supposed to be in there anyway. That would explain the 2 evacuations and cleanings that were needed on both sea days. The signs are posted everywhere and there are splash zones for smaller kids too..let them play there.
The chairs were not a big deal for us either but yes, people keep them reserved and are never sitting there but again, not a deal breaker for us. We went early enough or late enough for it not to really matter.
We had the early seating and this trip it worked well. We did feel a bit rushed to get back to the rooms to get 6 people cleaned up but we worked out a system of the kids heading to the club while the adults got ready and my daughter would have never made the late seating.
Food was amazing, I am not sure where some people eat on a regular basis but there is absolutely NO comparison to a meal on the Fantasy to any pub grub, family restaurant or even fine dining out there...again, my opinion.
I encountered only one rude Server on the entire 7 days and as I grabbed a plate to grab some cookies for my kids she snapped that she would get what I wanted and I told her I was only getting cookies...but again, not a big deal and it would not have ruined my trip!!!
We took advantage of many of the things offered but did not get to the D lounge or mini golf very often. Kids liked the club/lab and all stayed together but did different things...NOTE - the Toy Story Boot Camp Green Soldier scared the crap out of my daughter...it took her a bit to want to go back.
We had a drink in every bar to experience it and it was nice. We also brought our own wine on board for in the room. Ordered room service on occaision and it was quick and good.
We did an excursion on Grand Caymans - island tour and turtle farm and that was enough for us there.
We did our own taxi to Paradise Beach in Cozumel and shopped a little after - was enough for us there.
We did not get off the ship in Costa Maya- no interest and had an amazing day on the ship!
We LOVED Castaway Cay and played on the beach all day - rode the bikes (some with training wheels for little ones) and had a great time
Brent the tour director was amazing and the shows were really well done. Pirate Night was fun and I was glad the kids dressed up. The Genie from the shows was our favourite and the kids loved him!
Character greetings were great, get to princess gathering early, we were 3rd in line with 150-200 behind us...we got there 30 minutes before.
Avengers Midnight showing was a highlight for my hubby but boy was he grumpy the next day
All in all, the best vacation I have been on. We go on a least one trip a year to all inclusive which will now not even come close to holding a candle to this.
My biggest take away is this, plan your vacation but do not plan every minute. Allow for the "family fun" time and enjoy yourself. If you have been to disney, you know they do not do anything small and the cruise is absolutely no exception. We rebooked a dummy date and hope to cruise same time 2014. It gives me something to look forward too as there were no chocolates on my pillow last night...I told my husband it was his job!!
