Cinderashlie
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2012
Hello all, I'm new to the boards so let me introduce myself. My name is Ashlie. I'm 23 years old and married last October to my best friend of 9 years and fellow Disney fanatic, Donny. We are child-free for at least the next few years and are just big kids at heart.
I have been to Disney World 4 times (once with Donny on our honeymoon!) and Donny 2 times. While I've never had much of a desire to cruise, I was very tempted to find out what all the fuss is about and Disney was the only route for us. So, this was our first cruise ever.
We booked on 5/16 for our 7/7 Disney Fantasy Western Caribbean cruise with a VGT. We got our stateroom assignment a few weeks prior to departure and got a category 4D, stateroom 6626.
I apologize in advance if some of this information is common knowledge. This is copied and pasted from my Facebook for people who aren't familiar with Disney Cruise Line.
We left early in the morning on July 7th out of Reagan Airport. Our flight landed just before 10 in Orlando, where we proceeded directly downstairs to catch the Disney Magical Express to the cruise. We were actually able to check in for the cruise at the airport and received our room keys and everything there. After a short wait we got on the bus where we took a 45 minute trip to Port Canaveral. The process was easy and convenient, no issues at all.
We got to the port around 11:30. We walked straight through the terminal and got on the ship right away. Since our room wouldn’t be ready until 1:30, we were directed to lunch at Enchanted Garden and were able to walk around the ship.
Our room was ready and perfect at 1:30. We unloaded our carry-on bags before heading back out. Because we put the Disney tags on our large piece of luggage, we checked it in at Reagan and Disney pulled it for us. It “magically” appeared outside of our stateroom that evening before dinner.
We had a brief drill before setting sail, in which we all went to our assigned emergency stations and were checked in. After completion, the ship set sail around 4:30. There was a nice “sailing away” party on the top deck with singing and dancing and we were on our way!
We had the 8:15 dinner time, which meant a 6:15 show. We went to the show that evening before going to dinner at Royal Court and meeting our servers, Yadi and Ronaldo at 8:15. Dinner was absolutely our favorite part of each night, and not just for the food. There were three main restaurants – The elegant Royal Court, the playful Animator’s Palate and the magical Enchanted Garden. Our rotation was RAERAAE, meaning two nights at Royal Court, three nights at Animator’s Palate and two nights at Enchanted Garden. It was so fun to have a different menu and theme every night and rotate around the different restaurants. Our servers followed us to each restaurant and we really came to know and love them.
Donny and I both agree that our dinner experience was the best thing on the ship. Our servers went out of their way to entertain us. I know it’s their job to be friendly, but they really went above and beyond what was necessary, showing us magic tricks, telling us about their lives, giving us logic problems to solve during dinner…They knew our drink orders after one night and knew our names and faces around the ship outside of dinner. Originally we were shocked at the suggested amount for the tips, but after their wonderful service, we wanted to give, and we even increased the tip amounts. They work long hours almost every day of the week (70-80 hour work weeks!) and they still manage to be friendly and helpful. Absolutely great.
Our room was cleaned twice a day – Once during the day when we were out and about and once at night while we were at dinner. We came back from dinner each night to chocolates, towel animals and the next day’s activity schedule. Our hostess was wonderful as well and extremely helpful.
We had two sea days and four port days during the six days between embarkation and disembarkation. We boarded Saturday. Sunday and Thursday were sea days. Monday was Grand Cayman, Tuesday was Costa Maya, Mexico, Wednesday was Cozumel, Mexico and Friday was Castaway Cay, Bahamas. Our favorite port was Cozumel. It has the most to do and the best shopping. We really disliked Grand Cayman. It was dull in appearance with little to do. The only thing we purchased was rum and rum cakes and we were back on the ship early. Costa Maya had a lot of culture, but was too small. The only thing to do was a few shops and the Mayan ruins, which you would have to book ahead of time to allow enough time. Castaway Cay was my second favorite. It was by far the most gorgeous in my opinion with clear water, white sand and it was well maintained by Disney.
In Cozumel we shopped and did an excursion – Off-road Adventure to Jade Caverns. We rode in a two-person dune buggy type vehicle to a bat cave in which we swam in the water before getting back in the vehicles to go back. Very fun, and we stopped at an underground cave where the Mayan people used to hide out during bad weather.
In Castaway Cay we did the 5K run before swimming and laying on the beach for a while. By Friday we were exhausted. I really wish there had been another Castaway Cay day in there rather than one of the other ports (like Grand Cayman), because I didn’t feel I fully enjoyed all that Castaway Cay had to offer. Still wonderful though.
Our only complaint (other than the ports) was the limited hours for food. Lunch hours were typically 12-2 or 12-3, and if we were out at port and came back at 3:30 and were hungry, there were very few options. There was a quick-service food option, but that was essentially just hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken. It was good, but limited options especially for the health-conscious. There was also room service, but once again limited options. With dinner not until 8:15, I wish the buffet had been open longer. Other than that, the food was absolutely the best we’ve ever had. We tried so many new foods, from popcorn soup to lobster to onion cheesecake. There was only one thing that I really didn’t like and that was some sort of raw fish appetizer. Other than that, everything was spectacular and the portions were perfect – not too large so no guilt.
Everyone has been asking about whether we felt bombarded by children, being two twenty-somethings without children on a Disney cruise. There were plenty of adult-only areas and activities, including pools, so we were able to escape when we needed to.
The ship had everything, and we didn’t even put a dent into all of the activities we could have done. We went to shows, an art gallery, saw the Avengers in 3D, Brave in 3D, comedy nights, the 5K run, the one excursion, the pirate party. Other events we didn’t do included alcohol tastings, cooking shows, games, bingo, clubbing, animation workshops, the gym, etc. Shocking—I didn’t go to the gym at all! The only official workout I did was the 5K on Friday. Other than that, I honestly didn’t feel a need to work out. We were up and down stairs all day, so much that Donny was perpetually sore. Also, because there wasn’t a buffet out all day, we weren’t constantly eating. One day we only ate two times in a day, and though our dinner was large, we still weren’t overeating for the whole day. We didn’t limit ourselves but definitely didn’t overeat either. I ended up gaining 1 lb in 3 weeks (including the cruise week and 2 weeks prior), and that's probably water weight since I didn't drink nearly enough water and I've been stressed in the days since the cruise.
Overall this was probably the best vacation I’ve ever been on. The service from all of the staff was spectacular. From the first step onto the ship I felt like a princess. Everyone was so accommodating and nice. The ship was so gorgeous and immaculate. There was never a dull moment.
If anyone has any more questions about the Fantasy or my experience, feel free to ask!
I have been to Disney World 4 times (once with Donny on our honeymoon!) and Donny 2 times. While I've never had much of a desire to cruise, I was very tempted to find out what all the fuss is about and Disney was the only route for us. So, this was our first cruise ever.
We booked on 5/16 for our 7/7 Disney Fantasy Western Caribbean cruise with a VGT. We got our stateroom assignment a few weeks prior to departure and got a category 4D, stateroom 6626.
I apologize in advance if some of this information is common knowledge. This is copied and pasted from my Facebook for people who aren't familiar with Disney Cruise Line.
We left early in the morning on July 7th out of Reagan Airport. Our flight landed just before 10 in Orlando, where we proceeded directly downstairs to catch the Disney Magical Express to the cruise. We were actually able to check in for the cruise at the airport and received our room keys and everything there. After a short wait we got on the bus where we took a 45 minute trip to Port Canaveral. The process was easy and convenient, no issues at all.
We got to the port around 11:30. We walked straight through the terminal and got on the ship right away. Since our room wouldn’t be ready until 1:30, we were directed to lunch at Enchanted Garden and were able to walk around the ship.
Our room was ready and perfect at 1:30. We unloaded our carry-on bags before heading back out. Because we put the Disney tags on our large piece of luggage, we checked it in at Reagan and Disney pulled it for us. It “magically” appeared outside of our stateroom that evening before dinner.
We had a brief drill before setting sail, in which we all went to our assigned emergency stations and were checked in. After completion, the ship set sail around 4:30. There was a nice “sailing away” party on the top deck with singing and dancing and we were on our way!
We had the 8:15 dinner time, which meant a 6:15 show. We went to the show that evening before going to dinner at Royal Court and meeting our servers, Yadi and Ronaldo at 8:15. Dinner was absolutely our favorite part of each night, and not just for the food. There were three main restaurants – The elegant Royal Court, the playful Animator’s Palate and the magical Enchanted Garden. Our rotation was RAERAAE, meaning two nights at Royal Court, three nights at Animator’s Palate and two nights at Enchanted Garden. It was so fun to have a different menu and theme every night and rotate around the different restaurants. Our servers followed us to each restaurant and we really came to know and love them.
Donny and I both agree that our dinner experience was the best thing on the ship. Our servers went out of their way to entertain us. I know it’s their job to be friendly, but they really went above and beyond what was necessary, showing us magic tricks, telling us about their lives, giving us logic problems to solve during dinner…They knew our drink orders after one night and knew our names and faces around the ship outside of dinner. Originally we were shocked at the suggested amount for the tips, but after their wonderful service, we wanted to give, and we even increased the tip amounts. They work long hours almost every day of the week (70-80 hour work weeks!) and they still manage to be friendly and helpful. Absolutely great.
Our room was cleaned twice a day – Once during the day when we were out and about and once at night while we were at dinner. We came back from dinner each night to chocolates, towel animals and the next day’s activity schedule. Our hostess was wonderful as well and extremely helpful.
We had two sea days and four port days during the six days between embarkation and disembarkation. We boarded Saturday. Sunday and Thursday were sea days. Monday was Grand Cayman, Tuesday was Costa Maya, Mexico, Wednesday was Cozumel, Mexico and Friday was Castaway Cay, Bahamas. Our favorite port was Cozumel. It has the most to do and the best shopping. We really disliked Grand Cayman. It was dull in appearance with little to do. The only thing we purchased was rum and rum cakes and we were back on the ship early. Costa Maya had a lot of culture, but was too small. The only thing to do was a few shops and the Mayan ruins, which you would have to book ahead of time to allow enough time. Castaway Cay was my second favorite. It was by far the most gorgeous in my opinion with clear water, white sand and it was well maintained by Disney.
In Cozumel we shopped and did an excursion – Off-road Adventure to Jade Caverns. We rode in a two-person dune buggy type vehicle to a bat cave in which we swam in the water before getting back in the vehicles to go back. Very fun, and we stopped at an underground cave where the Mayan people used to hide out during bad weather.
In Castaway Cay we did the 5K run before swimming and laying on the beach for a while. By Friday we were exhausted. I really wish there had been another Castaway Cay day in there rather than one of the other ports (like Grand Cayman), because I didn’t feel I fully enjoyed all that Castaway Cay had to offer. Still wonderful though.
Our only complaint (other than the ports) was the limited hours for food. Lunch hours were typically 12-2 or 12-3, and if we were out at port and came back at 3:30 and were hungry, there were very few options. There was a quick-service food option, but that was essentially just hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken. It was good, but limited options especially for the health-conscious. There was also room service, but once again limited options. With dinner not until 8:15, I wish the buffet had been open longer. Other than that, the food was absolutely the best we’ve ever had. We tried so many new foods, from popcorn soup to lobster to onion cheesecake. There was only one thing that I really didn’t like and that was some sort of raw fish appetizer. Other than that, everything was spectacular and the portions were perfect – not too large so no guilt.
Everyone has been asking about whether we felt bombarded by children, being two twenty-somethings without children on a Disney cruise. There were plenty of adult-only areas and activities, including pools, so we were able to escape when we needed to.
The ship had everything, and we didn’t even put a dent into all of the activities we could have done. We went to shows, an art gallery, saw the Avengers in 3D, Brave in 3D, comedy nights, the 5K run, the one excursion, the pirate party. Other events we didn’t do included alcohol tastings, cooking shows, games, bingo, clubbing, animation workshops, the gym, etc. Shocking—I didn’t go to the gym at all! The only official workout I did was the 5K on Friday. Other than that, I honestly didn’t feel a need to work out. We were up and down stairs all day, so much that Donny was perpetually sore. Also, because there wasn’t a buffet out all day, we weren’t constantly eating. One day we only ate two times in a day, and though our dinner was large, we still weren’t overeating for the whole day. We didn’t limit ourselves but definitely didn’t overeat either. I ended up gaining 1 lb in 3 weeks (including the cruise week and 2 weeks prior), and that's probably water weight since I didn't drink nearly enough water and I've been stressed in the days since the cruise.
Overall this was probably the best vacation I’ve ever been on. The service from all of the staff was spectacular. From the first step onto the ship I felt like a princess. Everyone was so accommodating and nice. The ship was so gorgeous and immaculate. There was never a dull moment.
If anyone has any more questions about the Fantasy or my experience, feel free to ask!
