Fantasy Cruise 9/10 - 9/17 with toddler!

[Kuzcotopia1]

We just got back from an EC cruise on the Fantasy on Saturday (9/17).

Prior to sailing, I did a lot of research on keeping my toddler busy or things she could do on the ship. I've never cruised with a kid before and was trying to be prepared. I just wanted to share some general and toddler-based insights.

I can also try to answer questions; however, you won't get the standard answers about cruise directors (I tried to remember his name! He was from Scotland originally and been with Disney for 18 years) or entertainment staff. I will have more information about nursery set up, toddler time, Magen's Bay, Cane Garden Bay, etc... but I'll do my best.

So, first off, the biggest tip?

EVERYTHING YOU LEARNED TOSS IT OUT THE WINDOW AND RELAX. YOU ARE ON VACATION!

My mom pointed out, "you could waste your vacation chasing characters." It's so true. Slow down, it's not Disney World or Land. Look out at the ocean and just breathe.

• Princess Gathering: Some of you might remember I had a lot of issues with this (since the DCL website ate my reservation). I was able to secure tickets for my entire family; however, even if I didn't there would not have been a problem. There were so many no shows/cancellations that they were letting anyone walk into the line. If you aren't able to get tickets, walk up the morning of and ask if there is space.

• Other characters: We didn't run around trying to get pictures unless it was convenient with our relaxation. I was impressed with how they handled a 14 month old. Stitch crawled over to her on the floor and then sat down holding her, the princesses all held her, Mickey kneeled down. It was cute. Tortola day had a character greeting worth mentioning... Disembarking began around 7:30am (I think, it was def earlier) but there was a "Mickey & Friends" gathering in the atrium at 8:30am. Our plan was to eat breakfast and head there before going onto the island. If the line was long, we'd skip it. We got down to the atrium at 8:25am and it was EMPTY. We were second in line. If you want to bang out pictures of Goofy, Minnie, Mickey and Donald try to get there.

• Nemo's Reef: My daughter is 14 months old and loved it. It was a really cute space with enough room for all toddlers and kids to move around. There was water coming from the walls, floor, slide and out the mouths of Dory, etc. Overall, I really liked that she had a place to play in the shade with water. I would go every day if I could. My only gripe was that some parents wouldn't come in with their older (3 - 4 year old) kids and my daughter got knocked over a few times by kids running and once by a kid swinging the big Dory back and forth.

• Dining: We were AERAREA for dinner. Our dining staff was EXCELLENT! We had Kapoor (head), Cristian (server, Romania) and Michele (assistant server). I had told Cristian my daughter loves mixed berries and every single night he had 2 bowls of strawberries, blackberries and blueberries ready to go for her - one for dinner, the other to take back to the room and have with breakfast. As great as they were, we did end the cruise with a little bit of dining disappointment... on our last morning, they basically served breakfast and never came back. They didn't even come back asking if we wanted coffee, juice or even for a goodbye. It kind of felt like "ok, they gave me my extra tip, let's make room for the new people." I, 100%, understand they were super-busy since a new set of guests comes on board 5 hours after us, but it was still a little disappointing.

• Nursery: The staff were all really friendly and it was evident they loved children. I bonded with Janice easily and trusted her within 10 minutes. She just had a "mom vibe." The nursery itself is really secure and clean. Parents aren't allowed inside while other kids are there (or if it's an open house) which I understand and was comfortable with. The snacks on hand at all times were yogurt, milk (various kinds) and crackers. They also served lunch or dinner which was the same meal as the restaurants. It could be pasta, meatballs, chicken fingers, fries, etc. You have to fill out a form at each drop off. It includes name, items brought with you, do they need a nap/what time, sleep preferences (like if they need pacifier), what snacks they can have, what kind of milk, etc. For items you bring, you have to supply diapers/wipes in the diaper bag. If you provide snacks they must be unopened or they won't use it. For example, we had a bag of Gerber animal crackers in her diaper bag and they removed it, put it in a ziploc bag with her name on it and returned it at the end of her time. They would not give her cookies from our opened container.

• Toddler Time: These are on at sea days. It was held in the Outlook (inside one of the stacks). They put down big, cushy pads with toys and tunnels. There were chairs around the play space and parents could sit, drink coffee (provided) and turn their minds off. In a way it emulated what I do at home on weekends... I sit on the floor with my coffee while she takes out toys and plays. No sharp edges, nowhere to get hurt, it was nice to turn my brain off. The busiest time is the morning session, afternoon has less kids.

We did not do any Disney excursions. We opted to take taxis to Cane Garden Bay on Tortola and Magen's Bay on St. Thomas. It was simple to do... walk off, get in taxi, go. We also did the Paradise Pier sky tram in St. Thomas.

For those alcohol-minded folk: St. Thomas has a "liquor mall" literally across from the boat in Havensight Mall. It took us about 3 - 4 minutes to walk back to the ship. The options were limited and the wine my dad bought ended up sucking. He actually poured out a bottle which is blasphemy to him.

I could probably keep going on and on and on... but let me know if anyone has questions.

I'm still working on uploading pictures.

Edit: Also, this was a Halloween cruise. I didn't plan to be on a Halloween cruise and I was relatively upset the tree would be in the atrium... but as others have said, you barely even notice it because the rest of the ship isn't decorated. It's easy to avoid all things Halloween.

 

[Quellman]

Thanks for sharing. You hit a lot of points that I made after my first cruise with a 14 month old. Nemo's reef is sometimes over run with kids even older than 3-4 years old just because of its proximity to the family pool. This is even more the case on the Dream which is lacking the older kids splash pad area. Last morning breakfast can be difficult for sure, which is why DCL suggests providing the tips the night before. A bummer that you didn't even get a refill. We usually linger in the dining room the last morning.

Did you receive the "Small World" toddler sheet in your stateroom Fish hanger the first night? There are lots of other toddler time activities where they will close off the sports area and get out balls, or special activities just for the younger set. We found that to be a great addition.

One question about Tortola. How is the port area construction? Are they making a good effort to build more shops and dining at the pier?

 

[Kuzcotopia1]

Thanks for sharing. You hit a lot of points that I made after my first cruise with a 14 month old. Nemo's reef is sometimes over run with kids even older than 3-4 years old just because of its proximity to the family pool. This is even more the case on the Dream which is lacking the older kids splash pad area. Last morning breakfast can be difficult for sure, which is why DCL suggests providing the tips the night before. A bummer that you didn't even get a refill. We usually linger in the dining room the last morning.

Did you receive the "Small World" toddler sheet in your stateroom Fish hanger the first night? There are lots of other toddler time activities where they will close off the sports area and get out balls, or special activities just for the younger set. We found that to be a great addition.

One question about Tortola. How is the port area construction? Are they making a good effort to build more shops and dining at the pier?

We did receive the "Small World" toddler sheet and I tried to get to some of the scheduled events but I didn't want to push anything. If she was having fun in the reef or running around the atrium staring at the chandelier (which she did a lot, haha), then we just did that.

The port construction is coming along but there were only a handful of stores open none of which I cared to go in. They had the standard Crocs, jewelry stores and island baubles stores. I only saw one restaurant at the port - Myett - otherwise no options for food. The area is nice though and I commented to my husband that once it's finished it will be very pretty. I liked the feel of the place, it was just kind of empty.

 

[Jessirip]

Thank you so much for posting this. We are sailing on the Dream in October with our toddler and 4 year old and I needed to hear the "throw it all out the window and relax" comment.

Did your little one sleep in a pack n play? Just wondering how that went for you if so. And how did you find dinner time length? Was it too long? This is a worry for me that he'll get restless but we plan to try. (ETA: we're in the early seating) Thank you!

 

[Kuzcotopia1]

Thank you so much for posting this. We are sailing on the Dream in October with our toddler and 4 year old and I needed to hear the "throw it all out the window and relax" comment.

Did your little one sleep in a pack n play? Just wondering how that went for you if so. And how did you find dinner time length? Was it too long? This is a worry for me that he'll get restless but we plan to try. (ETA: we're in the early seating) Thank you!

I'm serious! Just throw it out the window and have fun!! My favorite parts of the trip were following her down the beach or around deck 4 and seeing everything through her eyes. If you miss a picture with Mickey, who cares? He'll always be there. Also, taking pictures of Mickey + a toddler are damn near impossible because they are tornados of movement. Haha!

My daughter slept in the pack and play the entire time. I had brought my own sheet (which I recommend) and a thicker blanket. I put the thick blanket underneath the sheet to make it more cushioned. We had zero issues with her getting used to it and she slept through the nights. It does take up a lot of space in the stateroom but we left it up most of the time for naps. There is a thermostat in the room and we kept it at the coldest setting which was perfect temps to have her wear cotton footie pajamas. It was also fine for naps in tank tops/shorts.

We had main seating for dinner and I thought length was ok. She did get a little restless but it wasn't until maybe 60 - 70 minutes in and at that point we were basically finished. My husband or I would trade off and take her out to run in the atrium while the other person finished up or while my parents drank their coffee. But it might have cut off 10ish minutes of the entire dinner time. Don't be afraid to ask for other kinds of food. The veggies won't be super-steamed like your toddler will be used to eating (ask for them to be steamed longer). If your kid loves turkey meatballs, they'll prepare it every night. If they only like buttered noodles, they'll prepare it every night. If your toddler is like mine and won't eat veggies if they see other food... ask them to bring out veggies first, then everything else. It's great! They even cut their food for you.

 

[Jessirip]

Thank you so much for the wonderful tips! And now I feel a little better about dinner.

 

[asamklove]

Deck 4 for running My 2yo at the time loved to run around! He could pretty much run to his heart's content without bothering anyone. He also like "playing" shuffleboard.

Please note: I had posted this same thought on a similar thread a while back & someone warned me to keep an eye on the gates on deck 4, as someone once saw one unlocked. Just stay alert.

 

[Weedy]

My kids are big now but thanks great report.
I was told.... the reason the service is so quick the last morning is because the servers have to hurry because they can only work so many hours that morning before turning around to work that evening.

 

[hamm1207]

Thanks for sharing!! We're cruising with our 1 year old in November and it's wonderful to hear current tips/recent reports!

Did you happen to hear anything about food allergies when checking your kiddo into the nursery? Our little one has a milk allergy and I'm hoping they'll still be able to feed her.

Also, where did you put her Magic band for the nursery? I've heard that it can go on the diaper bag.

 

[Kuzcotopia1]

Thanks for sharing!! We're cruising with our 1 year old in November and it's wonderful to hear current tips/recent reports!

Did you happen to hear anything about food allergies when checking your kiddo into the nursery? Our little one has a milk allergy and I'm hoping they'll still be able to feed her.

Also, where did you put her Magic band for the nursery? I've heard that it can go on the diaper bag.

They will still be able to feed her. The nursery had all sorts of things to eat and drink. They had almond milk, soy milk... all types of drinks. I'm sure you'll be fine. We kept her magic band on the diaper bag.

 

[hamm1207]

They will still be able to feed her. The nursery had all sorts of things to eat and drink. They had almond milk, soy milk... all types of drinks. I'm sure you'll be fine. We kept her magic band on the diaper bag.

Awesome! Thank you!!

 

[Djscarlette]

What did you do for a car seat for your little one in the ports? I'm worried about booking port excursions far away from the ship. I am wondering what others do in this situation.
TIA!

 

[Djscarlette]

We just got back from an EC cruise on the Fantasy on Saturday (9/17).

We opted to take taxis to Cane Garden Bay on Tortola and Magen's Bay on St. Thomas. It was simple to do... walk off, get in taxi, go. We also did the Paradise Pier sky tram in St. Thomas.

.

What did you do for a car seat for your little one for port excursions? I'm worried about booking things far away from the ship and am wondering what others do in this situation.

 

[Kuzcotopia1]

What did you do for a car seat for your little one for port excursions? I'm worried about booking things far away from the ship and am wondering what others do in this situation.

All of the taxis were open air and we held her in our laps. Both rides were probably 15 - 20 minutes and I never felt unsafe.