Momto3littlemice
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2008
Hi all,
Since I got so much information on these boards planning our first Disney cruise, I wanted to pay it forward and include a trip report. I'm not sure if I'll get time to write a long one with pics... although I'm going to try, but I thought I'd give a few little summaries and some impressions. Keep in mind that we do Disney World a lot and had been on one previous cruise (Royal Caribbean).
This trip was a family reunion celebrating my inlaws 50th wedding anniversary... so there were 23 of us total (including 12 children). My little family includes me (Disney crazy), DH (goes along with it), DD (8), DS (7), DD (4).
The ship : The Fantasy was indeed huge and beautiful. I didn't see a speck of dirt, dust, or anything else. I am a huge germaphobe and was impressed by the attention to cleaniless the entire time. Some of our favorite spots included Deck 3's atrium (loved the live music there), Nemo's Reef (nice shady spot for the kids to get wet that wasn't too crowded), and satellite falls (although I didn't make it there too much!).
The shows : I thought these were a highlight. I'm a musician and not usually impressed with theme park music... but these shows were delightful. There were a few particularly talented, non broadway sounding singers and some fabulous dancers. REALLY loved "Believe". That might have been the week's highlight for me. We also enjoyed some of the cabaret acts including Magic Dave and the juggling comedian. We didn't go to the hypnotist, but otherwise went to all the main shows and enjoyed them all.
The food: The food was about what I expected. Somethings were phenomenal, some just good. Probably the worst thing I had was the salmon I had the first night at Royal Court... was overcooked. All in all, we enjoyed the meals. By the end, I coudn't keep up with all the food that was available... so much food. Food was also great on Castaway Cay. We were surprised and a bit disappointed about how little fruit selection they had. I thought there would be tons of delicious fruit everywhere. I'm not sure if it is time of year or just being on a ship for a week, but the fruit was a bit scarce and not that great.
The ports: My advice is stay on the ship at Costa Maya. We got off to just check it out and felt that it was wasted time. We went to Paradise Beach at Cozumel and LOVED it... so wonderful.
The service : As usual, Disney lived up to its name. Other than one assistant server that we had, the CMs were amazing. All were happy to chat and sweet with our kids. Great service overall.
Other great things: As I said, the shows were amazing. We also enjoyed many other musicians and acts around the ship. The Caspians on deck 3 were great, the italian music in La Piazza was also great. Glad we had some time to sit and listen. We enjoyed our time in the Tube also. Cabanas was basically well thought out and although they had tons of people to serve, never had to wait at all. The aquaduck was a fun ride and my kids loved the Mickey slide. The kids clubs were well set up and well run. My kids used them maybe 5 or 6 times for an hour or so. They had fun but weren't begging to go back.
Not so great things: The ship was really rocking the first few days we were onboard due to TS Debby. None of us got sick, but it definitely had me a little iffy at points. I actually was suprised at how much I could feel the ship moving the entire cruise. It wasn't too bad, but it took me by surprise. The other thing that I thought was tough was the crowded feeling of the ship. I know it was booked and we really felt it. Since our kids are young, we couldn't do too great of a job avoiding crowds. They wanted to swim and the pools were jammed, I felt it was a bit of a cattle call getting into the shows even when we were there super early, and Castaway Cay felt very crowded. I don't think we would have felt this way if we had just been a couple -- easy enough to avoid the crowded parts of the ship and go at off times. The pirate deck party was too late and a bit scary for the little ones... guess I didn't realize that and they wanted to see the fireworks so we stayed up. I wouldn't go to that again...there was also a fight that broke out on deck (seriously) among some guests and that made it not as fun. (obviously not Disney's fault...)
Overall: We had a phenomenal time and would love to do it again. I have learned some things this time that I would change next time if we went back... and dare I say that I might want to try one of the smaller ships? The kids had an absolute blast. I still think I prefer Disney World to Disney cruise, but they are not directly comparable exactly. It was great to be pampered and enjoy our family for a week.
I'm happy to answer questions... I'm no expert but atleast have some experience now!
Since I got so much information on these boards planning our first Disney cruise, I wanted to pay it forward and include a trip report. I'm not sure if I'll get time to write a long one with pics... although I'm going to try, but I thought I'd give a few little summaries and some impressions. Keep in mind that we do Disney World a lot and had been on one previous cruise (Royal Caribbean).
This trip was a family reunion celebrating my inlaws 50th wedding anniversary... so there were 23 of us total (including 12 children). My little family includes me (Disney crazy), DH (goes along with it), DD (8), DS (7), DD (4).
The ship : The Fantasy was indeed huge and beautiful. I didn't see a speck of dirt, dust, or anything else. I am a huge germaphobe and was impressed by the attention to cleaniless the entire time. Some of our favorite spots included Deck 3's atrium (loved the live music there), Nemo's Reef (nice shady spot for the kids to get wet that wasn't too crowded), and satellite falls (although I didn't make it there too much!).
The shows : I thought these were a highlight. I'm a musician and not usually impressed with theme park music... but these shows were delightful. There were a few particularly talented, non broadway sounding singers and some fabulous dancers. REALLY loved "Believe". That might have been the week's highlight for me. We also enjoyed some of the cabaret acts including Magic Dave and the juggling comedian. We didn't go to the hypnotist, but otherwise went to all the main shows and enjoyed them all.
The food: The food was about what I expected. Somethings were phenomenal, some just good. Probably the worst thing I had was the salmon I had the first night at Royal Court... was overcooked. All in all, we enjoyed the meals. By the end, I coudn't keep up with all the food that was available... so much food. Food was also great on Castaway Cay. We were surprised and a bit disappointed about how little fruit selection they had. I thought there would be tons of delicious fruit everywhere. I'm not sure if it is time of year or just being on a ship for a week, but the fruit was a bit scarce and not that great.
The ports: My advice is stay on the ship at Costa Maya. We got off to just check it out and felt that it was wasted time. We went to Paradise Beach at Cozumel and LOVED it... so wonderful.
The service : As usual, Disney lived up to its name. Other than one assistant server that we had, the CMs were amazing. All were happy to chat and sweet with our kids. Great service overall.
Other great things: As I said, the shows were amazing. We also enjoyed many other musicians and acts around the ship. The Caspians on deck 3 were great, the italian music in La Piazza was also great. Glad we had some time to sit and listen. We enjoyed our time in the Tube also. Cabanas was basically well thought out and although they had tons of people to serve, never had to wait at all. The aquaduck was a fun ride and my kids loved the Mickey slide. The kids clubs were well set up and well run. My kids used them maybe 5 or 6 times for an hour or so. They had fun but weren't begging to go back.
Not so great things: The ship was really rocking the first few days we were onboard due to TS Debby. None of us got sick, but it definitely had me a little iffy at points. I actually was suprised at how much I could feel the ship moving the entire cruise. It wasn't too bad, but it took me by surprise. The other thing that I thought was tough was the crowded feeling of the ship. I know it was booked and we really felt it. Since our kids are young, we couldn't do too great of a job avoiding crowds. They wanted to swim and the pools were jammed, I felt it was a bit of a cattle call getting into the shows even when we were there super early, and Castaway Cay felt very crowded. I don't think we would have felt this way if we had just been a couple -- easy enough to avoid the crowded parts of the ship and go at off times. The pirate deck party was too late and a bit scary for the little ones... guess I didn't realize that and they wanted to see the fireworks so we stayed up. I wouldn't go to that again...there was also a fight that broke out on deck (seriously) among some guests and that made it not as fun. (obviously not Disney's fault...)
Overall: We had a phenomenal time and would love to do it again. I have learned some things this time that I would change next time if we went back... and dare I say that I might want to try one of the smaller ships? The kids had an absolute blast. I still think I prefer Disney World to Disney cruise, but they are not directly comparable exactly. It was great to be pampered and enjoy our family for a week.
I'm happy to answer questions... I'm no expert but atleast have some experience now!
