Just back from the Fantasy

[SnowWhite2]

I've found that most if not all taxis will ask what time you want to be picked up. It is a definite fare back to the ship for them. Just be careful not to miss the return pick up because they will pick up another fare back to port if you don't show around your designated time.

 

[Buckeye Princess]

Between the opening night and closing night shows, which would you chose to skip if you were only going to skip 1?

You said you spent a lot of time in the van in st. Martens. Do you by chance remember approx how much or how long the ride was back to the port from Maho? We have a deposit down for the tour but am still debating what the late day could mean for my 3.5 and 20 month old who still need a nap before dinner. (and I don't want to miss Pirate night photos). Finally what type of van was it? (debating on car seats vs. lap)

 

[CrusNewb]

Hey! I was on the same Bernard's van with you! Also had the same dining rotation. I dressed nicely for some nights, but went with shorts on other nights. Sorry. Had every intention of wearing pants at dinner but found I was too hot most nights.

I know that there are many who will disagree, but I found Bernard's to be not nearly worth the hype it receives. By the end of the day my kids had spent too much time riding around in a van. I also was not impressed with St. Marten. I liked St. Thomas better but we barely left the ship there.

We took a cue from those who stay on the ship on shorter itineraries and came back to the pools after doing Paradise Point. Even at their most crowded on sea days, the pools were not as bad as some would have you believe. Still, make use of them in the morning and after dinner. It will still be plenty warm and much more fun.

I would disagree with the OP about the Animator's Palette shows. I found both of them to be charming and entertaining. Each to his own though. On a simple decor level, I though Enchanted Garden was the best. They took a low ceiling space and turned it into something beautiful.

The lesson I learned on this trip was to adjust to your family's (kids) needs. My son needed to be pushed to take advantage of the scheduled kids activities. My daughter is ADHD, and gets nuts if she gets too much new. So, she got the afternoon calm time SHE wanted. Which was cool, I did not mind mickey bars and some Disney cartoons in the stateroom for an hour every afternoon.

 

[mainstreet1997]

I was on the Fantasy last week too and are you right about the range in dress code - but I think everyone should do with what they are comfortable with. My Dad actually had to go out and buy nice pants and jacket but he told me at the end that he's glad he did. I dressed up (no prom dress or anything like that) for Palo, Formal and Semi Formal night and I'm glad I did because we got some really nice pictures out of that. Our rotation was ERAERAE and it was funny that by Thursday (semi formal night) a lot of people had given up dressing for dinner. Lots of shorts and tshirts - and its not like we were out on excursions all day, it was a nice relaxing at sea day!

Oh well, to each his own!

 

[diz2011]

CrusNewB...we did Bernards tour as well (different van) and while we enjoyed it, I agree that we spent a lot of time in the van. I wouldn't have minded by-passing the iguana farm (pretty much freaked my kids out!). For my family, we would have just preferred a quick stop at the sea urchin man and then more time at Orient Beach before heading to Maho. For us, Orient Beach was a fun beach for the kids, and the stop at Maho came at a good time for us to grab lunch while watching the planes. Like you, I was not impressed with the island at all! I had never been there before, but it sounds as if it were a nicer place to visit before the hurricane back in the 90s that our driver spoke so often about. Sort of weird to me that things haven't been rebuilt after over 10+ years, but there must be a good reason for that of which I'm not aware.

 

[WRUNDELL]

Buckeye Princess. To answer your question as to which show to skip, I would skip either the opening night show or they actually played Brave in 3-D as the show one night in the Walt Disney Theater. You can always see Brave in the Buena Vista theater. They played in 3 or 4 more times throughout the cruise. Definitely don't miss any of the "live shows" such as Aladdin, Wishes, or Believe. Aladdin had us laughing like crazy and Wishes and Believe had us crying at times!

Let me know if you have any other questions, we sailed on the Fantasy last week! Great time!

 

[mmouse37]

We also were on the Fantasy last week. Had a fab time. Our son and girlfriend got engaged onboard on Formal Night!!! We celebrated in Ooh La La with bottles of champagne. Perfect setting for the celebration!

We thought most everyone onboard was dressed very nicely overall. On Formal night it was so nice to see most everyone in nice clothes. The 5 twentysomethings in our group all enjoyed dressing up!!!

We thought the the food was great....this was the first time my ankles did not swell at all on a DCL cruise. Didn't do anything really different...wondering if it is they didn't add as much sodium to the food. We took the galley tour which was interesting (had done it before but still interesting).

Our group really, really enjoyed Satellite Falls adult pool area. It is much different than I expected. The artist renderings make it look very small but it was sufficient for the space it was in. Plenty of chairs all around and many in the shade which was a good thing. We really enjoyed this space more than the regular adult pool...though we used that too sometimes.

We were a group of about 20 and everyone from the 1 year old to the 60+ year old had a fab time.

The ship is just stunning. It literally took my breath away. Loved exploring the ship late at night or very early in the am when no one was around. Got some great pics.

My only negative is the sailaway party (which I felt the same way about on the Dream). I really like the one on the Magic/Wonder better. To me, the ones on the Dream/Fantasy are just commercials for DCL. We left soon after it started and watched us sail down the channel from the bow.

Our pre night hotel was the Marriott Residence Inn which we stayed in several times before. Still enjoy it so much. We had two 2-bedroom suites there and they were perfect for our family group. Great buffet breakast included in the rate the staff is so nice. We ate at Rusty's the night before the cruise and just missed the Dream sail down the channel. If you want to see any ships sail past the restaurant you must get there before 5:00. Our group was delayed a bit so we just missed her. Food was great at Rusty's.

We finished up the trip with 3 nights at POFQ at WDW and now I know why I do not visit the parks in the summer. The heat was super oppressive while walking around the parks. It was so draining we cut our park time short to hang out in the hotel pool. Had the dining plan for the first time and felt it was a good value. We did the Hoop Dee-Doo and really enjoyed that. had not done that dinner show in years and it was just as good as before.


MJ

 

[CrusNewb]

I am laughing about mmouse37's post. I was looking forward to Satellite Falls, and then never made it there. The ship is truly stunning and there is so much to do even in a week.

I will sheepishly admit that I am one of those who let the fashion level slip on some nights. I brought the clothes, but found some areas to be warmer than I would have liked. Did dress nicely for formal, semi-formal, and Palo brunch. The eight year old son even voluntarily put on a tie for semi-formal night. And looked too darn grown-up.

Forgot to mention Palo brunch. Wow. Do it, but be prepared to go take a nap afterwards. Plus, the view is always good.

 

[mainstreet1997]

What a coincidence I was on the fantasy with my family on the Fantasy on that same cruise and we had the same dining rotation and wen just got back yesterday. Oh and also next time you want to catch a show you miss you can watch it on tv on the Walt Disney Theatre tv station.

When were the shows on? When they were playing in the theater? Every time I turned that station on it was just the Walt Disney Theater logo

 

[mainstreet1997]

I am laughing about mmouse37's post. I was looking forward to Satellite Falls, and then never made it there. The ship is truly stunning and there is so much to do even in a week.

Tell me about it! I feel like I missed so much! I never even got to Goofy's Sports Deck!

 

[mainstreet1997]

Speaking of the shows being like a commercial - another reason our dining rotation was amazing. At the first show they mentioned Enchanted Garden at least twice but never talked about the other two. My family and I seriously wondered after the show if everyone in the theater was going to Enchanted Garden.

 

[Feistygirl916]

Between the opening night and closing night shows, which would you chose to skip if you were only going to skip 1?

I would completely skip the first show! I had never been on a cruise before, so I had no idea about "cruising" but my group was SO bored during the first show! It was basically a run down of what the Fantasy offered, and where to go. If you have been on the DIS for even a month, you already knew all of the info that show gave you. Completely disappointing.

 

[Feistygirl916]

We were also on this sold-out cruise, and I didn't actually notice the crowds being bad. We were in the pool on port days and really enjoyed walking on to the Aquaduck! The longest wait for us was probably seeing Donald in his suit (LOVE that Duck!) on formal night.

Oh! The most crowded place I navigated through was the Shutters area, on the last night! Holy moly, you could barely see over all the people looking at their pictures!