Just returned from the Disney Fantasy (trip report)

[DisneyinNJ]

I have read the boards frequently, but this is my first post. My wife and I are DVC owners (AKL and VGF) and have been frequent visitors to many of the Disney parks.

Overall, we believe that the Disney Fantasy provides a wonderful family vacation. It offers a little bit of something for everyone, and most importantly, does a superb job of keeping a 2.5 year old toddler happy. We will certainly be back.

To provide a bit of context, this is our second Disney cruise with our toddler (we did a 4 night Disney Dream cruise as a test run in February). We tend to prefer higher-end vacations (Four Seasons, Ritz, and Singita level), but are also big Disney fans. We booked a Category T (one bedroom Concierge suite) and had room 11002. I would add that we were very pleased with the room, particularly with the extra-large balcony (we had previously cruised on a 1 bedroom Concierge suite on deck 12 that had a much smaller balcony).

Concierge service was truly outstanding. The pre-departure concierge helped out immensely with preparations. The on-board concierge were very kind (Julia and Kemisha), had many surprises for our little girl, and the lounge was a nice bit of respite from the crowds (and it had the only drinkable coffee on the ship).

Food in the main dining rooms were fine. None of it was particularly noteworthy, but it was easy to find something reasonable to eat. The buffet at Cabanas was pretty gross. Poolside fare was typical burgers/pizza and served as a fine lunch. Dining at Palo was very good and Remy was outstanding. We recommend both restaurants enthusiastically.

The ports were your typical Caribbean fare. We took the Playa Mia beach break in Cozumel and found that the waterpark was an excellent distraction for a toddler. Food was terrible, by far the worst of the trip. In Grand Cayman we visited Botswain’s Adventure Park (formerly the Turtle Farm). It had plenty of things to see and the food was very good. We didn’t do any excursions in Jamaica, but our fears about a crime infested port (reinforced by previous visits to Ochos Rios) were overblown. Disney uses Falmouth, which had the distinct feel of a duty free mall. Finally, we found Castaway Cay to be once again our favorite port. We rented a cabana on the family beach (Cabin #6) and found it to be a great way to spend the day relaxing.

 

[disneywonderfun]

I have read the boards frequently, but this is my first post. My wife and I are DVC owners (AKL and VGF) and have been frequent visitors to many of the Disney parks.

Overall, we believe that the Disney Fantasy provides a wonderful family vacation. It offers a little bit of something for everyone, and most importantly, does a superb job of keeping a 2.5 year old toddler happy. We will certainly be back.

To provide a bit of context, this is our second Disney cruise with our toddler (we did a 4 night Disney Dream cruise as a test run in February). We tend to prefer higher-end vacations (Four Seasons, Ritz, and Singita level), but are also big Disney fans. We booked a Category T (one bedroom Concierge suite) and had room 11002. I would add that we were very pleased with the room, particularly with the extra-large balcony (we had previously cruised on a 1 bedroom Concierge suite on deck 12 that had a much smaller balcony).

Concierge service was truly outstanding. The pre-departure concierge helped out immensely with preparations. The on-board concierge were very kind (Julia and Kemisha), had many surprises for our little girl, and the lounge was a nice bit of respite from the crowds (and it had the only drinkable coffee on the ship).

Food in the main dining rooms were fine. None of it was particularly noteworthy, but it was easy to find something reasonable to eat. The buffet at Cabanas was pretty gross. Poolside fare was typical burgers/pizza and served as a fine lunch. Dining at Palo was very good and Remy was outstanding. We recommend both restaurants enthusiastically.

The ports were your typical Caribbean fare. We took the Playa Mia beach break in Cozumel and found that the waterpark was an excellent distraction for a toddler. Food was terrible, by far the worst of the trip. In Grand Cayman we visited Botswain’s Adventure Park (formerly the Turtle Farm). It had plenty of things to see and the food was very good. We didn’t do any excursions in Jamaica, but our fears about a crime infested port (reinforced by previous visits to Ochos Rios) were overblown. Disney uses Falmouth, which had the distinct feel of a duty free mall. Finally, we found Castaway Cay to be once again our favorite port. We rented a cabana on the family beach (Cabin #6) and found it to be a great way to spend the day relaxing.

Always good to hear about recent cruises that get to the point quickly!

DWF

 

[gfly]

thanks for the thoughts. Can I ask what types of things your 2.5 year old did on the ship to stay entertained? We are taking our 2.2 year old on the Fantasy next month.

 

[savage1117]

Thanks for the report!! We will have the same cabana in Nov for our first cruise. So excited!!!

 

[AlexandNessa]

deleted

 

[DisneyinNJ]

They have a Wake Up With Disney Jr that was lots of fun. We also told her that before we went on the cruise, that she needed to be potty trained before she could use "Mickey's Pool". That motivation alone might have been worth the cost of the trip. Even though they were a touch on the late side, she also enjoyed the evening shows. Finally, she had lots of fun getting character autographs and splashing around in the Nemo's Reef area.

We had three concierges.

 

[DisneyinNJ]

Perhaps our biggest disappointment with the trip was with the luggage service. Our bags encountered a "tag swap" (the Disney vendor basically mistagged one of our bags) sending it on the wrong carrier, and to the wrong city. The bag should arrive later today, but it took over 8 hours on the phone and lots of pulling strings to get the bag back to New Jersey.

 

[clemsonlongs]

thanks for the thoughts. Can I ask what types of things your 2.5 year old did on the ship to stay entertained? We are taking our 2.2 year old on the Fantasy next month.

Sorry to chime in but we just got back from a 4 night Dream cruise with our precocious 21 mo old. I found that she really enjoyed meeting the characters and the shows (again, they were late but entertaining). We had an awesome wait staff that fed and entertained her so my husband and I could eat. Also, we made sure she was familiar with all the Disney characters we would encounter by watching Disney jr and Mickey Mouse before we left. Definitely worth it to see her expression as her favorite characters "came to life."

Our cruise had a dance party with Jake and Sophia and a couple of toddler times on the sports deck and in one of the lounges. Our daughter still naps so it meant one of us had downtime in our room for a few hours in the afternoon. For that reason (and more space) we booked a 1 bedroom concierge suite. Best money ever spent considering how much time we were in the room. Also, the snacks in the lounge were perfect for a post nap nibble.

Only on the sea day did I feel like I was running out of things for her to do. I feel like the 2-3 age range is kind of lost. We never did the nursery bc she was bored in there with the younger kids and toys. We took advantage of the youth club open house though and she loved that. I was in a few character lines with other parents of 2-3 year olds and they agreed that Disney almost needs to separate out that age range into it's own club. Impossible and impractical I know. I would just take advantage of as many open houses as possible and any toddler activities. Even though I sound negative we loved our cruise and Onboard booked another for May!

 

[VbChristy]

Do you have any pictures of the balcony? We will be in the same cabin in a year!