The pools are pools. I didn't go on the ship expecting them to be any different so wasn't disappointed. Due to the fact that there wasn't a cruise disembarking that morning, they opened the terminal and began boarding much earlier than usual. By the time we go there around 12:00 number 38 was called and then open boarding. Also, the rooms were available when we boarded. Luggage was in the room much earlier than it has been in the past. Everyone seemed pumped up and ready to get the cruise going. Of course, these things won't occur on future cruises, but it helped the MV get off on a good note.
The first thing I noticed was that the champagne glasses were in our stateroom on the bar by the closet. That was a relief and one less thing to stress about at the sail away. We first went to EG for lunch, but they didn't have anything kid friendly on the buffet there, unlike the first day buffets on the Magic & Wonder. This was even for my DD11 who eats a good variety and orders off of the adult menu at dinner. We went up to Cabanas, and I was surprise that it was not mobbed. The sail away was really windy and the impending rain storm put a bit of a damper on things but we enjoyed seeking the banner being flown overhead, the fireboats spraying on each side and all the people waving from the shore. This was the only time the Fantasy played all of her horns the entire cruise and we enjoyed it very much. Due to the extra activities, we stayed on deck longer than usual, so did not change for dinner.
The next day we commented to a couple officers who came by on deck 11 asking us how everything was going about the fact that the entire ship seemed to be very calm and laid back. We had been concerned about things being frantic after reports on the Dream's MV and never witnessed anything like this. The shops were practically empty the first night, likely due to the fact that we were able to preorder MV T-shirts, hats and polos prior to the cruise and those were in our stateroom when we boarded. This was in addition and separate to the RSP items. I talked to a couple of the CMs in the shop the first night because I had to exchange two of our T's, and they were also relieved since they had both been on the Dream's MV.
I did ask why the straws on deck 11 by the drink stations were open and in bins. After watching kids grabbing them and putting them back, I told my kids to use the hot cups & lids so they didn't catch anything from them. After I spoke with an officer about that, they did switch to covered straws. DS came down with strep throat day 4 and the doctor said it was going around the ship, along with a couple other things.
The pool deck was never crowded in the kid's area, even on sea days IMO. We were always able to find a lounger on deck no matter what time of day it was. Of course, this was probably due to the lower than maximum passenger load. Someone who stayed onboard for a B2B said there were 500 more kids on the next week's cruise. The wading pool on deck 12 by the railing overlooking the quiet cove pool is definitely for kids/families as the sign for it indicates that kids under 12 need to have adult supervision. I will expect families to start using that pool as the number of guests is closer to the maximum. We walked by a couple of times and saw a few adults trying to use the pool. It looked pretty silly since it is scaled for younger kids.
The only thing that I was disappointed about on the MV was the lack of a horn war with the Magic or the Dream. We were in port with the Magic two days and all we got were two short horns both days. The Dream was trying to come to CC on Friday, but the storm front that moved in prevented that from happening. We were sitting at a table at Cookies Too next to Karl Holz when he was told that she was at a certain position and the winds were XX. He said that it was up the Captain to determine if it was safe to proceed and he would like to end the week "big" but safety was first. That didn't ruin our cruise, and I am "getting over it", but after all of the coverage of the horn wars the previous two weeks that was the one thing I had counted on witnessing on the MV. There was also no fanfare in any of the ports considering it was the first official visit of the Fantasy, unlike the Dream or even the Magic when she has visited new ports. We were on ship the first time she stopped in Cartegenia and there was a big celebration on the pier.
We also enjoyed all of the shows. LOVED Wishes. I was a bit hesitant to expect much with an original storyline after Villains and Toy Story [which I don't like at all], but this was a good story IMO and we will be attending the matinee if offered on our cruise next year as well as the evening performance. Believe was okay in comparison, and I did like that the Genie referenced the performance of Aladdin earlier in the week in his jokes. Aladdin was good also, IMO. We enjoyed the show in CA and this stayed true to the story with a few changes to accommodate the space. None of these altered the quality IMO. The entertainers for the evening shows were incredible as well! Justin Wellman did the entire show the first night, then the adult show the second night. We were surprised to have Larry the Cable Guy do the show on night #3. Steven Schultz and Lea Salonga performed on night #5 I believe. The CC presentation was two hours of listening to John Lasseter and watching some clips he brought along, including his college short film. It was fascinating listening to him and even DD11 enjoyed it, never complaining that it was running longer than the hour we had been told.
Overall, I think that
DCL listened to the comments after the Dream's MV. They worked a bit too hard to make the atmosphere relaxed though. It was easy to forget that you were on the MV aside from one mention by the Genie in Aladdin that it was the MV and the border on the embarkation picture. All other references in the shows were to the inaugural voyages and all other picture borders said inaugural voyages. It was a bit irritating to have it feel like "just another cruise" after what we paid to sail on the maiden voyage.
ETA: The big problem I saw on the Fantasy regarding the adult area was that if you were in a wheelchair or a
scooter it was difficult, if not impossible, to take a left from the elevators due to the bar with the stools on that side. That IMO is a bigger issue than kids walking through the area to get to the family pool area.
