17 Oct 2015 Disney Fantasy Western Caribbean

[tigerlilly878]

**** ROLL CALLLLL ****
Disney Fantasy sailing from Port Canaveral on 17 Oct 2015

This site is for us all to get to know one another, share tips and tricks, plan events like meet ups and FE's and get into the spirit of planning for the next 1.5 yrs So please let us know who you are and where you are from and if you are interested in planning or organizing anything...

FE: there is an FE but I cannot add the link due to disboards rules. It is located on our FB page though

Meet and Greet: will be held on the first day around 2:30 the exact time and location are TBD. Please PM me if you are going and not part of our FB group page so we have an estimated head count and check back here 30 days prior for more info.

I am Christina and my Husband is Josh and we are from Navarre, FL. I am a Disneyaholic and a planner by nature. We are DVC members and our home resort is Animal Kingdom Lodge. We just had our first child Feb 13 2015!!!! So he will be 8 months old when we sail


Please check this welcome post from time to time because I will be editing it as we get more info and events


There is a FB group as well, Please feel free to participate in any format that suits you. We will be cross posting important information to each format while maintaining your privacy.


Now lets have some planning fun!!

 

[gravyboatcaptain]

Hi! We just changed our dummy date to this cruise, and are so excited!
I'm Meri, and my DH is Christian. We're kind of Disney obsessed! We have two children, who will be 7 & 3 (almost 4) at the time of sailing. We're from Palm Coast, FL. This will be our third Disney Cruise! Our first two were both Bahamian, on the Dream. Can't wait to enjoy a new ship, and explore some places we've never been before.

We are totally in for a Fish Extender exchange… in fact, we're already brainstorming gifts!

We booked an aft room for the first time, with an oversized balcony. I totally searched the DIS for a trip report featuring our room, and now I'm practically drooling over that huge verandah. Oh, October 2015, you can't arrive soon enough!

 

[tigerlilly878]

Hi! We just changed our dummy date to this cruise, and are so excited!
I'm Meri, and my DH is Christian. We're kind of Disney obsessed! We have two children, who will be 7 & 3 (almost 4) at the time of sailing. We're from Palm Coast, FL. This will be our third Disney Cruise! Our first two were both Bahamian, on the Dream. Can't wait to enjoy a new ship, and explore some places we've never been before.

We are totally in for a Fish Extender exchange… in fact, we're already brainstorming gifts!

We booked an aft room for the first time, with an oversized balcony. I totally searched the DIS for a trip report featuring our room, and now I'm practically drooling over that huge verandah. Oh, October 2015, you can't arrive soon enough!

Welcome aboard! This is our 2nd Disney cruise and they are both on the Fantasy.. we are solo travelers for now . Hopefully we may have a new addition to our room by then. We are also in an aft room 5188.. we got the super small verandah . We don't mind though... If you have any questions about the Fantasy I might be able to answer let me know . I am also a Disney Fanatic and we became
DVC members last year. We have 2 trips to WDW between now and the cruise. Hopefully that will curb my Disney appetite. Where are you located in Fl? We are in the panhandle by Al ans La. Right by Destin.

Happy planning
Christina

 

[onceuponamilkymama]

Welcome aboard! This is our 2nd Disney cruise and they are both on the Fantasy.. we are solo travelers for now . Hopefully we may have a new addition to our room by then. We are also in an aft room 5188.. we got the super small verandah . We don't mind though... If you have any questions about the Fantasy I might be able to answer let me know . I am also a Disney Fanatic and we became
DVC members last year. We have 2 trips to WDW between now and the cruise. Hopefully that will curb my Disney appetite. Where are you located in Fl? We are in the panhandle by Al ans La. Right by Destin.

Happy planning
Christina

I made my own username, so I'll stop stealth posting from my DH's account!
We are in east central FL- between Daytona Beach and St. Augustine. We've been WDW Annual Passholders since 2009, and definitely get good use out of them- we've been to the parks 10 times this year so far. How exciting that you've been onboard the Fantasy before! If I think of anything, I will definitely let you know. It seems similar to the Dream (same deck plan, right?), so I hope to get around okay without needing a map, haha. Ooh, and I'll cross my fingers for you on that new addition! On our first cruise, DD was just over a year old, so I have a little experience cruising with a baby. Our second cruise, she was a few months shy of two years old. The older toddler age was definitely harder than younger. I'm really stoked that she'll be old enough to enjoy the kids clubs this cruise instead of the nursery. She wanted to play in there so badly last time, but could only play a few times during the open house sessions since she was too young.

 

[abitagirl916]

Hi. Just moved a dummy cruise over to this cruise. It will be my DD and I and this will be our 4th Disney cruise. We have sailed on the Magic, the Dream and the Fantasy. Although I would have liked to sail the Wonder this time, I couldn't find any dates that were good for us, so we decided to sail on the Fantasy again. Although my DD is 25, she is Special Needs with a mild mental disability (mentally a young teen). We both love everything Disney and have a WDW trip planned for Sept this year for my birthday. We live in Southeast Louisiana (about 50 miles north of New Orleans). Look forward to getting to know everyone before the cruise.

 

[tigerlilly878]

Hi. Just moved a dummy cruise over to this cruise. It will be my DD and I and this will be our 4th Disney cruise. We have sailed on the Magic, the Dream and the Fantasy. Although I would have liked to sail the Wonder this time, I couldn't find any dates that were good for us, so we decided to sail on the Fantasy again. Although my DD is 25, she is Special Needs with a mild mental disability (mentally a young teen). We both love everything Disney and have a WDW trip planned for Sept this year for my birthday. We live in Southeast Louisiana (about 50 miles north of New Orleans). Look forward to getting to know everyone before the cruise.

Welcome Abitagirl!!

I do love me some Abita Beer.... After Disney, New Orleans is my favorite place to visit. We also moved our Dummy Cruise and we were one of the last cruises to book onboard that were not subject to the 18 mo rule. I wish they would change that to 24 mo personally... but that's just me and I understand why they are making the change. I see that you have stayed at Shades of Green... Are you military? My husband and I are both AF Reservists.

Happy Planning

 

[arneyb6654]

Just got our cruise reserved and decided I should join this message board instead of stalking it like I've been doing for the last 6 months. Haha. It will be myself, my wife, and 3 children (ages 9, 7, and 5 at sail date). We're DVC members, but haven't been on a Disney cruise before (first cruise for ALL of the kids, actually). Decided to save a little by booking an oceanview room versus a verandah. Perhaps the kind folks at port will want to upgrade us at no charge. We hail from Raleigh, NC.

October 2015 seems like so far away now...

 

[IrishCowboy]

I have added your thread to the cruise meet list
Have a great cruise!

 

[tigerlilly878]

I have added your thread to the cruise meet list
Have a great cruise!

Thank you Irish Cowboy

 

[tigerlilly878]

Just got our cruise reserved and decided I should join this message board instead of stalking it like I've been doing for the last 6 months. Haha. It will be myself, my wife, and 3 children (ages 9, 7, and 5 at sail date). We're DVC members, but haven't been on a Disney cruise before (first cruise for ALL of the kids, actually). Decided to save a little by booking an oceanview room versus a verandah. Perhaps the kind folks at port will want to upgrade us at no charge. We hail from Raleigh, NC.

October 2015 seems like so far away now...

Hi Arney... Glad to have you here for some super early planning fun. I have been on the Fantasy one other time and that was our first Disney cruise... Man we had a blast . We are also DVC members. Our home resort is AKL.. what is yours? If you have any questions feel free to ask! Have you guys heard of the FE? Next year sometime we will start organizing FE and meet ups. Last year I hosted the initial meet and greet on the first day and an adult wine meet in our room... It was great but I definitely drank wayyy too much...

Happy planning

 

[abitagirl916]

Welcome Abitagirl!!

I do love me some Abita Beer.... After Disney, New Orleans is my favorite place to visit. We also moved our Dummy Cruise and we were one of the last cruises to book onboard that were not subject to the 18 mo rule. I wish they would change that to 24 mo personally... but that's just me and I understand why they are making the change. I see that you have stayed at Shades of Green... Are you military? My husband and I are both AF Reservists.

Happy Planning

Thanks for the welcome tigerlilly. I'm with you that I think it should be a 24 month rule, not 18. We booked onboard just before the change, so we actually got an additional six months, but I would prefer 24 months all the time. No, I am not military. We were sponsored by a friend of mine who is retired Air Force. But we really loved Shades of Green. Such a beautiful resort. I would like to say, Thank you to you and your husband for serving our wonderful country.
Although I love all three Disney ships that we have sailed on (Magic, Dream & Fantasy), I believe I like the Fantasy the best. I will also answer anyone's questions (if possible) about the Fantasy.
We won't be participating in the FE, but will probably attend the meet and greet, and maybe other meet ups also. Looking forward to getting to know everyone in the next 513 days!

 

[Survisfamily]

We just moved our dummy cruise to this date yesterday and are so excited! We are a family of 4, my husband and I plus our 2 kids who will be 5 and 7 at the time of the cruise. This will be our third DCL cruise, we've been on the Wonder and Fantasy previously. We really wanted to try the Magic this time but the scheduling just didn't work for us so we decided to go back on the Fantasy. We're looking forward to joining an FE group as well, I'm hoping someone in this group will be organizing one? Looking forward to meeting all of you over the next year and a half!

 

[tigerlilly878]

We just moved our dummy cruise to this date yesterday and are so excited! We are a family of 4, my husband and I plus our 2 kids who will be 5 and 7 at the time of the cruise. This will be our third DCL cruise, we've been on the Wonder and Fantasy previously. We really wanted to try the Magic this time but the scheduling just didn't work for us so we decided to go back on the Fantasy. We're looking forward to joining an FE group as well, I'm hoping someone in this group will be organizing one? Looking forward to meeting all of you over the next year and a half!

Welcome! I anticipate that we will start planning FEs and meet ups starting sometime in the beginning of next year..

Happy Planning

 

[MrsTice]

Hi all, My DH and I switched our original date to this cruise. We decided that 4 nights was not enough time. Plus I really wanted to go to Jamaica. This will be the first Fish Extender we are trying. Looking forward to this cruise. More excited to celebrate our anniversary on board.

 

[abitagirl916]

to all the newcomers to our cruise thread. Looking forward to getting to know all of you before our cruise. I know it seems like its forever away, but it will be here before we know it. In the meantime, my DD and I will be taking a trip to WDW this Sept. to celebrate my birthday. Looking forward to the trip and then counting down to this cruise. While we don't plan on participating in the FE, we will most likely participate in the meet and greet.

 

[tigerlilly878]

Hi all, My DH and I switched our original date to this cruise. We decided that 4 nights was not enough time. Plus I really wanted to go to Jamaica. This will be the first Fish Extender we are trying. Looking forward to this cruise. More excited to celebrate our anniversary on board.

Welcome MrsTice!!!! 4 Days is definitely not enough! The Fish Extenders are super fun even if you don't have kids! If we get a large enough group, we can break it up into categories like those with or without kids or age groups of kids etc.. We will see next year. We got so many wonderful things last year and a few that I will treasure always My Husband and I will also be celebrating our 3rd yr Anniversary. We got Married 10-6-12... How many years will you be celebrating?

Happy Planning!

 

[tigerlilly878]

Hi all, My DH and I switched our original date to this cruise. We decided that 4 nights was not enough time. Plus I really wanted to go to Jamaica. This will be the first Fish Extender we are trying. Looking forward to this cruise. More excited to celebrate our anniversary on board.

Welcome MrsTice!!!! 4 Days is definitely not enough! The Fish Extenders are super fun even if you don't have kids! If we get a large enough group, we can break it up into categories like those with or without.. We will see next year. We got so many wonderful things last year and a few that I will treasure always My Husband and I will also be celebrating our 3rd yr Anniversary. We got Married 10-6-12... How many years will you be celebrating?

Happy Planning!

 

[onceuponamilkymama]

Welcome to all the new cruisers!

I totally agree that a 4-day cruise is not enough! After two sailings on the Dream (both 4-nights), I told my DH that we needed something longer next time. I felt like as soon as we got settled in, it was time to pack up and leave. I'm hoping to spend more time in the Rainforest Spa ($16 day passes are totally worth it!)

My birthday falls a few days after the cruise returns. We thought about taking the next sailing (10/24-10/31), but wanted to be back home and settled before Halloween, plus liked the ports better on this one. October is my favorite month of the year, with my birthday and Halloween being in the same week! I am really looking forward to the Halloween festivities onboard. My son LOVES The Nightmare Before Christmas (he's slept with a little Jack and personalized skeleton blanket since around two years old ) and overall, they both love to dress up in costumes. When we booked, we made sure to ask about the Halloween on the High Seas, and were told that they're 99% sure they'll continue the special events during our cruise.

I've been brainstorming like crazy on Halloween-themed FE gifts. I *loved* the FE last cruise, it was awesome! We got so many cute and thoughtful gifts. And I love making gifts and gift-giving so it's definitely a highlight for us. It's like Christmas morning, throughout the cruise! You never know what will be hiding in that FE!

 

[tigerlilly878]

Welcome to all the new cruisers!

I totally agree that a 4-day cruise is not enough! After two sailings on the Dream (both 4-nights), I told my DH that we needed something longer next time. I felt like as soon as we got settled in, it was time to pack up and leave. I'm hoping to spend more time in the Rainforest Spa ($16 day passes are totally worth it!)

My birthday falls a few days after the cruise returns. We thought about taking the next sailing (10/24-10/31), but wanted to be back home and settled before Halloween, plus liked the ports better on this one. October is my favorite month of the year, with my birthday and Halloween being in the same week! I am really looking forward to the Halloween festivities onboard. My son LOVES The Nightmare Before Christmas (he's slept with a little Jack and personalized skeleton blanket since around two years old ) and overall, they both love to dress up in costumes. When we booked, we made sure to ask about the Halloween on the High Seas, and were told that they're 99% sure they'll continue the special events during our cruise.

I've been brainstorming like crazy on Halloween-themed FE gifts. I *loved* the FE last cruise, it was awesome! We got so many cute and thoughtful gifts. And I love making gifts and gift-giving so it's definitely a highlight for us. It's like Christmas morning, throughout the cruise! You never know what will be hiding in that FE!

I love October too!! Just love Fall here in Florida and the fun of Halloween... Its the first break from the heat

So can you tell me more about the Rainforest Spa?? I didn't do it last time and I am curious to know about it... what all does it include for your entrance fee?


BTW... I LOVE the name you came up with haaaaa haaaaa

 

[onceuponamilkymama]

I love October too!! Just love Fall here in Florida and the fun of Halloween... Its the first break from the heat

So can you tell me more about the Rainforest Spa?? I didn't do it last time and I am curious to know about it... what all does it include for your entrance fee?


BTW... I LOVE the name you came up with haaaaa haaaaa

Sure! They offer day passes for $16 (and I think you can also purchase a full trip pass instead, which allows you to go every day during your cruise, for more money of course). The day pass allows you access into the Rainforest Spa area for the entire day, which includes: two hot tubs overlooking the water, three saunas (of different heat intensities), multiple showers, and heated stone loungers. When checking in, you are also offered a DIY soap scrub kit with a loofah for $11- I didn't purchase one, but I probably will next time! When you enter, there is a nice setup of fruit-infused waters, towels, and robes. The showers have different "sensory experiences"... offering multiple water pressure/temperature/lighting variations in each one. I made the mistake of trying a shower first. It felt freezing cold! But, after spending a little time relaxing in a sauna, showering afterward was blissful. The hot tub was heavenly, and the stone loungers were a great place to just lay and relax for a bit. It's so nice and quiet- something that is super rare for me, as a mom to two young kids. I was able to call DCL and pay for the passes in advance (I only did two days out of our 4n). You definitely do NOT have to pay in advance, they offer them onboard as well. But they are not offered as a "spa service" on the DCL website.

There's a nice Rainforest Spa review on a website called "mommy musings"- if you google "rainforest spa day pass" it's one of the first to come up. I would link it, but apparently I don't have enough posts yet.

And, thanks on the name. It's totally me! I work as a Lactation Consultant, love Disney/fairytales, and I'm a mom! It's also my Instagram name- I'm totally open to new followers, so feel free to send me a request if any of you use it!

Speaking of social media... what do we think about a FB group?