A Fantasy Vacation Sept 15-22 Western Caribbean

[robhawk]

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom
Welcome to the boards! Lots of great information here.
We are going on the Fantasy in February

Rob & Sue

 

[mstee777]

Thanks Rob and Sue. I'm finding a lot of great information here already.

 

[flyersfan1129]

WDW

For the first 3 days of our vacation we stayed at All Star Music in WDW. The purpose of these first 3 days was to relax and take some time before getting on the Fantasy. It was also a great way to extend our vacation.

Please no one flame me, but I'm not a big fan of the Value resorts. Overall the resort was clean, the pools were nice and the resort was not overly crowded. We would definitely stay again for a pre cruise stay, but for 7 nights at WDW we definitely prefer a moderate or deluxe resort.

On Thursday we drove to Cape Canaveral and had dinner at Fish Lips. We had the opportunity to watch the Dream pull out of port. Anyone staying on Cape Canaveral pre/post cruise - Fish lips has great Happy Hour drink and food specials from 3-6. We had 4 apps, 2 drinks and 2 kids meals for $30 and the food was really good.

Friday night we had tickets for MNSSHP. We were able to enter at 4pm with our tickets which is not advertised. Since the park was closing for the party at 7pm it had already started to clear out. We walked onto to pretty much every ride between 4-7pm.

The party was lots of fun. The kids (and grow ups) got lots of candy, the rides had minimal wait times. We enjoyed the special fireworks and parade.

The party was a great way to enjoys Magic Kingdom for about half the price of a 1 day ticket. This worked out great for us since we were not buying a multi day park ticket.

Embarkation

Saturday morning we drove from WDW to the Port.
We had pre booked with Park and Cruise. Parking for the week was under $60 and the drop off process took only a few minutes before we were off to the port.

This parking lot is very close to the port and also much closer than cruise parking of port Canaveral. They had multiple shuttles running and the process was very smooth.

We arrived at the port for 11am. There was no line to check in and check in was very quick and easy. The line up for a picture with Mickey was really big so we skipped that.

I did wait in line to check about a port upgrade. This line was slow moving and while upgrades were available they were not as discounted as I heard they could be. We were booked in a category 8B. We were interested in a category 4D which online was about $760 to upgrade, the cost at the port was $560 so we decided to stick with our original room.

We received boarding #5, we were called quickly and after our embarkation photo we were soon on board having lunch at Cabanas.

After lunch we immediately headed out to the pool and aqua duck which we enjoyed while the ship was still mostly empty.

My 4 year old son loved the Mickey Pool because he could touch the bottom in the entire pool.

Next up: Our cabin and review of the food

First, thanks for the great review, we are a little under 2 months away from our 1st cruise EVER and I am beside myself with anticipation.
Second, I totally agree with you on the Value Resorts...they are OK for a 1 or 2 night stay, but for an extended stay, we also prefer the Mods or Deluxes. We often arrive late, after 10 PM with a late flight, and will spend the 1st night at Pop and then head to Coronado or Wilderness Lodge.

 

[MarineFam]

Thanks for the review. We are getting ready to go on the Fantasy 13 April Western sailing and can't wait! This will be our third DCL and first on the Fantasy. Last two were on the Magic, Eastern.