Fantasy 7N Western - July 6, 2013

[jtvmi77]

This might be a noob question, but we also booked Remy for dinner one night, and we are unaware as to what our otherwise-assigned dining room would be for that evening. We would very much hate to miss the Animator's Palate experience, so can I call and request that I get that restaurant on a day that does not conflict with our Remy res? Or, do you just have to roll the dice until you get to the ship and try to resolve conflicts then (should they arise)?

 

[glschaefer]

Greg, which scuba shop are you using in Cozumel? DH used to be a dive enthusiast and my older DD has taken all the classroom work to be PADI certified. She just needs to do her certification dive. But it looks like you have to be 12 to do any diving with the Disney excursions. She will be 6 weeks shy of her 12th birthday.

I found Allison Dennis on the Cruise Critic and Tripadvisor sites. She runs Scuba With Alison in Cozumel, and everyone seems to like her. She takes scuba divers and snorkelers on the same boat, which holds only 8 or 10 people. I like the fact that it's a small boat, so we won't be feeling like we're being herded around. Also, the boat is fast, so they can get out to dive sites where other boats don't go. I know that we have two people booked, and there are two others from the Disney Fantasy. And word is that she books up fast. Her prices are reasonable ($80 for a two tank dive; $40 for snorkeling). Alison has been very good about answering my emails...very fast response time...so I wouldn't hesitate to email her and see if this is the right kind of excursion for your family.

I hope that helps.

Greg

 

[kfamilylovesdisney]

This might be a noob question, but we also booked Remy for dinner one night, and we are unaware as to what our otherwise-assigned dining room would be for that evening. We would very much hate to miss the Animator's Palate experience, so can I call and request that I get that restaurant on a day that does not conflict with our Remy res? Or, do you just have to roll the dice until you get to the ship and try to resolve conflicts then (should they arise)?

It's my understanding that the Animator's Palate experience is on the second night in that restaurant, (or 3rd if you have it 3 times on your rotation). So if you booked Remy one of the first 3 nights you are sure not to miss out.

I actually requested a specific rotation and made my reservations for the specialty dining based on the assumption that my request will be granted. If not, then as soon as we board the ship we will try to change our reservations.

Good Luck!

 

[kfamilylovesdisney]

Hello! I was trying to figure out why nobody was posting on Cruise Critic, and then I stumbled on this website. Hello!

My partner, Steve, and I just made our final payment today, so we are all set for this sailing. It will be our fifth time cruising, but first time on a Disney Cruise. We are huge Disney fanatics, frequent visitors at Disneyland, which is 45 minutes from where we live. And we have a good friend who is performing on the Disney Fantasy in the nighttime shows. His sister might be joining us as well. So, we have a couple of reasons to be excited about this cruise.

Our excursion planning is moving along. I will be scuba diving and Steve will be snorkeling at Cozumel for sure (through a private scuba shop). It looks like we're staying at an all-inclusive at Costa Maya. We probably will just hang out on the beach at Castaway Cay. And we haven't decided about what we'll do at Grand Cayman. I would like to see Stingray City, but Steve thinks that's too much "nature" for him (getting up so close and personal with the stingrays).

We are booked for Palo dinner and brunch. And we are booked for Remy on Friday night.

We look forward to this cruise and meeting some of you. We don't have any children traveling with us, and I see that most of you do. Even though we enjoy children (especially all of our nieces and nephews), I have an idea that we'll be hanging out a lot by the Cove Pool and Bar.

Glad to be onboard!
Greg

Welcome to our meet forum Greg

 

[britans]

Which excursions did you sign up for?

 

[britans]

Greg, which scuba shop are you using in Cozumel? DH used to be a dive enthusiast and my older DD has taken all the classroom work to be PADI certified. She just needs to do her certification dive. But it looks like you have to be 12 to do any diving with the Disney excursions. She will be 6 weeks shy of her 12th birthday.

We have not made any excursion reservations though. I think we will play things more by ear and do things on our own if we want.

We made a Remy champagne brunch reservation for just DH and I on the last sea day. That will be my birthday present to me. My birthday is the week afterwards. Anyone know if they do something for a birthday at the brunch? I don't really want a cake but something small and fun would be nice.

We also made a Palo dinner reservations for my ILs, DH and I on the 4th night. I realize now that is the Pirate and Princess night? Is there anything in particular that is special that night at dinner in the MDRs?

I don't recall anything special for pirate night other than a different menu.

 

[egoldber]

Oops! Sorry, I meant Prince and Princess night, which is (I think?) the 4th night, not Pirate Night which is the 5th night.

My kids would be bummed to miss the Pirate Night, but I am wondering if the Prince and Princess Night has anything special except for a particular menu.

 

[egoldber]

This might be a noob question, but we also booked Remy for dinner one night, and we are unaware as to what our otherwise-assigned dining room would be for that evening. We would very much hate to miss the Animator's Palate experience, so can I call and request that I get that restaurant on a day that does not conflict with our Remy res? Or, do you just have to roll the dice until you get to the ship and try to resolve conflicts then (should they arise)?

We booked Palo for the 4th night. I found 3 Fantasy dining rotations on-line, and that conflicts with the second AP show on only one of the rotations. If we end up with that rotation, I'll ask to switch.

Worst case, we'll go to the dining room with our kids (we have early seating) and then go to our Palo reservation at 8. I think there should be enough time to do that.

 

[britans]

We booked Palo for the 4th night. I found 3 Fantasy dining rotations on-line, and that conflicts with the second AP show on only one of the rotations. If we end up with that rotation, I'll ask to switch.

Worst case, we'll go to the dining room with our kids (we have early seating) and then go to our Palo reservation at 8. I think there should be enough time to do that.

You could also order room service, (which may be fun for the kids, and its free) or get some chicken tenders from on deck (I think the chicken tenders are the best on the planet and so do my kids. My daughter, Sarah (16) has made it a goal of hers to eat chicken tenders every day. haha). Then have your dinner.

 

[britans]

Oops! Sorry, I meant Prince and Princess night, which is (I think?) the 4th night, not Pirate Night which is the 5th night.

My kids would be bummed to miss the Pirate Night, but I am wondering if the Prince and Princess Night has anything special except for a particular menu.

Not having done a 7 night, I don't know about Prince and Princess night. Sounds like fun though.

 

[jtvmi77]

I booked Remy for night 3, I believe (Grand Cayman).

I'll call DCL and request that we get a rotation which allows for AP on one of the other nights. If they can accommodate us, great; if not, we can try when we get to the ship.

As far as excursions, we signed up for the beach trips at Costa Maya and Cozumel.

I'm a certified diver, but haven't been in 15 years. While I had considered doing a refresher locally and booking one of the two-tanks, I think I'm in more of a mood to veg out.

I recommend the Cayman Islands for diving, though. Great wall dives (especially in Little Cayman, which we are not visiting).

 

[glschaefer]

I'm a certified diver, but haven't been in 15 years. While I had considered doing a refresher locally and booking one of the two-tanks, I think I'm in more of a mood to veg out.

I recommend the Cayman Islands for diving, though. Great wall dives (especially in Little Cayman, which we are not visiting).

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm thinking of diving in Grand Cayman, in addition to Cozumel. Because of time limitations and the fact that we are tendered there, I think I'll go with the ship sponsored dive, even though I like to go with independent dive shops. Has anyone done this excursion? I think they use Red Sail. Does anyone know about this outfit?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Greg

 

[owensamo]

Not having done a 7 night, I don't know about Prince and Princess night. Sounds like fun though.

If I remember correctly, Prince & Princess Night is usually Formal night, and an opportunity for the girls to wear their princess costumes to the dining room. It has a feel-good show (that was always Twice Charmed night on the Magic) and the atrium had either princesses or the Fab 5 dressed in their prince/princess garb. There's a special menu in the dining rooms as well.

I think it's an attempt to get guests to have another "fancy dress" night, where they feel comfortable dressing in costume - and an opportunity for everyone to feel like a prince or princess in their "formal" attire. I don't think it works quite as well as the theme itself seems to cater more towards kids than adults (there's a lot of formal wear that travels easier than princess gowns!) but I've seen all ages go all out for the evening as well. We tend to treat it as a second formal night, and enjoy an evening dressed up more than we generally get the chance to at home.

 

[gatacmke]

Hello! I was trying to figure out why nobody was posting on Cruise Critic, and then I stumbled on this website. Hello!

My partner, Steve, and I just made our final payment today, so we are all set for this sailing. It will be our fifth time cruising, but first time on a Disney Cruise. We are huge Disney fanatics, frequent visitors at Disneyland, which is 45 minutes from where we live. And we have a good friend who is performing on the Disney Fantasy in the nighttime shows. His sister might be joining us as well. So, we have a couple of reasons to be excited about this cruise.

Our excursion planning is moving along. I will be scuba diving and Steve will be snorkeling at Cozumel for sure (through a private scuba shop). It looks like we're staying at an all-inclusive at Costa Maya. We probably will just hang out on the beach at Castaway Cay. And we haven't decided about what we'll do at Grand Cayman. I would like to see Stingray City, but Steve thinks that's too much "nature" for him (getting up so close and personal with the stingrays).

We are booked for Palo dinner and brunch. And we are booked for Remy on Friday night.

We look forward to this cruise and meeting some of you. We don't have any children traveling with us, and I see that most of you do. Even though we enjoy children (especially all of our nieces and nephews), I have an idea that we'll be hanging out a lot by the Cove Pool and Bar.

Glad to be onboard!
Greg

Welcome aboard! Im a divorced Mom with 2 boys so if this is anything like our last cruise Ill be on my own, so Im sure Ill see you on the adult deck. I saw your other post about Red Sail, we just used them this week in Aruba for snorkeling and they were great!

 

[egoldber]

If I remember correctly, Prince & Princess Night is usually Formal night, and an opportunity for the girls to wear their princess costumes to the dining room. It has a feel-good show (that was always Twice Charmed night on the Magic) and the atrium had either princesses or the Fab 5 dressed in their prince/princess garb. There's a special menu in the dining rooms as well.

Thank you! That's very helpful.

Im a divorced Mom with 2 boys so if this is anything like our last cruise Ill be on my own, so Im sure Ill see you on the adult deck.

Well, I know my 11 year old plans to ditch us as much as possible. And I am hoping that the 6 year old will just LOVE the clubs so much that she spends a lot of time there. DH and I would love to spend some adult only time in the lounges and bars! I'm planning on signing up for a Mixology class and a martini tasting when we get on board.

 

[glschaefer]

Welcome to our meet forum Greg

Thanks so much for the warm welcome. It's great to be a part of a friendly group of Disney fans!

 

[glschaefer]

Welcome aboard! Im a divorced Mom with 2 boys so if this is anything like our last cruise Ill be on my own, so Im sure Ill see you on the adult deck. I saw your other post about Red Sail, we just used them this week in Aruba for snorkeling and they were great!

If you want to find us in the adult area, just look for two guys with gin and tonics, extra lime. Hope to see you there!

And thanks for the good word about Red Sail. That helps.

Greg

 

[marlaymike]

Hi!!! Do you know who is the cruise director for our trip?

 

[britans]

We made our hotel reservations and parking arrangements today. We are driving down from the Charlotte NC area. With 7 in our party, flying is too expensive. We are staying at the Days Inn in Titusville/Kennedy area on I-95 the night before we embark. We found parking at the Raddison for $4.95 per day including shuttle to and from. The hotel room was cheap also, around $70 per night with taxes.

 

[britans]

Just to let you know.....I found this information on the disboard site and thought everyone should know, so that they could plan accordingly.

4/19/13: The following letter is from Disney Cruise Line and will be placed in guests' staterooms in the next couple of weeks:

Dear Guests,

We are glad that you have joined us aboard the Disney Fantasy!

As you may be aware, it is important to us to keep our facilities looking their best for all our guests. As part of our commitment to this area of focus, we ask that you do not affix anything to your stateroom door utilizing tape or any adhesive, including removable gel adhesives. We have found that these adhesives damage the finish on our stateroom doors; therefore we ask that you limit door decoration to those of the magnetic variety.

Concurrently, we ask that guests not use over-the-door hanging organizers as they have been found to scratch and/or disfigure stateroom doors and trim.

Guests found with damaged doors are assessed a $100 damage fee per incident to cover the cost of repairs.

Your attention to this matter will greatly assist us in keeping our shipboard environment looking ship-shape. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Guest Services, Deck 3 Mid-ship.

If interested, magnetic door decorations are available for purchase in our merchandise area. For your convenience, magnetic strips are also available at Guest Services.

We appreciate your cooperation and hope you have an enjoyable sailing.

Sincerely,