Fantasy Cruise Feedback

[Linda67]

I've just finished posting the cruise portion of my trip report over on the UK board. Here's the link to the day we boarded the maiden voyage

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2909554

and there is a link at the end of
each day to the next day's report.

It really is a great TR David

 

[wickesy]

It really is a great TR David

Thanks Linda. I thought of something you could do for me. If you come across Anja and/or Vendy in the bars I would love to have a decent photo of one or both of them - and tell them Ray and David said hello. Don't put yourself out though.

 

[Had2disneycruz]

As expected, it's probably all just a matter of perception with respect to whether or not kids cutting through the adult area is a "problem" or not.

Hahaha! I have four kids! My perception is Adult section equals NO kids!!! I cherish the adult sections of the boat! I truly didn't see it as a problem on this cruise. I also found that the forward elevators were not used as much as the midship and aft elevators so maybe that helped. Another bonus is that Satellite Falls is located on Deck 13 Forward and that whole section is dedicated to Adults. There are no cut-throughs for that section and there is no reason why kids should be up there. Currents Bar is up there, comfy chairs for enjoying cocktails, lounging sections, shade, lots and lots of lounger chairs and Satellite Falls. We enjoyed it, sans kids!!!

There is another section on Deck 12 that I though was adults only but there were kids there. We were about to get upset until I read a sign that said "kids under 12 need to be supervised", so I guess that pool allows children. I can't find a name for it but it is on Deck 12 so beware...there might be kids!

 

[lbgraves]

There is another section on Deck 12 that I though was adults only but there were kids there. We were about to get upset until I read a sign that said "kids under 12 need to be supervised", so I guess that pool allows children. I can't find a name for it but it is on Deck 12 so beware...there might be kids!

That is the family wading pool area on deck 12 that is directly forward of the quiet cove pool area on deck 11. Poor planning on DCL's part, but it is designated as a family area.

 

[sandgrace]

I've just finished posting the cruise portion of my trip report over on the UK board. Here's the link to the day we boarded the maiden voyage

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2909554

and there is a link at the end of each day to the next day's report.

What a wonderful trip report thanks for sharing it with us! I couldn't stop looking at your wonderful photos of Fantasy, and I'm now more excited than ever for our cruise on Fantasy in June!

 

[Buckeyemama]

My family was just on the April 7th sailing of the Fantasy. We really enjoyed our experience. I have 2 young kids, so that is the filter through which I experienced the trip.

I didn't book any excursions for the first port so we could enjoy the ship without so many people. It was like a different place from the day before (first day at sea). We enjoyed the family pools, the Aquaduck, and the Aqualab. It was warm and no wind from the weather or movement of the ship. My family of 4 had the Aqualab to ourselves.

My kids (ages 3 & 5) enjoyed the Oceaneer Club and the Oceaneer Lab. They enjoyed the organized activities more than the free play time. I think the guided activities provided the structure and direction they needed. We did go to both the club and lab during open hours as a family.

We also enjoyed the Detective Agency. We played it a couple of times. It familiarized us with the layout of the ship, so we knew which elevators and stairways were the best choices at certain times of day.

The character interactions were fun. I had brought photo mats to leave with guest services, so the kids were not getting autographs. It was fun to see what they came up with to tell the characters. Peter Pan worked some of the lines while we waited, and both of the kids loved giving him updates on their latest missions regarding Captain Hook.

We had the early seating for dinner. We tried to make it to all of the shows, but I made the decision to skip 1 and put the kids to bed early. My husband put them to bed early another night.

We had a connecting stateroom with my parents. After the kids were asleep, my husband and I would go out for a drink, enjoy walking around, watch a movie. It was nice because my parents go to bed early.

We were on Deck 10, and we had plenty of room to put away all of our clothes for the 4 in our stateroom. We were even able to designate a place for the kids' toys and books. The kids loved their "special beds" that only came out at night. My daughter was on the bed from the couch, and my son was on the bunk that was stored in the ceiling.

 

[mnasf]

Two questions from total newbie going in July. 1. How can we request a certain rotation. You convinced me that 3 Animators would be great. 2. I think my daughter would like Bingo. What are pre-sales?

We just got off the Fantasy yesterday. Here are some observations:

3. The changes to Animators were great! We were lucky enough to be there for Pirate night and they do Pirate scenes on the screen. The first night we were there was Crush, then Pirates and then the animation. If you can, try to request the rotation to get 3 dinners at Animators.

4. They actually ran out of electronic Bingo cards on the last day. We were there 5 minutes after it was open and they were sold out because of pre-sales. My kids were really disappointed.

 

[Linda67]

Thanks Linda. I thought of something you could do for me. If you come across Anja and/or Vendy in the bars I would love to have a decent photo of one or both of them - and tell them Ray and David said hello. Don't put yourself out though.

Ooh let me think ........... hanging around in a bar?! ....... I'm in !!

 

[Sorcerer Mom]

We just got off the Fantasy on Saturday. It was soooo hard to leave! I want to do a trip report someday but here is a quick opinion.

Of course, when you see the Fantasy in port for the first time, it is overwhelming and fantastic! We were so excited to board. We arrived at the terminal around 11:15 and were on the ship within 30 minutes. We were stunned! We didn't even get to see Minnie Mouse or show our friends (new to Disney sailing) the highlights of the terminal. We got our picture taken and boarded. It was so exciting to hear our name announced! I was lucky enough to get it on video! The first time you see the atrium...well, it is grand!!! We immediately headed up to Deck 11 so the kids could ride the Aquaduck. After pool time, we had buckets of beer and lunch from Flo's on Deck 11. We thought the food was pretty good. I tried the chicken caesar wraps and the veggie pizza. Our kids loved the chicken fingers and the fries were good too.

We got our cabins around 1:30pm. We were cabins 6000 and 6002. Loved them and will request them again! So much room! I never did fill up our closets or unpack all the suitcases. We had a window that overlooked the bow of the ship. It was awesome. We usually get an inside cabin so this was a treat. We had so much room under the porthole window. Our suitcases could lay open and we never tripped over them. We had three in each room and they were adjoining. Our host, Jiriwat, (hope I spelled his name correctly!) was wonderful.

Our dining rotation was Enchanted Garden, Royal Court (for formal night), Animator's Palate, then EG, RC, RC (semi formal) and AP. As stated by others, the shows in Animator's Palate were great! I don't want to spoil it for others, but have your video cameras ready!! The food was wonderful! At first, I thought the amount of food on the plate looked smaller but it was just the right amount. I loved how they had the dessert sampler every night and you got a small tasting of three desserts that they were featuring. It was called Sweet Temptations and it was perfect!

My girls had fun in the kids' club. My 18 year old high schooler was not allowed in the Vibe because she is 18 and a legal adult. She was extremely disappointed. They don't have much to do for the 18-21 year olds but they do get together a few times during the day. I feel like Disney really treated this group like misfit toys and need to find a better alternative for these kids. My daughter didn't really want to spend time with us in the 18+ clubs but what choice did she have?

I was a little disappointed with the overall cleanliness of the ship. Room service dishes sat out in the halls for hours and we tripped over them from time to time trying to get to our rooms. We found abandon plates in front of elevators and sometimes clearing was slow on Deck 11 and 12. Not sure if they didn't have the manpower to clean up after so many people, but it wasn't up to Disney standards.

My other complaint was that I scheduled a manicure for my daughter as a surprise. It was supposed to be $45 as per the menu online. My daughter came back with a receipt for $83!! The manicure was actually $50 and Disney pulled an "up sale" (forgot to warn my DD) and asked my daughter if she wanted the "shellac" over her nails....a $25 charge. My daughter didn't realize it wasn't included and didn't understand the technician's accent. Then my daughter tipped $8...hence...an $83 manicure!!! I called to complain and we were compensated with Rainforest passes for the day. Nice, but still... Luckily, her nails still look good!

The only shows we made it to were Aladdin and Susan Egan. Both were wonderful. Susan does the voice of Meg from Hercules and sang many Disney songs. The theater was gorgeous and we all had a great time. No problems with folks saving seats. Everyone was polite.

Our muster drill was in the theater on the first day. No need to bring your life jackets but all must attend. It was over in plenty of time to get to the sail away party.

We felt the wait for characters was reasonable. Some characters were very busy but the line moved along well. We tried to be quick with the amount of kids we had.

Pirate night was awesome! We went to the party on Deck 11 before our 8:15 dinner and then went back by 10:30 for the next Pirate Party and fireworks. What fun! We were all dressed up, loved the firework display and thoroughly enjoyed the dance party after.

We adults enjoyed McGill's Irish Pub and The Tube. We also enjoyed listening to Rob Thompson sing. He played the guitar and did a fabulous job on songs ranging from U2 to "Bye Bye American Pie". Well worth the time to find out where he is playing each evening. The Tube was a blast but never had many people in it. The bartender is awesome and is very talented with tossing the bottles! We also enjoyed a champagne tasting at Oh La La. We were on the wait list and didn't find out we could go until the day of. No problem though...we were excited to be there. We also did the Margarita tasting which included two shots of tequila. This was in The Tube and lots of fun!! We signed up for this on the first day.

The adult sections on the bow (forward) of the ship were incredible. We loved the new additions of Satellite Falls. We never had a problem with kids cutting through or staying. We swam in the adult pool, Quiet Cove, on Deck 11 (where the cool new bar is) and had the place to ourselves! That was Friday after Castaway Cay. By 5pm, Deck 11 and 12 crowds thinned out enormously! Love the late dining!!

Castaway Cay was wonderful. Food was terrific and the wait was minimal. Enjoyed the shopping, got my DD's (age 7) hair braided and our kids (all eight in our party) thoroughly enjoyed snorkeling. We brought our own stuff. My DH was impressed with the snorkeling sights as well. He did a scuba excursion in Grand Cayman and enjoyed it.

Another mild disappointment was that Captain Marco was stingy with playing the horn, arriving and leaving ports. It was never played leaving Cozumel or when arriving or leaving Castaway Cay. We were very bummed!!!

Ok, sounds like a trip report after all! Hope this helps for you all getting ready to sail! It was a blast and the ship is all that you hope it will be! Have an enjoyable time and make the most of it! Before you know it, it will be the Monday after and you will wish you were still there!!!

Thanks for all this great info especially your dining rotation! What itinerary did you have? We'll be sailing the Fantasy in June and are so excited!

 

[teriandcb]

Hi! To have pillowcases or photo mats signed, do you need to bring your own markers or does Disney use their own? Thanks!

 

[Bullseyebaby]

We were on the maiden voyage.... we loved it, a little better than the Dream, but I think DCL just learned from their mistakes.

What we were disappointed in was:

No midnight chocolate buffett
No staff "pub night" on the last night
No parade of flags to "its a small world" by the servers
No character breakfast

What we did like was addition of Aladdin, new adult places to go (although I like the Dream). The second night of Animator's was fun and not to be missed. The Adult pool area had more space/decks. Interactive detective game/paintings. Getting on and off the ship went so much smoother than before, IMO. And... although our staterooms didn't connect, we were able to connect our verandas!

 

[Had2disneycruz]

Hi! To have pillowcases or photo mats signed, do you need to bring your own markers or does Disney use their own? Thanks!

I forgot Sharpies for our pillowcases and Guest Services said that was not a problem. They used black markers on our white cases...they look good! You can bring your own though! Just have your items to Guest Services by Thursday of a 7-day sailing. Have fun!

 

[Had2disneycruz]

Thanks for all this great info especially your dining rotation! What itinerary did you have? We'll be sailing the Fantasy in June and are so excited!

We were on the Western itinerary sailing. We had never done it before and it was wonderful. We went to Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, Cozumel and of course, Castaway Cay.

Have a great time! The ship is gorgeous!!!

 

[Sorcerer Mom]

We were on the Western itinerary sailing. We had never done it before and it was wonderful. We went to Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, Cozumel and of course, Castaway Cay.

Have a great time! The ship is gorgeous!!!

Sorry to be a pain ...was it Western Itin B? If it was, the order would be:

Day1: P/C
Day 2: at Sea
Day 3: G/Cayman
Day 4: Costa Maya
Day 5: Cozumel
Day 6: at Sea
Day 7: CC

I'm, of course, overplanning and wanted to time my Remy reservaton w/Pirate Night which is a fun night, but my least favorite menu AND I don't want to miss that 2nd night in Animators since it seems like everyone agrees it should not be missed!

Thanks again for being patient and providing such great info.!

 

[Had2disneycruz]

Sorry to be a pain ...was it Western Itin B? If it was, the order would be:

Day1: P/C
Day 2: at Sea
Day 3: G/Cayman
Day 4: Costa Maya
Day 5: Cozumel
Day 6: at Sea
Day 7: CC

I'm, of course, overplanning and wanted to time my Remy reservaton w/Pirate Night which is a fun night, but my least favorite menu AND I don't want to miss that 2nd night in Animators since it seems like everyone agrees it should not be missed!

Yes, it was a Western and you have the right order. Do not miss any night in Animator's Palate! Both nights were a blast. Make sure to bring your video camera! We had a blast with our eight kids and four adults! We were all kids on the last night!!!

I am happy to answer questions! I get to relive our fabulous cruise!

 

[Nobtis]

It was wonderful. I just posted video of my trip on The Maiden Voyage. Truly the best cruise EVER and Disney's best ship!

 

[itutorfortravel]

Our April 7th sailing on the Fantasy was wonderful! Can't say enough good things about the great time we had. Excellent servers in the dining room, really good food (better than we've had on the Magic), beautiful stateroom...the crew really had their act together for being a brand new ship. Everything worked like clockwork. I have to admit I was a little worried when I read some of the feedback from early sailings on the Dream, but I don't know how our cruise could have gone any better. I can't wait to go back!

Some things I really liked about our stateroom:

-There was a REAL hairdryer in the cabin! It's a 220 volt hairdryer, but there's an outlet for it at the desk. I wish I had known this ahead of time, I could have saved packing space since I brought my own (but never used it).

-The main cabin lights that are controlled by the switches immediately inside the cabin door are dimmers! I didn't figure this out till close to the end of the week. Hold the buttons down and the light brightens or dims. That was nice to be able to control the light intensity.

-The alarm clock is also an iPod dock!

-The refrigerator kept our water really cold - almost icy.

-The bed was really high so we could easily slide suitcases in and out...so I didn't have to unpack everything on day 1.

-The coffee table is actually a storage box. Our cabin steward stowed the couch pillows there at night when he set up DD's bed, but I guess we could have also used it for extra storage if we had wanted to.

-There is a quick cool button on the A/C to cool the room down quickly.

 

[nenis]

Ok, sounds like a trip report after all! Hope this helps for you all getting ready to sail! It was a blast and the ship is all that you hope it will be! Have an enjoyable time and make the most of it! Before you know it, it will be the Monday after and you will wish you were still there!!![/QUOTE]


Great trip report! Now all you have to do is copy and paste to the trip report boards!...lol

 

[Twinparents]

We have been able to request certain servers and dining rotations through our travel agent. I don't think you always get what you request but at least it is worth a try. I am not sure if you can do this through Disney directly as we have always used a travel agent.

The Bingo pre-sales apparently happened at the Bingo game right before the final jackpot. We missed out on this but heard people talking that you could pay for your electronic bingo card through the pre-sales. When we walked up to the final jackpot game the Cast members said that the majority of the electronic bingo cards were already sold. My recollection is that on the last sea day they did a Bingo game in the morning and then another one at 4:00. Apparently the pre-sales happened at the morning game.

 

[lbgraves]

You can request a server or a rotation directly with DCL if you don't have a TA. They can only honor one though, so decide which is the most important to you.