Fantasy May 17, 2014 Come Along And Ride on a Fantastic Voyage!

[meg8182000]

Hello - I've been waiting to see someone post that they were going on the May 17th sailing. My mother and I booked on the first day that you could reserve this cruise. We actually were booked for the same cruise this May but transferred to this cruise.

This will be my 5th DCL cruise (Magic in 1999, Dream in 2011, 2012 and this coming September 2013 - the last 2 have been DVC members cruises). This will be my first 7 day cruise with Disney. Soooo looking forward to not being rushed to cram everything and just being able to relax as you are supposed to do on a cruise.

Looking forward to chatting with everyone as we wait another year and 2 months. I'm a firm believer that good things come to those that wait.

 

[goofygurlie]

Welcome. My husband, mom, son, daughter, and BFF will be sailing as well. We are so excited!!!

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[ScrappinGran]

My DH and I are booked on this cruise. Our second cruise ever, first was on The Fantasy last Oct. 20-27th. Hoping to make it to Castaway Cay this time.The last few days of our cruise were..um...rocky. We were part of the cruise that sailed through Hurricane Sandy. So much damage to such a beautiful ship. It sure put a damper-literally-on the end of the cruise...and getting home, etc. But that was then, this is now... We are looking forward to trying again!

 

[goofygurlie]

My DH and I are booked on this cruise. Our second cruise ever, first was on The Fantasy last Oct. 20-27th. Hoping to make it to Castaway Cay this time.The last few days of our cruise were..um...rocky. We were part of the cruise that sailed through Hurricane Sandy. So much damage to such a beautiful ship. It sure put a damper-literally-on the end of the cruise...and getting home, etc. But that was then, this is now... We are looking forward to trying again!

Such a wonderful attitude. So sorry you had to go through that to begin with, but glad to see you ready to get back on the horse...or rather the ship.

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[8timesblessed]

We are booked on this cruise. This is our first cruise and I'm a little overwhelmed. We have 8 kids that will be coming as well. The oldest will be 16 and the youngest will be 7. Our twins will be turning 9 on our trip. I have a lot of learn!

 

[goofygurlie]

We are booked on this cruise. This is our first cruise and I'm a little overwhelmed. We have 8 kids that will be coming as well. The oldest will be 16 and the youngest will be 7. Our twins will be turning 9 on our trip. I have a lot of learn!

How wonderful! You are also going to have a lot of fun!! These boards will tell you so much.

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[chasingthedream]

Chasing the dream:

We just moved our son to Everett in January. :

We are booked on this cruise. This is our first cruise and I'm a little overwhelmed. We have 8 kids that will be coming as well. The oldest will be 16 and the youngest will be 7. Our twins will be turning 9 on our trip. I have a lot of learn!

Hello fellow Washingtonians! I am excited to see you all joining, but I feel like any Seattle themed fish extender gifts I had in mind are now useless. Good thing we still have another year!

 

[BWVPam]

i know this cruise is still 14 months away but I have purchased my first disney gift cards through target with the 5% pharmacy rewards discount and my target redcard discount these gift cards will be used to pay our onboard expenses. Hopefuly this will make the time go by faster

 

[chasingthedream]

Someone posted this today on the main board regarding Trunk Bay:

"We did it. Had an awesome time and we will be doing it again this year. Here are some ideas for you.

1. We were concerned about having enough time on a short port day, so we made sure we were the first off the boat at 7:30 in the morning.

2. I arranged transportation ahead of time. I contacted Alvin at Islander Taxi on St. Thomas and he was waiting for us when we disembarked on St. Thomas. He also arranged transportation on St. John for us coming and going. Thanks to Alvin, we were able to make the 8 am ferry to St. John which gave us an extra hour on St. John and put us on Trunk Bay beach before anyone else was there.

3. We left earlier than we had planned and our driver on St. John phoned Islander taxi and they were waiting to take us back to the ship .

4. We had a group of twenty going but for different reasons we ended up with 12 actually making the trip and it was no problem.

5. Have all of your cash together so one person can buy all of the ferry tickets to save time. You pay the taxi on the return trip, not each way if you arrange transportation ahead of time.

6. The cost for an adult was around $40 per person for both taxis and the ferry and about $10 cheaper for kids under 11.

We had such a great experience last year that many people in our DIS group are joining us this year. I'll be happy to answer any questions anyone might have.

Islander Taxi
http://www.islandertaxiservice.com
Tell Alvin you want the same arrangement as Paul White on the September 12th, 2012 Fantasy St. Thomas port day."

The main reason we are doing an eastern is to go back to Trunk Bay. I totally plan on doing it this way this time!

 

[JavArmy]

Someone posted this today on the main board regarding Trunk Bay:



The main reason we are doing an eastern is to go back to Trunk Bay. I totally plan on doing it this way this time!

This will be our first cruise and we are a bit overwhelmed with port calls. We were considering not making any plans since the trip itself will be a stretch to pay for and the thought of planning them stresses me out. It's not that I don't like planning (i love it!!) but I have no idea what's worth what money or what would be a good fit for us. Anyhow, can you tell me more about this Trunk Bay and why it's such a must do?? My daughter will be 6 and my son will have just turned 8 when we go.

Thanks!

 

[chasingthedream]

T Anyhow, can you tell me more about this Trunk Bay and why it's such a must do?? My daughter will be 6 and my son will have just turned 8 when we go.

Thanks!

So, on our cruise this past July we stopped in St. Maarten and then St. John. We did a Disney excursion in St. Maarten. We got off the ship early in the morning and walked around, then met back on board for the excursion. We spent nearly 45 minutes in the D lounge while everyone was rounded up and given stickers. Then we were herded out to buses, where we sat for almost another 30 minutes waiting for those buses to leave. When we got to Orient Beach, the waves were high and choppy and there were TONS of vendors selling things. I don't think I have ever said "No thank you" more in my entire life. All in all it was an ok trip, but nothing magical. The waiting time seemed like a big waste to me.

The trip to Trunk Bay was completely different. I did a little research and figured out where we needed to go. We got off the ship ASAP and headed to town. There were plenty of cabs to get us to the ferry, and then to the beach. Once we got to the beach, it was literally paradise. It was the 4th of July and there was a major celebration going on in town, so I am sure the beach was less crowded than normal. Also, Trunk Bay is a US National park. There were nice bathrooms, showers, and a gift shop and a snack stand (that made amazing mixed drinks!) We packed a few bags of chips and uncrustables from the ship and had "free" lunch on the beach. There is an underwater snorkel trail and lots of fish to see. The sea was calm and beautiful. All in all it was just a beach. A beautiful, serene, amazing beach with nice amenities. It may not be for everyone. Basically we swam and relaxed all day. I had a great time enjoying the serenity with my family, which is why we took the vacation in the first place.

On the 2014 trip, I plan on independently booking Bernard's Tours in St. Maarten. I know people stress out about missing the ship and not being on a Disney excursion. While I know this is a legitimate concern, other companies giving tours are businesses that depend on tourism income. If any one of them developed a reputation for making people miss their ships, they would certainly not be in business long.

Also, the "negative" experience at Orient Bay (even though it was really not negative) may have made the Trunk Bay day seem more amazing. I just know it was enough to make me book the same trip again, and I can't wait! I will try and figure out how to post some pictures here to paint a better picture....

 

[chasingthedream]

As you can see, the beach had a lot of seaweed and the waves were kind of rough. Don't get me wrong, we had a BLAST! We really enjoyed the excursion and we also enjoyed walking around town in the morning. I am really looking forward to getting to Maho Beach this time around!

 

[chasingthedream]

Keep in mind, this was a pretty overcast day, and we did get rained on twice. I can't imagine how amazing it would have been with crystal blue skies.

Also, I am sure it being a holiday made it less busy because of what was going on in town. However, I don't think the week we are there next May will be too busy either. If you do a quick Google search for Trunk bay, I promise you will find some stunning pictures. But at the end of the day, it is just a beach. I am sure some people will want a more action packed day. I guess it just depends on what you are looking for!

 

[goofygurlie]

Now I am even more excited!! Thanks for sharing the pictures!!

~ Laura

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[chasingthedream]

Now I am even more excited!! Thanks for sharing the pictures!!

~ Laura

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You are welcome. If there is anything else specific you'd like to see, let me know!

 

[jisom12]

My DW and I are also booked on this cruise. We have taken many Disney cruises but this will be our first Eastern and first Fantasy.

 

[tinkmt]

Hi Everyone We just moved to this cruise from one in February! This will be our second Disney cruise. It will be me and my DH along with our 2 DD 9 and 4 when we sail!! So excited! We went almost the exact same week last year to the Bahamas! Now....just to wait for the next 14 months

 

[Bree]

Leaving this group. We had to change the date of our cruise to the April 19th sailing.

 

[kymickeyfan717]

I'll be on this cruise. I am taking my mother for her 1st 7 day cruise. This will be her entire present for every holiday for 2014.

 

[Dizpinfriend]

We just booked today!!! So excited!!! This will be our first 7 night cruise!! I haven't had the chance to read through the entire thread yet, but if and when a sign up starts for an FE, I'm in!!!