Fantasy questions

[DisMama5]

Hi all!

New to the whole Disney Cruise idea. Or cruise idea in general. Excited but nervous of the unknown in a sense.

Anyways I'm looking for advice and past experiences from those of you who have went on the Fantasy, Western Caribbean Itinerary (Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica and Castaway Cay).

I'm most concerned over the time frame we want to do, late September or anytime in October. I am a experienced traveler so I do know that it could be a risky time because of hurricane season. What is everyone's experiences with this time frame with these ports?

The time frame is kind of set because we want to have the fall/Halloween time in Disney world after our cruise. Attend MNSSHP and a few other things we have planned.

The only other option would maybe be November.....

I'd assume it's still beautiful weather at those ports even in October/November?


Any and all experiences in general are welcome also. Very new to this whole thing not sure what to expect but we chose this option for our wedding so not only will it be our first cruise but also having our wedding

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi all!

New to the whole Disney Cruise idea. Or cruise idea in general. Excited but nervous of the unknown in a sense.

Anyways I'm looking for advice and past experiences from those of you who have went on the Fantasy, Western Caribbean Itinerary (Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica and Castaway Cay).

I'm most concerned over the time frame we want to do, late September or anytime in October. I am a experienced traveler so I do know that it could be a risky time because of hurricane season. What is everyone's experiences with this time frame with these ports?

The time frame is kind of set because we want to have the fall/Halloween time in Disney world after our cruise. Attend MNSSHP and a few other things we have planned.

The only other option would maybe be November.....

I'd assume it's still beautiful weather at those ports even in October/November?


Any and all experiences in general are welcome also. Very new to this whole thing not sure what to expect but we chose this option for our wedding so not only will it be our first cruise but also having our wedding

We did a 4 night Dream along with a B2B Eastern/Western Fantasy cruise last September. Most days were warm and humid. A couple of days we had some rain, briefly. No issues with a hurricane.

When we were onboard it was Halloween on the High Seas. Personally, I could have done without it.

 

[DisMama5]

We did a 4 night Dream along with a B2B Eastern/Western Fantasy cruise last September. Most days were warm and humid. A couple of days we had some rain, briefly. No issues with a hurricane.

When we were onboard it was Halloween on the High Seas. Personally, I could have done without it.

Oh is that something they do the whole time of October-ish? We aren't looking for in onboard, but even if Halloween activities were it would only be a plus for us but I didn't know they even had stuff onboard. We are more or so on the time frame of fall because of the things we are doing in Orlando after the cruise.

We are concerned with the weather mostly.. Thanks for the review all help!

 

[mmouse37]

Hurricane season runs June 1st through November 30th with the height of the season in the Fall. That said, we often travel in the Fall and have only been impacted by a Hurricane 1 time. We were already in Florida and had to board the ship on a Monday instead of a Saturday (shortened cruise) and another time we could sail but could not get to Castaway Cay due to it being damaged the week before from a hurricane.

Storms can happen but cruises are rarely cancelled. Most likely if a storm is in the area your ports of call would be changed. It pays to take out travel insurance!!

MJ

 

[abitagirl916]

We have sailed 2 times in October, the most recent in 2013, both on the Western itinerary. We were not impacted by a hurricane for either one, although I have read that in other years, it has happened (i.e., Hurricane Sandy). We have mostly beautiful weather for our cruises, actually hotter than I expected. We went to the beach in Grand Cayman and the water was beautiful and felt wonderful. Castaway Cay was wonderful too. You can sometimes encounter an afternoon shower, but usually it does not last long. We are cruising again this October, Western Caribbean on the Fantasy.

 

[asamklove]

We have cruised 2x in the fall - honeymoon late-Nov in 2002 and Disney mid-Nov 2013; and cruised once mid/late Dec in 2007 -- all Caribbean, various itineraries. We have been lucky & our weather has always been gorgeous Hope you have lots of sunshine!

 

[DisMama5]

Is there a "safe" time you all would suggest? This being our wedding cruise, the last thing we want to have is a shortened cruise or lose a port, most importantly cast away. If it weren't for the wedding it wouldn't be the end of the world but I think since this would be our wedding cruise I am not sure fall would be worth the risk. AH! Decisions decisions, this could change a lot. The problem of wanting to do sept/October for us is because we wanted to events that are only offered in that time frame in Orlando and the price is in our realistic budget. I guess we need to weigh our options. Not sure when a better time would be though that the price isn't sky high....

 

[DisMama5]

Thank you all for you responses, they have all been helpful any more please anyone feel free to chime in

 

[DisMama5]

We have cruised 2x in the fall - honeymoon late-Nov in 2002 and Disney mid-Nov 2013; and cruised once mid/late Dec in 2007 -- all Caribbean, various itineraries. We have been lucky & our weather has always been gorgeous Hope you have lots of sunshine!

Oh that sounds wonderful! I hope! Little nervous of the risk..

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

We missed CC on our first cruise, DCL does an amazing job of keeping you entertained if you have to miss a port. We had a great time on the ship that day. You just have to go into the cruise with the attitude that things could change and you can still have a great time. I would absolutely do the cruise and not worry about what could happen. Spending a week on the fantasy is simply amazing, you won't regret it.

 

[rosaciri]

We did this cruise in May 2014 and loved it. We did the same ports, weather was excellent in May, The Fantasy is an amazing boat, we met a lovely American family from Pennsylvannia and we are now planning another cruise with them - on The Fantasy but doing Eastern Carribean side. Enjoy ur trip - u will have a great time.

 

[Quellman]

Generally, hurricanes are large slow moving objects. So they can certainly plan trajectories in advance to try and avoid them. You might end up being rerouted from a western itinerary to an eastern one if a storm is in the gulf. If it is churning the Atlantic you can certainly miss CC due to seas or wind conditions.

 

[elphie101]

We sailed the Fantasy on 10/18/14 for our honeymoon last year (though our itinerary was the Eastern). We didn't encounter any hurricanes, though we did just miss one a week before, and visited St Maarten about a week after they were directly hit. It only impacted us in that there was extra traffic on the island due to cleanup from the storm (we were stopped for about 30 minutes thanks to a downed powerline).

We were "rained out" of Castaway Cay. I heard passengers saying we were in a tropical depression, but I never heard any crew members saying that, nor the weather once we got off the ship the next day, so I'd just chalk it up to a really bad storm. We were able to dock and leave the ship, but it pelted rain the entire day, and the wind made it freezing. Other than CC, the weather was simply stunning - 80s+, sunny, gorgeous the entire week.

I know I've seen you on the wedding boards, but forgive me as I don't remember how much you've shared - are you planning on a CC ceremony? I would make peace with the idea that you could get rained out of your ceremony if so. If anything, I would have the expectation that you WILL be rained out (or be unable to dock, or anything like that), so that if everything goes as planned weather-wise you are pleasantly surprised I think you need to decide for sure what is more important - a CC ceremony or traveling in the fall (thanks to budget or any other reasons). If the CC ceremony is the top of your priorities, I would possibly consider another cruising season, to minimize the chance that your ceremony will be relocated. (Again, can't remember if you're thinking about a CC wedding vs an on the ship wedding!)

 

[RedStars]

We went this last Nov and LOVED it. It was the first Christmas cruise and I loved all the extra touches.
Weather was awesome. Warm but not too hot. A little humid but not unbearable (except Jamaica). Water at CC was warm.

IMO, I didn't like Falmouth and would stay on the boat if we did that again but the rest was great. We're actually going again next April for one of the Star Wars cruises!

 

[DisMama5]

Everyone has been so helpful thanks guys

I have to say I am a little nervous now to do the cruise in that time frame but that's the reality of it, the time frame we want is a risky time for cruises. We will have to weigh our options. It's either the cruise wedding on cc or a small cost effiecent (as much as possible lol) Disney wedding at dw! Our only time frame options for the cruise would be August-dec, sounds like any of those months could be risky but fall being the most. Hopefully we can come to some decision thanks again all!

 

[lanejudy]

According to an informal poll taken by a poster here on the DISboards, January and March are the months most likely to miss docking at Castaway Cay, followed by October as 3rd. http://www.disboards.com/threads/po...-miss-castaway-cay-due-to-the-weather.2854575 So those first two aren't even considered to be in hurricane season.

It's possible to miss any given port on any given cruise. Just like it's possible to be rainy on any given day. Short of waking up one morning and saying "it's a beautiful day today, let's get married" you'll have risk no matter which day/month/location you choose. I say go with what you want and hope for the best.

Best wishes and enjoy your cruise!

 

[DisMama5]

According to an informal poll taken by a poster here on the DISboards, January and March are the months most likely to miss docking at Castaway Cay, followed by October as 3rd. http://www.disboards.com/threads/po...-miss-castaway-cay-due-to-the-weather.2854575 So those first two aren't even considered to be in hurricane season.

It's possible to miss any given port on any given cruise. Just like it's possible to be rainy on any given day. Short of waking up one morning and saying "it's a beautiful day today, let's get married" you'll have risk no matter which day/month/location you choose. I say go with what you want and hope for the best.

Best wishes and enjoy your cruise!

This info has been extremely helpful! Thank you sooo much! Maybe we will lean towards late August/early September instead, if we keep forward with this idea. Thanks again!!!

Does anyone know the the Halloween stuff starts onboard, I noticed it said on dates in September and October sailings but didn't say when. Just curious

 

[DisMama5]

I just checked out that poll. Looks like May-June have been the safest with concern to docking. That thread helps thanks!

 

[AllaboutEmi]

I was on the Fantasy during Hurricane Sandy. It was by far the scariest event I've ever been through. Hitting fifty+ foot waves in our forward cabin was terrifying. My poor kiddo was terribly sick. Our stateroom host who has been sailing for ten years said he had never been through anything like it before. If at all possible I would advise avoiding October. That being said, the rest of our trip was lovely!

 

[PryncessLace]

We cruised at the end of November 2012, and the weather was perfect!