iadizfans
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2011
- Messages
- 385
Just returned last Weds from a awesome DCL trip featuring a fabulous Southern Caribbean itinerary. Below are some general highlights and an overview of our observations. One of the highlights was meeting other Disboards users on Day One.
Cabin - DW and I, traveling by ourselves, stayed in a Cat. 4A deck 9 starboard mid-ships cabin (9582). This is a Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom w. Verandah. Everything was in perfect working order and the location suited us perfectly. Very little noise from above since we were two decks below the busy deck 11. Frankly, we would have experienced no noise issues at all if it wasn't for the kids who use the long gangways as racetracks. We love cruising with children and really enjoy watching them "light up" when they see their favorite Disney characters, but we do wish the running could be better managed. But that was only a very minor issue.
Stateroom Attendant - I think we got a rookie on this trip. Nice guy and like all the attendants, he really worked his butt off. But we did have a little trouble syncing up with him on when we needed the room vs. when he could clean it. Usually by Day 2 or 3 on a cruise the attendant has a pretty good feel for our day to day habits. We are especially predictable. Other than that, there were no issues. The attendants work very hard and have never failed to go out of their way to make our cruise as carefree as possible.
Castaway Club - We were very disappointed in the Platinum level Castaway Club gift. It was the same as what we received on our Gold cruises. A burlap tote bag. We already have 4 or 5 of those so we left this one in the room. Maybe DCL has too many of those tote bags and needs to get rid of them?? Not sure... but in any case, that was disappointing.
Dining - We really loved the food. Many of the Main Dining Room (MDR) menus were recently updated or new for this cruise. The options are too many for me to detail here but suffice to say, if you enjoy dining on DCL ships, I'm confident you will like the new menus. The service was also exemplary. Our dining team was great. We tried Cabanas table service one night on the cruise and thought it a nice option if you need flexibility in your schedule. Cabanas was good... not great. We otherwise do everything we can to avoid Cabanas. Cabanas during breakfast or lunch is usually too crazy for us.
We did Palo for dinner and the Remy Champagne Brunch. At Palo, I had the Osso Bucco. Awesome!! We were served 6 courses at Remy - all of them delightful. The main course was Chicken Oscar (see pic) served with crab, lobster, and an asparagus spear. Truly a dining experience.
Sea Days - DW enjoys the sea days more than the ports. I admit the additional time to relax is nice. We usually participate in the trivia activities and tastings. On this trip we did a "Martini tasting" and a "Chocolate and Liquor" tasting. Both were great. I would strongly recommend both. The chocolate and liquor tasting ended with a serving of 30 year old Glenmorangie (scotch) which was a real treat. Our table mates at the tasting we not scotch fans so I volunteered to help - being the good neighbor that I am.
Ports
Aruba - We took an island tour ending up with a stop at a beach. We found Aruba very unique in its climate. For a Caribbean island, Aruba is unusually arid. Cactus abounds. Water is such a scarcity that they charge for using public restrooms. Only a dollar U.S. but still unusual. The remains of the Natural Bridge and the smaller "baby bridge" was a highlight of this tour. The beach (Arashi) was disappointing. Water was pretty cloudy (maybe due to a recent storm?) and the current too strong for enjoying a swim. Too bad. Also disappointing was the fact that no beach chairs were provided. You need to rent them from the locals. $7 was the cost for a chair. Overall, Aruba as very interesting but the least favorite port on the trip.
Barbados - Our excursion at this port was a Catamaran Sail & Snorkel featuring sea turtles. Barbados is a beautiful island. The catamaran trip was very enjoyable. The water was a little better than Aruba but still somewhat cloudy - again perhaps due to the recent weather. The crew feeds the turtles daily I believe which helps to keep them in the bay where the excursion ends up I suppose. They're lovely creatures. We enjoyed this port better than Aruba.
Martinique - French is the preferred language here so if you have a working knowledge of it is helpful if you plan to visit local shops and restaurants. They do speak some English but our experience was it would be very useful to have some familiarity with French. We took a Rum Distillery and Volcano Museum tour and enjoyed it quite a bit. Martinique is lush green with beautiful foliage. Some parts of the island actually include a rainforest which our tour took us through. Be sure to sample the local rum if you visit Martinique (or any of these islands!). Its good stuff! The volcano museum was not much more that a small hallway with pictures but it was interesting. I had no idea their island blew up in 1902 wiping out the town of St. Pierre. Martinique was quite an experience. I've attached a couple of pictures of Mt. Pelee (the volcano) taken from our verandah as we cruised away.
St. Kitts - Ok... Now the fun really got going!! We took a Catamaran Sail & Snorkel which stopped in Sh--ten Bay- about a 90 minute journey up the lovely coast. We snorkeled in 18ft. of gorgeous crystal clear water. Beautiful coral, sea fans, urchins, and numerous fish. Sergeant Majors were everywhere. The gave us 45 minutes in the water before we pulled up anchor and headed back to port with the most entertaining catamaran crew I've yet experienced. I suppose the rum drinks and beer aided my enjoyment
We would not hesitate to visit St. Kitts for a longer period of time. Wonderful place. If you're looking for a water based trip at St. Kitts, I recommend "Blue Water Safaris." They are awesome.
Tortola - We booked a trip to White Bay on Jost Van Dyke and did not regret it. Our initial concerns about the logistics turned out to be unjustified. The transfer from the split hull ferry to the barge that gets you on shore at White Bay was easily done. Even for DW who is somewhat limited with her mobility (she uses a cane). White Bay is perhaps one of the most beautiful places on earth. Hyperbole?? I suppose but this place is really gorgeous. The water is blue and clear to a depth of 20 feet. There was little or no current during our visit so getting in the water was no issue. We spent about half of the 2.5 hours peacefully floating up and down the beach. So relaxing! Any review of White Bay must include mention of the "Soggy Dollar" bar. Be sure to stop and have a "Painkiller" - their signature drink. The majority of our day was spent on Jost Van Dyke so I cannot add much on Tortola. That said, if you're ever in the British Virgin Islands, stop at White Bay on Jost Van Dyke. It's fabulous.
Castaway Cay - We usually just head over to Serenity Bay and relax on the beach for a few hours, eat lunch, and head back to the boat. That was the plan again on this trip. We had to cut that a little short this time since Serenity Bay- the adults only beach - was really packed. This cruise had an unusual number of adults traveling without children so Serenity Bay had quite a different feel. The crowds really did not have a huge impact on our visit to this corner of the island but it did create a different feel. Maybe we were just a little worn out from the long trip and were looking for a little more relaxed atmosphere. So we headed back to the ship a little early.
Overall - While I initially had some concerns about an 11 day cruise being too long, I must admit that this trip went just as quickly as the 7 day cruises we are more accustomed to taking. It was our first cruise longer than 7 days and I would not hesitate to do it again if the itinerary were as enjoyable as this. Disney's attention to detail makes them stand out against their cruising competition. The Fantasy is a beautiful ship with well cared for venues. We really loved this trip.
Cabin - DW and I, traveling by ourselves, stayed in a Cat. 4A deck 9 starboard mid-ships cabin (9582). This is a Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom w. Verandah. Everything was in perfect working order and the location suited us perfectly. Very little noise from above since we were two decks below the busy deck 11. Frankly, we would have experienced no noise issues at all if it wasn't for the kids who use the long gangways as racetracks. We love cruising with children and really enjoy watching them "light up" when they see their favorite Disney characters, but we do wish the running could be better managed. But that was only a very minor issue.
Stateroom Attendant - I think we got a rookie on this trip. Nice guy and like all the attendants, he really worked his butt off. But we did have a little trouble syncing up with him on when we needed the room vs. when he could clean it. Usually by Day 2 or 3 on a cruise the attendant has a pretty good feel for our day to day habits. We are especially predictable. Other than that, there were no issues. The attendants work very hard and have never failed to go out of their way to make our cruise as carefree as possible.
Castaway Club - We were very disappointed in the Platinum level Castaway Club gift. It was the same as what we received on our Gold cruises. A burlap tote bag. We already have 4 or 5 of those so we left this one in the room. Maybe DCL has too many of those tote bags and needs to get rid of them?? Not sure... but in any case, that was disappointing.
Dining - We really loved the food. Many of the Main Dining Room (MDR) menus were recently updated or new for this cruise. The options are too many for me to detail here but suffice to say, if you enjoy dining on DCL ships, I'm confident you will like the new menus. The service was also exemplary. Our dining team was great. We tried Cabanas table service one night on the cruise and thought it a nice option if you need flexibility in your schedule. Cabanas was good... not great. We otherwise do everything we can to avoid Cabanas. Cabanas during breakfast or lunch is usually too crazy for us.
We did Palo for dinner and the Remy Champagne Brunch. At Palo, I had the Osso Bucco. Awesome!! We were served 6 courses at Remy - all of them delightful. The main course was Chicken Oscar (see pic) served with crab, lobster, and an asparagus spear. Truly a dining experience.
Sea Days - DW enjoys the sea days more than the ports. I admit the additional time to relax is nice. We usually participate in the trivia activities and tastings. On this trip we did a "Martini tasting" and a "Chocolate and Liquor" tasting. Both were great. I would strongly recommend both. The chocolate and liquor tasting ended with a serving of 30 year old Glenmorangie (scotch) which was a real treat. Our table mates at the tasting we not scotch fans so I volunteered to help - being the good neighbor that I am.
Ports
Aruba - We took an island tour ending up with a stop at a beach. We found Aruba very unique in its climate. For a Caribbean island, Aruba is unusually arid. Cactus abounds. Water is such a scarcity that they charge for using public restrooms. Only a dollar U.S. but still unusual. The remains of the Natural Bridge and the smaller "baby bridge" was a highlight of this tour. The beach (Arashi) was disappointing. Water was pretty cloudy (maybe due to a recent storm?) and the current too strong for enjoying a swim. Too bad. Also disappointing was the fact that no beach chairs were provided. You need to rent them from the locals. $7 was the cost for a chair. Overall, Aruba as very interesting but the least favorite port on the trip.
Barbados - Our excursion at this port was a Catamaran Sail & Snorkel featuring sea turtles. Barbados is a beautiful island. The catamaran trip was very enjoyable. The water was a little better than Aruba but still somewhat cloudy - again perhaps due to the recent weather. The crew feeds the turtles daily I believe which helps to keep them in the bay where the excursion ends up I suppose. They're lovely creatures. We enjoyed this port better than Aruba.
Martinique - French is the preferred language here so if you have a working knowledge of it is helpful if you plan to visit local shops and restaurants. They do speak some English but our experience was it would be very useful to have some familiarity with French. We took a Rum Distillery and Volcano Museum tour and enjoyed it quite a bit. Martinique is lush green with beautiful foliage. Some parts of the island actually include a rainforest which our tour took us through. Be sure to sample the local rum if you visit Martinique (or any of these islands!). Its good stuff! The volcano museum was not much more that a small hallway with pictures but it was interesting. I had no idea their island blew up in 1902 wiping out the town of St. Pierre. Martinique was quite an experience. I've attached a couple of pictures of Mt. Pelee (the volcano) taken from our verandah as we cruised away.
St. Kitts - Ok... Now the fun really got going!! We took a Catamaran Sail & Snorkel which stopped in Sh--ten Bay- about a 90 minute journey up the lovely coast. We snorkeled in 18ft. of gorgeous crystal clear water. Beautiful coral, sea fans, urchins, and numerous fish. Sergeant Majors were everywhere. The gave us 45 minutes in the water before we pulled up anchor and headed back to port with the most entertaining catamaran crew I've yet experienced. I suppose the rum drinks and beer aided my enjoyment
We would not hesitate to visit St. Kitts for a longer period of time. Wonderful place. If you're looking for a water based trip at St. Kitts, I recommend "Blue Water Safaris." They are awesome.Tortola - We booked a trip to White Bay on Jost Van Dyke and did not regret it. Our initial concerns about the logistics turned out to be unjustified. The transfer from the split hull ferry to the barge that gets you on shore at White Bay was easily done. Even for DW who is somewhat limited with her mobility (she uses a cane). White Bay is perhaps one of the most beautiful places on earth. Hyperbole?? I suppose but this place is really gorgeous. The water is blue and clear to a depth of 20 feet. There was little or no current during our visit so getting in the water was no issue. We spent about half of the 2.5 hours peacefully floating up and down the beach. So relaxing! Any review of White Bay must include mention of the "Soggy Dollar" bar. Be sure to stop and have a "Painkiller" - their signature drink. The majority of our day was spent on Jost Van Dyke so I cannot add much on Tortola. That said, if you're ever in the British Virgin Islands, stop at White Bay on Jost Van Dyke. It's fabulous.
Castaway Cay - We usually just head over to Serenity Bay and relax on the beach for a few hours, eat lunch, and head back to the boat. That was the plan again on this trip. We had to cut that a little short this time since Serenity Bay- the adults only beach - was really packed. This cruise had an unusual number of adults traveling without children so Serenity Bay had quite a different feel. The crowds really did not have a huge impact on our visit to this corner of the island but it did create a different feel. Maybe we were just a little worn out from the long trip and were looking for a little more relaxed atmosphere. So we headed back to the ship a little early.
Overall - While I initially had some concerns about an 11 day cruise being too long, I must admit that this trip went just as quickly as the 7 day cruises we are more accustomed to taking. It was our first cruise longer than 7 days and I would not hesitate to do it again if the itinerary were as enjoyable as this. Disney's attention to detail makes them stand out against their cruising competition. The Fantasy is a beautiful ship with well cared for venues. We really loved this trip.
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It is a beautiful island if you get inland.
