Fantasy Western Caribbean July 21-28: Intro and Day One Report

[jpwest]

Hi all - long-time lurker and question asker, first-time trip reporter. Please bear with me.

The cast: me (Dad), wife/Mom, 9-year-old son who is too old for Mickey and pirates except in Orlando and onboard, and 8-year-old daughter who is too old for Minnie and princesses except in Orlando and onboard. All four of us are obsessed with WDW and DCL.

The context: our second DCL trip, following a 3-day Bahamian cruise in March 2011. We always thought we'd go to WDW every year, but after doing the cruise/parks combo trip last year, we all wanted to try a longer cruise and booked this trip on board. Celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary while on board. We usually escape Minnesota in the early spring, but a summer trip was a better option this year.

For the fourth consecutive year, we told the kids we were going a day later than scheduled. This became our standard practice after our first family vacation, when our son got out of bed at 12:30 a.m. on departure day and was up for the day. Needless to say, this did not get anyone off to a good start and we have avoided this ever since.

(This is much easier to do than you might think, btw - we do a lot of "practice packing" in the days leading up to departure and tell the kids we want to make sure all the clothes and their stuffed animal friends, etc., will fit in suitcases and backpacks. Then we finish packing after they go to bed and surprise them with the "early" departure in the morning. Some years we tell them "Mickey called and said we can come a day early"; this year we just told them we lied because we all needed to sleep!)

In the van and off to MSP on schedule. I learned a valuable lesson about putting down a hot cup of coffee within 50 yards of two tired-but-excited kids. Sorry about the carpet, MSP! Wheels up and we're officially on our way.

More to come - I would hate to have to rewrite all this.

 

[Bonniec]

Excited to read it. Hope you have lots of pics!

 

[stitch101]

Ready to read....can't wait for more posts.

 

[jpwest]

The biggest pain point of our earlier cruise was the terminal at Port Canaveral. We had taken the Magical Express from POR, so we arrived at the port relatively late and it was a madhouse. Long lines, confusing process and we were among the very last to board the ship.

This year could not have been more different. We checked in at the ME station at MCO, got our KTTW cards and snazzy silver CC lanyards, and were on a bus within 20 minutes. At the port, we were through security in no time and since open boarding had begun, we proceeded straight through the mouse ears.

A bit of a madhouse leading into the ship. The photo station was complete chaos and it was unclear whether these photos were mandatory or optional (we were going to do it regardless, but there were a lot of confused people milling around). We wound up in the wrong line and watched people stream past us because they were lucky enough to go left instead of right.

Also working against us: the family of eight that decided they needed pictures taken of EVERY POSSIBLE COMBINATION OF PEOPLE before moving on. I said some decidedly non-Disney things under my breath before getting back into vacation mode.

This time around I was able to anticipate and properly appreciate the announcement of our arrival and the mildly enthusiastic applause from the cast members. (God bless those people; can you imagine doing that for six hours straight?)

The lobby/atrium of the Fantasy, of course, is breathtaking. A peacock motif in the carpet and chandelier that is somehow classy instead of tacky. A soaring curved stairway, glass elevators and subtle Disney character accents. Amazing.

Up to stateroom 8668, a Deluxe Family Oceanview. As with our first cruise, our favorite feature was the huge porthole (the kids called it "the veranda" and we did not correct them). At various points throughout the trip, we all sat in it and gazed out at the ocean and/or ports. (An advantage of the starboard side, btw - great views of the ports). Our Port Adventure tickets, case of bottled water, CC gift and other assorted notes were all there.

We immediately met our cabin host, Michael, who became the subject of one of our favorite ongoing jokes thanks to his amazing ability to get in our room, clean up our mess, and disappear before we returned. "Let's see what that sneaky Michael did this time" was a twice-daily comment.

Down to Cabana's for a late lunch - and this was the first real test of self-control. We're on vacation, hungry, excited, and in a place with great-looking displays of food as far as the eye can see... but we also have a 5:45 seating at Animator's Palate coming up. This led to valuable lesson #2: taking small portions at a buffet is an excellent idea, but if you take so many different small portions that you end up with an overflowing plate, you have defeated the purpose.

At some point, we walked by the Royal Court restaurant and I stopped in to ask a passing waiter about our table. We had requested a table for four, and he confirmed that we had one.

(I know, I know - at the larger table you get to meet new people, and they become your best friends for life, and you send Christmas cards, and it makes dinners that much more special. I know all that. We just decided that we wanted it to be only our family at the table, and avoid any potential "Dad, my new BFF Jamie is going parasailing tomorrow and she said we can come along and please please please can we go parasailing with Jamie and I'll just DIE if we can't" situations. Plus, sometimes the kids are tired and cranky and it's just easier if you don't have to deal with that in front of others.)

We made sure to be ready for the lifeboat drill (note for first-timers: there's a sign on the back of your stateroom door that tells you exactly where to go). We got to the Tube and got to enjoy the small feeling of superiority you get when you have followed the rules, arrived on time, and can sit in a chair and watch the people who had to get out of the pool and run, half-dressed and dripping, to the mustering station and STAND ON THE DANCE FLOOR during the safety presentation.

Dinner was at Animator's Palate and that meant time to remember another bad part of our last cruise. Our service at the first night's dinner on the Dream was abysmal (as in we had been at the table for an hour, and our assistant server hadn't taken our drink orders, and as a result our server wouldn't take our dinner orders. As in we were nearly late to our 8:30 show, and the only reason we made it was that we left before our desserts arrived). So we didn't have great memories of Animator's Palate going in.

All of that was forgotten, though, when we met our server, Amanda, who was absolutely fantastic all week. We wanted to take her home with us, and she was the reason both kids were in tears when it was time to leave. We loved her. I know she'll be off the ship for the next couple of months, and she was working toward transferring to Palo when she returned. If you happen to be assigned to her on a future trip, though, consider yourself very fortunate.

Our assistant server, Jacinto, was also good. He was much more reserved than Amanda, but that's not such a bad thing for an assistant server. He was mostly efficient, presented and removed silverware and plates with a flourish, and made a mean ketchup Mickey.

More on dinner and the first night's show later - the day is getting away from me!

 

[MomToPrincePhillip]

Thanks for taking the time to do a TR! I'm looking forward to hearing more. We are booked on the Fantasy for May 2013, so I'm excited to read what you have to say about the ship.

 

[jessrose18]

waiting for more...thanks for writing!

 

[tefrench]

We're going in June 2013 for our 17th anniversary - look forward to hearing more about your trip!

 

[MommaBerd]

subscribing - can't wait to hear more about it. We're celebrating our 10th on the ship, too!

 

[MagicMe]

Can't wait to read more! Heading to the Fantasy in 7 weeks for the Eastern!

 

[Joanna71985]

Following along! I'm sailing on the Fantasy in Oct

 

[jedijill]

So far so good...can't wait to hear more.

Jill in CO

 

[jpwest]

I was thinking about this last night and decided to combine some thoughts on the shows into one update - my memory just isn't good enough to do them justice one night at a time. I'll do the same thing with the rotational dining.

There was a show presented each night in the WD Theater - five of the Broadway-style performances, and I may not get the titles right.

1. Fantasy
2. Aladdin
3. Wishes
4. Believe
5. Go Home, Already (I don't have my Personal Navigator handy so can't remember exactly what this one was called)

For the other two nights, the WD Theater showed Brave in 3D and a hypnotist performance.

Regarding the shows, your tastes may vary. For us, though, they're all worth seeing and all four of us enjoyed each one. A possible exception would be the last night's farewell show, which is structured kind of like an old vaudeville show and was much less cohesive than the others. Still not to be missed, and we liked how pictures from our specific week were incorporated.

One slightly nitpicky observation - I thought the guy who played Genie on the Dream last year was MUCH better than the one on the Fantasy. And since he had a much larger presence (a big part in Believe, plus Aladdin), it was really noticeable to me. Still very talented and fun to watch, though.

One really smart thing they did during one of the shows: our Cruise Director, Brent, introduced one of the visiting performers who was appearing in the D Lounge during the cruise. "Magic Dave" did a few minutes of his act and absolutely KILLED - I thought my son was going to crack his head on the seat in front of him, he was laughing so uncontrollably - and we decided on the spot to check out his "Magic School" show/class for kids the next day. It was one of the trip highlights and we would never have gone to see him otherwise.

Likewise, we got a few minutes during the last show from a comedian/juggler who was also excellent - I wished we would have seen him earlier in the week.

All of this leads to one of my few criticisms of the whole entertainment package over the course of the week. I know there's way more available than anyone could possibly see, but I do think Disney could do a better job scheduling what I would call "the main events" on the cruise. The prime example was Pirate Night, when there was just too much happening and not enough time between events. After dinner, there was a pirate show up on deck with Mickey and the gang. Following this, half of the crowd headed to the second dinner seating and the rest of us stampeded to the WD Theater for that night's show, which in this case was the showing of Brave. We got there as quickly as we could, but ended up arriving after the pre-movie cartoon had started and could only find seats in the last two rows. We then realized that those seats had obstructed views - the screen was so large that the balcony cut off the top of the screen. Rumor has it that Merida has red hair - I can't confirm this because much of her head was not visible to us.

Finally, after the movie the whole swarm moved back up to the pool deck for another pirate show - this one with Jack Sparrow - and the famous fireworks at sea. It was a little much. And since I'm complaining, I'll also say that the Mickey pirate show, in which Captain Hook's pirates took over the ship and Mickey had to save the day, was perhaps a little too similar to the Jack Sparrow pirate show, in which some other pirates took over the ship and Jack Sparrow had to save the day.

But enough negativity. The performers are fantastic, and it's amazing to see the same actors/singers/dancers doing different roles on each night. A final note to parents with daughters who must must MUST get one of the streamers that are launched into the crowd at the end of the show: get seats in the first 20 or so rows of the theater, and not dead center. We missed out on the streamers in the first two shows, then moved up for the next few nights - but instead of streamers, they launched big pieces of confetti. We began to panic. Finally, for the last show, we were in the right place and the streamers returned. The trip was saved.

 

[wishuponastarforever]

Enjoying your informative and humorous TR. Keep it coming

 

[DisneyRhondaKay]

Enjoying the read.

 

[gilsan]

I am enjoying your trip report!

We are staying in room 8668 in October. Did you like the room? Did it have a pull down bunk and a murphy bed?

 

[jpwest]

I am enjoying your trip report!

We are staying in room 8668 in October. Did you like the room? Did it have a pull down bunk and a murphy bed?

Yes, we liked it a lot. It was convenient to the Aft elevators without being too close, so we didn't feel like we were on a major traffic route. Motion and engine noise were never annoying. And as I said earlier, we had great views of the ports out the starboard side.

(edited to add) Yes, a pull down bunk and the couch converts to a bed; both have separate reading lights if your kids like to read before bed. And a rail in the upper bunk so nobody falls out!

Have fun!

 

[jpwest]

As I (and others) have said, so much of your dining experience can be affected by a variety of factors - quality of your servers, neighboring diners, entree selection, etc. I'll give my overall impressions with a few editorial observations; your mileage may vary.

Cabanas - we ate breakfast here nearly every day, and a couple of times for lunch as well. The food is fair; I can't name anything on the buffet that I was missing after I got home. If you are an omelet fan, I'd definitely recommend taking a few extra minutes to custom-order your own. The pre-made ham/cheese omelets were OK but the ones I had made to order were much better. The kids loved the donut/pastry selection and there was a Cajun potato dish that I liked enough to walk around the circle for.

Cabanas is large, busy and confusing and you should definitely take the time to locate a table and make sure everyone can find it before you start filling your plates. One quick safety tip, especially if you have kids: some dishes on the buffet require a long reach, and the warming lamps above are quite hot. My daughter burned herself reaching for a potato cake and my wife nearly did the same. (A side note on this: the cast members are clearly trained for this. I heard more than one of them immediately yell "Burn! Burn!" and a host was at our side right away. And since she burned a spot very near what was left of a pirate tattoo on her hand, I'm sure they saw a big brown splotch and thought it was worse than it was).

A note on lunch: finding milk might be harder than you'd expect. At breakfast, there are some big refrigerated areas where you can pick up cartons of milk, cereal and toppings. At lunch, this area is used for salad and seafood items. After making a few circuits of the whole restaurant and asking a couple of cast members, I finally got some milk by asking the server at the seafood station, who found some behind his counter.

Other than the crowd, my only complaint about Cabanas is that it is one of the major entrances/exits to the pool area. The cast members who have to hand out hand sanitizer towelettes had a hard time keeping up with all of the traffic in and out, and I'm sure quite a few diners get through without using one.

Animator's Palate was our favorite main restaurant by far. Not for the food, necessarily; I couldn't name a single meal I ate at a particular restaurant. The theming is so good, though, and it really does provide great entertainment along with a good meal. As everyone probably already knows, there are two different "shows" presented in AP. We had seen the "Crush" show on the Dream, so knew what to expect there. We did have a much more interactive experience with Crush this time around. Probably because I had my camera up and was taking pictures of the screen when Crush came by, he called me out and we talked for a little while. (He asked if "Minnesota" was similar to "a small soda.") My advice if you want to maximize your chances of interacting with Crush: sit close to the center of your nearest screen and wear/do something noticeable that he can comment on.

As much as we enjoyed the Crush show, the Guest Animator show was on a whole different level. Do not be late to dinner when this is going on, and make sure to complete your drawing and get it handed in to your server as quickly as possible. One thing we didn't realize is that your drawings can be multi-colored; we wished we had passed our markers around. Finally, make sure your name, table number and stateroom number are included. Watching the amazing show and hearing kids and adults alike laughing and saying "There's yours! There's mine!" was a trip highlight.

Enchanted Garden and Royal Court were beautiful and elegant, but just can't compare to AP in terms of theming. I really tried to like Enchanted Garden more, but the transformation of the restaurant is either too subtle, or too sudden, and just isn't as magical as I think it should be. Again, I can't say how I thought the menus compared - especially since on any given night you may be ordering from the "standard" menu for each restaurant, or the Pirate menu, or the Prince/Princess menu, or the Captain's Gala menu. It makes it that much harder to associate a particular dish with one of the restaurants.

One final editorial comment on the dining experience overall. Disney is very lax on the "dress code," and I know the last thing they want to do is antagonize people as they walk in to dinner. I kind of wish they could, though. These are really nice restaurants and, especially on the nights they specifically identify as "formal" or "semi-formal," I'd really encourage everyone to make the effort. We saw adults and kids alike in shorts, t-shirts and ball caps in the restaurants every night and it does affect the experience for others. I look at it like being on time for the lifeboat drill - it's one of the few things on this whole vacation that Disney is asking you to do; please go along with it. Hope this doesn't offend anyone; that's not my intention.

 

[davale4]

At some point, we walked by the Royal Court restaurant and I stopped in to ask a passing waiter about our table. We had requested a table for four, and he confirmed that we had one.

(I know, I know - at the larger table you get to meet new people, and they become your best friends for life, and you send Christmas cards, and it makes dinners that much more special. I know all that. We just decided that we wanted it to be only our family at the table, and avoid any potential "Dad, my new BFF Jamie is going parasailing tomorrow and she said we can come along and please please please can we go parasailing with Jamie and I'll just DIE if we can't" situations. Plus, sometimes the kids are tired and cranky and it's just easier if you don't have to deal with that in front of others.)

We are going on the Fantasy in 11 days. We also requested a table for just the four of us. We have a 4 yr. old on the spectrum/feeding issues. It's our first cruise and I don't want to deal with the stress during meal times....I hope they honor it...otherwise I am going to dread going to eat . Looking forward to hearing more .

 

[nursemomof2]

I am cracking up reading your reportCan't wait to hear more!

 

[disneychic]

Great TR! Can't wait to read some more!