First timer on the Fantasy - my review and tips!

[mamastrick]

We just finished our first Disney Cruise aboard the Fantasy - a seven night Western Caribbean cruise and we loved it! I wanted to share my thoughts and opinions as a first timer and hopefully help answer anyone's questions!

Boarding: We were assigned a 12-1230 boarding time but arrived early, around 11. The arrival process at the port was smooth and easy, we were guided to drop our bags and passengers then hubby parked the car. We chose to park on site, as the price difference for "park and cruise" with a room vs a discounted room and parking on site was very small. Avoiding the hassle of a shuttle was also very nice. As hubby parked we went through security and checked in upstairs in the terminal. We were finished and waiting within minutes and when hubby caught up he just had to go to the counter for his photo. It was very efficient. The terminal quickly filled up and we stayed out of the way as groups began to board. We were group 16 and it was about noon before we boarded. We chose to skip the boarding photo and get on the ship and start our adventure. I do not regret skipping the photo at all.

On board: Beautiful! I could have spent the entire cruise just looking around! Everything from the artwork, carpets, elevators, bathrooms, woodwork are lovely. We took some quick photos as the atrium was pretty empty. We then headed for lunch in Enchanted Garden. It was fairly empty. We were seated quickly and enjoyed the buffet for lunch. Afterward we headed up to deck 11 for pools and aquaduck time! We wore our swim suits under our clothes and were ready to go. The wait was about 20 min for aquaduck and the kids enjoyed it. I had read that this was the best time to ride as waits were short but we found that throughout the cruise wait times were generally only 20-30 min at most.
Our room was ready at 130 (you cannot get to them before this) and we dropped our bags, looked around and turned down the air. We brought a card to keep the lights and air on and left it in the slot the entire trip. Our room hostess never removed it. We did turn out lights when out of the room. The room was snug for 2 adults and 2 teens but very workable. The split bathroom is fantastic! I almost left the over-the-door shoe hanger at home because I heard there was lots of storage but threw it in at the last minute. Glad I did! Very handy, bring one along. There are 6 drawers, two closets and lots of cabinet space. We found that bringing the power strip was pointless - there is a plug on the desk as well as on one of the night stands and we never had need to charge more than one or two items at a time.
We did not use the on board laundry service but did our own. There is a laundry room on every stateroom floor (I am told). Wash was $2 and drying $2. I had several problems getting the washer to start but was helped by very nice crew members. I was charged multiple times for one wash but they credited the overcharge back to my room. The machines are small - don't try to jam a week's worth of clothes in! I have read and heard people complain about the dryer not working well but I had no problem. My suggestions: keep your load small, clean out the lint (on the door behind the round screen) and select the extra-dry setting. My clothes dried completely every time.

Food: We loved almost everything we ate on board! Cabanas was often the busiest place on the ship (breakfast and lunch) so we opted to eat at Royal Court or Enchanted Garden about half the time. Lots of choices at every location and you can get omlettes or made to order eggs at each of these places. Just ask your server or go to the omlette station at Cabanas. We had second dinner seating and grabbed a snack at Flo's every afternoon around 430 to hold the kids over. Dinners were wonderful and our servers were great! Get to know them and have fun! Ours were friendly, funny and very attentive. I know that's their job but I saw many families treating their servers like wait staff and not having nearly as much fun as us! I am not a "foodie" but I found the dinners delicious and my children tried many new dishes and loved them. We occasionally ordered an extra entree or dessert to share. The desserts were awesome! My husband and I ate at Palo on pirate night. The food was delicious but I found the whole experience to be too formal. I enjoyed my meals at the regular restaurants more.

Other stuff: I could go on forever! The shows were fun and very well done, the comedians were fantastic, the adult bars were beautiful and worth a stop in. The kids loved watching the movies in the theaters and on funnel vision outside. Decorate your door with magnets and join a meet and greet group for your trip. It was fun meeting people ahead of time. Participate in a fish extender group! We jumped in at the last minute and we loved it. Take a pillow case or photo mat and leave it at guest services for the characters to sign! This is one of my kids favorite souvenirs!
Disney photographers will not take photos with your camera! We took turns snapping pictures and other crew members will help you out. There are tons of opportunities to have photos made, don't schedule a shoot ahead of time. Of the dozens taken on board by Disney, we bought 4. Many of them were washed out and just not as good. We have thousands of our own!
Excursions were fun, but next time I will do less. We booked something at every port and it was too much. Time to look around and shop will be enough for next time...
Sorry to go on so long! The trip was amazing and we hope to go again someday. I will try to answer any questions you shoot my way!

 

[runskyhy]

Great review! Thanks for sharing! We were on this cruise, too, and everything about it seemed like an adventure! Just curious, what category stateroom did you have, inside/porthole/balcony?

 

[mamastrick]

Great review! Thanks for sharing! We were on this cruise, too, and everything about it seemed like an adventure! Just curious, what category stateroom did you have, inside/porthole/balcony?

We were category 5c with a veranda. We booked a 7a vgt and we loved the room we were assigned. We were on deck 7, between the mid and forward elevators. Great location, had an "obstructed view" (which was insignificant if you ask me) and very quiet and stable. Loved the veranda, felt like so much extra space

 

[DisneyOrBustColorado]

I really would like to know about the excursions that you took. We are booked on a Western Caribbean on the Fantasy for Halloween. So we are looking closely at excursions & really trying to decide what is important & interesting. I would love to hear more of your advice on that. My boys are 6 & 8 so they are still young for some things. Please do tell about your Port Adventures. I loved reading every work that you wrote so don't skimp on the details.

Other than that... How do you pay for the laundry? Cash or with your room key?

Also what did you mean by having an extra card to keep the air & lights on in the room. Sorry I don't know. I've only previously cruised on the Disney Wonder.

Thanks for such a nice trip report & any time that you have to give me advice on Port Adventures.

 

[Donald_Quackers]

Glad to hear you enjoyed your trip! I think the AC stays on whether the card is in the slot or not, as I kept an old KTTW in the slot but would pull it before I left the room and have it just sit there and the room was always comfortable.

Also what did you mean by having an extra card to keep the air & lights on in the room. Sorry I don't know. I've only previously cruised on the Disney Wonder.

On the Fantasy and the Dream, there is a slot near the door that, if you don't have anything in it, you can't turn on the lights/tv. Anything credit-card sized (don't put a valid credit card there!) will keep the lights/tv on when you leave.

 

[garrisonwa]

Thanks for your trip report! I too would be interested in hearing about your excursions. I will be on the 8/4 sailing with my 3 DDs.

 

[mamastrick]

I really would like to know about the excursions that you took. We are booked on a Western Caribbean on the Fantasy for Halloween. So we are looking closely at excursions & really trying to decide what is important & interesting. I would love to hear more of your advice on that. My boys are 6 & 8 so they are still young for some things. Please do tell about your Port Adventures. I loved reading every work that you wrote so don't skimp on the details.

Other than that... How do you pay for the laundry? Cash or with your room key?

Also what did you mean by having an extra card to keep the air & lights on in the room. Sorry I don't know. I've only previously cruised on the Disney Wonder.

Thanks for such a nice trip report & any time that you have to give me advice on Port Adventures.

Yep, there is a slot inside your stateroom for your KTTW card to turn on lights (and I was told, outlets and ac but I've since learned otherwise!). We left a restaurant reward card in the slot instead of our KTTW card, mainly so the lights wouldn't go off if we left the room before someone else in the family!

Laundry (and everything else on the ship) is paid for on the KTTW card. You select your machine on a touch screen in the laundry room, swipe your card, load your machine and run it like a regular machine from there. The laundry rooms were busy later in the week, I did a load on day 2 since we had already been away from home for 4 days, and one on day 4 because we got caught in the rain! There are also free irons in the laundry room.

Excursions! My children are older (17 and 13) and wanted to do lots of water activities. We booked all of our port adventures through DCL as this was our first cruise and, being a worrier, I didn't want to get into a situation where we might miss getting back to the ship in time! We did the Catamaran, reef snorkel and sting rays in Grand Cayman. Our group started in the Buena Vista theater, rode a tender over to Grand Cayman together, boarded buses and drove to the other side of the island (about 15 min). We boarded the catamaran and motored/sailed out to the reef area. Because of the storms in the area, and the beginning of rainy season, the water was choppy and cloudy. We did our best to snorkel but the kids gave up quickly. We still saw lots of stingrays but it wasn't as fun as I hoped. Snorkels, fins, water and lemonade were all provided. We took our own snacks (goldfish crackers!). We were back to the ship around 430.

In Costa Maya, Cozumel and Castaway Cay you pull right up to the pier and can walk right on and off the ship. Adults must take a photo id when leaving the ship every time! Some people were surprised by this at Castaway Cay and really slowed down the process.

In Costa Maya we chose to do the Dolphin Swim. Since my kids are older they participated without my dh or myself. They loved the whole thing. They were given life vests and instruction on what would happen before entering the "pool". It is a series of large walled off tanks next to the shore. The pool was deep with a wide ledge around the edge for everyone to stand on while in the water. It was about 3 feet deep on the ledge. We got lots of pictures and bought the cd of photos from the company after the swim. They require biodegradable sunscreen for this excursion, which I bought, but no one ever asked or checked on this. After the dolphin swim we just swam in the salt water pool and visited the shops. I would have loved to get out to the ruins in Costa Maya but we didn't think we would have time. Our time in port changed and we had until midnight but the local tours wouldn't take us as everything was closed by 6 (according to the locals we talked to). Many people also rented golf carts to visit Mahahual, a nearby town/beach area. There are no beaches in the immediate port area here.

In Cozumel we did the Fury Catamaran and Beach party. This one my kids loved! We left early, around 815, walked to the catamaran and headed for a snorkeling site. The water was clear and much calmer, the fish and coral were beautiful. The crew was very careful and watchful of snorkelers and our safety. After the snorkel we sailed to the private beach and the kids loved the water toys! We had trampolines, slides, kayaks and surf boards as well as tons of beach chairs, hammocks and food was available for purchase. Soda, margaritas and beer were included. This was by far my kid's favorite excursion. After our time on the beach we sailed back to the ship, returning around 1230. The crew on Fury took photos which turned out great. There are many excursions from Cozumel to the mainland but we weren't interested in that kind of travel time and that many hours away from the ship.

On Castaway Cay we rented snorkeling gear (again!) and got in the water early. The kids loved finding the statues and "wreckage" in the water as well as the beautiful fish. After a few hours the water was murky from so many snorkelers and again a storm blew in so we scattered. We walked to the observation tower and looked around the island for a while before heading back to the ship. We took our own water and snacks on all excursions.

 

[mamastrick]

Something else I forgot to mention but think is important! The deck flooring around the pools and stairs up to aquaduck and deck 12 get extremely slick when wet! My husband, both daughters and I slipped several times. We saw two women who broke their ankles on board and heard about another who fell and broke her wrist! Walk carefully - we went barefoot and got better traction in these areas.

 

[DisneyOrBustColorado]

oh - thank you, thank you for all of your wonderful suggestions & tips. I really appreciate it! I think that we are considering the pirate adventure in Grand Cayman & then the Fury Catamaran & Beach Party in Cozumel. I'm glad to hear positive things about the Fury in Cozumel.

 

[DisneyOrBustColorado]

In Cozumel we did the Fury Catamaran and Beach party. This one my kids loved! We left early, around 815, walked to the catamaran and headed for a snorkeling site. The water was clear and much calmer, the fish and coral were beautiful. The crew was very careful and watchful of snorkelers and our safety. After the snorkel we sailed to the private beach and the kids loved the water toys! We had trampolines, slides, kayaks and surf boards as well as tons of beach chairs, hammocks and food was available for purchase. Soda, margaritas and beer were included. This was by far my kid's favorite excursion. After our time on the beach we sailed back to the ship, returning around 1230. The crew on Fury took photos which turned out great. There are many excursions from Cozumel to the mainland but we weren't interested in that kind of travel time and that many hours away from the ship.

I just thought of another question I had about the above beach break. Do they have life vests at the beach for small children like my 6 & 8 year old? I would like to take them with me out in the water but would feel much more comfortable if they had a life vest on. Thanks again.

 

[mamastrick]

I just thought of another question I had about the above beach break. Do they have life vests at the beach for small children like my 6 & 8 year old? I would like to take them with me out in the water but would feel much more comfortable if they had a life vest on. Thanks again.

Yes, life vests were required for snorkeling and available on the beach! They can be inflated or deflated as needed. You can walk out pretty far but by the time you reach the water toys you are probably in 6 ft of water.

 

[mamastrick]

oh - thank you, thank you for all of your wonderful suggestions & tips. I really appreciate it! I think that we are considering the pirate adventure in Grand Cayman & then the Fury Catamaran & Beach Party in Cozumel. I'm glad to hear positive things about the Fury in Cozumel.

We saw the pirate boat in Grand Cayman - it looked so cool! If my kids were willing I would have liked trying that one. The Fury crew also blasts music and leads line dancing on the way back to port! It was fun

 

[DisneyOrBustColorado]

Oh thank you so much for all of your quick & awesome responses to my many questions. All of your information is so very helpful to me so that I am able to make good decisions for our excursions.

 

[poison ivy]

Great to hear your review on the Fury Catamaran excursion. We are booked for this on our upcoming cruise this Sat. and aren't sure what to expect.

Did you bring your own towels? Were any lockers available at the beach?

 

[mamastrick]

Great to hear your review on the Fury Catamaran excursion. We are booked for this on our upcoming cruise this Sat. and aren't sure what to expect.

Did you bring your own towels? Were any lockers available at the beach?

If you booked through DCL they will provide towels at your meeting place before the excursion (listed on your port adventure tickets you will find in your stateroom). If not through DCL you can always grab towels on deck 11 near the pool. There were no lockers that I know of but I felt very safe leaving our things on the boat while snorkeling and on the beach. I kept everything in a backpack. We only took our KTTW cards, id and cash for a tip.

 

[mamastrick]

If you plan to purchase photos on the Fury excursion, they only take cash. We had enough and are glad we did, they are some great photos!

 

[shawy1269]

Were you able to book Palo online before your cruise or did you book onboard? If onboard, how was booking? Was it tough to find a slot? Did you attempt to book Remy?

 

[mamastrick]

Were you able to book Palo online before your cruise or did you book onboard? If onboard, how was booking? Was it tough to find a slot? Did you attempt to book Remy?

Yes, we were able to book Palo online before the cruise. About three weeks before the cruise lots of reservations opened up. Keep checking in, they usually pop up! We had lots of options. We chose pirate night because I had heard the menu for that night wasn't the best. Since we had late dining we went to Palo from 6-8 then changed into our pirate gear and took the kids to our regular dinner seating. We informed our servers that we had already eaten (although my dh had another dessert!). The kids loved seeing the waiters in pirate outfits and I'm glad we didn't miss it. We did miss our "show" at 615 that night but it was just a movie so we lucked out. Palo was delicious but I really enjoyed our regular servers and dinners more than the fine dining experience. I don't know if we would do it again (shocking I know!) I never saw an opening for Remy.

 

[shawy1269]

Thanks for the info. Ill be going on the Fantasy in December for my honeymoon and I hope to do both Palo and Remy, but we are first time cruisers so Im nervous we wont be able to book them both. Just have to wait and see!

 

[shesesewsall]

Hey Mamastrick! We were also onboard with y'all! I thought I'd give the folks our two cents worth to go along with yours (since we haven't written our TR yet).

Excursions: Grand Caymen (or was it Costamaya--I lost track of ports and days--DH just told me this WAS Costamaya!)we did the Salsa & Salsa. It was fabulous! You get off the ship and are on a short bus ride to this hotel that is really kind of cool to walk through--although I don't know if I'd want to actually stay there! LOL Anyway, the guide taught us how to Salsa (thedance) and then how to make 3 types of Salsa (to eat). Not exactly the salsa any of us are used to out of a bottle, but not unedible! They provided margaritas or soda to drink and provided the chips to taste the salsa with. It really was great fun. For those wishing to stay and play on the beach, that option was available. We chose to get a taxi and return to the port area and did some inexpensive shopping.

Speaking of shopping--please note that if you are going to ONLY take a Visa/MC with you or a debit card off the ship with you along with your government issued ID and KTTW card, remember that purchases must be over $20 before they'll accept your VISA or MC! If you want cheap soueveniers--they are plentiful, but if you don't want to carry any cash on you, then be prepared to spend $20 per place. Some will take it for less, but many don't!

Back to the Excursions! We also did the City Tour and Turtle Farm (at where ever that was---maybe that was Grand Cayman! Yes it was Grand Cayman, DH just said. Like I said, I lost track of where we were and what day it was! I just loved being in PARADISE.) The City Tour I would say SKIP IT!!!!! It is no big deal and I heard more than I wanted to about our tour guides ex wives and him being from East Germany. Anyway, I digress. The Turtle Farm on the other hand is AWESOME!!!! I wish we'd just paid to do the farm and be able to play in their pools and water park area. Also, I saw where some (depending on what color arm band you had on) were allowed to get in and swim with the turtles. But just being able to reach in and "pet" (do you pet a turtle???) the turtles or pick them up was wild. We had an Olympus underwater camera with us that was awesome for getting some up close and personal pictures of them underwater! I could do without seeing the governor's mansion (oh wait, I should say seeing the gates of the governor's mansion), the other house that they drove up, stopped and said, "here is....." and then drove off (oh by the way, that house looked nicer than the governor's mansion), and all the hoopla of seeing Hell --well, needless to say, it's a bunch of hoopla of nothing! You get to see the lava rocks where it gets it's name from, you see the post office where (if you are lucky enough to have the preaddressed, pre stamped cards you can mail to yourself or loved ones from Hell) and they showed us the barn that the man started the whole "from Hell" business--and yes it all started as a business for tourists! That was the extent of the City Tour! Again, I would say, SKIP the tour----go straight to the Turtle Farm Excursion!

Cozumel I stayed on board and enjoyed having a mostly empty ship to myself! We had gotten our one main purchase that we wanted from the cruise (2 bottles of vanilla) at the previous port, so we didn't feel like there was anything we HAD to get off the ship for.

Castaway Cay--Honestly--since I didn't have the physical stamina to walk the distance required (having had back surgery less than a year ago I wasn't up to long walks), I stayed on board and again enjyoed having a mostly empty ship to myself. Loved being able to walk around at a slow pace taking in all the sites and sounds, talking to staff members, enjoying the empty pools, etc. Although, DH went ashore and did some snorkeling. Again, he took our Olympus waterproof camera and has some AWESOME photos from his time snorkeling. He had thought about trying to get me out to the area and I might have been able to get there via the trams, but the walk down the beach and then the swim out to the snorkeling area I never would have made it. And I figure him bringing a drowned wife back on board was not in his plans, so it was best I stayed on board. He was so glad to see that one of the subs from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride had found a resting place at Castaway Cay. And of course, we was glad to see the masthead Mickey down there as well. Note of caution to any of you that plan on snorkeling or scuba diving--leave your rings on board. The one "casualty" of our trip is that the water was cold enough that his fingers shrank up and when he went to reach for something under water his ring slid off his finger. He saw where it landed and it was just out of snorkel depth. His trying to "fish it out" of the sand stirred up enough sand it just buried it. Luckily, it was JUST a ring--no great loss--but for those of you that wear expensive rings or other jewelry, just a warning to you to leave it on board if you're going to go underwater!