Mickey.MAC
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2017
- Messages
- 82
I just completed my third western carribean cruise on the Disney Fantasy. I know it might be repetitive, but on this third trip, I appreciated details on the cruise that I previously overlooked. I felt no pressure to do any particular show or excursion, and basically planned nothing.
Last November, my family went on this itinerary for the first time. We had a blast. My wife, a non Disney fan fell in love with the ship and the itinerary. We repeated this trip in July. On this trip, the highlights were the dole whip beverages on the pool deck, staying on the ship longer at port, and gasp! watching our favorite broadway show from the stateroom.
We started the trip by staying at Wilderness Lodge. I had to see the famous Christmas tree, and hang out in the main lobby of the lodge. Traditionally, we stay at the airport Hyatt the night before the cruise, but we felt no rush to get to the port. In the morning of the cruise, we rode the monorail and boats, ate a slow breakfast, and took in all the Christmas decorations at the Lodge. Although all the hotels do a great job in decorations, Wilderness Lodge brings the best "classical" spirit in its presentation.
The bus picked us up at 1130 and took us from the Wilderness Lodge directly to the cruise port. I enjoyed spending the morning at Disney World, rather than rushing to port. After all, we would have seven nights to enjoy the boat. At check in, I tried to upgrade my category 5 verandah which i booked on a VGT rate. The numbers did not make sense so I stayed in my forward verandah stateroom.
As usual we skipped the pictures at boarding and headed straight to Cabanas for lunch. After lunch, we went to the pool deck and watched funnel vision and did one round of Aqua duck prior to heading to the stateroom. We attended the sail away party and enjoyed the view of Port Canaveral as the Fantasy left port. Our dining rotation was first seating with 3 nights at Animators and 2 nights at Enchanted Garden and Royal Court. On this trip my wife declared that Enchanted Garden was her new favorite.
On sea days, we spent most of our time on the pool deck in the shallow Mickey Mouse pool. My kids are growing up fast and really enjoyed swimming and lounging in the kids pool. My youngest one still has a year to go before being big enough for the Aqua Duck but I took the older one several times a day. I did a lot of shopping at the boutique shop next to the pool. I bought custom Disney Crocs, and swim goggles for the kids(We could not find our swim goggles that we had packed). Finally, at the end of the trip, I found the swim googles which were tucked away in a hidden suitcase compartment.
Last November, my family went on this itinerary for the first time. We had a blast. My wife, a non Disney fan fell in love with the ship and the itinerary. We repeated this trip in July. On this trip, the highlights were the dole whip beverages on the pool deck, staying on the ship longer at port, and gasp! watching our favorite broadway show from the stateroom.
We started the trip by staying at Wilderness Lodge. I had to see the famous Christmas tree, and hang out in the main lobby of the lodge. Traditionally, we stay at the airport Hyatt the night before the cruise, but we felt no rush to get to the port. In the morning of the cruise, we rode the monorail and boats, ate a slow breakfast, and took in all the Christmas decorations at the Lodge. Although all the hotels do a great job in decorations, Wilderness Lodge brings the best "classical" spirit in its presentation.
The bus picked us up at 1130 and took us from the Wilderness Lodge directly to the cruise port. I enjoyed spending the morning at Disney World, rather than rushing to port. After all, we would have seven nights to enjoy the boat. At check in, I tried to upgrade my category 5 verandah which i booked on a VGT rate. The numbers did not make sense so I stayed in my forward verandah stateroom.
As usual we skipped the pictures at boarding and headed straight to Cabanas for lunch. After lunch, we went to the pool deck and watched funnel vision and did one round of Aqua duck prior to heading to the stateroom. We attended the sail away party and enjoyed the view of Port Canaveral as the Fantasy left port. Our dining rotation was first seating with 3 nights at Animators and 2 nights at Enchanted Garden and Royal Court. On this trip my wife declared that Enchanted Garden was her new favorite.
On sea days, we spent most of our time on the pool deck in the shallow Mickey Mouse pool. My kids are growing up fast and really enjoyed swimming and lounging in the kids pool. My youngest one still has a year to go before being big enough for the Aqua Duck but I took the older one several times a day. I did a lot of shopping at the boutique shop next to the pool. I bought custom Disney Crocs, and swim goggles for the kids(We could not find our swim goggles that we had packed). Finally, at the end of the trip, I found the swim googles which were tucked away in a hidden suitcase compartment.
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Last trip, in July, we did not do any excursions. I took the boys, G and L, in a taxi to Chankanaab. It cost 16 US dollars. Chankanaab was underwhelming but fun. The park had huge pens for dolphins. We watched the tourists play with the dolphins and meandered to the beach. I did not know the beach in the park was mainly for snorkeling. But I found a small inlet where the kids could play in the sand and the water was shallow. The highlight! Service was great and they provided me with WiFi access. I used it to check my email. Wifi is free in port but super expensive on board. So I told work and friends that I would only be in contact with them on port days. The boys played with the other kids and built sand castles, and played with water toys. I would recommend Isla Pasion or Playa Mia as a better beach excursion, while Chankanaab is better for people who want to swim with dolphins, or snorkel. We stayed at the park long enough to enjoy the park, but returned to the boat in time for lunch. Cabanas closes lunch at 130-2 and they are strict; Cabanas will close the stations on latecomers, so arrive at least 10 minutes early! The rest of the day we spent on the pool deck swimming and doing Mickey Slide and Aqua Duck. By 130 pm, many kids were on the pool deck, so it seemed like people traveling with kids were on boards--my wife did not want us to stay off the ship too long because she perceives Mexico to be hazardous.
Disney sells beach excursions but we prefer to go on our own. I am actually planning on doing a Grand Cayman trip because I like to spend at least four days on the island. After playing on the beach, we went to Sunshine Grill for lunch and to try their famous "Painkiller" drink. The Painkiller drink is very strong but it is a dangerous drink because you can't taste the alcohol. The drink comes as option number 1 to number 3. Number 1 is a light drink and as the number goes up, you get more Rum. Painkiller number 3 is similar to inducing a coma.
But the kids started to misbehave so I grabbed a bus and took them back to the ship. Since I was single parenting, I adhered to my rule that if the Kids start to misbehave, we immediately get back on board. At least, back on the ship, they have a kids club, and a more controlled environment(and I don't want to miss the ship).
In general, with all things Disney, there is a high ratio of people traveling without minors and little kids; maybe because the Disney experience is getting so expensive or because attractions are being aimed towards adults...Alcohol is a recent addition to most Disney Parks. Disclaimer: My wife and I have one trip per year where we go without kids.
If anyone is wondering why Disney excels in customer service, this one small example exemplifies Disney's dedication to high quality customer service. Mind you, these glasses were Costco plastic glasses, el cheapo style, but imaging if they were Kim Kardashian style glasses.
Mistake! Leaving after 730 was akin to joining rush hour in Los Angeles or Hawaii. The lines were long and barely moved. When we arrived in Customs, the lines were still long and slow, and we had no bags to declare since we used Onboard airline check in. Our flights was at 330pm, so we went to the Polynesian Resort to hang out. We went to Kona Cafe for their pressed pot coffee and Macadamia Nut Pancakes. To ease the hangover of the cruise, we enjoyed 3 hours at the Polynesian Resort, before hailing an Uber to return to MCO.
Since I finished the cruise, I was planning an impromptu trip back to Disney for Christmas weekend. But last minute air prices were craaazy.
Last year, at this time, I made an impulsive last minute trip to the Yacht Club to enjoy New Years...alas, I am not going to break the bank and cave into the high prices that airlines are charging(I am looking at you United Airlines and Jetblue)
