We just arrived back after our 7 day Eastern Caribbean trip on the Fantasy. Overall, I would say that this was a good trip. Here are some quick comments about the ship and voyage:
1. Remy was as good as advertised. It was spectacular and every bit as good as Victoria & Alberts.
2. Breakfast on the ship was very poor. The hash browns were particularly bad and they ran out of bananas by the end of the trip. The fruit is put on the ship at the beginning of the trip and by the end of the week, it is mostly past the ripe stage. Having breakfast in the sit-down restaurant is not really any better than eating the buffet. It all tasted the same. Everything tasted like it was sitting under a heat lamp or in a tray. The pastries that were available were very good however, and were probably the safest thing each day.
3. Lunch and dinner were much better than breakfast. Do avoid the popcorn soup. Also, for the sake of comparison, the meals at dinner were just below the top Walt Disney World restaurants in terms of quality. Im talking about places like Yachtsman, Flying Fish, Artist Point, Citricos, etc. The main dish, like your meat or fish, would be of comparable quality to those nice places. However, it was the side dishes or accompaniments that were not at that same level. For example, we had vegetables with our meal one night and they just were nowhere near the quality that you would get from a place like those I mentioned above. The vegetables tasted like what you would get in a frozen skillet meal from the grocery store.
4. Be aware that the ports are nothing special and Phillipsburg is really a slum. We did not feel safe walking anywhere beyond the beach walkway. We were the first off the boat and got nervous walking on Front Street alone. However, our excursions were fantastic. We did the 12 meter regatta race on St. Marten, and the Water Island Bike Adventure on St. Thomas. I would highly recommend these as they are true adventures.
5. Like most have complained, the pools were pretty jam packed during the day. If you get to AquaDuck before they open, you could get right on. The line was 45 minutes by about 9:15 in the morning.
6. The shows were good and the hypnotist on our show was incredibly funny. The audience went absolutely crazy with laughter at this show. The juggler/comedians were also very good and entertaining.
7. I was shocked by the few TV stations that they offer in the room. We got three news stations beyond what Disney owns (ESPNs, ABC, Disney Channel, etc.).
8. The Navigator always seemed to underestimate the daily high temperature forecast for the upcoming day. For example, it said that our day at Castaway Cay would be 78 degrees. How could it be 78 days if it is summer and there is no rain? When the captain gave his report when we arrived there, he said it was 85 degrees at 9am. It seemed like they were trying to make the summer Caribbean seem less oppressive. Just strange.
9. My wife and I ran the 5K on Castaway Cay. As I mentioned above, it was 85 degrees at the start. Running this in the summer should probably only be attempted by experienced runners as there is no shade. I have done 6 marathons and nothing had prepared me for the conditions of this run. I finished third but almost collapsed. Because the time is so short on the island, you may want to reconsider unless you are sick of running on the ship like we were. By the time we were done and hydrated, we only had about 90 minutes to have fun before lunch.
Happy to answer any questions.
1. Remy was as good as advertised. It was spectacular and every bit as good as Victoria & Alberts.
2. Breakfast on the ship was very poor. The hash browns were particularly bad and they ran out of bananas by the end of the trip. The fruit is put on the ship at the beginning of the trip and by the end of the week, it is mostly past the ripe stage. Having breakfast in the sit-down restaurant is not really any better than eating the buffet. It all tasted the same. Everything tasted like it was sitting under a heat lamp or in a tray. The pastries that were available were very good however, and were probably the safest thing each day.
3. Lunch and dinner were much better than breakfast. Do avoid the popcorn soup. Also, for the sake of comparison, the meals at dinner were just below the top Walt Disney World restaurants in terms of quality. Im talking about places like Yachtsman, Flying Fish, Artist Point, Citricos, etc. The main dish, like your meat or fish, would be of comparable quality to those nice places. However, it was the side dishes or accompaniments that were not at that same level. For example, we had vegetables with our meal one night and they just were nowhere near the quality that you would get from a place like those I mentioned above. The vegetables tasted like what you would get in a frozen skillet meal from the grocery store.
4. Be aware that the ports are nothing special and Phillipsburg is really a slum. We did not feel safe walking anywhere beyond the beach walkway. We were the first off the boat and got nervous walking on Front Street alone. However, our excursions were fantastic. We did the 12 meter regatta race on St. Marten, and the Water Island Bike Adventure on St. Thomas. I would highly recommend these as they are true adventures.
5. Like most have complained, the pools were pretty jam packed during the day. If you get to AquaDuck before they open, you could get right on. The line was 45 minutes by about 9:15 in the morning.
6. The shows were good and the hypnotist on our show was incredibly funny. The audience went absolutely crazy with laughter at this show. The juggler/comedians were also very good and entertaining.
7. I was shocked by the few TV stations that they offer in the room. We got three news stations beyond what Disney owns (ESPNs, ABC, Disney Channel, etc.).
8. The Navigator always seemed to underestimate the daily high temperature forecast for the upcoming day. For example, it said that our day at Castaway Cay would be 78 degrees. How could it be 78 days if it is summer and there is no rain? When the captain gave his report when we arrived there, he said it was 85 degrees at 9am. It seemed like they were trying to make the summer Caribbean seem less oppressive. Just strange.
9. My wife and I ran the 5K on Castaway Cay. As I mentioned above, it was 85 degrees at the start. Running this in the summer should probably only be attempted by experienced runners as there is no shade. I have done 6 marathons and nothing had prepared me for the conditions of this run. I finished third but almost collapsed. Because the time is so short on the island, you may want to reconsider unless you are sick of running on the ship like we were. By the time we were done and hydrated, we only had about 90 minutes to have fun before lunch.
Happy to answer any questions.
Just off the same cruise; it was our 6th cruise. The Eastern is our favorite. Had no issues in the ports with safety.
DH & I were skeptical of the popcorn soup, but tried it and loved it.
From a fellow aft-er!
DH ordered a ham & cheese sandwich, and I think the bread was from 2 cruises before ours. Inedible. The Four cheese pizza was the exact opposite - VERY good. They should've been embarrassed to serve that salad & sandwich.
