amycakes
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2006
- Messages
- 595
We just came back from our second cruise... our first cruise was RC Freedom. We loved the Fantasy!
We rented a car from Alamo at the airport.... went to Universal for 2 days. The day we were to go on the ship we arrived at the rental office around 9:30am to return car and get the shuttle. It seemed like organized chaos and we did manage to get on a shuttle after about a 40min wait. It was hot and people were cranky. They did have free bottled water. We rented 2 cars for this vacation and both were not clean.... never had a problem with this before.
We went to port and we got off the shuttle and there were people directing us to the ship...went through security then stood in line for our KTTW and got our pics taken and boarded the ship. I went to check that we were sitting with our friends for dinner (you can check your dining info at 1pm in the RC... at least on our sailing) and then went to register for martini, wine and mixology tastings at one of the bars (our group agreed that wine and martini were the best....in mixology other guests, my husband participated, made your drinks so your drink quality depended upon how well they paid attention Lol) This information was posted in the Navigator they gave you when you boarded. We also used the Navigator app for marking our favourite events and it kept a schedule for you and we used it for text. It worked like a charm for us. Our wavephones worked great as well but it took me a bit to figure them out.... I'm not very tech savvy.
Our rooms were inside cabins with virtual porthole which we all enjoyed. We always were looking to see a character. We had 2 connecting rooms.... one for us and one for the kids. I found the rooms bigger on this cruise and the bathrooms far more roomy. There seemed to be a place for everything. We had high hopes of ordering room service but only ordered it twice because we were always full! Once for bottled water for our excursion (but we didn't need to as it was available when we departed) and once for Mickey Bars on our last night....my son ordered Mickey Bars for every dessert in the main dining rooms
Our room was always kept clean and tidy and we had towel animals and chocolates every night We did not participate in fish extenders but saw several. Our kids were too old and, tbh, it would take a fair amount of time I imagine...we found that we were busy enough!
We did enjoy the Cabanas... some dishes were dreadful and nothing was ever quite hot enough but it is a buffet. We discovered our favourites quickly. We went for breakfast and lunch but at lunch we also went to the little food outlet Flo's. They had some nice sandwiches there and the kids liked the fish burger and chicken fingers. We had breakfast in the Enchanted Garden and it was nice. For dinner we ate at the main dining rooms. We did not do specialty dining. Everyone found something they wanted and enjoyed it. Some nights were better than other naturally. The only complaint I have is that we were in Animators for both formal/semiformal nights and you really feel overdressed. I would definitely change my dining rotation to avoid this next time. We had late dining btw.
We liked all the shows except the one on the last night of the cruise. Everyone had their favourites but that show was voted least favourite by kids and adults. We met with the princesses (this had to be arranged at guest services) and Jack Sparrow. We also went to 2 movies and really enjoyed them... the popcorn was good but you had to pay for it and they also had little bags of candy and drinks for purchase. You could ask for a cup of water if you didn't mind the ship's water and they gave it to you with straw/lid. We brought chips from Flo's for the second movie We also went to some drawing classes and a comedy/magic show. Never made it to the cooking classes. My daughter loved Midship Detective. My son and daughter also rode the Aquaduck when it was open til 11pm.... it was a highlight because they and a few others were the only ones there. The staff was really fun that night and they really enjoyed their interaction. They rode it at least 15-20 times... the number increased with the telling of the tale... Lol The pools and hot tubs were always full to the brim with adults/kids... to the point my kids (or us adults) would not venture into them. It was the same on the Freedom too.... I think this must be common to all cruise ships.
My son is 14 and decided the Edge would be a better fit for him (he is a little immature) and my daughter is 13 and also went to Edge. She went a few times but she is more shy and preferred to hang with the other girl in our party rather than go to the club. After day 3... my son loved the club and he ended up making friends with kids on the ship. The last night he was out til 1am saying his last goodbyes while the rest of us were waiting to go to bed. He was very emotional to leave his friends and they still communicate. This made the cruise for him My daughter had a great time too though so don't get me wrong... Lol
We went to San Juan, Castaway Cay and St Thomas. We did a segway tour in San Juan and that was great! We all learned a little history. The kids enjoyed it and our guide was young and very well spoken. We went to St. John by boat then an open air taxi. We snorkeled and had some beach time. I did not think our beach time was long enough when we booked but once we got there it turned out to be just right for our group. They have washrooms, showers and food but we just brought some packaged snacks from the ship. At Castaway Cay we did the stingray excursion and everyone in our party enjoyed it...beautiful beach. My son and husband encountered a barracuda in the deep water and my husband actually had to push it away from him. This was in the snorkeling area. The food at Castaway Cay was okay. All excursions booked through the ship... they gave you towels and there was water for purchase before you left the ship and flavored water upon your return with hand sanitizing stations
We left our luggage out the night before we had to leave the ship. We had a nice breakfast and said goodbye to our wonderful servers.....gathered our luggage in the terminal and left with heavy hearts. The process was fairly smooth...all explained in the navigator and on the t.v. the day before you leave so no surprises there. We rented a car from Budget for our return and the shuttle was prompt and the rental office far less chaotic than Alamo. Then we were off to Aquatica!
It was a great vacation!!
We rented a car from Alamo at the airport.... went to Universal for 2 days. The day we were to go on the ship we arrived at the rental office around 9:30am to return car and get the shuttle. It seemed like organized chaos and we did manage to get on a shuttle after about a 40min wait. It was hot and people were cranky. They did have free bottled water. We rented 2 cars for this vacation and both were not clean.... never had a problem with this before.
We went to port and we got off the shuttle and there were people directing us to the ship...went through security then stood in line for our KTTW and got our pics taken and boarded the ship. I went to check that we were sitting with our friends for dinner (you can check your dining info at 1pm in the RC... at least on our sailing) and then went to register for martini, wine and mixology tastings at one of the bars (our group agreed that wine and martini were the best....in mixology other guests, my husband participated, made your drinks so your drink quality depended upon how well they paid attention Lol) This information was posted in the Navigator they gave you when you boarded. We also used the Navigator app for marking our favourite events and it kept a schedule for you and we used it for text. It worked like a charm for us. Our wavephones worked great as well but it took me a bit to figure them out.... I'm not very tech savvy.
Our rooms were inside cabins with virtual porthole which we all enjoyed. We always were looking to see a character. We had 2 connecting rooms.... one for us and one for the kids. I found the rooms bigger on this cruise and the bathrooms far more roomy. There seemed to be a place for everything. We had high hopes of ordering room service but only ordered it twice because we were always full! Once for bottled water for our excursion (but we didn't need to as it was available when we departed) and once for Mickey Bars on our last night....my son ordered Mickey Bars for every dessert in the main dining rooms
Our room was always kept clean and tidy and we had towel animals and chocolates every night We did not participate in fish extenders but saw several. Our kids were too old and, tbh, it would take a fair amount of time I imagine...we found that we were busy enough!We did enjoy the Cabanas... some dishes were dreadful and nothing was ever quite hot enough but it is a buffet. We discovered our favourites quickly. We went for breakfast and lunch but at lunch we also went to the little food outlet Flo's. They had some nice sandwiches there and the kids liked the fish burger and chicken fingers. We had breakfast in the Enchanted Garden and it was nice. For dinner we ate at the main dining rooms. We did not do specialty dining. Everyone found something they wanted and enjoyed it. Some nights were better than other naturally. The only complaint I have is that we were in Animators for both formal/semiformal nights and you really feel overdressed. I would definitely change my dining rotation to avoid this next time. We had late dining btw.
We liked all the shows except the one on the last night of the cruise. Everyone had their favourites but that show was voted least favourite by kids and adults. We met with the princesses (this had to be arranged at guest services) and Jack Sparrow. We also went to 2 movies and really enjoyed them... the popcorn was good but you had to pay for it and they also had little bags of candy and drinks for purchase. You could ask for a cup of water if you didn't mind the ship's water and they gave it to you with straw/lid. We brought chips from Flo's for the second movie
We also went to some drawing classes and a comedy/magic show. Never made it to the cooking classes. My daughter loved Midship Detective. My son and daughter also rode the Aquaduck when it was open til 11pm.... it was a highlight because they and a few others were the only ones there. The staff was really fun that night and they really enjoyed their interaction. They rode it at least 15-20 times... the number increased with the telling of the tale... Lol The pools and hot tubs were always full to the brim with adults/kids... to the point my kids (or us adults) would not venture into them. It was the same on the Freedom too.... I think this must be common to all cruise ships.My son is 14 and decided the Edge would be a better fit for him (he is a little immature) and my daughter is 13 and also went to Edge. She went a few times but she is more shy and preferred to hang with the other girl in our party rather than go to the club. After day 3... my son loved the club and he ended up making friends with kids on the ship. The last night he was out til 1am saying his last goodbyes while the rest of us were waiting to go to bed. He was very emotional to leave his friends and they still communicate. This made the cruise for him
My daughter had a great time too though so don't get me wrong... LolWe went to San Juan, Castaway Cay and St Thomas. We did a segway tour in San Juan and that was great! We all learned a little history. The kids enjoyed it and our guide was young and very well spoken. We went to St. John by boat then an open air taxi. We snorkeled and had some beach time. I did not think our beach time was long enough when we booked but once we got there it turned out to be just right for our group. They have washrooms, showers and food but we just brought some packaged snacks from the ship. At Castaway Cay we did the stingray excursion and everyone in our party enjoyed it...beautiful beach. My son and husband encountered a barracuda in the deep water and my husband actually had to push it away from him. This was in the snorkeling area. The food at Castaway Cay was okay. All excursions booked through the ship... they gave you towels and there was water for purchase before you left the ship and flavored water upon your return with hand sanitizing stations
We left our luggage out the night before we had to leave the ship. We had a nice breakfast and said goodbye to our wonderful servers.....gathered our luggage in the terminal and left with heavy hearts. The process was fairly smooth...all explained in the navigator and on the t.v. the day before you leave so no surprises there. We rented a car from Budget for our return and the shuttle was prompt and the rental office far less chaotic than Alamo. Then we were off to Aquatica!
It was a great vacation!!
Last edited:
