Just back from the Fantasy....

[SingingMom]

We just had a Glorious week on the Fantasy! 15 years ago we sailed with a 7 year old on the Disney Magic and it was magical. Five years ago we tried Celebrity in a "Royal Suite" with a butler - accommodations were beautiful - the rest of the cruise was sub par. So, we were a little leery of trying cruising again. DD just finished an internship with Disney and is awaiting a full time permanent position, so this was a spur of the moment decision for the three of us to take a vacation and decided on the 7 night Eastern Caribbean itinerary on the Disney Fantasy. Wow. Just wow.

We had a Deck 7 aft verandah stateroom. The ONLY thing better about our previous cruise on Celebrity was the Royal Suite. That's it. The service we received in our Fantasy stateroom and in the dining rooms was 1000% better than the personal attention (insert sarcasm) we received from our "butler". We adored our servers Darma and Mohan and our stateroom steward Mohan. Lovely people.

The adult only areas on the Fantasy are fabulous! We thoroughly enjoyed Europa lounge areas, Cove Café, and Deck 13 lounge areas. Loved it loved it loved it!

Cruise Director Natalie was terrific. We loved Alicia in Entertainment and Amanda at Palo was a sweetheart. Can't say enough about the level of service we received each day!

If anyone has any specific questions about the Fantasy from a very recent guest - let me know!!

 

[Cruiser Cam]

Who was your captain?

 

[buddyjo143]

Tell me about your verandah and the amount of time you spent there vs. time out in the adult areas. My DH and I booked at deck 10 aft. We are cruise veterans on NCL and Carnival and last visited WDW at Christmas. Crazy, I know.

While we love Disney we've had enough so decided to give the cruise a try. We have no children though we love them (I'm a teacher) but are looking forward to adult areas on board.

Thanks.

 

[scgustafson]

Who were the Cruise Staff team members?

 

[karint]

We are on the Fantasy Western Caribbean in August. I'm so excited! This is my first ever cruise. I'm so happy it's with Disney!

 

[JillSchorr]

We just had a Glorious week on the Fantasy! 15 years ago we sailed with a 7 year old on the Disney Magic and it was magical. Five years ago we tried Celebrity in a "Royal Suite" with a butler - accommodations were beautiful - the rest of the cruise was sub par. So, we were a little leery of trying cruising again. DD just finished an internship with Disney and is awaiting a full time permanent position, so this was a spur of the moment decision for the three of us to take a vacation and decided on the 7 night Eastern Caribbean itinerary on the Disney Fantasy. Wow. Just wow.

We had a Deck 7 aft verandah stateroom. The ONLY thing better about our previous cruise on Celebrity was the Royal Suite. That's it. The service we received in our Fantasy stateroom and in the dining rooms was 1000% better than the personal attention (insert sarcasm) we received from our "butler". We adored our servers Darma and Mohan and our stateroom steward Mohan. Lovely people.

The adult only areas on the Fantasy are fabulous! We thoroughly enjoyed Europa lounge areas, Cove Café, and Deck 13 lounge areas. Loved it loved it loved it!

Cruise Director Natalie was terrific. We loved Alicia in Entertainment and Amanda at Palo was a sweetheart. Can't say enough about the level of service we received each day!

If anyone has any specific questions about the Fantasy from a very recent guest - let me know!!

We were on the same cruise! We also had a veranda stateroom on deck 7 aft!

 

[JillSchorr]

Who was your captain?

Commadore Tom was the captain

 

[SingingMom]

Tell me about your verandah and the amount of time you spent there vs. time out in the adult areas. My DH and I booked at deck 10 aft. We are cruise veterans on NCL and Carnival and last visited WDW at Christmas. Crazy, I know.

While we love Disney we've had enough so decided to give the cruise a try. We have no children though we love them (I'm a teacher) but are looking forward to adult areas on board.

Thanks.

I would never cruise without a verandah, because I love to look out at the ocean, even if we're just getting ready for our next fun event. We order room service every morning for coffee & tea - and I am always the one who is ready and waiting for DH and DD, so I take my tea out onto the verandah and I'm in heaven. I probably use it the most - but mostly for those "waiting" times.

While we love children, our DD is almost 23 now, and we ADORED the adult only areas on board! For some reason, some parents go all out in "vacation mode" and forget they brought the kids with them! The only times you really were around children were the dining rooms, the evening theatre shows, and the atrium during character events.

We went to the early show, had the second seating for dinner, and then went to "Europa" and lounge hopped. ;-) There are quiet spots, lively spots, and late evening they put out appetizers and bite size desserts in the center of the Piazza area. My favorite spot was Cove Café next to the adult only pool - the espresso martini (substitute godiva for kahula for my way!) was fantastic! (more than once!)

 

[RedSox68]

Commadore Tom was the captain

OH, how lucky. We've had him for five of our ten cruises, including our first one, and find him just awesome.

I would never cruise without a verandah, because I love to look out at the ocean, even if we're just getting ready for our next fun event. We order room service every morning for coffee & tea - and I am always the one who is ready and waiting for DH and DD, so I take my tea out onto the verandah and I'm in heaven. I probably use it the most - but mostly for those "waiting" times.

Agree wholeheartedly -- have only sailed three times in an oceanview (twice on Disney and once on Carnival). The verandah is our one splurge. We are not sun/pool people and while we love to roam the ship and inspect everything and enjoy the decor, we don't hang around out on deck except to take pictures and get better overall views of the scenery. We love our verandah for reading, early morning views of arriving at ports (in our PJs LOL), pictures of sunrises and then back to bed, early morning coffee with our feet up watching the sea go by, late night star gazing and the quiet, breakfast, lunch -- and using it to relax while others get ready for shows, meals, etc. Plus I love the ability to have air coming in and the sound of the ocean.

But each person has their own priority and their own budgetary requirements. We travelled with friends in 2014 who had an inside room because from early morning until dinner they are either on the top deck sunbathing or in Cove Cafe using the internet or reading.

 

[JoAnnPan]

Going on my first cruise ever in November on the Fantasy - so excited.

If you don't mind - what was your cabin number? We have 7652 Cat 5C booked with verandah
Would love to know if you felt any vibrations from the ship? Easy access to elevators, etc?
What did you do on your port days?

It will just be my sister & I - thank you for sharing your review of the adult areas.

 

[SingingMom]

Going on my first cruise ever in November on the Fantasy - so excited.

If you don't mind - what was your cabin number? We have 7652 Cat 5C booked with verandah
Would love to know if you felt any vibrations from the ship? Easy access to elevators, etc?
What did you do on your port days?

It will just be my sister & I - thank you for sharing your review of the adult areas.

We were in Cabin 7162 Aft We were very close to the Aft Elevators. I actually did "hear" a bit of vibration at night when all was quiet at bedtime, but it wasn't anything that was annoying or bothersome. The entire cruise was extremely smooth sailing. We had exquisite weather! Natalie, our cruise director, even noted that they felt it was the prettiest day they had ever seen at Castaway Cay.

We chose Disney Excursions for our port days. I do know you can probably arrange things on your own, but I like that added insurance that if something goes wrong, they will hold the ship for you to get back or transport you to the next port in a real problem - at Disney's expense.

Tortola, British Virgin Islands: We chose the Sail & Snorkel excursion - very breezy (rough) sail boat ride to snorkel area - 2 crew members. They mentioned that it usually isn't that rough - the winds were pretty strong. We got hit with waves sitting on the catamaran open area, but it was beautiful. You could remain inside if that wasn't to your liking. The snorkeling was about an hour - DH & DD really enjoyed it - I "float" - only person who can go snorkeling and not get their head wet. lol I just floated in my life vest, holding onto the life preserver. Gorgeous water. After an hour, we docked at a beach and spent an hour in the water and having a drink and light lunch at the beach bar/grill. (not included with excursion) Then we were called back to the boat, and sailed back to the ship. A rum punch was included on the way back. Very enjoyable and came back in time to leisurely shop in the new port area. We purchased a new setting for my engagement ring & watch for DH in celebration of our 30th wedding anniversary this year. We also treated DD to a lovely tanzanite & diamond ring.

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands: We chose the beach excursion to Maegen's Bay, since it is earmarked as one of the 10 best beaches in the world. We took an open air safari type taxi (held about 20 people) and had a little tour of the island on the way to the beach. The driver stopped at a lookout point so we could take pictures, then proceeded to the beach. The excursion included a lounge chair for each person and the area was reserved for Disney guests - but the beach is open to the public. We were there approx. 3 hours, then returned to the ship. It was very low-key, relaxing day. The beach was pretty, but not nearly as beautiful as Horseshoe Bay , Bermuda, in our opinion.

Castaway Cay: DH & DD did the adult only snorkel excursion and enjoyed it very much. We first all enjoyed Serenity Bay adult only area - heaven on earth! The only time I left the water was to eat! We enjoyed the BBQ in the adult only area, then they left for their snorkeling and I went back in the water. I had rented a float for 10.75 for the day and enjoyed just relaxing in the crystal clear warm water. It was a fabulous day!

 

[RedSox68]

Castaway Cay: DH & DD did the adult only snorkel excursion and enjoyed it very much. We first all enjoyed Serenity Bay adult only area - heaven on earth! The only time I left the water was to eat! We enjoyed the BBQ in the adult only area, then they left for their snorkeling and I went back in the water. I had rented a float for 10.75 for the day and enjoyed just relaxing in the crystal clear warm water. It was a fabulous day!

Hmmmm, I love Castaway Cay. Worth the whole trip. A real paradise.

 

[SingingMom]

Hmmmm, I love Castaway Cay. Worth the whole trip. A real paradise.

We were there 15 years ago when DD was 7. Loved it then, but what a DIFFERENT experience when you can spend the entire time at Serenity Bay. There were so fewer people in that area compared to the jam-packed family beach. The three of us said we wished we could have spent two days there - it was SO much nicer than Maegen's Bay in St. Thomas!

 

[RedSox68]

We were there 15 years ago when DD was 7. Loved it then, but what a DIFFERENT experience when you can spend the entire time at Serenity Bay. There were so fewer people in that area compared to the jam-packed family beach. The three of us said we wished we could have spent two days there - it was SO much nicer than Maegen's Bay in St. Thomas!

I remember when we cruised after my daughter turned 18 and we were so happy to be able to finally go to SB.

 

[poly princess]

This thread is awesome! I just booked a cruise for DH and I Sept. 3, 2016. We are on the Fantasy and have questions!
Do they have cupcakes and mickey shaped ice cream on the boat?
Do you visit Senses?
When docked in Cozumel, is there an area close by to do shopping (I do not think I want an excursion)?
How are the adult only activities?
What time is breakfast and how is it?

Thank you, I very much appreciate all of your help!

 

[JillSchorr]

Going on my first cruise ever in November on the Fantasy - so excited.

If you don't mind - what was your cabin number? We have 7652 Cat 5C booked with verandah
Would love to know if you felt any vibrations from the ship? Easy access to elevators, etc?
What did you do on your port days?

It will just be my sister & I - thank you for sharing your review of the adult areas.

I was in cabin 7682 and loved it. Gorgeous view of Castaway Cay when you are docked! There was a little vibration but I did not mind it at all...it actually lulled me to sleep! Being aft allows you quick access to Cabanas, rg adult lounges and Animators Palate

 

[JillSchorr]

This thread is awesome! I just booked a cruise for DH and I Sept. 3, 2016. We are on the Fantasy and have questions!
Do they have cupcakes and mickey shaped ice cream on the boat?
Do you visit Senses?
When docked in Cozumel, is there an area close by to do shopping (I do not think I want an excursion)?
How are the adult only activities?
What time is breakfast and how is it?

Thank you, I very much appreciate all of your help!

I don't recall seeing cupcakes, but hey have a lot of desserts. You can get Mickey bars in the MDRs and room service. I did not go to Senses, but I used the gym. Go early if you want the gym-it is filled up by 7:30 am.
We did the Eastern so Cozumel was not a port we stopped in.
Adult activities are great. Try generally start around 10:00 on but the bars close down around 1:00. Try a mixology class. A great deal...you get 5 drinks and you have fun making them!
Breakfast is generally 7-10:30 at Cabanas- you can also eat at Royal Court for a sit down breakfast ...I think that starts around 8? I forget now!

 

[SingingMom]

Breakfast in Royal Court was limited, time wise, but worth it. The Eggs Benedict were delicious! We only used Cabanas on embarkation day. I don't like buffets with that many people. lol

Mixology was a hoot! Good thing we didn't love all the drinks because that was a LOT of alcohol in one seating! Loved the lemon drop martini and the "guiness shot"!

"The Tube" had some fun adult entertainment. Teisha was the hostess for the evening entertainment and she was hysterical! We stopped in there two nights. We went to each lounge at least once, except for the Meridan near Palo & Remy - we just ran out of time! Need another cruise!!

There were great desserts and mini cupcakes in Cove Café in the afternoon. They had breakfast pastries in the morning and antipasto in the evening. I loved that place! Wonder if DH will make me an espresso martini tonight......

 

[MickeyD]

We were in Cabin 7162 Aft We were very close to the Aft Elevators

we were in that same room on our 2015 Fantasy cruise! We did hear a lot of creaking and felt the vibration quite a bit, but only on the really "wavy" nights. We had a couple of high sea nights. (sailed in Feb)

When docked in Cozumel, is there an area close by to do shopping

yes, there is shopping right off where you dock. You will walk to the end of a long dock and there is a two story shopping mall right there. You can also walk into downtown from there and there are more shops. Most your shopping will be right there at port.

 

[karint]

We are in cabin 7160 on the Fantasy. Has anyone experienced this cabin before?