Just off 3/26 - 4/2 Fantasy...IT WAS AMAZING WEATHER

[Joel0917]

family of 4. DW, DS7 and DD11.
Stops were Tortola - we did baths through Patouche..it was amzing but lots of effort climbing
ST. Thomas - Zip Line direct book with Zip Line Extreme so DS could do it, he is 7 and Disney cut off is 8. it was great. Also did the Tram ride up and down.
Castaway was the best weather ever in 5 cruises. 80 and sunny. Water was great.

Whole ship was great. Pools were awesome. Shows were good. Guests performers were funny.

Movies on board:
Zootopia
Star Wars
Bridge of Spies
Good Dinasour
(Hmmm..i'm missing one..but wasn't anything major)

Food was great every night. Did MDR ever night.

Any questions. We stayed in 8520.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We were on same cruise. It was our first Disney cruise. We splurged and sailed concierge. Couple big milestones celebrated. Weather was very nice and cooperated except that one short period of rain. Been to St. Thomas years ago, many times. Changed a lot. Didn't care for Tortola. Best stop for us was Castaway Cay. Thought pools were very crowded and small but expected that. Daughter loved pools, Aquaduck, Aqualab, slides...anything pool and water and she's happy. I was disappointed with the food in MDR. IMO felt like it was like average to fair food served at a wedding hall. Preferred Cabanas and Flo's. The service DCL provides is excellent. We did have a good time, however we probably won't be taking another cruise.

 

[rosaciri]

family of 4. DW, DS7 and DD11.
Stops were Tortola - we did baths through Patouche..it was amzing but lots of effort climbing
ST. Thomas - Zip Line direct book with Zip Line Extreme so DS could do it, he is 7 and Disney cut off is 8. it was great. Also did the Tram ride up and down.
Castaway was the best weather ever in 5 cruises. 80 and sunny. Water was great.

Whole ship was great. Pools were awesome. Shows were good. Guests performers were funny.

Movies on board:
Zootopia
Star Wars
Bridge of Spies
Good Dinasour
(Hmmm..i'm missing one..but wasn't anything major)

Food was great every night. Did MDR ever night.

Any questions. We stayed in 8520.

Gald you enjoyed your cruise. Did you complete Eastern Cruise. We did Western in 2014 and are now in the process of booking Eastern fpr April 2017. Would luv to read a trip report - please let me know if you do one. Cheers

 

[scgustafson]

Who were the Cruise Staff team members, Cruise Director, and Captain?

 

[Joel0917]

Darren was CD and Tom was Commodore

 

[ThatCOprep]

We were on same cruise. It was our first Disney cruise. We splurged and sailed concierge. Couple big milestones celebrated. Weather was very nice and cooperated except that one short period of rain. Been to St. Thomas years ago, many times. Changed a lot. Didn't care for Tortola. Best stop for us was Castaway Cay. Thought pools were very crowded and small but expected that. Daughter loved pools, Aquaduck, Aqualab, slides...anything pool and water and she's happy. I was disappointed with the food in MDR. IMO felt like it was like average to fair food served at a wedding hall. Preferred Cabanas and Flo's. The service DCL provides is excellent. We did have a good time, however we probably won't be taking another cruise.

Who were the concierge hosts?

 

[stacecakes]

We are slated to tour with patouche on our fantasy trip next week! Our trip is supposed to be cooper island in the AM and baths in the afternoon, I think. Is this what you did?
Can you give me more details on your day with them, either here or via PM? I booked the excursion based on positive comments here on the DIS but there hasn't been a lot of detail offered. Things I'm wondering:
- where was the strenuous climb? trough the rocks near the water at the baths? climbing up to the restaurant at the top? elsewhere?
- How was the food at the Cooper island lunch stop? Pricey? Worth it? (DH dislikes paying extra to eat on excursions since there's so much prepaid food waiting on the boat- so hoping for something tempting/ good value)
- When the boat anchors offshore, at baths/ Cooper, I'm assuming we are jumping in and swimming/snorkeling our way to the beach. Is there a way to convey our stuff there so it will stay dry (coverups/ hat/ cash/camera)? I can pack a small dry bag for the essentials but would like my kids to have something to throw on over their suits for some sun protection.
- if you're willing to share- did you tip your captain? were there any other staff onboard to tip? And if so, how much? I'm good with tipping in my day to day life (waiters, porters, hairdresser, etc) but I'm not so clear on guidelines for this type of thing.
- any other hints you'd want to give for me in my last minute packing and planning?

 

[Joel0917]

Sure..glad you asked. i'll give you the run down and then advice:
we met off the boat. he has a couple charters that go out. one meets at the dock and goes out. the other group meets at a taxi and goes out. the taxi is additional money...but the boat is more a sail and more relaxing versus all power.
We then went to cooper island. This was great. you get snorkle gear and have the option to snorkle. Joe told us about following a rock formation and go out as adults to snorkle. not worth it. the walk is long and slippery. just snorkle at the first sight he points out where the underwater camera is (you willsnorkle at the baths too and much better coral there)
the bar at cooper ilsand is great..buy a painkiller.
for our kids we brought bagles and cream cheese and they ate that for lunch. my wife and i each ordered..but the poritons were huge. i had the largest fish and chips i ever had and it was so good. i hate paying to. but since we dock at their dock, i guess it is "expected'. so just order something for you and share with kids or bring something from the disney buffet.
we then head to the baths. this is tricky. yes you can swim into the baths..but if you want to go "in" the baths and see the cathedral formation...bring water shoes and just walk in/climb in and climb out. once you get to the "cathedral" there is apath that goes back to a different parking lot and you can talk a longer walk back to the main beach joe drops you off at. Joe told us to climb into the baths and snorkle out. it was beautiful. but SO DIFFICULT to walk in bare feet. i asked about water shoes and he said no. but we shoulda brought them. instead i was carrying 4 sets of snorkle flippers walking across narrow bridges, rope supports and slippery rocks. so my advice is take water shoes. swim to shore. leave all your snorkle stuff and towel at the beach. climb into the baths. get to the cathedral..then follow the path out behind in the sand and take a longer walk back along the sand/shore...but not in the baths by the parking lot. or climb back..up to you..
if i could do again. i would totally relax at cooper island..don't snorkle...or only snorkle fora few minutes..cause the Baths snorkeling was so much better.
in terms of the boat...i brought a back pack..you will be fine to pack cover ups and such. plenty of room to store. you can ride on deck or below. we kept everything below and it stayed dry. you only get wet if you sit way up front from a few splashes..but it was fun.

as far as keeping stuff dry as you snorkel to the beach..can't. no need really. the kids can play in the rocks there are some fun hiding spots right there they will enjoy. i bought a camera underwater proof bag and kept my sunglasses and camera in that so we could snorkle but take it out for the baths photos. so invest in one of those.
Joe was short that day...and ran the boat himself. i did tip him $30 total. he also waived our taxi fee. i have a boat so i helped joe with ropes and docking and tying off the anchor. i always try and tip on excursions. usually $10 or $20. so if there are two crewman i would tip each like $10 for the family. but since joe took care of our taxi to (which woulda been $60) i guess he didn't convey the taxi cost to everyone..so i gave him $30.

i would reach out to Joe and ask him which boat you are on. Try and be on with JOe as captain. he goes out of his way. but he's not a guide really for snorkeling or in the baths. you are really on your own. he stays with the boat.

Coopers island restaurant/bar does accept credit card..so don't worry about cash for that

 

[Joel0917]

Who were the concierge hosts?

amanda, pj and i forget who else that i saw.

 

[ThatCOprep]

amanda, pj and i forget who else that i saw.

Thank you very much. Anyone know who the third person is?

Did you happen to get the bar tender in the lounges name?

 

[frenigirl]

Finest Hours is the movie that you missed! Very cool to watch a movie about a boat/bad weather while on a SHIP in safe waters.

I agree with the food comment. The food is average. Very over worked. At least one of the folks at our table ordered the steak and baked pototo every night. The Bingo guy "Dollar Deano" was very entertaining. The Atrium evening music entertainers the "Fine Whines" were very good as well. The characters this time around seemed more interactive with passengers. Pluto acted like a dog for example. All in all, a wonderful trip.

 

[scgustafson]

Finest Hours is the movie that you missed! Very cool to watch a movie about a boat/bad weather while on a SHIP in safe waters.

I agree with the food comment. The food is average. Very over worked. At least one of the folks at our table ordered the steak and baked pototo every night. The Bingo guy "Dollar Deano" was very entertaining. The Atrium evening music entertainers the "Fine Whines" were very good as well. The characters this time around seemed more interactive with passengers. Pluto acted like a dog for example. All in all, a wonderful trip.

Do you remember any of the other Cruise Staff team members besides Dollar Deano? My daughter loves the way the he says 3 as "tree". Also, had Dollar Deano restarted his duck collection that he keeps on Bingo Betty?

 

[leidig32]

how did your 7 year old do walking the bridge for the zip line? How many bridges were there? I seen photos and looks scary
Thanks!

 

[frenigirl]

Do you remember any of the other Cruise Staff team members besides Dollar Deano? My daughter loves the way the he says 3 as "tree". Also, had Dollar Deano restarted his duck collection that he keeps on Bingo Betty?

There was a Julia, an Alexis, and two or three more. Loved when B11 was called--they all danced. My 11yo DS and I play Bingo only while cruising which isn't very often. Deano does have at least three ducks on the Betty! My DS kept track of the bad jokes so he can use them at his school class--not so talented show--hey, did you hear the joke about the broken pencil? No, that's ok. It was pointless. And our family favorite: Survey says 6 out of 7 dwarves are not Happy.

Deano just kept the jokes coming....

 

[wjs3]

Sorry to disagree...

The CC weather was INCREDIBLE. The weather while on Tortola was awesome too.

I was pretty peeved with the potential late arrival to CC that sort of happened/sort of didn't. I had been burned twice before on missed/late arrivals on CC. My morning excursion got delayed/shortened but thankfully not cancelled. Wasn't the weather (allegedly) at fault for that late arrival?

Also, the Aquaduck was closed for most of the first two days of the cruise, allegedly due to high winds...the same high winds that it opened in, later, it appeared to me. I'm wondering if it wasn't a maintenance issue as we saw workers in the "tube" where it exited the forward funnel on day 1.

And, while the weather was perfect when you were on the 1,000 ft plus cruse ship...our excursion in St Thomas on the "Pirate Ship" from port to Buck Island was one heck of an adventure due to the size of the waves and technical problems. Friendly reminder...difficult to follow when not feeling well...but please TRY to be seasick on the DOWNWIND side of the boat??? Please???

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

family of 4. DW, DS7 and DD11.
Stops were Tortola - we did baths through Patouche..it was amzing but lots of effort climbing
ST. Thomas - Zip Line direct book with Zip Line Extreme so DS could do it, he is 7 and Disney cut off is 8. it was great. Also did the Tram ride up and down.
Castaway was the best weather ever in 5 cruises. 80 and sunny. Water was great.

Whole ship was great. Pools were awesome. Shows were good. Guests performers were funny.

Movies on board:
Zootopia
Star Wars
Bridge of Spies
Good Dinasour
(Hmmm..i'm missing one..but wasn't anything major)

Food was great every night. Did MDR ever night.

Any questions. We stayed in 8520.

We're a month behind you, on the Western Caribbean. Did you have John Charles as an entertainer? I think he's on the Fantasy right now on the Western Caribbean.

 

[crafty91]

Yes we had John Charles...fantastic!!

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

Yes we had John Charles...fantastic!!

Agreed 100%! We've seen him on the Magic, Fantasy and Wonder (in Alaska). I never get tired of his show and he's always adding new stuff.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

Who were the concierge hosts?

It was PJ, Amanda and Chris. But Chris left the first or second day (family emergency?) then Selena filled in. Bartender was Tabatha.

 

[ThatCOprep]

It was PJ, Amanda and Chris. But Chris left the first or second day (family emergency?) then Selena filled in. Bartender was Tabatha.

Thank you very much.