Just off the Fantasy 7 night EC

[kickash]

We had a wonderful time! It was our first time sailing on the Fantasy and on this particular itinerary. We visited Tortola and we went to the Baths, then onto St Thomas and we went to Magen's Bay, and finally our last stop was Castaway. We sailed around the tropical depression Sat-Mon and winds were 50 mph-crew members were telling us it was a bit dangerous to be playing mini golf with those winds (10 more miles and it would be classified as a category 1 hurricane according to the cast member at the sports simulator!)

We had a bit of pixie dust as we were invited to a private meet and greet with the characters on our last day. There were only 3 families there! It was really quite special and something that we will never forget!

This was our 2nd Disney cruise and we are hooked! I booked a placeholder while on board and we look forward to sailing again within the next 24 months!

If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We had a wonderful time! It was our first time sailing on the Fantasy and on this particular itinerary. We visited Tortola and we went to the Baths, then onto St Thomas and we went to Magen's Bay, and finally our last stop was Castaway. We sailed around the tropical depression Sat-Mon and winds were 50 mph-crew members were telling us it was a bit dangerous to be playing mini golf with those winds (10 more miles and it would be classified as a category 1 hurricane according to the cast member at the sports simulator!)

We had a bit of pixie dust as we were invited to a private meet and greet with the characters on our last day. There were only 3 families there! It was really quite special and something that we will never forget!

This was our 2nd Disney cruise and we are hooked! I booked a placeholder while on board and we look forward to sailing again within the next 24 months!

If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them!

What was the dining rotation?
What was your PAT and boarding number? What time did they call your boarding number?
Going to the baths, how would you rate the ability risk? I mean for an older person with somewhat limited agility. Is it possible to not have to climb through the rocks to get there?
Did you do any of the ticketed Meet & Greets?

 

[kickash]

Our rotation was RAERAER. Our PAT was 11-11:15 and we were boarding group #7. We were on board around 12 noon so they probably called us around 11:45,50. We registered and then went over to wait in the line to get the kids their wrist bands for the kids club but we ran out of time because they called our number! So we just did that on the ship later.

As for the Baths, there are 2 parts to this excursion (and we did the morning Disney one). Part one isn't too bad- you have to walk 350 yards (3 1/2 football fields) down the mountain to get to the Baths. Foot path was pretty clear but it took about 20 minutes, single file, and it was hot! Once we arrived at the Baths, we had about 20-30 minutes to swim and explore. Then at 11 am, we met our tour guides at the entrance to the caves to head over to Devil's Bay. You do NOT have to do this part and some stayed at the Baths the entire time and took that same path back up. The caves to Devil's Bay are TREACHEROUS. You must be in pretty good physical condition to get through them. You have to crouch completely down with knees at your chest at some parts and if you are at all claustrophobic, I would not recommend it. You also have to use rope to hoist yourself up and down a very slippery boulder and there are a few staircase/ladders that you have to navigate as well. A woman fell pretty hard right in front of us (slipped on a rock) and another woman from my FB group reported that she sprained her ankle. We were all ok but it was dicey in parts. However, the pay off at Devil's Bay was pretty awesome! Our tour guide kinda left us at one point in the caves and so we were on our own and once at Devil's Bay, we had about 20 minutes to swim and explore. Then we hiked back up a different path to our meeting spot. That path was pretty easy, but again took us 20 minutes.

 

[kickash]

I forgot to mention the 40 min ferry ride over to Virgin Gorda. It was loud but uneventful both ways.

 

[kickash]

Here are some pics:

 

[AquaDame]

That sounds like a lovely holiday! Congrats on being picked for the private meet and greet!

 

[kickash]

Ok it says that my photos are too large...any ideas?

 

[scgustafson]

Who were the Cruise Staff team members?

 

[kickash]

I cannot get the photos to upload at all.

 

[kickash]

Who were the Cruise Staff team members?

Do you mean cruise director? Natalie was the director and then as head team members that did the activities on deck and got us settled for our excursions we had Joshie and Melanie/Mallory/Melody...?? Short hair and spunky and British? I can't remember who all was at the Sail Away party.

 

[Weedy]

Ok it says that my photos are too large...any ideas?

Email the photos to yourself and send this as small as possible then upload those.
Or if you are doing it on your iPhone take a picture of the picture and post that.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Ok it says that my photos are too large...any ideas?

To post photos the photos must be smaller than 1MB (each). I use Paint to resize my pictures, but Window Photo Gallery also has the option to resize.

 

[scgustafson]

Do you mean cruise director? Natalie was the director and then as head team members that did the activities on deck and got us settled for our excursions we had Joshie and Melanie/Mallory/Melody...?? Short hair and spunky and British? I can't remember who all was at the Sail Away party, it was very hectic between my daughter crying and the son wanting to wave goodbye and not watch the show lol

The Cruise Staff team members work for the Cruise Director running the onboard family and adult activities, like trivia, dance parties, karaoke, bingo, etc. They often are wearing red and blue striped shirts, and yes, Joshiie and whomever the short-haired spunky Brit was, are Cruise Staff team members.

 

[kickash]

Here are some pics: first two are the hike to the Baths and the beach at the Baths.

 

[kickash]

[View attachment 186890 View attachment 186891 Here is the entrance to the caves and some inside the caves. The one is blurry but that's ok bc at least it gives you an idea of the size of the boulders. Beach at Devil's Bay are also attached.

 

[kickash]

What was the dining rotation?
What was your PAT and boarding number? What time did they call your boarding number?
Going to the baths, how would you rate the ability risk? I mean for an older person with somewhat limited agility. Is it possible to not have to climb through the rocks to get there?
Did you do any of the ticketed Meet & Greets?

I forgot to answer about the ticketed meet and greets. Last year we did the Frozen sisters and the multi princess one. This year we did the Disney Jr character breakfast. So much easier to book the tickets online ahead of time! It was like Hollywood and Vine at the Studios but in Animator's Palete and you ordered from a menu. Our time was 9:45 and were done by 10:30.

 

[kickash]

That sounds like a lovely holiday! Congrats on being picked for the private meet and greet!

It was incredibly special and something we will never forget! It was right before the See Ya Real Soon show in the atrium.

 

[Starwind]

Sounds like you had a great time !!

What kind of footwear do you recommend for the Baths excursion ? Both for the two walking paths, and for the caves (two different kinds if that is best?) ?

SW

 

[kickash]

Sounds like you had a great time !!

What kind of footwear do you recommend for the Baths excursion ? Both for the two walking paths, and for the caves (two different kinds if that is best?) ?

SW

It was awesome, thanks! We wore water shoes/sandals from Lands End. The tour guides even went over footwear before we started, saying no flip flops and the best things are water shoes or bare feet. No way I would have done either part with bare feet, especially not the paths down and up because of cactus needles. We did not change shoes, just took them off when we went in the water and on the beach. Also, I forgot to mention that if you do the 2nd part to Devil's Bay, you have to take all of your things with you, so don't bring a lot of bags.

 

[Starwind]

It was awesome, thanks! We wore water shoes/sandals from Lands End. The tour guides even went over footwear before we started, saying no flip flops and the best things are water shoes or bare feet. No way I would have done either part with bare feet, especially not the paths down and up because of cactus needles. We did not change shoes, just took them off when we went in the water and on the beach. Also, I forgot to mention that if you do the 2nd part to Devil's Bay, you have to take all of your things with you, so don't bring a lot of bags.

We have slip-on water shoes (http://www.speedousa.com/womens-surfwalker-pro-20-water-shoes/style-7493166) but were wondering if water-shoes of a sandal style (e.g. Keene, Lands End, LL Bean, etc) might be a better/safer option. 'Course we could just bring both

Good to know about the cactus needles, thanks.

SW