Just off the Fantasy

[scootch]

I was on the fantasy the week prior(eastern) and don't recall any broken windows in Cabana's.

The netting at CC was broken and we had some fish and even a stingray swimming by. Not sure if they got that fixed or not ???

 

[gomagic]

I was on the fantasy the week prior(eastern) and don't recall any broken windows in Cabana's.

The netting at CC was broken and we had some fish and even a stingray swimming by. Not sure if they got that fixed or not ???

The broken windows are in the back of Cabanas. The first time we noticed them was when we walked all the way through from one entrance to the other.

 

[gomagic]

we just got off too...only noticed the broken glass at Cabanas. Everything seemed fine but we did noticed some excursions at CC cancelled specifically b/c of the hurracaine. waters were quite choppy on a couple of nites and hubby had trouble adjusting to the rough waters....

Hmm, I guess we didn't feel the waves were that bad. We have def had worse on other cruises. We turned on the tv and saw the waves were only 8 foot. We have sailed when the waves were 18 foot and never had any trouble.

What excursions were cancelled?

We just got off Saturday too. Actually this was one of our smoothest cruises ever wave wise, nothing that we would consider rough by any means. I too wonder which excursions were cancelled at Castaway because when we got off the sign said all excursions were running.

 

[sue]

I was on the fantasy the week prior(eastern) and don't recall any broken windows in Cabana's.

Yep, there was still 2 large panes of glass that are shattered. They were in the area near a door way that came out of Cabanas. You had to walk about half way around until you reached that area. I only noticed it because we sat right next to it.

The netting at CC was broken and we had some fish and even a stingray swimming by. Not sure if they got that fixed or not ???

My daughter did the stingrays and I never noticed any of the rays swimming outside the netted off area, so they may have already fixed that.

 

[scootch]

My daughter did the stingrays and I never noticed any of the rays swimming outside the netted off area, so they may have already fixed that.

There was one over by the monkey bar landing thing on the family beach(i am sure it has a name, lol). Thankfully I was the only one in the water as the dozen of kids on the monkey bar platform were all going crazy, lol.... and I just stayed nice and calm. He hung out there for awhile, I was able to get up on the platform and get a good picture of him.

 

[scootch]

The broken windows are in the back of Cabanas. The first time we noticed them was when we walked all the way through from one entrance to the other.

hmmm... we even sat outside there.. ??? guess I was oblivious, just enjoying the fresh air and view.

 

[woody73]

Who's the cruise director on the Fantasy?

Woody

 

[utfisher72]

The seahorse snorkel was cancelled at Castaway Cay. When I asked about it, I was told that Sandy destroyed the reef, so that excursion was not going to be available for a while. We just snorkeled in the lagoon for about 2.5 to 3 hours and had a blast. FYI, the water was just great, but then again I am from Utah and it snowed while we were gone.

We also had the Fury Catamaran scheduled in Cozumel, it was cancelled due to the rainstorm and waves.

 

[Ariel224]

Who's the cruise director on the Fantasy?

Woody

Ray

 

[Ariel224]

hmmm... we even sat outside there.. ??? guess I was oblivious, just enjoying the fresh air and view.

It was one of those things where if you might think it was supposed to be that way if you weren't specifically looking for it. The glass is sandwiched, so it shatters with impact, but the pieces stay together instead of falling all over the place. What you end up with is kind of like a mosaic pattern throughout the pane, which is kind of pretty from a distance. We also noticed one of the windows in the very back of Meridian behind the bar was broken in this way. It wasn't visible unless you were outside on deck.

DH talked with some people who had been assigned a different stateroom at check in due to storm damage in the room they were originally assigned to. Other than that, the ship looked amazing.

 

[HarrisFamily4]

DH and DS went on their X-rail excursion to Jade Caverns as scheduled. Came back covered head to toe in mud.

What was the review of this? I really want to go with my son, but want to make sure it's worth it vs a beach day

 

[schneider21]

DH talked with some people who had been assigned a different stateroom at check in due to storm damage in the room they were originally assigned to. Other than that, the ship looked amazing.

Any idea what (or where) that room was?

 

[schneider21]

Not sure how to post the navigators, but I can answer questions about what's on them if you like.

The easiest way is to simply take a picture with your phone and attach it to a post

 

[jillgunter]

There was a stingray swimming around the water on the beach that is before the family beach. This one has a climbing structure. Anyway he came in very shallow water, and just swam around for a while.

Waters were a little choppy beginning of cruise, and then totally smooth. The ship was really going fast and you could see huge waves from it. But nice and smooth!

 

[Ariel224]

What was the review of this? I really want to go with my son, but want to make sure it's worth it vs a beach day

I'm going to let my DH give a review here........

Hi, I'm the DH. First off, let me preface my description with a bit of personal history. I grew up in the high desert riding motorcycles and driving dune buggies and 4 wheel drives so as far as the off road experience the X-Buggy excursion provided, it was, well, comparatively tame. Many people there were completely freaked out by it though because they had never done anything even similar. The X-Buggies had obviously been up and down the trail many times before and were showing, um, signs of wear. The steering is not power assisted. You really need to put the muscle to the steering wheel to get the buggy to do what you want and avoid the trees. Two buggies in our 28 person tour (split into two groups) actually lost a front wheel. No worries though as we really weren't going very fast. There was a guide at the front and one bringing up the rear of both groups controlling the speed and dealing with lost front wheels.

The road was quite rough and bumpy with a few puddles here and there. The jungle (yes, real jungle) there is a thin layer of top soil over what appears to be sheets of rock that make up the island and keep it from eroding away from the wave action. I say this because the first stop on the outing was at a place called Aaktun Balam, a Mayan sort of a hurricane shelter. It has an intriguing entrance that was a small hole in the ground with a stairway leading down into it and a sign over it.

The cave is really interesting and kind of deceptive since the whole back side of the cave was open. The cave looked as though it had been dug out under a massive slab of stone that formed the roof. Outside, the roof of the cave was as densely vegetated as anywhere in the jungle.

Next, we bumped and jostled our way to the spectacular Jade Cavern, so named for the color of the water. It has a rickety stairway of maybe thirty or so steps and a boardwalk at the waters edge. Swimming was allowed with a life vest though I didn't do it because of the smell. I did speak to another guy in the other group who said he was led around to the side where he dove in head first off of a cliff into the part of the pool that is 64 feet deep.

We then headed back with a pass over a hump where the buggy almost jumped and a plunge in the mud hole near the end of the ride where we were told to gas it full throttle. We got a little muddy and so did a few others but the less brave went through slowly after seeing how we looked. Our heads were shielded from the mud for the most part by helmets and goggles. If you take a camera with you be sure it's well protected, especially if you do the mud splash. Ours survived well in its belt pouch with my shirt over it.

Overall, it was pretty fun and I'd say worth the money. Our boy LOVED it!

Ok, this is Ariel again. I made sure they both took old clothes and shoes that could be thrown away after the excursion. It was a good call; the mud is very sticky and silty, and hard to rinse off. DS showered, and I had to send him back for a second round to scrub hard with a washcloth. They kept their bandanas (sold for $2 each by the tour operator), and two days later, they are still soaking in my laundry sink.

Any idea what (or where) that room was?

No, those specifics didn't come up.

 

[lilpooh108]

Did you do any of the cooking demos or other activities? Tastings? How did you like those?

Any general tips?

Did you take Disney transportation to/from the port?

My parents are on the 11/24 and I'm trying to prepare them as best as I can!

 

[jessrose18]

ariel what operator did you end up going with on grand cayman? and did you enjoy stingray city? we booked stingray sailings leaving in 2 weeks!

 

[Ariel224]

Jennrose, we were originally booked with Moby Dick. When I messed up the times, as I told you about in another thread, and we missed the departure, we literally walked up to another counter and they had a bus leaving right that second. The lady hustled us over as I was signing the waiver and DH was pulling payment out of his pocket. I couldn't tell you the name now of the company.

We did have a very nice time. I knew from tripadvisor reviews that it wasn't as good as Moby Dick would have been, but my DH, who didn't have that frame of reference, LOVED it. And we saved $70, so I really can't complain at all.

A guy I work with went with Stingray Sailings in August. Their catamaran is gorgeous, and he highly recommended them. Had I not already had the Moby Dick reservation at that point, I would have booked with them. I don't think you will be disappointed.

 

[jennyjinx3]

We are also just off the Fantasy. I didnt notice any damage. Everything looked great. I will say I did notice a lot of noise when the sea's were a little choppy. The railing outside our veranda was making a lot of noise, and other little creaks here and there. Dont know if that was like that before. We really enjoyed our cruise and loved our room (7540).

We did notice a lot of the plants were dead on CC. Hope they perk up. The leaves were all brown on a lot of the plants and palm tree's. Weather was perfect tho. Water was chilly at CC! My daughter didnt seem to mind. I just got a little chair and sat with my legs in the water. DH would not go in!

All excursions seemed to be up fine. We did the Island and Turtle Farm on GC, Mayan Ruins on CM, and the kids dolphin at Cozumel. They were all great. Really enjoyed the Ruins, we had such a great tour guide, he was a older guy. The weather was really nice the whole trip. In mexico. as long as you were in shade, it was really nice.

You will have a great time!

WOuld you be able to describe the Mayan Ruins excursion? Thanks!

 

[shannieboo27]

Whats the air temp like on deck at night?