I want to thank the people on these boards so much for all the help and advice I was given before going on the Fantasy last week. We had an amazing time. It was just me and my 3 yr. Old on the cruise and it was my daughters first cruise and my first Disney cruise in almost 20 years. Here are some thoughts I had in case this helps anyone else:
- Transportation from Disney hotel to DCL by Disney shuttle was so convenient! I loved that they took all our luggage (including a backpack and stroller) and transported it from our room to the ship. We got to port early and had to wait awhile to board but we’re on board before noon.
- I found once on board, I was a bit confused on what to do or where to go. Idk why since I knew we should go eat but I felt lost for a few moments and then walked into cabanas the back way, which made me even more loss.
- The servers at the restaurants were very nice but I found the food too “fancy” for me since I’m a very plain/simple eater. I eat like a toddler lol. and I didn’t think the steak they had every night was good quality. I also thought dinners took way too long for a 3 yr. Old but our servers were great and realized I was trying to do dinner quickly so my kid didn’t disturb others when she got cranky and they always took our order right way and we would get our dinners basically before anyone else. So that was nice.
- I thought the Royal tea was a waste of money. The gifts that I had seen given in the past weren’t given this time. My kid did not get the nice Cinderella doll or a crown. She got the Barbie Cinderella that you could buy in the gift shop and Mickey ear headband you could buy in the gift shop. The character interaction was also minimal. I would not pay for this again.
- The character interaction around the ship was amazing! I wish they had a bit more variety in princesses but I loved how personal the characters were with interactions. My daughter saw all the characters multiple times and the ones that talked greeted her by name and the others would act out that they remembered her. She went on many walks with characters and was treated so amazing. I was in tears the last night watching her give last hugs to the characters cause they were just such warm and welcoming hugs and she was so sad to be leaving them. We went to MK the day we got off the cruise and I didn’t take her to see any characters cause I didn’t want her to wonder why Cinderella didn’t catch her when she ran into her arms, call her by name, walk around with her, or let her sit on her lap lol.
- BBB the princess make over was awesome. My daughter looked adorable. We also bought separately the captain Mickey costume (DD wanted that over the Minnie one)
- I thought pirate make over at BBB was over priced for what it was. I believe it was $100 and they put eyeliner around my daughters eye and a scar on her face. She also got a vest, a belt, a plastic sword, a bandana, and a paper with a fake pirate name and oath. We already had a costume so went for the make up and part and think next time, I’ll do her makeup myself, it looked great just wish i didn’t have to pay for the costume pieces too cause we didn’t need them. We did get a shoulder parrot too and, while DD won’t wear him on her shoulder, she has been sleeping every night with it. So that’s cool.
- Halloween on the high seas seemed more like an after thought than an event. I would not book a cruise specifically for that. We did buy the Halloween package for the room. I loved the blanket that it came with. It is so soft and warm! It is a pricey package but the blanket alone made it worth it and the pillow is cute too. It’s a big pumpkin pillow. We have the blanket on my daughters toddler bed as a comforter right now! I like that it was DCL and Halloween specific so a great souvenir to remember the trip. The banners we brought home too and put in my daughters play room.
- The photographers on the ship were great. Since DD is 3, her temperament for photos one moment is great and the next not. They were patient with her and also knew her by name. I thought the photo package was expensive but we got just about 400 photos (I think it was 394 when I looked last) so it ended up being a great value. We did not go looking for photo opportunities but did a lot of character interactions and would do some photos around dinner time when lines were low.
- Our cruise was not nearly full. I heard between 2300 and 2500 passengers with only 500 of those being kids. The only areas that I saw packed was the adult pool (we did not do any trivia or bingo). The kids pool never seemed very crowded and my kid loved all the smaller splash pools around the ship and those were almost always empty.
- My kid went to kids club 3 different times for about 45 minutes to an hour each time. The first night she loved the kids club but after that she didn’t like it. I was expecting more from the kids club but didn’t think it was that great either from what I saw. One day DD wanted to go to kids club but when we got there everyone said hi and so she got shy and scared to go in and wouldn’t let go of me. The counselors just kind of ignored her then and didn’t help try to make her feel comfortable. The few times she did go in, they basically told her to go wash her hands and the just to go on in. Since she was 3, she just seemed lost on what to do (we purposely went when they had activities she wanted to do so we’d get there a bit early before those). I was hoping my 3 yr old would enjoy them more (would have loved to send her during dinner time) but she preferred to be by me and that was fine too! We had a blast together.
- Between swimming, character interactions, taking pictures, dinner, and shows, we felt we had more than enough to keep us busy. There were other things I wanted to do like the family crafts but we just never made it there.
- Castaway cay was amazing. My kid spent the whole day swimming and having fun on the beach
- I thought merchandise selection was terrible. There was really nothing for a toddler clothes wise (I bought her a few things that will be too big) and really not much for unique DCL toys for her to pick out. I couldn’t believe there wasn’t a Mickey/minnie DCL plush or something. The only thing she picked out one small toy of the bus we used to get to DCL and a small ship (they came in a package together). Castaway cay merchandise was even more limited. I was just hoping for more DCL and/or Fantasy specific merchandise.
However, now they can pick out their activities and navigate the kids club and hang out all day.
