Napoleon Dynamite
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2005
My two kids and I (11 and 19) had such a great time on the Fantasy! This was our 6th cruise, but first 7 night and first on the Fantasy! We booked this cruise 3 weeks out at a VGT rate, which was a HUGE savings!! HUGE! We ended up in an awesome 4a room. If you had read my previous comments, I was very reluctant on staying in a verandah room, since we usually have a port hole. I was going to ask to downgrade at the port! But, we didn't, and ended up loving our room! The space was HUGE for my 2 kids and myself. Loved the rainshower! We were Deck 9 aft, but closer to mid ship, and I was worried about motion sickness up high, but it wasn't bad at all (took my bonine and seas were calm). Loved having the verandah after my hesitation wore off! My biggest complaint was the vibrations we felt all over from the D Lounge back, including in our room. We were shaking! It was only bad on Day 5 evening up until the morning of Castaway. No issue from Castaway back to FL. I'm guessing it vibrates SO BAD when they go fast. I wouldn't stay in aft again for that reason. Hard to sleep on a vibrating bed! Never experienced anything like that on the Dream or Wonder, but we have also never sailed that far into the Caribbean.
We had the shows two nights format, and it wasn't bad. I liked that we had a "free night" to do whatever. All of the comedy acts, etc. were either a matinee or evening. We loved the shows! Especially Wishes! Pirate night was crazy crowded, we had to stand in the shower to watch (an officer waved us into that spot), accidentally bumped the "on" button, and well, that was fun, and funny to my kids! ha!
We only ate in the MDR 3 nights at late seating, did 3 nights table service at Cabanas (which was GREAT! and FAST)and the last night to avoid the comment card pressure nonsense, we just ate quick food. I had requested a private table, like I always do. It wasn't granted, which I never thought would happen, and our first night at dinner was SO uncomfortable. My son is a teenager with Autism, and is VERY anxious around strangers. It was the worst dinner ever. We couldn't wait to get out of there. I did end up politely expressing my concerns and they assigned us a private table for the rest of the cruise.
Our stateroom host, David, was AWESOME!! Our room was immaculate, he would wind and Velcro my charging cords multiple times a day, straighten our shoes, and he was always so nice to my kids! My son has Autism and is shy, and David really made it a point to say hi to him, high five him, etc. We really loved him!
We did not book any excursions through DCL. We rented a taxi on St. Maarten for $5 each and went to Divi Little Bay Resort. It was so inexpensive, and there were like 10 families total. It was so peaceful, beautiful and we had a blast! The water had small waves, and was just gorgeous! They had tubes to buy ($5 each and they blow them up), along with noodles, etc. Jet Ski rentals, boat rides, snorkel trips. We paid $15 for 2 chairs and an umbrella, used their free wifi, and got snacks in their deli which was dirt cheap. We could see the boat from the other side of their property. It was SO nice! I would actually consider going back there for a vacation!
At St. Thomas, we took a shared taxi to Magen's Bay for $8 each person each way. They drive like absolute maniacs and our van didn't have seatbelts. The hills are winding, steep, sharp turns, holy cow were were scared, and we are used to NYC driving! Once we arrived at Magen's, he dropped us at the main stretch by concessions. We knew the cruise folks would end up there in the chairs that were marked reserved, so we walked to the very far end of the beach. No umbrellas or chairs, but they had picnic tables under the trees, minimal shade. We stayed there for hours and only a few other families were there. It was lifeguarded, and they sold noodles and floats (floats you have to blow up yourself, and noodles were $8 EACH...my kids came back with a buck change, and 3 noodles..dollar store type...I was floored lol). The water was gorgeous, snorkeling my DD didn't see much. We saw a sea turtle poke his head out far out. Later in the day we went down to the DCL excursion part (main part of beach). It was very rocky with coral and crowded! We didn't stay long, then got in a taxi that was waiting and went back to the port! It was a nice day, but we much preferred our day at St. Maarten!
Castaway was gorgeous as usual! My daughter saw 2 sea turtles snorkeling, she loved it! We put her in the kids club for an hour or so and hopped on the tram to Serenity Bay. We have been to CC 6 times, but never to the adult beach. Was nice!!! Also rented a water trike...hard to pedal for my kids! Windy and current was strong!! We stayed all day, left when they said they were closing down! I will say, I was annoyed that the lifeguards were throwing the trays of food people have left behind onto the sand right in front of our spot. I was NOT happy with 40 seagulls diving for food right in front of where I was sitting. I was actually disgusted by that! I get that they probably have someone who drives by and picks up all the trays from the sand, and it's easier to throw them all out front, but they shouldn't throw them where people are sitting! There were minimal people on the beach at this point, so plenty of other spots to throw them! This was going on at least an hour before all aboard time, so gross!
All in all, we LOVED the Fantasy, and can't wait to do another 7 night! Our weather was perfect, everyone was friendly, my kids had a blast, and we made a ton of memories! If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
Oh, and PS, we arrived at the port super early! Like WAY early, I always like to leave time in case something happens, flat tire, etc., and I'm traveling solo with my kids. So we always get there at like 9am. Of course our PAT is tied to our boarding number, and booking late, we had a noon spot. So our boarding number was like 15 or 16, I forget. Well, we were standing around when they were up to group 3, a cast member said we looked so cute, how many people do we have, and opened up the rope on the side and let us on! That made our day!
We had the shows two nights format, and it wasn't bad. I liked that we had a "free night" to do whatever. All of the comedy acts, etc. were either a matinee or evening. We loved the shows! Especially Wishes! Pirate night was crazy crowded, we had to stand in the shower to watch (an officer waved us into that spot), accidentally bumped the "on" button, and well, that was fun, and funny to my kids! ha!
We only ate in the MDR 3 nights at late seating, did 3 nights table service at Cabanas (which was GREAT! and FAST)and the last night to avoid the comment card pressure nonsense, we just ate quick food. I had requested a private table, like I always do. It wasn't granted, which I never thought would happen, and our first night at dinner was SO uncomfortable. My son is a teenager with Autism, and is VERY anxious around strangers. It was the worst dinner ever. We couldn't wait to get out of there. I did end up politely expressing my concerns and they assigned us a private table for the rest of the cruise.
Our stateroom host, David, was AWESOME!! Our room was immaculate, he would wind and Velcro my charging cords multiple times a day, straighten our shoes, and he was always so nice to my kids! My son has Autism and is shy, and David really made it a point to say hi to him, high five him, etc. We really loved him!
We did not book any excursions through DCL. We rented a taxi on St. Maarten for $5 each and went to Divi Little Bay Resort. It was so inexpensive, and there were like 10 families total. It was so peaceful, beautiful and we had a blast! The water had small waves, and was just gorgeous! They had tubes to buy ($5 each and they blow them up), along with noodles, etc. Jet Ski rentals, boat rides, snorkel trips. We paid $15 for 2 chairs and an umbrella, used their free wifi, and got snacks in their deli which was dirt cheap. We could see the boat from the other side of their property. It was SO nice! I would actually consider going back there for a vacation!
At St. Thomas, we took a shared taxi to Magen's Bay for $8 each person each way. They drive like absolute maniacs and our van didn't have seatbelts. The hills are winding, steep, sharp turns, holy cow were were scared, and we are used to NYC driving! Once we arrived at Magen's, he dropped us at the main stretch by concessions. We knew the cruise folks would end up there in the chairs that were marked reserved, so we walked to the very far end of the beach. No umbrellas or chairs, but they had picnic tables under the trees, minimal shade. We stayed there for hours and only a few other families were there. It was lifeguarded, and they sold noodles and floats (floats you have to blow up yourself, and noodles were $8 EACH...my kids came back with a buck change, and 3 noodles..dollar store type...I was floored lol). The water was gorgeous, snorkeling my DD didn't see much. We saw a sea turtle poke his head out far out. Later in the day we went down to the DCL excursion part (main part of beach). It was very rocky with coral and crowded! We didn't stay long, then got in a taxi that was waiting and went back to the port! It was a nice day, but we much preferred our day at St. Maarten!
Castaway was gorgeous as usual! My daughter saw 2 sea turtles snorkeling, she loved it! We put her in the kids club for an hour or so and hopped on the tram to Serenity Bay. We have been to CC 6 times, but never to the adult beach. Was nice!!! Also rented a water trike...hard to pedal for my kids! Windy and current was strong!! We stayed all day, left when they said they were closing down! I will say, I was annoyed that the lifeguards were throwing the trays of food people have left behind onto the sand right in front of our spot. I was NOT happy with 40 seagulls diving for food right in front of where I was sitting. I was actually disgusted by that! I get that they probably have someone who drives by and picks up all the trays from the sand, and it's easier to throw them all out front, but they shouldn't throw them where people are sitting! There were minimal people on the beach at this point, so plenty of other spots to throw them! This was going on at least an hour before all aboard time, so gross!
All in all, we LOVED the Fantasy, and can't wait to do another 7 night! Our weather was perfect, everyone was friendly, my kids had a blast, and we made a ton of memories! If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
Oh, and PS, we arrived at the port super early! Like WAY early, I always like to leave time in case something happens, flat tire, etc., and I'm traveling solo with my kids. So we always get there at like 9am. Of course our PAT is tied to our boarding number, and booking late, we had a noon spot. So our boarding number was like 15 or 16, I forget. Well, we were standing around when they were up to group 3, a cast member said we looked so cute, how many people do we have, and opened up the rope on the side and let us on! That made our day!
