May 5, 2012 Fantasy
- Thread starter Bareacuda
- Start date
ukintheus
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2009
- Messages
- 2,320
Hi there and welcome! I always love it as the boards get more and more active with new people - it means our cruise is getting closer and closer!! 
Yes, Kristie () is organizing the FE. You have to have 10 posts or more to send her a PM, but this was her message to someone a couple of weeks ago about it.
You can always just post 9 more times here with random stuff to get to the 10 if you want to send her a PM with your details.
I can't wait to be feeling the breeze with a cold DOTD beverage in my hand as we sail out of Port Canaveral!!
OK, so we'll cut Beth some slack seeing as that was her first ever post!
We are going on the Magic out of Galveston with my Mum and sister towards the end of the year - 1st cruise for my Mum (at 83) and 2nd cruise, but 1st DCL for my sister - I can't wait - it will be so much fun!
I keep checking for Palo brunch, but I'm sure it's an exercise in futility.It's just an excuse to keep logging on and seeing the countdown on the DCL website.
11 weeks today we'll be heading to WDW for a couple of days. It's part of my quest "givedisneyasmuchmoneyasipossiblycan".
Having family will be great. It will be my brother and his wife. My wifes sister her husband and their daughter. Along with my wife and daughter. I cant wait!!!!!
Well, it appears to be totally official that we WILL be on the ship. Penalty day is tomorrow, and we didn't cancel today. The problem--I booked the cruise based on last year's summer college schedule when there was a full week off between spring and summer. OF COURSE, they changed it so DD will only have Monday off. And they eliminated the "first summer session" and "second summer session" thing and replaced it with 3 4 week sessions, 2 6 week sessions, and 2 8 week sessions all running in an overlapping fashion. Bottom line--there is only one class that she needs to pick up during the first few weeks. It meets MWF, so she will miss W and F--I've told her to talk to the prof and see if she can make up the work in advance. There is another class that she could have chosen to take, but not if we go on the cruise. She sent me a message today --DO NOT cancel the cruise.
OH, and the schedule of classes was posted at 5 pm yesterday--actually earlier than we were told to expect it.
SO....now I'm on getting flights, etc. This college stuff is majorly interfering with my vacationing. I really did not want to cancel. We have a day 1 reservation, and the price has increased a lot since we booked. It would cost at least $1000 more for anything I could move this to. WHY can't the university have finalized dates 18-24 months ahead? They do have a "tentative" 9 year calendar, but they changed it!
Enough ranting. I'm just happy to be cruising, seeing the new ship and many old friends. MANY of our CM friends from last summer are on the Fantasy now or will be when we get there. Captain Marco will be on, Nelson is food and beverage manager, Cedomir is dining room manager. I'm totally lost on which servers were moving--many of them didn't know yet. Our favorite Palo server will stay on the Magic. There is a new Palo manager on the Magic, so we are hoping PJ moved to the Fantasy (didn't confirm this with him though!) And we will get the new return cruiser gift. Looking good!!!!
Editing to add answers to questions as I read thru back posts.
To make dining requests (rotation, sitting "just us" or request a specific server) you call your TA if you used one, DCL directly if you didn't use a TA. They are just requests, cannot be guaranteed. After boarding, go to "dining changes" at the location indicated on the Welcome Aboard Navigator that you'll get at check in and ask if you got your request. If not, ask if they can grant it at that time. Location of dining changes is likely to be the D lounge, but this is not a "for sure."
The small refunds usually reflect a change in port charges or government taxes from the time you booked. Since we didn't pay a fuel surcharge, we won't be getting one refunded!
As to scheduling activities around formal night, pirate night, etc....the schedule for the nights has been posted a couple pages back and agrees with what DCL told me. Pirate night is St. Maarten. Formal night is always a sea day, so not too much to worry about there unless you want a spa/hair appointment. I highly recommend Bernard's tours at St. Maarten. There is also a water taxi that will take you to downtown, or that is a totally do-able walk for adults (a bit far for kids). There are some interesting shops. If you are into Star Wars, check out "That Yoda Guy." I understand he has expanded to a sort of museum as well, but it was just his store when we were there.
There is really NO reason to worry about which dining rotation you have. By the end of the week, everyone will have had the same menus and sat in the same restaurants. Some people do like to be in the fanciest restaurant on Formal night or the most tropically themed on pirate night. It's nice when that works out, but I'd much rather have my preferred server or head server than worry about a rotation.. Personal opinion, not meaning to offend anyone.
I'm not doing FE this time, so am only sharing past experiences. About 15 cabins is a perfect group. It is enough to have fun but not so much that you are overwhelmed. If it gets to be more than 20, definitely split into 2 groups of 10-15 each. I've been in FE where we had only 5 cabins--not enough to be fun--and one where we had over 100 cabins on the ship doing FE. Needless to say, we split that. I find more than 15 cabins to be more than I want to take on in terms of cost, delivery time, etc. Sorry to be a non-participant this time. We will be just 2 adults and I have too much else to deal with at this point.
Still responding to older posts. We prefer Eastern--additional sea day is lovely, nicer ports, more adult programming, sometimes special speakers. We prefer doing WDW before the cruise if we have to choose before or after. Advantages of before--lost luggage can catch up with you before cruising, if plane is delayed or whatever, you may miss some WDW time but will not miss the cruise. When DD was young, it was easier to re-enter the "real world" by going home rather than going to WDW where she still expected to be waited on. That said, any time at WDW is better than no time at WDW.
OH, and the schedule of classes was posted at 5 pm yesterday--actually earlier than we were told to expect it.
SO....now I'm on getting flights, etc. This college stuff is majorly interfering with my vacationing. I really did not want to cancel. We have a day 1 reservation, and the price has increased a lot since we booked. It would cost at least $1000 more for anything I could move this to. WHY can't the university have finalized dates 18-24 months ahead? They do have a "tentative" 9 year calendar, but they changed it!
Enough ranting. I'm just happy to be cruising, seeing the new ship and many old friends. MANY of our CM friends from last summer are on the Fantasy now or will be when we get there. Captain Marco will be on, Nelson is food and beverage manager, Cedomir is dining room manager. I'm totally lost on which servers were moving--many of them didn't know yet. Our favorite Palo server will stay on the Magic. There is a new Palo manager on the Magic, so we are hoping PJ moved to the Fantasy (didn't confirm this with him though!) And we will get the new return cruiser gift. Looking good!!!!
Editing to add answers to questions as I read thru back posts.
To make dining requests (rotation, sitting "just us" or request a specific server) you call your TA if you used one, DCL directly if you didn't use a TA. They are just requests, cannot be guaranteed. After boarding, go to "dining changes" at the location indicated on the Welcome Aboard Navigator that you'll get at check in and ask if you got your request. If not, ask if they can grant it at that time. Location of dining changes is likely to be the D lounge, but this is not a "for sure."
The small refunds usually reflect a change in port charges or government taxes from the time you booked. Since we didn't pay a fuel surcharge, we won't be getting one refunded!
As to scheduling activities around formal night, pirate night, etc....the schedule for the nights has been posted a couple pages back and agrees with what DCL told me. Pirate night is St. Maarten. Formal night is always a sea day, so not too much to worry about there unless you want a spa/hair appointment. I highly recommend Bernard's tours at St. Maarten. There is also a water taxi that will take you to downtown, or that is a totally do-able walk for adults (a bit far for kids). There are some interesting shops. If you are into Star Wars, check out "That Yoda Guy." I understand he has expanded to a sort of museum as well, but it was just his store when we were there.
There is really NO reason to worry about which dining rotation you have. By the end of the week, everyone will have had the same menus and sat in the same restaurants. Some people do like to be in the fanciest restaurant on Formal night or the most tropically themed on pirate night. It's nice when that works out, but I'd much rather have my preferred server or head server than worry about a rotation.. Personal opinion, not meaning to offend anyone.
I'm not doing FE this time, so am only sharing past experiences. About 15 cabins is a perfect group. It is enough to have fun but not so much that you are overwhelmed. If it gets to be more than 20, definitely split into 2 groups of 10-15 each. I've been in FE where we had only 5 cabins--not enough to be fun--and one where we had over 100 cabins on the ship doing FE. Needless to say, we split that. I find more than 15 cabins to be more than I want to take on in terms of cost, delivery time, etc. Sorry to be a non-participant this time. We will be just 2 adults and I have too much else to deal with at this point.
Still responding to older posts. We prefer Eastern--additional sea day is lovely, nicer ports, more adult programming, sometimes special speakers. We prefer doing WDW before the cruise if we have to choose before or after. Advantages of before--lost luggage can catch up with you before cruising, if plane is delayed or whatever, you may miss some WDW time but will not miss the cruise. When DD was young, it was easier to re-enter the "real world" by going home rather than going to WDW where she still expected to be waited on. That said, any time at WDW is better than no time at WDW.
Floridagram
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2006
- Messages
- 855
We will be joining you all on this cruise, we just booked the first of Feb. The credit everyone is getting has to do with the government fees going down. On the day of my final payment the computer advised the person helping me that my total due had changed. (It was nice that it was lower not higher?)
We will be a big party! Myself, Vicki, and DH, my DD And SIL and 4 kids, 10,7,4,1, my DS and DIL, with 2 girls 3 and 1. Then there is my aunt, we call her Mia, for My Incredible Aunt, and her caregiver. She is in a wheelchair so this will be a very different cruise for us.
We sailed on the Magic in 2007, when there were only 2 grandchildren! We loved it and wanted the little ones to have the experience but I suspect this may be our last because of the cost for all these people! We will cherish every memory and hope the babies make it! we have never sailed with ones so small and I sure hope they sleep in a pack and play. We have GTY rooms so I expect they will not be the cream of the crop but we are just happy to be on the ship and look forward to all the upgrades form the Magic.
We will be a big party! Myself, Vicki, and DH, my DD And SIL and 4 kids, 10,7,4,1, my DS and DIL, with 2 girls 3 and 1. Then there is my aunt, we call her Mia, for My Incredible Aunt, and her caregiver. She is in a wheelchair so this will be a very different cruise for us.
We sailed on the Magic in 2007, when there were only 2 grandchildren! We loved it and wanted the little ones to have the experience but I suspect this may be our last because of the cost for all these people! We will cherish every memory and hope the babies make it! we have never sailed with ones so small and I sure hope they sleep in a pack and play. We have GTY rooms so I expect they will not be the cream of the crop but we are just happy to be on the ship and look forward to all the upgrades form the Magic.
ukintheus
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2009
- Messages
- 2,320
Glad to see that you are officially going to be joining us.
Thanks also for all the good info and for taking the time to go back through and catch up on all the questions!! We have requested a server also, I really hope that he made the switch from the Dream to the Fantasy as was the plan. 
We will be joining you all on this cruise, we just booked the first of Feb. The credit everyone is getting has to do with the government fees going down. On the day of my final payment the computer advised the person helping me that my total due had changed. (It was nice that it was lower not higher?)
We will be a big party! Myself, Vicki, and DH, my DD And SIL and 4 kids, 10,7,4,1, my DS and DIL, with 2 girls 3 and 1. Then there is my aunt, we call her Mia, for My Incredible Aunt, and her caregiver. She is in a wheelchair so this will be a very different cruise for us.
We sailed on the Magic in 2007, when there were only 2 grandchildren! We loved it and wanted the little ones to have the experience but I suspect this may be our last because of the cost for all these people! We will cherish every memory and hope the babies make it! we have never sailed with ones so small and I sure hope they sleep in a pack and play. We have GTY rooms so I expect they will not be the cream of the crop but we are just happy to be on the ship and look forward to all the upgrades form the Magic.
Welcome - better put an extra BIG welcome for such a large group!!
What a fun trip you are all going to have, you certainly will have the ship's entertainment covered from one end of the age spectrum to the other.
You are going to be experts on everything they have to offer by the time you are done.
I'm sure this will be trip for some great memory making.
golfermike35
Vacation Fans
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2009
- Messages
- 176
I could really use some help.....I mean LUCK! We have two cabins, one for (me, Kate and Matt) and another for my parents. I reserved the St John Island Tour as soon as the 120 window opened up and was able to get it reserved for the three of us. Since my parents are 1st time Disney cruisers their booking window didn't open until last night.
I logged in at 12:01 to add my parents to the excursion- guess what??? The ONLY excursion that was sold out was the St. John Island Tour. I called Disney concierge and found out that they only have 20 spots for this excursion - are you kidding me?! There aren't that many excursions that are available for families that don't want to do "beachy" activities AND Matt is only three - seems like most excursions require a child to be five. Only 20 spots for a boat with more than 4,000 passengers - on St. John - really??
If anyone has this excursion reserved and plans on cancelling it would be MUCH APPRECIATED if you could let me know so I can log in at the same time to reserve what you have cancelled - probably a long shot but I thought I would ask
Mike
I logged in at 12:01 to add my parents to the excursion- guess what??? The ONLY excursion that was sold out was the St. John Island Tour. I called Disney concierge and found out that they only have 20 spots for this excursion - are you kidding me?! There aren't that many excursions that are available for families that don't want to do "beachy" activities AND Matt is only three - seems like most excursions require a child to be five. Only 20 spots for a boat with more than 4,000 passengers - on St. John - really??
If anyone has this excursion reserved and plans on cancelling it would be MUCH APPRECIATED if you could let me know so I can log in at the same time to reserve what you have cancelled - probably a long shot but I thought I would ask
Mike
I could really use some help.....I mean LUCK! We have two cabins, one for (me, Kate and Matt) and another for my parents. I reserved the St John Island Tour as soon as the 120 window opened up and was able to get it reserved for the three of us. Since my parents are 1st time Disney cruisers their booking window didn't open until last night.
I logged in at 12:01 to add my parents to the excursion- guess what??? The ONLY excursion that was sold out was the St. John Island Tour. I called Disney concierge and found out that they only have 20 spots for this excursion - are you kidding me?! There aren't that many excursions that are available for families that don't want to do "beachy" activities AND Matt is only three - seems like most excursions require a child to be five. Only 20 spots for a boat with more than 4,000 passengers - on St. John - really??
If anyone has this excursion reserved and plans on cancelling it would be MUCH APPRECIATED if you could let me know so I can log in at the same time to reserve what you have cancelled - probably a long shot but I thought I would ask
Mike
That's a real pain Mike and with only 20 spots it's going to be tough to get another 2! Have you had a look to see if there are any other companies doing St. John island tours like Bernards tours do on St. Maarten? Sorry I can't be more helpful.
We're first timers too and I was up for 5am to make reservations.
Managed to get the sail & snorkel to Turtle Cove and Honeymoon Beach but Palo was already completely reserved for the whole week!.
Had hoped to get Couples choice at the spa for a sea day but was only able to get 2.30pm on castaway cay day which isn't ideal. Does anyone know if there is a chance that I might be able to get it changed to a sea day once we're on board as DD won't be too happy having to leave the beach so mum & dad can go off to the spa!!
Not too upset I didn't get everything I wanted..........only 72 days and I'll be in sunny Florida!!
kryssningfamiljen
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2012
- Messages
- 2
Hi Everyone!
This will be our first time on a Disney Cruise and we are very excited. Myself, my husband and our 4 yo son will be cruising on the Fantasy on May 5th. Does anyone have any suggestions for maximizing fun and minimizing stress during the trip? I have only cruised once before and it was 14 years ago (Carnival) and my husband has never been on a cruise. Any help and suggestions would be much appreciated! Looking forward to possibly meeting some of you in May!
This will be our first time on a Disney Cruise and we are very excited. Myself, my husband and our 4 yo son will be cruising on the Fantasy on May 5th. Does anyone have any suggestions for maximizing fun and minimizing stress during the trip? I have only cruised once before and it was 14 years ago (Carnival) and my husband has never been on a cruise. Any help and suggestions would be much appreciated! Looking forward to possibly meeting some of you in May!
Welcome to the cruise. I will tell you this. You will have fun every moment of the cruise. Stress is not on the ship. It will be the most relaxing week of your life. I can say that you should check your navigator every day for the fun stuff to do.
Welcome! My family is also myself, DH and 4 yo son! None of us have ever cruised before so we're kinda winging it. I am hoping that the atmosphere on the ship is less "go go go" than our WDW trips have been. DH and I are looking forward to spending some time together, and maybe actually finishing a complete thought or two while DS is having a ball in the kids clubs.
Your response just made my day!!!
kryssningfamiljen
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2012
- Messages
- 2
Welcome! My family is also myself, DH and 4 yo son! None of us have ever cruised before so we're kinda winging it. I am hoping that the atmosphere on the ship is less "go go go" than our WDW trips have been. DH and I are looking forward to spending some time together, and maybe actually finishing a complete thought or two while DS is having a ball in the kids clubs.
Hi Mandy! Sounds like our plans for this cruise are very similar! I was a little nervous about taking my son on this trip with him only being 4. I had read that the kids' club was better for kids 6 and older, but my son is big for his age so he should be able to hold his own! LOL We are getting very excited and my son tells my mother every time he sees her that he is going on a Disney Cruise. Are you planning on any excursions? When I read some of the other posts, I feel like such an amateur at all of this!
It is 100% true. I LOVE being on the ship. I REALLY love sea days. Just relaxing watching the water....
ukintheus
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2009
- Messages
- 2,320
I could really use some help.....I mean LUCK! We have two cabins, one for (me, Kate and Matt) and another for my parents. I reserved the St John Island Tour as soon as the 120 window opened up and was able to get it reserved for the three of us. Since my parents are 1st time Disney cruisers their booking window didn't open until last night.
I logged in at 12:01 to add my parents to the excursion- guess what??? The ONLY excursion that was sold out was the St. John Island Tour. I called Disney concierge and found out that they only have 20 spots for this excursion - are you kidding me?! There aren't that many excursions that are available for families that don't want to do "beachy" activities AND Matt is only three - seems like most excursions require a child to be five. Only 20 spots for a boat with more than 4,000 passengers - on St. John - really??
If anyone has this excursion reserved and plans on cancelling it would be MUCH APPRECIATED if you could let me know so I can log in at the same time to reserve what you have cancelled - probably a long shot but I thought I would ask
Mike
Mike - We don't have that booked, I agree that it's a pain, and realistically sounds like a long shot. Bernards tours on St Maarten has a link to someone that does an island tour on St Thomas, http://www.viscenictours.com/it might be similar and could include everyone. Might be worth a shot!!
We're first timers too and I was up for 5am to make reservations.
Managed to get the sail & snorkel to Turtle Cove and Honeymoon Beach but Palo was already completely reserved for the whole week!.
Had hoped to get Couples choice at the spa for a sea day but was only able to get 2.30pm on castaway cay day which isn't ideal. Does anyone know if there is a chance that I might be able to get it changed to a sea day once we're on board as DD won't be too happy having to leave the beach so mum & dad can go off to the spa!!
Not too upset I didn't get everything I wanted..........only 72 days and I'll be in sunny Florida!!
We are doing the full day sail and snorkle too.
Check once you get onboard about moving your spa appointment, they might be able to accommodate you. We did our Couples Choice at about 4 pm on CC day and LOVED it - it was so cool to be watching all the activity on CC while we were lounging in the hot tub I understand your DD probably wouldn't love the idea though Hope you can get it figured out.Welcome!!
It is so easy to minimize stress on DCL. 
They pretty much have you covered no matter what. On a 7 day you really do have so much extra time that you don't have to worry about squeezing everything in. 
kristieseem1
Kristieseem1@gmail.com
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2011
- Messages
- 298
Hi!! I am organizing the FE list so please let me know names of everyone that's participating, ages of children if any, and your stateroom number. The final groups will be assigned on Saturday march 31.
66 days until we are on our way wo WDW!!
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