My random thoughts from recent Fantasy cruise.

[motraveler]

We had a GREAT time and the kids loved it. It was their first cruise and our (hubby and mine) 7th. First time on DCL.

-Would highly recommend 2 rooms over 1 if you are debating at all. You get in each other's way a lot (we did not have split bathroom room so it was the smaller of rooms...but still)
-FE was fun and I recommend doing it!!!
-I kind of feel they took the fun out of Bingo. I only play Bingo when on cruises (and I haven't been on a cruise in 7+ years) but I enjoy the fun of DOING something while playing Bingo..not just sitting around and watching a machine tell me if I've won or not. I realize I can still play the cards..but I'm also in it to win it and a 10 dollar difference between 6 cards per game and 24...well, I couldn't pass that up either. It was still fun, but it was expensive and not as fun.
-Get to shows (especially the first night) early if you want to sit together (or at all)
-I missed Alladin (because there were no seats) but based on Believe and Wishes...Believe is SOO much better. Believe is what I expected from the shows, and while my kids enjoyed Wishes, I kind of thought it was on par with a community theater presentation (with REALLY good Disney character costumes obviously). Believe had some special effects that were good.
-I did not enjoy the dining room at lunch. Just my opinion. I thought Cabana's buffet was good.
-I heard breakfast in the dining room was good but I never had it...bummer.
-Wave phones are awesome!
-Midship Detective Agency was lots of fun and my kids couldn't get enough of it!!!
-A nightlight is not needed on the fantasy. They have a "nightlight" switch on the desk which turns on an incadescent blue light that worked fine for us. If that is too bright, turn on bathroom light and between that, the alarm clock and temp control you'll be fine. At least 2 of the room lights had dimmers on them too.
-Something to hold open the adjoining rooms door is not needed b/c there are magnets at the base that hold them open.
-All walls are metal and therefore magnetic. It has to be a heavier magnet though b/c they are covered in "wallpaper". I don't know what you'll do with the information...but there you have it.
-An extra magnetic card isn't necessary for safe b/c they are locked with a combo you pick.
-The drawer space was a JOKE. (again, I was in the smallest room. The longer rooms had a little larger drawers but still a joke) I think the fridge (which we personally didn't use) took up some much needed drawer space. I figured since I had 2 rooms for 5 people I'd be fine...but I wish I would have taken one of those closet hanging shelf systems. (canvas ones...I even HAD an unused one at home...but figured we'd be fine.)
-I didn't go to too many movies...but I really loved having that option.
-Used Capt Marvin's for stingray excursion in the Caymens...loved it.
-Another joke on the ship is the pool area. Pools aren't big enough and not NEAR enough seating on pool level. I honestly don't know how they could fix this since they are using all their space as much as they can...but I avoided the pools on sea days b/c I knew I'd end up standing if I wanted to watch my young kids swim at all.
-Funnel Vision...awesome...great idea. I loved seeing the guys/families watching football at night while their kids played in the pool.
-Fireworks....I'm going to say this was a dissapointment for me. While having fireworks at sea is neat...they kind of missed the mark I thought. The show before hand was cheesy and I really expected Disney-quality fireworks. We sat up on deck for at least 30 minutes to get a good spot and they weren't set to music and I really wanted some to go low and be reflected in the sea and that didn't happen either. I don't want to poo-poo on the experience but I just kind of felt like it was "leftovers" from the park and then crowd control afterwards was terrible. My advice...stand close to the stairs by the aquaduck if you want to get out of there in a timely manner.
-I posted about this already in its own thread...but if your kids have a tendency to get up in the middle of the night...ensure there is no way they can get out the door or have some way to notify you if they do (bell on door or alarm or push the ottoman in front of the door)
-I hate having to tender. I don't know a great way to do this...but lets just say Disney hasn't improved on this process from any other cruise I've been on.
-On demand in the room is awesome! So many movies.
-Nemo's reef is awesome as well. My 3 year old loved it and my 5 and 8 year old spent some time in there as well.
-I went without family pictures this year b/c I really wanted to get lots of pics on the ship and buy the whole CD and I hoped I'd get a few good ones and one that would work for Christmas cards. I didn't. We didn't make it to many character pics (my kids weren't overly interested and I didn't push it) but the few family pics we had taken weren't great. We usually photograph fairly well, but the photographers didn't do much to get smiles from the kids (8,5 and 3). I ended up just buying a package of 10 photos....way less than I anticipated and to be honest, none I couldn't live without. Some of that could be blamed on me I guess...but they are taking pics of kids all year round...they should know all the tricks to get smiles.
-Pirate night was fun. Dress up! (or at least have your kids dress up)
-Max in the tube was a lot of fun! He is perfect for that job.
-Adult area is awesome. They did that whole area wonderfully (wish I could have enjoyed it more!)
-I also think they missed the mark on the shops. I think they should have had a Disney Store at sea. I wanted more to chose from and would have spent more if it was there.
-I wouldn't bother taking movie theater candy. Unless you just can't enjoy a movie without it. I took some but the few times I went to the movies I wasn't hungry so didn't even take them and they just wasted space in the luggage and room.
-I wish they had movie theater popcorn on board instead of the bagged kind...just my opinion...but then I WOULD have ended up eating at the movies...and as I stated..I wasn't hungry.
-One of my biggest pieces of advice, I think. Don't regret anything you miss out on. Question yourself a few times during the cruise and make sure you are doing what you WANT to be doing. There were times where there was something on the schedule that I had anticipated wanting to do..but didn't get to do it. It might have been b/c the kids weren't done playing in the pool, or they wanted to do the midship detective agency game again, or what-have-you. But I asked myself...do you want to make the whole family rush around so we can go do XYZ? Or do you want to live in the moment and go with the flow and not stress yourself. I always chose the latter. So..now that I'm home and I read mention of the great breakfasts in the dining room, or the character parties we missed out on, or we didn't play mini-golf another time...whatever it is...I know I did what was important to the family at that time. Since I had questioned myself during the cruise and knew I was choosing to do what was best for us at that time....when I do second guess myself after the fact...I can reassure myself that even though I didn't get to do everything (who can?) we had fun and lived in the moment and have no regrets. I rambled alot here..I hope it made sense. But no matter how much you do...unless it is NOT your first cruise...you'll come home and read something and think "oh, I wish I would have done that!" and you might think it...but don't be regretful....know that you had a great time! Does that make sense?

 

[racingfandj]

-One of my biggest pieces of advice, I think. Don't regret anything you miss out on. Question yourself a few times during the cruise and make sure you are doing what you WANT to be doing. There were times where there was something on the schedule that I had anticipated wanting to do..but didn't get to do it. It might have been b/c the kids weren't done playing in the pool, or they wanted to do the midship detective agency game again, or what-have-you. But I asked myself...do you want to make the whole family rush around so we can go do XYZ? Or do you want to live in the moment and go with the flow and not stress yourself. I always chose the latter. So..now that I'm home and I read mention of the great breakfasts in the dining room, or the character parties we missed out on, or we didn't play mini-golf another time...whatever it is...I know I did what was important to the family at that time. Since I had questioned myself during the cruise and knew I was choosing to do what was best for us at that time....when I do second guess myself after the fact...I can reassure myself that even though I didn't get to do everything (who can?) we had fun and lived in the moment and have no regrets. I rambled alot here..I hope it made sense. But no matter how much you do...unless it is NOT your first cruise...you'll come home and read something and think "oh, I wish I would have done that!" and you might think it...but don't be regretful....know that you had a great time! Does that make sense?

Thank you for the report. Glad to hear you had a great vacation. I totally agree with your statement above. As a control freak, I normally have itineraries for every day. For both WDW and DCL, I did as much prep work as I could, even had a list of "no matter what, we'll do..." and then went with the flow while there. It really isn't worth the extra stress and worrying if we are all enjoying what we are doing at the moment.

For us, DD wanted to see every character every time they came out. We spent a lot of time in the atrium and got to really enjoy the beauty of it. Probably wouldn't have noticed a lot of the little things if we hadn't been to so many greets there.

 

[erocrobro]

-One of my biggest pieces of advice, I think. Don't regret anything you miss out on. Question yourself a few times during the cruise and make sure you are doing what you WANT to be doing. There were times where there was something on the schedule that I had anticipated wanting to do..but didn't get to do it. It might have been b/c the kids weren't done playing in the pool, or they wanted to do the midship detective agency game again, or what-have-you. But I asked myself...do you want to make the whole family rush around so we can go do XYZ? Or do you want to live in the moment and go with the flow and not stress yourself. I always chose the latter. So..now that I'm home and I read mention of the great breakfasts in the dining room, or the character parties we missed out on, or we didn't play mini-golf another time...whatever it is...I know I did what was important to the family at that time. Since I had questioned myself during the cruise and knew I was choosing to do what was best for us at that time....when I do second guess myself after the fact...I can reassure myself that even though I didn't get to do everything (who can?) we had fun and lived in the moment and have no regrets. I rambled alot here..I hope it made sense. But no matter how much you do...unless it is NOT your first cruise...you'll come home and read something and think "oh, I wish I would have done that!" and you might think it...but don't be regretful....know that you had a great time! Does that make sense?

I hope I can remember this one when we go. When we did our WDW vacation, I was determined that my kids were going to see and do everything possible and have all the fun in the world, so I had an agenda and we followed it as closely as possible total commando style. By the end, we were so tired and cranky we couldn't enjoy ourselves and I felt letdown if we didn't get something done.

The next year when we went to DL, I wouldn't let myself do that. We had a general idea of what we wanted and we just went wherever the day took us. If there was anything we missed, we just said "Oh, well. It will give us a reason to come back someday." My boys still talk about that being the best trip ever!

 

[Ariel224]

-All walls are metal and therefore magnetic. It has to be a heavier magnet though b/c they are covered in "wallpaper". I don't know what you'll do with the information...but there you have it.

Actually this is very helpful! I didn't really want to pack the fullsize hooks for the over-the-door shoe organizer since there have been reports of them not fitting well over the doors on the Dream/Fantasy. Nice to know I can get some strong magnetic hooks or clips and just attach it to the wall.

Thanks for the great review!

 

[goeva]

-One of my biggest pieces of advice, I think. Don't regret anything you miss out on. Question yourself a few times during the cruise and make sure you are doing what you WANT to be doing. There were times where there was something on the schedule that I had anticipated wanting to do..but didn't get to do it. It might have been b/c the kids weren't done playing in the pool, or they wanted to do the midship detective agency game again, or what-have-you. But I asked myself...do you want to make the whole family rush around so we can go do XYZ? Or do you want to live in the moment and go with the flow and not stress yourself. I always chose the latter. So..now that I'm home and I read mention of the great breakfasts in the dining room, or the character parties we missed out on, or we didn't play mini-golf another time...whatever it is...I know I did what was important to the family at that time. Since I had questioned myself during the cruise and knew I was choosing to do what was best for us at that time....when I do second guess myself after the fact...I can reassure myself that even though I didn't get to do everything (who can?) we had fun and lived in the moment and have no regrets. I rambled alot here..I hope it made sense. But no matter how much you do...unless it is NOT your first cruise...you'll come home and read something and think "oh, I wish I would have done that!" and you might think it...but don't be regretful....know that you had a great time! Does that make sense?

Your last thoughts are spot on! More people need to read this and take it to heart. Too much time wasted on vacations doing the "must dos". And regretting what wasn't done. Live in the moment and truly enjoy where you are. Pass this example on to your children. It teaches them to be happier people.

I hope I can remember this one when we go. When we did our WDW vacation, I was determined that my kids were going to see and do everything possible and have all the fun in the world, so I had an agenda and we followed it as closely as possible total commando style. By the end, we were so tired and cranky we couldn't enjoy ourselves and I felt letdown if we didn't get something done.

The next year when we went to DL, I wouldn't let myself do that. We had a general idea of what we wanted and we just went wherever the day took us. If there was anything we missed, we just said "Oh, well. It will give us a reason to come back someday." My boys still talk about that being the best trip ever!

Totally agreed. I too have too many MUST Do's. I must REMEMBER to just relax, enjoy the moment and have a good time.
Thanks, motraveler for your great review and advice.

 

[Callymum]

I'm so Glad you had such a Fun time, I'm sorry we weren't with you on that Cruise. Did you go to any Dis meets.
The last Cruise on he Dream we missed a few things also, but there is always a next Time.

 

[bluenosemickey]

Your last thoughts are spot on! More people need to read this and take it to heart. Too much time wasted on vacations doing the "must dos". And regretting what wasn't done. Live in the moment and truly enjoy where you are. Pass this example on to your children. It teaches them to be happier people.

 

[FOV]

Thanks for the report. What was your final assessment? Would you cruise DCL with the kids again? We're taking our first family cruise and it has been difficult deciding which cruise line. Thanks!

 

[FabFivePA]

Thanks so much for this!
I gotta ask, because I haven't seen it referenced before and didn't come up in a search.

Max in the tube was a lot of fun! He is perfect for that job.

What/Who's Max in the tube?

 

[fluffsmom]

Loved, loved, loved the Fantasy. We were there last month. Would do it again if I had the money.

We had two adjoining rooms, hubby and I and the three kids. Two bathrooms were great. Two Tv's, two beds, two sofas, etc.

Activities all the time. We actually were sleeping by 1030 nightly.

Movies were great.

 

[Princess_Kayla]

I'm excited for Disney Wishes because I'm celebrating my high graduation! Also my name's Kayla lol. ^^ Did you happen to notice what color Kayla's boots where? (The one with the pink jacket) I wanted to dress similar to her that night lol! I've saw Believe on the dream and it made me cry lol. I wish they had the Golden Mickeys on the Fantasy though... ): I liked tarzan haha

 

[Kman34]

Great advice on enjoying the moment and not stressing out. We were on the Wonder last year & I tried to do too much. This year on the Fantasy, my goal is to go with the flow & take it easy.

 

[DakotaDisneyLover]

Fabulous review/tips! Thanks! Totally agree with you! My hubby's idea of vacation is no set schedule, go with the flow, since our normal lives are made up of schedules. When we vacation, we have an idea of things we want to do and see, and do those things as we feel like it. Let me tell you, it makes for a much more relaxing vacation. I think it is good for the kiddos too - they need to learn to go with the flow in this busy world of schedules. On our first DCL cruise two of the things I wanted to do were Martini tasting and Bingo, and it never worked out. So, on our second cruise I was able to fit them in! I have seen too many parents draging their kids here, there, hurry, hurry, we can't miss that ride, etc., which makes for stressed and crabby kids! Me and DS went to WDW one time for a week with my brother and his family (DH was unable to go) and their style of vacation was much different than ours. To each their own, I know, but let me tell you it was not near as relaxing as what we are used to. They are rushing here, there, going crazy because the bus isn't here, and running back and forth from one end of the park to the other to get on specific rides. Whew, I get stressed just remembering it

 

[jetskigrl]

-Fireworks....I'm going to say this was a dissapointment for me. While having fireworks at sea is neat...they kind of missed the mark I thought. The show before hand was cheesy and I really expected Disney-quality fireworks. We sat up on deck for at least 30 minutes to get a good spot and they weren't set to music and I really wanted some to go low and be reflected in the sea and that didn't happen either. I don't want to poo-poo on the experience but I just kind of felt like it was "leftovers" from the park and then crowd control afterwards was terrible. My advice...stand close to the stairs by the aquaduck if you want to get out of there in a timely manner.

I'm curious about this part. Was there no music at all when the fireworks were going off? On the Dream last year, the fireworks were set to the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean (movie) and it was definitely a highlight of our cruise. I thought they were done really well and I especially liked that they were shot off from both the front and the back of the ship (as opposed to the Wonder that only shoots them off from the back).
Since my DH wasn't with us on the Dream cruise, I was really hoping that the Fantasy would be doing the same show so that he would get to see it next year.

 

[jahber]

I'm curious about this part. Was there no music at all when the fireworks were going off? On the Dream last year, the fireworks were set to the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean (movie) and it was definitely a highlight of our cruise. I thought they were done really well and I especially liked that they were shot off from both the front and the back of the ship (as opposed to the Wonder that only shoots them off from the back).
Since my DH wasn't with us on the Dream cruise, I was really hoping that the Fantasy would be doing the same show so that he would get to see it next year.

It was set to the music on our 9/1 cruise. And I was surprised by the fireworks. They aren't as long as WDW, but they were better than I expected. We live in Orlando, so we can see the WDW fireworks whenever we want--they are no big deal to us. I wasn't expecting to be impressed by the DCL fireworks...But for fireworks on a ship? They were actually pretty awesome!

ETA: we were on the Fantasy

 

[abolanwoski]

In GC, becuase the day is so short, which tour did you do? Was it Rays and snorkeling or just Rays? Also did the kids participate? I have a 4 and 8 and would love to do the Rays but can't remember from last time how deep the water was.

 

[motraveler]

Hi Kayla, I believe she had on reddish brown (brick red maybe?) boots but can't remember for sure. That is what pops in my head.

There was music going on during the fireworks but I didn't feel like it was set to the music. I don't know...maybe I expected Disney-caliber fireworks at sea? I don't get to WDW too often but I think their fireworks are not to be missed, love them. For the amount of crowds I had to fight for the ones at sea...I'm not sure it was worth it. (just my opinion) They only shot them from the back.

We did Rays and snorkling. I believe first tender off ship was around 10:45 and we didn't make it on that one. We probalby got to Capt Mavin's office about 11:30 or so. (easy walking distance). The water was between upper abdomen/lower chest I think. 3 year old wore her puddle jumper and 5 year old mostly stayed on Dad's shoulders. 8 year old...I think he could touch with his head out. The kids were a little freaked out by them but not too bad. They touched them and were finally gutsy enough to feed them (not the 3 year old) and went back to the boat earlier than the adults...but I don't feel like it was wasted money at all. We were back in time to look around at shops, get ice cream at DQ and try to check email/wifi at Sugars. We didn't feel rushed at all.

 

[Euphscott]

I don't know...maybe I expected Disney-caliber fireworks at sea? I don't get to WDW too often but I think their fireworks are not to be missed, love them. For the amount of crowds I had to fight for the ones at sea...I'm not sure it was worth it. (just my opinion) They only shot them from the back.

Please don't take this the wrong way. I am a fan of DCL - but far from a "they can do no wrong cheerleader." However, the fireworks must be shot off the back for safety reasons (can't have fire or even the possibility of such at sea). The fact that DCL is the only line allowed to do this indicates the level of sophistication involved in adding this "plus" to a cruise. That said - the music seems to be well tuned to the fireworks in my experiences, although you do need to be midship (as opposed to up on decks and off to the side where sound drift occurs) to find the sweet spot.

Yes - the evening can be crowded, but given you have nowhere to go, I am a little confused as to why getting away quickly is a big issue.
You won't miss a bus or train taking you to your car. A little patience allows one to enjoy a night on deck under the stars then a leisurely walk back to the cabin (or whatever is next).

Just throwing some perspective on your comments so newbies might not be totally confused.

I am glad you enjoyed yourself otherwise.

 

[sambycat]

Please don't take this the wrong way. I am a fan of DCL - but far from a "they can do no wrong cheerleader." However, the fireworks must be shot off the back for safety reasons (can't have fire or even the possibility of such at sea). The fact that DCL is the only line allowed to do this indicates the level of sophistication involved in adding this "plus" to a cruise. That said - the music seems to be well tuned to the fireworks in my experiences, although you do need to be midship (as opposed to up on decks and off to the side where sound drift occurs) to find the sweet spot.

Yes - the evening can be crowded, but given you have nowhere to go, I am a little confused as to why getting away quickly is a big issue.
You won't miss a bus or train taking you to your car. A little patience allows one to enjoy a night on deck under the stars then a leisurely walk back to the cabin (or whatever is next).

Just throwing some perspective on your comments so newbies might not be totally confused.

I am glad you enjoyed yourself otherwise.

well said!

 

[motraveler]

I only mentioned they were only shot off the back b/c it was mentioned that one of the ships shoots them from front and back and maybe that makes it better. I wasn't expecting otherwise.

I will concede that maybe I was wrong about the fireworks, I haven't heard anyone else with my less-than-stellar opinion of them. AND, I have left off a detail that might shed light on my experience and make my opinion of the fireworks not credible. I was carrying a sleeping 3 year old. One sleeping so hard the fireworks didn't even wake her. So, we went up on deck 30 minutes prior to "get a good spot"...and then the 3 yr old falls asleep before it starts. So, then we watch them amid the crowds and try to beeline out of there to "take a load off" so to say (hubby had 5 year old on shoulders and 8 year old was draggin' as well). We tried to go forward ship to head down, closed. Aft was still closed. We only saw the option of the one set of stairs. So, you are probably right, if the kids weren't exhausted by then and I wasn't carrying around the sleeping kid, my opinion might have been different. I think by Wednesday night my kids were too tired to enjoy 10:30 fireworks and that probably changed my opinion as well. I should have considered why I was trying to get out of there and why it DID matter to me and how it probably warped my opinion. Maybe there will be a next time and I'll get to take my advice and sit back and go with the flow. (PS-there was a man in a wheelchair that was having trouble finding a way down as well. I heard once we got midship (after trying to go forward) they said forward was opened up but we'd just come from there and decided to just fight the crowds to get down....so I'm not saying the wheelchair didn't find a way down...but it wasn't quick for him either.)