October 25, 2014 Fantasy Western "The Not So Scary Halloween Cruise 2014"

[JustTJ]

There was a TOrT on the Magic when we sailed on Halloween. I guess they've eliminated it from the Fantasy... We didn't attend the DCL ToT, but from what we heard it paled in comparison to ours. Jen set it up as a scavenger hunt. It was fun and there were a lot of treats!

With that said, what DCL does from one year to the next could be completely different (and it often is). So don't rule out the DCL ToT just yet...

Ron

Thats a good thing to keep in mind. On the one hand last Halloween was the Fantasy's first Halloween. Perhaps it was just too overwhelming for them to do a tot? Hard to imagine anything can be too overwhelming for DCL but then again, they did away with Character breakfasts on the Fantasy. Too bad they couldn't do Character Breakfasts the way they arranged the Tea with Alice party on the Magic, where people register for it, and once it's full it's full. I could live with that arrangement!

 

[JustTJ]

On the Magic, DCL's tot was just a station to station thing. You'd start at one, and the CM's there, dressed in Costumes, would tell you where to go next. THey did give small handfuls of candy at each station to put into your bag, and the TOT ended at the pool deck where the Hallween Dance then began, with all the Characters dressed in Costumes, and some coming down onto the deck to dance with the crowd I thought it was pretty good, but no not as good as that Scavenger Hunt TOT. Tell Jen, if she kept the clues on file, she could probably reuse many of them, perhaps just tweaking a few for the new ship, but then it shouldn't be so much work I'll again, bring a few boxes of the Canadian Chocolate Mini bars to donate to the cause

 

[DLW8]

So which of you adults will be dressing up for the Halloween Celebrations which I think will be held on the 30th by DCL (Costume Dance, Costume Contest ect...) I haven't a clue if I will dress up. I know I can convince the DH to go along with whatever I want, so I think if we do dress up, we'd do coordintating characters of some sort including our son

Not sure if we will dress up, honestly, I am not a fan of Halloween....but celebrating it on the Fantasy may convert me.

There was a TOrT on the Magic when we sailed on Halloween. I guess they've eliminated it from the Fantasy... We didn't attend the DCL ToT, but from what we heard it paled in comparison to ours. Jen set it up as a scavenger hunt. It was fun and there were a lot of treats!

With that said, what DCL does from one year to the next could be completely different (and it often is). So don't rule out the DCL ToT just yet...

Ron

Why am I not surprised that Jen set up a great scavenger hunt! I think since she has experience in coordinating, she should do it again.

Happy to say that we didn't get any snow this weekend as they originally predicted. Just rain. So, at least some of the 22+" of snow from 2 weeks ago is finally starting to go away!!!

 

[dizzi]

thanks for the anniversary wishes.....
We had a great day!!

 

[dizzi]

Pirate Night....We have gone less and less on this each time, but will still do something fun.

Halloween Night.....I am thinking i have to incorporate my gown i have on in the picture......always great to be able to wear a big poofy gown, what better way than Halloween!!!! I am thinking of maybe DEAD BRIDE AND GROOM...Ghost bride and groom..

 

[dizzi]

I was looking for some Dream cruises, as i dont think my DD wil be joining us on this cruise

And didnt understand why the dates only went to August.

And i am sure you are right, He will add them later.

 

[livingis2me]

Thats a good thing to keep in mind. On the one hand last Halloween was the Fantasy's first Halloween. Perhaps it was just too overwhelming for them to do a tot? Hard to imagine anything can be too overwhelming for DCL but then again, they did away with Character breakfasts on the Fantasy. Too bad they couldn't do Character Breakfasts the way they arranged the Tea with Alice party on the Magic, where people register for it, and once it's full it's full. I could live with that arrangement!

They could definitely do the Character Breakfast if they wanted too. The Allure does it and they have 1500 more passengers... It would have to be one of those things that get pre-scheduled like Palo or Remy. People would just have to understand that it is limited to those who signed up beforehand. They could hold a few spots back for people who didn't get a spot on-line and they could sign up when they first get on board. If a ship with 6000 can do it, then a ship with 4000-4500 can do it too.

Ron

 

[JustTJ]

They could definitely do the Character Breakfast if they wanted too. The Allure does it and they have 1500 more passengers... It would have to be one of those things that get pre-scheduled like Palo or Remy. People would just have to understand that it is limited to those who signed up beforehand. They could hold a few spots back for people who didn't get a spot on-line and they could sign up when they first get on board. If a ship with 6000 can do it, then a ship with 4000-4500 can do it too.

Ron

Your right on that! I assume then that the Oasis also does the character breakfasts I'm going to email DCL and enquire about this

 

[Michigan717]

Is it just me or does the "classic" ships seem to be more kid friendly? I notice on the Fantasy they don't seem to have as many activities at the pool area during the day and some of the other things like character b-fast and the tot.

 

[Grandma4ever]

Snowed in again. Home from work and dreaming of fall 2014.

On the question about dressing up for pirate night, halloween and for formal night that will all depend on if we decide to bring the extra luggage. I have never been real big on dressing up but Disney really brings out the kid in me so it is hard to say.

The other piece is we are hoping to do a Back to Back. (That is if we can save the money to pay for both weeks.) That may dictate what we need to bring.

Well got to get back to cleaning while we still have power. We could lose our power at anytime. See everyone soon, Lois

 

[livingis2me]

Is it just me or does the "classic" ships seem to be more kid friendly? I notice on the Fantasy they don't seem to have as many activities at the pool area during the day and some of the other things like character b-fast and the tot.

I hear ya! I think Disney should've done a little more research before building a larger ship. I think the reason why they don't do as many things around the pool is crowd control. They didn't put a heck of a lot of thought into the pool spaces. There were plenty of RCCL ships out at the time that they could've borrowed ideas from... And like I said they could do the Character Breakfast if they wanted to. Having too many passengers is not a good excuse because as I said the Allure has many more passengers and they do it.

As far as Disney ships go I still personally prefer the Fantasy because of the Aquaduck, Satellite Falls and the newer/cleaner feel... My last time on the Magic the ship was not in the best repair and some areas were kind of dirty. I still really had a great time though and would go on those classic ship in a heartbeat!

Ron

 

[shmoo81]

We booked our cruise a couple of weeks ago and we are SOOOO excited. We went on the Fantasy in 11/12 and it was amazing. Hoping it will be even better since my DD will be 4. Can't wait to shop!!!

 

[livingis2me]

We booked our cruise a couple of weeks ago and we are SOOOO excited. We went on the Fantasy in 11/12 and it was amazing. Hoping it will be even better since my DD will be 4. Can't wait to shop!!!

Welcome!

Yep, 4 y/o is much better and easier to cruise with than a 2 y/o. Our little one will be 6 by the time we go on this cruise and it will be her 8th cruise overall.

Ron

 

[JustTJ]

shmoo81!! Yes I agree with Ron. Our first cruise, our youngest was 2yr old, not potty trained, and was a child who always had to be running somewhere! It was a great vacation, but I've enjoyed all the cruises since that one, with him being older

 

[JustTJ]

Does anyone yet have ideas of what they might like to do in Falmouth Jamaica?

 

[minnie mad mum]

Doesn't look like dcl have any port adventures in Jamaica

 

[Grandma4ever]

We booked our cruise a couple of weeks ago and we are SOOOO excited. We went on the Fantasy in 11/12 and it was amazing. Hoping it will be even better since my DD will be 4. Can't wait to shop!!!

Welcome to the DIS and our cruise meet. This is a great group and I speak from past experience with several of the group.

Does anyone yet have ideas of what they might like to do in Falmouth Jamaica?

Since this is not a regular port stop I would not expect to see any of the excursions listed until right before the booking window opens. They will need to develop and staff the excusions before they can list then. Lois

 

[livingis2me]

Doesn't look like dcl have any port adventures in Jamaica

RCCL is the main cruise line that stops at that port. They actually developed the port. A good idea would be to check out Royal Caribbean's website and look under their port excursions for Falmouth. Cruise Critic also has a pretty detailed port of call section on their discussion board. I've learned most of what I know about Falmouth from there.

Some things to do may include:
Dunn's River Falls
River Tubing
Rainforest Ziplining
Horseback Riding on the Beach
Jamaican Bobsled Experience

Falmouth is still under development. There is not a heck of a lot to do right in Falmouth, most of the excursions are about an hour away. By the time we are on this cruise it'll will be our second time visiting Falmouth in as many years (we'll be there in November). Hopefully we'll come back with some good ideas for everyone.

At this point I'm kind of leaning towards hanging out at the new Margaritaville that they are building right at the cruise port.

Ron

 

[Grandma4ever]

RCCL is the main cruise line that stops at that port. They actually developed the port. A good idea would be to check out Royal Caribbean's website and look under their port excursions for Falmouth. Cruise Critic also has a pretty detailed port of call section on their discussion board. I've learned most of what I know about Falmouth from there.

Some things to do may include:
Dunn's River Falls
River Tubing
Rainforest Ziplining
Horseback Riding on the Beach
Jamaican Bobsled Experience

Falmouth is still under development. There is not a heck of a lot to do right in Falmouth, most of the excursions are about an hour away. By the time we are on this cruise it'll will be our second time visiting Falmouth in as many years (we'll be there in November). Hopefully we'll come back with some good ideas for everyone.

At this point I'm kind of leaning towards hanging out at the new Margaritaville that they are building right at the cruise port.

Ron

Ron, thank you so very much for the preview. I will do some research to see if there is anything I have a strong interest in doing.

Now for the rest of my life. I was hoping that the road would be too bad for safe travel but they are not. So I will need to show my face at the office. Darn I really wanted another lazy day at home. I will check back later today. Lois

 

[DLW8]

I hear ya! I think Disney should've done a little more research before building a larger ship. I think the reason why they don't do as many things around the pool is crowd control. They didn't put a heck of a lot of thought into the pool spaces. There were plenty of RCCL ships out at the time that they could've borrowed ideas from... And like I said they could do the Character Breakfast if they wanted to. Having too many passengers is not a good excuse because as I said the Allure has many more passengers and they do it.

As far as Disney ships go I still personally prefer the Fantasy because of the Aquaduck, Satellite Falls and the newer/cleaner feel... My last time on the Magic the ship was not in the best repair and some areas were kind of dirty. I still really had a great time though and would go on those classic ship in a heartbeat!

Ron

I agree with Ron about preferring the Fantasy over the classics. While I loved our cruises on the Wonder and Magic, the Fantasy was just amazing. My kids don't like the kids clubs, so having the Aqua Duck, mini golf, sports simulators, aqua lab, mid ship detective agency...they had a lot more choices of things to do. Now that you mention there were't as many things on the pool deck itself, I realize that now, but when we were cruising, we didn't seem to miss them.

RCCL is the main cruise line that stops at that port. They actually developed the port. A good idea would be to check out Royal Caribbean's website and look under their port excursions for Falmouth. Cruise Critic also has a pretty detailed port of call section on their discussion board. I've learned most of what I know about Falmouth from there.

Some things to do may include:
Dunn's River Falls
River Tubing
Rainforest Ziplining
Horseback Riding on the Beach
Jamaican Bobsled Experience

Falmouth is still under development. There is not a heck of a lot to do right in Falmouth, most of the excursions are about an hour away. By the time we are on this cruise it'll will be our second time visiting Falmouth in as many years (we'll be there in November). Hopefully we'll come back with some good ideas for everyone.

At this point I'm kind of leaning towards hanging out at the new Margaritaville that they are building right at the cruise port.

Ron

Ziplining, tubing and the bobsled experience sound intriguing....

Ron, thank you so very much for the preview. I will do some research to see if there is anything I have a strong interest in doing.

Now for the rest of my life. I was hoping that the road would be too bad for safe travel but they are not. So I will need to show my face at the office. Darn I really wanted another lazy day at home. I will check back later today. Lois

Sorry you had to head back to real life, Lois! But glad the road are good for travel!