September 22, 2012 Fantasy Eastern "From Fantasyland to the Fantasy"

[Sebby]

We just got off the Fantasy (Eastern) yesterday and booked this cruise while on board. If anyone has questions about the cruise, I'll try to answer them!

-Candis (F-35) and Todd (M-38)
-St. Augustine, FL
-GTY
-Late Dinner

Some of my questions might also be answered by veteran cruisers, not many truly specific to the Fantasy.

A little background...
I'm a slight germaphobe. My immune system is suppressed by the medication I take. And my DD takes much longer to get rid of infections than the general population due to thick, sticky, mucous in her body (it's prime breeding ground for germs and hard to dislodge) - particularly in her lungs/respiratory tract - due to Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Anyway, I'm concerned about cleanliness & cross contamination.

Do you know about any of the following?

What size paper are the Navigators?

Where do you dine for breakfast / lunch in MDR? Any one you choose? The one from the night before? The one you're having that night?

How late is breakfast served in the MDRs? or anywhere for that matter?

Is there entertainment in the MDRs during meals? I've read about Animator's Palate. What about the others?

If dinner is formal/semi-formal, are you expected to dress for the show and stay dressed after dinner? Or is it acceptable to change again right after dinner?

What kind of wipes are dispensed at dinner? Anyone know the brand? Are there sinks nearby to rinse the residue off?

Do public bathrooms have paper towels or hand dryers?

Do they use disposable cups in staterooms? If not, are they replaced each day? Or are they cleaned in the room? (Undercover video, from a few years ago, of maids cleaning rooms creeps me out)
http://www.divinecaroline.com/22245/39039-hidden-truth-hotel-drinking-glasses

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2189976

Do they use bedspreads or have they switched to duvet covers? Ones that are more easily washed by removing them? I read they did that on the Dream. Lots of hotels I've been to have changed to those heavy comforters with removable and washable covers that are presumably being washed more frequently.

Are there day and night bed spreads on the beds? I read somewhere that the bed spread changed with turn down service. Where does the blanket go if it's removed from the bed? Are all the linens including blankets changed on the last day?

Hotels don't change the bedspread after every guest nor blankets. Just sheets. Thinking about some guy sitting in the nude clipping his toenails on the bedspread, or some mom changing baby's diaper without a changing pad on the bed... Or the couple who couldn't bother to turn down the sheets before they created their own 'Magic'... then not having it get washed. Just gives me the hee-bee gee-bees ​

I know a bit of it depends on the person cleaning the room, but what was your experience?

And no, I don't try to sanitize everything nor keep her in a bubble. I usually hold out on trying antibiotics longer than her CF doctor would like but with the support of the pediatrician. However, last year's summer 'cold' lasted 6 weeks and included a 12 day hospital stay. So let's not wander into the immunity boosting theory. I just like having a clean space at the end of the day to come home to. It makes me feel better. So I wipe faucet handles, phones, remote controls, and light switches in hotel rooms. Generally anything that might not get cleaned. And I hand wash glasses so they can be used and throw away those paper covers that always look like they're stained/warped. And do a linen check when I first get in a hotel room, but the bedspread usually ends up on the floor. However, that doesn't work for multi-night stays. I'm even debating just taking the bed spread & blanket to the the first day just to make me feel better. I worry if I ask for a new one the SRH will see me as a pain or they'll bring me one that was stashed but not really cleaned.
Runs along the lines of not pissing off the people who have the opportunity to spit in your food.

 

[michigan829]

Still trying to figure out how to put your creation in my siggy. It's my avvie right now, hope that's ok!

 

[michigan829]

It amazes me how great the detail is in that photo! You have a great camera! Jen recently got a Cannon Rebel T2, but we have yet to buy a nice lens... Hopefully we will have one by then or someone else will have a nice set-up so that we can get a great group photo...

For those of you who don't know Joanie and Sam are that wonderful couple wearing red in the bottom right side of the photo next to the bottom of the stair railing. We had many nice chats with them during that cruise and we'll really miss them this time around... I hope to cruise with them again one day!

Ron

We've sailed with Joanie and Sam twice before and actually saw them last year at Disney's Hollywood Studios, just by freak random chance while we were waiting for the Park to open! They are super sweet and love talking football with Sam. So sad they're not going to be on this cruise...

 

[miry]

Here's answers to some of the questions that you had based on information from our Mexican Riviera cruise in December 2011 on the Wonder.

Some of my questions might also be answered by veteran cruisers, not many truly specific to the Fantasy.

A little background...
I'm a slight germaphobe. My immune system is suppressed by the medication I take. And my DD takes much longer to get rid of infections than the general population due to thick, sticky, mucous in her body (it's prime breeding ground for germs and hard to dislodge) - particularly in her lungs/respiratory tract - due to Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Anyway, I'm concerned about cleanliness & cross contamination.

Do you know about any of the following?

What size paper are the Navigators? 11" x 17" folded in half so they appear to be 8 1/2" x 11"

Where do you dine for breakfast / lunch in MDR? Any one you choose? The one from the night before? The one you're having that night? Usually there were two main dining rooms and the buffet on the top deck open for breakfast. I think in the case of the Fantasy that would be Royal Court, Enchanted Garden and Cabanas. For lunch there was always one plated meal and one or two buffets.

How late is breakfast served in the MDRs? or anywhere for that matter? On port days there was a breakfast option - usually a quick service location open as early as 6:30. The buffets were open until 10:30 AM.

Is there entertainment in the MDRs during meals? I've read about Animator's Palate. What about the others? I don't know about how it works on the Fantasy.

If dinner is formal/semi-formal, are you expected to dress for the show and stay dressed after dinner? Or is it acceptable to change again right after dinner? I think you can probably change in between. My son and I always did late dining. We would dress up before the show, see a family cabaret act in between the show and dinner and then have dinner.

What kind of wipes are dispensed at dinner? Anyone know the brand? Are there sinks nearby to rinse the residue off? I don't know what the brand is. On the Magic and Wonder there were not sinks nearby.

Do public bathrooms have paper towels or hand dryers? I don't recall if there were hand dryer or paper towel but there were cast members cleaning the few times that i used them.

Do they use disposable cups in staterooms? If not, are they replaced each day? Or are they cleaned in the room? They are glass, not disposable and I have no idea if they are cleaned or replaced. Paper cups are available by the drink station and you could probably take a few to your room for use there if you wanted to.

Do they use bedspreads or have they switched to duvet covers? Ones that are more easily washed by removing them? The bed covers werent really either, they were more of a light weight blanket.

Are there day and night bed spreads on the beds? I read somewhere that the bed spread changed with turn down service. Where does the blanket go if it's removed from the bed? Are all the linens including blankets changed on the last day? As far as I know everything is changed out on the last day. The light blanket that is on the bed during the day gets put in the cabinet above the television at night.

I know a bit of it depends on the person cleaning the room, but what was your experience? Our room was always clean. I felt very comfortable in it and have had no complaints on three cruises.

And no, I don't try to sanitize everything nor keep her in a bubble. I usually hold out on trying antibiotics longer than her CF doctor would like but with the support of the pediatrician. However, last year's summer 'cold' lasted 6 weeks and included a 12 day hospital stay. So let's not wander into the immunity boosting theory. I just like having a clean space at the end of the day to come home to. It makes me feel better. So I wipe faucet handles, phones, remote controls, and light switches in hotel rooms. Generally anything that might not get cleaned. And I hand wash glasses so they can be used and throw away those paper covers that always look like they're stained/warped. And do a linen check when I first get in a hotel room, but the bedspread usually ends up on the floor. However, that doesn't work for multi-night stays. I'm even debating just taking the bed spread & blanket to the the first day just to make me feel better. I worry if I ask for a new one the SRH will see me as a pain or they'll bring me one that was stashed but not really cleaned.
Runs along the lines of not pissing off the people who have the opportunity to spit in your food.

 

[Patrickprincess]

We've sailed with Joanie and Sam twice before and actually saw them last year at Disney's Hollywood Studios, just by freak random chance while we were waiting for the Park to open! They are super sweet and love talking football with Sam. So sad they're not going to be on this cruise...

I just ordered a new red sony camera. I haven't got it yeat but it has a decent lesen oh i just can't spell. It's the first new camera i have gotten in years. I hope that it will play nice on the cruise. Wow time is going by so fast. 115 more days. Hopefully my plane ticket will not change again. They have changed it three times since march. I'm comming into orlando at 12:20 am. I have ME so i think it will be almost two am when i arrive at POR. I hear they have a nice lobby and i will hang out there until i can check in at seven. The bakery opens at six.

 

[michigan829]

Happy Wednesday, one and all. Just wanted to update our stateroom numbers. I had to change my stateroom (9667) after reading a lot of negative reveiws about vibrations at the aft of the ship. I just got spooked, I guess. Here is our new information:

Caroline, Jessica and Amanda: 9010

Brian and Delos (his dad): 6070

We are going from a Deluxe Inside to a Family Oceanview with a large portal. Hope this switch is worth it. Also, we're now at the front of the ship.

Thanks for reading!

~Caroline

 

[Michigan717]

Happy Wednesday, one and all. Just wanted to update our stateroom numbers. I had to change my stateroom (9667) after reading a lot of negative reveiws about vibrations at the aft of the ship. I just got spooked, I guess. Here is our new information:

Caroline, Jessica and Amanda: 9010

Brian and Delos (his dad): 6070

We are going from a Deluxe Inside to a Family Oceanview with a large portal. Hope this switch is worth it. Also, we're now at the front of the ship.

Thanks for reading!

~Caroline

I think you will enjoy this room. No more worries... lets just sit back and enjoy the countdown

 

[Patrickprincess]

I think you will enjoy this room. No more worries... lets just sit back and enjoy the countdown

I had an inside stateroom on my first cruise and i felt like i was in a basement. This time i have a dexlue oceanveiw room with a large port hole window. can you belive that we are only a few more weeks from checking in online. I live in washington state on the west coast i might be able to check in online at 9:01 PST but i'm not counting on it. I just read about the remy lunch that they are testing on the fantasy i hope that this will be offtred for our cruise in september Just wondered if any one has a stateroom on deck two. anyone close to 2040

 

[GeekaGriffis]

Just a quick note. I can't believe how time is flying towards the trip!! We surprised the kids with a video on YouTube of Granny and Papa telling them they were going on their first Disney cruise. We skyped with them to watch their reaction and it was great. Everything we hoped for. Jen said they were on the computer for the rest of the evening looking at sites. My parents and I are flying in Friday to stay at the Hyatt and then catching the bus. My sister's family will be staying in a resort and taking a car service, I think. We are still looking at excursions. Everyone but my sister and niece will be staying for land days afterwards. Kate has to get back to school, while the boys are homeschooled. We are pretty sure we want to be a part of the fish extenders, but will officially join soon. I'm so excited!!! So much to plan still. I've ordered the new PassPorter book for my BiL. I'm sure he'll put it to good use. I can't wait to put my pirate costume to good use!!

To Birch: I'm not sure who's staying in what room but we'll do our best to keep it clean.

See ya real soon!!

 

[Patrickprincess]

Just a quick note. I can't believe how time is flying towards the trip!! We surprised the kids with a video on YouTube of Granny and Papa telling them they were going on their first Disney cruise. We skyped with them to watch their reaction and it was great. Everything we hoped for. Jen said they were on the computer for the rest of the evening looking at sites. My parents and I are flying in Friday to stay at the Hyatt and then catching the bus. My sister's family will be staying in a resort and taking a car service, I think. We are still looking at excursions. Everyone but my sister and niece will be staying for land days afterwards. Kate has to get back to school, while the boys are homeschooled. We are pretty sure we want to be a part of the fish extenders, but will officially join soon. I'm so excited!!! So much to plan still. I've ordered the new PassPorter book for my BiL. I'm sure he'll put it to good use. I can't wait to put my pirate costume to good use!!

To Birch: I'm not sure who's staying in what room but we'll do our best to keep it clean.

See ya real soon!!

wow the time has gone by so fast. Can't belive that today is the last day of may. In just a few more weeks until get to check in online. I'm only a sliver but still it's nice that i get the paperwork done early. Hopefuly my air will not change again. I don't think that i will fly united again. They have changed the flight three times. what's up with that? I would have gotten a refund and booked another airline but the refund takes fourteen days . I didn't want to wait that long before i could rebook another flight. My new flight leaves seattle at 1:00 pm and gets me into orlando at 12:30 am friday morning . I just go to POR and wait for check in at seven but the bakery opens at six so it's not that bad. It's my fault for not checking other airlines before i got the one i have. I can sleep on the plane and i do have a window seat on the flight from washington dc to orlando and it's a four hour flight so i can get some sleep. bye for now see ya real soon

 

[livingis2me]

Happy Wednesday, one and all. Just wanted to update our stateroom numbers. I had to change my stateroom (9667) after reading a lot of negative reveiws about vibrations at the aft of the ship. I just got spooked, I guess. Here is our new information:

Caroline, Jessica and Amanda: 9010

Brian and Delos (his dad): 6070

We are going from a Deluxe Inside to a Family Oceanview with a large portal. Hope this switch is worth it. Also, we're now at the front of the ship.

Thanks for reading!

~Caroline

I updated your info on post one. I think your upgrade will be worth it!

Ron

 

[livingis2me]

Still trying to figure out how to put your creation in my siggy. It's my avvie right now, hope that's ok!

I wish I knew... Mine is actually hot-linked from Jen's Photobucket and she walked me through that. I know you have to save the document, but from there I'm not sure. Maybe Jen can walk you through it when she gets back to the Dis.

Ron

 

[Sebby]

Still trying to figure out how to put your creation in my siggy. It's my avvie right now, hope that's ok!

I was going to write a little tutorial on how to put the image in your signature. I figure it can't be that hard to write the code since I know some basic HTML.

Nope! Not me. I could get it in my signature, but it was HUGE.

So I created a compromise and put it in with my ticker. That's simple enough and the software resized it for me.

I like it as your avatar.

nenner1, you've created an awesome logo! Thanks for all of your hard work!! I'm already thinking of the ways I can use it! Magnets, pins, KTTW card cover, fish extender decoration, t-shirt, luggage tag.... I don't know how many I'll use but I have lots of ideas.

I too would benefit from a tutorial on how to add it to the signature.

 

[michigan829]

I updated your info on post one. I think your upgrade will be worth it!

Ron

Thanks for the update! Hopefully everything will be smooth sailing from here on out!

 

[Patrickprincess]

I'm so excited my new sony cyber-shot camera arrive this morning. it has 14.1 megpixels. It sure is a lot smaller than my older kodka share camera that i got a few years back. That one was $!188.00 this one is bit more . It will also shoot viedo so i can take it to castaway key and leave my camrecoder on the ship. I don't know how nice it will play with others on the beach. Oh how the time is flying . I can check in online in just twenity-three days. OH MY!!! I have my day bag packed and ready. I'm so looking foward to meeting all of you and if i don't get my minnie mouse dress finished i will wear a tshirt with the new logo on it. I LOVE IT!!!! see ya real soon.

Thanks for the update! Hopefully everything will be smooth sailing from here on out!

 

[nenner1]

I am thrilled everyone likes the logo so much!

Hers is how to get it into your signature (larger) like Ron's:

Follow this link to get to the signature sized image: (left-click here to go to the download page :


http://s152.photobucket.com/albums/s183/nenner1/Fantasy%209-22-12/?action=view&current=Signature.png

Or,

right-click this image below, and choose "save as" and select a spot on your computer to save the image:

Once you have done that, you need to upload the photo to a web hosted photo site like photobucket or flickr. Facebook may work- I'm not sure. Photobucket has a free account that works well for that purpose.

Once you have uploaded your picture to your account there should be a place to get the image url. On photobucket it looks like this:

What you want is the one titled IMG CODE- that is perfect for the Disboards! Click in the box that has the img code and it should say "copied" (if not select all of the text in the img code box, right click and select "copy")

Then go to the Dis (I like to do it in another tab or window)- in your user CP select Edit Signature (also under Quick Links) and in the box whre you put what you want in your sig you should right click and select "paste".

That should do it...a couple of things to keep in mind, I made it the maximum size to fit in the Dis Signature block...so if you need it smaller you willl have to resize it (you can do this right from Photobucket) If you have tickers, text, or other pictures in the signature you may need to rearrange them so it is all visible.

Hope that helps everyone!

 

[Grandma4ever]

I had an inside stateroom on my first cruise and i felt like i was in a basement. This time i have a dexlue oceanveiw room with a large port hole window. can you belive that we are only a few more weeks from checking in online. I live in washington state on the west coast i might be able to check in online at 9:01 PST but i'm not counting on it. I just read about the remy lunch that they are testing on the fantasy i hope that this will be offtred for our cruise in september Just wondered if any one has a stateroom on deck two. anyone close to 2040

Janet and I are on Deck two . I believe we are on the other side of the ship but it will not be far.

 

[Grandma4ever]

In fact we are in 2542 so we will be on one side while you are on the other.

 

[Grandma4ever]

OK I thought of a question. When is on line check in for gold? We have not even thought much about excusions or the like. I am thinking I had better get busy.

 

[MagicMe]

OK I thought of a question. When is on line check in for gold? We have not even thought much about excusions or the like. I am thinking I had better get busy.

Ibelieve it's June 9th. For me it's at 12:01AM.