Dani and the Laulings do the Disney Fantasy

I have always heard amazing things about the service on Disney cruises, so I was excited to see how it compares to Royal Carribbean, the only cruise line we’ve previously experienced. I have a separate review on how the two compare if you’re interested in my perspective on that. This was a joint cruise with my sister in law, her husband and 2 daughters and the mother-in-law. We opted for an Eastern Caribbean itinerary stopping at Tortola, St Thomas and Castaway Cay. We had done St Thomas before but not the other two ports.

I booked through Crown Cruise who gave us great on-board credit amounts ($750 for the deluxe ocean view room with 4 people).

Pre-planning

I have to say this was a real turn off for me. Disney requires if you are a first time cruiser you to logon to your cruise manager at midnight Eastern time 45 days before the cruise departs. If you are concierge level or have cruised before you can access on earlier dates than this, meaning there’s slim picking for us first timers. I knew getting a cabana at castaway Cay was going to be a long shot, and sure enough there was no availability when I logged on. I did manage to snag a Disney Jr breakfast for the 9 of us but no character meets, even just trying to get it for my own 2 kids, and neither of the excursions I wanted (Baths at Tortola and semi-submarine at St Thomas) were available. You also have to book a port arrival time. We ended up with noon and my sister-in law with a 12.15.

I ended up booking a private charter with Partouche in order to do the baths. They also have some group tours that avoid the crowds so might not be a bad alternative to doing the Disney one. For St Thomas we just picked a beach break.

I had originally been on the fence about doing an adult only brunch. I would have been able to book something but don’t worry if you can’t snag one as those are easily booked on the day of departure.

Make sure you load the Disney cruise boat app before you board as it allows you to text others in your party for free and you can book internet packages through it too, although as always they were very expensive and you had to buy them in blocks of data- you can’t do an unlimited package. The app also serves as the navigator for activities that are happening each day.

Embarkation

We took an Ultimate Towncar Mercedes van from the hotel to the cruise port. As was the experience at Ft Lauderdale, the queues getting to Port Canaveral were also quite long. We were picked up at 10.15 and got to the port at 11.30, a little earlier than our scheduled arrival times. We were funneled to one of several check in desk queues and seemed to luck out as the one we were directed to was quite short. We checked in and were given a boarding number of 16 and it had already been called so we headed straight to the boarding line. It moved fairly quickly. One nice touch with Disney is your family name gets announced as you board the ship in to the 3^rd floor atrium.

My husband and sister-in-law wanted to run the Castaway Cay 5K so they headed straight to guest services to sign up. There was no line at that time. I headed down to the 2^nd floor to try and get a Palo brunch. They had sign up tables outside the Enchanted Garden restaurant. I had no trouble getting a noon slot on the 2^nd sea day.

We then headed to the sit down restaurant for lunch, which happened to be Animator’s Palette on that day. I had been told by our Disney travel agent that this would be less stressful than trying to the buffet and it worked out well as I got a glimpse of the very efficient service I was going to experience the rest of the cruise. The wait staff are super attentive with nice touches such as ketchup being served in a Mickey mouse shape.

After lunch we changed in to our swim wear and went up to ride the duck as we had been advised this would be one of the quietest times to ride it. The duck is a water coaster for 1 or 2 people at a time. The queue was down to the bottom of the second stair case and probably took about 15 minutes for us to get to the top. The quietest time to ride is actually after dinner (wait times of 5 minutes or less) but it was certainly quieter than it was on sea days where the line was all the way to the bottom of the staircase. After riding the duck, it was time for the safety drill, which for us was in the movie theater. Once that was over with, we started exploring the boat. There’s no nice open promenade like Royal Caribbean has, it has some shops on the 3^rd floor where the shops are but it feels kind of dark down there as there are no windows. We checked out the gym, which was tiny with not many pieces of equipment and virtually no floor work area. That said, the number of people using the gym over the course of the cruise was considerably less than those on the Harmony of the seas.

Rooms were ready at 1.30 and luggage had been delivered after our boat exploration, giving us time to unpack before dinner. As regular state rooms go, the Deluxe family balcony was pretty nice. It has 2 bathrooms; one with a tub/shower and sink, and the other with a toilet and sink, which is nice with a family of 4. There was adequate space around the bed to manoeuver and the couch converted in to bunk beds, which again didn’t take up too much space. The suitcases store conveniently under the bed and there were 2 closets so plenty of space for everyone’s clothes.

Another nice touch is there is self-service laundry on most floors with ironing boards.

The doors on the Disney boats are metal (unless you are concierge level where they are wood). I found out in advance that it is tradition to decorate your door with magnets. You can have them custom made from sites such as Etsy. Another tradition is fish extenders. The premise is you join via a Facebook group dedicated to your sailing and are assigned a certain number of cabins to buy gifts for. You exchange the ages and genders of your party and some people go all out with creating customized gifts. These gifts are left in fish extenders that are hung outside people’s cabins throughout the week. It’s a cute idea but we didn’t participate because we would have needed to pack a whole other suitcase.

Dinner for us the first night was in the Enchanted garden. You have the same wait staff even though you rotate between the 3 different restaurants over the course of the cruise. Overall, the food on the Disney boat was superb, with only a couple of misses (soups that were too salty). Soda is included in the price too, which is also not the case on other cruise lines.

We chose not to do the show that night as I’d heard it’s more of a preview of the week, and instead the Laulings opted to go on the Duck, which was pretty cool to do at night. Note there is a 42 inch height requirement without shoes. Those 48 to 54 inches without shoes can go on with another kid in the same height range, those smaller than 48 inches have to ride with an adult.

We had a great room attendant who adorned us with a variety of towel animals that often were complemented by one of our own stuffed animals! The nightly chocolate was also appreciated.

Day 2 and 3

Day 2 and 3 were sea days for us. We did the Olaf meet and greet (very long lines but did keep moving), mini golf on the top deck and then the scavenger clue hunts, which were really cool with interactive pictures all around the boat and 3 different mysteries to solve. The kids club was also really cool; with an Andy’s room, star wars flight simulators and super hero room where you could build hammers with Thor and open portals with Dr Strange. Those special activities are in the navigator so you can just take your kids down for those even if they’re not going to spend long hours there.

My husband and I got a couples ticket for the senses spa, which was a nice experience with different showers, steam rooms, sauna, hot loungers and hot tubs. You can do port days at $29 a day or all access for $249 a couple.

There were lots of movies being shown on the boat throughout the day but also loads of choices on the TV itself, including all the Avengers franchise, Princess movies etc. so the boys cycled through several of those! Daddy Lauling and I both took it in turn to go to the gym, which never ended up being super busy at least later in the morning and beyond.

We were in the Royal Court for dinner on day 2 (probably my least favorite for ambiance) and then Animator’s palette on day 3 where there was a turtle talk with crush show (same concept as the one in Epcot). We did the buffet for breakfast and lunch on day 2. It had the range you would expect including Mickey waffles and finding a table was never an issue.

On the night of day 2 we went to the Aladdin show. You just turn up and there were definitely more people than seats, and some seats have obstructed views. It was very good quality, including some cool special effects, and only 1 hour long, which was the perfect length of time. It was before the show however that we were told Hurricane Dorian was scheduled to be at St Thomas the same day as us and we were being re-routed to a Western Caribbean itinerary and would have to re-book excursions starting at 8 am the next morning for Cozumel and Grand Cayman. We had never been to Grand Cayman but had been to Cozumel, so it was a wash in terms of itinerary novelty. Our excursion to St Thomas was refunded and I was able to cancel the Tortola reservation using the ship’s internet.

We had the Disney Jr breakfast booked for the next morning, so I got in line at 7.30 to book excursions. The line was already very long with people apparently in line from 6.30 am. I may have been better off queuing at guest services rather than at port adventures, but anyway I got to the desk at 8.20. I still could only get my 2^nd choice for Grand Cayman (wanted to do the full submarine but ended up with the semi-submarine). Cozumel I booked La Play Mia beach resort privately to have more time there than the Disney option would allow. I got to breakfast around 8.30, 15 minutes late, but my husband had ordered for me, so I didn’t starve. The breakfast was at Animator’s Palette. The characters weren’t very interactive, but signed books and took pictures (although you were not allowed to move so we put all the kids together on one side of the table for pictures). Vamparina, Doc McStuffins, Mickey and Minnie were there.

We had our mother in law take the kids for sit down lunch on day 3 as we felt that would be easier than her juggling buffet plates for them while we went for brunch at Palo. I have to say it was the most amazing meal, definitely on par with Micheline star restaurants. It comes with a Bellini cocktail and all you can eat buffet. The spread was incredible; from crab and lobster to amazing pastries and breads (the chocolate nut bread is to die for) and anti-pastas and cheese. You then select a main course from the menu; the lasagna and chicken parm that was recommended by the waiter again was fabulous. We then wrapped up with a selection of mini desserts. Definitely go hungry! And it was only $20 extra a head. Our waiter was also fabulous, telling us about the new Disney Wish boat and the history of the spaghetti chandelier that’s in the entrance to the restaurant.

Shows

There were 2 other Broadway like shows; Wishes and Believe. We went to Believe which was a cute story about a girl who wants her dad to believe in magic and then is visited by various Disney ‘magic’ characters such as Mary Poppins and Genie. We also checked out an America’s got talent juggler, who was very entertaining, but was more along the lines of what you would expect cruise boat entertainment to be like as he did have a few fumbles. The other nights included a comedian and a ventriloquist but those nights we spent on the sports deck at the duck, pool, mini golf and foosball, all of which were huge hits for my kids.

Dining

We rotated 3 nights in total at Royal Court, 2 at Enchanted Garden and 2 at Animator’s Palette. The ceiling lights and tree are a nice touch in the Enchanted Garden, but they are largely similar in look and feel to other cruise boat main dining rooms. The 2^nd night at Animator’s palette was amazing. You are each given a template to draw a character/ person. Everyone’s character is then turned in to a movie with Mickey and they become animated; literally dancing on the screen. The technology behind it must be incredible. Other than the adult restaurants Palo and Remy (French cuisine) there are no specialty options like other cruise lines have, which was fine given you move around the 3 restaurants for a change of scenery but would not be my preference. Our waiters got to know our likes; with a cucumber salad with ranch always waiting for our youngest, and chocolate milk not in a kid’s cup for our eldest Lauling.

Animator’s Palette show

Dining on Castaway Cay was probably the worst experience- they couldn’t keep up with making the burgers meaning it took a very long time for the lines to move, and where they cooked them did not have good ventilation, making it very smoky.

Also on the boat is an adult’s café with coffee and snacks, pizza and burgers kiosk near the pools along with 24 hour soft drinks, tea and coffee available, and soft serve ice-cream for much of the day. There is also a pay for sweet on you café with cakes and chocolates but I rarely saw anyone in there.

Activities

During the day the 2 pools was obnoxiously packed with absolutely no room to move. They are however heated which made for a very pleasant temperature. We did not take part in any of the organized activities, but some of our party enjoyed cooking classes and my sister-in-law’s tween enjoyed the Vibe club. There was also bingo and quizzes, but no casino on the boat. There is an adult’s pool which was always pretty quiet and a few lounging hot tubs at the sides of the pool deck.

One of the kid’s favorite things was the clue solving. You take a mystery card from one of the stations and follow the instructions which takes you all round the boat finding pictures that animate and give you a clue. There are 3 different mysteries and the kids completed two (muppets and missing puppies).

There are character greats constantly through the day- you can see the times in the navigator. Try to get there about 10 minutes before the stated time for a short wait (except Olaf where you probably need to be there at least 20 minutes before the stated time). The boys met Stitch, who became a firm favorite, Goofy, and Thor and got autographs from them all.

Day 4- Grand Cayman

Our tour wasn’t until 1.00, so we hung about on the boat in the morning, grabbed an early lunch at Cabana’s and then headed off the boat. As the boat had been docked since 10 am, disembarkment was pretty easy but they use smaller boats to take you to shore so there was a bit of a wait as they wanted to fill the boat before we left. We met our shore excursion guide at the pier who walked us to where the semi-submarine went from. We were meant to leave at 2.00, but it was actually closer to 2.15 before we boarded so people were getting a bit agitated as we’d go there around 1.45 so were just hanging around. We finally got on the boat which does require climbing down a steep ladder (I can’t recall them saying that- not that it was a problem but it definitely wouldn’t be suitable for someone with significant mobility issues). It was only when we got going that I remembered how queasy those semi-submarine boats make me feel, and unfortunately my little guy had the same issues, and spent most of the trip lying down. One other kid physically puked. So if you have an issue with motion sickness, don’t do this trip! I managed to keep it together and it was cool when one of the crew went out in his diving suit with some bread and loads of fish swarmed him. We saw a ship wreck and some pretty fish, but no turtle, shark or really big fish. We had more variety when we did a similar trip at St Thomas on a previous cruise. It was over in about 45 minutes and we walked back to the boat. I was happy to see that there wasn’t much of a line to board the little boats back to the Fantasy, unlike the MSC boat that was also docked at the same time as us.

Day 5- Cozumel

If we hadn’t have been going for Spring break next year, I would have picked one of the Eco parks like Xcaret for our Cozumel day, but instead picked the day at Playa del Mia beach resort. I didn’t realize it wasn’t a hotel, it’s actually a public resort. Because several boats had been re-routed due to the hurricane, there were apparently 6 boats in port, which is a lot more than usual, so there were a lot of people at the resort. It took an age to get off the boat . We grabbed a taxi to take us there for $19 which definitely got us there much quicker than those doing the same trip through the cruise line as I saw them with their Disney wrist bands a while later, and heard them being called to depart much earlier than we left. We selected the option that included drinks and food. We started at the splash area, which the kids spent a long time at, and my eldest Lauling went on the water slides a few times. While my youngest one was big enough to go in (42 inches), we were worried he might struggle swimming out at the bottom.

We then headed over to the beach area and rented an umbrella for shade. They have inflatables out in the sea, but we had to wait quite a while to get life jackets to go out there. I was told the kids had to be 7 to participate but we snuck our 5 year old on, as he’d done similar ones with no issues at Labadee. They were not in as good condition as the ones at Labadee, with some of the foot steps missing, but we still had a good time, especially on the trampoline. The inflatables got much quieter later in the afternoon as people started to depart so I would recommend waiting until after lunch.

Lunch was a buffet with a nice mix of tacos, salad and burger/ hot dog fare. They also had servers brining drinks to you at the beach. After lunch we went back to the splash area. The main negative there was there was nowhere to sit and watch the kids. We timed it perfectly as as we were about to leave, someone pooped in the splash zone and so they had to kick everyone out to clean it! There were taxis waiting to take us back to the ship and we arrived back around 4 pm so we could get ready for 5.45 dinner.

This night was pirate night and all the kids got dressed up. There was some sort of pirate show after dinner but after a long day we decided to rest before going up to the top deck for 9.45 to see the fireworks. It was packed and there was some sort of a pre-show that was too long and not necessary. It was really cool seeing the fireworks off the boat and obviously unique to Disney, but I wish they had done it earlier. It was supposed to be on a different night but they had to change it with the itinerary change to ensure the right positioning and conditions.

Day 6- sea day

Our sea day followed our typical pattern of tag teaming at the gym and spa, mini golf, foosball, clue hunting, an activity at the kid’s club and a new activity; 30 minutes in the sports simulator. You can pick from golf, baseball, football, basketball, bowling. It was really fun and we wished we’d done it again earlier in the week.

Day 7 Castaway Cay

The boat docked around 8, and we made sure we were in line to get off early. We took the tram down to the last stop (which was a bit frustrating as it was very ‘maniana’ in terms of when we would leave each stop. My husband headed off to run his 5K with the 8.30 group and I went to the beach with the kids. You get a medal if you complete the 5K. We went as far as you can before you hit the cabana’s beach. It wasn’t as deep a beach here so there weren’t as many people. We hired a tube and a float which proved a hit, built sandcastles, swam and sunbathed. It was beautiful but even at the time we got there, we were in the back row of loungers. Many people coming later could not find anywhere to sit. While the Fantasy is the biggest boat currently, it’s going to be an issue when the Wish docks there. They had tons of loungers in the cabanna’s area beach and no-one there, so it definitely seemed a bit odd. To go to the adult only beach you had to take a second tram.

There were drink fountains near the restaurant area which is just behind the beach and lots of tables to sit at for lunch. After lunch we hired bikes for us all to ride the 5K route. You can stop at a lookout point that gives nice panoramic views of the island, and then at the beach at the end of the island. My sister-in law and her family did some snorkeling in the snorkeling area and said there were mickey and Minnie statues under the water and loads of rays and fish to see.

Sadly, it was an eerie feeling leaving at 4.30 knowing that two days later the hurricane was going to hit and not knowing what would be left of the island.

Day 8 Disembarkment

We headed up to Cabanna’s for breakfast around 7.30 and it wasn’t as busy as I expected. You can also have breakfast in the restaurant you ate at the night before, so I guess that helped to spread everyone around. We then headed off the boat around 8.30. It did take a while to get through customs with the luggage, putting us at the rental car buses around 9.10. Definitely don’t go there if you booked with Avis. The vans only take 11 people and we were told that we would not get on the next 2 buses and it was taking at least 20 minutes for the bus to drop off and come back. So we decided to grab a taxi instead, although the driver was upset that she wasn’t getting a fare to go to the airport. An added issue was the draw bridge on the road on the way to the rental car pick-up was being opened much more often than usual as people were trying to move their boats with the pending hurricane.

We got to the rental car office expecting the 11 people who had got in the earlier van to be there, but there was no sign of them, so we grabbed our car and hit the road.

We went to the Kennedy space center which was closing the next day due to the hurricane, and was eerily quiet. We did everything including the tour over to the shuttle hangers and the simulator with no line and had a really fun day.

We were originally meant to fly out on Monday but I moved our flight to Sunday to be out before the hurricane. I then got a call saying that Cocoa beach where we were meant to stay that night was under an evacuation order so they had re-booked us at a hotel closer to Disney. So in light of that I looked for dinner at a Disney resort, and snagged a 7.30 Storybook dining. I later learnt that a lot of people had cancelled their Disney trips and so the parks were super quiet the rest of that week, even though Galaxy’s edge had just opened. The food was fabulous, creatively presented and the character interaction’s fun. The boys said it was the best meal of the week! It was also nostalgic to be back at the Wilderness Lodge, which had been the resort we stayed in during our first ever WDW trip.

So would I do a Disney cruise again? Honestly probably not. While the food was great, I actually found the shows on Royal Caribbean more varied as it has the ice shoes and the aquatheater shows, the layout of the Fantasy irritated me a lot because it was hard to traverse across some of the decks (for example to get to Palo you have to go up and then back down) and its lack of a cool central gathering area like central park or the promenade. It’s also super expensive compared to Royal Caribbean. We paid nearly $7K for our regular room and probably could have gone suite class on RC for similar money. I just didn’t think the Disney boat was that much better (and in some areas it was worse) that would justify the difference.