"Lessons Learned" on Disney Fantasy

[cruisedisneyfan]

When Walt Disney created his empire I don't believe he invisioned what it has become. Disney is not for kids anymore. Go to any Disney park are ventue and all you hear is angry parents and crying kids. I sold all my stock in Disney several years ago when Eisner was in charge after visiting one of the parks and witnessed what it has become.

 

Quite the contrary, The Walt Disney Company is a wonderful company that provides magical experiences for children, families, and kids of all ages. I think Walt would be proud of his company and especially the Cruise Line. Sure Disney has made some mistakes, as has everyone and every company. We are, after all human. You should give the parks another try, and I highly reccomend the cruise line.

 

On a different note, the beaches at Castway Cay are no where near as crowded as people lead you to believe. Take the time to review the island map and skip the family beach nearest the ship and go to the next ones. They aren't as crowded.

[Gary from PA]

Walt Disney Co is one of the biggest employers in the USA even during this times of recession.

 

Moat famous now is singer, Beyonce , if I remember right or correct me ,please. :)

 

Thousands of entertainers and other cast members come from all over the WORLD.

[ducklite]

Disney had nothing to do with Beyonce. She was in Destiny's Child before her solo career. She was never on a Disney owned label (ie Hollywood, etc.) and I don't think any of the movies she's been in were released by a Disney owned company.

 

I'm not sure who you are thinking of, but it's not Beyonce. Maybe Britney Spears? I wouldn't call her career anything but on a lifeline these days.

[vivavegas]

Great tips! Thanks for posting!:)

[JimShockz]

Nope, they will still charge corkage fee for bringing your own BOTTLE. We typicaly just open in our room and carry a glass to dinner. If we want to enjoy a full bottle, we will order in the restaurant, or just order another glass..... I didn't find the wine charges to be outrageous. Pouilly Fouisse is one of our favorite chards and it is $55/bottle - I think it's about the same at any restaurant here at home..... And we ordered a 5 night package for a 7 night cruise to save a bit.....

 

We normally purchase wine and sprirts on board at the Duty free shop,the prices are reasonable,we always bring our blender with us,at breakfast time we bring fruit back to the room and make fresh banana dac"s or pina colodas .:D

 

-JH

[Shmoo here]

We normally purchase wine and sprirts on board at the Duty free shop,the prices are reasonable,we always bring our blender with us,at breakfast time we bring fruit back to the room and make fresh banana dac"s or pina colodas .:D

 

-JH

 

If you purchase at the duty-free shop onboard, your purchases are held until the end of the cruise and then given to you.

 

:)

[ilovetexas]

We just returned from a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy (April 28th sailing). It was our first cruise so we didn't know exactly what to expect when we got onboard.

 

I already posted all the highlights of the boat in a "top 6" list. Overall we had a great experience, so these are just some things we wished we would have done differently or thought about...

 

1. Buy the 24-pack of bottled water for our stateroom through Disney. We didn't do this, but wished we would have since the tap water in the room is not cold (for taking medications, etc.). Plus the portability is helpful. The Fantasy does have recycling baskets on deck 11.

 

2. The boat has a lot of people on it. The non-adult areas can get pretty chaotic with all the kids running around. Just be prepared and be patient :) If you really hate crowds and lots of kids, a Disney cruise is probably not for you.

 

3. Lines to get pictures taken by Disney photographers are generally very long (like 10 to 20 minute wait). Be prepared to wait in lines if this is important to you. (we didn't want to wait, mainly because we have a rambunctious 3-year-old so it's pretty painful, but it would have been nice to have a few family photos taken) I wish there was a way for families to make a 'reservation' for a time to get photos taken so less of the trip is wasted waiting in lines.

 

4. For babies & toddlers - make sure you bring plenty of diapers and/or pullups with you. It is impossible to buy them on the ship (they only sell water/pool diapers) and we couldn't find them at the port stops either.

 

5. Bring an iPod/iPad or other device that can play music - I happen to have some songs on mine that are for helping babies sleep, like white noise. Mine is the sound of ocean waves. Here's a link if you want to see what I mean:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/help-your-baby-sleep-through/id292705464

Anyway, without this I would not have been able to sleep well for 2 reasons:

- At night, sometimes kids will run up and down the halls and are noisy. Some parents let their young kids stay up to midnight or 1am (seriously?!?). Also, we often heard our next door neighbors yelling at their kids for one reason or another. Or kids fighting with each other.

- At night, as the boat rocks, a slight squeaking/cracking noise can be heard from the walls and/or ceiling. Also, the hangers in the closet will bang a little bit. It's not loud, but loud enough to keep you awake.

The white noise, or nature sounds, will really help to cancel out those little noises. A lifesaver!

 

6. Bring some large plastic tumblers for drinks, like Tervis brand. Someone recommended this to us and it was a great idea. However, also remember to bring some soap so that you can wash them out in your room at your convenience.

 

7. If you're a wine drinker, stop at a wine/liquor store in Orlando or Cocoa Beach and pick up 2 bottles per person. That way you get the selection you like and will save a lot of $$ on the boat. The $20 cork fee per bottle is well worth it considering the prices and quality of wine on the boat. At some of the port stops you may be able to pick up a few more if they have what you like.

 

8. Unless your child is at least 38" tall, they cannot ride on any of the water slides at the pool or on Castaway Kay. The Aquaduck has a minimum of 42" tall. It really limits what shorter kids/toddlers can do.

 

9. We didn't enjoy Castaway Kay all that much because our daughter was too little to go on the slides or do many activities. And the beach was sooooooooo crowded it wasn't all that fun. I wished we would have just stayed on the ship that day instead. I think for older kids (like 5+) the island may be more fun. I'm sure the boat was less crowded and would have been better.

 

Those are top-of-mind... if I think of more I'll post them here :)

 

REALLY wish I had gone back and read this before boarding the Fantasy last weekend (as opposed to getting sidetracked into another off topic debate).

 

1. Getting pics taken was ridiculous. No photographers in the MDRs at dinner time and only 4 photographers taking pics on formal and semi-formal night. Disgraceful. DCL needs to take some lessons from other cruise lines. Not all of us want to line up and have pics taken with Daisy Duck.

 

2. White noise machine would have made my nights more pleasant. Trying to fall asleep in total silence drives me batty. Plus, I was quite irritated at all the running in the halls.

 

We went to Castaway late (watching The Avengers) and there was practically NO ONE left on the ship.

[cbaker444]

A cruise would be very difficult with a 3 year old....IMO a 3 year old has a very hard time handling Disnet World. I remember when we couldn't wait to take ours...and it was not much fun for anyone...very young children appreciate the small things at home in familiar surroundings..it's just hard for us parents that want to give them the world....wait a few years and they will love it:)

 

FYI, our 3 year old had a WONDERFUL time and she appreciated the things to do on the boat! She was not at all too young to appreciate the activities onboard and on the port stops. She would have loved the water slides too (accompanied by my husband or I), but she was too short.

 

I don't think it's accurate to say that all young children prefer familiar surroundings... our daughter loves doing new things and is very outgoing. She prefers to be out and about to being at home :)

 

I think bringing a 3-year-old on a Disney Cruise was a better choice than taking her to Disney World since there's not as much walking and she loved the kids club area on the ship. I would definitely wait for her to be at least 5 or 6 for Disney World, she'll enjoy it more then.

[bethc1952]

Disney had nothing to do with Beyonce. She was in Destiny's Child before her solo career. She was never on a Disney owned label (ie Hollywood, etc.) and I don't think any of the movies she's been in were released by a Disney owned company.

 

I'm not sure who you are thinking of, but it's not Beyonce. Maybe Britney Spears? I wouldn't call her career anything but on a lifeline these days.

 

Probably thinking of Jennifer Hudson. She was part of the Entertainment Staff on DCL for a while, and she's the Godmother of Dream.

 

Beth

[metrowon]

Thanks for those tips. I've coped them to the tip thread.

Hey Mick!

[PathfinderEss]

Good tips, glad you posted them.

[no1laziofan]

Ive been on a number or other lines (Celebrity, HA, Carnival, Costa, Norwegian, Princess) and even when corkage fees were posted, I hardly EVER had to pay them! I think I paid a corkage fee on a ship once on Carnival, but once our wait staff got to know us, and we still bought a wine package to supplement our own bottles we brought on board, they never charged us the fee! It always worked out to be a slightly higher tip to our waitor in the end as a thank-you gesture.

 

Has anyone else had this experiences on cruises and specifically on Disney? Sailing with Disney with my parents sister and nephew for the first time on the Fantasy July 14. We have all cruised a lot and are looking forward to the DCL experience!

 

Anthony

[ducklite]

Ive been on a number or other lines (Celebrity, HA, Carnival, Costa, Norwegian, Princess) and even when corkage fees were posted, I hardly EVER had to pay them! I think I paid a corkage fee on a ship once on Carnival, but once our wait staff got to know us, and we still bought a wine package to supplement our own bottles we brought on board, they never charged us the fee! It always worked out to be a slightly higher tip to our waitor in the end as a thank-you gesture.

 

Has anyone else had this experiences on cruises and specifically on Disney? Sailing with Disney with my parents sister and nephew for the first time on the Fantasy July 14. We have all cruised a lot and are looking forward to the DCL experience!

 

Anthony

 

Even when buying a $200+ bottle in Remy, we were still charged a corkage for the bottle we brought. Many land based restaurants will waive one corkage fee for every bottle you buy--which I think is more than fair. it's unfortunate that DCL doesn't follow a similar policy.

 

The only time I have corkage fees waived at any Disney owned property is when one of the people in my party is the GM of one of the Disney Resorts.

[doubletheprincess]

THANKS SO MUCH!!! very helpful!

 

We just returned from a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy (April 28th sailing). It was our first cruise so we didn't know exactly what to expect when we got onboard.

 

I already posted all the highlights of the boat in a "top 6" list. Overall we had a great experience, so these are just some things we wished we would have done differently or thought about...

 

1. Buy the 24-pack of bottled water for our stateroom through Disney. We didn't do this, but wished we would have since the tap water in the room is not cold (for taking medications, etc.). Plus the portability is helpful. The Fantasy does have recycling baskets on deck 11.

 

2. The boat has a lot of people on it. The non-adult areas can get pretty chaotic with all the kids running around. Just be prepared and be patient :) If you really hate crowds and lots of kids, a Disney cruise is probably not for you.

 

3. Lines to get pictures taken by Disney photographers are generally very long (like 10 to 20 minute wait). Be prepared to wait in lines if this is important to you. (we didn't want to wait, mainly because we have a rambunctious 3-year-old so it's pretty painful, but it would have been nice to have a few family photos taken) I wish there was a way for families to make a 'reservation' for a time to get photos taken so less of the trip is wasted waiting in lines.

 

4. For babies & toddlers - make sure you bring plenty of diapers and/or pullups with you. It is impossible to buy them on the ship (they only sell water/pool diapers) and we couldn't find them at the port stops either.

 

5. Bring an iPod/iPad or other device that can play music - I happen to have some songs on mine that are for helping babies sleep, like white noise. Mine is the sound of ocean waves. Here's a link if you want to see what I mean:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/help-your-baby-sleep-through/id292705464

Anyway, without this I would not have been able to sleep well for 2 reasons:

- At night, sometimes kids will run up and down the halls and are noisy. Some parents let their young kids stay up to midnight or 1am (seriously?!?). Also, we often heard our next door neighbors yelling at their kids for one reason or another. Or kids fighting with each other.

- At night, as the boat rocks, a slight squeaking/cracking noise can be heard from the walls and/or ceiling. Also, the hangers in the closet will bang a little bit. It's not loud, but loud enough to keep you awake.

The white noise, or nature sounds, will really help to cancel out those little noises. A lifesaver!

 

6. Bring some large plastic tumblers for drinks, like Tervis brand. Someone recommended this to us and it was a great idea. However, also remember to bring some soap so that you can wash them out in your room at your convenience.

 

7. If you're a wine drinker, stop at a wine/liquor store in Orlando or Cocoa Beach and pick up 2 bottles per person. That way you get the selection you like and will save a lot of $$ on the boat. The $20 cork fee per bottle is well worth it considering the prices and quality of wine on the boat. At some of the port stops you may be able to pick up a few more if they have what you like.

 

8. Unless your child is at least 38" tall, they cannot ride on any of the water slides at the pool or on Castaway Kay. The Aquaduck has a minimum of 42" tall. It really limits what shorter kids/toddlers can do.

 

9. We didn't enjoy Castaway Kay all that much because our daughter was too little to go on the slides or do many activities. And the beach was sooooooooo crowded it wasn't all that fun. I wished we would have just stayed on the ship that day instead. I think for older kids (like 5+) the island may be more fun. I'm sure the boat was less crowded and would have been better.

 

Those are top-of-mind... if I think of more I'll post them here :)

[wadekind]

We just returned from a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy (April 28th sailing). It was our first cruise so we didn't know exactly what to expect when we got onboard.

 

I already posted all the highlights of the boat in a "top 6" list. Overall we had a great experience, so these are just some things we wished we would have done differently or thought about...

 

1. Buy the 24-pack of bottled water for our stateroom through Disney. We didn't do this, but wished we would have since the tap water in the room is not cold (for taking medications, etc.). Plus the portability is helpful. The Fantasy does have recycling baskets on deck 11.

 

 

If all you need is cold water you can ask your room steward for ice and they will keep your bucket filled your whole trip.

[MomToPrincePhillip]

Wow lots of info here! Thanks everyone! We are going on our 1st cruise ever next May on the Fantasy, so I'm soaking all the tips and info up that I can.

[Donna_In_India]

Walt never built Disneyland specifically for kids or families.

 

I think he did! At the base of the statue of Walt & Mickey Mouse in front of Cinderella's castle, is this quote from Walt, "We believe in our idea: a family park where parents and children could have fun - together."

[Donna_In_India]

We just returned from a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy (April 28th sailing). It was our first cruise so we didn't know exactly what to expect when we got onboard.

 

I already posted all the highlights of the boat in a "top 6" list. Overall we had a great experience, so these are just some things we wished we would have done differently or thought about...

 

2. The boat has a lot of people on it. The non-adult areas can get pretty chaotic with all the kids running around. Just be prepared and be patient :) If you really hate crowds and lots of kids, a Disney cruise is probably not for you. I'm sure much of this has to do with the time of year you sail. We just did the Magic June 2nd and it really wasn't overrun with kids. That may have been because most schools in the NYC metro area were still in session.

 

3. Lines to get pictures taken by Disney photographers are generally very long (like 10 to 20 minute wait). Be prepared to wait in lines if this is important to you. (we didn't want to wait, mainly because we have a rambunctious 3-year-old so it's pretty painful, but it would have been nice to have a few family photos taken) I wish there was a way for families to make a 'reservation' for a time to get photos taken so less of the trip is wasted waiting in lines. I went into the cruise thinking it was totally for my daughter so I never minded waiting 10 or so minute for photos with the characters or princesses. We managed to take turns waiting in line while the other parent took my daughter to the front of the line to see the character. She never had a meltdown and I didn't see any other kids having one either. Aside from the character and formal night photos, there were usually 2 photographers set up with s scenic or solid color screen waiting to take photos. The lines for those were never long. I'm sorry you found it otherwise especially since you seem to have wanted family photos. I don't think it would hurt for them to take reservations.

 

4. For babies & toddlers - make sure you bring plenty of diapers and/or pullups with you. It is impossible to buy them on the ship (they only sell water/pool diapers) and we couldn't find them at the port stops either.We're in the middle of potty training stage so didn't need a lot of pullups but I think there is a service where you can order diapers/pullups to be delivered to your stateroom (pre-cruise). Where were you that you couldn't find them in port?

 

5. Bring an iPod/iPad or other device that can play music - I happen to have some songs on mine that are for helping babies sleep, like white noise. Mine is the sound of ocean waves. Here's a link if you want to see what I mean:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/help-your-baby-sleep-through/id292705464

Anyway, without this I would not have been able to sleep well for 2 reasons:

- At night, sometimes kids will run up and down the halls and are noisy. Some parents let their young kids stay up to midnight or 1am (seriously?!?). Also, we often heard our next door neighbors yelling at their kids for one reason or another. Or kids fighting with each other. Fortunately we didn't encounter this but we were awoken by crying babies, which must be expected on a Disney cruise!

- At night, as the boat rocks, a slight squeaking/cracking noise can be heard from the walls and/or ceiling. Also, the hangers in the closet will bang a little bit. It's not loud, but loud enough to keep you awake.

The white noise, or nature sounds, will really help to cancel out those little noises. A lifesaver! We did hear some noises that were unidentifiable!

 

8. Unless your child is at least 38" tall, they cannot ride on any of the water slides at the pool or on Castaway Kay. The Aquaduck has a minimum of 42" tall. Glad to hear this. My daughter is 38 1/2" tall and we have a year and half before we hit the Fantasty!It really limits what shorter kids/toddlers can do.

 

9. We didn't enjoy Castaway Kay all that much because our daughter was too little to go on the slides or do many activities. And the beach was sooooooooo crowded it wasn't all that fun. I wished we would have just stayed on the ship that day instead. I think for older kids (like 5+) the island may be more fun. I'm sure the boat was less crowded and would have been better.I'm so sorry to hear this. Our daughter, who turned 3 this cruise was less than thrilled with beaches during our last cruise. This time she loved it. I read here prior to our cruise where to find less crowded areas on CC but we didn't need to look. We did miss a lot of the island - seems that there was a great splash zone - so we'll explore next time. It was so hot & humid while we were there but the water was cold!

 

Those are top-of-mind... if I think of more I'll post them here :)

 

Would love to read your highlights. Can you provide the link?

[gometros]

I think he did! At the base of the statue of Walt & Mickey Mouse in front of Cinderella's castle, is this quote from Walt, "We believe in our idea: a family park where parents and children could have fun - together."

 

If you've ever seen Walt's story, "One Man's Dream", he got the idea to build Disney when we took his daughter to a park and realized there was nothing for him to share with her, hence the quote above.

[Host Mick]

If you've ever seen Walt's story, "One Man's Dream", he got the idea to build Disney when we took his daughter to a park and realized there was nothing for him to share with her, hence the quote above.

 

The concept and development of Disneyland is well described in my favorite Disney biography Walt Disney: An American Original. I highly recommend it for all Disney fans who want to go the next step into the history of the man and the company.

Disney trivia: That same bench upon which Walt Disney imagined Disneyland is now owned by famed Imagineer Tony Baxter and it's on loan to Disneyland. You can see it in City Hall.