Princess elite member tries family cruise on Disney Fantasy

[Cruz4Sun]

Ourfamily of 8 just returned from a 7-night voyage on the Disney Fantasy. Ourgroup included 2 sets of grandparents, 1 set of parents and 2 little girls ages7 and almost 5. It was a thrill for my DH and I to see our granddaughters enjoythe wonder of Disney. We are Elite onPrincess, but this was our first Disney cruise. I will focus my thoughts on what the differences between the 2 lineswere to me.

Embarkation

We arrived at our scheduled port arrival time of 11 a.m. I am used to long lines of adults at thisearly arrival time, but it is even crazier with hundreds of little ones waitingin the lounge area to board the ship. Next time I would come after 12:30 p.m. to avoid this.

 

 

Dining

At night our party of 8 enjoyed our dinner at the assigned dining room. I foundthe food to be very good and the choices plentiful, similar to Princess. The waiters make every effort to accommodatethe children. There were crayons and alittle booklet to color and puzzles to solve for them. Their food arrived quickly (almostimmediately if you requested it). Keeping in mind Disney is a family cruise line, the noise level in thedining room makes it a totally different experience than a dinner in a Princessdining room (we generally do longer cruises that have very few children). One evening my DH and I went alone to thetable-service dinner at Cabanas. Thiswas much quieter and we found it quite enjoyable.

Breakfastand lunch offerings were plentiful on each cruise line. I give a thumbs up to Disney for offeringfresh shrimp and mussels each day at the buffet. I must give Princess the edge on hours foodis available without calling room service or going to an outdoor grill/foodcourt.

 

Stateroom

We stayed in stateroom 8677 which is an inside cabin. The room was much nicerthan the Princess inside rooms we have had. The bed was far away from the door and had a curtain that could be usedto close it off from the sitting area with a full couch. The room stewards on both lines are veryefficient and pleasant. On Disney youget a towel animal each night, while on Princess your ice bucket is filled eachday.

Entertainment

The Princess production shows can’t hold a candle to the Disney productionshows of Aladdin, Wishes and Believe. Wecouldn’t believe the Broadway quality of these shows. After seeing these shows I began tounderstand why the price of this cruise was about double what we usually pay onPrincess.

Wealso enjoyed a juggler/comedy act, a game called the Quest and family karaoke.I will say that the nights we didn’t go to the Walt Disney Theatre were not asmuch fun. We are used to going toseveral adult activities each night such as a 50’s sock hop, then a shortcomedy show then a lounge for some music.

 

Characters

The characters are everywhere! On StarWars day I was at the pool when a group of storm troopers arrived! My granddaughters loved posing for pictureswith their favorite princesses and other characters. We took many of our own pictures, but did purchasea package of 10 digital professional photos for $149, splitting the cost 3ways.

Pools

The family pools and hot tubs along with the pool deck were jammed. The kids didn’t seem to mind, but it was fartoo crowded for any adults except those supervising children to want to get inthe water. The adult only Cove Pool wasquite nice when we had a chance to get over there.

 

Oceaneers Club and Oceaneers Lab

I’ve never really looked at the Princess kids club, but I can tell you theOceaneers Club and Lab are really extensive with tons of fun things to see anddo. Our little ones had lots of fun thetimes they attended.

In conclusion I would saythe Disney line is fantastic for a family cruise, but for a couples vacation myDH and I will definitely return to Princess Cruises.

 

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review. Any photos?

[sunsetbeachgal]

I've always wanted to do a Disney cruise as we tend to visit WDW every year or so, but the cost is so darned high! Thx for the comparison

 

 

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[Mamma Drum]

Good comparison. I always wondered how Disney would be if you didn't have children. I also like Princess.

 

 

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[easyboy]

Thank you for sharing your experience.

[Newwestman]

The kids clubs on Princess are excellent. My 7 year old loves them. I'd consider a Disney cruise, but like the OP, the cost is easily double and I can't justify it, even with the characters.

[nzOdy]

Thanks for sharing. I've also done a cruise on the Disney Fantasy, back in 2014, and are Platinum on Princess. It may just be personal opinion, but I find the food on Princess to be a level above what we experienced in the main dining rooms on Disney. We had one meal in Remy which was absolutely fantastic, but my wife and I found the MDR food on that Disney cruise to be disappointing.

 

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[Cruz4Sun]

Thanks for the review. Any photos?

Thanks for asking! My Disney Fantasy review was just posted under member reviews on CC. You can find a few photos (including kids burying grandpa in sand on Castaway Cay) with the review.

[mevs904]

I enjoyed reading your review as the Disney Fantasy is our favorite ship, but we have now taken two Princess cruises and have booked a third. We have sailed on each of the Disney ships both with and without children and have enjoyed ourselves each time. Our love for the Fantasy comes from the wonderful attention to detail that Disney puts into their ships. The entire ship tells a story and we love how the pictures, dining rooms and hallways have so many interesting details ( eg. breadbasket shaped like Cinderella's carriage) and Mid-ship Detective Agency where the paintings in the elevator lobbies come alive and children use them to solve a mystery. We also love the dining room rotation, especially the interactive experience at Animator's Palate. We have also noticed that the officers are much more accessible on the Disney ships. It's not unusual to see the Captain getting his morning coffee at the Cove Cafe or walking around the ship. On two occasions when we've asked questions we've received handwritten responses on our stateroom mail hook.

All that being said, we have been dismayed by the significant increase in fare prices on Disney and have really enjoyed our Princess cruises so we will be cruising more often on Princess in the future.

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for posting your review.....:):):)

 

Bob

[DrivesLikeMario]

I have put in my order for grandchildren but it seems to be back-ordered for many years. :(

I cannot WAIT for the chance to get to do these grandparent-type things! Thanks for the balanced review. :D

[greenie082756]

It is because of a Disney Cruise that DH and I choose to cruise for our vacations.

Disney got us hooked.

We enjoyed watching the kids being so happy. I do not believe I heard any screaming

or yelling at all. Food, entertainment and staff were all A+.

 

We might do another Disney cruise as adults only but it is more expensive but worth it! :)

[Cruz4Sun]

It is because of a Disney Cruise that DH and I choose to cruise for our vacations.

Disney got us hooked.

We enjoyed watching the kids being so happy. I do not believe I heard any screaming

or yelling at all. Food, entertainment and staff were all A+.

 

We might do another Disney cruise as adults only but it is more expensive but worth it! :)

 

It is great watching the kids be happy on a Disney cruise. I will say I heard plenty of yelling and screaming (including from my overtired 4 year old granddaughter) but I expected that on a family cruise ship with hundreds of children of all ages.