Cabins on the Fantasy - pros and cons of all

[sansterre]

We are taking our family (ages 2 to 77) on a 7 day cruise on the Fantasy.  

It would be ideal to stay near each other, either on the same deck or at least near the same elevator.

Is there a preferred deck on the Fantasy?  Is there a deck to avoid due to noise?  

The inside cabins are less expensive - how are they?

Are the balcony cabins worth the extra money?  

All opinions appreciated as we normally cruise on HAL but decided to go Disney this time for the grandchild 😀

 

[WorkingForOBC]

In other forums, I've read that the Fantasy has some vibration issues in the aft. Otherwise, I think all of the standard cabin selection advice is applicable.

I think you'll find that DCL cabins are slightly larger than the equivalent categories on HAL. A majority of the cabins have split bathrooms, which is a nice convenience when traveling with 3+ in a cabin. The standard interior cabins (cheapest) do not have the split bath, but the "deluxe" interior cabins do.

Since the cabins are designed with families in mind, I find that they're designed well with lots of storage space.

The portholes on the Oceanview rooms are quite large, and could present a decent savings over a verandah too.

Only you can decide whether you'll get the value out of the added cost of the verandah.

 

Now for a bit of unsolicited advice that you can feel free to ignore. I don't think I would book a cruise based on a 2 year old. Maybe when they're 5 or 6 and are old enough to enjoy the kids club, and meeting the characters. However, I don't think that Disney cruise line really has anything extra for a 2 year old that other (cheaper) family cruise lines don't.

Now, if other members of your multi-generational party are really into Disney, and are just using the grand child as an excuse to sail on Disney, that's an entirely different story 😉

[gometros]

As far as decks go, some people like to avoid deck 10 since it's under the pool deck. I've been on deck 8 on the Magic, which has the same position, and really didn't find it an issue. On the Dream and Fantasy, we love the aft staterooms, since they have the oversized balconies. The vibration is really only an issue when docking. 

 

As far as balconies go, we won't sail without one. But you'll get different opinions. Some people say that you don't spend much time in your stateroom, but since you're traveling with a toddler, I can see you spending some time in you room for nap time. We're in the sailing without kids category, and we spend enough time in our room to get time to enjoy the balcony. We love ordering room service and eating out there. In the evening, when we go back to the room, we'll sit out there and read a while before turning in. So, it really comes down to your budget, and your needs. When we've sailed with our adult children, we've taken an inside stateroom for them (I know, we're terrible parents 😄) and would get them extra KTTW cards so that they could come into our room.  

[sansterre]

3 hours ago, gometros said:

As far as decks go, some people like to avoid deck 10 since it's under the pool deck. I've been on deck 8 on the Magic, which has the same position, and really didn't find it an issue. On the Dream and Fantasy, we love the aft staterooms, since they have the oversized balconies. The vibration is really only an issue when docking. 

 

As far as balconies go, we won't sail without one. But you'll get different opinions. Some people say that you don't spend much time in your stateroom, but since you're traveling with a toddler, I can see you spending some time in you room for nap time. We're in the sailing without kids category, and we spend enough time in our room to get time to enjoy the balcony. We love ordering room service and eating out there. In the evening, when we go back to the room, we'll sit out there and read a while before turning in. So, it really comes down to your budget, and your needs. When we've sailed with our adult children, we've taken an inside stateroom for them (I know, we're terrible parents 😄) and would get them extra KTTW cards so that they could come into our room.  

What is a KTTW card?  (I'm thinking it might be a key of some sort.)

[WorkingForOBC]

Key To The World... It's just what DCL calls their all purpose key card.

[sansterre]

40 minutes ago, WorkingForOBC said:

Key To The World... It's just what DCL calls their all purpose key card.

Thanks, and you are right..... some of us are using the 2 year old as an excuse to take a Disney cruise.

Edited January 22, 2023 by sansterre

[WorkingForOBC]

32 minutes ago, sansterre said:

Thanks, and you are right..... some of us are using the 2 year old as an excuse to take a Disney cruise.

Love it!

They truly do a wonderful job for adults too, but it helps if you appreciate that "Disney magic" touch.

[gometros]

On 1/21/2023 at 10:28 PM, sansterre said:

Thanks, and you are right..... some of us are using the 2 year old as an excuse to take a Disney cruise.

 

Who needs an excuse?  😄

[cruisin1982]

On 1/21/2023 at 4:50 PM, gometros said:

As far as decks go, some people like to avoid deck 10 since it's under the pool deck. I've been on deck 8 on the Magic, which has the same position, and really didn't find it an issue. On the Dream and Fantasy, we love the aft staterooms, since they have the oversized balconies. The vibration is really only an issue when docking. 

 

As far as balconies go, we won't sail without one. But you'll get different opinions. Some people say that you don't spend much time in your stateroom, but since you're traveling with a toddler, I can see you spending some time in you room for nap time. We're in the sailing without kids category, and we spend enough time in our room to get time to enjoy the balcony. We love ordering room service and eating out there. In the evening, when we go back to the room, we'll sit out there and read a while before turning in. So, it really comes down to your budget, and your needs. When we've sailed with our adult children, we've taken an inside stateroom for them (I know, we're terrible parents 😄) and would get them extra KTTW cards so that they could come into our room.  

 We always stay mid ship with a balcony I think it’s worth it. Nice to sit and relax before bed time.

[ArthurUSCG]

If your traveling as a group, it's nice to book early and get rooms next to each other. For most of the verandas the dividing wall between them folds back so you can have 1 big veranda. We've family cruised and had the verandahs open between 4 rooms on the Dream's Aft Port Quarter (7182 to 7188) and it was nice to sit there in the evenings or during nap time.

I've been on the Fantasy and the noise/vibrations were more then the Dream but not bad unless the ship was near her max speed. Which happened on the Thanksgiving 2021 cruise due to making up time after a medical emergency had us turn back to Key West. But that night the entire ship was vibrating and moving with the waves (going against the gulf stream). It was obvious the captain was trying to make up time for the port call in Cozumel. We were midship at 9570 and while the vibrations were less then the aft area, there was a lot more bow rise. It made for an interesting time watching the show in the Walf Disney Theater (bow)

There's no 1 perfect room or deck, it's all about trade offs and what is important to you.

[kerx2Fam]

We really enjoyed being on Deck 5 with our little one!  She was able to walk past and be excited about kids club and we could check on her often and easily!  We booked again for December and picked Deck 5 again!