7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Disney Fantasy, Aug 31st, 2024

[OttawaJohn]

TL:DR - An amazing cruise and can't say enough about how magical it was.

 

Now, onto the details.

 

Should note first that this was my wife and I's 13th cruise but only our 2nd with Disney.  Our first was a 5-Night on the Magic in 2017.  Also, we do not have children.

 

We flew it the day before, and as always, Air Canada messed up our flights.  But we eventually got to Orlando around midnight instead of 4pm as planned and crashed in our room.

 

Got up in the morning and looked forward to the cruise itself.  We did the transport from the Hyatt at the Airport in Orlando to the port in Port Canaveral and wow, such an efficient experience. 

 

We left our bags in our room by the door as directed and went down to get breakfast.  By the time we got back up 30 minutes later, our bags were gone.  Heading down a bit later to the transfer location, we were a bit early for our scheduled time but directed to queue up anyway.  We were put on the third shuttle run. 

 

The bus, sorry, motorcoach (they're insistent on the terminology), was comfortable and the Disney shorts, all old ones, running on the TVs inside were fun to watch.  Some my wife and I recalled, even though we've probably not seen them in 30+ years.

 

Boarding was, like everything else, so efficient.  From the moment we stepped off the transport till we were sitting down having lunch in Animators Palate, maybe 30 minutes passed. 

 

We got through security easy and fast, then were directed to the boarding area to sit and wait.  We were there maybe 5 minutes when our group was called.  My wife kept thinking there was another step to come but nope, walk into the queue, walk aboard, nice lady announces us coming aboard and everyone cheers.  So amazing.

 

Had lunch and then went up deck a bit till our room was ready, around 130pm. 

 

Only downside of the day, and most of the cruise really, was the heat.  So hot, far more then we really appreciated when we booked it.  Not helped by the fact it had cooled down a lot back home before we flew out.  I had some chocolate snacks in a Ziplock bag in my suitcase and when I took them out, it was 100% melted.  Just a puddle of chocolate. 

 

We liked the room, lots of storage space and the bed and couch was very comfy.  Loved how the bed was a true queen and not two singles pushed together.

 

Less sure how I feel about the bathroom split, between toilet and shower.  I kinda get it, but it did make figuring out where to put some stuff a bit confusing where we'd use it the most. 

 

The shower was great, good pressure, soap/shampoo really good quality.  Not too tall though, due to the raised bathroom floor and then the tub being raised.  I'm around 5'9 and there was maybe 4 or 5 inches above my head.  Hate to be a tall person!

 

The one nightstand had no plugs, USB or power, which was annoying.  And the phone taking up so much space on it was irritating as well.  Also, not a fan of Cisco hardware, found it badly designed and the lack of a speaker phone function when you may spend time on hold waiting for guest services to answer was annoying.

 

The room felt a bit small due to the size of the couch but still, nice to have so much sitting area.

 

There was a curtain between the bed and couch, no doubt to allow separation if you had someone sleeping on the pull out couch.  But it was sorta in my way a lot and had a rod hanging down that I kept hitting my head on, till I tucked it up and away.

 

Another small gripe, not in our room but on Deck 11, pool deck.  The doors outside the elevator area to get onto deck only had a single door that opened, so just one way basically at a time.  Normally not an issue but if busy, you sometimes would wait for 10-20 people to pass through one way before you could get out the other.

 

The sail away party was a lot of fun, and seeing the characters for the first time was the real reminder of what we were in for during the week.

 

The adult area was quiet which we liked but the pool was a bit smaller then expected.  The wading/swim up bar area took up most of the space.

 

Animators Palate for our first dinner. The table location was not great, in the middle of the room, so can't hear or see well the screens on the walls.  Made us worried about out abilities to see the shows that would be through the week, which proved true. 

 

Odd thing, we didn't know our table number, since no one told us it was important to memorize.  So when we arrived, we gave our cabin number, and the host was annoyed we didn't know the table number.  We looked it up in the app but really, we can't be the only ones who didn't know we needed it.

 

Still, service was great rest of the night, as was food and we got to see both Mickey and Minnie!

 

Our room steward was great all week and for silly things.  We had several USB devices charging on the desk and he provided a USB tidy velcro and round up the cords to make it all neater. 

 

And we were thrilled to discover that Disney still does evening turn down service!  After so many cruises with lines that don't anymore, we had forgotten how much we love it.

 

Next day, breakfast in Royal Court, as was lunch for the week.

 

Found breakfast was a bit bland and boring, wish some more variety.  Lunch was always tasty though.

 

Character viewing is so organized.  I showed up early to see Donald, Mickey was still doing his thing.   So, the woman in charge told me to have a seat and she'd get me when she started the line.  She came and got me 15 minutes later, and put me at front of line, telling the others I was her 'first Donald person.'

 

Lots of interactions through the week, including several with my best boys, Chip and Dale!  Got one with C-3PO as well.  Surprised not more Marvel or Star Wars characters out and about but of well.

 

As much fun as the scheduled interactions are, my favorites are still the random encounters.  Just so amazing.  Not sure how you don't smile.

 

Though some don't.  Ran into many very grumpy people on the ship.  Odd, I know everyone has a story and a challenge but really, if you look at Chip and Dale and sneer, you have a problem!

 

Most guests were amazing and fun but it always bugs me the sense of entitlement some have.  Cutting in line, shoving you away so they can get into the elevator first, just some people really, really, suck. 

 

But for the most part, everyone was just having a good time and a lot of fun to sail with.

 

The app was great and worked well.  Some improvements could be done for sure, such as having a section where you can see all characters and select one to see their appearances, instead of having to find a showing of them and then be able to see when else they appear.  I spent 20 minutes going through the week just trying to see who all would be appearing.  Other times it had some wrong info, like saying there was music and martinis in Ooh La La, a champagne bar.  The waiter was very confused when we asked about martini’s.

 

There seemed to be lots more upcharges than last time.  Popcorn for movie not free, when it was last time. And not cheap, same price as our local cinema.

 

Still can't get over the efficiency.  We showed up a few minutes early for dinner at the Royal Court and the doors weren't open yet.  Maybe 100 people in front of us.  Once the doors opened, we were seated with 40 seconds.  Just insane.

 

Went to Trivia several times and the host, YoYo, was just great.  Funny and good at keeping the crowd involved and moving along.

 

Shows were amazing.

 

Alladin was my favorite.  It's also my fav of the '90's animated classics so that had something to do with it I'm sure.  The Genie was amazing, hard to follow-up on Robin Williams obviously but he did a great job.  And the dancer playing the carpet was very talented. 

 

Believe was very interesting, classic tale really of sceptic turned believer but well done.

 

Frozen was great, especially the Let it Go sequence.  But never a major fan of the movie so probably why not that high on my list.  Top part of it though was a little girl, parents said she was 4, sitting in front of us on her mom's lap.  During the Let it Go sequence, she was conducting and raising her arms at the right points.  It was adorable!

 

Didn't see a lot of the other performers but one we did was Anna Bachkalova, a violinist who was very talented. 

 

At Tortola, we didn't get off and enjoyed the ship, including the Aquaduck!  That was scary and fun!

 

The evening before Tortola we got some food at O'Gills and they messed up, giving us Guac despite us specifying no.  So when we got back to our room after evening turn down, there was a bottle of wine and an apology.

 

Pirate night was a blast, so much fun.  We got there 30 minutes early to ensure a good spot, an idea that many seemed to not understand.  Several people tried to elbow us to the side and one woman was annoyed when I said no when she asked if her child, who was waving an ice cream cone back and forth, could sit between my legs!  Ummm, no, woman I've never met, I won't let your child crawl between my legs.  Sorry.

 

The fireworks show was fun but a bit underwhelming we felt.  It didn't help that the fireworks were all behind the Mickey slide on starboard, meaning a lot of people couldn't see based on where they were on the deck.

 

We went to the Silent Dance Party.  Only one other cruise we've done had one and we regretted not going after a friend told us how fun it is.  It was fun but limited people, only about A dozen total.  With more, it would have been a lot more enjoyable I think.

 

One annoyance, though slight, is it's hard to sleep in, even on at sea days.  Once 7 hits, seems everyone is up.

 

Breakfast on Castaway Cay day was horrible.  It took 50 minutes, toast came out 20 minutes before food, just weird.  Maybe staff distracted getting ready for the island.  But we had a random encounter with my boys, Chip and Dale, as we left that made up for it!

 

Castaway Cay is such an operation.  From our balcony, we watched crew offloading everything needed, including the thousands of towels.  And loved the little carts ferrying the characters around! 

 

Disembarking a breeze, just like onboarding.  Got up from breakfast in Animators Palate after the announcement, queued  up, probably off the ship and through customs in under 15 minutes. 

 

Air Canada screwed up our flights home of course.  Man they suck.

 

But Disney, great as always.

 

Its hard to explain to friends who cruise or who don't the Disney experience.  Its just in its own category, you can't compare it.  It may be why so many people we ran into only cruise with Disney, not other lines.

 

For us, between the expense and focus, it's not for us as the only line.  But it's on the list, and if we can do one every 5 or 6 years, we'll happily do it.  Personally, I'm excited to see the new ships coming out and what sort of innovations they will put into place.

[STLCARDS82]

I wanted to personally thank you for your review... I found it enjoyable and also gave great information.... I don't know how Air Canada can be any worse than American Airlines. Thanks, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[OttawaJohn]

7 hours ago, STLCARDS82 said:

I wanted to personally thank you for your review... I found it enjoyable and also gave great information.... I don't know how Air Canada can be any worse than American Airlines. Thanks, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I won't turn this into an anti-Air Canada post 🙂 But suffice to say, they are routinely ranked as one of the worst in North America.

 

Glad you found the review helpful.

[PhillyTravelBug]

Thorough review! Great read. Having a similar experience. Currently on the dream. This is my 7th cruise so far, first one with Disney.   Definitely agree with the shower/ bathroom situation.  Having a relaxing time so far!

[gometros]

Great review. We love the split bathroom, as when one is showering you're not locked out of the WC. In Disney World, the DVC one bedroom units here two stud to the bathroom, but the shower and WC are in the and side. 

 

About the popcorn. Were you concierge last time you cruised? Popcorn is free for concierge guests. I don't think it's ever been free otherwise. You do get refills for only $1.50 though. 

 

We saw Anna on the Dream in February. Sorry that she switched ships, since we won't see her next month. 

[STLCARDS82]

15 hours ago, OttawaJohn said:

I won't turn this into an anti-Air Canada post 🙂 But suffice to say, they are routinely ranked as one of the worst in North America.

 

Glad you found the review helpful.

How much were the popcorn buckets on board?

[OttawaJohn]

9 hours ago, STLCARDS82 said:

How much were the popcorn buckets on board?

$4 or $6 USD I think, can't recall off top of my head

[OttawaJohn]

On 9/9/2024 at 4:03 PM, gometros said:

Great review. We love the split bathroom, as when one is showering you're not locked out of the WC. In Disney World, the DVC one bedroom units here two stud to the bathroom, but the shower and WC are in the and side. 

 

About the popcorn. Were you concierge last time you cruised? Popcorn is free for concierge guests. I don't think it's ever been free otherwise. You do get refills for only $1.50 though. 

 

We saw Anna on the Dream in February. Sorry that she switched ships, since we won't see her next month. 

I can see the benefit for sure if you are traveling with another guest, but my wife and I have been together long enough that using the facilities with one of us in the room isn't a thing 🙂  Still, I can see the benefit.

 

As for the popcorn, no, definitely not a special guest.  Pretty sure it was free, as on the Magic, we passed by the theater and the popcorn machine to get to our room and my wife, loving popcorn, got it often.  I'd have noticed it on the bill for sure!

[carohs]

I always look forward to cruising but we haven't been on a Disney ship in two years. Maybe I've been slightly let down by the other lines or something because I haven't been looking forward to this next one as much as I have in the past. Thanks for the review and the reminder of where DCL shines over other lines. We sail in under a month again, and it's helping to remember the little things that really do make a difference. 

 

PS DH is 6'3" and hasn't complained about the shower height. He either fits under fine or he's just that used to slouching for showers when we travel.