This is a guest blog series by Stephen Aleksza about our Disney
Cruise Line (DCL) cruise on the Disney Fantasy in September/October of
2014. Our Halloween on the High Seas cruise had a western Caribbean
itinerary that included: Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Falmouth, Jamaica, and Castaway
Cay. This was our first Disney cruise, but somewhere around our 13th
cruise overall. Our previous cruises have been on Princess (Platinum),
Celebrity, and Norwegian. We enjoy Disney stuff, but I would not say that we
are Disney fanatics. Our last trip to the Magic Kingdom was over ten
years ago. I am big pre-trip researcher so I figured that I would share some of
my research and contribute my own information through this series.
Part 5-
As the intro says, this was around
our 13th cruise, but our first on a Disney ship. Let me start off by saying we really enjoyed
the ship and we are booked again on the same ship and itinerary in 2016. However, I was thrown a bit at the
beginning. Shocking, but there are a lot
of families with a lot of kids. I know
you are shocked right, but on our last Princess cruise there were 12 kids in
the kids club. Total! Our daughter thought being one of the few kids was amazing as she had quite a bit of attention in the kids club!
The meals were not as
formal. Not sure how to explain
this. The restaurants were noisier and
not "stuffy". On other cruises we were more accustomed to the tables being farther apart. Perhaps a 5-course meal with wine on
a casual night, and the walls didn't talk to us (unless additional partaking of wine occurred J). That was not quite the case on the Fantasy. Tables were very close together and... the walls did talk. And it had nothing to do with wine. Once we realized that it was just different, and not in a bad way, all was good and we got right
into it! Here is our take on the ship
and our cruise.
Ship-
It was still very new when we went
so everything looked great and was well cared for.
No issues with the ship!
Aqua Duck Slide
We rode this about 90 times. My daughter loved it. Three tips:
- Ride it at least once at night
- Make sure you go to the photo section
on ship and look for your photo. Every time you slide it's photographed and they put the photos in your portfolio using facial
recognition technology. (Super geeky, and I loved it!!)
- If you skip a port day – Hit the
slide – It was empty!
Bibbity Bobbity Boutique
Is this way over priced – Yes! Will your daughter love it – Yes! Our daughter sold her (no longer used) toys over 6 month period in the hopes that some day we'd be going on a Disney Cruise. She also had choices when we were out of whether to get something (i.e. ice cream) or put that money towards her Disney Jar savings. Over the course of 6 months she was able to save
enough to go the Boutique. Over a year
later she still talks about it and her Fairy Godmother. A few tips:
- Book this as soon as the bookings
open. Waiting until you are on the ship
is too late
- Just get the hair and makeup. You can bring her dressed in her own Princess
outfit and save the high price tag. (Things to consider bringing for your Princess: a tiara, a magic wand, shoes, princess dress. My suggestion would be to get something (new to her) prior to the trip and surprise her with it. When you arrive you can take her into the dressing room there and let her change into her outfit. Have the crown or tiara that her Fairy Godmother can use when styling her hair.)
- Also there are little boy "make-overs" on Pirate day/night. The "evil twin sisters" of the Fairy Godmother's come in and take over the Salon! We didn't do this but are sure that the boys have just as much fun!
Following the make-over we received both nail colors, her make-up pallet and her sash that she wore for the rest of the day all in a little drawstring back-back. Make sure you take your camera.
Kids Centers
Wow – this takes up half of a
deck. Serious space. Not like the room or two on other cruise lines. This ship was built around the child
activities. The spaces looked super
cool. However, I cannot say much because
our daughter went about twice and did not want to go again. I think it was too many things and too many
kids and she was overwhelmed. Tips are:
Register your child online in
advance. Then just pick up your wrist
band at embarkation.
Shows
Top notch. Probably the best we have seen at sea. Do not miss any of the production shows. Some of that is because they can leverage
from famous Disney story lines. The only
draw back was that most of it was pre-recorded and lip sync’d.
Dining Rooms
We loved them all. They are all well themed and appointed. We loved that our wait staff followed us from restaurant to restaurant as we rotated through the various dining rooms. Our favorite was Animator’s Palette. Making your own cartoon rocked! Make sure you're on time for Animator's Palette nights! It's important!!
Character Greetings
There are a lot of them, so do not
panic if you miss one. They all had
lines. I guess the longest was 30
minutes. I thought that was unacceptable
until someone reminded me that I could be waiting in the hot part for 90 minutes to see
one. So I will take 30 minutes in the AC
with a drink any day. Each character was
super nice and we saw more than you would ever want. Tips:
- Get a picture everywhere; who knows
which you will like
- Get in line early for the Princess meet-n-greet;
at least 15 if not 30 minutes early. The line will not get any shorter then
when you get there. Bring your autograph book.
Each character will sign it!
Photo Package
If you can afford it, get it. We loved it.
It was so much fun to stop for every photo we could. I hate photos and paying for them, but having the freedom to get them all made it super fun. We ended
up with a bit under 500 pictures!
Pirate Night
Hot, crowded, and don't miss it. It was a blast, the fireworks were short but super cool. It was a bit scary for the little one. Get on deck early so you can get a good spot for the show. I said, would people really dress in a pirate theme. Yup they did. Do not be left out and bring some pirate gear.
Halloween on the High Seas
It was nice to have the ship themed. People did dress up on costume night, so if you don't want to be left out, pack a costume.
Movie Theater
Loved it. Best theater I have been in on land or sea. First run movies, great picture, and great
sound! Take in at least one movie –
However, dress warm it was freezing in there. (Our daughter that it was all part of the "Frozen" experience!!)
Spa
We did an unlimited entry for the
showers, hot stone beds, and hot tubs.
We loved it and it was super relaxing.
Again a bit of splurge, but for the price of one treatment you get
something that will last you all cruise.
Palo
On the adult theme. You MUST go to either Palo or Remy. We went to Palo and it was one of the best meals we have ever had. The meal and the experience are worth it. When you compare it to the price you paid for the best meal you ever had on land, you will see that it is a bargain.
Post 1 - Embarkation
Post 2 - Cabin
Post 3 - Ports
Post 4 - Fish Extender
Post 5 - Ship and Cruise
If you've heard me talk about birthdays of my youth you know that my sister and I celebrated our birthdays together, every year. Her birthday is July 13 and mine July 31. So... with birthdays being weeks apart my Mom would split the difference and have one party. One cake. Two kids. It made good fiscal sense. Given it was summer our parties consisted of aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and maybe a neighbor or two. I don't recall ever having a school friend at a party. That's likely because we were in center of summer break and things like Evites, e-mail and texting didn't exist. (Avoiding a summer birthday for our child was something S & I planned for so (she) could have birthday parties with friends... Yeah. Planner in all things. Judge if you must. ;) HA!) 
