A Disney Fantasy Cruise within the Western Caribbean
After I posted to Instagram that we had been booked on a spring break Disney Fantasy Cruise, lots of people DMed me to ask why. It’s an affordable query – though we’ve been on various cruises, we don’t love cruises, and we’re not a giant Disney household.
It goes again a decade. When my youngsters had been small, beginning at 1, 3 and 5-years-old, we did three 12-night Disney Cruises in Europe. We booked them as a result of they had been straightforward – unpack as soon as and see plenty of cool locations – and since Disney is, by definition, family-friendly. Our youngsters went to the children membership a couple of occasions, and waited in line for character images each every so often, however actually they simply loved the ship and the independence, since they may run round by themselves, and we (the mother and father) favored the times in port.
There’s a candy spot with Disney cruises, between possibly 3 and 10-years-old, when plenty of youngsters love Disney and the character interactions and exhibits are magical. Then the magic sort of disappears….besides that my oldest daughter all the time watched the teenagers on the ship and thought they had been having essentially the most enjoyable. On our final cruise she made us promise to convey her again when she was a teen. And this yr, at 17, she took us up on it.
A Disney Fantasy Cruise for Spring Break
As I’ve talked about earlier than, my youngest daughter has one-week college breaks in February and April, and my two excessive schoolers have a two-week break in March. This yr my spouse and I took our 13-year-old to Thailand for her February break, after which I used to be tasked with the Disney Cruise in March. Disney’s cruises, they solely had one choice for a 7-night cruise that match inside our spring break dates – the March 11-18 Western Caribbean crusing. The port stops on the itinerary weren’t thrilling, however this wasn’t in regards to the stops; it was about my daughter (hopefully) having enjoyable on the ship with different teenagers. We dragged my 15-year-old son alongside since he had nothing else deliberate for break.
This Disney Caribbean Cruise Overview
I hadn’t meant to jot down about our cruise, however so many individuals have commented on my Instagram posts and tales with questions in regards to the cruise, wanting my sincere ideas about Disney cruises for households and for {couples}, that I’m penning this up. Simply understand that it’s coming from a cruise skeptic and a non-Disney particular person. Should you love cruises and you like Disney and your youngsters love Disney, you may cease studying now. Simply ebook it! You’ll adore it.
Disney Cruises – What Disney Does Properly
Test-In
We spent a couple of days at Common Orlando earlier than our cruise after which took an Uber from Sapphire Falls Resort to the Disney Cruise Terminal at Port Canaveral (1.5 hours with site visitors, $58 plus an excellent tip). Test-In was bizarrely straightforward. Getting out of our Uber, port personnel instantly took our checked suitcases. We then proceeded inside, properly earlier than our assigned arrival time, checked in immediately with no wait, and had been on the ship lower than 5 minutes later. This was utterly completely different than our final European cruise with Disney the place check-in in Copenhagen was a disorganized nightmare. Should you’re crusing from Port Canaveral from Disney’s Terminal 8, anticipate issues to be straightforward. Then our baggage was delivered to our cabin a pair hours later, far sooner than promised.
The Disney Fantasy itself
This journey we sailed on the Disney Fantasy. The ship could be very good – the eye to element is spectacular, and the ship’s nicer than plenty of others I’ve been on. We had a “Deluxe Household Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah”. The 2 loos labored out rather well – my son and I had our issues within the rest room with the bathroom, and my daughter took over the one with a bathe. Talking of the bathe, it was glorious – actually well-designed and bigger than most ship showers, and the water stress was higher than at plenty of accommodations. I like that there was a curtain between my mattress and the children’ beds, successfully turning the cabin into two bedrooms at night time. I cherished the primary cabin door – it truly closed quietly so I may sneak out within the morning for espresso and never wake anybody. The balcony was nice too. FYI, we had been in cabin 7090 and cherished it – an ideal mid-ship location.
Dinners on a Disney Fantasy cruise rotate amongst three themed eating places – Royal Court docket, Enchanted Backyard and Animator’s Palate. Animator’s Palate is by far the best-designed – playful and artistic, with interactive components.
Disney-Themed Issues
Initially of the yr I traveled to Antarctica with Adventures By Disney on a tremendous journey and I favored that there have been Disney components however not too many. Antarctica was the star. That’s not the case with Disney Cruise Line although. Disney artwork, characters, exhibits and music are omnipresent. Should you love and even similar to Disney, you’ll get pleasure from it. For us it’s effective – not possible to disregard and we wouldn’t ebook a cruise due to it, however not a giant deal. It’s enjoyable to see youngsters strolling round dressed up like pirates and princesses – sort of Halloween in March. And there have been present Disney movies taking part in within the theater day by day.
The Employees and Service
I used to be impressed with the effectivity at which the Disney Fantasy cruise employees bought us on and off the ship at each port cease, with our server at each dinner, and with all different employees that we interacted with (except the Vibe teen membership employees, however I’ll get to that). Our cabin attendant was fairly good as properly. On different Disney Cruises I’ve questioned a number of the computerized gratuities, feeling like individuals didn’t all the time deserve them. I had no such ideas on this cruise although.
The Inclusions
Meals and soda are included in your cruise fare, with exceptions. And I used to be impressed {that a} Disney particular person handed out towels at each cruise cease. I forgot to pack towels and wasn’t certain if I ought to attempt to sneak some from the pool deck for our port excursions. No want – they offer them to you. And free espresso is all the time out there on the pool deck.
I’ve felt like employees on different cruises had been all the time attempting to promote us on issues – drink packages, artwork, onboard purchasing, port excursions, future cruises. Disney doesn’t do this. You should buy any of these issues, however they’re not in your face. I actually admire that.
The Disney Cruise App
Disney used to ship day by day briefings, on paper, to each cabin at night time. They had been an enormous waste of paper, particularly in Europe the place Disney didn’t have purchasing partnerships and the briefings had been typically 50% clean. They’ve moved every little thing to the Disney Cruise App, which works properly on board. There’s passenger messaging throughout the app too, so I may talk with my youngsters. If I may recommend three enhancements, they might be:
- Please embrace the present time within the app. We had time zone adjustments and a daylight financial savings time swap throughout our cruise and other people had been typically confused about what time it was, since we couldn’t belief our cell telephones.
- It might be nice to ship images throughout the messaging platform, like of the lunch buffet if one child was nonetheless within the room.
- I’d love to have the ability to add my very own issues to the schedule as a substitute of solely deciding on from Disney’s pre-programmed choices. By way of a Fb group plenty of the solo mother and father on board deliberate get-togethers. I couldn’t add these to my day by day app calendar although and missed a few of them.
Disembarkation
There’s no strategy to rapidly get 3,800 passengers off a ship on the finish of a cruise, however Disney does a fairly good job. It took us roughly half an hour to depart the ship, undergo immigration/customs and get to the Disney airport bus. FYI, buses had been leaving as rapidly as they had been filling up. We had a seated breakfast at 8:10am, bought in line to depart the ship simply after 8:30, had been on a bus at 9:00 and at MCO airport at 10:00, properly earlier than our 12:34pm flight to LA. It might be superb if they may add a International Entry line on the port – it’s the primary time we’ve waited in line for US passport checks in ten years! FYI, no points on our flight again. We grabbed our automobile at LAX parking and had been house by 6pm – not a nasty journey day.
What Disney Might Enhance On
The Spa
Disney outsources its spa and health middle to an organization referred to as One Spa World. One Spa World additionally manages the spas for many different main cruise traces, together with Celeb, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Princess and Virgin. The issue is that they’re publicly-traded and so they, and their workers, have a monetary incentive to upsell you. I booked a 50-minute therapeutic massage for the primary at-sea day. It was the worst therapeutic massage I’ve ever had. The spa personnel and therapeutic massage therapist tried to upsell me six occasions in an hour, which ruined the expertise. Massages are purported to be stress-free! And after I posted about it on Instagram, I obtained over 50 feedback from others with related adverse cruise experiences that the majority went again to spas run by One Spa World. My therapeutic massage, with gratuity, was over $180. However I additionally, in keeping with them, wanted an improve from gentle/medium stress to medium/agency stress for $30, orthotics for $199, a pores and skin brush for $45, physique oil for $65 and refreshing gel for $59. Please put a cease to this Disney! It is a horrible expertise for everybody getting massages on board. And after declining the entire add-ons, I’m fairly certain my masseuse dumbed down my therapeutic massage. Of the 50 minutes I paid for, solely 35 or so was spent on my physique. The remainder was a extremely weak head therapeutic massage. Such a letdown, and never price wherever near $180.
The Meals
The meals onboard the Disney Fantasy was okay. I imply, every little thing sounds nice on the menus, however then it involves the desk and it’s…okay. One employees member even commented that he may make a sure dish higher than Disney. I perceive that the kitchen employees is feeding 3,800 passengers on board day by day, which is a loopy endeavor that I don’t fake to have a grasp of, however I want issues tasted a little bit higher.
I ought to be aware that I had a superb brunch at Disney’s adults-only restaurant Palo for $45, which is a number of the finest cash I spent. However that simply served to point out that there are individuals on board who know learn how to cook dinner properly. The pizza at Palo was so a lot better than the poolside pizza at Luigi’s. Why not make higher pizza for everybody?
Different ideas: It might be nice to have a buffet dinner choice should you don’t really feel like a rotational sit-down dinner. Indian entrée choices would have been good at lunch and dinner. And there’s a meals lifeless spot between 6pm and 9pm on the informal locations close to the pool. That’s effective for individuals with the early dinner seating, however for us (with an 8:15 eating time each night time), if we had been hungry at 6:15 and wanted one thing small to tide us over, the one choice was room service. They need to maintain one thing open later than 6pm.
Bizarre Pricing
My daughter loves Weight-reduction plan Coke. It was free if she bought it herself by the pool or within the eating places, or if a server in a restaurant introduced it to her. But when a server from the bar or room service introduced it to her, there was a cost of a pair {dollars}. Provided that Disney Cruises don’t normally nickel and dime company, it looks as if a wierd factor to cost for. They need to be 100% constant – included means included.
The Vibe Teenagers Membership
My daughter had plenty of adverse issues to say in regards to the employees on the Vibe Teenagers Membership (for 14-17-year-olds). She and her buddies simply needed a spot to hang around, but it surely feels like that’s not an choice. If there was an occasion like karaoke or Disney trivia deliberate and also you had been in Vibe, you needed to take part, and the opposite areas of the membership had been closed off when scheduled actions had been occurring. So she and her buddies needed to always transfer elsewhere on the ship. And there’s a Vibe solar deck, but it surely wasn’t open more often than not. Total she says the advisors handled the teenagers like little youngsters, and had been always disrespectful (besides Casey). I heard the identical factor from different mother and father, so it wasn’t simply her. So disappointing since this could have been the first teen hangout and the advisors regularly sabotaged that.
St. Patrick’s Day
St Patrick’s Day is my favourite meals vacation and is all the time enjoyable to have a good time. Plenty of passengers wore inexperienced. Disney did…nothing. I want meals had been St. Patrick’s Day-themed, with boxty, corned beef, potatoes, colcannon, soda bread and all different conventional Irish meals. There have been no themed character appearances, no decorations, no inexperienced swimming pools, no inexperienced soft-serve, no Irish meals, no associated actions – it was like each different day. Such a wasted alternative to have enjoyable! Beware should you’re reserving a Disney Cruise over a vacation.
Gentle Switches
It looks as if essentially the most primary factor on this planet to me: put rest room mild switches contained in the loos. That manner if it’s darkish you may go in, shut the door after which activate the sunshine, so that you don’t get up everybody within the cabin by flooding it in mild. But Disney put the 2 rest room mild switches outdoors the loos. Each night time my daughter got here again to the cabin between 3am and 5am. She was quiet, however as quickly as she turned on the toilet lights, it woke me up. Grrrrr. How did you get this so flawed Disney?
Crowds
3,800 individuals are too many on what’s primarily a floating resort. The swimming pools had been packed, particularly on days at sea. We most popular the smaller Disney Magic (2,400 passengers), and we like smaller ships much more.
Our Disney Fantasy Cruise
Having stated all that, we had an excellent cruise total. The Disney cruise was my daughter’s thought and I went into it pondering she could be disenchanted. However she made nice buddies and stayed out till 3am or later each night time with them, so from her perspective it was a hit. My son and I frolicked, performed shuffleboard, threw a soccer in our cabin rather a lot, went to the health middle day by day, learn and relaxed. There are worse locations to spend per week than on a very nice ship.
Our Disney Fantasy cruse port stops had been in Cozumel, Mexico, Grand Cayman, Falmouth, Jamaica and Disney’s Castaway Cay within the Bahamas. We went onshore in any respect 4. In Cozumel and Grand Cayman we walked round a little bit and bought lunch. In Jamaica we employed a driver for the day, Richard Brooks of Tour Ocho Rios. Richard picked us up at 8am, took us to Dunn’s River Falls for a enjoyable hour of waterfall climbing, drove us throughout Ocho Rios, after which took us to lunch earlier than we returned to the ship at 3pm. It was an awesome day. Castaway Cay was plenty of enjoyable – excess of I used to be anticipating. We took a water ball, soccer and frisbee and threw all three within the ocean and on the seaside. We additionally rode bikes across the island paths a number of occasions.
In an ideal world I’d have chosen extra fascinating ports, or at the very least locations that I haven’t been earlier than, however there weren’t every other choices that match into our spring break dates. A Disney Caribbean Cruise is extra in regards to the ship and Disney expertise than the ports although – sort of the alternative of their Europe sailings for us. Our favorites had been in reverse order of the stops: 1) Castaway Cay; 2) Jamaica; 3) Grand Cayman; and 4) Cozumel.
I extremely suggest Disney Cruises for households with younger youngsters – beneath 10 or so. For {couples} and households of older youngsters, should you don’t actually love Disney, I’m unsure that it’s price it? I cherished crusing on the Celeb Edge, and thought the meals on the Edge was higher than on the Disney Fantasy. If Celeb Edge-class sailings are priced higher than Disney, and particularly if the ports are extra fascinating, I’d in all probability go for these as a substitute.
How a lot is a Disney Cruise?
Our Disney Fantasy 7-night crusing was $8,864 for 3 of us. That’s some huge cash and the rationale why I’m a little bit adverse above. Disney total delivers an excellent expertise, however can do higher – particularly in the case of meals and the Vibe teen membership. I famous that we had been in a Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom. There are cheaper choices out there, together with inside rooms. There are additionally costlier rooms and, after all, in case you have extra youngsters it’s costlier.
We Ubered from Common Orlando for $58. We paid twice that, $117, for a Disney switch to Orlando Airport after the cruise, since I didn’t understand how tough it will be to order an Uber or Lyft from Port Canaveral.
My therapeutic massage was $185.82 with tip. Commonplace gratuities had been $304.50. My daughter spent round $90 on web entry. Bicycles in Castaway Cay had been $26 for 2 of us. Brunch at Palo was $55 with tip. Laundry was $7. Our driver for the day in Jamaica was $260. Dunn’s River Falls was $25/particular person. Web appeared a little bit excessive at $24/gadget/day for the center tier, and my therapeutic massage was a completely waste of cash.
I ought to be aware that on our Adventures By Disney journey in January on an expedition ship gratuities had been included, as had been sodas and premium coffees, and there was espresso within the rooms. If Adventures By Disney can do this, I’d assume Disney Cruise Line may do this too. Automated gratuities are like Resort Charges – utterly pointless. Simply construct them into the general pricing to make it simpler for individuals to match trip choices.
Disney Fantasy Cruise – Well being
Passengers on our crusing appeared wholesome, and Disney made certain the ship stayed clear. Most hand sanitizer stations seemed to be empty, however employees handed out disinfecting wipes to everybody earlier than heading into the eating places. I solely noticed three households often sporting masks on board.
I averaged 12,000 steps a day whereas on the cruise and labored out day by day. I misplaced two kilos and was in higher form after the cruise than earlier than. I didn’t go loopy at buffets or drink.
I took alongside our medical equipment from Length Well being however didn’t want it. My youngsters took possibly six Dramamine tablets whole once they had been feeling the movement of the ship. After Antarctica in January, I’m fairly certain I’m proof against minor ship swaying. We likewise didn’t want to make use of our journey well being/cancellation coverage from G1G Journey, however given how costly the cruise was, and the truth that it we might have misplaced 100% of the cruise price if we canceled inside 14 days and 75% if we cancelled inside 29 days, I used to be glad we had been protected.
Disney Fantasy Cruise – Packing
We packed mild for our Disney Fantasy cruise. We didn’t convey door decorations or alcohol or garments particularly for formal night time or semi-formal night time, and we didn’t convey costumes. The climate was heat in all places. We simply may have gotten by with swimsuits, shorts, a pair t-shirts, barely nicer shirts (and clothes) for dinners, sunscreen flip-flops and strolling footwear. I wore pants, a button-down shirt and good footwear for my brunch at Palo, however Palo is elective. My daughter wore a hoodie for her late-night partying for the reason that decks cooled down at night time. We had two half-filled Patagonia rolling duffels pondering we might store on the ports, however we didn’t purchase a lot. Per my Castaway Cay feedback above, we had been glad we introduced balls and a Frisbee for the seaside.
Disney Caribbean Cruises – Your Flip
Have you ever taken a Disney cruise within the Caribbean along with your youngsters? How do your ideas (professional/con/good/unhealthy) examine to mine? Please remark beneath!
