8 Night Fantasy Cruise with Pre-Stay at Universal Cabana Bay June 2019 COMPLETE!

June 25 - St Kitts

After our little hike, we went down for lunch. The food was all local and the fruit was actually grown by Greg, the owner.

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There was a coconut bread, a spice cake, sugarcane, starfruit, and mango. Also fresh squeezed juice that we could add rum to. It was all so delicious! With the heat, it was the perfect type of lunch that left us satisfied but not heavy.

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DD was obsessed with the mango and actually ate a whole one all herself!

After we are, we headed back to the jeep to drive to the beach.

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On the way, we saw a banana tree.

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I don't think I realized they they grew up like that.

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More gorgeous views.

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You can see that the sand is gold on one side and black on the other. Really cool.

The beach we went to was a black sand beach. I don't love the feeling of sand on my feet, buy this was the softest sand I have ever felt. So gentle.

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There was a man there with a monkey for people to take photos. DD begged for one so we said ok.

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The whole place was very nice and also had plenty of umbrellas and chairs. We tried a couple local beers but I don't remember their names.

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After about an hour or so we got ready to head back. There was a nice outdoor shower to wash off all the sand. We met up with Denzel and headed back to the Fantasy.

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Goodbye beautiful beach!

The drive back was quick and easy. We had a short walk back on board. Unfortunately, the water reservoirs were all empty when we arrived. At least there were cold towels. We headed back to our rooms to relax and clean up before pirate night!
 
When I first saw the strips of sugar cane I thought it was under cooked french fries,lol!!! I didn't know bananas grew up like that either, I always learn something interesting from your TRs. I've never been to a beach with black sand, that looks so cool. Really interesting how the one goes from gold to black sand. Do you know what causes a beach to have black sand, a volcano maybe???? I have no idea, but looked really cool.
 
I just showed my dd the pic of the bananas so she could see how they grow. Also wanted her to see the beach with black sand. She thought those were cool, but she was REALLY blown away with your dd getting to hold the monkey.
 
June 25 - Pirate Night

We got back to the ship around 3:30. We went up to the pool deck to grab snacks. DD just wanted a big plate of fruit. I guess the CMs thought that was odd because they were shocked and said "no cookie?" Well, DD thought that sounded like a great plan. So we took a big plate of fruit and a couple cookies back to the room. (She ended up just eating half a cookie. It was nowhere near as good as the fresh fruit.)

We showered and got dressed for pirate night. If you've read my previous reports, you know she has been wearing the awesome skirt my mom made her.
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Alas, she outgrown it and we are on to our new pirate outfit. For her birthday, we again gave her a gift certificate for BBB and this time she chose a pirate makeover.

This was a very fun experience and our fairy godmother was excellent.

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She loved showing off her ensemble complete with sword.

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It all got to be a little much for her though. While in line for Jack Sparrow, she was pretending to pick the lock to the gift shop with her sword. Because she was a pirate you know. Well, I told her a couple times that she needed to stop and she replied that she was the captain of this ship and could do what she wanted. The dad behind us in line did his best to warn her that the real captain was about to make her walk to the plank, but she didn't believe him. Needless to say when she refused to comply, I summarily removed her to the brig (our cabin.)

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That is the face of a pirate who has realized she is not in charge. FYI - I'm not perfect, but I am not the parent who stops parenting just because it's a Disney cruise.

The rest of the evening went smoothly. She chose to go to the kids club instead of the Mickey pirate show between dinner seatings. I headed back to the room to do laundry. While I was there, I got a text from the club saying she had chosen to go with them to the D Lounge for How to Be a Pirate. How cool! I got another text about 45 minutes later saying they were back.

After my laundry dried, I picked her up and we headed to the pirate show and fireworks.

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The new show is kind of lame and I miss Jack Sparrow. Oh well. The fireworks were still lots of fun. We didn't go to the buffet because we were still full from dinner.

Then it was off to bed. The next day was St John's but we had nothing planned so we didn't worry about staying up.
 


June 26 - St John, Antigua

This was an intentionally down day for us. We knew we had big excursions planned in St Kitts and St Thomas, so we didn’t plan anything specific at this port.

I started the day with a quick workout while my parents and DD got breakfast.
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Mom and I then headed to the adult area for a coffee and some time to hang out together.
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We ran into the cruise director and had a nice chat about our trip so far.

Around 11, we headed off the ship to explore. We just wandered around for a bit and bought a bottle of wine. I’m sure there are great things to do, but we just wanted a laid back day.
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On our way back there was a steel drum band that we listened to for a while.
That afternoon, my parents and I played trivia while DD went to the clubs.
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After trivia, I ran into a friend on the way to the clubs.
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The characters were all wearing their classic costumes so we made sure to get some fun photos.
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Tonight’s big show was Toy Story 4 which had premiered the day before we boarded. We got to the theater about 20 minutes early and got 4 seats together but they weren't great. My dad went to get popcorn but then had a hard time finding us. I was getting nervous because people were getting in loud arguments about seat saving andI just didn't want to have to deal with that. Luckily he came back before anyone asked about his seat.

The movie itself was good. I think 3 was better, but we did enjoy it. DH is really in to antique toys, so the references to toy values was added fun for us. After the movie, we headed to bed so we'd be ready for snorkeling the next day!
 
June 27 - St Thomas

It was snorkeling day! I'd been looking forward to this day for quite a while. I hadn't snorkeled since I was a kid and this was DD's first experience. We woke up early so we could meet in the Walt Disney theatre at 8:30. After we checked in, we headed out to get on the boats that would take us to Buck Island.

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I love being on a small boat next to the ship.

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St Thomas is beautiful. The only downside of this trip was the ride to snorkeling. We had bad luck in terms of our seats and we were SOAKED when we arrived. Oh well. We were going to get in the water anyway.
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The snorkeling was amazing. The water was super clear and I saw sea turtles, a ray, and some beautiful fish including a blue tang! DD still talks about how much she enjoyed the experience.

After about an hour, we headed to honeymoon beach.

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It was a lovely stop. We enjoyed lunch on the beach and a bit more swimming.

Then it was time to head back. Rum punch was free flowing at all times after snorkeling so that of course added to the fun.

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I was excited to see a windmill on the way back.

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And just like that we were back!

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It was a very fun excursion overall. When we got back on the ship, we grabbed some fresh fruit and cold drinks. Then we headed back to our stateroom to get ready for Mickey's Surprise Party!
 
June 28 - St Thomas

After getting back from our snorkeling excursion, we changed clothes and headed up to the pool deck. It was time for Mickey's Surprise Party!

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This party is cool because they leave the pool open.

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Before things got started, the crew members were circling the deck handing out Mickey Bars and pretzels. The pretzels were cinnamon sugar and delicious.

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The premise of the show is that it's Mickey's birthday and Minnie and friends are organizing a surprise party. The flow is that there's a little bit of dialogue then some music and encouragement to dance. They also have lawn style games set up like bean bag toss.

The show continued and then we were suddenly hit by a torrential downpour! They tried to keep the show going at first, but it was not happening. Luckily the storm passed quickly, and the crew members quickly got out their big squeegees.

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Soon we were back on track and Mickey arrived! He was greatly surprised and excited about the party.

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Afterwards, there were tons of photo opportunities with the characters in their celebration outfits. DD loved all the clear components.

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We checked out all the fun cupcakes in Sweet On You.

When we headed back to our room we found special chocolates.

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After dinner, we decided to watch the show on our stateroom TV. Then my dad and I headed to the Tube to see Marcus Monroe. He was great and we really enjoyed both shows.
 


June 28 - Day at Sea

Before the cruise and before the price increase,I had purchased 2 day passes to the Rainforest Room. I gave them to my mom for Mother's Day and she chose to share the second pass with me! So we started our day relaxing with a perfect view.

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We really enjoyed the experience. We did not use the showers, but the hot tubs and loungers were lovely. I am glad we did it, but I absolutely would not pay almost $40 per person to use it each day.

After the Rainforest Room, we headed back to our rooms to get ready for Remy brunch. This was my dad's celebration for his 75th birthday.

Here is a link to my full review, but I'll include some photos of the delicious food.

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So good! I would be very interested to try dinner, but we've got the Womder booked for our next couple trips, so that's not a possibility for a while.

DD and I finished delivering FE gifts this afternoon. While we were walking around we passed cruise Royalty.

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I first heard of this lovely couple on a DCL podcast. (DCL Dude thumbs up!) Then she ended up being in our FB cruise group! Anyway, it was fun to meet them and, like I said, they were a lovely couple. DD definitely says she wants to go on that many cruises.

That evening was semi-formal night, and Minnie was in her peacock dress. DD wanted another photo with it, so I obliged.

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We also saw the Marcus Monroe show. He was fabulous and I highly recommend him if he is on board. And with that, our sea day was done. We needed to get some sleep before our fun day at Castaway Cay!
 
June 29 - Castaway Cay

The weather looked great and we were ready for a great day on the island. My only complaint, and this is a weakness of the Fantasy itineraries, is that I always prefer to end a cruise on a sea day.

Our previous trip had been over Spring Break on the Magic, and we'd taken our time in the morning. Knowing how full this ship was, we got up and got moving right away. My parents headed to the family beach to find a spot and DD and I stayed close to the ship to ur first stop was to see Daisy at the post office.

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Then we headed back to the gangway to see Chip and Dale.

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Then we headed to the tram. We had a little escort.

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A team arrived quickly and we hopped on to head to the second stop.

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This was our first time at the second family beach. It was nice, but I think I like the first section better. DD loved being close to the slides though. She rode them several times. My mom and I had a couple cocktails and relaxed. About an hour after we got there, we saw bad behavior. People were fighting over chairs, yelling, name calling etc. No CMs were around, and people dispersed quickly. It was still a downer though.

After lunch, my mom wasn't feeling well, so they headed back. DD and I went back around 1:30. We just aren't huge beach people.

We showered, relaxed, I think everyone took a little nap, and we got a good jump on packing. Then it was time for dinner.

Tonight we were celebrating my dad's birthday. DD had made him a card so we brought it with us.

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Sometime during the meal the weather turned nasty.

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I forgot to mention that we had gone swimming the night before. DD really wanted to do that and ride the AquwDuck with the lights. We commented that we were glad we made time the night before.

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Dad had his celebration cake and we said goodbye to our servers. We are Cabanas people on debarkation morning so this was our last time with them.

We opted to skip the show tonight. DD went for one last hurrah in the clubs and I finished our packing. I hate the moment when you've taken down all your door decorations.

When it was time, I picked up DD, we returned her band, and we headed to the atrium for the final party.

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Every trip.

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We had front row seats!

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See ya real soon!

Off to bed we went knowing that morning would come early.
 
June 30 - Disembarkation

Well, the sad day had arrived. It was time to leave. When we woke up, the ship was already docked. DD and I got up and gatherered the last of our things. We then headed up to Cabanas for our final breakfast.

As a joke, I'd once said that dad could have a donut with a candle for his birthday. Well,y daughter had taken that to heart and she and my mom made it happen.

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After eating, we headed downstairs to get in line. We were in no hurry because our flights weren't until the evening, but my dad wanted to be on our way so we just waited. By this point the end of the line was by the shops. It took about 20 minutes for us to get our final card scan.

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Finding our bags was pretty easy. I love how many porters are in PC and how easy it is to get to transportation. Then it was on the bus back to MCO.

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Bye Fantasy.

We had a day room at the Hyatt MCO which was great since we had several hours to kill. We enjoyed napping and just relaxing in general. Around 1:30, we went to the food court for lunch.

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Before we knew it, we were back on the plane. The late night and early morning finally caught up to DD.

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It was a great trip overall and so much fun to be on the Dream class ships again. Now that DD is a bit older, she really enjoyed some of the extras that the larger ship offered like the AquaDuck and Midship Detective Agency. Remy was a special treat for sure. I do think we still prefer the classic ships though and the wonderful feeling of intimacy they provide.

Random "what a small world" moments on this cruise included meeting the woman I'd heard on the podcast who had done so many cruises and meeting a Disser onboard. It was so nice for someone to come up in person and say she had read my TRs and enjoyed them. Anyway, if I'm ever lucky enough to cruise with you, I'd love to say hi.

Thanks so much for reading even though I didn't do as good a job at responding to everyone. I love writing up our experiences. I promise to answer any questions you might have. Next up is the WBPC in March. We are surprising DD with the news for Christmas so I'm sure I'll be sharing that experience as well as the trip itself.

Cruise on friends!
 
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Thanks for your report. I always enjoy reading them and look forward to your WBPC report.
 
Random "what a small world" moments on this cruise included meeting the woman I'd heard on the podcast who had done so many cruises and meeting a Disser onboard. It was so nice for someone to come up in person and say she had read my TRs and enjoyed them. Anyway, if I'm ever lucky enough to cruise with you, I'd love to say hi.

Thanks so much for reading even though I didn't do as good a job at responding to everyone. I love writing up our experiences. I promise to answer any questions you might have. Next up is the WBPC in March. We are surprising DD with the news for Christmas so I'm sure I'll be sharing that experience as well as the trip itself.

Cruise on friends!
Hi there! :wave2: I'm the Disser you met onboard! And it was awesome meeting you, your daughter and your parents. We are also from New Mexico, so it's a very small world. It's been awhile since I've been on the boards, and I'm just getting caught up on trip reports. Loved your report. We had a blast on this trip. We did Cabana Bay before the trip too and were lucky enough to do WDW afterwards for a couple of days. It was fun remembering things while reading your report. Hope the surprise at Christmas goes great for the WBPC. Wish I was going on that one.
 
Hi there! :wave2: I'm the Disser you met onboard! And it was awesome meeting you, your daughter and your parents. We are also from New Mexico, so it's a very small world. It's been awhile since I've been on the boards, and I'm just getting caught up on trip reports. Loved your report. We had a blast on this trip. We did Cabana Bay before the trip too and were lucky enough to do WDW afterwards for a couple of days. It was fun remembering things while reading your report. Hope the surprise at Christmas goes great for the WBPC. Wish I was going on that one.
Eeek! So cool that you read this. Thanks for checking in!

I'm sure I'll write a report on the WBPC. There are so few with kids, I figure it might be useful to someone. Plus I enjoy doing it.

Have a great holiday and thanks again for saying hi on board and here. :yay:
 
Do you remember which excursion you took in St. Thomas that took you to Buck Island? I am looking to go there on our stop on St. Thomas (*if* we sail as we’re on our second cancelled cruise, nothing like planning vacations that we never get to take, but I digress..), but it is hard to tell from the excursion description, which, if any, go there. TIA!
 
Do you remember which excursion you took in St. Thomas that took you to Buck Island? I am looking to go there on our stop on St. Thomas (*if* we sail as we’re on our second cancelled cruise, nothing like planning vacations that we never get to take, but I digress..), but it is hard to tell from the excursion description, which, if any, go there. TIA!
We did ST46.
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/...ribbean-sea-safari-snorkeling-and-beach-tour/Crossing my fingers for you!
 

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