A few questions and thoughts about Fantasy (Dream Class?)

[miss0033]

We returned from the recent 6-night on the Fantasy and have a few questions/observations we noticed from our first cruise on a dream class ship. We stayed in a 9A stateroom.

1) Along with the dessert trios disappearing, the dessert portions were significantly larger than anything we were ever served on the Magic or Wonder. Is this now the case with all ships? Did people complain desserts were too small? I received pieces of cheesecake that were more than double the size of any slice I received before. Not that it was a problem, just seems wasteful.

2) The location of the smoking area on the top deck seemed rather poor... It is right at the top of the outdoor staircase up to the top deck on the side of currents. So starting up the stairs until you got past it you got to breath in a bunch of smoke. Couldn't this be on the side opposite the stairs? It made us not want to go up to satellite falls, but maybe that is part of the point then...

3) Speaking of satellite falls, we did go up twice, and our friends went up several times. None of us ever observed the "falls" portion turned on. Is it ever turned on? (borrowed photo below)

4) While the quiet cove pool seemed quite a bit smaller on the Dream class than the Magic class, we were surprised to never have an issue finding a spot to relax. The seated area was usually full, but we were able to stand in the main part, or sit on the benches in the "wading" area. So that was a plus as we had thought we might not be able to use the Quiet Cover pool as it seemed so small.

5) Speaking of quiet cove, we noticed quiet frequently people coming out of the forward stairwell and kids trying to get into the pool immediately not noticing the signs for it being 18+. Cast members were quick to turn them away and direct them to other areas, but we noticed it far more than we ever noticed on the Magic or Wonder. Could be a function of that many more people, but it seems like the Magic class has a slightly better layout in regards to that.

6) We felt like there was much more storage in the Magic class; in the magic class we've always had a dresser at the foot of the bed in addition to the one in the entry hallway. There wasn't any storage at the foot of the bed on the fantasy. On the Magic and wonder we've had ottomans that opened up for storage, on the fantasy we had a simple oval table with the center leg. Is this a function of room category? We've done a 7A on the Wonder, a 9B and a 9A on the Magic previously. We also preferred the sliding doors on the single closet of the Magic, versus the swinging doors of the dual closets on the Fantasy which seemed to get in the way of the bathroom doors when 2 people were getting ready for dinner/show.

7) We preferred the bathrooms on the magic class as well. The lighting seemed dark in both bathrooms, like a warming up CFL in quality, and was only overhead. Looking back at pictures, in the magic we've always had lights on the side of the mirror which makes shaving easier for me, and applying makeup easier for my wife. This didn't wreck our vacation by any means, but was a little annoying. However, I will say the bathrooms, notably the toilet bathroom, felt a little larger on the Fantasy than the Magic - not sure if true, or just arrangement of objects, or a poor memory...

8) I'd never get a stateroom near one of those interactive screens for the Midship Detective thing. I would've thought those turn off at a certain time for quiet hours, but we saw and heard kids running up and down the hall playing it after 11pm (past the posted quiet hours) and it seems like the rooms next to the stairs and elevators would be able to hear the sound from those screens inside the room, but maybe not. I am glad our room was a ways away from them.


Those were just some specific things. Nothing that ruined our cruise or made us overly upset, we still had a great time just were trying to compare which ship we would do again. On the Magic and Wonder we've typically met people on their 5th, 8th, 10th+ cruise - on the Fantasy we met almost exclusively 1st time cruisers, a few experienced cruisers who were taking their first DCL cruise, and fewer "long-time" DCL cruisers. Maybe that is a function of an "off" 6-night itinerary for the Fantasy, but I am wondering if other people don't share our opinion... On the plane ride home we talked about this was our most expensive cruise (on a per night basis), and we didn't really use much of what the Fantasy had over the magic, and I think we prefer the feel of the Magic... Maybe we are also just partial to our first cruises and experiences with DCL. This cruise we felt more rushed in the dinning rooms, everything felt a little more chaotic and crowded; it wasn't a better experience for us. For instance, my steak was consistently over-cooked for my liking in the MDRs (Palo was cooked perfectly), Were had 3 different temp orders at our table - med. rare, medium, and medium well - when we cut into them all were about the same; medium bordering on medium well hardly any pink. Shame on us for not saying something, but being a table without kids it felt like it too longer for our food to get there and we were hungry and didn't want to waste food. Maybe a function of feeding that many more people, and maybe just a one-off mix-up or mistake, but it happened to me more than once.

We also kind of prefer the color-changing show at Animators on the older ships and getting to see Fantasia Mickey parade around the dining room at the end versus the Turtle Talk and Animation Magic shows.

It seemed like there was a lot more for kids to do, so maybe we we start taking kids we will feel differently, but I think our next DCL cruise will be on the Magic class.

(Our next cruise overall might be RCL just to try something different.)

 

[PrincessShmoo]

3) Speaking of satellite falls, we did go up twice, and our friends went up several times. None of us ever observed the "falls" portion turned on. Is it ever turned on?

It only runs in port, not while underway. But, it could be turned off while in port, also, if it's too windy.

 

[grantclaire]

I have noticed some of the same observations that you have! I prefer the dinning rooms on the Magic and Wonder, seems less crowded. I like satellite falls and the adult pool on the Dream class.

 

[cvjw]

We were on the 8 night on the fantasy right before you. Most everyone was a return cruiser with lots and lots of platinum cruisers. There were very few kids on our cruise, with a huge number of adult couples.

Different cruises, different demographics! We spent so much time on deck 13 on our cruise. Satellite falls was only turned on a few times, as it was windy on deck.

Yes, you have to walk thru the smoke to get to deck 13. On the magic, we could smell the smoke in the adult only areas by the pool. No perfect place to put the smokers where their smoke is totally contained from bothering others

This was our 3rd cruise on the fantasy, having sailed on the magic in April. My family hated the magic - the adult only areas were so crowded and getting a lounger was almost impossible.

Different ships for different folks!

 

[Corwin]

We returned from the recent 6-night on the Fantasy and have a few questions/observations we noticed from our first cruise on a dream class ship. We stayed in a 9A stateroom.

1) Along with the dessert trios disappearing, the dessert portions were significantly larger than anything we were ever served on the Magic or Wonder. Is this now the case with all ships? Did people complain desserts were too small? I received pieces of cheesecake that were more than double the size of any slice I received before. Not that it was a problem, just seems wasteful.

2) The location of the smoking area on the top deck seemed rather poor... It is right at the top of the outdoor staircase up to the top deck on the side of currents. So starting up the stairs until you got past it you got to breath in a bunch of smoke. Couldn't this be on the side opposite the stairs? It made us not want to go up to satellite falls, but maybe that is part of the point then...

3) Speaking of satellite falls, we did go up twice, and our friends went up several times. None of us ever observed the "falls" portion turned on. Is it ever turned on? (borrowed photo below)

4) While the quiet cove pool seemed quite a bit smaller on the Dream class than the Magic class, we were surprised to never have an issue finding a spot to relax. The seated area was usually full, but we were able to stand in the main part, or sit on the benches in the "wading" area. So that was a plus as we had thought we might not be able to use the Quiet Cover pool as it seemed so small.

5) Speaking of quiet cove, we noticed quiet frequently people coming out of the forward stairwell and kids trying to get into the pool immediately not noticing the signs for it being 18+. Cast members were quick to turn them away and direct them to other areas, but we noticed it far more than we ever noticed on the Magic or Wonder. Could be a function of that many more people, but it seems like the Magic class has a slightly better layout in regards to that.

6) We felt like there was much more storage in the Magic class; in the magic class we've always had a dresser at the foot of the bed in addition to the one in the entry hallway. There wasn't any storage at the foot of the bed on the fantasy. On the Magic and wonder we've had ottomans that opened up for storage, on the fantasy we had a simple oval table with the center leg. Is this a function of room category? We've done a 7A on the Wonder, a 9B and a 9A on the Magic previously. We also preferred the sliding doors on the single closet of the Magic, versus the swinging doors of the dual closets on the Fantasy which seemed to get in the way of the bathroom doors when 2 people were getting ready for dinner/show.

7) We preferred the bathrooms on the magic class as well. The lighting seemed dark in both bathrooms, like a warming up CFL in quality, and was only overhead. Looking back at pictures, in the magic we've always had lights on the side of the mirror which makes shaving easier for me, and applying makeup easier for my wife. This didn't wreck our vacation by any means, but was a little annoying. However, I will say the bathrooms, notably the toilet bathroom, felt a little larger on the Fantasy than the Magic - not sure if true, or just arrangement of objects, or a poor memory...

8) I'd never get a stateroom near one of those interactive screens for the Midship Detective thing. I would've thought those turn off at a certain time for quiet hours, but we saw and heard kids running up and down the hall playing it after 11pm (past the posted quiet hours) and it seems like the rooms next to the stairs and elevators would be able to hear the sound from those screens inside the room, but maybe not. I am glad our room was a ways away from them.


Those were just some specific things. Nothing that ruined our cruise or made us overly upset, we still had a great time just were trying to compare which ship we would do again. On the Magic and Wonder we've typically met people on their 5th, 8th, 10th+ cruise - on the Fantasy we met almost exclusively 1st time cruisers, a few experienced cruisers who were taking their first DCL cruise, and fewer "long-time" DCL cruisers. Maybe that is a function of an "off" 6-night itinerary for the Fantasy, but I am wondering if other people don't share our opinion... On the plane ride home we talked about this was our most expensive cruise (on a per night basis), and we didn't really use much of what the Fantasy had over the magic, and I think we prefer the feel of the Magic... Maybe we are also just partial to our first cruises and experiences with DCL. This cruise we felt more rushed in the dinning rooms, everything felt a little more chaotic and crowded; it wasn't a better experience for us. For instance, my steak was consistently over-cooked for my liking in the MDRs (Palo was cooked perfectly), Were had 3 different temp orders at our table - med. rare, medium, and medium well - when we cut into them all were about the same; medium bordering on medium well hardly any pink. Shame on us for not saying something, but being a table without kids it felt like it too longer for our food to get there and we were hungry and didn't want to waste food. Maybe a function of feeding that many more people, and maybe just a one-off mix-up or mistake, but it happened to me more than once.

We also kind of prefer the color-changing show at Animators on the older ships and getting to see Fantasia Mickey parade around the dining room at the end versus the Turtle Talk and Animation Magic shows.

It seemed like there was a lot more for kids to do, so maybe we we start taking kids we will feel differently, but I think our next DCL cruise will be on the Magic class.

(Our next cruise overall might be RCL just to try something different.)

We were on the Fantasy in May, and just got off the Magic yesterday, so I am well-equipped to comment.

1. On the Magic last week, we also noticed the desserts were much larger than I have noticed before. I also remember them frequently offering a trio of three even smaller dessert portions, and that no longer seems to be an option.

2. We had the same problem with the smoking area on the Fantasy. It seemed too close to the bar and the adult pool. If the wind was blowing in the right direction such that we were downwind of the smokers, it was even worse. In a few cases, we had to leave the adult area. I made a point of putting this on my comment card. On the Magic, the smokers' area was a little farther away, so it was less of an issue. (Incidentally, we happened to notice a person being warned by an officer on the Magic last week that there had been complaints of him smoking on his verandah, so they seem to be good about enforcing this prohibition.)

3. I remember the falls on the Fantasy going on and off on some kind of cycle. I'm pretty sure it worked even at sea, but can't say for sure.

4. I definitely preferred the pool area on the Magic more than the Dream/Fantasy, especially the hot tubs (which are more centrally located). The pool on the Dream class is positively tiny, which makes no sense for a larger ship. In fact, the whole adult pool area seemed bigger on the Magic class, but that could also be a function of how many adults were utilizing the area on a given cruise.

5. I agree. The adult pool area seemed a bit more defined and segregated on the Magic class ships.

6. We had the opposite experience with storage. On the Fantasy, we had a rectangular table that opened up for storage. On the Magic, we just had an oval table with a single leg and no storage.

For a variety of reasons, I used to prefer the Dream-class ships, but now I think I prefer the smaller ships, especially now that they have been extensively overhauled and improved.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

No perfect place to put the smokers where their smoke is totally contained from bothering others

Well, the back of the ship would work. Or a dedicated smoking lounge (with airlock doors).

 

[MickeyD]

It only runs in port, not while underway. But, it could be turned off while in port, also, if it's too windy.

This is not completely accurate. I have been on the Fantasy four times, with the fifth coming up in February, and Satellite Falls has been on several times on sea days. It turns off and on intermittently, which helps when you want to go sit on the ledge under the falls, you don't get soaked right away. They do turn it off completely if it is too windy.

Well, the back of the ship would work. Or a dedicated smoking lounge (with airlock doors).

I agree with this. Would love to see them move the smoking area on the Fantasy, or abolish it completely! I hate walking up those steps and inhaling all that cancer-inducing nastiness! yuk!
The only issue with the back of the ship is that if it is below Cabanas, it might waft up there?

We also kind of prefer the color-changing show at Animators on the older ships and getting to see Fantasia Mickey parade around the dining room at the end versus the Turtle Talk and Animation Magic shows.

Agreed! I cannot stand turtle talk and we avoid Animators on that night.

Thank you for your observations and questions. I like to read other people's perspectives. I was initially a die-hard classic ship lover, but after having sailed Fantasy a few times, I do really like the way it is more spread out (to disperse crowds better), it seems more "lighted," the layout of the theaters (except the balcony area of the WDT) are better, and I think the adult only areas seem bigger--just wish they were laid out better so people coming down the elevators didn't have to walk through them (like you noted).

 

[daisyx3]

"I agree with this. Would love to see them move the smoking area on the Fantasy, or abolish it completely! I hate walking up those steps and inhaling all that cancer-inducing nastiness! yuk!
The only issue with the back of the ship is that if it is below Cabanas, it might waft up there?"


There are staterooms below Cabanas (and one of them will be mind at the end of May). I don't think the passengers in those rooms would appreciate having the smokers at the back of the ship.

 

[MickeyD]

There are staterooms below Cabanas (and one of them will be mind at the end of May). I don't think the passengers in those rooms would appreciate having the smokers at the back of the ship.

So see, this is further proof they just need to make the DCL ships completely non-smoking.

 

[miss0033]

There are staterooms below Cabanas (and one of them will be mind at the end of May). I don't think the passengers in those rooms would appreciate having the smokers at the back of the ship.

There already is a smoking area at the back of the ship. There is a "Cigar Lounge" on a outdoor deck just off Meridian (Port side if I recall correctly), and the few times we wandered back there, there were usually 1-2 people puffing away. There is overhang from the deck above, and it is smaller than the smoking area at the front, but it does exist and gets used.