Disney Fantasy - Eastern Caribbean - March 11, 2017

[Kc5674]

My family is booked for this cruise as well. It will my husband and my 2 girls, ages 3 and 5, plus both my parents and his parents. This is our first Disney cruise, but we have all cruised other lines as well. We did WDW last year, and it was such a great experience. We are looking forward to the cruise. I would be interested in the fish extender group as well. From what I understand, does it work similar to a "secret pal" type thing? Looking forward to reading more about the cruise and hearing others' advice and experiences.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I would be interested in the fish extender group as well. From what I understand, does it work similar to a "secret pal" type thing?

Sort of. The secret pal thing is typically one person you gift. Fish Extenders you gift everyone on the list.

Quick course in Fish Extenders:

HOW DID THIS FISH EXTENDER IDEA GET STARTED?
The idea was the brainstorm of a woman named Debbie For the first Magical sailing through the Panama Canal back in 2005. Debbie thought it would be a fun way for others to exchange gifts.

WHAT IS A FISH EXTENDER? (FE)
Outside your room onboard is a message holder, in most cases it's shaped like a fish (but can be a starfish or sea horse):

The fish is there for Disney to place important communications to you such as excursion tickets and notes from the Cruise staff. It is like a mailbox for your room. A Fish Extender (FE) it is something that you hang off the fish, much like a pocketed organizer.

By hanging the Fish Extender off of the fish, the Cast Members can still use it for its original purpose.

Once a cruise meet thread is up and running, someone in the group will (should?) step up and say "I'll maintain the Fish Extender exchange list". That person is the center point for all those who want to participate in the exchange. The list can be as simple as DISnames/room number/number of guests or as involved as full names/room number/ages of guests/like & dislikes/allergies/favorite characters/whatever is deemed necessary to know assemble the gifts.

Then each room on the FE list (note this will not be everyone on the Cruise Meet thread for your specific cruise), makes a Fish Extender holder. THIS IS NOT A ONE ON ONE EXCHANGE, YOU ARE PART OF A GROUP. All the people in the exchange buy or make little items and place them in each other's fish extenders. It is great fun to come back and check the items you have received.

The most common Fish Extenders are ones that have a pocket for each person in that stateroom. Some are very fancy, some are very plain. Some are store bought, some are homemade. Search "Disney fish extender" and you will get options that range in price. You should make sure your Fish Extender is between 8" & 12"" wide. Otherwise it starts to get in the way of your stateroom door. It should not exceed 5 feet; otherwise it will hit the floor. If you are creating your own it is suggested you make the pockets a little deeper than normal too. It will keep items from falling out and keep curious hands from reaching in (average depth is 5-6 inches)but 8-11 is a better way to go if you are making it yourself

They also make up gifts (either individual gifts or room gifts - whatever is decided by your group) to be delivered during the cruise).

One note about the gifts, some groups set up specific delivery dates, and specify "each person gets a gift" or "only one gift per room" or (even) maximum/minimum price ranges for gifts. Other groups just say "whatever", so people can choose what/how many gifts to give. Some give individual gifts, others only one gift per room, while others might do one for the adults and separate gifts for kids. Or only gift the kids.

WHO CAN JOIN?
HOW MANY CABINS WILL BE IN MY FE GROUP? DO I NEED TO BUY FOR EVERYONE?
Anyone and everyone on your cruise may join. Whether you have 2 adults or a mix of adults and children, all are invited. The only requirement is that each room participating agrees to give AT LEAST one gift to each other room on their list.

Depending on how your FE group is set up, you may only have a few other rooms, or many. Some FE groups have separate lists for every XX number of rooms, but often allow participants to sign up on more than one list, if they want. Others just have one big list. Some just make one list with a specific number of rooms. That means that, if another FE group is needed someone else will need to set it up.

How many gifts? – It depends on what you want to do. Some people only give one gift per room. Others give one gift for the adults and separate gifts for children. Still others give individual gifts to each person. Some people deliver multiple times during the cruise. Others just deliver once. But, you cannot leave a room out if they are on your list. Some people are crafty and make gifts, and some are store bought. Some gifts are to be used on board and some are to be used at home.

This is typically a whole cabin event. You usually may not just sign up the kids. But, there are some cruise meet groups that have Adult Only groups, while some have kids only. Most are open to everyone. It’s up to each Fish Extender group/organizer to decide on the “rules”.

It's not about the gift it's about the thoughtfulness behind it.

WHEN LEAVING A GIFT, DO WE IDENTIFY WHO IT IS FROM?
Some people do put some kind of to/from tag on their items. Most want to know who it came from. Some do it because they don't want people to think they got shorted a gift or assumed theft of an item. Others go with the original intent and deliver anonymous gifts.

DO WE PUT GIFTS IN EVERY DAY OF THE CRUISE? WILL I HAVE TO WALK ALL OVER THE SHIP TO DELIVER?
That's up to you. Most deliver ONCE. You don’t want to spend your whole cruise delivering gifts. It can be time consuming. Most deliver over the whole length of the cruise. One morning you do all the cabins on decks 4-6 that are Forward. Another time you do all the mid cabins on decks 1-4. And so on. It’s suggested you break up your list by location: Forward, Mid and Aft before leaving home. Large zip locks are good for this. Start from your highest deck and work your way to your lowest.

*If you are on a longer cruise, consider delivering later in the week. Most deliver in the beginning and then there is nothing towards the end (and the kids like to find stuff in the holder).You don’t have to deliver all on the first day, especially on the longer cruises. On the reverse – don’t deliver the last night, as people will be packing up and putting their bags out for pick up.

Don’t deliver in the middle of the night, when no one is around, or when people are off the ship when sticky fingers are more likely.

I’M IN A CONCIERGE SUITE, OR HAVE A GTY RESERVATION , WOULD THERE BE A PROBLEM BEING PART OF THE FE?
No, there are fish message holders outside all rooms on board. Once a GTY reservation has a room assigned, it can be reported to the group. Typically a FE group will set up a meet on embarkation day (generally just prior to the muster is a good time). At this meet any room numbers not already on the list can be added. As well as any rooms that might change. Also, the FE organizer can post a list on their room door for changes.

MY GIFTS ARE TO BIG TO FIT IN THE POCKET, WHAT DO YOU DO WITH IT?
1. You can lean it against the door
2. You can hang on door knob
3. You can leave it at guest services, marked for each stateroom and then notify each stateroom to go pick up.
4. You could try to ask the stateroom host out in the hallway to place it inside the cabin.
5. You can just hang it on the "fish.

DO PEOPLE CARRY ALL THEIR GIFTS IN THEIR SUITCASES?
Most do, however, you can ship your items down, if you are departing from a US port. They must arrive by the day before you sail and contain no food items (they will get snagged by the dogs and get held up). Make sure your package is addressed exactly how your name is in your reservation and it will be in your stateroom when you get there (even before your luggage!). You can also send to your hotel if you are staying at one before you sail. KEEP IN MIND... you can not ship home from the ships.

I HAVE TO DROP OUT.. HOW DO I DO THAT.
It’s very important that if you have to drop out for any reason you notify the person running your FE. (They can be found on the cruise page you signed up on). It’s not fair to the group if you bow out without letting anyone know

ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO KNOW?
It has been pointed out that some Travel Agents are giving wrong info. They are saying you can hang a FE holder outside your door and expect gifts.

• Cast members are not walking around like Tinkerbelle handing out gifts.
• You cannot just show up on a cruise with gifts to randomly pass out (well you could but that would be “pixie dusting” not participating in a FE).
• You have to find your Cruise Meet group and join a FE group to know how many people are participating, how large your group will be and all other info.
• This is a voluntary program and is not sanctioned by Disney.

 

[NoodlesMom]

Welcome! You won't be disappointed with DCL.

 

[danielmorgan03]

We just booked this sailing yesterday and my family, ( Me , Wife, Son 13, Daughter 12) are looking forward to making some new friends.

 

[Sheryl Moroschak]

This is will be our second cruise. We are so excited to do a 7 day cruise. We did a 4 day on the Dream last December. My girls loved doing the FE so I will be looking to join a group.

 

[Sheryl Moroschak]

My daughters will be 9 and 5 when we cruise.

 

[Shingebiss]

Hi
This will be my 7th cruise and the 5th aboard the Fantasy sailing with good friends from my daughter's old school. We will be at least four DMs with at least 6 kiddies ages 10 -13. I would like to sign myself and the kids up for the FE game. Not sure about the other adults yet though.

 

[annamarie33]

We are on this cruise. This will be our 5th cruise and were super excited about the Star Wars theme! It will be my husband and I, our two sons (4 &14) and both of our moms. We would love to participate in FE, we've never done it before.

 

[Scook]

Could not be more excited about this cruise! This will be our 3rd cruise 2nd on the Fantasy. We are a family of 5 DW, DH, DS17, DD13, DS7

 

[Scook]

 

[Shingebiss]

Hi!
I am afraid I got my cruise date wrong. We will be on the March 18 cruise. Pléyade remoce me from The FE list? And have a wonderful cruise everyone!

 

[Douvres Family]

Hi!!! We just booked this cruise...we are a family of 3...DM Maria, DS Alex, and yours truly Dania (Katerina).
This will be my mom's 1st cruise ever and our 4th DCL.

We've been on the Disney Dream and Disney Wonder...It's our first time on the Fantasy and on a 7 night cruise...

 

[Douvres Family]

Our past 3 cruises we made friends from Disboards prior to the cruise and have maintain very close. We are looking forward to meeting new friends.

Also, I found 2 FB pages for this cruise and sent request to join the groups...

 

[Jnaterrell]

We are on this sailing and so excited! This will be our 5th Disney cruise and 2nd on the Fantasy. Sailing with dh, dd12 and ds12. I'd love to get my kids connected with some friends close in age to hang out with in the Edge. Can not wait!!

 

[jeweaver]

Has anyone set up the FE group yet? We would love to participate. Did it last summer and it was a lot of fun! DH, DD7, & DS11

 

[Christie Dawn]

My family is booked for this cruise as well. It will my husband and my 2 girls, ages 3 and 5, plus both my parents and his parents. This is our first Disney cruise, but we have all cruised other lines as well. We did WDW last year, and it was such a great experience. We are looking forward to the cruise. I would be interested in the fish extender group as well. From what I understand, does it work similar to a "secret pal" type thing? Looking forward to reading more about the cruise and hearing others' advice and experiences.

My family is booked for this cruise as well. It will my husband and my 2 girls, ages 3 and 5, plus both my parents and his parents. This is our first Disney cruise, but we have all cruised other lines as well. We did WDW last year, and it was such a great experience. We are looking forward to the cruise. I would be interested in the fish extender group as well. From what I understand, does it work similar to a "secret pal" type thing? Looking forward to reading more about the cruise and hearing others' advice and experiences.

We are first time cruisers. We have 4 teenagers 18, 17, 15, and 14. We would love to join your fish extender group!

 

[Douvres Family]

We are first time cruisers. We have 4 teenagers 18, 17, 15, and 14. We would love to join your fish extender group!

Hi!
I'm so happy to see there will be other kids my son's age. He turns 19 in November.

If you have FB, there are 2 FB pages for this cruise...one of them has the FE list.

 

[Krystalblackwell]

Hello everyone! This is our second Disney cruise. Our first was the dream in December 2015. We only took our then 5 year old son. He will be 4 weeks from turning 7 on this cruise (April birthday) and dad, a big year for him as well, will turn 40 in February, also 4 weeks from the cruise date. So this will be a big celebration cruise for us. I have my daughter currently booked on the cruise. She will be 22 months at the time of sailing so we are still debating on leaving her with grandma? Or bringing her? Will an almost 2 year old enjoy the cruise? Is there anything for her to do besides the nursery?

 

[Aunt Sandy]

Hi!
I'm so happy to see there will be other kids my son's age. He turns 19 in November.

If you have FB, there are 2 FB pages for this cruise...one of them has the FE list.

I checked FB, but only found travel agents. My daughter and I will be on this cruise celebrating her last Spring Break. We'd love to join a FE group.

 

[KanTex]

This will be our first Disney cruise. Taking all the grands! Would like to be in Fish Extender group!