Mickey.MAC
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2017
July 21 Disney Fantasy Western Carribean Cruise
Who we are: Me, Disney fan, 44, My wife, and 2 sons ages 4 and 5
Itinerary: Western Carribean 7 night Cruise on the Disney Fantasy leaving from Port Canaveral
Prologue: We went on this Disney cruise in November 2017. Everyone had a great time, and we paid low season price. I wanted to repeat this cruise in the Summer and see if the high season cruise was different. The cost of traveling in the summer was about 100 percent more than November 2017; would the cruise be 100 percent better? Read on! Since we just did this cruise, we planned to do everything differently this time around. New excursions, new food and alcohol choices, new entertainment activities on board. I had prebooked this cruise in November so I hada 10 percent discount for pre-booking, and 200 dollars in cruise credit. I also prebooked unlimited cruise photos before the trip because I hate toting my phone around. I don't even carry the wave phone (which is your onboard cell phone).
My youngest one, aka "mini-me trouble" and beneath that picture is my oldest son:
Day 1: We arrived at Newark Airport, and went to terminal A. Terminal A is undergoing construction so that they are using portable toilets. All flights were delayed, and I considered changing to an earlier flight so we would not be stuck in the terminal. Because of the expense, we stayed on our flight and were delayed by 1.5 hours. Originally I wanted to leave on a late night flight because the kids have summer camp all day, and the flight was cheaper. But with flight delays, our early flight ended up being late.
We arrived at the MCO Hyatt and checked into our room. The kids were tired because it was past their bedtime. We checked in and had the bellman pick up our bags and deliver them to the room. I wanted to stay at Disney overnight(trying to do the bucket list of staying at the Polynesian), but the practicality of staying in the airport pre-cruise was too tempting. I booked the hotel and flights at the last minute, and lucked out on getting a good price on tickets. Ironically, if I booked the hotel earlier, the price was higher. Sometimes it pays to wait. The Hyatt no longer delivers your bag to the Disney cruise unless you booked the hotel through Disney. So I had to arrange for my bags to be brought from the hotel to the Disney Cruise bus. The hotel room had a broken phone so the hotel gave me free breakfast. The breakfast was delicious. The salmon was more fresh than the salmon they serve on the ship!
Side note: I had a pin code for a Disney Hotel, for a 20 percent discount, but the inconvenience of travelling to the cruise port from Disney World was too unattractive. Plus, my family does not wake up early to take advantage of early magic hours.
Day 2: Boarding the ship.
We arrived at the board and checked in. Our original reservation was a GTY oceanview room. We upgraded to a Verandah room in the aft section, 8th floor, of the ship. Aft is our favorite place to be because it is close to Cabanas. I would have been ok with our oceanview room, but my wife prefers to have a balcony.
It was storming out when we got onto the ship so the pools and Aquaduck were closed. Sigh. The only reason we arrive early on the ship is to play on the pool deck and sigh, it was closed. Everyone crammed into Cabanas to eat. For the record, I am OCD. I hate eating with my hands(also applies to ethiopian food), especially on a cruise, where norovirus and bacteria spread more easily. If you read the title, we had to do everything different on this cruise. So, I picked the crab legs for lunch.
Crab legs are served at every lunch. It takes forever to eat crab legs, and you have to use your fingers to pick the meat out. Don't eat crab if you are hungry, it takes too long to eat! Also, wash your hands real good. On the first day, I ate crab legs, just to do something different, and after that, I avoided them for the entire trip. For the record, I will eat crab legs at home, as long as I am not starving. I went to the Senses Spa to participate the spa raffle. The last 3 cruises I won a prize. As the raffle started, I realized that I did not want to stay and listen to the orientation for the spa services. I wanted to get back to spending time with the family. So i gave up the chance to win a prize to rejoin the festivities on the pool deck with wife and children.
We attended the Sail away party on deck which was scaled down due to wind and lightning. My youngest son, who was in a bad mood all day, perked up during the show, and was disappointed that the show was shortened. We returned to our Verandah stateroom afterwards. Due to the room upgrade, our bags and paperwork went to the original room. I walked to the original room to remind the crew to please deliver our bags and paperwork to the new room.
We originally had second dinner seating, but I requested first dinner seating and got it. Luck? Maybe. Being a Gold Castaway Cay member helped....After dinner in the Royal Court, the family headed to the pool deck where there was still lots of light out. My oldest son and I hit the aquaduck. It was his first time and he was giddy. He told all the kids that it was his first time!We swam on deck and watched funnel vision. On this trip, he was really social, introducing himself to the other kids and arranging impromptu games of Tag in the swimming pool.
It bothered my youngest son that he was not able to follow his brother onto the Aqua duck, and he asked for his birthday to be held on a future Disney Cruise. I told him "yes". The youngest child has such a big heart. Despite the disappointment of being too short for Aqua duck, he told his brother, "I will watch you ride the Aqua duck" and pointed the spot where he would watch. My photos are in random order, but I just learned to post them
This trip, we focused on things we never tried. So we did not go to all the broadway shows, and we focused more on Midship detective agency. The detective game brings you all around the ship on a scavenger hunt, mystery game. Along the way, you get to see the different artwork, decorations and architecture of the ship. For adults, you get to take in the beauty of Disney design while the kids get captivated by the scavenger hunt, picking up clues by the animated art which comes to life, and has an interactive component.
That night, we stayed up late(kids normally go to bed at 8 pm), so we rode the aqua duck and watched funnel vision into the late night. Staying up late is quite significant for our kids, because they don't wake up the next day, and can get cranky, but heck, we wanted to turn everything upside down!
Day 3 Sea Day
I initially planned to do brunch at Palo or Remy. But since this trip was for the kids, ahem, I avoided Palo and Remy for brunch--kids are not allowed at the adult restaurants. The one thing I wanted to try(do everything different) was eat at one of the sit down restaurants for breakfast or lunch, but Cabanas was too convenient.
At the end of the Cabanas buffet line is a carving station with prime rib, ham, or veal shank. Every day I stopped by there for a medium rare piece of meat. But since I was trying to be off protocol, I added a mountain of salad to the lunch plan. Also for breakfast, I ate yogurt for the pro-biotics. Disney is making a concerted effort for all guests to wash and sanitize their hands to ward off food poisoning and prevent infections.
Sea Day for our family is basically a day on the pool deck until we get tired. Some people get bored by the pool deck or don't like being out in the sun. For me, I have to be on the pool deck during sea days, especially if the sun is out. In contrast to my winter cruise(in the archives for your reviews) the weather was very warm, and when you got out of the pools, you did not freeze to death. You could also enjoy Aqua Lab, which is a large water play area, without freezing to death.
Our Dining rotation was RAERAAE. So we went to Animators Palate, for the second dinner. Animator Palate is my favorite restaurant because of the theming. On the last night, they animate your cartoons. The food on the disney cruise is okay; to be positive, it is good for cruise food. I assume they have all the food pre-made on a large line, ready to serve. Our servers, Rolando and Anastasia were awesome. They were great people, and great with the kids. As the cruise wore on, fatigue started to show, since the crew members have little time off.
Cozumel Day:
I love the waters off Cozumel. The waters are gorgeous, blue, and crystal clear. Last cruise, we went to Playa Mia. It was ok, but the beach had seaweed, the water was just okay, and the drinks were watered down. I was very irritated that the drinks were watered down, because it reminded me of a bad tourist trap. We put the kids in the Oceaneers club and went into town so my wife could get wifi and send work emails. We walked through the mall at the port and walked north onto the main shopping strip and found an expatriate working at a Tequila shop. She was new to Cozumel, and had left Oregon to follow her boyfriend to Cozumel. As a young millenial, she took the opportunity to travel the world. Ah, the simplicity of being young again, with a flexible life! lol.
I reviewed several excursions but my boys were too young to travel on most excursions. If I come back to to Cozumel, I will do Isla Pasion or rent a car and circumnavigate the island.
Taking the Disney cruise, and purchasing a Disney experience is all about value. I constantly shop for the best prices, and study strategies to save money. On the Disney cruise, I know my kids will be relatively safe. If I were travelling without the kids, I would either travel Royal Carribean, or go to a Sandals all inclusive resort. It is hard to leave the kids at home to travel, so for the foreseeable future, many family trips will be on DCL. My wife who hates Disney, opted for the cruise since the weather was better than going to Orlando in July. On the ocean, the breeze makes the weather much cooler. My neighbors went to the parks and they suffered heat, rainstorms, and humidity(not to mention lines galore).
Our next port was my priority, Grand Cayman. I have been here many times, so I wanted to hit seven mile beach. Last cruise, I paid for an excursion to Rum Point beach. The beach was okay, with the catamaran ride to Rum Point being the main highlight. I always get excited pulling into the port at Grand Cayman. As a reef island, we park offshore, and take a ferry to the port. The ferry is a fun ride, and you get to see the ship from the water. Like Cozumel, the water is crystal clear. You are also near the airport, so you can see planes landing. In the summer, Grand Cayman is hot and humid, so I was glad to be on the cruise with the cool ocean breezes. We caught a taxi to Seven Mile Beach, and spent 3 hours playing on the beach. I cannot emphasize how gorgeous Seven Mile Beach is. Rum Point is also okay, but after doing it once, I don't have to do it again... In fact, Disney refunded the cruisers 50 percent of their Rum Point excursion because of the bad reviews this trip.
We wanted to board the boat several hours before on board time because I am paranoid about being left at port. Also, I did not want to get caught in lines waiting for the ferry back to the boat. Being back in Grand Cayman motivated me to return to the island for a longer return stay. There are many relatively cheap options for families to stay, but remember the US dollar has little purchasing power on the island. Food can be a huge expense for US tourists. My spot is always Seven Mile Beach because of the size and beauty of the beach. And I always visit Stingray City to see the stingrays. My kids are too young to be eligible for the Disney excursions, so I will wait a couple years to bring them to Stingray City.
Once onboard we returned to Cabanas. We were there for the end of lunch, and they closed right on time. As I was grabbing buffet food, they were closing the station on me! I noticed that Disney shuts down the buffet a couple minutes early, and the crew have no problems shutting down the station you are in!
The next port was Falmouth. Last trip, I booked the Jewel Beach excursion through Disney. It was very expensive and the value was so-so, and I wanted to do something different. I left the kids in the club and went to do the "Express" Dunns River Falls. I wanted the kids to come but they were too young for the Disney age limits. For good reason, the falls were treacherous. I saw young kids drag their parents down as they climbed up the falls, and the young kids were not having fun. The falls are met for athletic or active people since it is a steep climb on slippery rocks and running water.
The falls were a convergence of thousands of people. Seven Strings of human chains ran up the falls. Multiple cruises and tourists convened to hike the falls. We were supposed to be back at the ship before 1 pm and returned 2 hours late! Jamaica is a special place. It is beautiful for tourists, but there is a high level of poverty and unemployment. It is a stark contrast between the luxury resorts and the poverty that is omnipresent. One thing I learned in the Caribbean is that people may have little money, but the community is stronger and social ties are more important. As the kids get older, I would like to rent a car and explore on my own. Until then, I will use the Disney excursions to see the islands.
In Jamaica, I have previously stayed in Lucie and the Grand Palladium. I would like to return to a Sandals Resorts in Negril or Ochos Rios. I also want to visit Kingston, but I heard it is too dangerous for tourists. The Chinese Government recently helped build a super highway in Jamaica which costs 30 dollars one way. It is an express conduit to get to Kingston. Jamaica was scheduled for Pirate Night. My wife bought pirate outfits for the kids.
On Deck, one song from the funnel vision grabbed my attention. It made me feel good. I looked up and it was "Moana" on funnel vision--I never watched the movie; The title song is so powerful and inspiring. We watched several movies on the funnel vision, some at night. It was interesting to see entire families mesmerized as they watch the Disney movies from the pool deck, or while swimming in the Donald duck pool.
Who we are: Me, Disney fan, 44, My wife, and 2 sons ages 4 and 5
Itinerary: Western Carribean 7 night Cruise on the Disney Fantasy leaving from Port Canaveral
Prologue: We went on this Disney cruise in November 2017. Everyone had a great time, and we paid low season price. I wanted to repeat this cruise in the Summer and see if the high season cruise was different. The cost of traveling in the summer was about 100 percent more than November 2017; would the cruise be 100 percent better? Read on! Since we just did this cruise, we planned to do everything differently this time around. New excursions, new food and alcohol choices, new entertainment activities on board. I had prebooked this cruise in November so I hada 10 percent discount for pre-booking, and 200 dollars in cruise credit. I also prebooked unlimited cruise photos before the trip because I hate toting my phone around. I don't even carry the wave phone (which is your onboard cell phone).
My youngest one, aka "mini-me trouble" and beneath that picture is my oldest son:
Day 1: We arrived at Newark Airport, and went to terminal A. Terminal A is undergoing construction so that they are using portable toilets. All flights were delayed, and I considered changing to an earlier flight so we would not be stuck in the terminal. Because of the expense, we stayed on our flight and were delayed by 1.5 hours. Originally I wanted to leave on a late night flight because the kids have summer camp all day, and the flight was cheaper. But with flight delays, our early flight ended up being late.
We arrived at the MCO Hyatt and checked into our room. The kids were tired because it was past their bedtime. We checked in and had the bellman pick up our bags and deliver them to the room. I wanted to stay at Disney overnight(trying to do the bucket list of staying at the Polynesian), but the practicality of staying in the airport pre-cruise was too tempting. I booked the hotel and flights at the last minute, and lucked out on getting a good price on tickets. Ironically, if I booked the hotel earlier, the price was higher. Sometimes it pays to wait. The Hyatt no longer delivers your bag to the Disney cruise unless you booked the hotel through Disney. So I had to arrange for my bags to be brought from the hotel to the Disney Cruise bus. The hotel room had a broken phone so the hotel gave me free breakfast. The breakfast was delicious. The salmon was more fresh than the salmon they serve on the ship!
Side note: I had a pin code for a Disney Hotel, for a 20 percent discount, but the inconvenience of travelling to the cruise port from Disney World was too unattractive. Plus, my family does not wake up early to take advantage of early magic hours.
Day 2: Boarding the ship.
We arrived at the board and checked in. Our original reservation was a GTY oceanview room. We upgraded to a Verandah room in the aft section, 8th floor, of the ship. Aft is our favorite place to be because it is close to Cabanas. I would have been ok with our oceanview room, but my wife prefers to have a balcony.
It was storming out when we got onto the ship so the pools and Aquaduck were closed. Sigh. The only reason we arrive early on the ship is to play on the pool deck and sigh, it was closed. Everyone crammed into Cabanas to eat. For the record, I am OCD. I hate eating with my hands(also applies to ethiopian food), especially on a cruise, where norovirus and bacteria spread more easily. If you read the title, we had to do everything different on this cruise. So, I picked the crab legs for lunch.
Crab legs are served at every lunch. It takes forever to eat crab legs, and you have to use your fingers to pick the meat out. Don't eat crab if you are hungry, it takes too long to eat! Also, wash your hands real good. On the first day, I ate crab legs, just to do something different, and after that, I avoided them for the entire trip. For the record, I will eat crab legs at home, as long as I am not starving. I went to the Senses Spa to participate the spa raffle. The last 3 cruises I won a prize. As the raffle started, I realized that I did not want to stay and listen to the orientation for the spa services. I wanted to get back to spending time with the family. So i gave up the chance to win a prize to rejoin the festivities on the pool deck with wife and children.
We attended the Sail away party on deck which was scaled down due to wind and lightning. My youngest son, who was in a bad mood all day, perked up during the show, and was disappointed that the show was shortened. We returned to our Verandah stateroom afterwards. Due to the room upgrade, our bags and paperwork went to the original room. I walked to the original room to remind the crew to please deliver our bags and paperwork to the new room.
We originally had second dinner seating, but I requested first dinner seating and got it. Luck? Maybe. Being a Gold Castaway Cay member helped....After dinner in the Royal Court, the family headed to the pool deck where there was still lots of light out. My oldest son and I hit the aquaduck. It was his first time and he was giddy. He told all the kids that it was his first time!We swam on deck and watched funnel vision. On this trip, he was really social, introducing himself to the other kids and arranging impromptu games of Tag in the swimming pool.
It bothered my youngest son that he was not able to follow his brother onto the Aqua duck, and he asked for his birthday to be held on a future Disney Cruise. I told him "yes". The youngest child has such a big heart. Despite the disappointment of being too short for Aqua duck, he told his brother, "I will watch you ride the Aqua duck" and pointed the spot where he would watch. My photos are in random order, but I just learned to post them
This trip, we focused on things we never tried. So we did not go to all the broadway shows, and we focused more on Midship detective agency. The detective game brings you all around the ship on a scavenger hunt, mystery game. Along the way, you get to see the different artwork, decorations and architecture of the ship. For adults, you get to take in the beauty of Disney design while the kids get captivated by the scavenger hunt, picking up clues by the animated art which comes to life, and has an interactive component.
That night, we stayed up late(kids normally go to bed at 8 pm), so we rode the aqua duck and watched funnel vision into the late night. Staying up late is quite significant for our kids, because they don't wake up the next day, and can get cranky, but heck, we wanted to turn everything upside down!
Day 3 Sea Day
I initially planned to do brunch at Palo or Remy. But since this trip was for the kids, ahem, I avoided Palo and Remy for brunch--kids are not allowed at the adult restaurants. The one thing I wanted to try(do everything different) was eat at one of the sit down restaurants for breakfast or lunch, but Cabanas was too convenient.
At the end of the Cabanas buffet line is a carving station with prime rib, ham, or veal shank. Every day I stopped by there for a medium rare piece of meat. But since I was trying to be off protocol, I added a mountain of salad to the lunch plan. Also for breakfast, I ate yogurt for the pro-biotics. Disney is making a concerted effort for all guests to wash and sanitize their hands to ward off food poisoning and prevent infections.
Sea Day for our family is basically a day on the pool deck until we get tired. Some people get bored by the pool deck or don't like being out in the sun. For me, I have to be on the pool deck during sea days, especially if the sun is out. In contrast to my winter cruise(in the archives for your reviews) the weather was very warm, and when you got out of the pools, you did not freeze to death. You could also enjoy Aqua Lab, which is a large water play area, without freezing to death.
Our Dining rotation was RAERAAE. So we went to Animators Palate, for the second dinner. Animator Palate is my favorite restaurant because of the theming. On the last night, they animate your cartoons. The food on the disney cruise is okay; to be positive, it is good for cruise food. I assume they have all the food pre-made on a large line, ready to serve. Our servers, Rolando and Anastasia were awesome. They were great people, and great with the kids. As the cruise wore on, fatigue started to show, since the crew members have little time off.
Cozumel Day:
I love the waters off Cozumel. The waters are gorgeous, blue, and crystal clear. Last cruise, we went to Playa Mia. It was ok, but the beach had seaweed, the water was just okay, and the drinks were watered down. I was very irritated that the drinks were watered down, because it reminded me of a bad tourist trap. We put the kids in the Oceaneers club and went into town so my wife could get wifi and send work emails. We walked through the mall at the port and walked north onto the main shopping strip and found an expatriate working at a Tequila shop. She was new to Cozumel, and had left Oregon to follow her boyfriend to Cozumel. As a young millenial, she took the opportunity to travel the world. Ah, the simplicity of being young again, with a flexible life! lol.
I reviewed several excursions but my boys were too young to travel on most excursions. If I come back to to Cozumel, I will do Isla Pasion or rent a car and circumnavigate the island.
Taking the Disney cruise, and purchasing a Disney experience is all about value. I constantly shop for the best prices, and study strategies to save money. On the Disney cruise, I know my kids will be relatively safe. If I were travelling without the kids, I would either travel Royal Carribean, or go to a Sandals all inclusive resort. It is hard to leave the kids at home to travel, so for the foreseeable future, many family trips will be on DCL. My wife who hates Disney, opted for the cruise since the weather was better than going to Orlando in July. On the ocean, the breeze makes the weather much cooler. My neighbors went to the parks and they suffered heat, rainstorms, and humidity(not to mention lines galore).
Our next port was my priority, Grand Cayman. I have been here many times, so I wanted to hit seven mile beach. Last cruise, I paid for an excursion to Rum Point beach. The beach was okay, with the catamaran ride to Rum Point being the main highlight. I always get excited pulling into the port at Grand Cayman. As a reef island, we park offshore, and take a ferry to the port. The ferry is a fun ride, and you get to see the ship from the water. Like Cozumel, the water is crystal clear. You are also near the airport, so you can see planes landing. In the summer, Grand Cayman is hot and humid, so I was glad to be on the cruise with the cool ocean breezes. We caught a taxi to Seven Mile Beach, and spent 3 hours playing on the beach. I cannot emphasize how gorgeous Seven Mile Beach is. Rum Point is also okay, but after doing it once, I don't have to do it again... In fact, Disney refunded the cruisers 50 percent of their Rum Point excursion because of the bad reviews this trip.
We wanted to board the boat several hours before on board time because I am paranoid about being left at port. Also, I did not want to get caught in lines waiting for the ferry back to the boat. Being back in Grand Cayman motivated me to return to the island for a longer return stay. There are many relatively cheap options for families to stay, but remember the US dollar has little purchasing power on the island. Food can be a huge expense for US tourists. My spot is always Seven Mile Beach because of the size and beauty of the beach. And I always visit Stingray City to see the stingrays. My kids are too young to be eligible for the Disney excursions, so I will wait a couple years to bring them to Stingray City.
Once onboard we returned to Cabanas. We were there for the end of lunch, and they closed right on time. As I was grabbing buffet food, they were closing the station on me! I noticed that Disney shuts down the buffet a couple minutes early, and the crew have no problems shutting down the station you are in!
The next port was Falmouth. Last trip, I booked the Jewel Beach excursion through Disney. It was very expensive and the value was so-so, and I wanted to do something different. I left the kids in the club and went to do the "Express" Dunns River Falls. I wanted the kids to come but they were too young for the Disney age limits. For good reason, the falls were treacherous. I saw young kids drag their parents down as they climbed up the falls, and the young kids were not having fun. The falls are met for athletic or active people since it is a steep climb on slippery rocks and running water.
The falls were a convergence of thousands of people. Seven Strings of human chains ran up the falls. Multiple cruises and tourists convened to hike the falls. We were supposed to be back at the ship before 1 pm and returned 2 hours late! Jamaica is a special place. It is beautiful for tourists, but there is a high level of poverty and unemployment. It is a stark contrast between the luxury resorts and the poverty that is omnipresent. One thing I learned in the Caribbean is that people may have little money, but the community is stronger and social ties are more important. As the kids get older, I would like to rent a car and explore on my own. Until then, I will use the Disney excursions to see the islands.
In Jamaica, I have previously stayed in Lucie and the Grand Palladium. I would like to return to a Sandals Resorts in Negril or Ochos Rios. I also want to visit Kingston, but I heard it is too dangerous for tourists. The Chinese Government recently helped build a super highway in Jamaica which costs 30 dollars one way. It is an express conduit to get to Kingston. Jamaica was scheduled for Pirate Night. My wife bought pirate outfits for the kids.
On Deck, one song from the funnel vision grabbed my attention. It made me feel good. I looked up and it was "Moana" on funnel vision--I never watched the movie; The title song is so powerful and inspiring. We watched several movies on the funnel vision, some at night. It was interesting to see entire families mesmerized as they watch the Disney movies from the pool deck, or while swimming in the Donald duck pool.
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. And I do one lap on the fourth level deck to work off all the desserts. 
