Fantasy Pools

[StephC1217]

Hi Everyone

We are sailing the Fantasy in June 2013- it is our honeymoon cruise (but we will also have DS7 with us). I have been so excited about this cruise and being able to lay out in the sun, relax, let DS go swimming....and then I read about 100 threads about the pools being small and overcrowded...no lounge chairs open...not enough room to go swimming....basically lots of things that go against my daydreams!!

So- how does everyone handle this? Are there better times to go swimming? Should we get up early and head to the pool? I wanted this to a more relaxing trip than say...WDW...with having to plan out everything, get up early everyday, etc. But if thats what I have to do to relax by the pool than I will!

BTW- we are really excited about the ports and excursions so staying on the ship to use the pool is not really an option for us....Just wondering how many people have had an issue with the pools??

 

[226ra]

Get up early, or go with the late dinner seating and hang out by the pool in the late afternoon. The deck really clears out between 3 and 4 pm as folks with the early dinner time slot head back to their rooms to get ready. Also, this is a great time to enjoy reduced wait times for the AquaDuck!

All of the above was experienced on sea days only. For example, we stayed on board for Costa Maya and most of the Cozumel day and had plenty of room to sit and relax by the pool.

 

[mlayton14]

A picture is worth a thousand words

Disney really hit the mark with this design feature eh?

 

[karaintn]

Eww, that's pretty gross. The water even looks funky.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

A picture is worth a thousand words

Disney really hit the mark with this design feature eh?

Yes, Sea Days by the kids pools can be quite chaotic. Out of nearly 15 Sea Days we've had, the worse was on a 4-night cruise and it was so bad we took a picture much like yours. That said, I could post several pictures of nearly empty pool areas too that portray a much more relaxing atmosphere.

If you're watching a child, it's hard to find a place to truly relax mid-day. But it is possible. I have pictures of us where we are the only ones by the pool while our son swam in the empty Goofy pool. As a PP said, it was generally late afternoon/early evening. I also have lots of early morning peaceful memories. Late morning/early afternoon is simply the most crowded.

OP: there are times to relax and times to enjoy other areas. Sometime, mid-day, check your son into the kids clubs so you two can enjoy a Palo brunch, relax on Deck 4 reading a book or perhaps enjoy some sun near Satellite Falls. It's not always as bad as that picture portrayed.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Holy Cow!! My only DCL cruise so far was the Transatlantic, and there weren't many kids on there so the Mickey Pool was not very crowded. Now I realize how lucky we were!

A picture is worth a thousand words

Disney really hit the mark with this design feature eh?

 

[jennyjinx3]

Yikes, I don't like the looks of that pool! I am trying to convince DH to book a Fantasy cruise next year and if he sees this picture...adding to his other misgivings...it will NOT be happening!

 

[magrudersmakes3]

We had late dining on our 4 night cruise on the Dream. We would go to the pools after dinner so around 9:30 or so and the pool would be empty. There was an average of a dozen or kids at the most.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Yep and it just wasn't the Mickey pool the Goofy pool mid-afternoon didn't look much better.
I just showed this picture to my 14 yo son. We just got off the Fantasy last Saturday. We both agreed thats what we disliked the most. No place to swim and relax. We would arrive at the pool by 8am and yes my 2 kids were usually the only kids in the Goofy pool. But that didn't last long . By 10am it was already getting crowded and our ship only had 2900 passengers.

Its the reason, I'll probably never spend that kind of money to cruise the Fantasy or Dream again.

 

[Donald_Quackers]

Yeah, the donald pool on the fantasy looked crazy, but that's not enough to make me not cruise on those ships

 

[jilljill]

No matter what ship we've sailed on the pools are always crazy packed on nice, sunny days - doesn't matter the cruise line either. Pools on ships are not for swimming and relaxing.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Yeah, the donald pool on the fantasy looked crazy, but that's not enough to make me not cruise on those shops

No matter what ship we've sailed on the pools are always crazy packed on nice, sunny days - doesn't matter the cruise line either. Pools on ships are not for swimming and relaxing.

Thats why our lastest cruise will probably be our last. After our latest Fantasy cruise, we just decided its not really for us.

Swimming and relaxing is a huge part of our vacation, some people not so much.
We had an incredible time on our cruise and was definetly our best family vacation ever but the pools are just one of the reasons we probably won't cruise again.

 

[StephC1217]

This photo did nothing to reassure me that we would be able to swim and relax Guess I will be getting up at the crack of dawn to try to get some swimming in!

 

[xcitedtogo]

On top of that, the pool this past week was FULL of adults too!! oh and babies with swimmers....guess that is why the Mickey pool on the Fantasy had to be evactuated and cleaned twice on sea days... I still enjoyed every minute though!!! Mickey slide was were it was at!!

 

[ldymcbth]

I have to admit the Mickey pool grossed me out - like kid soup. And then it had to keep being closed down so all I could do was envision a pool full of poop...

The Donald pool was busy but do-able. I think if people would follow the rules with regards to chair-holding things would be much easier. We saw so many good chairs filled with crap and HOURS would go by with no one in them. We didn't need chairs - too busy swimming and Aqua-ducking - but how frustrating for those who would have loved to sit and relax but needed to do so in sight of their kids in a pool.

 

[MickeyMinnieMelanie]

On top of that, the pool this past week was FULL of adults too!! oh and babies with swimmers....guess that is why the Mickey pool on the Fantasy had to be evactuated and cleaned twice on sea days... I still enjoyed every minute though!!! Mickey slide was were it was at!!

Good for us There are some advantages to having older kids. (even though I do miss that size).

 

[Ottawalovesdisney]

We also just got back from our cruise on Fantasy last Saturday. There was myself, DH, DD9 & DS6. This was our first cruise and thought we would start with DCL. I have no complains about DCL except for the size of the kids pool. Though there was only 2900 guests onboard, the Donald pool was always packed with kids including adults. Just like the picture of Mickey pool, the colour of the Donald pool is no different. My kids wanted me to go in the pool with them at times. A couple of reasons i didn't want to go was #1 save room for more kids to go in, #2 the milky foggy colour of the pool water scared me. But after some beggings, I went in for about 30mins to make them happy. DD & DS loved the Donald pool. They disagree with the size being small and crowded. No matter how crowded it was, they would find room to swim in and around people. My kids never went to the Mickey pool area but it was just as busy as the Donald pool. Though we received exceptional service from Disney Fantasy, DCL will not be our next choice. I will say one of the main reasons is because of the kids pool area. DCL really got it wrong there. We would like to try other cruise lines and be able to compare. DH has researched other cruise lines ie: Carnival Magic, and its water play area looked incredible.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

We booked a double dip cruise so we would have three opportunities to get off the ship and swim in the ocean. But on some of those 7 night cruises there are 3 sea days which means 3 days to be stuck with the human soup pools. Our plan for our sea day is to do kids clubs, buena vista movie theater and other indoor activities until about 3 or 4 and then we will go to the pools. This is partly to avoid crowds but also because I don't want to be on the hot deck with the midday sun beating down on us and no shade. If we decide to book a 7 night we would do a western so we only have 2 sea days and 4 chances to hit the beach.

 

[rdevine10]

No matter what ship we've sailed on the pools are always crazy packed on nice, sunny days - doesn't matter the cruise line either. Pools on ships are not for swimming and relaxing.

I respectfully disagree. We just sailed the Carnival Legend over our april break. The pools swimable, even on sea days. (As in you could do more than just get in and stand). But, to be fair, I did a lot of research on cruise critic and this is a much smaller ship than the Fantasy/Dream. It holds lot less people and is fairly close in size to the Disney Magic/Wonder (but has a lot less kids). I chose this boat for size to ratio of people AND departure location (leaves from Tampa with has a lot of retirees on it). Our cruise had many families and retirees. Was a great combo of people.

 

[krhardy]

Also remember that if you're just wanting to cool off, there is the Aquaduck (which is best when the ship is empty) The Mickey slide, and the Nemo area for smaller kids. The Fantasy also has the addition of Satellite Falls for adults, and another small wading pool overlooking Quiet Cove that is for everybody and was very rarely crowded.
I agree with many of the previous posters...the best time to enjoy the pools is NOT in the middle of the day. Take advantage of the indoor programming while it is really hot out and the sun is at its most damaging. Then, head outside late afternoon when everybody else is getting ready for, or eating, dinner.
Don't let the worry ruin your anticipation. You will have a fantastic time. I know...I got off of the Fantasy yesterday