First time on the big ships!

[Krissy22222]

We are so excited, we've booked a cruise on the Fantasy for the first time. Having sailed the Magic and Wonder several times, we are used to the activities and amenities offered on those ships but are excited to try something different this time.

I'm wondering what will be different on the Fantasy, anything I need to plan for, book early, or prepare for? Anything I need to make sure not to miss? Would love your 2 cents on this!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We are so excited, we've booked a cruise on the Fantasy for the first time. Having sailed the Magic and Wonder several times, we are used to the activities and amenities offered on those ships but are excited to try something different this time.

I'm wondering what will be different on the Fantasy, anything I need to plan for, book early, or prepare for? Anything I need to make sure not to miss? Would love your 2 cents on this!

Generally, it's pretty much like the Magic class, only larger. Basically the same (or similar) activities. Booking for character breakfast/meets done precruise when you do your excursion/activity bookings. Two adult dining venues (Palo & Remy).

 

[lklgoodman]

The mid-ship detective agency and the mini-golf are a lot of fun. Also the Aquaduck!! You don't have to plan ahead of time for any of these activities.

 

[Krissy22222]

Is the mid ship detective agency something for the kids in the clubs or can the entire family join in?

 

[gotomu212]

Is the mid ship detective agency something for the kids in the clubs or can the entire family join in?

The entire family- or even just the adults. My husband and I did one of the quests while my son was in the club. It’s a lot of walking to different decks of the ship to interactive with the pictures. Great for working off second (or third) dessert.

 

[SteveMP]

The mid-ship detective agency and the mini-golf are a lot of fun. Also the Aquaduck!! You don't have to plan ahead of time for any of these activities.

Yeah it seemed our kids found out the differnces before we did and told us about them each night. They loved the detective stuff and showing us the little door they had to find etc.

 

[CamColt]

2 words....Satellite Falls!

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

Is the mid ship detective agency something for the kids in the clubs or can the entire family join in?

My wife and I did this when we sailed. We did it again when our 24 year old son joined us on another cruise. I think it’s a good way to learn your way around the ship.

2 words....Satellite Falls!

We liked hanging out here also.

My favorite bar is Skyline and spent a lot of time at Quiet Cove having a speciality coffee and talking with the Cast Members. Wife and I really enjoyed our experience at Remy.

 

[GPaLarry]

There are three detective cases to be solved, with pesky Muppet bad guys, so lots of walking and fun is involved. Plan on longer times to get to dinner, theaters, clubs, etc. The jogging track is longer, which is good. There are magic pictures down many halls... Minnie might wink at you, or two Dumbo posters might come to life. Also, if you have an inside stateroom, you will have a magic porthole. Basically, bigger ship, more magic.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

Oh, and nobody on this thread has mentioned that the in-room Disney movies are better too on the "big" ships. It is an free "On Demand" system, so you can pick from a lot of Disney movies and TV shows. It is nice to have one on while you are in the room changing/getting ready or in morning or evening. We picked out a couple that we hadn't seen in years or not at all and watched them in bits and pieces throughout the trip.

I think the Rainforest room has more too, if you are interested in that.

 

[Shanti]

We are so excited, we've booked a cruise on the Fantasy for the first time. Having sailed the Magic and Wonder several times, we are used to the activities and amenities offered on those ships but are excited to try something different this time.

I'm wondering what will be different on the Fantasy, anything I need to plan for, book early, or prepare for? Anything I need to make sure not to miss? Would love your 2 cents on this!

Book a session on the sports simulators. Those do sell out. It's under onboard activities. And be sure not to miss your second night in Animator's Palate.

Have fun! We loved the Fantasy!

 

[Shanti]

Is the mid ship detective agency something for the kids in the clubs or can the entire family join in?

Whole family. It's self-guided & self-paced.

 

[Krissy22222]

Wow, thanks for all the great tips and comments! We are even more excited now!!!

 

[Silver Queen]

Wow, thanks for all the great tips and comments! We are even more excited now!!!

I agree with all of the above posters. We've sailed on all four of the DCL ships and the Fantasy is our favorite. Other differences include the larger and more grand atrium which is more conducive to the entertainment that's held there. We've also taken two guided tours on the Fantasy. One was a galley tour and the other was called "The Art of the Ship" or something like that. Both of them helped us to appreciate the design and amenities of the ship even more. She's a thing of beauty!

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

I had done 12 cruises on the Magic and Wonder before I took my first cruise on the Fantasy Oct 28 for Halloween.
Loved it that much that I went back last week fro Christmas.
The cons of the big ships (bigger crowds) are less important then the pros (more character meets, way more space to sit down inside, overall beauty of the ship, coffee bar and bar integrated in the atrium etc)

 

[koala1966]

We just did our first big ship - We were on the Fantasy. Loved it! The deck plan is a lot different though, whereas going between the Magic and the Wonder you feel like you know where you are going, here we really had to learn our way around again. We did one ship tour but it only walked decks 4 & part of 3, I hear the art of the theme ship tour is the better one but we missed that one because we had something else planned (probably Bingo lol). I love the Europa district, it's so posh. Also was pleased to realize that all 3 stage shows were completely new to us, as in our experience the classic ships share some shows. I'm torn on this new test that they are doing where they repeat shows, it was nice to have some free nights but I hate to lose live entertainment.

It doesn't turn us off from the classic ships, I'm sure we'll sail them again, but it definitely lives up to the hype.

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

We just did our first big ship - We were on the Fantasy. Loved it! The deck plan is a lot different though, whereas going between the Magic and the Wonder you feel like you know where you are going, here we really had to learn our way around again. We did one ship tour but it only walked decks 4 & part of 3, I hear the art of the theme ship tour is the better one but we missed that one because we had something else planned (probably Bingo lol). I love the Europa district, it's so posh. Also was pleased to realize that all 3 stage shows were completely new to us, as in our experience the classic ships share some shows. I'm torn on this new test that they are doing where they repeat shows, it was nice to have some free nights but I hate to lose live entertainment.

It doesn't turn us off from the classic ships, I'm sure we'll sail them again, but it definitely lives up to the hype.

I was on the 25 Nov sailing on the Fantasy and did NOT like the repeat shows. I wanted all 5 shows vs just 3. On my 28 Oct sailing we had them all 5 and it was supposed to be the same for the 25 Nov sailing.. until some high-up people decided to sail on the November cruise. They were also checking out the Frozen meet and greet when I was there.
I was told by the cast they are testing this ent structure to see for the new ships cause the theatres will be way smaller than the capacity of the ships so they will do the same show multiple nights.
I watched Believe both nights but second show second night (so last night of the cruise) I fell bad for the cast, there was like hardly anyone....

 

[tigerchic89]

on Fantasy 11/18, we had 5 shows, no repeats. That's weird how they keep switching back and forth

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

on Fantasy 11/18, we had 5 shows, no repeats. That's weird how they keep switching back and forth

I know. Until Thursday the cast thought we were getting 5 shows as well, until they were told the VP and some others were sailing and wanted the 3 shows test...
The only advantage was more character meets, cause the first and last show hold a big chunk of the character cast and Aladdin and Believe not, so they had 'extra' time for some sets here and there.

 

[puzzledprincess]

Is there any way to tell whether they will be doing the thing where they repeat the shows on my upcoming sailing leaving Dec. 16?