Off of the Fantasy 4/30! Here are some updates

[darnheather]

Did you sail with a teen? Curious about the Vibe pool and cast members. Watched a video from a December trip that said they were down on CM's so the pool there was only open a few times.

 

[anjuan]

Did you sail with a teen? Curious about the Vibe pool and cast members. Watched a video from a December trip that said they were down on CM's so the pool there was only open a few times.

I'm not the original poster, but my daughter loved the CMs in Vibe in March. I don't know how often they pool was open but I remember my daughter did mention they were only letting one group (or family party) in it at a time so her and her friends didn't use it much. But things have likely changed since then.

 

[darnheather]

I'm not the original poster, but my daughter loved the CMs in Vibe in March. I don't know how often they pool was open but I remember my daughter did mention they were only letting one group (or family party) in it at a time so her and her friends didn't use it much. But things have likely changed since then.

Thank you. Hopefully things will be a little more relaxed by next year.

 

[Jenlynn3]

Were there fireworks on pirate night?

 

[princesscinderella]

We get on the Fantasy May 14 , it’s great to get such current info. Have they done a silent disco one night ?

Yes they are doing silent dance party and they did it during the day for families on one of the sea days. It was funny because you could hear people singing when you walked by the tube since it was so quiet.

 

[Sophie’smom]

Yes they are doing silent dance party and they did it during the day for families on one of the sea days. It was funny because you could hear people singing when you walked by the tube since it was so quiet.

Thanks so much - I’ve heard this is a really fun event to do and we don’t want to miss it

 

[MomOTwins]

Thank you. Hopefully things will be a little more relaxed by next year.

The regular pools just recently fully opened without capacity limits—back to people soup on our mid-April cruise—so I bet the Vibe pool did too.

Were there fireworks on pirate night?

No OP, but yes, there are fireworks on pirate night.

Thanks so much - I’ve heard this is a really fun event to do and we don’t want to miss it

It is super fun! There is even a disney song channel on the headphones.

 

[Sophie’smom]

It is super fun! There is even a disney song channel on the headphones.

That will be incredibly fun !! We will love it

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

Best advice is go shopping AS SOON AS THE SHOPS OPEN on the first day! That's your best chance at all sizes, etc.

1000%. People buy the SM/MD sizes the fastest, usually on the first day. I was talking to the merchandise cast and they said for either of the two sizes to always buy what you want at the beginning of the voyage and return it if you don't end up wanting it.

 

[Kwami]

1000%. People buy the SM/MD sizes the fastest, usually on the first day. I was talking to the merchandise cast and they said for either of the two sizes to always buy what you want at the beginning of the voyage and return it if you don't end up wanting it.

If those sizes are so popular, why doesn't Disney stock more of them? Seems silly to me.

 

[sss]

Anyone now if the Castaway Cay 5k is back to normal or is it still DIY?

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

If those sizes are so popular, why doesn't Disney stock more of them? Seems silly to me.

There’s probably an even amount of each size to be honest. (Just so Disney says they’re…fair?) The ship only has so much space for merchandise storage. I’ve seen the towers of boxes on the inside of the shops walking through on debark morning.

I also feel like DCL has a lot more year branded merchandise than the parks so they really seem to move the stuff or lose it. (Except for the mens department. I feel like that’s been the same stuff since I first sailed in 2018)

 

[Ohmymonty]

Oh gosh! Sorry guys, I didn't get email notifications about any responses. Let me see if i can catch up!

How was your Grand Cayman stop? Did you do a DCL shore excursion or book something on your own?

We are on the Dream 6/11 and I know GC just opened recently to cruise ships, but there isn't a lot of info out there.

Grand Cayman was great. We only did an excursion and did not go out on our own into the port or town. We did the Kittiwake catamaran snorkel adventure (I forget the exact name) where we got on a bus, traveled a few minutes to a beach (where the governor's house was) and then boarded a catamaran. After a safety briefing, we sailed to the sunken USS Kittiwake and snorkeled there for about 30 minutes. Then we got back on the catamaran and stopped at another reef that was only about 15ft underwater. It was great!

Thanks for the recap! Wondering if there was a formal night, and if folks got dressed up for pirate night?

There was a formal night and plenty of people participated. Photographers were going around taking photos.
And yes, people got dressed up for pirate night (our party included, haha!). There weren't as many hardcore costumes as pre-covid, but there were tons of people with pirate themed t shirts, bandanas, accessories.

Thanks for the report! On the servers at dinner, on every disney cruise we’ve been on the assistant server takes your drink order and a few minutes later the main server takes your food order. Maybe that’s what they were trying to do and something got lost in translation?

Yeah, the same has been for every cruise I've been on with Disney too. That's why I was always surprised when our head server asked for our drink order. Then a few seconds later, the assistant server appears and asked the same thing. Would happen in reverse with the food too. The assistant server would ask and then the head server. Definitely some kind of communication error, but it did leave me with the impression that things were not the well oiled machine I remembered pre covid.

This makes me sad! DCL and Castaway Cay merchandise is something I look forward to! Do you remember seeing any DCL scrapbooks? We are sailing on the Fantasy in June. Hopefully there will be more options.

I saw one scrapbook. There were a handful of frames too, but I think I only remember the one scrapbook. There was also a craft activity to make "memory pages."

We get on the Fantasy May 14 , it’s great to get such current info. Have they done a silent disco one night ?

Yes, they had a silent dance party. I know there was definitely one on the last two nights. I think they might have actually done it every night in the Tube at 11:00 pm.

Best advice is go shopping AS SOON AS THE SHOPS OPEN on the first day! That's your best chance at all sizes, etc.

Ditto! That's exactly what we did. When the shops opened we bee-lined and they were already lacking. It was like they were already out when the cruise began. Maybe they didn't get re-stocked? I asked a number of cast members to check if they had more sizes in the back (or wherever they keep them). They put in a request to check and then the next day I would get messages from guest services that they did not have the item I requested. I tried to ask cast members about it (in a nice way, please don't think I was some irate customer demanding impossible things) but they just kind of vaguely shrugged.

Did you sail with a teen? Curious about the Vibe pool and cast members. Watched a video from a December trip that said they were down on CM's so the pool there was only open a few times.

Did not sail with a teen, so I can't answer. I didn't see many teens through the cruise, so I'm not sure if they weren't onboard or if they were always in Vibe, hah!

Were there fireworks on pirate night?

Yes, the fireworks were on pirate night around 10:30 pm. They did the Mickey's Pirates in the Caribbean party around 7:30 and then the Buccaneer Blast fireworks at 10:30.

Anyone now if the Castaway Cay 5k is back to normal or is it still DIY?

Still DIY! It wasn't listed as an activity or port adventure, but when I went to pick up my bike rental they asked if I was there for the 5k. I asked a little more about it and they said you could do it at any time, just come to them to sign in and when you complete.

 

[princesscinderella]

Did you sail with a teen? Curious about the Vibe pool and cast members. Watched a video from a December trip that said they were down on CM's so the pool there was only open a few times.

According to my teen on the 4/16 fantasy sailing the vibe pool was only open certain times which were posted in the club for the teens to see. It wasn’t limited to a few people at a time.

According to my teens there was a group of kids who would stay up into the wee hours getting into all sorts of trouble in the common areas. They went streaking one night and were chased by security and they kept taking an electric scooter that was parked outside enchanted garden and driving it all around. My kids had a curfew which they complained about but they need their sleep and nothing good happens after midnight once the clubs close down.

 

[cwis]

If those sizes are so popular, why doesn't Disney stock more of them? Seems silly to me.

Because people are like “oh well oversize is good too”