Our Double Fantasy - back to back July 14-28, 2012 - pictures added

[noahsmom]

Here are some final thoughts:

Take ALL reviews (this one included) with a grain of salt. Everyone has different perspectives. I read some back reports about the aft staterooms, heavy vibrations, noise, soot. The only one I found true for us was the soot, the vibrations were not bad for us.

Back to back 7 night cruises. It was fun but we won't do it again. We would love to do a 14 night itinerary, but the repeat of the menus and programming got old. Next summer we have a 3/4 night back to back scheduled and I think that will be fine. We love CC and 4 nights would not be long enough for us!

Rainforest room. Love it! We'd do that again.

Mixology - great fun and will definitely do it again.

Veranda room - must have when DS was younger, not necessary anymore. We don't spend as much time in the room as we used to, so we can save some money and book ocean view.

Eastern vs Western. This is hard. Our favorite port (Castaway Cay not included) is Grand Cayman, but our least favorite is Cozumel. The extra sea day is great with the Fantasy so that makes the Eastern nice. I guess it would just come down to which fits our schedule the best. I would love a 10 day Southern Caribbean. I do think DCL needs to offer some different Caribbean ports of call. At this time we aren't interested in itineraries that don't include Castaway Cay.

Shopping - I will check prices on items before we cruise. The ship had my perfume but I wasn't sure if the price was much lower than what I pay at home. I don't plan on buying more jewelry but it wouldn't hurt to go to a jewelry store and check prices. I did get a Dooney bag on board, plus I had to buy a new underwater camera when mine broke after St. Maarten.

Fantasy - beautiful - DCL hit a home run with this ship. Crew was terrific. The passengers however...we noticed a difference between the guests on each cruise. The passengers on the 1st cruise (Eastern) seemed much more relaxed and happy. Passengers on the 2nd seemed very grumpy. Don't know why, but we all noticed the difference.

We had a wonderful time! Next summer we will become Platinum Castaway Club members. Each cruise has been different and terrific which is why we keep coming back. This vacation works best for our family at this time. Is it perfect for everyone? No. We also try to go with the flow (although our seating assignments for dinner got me a little worked up) and we try very hard not to be rude when things don't go as planned. Disney is terrific but not perfect.

Thanks for reading, if you have any questions let me know. This is my favorite topic!!

 

[jessrose18]

wow! great updates, I have to sit there on CC great view...last time we sat infront of the slide. Then we wandered to the adult beach and didnt like it (very windy) and then went back to regular beach...spent too much time wandering! I will park my butt there instead.... thanks for giving a second thumbs up to nativeway, I will contact them, cant wait to see those stingrays!

 

[noahsmom]

wow! great updates, I have to sit there on CC great view...last time we sat infront of the slide. Then we wandered to the adult beach and didnt like it (very windy) and then went back to regular beach...spent too much time wandering! I will park my butt there instead.... thanks for giving a second thumbs up to nativeway, I will contact them, cant wait to see those stingrays!

We really like that spot on CC. Get off at the 2nd tram stop and go to that end of the main family beach. Many go to the Pelican Plunge beach and it gets very crowded.

 

[Dclnut143]

Here are some final thoughts:

Take ALL reviews (this one included) with a grain of salt. Everyone has different perspectives. I read some back reports about the aft staterooms, heavy vibrations, noise, soot. The only one I found true for us was the soot, the vibrations were not bad for us.

Back to back 7 night cruises. It was fun but we won't do it again. We would love to do a 14 night itinerary, but the repeat of the menus and programming got old. Next summer we have a 3/4 night back to back scheduled and I think that will be fine. We love CC and 4 nights would not be long enough for us!

Rainforest room. Love it! We'd do that again.

Mixology - great fun and will definitely do it again.

Veranda room - must have when DS was younger, not necessary anymore. We don't spend as much time in the room as we used to, so we can save some money and book ocean view.

Eastern vs Western. This is hard. Our favorite port (Castaway Cay not included) is Grand Cayman, but our least favorite is Cozumel. The extra sea day is great with the Fantasy so that makes the Eastern nice. I guess it would just come down to which fits our schedule the best. I would love a 10 day Southern Caribbean. I do think DCL needs to offer some different Caribbean ports of call. At this time we aren't interested in itineraries that don't include Castaway Cay.

Shopping - I will check prices on items before we cruise. The ship had my perfume but I wasn't sure if the price was much lower than what I pay at home. I don't plan on buying more jewelry but it wouldn't hurt to go to a jewelry store and check prices. I did get a Dooney bag on board, plus I had to buy a new underwater camera when mine broke after St. Maarten.

Fantasy - beautiful - DCL hit a home run with this ship. Crew was terrific. The passengers however...we noticed a difference between the guests on each cruise. The passengers on the 1st cruise (Eastern) seemed much more relaxed and happy. Passengers on the 2nd seemed very grumpy. Don't know why, but we all noticed the difference.

We had a wonderful time! Next summer we will become Platinum Castaway Club members. Each cruise has been different and terrific which is why we keep coming back. This vacation works best for our family at this time. Is it perfect for everyone? No. We also try to go with the flow (although our seating assignments for dinner got me a little worked up) and we try very hard not to be rude when things don't go as planned. Disney is terrific but not perfect.

Thanks for reading, if you have any questions let me know. This is my favorite topic!!

Hey!!!! I was on the second with u and i hope i was not one of the grumpy ones u speak of haha!!! Although i was quite grumpy at all the kids in the adult areas the whole cruise. Wonder why this cruise was so bad with all the kids in adult pools, bars, etc

 

[Dclnut143]

Such a bittersweet day - Castaway Cay - last day

We were ready to go as soon as the ship was cleared. We were in the stairway waiting to leave when I realized I forgot the beer . So I went back up to our room to get that while DH & DS went ahead to secure our beach location.

Here is the island from our balcony:

As soon as I found the guys we got our snorkel gear on and hit the water. This time DS was with us and we had a great time.

My little friends followed me again, DS thought it was funny how they did that.

DS enjoyed finding Mickey:

this may be our Christmas card this year!

We saw a huge school of fish. It was fascinating to see them swim under us, around us and next to us.

The entire morning was spent snorkeling. Time seems to stand still while we are snorkeling and we were surprised that it was lunch time when we got out of the water. We went to Cookies Too for lunch. The lunch on the island doesn't wow us but it has gotten better.

After lunch DS went to the teen area. DH & I just relaxed in our loungers. Here's the view from my lounger:

Around 3 I went over to the teen area to tell DS we were heading back to the ship. The teen area looks like fun, they have ping pong, fooze ball, it was close to the sand soccer field and volleyball area.

Back on the ship we showered and got ready for dinner. Packed a few more items, put luggage tags on and tried to relax. Final dinner was in Royal Garden. After dinner DH & I went to the final show, DS went to Vibe. We did ask him to be back by 11 since we had to get up early and had a long day in the car.

After the show we went up to deck 11 for one last pizza run.

Early bed for all us. Our breakfast was scheduled for 6:45. We decided to skip the main dining breakfast and went to Cabanas. This is was great! We left our carry on's in the room, had a nice breakfast (they do have hot items like scrambled eggs and bacon) and then went down for our stuff. The last morning in Cabanas is staffed by Palo staff so we were able to say goodbye to Gabi and Dragan. Back at our room Nigel was in the hall, we said goodbye to him and grabbed our stuff.

The ship had not been released yet so we had to wait a bit in the lobby.

Only about 15 min and then we were walking off the ship and heading home. Customs was a breeze with a porter. The Park n Cruise van showed up quickly, about a 5 min wait. We had to pick up some people at the Carnival terminal. By 8 am we were back at our car. We loaded up and headed for home! We got as far as Paducah, KY before we stopped for the night. It was 10 pm when we arrived and we were ready to get out of the car. Going this far makes the next day a little easier, although it seems to take FOR EVER to get through Illinois.

We did the raddison park and ride. It took us forever to get through customs tho cause we were the last people off. Literally, the last people in line off the ship. And i love that your family did that with the shirts. Awesome!!!! Funny and totally something me and my family would do

 

[*999haunts]

What a wonderful TR! Our first cruise is next year and now I'm really overboard excited!

 

[MommaBerd]

Thanks for taking the time to write this TR. You did a great job! I can't wait for DH and I to experience this for ourselves!

 

[noahsmom]

Thanks for all your nice comments! I don't mean to offend anyone who was on the 7/21 cruise, I'm sure not everyone was grumpy but there was definitely a different feel on board.

I know I never said much about what we did after dinner because we really didn't do much. We'd wander, stop at a bar for a drink, went to a few of the shows, watched a movie. We were very relaxed and just did what we felt like doing, not what we thought we should do. On past cruises we've felt we "had" to go to the show each night. Not this time.

I do believe that planning is half the fun of the trip and we are now in the planning process for next summer...

 

[jessrose18]

For sure! Planning is half the fun.....thanks for the report!

 

[soy1]

Thanks so much for your trip report. There was so much that I could relate to - especially the pizza run and the night your husband ordered one of each entree!! (My husband can't wait!!)

We're planning to book with Native Way too - so glad to hear you endorse them. Did you ever hear what happened to the other group that was supposed to be with you on that tour?

Thanks again for taking the time to share!!

 

[jessrose18]

Thanks so much for your trip report. There was so much that I could relate to - especially the pizza run and the night your husband ordered one of each entree!! (My husband can't wait!!)

We're planning to book with Native Way too - so glad to hear you endorse them. Did you ever hear what happened to the other group that was supposed to be with you on that tour?

Thanks again for taking the time to share!!

I was also thinking about that, hope they dont leave us if we dont get on the first tender

 

[Goldeelox9]

What a great Trip Report! I am on the Hawaii Sailling in less then 2 months and can not wait for 14 nights on the cruise!

 

[noahsmom]

Thanks so much for your trip report. There was so much that I could relate to - especially the pizza run and the night your husband ordered one of each entree!! (My husband can't wait!!)

We're planning to book with Native Way too - so glad to hear you endorse them. Did you ever hear what happened to the other group that was supposed to be with you on that tour?

Thanks again for taking the time to share!!

We didn't hear what happened to them. We were on the 1st tender but by the time we left I'd say about 5 tenders had dropped people off.

 

[cheryllarsen]

OMG, i would love a back to back crusie!

 

[jessrose18]

maybe you could help me figure this one out??? DCL list's Grand Cayman port time as 11:30-4:45. I emailed Nativeway and got this reply:

The tour departs the pier at 12:30 PM Eastern Time (this is ship time). The tour completes at around 3:30 PM Eastern Time. We ask that you check in no later than 12:15 PM Eastern Time (this is ship time). When you come ashore, look for theperson carrying the sign that says Native Way Watersports. You may alsoask for us at the information booth at the cruise ship terminal

So do I have 45 min from the time the tender's start to arrive at the meeting spot right??? Just want to make sure we are there on time! Reserving Nativeway was super easy $40 pp for the tour cant wait! Thanks for the tip.

 

[noahsmom]

maybe you could help me figure this one out??? DCL list's Grand Cayman port time as 11:30-4:45. I emailed Nativeway and got this reply:

The tour departs the pier at 12:30 PM Eastern Time (this is ship time). The tour completes at around 3:30 PM Eastern Time. We ask that you check in no later than 12:15 PM Eastern Time (this is ship time). When you come ashore, look for theperson carrying the sign that says Native Way Watersports. You may alsoask for us at the information booth at the cruise ship terminal

So do I have 45 min from the time the tender's start to arrive at the meeting spot right??? Just want to make sure we are there on time! Reserving Nativeway was super easy $40 pp for the tour cant wait! Thanks for the tip.

The whole time thing is confusing. It seems some cruise lines don't change their clocks - Disney does. There will be announcements and it's in the Navigator that you should set your clock/watch back one hour before going to bed on Sunday night. This will put you at central time. The 1st tender is 10:45, you go to Animator's Palate to get in line. We arrived about 10:15 and the line was very long but we did get off on the 1st tender. Your confirmation says 12:30 Eastern, the ship will be on Central time so you should be there by 11:30. If you get on the 1st or 2nd tender you will be ashore by 11:00. There are stores in the port area that you can look through if you get there a little early. I prefer to be early. Based on the price and your time I'm guessing you are doing the same tour we did - starfish, stingrays and coral garden. You will have a great time!

 

[UO Duck 91]

Thanks so much for the awesome TR. We're planning on cruising in November and after reading this, the wait will be unbearable! Thanks for the great information and tips. It will help us to plan. I'm very excited for the mixology class!

 

[All Things Simba]

I will add some pictures. If there's anything in particular you'd like to see let me know. I took over 1200 pictures.

You remind me of me! I LOVE taking pictures.. so much so that my DH calls me "clicker"... he says I live behind the view finder... but that's what I love to do on vacation. I've taken 1500 photos on a 7 night cruise. I'll have to try writing a trip report after our next Disney cruise. But I just LOVE reading yours!!

 

[jessrose18]

thanks for clarifying, that makes sense now! and yes same tour, can't wait So if Nativeway says tour goes until 3:30, then its really 2:30 according to disney ship time? I want to see if we will have enough time afterwards to see 7 mile beach .... and last tender is at 4:30 disney ship time? Thanks for helping me with my cruise math!

 

[noahsmom]

Thanks so much for the awesome TR. We're planning on cruising in November and after reading this, the wait will be unbearable! Thanks for the great information and tips. It will help us to plan. I'm very excited for the mixology class!

If Damien is still there ask him about the squished frog!

You remind me of me! I LOVE taking pictures.. so much so that my DH calls me "clicker"... he says I live behind the view finder... but that's what I love to do on vacation. I've taken 1500 photos on a 7 night cruise. I'll have to try writing a trip report after our next Disney cruise. But I just LOVE reading yours!!

DH & DS have learned to accept my "illness". The only picture we've ever purchased after a ride at WDW is one of us on Expedition Everest. Just as you go down the big hill and they take your picture I noticed my camera setting had changed. So the picture has DH & DS with their arms up screaming, I'm looking down at my camera making the necessary adjustment.

thanks for clarifying, that makes sense now! and yes same tour, can't wait So if Nativeway says tour goes until 3:30, then its really 2:30 according to disney ship time? I want to see if we will have enough time afterwards to see 7 mile beach .... and last tender is at 4:30 disney ship time? Thanks for helping me with my cruise math!

You should be done about 2:30 ship time, not sure if that will be when you get back to the marina or back to the ship. We were ready to get back on the ship, get cleaned up and have something to eat. I was going to take some snacks for us but forgot. We were so into the excursion we didn't even thing about food until we were done.