Just returned from the Fantasy!

Hi all! I just returned from an amazing last-minute cruise on the Fantasy! I don’t do trip reports, but wanted to say I had such a wonderful time and am so depressed to be back in this cold and snow. These boards and the DCL site are helping with that tho.

A couple of observations from this trip:

--I am SOOOO glad we picked the Jan. 24 cruise, as we had waffled between that one and Jan. 31. My daughter flew home to Chicago on Sat. afternoon with no problems—right before the big blizzard began. However, I kept thinking as we were on ME how many people’s vacations might be impacted nationwide by this storm and I felt so badly for them. I even recall reading on here a person that actually didn’t make it to theirs. :( We are so lucky it happened after ours, since she could only fly in one day early. I’m sorry for anyone whose trip was missed, and hope they can re-schedule it soon.

--We hadn’t previously cruised in January and for some reason I expected there to be less children onboard. There were swarms! At one point, Ray the cruise director announced that there were 800 children onboard, which really surprised me. :eek:

--This cruise seemed to have a very large European contingent, and I heard many more languages (French, Italian, Portuguese and probably others that I didn’t recognize) spoken by many more people than I usually notice on my cruises. (It’s convinced me to learn a new language. :p) I also noticed that most were much more dressed up in the evenings than I typically see on DCL. LOTS of suits/ties and even tuxedos on formal night, and more nicer dresses/gowns throughout the week. Sometimes I feel over-dressed on DCL in my sundresses and maxi skirts, but this trip I felt under-dressed at times. Not complaining tho, just an (interesting, for me) observation. It was actually very nice to see the elevated level of dress especially in the lobby in the evenings.

--Our serving team (Stefan, Meible) and head server (Munir, who was amazing) were the best by far that we have ever experienced on a DCL cruise. They added so much to our dining experience with their efficiency, conversations, and general kindness. I will absolutely request all of them in the future.

--I was really happy with our IGT room assignment. We booked this very last minute (for me), and since we just sailed this past November, this was all about saving $$. We have always had a balcony, so I was somewhat worried about this category. They assigned us an inside room pretty much smack in the center of Deck 8 that had little movement or noise (except for the family across the hall in 2 or 3 rooms with 4 tweens/teens that kept slamming doors late, but that’s another story altogether…) I LOVED the magical porthole and felt the two of us had MORE room to move in this configuration than we do in the balcony room setup.

--We had picture perfect weather this entire trip, except for 50 mph winds on one of the last sailing days that almost knocked me off the deck (well not really, but it felt that way) when I tried to take a walk. And Castaway Cay day was sunny w/o a cloud in the sky!:cool:

And last but not least...........I am now GOLD!!! :D

Oh and P.S. - Booked again onboard!;)

800 kids on the Fantasy is low. 1000 is normal on the Magic (total 2500 guests). So with 4000 as a full load on the Fantasy, 1500-1800 is normal kid load!

800 kids on the Fantasy is low. 1000 is normal on the Magic (total 2500 guests). So with 4000 as a full load on the Fantasy' date=' 1500-1800 is normal kid load![/quote']

 

Wow - I wondered exactly that while I was typing this. Thanks for the info - it felt like a lot though! :o

Apparently I cannot have this post removed nor can I edit it out, which I wish to do due to no interest or responses. I am really glad I did not put the time and effort into an actual trip report.

If someone sees this and knows of a way to have it deleted, please feel free to let me know. Thank you.

Apparently I cannot have this post removed nor can I edit it out, which I wish to do due to no interest or responses. I am really glad I did not put the time and effort into an actual trip report.

 

If someone sees this and knows of a way to have it deleted, please feel free to let me know. Thank you.

I'm confused? :confused:

Your post has been up for 4 hours and you want to take it down due to lack of interest? This is a slow moving board, give people a chance! Glad you had a great time. What were the ages of the folks in your party? Were you able to swim both on the ship and on CC or was it too cold?

Apparently I cannot have this post removed nor can I edit it out, which I wish to do due to no interest or responses. I am really glad I did not put the time and effort into an actual trip report.

 

If someone sees this and knows of a way to have it deleted, please feel free to let me know. Thank you.

I'd say there's been some interest - there are over 150 views of this thread.

But I agree with snoopy - these boards are pretty slow, and don't get a lot of posts. But there are people interested, just not commenting.

Thanks for the comments you made on the cruise.

I'm confused? :confused:

Your post has been up for 4 hours and you want to take it down due to lack of interest? This is a slow moving board, give people a chance! Glad you had a great time. What were the ages of the folks in your party? Were you able to swim both on the ship and on CC or was it too cold?

Hi, thanks for responding and sorry if I confused you. I thought at 150 views with no comments (other than data on # of children), that indicated very little interest and I thought there was a way to delete original posts.

It was myself and my adult daughter (25). We don't swim on the ship, and the water at CC was very cold when first entering, but lots of people were swimming. It was very sunny and I think low 70s so it felt warmer than it was. We sat in the lower chairs at the water's edge.

I'd say there's been some interest - there are over 150 views of this thread.

 

But I agree with snoopy - these boards are pretty slow, and don't get a lot of posts. But there are people interested, just not commenting.

 

Thanks for the comments you made on the cruise.

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm still pretty new with posting and I thought 150 views with no comments indicated a lack of interest. I don't generally post long ones, but thought I'd try this time.

Thanks for sharing you experiences! :)

800 is pretty low for DCL - but with the combination of people who homeschool, international travelers who may have different school schedules, and people who don't think twice about pulling their kids out of school, I'm not sure it would get much lower other than MAYBE on a WBTA or EBTA or Panama Canal cruise.

Interesting note about the dress. I'm anticipating more US cruisers on my 2/14 cruise as it's Presidents' Week and lots of schools in the northeast have the week off. I'm not going to change what I've planned to wear though. (I use "planned" in the very loose sense of the word - meaning "packed to wear at some point". My only "planned" thing is my traditional all black on the 14th in protest of a Hallmark holiday that makes anyone not coupled feel unworthy. Haha!)

Glad you had such a great time!

Thanks for sharing you experiences! :)

 

800 is pretty low for DCL - but with the combination of people who homeschool, international travelers who may have different school schedules, and people who don't think twice about pulling their kids out of school, I'm not sure it would get much lower other than MAYBE on a WBTA or EBTA or Panama Canal cruise.

 

Interesting note about the dress. I'm anticipating more US cruisers on my 2/14 cruise as it's Presidents' Week and lots of schools in the northeast have the week off. I'm not going to change what I've planned to wear though. (I use "planned" in the very loose sense of the word - meaning "packed to wear at some point". My only "planned" thing is my traditional all black on the 14th in protest of a Hallmark holiday that makes anyone not coupled feel unworthy. Haha!)

 

Glad you had such a great time!

Thank you and love the part in bold since I am struggling with that holiday this year!:)

Interesting about the dress. We were once on a cruise with a large group from Mexico--again, very dressed up.

Fewest kids--14 teens (I know that because my daughter was one of them). 14 night cruise.

TA a couple years ago 400 kids, mostly toddlers

2014 TA 600 kids, tended to be young, but more elementary students around.

Normal Magic 1000-1200.

President's week--Have fun. That week the ship tends to be full of teens as many private schools take the whole week off. We did that week once. Teen CM commented that the week before she had 1/2 page of teens, that week she had 5 pages.

The ship changes not so much in number of kids as in age ranges. September/January has lots of pre-school kids. President's week has lots of older kids as this is as close to "off season" as many families can get.

FWIW, our Pres week cruise had great weather.

To OP, congrats on gold.

Interesting about the dress. We were once on a cruise with a large group from Mexico--again' date=' very dressed up.

 

Fewest kids--14 teens (I know that because my daughter was one of them). 14 night cruise.

TA a couple years ago 400 kids, mostly toddlers

2014 TA 600 kids, tended to be young, but more elementary students around.

Normal Magic 1000-1200.

 

President's week--Have fun. That week the ship tends to be full of teens as many private schools take the whole week off. We did that week once. Teen CM commented that the week before she had 1/2 page of teens, that week she had 5 pages.

 

The ship changes not so much in number of kids as in age ranges. September/January has lots of pre-school kids. President's week has lots of older kids as this is as close to "off season" as many families can get.

 

FWIW, our Pres week cruise had great weather.

 

To OP, congrats on gold.[/quote']

 

Yeah, I already figured I'll haunt the adult-only areas moreso than before. Haha.

 

Actually I was on the Dream last Presidents' Week and it wasn't bad - the kids, tweens, and teens often seem to be largely contained in their clubs, so I didn't notice them as much. I actually noticed the far fewer kids on HAL in Alaska last summer more than I ever have the kids on DCL - probably because their kids' area never seemed to be open (and I heard a couple of the kids complaining that it hadn't been fun when they went)...and HAL doesn't really have an adult-only area beyond the spa.

Thank you and love the part in bold since I am struggling with that holiday this year!:)

I've hated it since college when there would be tables upon tables lined up with things sorted alphabetically in the main building on campus - where you pretty much had to go through to get to the cafeteria. So pointless and obnoxious.

Even when I was dating someone, we didn't buy into the hype.

Interesting about the dress. We were once on a cruise with a large group from Mexico--again' date=' very dressed up.

 

Fewest kids--14 teens (I know that because my daughter was one of them). 14 night cruise.

TA a couple years ago 400 kids, mostly toddlers

2014 TA 600 kids, tended to be young, but more elementary students around.

Normal Magic 1000-1200.

 

President's week--Have fun. That week the ship tends to be full of teens as many private schools take the whole week off. We did that week once. Teen CM commented that the week before she had 1/2 page of teens, that week she had 5 pages.

 

The ship changes not so much in number of kids as in age ranges. September/January has lots of pre-school kids. President's week has lots of older kids as this is as close to "off season" as many families can get.

 

FWIW, our Pres week cruise had great weather.

 

To OP, [b']congrats on gold[/b].

Thanks! Again, interesting about the "normal" number of children onboard. For whatever reason, it appeared to both of us that there were many elementary school children, which surprised us. We kept asking each other--"why are they not in school?" :p

And somewhat off topic.....I really wish that Disney would offer a few "adult only" cruises. These would also attract an entire new group who refuses to sail with them for that reason. This is not meant to offend anyone with small children (I had two at one time!;)), but I think it would be great if they offered that opportunity periodically throughout the year. We could then experience the center area in front of the funnel vision on the Fantasy (the kids' area), the hot tubs in peace (these are ALWAYS filled with children when I cruise) and even the character interactions without feeling silly. And personally, I would love to see what the kid's clubs are all about too! (it's the kid in me ;))

We had 2 other mother/young adult daughter combos at our dining table, and they expressed the same desire. One experience cruiser who said she was platinum on four lines (I asked her if she was mokismommy on this forum lol--she wasn't) also thought they should offer "adult only" time with the characters! She said she's been in line for a picture and had other parents comment that she was taking time/space away from the little children.

Thanks! Again, interesting about the "normal" number of children onboard. For whatever reason, it appeared to both of us that there were many elementary school children, which surprised us. We kept asking each other--"why are they not in school?" :p

 

And somewhat off topic.....I really wish that Disney would offer a few "adult only" cruises. These would also attract an entire new group who refuses to sail with them for that reason. This is not meant to offend anyone with small children (I had two at one time!;)), but I think it would be great if they offered that opportunity periodically throughout the year. We could then experience the center area in front of the funnel vision on the Fantasy (the kids' area), the hot tubs in peace (these are ALWAYS filled with children when I cruise) and even the character interactions without feeling silly. And personally, I would love to see what the kid's clubs are all about too! (it's the kid in me ;))

We had 2 other mother/young adult daughter combos at our dining table, and they expressed the same desire. One experience cruiser who said she was platinum on four lines (I asked her if she was mokismommy on this forum lol--she wasn't) also thought they should offer "adult only" time with the characters! She said she's been in line for a picture and had other parents comment that she was taking time/space away from the little children.

As I said before, with a) people who homeschool and can take off whenever, b) people from other countries where "typical" school time off varies from that in the US, and c) people who don't give a rat's patootie about taking their kids out of school to make it more convenient for them, there are likely to always be a good number of elementary school and younger kids on at any time during the year. I think you do see a bit of a drop-off of out-of-season cruising with middle school and above simply because it is hard to deal with missing school and all the catch-up work (and how fast things tend to move in classes of those ages) the older the kids are.

While I do think that the idea is nice, I'm not sure Disney would ever do it for a few reasons. First, you'd be putting the youth counselors out of a job for up to a week, and that's not fair to them. But more importantly, thanks to other cruise lines (at least one, but there are others as well), the image most people have of "adult only cruises" is not really in line with the Disney image, so I think they would have a bit of a challenge getting around that. The concept is nice, but I don't know that they'd ever do it.

As far as characters, I have no issues getting in line (or getting a ticket...though I'm still iffy on Anna and Elsa because though I love them, unless it's changed Elsa's wig is so not right...her hair is like platinum blonde, not white. So she just looks creepy with white IMHO) for character pictures. They are there for all of us on the cruise, and no one should feel bad. Yes, there are always going to be some people who make comments, but often they themselves are not following the rules either. On my Dream cruise last February, there was an adult couple in front of me (not directly but a few groups up) in line, and the woman waiting in line IN FRONT OF THEM with one child made some snide remark about adults "taking up time". I was too far back, but would have ignored her anyway. The couple ignored her, BUT just before the woman in front of them was about to have her little snowflake get a turn, the rest of her family - I'm talking a couple of sets of adults each with a couple of kids and her husband with a couple more kids - came rushing up to join her, making the line MUCH longer than it would have been had they followed the rules - and definitely took time away from other children in line because that character was out only for a limited time. As in the CM who was there doing line control but had a time or person number at which they would cut the line off had to start the cut-off earlier than they would have otherwise. I ended up giving up my spot to a child who without being a whiny brat or using Mom to get a spot simply nodded sadly and started to walk away - I asked the CM if I got out of line if the child could get in line and she said "Yeah, I could do that." But I guarantee you if there had been one little iota of entitlement coming from kid or mom I would have stayed right where I was.

On the trans-Atlantics we did have "Adult time in the Club" or lab, as well as specific activities "Adult Flubber" or whatever. Yeah, it was fun. I enjoyed watching the dads to Marvel Academy. The CMs were there actually encouraging us to "play" like going down the slides and things, not just looking at the stuff.

Yeah, I've heard the comments about taking character time away from the kids. Hate to tell them, but my 2 adults without kids fares subsidize their kid programming. I'm not big on characters, but sorry, I paid more for my cruise than their kids did. I'm allowed my time too. If I wanted character pictures, I'd get them!

I would love an adults-only Disney cruise, and a childless Magic Kingdom would be heavenly! The latter (especially) is highly unlikely to happen, because Disney wants lots of kids so the parents will buy all kinds of unnecessary crap! :D

Yes, there are always going to be some people who make comments, but often they themselves are not following the rules either. On my Dream cruise last February, there was an adult couple in front of me (not directly but a few groups up) in line, and the woman waiting in line IN FRONT OF THEM with one child made some snide remark about adults "taking up time". I was too far back, but would have ignored her anyway. The couple ignored her, BUT just before the woman in front of them was about to have her little snowflake get a turn, the rest of her family - I'm talking a couple of sets of adults each with a couple of kids and her husband with a couple more kids - came rushing up to join her, making the line MUCH longer than it would have been had they followed the rules - and definitely took time away from other children in line because that character was out only for a limited time.

They really need to get this line cutting crap under control. Happens all the time, and it isn't right. This sounds like a more obvious example than many, but bottom line is you shouldn't be able to cut into a line. Period. I don't care if your wife is in line--she's welcome to move to the end with you.

I know, I'm dreaming. Just like the "no saving seats" in the WD theatre that is not enforced at all. But I'm a nasty on that one. I'll give you one seat, but when they send someone to save a whole row....I'm happy to sit there and remind them that there is no saving seats. I've even gone so far as to suggest that if they have a problem, they might want to get a CM to discuss it.

They really need to get this line cutting crap under control. Happens all the time' date=' and it isn't right. This sounds like a more obvious example than many, but bottom line is you shouldn't be able to cut into a line. Period. I don't care if your wife is in line--she's welcome to move to the end with you.

 

I know, I'm dreaming. Just like the "no saving seats" in the WD theatre that is not enforced at all. But I'm a nasty on that one. I'll give you one seat, but when they send someone to save a whole row....I'm happy to sit there and remind them that there is no saving seats. I've even gone so far as to suggest that if they have a problem, they might want to get a CM to discuss it.[/quote']

 

I agree!

 

Honestly if it was *just* her husband and their kids (not the cousins or friends or whatever the relationship was) I would not have had as big of a problem with it. It was the sudden influx of at least 10 people that was annoying! And in this case clearly changed the whole timing of everything - in all likelihood the interactions were more rushed than they would have been - because I will give Disney props for not moving the cut-off point of a line up (like you thought you were in, but suddenly they move the end of the line up to 4 or 5 people in front of you). When they set an end point, they MIGHT move it back if interactions go quicker than expected (like what seems to be a large family only wants one picture rather than any number of combinations), but they are almost never (except in case of emergency) going to tell people they've already cleared to be in the line that suddenly they can't be anymore.

With pictures, I look at this: if the people who added on get in a group picture, no problem. If they all want their individual picture, I'm going to be hacked.

Anyone who complains about adults meeting characters is clearly on the wrong cruise and is lacking an appreciation for Disney Magic!

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With pictures, I look at this: if the people who added on get in a group picture, no problem. If they all want their individual picture, I'm going to be hacked.

 

Anyone who complains about adults meeting characters is clearly on the wrong cruise and is lacking an appreciation for Disney Magic!

 

 

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If it was just a group picture, ok. But this was clearly going to be lots and lots of combinations - the adults were discussing what they had decided would be the ideal ones.

Them that's terribly rude!

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I've hated it since college when there would be tables upon tables lined up with things sorted alphabetically in the main building on campus - where you pretty much had to go through to get to the cafeteria. So pointless and obnoxious.

 

Even when I was dating someone, we didn't buy into the hype.

Sounds smart. Better to create your own celebrations and holidays!:)

On the trans-Atlantics we did have "Adult time in the Club" or lab' date=' as well as specific activities "Adult Flubber" or whatever. Yeah, it was fun. I enjoyed watching the dads to Marvel Academy. The CMs were there actually encouraging us to "play" like going down the slides and things, not just looking at the stuff.[/b']

Yeah, I've heard the comments about taking character time away from the kids. Hate to tell them, but my 2 adults without kids fares subsidize their kid programming. I'm not big on characters, but sorry, I paid more for my cruise than their kids did. I'm allowed my time too. If I wanted character pictures, I'd get them!

OMG how cool! I've never done the TA yet (just the "basic ones" so far), but I would love that. One more reason why I think an adults-only Fantasy cruise would be so much fun!:p

I would love an adults-only Disney cruise, and a childless Magic Kingdom would be heavenly! The latter (especially) is highly unlikely to happen, because Disney wants lots of kids so the parents will buy all kinds of unnecessary crap! :D

Hey I still buy all kinds of unnecessary Disney crap without little ones around!:o:D

(My daughter laughs because I "collect" Disney coffee mugs--hey I drink a lot of tea!--and this past cruise started collecting Disney tervis mugs. At this rate, I can soon donate all my Pfaltzgraff.)