Eastern or Western Caribbean/Fantasy or Wonder Honeymoon Question

[acassels]

Hi everyone,
My soon to be wife and I are wanting to go on a Disney cruise for our honeymoon next February. The option is a Western or Eastern Caribbean 7 night cruise on either Fantasy or Wonder? Any recommendations?

 

[imahistorygeek]

We're doing an eastern on the Fantasy in May 2018. From what I've read, with the eastern, you can pull right up to port, with the western, you have to tender. Don't quote me on that, but that may make a difference to you.

This will be our first time on Fantasy. We've been on the Wonder and we loved it. The adult areas are great and we spent a lot of time hanging out in the pub.

You can't go wrong either way.

 

[ChuckElias]

Hi everyone,
My soon to be wife and I are wanting to go on a Disney cruise for our honeymoon next February. The option is a Western or Eastern Caribbean 7 night cruise on either Fantasy or Wonder? Any recommendations?

On the Fantasy, the Western itineraries generally have three port days (Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Falmouth), while the Eastern itineraries generally have two (St. Thomas and either St. Maarten or Tortola). I'm not a big fan of Cozumel or Falmouth personally. And I LOVE Tortola, especially if you can take a ferry to see the Baths on Virgin Gorda. The Fantasy has all the bells and whistles: interactive art, the Muppet Detective Agency, AquaDuck, a great dinner "show" in Animator's Palate. If you like a bigger, newer more techy ship, I would recommend the Eastern itinerary on the Dream.

On the Wonder, the Eastern itineraries go to San Juan and St. Maarten; and the Western itineraries go to Key West, Cozumel and Costa Maya OR Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Costa Maya. So here's my dilemma. I LOVE Key West, and I HATE Costa Maya. Hate. Our excursion to the Mayan ruins was stopped on the way back to the ship and our bus was boarded by militia men carrying machine guns. HATE. But if you love Key West like I do, then you might want to do that itinerary and just stay on the ship while it's at Costa Maya. The Wonder just had a pretty amazing refurb and looks fantastic. Plus, they added Tiana's Place to take the place of Parrot Cay. And it's terrific. My daughter just sailed the Wonder a couple weeks ago and loved eating at Tiana's Place with the live music. It's smaller than the Fantasy (which is why it goes to Key West and the Fantasy doesn't) and doesn't have all the fancy stuff. But it still has great shows.

I liked San Juan, but didn't love it; so I probably would direct you to something else that I really loved.

So for me personally, my recommendation depends on how much you want to see Key West or Tortola. If one of them is high on your list of places to see, then that's the option I would go with. If you really don't care where the ship goes, then it depends on what you want from your onboard experience. Love the new gadgets and AquaDuck? Then you're going on the Fastasy. Prefer a smaller ship with Triton's and Tiana's Place for dinner? Go with the Wonder.

We're doing an eastern on the Fantasy in May 2018. From what I've read, with the eastern, you can pull right up to port, with the western, you have to tender.

The geek is right about having to tender in Cozumel, but not in Costa Maya (I'm sure) or in Grand Cayman (I'm pretty sure).

The geek is also right about this:

You can't go wrong either way.

 

[21stamps]

Eastern or Western is always such a decision for me on any Caribbean cruise. It always comes down to which ports I'll be visiting.

Check out the excursions at each port, read up on the places you'll visit... and pick the one that you're more interested in

 

[ScoutN]

Prefer a smaller ship with Triton's and Tiana's Place for dinner? Go with the Wonder.


The geek is right about having to tender in Cozumel, but not in Costa Maya (I'm sure) or in Grand Cayman (I'm pretty sure).

The geek is also right about this:

Tiana's Place is hands down one of the coolest restaurants I have ever been to. Everything about it was awesome. That is reason alone to go on Wonder. The ships really are beginning to differentiate with different offerings. It really makes you think about what offering you want the most.

Cozumel has a pier that Classic and Dream classes can dock against whilst Grand Cayman tenders. Tenders ran so often at Cayman that it really did not bother us. RCCL's tendering at their little island was a different story.

 

[pilka214]

The decision really comes down to which ports your most interested in seeing. Every port has its perks honestly. I'd recommend researching the ports and excursions they offer and what interests you the most. History, nature, beaches, extreme adventures, they're all offered at each location.

Both ships are spectacular, you won't be missing out either way.

Personally,
Cozumel- I love Punta Sur national park, there's a lighthouse, beach and some artists away from the touristy stuff.
Costa Maya- just beach it up, locally caught fish cooked to order, cheap drinks... also you can get a legit massage on the beach for $20
Key West- Duval Street, shopping and drinks, also some history

St Thomas- Neat, American, beautiful beaches and interesting shopping. Has phone service since it St. Thomas
St Maarten- cool cultures, two different nations. ( i prefer the island to st thomas)
Tortola- Equally as nice, a little more quaint than St Thomas... honestly all the virgin islands are lovely trips

I've been to San Juan as well, and if you focus on the historic san Juan it's very neat, not very touristy, it's a real city.

All around any itinerary you choose is a solid one, as long as you avoid Nassau, it's just so boring :'D