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Our Eastern Caribbean trip on the Fantasy
- Thread starter flynnibus
- Start date
Day 5 – St Thomas
Today was a port day.. St Thomas. We were booked to do the Treeline Zip line adventure. Not a cheap one ~$150 for an adult.. this was supposed to be the ‘big one’ for our adventures. (for comparison.. looking them up online a direct booking is $109/head – so quite a markup for transportation!).
Check out yacht #1 as we were docked..
The port at St Thomas
There was a small shopping mall area adjacent to the port.. and they said there was a walking path towards downtown where most shopping was, but it looked like quite a hike. The adjacent shopping area was much like any US shopping plaza IMO.
For our tour, we met up on the boat, and then were handed off to the tour operators right on the dock. A short walk, and we were at the bar stand operated by the same company just adjacent to the dock. Here we filled out waivers on iPads.. and got a sales pitch to buy bandanas for $5 each.. bleh. Our overall group was about 18 people.. they split us into two groups, and we boarded a van for the ride to the park.
We literally climbed up and over the mountain in quite a great windy road that I wasn’t sure if the van was actually going to climb the hills they were so steep. But we made it and were dropped off at the ‘base camp’. Here, guides geared us up with harnesses, and helmets.
Getting our briefing..
Then we loaded up into this old military transport to climb the hill. Now, I wish the pictures did this justice to just how steep these hills were this little vehicle climbed. No lie, they had to be 60+ degree climbs.
This is the view.. already on the hill!
But the little vehicle got us to the top no problem and sure beat walking
The park was up the side of the mountain on the far side of the island from the port. The views were fantastic of Magens Bay
The.. ‘we were there!’ photo
Mouth of the bay..
Today was a port day.. St Thomas. We were booked to do the Treeline Zip line adventure. Not a cheap one ~$150 for an adult.. this was supposed to be the ‘big one’ for our adventures. (for comparison.. looking them up online a direct booking is $109/head – so quite a markup for transportation!).
Check out yacht #1 as we were docked..
The port at St Thomas
There was a small shopping mall area adjacent to the port.. and they said there was a walking path towards downtown where most shopping was, but it looked like quite a hike. The adjacent shopping area was much like any US shopping plaza IMO.
For our tour, we met up on the boat, and then were handed off to the tour operators right on the dock. A short walk, and we were at the bar stand operated by the same company just adjacent to the dock. Here we filled out waivers on iPads.. and got a sales pitch to buy bandanas for $5 each.. bleh. Our overall group was about 18 people.. they split us into two groups, and we boarded a van for the ride to the park.
We literally climbed up and over the mountain in quite a great windy road that I wasn’t sure if the van was actually going to climb the hills they were so steep. But we made it and were dropped off at the ‘base camp’. Here, guides geared us up with harnesses, and helmets.
Getting our briefing..
Then we loaded up into this old military transport to climb the hill. Now, I wish the pictures did this justice to just how steep these hills were this little vehicle climbed. No lie, they had to be 60+ degree climbs.
This is the view.. already on the hill!
But the little vehicle got us to the top no problem and sure beat walking
The park was up the side of the mountain on the far side of the island from the port. The views were fantastic of Magens Bay
The.. ‘we were there!’ photo
Mouth of the bay..
The zipline experience was pretty good. I think it was 6 lines you went on.. running back and forth across the face of the hill. Your path was up in the tree canopy, but there wasn’t anything special to look at, go over, etc. If I had to guess.. each run was about 10-15 seconds maybe? Maybe 100 yards long or so. The upkeep of the facilities looked fine (this place makes a point of advertising their certifications) and we didn’t have any safety concerns. You use two tie-offs at all times and you have both the primary and secondary ziplines for safety.
You also have to cross two rope bridges.. here’s a view of one.
The first rope bridge was actually the scariest part for me.. the way it was moving.
Prepping for take-off on one of the platforms..
Here you can see the steps you start on to reach the line on each platform
And.. she’s off
Queuing up..
Yes.. I have a big head
The last line is a yo-yo – meaning instead of going from one platform to another.. you drop off one.. go to the far end.. and then head backwards.. and then forward again.. until you settle to the middle.
Here is fat boy on the yo-yo line..
Another view of the mountain from up in the platforms..
One you do the yo-yo, you are done and it’s just a short walk down some steps back to the ‘base camp’. Here the taxi was to pick us up, after they led us to their ‘gift shop’ (really just a corner of a room with some t-shirts/etc). But the driver was not there and would be a bit, so they walked us across the street to the St. Peter Great House and Botanical Gardens where they let us in, offered free fruit punch, and let us wander and take in the sights while we waited for our taxi. We went up on the observation deck.. and had great views of the area.
Here we are looking back up the mountain towards the zipline area
We only had to wait about 5-10mins for our taxi to arrive, and the guide from zipline came into the greathouse area for us.. and gathered us up for the taxi ride back to the port.
But before we left.. we could see the weather moving in..
Overall I found the zipline thing very enjoyable. I felt it was a tad overpriced for what it was.. $80-$100 is where I felt something like that probably should have cost.. plus transportation. Now looking up their website that we are home, and seeing it listed at $109 sounds a bit more reasonable. It was a decent length cab ride, but if you had 4 people or so.. certainly sounds reasonable to do independently.
Would I do it again? Maybe.. in some sense the views were the best part. It's accessible to most people.. I don't think people with mobility issues would be able to do it, or people with unsure footing.. but if you are 50-60 and still pretty healthy I think you could still do it.
We got back to the port with aspirations of heading into town to look around, but after looking at the shopping mall next to the port and being so disappointed, and the fear of the impending weather.. we retreated to the boat. The weather never really made it across the mountains even tho we heard thunder once.. but all was good on the boat. I’m pretty sure I was soaking up the adult pool and chatting with others.
Check out yacht #2 parked next to us.. practically a private cruise ship in its own right!
By this point in the cruise.. the kids were gone all the time on their own. Even young one who originally wasn’t all that interested in the Edge.. was now hooked and gone virtually the whole time. We’d see them when we made plans, but they didn’t hang with us.
I don’t have notes on when we did other stuff at this point.. but this might be a good time to talk about movies.
Last cruise, the teens would kill time in the movies, but I didn’t really watch any. This time, they had a pretty good selection so I actually saw several movies on this trip.
We saw Monsters University on the first or second night (in 3D I think). Ok flick, not particularly moving or desirable.
We saw The Lone Ranger one night. Not a bad film.. but not something I’d tell people they have to see. Even with the horse gags.. my teen who lives horses.. gave it a ‘meh.. it was ok’
I took the youngest to watch Iron Man 3 – she loved it and is hooked.
We saw Planes for the first time (in 3D as well). Wow.. its one thing to be ‘set in the cars universe’ – its something entirely different to reek of a knock-off. What a disappointing and off-putting film. I’m not even sure I managed to stay awake for the ending.. I don’t remember what happened once they started the world race and got to the mountains.
And since the new Thor film was premiering that week, they had a midnight showing on Thursday night in BOTH theaters.. and ran Thor all day on Friday. We watched Thor in 3D – and I thought it was a cool flick with visuals and special effects the blended quite nicely. Loki was great too. I liked it enough I’ll probably go back and watch the first Thor film now.
Finally got around to scanning the photo from Formal night.. here’s the photo we got for xmas cards this year
You also have to cross two rope bridges.. here’s a view of one.
The first rope bridge was actually the scariest part for me.. the way it was moving.
Prepping for take-off on one of the platforms..
Here you can see the steps you start on to reach the line on each platform
And.. she’s off
Queuing up..
Yes.. I have a big head
The last line is a yo-yo – meaning instead of going from one platform to another.. you drop off one.. go to the far end.. and then head backwards.. and then forward again.. until you settle to the middle.
Here is fat boy on the yo-yo line..
Another view of the mountain from up in the platforms..
One you do the yo-yo, you are done and it’s just a short walk down some steps back to the ‘base camp’. Here the taxi was to pick us up, after they led us to their ‘gift shop’ (really just a corner of a room with some t-shirts/etc). But the driver was not there and would be a bit, so they walked us across the street to the St. Peter Great House and Botanical Gardens where they let us in, offered free fruit punch, and let us wander and take in the sights while we waited for our taxi. We went up on the observation deck.. and had great views of the area.
Here we are looking back up the mountain towards the zipline area
We only had to wait about 5-10mins for our taxi to arrive, and the guide from zipline came into the greathouse area for us.. and gathered us up for the taxi ride back to the port.
But before we left.. we could see the weather moving in..
Overall I found the zipline thing very enjoyable. I felt it was a tad overpriced for what it was.. $80-$100 is where I felt something like that probably should have cost.. plus transportation. Now looking up their website that we are home, and seeing it listed at $109 sounds a bit more reasonable. It was a decent length cab ride, but if you had 4 people or so.. certainly sounds reasonable to do independently.
Would I do it again? Maybe.. in some sense the views were the best part. It's accessible to most people.. I don't think people with mobility issues would be able to do it, or people with unsure footing.. but if you are 50-60 and still pretty healthy I think you could still do it.
We got back to the port with aspirations of heading into town to look around, but after looking at the shopping mall next to the port and being so disappointed, and the fear of the impending weather.. we retreated to the boat. The weather never really made it across the mountains even tho we heard thunder once.. but all was good on the boat. I’m pretty sure I was soaking up the adult pool and chatting with others.
Check out yacht #2 parked next to us.. practically a private cruise ship in its own right!
By this point in the cruise.. the kids were gone all the time on their own. Even young one who originally wasn’t all that interested in the Edge.. was now hooked and gone virtually the whole time. We’d see them when we made plans, but they didn’t hang with us.
I don’t have notes on when we did other stuff at this point.. but this might be a good time to talk about movies.
Last cruise, the teens would kill time in the movies, but I didn’t really watch any. This time, they had a pretty good selection so I actually saw several movies on this trip.
We saw Monsters University on the first or second night (in 3D I think). Ok flick, not particularly moving or desirable.
We saw The Lone Ranger one night. Not a bad film.. but not something I’d tell people they have to see. Even with the horse gags.. my teen who lives horses.. gave it a ‘meh.. it was ok’
I took the youngest to watch Iron Man 3 – she loved it and is hooked.
We saw Planes for the first time (in 3D as well). Wow.. its one thing to be ‘set in the cars universe’ – its something entirely different to reek of a knock-off. What a disappointing and off-putting film. I’m not even sure I managed to stay awake for the ending.. I don’t remember what happened once they started the world race and got to the mountains.
And since the new Thor film was premiering that week, they had a midnight showing on Thursday night in BOTH theaters.. and ran Thor all day on Friday. We watched Thor in 3D – and I thought it was a cool flick with visuals and special effects the blended quite nicely. Loki was great too. I liked it enough I’ll probably go back and watch the first Thor film now.
Finally got around to scanning the photo from Formal night.. here’s the photo we got for xmas cards this year
Day 6 – At Sea
Today was our last sea day.. I said it earlier, and I’ll say it again. This time, the sea days were my favorites.
I had a great book to read (was reading through the Game of Thrones books), we tried various activities on the boat, the kids were happy with their friends and staying out till crazy hours – it was just what we needed.
For some reason this morning I woke up very early.. (and today we finally rolled our clocks back for Daylight Savings since we were past the VI) so I decided to go top side and see if I could catch the sun rise. Some photo attempts (didn’t get exposure locked and set right for taking sun photos!)
Disney fans may see something in the clouds on this one
It may not look like much in the photo.. but when you can see waves like this rolling.. its actually pretty good size swells without the wind for whitecaps
Princess Minnie made an appearance..
We did the Wine and Chocolate Tasting on this day. Now, I’ll be the first to say, I NEVER drink wine – I just don’t find any of it tasteful to me. But I booked it for the wife, and she needed company The session was held in Pink – the champagne lounge
The line up..
The session was basically.. taste the wine or champagne.. then coat your mouth with the chocolate and taste again. IMO – I just still tasted the chocolate But there was experimenting with white chocolate, dark, milk, carmel, etc. You were free to experiment and figure out what you liked best.
I personally didn’t get anything out of it except.. I still don’t like wines. For $30, we both agreed the mixology class was much better value at $15
With time to kill today.. I ventured off to do the Muppets detective case on the animated artwork. I picked the ‘hardest’ level and set out on my adventure. I looked at this on the Dream, but didn’t play a game through so this was my first time. Overall I found it pretty cute and very well executed. I liked how the game required checking with some of the physical pieces on the boat that you may have saw previously, but did not realize were integrated into the game. One of those is Pepe’s door. It’s at the end of the hall were the kids clubs are and is quite attractive in it’s own right.
Remember.. Pepe’s a shrimp.. so his door is a tad smaller
During this, I realized I had forgotten about Ms. Smith’s second lecture.. and walked in late to catch the end of it. Unfortunately that means I missed out on the raffle tickets! D0h!
Today was our last sea day.. I said it earlier, and I’ll say it again. This time, the sea days were my favorites.
I had a great book to read (was reading through the Game of Thrones books), we tried various activities on the boat, the kids were happy with their friends and staying out till crazy hours – it was just what we needed.
For some reason this morning I woke up very early.. (and today we finally rolled our clocks back for Daylight Savings since we were past the VI) so I decided to go top side and see if I could catch the sun rise. Some photo attempts (didn’t get exposure locked and set right for taking sun photos!)
Disney fans may see something in the clouds on this one
It may not look like much in the photo.. but when you can see waves like this rolling.. its actually pretty good size swells without the wind for whitecaps
Princess Minnie made an appearance..
We did the Wine and Chocolate Tasting on this day. Now, I’ll be the first to say, I NEVER drink wine – I just don’t find any of it tasteful to me. But I booked it for the wife, and she needed company
The session was held in Pink – the champagne loungeThe line up..
The session was basically.. taste the wine or champagne.. then coat your mouth with the chocolate and taste again. IMO – I just still tasted the chocolate
But there was experimenting with white chocolate, dark, milk, carmel, etc. You were free to experiment and figure out what you liked best.I personally didn’t get anything out of it except.. I still don’t like wines. For $30, we both agreed the mixology class was much better value at $15
With time to kill today.. I ventured off to do the Muppets detective case on the animated artwork. I picked the ‘hardest’ level and set out on my adventure. I looked at this on the Dream, but didn’t play a game through so this was my first time. Overall I found it pretty cute and very well executed. I liked how the game required checking with some of the physical pieces on the boat that you may have saw previously, but did not realize were integrated into the game. One of those is Pepe’s door. It’s at the end of the hall were the kids clubs are and is quite attractive in it’s own right.
Remember.. Pepe’s a shrimp.. so his door is a tad smaller
During this, I realized I had forgotten about Ms. Smith’s second lecture.. and walked in late to catch the end of it. Unfortunately that means I missed out on the raffle tickets! D0h!
Tonight was semi-formal night in Animator’s Pallete for us
Now on our first pass through Animator’s.. I was disappointed because I thought the Fantasy had a different show than the Dream.. but on our first night it was the same Turtle Crush show. Crush only talked to maybe 2 kids in each area of the room.
But on our second rotation through Animators – they did do the new animation show. In hindsight, seeing some of the other creations for inspiration would have helped in knowing what was possible. Also, know you can mix colors! We only had one color pen, but others had green, blue, etc. The show is a very impressive show of technology. I also didn’t notice last time, each of the alcoves had different art, etc on the walls. But as you have dinner, each the of the film screen changes to different movies.. and as each movie changes, all the artwork/etc in the alcoves changes as well to pieces related to that film. Very cool.
Just some photos from Animators for those who aren’t familiar..
Food presentation
Artist at work..
BTW lighting in here causes havoc
The famous butterknife..
Sparkles..
This guy showed up later..
And the famous chairs..
More photos for the photo book..
Now on our first pass through Animator’s.. I was disappointed because I thought the Fantasy had a different show than the Dream.. but on our first night it was the same Turtle Crush show. Crush only talked to maybe 2 kids in each area of the room.
But on our second rotation through Animators – they did do the new animation show. In hindsight, seeing some of the other creations for inspiration would have helped in knowing what was possible. Also, know you can mix colors! We only had one color pen, but others had green, blue, etc. The show is a very impressive show of technology. I also didn’t notice last time, each of the alcoves had different art, etc on the walls. But as you have dinner, each the of the film screen changes to different movies.. and as each movie changes, all the artwork/etc in the alcoves changes as well to pieces related to that film. Very cool.
Just some photos from Animators for those who aren’t familiar..
Food presentation
Artist at work..
BTW lighting in here causes havoc
The famous butterknife..
Sparkles..
This guy showed up later..
And the famous chairs..
More photos for the photo book..
ChuckElias
Well-Known Member
He would be so insulted to hear you say that!!! In Pepe's own words. . . "I am not a shrimp! I am a King PRAWN!!"Remember.. Pepe’s a shrimp.. so his door is a tad smaller
On a serious note, your family pictures are phenomenal. What a beautiful family you have.
Day 7 – Castaway Cay
This day started out with a bit of a disappointment. We got notice that our seahorse snorkeling excursion had been canceled due to mechanical problems with the boat
Normally I’d just say ‘it is what it is’ but it was more disappointing because the snorkeling was the one thing my youngest was really looking forward to and we intentionally skipped doing in the Virgin Islands because we know we had this booked. And now.. no snorkeling except in the sheltered CC water
You guys should know this place..
All ashore!
Gotta fill that photo book!
The weather turned out to be fantastic. Not too hot, but still plenty warm for the beach and water.
The teenagers did their thing.. we hung out the beach and rented snorkel gear. Ironically the people on the beach next to us turned out to be from where we live
We ate lunch on the island.. still disappointing food. Tho I was impressed I was able to get my special order food on the island because our server had set it up the next prior. Excellent.
We spent the day on the island.. and had our first ‘issue’ with the kids freedom. Basically we were ready to head back to the ship, but we had not caught up with the kids to let them know.. nor did we even know were they were specifically. So after some hunting.. we finally found the oldest, let her know and get her stuff, and we went back to the ship. We had a date with Betty at Bingo to make
A beach photo just for relative crowd levels for those interested..
I’m pretty sure this was the night of the final bingo session. This session is so large, they move it to the BV Theater and it was a full house! They also jack the prices on this final session.. but the snowball jackpot is paid out on the final game and they play until someone wins. Jackpots were quite large in this session, and the final snowball jackpot was over $7,400!
Alas we didn’t win any.. but we were within 1 number two times this session. I had to take this photo of the electronic version of the game.. because it’s such a throw-back
Anyone who had electronics in the late 70s early 80s would recognize the components immediately. From the button material, to the screen printed brushed metal, to the sound effects.. this thing was like a time warp! The screen was LCD but even it felt like late 80s. It was as if the vendor had stumbled upon an old warehouse of early 80s electronics and used them with some wireless and battery components of the 2000s to make a product today. Very freaky!
Being the last day, I also dealt with tips. This was our first cruise with the ‘auto tip’ policy in place. I guess it makes it easier for the bulk of people. I still went to guest services to adjust mine and it wasn’t a hassle at all (I also went early in the day).
The last night we had lots of rain and BIG seas. I guess they were racing to get back to PC as well because we were still averaging over 20kts. It was rough enough they had to close the exterior of deck 4 because of the wind and waves (which also made it interesting to try to figure out how to get to Vibe to check on a child.. hrmm).
I had also learned from my past cruise, and didn’t wait till the last minute to do my shopping in the ship shops.. I had done that on Thursday night. Ms Flynn was ready on getting her photo book all set since that had to be in by 8pm. Hint.. use the photo kiosks down by Enchanted Garden to get away from the crowds at Shutters on the last night.
After some drama over shorter curfews on the last night since we were getting off early and had a full day at Kennedy Space Center scheduled.. we settled in for our last night.
Oh, also lesson learned from last trip.. I did my next cruise booking WAY early in the week Taking care of that on the first sea day was a win.
Later I’ll add in some cost analysis in the trip if anyone is interested..
This day started out with a bit of a disappointment. We got notice that our seahorse snorkeling excursion had been canceled due to mechanical problems with the boat
Normally I’d just say ‘it is what it is’ but it was more disappointing because the snorkeling was the one thing my youngest was really looking forward to and we intentionally skipped doing in the Virgin Islands because we know we had this booked. And now.. no snorkeling except in the sheltered CC water
You guys should know this place..
All ashore!
Gotta fill that photo book!
The weather turned out to be fantastic. Not too hot, but still plenty warm for the beach and water.
The teenagers did their thing.. we hung out the beach and rented snorkel gear. Ironically the people on the beach next to us turned out to be from where we live
We ate lunch on the island.. still disappointing food. Tho I was impressed I was able to get my special order food on the island because our server had set it up the next prior. Excellent.
We spent the day on the island.. and had our first ‘issue’ with the kids freedom. Basically we were ready to head back to the ship, but we had not caught up with the kids to let them know.. nor did we even know were they were specifically. So after some hunting.. we finally found the oldest, let her know and get her stuff, and we went back to the ship. We had a date with Betty at Bingo to make
A beach photo just for relative crowd levels for those interested..
I’m pretty sure this was the night of the final bingo session. This session is so large, they move it to the BV Theater and it was a full house! They also jack the prices on this final session.. but the snowball jackpot is paid out on the final game and they play until someone wins. Jackpots were quite large in this session, and the final snowball jackpot was over $7,400!
Alas we didn’t win any.. but we were within 1 number two times this session. I had to take this photo of the electronic version of the game.. because it’s such a throw-back
Anyone who had electronics in the late 70s early 80s would recognize the components immediately. From the button material, to the screen printed brushed metal, to the sound effects.. this thing was like a time warp! The screen was LCD but even it felt like late 80s. It was as if the vendor had stumbled upon an old warehouse of early 80s electronics and used them with some wireless and battery components of the 2000s to make a product today. Very freaky!
Being the last day, I also dealt with tips. This was our first cruise with the ‘auto tip’ policy in place. I guess it makes it easier for the bulk of people. I still went to guest services to adjust mine and it wasn’t a hassle at all (I also went early in the day).
The last night we had lots of rain and BIG seas. I guess they were racing to get back to PC as well because we were still averaging over 20kts. It was rough enough they had to close the exterior of deck 4 because of the wind and waves (which also made it interesting to try to figure out how to get to Vibe to check on a child.. hrmm).
I had also learned from my past cruise, and didn’t wait till the last minute to do my shopping in the ship shops.. I had done that on Thursday night. Ms Flynn was ready on getting her photo book all set since that had to be in by 8pm. Hint.. use the photo kiosks down by Enchanted Garden to get away from the crowds at Shutters on the last night.
After some drama over shorter curfews on the last night since we were getting off early and had a full day at Kennedy Space Center scheduled.. we settled in for our last night.
Oh, also lesson learned from last trip.. I did my next cruise booking WAY early in the week
Taking care of that on the first sea day was a win.Later I’ll add in some cost analysis in the trip if anyone is interested..
GMRO
Active Member
Yes the pics of your adventure/cruise and family are awesome! Your details-report is very enjoyable too. Always thought of zip-lining...seems very neat to try. Shame the snorkel excursion was a bust...
Great stuff!
BTW, what is that you don't like about CC food? What area? MAIN beach or adult area. Just wondering...
Great stuff!
BTW, what is that you don't like about CC food? What area? MAIN beach or adult area. Just wondering...
sweetpee_1993
Well-Known Member
Flynn! I face with the name! Awesome moment here!
Yes, our parking off-site will never happen again. Sorry if I ended up costing you more money but I'm super-glad to see someone avoid the nightmare of our experience. Yikes.
It's so nice that DCL lets the kids bump-up in clubs as needed. The only time they're steadfast is with the 18 yros. The moment they hit 18 they're out of the clubs. There's no avoiding it. Absolutely no wiggle-room, unfortunately.
Oh I wonder what you and the Missus thought of your mixology and chocolate tasting. I love love love both but you know that.
Don't fuss too much on the Christmas decorations. Imagine being on a ship AFTER Thanksgiving hearing Christmas music everywhere but having zero visuals to go with it. I wanted to slap someone with some tinsel. LOL!
The ship app truly is an amazing addition to the onboard experience. I adored it on the Fantasy...then sorely missed it last week on Allure.
I'm with you on the early dining time. I felt it cut into our afternoon activities, too. I'm a girl. I need at least an hour to get ready for dinner. If we want to do pre-dinner pics then add another hour. If dinner is at 5:30 that means I've got to be hopping in the shower at 3:30. I'm a napper. If I have to shower at 3:30 then I'll need to be in bed for a nap by 2. Where has my day gone??? Late dinner works best for us. That's my input.
sweetpee_1993
Well-Known Member
Julian from Jamaica!!! Is it a testament to my lushiness that I know at least one of the bartenders onboard??? Is it worse that I know he tended bar at Hedonism for many years and that the Brain Hemorhage was a very popular drink? Or that he has a daughter back home??? Seriously, Julian is a great fella. We've enjoyed all our experiences with him. Great bartender. Great guy.
Now two peeves.. the Fantasy is not much more than a year old so I expect it to be still in great shape. But there were kinks in the armor. Here in the BV theater, you can see damage on the half wall..
For some reason.. the aquaduck photo never worked the whole cruise and looks like its been down for an extended period given the sign they had on the terminal (yet.. the flash still went off as people went down the ride)
Our stateroom had some grease stains on the wall..
Now I’m not saying the boat was falling apart, but with the impeccable condition we saw the dream in in ’11.. any flaws at all were a bit of a surprise for us. I also found the vibration in the Fantasy pretty significant.. to the point I wondered ‘is something wrong?’. I would not want to be aft given the amount of vibration we felt midship up high.
And lastly.. the adults only area was not enforced to be adults only. Now.. the Concierge section being on Deck 11 there is always kids moving from the area at the front of the area.. to the general area mid-ship. This isn’t necessary, but I can understand Disney allowing it or being soft on enforcement of it. But it doesn’t stop there.. when people actually have their kids in the pool with them and staying with them – that is a blatant violation of the restrictions. I’m pretty sure Deck 12 forward in the quiet pool is supposed to be adult only.. but it wasn’t enforced as such. It's not on the website as such, but I thought the walkways labeled it as such.. I bow to those more knowledgable.
Kids in the pool.. obviously not just passing through
I’m disappointed that Disney does nothing to enforce their only policies on this matter.
Food on Castaway Cay at Cookie’s continues to be a disappointment as well.
I get you on the dings and imperfections on the ship. They aren't huge but they're there and they are noticable. We noticed a marked difference in the Fantasy's condition from May to September this year. It was like she took a heckuva punishment over the busy summer season. We'd hoped the little maintenance bits would be caught up before the holiday season. Like the mini-golf course really looked beat down. Poor thing. Hmmmmm.
The picture of the pool above. That's a family pool. It's not an adult pool. When info on this addition was released during the Fantasy's construction it was a huge subject of debate because of it's potential intrusion on the Quiet Cove area. I thought for sure that railing in front of the pool would be a plexi one to help contain any noise. Nope. On our 2 Fantasy voyages we rarely saw anyone there. This pic is the most I've ever seen in the area. Kinda weird placement for a family space directly in front of a musician. Interesting.
sweetpee_1993
Well-Known Member
@kimrn87, we had a St. Maarten port day on a non-Disney cruise last week, Thanksgiving Day actually. We took a taxi over to Maho Beach, camped out at a table in the shade at the Sunset Bar, opened a tab, then ran out on the beach each time a plane was coming or going. If you've never seen it, Google images of Maho Beach. We're ready to go back and spend a week on this beach! LOL!
sweetpee_1993
Well-Known Member
The Nav App is amazing! Leaps and bounds above the paper Navigators.
That little pool above Quiet Cove is a family pool. Strange placement, I know. Quiet Cove below is still adults only plus the forward space where Satellite Falls is located is also adults only. Both adults only places are marked 18+.
We had an aft room our first time on the Fantasy and the vibrations were insane. Insane. Others seem to not have as much vibration in simalar locations on the Dream. I wonder if this is something between the 2 ships. I know the vibration for us was most noticed when crossing the stronger currents (like between Key West & Cuba). The Dream doesn't have as long of periods crossing stronger currents just by the itineraries she runs. This could also factor, I think.
Yes, you can look me up anytime on FATHEAD .com
My back injuries really haven't helped me keep my weight down where it should be.On the parking - there are so many options one has to think some of them would be worth it. I just don't want to be the guinea pig! I mean.. we do airport shuttles all the time and it's manageable.. but you have so much more luggage on the cruise and this is supposed to be vacation! I'm willing to spend a little money for the piece of mind. But I would love to know if there is a solid alternative. We had a great experience parking on the surface lot last trip.. the 'preferred' parking was nice.. but necessary? Probably not.
Oh I wonder what you and the Missus thought of your mixology and chocolate tasting. I love love love both but you know that.
Mixology is a thumbs up - good content and good price
Wine + Chocolate - a 'meh' from me. 1) it's not my tastes to start 2) even the rest of the group at our table were kind of up and down over the offerings.
Maybe if you are a wine nut.. but neither of us are. A 'wont repeat' for me.
Ha! I don't recall any music shift on the boat now that you mention it.
WHere is your TR from the other boat??? I've been waiting.
Late dinner works best for us. That's my input.
Yeah, trying to get photos was always point of stress because the woman wanted to fill that book! We had the early slot due to originally my niece and newphews were to be with us.. but they backed out. But in rebooking, the agent said early fills out first, and you can always change to late.. so that's what we went with
sweetpee_1993
Well-Known Member
St. Maarten. They do park ya kinda close with other ships. Last week our verandah stared straight across to the Royal Princess. I will say, those Royal Princess staterooms look really nice inside. Yeah, you could see the entire room. I was sure to tidy-up, turn on lights, open the curtains, and let the people across from us shop another ship, too. LOL!
St. Thomas. I looked at that zip line canopy tour. I wanted to book it but was really terrified to do anything that was organized by the cruise line because of the crazy high passenger load in port that day. I had nightmares of being stuck in a gigantic group and spending the day seriously miffed over the constant hurry-up-wait. Was the group thru DCL large? Did you feel the herded cattle feeling? Taxis on St. Thomas aren't super-cheap. You probably weren't too far off on the price after transportation. The views from your tour are gorgeous. Gorgeous! Looked like a lot of fun, too. Your comment on the picture of you on the yoyo line...cracked me up! Sounds like something Tracey would say. LOL!
Castaway. We've never been overly wow'd by the bbq there either. In the past we've sworn to return to the ship for lunch mid-day. We find things we like, tho. Like I love love love the cold couscous salad. We've also had the challenge of locating our teens when we were ready to go back to the ship. Ugh. So frustrating. The last few times we've been we've taken to signing the paperwork releasing them to come and go from the ship without us so we don't have to wait for them. They know when/where they have to be and are pretty reliable with it. I know the Wave phones work on the island but I'm so nervous taking them where there's sand and salt water. I can just see that going terribly wrong. Ya know?!
I'm with you. We love at-sea days. Love them.
Yep, we have the early-in fuss the last night of every. single. cruise. Well, except on this last one but that's a long story unto itself.
Sounds like y'all had a fab time on your cruise. Relaxation happened. It was a good cruise.
St. Thomas. I looked at that zip line canopy tour. I wanted to book it but was really terrified to do anything that was organized by the cruise line because of the crazy high passenger load in port that day. I had nightmares of being stuck in a gigantic group and spending the day seriously miffed over the constant hurry-up-wait. Was the group thru DCL large? Did you feel the herded cattle feeling? Taxis on St. Thomas aren't super-cheap. You probably weren't too far off on the price after transportation. The views from your tour are gorgeous. Gorgeous! Looked like a lot of fun, too. Your comment on the picture of you on the yoyo line...cracked me up! Sounds like something Tracey would say. LOL!
Castaway. We've never been overly wow'd by the bbq there either. In the past we've sworn to return to the ship for lunch mid-day. We find things we like, tho. Like I love love love the cold couscous salad. We've also had the challenge of locating our teens when we were ready to go back to the ship. Ugh. So frustrating. The last few times we've been we've taken to signing the paperwork releasing them to come and go from the ship without us so we don't have to wait for them. They know when/where they have to be and are pretty reliable with it. I know the Wave phones work on the island but I'm so nervous taking them where there's sand and salt water. I can just see that going terribly wrong. Ya know?!
I'm with you. We love at-sea days. Love them.
Yep, we have the early-in fuss the last night of every. single. cruise. Well, except on this last one but that's a long story unto itself.
Sounds like y'all had a fab time on your cruise. Relaxation happened. It was a good cruise.
sweetpee_1993
Well-Known Member
I know, right??? We almost always park off-site at airports it seems nuts to have these crazy challenges for cruises. Parked off-site at Port Everglades last week. Why can this not be more like airport off-sites??? They had to park our Tahoe for us and leave the keys. That's all fine and good but it was a long road trip and we had a few items in our vehicle we didn't want anyone else to have access to. Had I known ahead of time we'd be leaving keys perhaps we wouldn't have brought those items. I did think ahead enough to bring their individual locks and we did not leave those keys behind but still. Very unsettling. I don't like leaving my keys with ANYONE.
Mixology is a fantastic value. Good drinks. Good fun. The chocolate tasting was a bit more reserved and, like you, the wine is lost on me. I'm just not a wine girl. Did they give you the micro-pour of the crazy expensive scotch for one of the pairings? We had that on the Dream. The bartender mentioned it was from a bottle that cost like $600 or $800. Again, lost on me. You could've poured me a swallow of cheap Skol vodka and the taste was the same. Lost, I tell you!
I've got to gather some pics from family and get to photo editing. Christmas is coming and I've done nothing. We may or may not be moving in 2 weeks. It's just a crazy time. Prob'ly won't go up until after New Years. Plus, you know, I'm trying to get a better handle on the photo editing. We had some good stuff. Ready to go back to St. Maarten for a dedicated week!
DisneyFan1216
New Member
We're looking to book this cruise for next October, so I appreciate all of the great info. You have a beautiful family!
Thanks! We liked it enough to rebook the same cruise for this fall. But Puerto Rico instead of St. John
Brian & Jill
Well-Known Member
My wife and I loved reading about your cruise,we are also looking at doing the tours of the ship they sound great. This is not our first disney cruise it is our first 7day cruise and our first on the Fantasy and looking forward to it.We have only done 3-3day cruises and we had a blast on those(2 on the wonder and 1 on the dream) hope to have as much fun as you and your family had.
We have only done 3-3day cruises and we had a blast on those(2 on the wonder and 1 on the dream) hope to have as much fun as you and your family had.