The All Quirky, No Turkey Fantasy Cruise Report

There are three aspects of Thanksgiving that many people don’t like: cooking, cleaning, and arguing with relatives for the umpteenth time about unresolvable issues. What if, say, a family was to remove those obstacles by setting sail on the Disney Fantasy over Thanksgiving week? Could that action result in the best Thanksgiving ever?

Yep.

We were thankful for every minute we had that week, and while none of us actually had turkey on Thanksgiving (in our defense it was lobster night), it turned out to be a perfect trip, nonetheless.

Well, near perfect.

There were many, many highlights from the trip, and I’ll cover those. There were a couple of disappointing areas, and in true message board fashion, I’ll be beating those into the ground. I’ll also compare and contrast DCL to WDW.

I’ve blathered on quite a bit already without any pictures, so to satisfy those who hate words, here are a couple of pictures from our verandah:

"Seriously, ocean shots? I’ll be hitting the Back button now.”

 

[GenerationX]

Lunch

We tried lunch at virtually every restaurant on board. All were impressive. There was much more fresh seafood offered than I expected. I thought the ship was moving too fast to properly troll for fish, so they must have been using huge tuna nets. Boy, I hope those three dolphins didn’t end up as lunch.

I quickly discovered that they kept the “good ice cream” behind the lunch counters. The self-serve all-you-want ice cream on the main pool deck is crappy ice milk. You have to ask someone for the good ice cream. But they’re quite generous with it. When asked if I wanted one or two scoops of the chocolate mint in a cup, I responded that I’d take as many scoops as would fit in the bowl. I ended up with at least five scoops. MMMMmmmmm, chocolate mint ice cream.

For the record, the Quick Service lunch restaurants at WDW have the gall to actually charge for their food. On DCL, lunches are free.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

The boys kept their TV tuned to the non-stop Disney cartoons channel (a lot of fun), and we were mesmerized by the ship’s location channel:

"Seriously, I’ve got a dozen pictures of these.”

Our teen boys keep their tv tuned to the non-stop Disney classic toons, too. In this day and age, who knew??? They'd laugh and laugh or get excited when a new cartoon started that they had already seen and loved. Seriously??? Did my heart good, I tell ya! There's hope for these guys yet! LOL!

And, just like y'all, hubby & I are always tuned into the bridge report channel. Is it not totally addictive?! Any time we return to the stateroom we would run straight in, drop everything, then go look at the tv to see our latest position, how far we'd traveled, speed, wind, direction, etc. etc. We were like fiends! And can I say how delighted the hubby and I both were to spot your bridge report shots?! We were like, "Oh!", then the studying & discussion began anew. LOL! So share as many of those shots as you want. I totally love them!!!

You can see the sports bottle next to my chair in one of the pics. Thanks to a tip from @sweetpee_1993, I packed it. I’m always thirsty, and it was very handy having a large bottle for pop.

It did not take long to figure out how to navigate (heh) the ship, even without knowing which side was port, starboard, galley, steerage, or octant. Signage next to stairs and elevators made it easy, too.

"Really, another sign picture?”

Heeeeey!!! Lookin schnazzy in your WDWMagic tshirt! I think I need to get us some before our upcoming cruise!

Satellite Falls! I'm soooo hoping to plant my behind there for some serious mileage in May. And empty??? Wow!

Adorable pic of you and your missus! Y'all are the cutest smilin' couple eeeeever! Picture perfect!

Thanks for the shout-out. Yep, those dinky little paper cups they have are barely bigger than a stinkin' shot glass, aren't they? Annoying! Definitely one of the best tips to give first-timers on DCL. Bring a big cup or bottle to refill! In fact, hubby and I are bringing 2 each next cruise: 1 for mixing drinky-drinks & soda, the other for strictly ice water. Ever notice how ice water after soda in the same cup tastes slightly different??

Thank God for the directional signage by the elevators! I'm forever lost, totally directionally challenged all the time. If it weren't for the signage I'd be wandering aimlessly. LOL!

For the record, the Quick Service lunch restaurants at WDW have the gall to actually charge for their food. On DCL, lunches are free.

I know, right??? At first it almost feels WRONG to leave the restaurants without settling a bill. Even if the meal isn't so good (which I've never experienced yet but IF) at least you aren't going to be insulted by watching hundreds of dollars fly out of your pocket for it. I love that all the money business and any sticker-shock is pretty much over with over 2 months before you ever set foot onboard. That way when you get there if you had any sting whatsoever it's totally done with and you're on to non-stop WOW!

I also remember your father/son trips! Awesome! I think a trifecta would ROCK! Now, please continue because you're totally getting me jacked about our Fantasy cruise in May! WooHOOOOO!!!!

 

[bradandsarabr]

The behind the counter ice cream is the best. Wish they had Mickey Preimums at lunch. Did you get a Popsicle on Popsicle/pretzel Thursday?

 

[GenerationX]

Our teen boys keep their tv tuned to the non-stop Disney classic toons, too. In this day and age, who knew??? They'd laugh and laugh or get excited when a new cartoon started that they had already seen and loved. Seriously??? Did my heart good, I tell ya! There's hope for these guys yet! LOL!

And, just like y'all, hubby & I are always tuned into the bridge report channel. Is it not totally addictive?! Any time we return to the stateroom we would run straight in, drop everything, then go look at the tv to see our latest position, how far we'd traveled, speed, wind, direction, etc. etc. We were like fiends! And can I say how delighted the hubby and I both were to spot your bridge report shots?! We were like, "Oh!", then the studying & discussion began anew. LOL! So share as many of those shots as you want. I totally love them!!!

Heeeeey!!! Lookin schnazzy in your WDWMagic tshirt! I think I need to get us some before our upcoming cruise!

Satellite Falls! I'm soooo hoping to plant my behind there for some serious mileage in May. And empty??? Wow!

Adorable pic of you and your missus! Y'all are the cutest smilin' couple eeeeever! Picture perfect!

Thanks for the shout-out. Yep, those dinky little paper cups they have are barely bigger than a stinkin' shot glass, aren't they? Annoying! Definitely one of the best tips to give first-timers on DCL. Bring a big cup or bottle to refill! In fact, hubby and I are bringing 2 each next cruise: 1 for mixing drinky-drinks & soda, the other for strictly ice water. Ever notice how ice water after soda in the same cup tastes slightly different??

Thank God for the directional signage by the elevators! I'm forever lost, totally directionally challenged all the time. If it weren't for the signage I'd be wandering aimlessly. LOL!

I know, right??? At first it almost feels WRONG to leave the restaurants without settling a bill. Even if the meal isn't so good (which I've never experienced yet but IF) at least you aren't going to be insulted by watching hundreds of dollars fly out of your pocket for it. I love that all the money business and any sticker-shock is pretty much over with over 2 months before you ever set foot onboard. That way when you get there if you had any sting whatsoever it's totally done with and you're on to non-stop WOW!

I also remember your father/son trips! Awesome! I think a trifecta would ROCK! Now, please continue because you're totally getting me jacked about our Fantasy cruise in May! WooHOOOOO!!!!

I thought we'd be the only ones that watched the bridge report channel. That is awesome that you guys watch it, too! And the teen boys watching the classic Disney cartoons! Wow, that is very cool! Here's another bridge report shot (the least blurry of my remaining shots; let's face it, the only good shots in my report were taken by someone else in the family):

I appreciate your comments about my wife and I. We were really happy onboard the ship, and it comes through in the pics.

And thanks again for the sports bottle idea. I carried it around everywhere. Seriously, everywhere. I drink Diet Coke like it's water.

It is definitely very freeing to not need cash or any sort of money for much of anything. The wife has one or two drinks every year, and I've been a teetotaler since '95. We didn't spend much onboard at all.

Yes, the father-son trips continue, and I'm sure I'll have a bunch of wacky stuff for the Triple Report! I appreciate your vote of confidence!

 

[GenerationX]

The behind the counter ice cream is the best. Wish they had Mickey Preimums at lunch. Did you get a Popsicle on Popsicle/pretzel Thursday?

No, I somehow missed that. D'oh!

 

[GenerationX]

I love this TR already. I have never even been on a Disney Cruise but thanks to Sweetpee I feel like I have. Trip reports like this are like a vacation in the middle of a crazy hectic day! I really do have a life. I promise! It just needs more Disney in it.

Thanks for reading!

 

[GenerationX]

Dinner

We didn’t know to request our own dinner table, so as a Party of Five we were paired with a Three’s Company for a solid Eight is Enough. Our tablemates were nice, I suppose. They didn’t push their multi-level marketing (a.k.a. pyramid scheme) company too much. It was interesting to hear how it worked, sure, but not something that we would want to join.

The ship was in Christmas mode, which was apparent at Royal Court, the site of our first formal night:

We decided this was the right meal to celebrate our 25th anniversary, and it was cool that they gave us a special dessert, song, and buttons.

I was surprised at the amount of participation in the pirate night festivities at one of our Enchanted Garden dinners. Some people had entire head-to-toe costumes (unless, of course, they were actual working pirates, in which case they were just in full uniform). Disney provided piratey bandanas, and I spent a long time fixing up my hair:

As for the food, we really enjoyed the Prime Rib, and we appreciated the fact that you could mix and match main courses, sides, appetizers, and desserts like crazy. I prefer simple salads before dinner and Mickey bars after dinner, so I spent quite a bit of time getting to know (and love!) the kids menu.

 

[GenerationX]

Dinner (part II)

The first Animator’s Palate dinner included an appearance by Crush, which was similar to Turtle Talk with Crush at Epcot. That was one long distance for Crush to swim to visit our ship, dude. Our tablemates outflanked us; they got to dinner first and took the seats facing the closest screen.

For the second Animator’s Palate dinner, we drew characters. Tom’s character appeared just briefly on screen in a dancing elves type deal.

"This is being chosen to appear with a Disney character?”

It was Thanksgiving, and while turkey was on the menu, so was lobster. And no one in our family is about to turn down lobster, ever. So, that was our Thanksgiving meal, and I must say the lobsters were HUGE (practically the size of WDW turkey legs!) and FANTASTIC.

I had tried not to get any Animator’s Palate spoilers, but the ones I had come across indicated the dining room would subtly change colors throughout the evening and that you would draw characters that may get selected to interact in videos with Disney characters. The first one never happened, so maybe that occurs on the other Disney ships. A shame, too, as I had really been looking forward to seeing how the color change would work. The second one, while it technically did occur, did not allow for any of the drawings to appear on screen very long or do much of anything, as every drawing made it into the short presentation. Go to Animator’s Palate for the food and wonderful theming; do not go expecting to be impressed by the entertainment.

“Nice reuse of the white shirts from the previous formal night. Good thing everyone wore a t-shirt underneath that first night.”

 

[GenerationX]

Palo

One of our vacation traditions is that my wife and I have a quiet dinner on the last night without the boys. We went to the Enchanted Garden with them for appetizers, then left for our reservation at Palo.

As we walked through Palo to our table, I was shocked at how casually many of the people were dressed. I was in a white shirt, sport jacket, and tie, and I thought I’d be under-dressed because I wasn’t wearing a full suit or tux. On the contrary. I was more formally dressed than 80% of the men.

The first item they brought out for us was garlic bread, shaped like pizza slices. This was simply outstanding. We had gotten used to the fact that the bread and dinner rolls on board the ship were awful as a general rule. The boys and I are huge bread fans, and we didn’t like any of it at. Just really bad. At Palo, however, the garlic bread made me want to sing (I didn’t, of course, because NOBODY wants to hear me sing). I quickly devoured every slice.

That was just the beginning. Our waiter created an appetizer sampler for us that was insanely delicious, particularly the calamari and mussels. Our main courses, beef and shrimp, were excellent. The chocolate soufflé dessert was presented as a spectacle and was delicious, too.

I can’t say enough good things about the food, atmosphere, or service at Palo. Well worth the extra dollars.

 

[bradandsarabr]

Maybe your cruise skipped Popsicle/pretzel Thursday because it was Thanksgiving.
I noticed the same informality in Palo. & after I hauled a sport's coat half way across the country!!

 

[sam_disney]

yay another cruise report... must start saving for one! lol.. loving it so far x

 

[wannabeBelle]

Great report so far!!!!! Thanks for the honorable mention!! Marie

 

[foreverbelle]

First off, yes I know its a little late but congrats on the 25 years of marriage!!

Second I am really enjoying your report, and like most of DCL reports do, you are really making me want to try.

How dare you not have turkey on Thanksgiving...WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?? No, lobster sounds fantastic I think I would do the same. Especially since I don't get it to often..

I know this may sound like an off the wall questions. Do you know if the DCL has the same policy with food allergies as WDW?? Both my son and I have them and we would love to go on one, but would want to make sure...curious to know if you know of this or not.

 

[GenerationX]

Maybe your cruise skipped Popsicle/pretzel Thursday because it was Thanksgiving.
I noticed the same informality in Palo. & after I hauled a sport's coat half way across the country!!

So much for all the warnings about entry being denied without a jacket and tie!

 

[GenerationX]

yay another cruise report... must start saving for one! lol.. loving it so far x

Thanks, Sam. Yes, you must start saving for one. It is incredibly satisfying.

 

[GenerationX]

Great report so far!!!!! Thanks for the honorable mention!! Marie

Marie!! You could not have found us better staterooms or a better place to stay on the night before the cruise. Thank you again for all of your help!

 

[GenerationX]

First off, yes I know its a little late but congrats on the 25 years of marriage!!

Second I am really enjoying your report, and like most of DCL reports do, you are really making me want to try.

How dare you not have turkey on Thanksgiving...WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?? No, lobster sounds fantastic I think I would do the same. Especially since I don't get it to often..

I know this may sound like an off the wall questions. Do you know if the DCL has the same policy with food allergies as WDW?? Both my son and I have them and we would love to go on one, but would want to make sure...curious to know if you know of this or not.

Thank you, Belle. I'm glad you're enjoying reading it as much as I'm enjoying writing it.

I'm not sure of their policy on food allergies. There are always a lot of food choices, and you can ask your server if particular ingredients are being used. The only food allergy we have in the family is Jack (pineapple), which is pretty easy to avoid.

 

[GenerationX]

Let's put up the old Agenda slide to see where we're at in this trip report:


1. Pre-Cruise Travel and Lodging
2. Overall Fantasy Impressions
a. Lobby
b. Bon Voyage
c. Staterooms
d. Decks
e. Service
3. Onboard Dining
a. Breakfast
b. Lunch
c. Dinner
d. Palo
4. Onboard Activities
a. Games and Contests
b. Classes
c. Diversions
d. Vibe
5. Onboard Shows
a. Live Entertainment
b. Movies
6. Ports o’ Call and Excursions
a. Saint Thomas
b. San Juan
c. Castaway Cay
7. Disembarkation and Post-Cruise Activities
8. Final Thoughts

 

[GenerationX]

Onboard Activities

Games and Contests

My wife and I attended the TV Theme Songs, Movie Quotes, Disney Cruise Line, 70s Music, and 80s Music trivia contests. We generally scored in the top 10%, but failed to win any of them. In one case, we lost to a team of 12(!) people. Disney does a nice job, particularly with the music ones, of picking crowd pleasing sing-a-long songs. Most of the games were played at O’Gill’s Tavern:

"You were early for one of the games, eh?”

I also played in the Fantasy Baseball draft. I was on time, but missed the rules, so I didn’t get to see the scoring mechanism. It was a fun time, and we managed to have eight guys who all had different favorite teams (no surprise, I was the White Sox). Baseball geek irony alert: After picking Roberto Clemente, a guy criticized me for picking someone with a short career. The same guy later took Sandy Koufax. I ended up in 3rd out of 8 and won Disney Cruise Line ear buds.

I should have learned from the Fantasy Baseball Draft to get to Final Bingo ($9801) early, but we instead were on time, which meant all of the electronic bingo machines had already sold out. We were forced to use these ancient devices – small strips of parchment – to track our bingo numbers. No matter how often we urged Betty the Bingo Machine to “Shake It Up” or “Show Us Some Love”, she spurned our advances with numbers nowhere to be found on our primitive “cards”.

Overall, the games and contests were a lot of fun, and something that WDW lacks, especially with Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Play It! closed. No single moment from any of our WDW or DCL trips sticks out in my mind like the one where I saw my Millionaire seat number as the high scorer for Game 1 (getting me into the hot seat for Game 2). The only things close would be my first ride on Tower of Terror or first step onto the Fantasy.

 

[GenerationX]

Classes

My oldest son Tom and I attended several animation classes. Tom is a talented artist and was really looking forward to these classes. The absolute best part of each class was the introductory film featuring Walt himself explaining various animation concepts (Squish and stretch! Persistence of motion!). These were phenomenal.

Unfortunately, the other parts of the animation classes were a muddled mess. The practice book handed out at each class was so small and chaotic as to be useless and the “instructor” gave little to no explanatory instructions. The last half of each class devolved into “learn to draw Minnie”.

There were a bunch of other classes offered (cooking, exercising, towel folding, money laundering, etc.), but we just didn’t get to any of them.