Reviews of Disney Fantasy Overall Experience

Reviews

8

Rating

9.88 / 10

Recommended By

100%



Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 01/30/2024

Rating: (10)
Recommended

As a Castaway Club Pearl member who has cruised MANY times on this wonderful ship, it is amazing.

Pros:

Cons:

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Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 04/23/2020

Rating: (10)
Recommended

In 2016, I went with a large group of family (over 20, all ages). The cruise made it so easy to have a large group of people, especially for dinners. I would prefer a cruise over going to the parks with a large group, especially because of price. I thought the cruise was reasonably priced and included to many perks. I feel that once you take one cruise to the bahamas and other places like that and experience the the port adventures, you would be fine not doing it in a cruise in the future. Glad we got to experience those, but would rather spend more time exploring the boat on those days, especially since it is not nearly as crowded. Skipping port adventures is also a great way to save money. A disney cruise is a great options for families with kids of all ages. If you want a disney vacation but aren't up for the stress and expense that can sometimes go with the parks, highly consider a cruise. Not to mention very relaxing!

Pros:

food, price, works perfectly with large groups,

Cons:

n/a
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Reviewed by Susan Brown Review Date: 10/01/2018

Rating: (10)
Recommended

Get ready for a not-so-scary good time on the 7-night Fantasy's Halloween on the High Seas cruise. My husband, daughter and I sailed the Sept. 15, 2018 Caribbean route from Port Canaveral with stops in Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica and Castaway Cay. The Halloween celebration starts the minute cruisers step into the atrium on deck 3 and see the beautifully creepy Halloween tree adorned with uniquely carved jack-o-lanterns and the Mickey-shaped pumpkin decorations strategically placed on the railings. The tree comes to life during a special spooky storytelling and tree lighting ceremony on Sunday evening. On Wednesday, guests celebrate the traditional Pirate Night complete with fireworks on deck 11 and a late-night buffet in Cabanas. On Thursday, it's time to celebrate Halloween, with all guests, adults and children, encouraged to dress in their favorite costumes and join in trick or treating around the ship. Lots of candy stations are placed on decks 2, 3, 4 and 5 with costumed crew members ready to hand out candy. A Halloween dance party with Mickey and the gang in costume keeps the celebration rocking in the atrium after trick or treating. All in all, the Halloween on the High Seas cruise is not to missed. Adults and children alike will have fun celebrating Halloween with that special touch of Disney magic.

Pros:

A festive, fun Halloween atmosphere abounds on the ship. The water was calm even though tropical storm Isaac was headed for Jamaica before dissipating before we arrived in Falmouth.

Cons:

The weather in September can be very hot and humid. We experienced temps in the 90s each day with humidity to match. The threat of tropical storms and hurricanes could be a problem in September.
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Reviewed by Susan Kowalski Review Date: 09/26/2018

Rating: (10)
Recommended

What a cruise this was!!! I have been on cruises with Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean, but nothing has compared to a Disney Cruise. From the time I arrived at the port (Disney has their own private parking garage and terminal) and boarded the ship (to applause as my family name was announced to everyone in the atrium) until I had my final sit-down breakfast in the main dining room (no waiting in a 'designated area' to exit the ship) this cruise was top-notch!!

The boarding process was so relaxed. Plenty of 'cast members' (Disney's name for their employees) so we only had to wait a few minutes to check in. Once we got our 'Key to the World' card (room key) we were able to relax in the terminal and wait for our letter to be called to board the ship. I'm not sure how many folks they assign to each letter, but it seemed very reasonable - no over crowding at all. While we waited we were able to get pictures with Minnie in her sailing outfit. I think other characters also make an appearance, but as soon as our letter was called, off to the ship we went. As we entered through a Mickey Mouse shaped doorway (very cute) to access the gangplank to the ship there were more pictures to be had - so much fun!!

I don't think I can list all the amazing things we did but here are a few of the highlights:

Upon boarding the ship, we could go directly to brunch or sit out on the deck by the pools. Access to the cabins opened up at 1:30pm, with luggage being delivered by 5:30pm. The pools (3 of them) opened up at 12:30 along with the AquaDuck - the Fantasy's water-coaster that goes above the pool deck and out over the open water. This was my first time to ride it and all I can say is Wow. The only downside is you have to walk up several flights of stairs to get to the entrance, so after 4 rides I called it quits. 🙂

There is a whole section of the pool deck that is only open to those 18 yrs and older. This area is not really 'Disney Themed' so it is a nice place to get away. There is a pool with swim-up bar, hot tub and specialty coffee shop located in this area. Upgraded lounge chairs with extra padding are also located here. You can access the spa and fitness area from here (as well as the internal elevators).

Each evening there are two seatings for dinner, 6:15pm and 8:15pm. We chose the later seating which typically has fewer children, but as this cruise launched soon after school had started for a large portion of the US, we only had about 200 children out of our 3,000 passengers. The Fantasy has three main dining rooms and they have set it up to have dinner rotate between them during your cruise. What this means is you eat at table A in location 1 on the first night then rotate to table A in location 2 on the second night, etc. Your Key to the World card shows which restaurant you are dining in each night. Your waitstaff stays the same and rotates to the different restaurants with you. This way, special request (example Gluten-free) are already known after the first dinner and don't have to be repeated to multiple waitstaff throughout the cruise. This really helped to make us feel special throughout our cruise.

Be aware that most food / drinks (non-alcoholic/non-specialty) are included, but there are some items that you have to pay extra for such as Popcorn, hand dipped Ice Cream/Gelato, smoothies and specialty coffees. Complimentary fountain soda, water, tea and coffee are available 24 hrs a day with juice being available when the dining rooms/buffets are open.

I don't think I will ever cruise on a cruiseline other than Disney every again.

Pros:

It's a Disney Cruise (need I say more?!?!?)

Cons:

All Disney cruise are very expensive compared to other cruise lines. I feel it is worth it, but it is still a deterrent for a lot of folks.
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Reviewed by darth princess Review Date: 11/23/2014

Rating: (10)
Recommended

We just returned from a 7 night Eastern Carribean cruise on Fantasy. The entire experience was amazing, our second cruise but first on Fantasy. The ship is perfect, beautiful, and everyone had the usual Disney service comittment. All of our food was great and the stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico was great. So happy and glad we decided to cruise this year. We are DVC members and usually go to Disney World every year.

Pros:

Absolutely stunning, fabulous service

Cons:

None
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Reviewed by Scrapping in Ontario Review Date: 03/12/2014

Rating: (10)
Recommended

This was our first cruise (3 generations MIL, myself and 4yo DD) and it could not have been better!! We were overwhelmed in a very good way by everything from the moment we walked into the terminal until we disembarked one week later!

The staff all love their jobs and cannot do enough to help. There is tons to do and every detail and more is thought of! Great live shows, AquaDuck a blast.

Can't wait to get back on board and bring the rest of our family too!

Pros:

Beautiful, Immaculate ship, Staff are AMAZING, SO much to do!

Cons:

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Reviewed by tommygunn Review Date: 08/20/2013

Rating: (10)
Recommended

Amazing eastern Caribbean trip. We didn't even want to get off the board at our ports of call. This is a must do for a Disney family!

Pros:

Amazing boat, tremendous attention to detail

Cons:

Ain't cheap!
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Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 09/28/2018

Rating: (9)
Recommended

This was our first cruise ever! Just a 3night out of Port Canaveral to “test the waters” so to speak! My son had broken his collarbone, and we originally had a trip booked to Disneyworld...we knew he wouldn’t be able to ride the coasters, so we booked this very last minute cruise instead!

It was Labor Day weekend, and it never felt crowded until departure, even though it was “sold out.”

Despite the motion on the first night, and the fact that there were 3 announcements in our cabin at 2-3AM for an emergency, we thoroughly enjoyed this quick cruise! I would say my 13 yo old sons’ favorite was the unlimited food accessibility, my 10yo son loved the independence and the Detective Agency activities! My husband and I loved the fact that we didn’t have to think about anything! Our family as a whole really enjoyed Bingo night and Timmy yelling “shake it up Betty!” We also liked the shuffleboard and the animation academy! We miss that terribly in Hollywood Studios, now that it’s no longer an attraction! The magic felt on the Fantasy was real, and there were opportunities everywhere for fun! The temps were a little too hot for us to enjoy the pool, though my boys dug the Aquaduck! Oh! I almost forgot, we really loved the shows! They were each awesome and thoroughly entertaining! And they really are Broadway caliber! Not to mention how easy it was to get in and out of the theater, we generally visit the parks annually, and this was just so much easier!!! We appreciated that!
The food was fabulous, though it was lunch on day 2 before we could really enjoy it-I think the seasickness patch might have done more harm than good...we ripped those off on day 2! We opted to stay on the boat in Nassau, and enjoyed all the onboard activities!

Castaway Cay really was amazing! My older son and I got up early for the 5K, and it was HOT! He made it in 27minutes! We waited and waited for husband and younger son, we almost missed them! Really challenging to find your party when there is no cell signal, and the phone thingy don’t work off the boat. I said a prayer and luckily found them 5 minutes later. We joined together for first time snorkeling and lunch, and then headed back to the boat. My son kept yelling look look! Look at all the pretty fish! Oh there’s Dory! Let’s find Nemo! Very memorable!

The cost is steep, but we are so glad we experienced a Disney cruise! It would be hard to go with any other cruisline, now that we tried Disney! Would do it again in a heartbeat!

Pros:

Quality time with family, memories made and lots of first time stuff to enjoy!

Cons:

Cost!
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