BabyYoda
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2019
Hey everyone!
I just got back from a 7-night trip on the Fantasy from April 8-15, and we visited Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Falmouth, and Castaway Cay! I went with 12 of my family members, including 8 adults, and 5 kids aged 4, 8, 10, 11, and 1 (sadly he did not win the diaper dash
).
We are DVC members and have been to WDW many times but had never done a Disney Cruise before, so I figured I would post about our experience to help others who are considering taking a DCL cruise!
Boarding Process â very quick and easy! You get a boarding time at check in and then you go to the cruise terminal at that time and wait until they call your group number, and then youâre allowed to board and they announce your family as you walk on the ship and clap for you.
You then have some free time to do whatever youâd like until the safety drill, and after that you are free! I wonât detail every single thing we did but Iâll give some of the highlights and our tips
Cozumel â My Dad and I did the Fury Catamaran Snorkel Adventure, and it was awesome! It was sold out right away when we tried to book originally, but after a few weeks it opened up and I was able to book for my Dad and I. Right when you get off the boat the catamaran is right there on the pier, and you sail for like 20 mins and then snorkel, and then they open the bar and sail to a private beach where you can do lots of different activities. There is NO food provided, just drinks, but they do sell hamburgers at the beach for I think $11.
My sister and nephews did the Coco Painting/Chocolate excursion, which they all said they liked but it was a bit too much history/touring for the younger ones who just wanted to paint and eat chocolate lol.
The Port itself has lots of shops and restaurants. Senor Frogs is always fun.
George Town, Grand Cayman â We didnât do an excursion here, but my sister and nephews did the dolphin interaction which they all absolutely loved. My 4-year-old nephew was a little afraid of the water/swimming but they got him involved to at least touch the dolphins and he loved it.
The adults just walked around town, and itâs mostly jewelry shops and your usual souvenirs. We ate at Sharkeez which was pretty nice right on the water. Overall George Town was nice but nothing super spectacular.
Falmouth, Jamaica â Originally we planned to not do an excursion here, but I read on Disboards that the port is quite small and you donât want to leave the port area and explore on your own. This was pretty much dead on, as the port had many little shops and coffee shops but Iâm not even sure you were allowed to walk outside of the port area. I read there used to be a Margaritaville but it closed during Covid.
So after reading about the port, all 13 of us decided to do the âGood Hope Estateâ excursion, which was pretty cool! You take a 25 minute bus ride to the old plantation, and then you are dropped at a little spot where there is a big pool with many smaller pools above it. It's sort of hard to explain but you can walk up a staircase and get in a pool with a little waterfall that kids can jump off, and then there is a pool connected to that one that you can walk into and down and down until youâre back in the main pool. Big water slide the kids loved. You can cross a rope bridge to a little area on the other side of the river where there's a little nature walk you can do but itâs not a huge long trail. There was also jerk chicken and other meats in a buffet for sale, a nice bar by the pool, a gift shop with snacks, and games like giant Jenga and giant connect four.
All the kids loved it, but if you only had adults you may not be super impressed. Every hour there is a bus back the ship, and half the adults left around 1pm (we arrived I think at 10:30am), and the rest of us left at 2pm. The kids would have stayed all day for sure.
Castway Cay â I didnât know anything about CC except that everyone says it is amazing, and it really is! We never made it past the kids beach, but there is a beautiful beach with snorkeling and lots of chairs and hammocks and bars and shops and they have dance parties for the kids and the lunch setup is pretty great! They serve lunch on the island so you donât need to go back to the ship.
Dining â The only thing about the cruise that wasnât super amazing was the food in the main dining rooms. You rotate between Animators Palate, Royal Court, and Enchanted Garden, but all the adults at the end of the trip agreed the food was sub-par. TO BE FAIR, we had some allergies which required the food to be altered, but even the non-allergy people agreed overall. HOWEVER, Disney was so so so amazing with food allergies, taking into account gluten, wheat, tree nut, and dairy allergies. They took extensive notes the first night and then the waiters knew who was allergic to what. They also have allergy people pre-order the night before so the food comes out at the same time as everyone else the following night. Basically they could make 80% of the menu allergy friendly, including deserts!
Shows - I donât want to give anything away, but they were absolutely amazing!!! We saw a magician, ventriloquist (my favorite!), Juggler, Aladdin, Frozen, and Believe which is like a Disney-made musical including many different movie songs.
Entertainment - We played trivia, so much trivia! I think we played 13 different trivias including music trivia (50/60s, 70s, 80s, 90s), Disney music trivia, general trivia, brain teasers, Disney parks trivia, etc etc. There is literally like 10 trivias a day and you win some cool prizes like medals or backpacks of notebooks and stuff like that. There is also lots of karaoke and other games for the whole family like family game shows, making crafts, games for kids, etc.
The BEST entertainment for adults was in âThe Tubeâ at nighttime from 10pm-11pm. Usually it was some kind of adults game show followed by another gameshow, or a gameshow followed by the big magician/ventriloquist doing an adults only performance. All the adults in our group went almost every night, and we got to participate in Match Your Mate (kind of like the newly wed game), and everyone recognized us for the rest of the cruise lol.
After 11pm most the adults went to bed but my brother-in-law and I would go to Ooh La La, which is the French themed bar where they had either live violin, guitar, or piano music until around 12pm. James Teal the violinist is so amazing!! I definitely recommend going to the night time live music in Ooh La La or La Piazza right next to it.
Kids Club - Okay so we had 5 kids with us, and we thought all the kids would go to the kids club and be gone all day lol. The 4 year old did not want to go in (but a lot of other 4 year olds loved it I know), but the 8/10 year olds really enjoyed it and kept going back. The 11 year old who was sort of aged in-between levels didnât spend a ton of time in there. We may have been an outlier group though because Iâve read lots of kids go in and never want to leave!! They also have a nursery for super young kids and babies I believe.
My 10 year old nephew on the 3rd night - "What time is dinner over?" "I think around 7-7:30pm" "Good, because I have plans!"
Tips and advice overall for the cruise -
- The Diaper Dash is hysterical, I think it was on 2nd day at sea and they literally race non-walking babies to see who can crawl to their parents the fastest. It mostly turns into parents yelling at their babies to crawl towards them and the babies refusing to do so but it is so funny.
- Do early morning trivia (9am-11am) if you want a chance to win because very few people do the early ones.
- Deck 4 is a nice play to lay on deck chairs and lounge.
- Meridian Bar on Deck 12 aft is a super nice bar that faces out the back of the ship. (it's next to Palo and Remy)
- Get to the big night-time shows (especially Frozen) at LEAST 20 minutes early to secure spots. They donât allow saving seats although most families try. Frozen essentially turned into standing room only, although the other shows were somewhat less crowded.
- Dress up for Pirate Night! Almost everyone on board dresses up big time and it is so much fun! Bring glow sticks if you really want to be popular! Deck 12 was a good spot to see the fireworks.
- Lots of people decorate their doors with magnets and use âfish extendersâ, which is a little sort of basket thing where you can drop/receive little gifts to other people on the ship.
- Declan, who was one of the major entertainment staff members, was absolutely amazing and we loved him so much. He hosted a lot of the game shows and trivia and you will love him!
- Take lots of photos because the official photo packages are insanely priced ($150 for 10 photos I think it was).
- You can rent tubes/floats and snorkel equipment the day of on Castaway Cay even if you donât book beforehand.
- We went during Spring Break which I thought would be the absolute worst time to go in terms of crowds/kids on the ship, but it was totally fine and never once did I feel uncomfortable or crowded!
- You donât have to go to the rotational dining restaurants, and can always eat at the pool.
- Cabanas is a great spot for breakfast and lunch.
- At the bars on level 4 (maybe others), you can buy a bottle of wine and they will save it for you if you donât finish it. I was told a bottle is 5 glasses and you are only paying for 4 up front, and you can have say one glass and then the next day go to the bar and say âhey I have a bottle under X nameâ and they pull it out and fill you up!
- Participate in the games and game shows as much as you can and you will meet other people on the ship and make new friends! We played the very first night and people came up to us every day on the ship and even at the airport on the way home saying how much they enjoyed it!
- Fly to Orlando the day before so you donât have to worry about possible delays and missing the cruise! We stayed at the Sheraton Orlando Airport the night before and took a large van to the cruise terminal and it worked great!
- The adults only section of the pool at the very front of the ship is a great place for adults to relax, and at night it's very uncrowded!
- If the excursion/onboard activity you want is booked when you try to book it months out, check it every week or so as it may open up! Make sure to check again while on the ship, as many of the mixology classes and drink tastings that sold out instantly opened up while on board!
Tips from my Mom:
I just got back from a 7-night trip on the Fantasy from April 8-15, and we visited Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Falmouth, and Castaway Cay! I went with 12 of my family members, including 8 adults, and 5 kids aged 4, 8, 10, 11, and 1 (sadly he did not win the diaper dash
).We are DVC members and have been to WDW many times but had never done a Disney Cruise before, so I figured I would post about our experience to help others who are considering taking a DCL cruise!
Boarding Process â very quick and easy! You get a boarding time at check in and then you go to the cruise terminal at that time and wait until they call your group number, and then youâre allowed to board and they announce your family as you walk on the ship and clap for you.
You then have some free time to do whatever youâd like until the safety drill, and after that you are free! I wonât detail every single thing we did but Iâll give some of the highlights and our tips
Cozumel â My Dad and I did the Fury Catamaran Snorkel Adventure, and it was awesome! It was sold out right away when we tried to book originally, but after a few weeks it opened up and I was able to book for my Dad and I. Right when you get off the boat the catamaran is right there on the pier, and you sail for like 20 mins and then snorkel, and then they open the bar and sail to a private beach where you can do lots of different activities. There is NO food provided, just drinks, but they do sell hamburgers at the beach for I think $11.
My sister and nephews did the Coco Painting/Chocolate excursion, which they all said they liked but it was a bit too much history/touring for the younger ones who just wanted to paint and eat chocolate lol.
The Port itself has lots of shops and restaurants. Senor Frogs is always fun.
George Town, Grand Cayman â We didnât do an excursion here, but my sister and nephews did the dolphin interaction which they all absolutely loved. My 4-year-old nephew was a little afraid of the water/swimming but they got him involved to at least touch the dolphins and he loved it.
The adults just walked around town, and itâs mostly jewelry shops and your usual souvenirs. We ate at Sharkeez which was pretty nice right on the water. Overall George Town was nice but nothing super spectacular.
Falmouth, Jamaica â Originally we planned to not do an excursion here, but I read on Disboards that the port is quite small and you donât want to leave the port area and explore on your own. This was pretty much dead on, as the port had many little shops and coffee shops but Iâm not even sure you were allowed to walk outside of the port area. I read there used to be a Margaritaville but it closed during Covid.
So after reading about the port, all 13 of us decided to do the âGood Hope Estateâ excursion, which was pretty cool! You take a 25 minute bus ride to the old plantation, and then you are dropped at a little spot where there is a big pool with many smaller pools above it. It's sort of hard to explain but you can walk up a staircase and get in a pool with a little waterfall that kids can jump off, and then there is a pool connected to that one that you can walk into and down and down until youâre back in the main pool. Big water slide the kids loved. You can cross a rope bridge to a little area on the other side of the river where there's a little nature walk you can do but itâs not a huge long trail. There was also jerk chicken and other meats in a buffet for sale, a nice bar by the pool, a gift shop with snacks, and games like giant Jenga and giant connect four.
All the kids loved it, but if you only had adults you may not be super impressed. Every hour there is a bus back the ship, and half the adults left around 1pm (we arrived I think at 10:30am), and the rest of us left at 2pm. The kids would have stayed all day for sure.
Castway Cay â I didnât know anything about CC except that everyone says it is amazing, and it really is! We never made it past the kids beach, but there is a beautiful beach with snorkeling and lots of chairs and hammocks and bars and shops and they have dance parties for the kids and the lunch setup is pretty great! They serve lunch on the island so you donât need to go back to the ship.
Dining â The only thing about the cruise that wasnât super amazing was the food in the main dining rooms. You rotate between Animators Palate, Royal Court, and Enchanted Garden, but all the adults at the end of the trip agreed the food was sub-par. TO BE FAIR, we had some allergies which required the food to be altered, but even the non-allergy people agreed overall. HOWEVER, Disney was so so so amazing with food allergies, taking into account gluten, wheat, tree nut, and dairy allergies. They took extensive notes the first night and then the waiters knew who was allergic to what. They also have allergy people pre-order the night before so the food comes out at the same time as everyone else the following night. Basically they could make 80% of the menu allergy friendly, including deserts!
Shows - I donât want to give anything away, but they were absolutely amazing!!! We saw a magician, ventriloquist (my favorite!), Juggler, Aladdin, Frozen, and Believe which is like a Disney-made musical including many different movie songs.
Entertainment - We played trivia, so much trivia! I think we played 13 different trivias including music trivia (50/60s, 70s, 80s, 90s), Disney music trivia, general trivia, brain teasers, Disney parks trivia, etc etc. There is literally like 10 trivias a day and you win some cool prizes like medals or backpacks of notebooks and stuff like that. There is also lots of karaoke and other games for the whole family like family game shows, making crafts, games for kids, etc.
The BEST entertainment for adults was in âThe Tubeâ at nighttime from 10pm-11pm. Usually it was some kind of adults game show followed by another gameshow, or a gameshow followed by the big magician/ventriloquist doing an adults only performance. All the adults in our group went almost every night, and we got to participate in Match Your Mate (kind of like the newly wed game), and everyone recognized us for the rest of the cruise lol.
After 11pm most the adults went to bed but my brother-in-law and I would go to Ooh La La, which is the French themed bar where they had either live violin, guitar, or piano music until around 12pm. James Teal the violinist is so amazing!! I definitely recommend going to the night time live music in Ooh La La or La Piazza right next to it.
Kids Club - Okay so we had 5 kids with us, and we thought all the kids would go to the kids club and be gone all day lol. The 4 year old did not want to go in (but a lot of other 4 year olds loved it I know), but the 8/10 year olds really enjoyed it and kept going back. The 11 year old who was sort of aged in-between levels didnât spend a ton of time in there. We may have been an outlier group though because Iâve read lots of kids go in and never want to leave!! They also have a nursery for super young kids and babies I believe.
My 10 year old nephew on the 3rd night - "What time is dinner over?" "I think around 7-7:30pm" "Good, because I have plans!"
Tips and advice overall for the cruise -
- The Diaper Dash is hysterical, I think it was on 2nd day at sea and they literally race non-walking babies to see who can crawl to their parents the fastest. It mostly turns into parents yelling at their babies to crawl towards them and the babies refusing to do so but it is so funny.
- Do early morning trivia (9am-11am) if you want a chance to win because very few people do the early ones.
- Deck 4 is a nice play to lay on deck chairs and lounge.
- Meridian Bar on Deck 12 aft is a super nice bar that faces out the back of the ship. (it's next to Palo and Remy)
- Get to the big night-time shows (especially Frozen) at LEAST 20 minutes early to secure spots. They donât allow saving seats although most families try. Frozen essentially turned into standing room only, although the other shows were somewhat less crowded.
- Dress up for Pirate Night! Almost everyone on board dresses up big time and it is so much fun! Bring glow sticks if you really want to be popular! Deck 12 was a good spot to see the fireworks.
- Lots of people decorate their doors with magnets and use âfish extendersâ, which is a little sort of basket thing where you can drop/receive little gifts to other people on the ship.
- Declan, who was one of the major entertainment staff members, was absolutely amazing and we loved him so much. He hosted a lot of the game shows and trivia and you will love him!
- Take lots of photos because the official photo packages are insanely priced ($150 for 10 photos I think it was).
- You can rent tubes/floats and snorkel equipment the day of on Castaway Cay even if you donât book beforehand.
- We went during Spring Break which I thought would be the absolute worst time to go in terms of crowds/kids on the ship, but it was totally fine and never once did I feel uncomfortable or crowded!
- You donât have to go to the rotational dining restaurants, and can always eat at the pool.
- Cabanas is a great spot for breakfast and lunch.
- At the bars on level 4 (maybe others), you can buy a bottle of wine and they will save it for you if you donât finish it. I was told a bottle is 5 glasses and you are only paying for 4 up front, and you can have say one glass and then the next day go to the bar and say âhey I have a bottle under X nameâ and they pull it out and fill you up!
- Participate in the games and game shows as much as you can and you will meet other people on the ship and make new friends! We played the very first night and people came up to us every day on the ship and even at the airport on the way home saying how much they enjoyed it!
- Fly to Orlando the day before so you donât have to worry about possible delays and missing the cruise! We stayed at the Sheraton Orlando Airport the night before and took a large van to the cruise terminal and it worked great!
- The adults only section of the pool at the very front of the ship is a great place for adults to relax, and at night it's very uncrowded!
- If the excursion/onboard activity you want is booked when you try to book it months out, check it every week or so as it may open up! Make sure to check again while on the ship, as many of the mixology classes and drink tastings that sold out instantly opened up while on board!
Tips from my Mom:
- Of course âŚ. Get as early as possible embarkation time.
- If you have kidsâŚ. Definitely do the door decoration and pin trading.
- Go to the Aqua Duck (the long tube slide) during a dinner that you can skip. (no lines!)
- If you want to be at poolside, send someone early to get lounge chairs.
- Take advantage of late night adult entertainment and D Lounge activities for kids.
- Donât bother with the embarkation day kids club open house - itâs so crowded and overwhelming and closes right before the first dinner anyway. Especially if you have very little kids.
- If you have a 10 year old you can give them special permission to go to Edge if you sign a waiver. Also, have your kids download the app so they can message you, if they donât have a tablet or phone put a white board outside the room so they can write where they are and you can write where you are.
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Perfect mix of sailing and snorkeling and beach time! My sister and her kids absolutely loved the dolphin adventure, but they were so/so on the coco painting and chocolate one. 
