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| 3 out of 4 are smiling |
Our other two ports of call were St. Thomas and Castaway Cay (Disney's island in the Bahamas). In St. Thomas we went to Magens Bay and it was beautiful. The water was calm and crystal clear and the beach had natural shade trees that provided a break from the sun.
As one might expect, Disney's private island was an ideal set up for parents and kids. They had an adult only beach area (never made it there), multiple kids beaches, watersides, splash pads, various water excursions, and even a 5K race. My dad and I ran/walked it and it was awesome. The kids got our Mikey medals and were super excited.
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| Pirate night |
Overall impressions of the Disney Fantasy cruise
I had high expectations for this beautiful new ship, and was not disappointed. The Disney themes were well carried out for the most part; some might have been "over the top" but cruise ship decor often seems to be that way.
Personal list of favorites:
Pool deck: was very nice and functional. There were two water slides but neither dominated the open spaces. Unfortunately the kids weren't tall enough to ride the Aqua Duck, but the rest of us did! Really fun.
There were two family pools, one a very shallow wading one shaped like... Mickey! Go figure. The kids loved it. There was a great splash pad with Nemo theme, and " infinity" hot tubs jutting off the side of the ship, with a plexiglass floor panel with the ocean below. Unique.
There was an adults- only small pool and hot tubs but of course we didn't use them. Also, reportedly another pool and splash pad on the next deck up but I didn't get to them.
Entertainment: the two big shows I saw were great - Alladin, with wonderful sets, costumes, effects. No live orchestra, but that really wasn't missed. And a variety show of two guys doing song, dance, percussion and comedy. I was too pooped the other nights to make the shows.
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| A day at sea |
Food/ dining: I loved that we had assigned seating. We really got to know our waiters, and vice versa. Of course they were great with kids, as expected. What wasn't expected was how good the food was! Imaginative menus, mostly good execution, and generally top quality. I was really impressed that the buffet had big piles of shrimp and stone crab claws for lunch each day. The rotation dining was fun too. While two dining rooms were more predictable, the Animators Palette was a real treat. The room featured an art/ drawing theme, with video screens circling the room. One night the entertainment featured the turtle from Finding Nemo interacting with diners nearby. And to me the highlight was the final dinner. Adults and kids were given placemats with an outline of a person to fill in and color. These were collected and, during dessert, came to life as each character was animated and danced across the screen closest to one's table. Kinda hard to describe but extremely creative use of technology.
Staterooms: Two features stood out. The bathrooms were "split" with one cubicle having a tub/shower and sink, and the other having a sink/ toilet. More privacy, more storage space ( we each had our own sink) and tubs in every room for families with small kids. And, inside cabins had a unique feature- the "magic porthole". A big round hi-def tv screen (fed by dec- mointed cameras) featured the view that you would see if you had a real window. Very clever!
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| Portholes |
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| London Bridge |
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| Planes Fire and Rescue in 3D |
