Disney Fantasy Review
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As parents of four kids living in Southern California, we have made many trips to Disneyland and have come to know the Disney brand well. We had high expectations for Disney Cruise Line, but our first couple of tries left is wanting more. We had sailed the Disney Wonder and while we were impressed with the classic elegance of the ship and the attention to detail that only Disney seems to reach, there just wasn't much to keep us engaged after 10pm. Our kids are now grown and we wanted to experience the Disney difference at sea, but we were not interested in calling it a night so early. We really enjoy other cruise lines and thought we were done with Disney until the Grandkids came along.
Then we decided to give it one more try, aboard the Disney Fantasy. We are sure glad we did. The Fantasy is a truely amazing ship that offers an excellent experience in a way that only Disney seems to offer. The ship itself is the centerpiece of the vacation experience, but Disney does not stop there. We booked a Deluxe Inside cabin which includes the famous split bath, but no special packages or notations. We were just ordinary passengers. We booked the Disney Magical Express to pick us up from Disney's Coronado Springs resort. We also used them from the airport to the Hotel. We put our bag tags on our luggage before we left home and Disney took care of the rest, delivering our bags to our Hotel from the airport. The Hotel bell hop picked up the bags the morning of the cruise and they were promptly delivered to our stateroom upon embarkation. Smooth. The "motor coach" was also very comfortable and they played Disney cartoons as well as cruise information on the way to the port. Upon arrival at about 1:30 pm we entered the cruise terminal after going through a very short security check. There were virtually no lines inside. Our boarding checkin was processed immediately and we were allowed to board right away.
Entering the ship on a Disney Cruise is extra special. Unlike most lines where you are dumped into something resembling a lobby and left to wander about, Disney provides you with a grand entrance. There are plenty of crew to assist you and answer any questions you have. There are no tables selling things, just the elegance of the ship. We proceeded immediately to Guest Services where they helped us make reservations to Palo (One of the two premium dining options). We wanted to wait until we were on board so we could avoid booking dinner on Pirate night or on one of our dinners in Animator's Palate. There was no line at Guest Services and they were very helpful. Our next stop was lunch. We chose to eat in the Enchanted Garden instead of the buffet. It was not crowded but offered the same lunch which was a buffet that included crab legs, prime rib, jumbo shrimp and a variety of other foods. After lunch, we proceeded to our cabin to drop our things and go about the ship.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Inside Stateroom
The cabin was neatly organzied with a comfortable queen bed, a sofa that could pull out to a bed and a pull down bunk. We only needed the queen bed, but we could see how this cabin could easily sleep two adults and two children. There was a small footstool that also served as a table as well as a vanity that also served as a dresser. There was a real apartment sized refigerator as well as a decent sized safe available in the room. There were two sections of closet area, one for full length dresses and the other for shirts and pants. There were also a few shelves and live jackets. One bathroom had a tub/shower with two pull-out dry lines to hang the swim gear. That bath also had a sink with mirror and a 110 outlet for shavers. The other bath included a toilet and a sink. It was a bit smaller but still large enough to use the sink and mirror for cleaning up and grooming as needed. There were also hooks for robes and swim gear in this bathroom. The vanity area included a hairdryer (very nice one) with a special european style 220 outlet. There were also wave phones and two available US style 110 outlets and one additional European outlet. The vanity mirro was lighted as well and there was plenty of space to get ready for the evening, although if you have more than a couple that need hair and makeup done, you might want to plan ahead. The bed was comfortable with a nightstand at each side. The left side had the clock radio with iPod dock and auxiliary plug (with cord) and also included an extra US style 110 outlet perfect for keeping your phone or audio device charged. There were no such outlets on the right side of the bed. Above the bed was the Disney exclusive virtual portal. This is really an LCD TV behind a panel with a round portal looking wood frame. You could turn it off with a switch by the bed. During the day this TV showed a camera view outside the ship. It was actually showing the correct movement direction as well as correct side of the ship. Neat touch. We found this oddly soothing and really very unique for an inside stateroom. There was also a curtain that could be pulled to separate the queen bed sleeping area from the rest of the stateroom. Lighting was plentiful and there was even a nighlight option that produced a dull glow. We ended up leaving this on much of the time so we could find our way to the bathroom without having to turn on more lights. Pulling the drape made the queen bed area completely dark even with the nightlight on. All power to the room was controlled by inserting your room key into the slot by the door. Keep this in mind if you want to leave items charging in your room when you step out. Our room was situated in a unique place that we really loved. It was out of the main hallway but still near the elevators. This cut down on a lot of the foot-traffic noise we often heard on other cruises. We would definately choose this stateroom again.