My wife and I took our three kids, their spouses and six grandkids (ages 10, 7, 6 and three 3-year-old boys), 14 in all, on the Disney Fantasy. This was our first Disney cruise and 15th cruise overall. I should disclose that our last cruise was 2 months ago on the Regent Seven Seas Navigator, which is quite luxurious. We enjoyed the Fantasy, but think that Disney could make many improvements.

We spent the night before embarkation at the Hyatt in the Orlando Airport and used Disney transfers to get to the ship. Although it is convenient to have the luggage picked up from our hotel rooms and transferred directly to our cabins on the ship, we wouldn't do it again. The place where you catch the Disney buses is a long walk from the hotel, the lines are incredibly long, it took a long time and it was very expensive (14 x $70 for the round trip). Next time I would take a taxi even if it costs more. In addition, during much of the 45-50 minute trip, we were bombarded with Disney advertisements.

Embarkation: After getting off the buses, we were directed into the registration area. Once again the lines were long. One of the things we wanted from the cruise was a family picture. This objective was nixed when Disney personnel, against our will and over our objection, separated us into different lines. This resulted in a 30 minute difference between the first and last member of the group actually getting on board. Read more