Disney Fantasy Review
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THE GREAT: Getting on board was awesome. We arrived at the time we'd signed up for, and there were only about five people ahead of us waiting to check in. We finished at the counter and walked right onto the ship. It was the best onboarding experience I've ever had! I will be forever grateful because getting on and off a cruise ship is generally really exhausting and the worst part of the trip. It's been around 10 years since I've been on a cruise, but my recollection was standing in line for hours. Disney has done a great job with this!
Our dining room servers were absolutely wonderful. They made sure that we had everything that we wanted and made us feel very special. I got the general impression that everyone loved the staff assigned to them. Some of the servers did magic tricks, and they all had something special for the kids. One thing to keep in mind is that the head waiter, the waiter/waitress, the assistant waiter/waitress, and the cabin attendant do not receive additional compensation from Disney - they work only for tips. I don't think people realize that, and the amounts they recommend for tips are really not that much. I think that this is the same across all cruise lines, and I didn't mind the built in tip for any of the refreshments that we ordered (one person went out of his way to get a glass of wine that I liked when I was in the theater that wasn't stocked there and I didn't even request that - extra tips are really in order for super service, and you will experience a lot of super service). There are some drinks that are free, and you can buy a cup for your child that comes in two sizes for a nominal amount ($6.50 and $8.50, I think) and they will fill it with smoothies or Shirley Temples, or anything non-alcoholic that would otherwise be charged to you for the entire week - the cup comes with a removable character that lights up.
I don't mean to discount our cabin attendant in discussing the dining room staff. She was very responsive and made it a point to ask us several times if there were any things we wanted or needed and anything that we weren't pleased with so that she could fix it (there weren't - we only wanted an extra bar of soap so that we could have one on the sink and in the shower - that's it - everything was else was perfect). We really appreciated the follow up though.
Cabin Review
The cabin was awesome! It was large, relatively speaking, and had lots of storage space. We had a double length deck with two (sort-of) recliners, two regular chairs, and a small table. We had so much fun we didn't get to enjoy it as much as I would have liked. The bed was heaven and I was always so tired from the activities of the day that I swear I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Our couch converted into a bed as well, and it was comfortable too (though not as comfortable as the bed). I also liked that there were separate rooms for showering and going to the bathroom, and each of them had a sink - it made it so much easier to get ready in the morning. I had a chance to peek into the inside staterooms, and it looked like they had a port-hole sized screen that gave you the view from the bridge video, which was kind of cool. I prefer an outside stateroom with a balcony because I would feel claustrophobic, but this was a nice touch on the inside.