Just off Fantasy...Initial Thoughts

[flhokie]

We just got off Fantasy this morning. It was me, DD (4) and my parents. We were in 2 verandah staterooms on deck 9 (down the hall from each other). I had sailed on the Disney Magic one time, 15 years ago. That previous experience was one of the worst cruise experiences I'd ever had (food & service were horrible). Having read recent reviews & DD loving Disney, we decided to give it a chance. I will try to do a review, but here are my initial thoughts...

 

Positives

- The service overall was outstanding!! Our dining room server & cabin attendant were wonderful! My father has issues with mobility (cane & moves slowly) and every time he went to Cabanas a server would insist on helping him get food & to a table. The crew genuinely cared and it showed.

 

- Embarkation was easy.

 

- The ship is beautiful and in excellent condition!

 

- The staterooms were a comfortable size, with plenty of storage.

 

- Room service had a decent selection and was extremely prompt.

 

- food was good. We were very impressed with Cabanas for breakfast & lunch. Dinner was usually very good, but sometimes it seemed like they were trying too hard for upscale dining/food.

 

- Castaway Cay was beautiful. Getting lunch was actually efficient.

- The drink stations and soft serve ice cream stations were nice.

 

- The Princess & Frozen meetings were great.

 

- The martini tasting and mixology classes were great (@ $20 each we felt they were good deals too).

 

Negatives

- The age range for the Oceaneer Club/Lab is too large! 3 - 12 year olds all together is awful! The facilities and staff are great, but it this age range does not work well (especially with so much free play)! DD (4) who is very social, loves pre-school, did great in a 3-7 year old kid's program on another line, etc begged not to go to Oceaneer Club because of "the big kids." I met other families with the same issue. When I brought it up to the staff their response was that the older kids tend go "self segregate" into the Lab, but that did not appear to be the case.

 

- The disembarkation was the worst we have ever seen. Instead of releasing passengers by groups like other lines, all 1st seating guests line up to get off the ship at the same time. The line was from inside the terminal, all through the gangway and to each end of the ship. They claimed it was all because the ship was 20 minutes late arriving due to winds.

 

- The atrium often felt crowded. Having sailed large ships (Allure, Voyager, Grand Princess, etc), this definitely felt more crowded at times.

 

Overall, we are glad we went & really enjoyed it! It was a very special cruise. We wish DD would have been comfortable to participate in Oceaneer Club more. We did miss having a casino a little. For the right price/itinerary we would definitely consider sailing Disney again.

[trevette1981]

Thanks for the review! It sounds awesome! 'm becoming more wary of the clubs. My daughter will be 4 when we sail as well.

The big kids and low supervision make me nervous.

[Ex techie]

You obviously have the Disney Fantasy name in your head at the moment as you have sailing on her in May 2000 listed on your ship roll call! lol! :p

 

ex techie

[moki'smommy]

A few explanations on your negatives.

 

DCL has tried several different age groupings since 1998. At various times they have done the OC 3-7, Lab 8-12 with a further breakdown of 3-4 and 5-7 in the club. THen it went to 3-6 and 7-12. And the Edge came into play and it was 3-6 and 7-10 with the Edge being 11-13.

 

No matter what breakdown DCL chose, there were always parents who demanded that their above average child be allowed to move up in order to be with a cousin/sibling/friend/whomever. We're not talking 1 or 2 parents per cruise, we're talking more like 50.

 

SO, DCL changed the rules. The Club/Lab complex is 3-12, but the Edge is 11-13 so the oldest kids and their parents can choose where their child will fit best. In addition, there are activities in the Club/Lab essentially all the time with "suggested" ages. These are not limited to the suggested ages, but it does serve to divide the kids somewhat. Free play time is always available, but there are typically 4 activities scheduled simultaneously each hour (check your navigator).

 

Disembarkation is normally quite smooth. No, DCL doesn't make groups hang out in various lounges. Rather, they stagger the breakfast times and the idea is that people leave when they have finished eating. All first seating guests do not begin breakfast at the same time, nor do second seating. For instance, second seating guests will be scheduled for breakfast at either 8 or 8:15 depending on the restaurant.

 

Any time the ship arrives late or is delayed in the Customs clearance, the disembarkation is a mess. Sorry, it just is. But for us, that has been 3 cruises out of 30+. 20 minutes doesn't sound too bad.

[mividajp]

I'm also hesitant about the Oceaneers Club/lab. I realize that you'll never please everyone no matter what you do to accommodate them but, 3-12 is a HUGE age gap.

 

I realize that the majority of the older kids will congregate with other kids closer to their age. Majority still leaves a few that want to run around and be the "big kid".

 

I don't know of any other place that puts that age group together. It's very surprising that as much attention to detail that Disney puts into their product, this is one area they seem to not fully know what to do.

 

DH and I are waiting to scope it out for ourselves before we make any decisions but, so far I'm not seeing how this is a good place to leave my DD3. Especially with 200+ kids.

[moki'smommy]

 

DH and I are waiting to scope it out for ourselves before we make any decisions but, so far I'm not seeing how this is a good place to leave my DD3. Especially with 200+ kids.

 

Obviously this is a decision that you will have to make. When it is NOT "open house" hours, the older kids are normally in the Lab space while the younger ones are in the Club space. The Club is child sized in terms of chairs, bathrooms, etc. Unfortunately during "open house" the kids who are checked in (secure programming) are all on one side while open house is on the other. Normally you do not "feel" the large number of kids who may be checked into the space as they are spread over a huge area with many sections. It's like at a school--there may be 200 or 1000 kids in the school, but since your kid is in one classroom you care about the number in that room. The areas all have names, but basically your kid may be in the dress up area, computer area, slide area, coloring area, in addition to the specified activities, etc. If your kid is in dress up, you really don't care how many are in the slide area. The staff to kid ratio is exactly the same as required in a US preschool--1:6. Yes, this counts the CMs doing check in and talking with parents, the same way in the school it counts the secretaries and others who may not interact directly with the kids.

 

I would urge you to take her to an open house time in the Club so the family can check it out together. Doing this on the first day would be great if that works in your time frame. From there, you can decide what will work best for your family.

 

If it helps, my daughter still feels that the Club was the best of all the programs she ever did. And that was many years ago!

 

I don't see it as "DCL doesn't know how to run a kid program." I see it as "there is no way to keep every parent on the ship happy as well as satisfying the DCL lawyers. You'd be amazed at how many parents thing their 9 year old should be able to "watch out for" the 4 year old sibling (requiring that the ages be able to intermix) and don't realize that this is essentially requiring the older kid to be a babysitter while they should be on vacation! Or the flames that I got when I said "You wouldn't expect your school to put your kindergarten kid and your third grade kid together, so why would you expect DCL to have the in the same program?" And yes, the lawyer comment is real--there were many new policies instituted after an incident involving an adult who was permitted in the space designated for minors (DCL made an exception to their normal policies). The lawyers got involved and now there are NO exceptions and NO adults other than CMs will ever interact with any child who is signed into the programming. And no, it was not nearly as bad as you are imagining.

Edited March 8, 2015 by moki'smommy

[slightlysilly]

My DS is 11 which means that he can go to either Oceaneer or Edge. He spent just a few minutes in Oceaneer and the rest of the time in Edge. His complaint was that Oceaneer was too crowded and that there were no "smaller" kids in Edge (obviously, its for 11-14). My guess is that families with older kids are having them "watch" their younger siblings, cousins, friends, whatever and that's why there's no groupings all the way up until 12. My DS is an only child so that is never an issue. I can see how it is tricky when you have a large group of children aged all the way up to 12.

[flhokie]

A few explanations on your negatives.

 

DCL has tried several different age groupings since 1998. At various times they have done the OC 3-7' date=' Lab 8-12 with a further breakdown of 3-4 and 5-7 in the club. THen it went to 3-6 and 7-12. And the Edge came into play and it was 3-6 and 7-10 with the Edge being 11-13.

 

No matter what breakdown DCL chose, there were always parents who demanded that their above average child be allowed to move up in order to be with a cousin/sibling/friend/whomever. We're not talking 1 or 2 parents per cruise, we're talking more like 50.

 

SO, DCL changed the rules. The Club/Lab complex is 3-12, but the Edge is 11-13 so the oldest kids and their parents can choose where their child will fit best. In addition, there are activities in the Club/Lab essentially all the time with "suggested" ages. These are not limited to the suggested ages, but it does serve to divide the kids somewhat. Free play time is always available, but there are typically 4 activities scheduled simultaneously each hour (check your navigator).

 

Disembarkation is normally quite smooth. No, DCL doesn't make groups hang out in various lounges. Rather, they stagger the breakfast times and the idea is that people leave when they have finished eating. All first seating guests do not begin breakfast at the same time, nor do second seating. For instance, second seating guests will be scheduled for breakfast at either 8 or 8:15 depending on the restaurant.

 

Any time the ship arrives late or is delayed in the Customs clearance, the disembarkation is a mess. Sorry, it just is. But for us, that has been 3 cruises out of 30+. 20 minutes doesn't sound too bad.[/quote']

 

All first seating dining dined at 6:45 am (it was not different by restaurant). The ship was 20 minutes late arriving which is what the staff blamed the chaos on--not 20 minutes to get off ship & clear customs (20 minutes to clear would be great).

 

Around 7:30 all passengers in the dining room were pushed out to a line. We were finally out and to our car around 9 am (1 1/2 hour after being pushed out of the dining room). Honestly, it would most likely have been later if we didn't finally ask for wheelchair assistance for my father (normally can manage, but could not have stood for that long of a time).

 

Another frustrating part was that my DD had to use the restroom during breakfast. When we returned to the dining room they tried to not let us back in (my parents & our luggage were inside). Luckily our server came to the door and got us in so we could all stay together.

[moki'smommy]

All first seating dining dined at 6:45 am (it was not different by restaurant). The ship was 20 minutes late arriving which is what the staff blamed the chaos on--not 20 minutes to get off ship & clear customs (20 minutes to clear would be great).

 

Around 7:30 all passengers in the dining room were pushed out to a line. We were finally out and to our car around 9 am (1 1/2 hour after being pushed out of the dining room). Honestly, it would most likely have been later if we didn't finally ask for wheelchair assistance for my father (normally can manage, but could not have stood for that long of a time).

 

Another frustrating part was that my DD had to use the restroom during breakfast. When we returned to the dining room they tried to not let us back in (my parents & our luggage were inside). Luckily our server came to the door and got us in so we could all stay together.

 

Sorry for the incorrect info, it has been a long time since I've done early dining. The last time I did it, the dining room times were staggered for early as they still were for late as of a few months ago. And yes, the last morning breakfast is quick with a limited menu (but a lot better than a few years ago). They have to get the early seating guests out of the dining room to make room for the late seating guests.

 

And I am so sorry that you had one of THOSE disembarkations. Yes, we've had them too. Please believe me when I tell you that they are not the norm.

 

Hopefully the frustrations of disembarkation day won't overshadow the enjoyment of the vacation.

[Donna_In_India]

I totally agree with you about the kids' clubs!! Like your daughter, mine (5 1/2) is very social (preschool/kindergarten, girl scouts, group swimming, etc.). She just will NOT go/stay in the DCL clubs (but does so on other lines). A few weeks ago I left her for face painting only to come back and find her in tears. Apparently face painting was on the big kids' side (that's where they sent me to drop her off and pick her up). When it was over there was no guidance about what to do/where to go. She was pretty much ignored. I was pretty horrified to go in and see her so upset - and with kids' more than twice her age. (She would not stay in the Fantasy 14 months ago either.) I would not even attempt to leave her in the kids clubs on Disney again. We're going back on NCL in a few months. She's been in their clubs twice and the groups are split much more reasonably (into 3 or 4 groups)

[mividajp]

I realize that having 200+ kids in multiple areas is somewhat like a school or pre-school. The biggest difference and biggest problem (IMO) is that at schools, even though there are hundreds of kids, they aren't allowed to roam freely in and out of any classroom they want. Also, in a school setting they have a structured program that helps the little ones go from one activity to another. They also have a specific teacher that is responsible for specific kids.

 

My DD is shy and hesitant when confronted with large groups of kids she's not familiar with. With a little reassurance she joins right in but I'm not sure she'll automatically walk into a room and start playing dress up or coloring without someone actually acknowledging her and inviting her.

 

I'm not trying to be a downer, like I said, we're waiting to see how it works for ourselves. I just can't picture in my mind how this works for kids under the age of 5 or 6.

 

Maybe I'm not picturing it correctly. I just know that when we go to a public playground where there are multiple age levels, the older kids tend to take over whatever they want with not too much regard to the little ones who are getting in their way or interfering with their play theme.

 

For those of you that have sent your little ones to the club (3-6 yo). Did the staff seem to keep track of them pretty well? Besides tracking them from their wristband, do they really know which room my child is in, if I call to check on her or pick her up?

 

Again, I'm not trying to be nagging Nancy here but I'm used to a school setting where I can call the school and ask to speak to Mrs Smith in room 101 and ask her specific questions about my child. I have this picture in my head of 200+ kids running around willy nilly with 2-3 counsellors in each room giving most of their attention to the loudest and most active kids. With the rest of the staff doing craft projects or games that the kids are joining and unjoining as their attention dictates. Is this a really off base picture?

[BullDawg91]

I would say you did have an unusual debarkation. The first time, when we had early dining, we skipped breakfast and walked off the ship with no waiting to our car and to a Cracker Barrel. The second time, when we had late dining, we did eat in the dining room. When we finished, we walked straight off the ship, again not waiting.

[moki'smommy]

I realize that having 200+ kids in multiple areas is somewhat like a school or pre-school. The biggest difference and biggest problem (IMO) is that at schools, even though there are hundreds of kids, they aren't allowed to roam freely in and out of any classroom they want. Also, in a school setting they have a structured program that helps the little ones go from one activity to another. They also have a specific teacher that is responsible for specific kids.

 

My DD is shy and hesitant when confronted with large groups of kids she's not familiar with. With a little reassurance she joins right in but I'm not sure she'll automatically walk into a room and start playing dress up or coloring without someone actually acknowledging her and inviting her.

 

I'm not trying to be a downer, like I said, we're waiting to see how it works for ourselves. I just can't picture in my mind how this works for kids under the age of 5 or 6.

 

Maybe I'm not picturing it correctly. I just know that when we go to a public playground where there are multiple age levels, the older kids tend to take over whatever they want with not too much regard to the little ones who are getting in their way or interfering with their play theme.

 

For those of you that have sent your little ones to the club (3-6 yo). Did the staff seem to keep track of them pretty well? Besides tracking them from their wristband, do they really know which room my child is in, if I call to check on her or pick her up?

 

Again, I'm not trying to be nagging Nancy here but I'm used to a school setting where I can call the school and ask to speak to Mrs Smith in room 101 and ask her specific questions about my child. I have this picture in my head of 200+ kids running around willy nilly with 2-3 counsellors in each room giving most of their attention to the loudest and most active kids. With the rest of the staff doing craft projects or games that the kids are joining and unjoining as their attention dictates. Is this a really off base picture?

 

Yes, your picture is a little off. First, life is different for the checked in (secure programming) kids based on whether there is an open house or not. No open house means most of the younger ones are in the club while most of the older ones are in the lab (for open house time, they are all together in whichever side is not having open house).

 

On each side, there are typically 2 activities going on in different areas. The CMs don't push kids toward an activity, but if they are hanging outing out in the area, they will often ask if the kid wants to participate. If they are in another area, no announcement is made and no effort to pull them toward the activity. SO if you know your kid wants to bake cookies, you take her 15 minutes before the scheduled time and tell the CM that she wants to do it.

 

The CMs are not going to let the bigger kids push around the little ones. Each activity has a "suggested" age range attached (see navigator). They are not limited to the suggested age, but you rarely see a 12 year old participating in something suggested for 3-4 year old kids.

 

No, you cannot call the area and expect the CMs to know where your kid is or what she is doing. The person who answers the phone is not the person who interacts with your kid at that time (the CMs rotate positions). They will locate her by typing her name into the computer and her band will show where she is. That doesn't mean that she isn't one on one with a CM at that moment. It just means that the CM on the phone won't have a clue. And no, she can't go get the CM in the area where your kid is--that would leave the area uncovered. That's no different than not being able to interrupt a class for a teacher to speak to you--in each case, the correct person will be happy to talk to you, but won't interrupt their scheduled position to do it.

 

There may be 200 kids in the total of the space, but there won't be 2-3 CMs. The ratio is always 1:6 or better--the same as is required in the US. There will be probably 3 CMs working on check in/out. The rest are with the kids.

 

One hint--is your child verbal and self sufficient enough to ask a CM to call/text you? That's what I told my kid. All you have to do is ask the CM to call me and I will come. And she tested me once--I got there like "what's wrong?" Nothing is wrong, no, I don't want to leave. I'm having fun but I wanted to know if you would really come. OK, that's fair. The CM will text you on the wave phone. I may take a few minutes, but it will happen. And if you are willing to wait a bit, they will get the CM who was with your child to come and talk with you..but it may take a few minutes.

 

I'm NOT saying the program is perfect. But a lot of what is viewed now as a problem came about because of what other parents demanded.

 

Would I leave a 4 year old child all day (like some parents do?) No way! Would I take them for one activity and pick them up an hour after I dropped them off...or at least check in to see whether they want to stay or leave? Yes, I'd do that. But I KNOW that my child always could stand up for herself and that I'd hear about what happened (good or bad) after I picked her up.

[aim21george@gmail.com]

My kids were 3&5 when we went on the Fantasy. They did great & loved it. They stayed mostly in oceaneers club. They were there once for lunch while my husband and I went to DVC presentation. They were given options from quick service restaurants. Always seemed happy & having fun when we picked them up & wanted to go back again the next day. We typically only took them an hour or two each day we were at sea.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your report.

[Irene7]

Obviously this is a decision that you will have to make. When it is NOT "open house" hours' date=' the older kids are normally in the Lab space while the younger ones are in the Club space. The Club is child sized in terms of chairs, bathrooms, etc. Unfortunately during "open house" the kids who are checked in (secure programming) are all on one side while open house is on the other. Normally you do not "feel" the large number of kids who may be checked into the space as they are spread over a huge area with many sections. It's like at a school--there may be 200 or 1000 kids in the school, but since your kid is in one classroom you care about the number in that room. The areas all have names, but basically your kid may be in the dress up area, computer area, slide area, coloring area, in addition to the specified activities, etc. If your kid is in dress up, you really don't care how many are in the slide area. The staff to kid ratio is exactly the same as required in a US preschool--1:6. Yes, this counts the CMs doing check in and talking with parents, the same way in the school it counts the secretaries and others who may not interact directly with the kids.

 

I would urge you to take her to an open house time in the Club so the family can check it out together. Doing this on the first day would be great if that works in your time frame. From there, you can decide what will work best for your family.

 

If it helps, my daughter still feels that the Club was the best of all the programs she ever did. And that was many years ago!

 

I don't see it as "DCL doesn't know how to run a kid program." I see it as "there is no way to keep every parent on the ship happy as well as satisfying the DCL lawyers. You'd be amazed at how many parents thing their 9 year old should be able to "watch out for" the 4 year old sibling (requiring that the ages be able to intermix) and don't realize that this is essentially requiring the older kid to be a babysitter while they should be on vacation! Or the flames that I got when I said "You wouldn't expect your school to put your kindergarten kid and your third grade kid together, so why would you expect DCL to have the in the same program?" And yes, the lawyer comment is real--there were many new policies instituted after an incident involving an adult who was permitted in the space designated for minors (DCL made an exception to their normal policies). The lawyers got involved and now there are NO exceptions and NO adults other than CMs will ever interact with any child who is signed into the programming. And no, it was not nearly as bad as you are imagining.[/quote']

 

Well said!

[mividajp]

Thanks Moki'sMom! Your experience is always helpful!

[clemsonlori98]

My 5 year old sons initial experience in the club was good. When we picked him up he wanted to know when he could go back. That was a good sign I thought. The next day he was begging to go so we let him go back for a couple of hours. When I picked him up, he ran over to me crying. He thought we had left him there. I was perplexed. Later he told us that a "big boy" had pushed him. He didn't want to go back after that. We felt so bad.

[Donna_In_India]

My kids were 3&5 when we went on the Fantasy. They did great & loved it. They stayed mostly in oceaneers club. They were there once for lunch while my husband and I went to DVC presentation. They were given options from quick service restaurants. Always seemed happy & having fun when we picked them up & wanted to go back again the next day. We typically only took them an hour or two each day we were at sea.

 

I think the keyword here is "THEY". I don't think any kid would have any issues if they had a sibling/friend with them.....

[flhokie]

I think the keyword here is "THEY". I don't think any kid would have any issues if they had a sibling/friend with them.....

 

Exactly! I think DD might have been ok if she had a sibling or friend with her but that's not an option for us.

 

Before we went I didn't think the large age range would be much of an issue because on all other lines the children's program staff are constantly watching the kids and engaging them, but it's different on Disney.

[Host Mick]

I'm also hesitant about the Oceaneers Club/lab. I realize that you'll never please everyone no matter what you do to accommodate them but, 3-12 is a HUGE age gap.

 

I realize that the majority of the older kids will congregate with other kids closer to their age. Majority still leaves a few that want to run around and be the "big kid".

 

I don't know of any other place that puts that age group together. It's very surprising that as much attention to detail that Disney puts into their product, this is one area they seem to not fully know what to do.

 

DH and I are waiting to scope it out for ourselves before we make any decisions but, so far I'm not seeing how this is a good place to leave my DD3. Especially with 200+ kids.

 

They know exactly what they are doing. they do this every week on three ships. they've been doing it for a while. They've experimented and found that the wide age range can be managed and is better than managing parents that want special treatment for their special snowflakes.

[Donna_In_India]

They know exactly what they are doing. they do this every week on three ships. they've been doing it for a while. They've experimented and found that the wide age range can be managed and is better than managing parents that want special treatment for their special snowflakes.

 

I disagree. They didn't manage anything. They gave in to pressure from idiot parents. I saw it on recently on the Fantasy... CMs don't want to rock the boat and let things happen that shouldn't. Comes from that "we spent xxx on this cruise....blah, blah, blah" mentality. Once again NO 12 year old belongs hanging out with 3,4, and 5 year olds. It's definitely handled MUCH better on other ships/cruise lines. Disney Epic Fail.

[moki'smommy]

The other thing to consider is that the 11 and 12 year old kids in the Lab are there primarily because a parent has determined that they are not able to have the freedom to move around the ship unsupervised as is needed in the Edge programming. Mom and Dad have determined that they must sign in and out. Otherwise, my experience has been that most 11s and essentially all 12s look at the Lab and Edge and choose the Edge.

 

That means that the 11s and 12s in the Lab are those deemed unable to handle freedom by their parents or those with other issues. I understand the overlap in the age group from DCL's standpoint, but don't like that they aren't segregated from the 3-7s.

[Ex techie]

The other thing to consider is that the 11 and 12 year old kids in the Lab are there primarily because a parent has determined that they are not able to have the freedom to move around the ship unsupervised as is needed in the Edge programming. Mom and Dad have determined that they must sign in and out. Otherwise' date=' my experience has been that most 11s and essentially all 12s look at the Lab and Edge and choose the Edge.

 

That means that the 11s and 12s in the Lab are those deemed unable to handle freedom by their parents or those with other issues. I understand the overlap in the age group from DCL's standpoint, but don't like that they aren't segregated from the 3-7s.[/quote']

 

"THOSE" parents need to have child care abilities denied to them in that case IMO.

 

And "THOSE" parents need to be taken aside into a room with sound proofing so they can rant, cuss and behave like the age of the children they have and accept responsibility.

 

No more pandering to them. These are the rules, accept them or **** off!

 

ex techie

[moki'smommy]

"THOSE" parents need to have child care abilities denied to them in that case IMO.

 

And "THOSE" parents need to be taken aside into a room with sound proofing so they can rant, cuss and behave like the age of the children they have and accept responsibility.

 

No more pandering to them. These are the rules, accept them or **** off!

 

ex techie

 

They are not breaking any rules. 11s and 12s have an option of the Edge (where they must be able to roam freely around the ship) or the Lab (where they must sign in and be signed out by a parent or other registered, responsible adult). The choice of where they wish to hang out is up to the parent and child to work out.