Disney Fantasy 6-night Western Review

[RWC123]

Just off the Disney Fantasy's six-night western cruise to Cozumel, Costa Maya and Castaway Cay. This was our 4th Disney cruise and 3rd on the Fantasy. We travelled as a family of eight (78 y/o parents, F54, M54,D29, S27, D23 & S11) We spent a week in Vero Beach prior to the cruise so we had our first experience with actually driving to the port and not taking the Disney express directly from the airport. Disney has the embarkation & disembarking thing down so no issues here. Weather was perfect the entire trip which makes everything better! As seasoned Disney cruisers we did not attend any of the shows but did catch Toy Story 4 and Aladdin in the movie theater....both were good. We had the early dinner seating (5:45pm) which is way too early but the 8:45 late seating is way too late....Disney really should consider the ATD plan that other cruise lines have, however, this would seriously mess with the rotational dining plan that they currently have. Service in general was excellent, however, for the first time our dinner servers were not that great......we passed it off at first but by the third night they were just completely out of sync.....mixed up orders, empty water & wine glasses, etc. and no real interaction with our table like we have had in the past. The head server stopped by and asked how things were going  so I took the opportunity to nicely explain our dissatisfaction. The next night the guys were spot on! We also were provided with a bottle of champagne and the remaining nights were excellent. I don't know what he said to them but whatever it was it worked!

 

Cozumel was the first port....we have been there many times so we were trying to find something different to do while in port. We decided upon the catamaran trip to Isla Pasion, a private island with food, drinks and various activities. I will give this excursion a 9+ rating and found it to be one of the best port excursions we have ever had....this was booked directly through Disney. Costa Maya was next....we never visited this port and upon first sight it really didn't look like anything special but once ashore we found it had a very nice port area with all kinds of things to do. I went diving (again booked thru Disney) and again found the excursion very good.....diving was very good (for the fellow divers out there....think Cozumel about 20 years ago) Final stop was Castaway Cay.....this was it's usual fun time with snorkeling, bike ride and just lounging on the beach.

 

We had balcony cabins 7570 & 7568.....solid mid-ship rooms with good access to everything. Worked out in the gym on three days.....small but everything you need. We typically got in at around 7:15am and had no trouble getting a treadmill or using the weights/machines. Did not use any of the spa services. Room steward provided us simple but efficient service and all bartenders we encountered were excellent....especially Larry in the Meridian cigar bar next to Palo & Remy. For those cigar smokers out there, this is an excellent place to settle in after dinner to enjoy a smoke and adult beverage overlooking the rear of the ship....great place to catch the sunset!

 

My 11 y/o only used the kids club a few times and was happy watching movies on funnel vision, playing miniature golf and basketball during the two sea days.

 

One tip I definitely will pass along.....once onboard everyone heads to the food buffet at Cabana's.....which is really good but gets crazy crowded.....so instead of battling the crowds for food and a seat they usually have at least one of the dining rooms open (this cruise it was Animator's Palate) for a more relaxing sit down lunch.

 

This cruise was at capacity (4000) with many kids so the pools midship were packed but overall I did not feel crowded the entire cruise. The adults only area at the front of the ship has all the amenities needed to avoid the crowded pools and have a bit more of a relaxing experience.

 

Once again we had an excellent experience and any issues we had (dining mainly) were quickly addressed and resolved.

[Shmoo here]

6 hours ago, RWC123 said:

Disney really should consider the ATD plan that other cruise lines have,

They have their own style of that.  Cabanas is a sit-down table service for dinner, not a buffet.  You can dine there anytime during their serving hours, if you don't want to go to your MDR assignment