Come aboard your “home on the Caribbean.”

The Disney Fantasy – Disney Cruise Line’s fourth cruise ship – chartered its maiden voyage in March 2012. With an Art Nouveau theme and bright decor, guests will find the atmosphere lively to say the least. A bronze Mademoiselle Minnie Mouse greets guests as they first enter the atrium. Similar to its sister ship the Dream, the Fantasy can hold 4,000 passengers, spread throughout fourteen decks and 1,250 staterooms. Let’s explore this nautical giant.

Home on the High Seas

The Disney Fantasy offers a large variety of staterooms.

• Inside Staterooms sleep up to four adults. As the name might suggest, they have no view of the outside world. But they do offer real-time “Magical Porthole” window video views. These are among the smallest rooms on the ship. As such, they are the least expensive rooms on the ship.
• Deluxe Oceanview Staterooms also sleep up to four, but some of these rooms offer actual porthole views outside the ship. Not a bad view to wake up to! The Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom offers a little extra space and can sleep five.
• The next level of luxury is the Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah. These rooms can sleep up to five adults (for the family stateroom) but what sets them a tier above is the verandah you can walk out onto from your room, to enjoy some much-appreciated fresh ocean air.
• The highest level of stateroom is the Concierge Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah. This sleeps up to five adults. Concierge Oceanview Staterooms also come in one-bedroom suite varieties, which also sleep five. The peak of the concierge pyramid is the Concierge Royal Suite with Verandah, which still sleeps up to five, but has floor-to-ceiling windows looking out on the verandah.

So what exactly is Disney Concierge Level? Think of it as being similar to Club Level treatment in some Disney resort hotels, but even better. Guests who sail in Concierge Level enjoy several perks, including:

• Early access to cruise activity bookings
• Exclusive onboard meals and other offerings
• Ability to rent cabanas on Disney’s Castaway Cay private island (when the ship’s itinerary heads there)
• Exclusive access to a pretty swanky Concierge lounge.

The planDisney PDF Pocket Guide offers more details on all the different room types available on the Fantasy.

Let’s Eat! (Don’t forget to Bring a Larger Pair of Pants)

One common bond all cruise lines share is food, glorious food! Disney is no exception here, with most food and drinks being included in the price of the cruise. But the food on a Disney Cruise is truly exceptional. Let’s explore what the Fantasy offers for dining.

Rotational Dining – an innovative concept first introduced by DCL – gives all guests the opportunity to dine at each of the ship’s main themed dining rooms at least once on every cruise. Parties are assigned a dining location and a table each night. Individual parties (or groups) travel from dining room to dining room each day. Even better – their server travels with them each step of the way, to establish a familiarity and trust that will make each subsequent meal on the cruise even better than the last.

The three main dining rooms on the Fantasy include:

• Animator’s Palate – this popular dining location features the art of Disney animation, as well as character entertainment. It offers Asian and Pacific Island flavors, as well as fresh California eating.

Image: Cruise Critic

• Enchanted Garden – High style is in fashion at this dining location, which includes a collection of flavors from around the world, inspired by the stylish French gardens of Versailles.  In addition to an elegant dinner, Enchanted Garden offers buffet breakfast in the morning, and favorite fare for lunch, including burgers, chicken, pizza, salads, and wraps.
• Royal Court – Feel like a Disney princess (or prince) at dinner here, with a four-course meal of French and continental fare served in a dining room reminiscent of classic Disney films, including Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty, and Beauty and the Beast. Breakfast and lunch time here are no slouches either, as both offer table service seating and slightly upscale dining choices.

Aside from the rotational dining rooms, the Fantasy offers two adult-only signature dining experiences. These experiences cost extra, but they are well worth the price for the level of dining and luxury they provide.

At Palo, the Northern Italian flavors are legendary, as are the stunning views from some of the windowside tables.  Guests will relish the intimate setting and impeccable tastes, along with a robust assortment of potables, including fine wines, Italian-American cocktails, and coffees. Palo also offers a glorious brunch to adult guests most days at sea.

Remy features French-inspired fare prepared under the direction of a three-Michelin-starred chef. Guests at Remy can witness a champagne cocktail crafted at their table, elegant dishes from world-class ingredients, and a traveling gourmet cheese trolley (paired with a tasteful wine or after-dinner coffee service). Remy also offers a Champagne brunch, a five-course dessert experience, and six-course wine tasting (paired with small gourmet bits). There’s plenty here for all adult guests.

A popular place to quickly grab some of your favorite breakfast and lunch grub is Cabanas. This casual dining location offers a varied menu of American fare, and turns to table service for dinner. The Fantasy offers several poolside quick service locations, and a healthy number of lounges sprinkled throughout the ship as well (with adult-only destinations including Cove Cafe, Skyline, O’Gills Pub, and many others).

Showtime on the Seas

The Walt Disney Theatre offers Broadway-quality shows, included as part of your cruise. 

• Disney’s Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular  tells the tale of Aladdin with the same fun and humor of the 1992 animated classic. This broadway-caliber performance is simply too large for the stage, as much of the action spills out into the aisles, or even takes place overhead! You’ll also hear an exclusive song, written by the 1992 film composer Alan Menken, only in this production.

• Disney’s Believe is a heartwarming story of a girl and her work-absorbed father who reconnect through a single granted wish and a trip through some of Disney’s classic stories. A stirring musical score includes songs from Aladdin, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, Beauty and The Beast, The Lion King, and The Princess and the Frog.

• Frozen, A Musical Spectacular is a full-length retelling of Anna and Elsa’s adventure in Arendelle. Olaf, Kristof, Sven, and even Prince Hans join the story based on Disney’s hit animated movie.

Aside from theater productions, Deck 11 features Sailing Away Deck Party – a raucous celebration with favorite Disney characters as guests can help count down the second until sailing commences. The performance ends with the classic song “When You Wish Upon a Star” bellowing from the ship’s blow horn.

Select sailings on the Fantasy offer other unique experiences, including Pirate Night, Pixar Day at Sea, Very Merrytime Cruises, New Year’s Eve, and Halloween on the High Seas.

Poolside

The Fantasy offers several guest pools – Mickey’s Pool and Slide and Donald’s Pool – both located on Deck 11, and the adult-exclusive Quiet Cove Pool – also located on Deck 11. Aside from these primary pools, Deck 12 offers the Funnel Puddle – a family wading pool, and AquaDuck water coaster – a 765-foot-long coaster that sends guests all about the top levels of the ship en route to a four-deck drop ending in a lazy river.  Other splashy options include Nemo’s Reef splash zone on Deck 11, and Satellite Falls adult-exclusive wading pool on Deck 13.

For the Younger Crowd

When the adults want to just relax by the pool or at a lounge, Disney has them covered with plenty of kid and youth activities. All DCL ships offer a range of youth destinations, including the following:

• “it’s a small world” nursery – ages 6 months to 3 years.
• Oceaneer’s Club and Oceaneer’s Lab – ages 3 to 12 – offers themed spaces like Andy’s Room, Pixie Hollow, Marvel Super Hero Academy, and Star Wars: Command Post.
• Edge – ages 11 to 14 – gives ‘tweens a space to chill, with flat screen TVs, video games, a dance floor, and a state-of-the-art video wall spanning over 18 feet wide and almost 5 feet high.
• Vibe – ages 14 to 17 – allows teens a place to be themselves (without tag-along siblings or parents) and has the look and feel of a hip urban night spot, with multiple areas, a secret entrance, and its own outdoor deck space.

Pampered People

Aside from eating, swimming, and shows (as amazing as that combination is) the Fantasy offers other activities for guests of varying ages. Adults have full use of the fitness center, as well as Senses Spa & Salon. Teens can enjoy a luxury experience of their own at Chill Spa. The ever-popular Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boutique offers young princesses the chance to glam it up for a night on the high seas. Goofy’s Sports Deck offers kids of all ages the chance to shake the sillies out.

Different spaces on the ship offer additional activities such as movies, trivia challenges, and character meet-and-greets, among other activities. The DCL Navigator App will spell it all out for guests.

If you think cruises can be claustrophobic – think again. At over 1,115 feet long and fourteen decks high, the Disney Fantasy is a city-on-the-sea, packed with magical surprises for guests of all ages.

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planDisney Pocket Guides are especially helpful to guests who are considering staying at a resort (or sailing on a Disney cruise ship) they’ve never before experienced. The Pocket Guides take the form of 5-14 page PDF slides, which are easily printable and savable to smart devices. They offer efficient snapshots of the resort basics, including:

• Transportation options
• Room sizes
• Food and beverage options and locations
• Pools and recreation activities
• Shopping
• Tips from the planDisney panel

Check out the full list of planDisney Pocket Guide summaries here.

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