We Took a Disney Fantasy Cruise to Lookout Cay – Here’s Our Day-By-Day Cruise Review

Disney Fantasy Cruise Ship Overview

The Disney Fantasy cruise ship is one of five ships in the current Disney Cruise Line fleet. Debuting in 2012, Disney Fantasy is the sister ship to Disney Dream with both measuring in at 130K gross tons. Disney Fantasy has a guest capacity of 2,500 at double occupancy, but given the cruise line caters to families, the ship’s max capacity is actually 4,000 guests.

Disney Fantasy, like all DCL ships, is distinctly Disney. With a higher price point than most contemporary cruise lines, you are paying a premium for all the extra Disney touches. If your family loves Disney, then it’s likely worth it for a magical vacation. However, if you are just looking for a family-friendly cruise line, you can certainly find cruises on Royal Caribbean or Carnival for cheaper.

On Disney Fantasy, you’ll find character meet and greets around every corner. There’s also Disney-themed production shows in the main theater, and Disney-inspired activities occurring day and night. You won’t want to miss the production shows: Disney’s Aladdin- A Muscial Spectacular, Frozen: A Musical Spectacular, and Disney’s Believe featured in the Walt Disney World Theatre. Also, be sure to pack your best pirate attire for the signature Pirate Night complete with the only fireworks at sea.

Disney Cruise Line also does dining a bit differently. With it’s rotational approach, guests rotate through three main dining rooms, each with different theming and different menus. The good news is that the waitstaff also rotate with you so they will get to know your preferences over the week. The bad news is that there is no flexible dining option and the buffet isn’t even open for dinner. While not convinced the first time around, after sailing on Disney Fantasy, we do admit that the service and menu selections are a bit more premium than other cruise lines.

Another differentiator is that the Disney cruise cabins are larger than most contemporary cruise lines. Our Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah was 299 square feet. Most cabins also feature a split bathroom setup, which is ideal for families.

When it comes to pool deck and sports deck amenities, Disney Fantasy is middle of the road. While your family certainly won’t be bored, megaships from some other cruise lines do feature more bells and whistles. Sailing as just a couple, we do appreciate that even Disney Cruise Line has dedicated adult spaces. The Quiet Cove features its own pool, bar, coffee shop, and plenty of room to lounge sans kids.

While we primarily booked this cruise to visit Disney’s newest destination in the Bahamas, Lookout Cay, we still had a great time onboard Disney Fantasy. During our 7-day sailing, we socialized with Mickey and friends, watched the brand-new Inside Out 2, completed our usual drink around the ship, visited Lookout Cay twice along with Castaway Cay, and so much more.

We share all the details with you in our latest Disney Fantasy cruise review! If you want to book your own Disney cruise after reading this review, contact our trusted travel partner for a free quote and guidance through every step of your planning process.

Disney Fantasy Cruise Review – Day 1

A Deviation From Our Usual Routine

While we always recommend cruisers arrive at their ship’s homeport at least a day before embarkation, unusual circumstances had us disregarding our own advice for this Disney Fantasy cruise.

We had booked this sailing as soon as it was announced that it would be the first revenue cruise heading to Disney’s brand-new private destination in the Bahamas, Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point. As luck would have it though, we ended up having a cousin’s wedding to attend the Friday night before this sailing.

Nonetheless, we sucked it up and arrived at the airport bright and early Saturday morning for the first flight out. Upon arrival, we learned that our flight was delayed. Flying out on embarkation day morning, this news did have us concerned that we could miss the cruise. Thankfully though, our flight was only delayed a little over an hour, and we still arrived at MCO by 9:30 AM.

Figuring a Lyft would be the quickest option, we grabbed our luggage, some Starbucks for the long day ahead, and took the approximately 50-minute drive to the Port Canaveral cruise port.

A Day of Waiting in Line

While DCL is somewhat strict about port arrival times, we didn’t think it would be too much of an issue that ours wasn’t until 12:45 PM. For our two previous Disney Wish cruises, we were allowed into the terminal much earlier than our stated time.

Not this time though!

There was a large crowd gathered outside the terminal when we arrived, and the staff were being sticklers about these port arrival times. Thus, we waited outside in the Florida heat, exhausted and with no hydration, for over an hour before we were allowed to begin the check-in process right around 12 PM.

This check-in process was efficient. The staff verified our passports and registered our DisneyBand+, then we were up the escalator to await our boarding group. We took a few selfies with the ship and it wasn’t long before we were walking up the gangway to get this Disney Fantasy cruise started.

With a royal welcome to the Bucolo family, we were officially onboard!

While we typically use this time to walk around the ship to collect photos and videos, it was already quite crowded. And we wanted to try to get a Palo reservation. As one of two adult dining venues on Disney Fantasy, these reservations are difficult to come by. Since we were unable to secure one pre-cruise on the Disney Navigator app, we decided to wait in line…and wait…and wait some more.

The queue formed near Guest Services, snaked down the stairs, and then down the hallway to the desk in front of Enchanted Garden. After waiting about 45 minutes in line, we were informed that both dinner and brunch were sold out. While we did join the waitlist, we never did get a reservation during the cruise.

Checking Out Our Disney Fantasy Stateroom

By now, it was after 1:30 PM and cabins were ready. So, we decided to drop off our gear and get our photo/video room tour out of the way. We booked a guaranteed balcony room rate and were assigned to stateroom 5036.

This stateroom is a Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom with an extended Verandah. It is also technically a connecting stateroom. It is located on the portside of Deck 5 just forward of the forward bank of elevators. While not ideal, it was pretty near the entrance of the Vibe teen hangout as well.

In comparison to most cabins on competitor cruise lines, these balcony staterooms are larger. They also feature a split bathroom setup. Given the location, the balcony was massive too, with two lounge chairs, two upright chairs, and still plenty of additional space.

Now, it was finally time to explore the rest of the ship. We headed upstairs to check out the Quiet Cove adult area, the Satellite Falls pool area forward on Deck 13, the main pool area on Deck 11, and the Senses Spa. In comparison to Disney Wish, the Rainforest Room thermal suite on this class of ships is much smaller.

With all this walking, we definitely worked up an appetite, so it was lunchtime. Flo’s Cafe is the poolside food station with three separate counters serving up pizza, burgers, sandwiches, and more. I opted for some chicken tenders and Don tested out a brat. It was your typical quick-service food but didn’t live up to the selections at the Festival of Foods on Disney Wish.

Around 3:30 PM by now, we grabbed our afternoon caffeine fix from the Cove Cafe and headed back inside to cool off a bit before muster drill and the sail away party.

Unlike most cruise lines that have stuck with digital muster drills following the pandemic, Disney Cruise Line has reverted back to in-person safety briefings. So, at 4 PM, we needed to make our way to Muster Station C. Thankfully, it was not outdoors, but instead in the theater.

Time to Sail Away

Following the muster drill, we headed upstairs to secure a spot for the Sailing Away party on the pool deck. Of course, there was some Disney magic and appearances by your favorite characters including Captain Mickey and Minnie to send us off.

That was our cue to head back to the cabin to unpack and get ready for dinner.

If you’ve never sailed on Disney Cruise Line, they do dining a bit differently. While most cruise lines have a traditional and a more flexible option, DCL only has one option- rotational dining. With a fixed early and late seating at 5:45 PM and 8 PM respectively, guests rotate through the three main dining rooms each night of the cruise.

Guests are divided into three groups, each beginning their rotation in a different dining room. The rotation looks like 1231231, meaning you’ll dine in two venues twice and one venue three times. However, you will have a different menu each night. On a 7-night cruise, each venue offers two different menus and a Pirate Night menu comprises the 7th option.

Each of the venues has different theming as well. Similar to traditional dining on other cruise lines, your waitstaff do rotate along with you. What we don’t like is there are no tables for two in the dining rooms. Thus, on our previous Disney cruises, we dined with other parties at larger tables. This time, we did put in a request for a private table.

Our First Evening on Disney Fantasy

Arriving to the Royal Court a few minutes late for our 5:45 PM dinner time, we were greeted with yet another line. Waiting our turn, we were escorted to table 132. This was a table for four which we had to ourselves for the duration of the cruise. The Royal Court is the most traditional main dining room, with elegant touches and mosiac murals of the Disney princesses.

Here, we met our waitstaff of Wira and Ashley. Loyal Castaway Club members always rave about the food and service on Disney Cruise Line. Yet, we did not find it any superior to other cruise lines during our previous two Disney Wish sailings This time was different though.

Wira and Ashley were a fantastic duo. They were friendly and attentive, remembering our preferences after just one night. The menu selections were also a bit more upscale than the MDR menus on other cruise lines.

To start our meal, we ordered one of each of the specialty drinks. Unfortuately though, Disney Cruise Line doesn’t offer traditional drink packages. For appetizers, we did the iced lobster and jumbo shrimp along with the fried brie and French onion soup. There’s also a different bread service each evening which is a nice touch.

For entrees, Don did the Conchiglie pasta and Chateaubriand-roasted filet, and he enjoyed both of them. Since there was nothing on the menu for me tonight, I opted for one of the Lighter Note Offerings- the slow-roasted chicken breast, but it was very dry. We rounded out our meal with the Grand Marnier souffle and creme brulee, with the souffle being the clear winner.

Out of dinner by 7:30 PM, we were surprised that there was no Welcome Aboard show occurring in the main theater. So instead, we first browsed the shops for our typical cruise ship ornament and Don may have also purchased a Storm Trooper popcorn bucket along the way.

While tired, we decided to check out the adult Europa district on Deck 4. This is the main bar area on Disney Fantasy and where much of the evening events take place. We settled in to La Piazza, where we enjoyed a signature cocktail off the menu and listened to the musical duo Sister Sister.

By 9:30 PM, we were officially ready for bed. Being up since 3 AM this morning, we needed to rest up for the long week ahead. Thankfully, tomorrow was a sea day.

Disney Fantasy Cruise Review – Day 2

A Morning of Art and Mystery

Day 2 of this Disney Fantasy cruise was a sea day. Up around 7 AM, Don set off on his normal morning cruise routine. Collecting photos and videos of some of the exterior amenities, he returned with coffee.

The Oceaneer Club, the kids club for those aged 3-10, had an open house this morning so this was our opportunity to check it out. While not as elaborately themed as its counterpart on Disney Wish, there were still plenty of Disney touches.

Next up, we explored more of the interior ship before heading to a talk in the theater at 10 AM with Ducky Williams, a retired Disney illustrator. During his talk, we learned a bit about his journey and even won an original sketch. His persistance and dedication were admirable, and we were surprised to learn that he was originally from MA as well.

Not wanting to get sunburned ahead of our visit to Lookout Cay tomorrow, we decided to spend most of the day indoors and next became detectives in the Midship Detective Agency. This interactive game is fun for all ages. There are three different games that take you on a journey throughout the ship to solve a crime. We set off on the case of the missing puppies. Lasting about 45 minutes, it was fun and certainly a unique activity.

With all this sleuthing, we worked up an appetite, so decided to try the sit-down lunch in the Royal Court around 12:30 PM.

Don tried the fried calamari and the classic burger, while I did the penne rigate and a kid’s Mexican pizza. We finished out lunch, yes lunch, with an ice cream sundae and chocolate molten cake. The burger was one of the better burgers on a cruise ship but the pizza was not good at all.

Completely stuffed, we made a few laps around the pool deck before grabbing our afternoon coffee and heading back indoors to do a bit of work before dinner. Tonight was formal night.

A Fantastical Formal Night

Heading down to the atrium, we got to see all the characters dressed in their formal attire. Unfortunately, the photo station lines were too long for us to grab any pictures before dinner.

Tonight’s dinner was in Animator’s Palette. This main dining room has two different “shows”, with tonight being Under the Sea Magic. During this show, your favorite turtle Crush and other Finding Nemo characters come to life via digital animation during your dinner.

Don is not a fan of these dinner shows as he thinks it breaks up the pace of dinner. Nonetheless, dinner was still faster tonight with us in and out in about 75 minutes. This evening, we each started with another signature drink from the menu along with the bread service.

For starters, I did the black truffle purseittes which were great and the potato and cheddar soup which was different than what I was expecting. Don started with the smoked salmon tartar and followed with the tuna steak as his entree. I did the lemon-thyme chicken which was much better than the chicken dish from last night. We finished the meal with a crunchy walnut cake and apple crumble rice pudding.

Tonight was also the first show of the cruise, Disney’s Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular at 8:30 PM. With some time to kill beforehand, we watched the family juggler in the D Lounge which was pretty cheesy. Getting in line around 8 PM, we secured center seats towards the back of the Deck 3 theater– a strategic spot to get a few video clips. Shhh!

This was the same production that we saw on Disney Wish. While I thought this Genie was funnier, Don didn’t agree with me. Nonetheless, we can agree that it is a solid production show and better than the Frozen show we would see later in the week.

Lasting about 75 minutes, we decided to grab a drink at the Skyline Lounge before calling it a night. This is the martini bar on Disney Fantasy with a menu featuring cocktails from iconic European cities. I tried the Paris 75 and Don tried a coffee-infused old fashioned from the bourbon cart. These were probably some of the best drinks we had during the cruise.

We called it a night around 11 PM as we knew tomorrow would be a busy day.

Disney Fantasy Cruise Review – Day 3

Our First Look at Disney’s Lookout Cay

Day 3 of this Disney Fantasy cruise was the ship’s inaugural visit to Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, Disney Cruise Line’s brand-new private destination in the Bahamas. In fact, this was the first revenue cruise here, so we would be among the first guests to explore.

With the gangway scheduled to open around 8:30 AM, we set our alarm for 6:30 in the morning. When we awoke, we got our first glimpse of the pier at Lookout Cay. While we had heard the chatter on social media from the previous media sailing on Disney Magic, we had our own moment of “What was Disney thinking?”.

Yes, it does have a pier unlike some other cruise line private islands. And yes, it had to be built this way to protect the coral reef. But, it’s still a rather shocking surprise to see it in person for the first time.

Prior to our day ashore, Don set off on his morning routine while I got ready. Around 8 AM, we grabbed some breakfast at the Cabanas buffet. Happily, there is a custom omelet station in the morning, along with other typical breakfast items and Mickey waffles.

Cleared right on time, we grabbed our bags and ahead ashore around 8:45 AM.

Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho It’s Down the Pier We Go

While the walk down the pier is around 1200 steps or 1/2 a mile, it’s really not too bad of a walk for a healthy adult–especially when you can see the neighbors at Princess Cays tendering to shore. What makes the walk worse though is the lack of shade. What might seem like an easy walk is made much worse with the Bahamian sun beating down on you.

Besides lack of shade, there is no place to stop and rest along the way either. Reportedly, guests with accessibility issues can request a golf cart ride, but there’s limited capacity so most will need to walk. Believe us, the walk is much worse on the way back after a long day in the heat!

Once at Mabrika Cove, you’ll need to take a tram over to the main amenities of Lookout Cay. Mabrika Cove is only home to the family cabanas, a coffee shop, the boat charter stand, and a small shopping kiosk.

Getting on the tram was rather chaotic; we were surprised that there weren’t any queue switchbacks or even staff directing guests for that matter. It was essentially a free-for-all; luckily, we muscled our way onto the second set of trams. As a side note, there are no seats while guests wait for the tram either.

Time to Explore

The tram ride is about 10-minutes through still under construction areas to reach the Goombay Cultural Center tram stop. Once here, we were greeted by an already very long line at the shop. We decided to pass for now and explore the resort instead.

Bascially straight beyond the shops is the Cultural Center. Taking a right leads you to Family Beach and most of the amenities, while taking a left will eventually lead you to the adult-only Serenity Bay. We headed right first past the Rush Out Gush Out family water area, along the boardwalk to the bars, Family Beach, True-True BBQ, the Play-Play Pavilion, and eventually ending at Sebastian’s Cove which is the youth area.

By now it was approaching 10:30 AM, so we turned around to make our way to the other side of the resort where Serenity Bay is located. By the time we arrived, this area was already quite full. If you’ve been to Castaway Cay, you’ll notice some differences. Serenity Bay is actually along the same stretch of beach as Family Beach making it less private, and it’s also quite a bit smaller.

Already dying from the heat and lack of shade, I took shelter in a covered pavilion near the Serenity Bay buffet area while Don continued collecting photos and videos of this area. With lunch starting at 11:30 AM, we decided to stick around here and check out the buffet options.

The food at Lookout Cay is very similar to the offerings at Castaway Cay with the addition of some Bahamian-inspired dishes. Like Castaway Cay, the Serenity Bay buffet offers mostly the same dishes as the True-True and True-True Too BBQ with the addition of steak.

We waited about 20 minutes in line to get our food then proceeded to swat flies away the entire time while trying to eat. The flies on Lookout Cay are a big problem. While they seem to be worse at Serenity Bay, they are around all the food locations and the battery-operated fans on the tables do little to prevent them.

Since Serenity Bay was quite crowded, we decided to make our way back towards Family Beach after lunch. We stopped in at the Disney T’ings gift shop along the way. While somewhat picked over, Don managed to get a Lookout Cay Donald Duck shirt and I snagged a DCL dress.

Having enough of the heat for one day, we set off back to the ship around 1:30 PM. Once back at Mabrika Cove, I grabbed a signature latte from Mangroves & Go. We also strolled past the Mabrika Cove cabanas and took some photos of the ship before making our long trek back down the pier.

Another Night, Another New Dining Room

For the remainder of the afternoon, we cooled off in our cabin and did some organizing of all our photos and videos from Lookout Cay. Overall, it was a successful day.

Tonight’s dinner was in the third main dining room, Enchanted Garden. This venue’s decor is inspired by the Palace of Versailles complete with a Mickey fountain at the entrance.

For dinner, I did the cucumber garden roll, the smoked bacon mushroom tart, and the marjoram-scented chicken. Don did the ahi tuna and avocado tower, the mushroom tart, and the sea bass. All of our selections tonight were quite tasty. We finished off this meal with the warm sticky date pudding and the chocolate brownie sundae.

After dinner, it was up on deck for the new Mickey’s Color Spin Dance party at 7:30 PM. While maybe this was enjoyable for kids, we big kids decided to move on pretty quickly. Making our way back inside, we grabbed seats in the theater for the headliner act, the magician Kid Ace. This family-friendly show featured pretty standard illusions and mentalism.

Continuing our “drink around the ship”, if that’s allowed on a Disney cruise, we grabbed drinks at Ooh La La. This is the champagne and wine bar on Disney Fantasy. While here, we listened to a set from the violinist. While she was good, she had little personality or banter making the performance a bit boring.

When she finished, we moved over to La Piazza for the final set from Vox and Keys before calling it a night around 11 PM.

Disney Fantasy Cruise Review – Day 4

Change of Plans

Day 4 of this Disney Fantasy cruise was a stop in Nassau. While we never get off the ship in this Bahamian port, we actually planned to go ashore today as the port area has been recently renovated and we wanted to check it out. But, the weather had other plans for us.

We awoke to a gray and gloomy day. Plus, Don had a couple meetings and some work today. So, Plan B was to stay onboard the ship. Instead, we headed to sit-down breakfast in the Royal Court around 9 AM. I ordered an omelet along with the kid’s Mickey waffles. Don ordered the very very French toast and the southern hash. These offerings were pretty typical.

We then worked in our cabin most of the day, intermittently leaving to grab some photos/videos around the ship, lunch at Flo’s Cafe, and our afternoon coffee.

A Pirate’s Life for Me

Tonight was Pirate Night, so the characters were out and about in the atrium before dinner donning their best pirate attire. We also donned our best pirate attire, which was the free bandana that was left in our room last evening. After seeing other guests dressed in their pirate outfits, we decided we need to up our game for our next DCL cruise.

For dinner this evening, we were back in the Royal Court with a special Pirate Night menu. This menu is served across all dining rooms and has Caribbean-inspired dishes. I ordered the vegetable samosa, Tia Dalma’s jerk chicken, and Bananas in Paradise. Don ordered the marinated shrimp, calypso crab cake, Chevalle’s lamb shank, and caramel macadamia nut cheesecake tart. While good, nothing was overly memorable.

From here, it was up to the pool deck for the first pirate celebration of the evening with Mickey and friends at 7:30 PM. This family-friendly party features singing, dancing, and all your Disney favorites in their pirate garb. Captain Hook and Mr. Smee might also make an unexpected appearance.

With time between this party and the next, we headed to the Meridian Bar for the happy hour special. Each evening, several bars feature happy hour specials which range from discounted drinks to % off. Tonight, it was 20% off the bourbon cart at the Meridian Bar, which Don couldn’t pass up.

Around 9:45 PM, we made our way back outside to stake claim for the Pirates in the Caribbean deck party. With plenty of catchy tunes, lazy pirates, and even an appearance from Jack Sparrow, the evening culiminates with a fireworks show. Disney Cruise Line is the only cruise line with fireworks at sea!

After the show, we called it a night. We wanted a good night’s rest for our visit to Castaway Cay tomorrow.

Disney Fantasy Cruise Review – Day 5

A Return to Castaway Cay

Day 5 of this Disney Fantasy cruise was a stop at Disney Cruise Line’s other private island Castaway Cay. We’ve visited this island twice before but were interested in having a fresh comparison to Lookout Cay.

Our ship was scheduled for clearance around 8:30 AM again this morning, but we awoke to another gray and overcast day. We had our fingers crossed that it didn’t rain.

Fueled with coffee, we headed ashore around 9:30 AM. We spent the next four hours or so reaquainting ourselves with this destination and comparing and constrasting Castaway to Lookout Cay. We started at Family Beach and eventually took the tram down to Serenity Bay.

Overall, there are pros and cons to each destination. One of the big disadvantages here was the abundance of seaweed in the water. We do like the amenities here better and the location of Serenity Bay though.

Since the buffet food here is essentially the same as Lookout Cay, we decided to head back to the ship for lunch instead. But first, souvenirs. We can never pass up a gift shop.

Back onboard around 2 PM, we grabbed some late lunch at Flo’s Cafe and our afternoon coffee from the Vista Cafe this time. Since we had ordered iced coffee all week, we made a point to order a cappuccino today for the foam design. Captain Minnie did not disappoint!

We then meanandered around the ship peeking in at some venues we had yet to see like the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and The Tube, before returning to our cabin to get some work done before dinner.

An Entertaining Evening

While Animator’s Palette wasn’t our favorite dining room in terms of design and decor, tonight was perhaps the most fun we had at dinner. The show this evening was Animation Magic. In Animation Magic, you draw your own character and watch as it becomes part of the show. While our drawings were awful, it was quite hilarious to see them come to life.

For dinner, I had the Malaysian chicken satay, porcini sacchetti, and chicken schnitzel. Don had the tuna sashimi, garlic shrimp with pasta, and rack of lamb. For dessert, we had the celebration cake and peach tart. Again, these menu selections were slightly better than what you’d get in the MDR on most contemporary cruise lines.

Following dinner, it was time for some more characters. That is the one thing about a Disney cruise– you really have to love Disney or you’ll certainly be sick of it by day two. Mickey and friends were out in the atrium for a dance party at 7:45 PM. Then, it was off to the theater for the 8:30 PM headliner act, the Junk percussion band. This family-friendly show was fun for a while but did get rather repetitive.

Continuing to cross bars off our list, we spent the rest of the evening in The Tube. This British-themed venue is more than a bar as it hosts several events throughout the cruise like trivia, dance parties, and game shows. Tonight, it was a double feature of Majority Rules and the Couples Match game shows with a Disney twist. While these shows were adult-only, they were more tame than other cruise lines.

When these shows ended around 11:30 PM, we called it a night. Tomorrow was our second visit to Lookout Cay. Since we had most of our photos and videos out of the way, we could actually relax and enjoy the area a bit.

Disney Fantasy Cruise Review – Day 6

Our Second Look at Lookout Cay

Day 6 of this Disney Fantasy cruise was our second visit to Lookout Cay. This was one of the reasons I was able to convince Don to book this over-priced trip. Two visits to the newest private destination is certainly better than one visit!

While we had good weather the first couple days of the cruise, today was yet another gray and overcast day. Even though it wasn’t sunny, it was still hot and humid.

Don set off on his morning routine to get coffee and finish capturing videos of some areas like Goofy’s sports deck while I got ready. With the ship cleared around 8:30 AM, we made our way ashore around 9 AM.

Given the sun wasn’t beating down on us, the walk down the pier did seem less taxing today. Or, maybe we just knew what to expect. The crowd for the tram at Mabrika Cove also was less chaotic. I guess the excitement of the inaugural visit had worn off by now.

A Relaxing Day Ashore

Today, our game plan was to head straight to Serenity Bay to see if we could get photos and videos with less crowds. We then wanted to relax on the beach, test out the signature drinks, and catch the Junkanoo celebration at the Goombay Cultural Center.

Even though we were at Serenity Bay before 10 AM, most of the lounge chairs were already taken, which further proves our point that this area is too small. So, we decided that we would grab chairs on Family Beach instead.

Along our way back, we may have stopped to grab some more souvenirs from the shop including an ornament which we didn’t see the day before. We also stopped for photos with Mickey and Minnie in their Bahamian attire.

Finally, we staked our claim on some lounge chairs next to the Watering Hole Bar. While I caught some rays, Don decided to scope out the Nature Trail. Even though he said we was just going to go look at it, he ended up walking the trail all the way down to the namesake lighthouse. This is a compacted dirt path with some Discovery Trail signs along the way providing information about the local flora and fauna.

By the time he returned, we headed over to the Cultural Center for the island-exclusive Rush! A Junkanoo Celebration show at 12 PM. While we had heard that all the characters make an appearance during the show, they actually didn’t. It was just dancers in costume and a Junkanoo band. This “show” only lasted about ten minutes.

While we were up and about, we decide to grab lunch at the True-True buffet. I like the addition of the spicy chicken sandwich to the offerings. The flies weren’t as much of an issue in this location as they were the other day in Serenity Bay, but they were definitely still present.

After lunch, we just packed up our belongings and headed for some shade at the pavilion near the Sandsational Smoothies. Here, we each tried a signature drink. I ordered the Pineapple Pleaser from this venue in a souvenir pineapple mug, and Don ordered the signature Eleuthera Euphoria from the nearby Watering Hole Bar. If you don’t purchase the souvenir mug, you get your drink in reusable stainless cups that certainly keep them cooler longer.

Having our fill of heat and sun, we made our way back to the ship around 2 PM.

A Late Night For Us

Tonight was semi-formal night. So, after relaxing and cooling off for a bit, we got ready a little early to take some photos with the characters in their fancy attire before dinner. We had time to get photos with Cinderella, Donald, and Captain Mickey.

Our dinner was back in Enchanted Garden this evening. I went with the Garden Platter (charcuterie), turkey dinner, and creme brulee cheesecake. Don ordered the sauteed shrimp, NY strip steak, and the white chocolate bread pudding. While I always enjoy a good turkey dinner, the strip steak was Don’s most disappointing entree of the cruise.

After dinner, we stopped in at the Bon Voyage bar for some drinks before the 8:30 PM theater show. We ended up talking to a couple who was also from MA…what a coincidence.

The show this evening was Frozen: A Muscial Spectacular. Given that we really enjoy the Frozen movies, we thought this show was a letdown. We like the Aladdin theater show much more than this one. It was a little cheesy, and the way the storyline was modified for the stage production seemed a bit disjointed. Oh well, guess we’ll just have to let it go.

After the show, we checked O’Gills off our list. The happy hour special was $5 drafts and select cocktails this evening. But, there wasn’t any entertainment so we moved along to the Piazza for some live music.

Decisions, decisions. With the premiere tomorrow of Inside Out 2, we had the chance to be the very first to see it this evening. Disney Fantasy was debuting the movie at 11:30 PM in the Buena Vista theater. Would we stay awake? Should we just go to bed and watch it tomorrow?

We made the decision to grab some popcorn and settle in for the show. One of our Disney cruise tips is to take your popcorn bucket from the parks on the cruise with you to get refills for just $2. With a little help from new friends Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarassment, we stayed awake and can now say we saw the movie before anyone else.

After 1 AM by now, it was definitely time for bed though.

Disney Fantasy Cruise Review – Day 7

Our Final Cruise Day

Day 7 of this Disney Fantasy cruise was a sea day and our final day onboard the ship. Given we were up late last night, we did sleep in a bit this morning. Don grabbed us coffee from the Cove Cafe and we lazed around the cabin for a while organizing our photos and videos and doing a little packing.

We finally ventured out around 11 AM in time to watch the Jack Jack’s Diaper Dash. Yes, this is exactly as it sounds. Crawling babies are pitted against each other in a race to see who can cross the finish line first. While it was pretty amusing to watch, the icing on the cake was when the winner actually got up and walked over to his parents after the race. While that should have meant a disqualification, the activities staff let him keep the medal.

With all this commotion, it was time for lunch. We headed up to the Cabanas buffet, where Don finally sampled DCL’s signature crab legs and peel-and-eat shrimp. This was our first time eating lunch in the buffet all week.

While I don’t typically like buffets, I do have to admit that there was a pretty good selection of items available.

After lunch, we headed down to the Deck 4 walking track for a few laps of exercise. It was Don’s intent to also test out the AquaDuck; however, they were not allowing solo riders due to weather conditions. Oh well, guess that was our sign to grab a drink instead. We pulled up seats at the Quiet Cove outdoor bar for a bit.

Then, we remembered that DCL still offers free room service unlike most other cruise lines. So, in the name of research, we ordered a late-day second lunch. Don really enjoyed the chicken wings, and I couldn’t pass up an off-the-menu Mickey ice cream bar. The pizza and cheese plate were just okay.

One Last Night

Prior to dinner, we finished up our packing as suitcases needed to be placed outside by 10:30 PM. While we didn’t have to get too crazy weighing the bags, we did want to have them organized so we knew which bags we needed at the parks.

Yes, after the cruise, we’d be heading to Walt Disney World for a few days for an annual passholder preview of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

This final dinner of the cruise was back in the Royal Court. While it was our third time dining here, one of them was Pirate Night, so this was the second menu for the venue. It just so happened to be the “formal” menu AKA lobster night.

Don ordered the baked egglant and oysters rockefeller as appetizers which were just okay. I actually didn’t fancy anything on the menu, so asked for a Caesar salad. For entrees, Don of course did the lobster, and I ordered fettuccine with parmesan crusted chicken.

On our way out, we made sure to thank Wira and Ashley for their incredible service during the week. We actually do miss this level of service on other cruise lines in the recent years.

The final show of the cruise was Disney’s Believe, which I enjoyed more than Don did. It tells the story of a workaholic dad who reconnects with his daughter with the help of a little Disney magic. There’s plenty of Disney characters and songs throughout the performance from Aladdin, The Lion King, Mary Poppins, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and more.

Now, the only thing left was the final farewell with all the characters in the atrium. We said our goodbyes to Mickey and friends and headed off to bed. Thankfully, our trip wasn’t ending just yet though.

Disney Fantasy Cruise Review – Disembarkation

See Ya Real Soon

The saddest day of this Disney Fantasy cruise was upon us, disembarkation day. While all good things must come to an end, it doesn’t mean that we have to go home. We were heading to WDW this morning for a couple of days.

While we could have purchased transfers from the cruise ship to the theme parks, it was a bit of a debacle during our previous Disney Wish cruise so we opted just to use Lyft to get there. This did cost around $130 but the convenience was worth it.

Up around 6 AM, we were already pierside in Port Canaveral. Self-assist checkout began around 7:30 AM, and all luggage tags were essentially called by 8 AM. With our carry-on in hand, we headed down the two flights of stairs to disembark. We were greeted by a very long line that zig-zagged around the atrium, but it did move quickly.

We were walking down the gangway, grabbing our luggage, through the CBP facial recognition, and waiting for our ride in about 20 minutes. Then, it was an hour drive to our next destination, the Grand Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs.

Following a few days at Disney, we would be home for just a short time before a full summer of cruises. Next up is Margaritaville at Sea’s Islander, Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas, and Atlas Ocean Voyages in the Mediterranean. Stay tuned!

And, if you’d like to follow along with our Disney adventures, head over to our newest venture Eat Sleep Disney.

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