Disney Fantasy Very Merrytime Bahamas Cruise Review – Day 4: December 20, 2025

Brunch at Palo will cost you $55 per person, and as you can see by the spread, you more than get your money’s worth. If you walk away from that table with any room left in your stomach, that one is on you. They really should offer wheelchair service back to your stateroom for a proper nap.

O-71, BINGO!

I had a little much-needed downtime on the sundeck, then decided to check on what the tween was up to with her new friend. They were wandering the ship looking for something to do, so I pointed out that a Disney Music Trivia activity was about to start and offered to join them. Held in the D Lounge, the place was standing room only by the time I walked in.

This rendition of trivia featured a pianist playing a few bars of music, followed by the host stating the criteria for the answer. For the most part, it was the name of the song and the movie it was from, each worth a point toward your team total. Some questions had bonus points for things like the age of the character or how many golden camels were mentioned in the lyrics. I will admit, some were harder than I anticipated since they were piano instrumentals and not the versions we are accustomed to singing along to. Since this was family-oriented, the songs spanned generations, ranging from Disney animated films to Disney Channel classics to live-action movies.

Alas, our total of 22 out of 57 points fell well short of the winning team, who scored an incredible 52 out of 57. For their efforts, they won a small goodie bag and, of course, bragging rights.

Next on the activity guide was the final Bingo session of the cruise. This is a pay-to-play activity with cash prizes awarded. Depending on the length of your sailing, there are usually a few sessions throughout the week, with the entry fee and prizes increasing each time. The grand prize for this session was a whopping $10,000.

When registering, there are different buy-in levels to choose from. The more you pay, the more cards you get for each game. They also offer the option between old-school paper cards with markers or modern tablets with electronic cards that do all the work for you. I have to say, the tablets make things incredibly easy, as you can have up to 24 cards active for each game. As numbers are called, the tablet automatically marks all your cards and instantly reorders them to bring the cards closest to winning to the top. Each card also displays how many numbers away you are from Bingo.

Some may say it takes a bit of the fun out of scanning your cards with each number, but it also removes any chance of human error. All you have to do is sit back and watch. When you get down to one number away, you stand up to alert the room that you are on the verge of breaking hearts.

For this session, four games were played: traditional Bingo, 6-Pack, B-O where only the B and O columns are used but both must be filled, and the dreaded blackout for the grand prize.

My in-laws each had a tablet, and we had our daughter keeping an eye on ours. Yes, this is a family-friendly game, even though kids cannot be awarded cash prizes. Those go to the adults.

The first game moved along quickly, and the kid got to stand up when she was down to one number, joining quite a few others eager to declare victory. As I glanced over, I had mixed emotions about that particular number being called. Scott’s favorite, O-67. Like I said, there were a lot of kids in the room, and I could just imagine the eruption if that number came up.

To her dismay, the next number called was quickly followed by a chorus of Bingos from around the room. Nine total winners split the pot for that round, each taking home a little over $100. Not a bad warm-up.

Game two did not offer much excitement for our group, as none of us came close to completing the grouping of six numbers. The prize for that round was split three ways, with each winning card taking home around $300.

Game three brought more of the same. I think the closest we got was two numbers away when B-O was called. This lucky contestant got to keep the prize to themselves, as there were no other winners.

The fourth and final game was blackout. Some people dread this game since it requires filling all 25 spaces on your card. Obviously, this can take a while even with a full room. The grand prize for this game was $10,000, with a stipulation. You had to achieve blackout in 46 balls or fewer. The odds of that happening are extremely low, less than 1 in 250,000, so the Mouse is fairly safe from paying that out. On average, a blackout takes around 73 balls, though that can fluctuate depending on how many cards are in play.

If no winner hits blackout within the first 46 balls, the game continues until blackout is achieved, and the winner receives the remaining pot based on the entry fees collected. Based on what the first three games paid out, it would still be a nice chunk of change.

The balls came out at a decent pace to start, then slowed a bit as we approached the 40-ball mark. Looking around the room, there did not seem to be many people on the edge of their seats. We reached ball number 45 without anyone standing, confirming that the jackpot would not be paid out today.

As play continued, I kept an eye on our daughter’s tablet, and we had a few cards that were still chipping away and in contention. On the 52nd ball, three people in the room stood up, including our kid. Now things were getting interesting. Everyone started scanning the room to see who was still in it and how many were left standing. After a bit of buildup, the emcee began calling the next number.

Come on, O-71.

I checked the board on stage and saw there were only four numbers left in the O column, so I liked our odds as long as he stayed in that lane. He knew exactly how to play it, slowly announcing the letter “O” and then pausing dramatically. All five of us were murmuring 71, 71, 71 under our breath. I am not entirely sure what happened next, but the words finally came out.

Seventy-one.

I think we all jumped up and shouted BINGO in unison.

Once the card was verified, the emcee asked the rest of the room if there were any other winners. There were none. No splitting the winnings this time. I will keep the exact amount a mystery, but I will say it made for a very nice Christmas bonus. And honestly, Disney Cruise Line will probably get it back soon enough when we book another cruise.

Sorry, Palo. This one goes straight into the memory banks.

How do you follow that?

The rest of the day was a little anticlimactic after that rush of adrenaline. Returning to our stateroom, we discussed the evening’s plans. Between packing our luggage to set out for morning disembarkation, dinner, the show, and not to mention the Packer game being played that night, decisions needed to be made.

With our dining time at 5:45, showtime at 8:30, and kickoff at 8:20, there was a bit of a dilemma. For starters, none of us were very hungry after the Palo experience. Then you had the overlapping start times of the stage presentation of Believe, my all-time favorite show on Disney Cruise Line, and the Packer game.

I came up with the alternative of starting to pack and skipping our dining time altogether so we could catch the early showing of Believe at 6:00, then finish packing before heading up to watch the game on Funnel Vision. Everyone agreed that was the way to go.

It was a beautiful night to sit out under the stars and watch the game. At least the first 57 minutes of it. IYKYK.

I even spotted Jimmy walking by during the game and took a few minutes to talk with him. With all due respect to Dr. E, Jimmy gets my vote for best cruise director, hands down.

What a day. It was truly a rollercoaster of emotions and excitement that will definitely rank high in our cruise memories. Thank you, as always, for following along on our journey. Tomorrow I will do a final wrap-up, including a recap of the Very Merrytime activities, our stateroom, and some of the new enhancements from last month’s dry dock on the Disney Fantasy. I am pretty sure I will be dreaming of O-71 tonight.

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