Time flies when you are in the sun, and that brings us to the end of this 4-day Very Merrytime cruise aboard the Disney Fantasy. The activity guide today is pretty short: eat breakfast and get out.
Let’s take a look back at the good, the bad, and the Merry.
But for those who were wondering where we sailed to on this Disney Christmas cruise, here’s a recap of the itinerary:
Disney Fantasy Deluxe Oceanview Verandah Stateroom 9038
Since we had a multi-generational gathering on this voyage, we booked three staterooms side by side. In the connecting room, 9036, were my mother and daughter, with my in-laws on the other side in 9040.
Even though we booked this cruise just about a month ago, we were able to find enough availability to secure this block of rooms. While the cruise did end up being close to a sellout, I think a lot of people took advantage of the guarantee stateroom (GTY) discount offer, which left stateroom selection more open.
If you are not familiar with GTY, it is one of the ways cruise lines, including Disney, offers discounted cruise fares. When you choose this option, you are booking a room category, not a specific stateroom. So if you book a verandah category, you are guaranteed that category or better, and Disney Cruise Line will assign your specific stateroom about a week or so prior to embarkation based on remaining inventory. It is a good way to save some money if you are not overly picky about the exact stateroom location. Just do not be that person who books a GTY and then immediately goes online to complain about the location they were assigned.
We have taken advantage of this option a few times and usually ended up between Decks 5 and 7. If you are booking multiple staterooms using GTY, you are not guaranteed connecting rooms or even rooms next to each other, but Disney does try to place linked reservations as close together as possible. The first time we did this with three staterooms, two were connecting, and the third was separated by only one room in between.
All three of our staterooms were Deluxe Oceanview with Verandah, Category 5A. This category features a queen bed, a single convertible sofa, an upper berth pull-down bed if sleeping four, a private verandah, and a split bath with tub and shower. These staterooms offer a private verandah view, measure 246 square feet including the verandah, and sleep three to four guests.
What’s good and what could use some updates?
I say it every time, but I am a big fan of the split bathroom design. The flexibility this offers, particularly for families, is underrated. This room has the typical small step-in bathtub and shower with the all-too-popular clingy shower curtain. We made an agreement on the first day that it would respect my personal space and I would not pull it down. To be honest, it really is not an issue here. The track the curtain is on bows out into the room slightly, giving just enough extra clearance so it does not impede on you. The water pressure and temperature were perfect. There is nothing like a shower that doubles as acupuncture. Although my wife said she felt like it took off a few layers of skin with each use. To each their own.
Unfortunately, we did not have heated floors like Scott does on the Explora I. This is not something I thought I was missing in my life, but I now realize the struggle is real. If you go one step up in room category to the Deluxe Family Oceanview with Verandah, it is slightly larger and those bathrooms offer a rounded tub and shower.
The queen bed is all you will find on DCL. There is no option to separate it into two twins. For kids, you have the convertible sofa and the pull-down bunk that comes out of the ceiling. There is plenty of room for a family of four. If you need to add another family member, I would recommend the Deluxe Family Oceanview with Verandah category, which adds a Murphy bed that pulls down from the wall.
There was ample closet space and plenty of drawers to choose from for the two of us. Even when we add our daughter to this stateroom category, we have enough space to unpack and settle in comfortably.
The television is on the smaller side, about 26 inches, but really the only time it is on is when we are getting ready to turn in for the night. One plus is that it is mounted on a swing arm, so it can be positioned to one side or the other if the dividing curtain is pulled closed.
One feature that is a little lacking is the power outlets. There is a bank on the desk that offers multiple options, including USB 1, European, and US outlets. There is no USB 3 or USB C. The bedside has only a single outlet on one side, while the room phone occupies the other nightstand. So if you like to plug your phone in to use as a clock, make sure you bring the charging brick and not just the cord.
There is the standard mini-fridge under the desk along with a room safe in the closet. Nothing fancy, but they always get used.
Our stateroom gifts were waiting for us as always. These included a DCL shoulder bag, a wet and dry bag, a beach towel, and color-coded lanyards. To be honest, we have more of these than we know what to do with.
One of the nicest things about having connecting staterooms is the ability to ask your stateroom host to open the dividers on the verandah. This allows you to sit out and enjoy time with your family without leaning around the railing to talk.
Disney Fantasy Post-Drydock Updates
I mentioned in an earlier review that the Fantasy recently spent a month in dry dock. This took place from September 29 through November 2 in Brest, France. The changes made largely mirrored those completed on the Disney Dream in 2024.
Here is a list of the updates she received:
- A new bulbous bow
- Refreshing the Senses Spa
- Transformation of the Funnel from Edge into a 2 story concierge suite
- Addition of Ramone’s Cantina to Flo’s Cafe
- Combine Edge and Vibe youth clubs
- Reimage the concierge lounge into a Hercules theme
- Expansion of the Concierge Sun deck
- Remodel of 24 staterooms on deck 10 to add to concierge collection
As we didn’t stay concierge level this time we didn’t get a chance to check out those updates. Here’s a look at what they did on sister ship Disney Dream:
The former home of Edge, a tween club for ages 11 to 13 located on Deck 13 in the midship funnel, is now home to the Concierge Tower Suite. It is a two-story, three-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath suite that sleeps up to eight guests. This suite went unoccupied for our sailing, and I will be honest, I tried both to talk my wife into upgrading to it, news flash, even trading in all three of our staterooms for this suite would have almost tripled the cost, and also inquired with Guest Services to see if I could tour it on a sea day. Both were denied. One more vehemently than the other. Guess which one?
With the addition of twenty-four Concierge-level rooms on Deck 10 midship, the sun deck needed to be expanded to account for the extra capacity. This was accomplished by removing the starboard-side wall, shown in red below, and adding new walls, shown in blue, to separate the Satellite Falls adult area from the Concierge space, as seen in the diagram below.
This added space is nothing short of spectacular. Prior to the expansion, the Concierge deck was about 90 percent shaded, so it did not offer many options for those who wanted to soak up some rays and also lacked ocean views. Why would you want to hang out on deck and not be able to enjoy the serene sea?
Edge is now located on Deck 5 forward next to Vibe, the youth club for ages 14 to 17. Here, they also rotate access to the outdoor sun deck. The indoor space seems slightly smaller than when it was in the funnel, but with the added sun deck option, I am sure there are not many complaints about this relocation.
Arguably the biggest addition for all cruisers on the Disney Fantasy is Ramone’s Cantina at Flo’s Cafe. This quick-service counter features Mexican cuisine. The menu offers a choice between burrito bowls or tacos, made to order with a Subway-style layout of toppings. I have yet to walk past it without seeing a line waiting to order.
There’s Something About Merry
So what about the whole Very Merrytime theme and how it differs from standard Disney cruise sailings? It essentially boils down to the ship being adorned with holiday decorations to go along with holiday-themed activities. Not only was there the tree lighting ceremony on night one, but there was also Hanukkah menorah candle lighting each night.
Story times with Mrs. Claus for the little angels seemed like a popular evening event. And if you want to take the kids to sit on Santa’s lap, why go to the local mall, they still have those, right, when you can do it in the atrium of a cruise ship?
One absence we did notice was hot chocolate and cookies being served in the atrium by the gingerbread house. This was offered a few years ago on a Merrytime Cruise, so either they stopped doing it or we just did not walk by at the right times.
Throughout the sailing, there were the typical character meet and greets for all those photo mementos, but this week you got Mickey and the gang dressed in their holiday outfits instead of their standard garb.
Funnel Vision joined in on the fun with a steady rotation of Disney holiday movies playing on the pool deck.
And let’s not forget about the constant holiday music playing in all the common areas.
Hey, if Christmas is your thing, then this is great. I think I have made my thoughts on the subject pretty clear. It is a great excuse for a multi-generational family vacation like the one we did. In fact, I would say that was the norm on this sailing. There were definitely a lot more younger children with parents and grandparents in tow than you typically see, even on a Disney Cruise. It seemed the majority of the kids were in the infant to ten-year-old range, with far fewer tweens and teenagers.
That is a big difference compared to when we sail on a New Year’s Eve cruise, like next week’s. Those tend to skew toward higher volumes of teenagers and college-age kids traveling with parents, and fewer grandparents.
So is it worth it? Absolutely. There really is not any price difference between a Merrytime Cruise and a standard sailing. The higher costs are the same industry-wide during the holiday season regardless. This just adds a little extra flair. If you love Disney and you love Christmas, you really cannot go wrong.
Personally, I prefer the Halloween on the High Seas Disney Cruises we have done. It is the same concept, just Halloween-themed.
The only thing wrong with this sailing was the length. We much prefer seven-day itineraries that travel to farther locales, but this was still a great pre-cruise cruise.
One key observation we made is that there are far more ships packed into Bahamian waters than you typically see spread out across the Caribbean. Whether in port or at sea, there were almost always other ships within sight. While we were docked at Lookout Cay, we could see MS Koningsdam and MS Statendam docked at the nearby Half Moon Cay. On our sea day, we caught a glimpse of the Disney Destiny making port at Castaway Cay on one side of the ship, while passing Coco Cay on the other, where Oasis of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas were enjoying their own beach day.
Our Dining Team on Disney Fantasy
I want to take a moment to give a special mention to our dining team, our server Dewa and assistant server Wawan. I know in past reviews I have talked about how your dining team is with you each night and often becomes an extension of the family, particularly on longer cruises. I have also discussed how many families will call ahead and request their preferred servers prior to sailing. On this occasion, we did not have any of our regulars onboard the Fantasy, as they have moved to other ships in the fleet, so we waited to see which team we were assigned. These two were nothing short of spectacular and quickly made our list of teams to request in the future.
When making recommendations, it did not take them long to get a feel for our individual preferences. Any time we were stuck between choices, they either helped us decide or simply brought both to try. Even on a few occasions when I asked for just a small plate of something on the side, Dewa insisted on bringing a full plate so I could enjoy it the way the chef intended.
Our beverages were never empty either. Any time a glass dropped below half full, a fresh one magically appeared. Wawan was completely on point. We even enjoyed some after-dinner puzzles and origami while dessert was being served. Truly above and beyond from both of them.
Put a bow on it!
That wraps up this adventure with a nice little bow. It is time to head home and wait to see what the fat man in red delivers under the tree. We will be back next week for a 7-night New Years Eve cruise on the Disney Treasure!
