Disney Cruise Fantasy tips and quick info!

Disney Cruise Fantasy tips and quick info!

Here are some more things that I felt would be nice to share with my friends from my experience onboard the Disney Fantasy.

Here is where I will talk a little bit about everything! (Almost everything, there is too much to really include everything in 1 blog)

The ship!! It is beautiful, enjoy all of it!
Of course, when the ship is at port is a great opportunity to enjoy the ship with smaller crowds!

Ignore the nail polish! Always notice the gratuity is always automatically added. You can always add more but don't add it thinking you need to since it is already there!!! It can look so confusing since there is a big space as if to add it. I also safe my receipts or take pictures of them. It is always a good idea to double check your statement room account at closeout. I have had erroneous charges previously on mine! It may be time consuming, but I am not taking extra charges that were not mine!

Click this link to see more information on character meet and greet options or strategies. 

The Kids Clubs! Kids 3-12 will receive the Club Magic Bands at Cruise Port Check in.  An extra security tag is also attached the the bands can't just be removed by the children!

You are charged for this band $13.99 

When you know you will no longer use the clubs again, you can turn the band in at any of the kid club locations and your stateroom will be credited back the band cost. 

If you turn it in and decide you do want to go back to the clubs, they will re-issue a new band. 

The clubs have open house times so the whole family can utilize the clubs.  If you go during port times and open house, you can usually find it pretty empty. The options are still there to play with but no organized activities are going on at these times. 

Always refer to your Navigator APP to see what scheduled activities are available for the Kid clubs. 

During Regular hours, there is lots of activities going on with lots of fun to be had. MANY MANY counselors available for the kids onboard as well. 

If you worry about your little one being overwhelmed and needing to get in touch with you, the counselors can do so via the Navigator APP. 

I did this once when My little one thought she was brave enough to go on her own. I told her I would sit in the port window right outside the entry to the kid club in case she wanted to come out, she could wave at me to do so. She unfortunately was NOT brave enough and forgot everything I told her She had the counselor alert me.. NOW the issue with the navigator being used to alert you, you have to be on it. I was photo shopping my pictures so I was not on the app and missed the alert. I was occasionally looking up and happened to see her crying near the front. My poor baby cakes!!!!

SOOO, make sure you are on the APP when you may be in similar situations so you can receive proper communications. 

Need to release some energy or just play with the family? Head over to the Sport Deck. Basketball half courts are pretty fun and I have seen them in use but never crazy busy. I have seen them empty plenty of times as well. 

You will also find the sport simulators here as well. These are pre-paid onboard activities to book for select time intervals.  We did do them before. It was ok but not a hit with our family. You are placed in a tent with a LARGE interactive screen to play different sports. It is slightly physical like kicking a soccer ball at the screen for example. 

Mini Golf is also available for a 9 hole course. Very cute and fun layout. This I see gets pretty crowded often so if you hit it during port time, it should be pretty easy to play. You won't find many cast members here. Be mindful on planning, during Pirate night or any other special event night, the hours for the sport deck are shorter, closing early. 

Time to relax and enjoy some free Soft Serve Ice Cream! Deck 11 has these self serve ice cream available almost constantly. We had multiple ones a day. They are a perfect treat throughout the cruise with multi flavors as well!!!! Check them out.  Cones and napkins are available right by it. 

Like at the Disney Parks, special souvenir cups and Popcorn buckets are available for purchase! These are fun keepsakes to collect and enjoy during your stay!!! These can change depending on special events/celebrations hosted by Disney. We thoroughly enjoyed our popcorn bucket along with all out refills we got from it. Definitely cheaper on board the ship than the parks !!! __reminder, the popcorn refills are also subject to the automatic gratuity being added. Yes, it is true!

Enjoy all the areas of the SHIP, lots of photo opportunities. Nice little corners and nooks to cozy up with your special half, enjoy a drink and some quality time. I just love the theming and fun pieces placed around the ship!!! Don't forget to really enjoy these places~

Fish Extenders.... Surely you have heard about them or you have heard about people decorating their stateroom doors. Well, it is true. I have some examples here to show you. 

The name 'fish extender' derives from the metal fish that adorns on the stateroom room placard. Some staterooms as you can see have seahorses. 

Castmembers would deliver envelopes or special notices on the hanger for guests to secure. 

People use the sea creatures to hang items from it. They will hang 'extenders' hence the phrase Fish extenders. What do people do with this?

Most people will sign up in groups to exchange little knick knacks/goodies with each other. Reason for the extenders is for multi family members under the exchange group. 

You will see all kinds from super fancy to low key extenders. Some people make crafts, candy bags or goodies ordered off Etsy to exchange with others. 

It is very cute. Some groups are large and some are small. 

I have never done it. I enjoy seeing them on display and watching people drop off the goodies. I never had the patience to prepare for it or to use my time on the cruise to hunt down the people within the group for delivering. To each their own and that's what always makes it great about Disney!!!

You can also see these adorable decorated doors! Many use magnets. Be careful with the magnet quality. Disney does have a disclaimer that if you mar their cabin doors, a fine will be placed on your charges. We saw all kinds of adorable magnet displays of all sorts. Some doors were completely covered with magnets!!! We loved looking at them. I would say may 30% of guests actually participate in the fish extenders and may 40% of guests decorate their doors. This is just from what I have personally observed on the cruises I have been on. 

Don't forget about the movies available while on board! Yes, the movies! It is great for the movie buffs. All new Disney releases are always available on board and available at multi showings. It is never crowded for the movies I have found. Great seating and screen quality. The sound system was also very nice!!!  Don't forget to take in your drinks and snacks. If you bring zip bags with you, you can grab snacks from quick service Deck 11 locations. Even though regular cup lids may not be available the coffee lids will fit on all disposable cups available! I grabbed a soda and used the coffee lid to help prevent spills. You never know when you have a little one.. Many also bring their own re--usable cups. I did not on this trip. I was worried about keeping up with it and cleaning it. The little cups were fine and easy to get. 

We used the stairs pretty much every time we went anywhere. We went up, down, up again, up some more, down and down! They were just faster than the elevators and it was great to walk off the extra food that was taken in. For some reason, they were not a killer.  At the end of the trip, we started feeling them a bit more though! I was glad to though!!! The plush think carpet did make it easier!  

The ships are definitely beautiful and you never feel you are on a ship! Pure luxury in Disney Style!
Enjoy the boat!
FYI, it is pretty chilly on board. I had to wear a coat or sweater to dinner every night. Make sure to have one handy!!!

Of course there is Disney merch that is ONLY available on board the Disney Cruise lines. You can get the 10% discount for spending a certain amount if you have a Disney Chase Visa. Make sure to utilize that!! We had fun in the stores just looking around and playing with some of the toys available. The prices are a little more especially for stuffed animals than you would find at their parks. Kind of crazy. $20. for a small stuffed animal. Not a huge array of merch like you would find in a Disney Park which is somewhat of a bummer but also understandable.