Reviewed October 2015

St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Castaway Cay.

Pros: Incredible staff, amenities for all, Disney atmosphere

Cons: Very expensive

Reviewer recommended: Yes

We had a fantastic time on our cruise. The weather was great and the ship was pretty incredible. Our stateroom with verandah was spacious and allowed four of us to move about easily. Sleeping arrangements were also great. We will never cruise without a verandah again. Every employee greets you every time they pass you by. The work they do is impeccable. Our room was spotless and our dinner servers were great! The rotational dining is pretty cool. We were very lucky to dine in Animator's Palate three times. We highly recommend you request that your first dining night occur in Animator's Palate so you can hit it three times. Overall, the food was just OK for what we expected. There was a lot of variety for dinner and that was probably the best food. Breakfast was fine. It's buffet style with lots of choices but nothing really special. Flo's Diner was average food at best but was definitely the kids' favorite place. We did not pay extra to dine in Palo or Remy but our table mates did and said it was incredible. There are several pools between the family area and the adult only area. They were all fine and different. The kids loved the Aquaduck and found that evenings allowed for continual riding. While docked at St Maarten, we were docked next to another cruise ship. It had far more variety of water slides and activities to do than the Fantasy. Still not a deal breaker, though, as our shipped looked magnificent in comparison. There are two large kids clubs that boast many activities from video games to arts and crafts. You can choose to allow your kids to be checked in and out by parents or allow them to come and go on their own. Our kids are 8 and 11 so we let them be free. Unfortunately they did not hang there much. The biggest complaint was the high number of kids under 8 which made it unappealing for our almost 12 and almost 9 year old. Our 11 year old did not hang out in the tween club. In the end, we decided that Disney cruises were likely the only cruise line that we would let our kids roam free on. If we try a cruise on a different cruise line, we will have to play it by ear as to their freedom. As for costs, we were not unhappy about the price we did pay. We were very unhappy about the sudden policy change that used to allow adults to bring alcohol onboard. Additionally, we found Disney's customer service over the phone and on their Facebook page to be almost nonexistent. While most companies interact with customers on FB, Disney chooses not to at all. There are people asking questions on their page and nothing is answered. It's like a ghost town. Very odd. It feels like a "once we have their money..." kind of thing. You should also know that you will be surrounded by Disnay fanatics. Lots of Mickey ears, costumes, and princess dresses on kids and adults alike. In the end, if you can afford it, go for it. It was a great experience. If you can't afford it, there are many other great options that will take you to the same ports and probably serve better food for half the cost.

Scorecard:

Staff
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Entertainment
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