Yesterday we returned from a 2-week stay aboard the Disney Fantasy that included the Eastern and Western Caribbean that started on July 13.
Our first cruise was handled through DVC, and our second cruise was handled by Dorothy Bond with Dreams Unlimited Travel.
Our ports of call for the Eastern cruise were (1) St. Maarten, (2) St. Thomas, and (3) Castaway Cay. The ports of call for the Western cruise were (1) Grand Cayman (tender), (2) Costa Maya, (3) Cozumel, and (4) Castaway Cay.
The night before our cruise, we stayed at the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport. This is a great hotel especially when you consider how convenient it is to grab your baggage, walk to the elevators, and go to the floor where the hotel check-in desk is located. Lizzy and Mommy checked out the swimming pool area.
We were able to stay in stateroom #6570 (category 5D, deluxe ocean view stateroom with verandah, mid-ship starboard) for both trips, only having to disembark the ship for about an hour between cruises. We had close friends from North Las Vegas join us for the second cruise – they stayed in stateroom #7022.
Our Captain was Marco Nogara and our Cruise Director was Clayton Lyndsey. Our cruise staff for both trips were: Stateroom Host – Leroy Stephens Brant, Head Server – Witt Tuncharoen, Server – Lee Anna Francis, Assistant Server – Lucia Grullon Reyes. Our server in Palo (for both trips) was Olivera.
On our first embarkation day, after lunch, Lizzy and Mommy went on the AquaDuck, a “water coaster” located on both the Dream and Fantasy. Daddy had to wait to go on it since he somehow forgot to pack a swimsuit for himself.
On July 14th, Mommy and Lizzy both got their hair braided on the first sea day on the way to St. Maarten, while Daddy attended the Castaway Club Gold & Platinum Reception.
On St. Maarten, we took the “St. Maarten Island and Butterfly Farm Tour” excursion.
On St. Thomas, we took the “Butterfly Anytime at the Butterfly Garden” excursion.
During the eastern (1st) cruise, on the way to Castaway Cay, the ship had to make an emergency stop at Nassau, Bahamas, for a medical evacuation. When daddy figured out what was going on, he headed up to top deck to take more pictures. He found the Disney Dream pulling into port, watching passengers from each ship taking pictures of the twin ships. While the Dream was pulling into port, the Fantasy started to leave on her way to a shortened stay at Castaway Cay.
Mommy somehow developed an infection that caused her to get bumps and rashes, mainly on the lower parts of her legs. A nurse suggested we start with hydro cortisone and an antihistamine, but a few days later wound up having the doctor say it had turned into cellulitis and prescribed an antibiotic to see if it would help.
On July 23rd, Lizzy was able to attend the “Royal Tea at the Royal Court”, which was only attended by 7 girls and 1 boy, along with their parent escort.
On July 25th, Mommy and Daddy took the galley tour, to see how this ship handles the food.
While in port at Grand Cayman, Daddy got a new watch.
During our visit to Castaway Cay on the western (2nd) cruise, Lizzy and Daddy went on a bike ride and also went snorkeling. After they were finished, it was time to track down where mommy was, but since she had both wave phones, that was tricky. Daddy was able to borrow a wave phone from a worker, and found out mommy was actually already back on the ship, which was kind of tricky for her since daddy had all room keys. Security and Guest Services helped her out too.
This vacation which included the 7th & 8th Disney Cruises marked the 58th night we have spent on board Disney’s ships.