We had the most incredible time and know deep in our hearts the 5-night cruise we took with my parents and my sister’s family is a cruise we’ll remember and treasure forever. Did I tear up multiple times on the cruise? You bet I did. As I get older, I only further appreciate every moment I have with my parents and being on one ship with my mom and dad and my sister and her wonderful family — all of us in one place, undistracted and fully enjoying each other — was a true gift. Swirl those feelings around with the gratitude I feel for my mom and dad and the childhood they gave to me and my sister and this Disney cruise was the perfect storm of nostalgia, joy and family.
Disney Fantasy 5 Day Cruise
I toyed around with the best way to share our experience on our first Disney cruise on the blog and settled on a general recap of our five-day cruise aboard the Disney Fantasy ship with little tips, highlights and recommendations included. Buckle up because this is a very long blog post but it’s also the kind of post I would’ve wanted to read before our trip when I was craving allllll the info and details about a Disney cruise aboard the Fantasy!
Our first Disney cruise was a five day adventure we selected mainly because my mom was the queen of cruise research and everything she read led her to believe the Fantasy was a great ship for families with young kids. Our itinerary for our five day Disney Fantasy cruise looked like this:
- Day One: Board the Fantasy at Port Canaveral in Florida + Embarkation
- Day Two: Disney’s Castaway Cay (Disney’s private island located in the Bahamas)
- Day Three: Lookout Cay (private peninsula located at the southern end of the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas)
- Day Four: Nassau, Bahamas
- Day Five: Day at Sea (no stops)
- Day Six: Arrive back at Port Canaveral and disembark
Three stops in the Bahamas felt manageable, fun and not-too-intense for our crew of 13 that included seven kids ranging in age from 10 months to 10 years old.
Disney Fantasy Cruise Day One: Embarkation on Disney Fantasy
We split up the 8+ hour drive from our home in North Carolina to Port Canaveral by driving to my parents’ place in Jacksonville, Florida the day before we were set to embark on our cruise. We saw enough people experience cruise travel disasters during our Alaska family vacation to plan for a buffer day before our cruise was set to leave and this worked well for us.
On Sunday morning, the day we set sail, we drove to the port and arrived mid-morning. Up first was luggage drop-off and we found the curbside luggage drop-off system to be quite efficient. We were then directed into the terminal where we went through security with our carry-on bag (which we mainly filled with swimsuits, goggles and water bottles) and waited until it was time to board, as we arrived a little before our boarding time. (This was the only time during the trip that we were asked to present our passports.)
The coolest thing happens when you board a Disney cruise ship: Your family’s name is announced and you’re greeted by smiling crew members and Disney characters waving to you from the balcony. It immediately sets the tone for such a magical experience!
Oceaneer Club + Oceaneer Lab (Disney Fantasy Kids’ Clubs)
Up first for our family was making our way to the Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab, the two connecting kids’ clubs for potty-trained children ages 3-10. We were strongly advised to make this a “first stop” after boarding to avoid long lines and we were glad we did.
We toured the facilities and registered our kids for the magic bands that would give them access to the kids’ clubs on board the ship and at Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay throughout the duration of the cruise. (Kids club is included in the cost of the cruise, as are the kids’ club magic bands unless you fail to return them and then you’re charged $25.) This was a BIG part of our family’s motivation to book our Disney cruise this year as it’s the final year Chase (10 years old) could attend the kids’ club with the younger kids before he would age out to the older kids’ clubs.
Our kids’ first impressions of the Oceaneer Club and Lab were all incredibly positive, and they happily would’ve played there all afternoon if we let them. My first impression was also positive (facilities were clean and well organized and crew members were engaging) but as a very screen-light family, the sheer number of screens in the kids’ clubs surprised me. There are screens all over the place — iPads with Disney video games, Star Wars simulators, MarioKart, etc. — and I realize I may be in the minority with this gripe, but it would’ve been really wonderful to see more screen-free play areas. I say this as a parent who keeps screentime for her children fairly low, but our big kids would tell you the kids’ club was fantastic, so this complaint is definitely only from the perspective of a parent and not a child. Our boys loved the time they spent in the kids’ club during our cruise.
One additional thing to note about our cruise that feels important: Our ship was NOT at capacity. We had about 1,000 kids aboard and were told the week before (spring break week) had nearly double the amount of children on the ship. I share this only because we clearly did not experience extreme crowds or the volume of people aboard a Disney cruise that might typically be onboard the Fantasy during a peak week. This meant we could always find pool chairs, kids’ club lines were never too long and only the first show on the ship (Aladdin) had no open seats. This was such a treat because I fully anticipated lots of crowds and we didn’t experience this at all.
Lunch at Royal Court + Ship Exploration + Sailing Away Party
After boarding the ship, most families make their way to Cabanas, the large buffet restaurant located on the pool deck, but a little tip my friend Chandra shared was to opt for a sit-down lunch at Royal Court after boarding. This tip was fantastic! Once our kids’ club registrations were complete, we walked right into Royal Court where we had a delicious meal, complete with Mickey ice cream bars for dessert. (Note: If you want to grab poolside chairs and swim right away, the buffet lunch is clearly the way to go though! We just knew we’d be too excited to explore the ship to want to swim right away so Royal Court worked well for lunch for our family.)
After lunch we spent our afternoon exploring the ship, taking a picture with Minnie, unpacking (once our bags were delivered to our rooms), checking out my parents’ and sister’s family’s rooms (we were all on the same floor), attending the mandatory emergency drill, and watching part of the Sailing Away party on the pool deck. (This was the most crowded we ever saw the ship.)
Dinner at Enchanted Garden
Dinner popped up quickly for our crew, as we were all scheduled for the early seating at 5:45 p.m. together. Our dining experience is where Disney shines: We had seven children at our table and they always sat our large group of 13 together. Our server (Goran — we loved him!) was so accommodating and took our kids’ orders immediately, and their food was out within 15 minutes of our arrival every time. This allowed the kids who wanted to go to kids’ club to spend the first half of dinner with our group and then have fun at kids’ club while the adults and younger kids lingered at dinner at little longer.
Kids can check themselves into kids’ club which was a fun little taste of independence for them as they could leave dinner and go to kids’ club alone which we were comfortable with by night two. Only Chase was old enough to check himself out but he never did since he was always with at least one other younger kid from our group. Notifications popped up through the Disney cruise app to let you know when they arrived and checked in which was helpful for peace of mind.
In general I found the food aboard the ship to be decent but not mind-blowing. I know so many people rave about Disney cruise food so perhaps my expectations were a little too high? It was definitely good but not the highlight of the cruise for me if that makes sense. That being said, I certainly ate a LOT and never had any trouble finding something delicious to eat at the main restaurants, quick-order restaurants or buffets.
Disney Fantasy Cruise Day Two: Castaway Cay + Pool Fun
Our first full 24-hour day aboard the Fantasy and our first destination stop took place on day two! This was the stop we were all most excited about as it took us to Castaway Cay (pronounced “key”), Disney’s private island in the Bahamas. You can only get to this island via a Disney cruise and it was such a unique experience. We didn’t rush off the ship (I’ve heard this can be important if you want “the best” beach chairs but we didn’t care as we’re not really beach loungers), and we opted to eat breakfast aboard the ship before making our way to the island around 9 a.m.
Chip & Dale greeted everyone with towels (they’re Rhett’s favorite, so this was extra fun!) and the walk to the trams, beaches and play areas was not too long at all. Our boys were most excited to snorkel which was a blast even though the cold water temperatures (the downside of an April cruise) meant we didn’t last as long as we would have had the ocean been much warmer.
We still managed to see a small sunken ship, Prince Eric statue and plenty of fish! Our boys opted to wear the fins we rented with their own goggles and the stronger swimmers in our group (Chase and Ryder) didn’t inflate their vests so they could swim down deeper in the ocean (depths in the lagoon reach 17 feet) which was really cool to them! We would’ve spent much more time here had we not been so cold! (Note: I did hear quite a few people say the swim out to the prime snorkel spots was a little much for their family — even the adults — and this feels important to note just to help set expectations. Our family is very comfortable in the water and it was fine for us, though Rhett and Ryder needed some help swimming back to shore against the current.) There are also two large water play structures in the shallow parts of the ocean at Castaway Cay that were a lot of fun for the boys. I’m kicking myself for not taking more photos but a phone isn’t exactly handy when you’re running around in a swimsuit!
Lunch at Castaway Cay is at one of two buffet-style restaurants that serve the same menu. The ribs, bean salad and grilled chicken stole the show for me, but of course the soft serve was the real star! Soft serve ice cream in a variety of flavors is available from the mid-morning until late at night on Disney cruises and their islands and I’m not lying when I say I ate three cones every single day. (Ice cream is my favorite food and soft serve is heaven for me!) We tried chocolate, vanilla, swirl, strawberry, banana, blueberry, mint and mango flavors during our cruise. It always hit the spot!
After lunch, our kids spent about an hour at Scuttle’s Cove, the kids’ club on Castaway Cay, which was just enough time for Ryan and me to sneak in a mid-afternoon mini date in the form of a walk along the 5K route on the island. Disney’s Castaway Cay 5K is something you can choose to complete on your own and after Ryan and I walked just over 3 miles, we picked up our medals! (The woman working the bike rental and race medal booth was kind enough to give us an extra one so all 3 boys could have a medal souvenir.) The kids’ club on Castaway Cay is basically a splash pad in the middle of a large sandy area and was entertaining enough for an hour of tropical fun for our kids.
Once we were back aboard the ship, we couldn’t resist the short lines for the Aqua Duck water slide on the ship and spent some time splashing around in the deeper of the two pools.
The pools on the Fantasy are not very large but, again, since our ship was not at capacity, they were never too crowded. I do think they could easily become too busy to feel fun to me, especially as a mom to kids who like open spaces to really swim and explore. This wasn’t something that disappointed me, however, as I know a cruise ship layout has limitations and expecting a larger, deep pool wasn’t on my radar anyway. The Aqua Duck water slide was REALLY fun for all of us! Even as an adult I loved riding it multiple times with the kids in our crew. And the little Finding Nemo-themed splash pad was a hit for the toddlers in our group!
Dinner at Royal Court + Aladdin Show
Dinner on our second night took us to Royal Court, the same restaurant where we ate lunch the day before. The restaurant offers French-American cuisine and we all enjoyed our meals before making our way to our first cruise show: Aladdin!
Our whole group attended the 8:30 p.m. showing of Aladdin together and I have one important note I’ll share right off the bat: Seats for this show were insane! I would not even try to go unless you get there 20+ minutes early to grab seats together. (I did hear the 6:3o p.m. show wasn’t as crazy in terms of seats, in case that’s helpful.) I realize this is likely wishful thinking, but I would love to see Disney add a 4:15 p.m. show to their lineup for those with younger kids who attend the early dinner at 5:45 p.m. but feel like 8:30 p.m. is a little late for a crew with younger kids.
In terms of show quality, Aladdin was fantastic!!! Every single show we saw aboard the Fantasy was incredible with talented vocalists, entertaining dancers, and even a decent amount of humor sprinkled in. We LOVED the shows and all kids in our group gave them rave reviews as well. There were a few semi-spooky moments in Aladdin (the Cave of Wonders and Jafar turning into an evil genie could’ve been less creepy) but our kids aren’t the bravest and did fine. The genie had all of us cracking up and the Magic Carpet had the coolest acrobatic moves. The shows aboard the Fantasy were absolutely a highlight for ALL of us!
Disney Fantasy Cruise Day Three: Lookout Key
Day three of our cruise took us to Lookout Key in the Bahamas where we were greeted by absolutely gorgeous teal-blue water and sunshine! We ate breakfast at the buffet restaurant aboard the ship and then made the walk down the long walkway off the ship over the water to the trams that took us to the beach. (We were all dying to jump off the walkway into the clear, deep water. It was calling to us so much!!!) The trams ran regularly and efficiently and the ride to the beach was pleasant as characters talked about the island over the speakers.
We were told by a more experienced cruise couple to look for a spot on the beach in front of the Bow & Ribbon Bar and this was a good tip as it meant we were close to restrooms and Tru Tru Too BBQ (one of the two buffet lunch spots that serve the same food) but still a short walk to the splash pad our kids all enjoyed.
The ocean water was too cold to do much swimming but the beach was gorgeous with soft sand and sparkling teal water. Our kids had a lot of fun playing in the sand but we spent most of our time at the splash pad with my nieces and nephews.
Had the ocean temperatures been warmer, we likely would’ve enjoyed the beach more, but we still felt like we had a good day at Lookaway Cay. Our kids really wanted to get back on the ship an hour or so after lunch to ride the Aqua Duck and play around on board because the ship itself was a such a highlight, so that’s exactly what we did! Pool playtime and water fun carried us through until our dinner at Animator’s Palate, the restaurant on the ship that seems to get the best reviews from guests.
Dinner at Animator’s Palate + Believe Show
We had high expectations for Animator’s Palate as we heard the interactive Crush show guests enjoy on the screens around the tables makes it a particularly fun one for families. It was really cute and a fun experience but the location of your table matters immensely. We weren’t able to directly interact with Crush and the screen closest to us had some technical difficulties which was a bit of a bummer. This is still a dining experience I would not want to miss though! The kids in our group really enjoyed it and loved guessing what shapes the schools of fish on the screens were going to make next.
Following our dinner, we made our way to the main theatre for another show called Believe. I didn’t know what to expect from this show but we all loved this one and thought it was very well done. It follows a father’s journey after his daughter longs for him to “believe in magic” and incorporates lots of new and old Disney songs in a very entertaining way. Our group was split down the middle as to who preferred Aladdin to Believe. They were both great shows I’m glad we prioritized seeing aboard the ship!
Disney Fantasy Cruise Day Four: Midship Detective Agency + Nassau, Bahamas
Our fourth day on the Disney Fantasy began on a super fun note! After an early breakfast (we were up by 7 a.m. every day), the boys were dying to do the Midship Detective Agency scavenger hunt we heard so much about. It’s a self-guided scavenger hunt that takes you all over the ship where you interact with animated pictures to solve various mysteries.
There are three mysteries — finding missing puppies, finding missing paintings and solving a Muppets mystery — and we did the puppies and paintings mysteries first. This was a great order to do them in as the Muppets one was the most involved (in a very good way!) and the puppies and paintings mysteries were quite simple. Our boys LOVED this adventure and Ryan and I did as well! It was a fantastic way to discover parts of the ship we hadn’t seen yet and also explore some of the little “extras” in the guest room hallways that make Disney cruises extra special like pin boards, hidden ducks and “pixie dusting” other guests.
- Pin Boards: A handful of guests displayed magnetic pin boards outside of their rooms with “take a pin, leave a pin” signs. Our boys love the whole Disney pin exchange thing (you may read more about that in this post: Our Last Minute Disney Vacation) so this was extra fun for them! We left a pin board outside of our room as well (I glued extra-strength magnets to the back ahead of time) and the boys loved checking it every time we returned to see what pins were swapped out while we were gone. (Note: The pin exchange on the final day at sea was the best for pin trading.)
- Hidden Ducks: Some guests bring ducks of all sizes (rubber ducks, small resin ducks, etc.) to hide in tricky or obvious places aboard the ship for other guests to find. This was so, so fun to our boys and they would get so excited when they’d find a duck. I’m so glad we brought a little bag of ducks to hide ourselves because that only added to our fun! We had the best time hiding them and then checking to see whether some of our trickier ducks were discovered by other kids and families.
- Pixie Dusting: Thank goodness my sister told us about this one! Many, many people leave hanging fish extenders outside their rooms for guests to spread a little joy in the form of “pixie dusting,” aka leaving little gifts and treats for random guests to discover when they return to their rooms. We brought a TON of kid sunglasses to disperse around the ship and the boys received Disney-themed bubbles, keychains, ornaments, lollipops and stickers. Tip: Add your kids’ names to their pouch or make it clear whether you have boys or girls as many pixie dust prizes seem to be catered to boys or girls.
- Door Magnets: People get really into decorating their stateroom doors! We especially loved looking at the doors that were decorated for birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
We also attended an interactive morning show in between our detective games called “Sarge Says.” The show was led by the green army men from Toy Story but it was more or less Simon Says in show-form. This was a show I’d skip next time. (Our boys would agree.)
Now for a little bit about Nassau!
I heard a lot of advice surrounding whether or not to get off the cruise ship on the day it stops in Nassau. For the most part, the overarching sentiment seems to be to stay on the ship if you’ve been to Nassau before and enjoy all of the ship activities with less people and crowds aboard. That was initially our plan but we felt the itch to explore Nassau a little bit after we arrived and opted to get off the boat after breakfast and walk around for 90 minutes or so before returning to port.
This is what my parents and sister’s family did, too, and it was fun but not at all a “must do.” Since our ship wasn’t at full capacity, we never felt like it was too crowded but if we had, I think staying aboard on the Nassau day would’ve definitely been the right move. Ryan and I both said if we were to do another cruise that stopped in Nassau, we’d stay on the ship or book a snorkeling excursion because the gorgeous blue water called to us!
We arrived back on the ship hungry and immediately made our way to Cabanas for the buffet lunch. This was our first on-ship buffet lunch experience and they had stone crab claws!!! My seafood-loving heart was in heaven and I think I ate my bodyweight in those bad boys. The flank steak was another lunchtime highlight for me. My main tip for dining at the buffet restaurant is to enter on the lefthand side. For some reason, this side was always less busy and it serves the exact same food.
Dory’s Memory Game
After lunch, the kids all did a little swimming before I coerced our boys into trying out another interactive show called Dory’s Memory Game along with my mom and Ryan. Our family doesn’t have a huge arsenal of Disney knowledge in our brains to be able to have a chance at most Disney trivia shows but this one was a little different in a very good way! The show begins with the host talking through 12 characters from Finding Nemo. Audience members shout out their names and the host shares some fun facts about each character. Prior knowledge will definitely help you but it’s not necessary as long as you pay very close attention during this part of the game. A little competition quiz follows with lots of audience participation and our boys were so into it!! We walked away with three medals which left them thrilled!
Pirate Night
One thing we heard a lot about prior to our first Disney cruise was pirate night! In lieu of the formal night that takes place on many cruise ships, Disney cruises do a pirate night and it’s a blast. The vast majority of people aboard get really into it and we loved seeing all of the pirate-themed outfits and costumes as we made our way to dinner. Pirate bandanas are also provided to everyone which lets even those who might not have come prepared with full pirate garb still feel included in the fun!
Ryan dressed up as Rufio from Hook, Ryder was Captain Hook, I was Mr. Smee from Peter Pan, Rhett was a parrot and Chase was Captain Jack Sparrow! Ryan’s Rufio costume certainly got a lot of love from our fellow millennials aboard the ship!
Our dinner on pirate night took us back to Animator’s Palate before the 13 of us split into groups based on our interests for post-dinner entertainment. This evening’s show was a mind reader that didn’t appeal as much to half of our group so Rhett (5 years old) stayed back with my mom and sister’s family for the pirate Mickey show while Ryan, the big kids (ages 7 and 10), my dad and I went to the mind reader show featuring Chris Cox. We thought it was so entertaining!!! There were a lot of “oh my gosh, how did he do that!?” moments and plenty of humor that made it a lot of fun. And, of course, we capped off our evening with soft serve for the 1,000th time.
Disney Fantasy Cruise Day Five: Day at Sea
Our final full day aboard the Disney Fantasy cruise ship was a “day at sea” where no one left the ship as it cruised back to Port Canaveral. This suited us just fine as we all thoroughly enjoyed the ship, the activities aboard, the food and the pool.
Bibbidi Bobbity Boutique + Frozen Show
During our day at sea, I had the chance to enjoy a little “girl time” with my mom, sister and nieces as we visited the Bibbidi Bobbity Boutique aboard the ship. Talk about an absolutely adorable experience!! My nieces were beaming as they were pixie dusted with glitter and talked to as if they were true princesses. One little tip: Bringing your own princess dress for your little one to wear saves a lot of money and wasn’t something my nieces missed at all. The special hair and makeup experience is where the real fun is at!
The timing of our boutique experience was ideal as we finished up about 30 minutes before the matinee Frozen show. Our big kids didn’t have super high expectations for this show (they aren’t Frozen super fans) but it was wonderful!! Ryder and Rhett even said it was their favorite show! I know I sound like a broken record, but the talent of the performers aboard our ship was incredible and made the shows feel extremely high quality.
After the show, we ate a late lunch because we were all hungry, despite snacking on popcorn throughout the show. I became a little obsessed with the prosciutto and arugula pizza from Luigi’s Pizza on deck 11, but oddly on this day the crust of the pizza was completely different!? I liked the pizza I had the first couple of days better. We also spent a few hours at the pool and I had a blast riding the Aqua Duck for one final time.
On our way back from the pool, Ryan and I took the boys to the official crew pin trading event which was so, so fun for our group of little pin traders! The boys brought their pin lanyards and some pins they didn’t care as much about and made a bunch of trades. They also learned about pin “shadow boxes” where they were able to trade pins they had with a hidden diamond Mickey on the back for other diamond pins which they thought was the coolest. If you have little ones who love pin trading, don’t miss this one!
Eventually it was time for dinner (back at the Enchanted Garden) before we majorly lucked out and stumbled upon a character dance party as we were leaving. This was one of my top moments from the cruise as it was SO fun to dance around with our family! Watching the little ones in our group absolutely beam as their favorite characters came out to dance was the icing on the cake of a truly fantastic cruise.
The rest of our final evening aboard the Fantasy was mostly spent packing up our things — with a soft serve break in the mix — and pixie dusting a lot of the other families aboard the ship.
We were also extra excited to see that one of the mini ducks we hid was never discovered throughout the whole cruise! (We put it in a groove in the ceiling by the Midship Detective Agency kiosk.) We loved hiding a bunch of ducks in easy-to-find places for little ones but the harder ducks we hid were extra fun for our group to check on throughout the cruise. We always got the biggest kick out of seeing one of our more challenging ducks disappear!
Saying goodbye to my parents, Leslie, Ross and my nieces and nephews was the low point of the cruise for me as it’s always hard to leave some of my very favorite people. We had the most wonderful time with our family and knowing how rare it is to have 5 days together with all of us in one place with nothing on our agendas other than spending time together only made me further appreciate this cruise experience.
As we made the 8+ hour drive back to Charlotte on Friday, Ryan, the boys and I rehashed the cruise and our favorite moments. Listening to the boys absolutely bubble over with enthusiasm as they talked about countless moments from the past five days aboard the Disney Fantasy only reiterated just how special this cruise was for our family! If a Disney cruise is at all on your radar, you’ll only hear enthusiastic encouragement from me to book that bad boy ASAP!!
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