What is better than a Christmas trip? A Christmas cruise makes a holiday trip even better! We cruised aboard the Fantasy from Port Canaveral, Florida, on a Disney 7-Night Very Merry Eastern Caribbean cruise with scheduled stops at Tortola, British Virgin Islands; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. Some things were magical, and some things needed some pixie dust.
We stayed in a concierge one-bedroom suite with verandah on deck 12, with our room just across from the concierge lounge.
The Room
The room was great. The bed was comfortable, the deck was large enough, and there was room to lay out everything to make our clothes and items accessible yet tucked away. We had three closets and two bathrooms (a full bathroom with two sinks, a tub, a water closet, and a shower and a second bathroom with a shower, sink, and toilet). The bedroom had three doors to close the room for privacy if other guests were sleeping in the living area. I enjoyed closing the doors at night and being “cocooned” in a unique space. There was ample space to eat, watch television, and get dressed. Additionally, our housekeeper was excellent.
The Food and Service at Restaurants
The food was very inconsistent. Some meals were good, some were very bad, and there was little middle ground between the two extremes. As a person with dietary restrictions (no wheat, dairy, or strawberries), this was especially concerning since I am already very restricted by what I can eat.
Dining started off rough at the sit-down lunch on embarkation for concierge guests. I ordered a plain steak with fries and a side of barbecue sauce. The waiter came out and said the chef stated that the mushroom sauce was safe for me to eat, so they wanted to put it on the steak. (I do not like mushrooms). I felt that I was being pressured to eat the mushroom sauce, so my husband interfered and asked if the sauce could be put on the side. They must have understood how I felt about the situation because the entrée came out as I had ordered it.
The difficulties continued during other meals. For what would become our only sit-down breakfast, there was quite the commotion figuring out where to seat us at the hostess stand. I was then expected to walk between a tight space between a support pillar and a child eating lunch. I had to say, “I’m sorry,” to his father as I squeezed past him due to crowding his son very intrusively. At one point during breakfast, I thought that the servers did not take drink orders and that we were responsible for stopping them and asking for a drink if we wanted one. It turns out we were experiencing bad service. It took forever to get a drink other than water and a very long time to get our food. A waitress set down our food when it was finally ready, and she would not leave. She kept saying things that indicated she was all about us having a good meal or something like that. She finally left, and my husband commented that she was on damage control because of our poor experience. I thought my food did not taste good at all. My husband thought I was fussy, so I gave him food. He agreed it was not very good; he thought the flavor was light. I ordered scrambled eggs, sausage links, and hash browns. Whatever the flavor of the sausage links was, it was so bad that I had to get food at the quick service station after breakfast to distance myself psychologically from it. The experience was so bad that we decided not to get breakfast again because sleeping in was more beneficial than eating.
We had the earlier seating for dinner at 5:45 p.m. My husband noted that even if we were seated in the restaurants before others with children, our servers attended to them first. I assume servers attempt to get families with children out as soon as possible so the adults can put them in the child centers and then go to an evening show, but I do not think others should be made to wait because they do not have children. This was a burden for me, as the last time I cruised with Disney, I made an effort to get to the restaurant early so our meal experience could begin immediately, leaving time at the end to preorder my next meal and consult with the server to do so. Instead, I got to wait while others who came in after me were attended to, and then I had to write out my menu requests for the following day without assistance. I was offended in more than one way.
On the first evening meal, I ordered a baked potato as a side (an option on the menu, not a special request). I was given vegetables with no seasoning and a pile of almost mashed potatoes from the healthier options section of the menu. At this point, I was dumbfounded that the chefs seemed to give me what they wanted regardless of what I wanted to eat. On our first night at Animator’s Palate, my husband and I ordered the Pennette Bolognese. I do not know if someone forgot a spice, put the incorrect amount of spices in the dish, or made some other error, but it was terrible. We pushed our plates to the side and stopped eating after a few bites. I was concerned because it would be a long cruise if the cruise line could not handle spaghetti and meat sauce.
I was disappointed in my server’s overall effort compared to my last Disney cruise with dietary restrictions. On the previous cruise, I preordered all the following day’s meals after dinner, and I left the restaurants each night with confidence that the chefs could modify selections and prepare what I had requested. The server was also very understanding that I often could not have the salads, soups, or appetizers because they could not be modified for me, and he encouraged me to order two entrees to make up for it. During this cruise, the server had me write out all my breakfast, lunch, and dinner requests with a pen and paper. He could not answer my questions about a modified gravy or sauce for the turkey entrée or if a sauce other than the cream-based sauce could be prepared for the pasta entrée. He did not ask a chef or consult with the head server/dining room attendant. I felt like a child writing a letter to Santa, excited and hopeful about getting what I asked for and nervous about what I might be given.
The head server did not come by our table for the last handful of days on the cruise, and I feel she knew we were unhappy with the service and quality of food and did not make an effort to make things right. Although the service improved as the cruise progressed, the service from our head server, server, and server assistant left much to be desired. The quality of the food and service was disappointing.
Other Service
Housekeeping was excellent; our stateroom attendant, Raj, took great care of our room and had the perfect personality, making it fun to talk to him daily in the hallway. We often caught him as we walked out of our room and made requests for the room (extra pillows, more soda), and he was organized and friendly. When we first met him, he asked if it was okay to leave chocolates on the pillow because of my dietary restrictions. This was something that did not happen the last time we sailed. Raj is good!
The concierge team took good care of us, although no one from the team came over to us during our sit-down lunch to review things as planned. We wanted to visit with someone in general, but we also wanted to discuss my dietary restrictions and ask if safe snacks could be provided since I could not eat any of the snacks in the lounge. A waitress overheard us talking about how we had yet to come over to speak with us, and she offered to walk over and ask a concierge member to speak to us. We discussed our snack request, then walked to our room and unpacked. When I visited the lounge for a drink, the concierge team provided safe snacks and even brought me sandwiches on gluten-free bread. They were friendly and answered our questions. They arranged for our evening meal to be sent to our room because we did not feel like going to the restaurant that night. (Not all concierge rooms qualify for this service; make sure you book the room that meets your needs). We enjoyed the concierge service and our fun conversations with the members.
The service at the quick service area that served pizza, hamburgers, chicken tenders, and other items was terrific for me. As a person with dietary restrictions, there were protocols in place to keep me from becoming sick. A manager filled out a ticket with my dietary restrictions whenever I ordered food. We had the same manager for most of our orders (Ian), and he was nothing short of amazing. He was very kind and friendly, had many conversations with us, and oversaw my orders. I felt safe eating there and looked forward to ordering there to see him. As someone who cannot go to a fast food restaurant and order chicken tenders, having chicken tenders was a very joyous thing. I could eat pizza on a gluten-free crust with no cheese (although dairy-free cheese was available), a hamburger on a gluten-free bun, chicken tenders, chicken tenders on a gluten-free bun, and fries. They also accommodated my request to give me condiments from the kitchen instead of the condiment bar to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.
The concession stand experience was fun for me. I could eat popcorn that was not cross-contaminated with wheat or dairy. I usually do not care for popcorn at places or trust that it is safe for me, but I felt comfortable eating it after speaking with employees. They let me look at the ingredients on the popcorn and seasoning package (which comes from a sealed plastic bag), which is then popped into the popcorn machine. It tasted good, and it was a treat for me. They took my allergy concerns seriously; an employee even asked his manager if he needed to fill out a form because he had spoken to me about an allergy and I had ordered something.
The experience of having our evening restaurant meal brought to our stateroom was horrible. We were not in the mood to go to the dining room for what we assumed would be mediocre food, so we arranged with the concierge plenty of time earlier in the day for our food to be brought to our room so we could relax that evening. They did not include my gluten-free bread or dairy-free butter, which I needed for my baked potato. My steak was not good, and I was not given any gravy or sauce for my roasted turkey breast. My husband was not given bread either. He also did not enjoy his meal, and after we ate a few bites, we decided we were finished. It gets worse. We had finished eating and were not still dining at the table. We were relaxing when the woman who delivered the meal rang our bell and walked into our room. She walked in, claiming that she had been trying to call us. She brought the appetizer that was not given to me and dairy-free butter. I informed her that we were finished eating, and she acted like it was not an issue and that I could snack on the appetizer that evening. The entire experience was poor and awkward.
Atmosphere
This may seem picky, but I am including it because it affected my enjoyment of the cruise. Our too overly excited activities director announced activities daily over the ship’s intercom, and boy did she announce. She announced for a very long time. One day, my husband looked over at me and asked if that was the activities director still speaking. She introduced the entertainers before shows and was overly animated, asking everyone how much they loved everything. It was over-the-top, even considering a cruise ship’s activities director would be overly enthusiastic. Unfortunately, we did not dock for our private island day due to the weather and were rerouted for our return to the port. The activities director added extra activities for what was supposed to be our day on the island. However, I was a little irritated by her attitude that we lost our private island day, but it was okay because we had a lot of arts and crafts activities available.
The Christmas decorations and characters in their holiday attire added to the ambiance. I did not get upset that we chose to relax rather than attend the holiday events on the ship because I preferred to enjoy the tree on the island and get pictures with it there, but we missed that part of the Christmas atmosphere. People dressed nicely for family pictures, and families wearing matching pajamas added to the seasonal fun.
A stomach virus spread while we were on the ship and spread on the Fantasy on the previous cruise. There had been an outbreak of norovirus on one of the Disney ships (not the Fantasy) approximately 1.5 weeks before our cruise. The cast members switched the self-serve stations to stations served by employees. These stations included the soda machines, the condiment area for the quick service food area, and the Cabanas buffet. Employees were also prominently walking with red buckets of disinfectant and wiping handrails and surfaces. By the end of the cruise, stations were returned to self-serve status. I do not feel that these changes negatively affected the Christmas cruise atmosphere. I was thankful for the disinfecting effort, and honestly, I believe the employees should operate the self-serve stations at all times for appropriate hygiene and health safety, especially since they do not negatively affect anyone’s experience.
One of the most memorable aspects of the atmosphere while being onboard was the chance to see sunsets. I saw two incredible sunsets; I walked away from the first, feeling I had participated in something special. There was silence as people enjoyed the event, and I felt surrounded by a group of people respecting that others around them wanted a quiet moment to enjoy a special moment. Almost a reverence surrounded it all, and I left the forward upper deck feeling different. It was one of my favorite moments of the cruise.
An unexpected event added a mix of excitement and worry to the atmosphere. We had finished our food from the quick service area when my husband noted that the ship had slowed down and started to turn. I immediately had us explore as I thought that meant someone had gone overboard or the captain had spotted something or someone in the water that needed investigating. There was a lot of excitement as passengers leaned against the deck railings and watched a dingy float by the ship. There were no passengers inside. The captain announced that the Coast Guard was confident no one needed rescue and that we would continue our itinerary. We saw in the news that another major cruise line had rescued some passengers earlier when their vessel sank. The event did not negatively affect their atmosphere, but it was certainly a rare thing to happen.
Activities
We did like the ship activities. We learned how to create towel animals, sketch Donald Duck’s face, and make an origami bird. We did not participate in most traditional activities on a Very Merry Disney cruise because we prefer to relax and enjoy our room, the view of the ocean, or a sunset. However, some available activities included a tree lighting ceremony, fireworks for Pirate Night, a ventriloquist, and Aladdin stage production.
We were on the deck for the sailing away party, which was difficult to see and not super exciting. We listened briefly to carolers one day in the atrium, enjoyed a magic show, and saw the Frozen and Believe productions in the theater.
Ports
We did not do excursions at the port stops at the British Virgin Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands. We like to sleep in and relax on cruises, so we opted not to plan excursions and have to wake up early and spend a large part of the day being busy. We enjoyed sleeping in, walking off the ship, walking around the port stops, taking pictures, and returning to the ship for lunch. If you are interested in port activities and stay in a concierge room, the concierge team can assist you with planning.
The British Virgin Islands had crumbling and muddy sidewalks where water had not appropriately drained. It was significant enough that when walking both ways on the sidewalks, people coming across the muddy areas on their side had to stop and wait for people to pass so they could walk around the muddy buildup. When we walked to the water's edge bordering a gravel parking lot, we had to be careful not to slip in muddy areas.
The U.S. Virgin Islands had walkable sidewalks, although I noticed that the traffic was very close to the sidewalk. I felt as if I almost had my elbow hit by a couple of cars because my elbow was too close to the street. You should be aware that they drive on the opposite side of the street than what we do in the United States for both the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, so depending on which way you are walking, you might not realize that cars are coming behind you instead of toward you, and this is important to remember as you are walking. There were some touristy picture opportunities here and good chances to take pictures of the ship.
Getting off the ship and taking pictures was nice, but since I enjoy taking it easy, I wonder if it was worth leaving. Of course, that is different if you are doing excursions or taking transportation to the beaches.
We could not dock at the private island due to an unseasonable storm in the Caribbean. Usually, it is a day at the beach (a family beach or an adults-only beach), with activities ranging from relaxing on the beach, renting one of a few cabanas, and bicycling to other activities. There is a cookout-style buffet with hamburgers, hot dogs, roasted chicken, pork ribs, salad, fruit, ice cream, cookies, and potato chips. You can preorder your island meal with your server if you have allergies. Photographers are ready to take pictures as you walk toward the beach, and there are character picture opportunities. Shops have island-specific merchandise that you will find only on the island.
Overall, we enjoyed our cruise. We cruised under less-than-ideal circumstances with the weather, missing our private island day and the sickness that spread throughout the ship. Our favorite things were the service from the concierge team, the housekeeper assigned to our stateroom, the ability to relax and not busy ourselves too much, and the food when it was good. I will miss my chicken tender sandwiches, quiet yet impactful sunsets, popcorn while watching television at night, and the memories that a cruise creates.