January 25th Fantasy Sailing Modified

[MonaMN]

We were also on this cruise. It was our 2nd time to do the WC cruise. On our first WC cruise in 2017 almost all GC excursions were cancelled due to rough seas, however they were able to do tendering. We decided to stay on the ship. We also stayed on the ship in Jamaica. We have another WC cruise booked for 2021. Before this cruise I was thinking of cancelling the 2021 cruise and booking one on the Magic. While we still had fun and I really want to make it to GC and Jamaica some day, this cruise has me wanting to switch to the Magic even more. I'd rather take the chance of missing ports on a ship I haven't been on in a long time.

We booked for a 5 day on the Magic while onboard for next year - we have only done the Fantasy and Dream, so assuming we stick with that sailing, we will get to experience one of the classic ships.

And it happens to be a Marvel Day at Sea cruise... I have some work to do to get up to speed on my Marvel characters!

 

[Minkyboodle]

We’re going to be on the November 1st 7 night EC sailing into the Dream. We were also on the 3 night double dip on the Fantasy back in 2017 when it broke down on its way back to port and I feel Disney handled that very poorly. I love DCL and the Fantasy is my favorite ship, but I am curious to see how the Dream does on a longer sailing. We’ve sailed some 4 night Bahamas on her in the past.

 

[n2mm]

All this is crazy. We were not as bad. We were on the jan 11-18 fantasy cruise. We rocked for The first 3 days, but made it to st. Thomas and Tortola, though excursions were canceled for some because of the winds, deck 13 was closed on our second sea day and shows were moved around for the safety of the performers. Captain Marco got into castaway on the second try. Then we rocked all the way back to port canaveral. This is only the second time I cruised in January and am rethinking my January 23, 2021 cruise. We’ve done february about 10 times with no issues.

 

[Pixarfans]

All this is crazy. We were not as bad. We were on the jan 11-18 fantasy cruise. We rocked for The first 3 days, but made it to st. Thomas and Tortola, though excursions were canceled for some because of the winds, deck 13 was closed on our second sea day and shows were moved around for the safety of the performers. Captain Marco got into castaway on the second try. Then we rocked all the way back to port canaveral. This is only the second time I cruised in January and am rethinking my January 23, 2021 cruise. We’ve done february about 10 times with no issues.

We are going in a few weeks. Hopefully it is better (me and my son both get sea sick pretty bad). Sorry you had some rough seas.

 

[mmouse37]

we board sat also and def worries a bit.

We will all make the best of it!!!

MJ

 

[RX8]

I was also on the January 18th Western Caribbean Fantasy cruise. The mechanical issue causing the ship to not travel at max speed certainly began on our cruise. I saw divers in the water working on something as we boarded the ship at Castaway Cay. To what extent it caused issues with our port cancellations I do not know. However, makes one question. Did we arrive later than expected to Grand Cayman because of the speed issue resulting in missing our opportunity to tender? Was the decision made to skip Jamaica made in part to ensure that we could make the long distance at the slower speed from Jamaica to Castaway Cay? Were there issues with the ship's stabilizers that played a part in both the ships rocking at sea (worst on my five DCL cruises) and the ability to dock/tender?

I understand that weather is out of Disney's control but the way this has been handled has left me a little sour on the cruises. I had paid a good deal hoping to see locations I had never been to before. I ended up not getting a Western Caribbean cruise that I paid for but rather a Cozumel visit for a few hours and lots of days at sea. At the very least, I think people affected should get a discount to try the same cruise again.

Edited: This is the first time I had been on the Fantasy (previously the Dream and Magic). I noticed some vibration the very first night. I had made a comment to my wife that it felt like an earthquake. I noticed it most while seated at dining. I had not experienced that on the other ships. Wasn't annoying to the point it affected my trip with that alone but did not seem right to me.

 

[neutie88]

All this is crazy. We were not as bad. We were on the jan 11-18 fantasy cruise. We rocked for The first 3 days, but made it to st. Thomas and Tortola, though excursions were canceled for some because of the winds, deck 13 was closed on our second sea day and shows were moved around for the safety of the performers. Captain Marco got into castaway on the second try. Then we rocked all the way back to port canaveral. This is only the second time I cruised in January and am rethinking my January 23, 2021 cruise. We’ve done february about 10 times with no issues.

Just out of curiosity, did Disney offer any compensation or discounts for the trouble you experienced on your cruise?

 

[lklgoodman]

Deleted because I miss read that you were asking about the Jan 11 cruise. ( I was on the Jan.18 cruise and had responded that we just received port fees/excursions booked through DCL not charged)

 

[smmco]

All this is crazy. We were not as bad. We were on the jan 11-18 fantasy cruise. We rocked for The first 3 days, but made it to st. Thomas and Tortola, though excursions were canceled for some because of the winds, deck 13 was closed on our second sea day and shows were moved around for the safety of the performers. Captain Marco got into castaway on the second try. Then we rocked all the way back to port canaveral. This is only the second time I cruised in January and am rethinking my January 23, 2021 cruise. We’ve done february about 10 times with no issues.

We've cruised in January with smooth seas and Feb with rough and vise versa. You can't predict what the seas will be like on any given week. People worry about Hurricanes but tend to forget about the Winter storms that cause strong cold winds and big swells. If you want the best chance of good weather combined with lower prices I would sail in May. Nothing is ever guaranteed when it comes to weather that would be my first pick.

 

[n2mm]

Just out of curiosity, did Disney offer any compensation or discounts for the trouble you experienced on your cruise?

no

 

[bunnm09]

It’s definitely not a Disney only problem though. We sailed on the Allure last year and it had similar propulsion issues and could not travel at full speed. We lucked out our week but many cruises after ours had ports swapped out

 

[Keone2002]

Curious why the same issues don't occur on the Dream as they have similar designs? Was the Fantasy built before the Dream and the issues have been corrected by the time the Dream was built?

LAX

Fantasy is the newest ship. I have read that the Fantasy often has to use all engines for higher speeds due to the longer distance between ports for 7 nigh cruises. Understand the Dream will also vibrate under the same conditions.

 

[LAX]

Fantasy is the newest ship. I have read that the Fantasy often has to use all engines for higher speeds due to the longer distance between ports for 7 nigh cruises. Understand the Dream will also vibrate under the same conditions.

That's interesting. Is it a design flaw? Or is DCL running itineraries that are not intended for Fantasy/Dream's "specs"? Perhaps DCL should modify Fantasy's itineraries in advance with this limitation in mind rather than waiting for issues to arise and end up cancelling ports at the last minute.

LAX

 

[MomOTwins]

That's interesting. Is it a design flaw? Or is DCL running itineraries that are not intended for Fantasy/Dream's "specs"? Perhaps DCL should modify Fantasy's itineraries in advance with this limitation in mind rather than waiting for issues to arise and end up cancelling ports at the last minute.

LAX

I definitely suspect the Fantasy will be repurposed for shorter cruises once the Wish becomes available. If you read aft room reports on the Fantasy, you'll see numerous reports of the vibration being intolerable. Whatever is causing it, it can't be good for the ship's longevity or encouraging people to become repeat cruisers.

 

[tarheelz]

I definitely suspect the Fantasy will be repurposed for shorter cruises once the Wish becomes available. If you read aft room reports on the Fantasy, you'll see numerous reports of the vibration being intolerable. Whatever is causing it, it can't be good for the ship's longevity or encouraging people to become repeat cruisers.

Yep. We loved our Aft stateroom on the Dream. Same exact room on the Fantasy was occasionally far beyond the levels of vibration that anyone would be able to shrug off as normal.

My hope is that the Wish relieves the Fantasy allowing for the long drydock it needs to remedy its engineering problems.

 

[MsAmerica]

We were on the June 30, 2019 cruise last summer and we had severe vibration issues. The cruise after us had significant issues that had to be fixed during the cruise. It sounds like whatever is happening to the Fantasy right now is a repeat of an earlier patch job. Personally, I won't go on her again-the vibrations were terrible especially anything aft