Just back from Fantasy - 3/9-16/19

[jujubiee4]

That's good to hear.
After this past cruise we've started talking about other cruise lines (gasp!) for the first time ever. And NCL is being discussed, so it's good to hear about the options you mentioned. Not a big alcohol drinker either but I used to enjoy the tastings at DCL, as they were more intimate and fun. not so much anymore after this cruise.

Interesting our last cruise the tasting was more crowded also. I just thought it was a one time thing.
However a friend sailed couple of months ago and said same thing.

I remember going to tastings where 7 or 8 people ONLY were there. Of course this was the time BEFORE they restricted the
amount you could bring onboard. I'm not a drinker so the tastings were nice to try something out of the box.

 

[CarolynU]

I’m really sorry that your entertainment wasn’t as exciting as you had hoped. I’ve just had Jo for two weeks on the WBPC and that girl is awesome. We also had Natalie as CD who provided us with an amazing itinerary unlike a couple of years ago on the same WBPC cruise where I described the entertainment was sub par, so I’m not sure who is responsible for organisation of the entertainers onboard but it can be make or break. Is it the CD? Two years ago we had 35+ sessions of karaoke?! We also had John Charles that trip who had very little scheduled, which was baffling to him too! This year was incredible.
As for the pools. On The Magic last year those lifeguards were on it! They were challenging any non diaper trained child in any pool. That’s how it should be.
My granddaughter was two at the time and almost 100% reliable but to be on the safe side my daughter stuck her in a swim diaper and we kept to Nemos reef. She would have been mortified if as a consequence of an accident the other pool had to be closed, and we expect the same courtesy from others.
On our next cruise in 2021 the granddaughter will be four and my new grandson 17 months so one adult will be supervising the infant in the pool and one will be in the reef with the toddler.
I’m afraid if I see lifeguards not enforcing the rules I will call them out on it. I think I will politely ask them initially to deal with the situation and stand near them to make sure they do. If they don’t then I will remind them that it’s a health hazard and Disney’s rules and just politely point out that I’ll visit guest services and let them know which lifeguards aren’t providing a safe environment and whilst onboard I’ll email DCL.
Hopefully that might just do the trick or maybe there’s a manager that I could ask to speak to.
I’m sorry but if we stick to the rules for multiple cruises with our children then I then expect a safe swim time when finally we are in the position to be able to enjoy it, albeit with only one kiddie.

 

[Dug720]

I’m really sorry that your entertainment wasn’t as exciting as you had hoped. I’ve just had Jo for two weeks on the WBPC and that girl is awesome. We also had Natalie as CD who provided us with an amazing itinerary unlike a couple of years ago on the same WBPC cruise where I described the entertainment was sub par, so I’m not sure who is responsible for organisation of the entertainers onboard but it can be make or break. Is it the CD? Two years ago we had 35+ sessions of karaoke?! We also had John Charles that trip who had very little scheduled, which was baffling to him too! This year was incredible.
As for the pools. On The Magic last year those lifeguards were on it! They were challenging any non diaper trained child in any pool. That’s how it should be.
My granddaughter was two at the time and almost 100% reliable but to be on the safe side my daughter stuck her in a swim diaper and we kept to Nemos reef. She would have been mortified if as a consequence of an accident the other pool had to be closed, and we expect the same courtesy from others.
On our next cruise in 2021 the granddaughter will be four and my new grandson 17 months so one adult will be supervising the infant in the pool and one will be in the reef with the toddler.
I’m afraid if I see lifeguards not enforcing the rules I will call them out on it. I think I will politely ask them initially to deal with the situation and stand near them to make sure they do. If they don’t then I will remind them that it’s a health hazard and Disney’s rules and just politely point out that I’ll visit guest services and let them know which lifeguards aren’t providing a safe environment and whilst onboard I’ll email DCL.
Hopefully that might just do the trick or maybe there’s a manager that I could ask to speak to.
I’m sorry but if we stick to the rules for multiple cruises with our children then I then expect a safe swim time when finally we are in the position to be able to enjoy it, albeit with only one kiddie.

I'm confused... You're all for them enforcing the rules, but unless the infant is a genius and already potty trained, they will not be allowed in the pool. What am I missing?

 

[CarolynU]

I described my four year old granddaughter as the infant and the little one will be the toddler. I can assure you that the kiddie I described as the infant who is already 100% toilet trained will remain reliable. It was just my terminology as in the UK we call all children pre school and even in their early school years as infants. Then at around six or seven they change to juniors.

 

[CarolynU]

I'm confused... You're all for them enforcing the rules, but unless the infant is a genius and already potty trained, they will not be allowed in the pool. What am I missing?

I described my four year old granddaughter as the infant and the little one will be the toddler. I can assure you that the kiddie I described as the infant who is already 100% toilet trained will remain reliable. It was just my terminology as in the UK we call all children pre school and even in their early school years as infants. Then at around six or seven they change to juniors.

 

[Dug720]

Interesting. Infants here are the littlest. Then toddlers. Then children.

 

[CarolynU]

Interesting. Infants here are the littlest. Then toddlers. Then children.

Wow. That’s a cultural difference I didn’t know.
I think it’s back to school days which called infants the first school age, then juniors, then secondary. Although now they are called Key Stages?!
Toddlers are the pre confident walkers or just walkers. As in they ‘toddle’ around with the meaning of a child unbalanced and taking their first unsteady steps. LoL!

 

[Dug720]

Wow. That’s a cultural difference I didn’t know.
I think it’s back to school days which called infants the first school age, then juniors, then secondary. Although now they are called Key Stages?!
Toddlers are the pre confident walkers or just walkers. As in they ‘toddle’ around lol!

Yeah... Basically infants go to about 12 months and then they move into toddlers. From about 3 or 4 on they are pre-kindergarten then kindergarten and then usually referred to by grades until about 10-12 when they are “tweens” and 13-17 when they are teens and at 18 considered an adult for most purposes.

 

[CarolynU]

Yeah... Basically infants go to about 12 months and then they move into toddlers. From about 3 or 4 on they are pre-kindergarten then kindergarten and then usually referred to by grades until about 10-12 when they are “tweens” and 13-17 when they are teens and at 18 considered an adult for most purposes.

Actually I think we have two meanings for infants.
New borns I think we do also call infants. In fact medically I think that’s the correct terminology so we use the same word for two phases, so no wonder it’s confusing.
We then end up with infants, toddlers, infants again in a school sense and so on!
That’s probably why we got rid of the terms infants, juniors etc and called them key stages. I’m old though lol so to me I still think of them the old way.

 

[CarolynU]

Actually I think we have two meanings for infants.
New borns I think we do also call infants. In fact medically I think that’s the correct terminology so we use the same word for two phases, so no wonder it’s confusing.
We then end up with infants, toddlers, infants again in a school sense and so on!
That’s probably why we got rid of the terms infants, juniors etc and called them key stages. I’m old though lol so to me I still think of them the old way.

Just shows we share the same language but sometimes with totally different cultural meanings.

 

[Dug720]

Actually I think we have two meanings for infants.
New borns I think we do also call infants. In fact medically I think that’s the correct terminology so we use the same word for two phases, so no wonder it’s confusing.
We then end up with infants, toddlers, infants again in a school sense and so on!
That’s probably why we got rid of the terms infants, juniors etc and called them key stages. I’m old though lol so to me I still think of them the old way.

Yeah. After toddlers comes preschool or prekindergarten. No reverting to infancy.

 

[CarolynU]

Yeah. After toddlers comes preschool or prekindergarten. No reverting to infancy.

We don’t use the words pre school or kindergarten at all.
Ours is nursery which is everything prior to formal schooling which is as much or as little as the individual families want and then at four years old key stages at formal school right up to leaving school.
We usually only have two schools. Four to Eleven and then Twelve to Leaving either for college/university or seeking employment at eighteen.

 

[mevelandry]

Interesting our last cruise the tasting was more crowded also. I just thought it was a one time thing.
However a friend sailed couple of months ago and said same thing.

I remember going to tastings where 7 or 8 people ONLY were there. Of course this was the time BEFORE they restricted the
amount you could bring onboard. I'm not a drinker so the tastings were nice to try something out of the box.

It sucks. Our two alcohol tastings (mixology class + wine class) had more or less 20 people in it and while they were fun, I already felt like it was too many people.

 

[mcd2745]

The lack of availability of the pools is a big pet peeve of mine also. However, it is less about the constant "Code Browns" during the day as it is about them closing ridiculously early every night. Pools (especially Quiet Cove) should generally be open 24/7 except for cleaning & maintenance (and then only 1 at a time). A sad result of today's overly-litigious society I guess.

 

[DisneYE]

I’m really sorry that your entertainment wasn’t as exciting as you had hoped. I’ve just had Jo for two weeks on the WBPC and that girl is awesome. We also had Natalie as CD who provided us with an amazing itinerary unlike a couple of years ago on the same WBPC cruise where I described the entertainment was sub par, so I’m not sure who is responsible for organisation of the entertainers onboard but it can be make or break. Is it the CD? Two years ago we had 35+ sessions of karaoke?! We also had John Charles that trip who had very little scheduled, which was baffling to him too! This year was incredible.
As for the pools. On The Magic last year those lifeguards were on it! They were challenging any non diaper trained child in any pool. That’s how it should be.
My granddaughter was two at the time and almost 100% reliable but to be on the safe side my daughter stuck her in a swim diaper and we kept to Nemos reef. She would have been mortified if as a consequence of an accident the other pool had to be closed, and we expect the same courtesy from others.
On our next cruise in 2021 the granddaughter will be four and my new grandson 17 months so one adult will be supervising the infant in the pool and one will be in the reef with the toddler.
I’m afraid if I see lifeguards not enforcing the rules I will call them out on it. I think I will politely ask them initially to deal with the situation and stand near them to make sure they do. If they don’t then I will remind them that it’s a health hazard and Disney’s rules and just politely point out that I’ll visit guest services and let them know which lifeguards aren’t providing a safe environment and whilst onboard I’ll email DCL.
Hopefully that might just do the trick or maybe there’s a manager that I could ask to speak to.
I’m sorry but if we stick to the rules for multiple cruises with our children then I then expect a safe swim time when finally we are in the position to be able to enjoy it, albeit with only one kiddie.

Thanks for the comment.
Jo is the best... she doesn't know this but both me and my wife would follow her around like roadies did with rock bands. she's a rockstar. the times we sailed with her (only twice) we made sure to give her a nice tip and write a letter to make sure she knows how appreciated she is.
You and your daughter are responsible parents/grandparents... so thank you...we all should be like that. I absolutely loathe parents who put their babies in the swimming pool. its so disrespectful and rude to other cruisers.
Please be sure to email DCL and complain about this issue. the more of us that do it, better the chance they'll do something.
The pool is close to my heart bc my DD13 loves it, she's loved it ever since her 1st cruise when she was 5... her favorite part of the cruise is watching movies in the water during funnel vision.

 

[CarolynU]

Thanks for the comment.
Jo is the best... she doesn't know this but both me and my wife would follow her around like roadies did with rock bands. she's a rockstar. the times we sailed with her (only twice) we made sure to give her a nice tip and write a letter to make sure she knows how appreciated she is.
You and your daughter are responsible parents/grandparents... so thank you...we all should be like that. I absolutely loathe parents who put their babies in the swimming pool. its so disrespectful and rude to other cruisers.
Please be sure to email DCL and complain about this issue. the more of us that do it, better the chance they'll do something.
The pool is close to my heart bc my DD13 loves it, she's loved it ever since her 1st cruise when she was 5... her favorite part of the cruise is watching movies in the water during funnel vision.

I’m afraid a lot of the time now it’s a case of I don’t like the rules so too bad! I’ll do what I want.
Sometimes I wish that Disney would be a bit more pro active ensuring adherence to them to be honest.
I’ve just finished writing my email to DCL in praise of so many individual crew and entertainers on my recent cruise, and Jo was highly featured.
I hope that on your next cruise the entertainment is better. It’s a deal breaker for me.

 

[gatordoc]

Funny, we just got off the Fantasy (March 16-23) and thought Chris was an awesome club host. Really personable, and funny in a sly, sarcastic way that we really enjoyed. We do love Jo, but Chris would definitely be our second choice, much more so that #Tony from Spain, who we really just find to be annoying. But, everyone has different likes and dislikes...

 

[darnheather]

It sucks. Our two alcohol tastings (mixology class + wine class) had more or less 20 people in it and while they were fun, I already felt like it was too many people.

The other option is not getting in because they only have 10 slots per class. All of mine had 20 people and I didn't feel at all crowded but maybe that's because I don't know better.

 

[mevelandry]

The other option is not getting in because they only have 10 slots per class. All of mine had 20 people and I didn't feel at all crowded but maybe that's because I don't know better.

I guess I was disappointed because I was expecting to participate into the concoction of all the drinks. Instead, we only got to do 1 (on 4 drinks if I remember correctly).

At least the class was fun!

 

[darnheather]

I guess I was disappointed because I was expecting to participate into the concoction of all the drinks. Instead, we only got to do 1 (on 4 drinks if I remember correctly).

At least the class was fun!

Oh I see. Yes in mixology we all did get to pour one drink which was a layered shot. I'm glad overall you had fun.