Those off the Thanksgiving cruises

[Sleepyluke]

Most specifically the Fantasy, how were crowds and clubs and pools and all that good stuff? I figure this would be the most populated cruise yet.

 

[ThinkTink1]

I was on the Fantasy the week before with about 1600 of us… our dining captain said that the numbers they had were around 2700… then they were going back down again but each week they saw an increase of guests

 

[roselj]

I was on the Fantasy Thanksgiving week. Our porter said there were 2200 on the ship and he didn’t expect it to increase for months due to the time it takes for embarkation testing that many people.
We didn’t really go to the clubs but the only times we saw things at capacity was the premiere of Encanto, the first showings of Eternals, and Bingo games.
The Donald pool occasionally had a short line, but not consistently. I never saw a wait for the Mickey pool.

 

[GPaLarry]

Just got off the Dream Monday. Only 2069 people on board (about half)...not much crowding anywhere except at CC where the beach lounge chairs were hard (but not impossible) to find. Cabanas was crowded, but still had tables around. Biggest challenge was the featured show, Beauty & Beast, shown two nights. Seating was every other row and three seats apart per group. Imagine the Fantasy would have the same issues. Get in line early for these shows...no saving of seats, whoever is in line gets seated...we had to step aside to wait for rest of family and were only seated when they arrived. I would recommend your whole party getting there and getting seated FIRST, then go to the bathroom, grab that special something from one of the shops, etc. Your seating is done by cast members who are friendly but firm about masks, spacing, etc.

 

[sethschroeder]

Making me want to book a cruise sometime this month.

 

[kathi]

Were you on the family beach or Serenity Bay? I'm not looking forward to difficulty finding seating on our holiday cruise.

 

[daisyx3]

Were you on the family beach or Serenity Bay? I'm not looking forward to difficulty finding seating on our holiday cruise.

Not the same cruise, but we took the 11/5 Dream and when we went to Serenity Bay we had to walk further down the beach than we ever have to get chairs. The other beaches had plenty. I did notice a lack of hammocks; I only saw them at the Cabanas bordering Serenity Bay. I'm guessing they are harder to clean?

 

[thndrmatt]

~1200 guests on the Magic 11/27. No line for anything ever, other than peak times at the pool/slides, and by peak I mean <10 people in line. Multiple times saw characters lonely in the lobby and trying to flag people down. Not sure we ever even shared an elevator. Castaway Cay as deserted as you'll ever see it, wander over to family beach whenever and get a front row shaded lounger no problem, Pelican Plunge walk on both days, Serenity Bay probably had 20 people visible on the whole thing from the entrance, maybe more hidden back in the cabanas. No issue getting kids clubs slots any time of day even multiple times a day if needed. Only time I ever noticed the volume of people in general was the sitting around waiting for tests results around noon in the terminal, as that was when the majority of the ship was in the waiting game at that point. Fun fact you have to wait for the whole stateroom to clear before anyone can board, so if you meet them there after returning the rental car they'll all have to wait a bit longer on you (oops).

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Just got off the Dream Monday. Only 2069 people on board (about half)...not much crowding anywhere except at CC where the beach lounge chairs were hard (but not impossible) to find. Cabanas was crowded, but still had tables around. Biggest challenge was the featured show, Beauty & Beast, shown two nights. Seating was every other row and three seats apart per group. Imagine the Fantasy would have the same issues. Get in line early for these shows...no saving of seats, whoever is in line gets seated...we had to step aside to wait for rest of family and were only seated when they arrived. I would recommend your whole party getting there and getting seated FIRST, then go to the bathroom, grab that special something from one of the shops, etc. Your seating is done by cast members who are friendly but firm about masks, spacing, etc.

This was our exact experience on the Magic sailing 11/27. On Wednesday night I noticed once people are in their seats, they count the 3 empty required seats then call up to the top of the stairs saying, "We have room here for a party of 3." There was none of the "Hey do you mind if I get close to you?" stuff that goes on in the elevators. Makes sense since the elevator ride only lasts 10 seconds vs. sitting in the theater for at least an hour.

 

[Barbydoll8]

On the Fantasy the weekend of Nov 11th. Higher numbers on weekend cruises per the staff. Our server said that with the crew, there was a little over 2200 on board. It never felt crowded.
For those going to Nassau though, we thought more people would get off the ship but children under 12 couldn't get off due to rules in the Bahamas regarding vaccination. You may have a more crowded than expected port day due to this. But it never felt overwhelming.

CC - Serenity bay - they are doing restoration to the beach and the immediate beach by the bar did not have beach chairs at all. So if you want to lounge on Serenity bay, get an early arrival time if you can. But the family beach wasn't crowded either.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

On the Fantasy the weekend of Nov 11th. Higher numbers on weekend cruises per the staff. Our server said that with the crew, there was a little over 2200 on board. It never felt crowded.
For those going to Nassau though, we thought more people would get off the ship but children under 12 couldn't get off due to rules in the Bahamas regarding vaccination. You may have a more crowded than expected port day due to this. But it never felt overwhelming.

CC - Serenity bay - they are doing restoration to the beach and the immediate beach by the bar did not have beach chairs at all. So if you want to lounge on Serenity bay, get an early arrival time if you can. But the family beach wasn't crowded either.

We just disembarked the Magic yesterday. We were told that anyone not vaccinated who is desiring to leave the ship in Nassau can only do so via a DCL-sponsored excursion. If 100% of your party is vaccinated, you can explore Nassau independently.
I just wanted to clarify for anyone travelling with unvaccinated children. It’s not that they CAN’T leave the ship, it’s that you would need to book an excursion through DCL.
On our cruise there were more people than usual who chose to stay onboard. I’m guessing there are a lot of people who feel comfortable cruising DCL but not necessarily as comfortable mingling with locals.

 

[emilymad]

Have their been waits for the adult pools?

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Have their been waits for the adult pools?

I never saw a wait at the adult pool on the Magic. There was never more than 5-6 people in it.

 

[WDW415]

Is there evening entertainment in the lounges at all? Piano, guitar, etc.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

There was a guitarist we saw in the Promenade Lounge. He wasn’t all that good but somehow we stayed through the whole thing. There was also a pianist in the atrium area. She was awesome. I don’t normally seek out these things but dh wasn’t interested in the music trivia, which is what I wanted to do. I did notice the guitarist had several different shows and we went to this one was because it mentioned country music. Some were late at night.

 

[GPaLarry]

Were you on the family beach or Serenity Bay? I'm not looking forward to difficulty finding seating on our holiday cruise.

Family beach.

 

[GPaLarry]

Have their been waits for the adult pools?

No wait for us at the hot tub...plenty of room in the adult area.