Time for planning....

[tim5055 120]

OK, time to start planning.

 

I've got a 7 day booked on the Fantasy with family in December.  I booked a 05E-GTY and my room assignment just came up - Yup, I got what I wanted.  Nice big veranda looking dead astern of the ship.  We had one of these cabins on our Alaska cruise a couple of years ago (RCCL, not DCL) and loved it.  As a matter of fact all three siblings (brother, sister & myself) all have 05E cabins.

 

I have already booked a sleep/park/cruise room near the port for the night before departure so transportation to/from the port and parking are covered.

 

So, what do I need to know about DCL?  The wife is not a huge cruise fan, so I need to keep her happy.

 

3 port calls, St Maarten, St. Thomas/St. John, Castaway Cay.  3 "at sea" days.  With a December sailing, it will be a "Very MerryTime Cruise"

 

It looks like our group will be 12 adults and 4 children (none for us).

 

So, what do I need to know?

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

If there are some shore excursions you really want, book those online right at the date they open. They sell out pretty quick.

 

You can bring some alcohol on board. I believe a couple of bottles of wine, and/or a six pack of beer (per passenger). You can do this at each port.

 

If you like soda and want to take advantage of the soda dispensers on board, bring your own larger mug or glass. The glasses available at the machines are tiny. The soda dispensers are way up on Deck 10.

 

If you have a lot of carryons, wait until later to board so you don't have to keep up with them for several hours. (We boarded really early, and had to deal with an ECV, the bag with the alcohol, some medical equipment, and a bag full of prescriptions), it was a real pain. 

[tim5055 120]

Thanks Carol.  Right now my plan is two "carry on" bags, both rolling airline carry on bags.  With the new alcohol policies each of us will have two bottles and we are waiting for a response from other adults to see if they will bring more bottles for us.  We will get a wine package so we can have a bottle with dinner each night.

 

Not sure on excursions at this point - not sure what we want to do.

 

Questions we have -

 

What on Castaway Cay is included an what is "extra"

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Questions we have -

 

What on Castaway Cay is included an what is "extra"

 

All of the food on Castaway Cay is included, as are soft drinks, ice cream, and snacks.  Just like on the ship, there are bars, and you have to pay for the booze.

 

The beaches, lounge chairs and hammocks are free for the taking.

 

If you want to snorkel, you can bring your own gear, and that is free.  You do need to wear an inflatable life vest, but those are free to pick-up at the life guard stands.  If you don't have your own gear, they will rent you some. The prices aren't bad.  You can also rent floats to use out in the water- again the prices aren't outrageous.

 

The play structures out in the water are free- including Pelican Plunge.  There is also a splash area- cleverly called Spring-A-Leak, which is free.

 

They host a 5K race on the island early on the morning you dock there- that is free.

 

There are other recreation opportunities like bike riding, sailboats, paddle boats, etc.  There are charges for using those things.

 

There are also private cabanas that you can rent.  Those are pricey, but are usually booked solid as soon as the booking dates open

 

There are massage huts on the adult beach- you have to pay for those.

 

I think that covers most of it.

 

TCD

[tim5055 120]

All of the food on Castaway Cay is included, as are soft drinks, ice cream, and snacks. Just like on the ship, there are bars, and you have to pay for the booze.

The beaches, lounge chairs and hammocks are free for the taking.

If you want to snorkel, you can bring your own gear, and that is free. You do need to wear an inflatable life vest, but those are free to pick-up at the life guard stands. If you don't have your own gear, they will rent you some. The prices aren't bad. You can also rent floats to use out in the water- again the prices aren't outrageous.

The play structures out in the water are free- including Pelican Plunge. There is also a splash area- cleverly called Spring-A-Leak, which is free.

They host a 5K race on the island early on the morning you dock there- that is free.

There are other recreation opportunities like bike riding, sailboats, paddle boats, etc. There are charges for using those things.

There are also private cabanas that you can rent. Those are pricey, but are usually booked solid as soon as the booking dates open

There are massage huts on the adult beach- you have to pay for those.

I think that covers most of it.

TCD

Great, Thanks!