Disney obviously has a reputation for being one of the best cruises in the business, and it did not disappoint! We dove in headfirst with a 7-night cruise to the Virgin Islands and Castaway Cay. Like many cruises the past few years, this one has a saga of rescheduling and stressing about COVID-19, but in the end, we finally managed to get on board the Disney Fantasy!
The first thing we did was head straight to the pool. They had this really awesome Finding Nemo splash pad and a waterslide that went around the top of the boat, and a giant movie screen that played classic Disney movies all day (when was the last time you watched Pinocchio?). Also, bottomless ice cream!
On the first night aboard, Brittany, Matthew, and I were able to go to Remy, the fancy French restaurant. They served an eight-course meal (with a few bonus courses as well). We tried caviar and Miyazaki beef and were fit to pop by the end of the night, and they even brought us a cake to celebrate our anniversary next week.
So we had two days at sea to start off. Our stateroom number was 6666, which earned us a "Seriously?" from literally every staff member we had to recite it to. Meg just wanted to swim constantly. There were also a lot of activities on board. Our favorites were trivia (we even won one of them!) and meeting the characters. Matthew also really loved popping into the movie theater at random to watch whatever was playing for a few minutes, because why not? We also did a round of karaoke, and we got to watch Aladdin (stage show) and Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness.
There were some fun restaurants onboard that we got to visit, and Meg had a lot of fun playing at the kids club. We even got to go to an "open house" to see what they get up to in kids club.
On Tuesday we docked in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We rented a car, which turned out to be more of an adventure than we expected, because the roads on Tortola are basically straight up and down, with hair-raising turns that are not clearly marked. We may have stalled out at one point and had to back our way down a very steep hill, but eventually we made it to Mount Sage National Park, where we went on a fun hike up to an overlook. It was pretty cloudy at the top, but the hike was fun if a bit short, and we saw some cool nature along the way (including a millipede!).
We then drove down to Brewer's Bay, on the recommendation of the car rental guy, and let me tell you, it was the best recommendation I've ever had. This beach was pristine and completely deserted. We were the only humans for most of our time there. It had white sand with no detritus or anything sharp or grainy in it. The water was warm and crystal clear—honestly, it was like pool water, and you could see straight to the bottom. It was shallow for a good ways out, so that was nice with the kids. There were also a bunch of pelicans, and it was fun to watch them soar overhead and then dive-bomb the water.
Not too far off shore, there were some really great reefs, and it was hands down the best snorkeling I've ever done. There was this massive school of circling fish that we swam through (and a barracuda out stalking them!). It was so neat to just be surrounding by masses of swirling fish, though. The coral reef had so many cool coral formations, and they were quite close to the surface and had so many beautiful fish. It almost felt like snorkeling inside an aquarium, but it was the real ocean! Seriously one of the coolest nature experiences of my life.
Tuesday night back on board was pirate night. There were many people on the ship in legit full pirate costumes (including the Rorings), but the Kennedys were not one of them. We still had a fun time though, and Meg got to see fireworks for the first time, which she loved.
Fun! Thanks for sharing.
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