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My family and I just returned from a seven night cruise on the Disney Fantasy. The trip was not work related and we weren’t sponsored by Disney, this was a family vacation. I thought I’d share some of our experiences with you, so that you can make your own decision on whether or not a Disney Cruise is right for you during these strange times.
Related: Cruising During COVID: Before You Board
The end of a Disney Cruise Line vacation can be stressful. Fortunately, that was not a problem for us when we were on the Disney Fantasy. Things went smoothly, but that could have been in part because there were less than 1,400 passengers on the ship.
Credit: PaulaK
On the final day, the TV in the stateroom had a disembarking video with a lot of good information. We watched it a couple of times because we wanted to do everything right.
There was a character dance party the final evening on Deck 11. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto all danced on the stage. Guests joined in on the fun while standing on socially distanced dots. This lasted about 30 minutes.
Related: Cruising During COVID: Safety Onboard
We had second seating for dinner, so we went immediately to Royal Court after the dance party. The final dinner is always hard, because that’s when it hits us that the cruise is almost over.
Credit: PaulaK
Our wonderful stateroom host had left luggage tags in our room. They were character and color coded. We had already repacked our suitcases. The bags with things that we wouldn’t need that night we placed in the hall, they needed to be out there by 10:00 P.M.
Related: Cruising During COVID: Dining
The final morning we saw our serving team one last time. We had to carry our bags that we hadn’t put in the hall with us into the restaurant.
Related: Cruising During COVID: Entertainment
After breakfast, it was time to disembark. Since we had been second seating, many groups had already left. You have to wait until your group (from the luggage tags) is called, but by the time our meal was done all groups had been cleared.
Related: Cruising During COVID: Characters
The rest wasn’t any different from our other cruises. We needed to scan our Key to the World Card one last time, and then walk to the area where we picked up the rest of our luggage.
Related: Cruising During COVID: Ports of Call
Customs was next. There was a short line, but a Cast Member kept it moving. We were asked a few questions by a friendly Customs Agent, and then we were done. We hated to leave the Disney Bubble of the Fantasy, but our vacation was over.
Credit: PaulaK
Related: Cruising During COVID: Star Wars Day at Sea
All in all, I would highly recommend a Disney Cruise Line vacation right now. We felt safe, even though the CDC has listed cruising as high risk. Things were different at times, but there was plenty of magic.
