This guest trip report was written by Cynthia, who sailed the Disney Fantasy on July 27, 2019, on the 11 night Southern Caribbean itinerary. You may remember her as the guest blogger who shared her previous experience with the medical center on the Disney Fantasy, which you can read about here. She has now graciously offered to share her adventures with us! This is a unique itinerary not often offered on the Fantasy so I am very excited to get to share this with you!
Day 4: Aruba
You can start this trip report from the beginning by clicking here.
You can see the daily navigators for this sailing here.
We made it to our first port: Oranjestad, Aruba. We woke up just as the Fantasy was docking. Docking was smooth and we never heard or felt any increased noise or vibrations. The Fantasy was assigned the “commercial” dock which was a fair distance from the regular cruise ship dock and terminal. The main “cruise ship” dock was occupied by the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas (more below on our interaction with the Freedom of the Seas).
The weather was beautiful. We did not have any organized plans, so we decided to have a nice breakfast and then head ashore to do some exploring and see if we could find a beach club where we could relax on the beach. Shopping was also on our agenda.
Our view of the port from Cabanas was fantastic. Not a bad way to start the day.
We disembarked at about 10:00 a.m. All Aboard time was 7:00 p.m. The girls took the obligatory tourist picture. My youngest was a bit more into it than my oldest daughter.
Because the Fantasy docked furthest from the port exit, there were shuttle buses available for the trip from the ship to the port exit. Here is the view from the shuttle stop back to the Fantasy. We had to walk from the Fantasy to this shuttle stop in order to catch the shuttle to the port exit. Basically, this picture was taken from about the halfway point between the ship and the port exit. It would have been quite a hike from the ship all the way to the port exit.
At the port exit area you could rent cars, purchase non-Disney excursions, or grab a free trolley that would drive you to the shopping district near the marina. We also saw several free shuttle buses that were operated by various resorts/hotels that advertised taking you to a beach resort for the day.
The previous evening, our cruise director suggested taking a short cab ride to the Palm Beach area – northwest coast of Aruba – about a 20 minute taxi ride. Once there, we were told you could purchase a day pass at one of the resorts. We picked up a taxi across the street from the port for the drive to the Barcelona Resort in Palm Beach.
The cab was very clean and the cab driver was very helpful. The cab fare was $15 dollars (US) for the three of us. The resort and beach was beautiful. The problem was they were not selling day passes on-site. All passes had to be purchased beforehand. There was a large group of Disney Cruisers, so I think one of the shore excursions was a day trip to this resort.
The staff at the Barcelona suggested that we walk to the next resort, the Riu, to see if we could get a day pass. No luck there. However, we decided just to use the beach area at the resort for a few hours as Palm Beach is considered a public beach. The resort was beautiful as was the beach. We simply did not have access to the resort amenities.
We found a few lounge chairs in the shade and settled in for a few hours. We happened to meet a very nice family from Toronto (we actually unknowingly hijacked their lounges). They were staying at the resort for 2 weeks as they do every summer. They told us all about the resort – all inclusive with shows, casino, and wonderful food. Sounded like a cruise on land! Because they were guests at the resort, they were entitled to free drinks at the beach. Guess who “bought” drinks the whole time we were there? Not me! After a couple of hours, we were ready to head back to town to do some shopping before boarding the ship.
Our cab driver dropped us off at the Renaissance Mall in the marina shopping district. We did some shopping and then we walked the short distance back to the ship.
We were all very tired and zapped by the sun, so we settled in for a long nap.
When we woke up, we all showered and dressed for the evening activities and dinner.
First on our list was the early evening show in Walt Disney Theater – Justino Magic Live! For me, this show was just okay and I would not classify it as one of my favorites.
After the show, we had time to go up to the 12th deck to watch the sunset as we set sail from Aruba.
We also enjoyed a bit of fun between the Fantasy and the Freedom of the Seas. As the Fantasy was heading away from the dock, we were very close to the Freedom of the Seas. As we were making our way by the Freedom of the Seas, the Fantsy’s horn serenaded the passengers on the Freedom.
We were so close to each other, it felt like we could touch the other boat. The Freedom’s decks and verandahs were lined with passengers waving as we pulled out – even the chefs from one of the restaurants on the Freedom came out to wave. It felt like the Fantasy was the star of the show.
After sailing away, it was time for Dinner at Royal Court. Tonight was a “cruise casual” dining evening. We started our meal with our favorite appetizer: Breaded and Deep-Fried Brie – it was awesome. I also ordered the French Onion Soup – very good. For my main course, I decided to try the Chateaubriand-Roasted Filet Steak. The steak was tender, but I was pretty full by that time, so I only ate a small portion. The girls tried the strawberry shortcake sundae and said it was very good. We enjoyed visiting with our Table 43 friends and hearing all about their day – they were smart and pre-booked a beach resort day!
Our wait staff, Hazel and Vane, are awesome. They know us well already, right down to the apples and peanut butter for my 15 year old. Apples and peanut butter are on the table every night!
After dinner, we walked around the Fantasy to enjoy the evening sites. Night on the Fantasy might be my favorite time of the day.
We also made some time for soft serve ice cream.
I really enjoy the 2019 Disney Cruise Line artwork that is found all around the ship and on merchandise sold on board.
Before we called it an evening, we headed to the Lobby Atrium to watch the group ballroom dancing hosted by Willem and Natalia. Everyone, including the ship’s officers, looked like they were having a good time.
We also ran into three of our favorite cruise activity team members: Chelsea, Sean, and Erin. We loved the fact the officers and other team members took the time to talk to the guests. I guess on an eleven day cruise, not only do the guests have a chance to get to know the staff, but the staff also has a chance to get to know the guests.
Finally, it would not be a Disney Cruise day without more character meet and greet and pictures. Goofy and Minnie were roaming the ship this evening.
It was another busy day, but tomorrow is a day at sea so we have plenty of time to rest up!
Up Next: Day 5 – At Sea and Remy Brunch
I love all the pics you got! And it is funny all the places (besides dinner) we’d see you, even in port!