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 8: St. Kitts
You can start this trip report from the beginning by clicking here.
You can see the daily navigators for this sailing here.
As we woke up on Day 8, the Fantasy was docking in Basseterre, St. Kitts, West Indies. We were very excited to get our day going so we were up and moving well before the 8:30 a.m. all ashore time.
After a quick breakfast at Cabanas, we headed to Deck 1 to disembark. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperating. We were greeted with heavy rain and very high humidity. We did not have any specific plans, so we decided to head towards the shopping area and do some exploring.
The rain did not prevent us from moving around. The ship docked very close to the port shopping area, so we were able to avoid most of the rain by ducking in and out of shops. There were a good number of souvenir shops in the dock shopping area, but the weather caused an electrical outage so none of the shops had air conditioning or the ability to process credit transactions. Cash ruled today. Even with the rain and a power outage, the shopping area was pleasant to walk around.
We did see a sign in the port area that pointed to taxis and tours, but we were never able to find a taxi or a local tour guide. No problem, we just kept exploring the immediate port area including the city center.
The girls found a local craft market and were able to find several pieces of hand-made jewelry and Christmas ornaments to purchase.
We also located the Berkeley Memorial Clock located in the Circus Roundabout in the center of town. This clock was built in 1883 and was dedicated in the memory of Thomas Berkeley, a legislator and land owner on St. Kitts. If you look at the bottom of the structure, you will see a drinking fountain. The drinking fountain was an original part of the clock structure.
By the time we decided to head back to the ship, the weather was sunny and dry. We made our way back to the shopping area by the ship and found a restaurant (really a casino bar) to sit for a while and have a cold drink. When we headed back to the ship, we had to go through a security checkpoint. This was the only checkpoint the entire trip that required adults 18 and over to show a government issued picture identification and a Key to the World Card. Luckily I brought all the passports!
Once through security, we headed down the dock to re-board the Fantasy.
Next up was lunch. We headed to Deck 11 for quick service at Tow Mater’s Grill. Because it was hot, my oldest daughter and I took our lunch to the Cove Cafe where it was nice and cool. The ship was actually pretty quiet as most passengers were still ashore.
After lunch, I spent the afternoon walking around the ship and enjoying the quiet. My oldest daughter booked a facial at Senses Spa, so she was busy enjoying being pampered. Daughter #2 was off with her friends at the Vibe.
We all met up at about 5:00 p.m. as the ship was pulling out of port.
It was a beautiful evening at sea.
My oldest daughter was on a mission the entire cruise – she wanted to get her picture with Mickey and Minnie when Minnie was wearing her new captain’s uniform. Today was finally the day when Minnie was out and about as “Captain Minnie!”
We also ran into Dr. Strange as he was hanging out with the crowd.
Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto were also roaming the Lobby Atrium.
For those that are new to Disney cruises and are excited to meet and greet as many characters as possible (like my daughter), make sure you keep an eye on your Navigator App for the list of characters that will be at specific locations around the ship. You can also check out the Character schedule posted in the Lobby Atrium by the Guest Services desk.
Remember to keep your eyes open at all times because you never know who you will run into. Not all character experiences are scheduled for a specific time and location. Often the most enjoyable interactions are with the characters that are simply mingling with the guests. A great place for these types of experiences is on Deck 5 during the evening activities in the Lobby Atrium. Don’t be surprised to see any number of characters just waiting to take pictures or simply say hello.
There was no stage show today in Walt Disney Theater. Instead, Lion King, the live action movie was being shown. This was one of the movies on my “must see while on the cruise” list, so off went. I really enjoyed the movie as did the other 1,200 people in the packed theatre!
After the movie, we headed to dinner at Animator’s Palate. On our way, we stopped by the Lobby Atrium to take a quick peek at the Ballroom Dance Party that was in full swing.
Dinner was cruise casual. I started with the empanada – wonderful – and then tried the cheddar cheese soup – really good. I ordered the Chicken Kiev for my main course – it was excellent! Luckily I saved room for the fabulous Irish Pudding dessert.
Tomorrow is our stop in St. Thomas. Because St. Thomas was a last minute addition to our itinerary (when Puerto Rico was cancelled), shore excursions had to be booked while onboard the ship. We decided that we wanted to find an excursion for tomorrow, so off we went to Guest Services to see what was available. We decided on a half-day tour of St. John Island.
After making our reservations for St. John, we headed to the Walt Disney Theater for the adult show – the Ricky Kalmon Show. The show was entertaining, but not much different than his previous show.
We were all very tired from our full day of activity, and were ready to head back to the cabin so we could get a good night’s sleep and be up early for our day on St. John Island. When we got back to the cabin we found a special invitation for tomorrow to Mickey and Minnie’s’ Surprise Party at Sea.
Party time tomorrow.
Up Next: Day 9 – St. Thomas/St. John, USVI
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