Disney Fantasy | Eastern Caribbean | Sailing Away!

Typically, the earliest boarding check-in time is 11:00am and then it’s all aboard by 4:00pm.

Here’s a little tip: the sooner you complete your online check-in on the Disney Cruise Line website, the earlier of a boarding time you’ll be able to get and that means more time to explore the ship on embarkation day.

The earlier boarding times fill up quickly, but we were able to get on the ship between 12:15 and 12:30, which meant just in time for lunch. There were two places open for lunch that first day – Enchanted Garden and Cabanas. Of course, the quick stop food area on the pool deck was also open. Enchanted Garden is a sit down buffet style for lunch, but you’ll have a server waiting on you for drinks. Cabanas is a serve yourself style buffet – both have very similar options. We opted for Enchanted Garden to experience the beauty of the Disney ships from the beginning.

The buffet was full of options, including healthy choices, pastas, sandwiches, fresh seafood, soups and a beef tenderloin station. I had a tomato caprese sandwich on ciabatta that was delicious and I had to try the potato leek soup I had heard so much about.

Remington got a salad and a slice of the beef tenderloin. It was the perfect way to start the cruise.

Me making a very important phone call before we lost cell service once out of port. 😉

Up on deck, families were gathering for the Sail Away Party. We found a spot at the railing above the pool deck.

Kids were having fun on the aqua duct watching the crowd below.


The Sail Away party is more for the kids, but the best part for everyone is when the Disney characters make an appearance on stage. Of course, Mickey and Minnie made a grand entrance all decked out in their sailing attire.

Saying goodbye to land for a few days…

A view of the infamous Disney smokestacks…

And a beautiful sunset as we sail away from port.