By Tanya Mohn, TODAY.com contributor (March 05,2012)
NEW YORK — The Disney Fantasy, a 130,000 ton, 1,115-foot-long addition to the Disney Cruise Line, arrived at Manhattan’s Terminal’s Pier 88 last week from Germany, where the ship was built.
The Disney Fantasy, the line’s fourth ship, is similar to sister ship Disney Dream, which launched in early 2011. But how different are they? The ships are the same length and footprint, with 1,250 staterooms and suites and a capacity for 4,000 passengers. They share many features, like “rotational dining,” during which servers stay with families throughout the voyage as they change restaurants. But many enhancements — everything from entertainment and expanded kids' programming to dining and nightlife — are new on the Disney Fantasy.
Here is an overview of some notable differences:
Itinerary
The longer cruising time of the Disney Fantasy, which sails for seven days compared to three- and four-day cruises on the Disney Dream, is a main difference. More time on the ship allows guests a greater opportunity to do more activities, which is why the creators have enhanced a number of features.
Atrium
One of the main differences is the overall design concept, said Joe Lanzisero, senior vice president, creative, for Walt Disney Imagineering, who oversaw the design elements for both ships. Art deco is the main decorative theme for the Disney Dream, while it is art nouveau for the Disney Fantasy. The style is the connective tissue throughout the ship and strongly reflected in the ship’s three-deck open atrium, where peacock-inspired designs and colors — blue, green, pink and gold — appear in the chandeliers, tiles, carpet and other details.
“It’s a balance of Disney whimsy and elegance,” said Lanzisero. “No detail was overlooked.” The art nouveau colors, soft shapes and motifs are subtle and layered, he said. “They do not jump out at you; the deeper you dive, the more you see.”
Dining
The Royal Court, a new restaurant, serves French continental cuisine and features décor elements inspired by a number of Disney films. The chandeliers, chair backs and columns are inspired by “Beauty and the Beast,” and the main chandelier, wall scones and decorative patterns of the bread baskets, throne-style chairs and circular floor plan are modeled after the coach in “Cinderella.”
The Animator’s Palate includes a new dining experience called “Animation Magic,” during which guests become animators for the night by drawing their own characters on placemats, which are taken by the staff. Later in the evening, each drawing becomes animated and incorporated into the presentation shown on a number of screens throughout the dining room. At the end of the show, each guest name appears in the credits.
Europa entertainment district
In this European-themed, adult-only nighttime entertainment area, a collection of clubs, pubs and lounges — each named and decorated in honor of night spots in Italy, France, Ireland and London — provide adult-only escapes. Ooh La La, an elegant French champagne bar inspired by a jewelry box and decorated like a boudoir from Versailles, with velvet-tufted walls and ornate mirrors, serves a private label champagne by Taittinger. The Tube, a London underground-themed nightclub, recalls the city’s mod and pop-culture period. At Skyline, the bar has windows with changing views of nine city skylines on 65-inch LCD screens.
Water activities
Like the Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy has the AquaDuck, a 765-foot water coaster that is cantilevered over the edge of the ship, but it also has several new elements including AquaLab, a 1,800-square-foot water play area for families boasting pop jets, geysers and bubblers, and Satellite Sun Deck, an adult-only area with Satellite Falls, a water feature with a circular splash pool with benches and a rain curtain.
Entertainment
Two new original live stage shows will be performed in the 1,340-seat Walt Disney Theatre: “Wishes,” a short musical about three best friends and the importance of staying connected to one’s inner child, and “Disney’s Aladdin — A Musical Spectacular,” based on the animated film “Aladdin.”
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
Children can be transformed into princesses and pirates at this new feature.
Enchanted Art
A new interactive scavenger hunt, detective-type, self-paced game, “The Case of the Stolen Show,” featuring The Muppets, can be played through Enchanted Art — wall art that animates when guests approach. As guests move around the ship, they uncover clues via more than a dozen pieces of Enchanted Art and physical “evidence.”
In some circles, the new ship seems to be garnering a warm welcome.
“Disney ships are considered among the most attractive cruise ships afloat,” said Dennis Nienkerk, a luxury cruise specialist with Strong Travel Services in Dallas, “reminiscent of true ocean liners of years gone by.”
And the Disney Fantasy “is a natural evolution of the Disney quality and theme,” Nienkerk said. Along with the Dream, it will “set a new standard for family cruising. There really isn’t anything quite like it. They eclipse all other cruise lines when it comes to extensive programs for kids,” devoting more space — by a wide margin — to activities for children and teenagers.
In recent years Nienkerk said he has seen a steady increase in the demand for Disney cruises. “They offer very high-end service that keeps children fully occupied and enthralled, and parents can escape all day if they wish” he said, adding that the cruises are ideal for family and even multigenerational bonding. “They cost a little more, but parents feel it is worth every penny.”
Taking a Disney cruise “is a wonderful experience for adults. It’s not just for children,” said Kimberly Wilson Wetty, co-president of Valerie Wilson Travel in New York. Some couples will take a Disney cruise and leave their kids at home, she said, crediting the company’s constant innovation and penchant for “transporting you to a happy place.”
“I think what Disney does so well is that they always want to improve the experience. Disney truly listens to what customers want,” said Wetty. “Each ship has gotten a little bit better.”
The Disney Fantasy’s maiden voyage is scheduled for March 31, from Port Canaveral, Fla., which will be the home port. Itineraries will alternate between eastern and western Caribbean destinations. Rates start at $959 per person for a standard inside stateroom. The Disney Cruise Line recently announced that cruises will be sailing from new ports, including New York, Galveston, Texas, and Miami, and new itineraries and destinations, like Venice, Italy, and the Greek Islands, will be offered.
by Joe 9. January 2009 11:07
Many of us rely on the Internet and Search Engines when we are looking for cheap airfare. We go to Google.com or some other search engine and search keywords like "cheap airfare" or "cheap air tickets" and visit the sites listed in the search results. However, there is a problem with looking for cheap airfare through cheap airfare keywords in search engines. The problem being that just because these sites are listed in these search engine results doesn't mean the fares will be cheap.
Sites where placed in these search results through marketing efforts. The only way to ensure cheap airfare is to search the actual sites and do some comparison shopping. Studies show that 17% of users who shop airfare buy from the first site they find and 63% of users shop travel sites that have a recognizable brand name. The problem with that is just because you book airfare from a site that is very popular doesn't mean the fare would be cheap. Chances are the fares will be very high on sites that are most regonizable since the marketing budgets of these well known sites are vast. These marketing budgets are what helps make the world know these brand names.
To find cheap airfare you have to do some homework. I am not saying that airfare on the most popular booking sites are not cheap at times. However, finding the best airfare prices will call for comparison shopping and research. Searching multiple websites for airfare pricing would possibly save you a few hundred dollars if you are user who rather book with the first site you find or a name you heard of on a T.V. commercial. If you search airfare with sites like Travelocity or Expedia, include an air consolidator into you research to see if you can save some money. An Airfare consolidator is broker who who has exclusive contracts with the airline and resells airfare that they receive from that airline. These contacts allow the air consolidator to get airfare at a discounted price and allow the air condolidator to sell that airfare for a discount.
Fare Buzz is an air consolidator. The next time you are searching for airfare prices add Fare Buzz to you research. By doing so you just added another way to save money on your travel.
Joseph Maresca
Online Marketing Director
On the average travel agent prices beat the Internet approximately $53 per ticket in 2008. Click Here to View the Topaz Report
The Internet is not regulated so we find all sorts of miscellaneous mark up. One estimate of the investment required to add the search and pricing capabilities used by travel agents is at least $5 billion and in today's economic environment, it is not likely this investment will be made.
Our first comparison using this booking engine, we compared a ticket purchase earlier in the day from Orbitz and our price was $100.00 better.
Another comparison involved a one way flight from Denver to Raleigh Durham that priced at $150.00 which is a good price; however, our price was $100.00.
Why pay more for a ticket from a source where you can not get help?
Hey, that's not the hotel I booked
-- Donna Savic thinks she has a reservation at the Barcelo Maya Palace in Cancun, Mexico. She's wrong. Orbitz booked her at a smaller, lower-rated hotel on the same complex. What now?
Q: I am writing to you in frustration over how Orbitz has misled me and now will not even admit to its obvious mistake.
I recently booked our annual vacation through Orbitz at Barcelo Maya Palace in Cancun, Mexico, because the resort sounded beautiful and the hotel is new with rooms described as excellent by most visitors.
When we arrived at the resort, we were told that we didn't have reservations. After much confusion, they told us we were supposed to be at the Barcelo Maya Beach Hotel, the oldest and lowest-rated hotel in this complex.
I immediately contacted Orbitz customer service and spent more than an hour trying to get this resolved. After speaking with several people, I finally was connected to a supervisor, who told me that she could upgrade us to the Barcelo Maya Place Hotel for an additional $2,000, and if I could provide her proof that we were booked at the hotel, they would reimburse us.
Though I was very upset that my family and I were forced to stay at a hotel that we did not choose or want, we tried to make the best of the remaining time there.
After our return, I contacted Orbitz repeatedly to try to resolve this. They have offered me a $75 voucher and now say that the reason my confirmation says the Barcelo Maya Palace is because this is the logo of the resort complex and has nothing to do with my selection. Why do they send confirmation if it means nothing? This is so frustrating. Can you please help or give me any advice?
-- Donna Savic, Louisville, Kentucky
A: If Orbitz promised you a room at the Barcelo Maya Palace Hotel, then that's what you should have received.
I reviewed your e-mailed confirmation. It says your hotel is the Barcelo Maya Palace within the Barcelo Riviera Maya All Inclusive Complex. Any reasonable person would conclude you were staying at the nice hotel -- not the dump.
The burden should have been on Orbitz to find a copy of your confirmation and verify that you had been booked at the wrong hotel. I can't believe the online agency would ask you to spend an extra $2,000 and offer to refund it only if you could prove it made a mistake.
Did Orbitz try to deceive you when you booked your Cancun vacation? I doubt it. This kind of mix-up isn't uncommon. I recall another case with Orbitz, where a guest believed he was staying at a Reno, Nevada resort but ended up being sent to an adjacent property, where he checked into what he called the "worst hotel room I've ever seen." When I asked about his reservation, Orbitz not only refunded the full price of his stay, it also dropped the hotel from its reservations system.
There are two ways you could have avoided this. First, you could have phoned the hotel to confirm your reservation. That's always a good idea when you're booking through a third party, because reservations can get lost. You'd probably be surprised by how many hotels still handle their reservations by fax.
Second, you could have applied the "too-good-to-be-true" litmus test to your resort. Was the price so low that something didn't seem right? For example, if you're getting a brand-new, highly-rated, all-inclusive resort in Mexico for $59 a night, you might want to double-check to make sure you're getting what you think you're getting.
