The Fantasy's Signal Flags

Back in August, I realized that the colorful flags around the Disney ships actually spell words.  So, on my cruise on the Fantasy last week, I found as many of these flags as possible and translated them to English (and Spanish for one).  These messages probably go unnoticed by most people, including me for my first seven cruises.  Finding them made me realize how much Disney paid attention to detail when designing their ships.  Plus, it was fun hunting for them!

Let's start with the most noticeable message.  This is the carpet in the stateroom hallways.  Using the key, I was able to read the carpet's message.  You can click on the picture to make it larger.




The Fantasy's carpet flags spell out "Disney Fantasy".  One of the questions during Vibe's Disney Cruise Line trivia asked what the flags on the carpet spelled, and when I heard this my hand shot up to answer.  That game was made for me!

Next, we have the tile floor in the Fantasy's Deck 2 laundromat.  I don't know why I was in a laundromat or what I was doing there, but hey, I found another message!  From left to right, can you read the message?




These floor flags spell "DCL".  These flags can be found in the most random locations, such as...

...On a hat in Sea Treasures!  I liked these hats and considered buying one, but I bought a Star Wars Day at Sea lanyard instead.  Anyway, when I saw this hat I knew I had to translate it.

It says "Mickey Mouse".  I guess this message really cap-tured my attention!

This painting wasn't on the Fantasy, it was in Cozumel at the end of the cruise ship pier.  What do these flags spell?

This painting's flags spell langosta, which is Spanish for lobster.  Cozumel was one of my favorite ports we visited on this cruise, and I'll write more about it after I go through my pictures from the trip.

Next, here are some flags from Deck 11, near the pools and drink station.  I also saw these flags when I was on the Dream in August.  They even say the same thing!




From top left to bottom right, the flags read "DCL Disney DCL".  On to the final two messages!

Here are some of the flags at Teen Hideout on Castaway Cay.  Basically Vibe on Castaway Cay, Hideout is an area reserved for teens ages 14-17.  When I arrived, I was amazed to find a signal flag message with actual flags!




These flags spell "Hideout".  Hideout was where I spent most of the day on Castaway Cay.  True to its name, it was hidden behind the bike rentals.  

Finally, here are some other flags from Hideout.




These flags say "Chill Out".  I saw some other flags on Castaway Cay, but I didn't take a picture of them.  There's always next time!

These flags were really fun to find and translate.  They're an effective way for sailors to communicate, but it makes sense why nobody speaks in flag.  Just think about how hard it would be to say "Hello":

"White left half and red right half flag, blue top half and red bottom half flag, black top right and bottom left squares with yellow top left and bottom right squares flag, black top right and bottom left squares with yellow top left and bottom right squares flag, yellow bottom left triangle and red top left triangle flag."