jenrn1
April 2nd, 2006, 03:12 PM
I am going to start this thread with a bit of a "disclaimer". I know there are MANY huge DCL fans out there, so please do not take this posting as a personal afront. With that said, on with the post! :)
We just returned home last evening from the Western itinerary on the Magic. We had a great time, but I have to admit, it wasn't all that Magical. We have been on four other Disney cruises and we have noticed that each time the service lessens a bit. For instance, our very first cruise with them 5 years ago, you were literally doted upon. Especially your dining room servers. This past trip, along with the couple before it, everything is very rushed and less personal than it has been. The wait staff seemed chaotic at best. Although our server was wonderful (Noemi from Hungary) our assistant server lacked any personality. You literally had to pull words from him and his service was shoddy. You had to ask him repeatedly just to bring water to the table when you sat down after waiting for it for at least ten minutes. You were never even offered coffee with desert. Disney has staggered their seating times, but I don't think this has helped much. Although, in their defense, I'm sure people aren't adhering to them as they should. Another disappointment regarding dinner, is where has decorum gone? There was a family sitting next to us who wore their baseball caps every night and the father even wore a shirt that said "Jesus loves you--- too bad the rest of us think you are an a--hole" and on another night wore one that said "How about a nice cup of shut the hell up". I'm all for casual, but come on. We are not at McDonalds here folks. I think since Disney costs so much, you shouldn't have to deal with that, and I think they need to start addressing their dress policies for dinner. I have noticed that over the past few cruises with them, people show up in whatever they want.
The food was very good, but not outstanding. It used to rival all of the other lines, but now I think is just about the same. Paolo is still the best by far though!
I liked the fact that they added on some outside entertainment. They had a comedian on board for the first few days of the cruise and he was great. They still put on good shows like Twice Charmed and Dreams, but they could benefit by adding on more adult entertainment (more comedy shows, etc.). Their family entertainment is still great, our kids loved and even got to participate in Who wants to be a Mousketeer and got a couple of prizes. Our kids are 7 and 9 and say that they had a good time, but it's getting a little to "little kid-ish" for them. We did RCCL and they said they would rather do that one again over Disney.
Overall, we did have a great time, but with our family, we have fun no matter what we are doing or where we are. The people on board are still very friendly but I can't say that they are setting the industry standard any more, especially for the price you are paying.
We just returned home last evening from the Western itinerary on the Magic. We had a great time, but I have to admit, it wasn't all that Magical. We have been on four other Disney cruises and we have noticed that each time the service lessens a bit. For instance, our very first cruise with them 5 years ago, you were literally doted upon. Especially your dining room servers. This past trip, along with the couple before it, everything is very rushed and less personal than it has been. The wait staff seemed chaotic at best. Although our server was wonderful (Noemi from Hungary) our assistant server lacked any personality. You literally had to pull words from him and his service was shoddy. You had to ask him repeatedly just to bring water to the table when you sat down after waiting for it for at least ten minutes. You were never even offered coffee with desert. Disney has staggered their seating times, but I don't think this has helped much. Although, in their defense, I'm sure people aren't adhering to them as they should. Another disappointment regarding dinner, is where has decorum gone? There was a family sitting next to us who wore their baseball caps every night and the father even wore a shirt that said "Jesus loves you--- too bad the rest of us think you are an a--hole" and on another night wore one that said "How about a nice cup of shut the hell up". I'm all for casual, but come on. We are not at McDonalds here folks. I think since Disney costs so much, you shouldn't have to deal with that, and I think they need to start addressing their dress policies for dinner. I have noticed that over the past few cruises with them, people show up in whatever they want.
The food was very good, but not outstanding. It used to rival all of the other lines, but now I think is just about the same. Paolo is still the best by far though!
I liked the fact that they added on some outside entertainment. They had a comedian on board for the first few days of the cruise and he was great. They still put on good shows like Twice Charmed and Dreams, but they could benefit by adding on more adult entertainment (more comedy shows, etc.). Their family entertainment is still great, our kids loved and even got to participate in Who wants to be a Mousketeer and got a couple of prizes. Our kids are 7 and 9 and say that they had a good time, but it's getting a little to "little kid-ish" for them. We did RCCL and they said they would rather do that one again over Disney.
Overall, we did have a great time, but with our family, we have fun no matter what we are doing or where we are. The people on board are still very friendly but I can't say that they are setting the industry standard any more, especially for the price you are paying.