What is Disney cruise line like??

[cruisekimmy]

What are all the activites like??Hows the food??Is it worth the money??

~thanks kim

[mikeymars]

The good news:

- All sorts of Disney imagery everywhere.
- The staff is up to general Disney CM standards (albeit, the trend in buzz on most Disney-related boards over the last few years is that the latter aren't quite what they used to be).
- Nice bathroom setup in cabins.
- Good "crowd control" (one generally gets on and off the ship fast).
- Dining options are still above the industry average (albeit the competition is catching up here, and fast).
- Shows are generally entertaining.
- Facilities for children are among the better on any ship.

The not-so-good news:

- Itineraries are very generic (line in general is not aimed at experienced cruises looking for the "off the beaten path" experiences and/or ports).
- Food in dining rooms is O.K., but for the price should be a lot better.
- On the latter tangent, you pay extra for the Disney name - not necessarily a better overall cruise experience. Or stated differently, this isn't a value line.
- Given the high price, some annoying evidence of cheapening of the wares exists, as example, unlike all other major cruise lines, there is no live orchestra in the main showroom (you are treated to blasting recordings of rather generic Broadway stuff).
- Crowd on board is generally made up of travel neophytes. That's O.K. - unless you are more comfortable around veterans.

[Govac24]

We have taken our only 2 cruises with Disney so we have nothing to compare it to however my husband, myself & our son found it worth the money. The food was great & very very plentiful. If you leave this cruise being hungry it's your fault! We found there was alot to do for everyone on board. There is plenty of choices for shore excursions. If you read this board and some of the others you can find different things to do at each port outside the shore choices. There are places for the kids & they do lots of things without the folks hanging around too. You are paying for the disney name but you get the Disney touch.
Again we absolutly love the Disney Magic! (7 day cruises) and feel that it's worth it!


Lisa

[danblinn]

I agree with all that Mickeymars has to say. I would add the following:

No casino

Larger than typical cabins - they are designed for families rather than couples

Higher than typical crew to passenger ratio and public space to passenger ratios than typical. This is mostly attributable to size of the children's programs and the need to have additional space for childrens' activities.

[mrsfuzzmo]

I totally agree with Mikeymars as well, with a couple of additions. We are young cruise veterans with 12 under our belt. The last of the 12 being the Disney Magic March 04.

A few additions to Mikeymars:

Food in the buffet (Topsiders) was subpar other lines. The buffet was bland and very repetitive! On the otherhand the chicken strips and pizza offered poolside was a nice touch. The food in the restaraunts was very average and well below portion size of NCL, CCL, RCCL and others. We were not impressedd with the food at all. There were no "super" buffets (chocolate, midnight, etc.) that put out huge decorative spreads of food. There were some measly little snack buffets, but nothing like other lines.

The ship itself was gorgeous. Well kept and beautifully decorated with gorgeous public areas. Many people say that the staterooms are larger than most cruiselines. I found it to be exactly the same in the same category on other ships. The split bathrooms are very nice though.

The pools were a little bit of a sore spot with me. There are three pool areas/pools. Childrens (very crowded, but well set up for kids), there was not nearly enough room for all the parents watching. Family pool (Goofy pool, smallest pool it appeared). This pool was absolutly packed with kids on sea days, so crowded that all the kids could do was kind of find their own 6" of space and hang on for dear life. It was soooooo murky by the end of the first day at sea, you couldn't see Goofy on the bottom of the 4' deep pool.
The adult pool was glorious....with one exception, the music was horrible. It was new age MUZAK the entire time. You'd think they could play a little calypso or island music, even a little pop or country, I don't care, just get that awful sleepy "Spa" music out of that area. They had the excellent calypso band playing at the "Family" pool, where kids were running and screaming and fighting, and no one listened to the great music. We WISHED that they would have played at the adult pool at least 1 day of the cruise so that we could have danced and enjoyed!

The main point is the cost. This cruise is no better than any I have been on.....and it cost at least 2 times as much. We paid the exact same amount of money for a category 10 (low category, inside cabin) on DCL as we did on NCL for a penthouse suite with balcony(veranda), concierge service, and priority everything on the uppermost deck. BIG BIG difference if you ask me! I would choose 2 great cruises on some other line in a higher level cabin over 1 cruise on DCL in a little inside.....ANYDAY!!!!

Don't get me wrong. IT was fine, we had a great time. Our company was excellent and we chose superb shore excursions (non-DCL), weather was terrific and we always love to be on the ocean. But is it worth the money???? Definitely not.

Mrsfuzzmo

[MartiniMama]

I would agree with most of the above -- the price is very high, the food was good but not worth the extra cost, the portions were much smaller than on other cruise lines, the cabins were a good size. My DH was very disappointed about no casino on board --- major drawback and probably the main reason (along w/price) we won't sail them again. The staff was wonderful. The kids area was of course the best! The evening shows are all Disney. If you are not into PeterPan and all the Disney classics, you would definitely be bored. I liked the rotating dinner restaurants --nice change of scenery with the same waiters! The best thing was disembarking -- it was a dream to just walk off the ship - no crowds, no pushing,no lines. A huge thumbs up compared to RCL and Carnival! Castaway Cay was also a big highlight! A private beach for adults only, beach side massages and a great BBQ. A big plus was the beach daycare area. Although an hour later, we went to get our son because we really wanted to be with him on this great island. Overall, I would say the Disney cruise is very, very nice but maybe not worth the money. :)

[inkkognito]

I have taken 38 Disney cruises with my husband (no children), so as you can imagine, I LOVE Disney. If you want details, I have trip reports for most of them on my website. Personally, I think Disney is the best for childless adults as well as for families. But then again, I am a Disney fanatic.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

[awatt]

I agree with mrsfuzzmo and mikey mars. We had a good time but not worth paying significantly more for. Thought food and service were better on rccl and NCL.

[pvangordon]

Novice cruiser here. My first was on DCL last year, just a 3 day jaunt. My next is also for DCL, 7 day Western in Sept. Husband and I are in our mid-30s with no children.

My comments/impressions:
1. I liked the general classic style of the ship. Not hugely impressive or glitzy, but simple, understated, and elegant.
2. We had a nav verandah cabin. Cabins are spacious. Love the split bathroom.
3. Steward service was good - unobtrusive and efficient. Only semi-bad experience was with dry cleaning (clothes came back much later than promised, which we needed in time for dinner).
4. Spa/salon people are very aggressive to sell services and products. We bought a lot of stuff we didn't need or really want and spent wayyyy too much money. Know exactly what you want and stick to your guns.
5. We missed Castaway Cay due to high winds and ended up sailing around at a slower cruising speed than normal. Motion was enough to make me queasy, even with a patch.
6. Dining service and quality were decent. Nothing spectacular though. Other onboard food services are pretty much family fare (hot dogs, pizza, ice cream).
7. Unlimited sodas and souvenir mugs weren't worth it. I think we had one soda total and ended up buying cans through room service for the cabin.
8. Wish there was more to do in terms of onboard activities, like educational classes or round-the-clock movies in the theater, but that was probably more a function of the length of the cruise than anything else.
9. Hurry to get your alternate restaurant reservations. We checked into our cabin, found out where we had to go for reservations, and booked down there to beat the rush. However, even then there wasn't much left. Make sure you bring appropriate dress; a couple at our regular dining table also made reservations and were turned away when they showed up in jeans (and hadn't brought other clothes).
10. Would like more choice of in-cabin movies (especially if a port is missed due to weather). Even on a short trip, we were tired of seeing "Bruce Almighty" for the hundredth time.
11. The land/sea package is great. Loved having the same key the whole time and being able to check in at the hotel. Disembarkation was also really smooth; you can even check your bags at the harbor.

Generally it was a great experience - I can't wait for September, when I'll have a longer time to relax, see more sights, and enjoy some real shore excursions.

EDIT: To answer your question about the money, I think it's worthwhile up to a point. I felt we got a pretty good deal for the cabin type. However, there's a huge differential between regular balcony cabins and suites with separate bedrooms. I simply couldn't justify to pay twice as much for a 1 bdrm, vs a nav verandah cabin. Nor was it worth an extra $1000 to upgrade to a family cabin with verandah. Ultimately you're paying for the Disney name and all that goes with that.

[geckocruzer]

We just returned from a 4 night Wonder cruise last Thursday. This was our first cruise, so personally cannot compare it to others. However, my parents have been on a few, and they were very impressed with Disney. Just a few comments to add (strictly my opinions):

We were planning a 50th anniversary celebration, so we had to ensure we pleased ages 5 to 75, which is why we went with Disney. For us, it was worth the extra money for the piece of mind of dealing with Disney. When I researched cruises before I decided which cruiseline, I had read about really bad experiences on other cruise lines, but not very much negative about Disney.

The shore excursions we did were not bad, but probably not worth the money. But again, being inexperienced, we played it safe rather than try to figure things out on our own. We'd definitely go on our own next time.

The Kids Clubs experience for us was neutral. However, I chalk that up more to my kids' ages and personalities rather than Disney. There were other kids there having a blast...and three of the kids with us (out of 7) had a great time with the activities they did in the kids' clubs. We have a just turned 13 year old, reserved, and the teen club (13-17) was more oriented to older teens...many activities started 10 PM or later... and we simply were not comfortable with him wandering the ship by himself late at night to get back to the cabin. He did participate in a couple early activities and really liked one of them.

The negative for younger age groups is that if your child does not want to participate in an organized activity for his/her age group, he/she cannot just stay back and continue to play in the club area, unless a parent is there. This would probably be my only real complaint, and we didn't even want to use the kids clubs that much anyways, as we were busy with family things.

The stateroom was more spacious than I expected. We had a cat. 8. The bed was a king, the couch became a single bed, and the fourth was a pull down from above to create a bunk bed type situation. The port hole was about three feet in diameter. (I thought it would be about the size of a dinner dish.)

The shows were GREAT! (And I am an experienced theater-goer.) We did couple other planned activities (culinary demo, Bingo [my father's idea]) and they were fun. Definitely do not miss the shows, unless you don't like Disney. My ten year old wanted to skip dinner and see the shows again.

The buffet food was average or below, but every one of my meals at the resaturants was very good. One of the previous replies stated small portions, which is true, i guess, but they weren't that small, and I liked it because it allowed me to try more dishes without feeling like I was wasting food. Besides, they will bring you as much as you want, so if you are still hungry, you can simply ask for another serving. Also, children can order from the adult menu and/or the children's menu.

I hope this helps. My best advice would be to research before you decide. Many of the complaints I've read (about any cruiseline) seem to be things that people could have found out in advance if they had bothered to do a bit of research first...such as appropriate dress for restaurants.

[Flintstone]

I agree with most of what has been said. Disney is much higher priced than what you can get elsewhere....but if you want to take children on a cruise..I firmly believe they should be on Disney!! The activites and entertainment is second to NONE for children!!

[dondiane]

did the four day Wonder have character breakfasts?????

[jackandnicksmom]

check out disboards.com

[hydster]

Having cruised almost every major line out there with kids and without I'd have to say that for OUR family NO the Disney cruise was NOT worth the extra $$$$$$$$$$$ it cost to go!

I have to agree with mrsfuzzmo and mikey mars! We too felt the food was subpar and a few of the lunches in topsiders we laughed at and called it hospital cafeteria food! It was blah! Dinner was gross most nights and this is the first time we've actually dreaded going to eat on a cruise! We've had the best food ever on Carnival and Celebrity.

We've had MUCH better pizza on deck on Carnival than on anyone and we thought Disney's was awful! The chicken strips were ok but how many of those can a person eat (unless you are a kid that is).

At the time we cruised Disney hadn't started their comp soda program on deck so we spent a fortune on soda stickers for the kids and us since we LOVE Diet Coke.

There is NO nightlife on that ship once the show is done!

If your kids don't like the kids club (mine had TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE experiences in there)then there is not much for them to do! They have a movie theater but on our 5-1 cruise they were showing movies we already owned like Finding Nemo and Pirates of the Caribbean!

The pools are a joke! A complete and utter joke! I can't believe that a family line that KNOWS kids will be on their ship didn't design their pools to be better! The fresh water is nice but that is it! With 977 kids on our sailing it was standing room only and then if they have to close one of the pools good luck getting any room in the one that is open. It's great in theory to have the adults only pool but that thing rarely has anyone in it while the kids are all crammed in 2 small pools. Usually kids like to swim MUCH more than adults! It was wasted on our cruise as at any given time there might have been 2-3 people in it. Also the mickey ear that only non-trained children are supposed to use is stupid as there are a million kids going in and out of it that ARE potty trained and then going back to the mickey pool.

The characters are great IF you get in line early enough to take advantage of it! If you don't you are out of luck. They send a CM to cut the line off and they get mean let me tell ya! We asked a simple question and the guy was SO rude my husband and I were appalled! People were waiting 2 hours in line to get the Princess autographs...I mean 2 hours??? Come on!!

They do have an awesome disembarkation and it's better than any other line we've been on!!!

They do have an awesome alcohol policy for carrying it on board!

That's about all the good I can say for it however! We sailed them twice and won't be paying to go back! Our kids have had much better times on Carnival and Royal Caribbean than any other line! You pay for the name that's for sure! As for getting treated better...I think that's false! We've received the same or better treatment on other lines for half the cost and a fraction of kids on board!

JMO
Heidi

[1cruisewonder]

I truly hope you enjoy the voices of many hyperactive children. This cruise is impressive in the way of activities but the noise pollution reaches dangerous levels at certain times. I have also noticed that the captain apparently likes the sound of his voice on the intercome and will often interupte the hip and happening music that will be a playing. He has a problem about accidentally leaving the intercom on, during my cruise people where panicked when the captain pulled out his toy boat and iceberg and prosseded to shout where sinking were sinking were all gonna die!:eek:
from, 1cruisewonder


P.S. get a room closest to the life boats

[zeke11]

Just returned from the 9/27 Wonder cruise and see that the consensus seems to be that other ships offer much more for less money.

I liked the cruise ok, but there were a number of things that we were not happy about. I did expect a lot more for the price that we paid.

I have been pricing other cruiselines (Carnival and RCCL in particular) and finding that their prices are higher, but not to the extent that we can get a penthouse suite on Carnival for the cost of an inside stateroom on DCL.

Can anyone let me know details about that?

Thanks! Kris

[momofmeg]

Just returned from the 9/27 Wonder cruise and see that the consensus seems to be that other ships offer much more for less money.

I liked the cruise ok, but there were a number of things that we were not happy about. I did expect a lot more for the price that we paid.

I have been pricing other cruiselines (Carnival and RCCL in particular) and finding that their prices are higher, but not to the extent that we can get a penthouse suite on Carnival for the cost of an inside stateroom on DCL.

Can anyone let me know details about that?

Thanks! Kris
Have you been on any other line? I have been on 5 lines Carnival, RCCL, HAL,Princess and now Disney.

I loved Disney- felt there was plenty of choices of entertainment. We have no small children and believe me there were TONS on this cruise but this was never a problem for us as we had the adult only pool and hot tubs (and YES this is ENFORCED unlike Carnival's adult only pool and hot tubs) There were lounges that were adult only also all the time and others that were adult only after 9. The movie theather showed an adult only movie around 10 p.m. every night. Most of the movies there were first run although they would show some of their favs for the kiddies at the 11 a.m. show (example: Finding Nemo- which as we know is now on videotape) In your room there was a couple of channels that did nothing but the Disney classic cartoons and other channels that showed fairly recent movies that came out within the last year but are no longer at the movies. (EX.: Shrek II, Jersey Girl, Stepford Wives)

The ship itself is tons nicer I thought. I loved all the marble floors etc. The only other ship I have been that was as nice as this ship was HAL Statendam but I found HAL much too sedate with very little entertainment offered. The only plus I found on that cruise is hubby and I could have the hot tub to ourselves after 10 p.m. since no one else bothered to use it at night.

Carnival has great entertainment over all. Her food is so-so as a rule though I did find everything was much better on the Miracle then the usual Carnival ship. One thing though Miracle had DINKY bathrooms and we had an extended balcony. Also sounds carried on Miracle's balconys-I heard almost nothing on our Disney catagory 6 veranda.

Disney's bathrooms are a DEFINITE plus. We loved having 2 sinks and two bathrooms-one with the toilet the other with a tub. I have not seen this on any other line. Although on HAL we did have a tub. WE also liked the privacy curtain. Great for hubby and daughter-neither had to dress in the bathroom which especially on RCCL ships is very tricky-the bathrooms are so small.

Now on RCCL we have only done their bargain "mini" cruises both times Sovereign. Now I know her voyager class ships are much more expensive then Sovereign or even Grandeur or Splendour-we are planning a Mariner cruise next year so I guess I will find out if it is worth the extra. I am not sure if I will feel so as I don't rock climb or inline skate but I would love I am sure the ice skating show and the miniture golf. I hope too the food will be better. I found the food on Sovereign okay nothing special but I am hoping RCCL will be like Carnival-when you go on a nicer more expensive ship that everything improves.

I loved my one Princess cruise. It was the old Pacific Princess so the ship was not great but she had an excellent Italian chef and the shows were superb. the lounges had plenty of live music. I want to do another Princess cruise and if she offered as many choices as other lines I would have already done another Princess. I just hate that to go on a Princess cruise I have to fly when these other lines offer choices close enough for me to drive to.

As far as you doing another line in my opinion I would say stick to their newer ships. You will be disapointed I am afraid if you did like Fanasty, Sovereign or like Celebration(Jacksonsville port.) If you don't want alot of entertainment you may be happy with HAL, HAL's food and broadway style shows were suberb. If you do Carnival try Miracle out of Tampa as she is a new ship so you would be happier. I have a feeling Inspiration would be too much of a letdown after Disney.

Another thing I feel too if you do go on an older ship (like Celebaration)-just get the cheapest stateroom-why bother with a suite? You are still on an old cr&^py ship-but if you only pay $300 a person instead of $1500 a person you don't mind. Lets face it the guy in the cheapest cabin still gets the same food and entertainment as the guy in the suite. The only difference is the guy in the suite gets a bigger room, possibally a balcony and a butler.

I do love the balcony rooms on newer ships but I would never book a suite on an older ship just so I could have a balcony. For the price of a suite you can do a cruise on a newer ship with a balcony room and book an oceanview on the older ship. I would much rather do 2 cruises then one on an old ship in a suite. For just a little extra you can do 2 cruises on the new ship.

Personally we loved Disney and felt Disney was so much nicer that we will gladly do Disney again-even though chances are it will be an inside cabin as Disney is more expensive but I don't mind skipping the balcony for the Disney experience.

Botton line is-try another line-but lower your expectations-you will have a good time but it won't be the Disney experience.

[jaguar9748]

Sailed Disney for the first time on the 9/23 Wonder cruise. This was my 7th cruise and 4th cruise line (Carnival, RCL, Princess, Disney). Our cruise cost $1000 for 3 of us for 3 days. I felt this price was outstanding.

I would rate the Wonder 2nd out of my 7 cruises - Grand Princess was #1. Disney was a very close #2. Some of the things mentioned above were what we loved about this ship.

No casino - a quieter, gentler cruise.
Yes, the children could be loud, but there were plenty of non-children places to go.
Lots and lots of deck space with lots of chairs.
Palo was superb and cheap ($10).
Entertainment was terrific - typical of what you find in the parks.
Food was very good in all areas. Very plentiful. Lots of variety.
Ship is stunning.
Cabin (inside) was very large and well appointed. Very comfortable for 3.
Movie theater with first run movies was great.
Photos were of a high quality - the photographers actually took time to pose everyone!
Characters were a huge plus!
Staff was friendly.
Plenty of activites - games, lessons, galley tour, musical entertainment, tropical deck party, shows, etc. My 19-yr-old loved the napkin folding demonstration!
Funniest thing we did was the quest game - I haven't laughed so hard in years!

We were on the hurricane extended cruise and enjoyed Cozumel with an extra day at sea. Ship sails very smoothly and quietly.

We love Disney World and we loved cruising with Mickey. We're already planning out next Wonder voyage!

[cruislovin]

What is the format of the quest game on Disney? When is it held? Is it held on both the 3 and 4 day Wonder sailings?

[jaguar9748]

We were on a scheduled 3-day cruise (which turned into 4 due to the hurricane). The quest game was held on the 2nd night around 9:45-10:15. After 9 PM the forward section of the 3rd deck is just for adults. The disco is there and the quest game was held there. You needed a team and were given a number. You had to get the items required (probably did about 20 required items) and up to the host before time elapsed. One item was 4 left shoes. One item was a man wearing red lipstick. One item was a tattoo. We don't have any, but a woman sitting next to us did, so we took her up to the host for our credit. One item was a picture of the white house (money). One item was a picture of Abraham Lincoln ($5 bill). The finale was a man wearing a woman's bra, high heels and carrying a purse. It was hysterical! Definitely for adults and definitely fun! Points were totalled for the winner. Definitely do not miss this game!!!

[cruislovin]

We were on a scheduled 3-day cruise (which turned into 4 due to the hurricane). The quest game was held on the 2nd night around 9:45-10:15. After 9 PM the forward section of the 3rd deck is just for adults. The disco is there and the quest game was held there. You needed a team and were given a number. You had to get the items required (probably did about 20 required items) and up to the host before time elapsed. One item was 4 left shoes. One item was a man wearing red lipstick. One item was a tattoo. We don't have any, but a woman sitting next to us did, so we took her up to the host for our credit. One item was a picture of the white house (money). One item was a picture of Abraham Lincoln ($5 bill). The finale was a man wearing a woman's bra, high heels and carrying a purse. It was hysterical! Definitely for adults and definitely fun! Points were totalled for the winner. Definitely do not miss this game!!!Did you attend the Quest on RCCL too? It sounds like Disney stole the quest from Royal Caribbean...

Since you have been on the RCCL NOS and the DCL Wonder, can you tell me what you see as the main differences (pros and cons) between the two?

[Pixie Dust II]

My husband and I just returned from Disney Cruise #6. We can not praise Disney enough. We are afraid to try another cruise line, but some day we will just to have something to compare. Our friends who finally did try another cruise line said they found the other cruise line lacked the friendliness of Disney both the staff and fellow cruisers. We love the dining rotation. You get to know the people you are dining with and the dining staff is just the best. They rotate with you except for dining at Palo which is a must do experience. This time we booked the Romantic Escape At Sea package which allows you to book Palo in advance for High Tea, Champage Brunch, and dinner as well as a couples massage at the Vista Spa. We found this to be a very worth while package. The stage shows are spectacular and there is always so much going on during the day that you need to take along a highlighter to mark your daily navigator (the publication you receive each night of the next day's activities) so you won't miss anything. You can be as active or as laid back as you want to be. We always have a room with a veranda. The cabins are larger than other cruise lines and offer a bath and a half which makes it nice when you are getting ready for the evening. I just don't think you can go wrong with this choice for a vacation. We have two more cruises booked with Disney and are already on countdown for the next one---only 258 days!

[cruislovin]

We love the dining rotation. I have a question on the dining rotation. Do you know where you are dining the first night before you leave for the cruise? The reason I ask is that I always take my dinner clothes for the 1st evening in my carry-on. That way I am not stressing about when my luggage arrives - I don't need it until much later. If I don't know where the 1st evening's dinner is I won't know what to pack where. This sounds like such a pain to me - I like to have my dinner clothes for every evening all planned out ahead of time.

How do you veteran Disney cruisers handle this?

[jaguar9748]

No, you won't know until you check into your cabin. There will be tickets in your cabin telling you which restaurant to report to. We had the formal restaurant the first night, but lots of folks were dressed casually because they didn't have time to change. No need to worry!

[JanetMarie]

Lots of fun, laughs, and memories of good times past.

[Druke I]

Wife and I did 3 nights in park, 4 nights on Disney Magic, back in Dec 98, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

When the grandchildren are a little older, we hope to do a family cruise with Disney.

[momofmeg]

Having cruised almost every major line out there with kids and without I'd have to say that for OUR family NO the Disney cruise was NOT worth the extra $$$$$$$$$$$ it cost to go!

I have to agree with mrsfuzzmo and mikey mars! We too felt the food was subpar and a few of the lunches in topsiders we laughed at and called it hospital cafeteria food! It was blah! Dinner was gross most nights and this is the first time we've actually dreaded going to eat on a cruise! We've had the best food ever on Carnival and Celebrity.

We've had MUCH better pizza on deck on Carnival than on anyone and we thought Disney's was awful! The chicken strips were ok but how many of those can a person eat (unless you are a kid that is).

At the time we cruised Disney hadn't started their comp soda program on deck so we spent a fortune on soda stickers for the kids and us since we LOVE Diet Coke.

There is NO nightlife on that ship once the show is done!

If your kids don't like the kids club (mine had TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE experiences in there)then there is not much for them to do! They have a movie theater but on our 5-1 cruise they were showing movies we already owned like Finding Nemo and Pirates of the Caribbean!

The pools are a joke! A complete and utter joke! I can't believe that a family line that KNOWS kids will be on their ship didn't design their pools to be better! The fresh water is nice but that is it! With 977 kids on our sailing it was standing room only and then if they have to close one of the pools good luck getting any room in the one that is open. It's great in theory to have the adults only pool but that thing rarely has anyone in it while the kids are all crammed in 2 small pools. Usually kids like to swim MUCH more than adults! It was wasted on our cruise as at any given time there might have been 2-3 people in it. Also the mickey ear that only non-trained children are supposed to use is stupid as there are a million kids going in and out of it that ARE potty trained and then going back to the mickey pool.

The characters are great IF you get in line early enough to take advantage of it! If you don't you are out of luck. They send a CM to cut the line off and they get mean let me tell ya! We asked a simple question and the guy was SO rude my husband and I were appalled! People were waiting 2 hours in line to get the Princess autographs...I mean 2 hours??? Come on!!

They do have an awesome disembarkation and it's better than any other line we've been on!!!

They do have an awesome alcohol policy for carrying it on board!

That's about all the good I can say for it however! We sailed them twice and won't be paying to go back! Our kids have had much better times on Carnival and Royal Caribbean than any other line! You pay for the name that's for sure! As for getting treated better...I think that's false! We've received the same or better treatment on other lines for half the cost and a fraction of kids on board!

JMO
Heidi


Heidi true the adult pool was not crowded but that is because there were so many families on Disney. Both the family pool and the kid's pool was like DOUBLE the size of the adult pool. I for one was glad there were adult only areas. There were also parents at the adult pool-they seimply had their kids in the kid's club for a couple of hours so they could have a little peace. I for one thought that was absoulutely wonderful that Disney provided this. Put your kids in the club for a couple of hours- go enjoy yourself for awhile minu the kids-check the kids out and let them enjoy the pool. I for one also thought it was GREAT that none of the pools closed down at 8 p,m. like most lines and also they had a sprinkler type area for the babies who were not potty trained. As most know it is no longer allowed for children not potty trained to be in a pool-Disney solved the danger of ecoli problem by having this area where the water runs off. I thought that super of them.

Also I found the nightlife at Route 66 and the Cadillac club absouletely wonderful. Now if you mean no casino-not all of us are fools enough to throw our money away like that. Hey I have read many posts that like Disney saying although it cost them more-they save so much in there being no casino that it is actually cheaper.

Another thing too is Disney's kid's club stays open later then the other lines. Our table mates were able to enjoy Palos because of this.
By the way we loved the food and the beach blanket buffet was pretty much the same as the buffet on the lido deck on all lines that I have done. I have also been on Carnival, RCCL, HAL and Princess-the lido buffet always compares to a golden corral-not the same class as the dinningroom although on the Carnival spirit class ships there are a few nicer choices-it is still not the quality of the dinningroom.

I had no complaints with the dinningroom food-it was great and compared to HAL and Princess which has much better food the Carnival and RCCL.

So you hated them showing the classics that are already on video. This was done only the first movie in the theater which was the kid's movie. The other movies were first run with the last movie at night being an adult themed movie. I loved also the nice variety on TV. I watched Stepford Wives, Jersey Girl and Shrek II in my stateroom and enjoyed them as I had not been to the movies to see them or had rented those movies. I also loved watching Sleeping Beauty on the channel that carried Disney Classics as it had been many years since I had watched this.

You have got to admit that bathroom was tons better then the dinky showers on RCCL. Carnival does a little better as far as the showers but we loved that one person could be in the tub and someone else could use the bathroom and still have privacy.

I also loved that I did not hear my neigbors around me when in my stateroom. This ship was built so much nicer that noises did not carry and when on the balcony I could barely smell my neigbor's cigerettes. On Carnival you smell your neighbor's cigerettes when on the balcony and if anyone has a fight at 2 a.m. you also hear that. Heck I thought it was our next door neighbors fighting until I walked out on the balcony and realized they were a couple of decks above us.

[cruislovin]

One of the pools is open 24 hours a day on RCCL ships.

[dondiane]

This was our 14th cruise, first on Disney. Feel you're paying more for less.
The Ship is lovely, but never sailed a ship that wasn't in fact many even more so. The food was a disappointment,the changing of dining rooms nightly just didn't make much sense to us and they certainly aren't as grand as the dining rooms on most lines, the adult pool was a nice touch but the family pool was too small. The split bathroom is a nice touch. Nothing much for adults come evening hours. For a true"Disney Fanatic" I'm sure the ship is a dream come true. For me...I'll choose one of the other lines from now on.

[cruislovin]

This was our 14th cruise, first on Disney. Feel you're paying more for less.
The Ship is lovely, but never sailed a ship that wasn't in fact many even more so. The food was a disappointment,the changing of dining rooms nightly just didn't make much sense to us and they certainly aren't as grand as the dining rooms on most lines, the adult pool was a nice touch but the family pool was too small. The split bathroom is a nice touch. Nothing much for adults come evening hours. For a true"Disney Fanatic" I'm sure the ship is a dream come true. For me...I'll choose one of the other lines from now on.
Thanks for your feedback. I find it very interesting. We leave in 2 weeks and I will post my thoughts of DCL vs. RCCL when we return. What other cruise lines have you sailed on?

[momofmeg]

cruiselovin- the family pool was at least twice the size of the adult pool-which was really small-the adult pool was about the size of the small kiddie's pool on Tropicale if you remember that except deeper ofcourse. Both the family pool and kid's pool were HUGE in comparrison. The biggest I have seen but then I have not been on a voyager class ship so the voyager class ship pools may be bigger. The problem is on Disney cruises at least HALF of the passengers are kids-so these 2 pools are SUPER crowded.

I for one loved the fact that Disney provided a place for adults only. With that many kids on a ship you need a place to get away. Heck I like kids but there are times I like to get away from them. Disney providing that for adults helped me to enjoy the kids instead of complaining about them as so many posts you read on cruisecritic do. If they hadn't-that pool would have been crowded also-as many kids were on the ship-and it would be like other lines-no way to use the hot tub-it being full of kids playing in it.

The ship was super nice. As far as quality-the only other ship I have been on so nice. was HAL Statendam. The rooms are so quality built you do not hear your neighbors. I loved the split bathroom, all the storage provided and the size of the rooms- the rooms were big even by Carnival's standards. The size was more like HAL which gives you really big staterooms.

I liked doing diff. restuarants. Now Tritons was just "okay" as far as decor and had nothing special. Animater's Pallette is super neat-with the walls changing pictures and going from black and white to color. We alll loved this even my 20 year old got excited about that and she is no longer a kid. Parrot Cay had a live band which was really nice.

I really think too as you are used to the voyager class ships-you are used to spending more for your cruise so you won't find that Disney is that much more expensive as people keep complaining. Just instead of the ice skating rink and rock climbing wall you get entertained at dinner and have a much nicer stateroom. Now you may not need a bigger stateroom as it is just you and your daughter- but that is still a nice plus and you will love not hearing the noise from your neighbors.

One thing we liked too about the veranda stateroom-was there was a privacy curtain-so both hubby and daughter could get dressed at the same time without using the bathroom to dress. It was really the perfect set up for a family. Maybe if you ask and the ship is not sold out-they will show you a veranda cabin and you will see what I mean. That is if you decide you want to take hubby and son on another Disney cruise.

[jodifla]

We were on the 9/23 Wonder, and had a terrific time with our DS, 2. We've been on NCL and RCCL, as well as some smaller cruise lines, and have had a good time on all of them. Most of the time, we're just happy to be on vacation. That being said, here were the highlights for us:

Ship was beautiful. Classy and well done.

Our room was very comfortable. It was definitely bigger than most we've been on, and it was certainly better designed than any of the others. We could have easily spent a week in the room.

Ship and crew definitely accommodating to little ones. We had no worries, because pretty much everyone had kids! It's great to be in that atmosphere when you have a toddler. Service was outstanding throughout.

Flounder's Nursey, the baby sitting service for infants and toddlers, made it easy for us to enjoy adult time on the ship.

Food had highs and lows. Palo was great, all the desserts were great. Dinner main dishes were so-so. We enjoyed them more when we went with something other than meat.

I wouldn't cruise in high season with Disney and pay a lot of bucks, but if you can go in the off season, it's worth it.

We have another cruise booked with them for next year.

[momofmeg]

This was our 14th cruise, first on Disney. Feel you're paying more for less.
The Ship is lovely, but never sailed a ship that wasn't in fact many even more so. The food was a disappointment,the changing of dining rooms nightly just didn't make much sense to us and they certainly aren't as grand as the dining rooms on most lines, the adult pool was a nice touch but the family pool was too small. The split bathroom is a nice touch. Nothing much for adults come evening hours. For a true"Disney Fanatic" I'm sure the ship is a dream come true. For me...I'll choose one of the other lines from now on.

I guess you did not find the Cadillac club or Route 66 both adult only lounges. I thought they were great. I never went to that dueling pianos or the others where children were allowed. No need to plenty of "nightlife" in these two lounges. Now if you mean no casino when you speak of nightlife well I guess that is true. As far as I am concerned that is not nightlife-why throw away money for a thrill?

[cruislovin]

momofmeg,

Royal Caribbean has an adults only pool location on all the ships I have been on. I have not had any problem with these being kept adults only. Any time I have been there and seen children in the area or the pool an attendent promptly asks them to leave the area. There are also 2 hot tubs in the adult only area and one in the spa on the Voyager class that is also adult only.

We prefer to spend the cruise $ on the ship's amenities and activities, especially for our children. They do not prefer the kids' clubs most of the time but on RCCL there are so many other things for them to do. This being only a 3-night sailing I don't think this will be a problem since we won't be on the ship that much during the day. If we had a sea day I would be more concerned.

I FINALLY received my documents today. This is the WORST timing I have ever had on getting cruise documents on any cruise I have been on! So far I am not impressed with DCL's service at all... AND you have to complete them all by hand which I find is a real bother. I would much prefer to complete them on-line as you do for Royal Caribbean.

Can you answer a couple questions about dress in the dining rooms? It states that no tank tops are permitted in the dining rooms. My daughter and I have matching tank tops with glittery parrots on them that we planned for dinner one evening. Will this cause a problem? How strict are they on the "dress code"? Also, what about jeans that are not blue, like black or khaki jeans? Will these be an issue? We had all our clothes planned and packing started until I got my cruise docs today and saw this information.... HELP!

[momofmeg]

I did see people not dressed properly as we always do no matter what line we are on. (the only exception was HAL)

I believe jeans stlye slacks are fine. My daughter has several pair and she wore hers. If you are worried about the tank tops do what we do-just bring a light weight sweather or jacket if you feel uncomfortable-keep it on- if you see plenty dressed any kind of way-so you won't stick out like a sore thumb- take the jacket off. I like jackets anyway because often it is cool in the dinningrooms on all ships. On the fashion board there was a thread about tank tops and most felt it really applied to men and not women as there are many dress tank tops for women that go with suits etc. Most felt if it was not a tank top that you wore with shorts but a dressier tank top it was okay.

I found that Carnival Miracle had an adults only pool (smaller then the others just like Wonder) on the very back of the ship on the lido. There you did not see the kids in the pool or the hot tub. But you saw them in the other hot tubs by the family pools-in spite of the signs that says no one allowed under the age of 18. What we did not like about the pools there is usually they put nets on them after 8 p.m. On the Wonder they were still open at midnight. Now I have no idea if they were open 24 hours as we go to bed around then.

We got our cruise booking for Mariner changed to definete rooms and it was a good thing as ALL READY the atruim cabins are almost sold out. I never dreamed we might would be already bumped out of that catagory. There is another thing nice about those cabins. You can get a cabin with connecting rooms here so it is good for families. As much as hubby and I like the balconies-we prefer to have privacy and would rather get 2 cabins instead of one with a balcony. Ofcourse soon our daughter will be old enough to be allowed to have a cabin of her own-so that will no longer be a problem on any line.

I think your little tank tops would look cute for you to wear in Parrot Cay. It is a tropical themed restuarant so you would go right with the decor.

[cruislovin]

momofmeg,

Thanks for the info. I thought the tank tops were meant for men but wasn't sure. We plan to wear them the evening we eat in Parrot Cay. How did you think the temperature of the air conditioning was in the public areas on the Wonder like in the dining room, theaters, etc.? I am usually always cold if the air is chilly.

I don't remember if RCCL has signs about over 18 for the hot tubs or not. My kids go in them occassionally but not on a regular basis.

Did you have a guarantee atrium cabin on the Mariner, but you wanted to make sure you stayed in that category? We had connecting atrium cabins booked the first time we went on the Explorer, but we were VERY fortunate to be able to upgrade at the pier to two balcony cabins that were side by side, but not connecting. We looked at the connecting cabins and they did look very nice...

I had a category 12 guarantee booked on Wonder and they bumped us up to a category 10. So it is still an inside cabin but at least it is the bigger one. What category were you in on Wonder?

Where are the laundry rooms located on the Wonder?

[momofmeg]

I always find a light jacket is great on all the cruiseships in the evening though not usually needed during the day except for Carnival Inspiration last DEC. where it was way too cool the whole cruise. I had a winter coat that I had taken on the plane to Tampa and I actually wore that in the evening a good bit.

No we no longer have the guarantee. We have definite cabins Aloha 305 and 307. I learned that the atruim cabins are only on decks 6-8 and all have a 305 and 307-so I am not sure though which deck. Though as there are 15 decks and the atruim botton is deck 5 I felt this was be okay with my fear of heights. I did not want to be upgraded out of the atruim cabins this time as I have never been on a voyager class ship and I wanted this experience. They are very popular and if we had stayed with the guarantee we would have ended up with an "upgrade"of an oceanview. I did not want that. I would not have minded an upgrade of an balcony-but the odds of that happening is slim to nil-besides I have done a balcony and after having a catagory 6 balcony on Wonder which was super with the almost 300 square feet and bathtub-it just would not be the same. I don't espect to have that again unless I do Disney or HAL though as they are the only lines that have the super staterooms if you can't afford a suite.

Read the laundryroom tread here-(Beside a laundryroom) I typed PLENTY there don't want to do all that again. It was no problem for me as I heard no noise at all-the staterooms are built really well.

[cruislovin]

momofmeg,

I haven't heard of Aloha on the Mariner. What deck is that on?

I have seen the laundry room post. What cabin on deck 2 is the laundry room next to? I wanted to see how far away it is from my cabin in case I need to go there. Do they have irons there for you to use?

Did you use the in-room hair dryers at all? Were they adequate for you?

[momofmeg]

momofmeg,

I haven't heard of Aloha on the Mariner. What deck is that on?

I have seen the laundry room post. What cabin on deck 2 is the laundry room next to? I wanted to see how far away it is from my cabin in case I need to go there. Do they have irons there for you to use?

Did you use the in-room hair dryers at all? Were they adequate for you?

That is what I AM trying to figure out. My TA is off a couple of days so I can't get the info from her. Royal Caribbean informed me they could not give out any information to me on my reservation but I must get this from my TA.

I wondered if she goofed-on decks 6, 7 and 8 there are atruim cabins in 6305 and 6307, 7305 and 7307, 8305 and 8307-I have sense enough to figure out the first # corresponds to the deck # as they do on most ships but I have no idea if any of these 3 decks are also referred to as the "aloha" deck.

I have been on only one cruiseship that had an "aloha" deck- this was Pacific Princess. On that ship that was the deck below the promanade deck. I am guessing though on a ship with 15 decks that the prom. deck is higher then deck 8. Carnival names their decks also besides numbering them (for example deck 6 is also called the empress deck, deck 5 is upper deck, deck 4 is the main deck, deck 3 riveria deck) but they do not have an aloha deck.

I am thinking she goofed-I hope she has not done something stupid like booked us on a Princess ship instead of Mariner-or that she did not reserve us an atruim cabin but left it a guarantee-if she did SHE WILL FIX IT.

[momofmeg]

That is what I AM trying to figure out. My TA is off a couple of days so I can't get the info from her. Royal Caribbean informed me they could not give out any information to me on my reservation but I must get this from my TA.

I wondered if she goofed-on decks 6, 7 and 8 there are atruim cabins in 6305 and 6307, 7305 and 7307, 8305 and 8307-I have sense enough to figure out the first # corresponds to the deck # as they do on most ships but I have no idea if any of these 3 decks are also referred to as the "aloha" deck.

I have been on only one cruiseship that had an "aloha" deck- this was Pacific Princess. On that ship that was the deck below the promanade deck. I am guessing though on a ship with 15 decks that the prom. deck is higher then deck 8. Carnival names their decks also besides numbering them (for example deck 6 is also called the empress deck, deck 5 is upper deck, deck 4 is the main deck, deck 3 riveria deck) but they do not have an aloha deck.

I am thinking she goofed-I hope she has not done something stupid like booked us on a Princess ship instead of Mariner-or that she did not reserve us an atruim cabin but left it a guarantee-if she did SHE WILL FIX IT.


Well TA did not goof. Idiot hubby did. (he is no DH he's IH-idiot hubby) He thought she said "A" 305 and 307 and asumed "oh we are on the aloha deck" when she said 8305 andf 8307. Why he thought "A" stood for Aloha I don't know. As I said we have been on only one ship that had an aloha deck. I knew on Sovereign the decks were not named but I thought well maybe RCCL names the decks on voyager class ships.

Fortuantely I was able to get ahold of someone at the travel agency who was able to look up our booking # for me. I was all set to bless that woman out too when she came back to work. I was already mad as a hornet at RCCL because they would not tell me which deck was the aloha deck. I should had kown idiot hubby had misunderstood. He has done that before. Next time I will get him to ask for an e-mail be sent to us comfirming our reservation. I can trust that better.

[cruislovin]

Well TA did not goof. Idiot hubby did. (he is no DH he's IH-idiot hubby) He thought she said "A" 305 and 307 and asumed "oh we are on the aloha deck" when she said 8305 andf 8307. Why he thought "A" stood for Aloha I don't know. As I said we have been on only one ship that had an aloha deck. I knew on Sovereign the decks were not named but I thought well maybe RCCL names the decks on voyager class ships.

Fortuantely I was able to get ahold of someone at the travel agency who was able to look up our booking # for me. I was all set to bless that woman out too when she came back to work. I was already mad as a hornet at RCCL because they would not tell me which deck was the aloha deck. I should had kown idiot hubby had misunderstood. He has done that before. Next time I will get him to ask for an e-mail be sent to us comfirming our reservation. I can trust that better.You can never trust these IH! Anyway, the Promenade IS on Deck 5 - so Deck 8 puts you the HIGHEST above the Promenade that you can get. Basically the middle of the ship is all OPEN from Deck 5 through Deck 8!!! You may want to get your T/A to move you to Deck 6. Be careful though what you are ABOVE if you are on Deck 6. I have read reports of noise from the bars on the Promenade. I have never experienced it myself but there are posts on it here on CC.

[momofmeg]

You can never trust these IH! Anyway, the Promenade IS on Deck 5 - so Deck 8 puts you the HIGHEST above the Promenade that you can get. Basically the middle of the ship is all OPEN from Deck 5 through Deck 8!!! You may want to get your T/A to move you to Deck 6. Be careful though what you are ABOVE if you are on Deck 6. I have read reports of noise from the bars on the Promenade. I have never experienced it myself but there are posts on it here on CC.

I doubt I can-as I said we did good to get an atruim as they were selling out and with the guarantee we had we would have been bumped up. Once I saw the ship's diagram and saw these cabins were only deck 6 through 8 and that the bottom of the atruim was deck 5 I knew I would be okay. I was afraid I might have a stateroom that was like 10 decks up or something. I am not fearful of 3 decks. Now what will bother me is to be down on deck 5 and looking up to deck 15. That is what gives me the problem. Or being on deck 15 and looking down. On the Carnival spirit class ships they have this see through staircase that goes from deck 11 to deck 12 that you can see from the bottom of the atruim. I can't watch people walking on that as it scares me a little. I won't ride the glass elevator either as I literally get dizzy and faint -so I will stay away from that too.

As I said the smaller atruims like The Wonder, Sovereign and Statendam had do not bother me. I just don't like those that are like 8 or 10 decks or more. So there is a good chance I may not like the voyager class ships especially if alot of the main things are on higher decks close to the atruim area. From the diagram I saw though I don't think that will be a problem. I really do like the small ships-I just wish they would build some newer ones with balconies.

I am looking forward to that ice skating show. I always enjoy watching ice skating on TV and love the "Disney on Ice" shows that come every year here.

[cruislovin]

I have seen the laundry room post. What cabin on deck 2 is the laundry room next to? I wanted to see how far away it is from my cabin in case I need to go there. Do they have irons there for you to use?

Did you use the in-room hair dryers at all? Were they adequate for you?

Any other last minute tips you can provide, please do! We are packing this weekend and leaving next Wednesday afternoon!!!

[momofmeg]

I was never on deck 2 so I don't know. Maybe if you go to the Disney site you can find a diagram of the ship. Or maybe someone else will post here. Did you ask the quest. on the laundryroom post? As we were mid ship-(starboard I think right side of ship) and if it is in the same place on deck 2 that may help.

Another messageboard which has lots more traffic then here is disboards.com-now it takes a day or 2 before you are allowed to post after registering-but you may be able to find info about laundryrooms there.

We had a hair dryer in the bathroom. It was attached to the wall like they are in alot of motels. It was a pretty much heavy duty one-you know the kind that drys your hair pretty fast. I prefer the ones that take longer as it is better for the condition of my hair in the long run. Those heavy duty ones really do a number on my hair.

[cruislovin]

I looked at several diagrams of Deck 2 but I don't see the laundry room listed. I'm sure I will find it IF I need it. I won't wash or iron anything unless it is an emergency. We are packing very light so I may have to if something gets soiled. My daughter only wants to take carry-ons!!

I packed today and will help DD over the weekend. She has a huge Reading project due the Tuesday after we come back so she is working hard on getting that done this weekend. That way she won't have to worry about it on the cruise OR rush to complete it when we get back!

Are there separate towels for the pool and in the cabin bathroom? Where do you get the pool towels? It's so nice now on RCCL - the pool towels are put in your cabin and exchanged there too. I called DCL today to find this out, but of course they didn't know! I see in the info I got that for Castaway Cay they give you the towels as you get off the ship. Is that what they did on your cruise too?

[momofmeg]

Your cabin towels are those big ones-the kind that is about the size of a beach towel. They were adequate. Our steward replenished them as they all do(you know the sign about hang the towel up if you will reuse it-I always do but the steard still always gives me a new towel) so I never had to use a wet towel I had used on the lido after my bath.

Now that is what I did-not sure it that was what I was supposed to do-I never noticed a towel station on the lido so I assumed it was okay. We did have some blue towels in out room marked Disney on them the day we went to Castaway Key. We always bring our own beach towels though. They don't take up much room in the suitcase and I like paid $15 or less for them at TJ Maxx-I would rather lose those towels then the cruiseline towels that they charge you $25 or more for. I feel the same about the bathrobes they give you to use. I will use it in the stateroom but I never take it up on the lido- too many guys with sticky fingers -then I owe the cruiseline $40.

[cruislovin]

Does Disney provide bathrobes in all cabin categories?

FYI on you RCCL cruise - they only provide bathrobes in the higher level suites and if you are a Platinum or above Crown & Anchor member. So you may want to bring your own.

No room to pack beach towels - we are only taking carry-ons to save time at the airport. We never take beach towels anyway - too bulky to pack. Having cruised so much in the past couple years we have learned to pack less and less every cruise! That's why the dear daughter challenged us to the "carry-ons only" for this trip and I think we will do it! I have everything in my carry-on except 3 things that will wrinkle and I haven't even used the magic plastic bags yet that we had gotten for the Alaska cruise!!! Then we have a foldable suitcase that we take in case we buy too many bulky souveniers like sweatshirts and such. That way I use it as a carry-on on the way home and check the other "carry-on" for the trip back. We will even try to avoid using that however if we can since it save SO much time at the airport.

[momofmeg]

I gues I pack "medium". I will on a 7 day cruise wear the same pantsuit twice to dinner and often I change from a pair of shorts to pants or skirt on casual nights as long as the top is still clean. I don't go down to the "carry on" thingie though-I do bring more then that-but I never have a problem with overweight bags or too many suitcases that many complain about when flying.

Even though Wonder did not have a "formal night" we still went formal the night we ate at Palos. I still wanted a nice formal picture of the 3 of us. Our daughter did not go with us on the April cruise and I like having a formal portrait of us as a family once a year.

Since your cruise is 3 days though- and no worry about formal night-you and your daughter can probally do great with carryons. I think we did have robes but like I said I only use them in the cabin-since our cruise on Mariner-hubby and I have a stateroom to ourselves-I have no need for a robe anyway-so no big deal-besides I do have a light weight housecoat that takes very little room I could bring but probally won't even bother-if daughter comes knocking and I am not dressed I will just talk to her through the door.

We do qualify for the wine tasting thingie and our friend Madelyn does too since she was on Explorer in August. That will be fun. On our second RCCL cruise-it was just a 3 day so that was not offered-so this will be the first time we get a past guest perk. Does RCCL do any other perks for past guests?

Carnival does a little party-reception type thing but only on the 7 day cruises. They also give you a pin with the ship's name on it. We did not get one for Miracle as it was only a 3 day cruise. I tried to get them to sell me one but no go. That kind of ticked me off a little and I am a little mad at Carnival. I really liked the pins better then the reception thingie. To me I don't see why it would hurt to give past guests a pin on the shorter cruises or at the very least sell them for those who want them. I would love to have a Tropicale one too.

I do like collecting little momentos of the ships. I have a tee shirt for Pacific Princess that says "Love Boat-1972-2002" on it. I also have a Disney Wonder tee shirt. I have a shirt that has these little flag emblems on it on the left side that says Royal Caribbean on it. I will definetely take that and wear it on the Mariner next year.

[cruislovin]

RCCL has a past guest party too. Plus you get a coupon book in your cabin that includes the free wine tasting and other discounts. I am not sure what all is in the Gold coupon book now since I haven't seen one for awhile. You also get a Crown & Anchor gift in your stateroom toward the end of the cruise, usually. Nice little goodies that get nicer as you go from Gold to Platinum to Diamond!

[momofmeg]

Well I doubt I will ever make it to diamond. I like variety too much. I just don't want to keep doing the same cruiseline over and over. We took 2 Carnival cruises 4 months apart this past year and I doubt we will go back on them for at least 3 or more years. I like change too much.

A couple of years ago in the Crown and Anchor magazine we got was the picture of a couple that had done 35 plus cruises with RCCL. We had had them for table mates on our second cruise. They were on their 98th cruise then and were going for a 100. I am sure they have made it by now since that was 5 years ago-probally going for 125 at this point.

But that will never be us. Right now we are wanting to plan some other type of vacation as we are about cruised out. We keep saying we would just like to go and spend a week in FL again and do all the Orlando parks. One of our most favorite vacations was Virginia when we toured a bunch of the president's homes that were in like the "Walton's" area of Virginia and then we also did Washington DC that same trip. We want to do all that again. I think we enjoyed that more then our week in London.

We only have Mariner booked because I have been wanting to do a voyager class ship. Every since Voyager came out back in 99 I have wanted to do one. But first hubby had to do Alaska and Bermuda.

I wanted to do the Canada New York cruise on Voyager since we did not book Mariner soon enough for this year and the price had gone up so much. Hubby did not want to go to Canada and New England so we ended up doing the Wonder.

We did get a great deal for Wonder. The Voyager cruise was about the same price as Wonder but it would have been 5 night instead of 4. Also that was for an oceanview stateroom and not a balcony. The atruim cabins werealready sold out on that cruise-so I would have missed out on that if we had done Voyager.

I was not too trilled about doing Nassau again but I ended up having such a great time on Wonder I am glad we did Wonder instead of Voyager. I felt beforehand- like most- that Disney was just too expensive. After doing the cruise though and realizing how nice they do things I changed my mind.

After the cruise next year-we probally won't cruise again until our 25th if then. We are now considering just either flying to Europe or Hawaii and staying there. Well we have three years to decide.

[itdjbw]

We have enjoyed both our cruises on DCL, worth the money as the kids love it, much more relaxing with kids as not clock watching to see when camp closes like on the other lines. Great bathroom setup.

[KKB]

We just took our first cruise on Princess in October and fell in love w/ cruising!
MIL is taking the whole family on DCL next Xmas. I am excited about the kids club being open until midnight or 1 AM, and that they will get kids to meals if you so choose (that Palo night!). 2 bathrooms w/ 3 children will be a plus.
We WILL miss the casino. I noticed a couple above mentioning that the cruise is still cheaper compared to another cruise if you gamble--sorry, not necessarily! We got an unbelievable deal on our cruise, got upgraded to an exterior w/ a large window, and we gambled several hours daily. Now, we won the first day which paid for our gambling the rest of the cruise, BUT even if we hadn't, we couldn't have taken DCL for the cost of our Princess cruise even plus gambling! Gambling is just another entertainment expense to some of us. I think spending $ in the spa is ridiculous when I can get it for 1/3 the price at home. But I understand why Disney has chosen not to have a casino.
Luckily we are the type who simply enjoy traveling. There were many complaints about our cruise--but we had a ball! I'm not a huge Disney buff, but MIL is paying--and I get to cruise! Plus our kids are the type who will be mad at us if we pick them up "early" (not the last ones gone!). Expect to have a good time as always!
Happy cruising!
Kristin

[PrincessTraci]

My thoughts on DCL:

1) It always will depend on what you want from your vacation. Size of ship, activities, ports, etc.

2) Food has gotten to the point where it is equivalent on virtually all the major lines.

3) The Magic/Wonder are beautiful classic ships. We loved the Magic. But there are times we want a huge RCCL ship or Carnival Miracle class.

4) DCL does get REAL dead REAL early at night. Even our kids were still looking for fun at 10:00PM at the ship was dead.

5) We're "Disney people" through and through. Yet we even grew tired of the over-theming. But we expected that, it is Disney, and we enjoyed it to a certain degree.

6) Pools are VERY small, and chair saving is almost an Olympic event.

7) No flexibility in itinerary. We've been to all the Eastern ports a couple times, and the Western ports seveal times. No choice with DCL for places like Belize and other ports.

8) Overall service was maybe half a step above other cruise lines ON AVERAGE. All depends on what cruise line, ship, Captain, CD, at any given time. Not to mention the waitstaff, which is always going to vary. But again, considering all that, you're MORE LIKELY to receive a little better service.

In summary, I wouldn't choose DCL every cruise, although it is my favorite. I certainly don't even consider it now because of the price. I can get a balcony cabin on other lines for less than an inside on DCL. And since there are alot of other beautiful ships out there, that's an easy decision.

[Host Mick]

If you want alternate itineraries, keep a look out for deviations in the cruise schedules. The Magic did a long cruise last week because Christmas fell on Saturday, the arrival/departure day and nobody wants to be travelling on Christmas. next year, expect the Wonder to do the same because Christmas will be on Sunday.
This year, the Magic is going to Disneyland sort of. She will be doing two repositioning cruises through the Panama Canal, then a bunch of cruises to Mexico. It's very hard to get on these cruises now, but they are an example of what can happen in the future.

My thoughts on DCL:

7) No flexibility in itinerary. We've been to all the Eastern ports a couple times, and the Western ports seveal times. No choice with DCL for places like Belize and other ports.

[KKB]

We are on the Magic departing the 24th next year. They changed it to a 10 day this year, otherwise we would have taken the cruise this year. We will be flying/embarking on the 24th. Frankly, don't see much difference--embark the 24th or the 25th. I'm betting they still would have had no problem filling the ship. In fact, I would have found it preferable, because we could have spent Xmas Eve w/ my folks, taken a drive to look at the lights, and Voila...Santa could have come!!! The children think Santa is going to bring them their gifts on the ship!!!!!!!! I've already said that I will be emailing Santa and that he can leave them at our house as usual!!!
Funny how the logic of one person is not always the logic of another..
Happy cruising!
Kristin

[keukamom]

Having cruised on NCL and Carnival 5 times, we chose the Wonder for a 4 night Bahama cruise, after visiting Disneyworld for 5 days.

The ship is beautiful & clean, courtious staff and larger than normal cabins.

BUT:

The characters did not just wander around the ship randomly as we thought they would. There were scheduled signings/photographs in the main lobby, with a few characters at different times of the day and night. It caused such congestion in the lobby area and very disappointed children, since the allotted time is short and not every child will get to see their favorite character.

It was too structured for us and indoors, so much of the time was not spent on deck, since waiting time was 1/2 hour before the character appearances and then chaos once they arrived.

Camp for our 3 and 4 year old grandchildren was terrible. Crying children, with runny noses were not attended to, therefore the chain reaction of many children crying and our grandchildren opting not to return.

No options for carriages for our 4 month old sleeping grandchild in the show theaters for evening performances.

No characters appearing on Castaway Cay until we boarded the ship and Goofy appeared for 15 minutes. We were the cut off from taking a picture with him since he had to get back on board.

Pictures from the websites and brochures presented a different picture of what we believed what we would see.

Food was ok, but no buffet for dinner. Pluto's was the only option for dinner if children didn't want to sit through dinner. For the price, hamburgers & chicken tenders was a poor option.

I'm glad we did the cruise, but only to prove that we will never do it again. Other ships have many more activities to do with children and we are glad that we did the Disneyworld adventure first, and saw most of the characters there.

[keukamom]

No character breakfast, lunch or dinner!

[Niwel]

No character breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Actually on the seven-day cruises they assign you a terrific character breakfast ... the fab five plus chip and dale. It was wonderful -- we got great pictures and every character comes to EVERY table. :)

[jennat]

Our favorite cruise by far is RCCL Voyager class. For our needs the ship is beyond compare. That being said, Disney offers somethings that come to my mind better.
*The continuous kids club hours. Not that I want my kids in the clubs all day, but I also don't want to have to watch my watch and pick them up by certain times throughout the day. Also, the childcare closes at 10 on non Disney ships, just when things start rocking (you can pay for after 10). My kids love the Disney clubs (honestly, they haven't been in the others, I'm sure they are great).
*Castaway Cays is probably the nicest island I have been to.
*When we were on the service was great.


Negatives
*the drive to the port is kindof a pain (really a pain)
*the ship is "okay"
*the pools are small

[jennat]

Also, I just paid 2600.00 for four of us in an outside cabin and it would have been 2100. for an inside for RCL Voyager class. So do your homework onprice, you can find it relatively reasonable.