neo1738

So to not be the guy that complains and doesn't update everyone here is my take a couple weeks after our cruise. 1) Disney does a fantastic job with the kids and activities on a whole. But they have a LOT of room for improvement in the bookings and 3-5 age group. First the Oceaneer Lab/Club. There are many 3 yo who aren't comfortable leaving their parents (or parents who actually don't mind playing with their kids!) and to only have open house for 2 hrs a day during breakfast and dinner for that age group was a disappointment. 9a and 5p. If you have the 545p dinner (which with a 3yo you better she was falling asleep most dinners) it's nearly impossible to get into there. We were able to squeeze one hr one day. There really aren't many indoor activities other than character greets for this age group. That being said we mostly used the pool but they day we did Bippidi boppiti boutique was a challenge to find indoor stuff. We ended up at the open house for Vibe teen lounge and they had coloring stuff there for her. For those that don't know you can't just go to the oceaneers club, vibe teen area, etc with your kids. It's drop off ONLY unless during "open house" hours which are usually not great times. I think they also had like 11pm-12a open house?! 2) Character greets - great overall. Didn't know that when the app says "15 minutes" you have to be in the line before 15 minutes or else you don't get the greet. We learned after 1 missed Daisy experience, daughter took it like a champ and we didn't make the mistake again. The characters spent a lot of time w each kid age appropriate and it was really a highlight of the trip. They weren't "all over" the ship as has been said previously (except for 1 random goofy run by and 1 random Donald congo line!) but there are a lot of times you can line up to see them. If you have more ppl in your party recommend getting in a line then having someone else line up for the next one. Character dance parties....omg she (and we for her joy) LOVED them absolutely the best for that younger age group! Definitely do it, daughter was able to get right in the middle of Chip and Dale, hold hands w Mickey and dance, etc. You'll never get that anywhere else except a Disney Cruise. 3) Food - ok. Thought Norweigen was better. The presentation at dinner was good but service was SLOW. Maybe because we had a full ship but we sat at 545p and finished at 745p just about every night. We started arriving to dinner 20 min early and a lot of others did to be 1st seated and try to get out a few minutes earlier because they were always behind. Having same servers was very nice, rotational dining was good for us. Food quality was lacking. Way too much horse raddish on more than 1 dish (honestly they must have got it cheap even mashed potatoes had horse raddish in them?!). Breakfast was ok but no French Toast with all those offerings?! Same foods every day at the Cabanas buffet. No variation for breakfast or lunch usually. There were a few dishes that did hit very well but usually 1 item per night maybe. I will say the chocolate lava cake was amazing! Highly recommend. Our servers usually recommended stuff and it seemed to be good. Again ok food, some great some I didn't finish (along with other family) because it was way over seasoned (see horse raddish comment) or lacking. I was surprised because I have only heard how amazing their food is. We didn't see it. 4) Booking activities/Ports- Huge disappointment for 1st time cruisers as you can see. Daughter didn't understand why all princesses were lined up and we couldn't get in line. Also would have loved her to get to do the tea with princesses but was never an option for us as we weren't returning or concierge. Did go straight to guest services for wait list and never got into activities. Also checked app 2x/day as did my wife and nothing ever opened. We had a full cruise which probably played into that. There are very limited ones for 3yo to attend and when we went to book there was literally only 1 or 2 options she could even do not booked. Luckily our 1st excursion was great, Tortola Island Drive and Beach break. They take you in an open air taxi around the island, to a beach for 1.5 hrs, then back around the island. Beautiful drive, narrated along the way. Beach had a strong surf but it was a little rainy that morning. We spent a little time in the water but mostly on the beach with beautiful soft white sand. We totally understand you can't control the weather so we give this one full points. Second port was St. Thomas we only had option of Coral World Comeback. It was pretty good as well, run down though definitely needs an investment in infrastructure. 3yo does a Forest School pre-k so she was all about the nature and we had a good time. Their underwater viewing area was the highlight. Still would have been nice to have more options. Castaway Key was a great time, lots of activities and another character dance party. You don't need to book anything for this port just enjoy the beach which was what we did. 5) Room/amenities/staff - All good. Our room was great, our stateroom host Adriann was amazing! we loved him. Honestly all of the staff are amazing and so friendly and never once did we hear "I don't know". I've never seen cleaner bathrooms, halls, etc. They keep that ship spotless Embarkation was a breeze, they got us on 45 min prior to our boarding time. Disembarking was quick as well. We enjoyed having double vanity and a separate shower from toilet area. There was a mild general sewage odor in toilet room of all our staterooms (we had 3 in the same hall a few doors apart). Not sure anything to do with that. In the end would we do another Disney Cruise....probably. I was very very unhappy the first 2 full days which were at sea due to lack of indoor activities, poor food (honestly first 2 days it was bad, end of the cruise they got their act together and everything service, food etc improved). But only because we now know how everything works and the people on the ship combined with the ability to see/experience the characters in a way you can't do at the parks or other places. I will say when my daughter is a teen we would not do Disney. They just don't offer enough for the older age group for the price would rather do Royal Caribbean.

Buy using the app now as "on board activities" in my plans section.

Completely agree. And as I said before reserve some spots for 1st time cruisers as well.

Disney Fantasy sailing Feb 18-25. Have a 3.5 yo who doesn't like being away from mom and dad w new people. Drop offs not an option w her. Also it's not so much about "have" to do but other than the normal activities on ship (Andy Playroom, water park etc there isn't much info on Character Experiences other than the app. She isn't into Pixar characters so princesses and Mickey Mouse or bust. Just trying to maximize our time and get her the best experience.

Maybe reserve x amount of spots for past and y for everyone comes to mind. At least you have a chance. As for staying up till midnight did that last night (even though had to be at work at 6a) to book royal gathering except they had a "system issue" which prevented us from booking and by time we could even try 20 min after midnight it was already sold out. We were on at 1158 and had it ready to checkout got an error then couldn't see our reservation for 15 min. Online just said sorry reservations aren't available right now. I'm not saying there is a perfect way but as a first timer it definitely leaves a sour taste in my mouth already (guessing some others fell that way too). We'll see how it goes and I'm truly hopeful but would be lying if I didn't feel some regret already.

Great info thanks!

Yeah Royal Tea opens to new cruisers last. Other poster likely not 1st timer or got very lucky bc seems the standard is 1st timers get screwed. As for Bipidy cruise day w no royal tea or gathering was only day available for booking or after 7pm on those days?! Obviously only happen once but truly would have reconsidered if we had known all the limitations.

That is correct and there are VERY limited shore excursions for that age group. Thus we could only book 1 Island tour by car and 1 marine rehab facility nothing else was available day activities opened for new cruisers w child under like 6 years old. Disappointing to say the least. As for no charge and things opening good idea thank you.

Seems unless you have cruised w DCL or get concierge service you won't be able to book any of the good activities on or off the ship. Anyone else notice this? Always heard how great DCL is but seems all activities my 3yo can do are booked before being open to us. Even sea day activities like Royal Tea booked out before we had a chance. Am I overthinking we'll have a bored 3yo on our hands? BTW she is pretty attached to parents does go to prep but would not likely go to any kid activities minutes a parent/gparent. Thanks.