angelinaxox1

Thanks for the trip report. Looking at booking the Rhapsody next summer with a similar itinerary except it goes to Split instead of Dubrovnik. Thanks for the recommendation about the tour with Milo in Kotor. I plan to look into it.

I have to say I am a little nervous about getting back on the boat in Santorini with the lines for the cable cars. It looks like even if you do a tour you still take the cable car down (or walk which doesn't seem like fun). Did there seem like there were a lot of people who had a hard time getting back on time? Or did most opt to walk like you did to ensure they made it back on time?

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Not sure which Norway itinerary you are looking at doing, but I did the 12 day Disney Norway, Iceland and Scotland cruise out of Copenhagen last summer. For some perspective on my European cruise background, it was my fifth cruise in Europe. The first three were on Princess traveling with my parents (Baltics, British Isles, and Western Mediterranean) and this was my second on Disney traveling with my husband (first one was Eastern Mediterranean). All were port intensive cruises with great itineraries. I enjoyed them all but there were some things that I appreciated on my two Disney cruises after having previously done the three Princess.

I liked that my two Disney had more sea days included in the itinerary. I have found for me after having previously done land trips in Europe and the Princess cruises with less sea days, I strongly prefer having more built in sea days to relax and take a break from the heavy touring that is involved. I enjoyed the scheduled activities the Magic has including adult only ones. I also enjoyed all the Disney touches including the characters dressed specifically for this itinerary. If you are a Disney person, you will enjoy those touches.

I did late traditional dining on all of those cruises so as to not interfere with our touring. (I was given anytime on one of my Princess but was able to get it changed to traditional.) Since I prefer traditional dining to anytime/freestyle/my time dining on the cruise lines, I really enjoy Disney's rotational dining. When I did an NCL freestyle cruise in Hawaii, which was also a port intensive cruise, everyone seemed to show up at the dining rooms at the same time. We waited a long time and that just left a bad taste in my mouth for having this type of dining on port intensive cruises. I know reservations can be made on some lines, but I really didn't want to have to do this on these cruises.

I stayed in the cheapest room on all of these cruises as I don't spend much time in my room. When I was deciding on my Norway, Iceland and Scotland cruise, Princess and Disney were the only two offering that particular itinerary the weeks I needed. The Princess one was two days longer but would have been more expensive. I also preferred the Magic to the Princess ship that was doing the itinerary. It was an easy choice for me to choose Disney.

I didn't purchase the internet package on my Disney Norway cruise, but I know from others who purchased it on the ship that there were a lot of issues. I was fine with finding a lot of free wifi in ports and was glad I did not purchase it. However, I do have to say I love the Disney Navigator app as I find it very user friendly and it includes the ability to chat with others on the ship. I appreciate the Disney app even more after just using the Royal Caribbean app on my Anthem cruise which I did not find to be user friendly and in addition you had to pay for the chat feature. By the end of the cruise, I ended up not using it except for checking my balance.

I absolutely loved my Disney Norway, Iceland and Scotland cruise and would definitely choose Disney in Europe again as long as it is in my price range. For me, I would have a hard time cruising in Europe on another line after experiencing Disney. That is how much I loved Disney in Europe. I hope I provided some useful information as you go through the process of selecting your cruise. Best wishes to you for a great cruise no matter what line you choose.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

All OBC should appear on your onboard account sometime on day 2. If you are on a ship with an interactive TV system, check your account there. Otherwise go to Guest Services to get a printout of your account. If you don't see all your OBC by the end of day 2, then go to Guest Services with your email confirmation and ask them to fix it.

Thank you so much for the help. I appreciate you taking the time to answer.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I believe that the only OBC that shows in the Cruise Planner is that from Royal (booking on board, WOW, etc.) and from Visa points redemption.

Thanks for answering. So OBC purchased from Royal won't show up on the planner. So we take the printout on board. Do we have to do anything with the printout on the ship in order to use it?

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I have a question after seeing this thread. My sister purchased an OBC for my husband for his birthday back in June. I don't see it on my planner and our cruise is next week, but we do have the printout. Should I be able to see it on our planner? My sister is going on the cruise as well but in a separate cabin so I wasn't sure if that has any bearing on why I don't see it in the planner. Thanks if anyone can answer my question.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thanks for the entertaining report and I thought your photos were amazing. I am another one who came here from following your Anthem report on the Royal boards. I haven't done an NCL cruise in years. I had such a bad service experience on the Norwegian Wind in Hawaii that I only did one NCL after it. Thanks to you, this is the first time I am considering an NCL cruise in years. NCL was my first cruise and the reason I fell in love with cruising. It might be time for me to return.

Thanks for sharing the pictures! I sailed on her twice with my parents. The first time was a Baltic cruise and the second time was a British Isles cruise. My parents also sailed her on a partial transit of the Panama Canal. It was a great ship. I loved the activities and met lots of nice people. We usually booked inside cabins, but as Coral mentioned there were no inside cabins so we had an obstructed view cabin.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Don't worry about staying up late to fill that out, you can do it at your leisure. They do have you pick a check in time, but those are not enforced at US ports, so you can just show up whenever you want to. Both times I sailed on Anthem from Cape Liberty, we were on the ship before 11am.

Great. Thanks for that. I have gotten used to Disney which tended to follow the given times. So I was afraid if I waited I would get a late boarding time. I won't bother staying up then.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Royal Caribbean doesn't release entertainment reservations like that, they just kind of appear when they feel like releasing them. I just looked at your rollcall and it looks like reservations have been available for a while now. Here is a link to the rollcall:

 

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2385190&page=3

 

 

 

I would go into your cruise planner now and reserve what you can.

Thanks for the reply. I did book some activities, but was interested in filling out my online check in information.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Ok. Ty for the reply. My past few cruises have been on Disney which used to be midnight but then changed to seven a.m. So I am used to there being an exact time. Will just have to try it and see.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

My 90 days check in is tomorrow. What time will the check in section open? Is there a set time? If it is midnight tonight, I would prefer to just stay up and complete it. Thanks if anyone can tell me.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We booked the cruise past final payment date so sometime in May. The Escape Room was not available to book until about 30 days out? I think? I just checked every day and one day it showed up and I grabbed it. Wish I had better advice than just check every day!

Thanks. I will keep trying.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We were on the Anthem last July to Bermuda with our 19 year old adult children and I would NEVER sail at that time of year again on that ship. Sorry it was jam packed with people/kids. The ship is great and has many unique features but wasn't worth it. I felt like there were less kids on the Disney Cruises we have taken. The ironic thing is we were considering the Summit for that same trip and our "kids" convinced us to go on the Anthem. Here is a link to my review:

 

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2385297

Just read your review. Thanks for posting the link. It was a great review with positives and negatives so I know what to expect when we go next summer. How far in advance did you book the Escape Room? The other activities are showing in my cruise planner and I keep checking for the Escape Room, but haven't seen it show up.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Probably night 8.

Thanks! Wanted to make sure I didn't make any reservations for that night.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

On the nine night Bermuda and Caribbean cruises this summer, when will the formal nights be? I am guessing the first one will be night two, but not sure for the second one. Does anyone know?

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a "fish extender"?

Outside the stateroom doors on Disney ships, there are hooks. Many of these hooks have fish on them. Some people who join Disney cruise meet groups set up fish extender groups in which they deliver small gifts to others who also join the fish extender group. You hang special holders (called fish extenders) from the fish hook for others in your fish extender group to deliver the gifts to. These gifts may be Disney themed, something representative of someone's home area, something homemade, something useful or anything that a person may choose to give.

I decorate my door on Disney cruises but generally not on other cruise lines. Although, I do plan to put a magnet on my door on my Anthem cruise as I find it useful in finding my door. I love decorated doors.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thanks for sharing. I am getting the drink package for the first time this summer and doubt it will end up being worth it for me but I am traveling with extended family who are all getting the package so I decided to purchase it. You have given me some ideas of drinks to order.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I love DCL especially the Magic. It is the only ship I have sailed four times. Only one of those cruises was a three day. The other three were an eight day and two twelve day cruises. I have travelled other lines but Disney is my favorite. Thanks Cruise Critic for posting.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Best wishes to you. Thanks for your informative posts.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thanks for posting. I love Beauty and the Beast so I will definitely look into booking the Dream next year over my spring break if it is playing then.

Do the puzzles in the puzzle room change or are they always the same?

Thanks for the detailed review! DH and I also don't have children and we just took our first Disney cruise this past September on the Magic in the Med. we've been on three RCL cruises before this cruise. Our experience was the exact opposite of yours! This was the first cruise where there was so much going on that we actually didn't have time to do everything (and we've been on the Allure of the Seas and didn't feel like that...). We were actually really blown away by all of the activities Disney offered every day, so much so that we canceled two of our tour days in ports because we preferred to stay onboard and enjoy the ship and the activities onboard.

 

I don't know if the schedule on the Fantasy is different than the Magic, but you mention you never went to trivia, which there are a bunch of every day, for instance. We also found the adult entertainment at night to be great and only got back to our room at around 11:30-11:45 PM every night. BTW, we both do not drink and don't like sitting by the pool, we love going from activity to activity and felt this was the most active ship we've ever been on.

 

In terms of the meals, I get your point about not having a buffet at night, I think that would be a nice option. However, we didn't at all feel like we were limited or in a rigid place, because there are so many other options. For instance, we chose to skip the MDR one night because we wanted to see Tangled twice. So instead we had hamburgers (one real one veggie, which I love at Disney) for dinner up on deck and ordered room service later (which is free and we thought it was great quality).

 

This of course was just our experience :) I do wonder if there's a difference in activities between the two ships.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I agree with you. I have no kids either, but have cruised with nieces and nephews on both Disney and on other cruiselines. If I am traveling with extended family, and the purpose is just spending time together, then the cruiseline isn't as important (although I would still prefer Disney). If it is just my husband and I, or I am planning the cruise, then I would definitely pick Disney. I find so many activities to do. Disney is my cup of tea and I especially love the Magic.

Great pictures. Thanks for posting.

I think everyone is different. Personally, I find seven day cruises the hardest for me to do, no matter what cruise line. Compared to the cruises I have done that were longer (multiple 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 14 day cruises), I end up wishing the seven days were longer.

However, when I do a three day and I have only done three 3-day cruises, all Disney, I know it is a short cruise. So I make it the best three day trip for me.

Generally, the three days fit into a long weekend break and I don't mind the price. I am looking at another three day Disney cruise during my fall break.

I have to say I really loved the three day itinerary I did this past spring on the Magic -- day at sea and Castaway Cay. I am also looking at this itinerary next spring during my spring break on the Wonder.

So there are people who enjoy the short Disney cruises and I am definitely one of them.

Yes, it will be nice not to have to get tickets on the ship. I booked my character breakfasts and meet and greets this morning.