Silverfox97
PLATINUM Castaway Club
- Joined
- May 20, 2010
This is not a full TR, but I wanted to report back my view/opinion as a veteran Disney Cruiser.
This was our 5th DCL cruise - before this one, we've done one other 3-night cruise (Wonder - 2005 - Honeymoon), a 5-night double dip on the Wonde, a 5-night Double Dip on the Magic, and a 7-night Western Caribbean on the Magic. We have 4 Fantasy cruises scheduled.
We booked this cruise to take advantage of the excellent FL resident rates just to get a taste of what life will be like on the Fantasy on our future cruises. DD was off school Friday, so she only had to miss one day. After reading the reviews of the Dream 2/2 cruise, DH (ssanders79 on the Boards) and I set out expectations LOW. We were not expecting much - we were expecting unruly kids, crowds, and many other unpleasantries.
Boy, were we wrong!!
We arrived to the port and parked our car and by the time we were walking up, to get checked in at the street, it was 11:15am. There was NO line. We walked thru security, and the port did look busy. We walked up to check in to the Castaway Club line, and didn't have to wait. We got checked in and it was 11:25am, we were given boarding #3 and guess what, they were already boarding #1 & #2!!! By the time we walked over, it was time for #3 - we literally felt whisked away to the ship. We boarded, walked all the way aft, and went to Cabanas for lunch. Walked around on deck, there were a few people in the pools and no line for the Aquaduck. Room was ready at 1:30pm, and we set down for DD to take a nap. We had a Cat 5A and it was nice, but I could tell it was smaller than the classic ships. However, there was more *space* - I didn't miss the steamer trunk because usually, we put our suitcases in the closets, which takes up space. However, there is so much room under the bed, that we put our luggage under there and had no problem with space. It was, however, a 3-night cruise.......
We attended the Sail Away Party viewed from deck 12 (as we always have), and did not go to the Pirate Party - we viewed the fireworks from our verandah.
On Nassau day, we stayed on the ship. After breakfast (which was about 9am), DD hit the Mickey pool and DH & I rode the Aquaduck 1 time each (10 min wait). Nemo's Reef seems dangerous, but there were parents all around. At 11am, we decided to go explore the ship's outdoor areas. There was NO ONE playing Goofy Golf - it was EMPTY. So, we did it and Goofy even showed up in his golf attire. Very fun.
We did main dining, all was well. Was it loud? Yep, but no different than any other ship dining rooms. The food was fine. Not stellar, not awful. We ate at Cabanas, all 3 main dining rooms, and 1 breakfast at Royal Palace. No room service or any on deck place (there was no time). We ate at Cookie's on CC day. DD ordered from the adult menu at dinner and at our breakfast at RP, so I cannot comment on the kids fare.
Our dining staff was incredible - we had Shawn and Andrea. Our head server was non-existent other than his usual appearances. I did chuckle because in Enchanted Garden, he picked up a crayon and wrote on the table cloth. I told DD that washable crayon or not, it was OK for him to do, but not her! We had nice table mates who dined with us 2 out of the 3 nights, and they were clueless on tipping.......They went to Guest Services and asked how to tip in the Main DR for 2 nights and then went up to Cabanas to find the server to tip they had the other night & Guest Services DID NOT explain how to tip to him. He was a smart reasonable guy, and I explained to him how it goes, but he had already done it. He said, "Why didn't GS explain it to me that way?"
CC didn't feel any more crowded than in our last cruises; I think this is a direct result of good planning by DCL.
The ship was rumored to have 3,000 people (according to the bartender in Skyline). It never once felt crowded. I was also shocked - the kids and parents were very nice, non-rude and well behaved. DD spent about 3-4 hours total on the kids club and adored every minute of it as usual.
Were the pools crowded? Well, the adult areas were literally empty everytime we walked by. The kids pools were packed like from about Noon-4:30pm when we walked by. This didn't seem different to us, as it's like that on the classic ships also. We just don't do things when they are crowded. Simple as that. When we got back from CC, the pool deck was busy; so was the hot tub, and the Aquaduck had a 45 min line.
Yes, a 3-night cruise is short. Absolutely. It's an entirely different feel than the 7-night we were on in October. You don't have time to relax, it's like going to the parks. However, it was still a nice getaway for us. Do I prefer the classic ships? Yes.
I will do a full TR with pics on in the TR section very soon!!! If you have any questions, please ask away and I am sure DH will chime in.
We are now GOLD CC members
and cannot wait for the 4 months and 3 days until we board the Fantasy.
This was our 5th DCL cruise - before this one, we've done one other 3-night cruise (Wonder - 2005 - Honeymoon), a 5-night double dip on the Wonde, a 5-night Double Dip on the Magic, and a 7-night Western Caribbean on the Magic. We have 4 Fantasy cruises scheduled.
We booked this cruise to take advantage of the excellent FL resident rates just to get a taste of what life will be like on the Fantasy on our future cruises. DD was off school Friday, so she only had to miss one day. After reading the reviews of the Dream 2/2 cruise, DH (ssanders79 on the Boards) and I set out expectations LOW. We were not expecting much - we were expecting unruly kids, crowds, and many other unpleasantries.
Boy, were we wrong!!
We arrived to the port and parked our car and by the time we were walking up, to get checked in at the street, it was 11:15am. There was NO line. We walked thru security, and the port did look busy. We walked up to check in to the Castaway Club line, and didn't have to wait. We got checked in and it was 11:25am, we were given boarding #3 and guess what, they were already boarding #1 & #2!!! By the time we walked over, it was time for #3 - we literally felt whisked away to the ship. We boarded, walked all the way aft, and went to Cabanas for lunch. Walked around on deck, there were a few people in the pools and no line for the Aquaduck. Room was ready at 1:30pm, and we set down for DD to take a nap. We had a Cat 5A and it was nice, but I could tell it was smaller than the classic ships. However, there was more *space* - I didn't miss the steamer trunk because usually, we put our suitcases in the closets, which takes up space. However, there is so much room under the bed, that we put our luggage under there and had no problem with space. It was, however, a 3-night cruise.......
We attended the Sail Away Party viewed from deck 12 (as we always have), and did not go to the Pirate Party - we viewed the fireworks from our verandah.
On Nassau day, we stayed on the ship. After breakfast (which was about 9am), DD hit the Mickey pool and DH & I rode the Aquaduck 1 time each (10 min wait). Nemo's Reef seems dangerous, but there were parents all around. At 11am, we decided to go explore the ship's outdoor areas. There was NO ONE playing Goofy Golf - it was EMPTY. So, we did it and Goofy even showed up in his golf attire. Very fun.
We did main dining, all was well. Was it loud? Yep, but no different than any other ship dining rooms. The food was fine. Not stellar, not awful. We ate at Cabanas, all 3 main dining rooms, and 1 breakfast at Royal Palace. No room service or any on deck place (there was no time). We ate at Cookie's on CC day. DD ordered from the adult menu at dinner and at our breakfast at RP, so I cannot comment on the kids fare.
Our dining staff was incredible - we had Shawn and Andrea. Our head server was non-existent other than his usual appearances. I did chuckle because in Enchanted Garden, he picked up a crayon and wrote on the table cloth. I told DD that washable crayon or not, it was OK for him to do, but not her! We had nice table mates who dined with us 2 out of the 3 nights, and they were clueless on tipping.......They went to Guest Services and asked how to tip in the Main DR for 2 nights and then went up to Cabanas to find the server to tip they had the other night & Guest Services DID NOT explain how to tip to him. He was a smart reasonable guy, and I explained to him how it goes, but he had already done it. He said, "Why didn't GS explain it to me that way?"
CC didn't feel any more crowded than in our last cruises; I think this is a direct result of good planning by DCL.
The ship was rumored to have 3,000 people (according to the bartender in Skyline). It never once felt crowded. I was also shocked - the kids and parents were very nice, non-rude and well behaved. DD spent about 3-4 hours total on the kids club and adored every minute of it as usual.
Were the pools crowded? Well, the adult areas were literally empty everytime we walked by. The kids pools were packed like from about Noon-4:30pm when we walked by. This didn't seem different to us, as it's like that on the classic ships also. We just don't do things when they are crowded. Simple as that. When we got back from CC, the pool deck was busy; so was the hot tub, and the Aquaduck had a 45 min line.
Yes, a 3-night cruise is short. Absolutely. It's an entirely different feel than the 7-night we were on in October. You don't have time to relax, it's like going to the parks. However, it was still a nice getaway for us. Do I prefer the classic ships? Yes.
I will do a full TR with pics on in the TR section very soon!!! If you have any questions, please ask away and I am sure DH will chime in.
We are now GOLD CC members
and cannot wait for the 4 months and 3 days until we board the Fantasy.
I will be on the 3 night Dream in a couple of months. I can't wait to read your trip report and please scan in Navigators if you have them. 
