Dear Disney Cruise Line,
We have just recently returned from the 14-day Panama Canal repositioning cruise aboard the Disney Wonder, and all we can say is WOW!!!.
Our first cruise experience was a 7-day Alaska/Glacier Bay/Inside Passage cruise aboard a much-smaller predecessor of Holland Americas Westerdam 13 years ago. While we had high expectations for a Disney cruise, we were simply blown-away at how far cruising and particularly cruising with children has advanced in the past decade.
The Disney Wonder is simply a lovely ship inside and out. What brings this to our full attention is that it is the staff that makes the ship lovely and not just from the constant scrubbing, cleaning, polishing, and painting but from how the entire crew from the most senior officer down to the most junior deckhand stops whatever theyre busy doing to smile and say Good morning, Good afternoon, or Good Evening.
The minor complaints and observations offered here and in the enclosed questionnaire (which we were unfortunately unable to drop-off before disembarking the ship) are vastly outweighed by the superior/exceptional/always above and beyond customer service and friendliness expressed by every crew and cast member at every opportunity.
We found our experience so superb that we booked a 7-day Alaska/Glacier Bay/Inside Passage cruise aboard the Disney Wonder, leaving August 19, 2013. We were simply unable and unwilling to get off the ship without a firm commitment to a return date!
The minor concerns:
It appears that the oval coffee table in our stateroom is designed to raise and lower, making it easier for kids to use it as a dining table. The adjustment feature on our table was broken. This presented no inconvenience to us, but as the cruise went on, such a minor issue seemed out of character considering the otherwise excellent condition of the ship and her furnishings. I gained a little insight as to what the furnishings might suffer after watching a lot of broken furniture and fixtures being offloaded while at the dock in Cartagena!
Staterooms need more electrical outlets particularly in the desk area - for recharging electronic equipment such as camera, video camera, tablets, e-readers, etc. The chargers for these units often take up an entire outlet, and the switch for the desk lights built into the electrical outlet prevents plugging a charger into one of the outlets.
Were from the Pacific Northwest, which is to beer what France is to wine. The micro-brew/craft brewing market thrives as Im sure youre well aware from having home-ported the Disney Wonder in Seattle this past summer. All of the draft beers located in the most popular and accessible bars (i.e. deck 9) were lagers. It was only on the last day of the cruise that we discovered Diversions on deck 3 had a Kona Brewing Company Pale Ale on tap. It is our hope that a Northwest/Alaska cruise will feature at least one Northwest craft ale. There are myriad excellent craft breweries in Vancouver, B.C., and in every port of call on the Alaska cruise itinerary. Surely the boat can procure fine beer in the same way it procures fine wine. With a selection of draft craft pale and amber ales available, we would have spent a lot more on adult beverages than we did.
The Oceaneers Lab had far too many Open House periods, where the lab was unsecured and unattended kids were forced to go to the Oceaneers Club, which is oriented towards younger children and was considered far-inferior to the Lab by our 7 year-old son. It seemed that whenever we had some down-time, or the adults wanted to do something our son found uninteresting, and it was a perfect opportunity for our son to go hang out in the Lab for a few hours, there was a conflicting Open House that required rearranging schedules. This is our biggest complaint/observation/issue with the entire cruise.
Goofys Pool is too small. We dont expect this to be an issue on an Alaska cruise, but on a warm-weather cruise, there simply isnt enough room for everyone, particularly when Mickeys Pool is closed for cleaning (which happened at least every other day). We realize
DCL cant remedy this situation overnight, but we also understand that DCL keeps customer concerns in mind when considering changes when vessels are occasionally updated in dry-dock.
While were on the subject, a water slide adults can share with their kids would be a huge improvement. It doesnt have to be as elaborate as what is on the Dream and Fantasy, but something that lets adults have some fun with their kids is needed.
The major compliments:
The superb staff at the Guest Services desk was always able to provide and answer and/or a resolution to any question or problem that arose.
The crew members in Mickeys Mates were very helpful with getting fragile items purchased aboard safely packaged for transport home. None of the fragile Christmas ornaments and other items suffered any damage from our long journey from Miami to Seattle!
Cesar, a housekeeping crew member who was often seen keeping the restrooms on deck 9 spotless in spite of the onslaught of dripping-wet/covered in sunscreen passengers parading through the facilities, had a particularly friendly and outgoing personality that deserves recognition. He took time to get to know us as people, not passengers, and we got an opportunity to learn about him and his background and culture. We observe that we learned just as much about the cultures represented by the staff with whom we interacted as we did the cultures of the countries we visited! It all adds up to create a fantastic experience for seven year-old boys and forty-something parents!
Michele, our server in Palo, could not have been more charming, friendly, nor possess a more encyclopedic knowledge of the food, wine, and culture of Northern Italy precisely what youd want in your server for an evening at Palo! We were so impressed with Michele and with Palo that we brought our mothers to brunch at Palo later on in the cruise. We specifically requested Michele, and he did not disappoint!
Clare, is a member of the photography crew who always went the extra mile to make us feel comfortable and relaxed as she took stunning photos of us in the chaotic environment that defines a Character Appearance. We were ecstatic to discover she was the photographer assigned to the family portrait area when we arrived to have ours done, and the resulting photos are exquisite! Her personality endeared her to us, and our son was totally comfortable as she walked him though the poses and the results speak volumes!
Faydella, our Stateroom Hostess, was simply amazing! Whatever we needed, whenever we needed it sometimes even before we knew we needed it magically appeared in our stateroom. Her bright smile and sunny disposition meant our entire passageway was always smiling.
Finally, and most importantly, we could not have found two better dining room servers in Disneys central casting than the two provided to us by DCL - Dan and Anthony. Much like our stateroom hostess, they provided us with whatever we needed, whenever we needed it often before we even knew we even needed it or wanted it! Their impeccable service, good humor, wit and camaraderie was an invaluable addition to our experience. Their extra-special treatment of our precocious seven year-old son will be remembered by him and by us forever. I was especially impressed with the patience, service, respect, and love they provided to a young differently-abled table-mate seated with us throughout the cruise. They both worked incredibly hard, apparently effortlessly and graciously. One had to look hard to find the beads of sweat running down their faces as they strived to provide a personalized fine-dining experience to a demanding clientele.
Were hard-pressed to come up with anything we would have done differently on the December 9-23 Panama Canal cruise, or that well do differently on our August 19-26 Alaska cruise. Well certainly do a better job of decorating our cabin door (#5630) on the Alaska cruise, and well bring an extension cord for charging camera batteries, but our Panama Canal cruise aboard the Disney Wonder is an unforgettable experience well treasure for the rest of our lives!
Thank you, Disney Cruise Lines! We cant wait until August 19th.
