M
mrsltg
Guest
Hi All-
I am mostly unpacked and somewhat laundered, so I decided to post some observations that I made while on my 9/11 cruise...
The Great
Service - What can I say, this is Disney and they know customer service. Our stateroom host was great at his job, and his personality was fine (very quiet). I wasn't looking for a new best friend, so as long as the room was in good shape, I was happy! Our dining room team was FANTASTIC! We had Melwin and Melinda and they were wonderful. They were personable and great at their jobs. This earned Melwin $20 extra and Melinda $40 extra. If I could have put Melinda in my pocket and brought her home I would have!
Ship - The Magic is gorgeous! I have never sailed a ship so beautiful. I don't know that I will ever be as impressed by another ship.
The Senior Crew - Very nice and approachable. I also felt as though Captain Tom knew exactly what he was doing and was very happy to explain it to people. We even got a Powerpoint presentation detailing why were changing course and heading to Nassau instead of St. Thomas. Talk about thorough!
The Disney-style shows - THe Golden Mickey's, Hercules, and Disney Dreams were all second to none. Some of the performers are clearly Broadway-bound and they will be wonderful there, too!
The Good
Crowd Management - Another Disney specialty. We were sailing with almost 1000 kids and it only felt that way on Castaway Cay. Disney is good at moving large numbers of people without making them feel like cattle.
Room Service and Quick Service - Quick and tasty. Who doesn't need a Mickey Bar every day???
The Sailaway Party - Nice job getting the crowd psyched up about the trip.
The Terminal - Nice place to start your vacation.
The Photographers - Nice people with seemingly infinite patience.
Could be Better
Food - Yes I understand that this food is mass produced, that doesn't excuse lack luster food, and how hard is it to make a cake? I'll answer. Not very. The desserts were often left untouched after one bite. Two big exceptions were the creme brulee and the chocolate lava cake. My DH resorted to ordering off of the childrens menu for dessert one night because there was nothing appealing on the menu. We tried four desserts in Palo (including the souffle) and none were finished. There was nothing special or inventive about them, and I expected more from Disney.
The biggest disappointment was Palo. The service was wonderful, but the meal was rushed. We were out in less than 90 minutes. We both ordered the filet and were unhappy. It wasn't bad, mind you, it was simply acceptable. I also had the risotto as a side and that was tasty but for the fact that it was undercooked and still crunchy in some places. DH had the penne arrabiata and couldn't eat much of it because of the over-spiciness of it. The lady across from us ordered it as her entree and sent it back after one bite because the burn was so awful. It was simply heat in place of flavor and that is not how it should be. I really enjoyed my appetizer of portobello and polenta. My dh enjoyed his calamari though I thought it tasted like rubber-bands. Anytime a calamari ring could be confused for a Burger King onion ring, it's not going to be tender. As I mentioned before we tried four desserts and all were fine, but not delicious. I was expecting much more and was sorely disappointed. I won't do Palo for dinner again, though I would jump at the opportunity for another brunch (but again, save the desserts).
Music- We're not all between the ages of 12-21, nor do we wish to be. Turn off the "hip-hop greatest hits of the last 3 weeks" at least for a few hours. It seemed as though DJ Mateo only knew 10 songs and he was getting royalties everytime he played them. We were sitting by the gazebo on Castaway Cay listening to some lovely island sounds (even though the tape was on a one hour loop) when our friend Mat came along to play the hits from Teen Beat! My DH asked if Margaritaville could be played and he was told that it couldn't because there were too many kids around (the song suggests alcohol???). Instead, we were treated to a song about ice cream. That would have been fine except for the fact that the girl singing was suggesting that a gentleman try her cherry ice cream. Now I'm not one to judge, but I am fairly sure, given the rest of lyrics, that she hasn't had cherry anything in quite some time.
We also heard the Macarena (ever listen to those lyrics???), some Britney Spears stuff, and the list goes on and on. At any rate, the music selection needs to be more of a mix and less of a remix.
Disney enforcing their own rules - They need to. From pictures in the WD Theater to babies in the pool, it needs to be done. My biggest gripe was the kids in the adult series. They are no more interested in learning the art of making an appetizer than I am in going to the teen beach on CC. They shouldn't be allowed, and Disney should enforce their rules.
Photographers - Not everyone is in the Mickey Pool at noon (though it may seem that way). The photographers were never around for pictures at the Mickey Pool in the morning (anywhere from 7-11). I have great pictures of my daughter having a wonderful time, but none from the photographers. I wasn't about to try to hang out at the pools all day as the crowds are pretty heavy, but the morning was a great time for her to be in a relatively uncrowded pool. Oh well, more money in my pocket.
The Spa - I scheduled a facial for Thursday at 3pm. On Tuesday evening I received a message telling me that my appointment was now 1:30 on Wednesday. I didn't want my appt at 1:30 on Wednesday which was the reason I scheduled it for 3 on Thurs. Anyway, I went to cancel the new appt and was told that I would now be charged 50% regardless of the fact that I had not switched the appointment time. There was a little back and forth, and it was resolved with me not paying anything, but it should never have happened in the first place.
So those were the biggies. I did rebook on board, so I obviously enjoyed myself. As more time gets between my and the cruise I will have a better idea as to whether or not we'll be keeping that reservation.
p.s. - a note to parents. If you don't want the world looking at your teen dd's tush, perhaps a skirt that barely covers her thighs on a ship moving at 25 mph is not the best idea. I saw quite a few young ladies clutching their skirts in horror while trying to balance in heels that they are just learning to walk in - all while on the top deck of a moving ship. While I did find it mildly amusing, I would hazzard a guess that the parents would not. Just something to think about...
Erin
I am mostly unpacked and somewhat laundered, so I decided to post some observations that I made while on my 9/11 cruise...
The Great
Service - What can I say, this is Disney and they know customer service. Our stateroom host was great at his job, and his personality was fine (very quiet). I wasn't looking for a new best friend, so as long as the room was in good shape, I was happy! Our dining room team was FANTASTIC! We had Melwin and Melinda and they were wonderful. They were personable and great at their jobs. This earned Melwin $20 extra and Melinda $40 extra. If I could have put Melinda in my pocket and brought her home I would have!
Ship - The Magic is gorgeous! I have never sailed a ship so beautiful. I don't know that I will ever be as impressed by another ship.
The Senior Crew - Very nice and approachable. I also felt as though Captain Tom knew exactly what he was doing and was very happy to explain it to people. We even got a Powerpoint presentation detailing why were changing course and heading to Nassau instead of St. Thomas. Talk about thorough!
The Disney-style shows - THe Golden Mickey's, Hercules, and Disney Dreams were all second to none. Some of the performers are clearly Broadway-bound and they will be wonderful there, too!
The Good
Crowd Management - Another Disney specialty. We were sailing with almost 1000 kids and it only felt that way on Castaway Cay. Disney is good at moving large numbers of people without making them feel like cattle.
Room Service and Quick Service - Quick and tasty. Who doesn't need a Mickey Bar every day???
The Sailaway Party - Nice job getting the crowd psyched up about the trip.
The Terminal - Nice place to start your vacation.
The Photographers - Nice people with seemingly infinite patience.
Could be Better
Food - Yes I understand that this food is mass produced, that doesn't excuse lack luster food, and how hard is it to make a cake? I'll answer. Not very. The desserts were often left untouched after one bite. Two big exceptions were the creme brulee and the chocolate lava cake. My DH resorted to ordering off of the childrens menu for dessert one night because there was nothing appealing on the menu. We tried four desserts in Palo (including the souffle) and none were finished. There was nothing special or inventive about them, and I expected more from Disney.
The biggest disappointment was Palo. The service was wonderful, but the meal was rushed. We were out in less than 90 minutes. We both ordered the filet and were unhappy. It wasn't bad, mind you, it was simply acceptable. I also had the risotto as a side and that was tasty but for the fact that it was undercooked and still crunchy in some places. DH had the penne arrabiata and couldn't eat much of it because of the over-spiciness of it. The lady across from us ordered it as her entree and sent it back after one bite because the burn was so awful. It was simply heat in place of flavor and that is not how it should be. I really enjoyed my appetizer of portobello and polenta. My dh enjoyed his calamari though I thought it tasted like rubber-bands. Anytime a calamari ring could be confused for a Burger King onion ring, it's not going to be tender. As I mentioned before we tried four desserts and all were fine, but not delicious. I was expecting much more and was sorely disappointed. I won't do Palo for dinner again, though I would jump at the opportunity for another brunch (but again, save the desserts).
Music- We're not all between the ages of 12-21, nor do we wish to be. Turn off the "hip-hop greatest hits of the last 3 weeks" at least for a few hours. It seemed as though DJ Mateo only knew 10 songs and he was getting royalties everytime he played them. We were sitting by the gazebo on Castaway Cay listening to some lovely island sounds (even though the tape was on a one hour loop) when our friend Mat came along to play the hits from Teen Beat! My DH asked if Margaritaville could be played and he was told that it couldn't because there were too many kids around (the song suggests alcohol???). Instead, we were treated to a song about ice cream. That would have been fine except for the fact that the girl singing was suggesting that a gentleman try her cherry ice cream. Now I'm not one to judge, but I am fairly sure, given the rest of lyrics, that she hasn't had cherry anything in quite some time.
We also heard the Macarena (ever listen to those lyrics???), some Britney Spears stuff, and the list goes on and on. At any rate, the music selection needs to be more of a mix and less of a remix. Disney enforcing their own rules - They need to. From pictures in the WD Theater to babies in the pool, it needs to be done. My biggest gripe was the kids in the adult series. They are no more interested in learning the art of making an appetizer than I am in going to the teen beach on CC. They shouldn't be allowed, and Disney should enforce their rules.
Photographers - Not everyone is in the Mickey Pool at noon (though it may seem that way). The photographers were never around for pictures at the Mickey Pool in the morning (anywhere from 7-11). I have great pictures of my daughter having a wonderful time, but none from the photographers. I wasn't about to try to hang out at the pools all day as the crowds are pretty heavy, but the morning was a great time for her to be in a relatively uncrowded pool. Oh well, more money in my pocket.
The Spa - I scheduled a facial for Thursday at 3pm. On Tuesday evening I received a message telling me that my appointment was now 1:30 on Wednesday. I didn't want my appt at 1:30 on Wednesday which was the reason I scheduled it for 3 on Thurs. Anyway, I went to cancel the new appt and was told that I would now be charged 50% regardless of the fact that I had not switched the appointment time. There was a little back and forth, and it was resolved with me not paying anything, but it should never have happened in the first place.
So those were the biggies. I did rebook on board, so I obviously enjoyed myself. As more time gets between my and the cruise I will have a better idea as to whether or not we'll be keeping that reservation.
p.s. - a note to parents. If you don't want the world looking at your teen dd's tush, perhaps a skirt that barely covers her thighs on a ship moving at 25 mph is not the best idea. I saw quite a few young ladies clutching their skirts in horror while trying to balance in heels that they are just learning to walk in - all while on the top deck of a moving ship. While I did find it mildly amusing, I would hazzard a guess that the parents would not. Just something to think about...
Erin
)
All in all it was a wondeful week. And yes we rebooked as well.
