FirstTimeDC
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2004
We are back from the 5 night out of NY to Canada. I am hoping to write a detailed review with pictures. However, for now I'll hit the highlights and answer any questions I can.
This was our 6th Disney Cruise and 16th overall cruise. We prefer the 7 night to the 5 night. However, we did have a lot of fun on this cruise. The last DCL we took was last year on the Dream. It was a b2b 4 and 5 day. So, we did find ourselves comparing it to the Dream a lot. First, let me say, we really did have a lot of fun. However, I think we decided we really do enjoy the Dream over the Magic. Makes me a little sad, because we used to LOVE the Magic.
Ok, let me start with the embarkation. It was painless and pretty fast. However, NY does not have it down as well as Port Canaveral. In their defense, this was the first DCL out of NY to Canada. PC has been doing DCL much longer. The great part of NY was Minnie and Mickey came out for pictures just like in PC. The difference was Minnie was in a Statue of Liberty Costume. Very cool!! We arrived at the port by taxi around 10:30am. Our "official" check in time given by Disney was 12:00pm. No one ever asked to see that. Once we gave them our suitcases, we proceeded to check in. That was pretty quick. We arrived, checked in and had pictures with Minnie and Mickey by 11:30am. I then took my two children to register for children's clubs. We finished that around 12:00pm and they called our boarding group (number 16) right away. We were onboard and eating lunch in Parrot Cay by 12:30ish, I think. Rooms were ready by 1:30pm. Everything went great!!
Next I will tell you about the dining experience. Our rotation was PLAPL. We had late seating. We were fine with that. We were slightly disappointed in the dining. Again, we've been on 6 DCL. So, we have several to compare to. Had this been our first cruise we would have thought it was great! However, it wasn't. Our service and food on the other DCL's were soooooo wonderful that this cruise seemed to come up a little short. The drink/assistant server was great! He kept drinks refilled wonderfully, etc. The head server for our table was just ok. He seemed a little annoyed if we'd order more than one thing, or want something special. I will tell you we are kind of needy bunch. Still yet, we've always been treated so wonderfully and if a waiter knew we liked something he/she would go out of their way to bring us more of it, etc. It was by no means "bad" service. Just not DCL usual service. Our main head server (not sure what he is called) was really good. Not the one that takes the orders, etc. the guy that is his "boss". He came by and talked with the girls, etc. The food was typical. However, we didn't have Lobster on this cruise. Which I thought was odd since it was a Canada Cruise. They are somewhat famous for Lobster. They did have Lobster mac n cheese one night and another pasta with some Lobster. But that is all. We missed this! They did however, have baked alaska one night. Which we love! The buffet (Topsiders) was not too great. However, the outside places were very good....Goofy's, Pluto's, Pinocchio's Pizza, etc. The down side was it was very cold outside. So, no-one was extremely interested in eating on deck. Therefore, topsiders was packed - trying to get a table, etc. was a bit difficult sometimes. Also, Topsiders is only open from 12:00pm - 2:00pm. So, if you chose to eat an early or late lunch you had to sit outside to eat it. The food outside was very good, but it was so cold out there.
Pools were great. It was soooo cold outside. I will say they had the pools nice and warm! My kids swam twice and said they were fine - until they got out of the pool! It was wonderful that they had the pools so warm. A definite plus!!!
Our room host did a great job! Our rooms were 6511 (sideways), 6311 (inside), and 6305 (inside). All were foward (front of the ship). Great location and quite. Only negative is they are far from Parrot Cay, Animators, and Top Siders. But the ship isn't that big - so not a big deal. Very close to Walt Disney Theater. So, I guess it just depends on where you want to be. We liked this location.
Children's Clubs - I was very disappointed in the new "open house" thing. I did know ahead of time. So, at least I was prepared. However, I love to go in and take pictures and watch my children enjoying the various activities. This wasn't an option during most of the activities we wanted to watch. We did get to watch/particiapte in the Ratatouie (sp?) cooking school. It was fun and the girls loved it! The counselors were good, I guess. No way of knowing because we didn't get to witness their interaction or talk with them the way we usually do. I totally understand the reasoning behind why they are having "secured" programs. But we didn't like it at all. That was one of the things we loved about Disney was being able to watch our children enjoy all of that. With us not being able to go in....our youngest daughter didn't want to go very much. Our older daughter still went some - but not as much as usual. The upside of the clubs is that they can go in either one. There were some activities my older daughter (5 1/2) chose the club and sometimes the Lab. So, that option was nice. Friendship Rocks show was cute, as always!
Other activities.....They DID have Tea with Alice. We got our tickets early. We were assigned the first sea day at 3:30pm. They did this on both sea days, I think. Also, they had princess gatherings on both sea days. This was also not as good as the Dream. They did not come down the staircases with the music, etc. They only had three princesses in the Lobby. Then they had two upstairs. So you had to wait in three different lines. They also didn't have Ariel. Cinderella, Tiana, and Snow White were in the Lobby. Aurora and Belle were upstairs. The girls still loved seeing the princesses, but it wasn't as organized as the Dream.
Not sure if it was because this was the first Canada cruise or what, but things just didn't run as smoothly. I can't imagine why. It's not the Magic's first cruise. There wasn't anything terrible that happened - just nothing "Magical" either. Some of the staff didn't seem to know what was going on, etc. Maybe they were new?!?
The photography dept. -- They didn't seem as good as other cruises either. We spend A LOT of time getting photos. They didn't seem as good as some other DCL cruises we've been on. Nothing terrible or worth complaining about. Just not as good as usual. The packages are a little different this year. You don't buy credits. You buy get 15 pictures (any size) for $150 - I think. We did the CD which was $249 and then you can pay an extra $50 and get all the prints they take. So, we got every print they took of us and the CD for $300. I felt we got our money worth! Just depends on how many pictures you take. Like I said...we take A LOT. More than the average, I think.
Shows - Shows were are great, as usual. We love the DCL shows. They always do a great job. We had seen them all, but still just love them. Our shows were...1. Welcome Aboard, 2. Villians Tonight, 3. Twice Charmed, 4. A magician (can't remember his name), 5. Dreams.
Tours - We had been to Canada on a Carnival Cruise. So, I didn't get off the ship in Halifax. However, some of our group did. They did Peggy's Cove Tour. They enjoyed it. However, we all took the St. John's Scenic Railway Tour. It was not good at all. One of the worst tours we've taken. Not super informative. The train guide was just awful. He told make believe stories and sang cheesy songs. It was awful. The people next to us and our group were just amused at the end of it. I would definitely skip this tour.
Debarkation - went smoothly. We didn't have anything pressing. We were staying in NY for a couple of days. We ate breakfast in the dining room at 8:30am. We got off the ship around 9:30am. Everything was smooth and easy.
We spent a day and half before the cruise and a day and half after the cruise in New York. We did See it all tour with Onboard Tours. We did a carriage ride in Central Park, spent quite a bit of time in Times Square, went to M&M World, Hersery's Store, Disney Store, Toys R Us. We took the subway and cabs. We also went to Coney Island for part of day. Ate New York Pizza, Nathan's Hot Dogs, Carmines for Italian, Shake Shack for Hamburgers, etc. We also did a broadway show...Mama Mia. It was great!!! We had lots of fun!
We flew in and out of Newark airport. That was fine. We also used Luxury Limo as our car service. I would recommend them.
I know I touched on serveral "down sides" of the cruise. However, we did really have a very good time! I can't imagine going on a DCL and having a bad time. It just wasn't the level of service we've come to expect from Disney. They've spoiled us, I guess.
If anyone has any questions about the cruise or New York, ask away! I'll see if I can help!
By the way....Our group consisted of two children (3 1/2 and 5 1/2 yrs old), One semi-adult (18yrs old - just graduated high school), Hubby and I (35 & 36 yrs old) and then four seniors (60 - 65 yrs old).
This was our 6th Disney Cruise and 16th overall cruise. We prefer the 7 night to the 5 night. However, we did have a lot of fun on this cruise. The last DCL we took was last year on the Dream. It was a b2b 4 and 5 day. So, we did find ourselves comparing it to the Dream a lot. First, let me say, we really did have a lot of fun. However, I think we decided we really do enjoy the Dream over the Magic. Makes me a little sad, because we used to LOVE the Magic.
Ok, let me start with the embarkation. It was painless and pretty fast. However, NY does not have it down as well as Port Canaveral. In their defense, this was the first DCL out of NY to Canada. PC has been doing DCL much longer. The great part of NY was Minnie and Mickey came out for pictures just like in PC. The difference was Minnie was in a Statue of Liberty Costume. Very cool!! We arrived at the port by taxi around 10:30am. Our "official" check in time given by Disney was 12:00pm. No one ever asked to see that. Once we gave them our suitcases, we proceeded to check in. That was pretty quick. We arrived, checked in and had pictures with Minnie and Mickey by 11:30am. I then took my two children to register for children's clubs. We finished that around 12:00pm and they called our boarding group (number 16) right away. We were onboard and eating lunch in Parrot Cay by 12:30ish, I think. Rooms were ready by 1:30pm. Everything went great!!
Next I will tell you about the dining experience. Our rotation was PLAPL. We had late seating. We were fine with that. We were slightly disappointed in the dining. Again, we've been on 6 DCL. So, we have several to compare to. Had this been our first cruise we would have thought it was great! However, it wasn't. Our service and food on the other DCL's were soooooo wonderful that this cruise seemed to come up a little short. The drink/assistant server was great! He kept drinks refilled wonderfully, etc. The head server for our table was just ok. He seemed a little annoyed if we'd order more than one thing, or want something special. I will tell you we are kind of needy bunch. Still yet, we've always been treated so wonderfully and if a waiter knew we liked something he/she would go out of their way to bring us more of it, etc. It was by no means "bad" service. Just not DCL usual service. Our main head server (not sure what he is called) was really good. Not the one that takes the orders, etc. the guy that is his "boss". He came by and talked with the girls, etc. The food was typical. However, we didn't have Lobster on this cruise. Which I thought was odd since it was a Canada Cruise. They are somewhat famous for Lobster. They did have Lobster mac n cheese one night and another pasta with some Lobster. But that is all. We missed this! They did however, have baked alaska one night. Which we love! The buffet (Topsiders) was not too great. However, the outside places were very good....Goofy's, Pluto's, Pinocchio's Pizza, etc. The down side was it was very cold outside. So, no-one was extremely interested in eating on deck. Therefore, topsiders was packed - trying to get a table, etc. was a bit difficult sometimes. Also, Topsiders is only open from 12:00pm - 2:00pm. So, if you chose to eat an early or late lunch you had to sit outside to eat it. The food outside was very good, but it was so cold out there.
Pools were great. It was soooo cold outside. I will say they had the pools nice and warm! My kids swam twice and said they were fine - until they got out of the pool! It was wonderful that they had the pools so warm. A definite plus!!!
Our room host did a great job! Our rooms were 6511 (sideways), 6311 (inside), and 6305 (inside). All were foward (front of the ship). Great location and quite. Only negative is they are far from Parrot Cay, Animators, and Top Siders. But the ship isn't that big - so not a big deal. Very close to Walt Disney Theater. So, I guess it just depends on where you want to be. We liked this location.
Children's Clubs - I was very disappointed in the new "open house" thing. I did know ahead of time. So, at least I was prepared. However, I love to go in and take pictures and watch my children enjoying the various activities. This wasn't an option during most of the activities we wanted to watch. We did get to watch/particiapte in the Ratatouie (sp?) cooking school. It was fun and the girls loved it! The counselors were good, I guess. No way of knowing because we didn't get to witness their interaction or talk with them the way we usually do. I totally understand the reasoning behind why they are having "secured" programs. But we didn't like it at all. That was one of the things we loved about Disney was being able to watch our children enjoy all of that. With us not being able to go in....our youngest daughter didn't want to go very much. Our older daughter still went some - but not as much as usual. The upside of the clubs is that they can go in either one. There were some activities my older daughter (5 1/2) chose the club and sometimes the Lab. So, that option was nice. Friendship Rocks show was cute, as always!
Other activities.....They DID have Tea with Alice. We got our tickets early. We were assigned the first sea day at 3:30pm. They did this on both sea days, I think. Also, they had princess gatherings on both sea days. This was also not as good as the Dream. They did not come down the staircases with the music, etc. They only had three princesses in the Lobby. Then they had two upstairs. So you had to wait in three different lines. They also didn't have Ariel. Cinderella, Tiana, and Snow White were in the Lobby. Aurora and Belle were upstairs. The girls still loved seeing the princesses, but it wasn't as organized as the Dream.
Not sure if it was because this was the first Canada cruise or what, but things just didn't run as smoothly. I can't imagine why. It's not the Magic's first cruise. There wasn't anything terrible that happened - just nothing "Magical" either. Some of the staff didn't seem to know what was going on, etc. Maybe they were new?!?
The photography dept. -- They didn't seem as good as other cruises either. We spend A LOT of time getting photos. They didn't seem as good as some other DCL cruises we've been on. Nothing terrible or worth complaining about. Just not as good as usual. The packages are a little different this year. You don't buy credits. You buy get 15 pictures (any size) for $150 - I think. We did the CD which was $249 and then you can pay an extra $50 and get all the prints they take. So, we got every print they took of us and the CD for $300. I felt we got our money worth! Just depends on how many pictures you take. Like I said...we take A LOT. More than the average, I think.
Shows - Shows were are great, as usual. We love the DCL shows. They always do a great job. We had seen them all, but still just love them. Our shows were...1. Welcome Aboard, 2. Villians Tonight, 3. Twice Charmed, 4. A magician (can't remember his name), 5. Dreams.
Tours - We had been to Canada on a Carnival Cruise. So, I didn't get off the ship in Halifax. However, some of our group did. They did Peggy's Cove Tour. They enjoyed it. However, we all took the St. John's Scenic Railway Tour. It was not good at all. One of the worst tours we've taken. Not super informative. The train guide was just awful. He told make believe stories and sang cheesy songs. It was awful. The people next to us and our group were just amused at the end of it. I would definitely skip this tour.
Debarkation - went smoothly. We didn't have anything pressing. We were staying in NY for a couple of days. We ate breakfast in the dining room at 8:30am. We got off the ship around 9:30am. Everything was smooth and easy.
We spent a day and half before the cruise and a day and half after the cruise in New York. We did See it all tour with Onboard Tours. We did a carriage ride in Central Park, spent quite a bit of time in Times Square, went to M&M World, Hersery's Store, Disney Store, Toys R Us. We took the subway and cabs. We also went to Coney Island for part of day. Ate New York Pizza, Nathan's Hot Dogs, Carmines for Italian, Shake Shack for Hamburgers, etc. We also did a broadway show...Mama Mia. It was great!!! We had lots of fun!
We flew in and out of Newark airport. That was fine. We also used Luxury Limo as our car service. I would recommend them.
I know I touched on serveral "down sides" of the cruise. However, we did really have a very good time! I can't imagine going on a DCL and having a bad time. It just wasn't the level of service we've come to expect from Disney. They've spoiled us, I guess.
If anyone has any questions about the cruise or New York, ask away! I'll see if I can help!
By the way....Our group consisted of two children (3 1/2 and 5 1/2 yrs old), One semi-adult (18yrs old - just graduated high school), Hubby and I (35 & 36 yrs old) and then four seniors (60 - 65 yrs old).