What Surprised You Once You Were Aboard?

[CamColt]

3. How CLEAN the ship is... and how they are always CLEANING it. Like... sooner or later you would think they would need to do maintenance because it was TOO clean and the finishings on items would be rubbed off lol

This reminded me of something I just found almost over the top about cleaning (but I'm not complaining ). In 2011 we did B2Bs on the Dream. I spent a lot of time at the adult sun deck over the adult pool. I would go in to use the ladies room there and would notice the toilet paper was folded in a point...every time I went in! I swear they had someone going in cleaning the bathroom after each person used it. I never saw anyone cleaning it (I was laying in the sun with my eyes shut) but every time I went in, there was proof it had been cleaned. Nice job, DCL!

 

[Grammy4Lizzy]

My first DCL cruise was in 1998 long before I was told about the DIS. Everything was a suprise. The sight of the ship when we came over the bridge, the CM's announcing us as we arrived, the sail away party, the Horn,
the MDR's, the servers moving with you to a new restaurant every night. Castaway Cay.
We are sailing 11/14 with our son who has never sailed before. I can't wait to see his reactions.
Thanks DCL for the wondeful memories.

 

[castlegazer]

We find it difficult to find food 24/7 on Carnival too. 24 hr buffets don't exist anymore (not like it used to be.)

You are probably right! It's been 12 years now since I have ventured onto another line! And now, at this age and metabolism, I am thankful for not having 24/7 buffets!

I had to pop on to say hi to CamColt!!!!

 

[CamColt]

You are probably right! It's been 12 years now since I have ventured onto another line! And now, at this age and metabolism, I am thankful for not having 24/7 buffets!

I had to pop on to say hi to CamColt!!!!

 

[jrabbit]

...

6. It shocks my wallet every time I go to by something on board. I know it's Disney but goodness gracious... they hike up some of those prices and my wallet goes into cardiac arrest almost every time.

On the "Similar and Differences with Disney on Land and Sea" thread I wrote something to the effect of ..

Same: You book a land vacation or cruise and the cost is ... about all of the money you have in the bank!

 

[Moxin]

I remember the first time on the Fantasy, having sailed the Magic many times before, and walking along next to the restaurant, and remembering the same hallway on the Magic, and thinking, DAAAAAAAAAAAANG, this one is so much bigger!!!!

 

[jrabbit]

I remember the first time on the Fantasy, having sailed the Magic many times before, and walking along next to the restaurant, and remembering the same hallway on the Magic, and thinking, DAAAAAAAAAAAANG, this one is so much bigger!!!!

I think that they refer to that stretch of hallway as "The Mile of Tile" on the new ships.

 

[dznystar]

You all make me so excited to experience the Fantasy on November 30th! Can someone tell me what time Cabanas opens on the Fantasy?? Thanks!

We're sailing on that cruise too!!!! CAN'T WAIT!

 

[plutojudy]

I remember the first time on the Fantasy, having sailed the Magic many times before, and walking along next to the restaurant, and remembering the same hallway on the Magic, and thinking, DAAAAAAAAAAAANG, this one is so much bigger!!!!

I remember thinking the same thing, it was so long compared to Magic and Wonder and not too interesting.

 

[bawpotter]

I remember thinking the same thing, it was so long compared to Magic and Wonder and not too interesting.

That hallway... When I was on the aft on the Dream, I must have walked through that hallway at least 4 times a day. It was so long! Who new the kitchen for RP and AP could be so big!!

 

[FairyGrandmother]

My first cruise was not on Disney and just about everything was a surprise. Some good others not so. I was a total newbee, it could have been really bad. I didn't know about the tips.
My second cruise was on the Magic and I loved it. Like others have stated the cast members are outstanding, they make me feel like royalty each time I step foot on a DCL ship.The loyalty of Disney curisers and the number of cruises some people manage to take just blows my mind.
On a recent cruise on another line I was disappointed in the lack of interaction with our servers at dinner, the service was ok but the wait staff was not friendly at all.My granddaughters went with me on this last cruise and were disappointed that the offerings on the TV in the room were so limited, and without a movie theatre they spent almost all of their time on board in the room on their I Pads. The shows are also much better on Disney.
We will be sailing on the Wonder in 11 days and I am so looking forward to coming home. This will be our 6th cruise with the mouse and the 4th without kids, so I have become a Disney fanatic like all of the others.

 

[Littleone68]

I was most surprised at how much we were able to relax and just have a good time. We loved the cruise, the ship, and Castaway Cay.

My husband and I had decided we wanted to take a family cruise. It would be our 4th cruise and my son's second. Living in Central Florida, we have a lot of options for cruising. Although we are not big fans of the Disney theme parks, I decided on DCL for the main reason of giving my husband sticker shock! (Let's face it, they are kinda pricey!) Surprisingly, he went for it!

We sailed on the Dream and had a fantastic time. The ship was beautiful, the people were friendly and our stateroom was huge! DCL really knows how to take care of you. The shows were great and the food good. Our only complaint would be the pools. There just simply aren't enough to handle a ship that size with so many kids onboard.

We had an absolutely great time and actually got to thoroughly relax!! That alone is priceless.
Looking forward to relaxing on the Magic in a few months and will be booking again while on board.

 

[moomy-san]

What surprised me was the almost primal attachment I have to the first DCL ship we cruised on, the Wonder. We've cruised on the Wonder 4 times and I feel like a cheater for booking cruise #5 on the Fantasy. My stomach gets all in knots when I think about our next cruise! I keep looking for ways that we can somehow do both so that my dear Ship won't feel left out!

 

[Bear3412]

What surprised me was the almost primal attachment I have to the first DCL ship we cruised on, the Wonder. ....

After reading here for years, I don't think your alone.

Funny thing is, for us, this has only occurred on DCL, not other lines.

 

[LissaW16]

What surprised me was the almost primal attachment I have to the first DCL ship we cruised on

I never thought about it before, but me too. We are leaving in 2 days for cruise #3 and 4 on the Dream. The thought of sailing on one of the other DCL ships is just odd.

Yet I feel no loyalty at all to RCCL Monarch of the Seas or the Norwegian Sky...

 

[lovetocruiseDCL]

My biggest surprise in the practical category was how much usable storage space our stateroom bathrooms had. I had a place to put all of my toiletries AND my DH and 2 kids' as well.

My biggest tear jerker surprise was the rush of happy emotion I felt as we counted down and sailed away. Wow!

My biggest family surprise was how much my husband loved our cruise. I am totally the vacation planner, but he would not rest until we had another cruise booked. He surfed the web, looked at the calendar, lobbied for itineraries, it was amazing. We sail May 31, 2014 on the Fantasy and he can tell you each day of our cruise in order. He is even trying to get me to take a shorter cruise in the meantime just to bolster our cruise numbers for Castaway Club.

Also, our first cruise on the Dream was a perfect vacation for our kids. Of course our almost 7 year old at the time loved it, but it was a perfect trip for our almost 5 month old too. A cruise on DCL is a perfect trip for a family with a little baby!

 

[Shelley Chiarats]

We've not cruised yet but my biggest surprise so far has been how much my husband has taken to the Port Canaveral Webcam. I sent him the link one night when the Dream was pulling out just for fun. And since then the website is in rotation on his laptop. He checks in the evening and sometimes in the morning also just to see which ships are moving about. So cute!!!