1/20 through 1/23/05 WONDER

[JerJan]

Just wanted to say that I was very DISAPPOINTED with our DISNEY cruise. We were really looking forward to it and after finally doing it, well, we were not IMPRESSED! This family will not being doing another DISNEY cruise, but we will continue to cruise with other lines. I will say that the only thing that we did like were the three evening shows, they were VERY GOOD!

 

[pppiglet]

Why were you so disappointed? What went wrong?

 

[becobscot]

We were on this cruise also. It was our second cruise, first time on Disney. We had a wonderful time! I'm sorry you didn't. I'd be interested to know what you found disappointing if you don't mind sharing. I know we didn't have the greatest weather but it was much better than the snow we came back to in Northern Virginia. I should also mention that we used a lot of Disney Reward Dollars to experience this cruise so it wasn't as big a financial bite as it might have been. Our first cruise was RCI Enchantment of the Seas and we really enjoyed that one too! Hope your next cruise is all you wish for!

 

[becobscot]

We were on this cruise also. It was our second cruise,first on Disney! We had a wonderful time. I'm sorry that you didn't. I would be interested to know what you found disappointing if you don't mind sharing. We were fortunate to have used many Disney Reward Dollars to take the financial bite out of this cruise because it is more expensive than other lines. Our first cruise was RCI Enchantment of the Seas and we loved that one too. I hope your next cruise will be all you wish for!

 

[becobscot]

Sorry! I keep having trouble seeing my posts go through on this board! I didn't mean to post twice

 

[Macnjac87]

This is a trip report board- please post why you were so dissapointed!

 

[zeldacruiser]

Yes, please elaborate on what made the cruise disappointing. We're pretty much all here because we're preparing for our own cruises, so we are very interested in learning from what you experienced. Thanks for posting.

 

[JerJan]

OK...As a previous cruiser on several different lines, NCL RCL and COSTA I was suprised that in our opinion (family) DISNEY just didn't come close. The food was just OK and not alot of choices for kids...the ship seemed alot smaller than the other lines and quite frankly I personally didn't find it that clean! The kids programs, well let's just say it wasn't what I (or my children) thought it would be. Both my 12 yr old and my 5 yr old DD's didn't like the kids programs and when I looked in on my 5 year old she wasn't having a good time and the children didn't seem to be being watched very well. Now that might be because I am not used to leaving my children (5 yr old) in a daycare situation as I am a stay-at-home Mom. I will say that if I had never cruised before I might have found it more enjoyable but for the price of a DISNEY CRUISE I was expecting alot more! I think that the children's program on NCL for example was much better and so did my 12 yr old DD. In this case you DON'T get what you pay for!

 

[LuvThatMouse]

That can be the problem with expectations. Sometimes we set ourselves up for disappointment. In researching cruises, I found that Disney doesn't do cruises like other cruise lines. Firstly, I've heard rave reviews about the food on Disney but perhaps they were mostly from families who weren't necessarily looking for haute cuisine and preferred more down to earth food. I don't know. As for the children's activities, I've heard mixed things about the Oceaneer's Club and have come to the conclusion that the activities remain the same, the counselor's seem to be the same for long periods of time, so it must be that each child is different and responds to the environment differently. One thing I have never heard complaints about on Disney is the service and I didn't see any from you either. Personally, I look at Disney as a much more custom cruise line than RCCL, HAL, NCL or the others. Sorry you didn't have a good time. I'm still very much looking forward to our Disney cruise though.

 

[little_susan]

We were on 1/16 Wonder and we were quite disappointed also. It was our first cruise so I have nothing to compare but the kids programs did not meet my or my children's expectations. I'm not sure it has anything to do with whether they are in daycare or not, since mine are - they still didn't want to go. They said it was 'just school mom'. When I was registering, there were kids climbing on the slide and the CM helping me stood up and yelled for them to get off. While this is not illegal or anything, it just wasn't the 'magical' experience I thought I had paid for.

The weather was horrible and the ride was rough - while I can't fault DCL for this - I wonder why they can't use the stabilizers on the way to Nassau? I can't prove it but I honestly doubt they were being used. And if they were and it is still that rough, then they need to find another route for that first night cuz I have heard a lot of complaints about the first night to Nassau....

The food - well if you like instant mashed potatoes and overcooked meat, then it's a winner. We eat that at home everytime I have to cook , so no treat for us.

Guest Services dropped the ball on my Disney Visa credit, it's since been rectified but it wasn't because of anyone employed on the ship.... I think the service is extremely variable depending on the server you get, ours was adequate. But the first night when people were dropping out of the dining room because of the motion of the ship, I saw plenty of servers delivering trays to staterooms. When my DH and DD left, I hauled up some cold dinners along with a queasy DS to the stateroom. I was actually told by my server to just order room service.. well, can we get a steak through room service? No, but all the mac n cheese I can eat! OH BOY!!!! Guess we weren't special...

I guess my expecations were just that, too high, but for 6K - they were not met. Well I guess we'll just go back to Durango and live like kings for 2K - I guess it's all relative...... I don't mean to be whiny, I am just very disappointed and to top it all off, I am just now healthy again from getting sick on the ship, so it really didn't feel like a vacation at all and I so hoped it would be the vacation of a lifetime for everyone! WAH!!!

 

[jhorstma]

I can understand how people spend 2 or 3 years worth (or even more) of vacation dollars for a Disney cruise, have commensurate expectations, and then not have a good time. I too am worried, as our upcoming Eastern cruise in March will be pretty much the one and only time we'll be sailing Disney (if only because there are so many other places we want to see on our limited vacation time and budget) - we'll end up spending over $10K for the trip. After reading this thread and the 1/15 - 1/22 Western threads it seems as though folks who can afford to cruise all the time (especially on Disney) are able to deal with unmet expectations a whole lot better than those of us who only get 1 bite at this apple. Frankly if the weather sucks and we miss ports (especially CC) I don't care how good the Disney service is we'll come away with unmet expectations. Unfair I know, but that's the case at this price point.

 

[lookingforward]

I loved our servers on the Wonder in September. My kids did not enjoy the kids club that much. Our five year old did not like the darkness of the center and the amount of movies they watched in the evening. Just her 411 on the situation. The thing that was frustrating for my husband and I was the frequency of the "page". She learned quickly that if she moaned a little for mommy they would page us right away. There was no encouragement or distraction to help her ease into the club atmosphere. One time she was there for 15 minutes and they paged me. She was not crying or visably upset when I got there to pick her up. They did work with me when we were at Palos and she had us paged after about 25 minutes. They agreed to have her try again so I could finish my dinner.

My son and his best friend who are 11 were underwhelmed at the Lab. They felt that there was not enough activity. My son much preferrred RCCL for what he terms the "action". They did like some of the video games.

I think if someone goes on a several cruise lines they will be more likely to compare and take note of flaws or problems. I have been on quite a few different lines and it is almost impossible not to compare quality, service and dollar to dollar value. DCL is very expensive when compared to other cruise lines and a huge committment for most families. We vacation twice a year but when pricing a 7 night during the summer I hesitate to spend $7,000 for five people when I can spend $4500 on another line. We are still debating what to do. I want to try again, but my husband wants to do a 3 or 4 night. We'll see.

 

[becobscot]

I am sorry the OP had such a bad time. It is alot of money for just a few vacation days. I agree the food was better on RCL and I have a picky eater who doesn't like a lot of traditional "kid food" so I just ordered him steak off the adult menu when he couldn't choose and he was fine. As for the kid's club, I guess it really depends on the kid. Our son has always been reluctant to leave the kid's club so I guess we are fortunate. He really liked the clubs on Disney and RCI. In spite of any shortcomings, there were many things on this cruise that you don't get on other lines. I hope to cruise on Disney again maybe on the 7 night before my son is too old to appreciate the Disney magic that made this a fun cruise for us. So to those of you anticipating your Disney cruise, I hope you go with an open mind and remember that enjoying time together as a family is what makes any vacation special!

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

I wonder why they can't use the stabilizers on the way to Nassau? I can't prove it but I honestly doubt they were being used. And if they were and it is still that rough, then they need to find another route for that first night cuz I have heard a lot of complaints about the first night to Nassau....

The ship absolutely has stabilizers and while I can no more prove that they were in use than you can prove they weren't, there would be no reason not to deploy them. Anyway, the first night is almost always the roughest, even in the most calm of seas. Partly because your body hasn't yet adjusted to the motion, but mostly because you must pass through the Gulf Stream on the way to Nassau. There's really no way around this (short of heading north to Newfoundland and skirting it that way). It's just a huge mass of water pouring through the straits between the east coast of Florida and the Bahamas. I've read estimates of 30 million cubic meters per second in this area of the current moving to the north. Probably nothing that will make you feel any better about your experience, but I guess can be filed under "random information that only I find interesting."

 

[crusin and lovin it]

From your date line you must be leaving on the March 20 cruise! We are too we are very excited and I truly feel that a good time is had if you set your mind to it.

Go with the expectiations that you will have a good time and you will go with the thought that you spent a lot of money and this cruise and nothing will match your expectations!

 

[jhorstma]

From your date line you must be leaving on the March 20 cruise! We are too we are very excited and I truly feel that a good time is had if you set your mind to it.

Go with the expectiations that you will have a good time and you will go with the thought that you spent a lot of money and this cruise and nothing will match your expectations!

Absolutely! If we had any doubts about enjoying the cruise we wouldn't be going. This is going to be the best vacation ever!

We'll have a good time I'm sure. We are paying more money to cruise Disney than for a larger suite (same itinerary) and a larger ship on RCCL, so expectations are as a result much higher. That means an enjoyable kids club experience (which we'll try to ensure by having the kids there the moment it opens so that they can make friends), top-notch service (shouldn't be a problem there), and CC (which probably shouldn't be an issue in March from what I've read). Those are the differentiators (sp?) and with the exception of the weather and CC Disney should be able to deliver.

My only other cruise experience was a 3 day on Carnival to Nassau 5 years ago with just DW - hard to believe but the food was the best I've ever had (and I'm a bit of a foodie). After reading all the reviews of DCL food I'm very surprised that at this price point the best they can do foodwise is to have the Palo's experience. Don't get me wrong the dining experience sounds like fun, but I should be expecting something more than say Appleby's (or similar chain).

 

[LuvThatMouse]

To me, one of the benefits of the Disney cruise is that my child will be welcome and accomodated instead of having retired couples and newlyweds sneering because noisy children are ruining the cruise. A Disney cruise is all about children. Disney is known for their standard of service and nearly all the comments regarding service have been positive. I'm looking forward to having lots of fun time with my child and giving her selective doses of the Oceaneer's Club on those few occasions when my husband and I want to participate in an adult activity.

 

[jhorstma]

Yup - that's what I'm looking forward to - a family vacation where the kids (DS11 and DD9, so they're both in the Lab) have the freedom to be with new friends or with mom and dad (which they will be on the islands - rhino boats and a cat sea tour at St. Thomas). If they want to hang out with us that will be great (movies, bingo, the shows, definitely at dinner, maybe shooting hoops on the sports deck), if they want to be doing Lab stuff that's great too. This is gonna be fun!

 

[crusin and lovin it]

We are really looking forward to the cruise we have never cruised disney before but went on Princess 5 years ago. I have a 14yo and 11yo our intentions are the same to get them involved right away.

Did you know that the first night is a Pirate of the Carribbean night! I confirmed this with Disney today. It should be a lot of fun they have a big party at Goofy's pool that night as well. And a 11 buffet (full).

As far as the food it cannot be as bad as the all-inclusive we stayed at in April 04.

Cheryl

 

[joanb]

We have enjoyed our 3,4, and 7 day cruise..great food, service and relaxation. Ilook forward to going again!