10/5 4-Day Trip Report/Observations...

[alexandrew]

Had a really great time together with DW, and DS's 7(Alex) & 2(Andrew)....

***Cruise was absolutely PACKED, further evidence as to why we were upgraded from our usual cat 9, to cat 5 stateroom. You could also really tell ship was full, since 630 shows we attended were literally standing room only....

***Noticed something new since last cruise....more frequent announcements, preceded by a tone in the tune of "When you wish upon a Star"...some announcements featured programming about to start, such as bingo....

***We had excellent stateroom location, 7608, aft, starboard, next to elevators....not too far from 7th floor overlook...took many pix there....Again, we loved this stateroom, and the verandah, and definitely appreciated the upgrade....however, at $1000.00 more for a 7-day cruise vs cat 9, I dont think we will book a verandah for a future cruise...

***Had Nortel (yes, same name as the telecom equipment company) as our stateroom host....she was by far the best we've had in 5 cruises....makes me wonder if DCL puts their best stateroom hosts in the higher priced cats.????Our room was spotlessly clean, ice always in the bucket, and she anticipated everything we could ever want w/o asking...

FOOD/RESTAURANTS- Better than ever!!!!!Had the APT rotation (all 5 cruises had this) - late seating - DS2 in Flounders all 4 nights during dinner....had Richard from Jamaica for waiter, Dean from Croatia asst waiter....Pierre from France head waiter ....all very, very good, especially Richard

Animators - IMO worst menu, could stand to be upgraded- I had duck flatbread, Squash soup, Veal chop - was ok ------show was good as always, but same old same old....

Parrot Cay - First time we ate from the "newer" menu....very very good...DWs least favorite b/c of bird chirping and color scheme....I had gazpacho and entree special of prime rib....very tasty...

Tritons - Our favorite rotation restaurant by far....elegant and nice!!! I had the escargot, field green salad, and the duck breast....just excellent ....for dessert creme brulee of course...

Palo- scored coveted last night 8pm res....was packed!!! lucky for us we made res as soon as they began at 1pm embarkation day. Had app of calamari, Filet with gorgonzola sauce (best entree of cruise)....shared pasta of lasagna special with DW....slightly annoyed with waiter Dragan ....we wanted to catch character farewell in atrium at 10 pm (dinner ended at 1045)...after clearing our entree plates, he disappeared for 45 mins before serving us desserts "to let us digest"....then, instead of serving us 2 chocolate souffles as ordered, he took a cue that DW and I like to share, and served us the chocolate souffle and some mousse thing with berries....oh well...

PORTS -
Nassau - Unless you are booked for an excursion, or plan to go to Atlantis, Nassau is ok at best - Since we went to Atlantis last January on 3-day, we decided to go to straw market - a quick walk from ship - very hot and claustrophobic, with narrow aisles - I can only imagine how stifling it must be in July- yet not a bead of sweat from any of the local merchants - lots and lots of neat, handcrafted goods....among best find, bought a "Nassau" straw bag liberally decorated with colorful fruit for just $12.00...well worth it!!!!

Freeport - Dont want to waste space here....on and off ship 45 mins...went to their version of straw market near ship...now I know why some stay on ship Freeport day....would have preferred day at sea...oh well

SHOWS/MOVIES - The Best for Last

DCL has really hit an all time high for featuring Dreams, Herc, and the all new The Golden Mickeys on a single cruise....it is just incredible the effort that it must take to produce all 3 of these Broadway quality shows all within 4 days....

Herc- shown first day of cruise/Sunday!!!! a bit of a surprise....great as always, with a few new topical jokes since our last cruise to keep things fresh

Dreams - Shown Tuesday evening, second to last night of cruise!!! again, a bit of a surprise, but a good one, since the only negative of seeing Dreams on previous cruises was that it was considered a "goodbye gift"...this time, we still had a whole day left!!! What more can be said about Dreams....utter perfection

The Golden Mickeys - Newest show....Awesome staging, great special effects, and tremendous dance numbers....I know some of you have asked "but is it better than Dreams?"....if not for the short running time of just 45 minutes, I would have voted yes....but, IMHO Dreams is still king...

Pirates of the Caribbean - saw 2pm showing Freeport day....Buena Vista Theater absolutely packed - This movie is just awesome!!!!who knew???? this movie, and I'm not exaggerating, is definitely in my top 20 all time....action, adventure, comedy, romance....those of you that missed it in theatres should rent or buy DVD, which I'm sure will be out in time for Christmas...One observation - I think Johnny Depp took his inspiration for this role from Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones - Looked, acted, sounded, and dressed just like him in this role - those of you who are Stones fans who saw this movie will know what I mean....

In Conclusion-

We had a really great time, and look forward to our next cruise 9/4/04 - It seems like DCL is evolving, making little enhancements and improvements to the cruise experience, knowing that many of us, including those on the DIS board continue to go back year after year...I know as long as my family continues to enjoy DCL cruising, we will continue to plan and enjoy this incomparable experience.....

Please feel free to ask me any questions, and I will reply.....

 

[MO64RN]

Great trip report. We are leaving Sunday but no Freeport stop. Can I ask you if you were one of the first in line for Palo. Did they start taking any ressies before 1pm? and where did you go to make them? One other question- Were you able to view any baseball playoff games on the ship?

 

[alexandrew]

Yes-I was one of the first people waiting in line for Palo res. - in fact, I showed up at 1245, and there were at least 5 people ahead of me-all of whom made a beeline right for the Wednesday area (lines for each day)- Ressies are taken at Wavebands, deck 3 fwd - they opened doors for res at 1pm-disregard 130 time as stated in Navigator

I was not able to see any playoff games, as they were not televised in stateroom (I didnt go to ESPN Skybox, they may have had games on in there) However, I kept TV on CNN Headline news when we returned for eve....looked at scores on scroll at bottom of screen, and then watched ESPN later on for highlights...Go Marlins!!!!

 

[jwann]

BTW,
I saw on an entertainment show that Johnny Depp said he got some of his maneurisms as Capt. Jack Sparrow from watching Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.
Good observation!

 

[dizneefreak29]

Thanks for the great trip report! We are leaving on Thursday for the 3-night. I had a couple of questions! How early did you get to the shows to get a seat? Were the pools very also very crowded?

Thanks!

 

[alexandrew]

I went to theater about 20 minutes before show time while DW dropped off DS at Flounders....since our cruise seemed particularly full, I wanted to make sure we got good seats...I suggest you do the same, particularly for The Golden Mickeys...

pools were very, very crowded as observed....we did not partake in any swimming aboard ship though....

 

[alexandrew]

 

[erikthewise]

Originally posted by alexandrew
....makes me wonder if DCL puts their best stateroom hosts in the higher priced cats.????

Why not?! That's certainly what I would do!

Pirates of the Caribbean - saw 2pm showing Freeport day....Buena Vista Theater absolutely packed - This movie is just awesome!!!!who knew???? this movie, and I'm not exaggerating, is definitely in my top 20 all time....

I knew!! The best pirate film EVER, and the best movie I've seen this year. And I wouldn't have known Johnny Depp from a bump in the road beforehand. I expect Return of the King will surpass it, but nothing else will.

Have you taken a 3-day cruise. If so, could you (or anyone!) compare them? We've done 3-day and are considering a 4-day for this year.

 

[Credit Man]

Thanks for the great report.

 

[alexandrew]

erikthewise,

yes, we took the 3 day last January.... ideal for us since we live in South Florida, so it was as easy as driving 2.5 hours to the port, parking the car, and hopping aboard.... it was a spur of the moment thing, since we received excellent FL res pricing from TA, and no air expense....

Since you are from OH and have considerable travel time, I would recommend at least the 4 day, as the 3 day just blows by so fast...either way, i would recommend the following

1.getting to town a day early, and to port day of cruise as early as possible like 1030 or 11 am...day one of cruise is embarkation day....on the shorter 3 and 4 day cruises, its critical for maximizing your time...getting to the ship later burns alot of time you could be enjoying exploring the ship

2.I dont recommend the combined land/sea package offered....I think you could do better booking the land portion on your own...

 

[alexandrew]

 

[alexandrew]