12/16/07 4-day Wonder Trip report.

[disneycruiser2007]

overall great time. will break it up as having some trouble posting.
1. food - Palo great service, great steak, all food great. extra price in wines, coffees, tips. regular dinners - tough steak, can't accommodate special orders or partial orders. head guy who visits tables to see if ur happy is v. nice & good w/birthdays and unplanned celebrations. 2. excursions - some prob w/guest services, overall shore exc. manager v. nice. bahamas can be cold in december water freezing. if dolphin encounter booked up can book direct pretty easily. wet suits for dolphin swim help a lot. don't really get wet in just dolphin encounters so weather ok. feel bad for aquaventure people if weather windy/cool.

 

[disneycruiser2007]

shows - v. loud sit middle to back if have small children. small kids can be scared by hercules (hades and the explosions - can feel heat close up). narrative portion at end to fit show in timeframe displeased some - some thought unprofessional & rushed - kids didn't understand if small or grownups if hadn't seen hercules before. loved - shows and characters (disney dreams and golden mickeys. my little kid stopped covering ears saying "too loud" on disney dreams and clapped hands overhead and cheered - on edge of seat), characters - kids love dressing up as pirates - can buy extra gear at stores, bring some pirate clothes if have, children loved fireworks, characters a huge hit - princesses are very professional and sweet to the kids. the staff are kind to the children - even the waiters. overall impression -- disney skimps on food, less stops to see things, higher priced, the cost is in the staterooms (larger and better for families with small kids) - oceaneers club is a big cost to them, and shows are better. my kids didn't want to go to oceaneers club so they were there unaccompanied about 45 minutes to 1 hour, maybe once. another, second time for 20-30 minutes. other times we stayed with them getting them acclimated - they never really became quite comfortable w/it. some kids there loved it (i think i can't say for sure). there were a lot of kids there how long they stayed i don't know. i think if it were a 7 day cruise it's possible my kids would have gotten used to the idea of being alone, but overall, it was okay spending tons of time with them - they ended up loving the cruise - it's really geared for them. oceaneer's club was used for us as a coordinating spot - my parents once picked them up after we dropped them off so it was about 20-30 minutes between times at most.

 

[disneycruiser2007]

Why 4 day trip? it worked well with both our work schedules. it's enough time to get the feel of the trip, and still not miss too too much at work. Did i feel it was enough time? I think it was - especially the last day at the kennedy space center - our plane left in the evening so we had another trip day it seemed like. we also flew in the night before, which kind of extended the trip as well. we didn't do the alligator thing since it was too much like spots we could normally vacation to, and not unique to the area. and, we didn't go to disney, e.g., animal kingdom, universal studios or sea world because by the time parking and all and waiting in line was considered it wasn't sufficient time to do that and get back to the airport in time, it seemed. the launch was really cool, but it's hard to get back to reality about technology and real science as opposed to pixie dust flights after having fiction for 4 nights. it was good in a way though. we liked the shuttle simulator launch.

 

[CraftyMouse]

-- disney skimps on food,

I just wanted to address this comment. While the portions in the dining rooms can be small you are always welcome to have as much as you want. (Personally, I'd rather have a smaller amount of food in each portion rather than having a lot go to waste.) We've had no problem having two appetizers or an extra entree. Ask and you shall receive!

 

[disneycruiser2007]

I would agree w/ offering additional food that's available. The waiters asked if u wanted more food they are nice about that - and I myself did like the smaller portions. They were not amenable when I asked for half portions or smaller portions of food on dishes. I was a little disappointed I didn't see red lobster offered at any of the meals, nor at the seafood buffet did I see lobster (w/shell) or any shell crablegs - which we had for meals on other cruises. The different numbers of chocolate desserts available also seemed less (less variety, less #s of displays) - although there was a huge chocolate ship in the back of the table that was pretty impressive -harder to see since it was dark on the ship when offered - I don't think it was to be eaten, but it was nice to have it there. I actually couldn't see it, since it was kind of dark when the buffet was offered outside and the display wasn't lit up, but a family member of mine noticed. I have got to say I feel a little spoiled, but our having seen 3 different cruise lines, that was our impression.

 

[CraftyMouse]

I was a little disappointed I didn't see red lobster offered at any of the meals, nor at the seafood buffet did I see lobster (w/shell) or any shell crablegs - which we had for meals on other cruises.

DCL does offer both crab legs and lobster on their 7-day and longer cruises. Also, the Palo brunch has crab legs. (Not sure if you were able to get a reservation for that.)

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Palo also has a lobster ravioli for dinner.
We were on the 12/9 4nighter and my Mom was hoping for a lobster. I told her she needed to go on a 7-nighter.

Thanks for your snippet report. I have to agree with much of what you've observed.

 

[disneycruiser2007]

Hey we just missed each other My children loved it, so it was a success overall. My parents and sister liked it too. DH and I thought overall the cruise was fun.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Hey we just missed each other My children loved it, so it was a success overall. My parents and sister liked it too. DH and I thought overall the cruise was fun.

Yes we did!

What was the weather like for you at Castaway Cay?