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- Jan 7, 2005
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We are CC-Platinum cruisers who recently completed our first EBTA cruise. Our party consisted of DW, DD 24, and me. This cruise has been on DW’s bucket list for some time, as she liked the idea of having an abundance of sea days mixed with getting to visit Portugal. My point of comparison to this trip, which more than anything else set my expectations, was our cruise last year from Hawaii to Vancouver, which I reported here, primarily because this was another repositioning cruise heavy on sea days.
I had been hoping that like that cruise, the ship would not be especially crowded, with few children. I first knew I was in trouble when we reported to the Carriage House at the designated time for our transfer to Port Canaveral. The lobby was packed with fellow cruisers. In fact, they filled three buses, and we were on the last one. I did overhear one of the CMs say that Royal Rivera had only a small contingent, but clearly most people were wanting to burn off as few points as possible by staying at SSR.
The buses deposit their passengers into a side door of the Port Canaveral DCL terminal, whereas people arriving on their own enter in the middle of the check-in area. Because I’ve only sailed from Port Canaveral a couple of times and because from the vantage point of the side, you only see the regular and concierge lines, we had been in the long line for some time before I realized that there was also a Pearl and Platinum check-in area with nobody waiting. If we had entered in the middle section, it would have been clear from the outset. Nevertheless, by the time we were checked in and went through security, they were calling group four. We were in group five and joined the end of the line, and they had started inviting our group to board before it was time to scan our boarding passes for the last time.
Our first stop upon entering the ship was to go to the restaurant assistance area in front of Enchanted Garden, where we encountered our fifth line of the day. The swarm of bodies there made the process confusing. I learned that there were two lines. The long line was for Palo, and there was a separate Remy station with nobody waiting. The smaller line on the right was for the main dining room. We split up so that DW verified that we would have our own table, which had been my hope. DD signed us up for a Remy brunch, which had been unavailable to book beforehand, since DW decided with only a couple of weeks advance notice that she wanted to try the brunch as well as the dinner. I was surprised that even after waiting a half-hour in line, there was plenty of Palo availability, so I picked up an additional brunch and dinner to supplement the brunch and dinner that I had booked in advance. There continued to be availability during the cruise, as I was able to later add an additional brunch. The added times tend to be later in the service, which result in those guests being assigned to the tables farthest away from the windows.
As it got closer to 1:30, it was almost impossible to navigate the stairwells, since the foyers on each floor were mobbed with people waiting to go to their staterooms. This was my final verification that this cruise would be extremely crowded and not provide the manageable number of guests that were on our Hawaii cruise. It turned out that there were 3300 guests on this cruise. The Hawaii cruise on the Wonder had 1900 guests, and my last time on the Dream for the only TCM cruise on a larger ship also had 1900. There was also a significant number of children, mostly not yet of school age.
We selected a category 4C stateroom for the first time, and it will be harder to have a lower category on these sized ships going forward. The shower was absolutely fantastic. On the older ships, I would more often than not use the spa’s shower because of the inadequacy of the staterooms’ showers. Our Fantasy shower had both a rain shower head and dual hand-held attachment, both with excellent pressure. The circular shape of the shower was also ideal and much less cumbersome than the usual, rectangular bath-shower combo. The shower was the one thing that I still miss about the cruise.
I also liked that the cabin had a leather armchair. I tried unsuccessfully to move it to the verandah, but I was still able to position it with the door open so that it afforded the same wonderful ocean views while sitting in a much more comfortable chair than the ones on the verandah.
The in-person muster was next. While inconvenient, at least when the meet-up location is on the deck 4 promenade, I’ve noticed that this provides a rare opportunity to interact with the performers, as they are generally the crew in charge of at least the outdoor muster stations. After it was complete, I spoke briefly with a crew member in our station, who confirmed that she was one of the dancers in the shows. I thought that since the Walt Disney Theatre was not being used during any of the afternoons, this cruise involved a change-over in the performers, like on our Hawaii cruise, but she replied that they were just having some closed rehearsals during the daytime.
We returned to our stateroom, and I really appreciated our stateroom hostess, Kristina from Indonesia during this cruise. She was the only host we’ve ever had who knocked on the door each time one of our pieces of luggage arrived, which prevented the need from regularly having to open to the door to check. She also informed me that on this cruise, there would be two instances where you could fill a bag with 30 pieces for fluff-and-fold for $25, and the first of those two days was coming up only a couple of days into the cruise.
We had booked Remy for the first night to celebrate DD’s birthday. The ambience and views from Remy are hard to beat, but I think this will be our last cruise visiting Remy. Every dish included some kind of foam, and the tasting menu overall was just too rich and heavy for my taste. Dessert, however, was fun. They prepared a special cake, which was included in the exorbitant additional pricing for the restaurant, in addition to the dessert included on the tasting menu and the final candies. I really enjoy the fruit gels, which is a highlight of the meal for me. With the dinner lasting almost the full three hours allotted, we would have missed the first night’s show if they had one. Newer cruisers may not be aware that they used to have a show the first night themed around a boy who wanted to the be the captain and into which they inserted the variety acts performing brief segments which served as teasers for their shows. I still miss it, along with the final night’s Small World show in the MDRs and the character breakfast (and, for that matter, the French toast with grilled pineapple that they used to serve at Lumiere’s and Triton’s).
Day 2: Castaway Cay
The main reason that the Dream-class ships are my favorite is the jogging deck. Their absence on the Wish-class ships, along with their uniform itineraries, is the main reason why I have no interest in sailing on any of them. The problem with the jogging deck on the Magic-class ships is that they are especially narrow on the enclosed sections and are always closed off for mooring during port days. Every day of this cruise started for me with an hour-long jog. Happily, my fellow passengers were exceptionally considerate. Couples walked single-file and solo passengers consistently moved to the side or otherwise left enough room for someone to share the track when required.
We chose to have breakfast at the Royal Palace. Usually I like to follow my dining team. I usually ask them where they are going to be the next day and try to match their schedule, which is the best way, I have found, to maximize the service at breakfast and lunch. In this case, because we had gone to Remy the night before, I didn’t even know who the dining team was, much less at what restaurant they were working. Luckily, we received excellent service from a Brazilian server who turned out to be working our rotation in the adjacent section when we were at Animator’s.
The family beaches on Castaway proved to be surprisingly uncrowded. While I mentioned earlier that there were many kids, there were still mostly groups of adults-only. I learned on the TCM cruise, which was the last time I went to Castaway on a mostly adults cruise, that Serenity Bay gets crowded but not the family beaches, and this is exactly what happened on this cruise as well. The service at Cookies was especially friendly and attentive. I think my plate was removed within seconds of my finishing it.
Tonight’s dinner was at Animator’s. We met our dining team: Ratna, who was a terrifically sweet and helpful server from Indonesia; Diego, the assistant server and only Chilean crew member; and Oscar, the head server from Columbia but born in Peru. Oscar was tied with Ronald from India, also working this rotation, as being my favorite head server. In my experience, a head server can be someone with whom you barely interact or someone who can enhance your overall dining experience; Oscar was most certainly in the latter category. Diego, unfortunately, was too focused on trying to push wine until the last couple of days when he revealed a friendly personality.
This menu I knew well. Ratna accepted my request to have the tuna steak entrée only seared, and it came out delicious. The Turtle Talk show was underwhelming. Maybe they were having technical issues, but Crush did not go from screen to screen, engaging tables in small groups, as he usually does. He only addressed the dining room as a whole, so the show seemed to be abbreviated. The nice thing about Animator’s is that the lighting goes a long way to creating the mood, and in this case, it enhanced the underwater feel of the experience.
Tonight’s show was Jonathan Burns. I was disappointed upon entering the theatre that there were no ASL interpreters this cruise. We’ve been fortunate that there were deaf passengers on many of previous cruises, including Hawaii, and watching Disney’s ASL interpreters, performers really, always heightened the production. We had previously seen Burns’ act on the Hawaii cruise, and seeing him again, I was reminded of the line from the musical “Evita” when she says to Migaldi, “Your act hasn’t changed much.” His execution was at times sloppy in that from the side, he unintentionally gave away the secret to his one magic trick.
Next Installment: Sea days and time changes
I had been hoping that like that cruise, the ship would not be especially crowded, with few children. I first knew I was in trouble when we reported to the Carriage House at the designated time for our transfer to Port Canaveral. The lobby was packed with fellow cruisers. In fact, they filled three buses, and we were on the last one. I did overhear one of the CMs say that Royal Rivera had only a small contingent, but clearly most people were wanting to burn off as few points as possible by staying at SSR.
The buses deposit their passengers into a side door of the Port Canaveral DCL terminal, whereas people arriving on their own enter in the middle of the check-in area. Because I’ve only sailed from Port Canaveral a couple of times and because from the vantage point of the side, you only see the regular and concierge lines, we had been in the long line for some time before I realized that there was also a Pearl and Platinum check-in area with nobody waiting. If we had entered in the middle section, it would have been clear from the outset. Nevertheless, by the time we were checked in and went through security, they were calling group four. We were in group five and joined the end of the line, and they had started inviting our group to board before it was time to scan our boarding passes for the last time.
Our first stop upon entering the ship was to go to the restaurant assistance area in front of Enchanted Garden, where we encountered our fifth line of the day. The swarm of bodies there made the process confusing. I learned that there were two lines. The long line was for Palo, and there was a separate Remy station with nobody waiting. The smaller line on the right was for the main dining room. We split up so that DW verified that we would have our own table, which had been my hope. DD signed us up for a Remy brunch, which had been unavailable to book beforehand, since DW decided with only a couple of weeks advance notice that she wanted to try the brunch as well as the dinner. I was surprised that even after waiting a half-hour in line, there was plenty of Palo availability, so I picked up an additional brunch and dinner to supplement the brunch and dinner that I had booked in advance. There continued to be availability during the cruise, as I was able to later add an additional brunch. The added times tend to be later in the service, which result in those guests being assigned to the tables farthest away from the windows.
As it got closer to 1:30, it was almost impossible to navigate the stairwells, since the foyers on each floor were mobbed with people waiting to go to their staterooms. This was my final verification that this cruise would be extremely crowded and not provide the manageable number of guests that were on our Hawaii cruise. It turned out that there were 3300 guests on this cruise. The Hawaii cruise on the Wonder had 1900 guests, and my last time on the Dream for the only TCM cruise on a larger ship also had 1900. There was also a significant number of children, mostly not yet of school age.
We selected a category 4C stateroom for the first time, and it will be harder to have a lower category on these sized ships going forward. The shower was absolutely fantastic. On the older ships, I would more often than not use the spa’s shower because of the inadequacy of the staterooms’ showers. Our Fantasy shower had both a rain shower head and dual hand-held attachment, both with excellent pressure. The circular shape of the shower was also ideal and much less cumbersome than the usual, rectangular bath-shower combo. The shower was the one thing that I still miss about the cruise.
I also liked that the cabin had a leather armchair. I tried unsuccessfully to move it to the verandah, but I was still able to position it with the door open so that it afforded the same wonderful ocean views while sitting in a much more comfortable chair than the ones on the verandah.
The in-person muster was next. While inconvenient, at least when the meet-up location is on the deck 4 promenade, I’ve noticed that this provides a rare opportunity to interact with the performers, as they are generally the crew in charge of at least the outdoor muster stations. After it was complete, I spoke briefly with a crew member in our station, who confirmed that she was one of the dancers in the shows. I thought that since the Walt Disney Theatre was not being used during any of the afternoons, this cruise involved a change-over in the performers, like on our Hawaii cruise, but she replied that they were just having some closed rehearsals during the daytime.
We returned to our stateroom, and I really appreciated our stateroom hostess, Kristina from Indonesia during this cruise. She was the only host we’ve ever had who knocked on the door each time one of our pieces of luggage arrived, which prevented the need from regularly having to open to the door to check. She also informed me that on this cruise, there would be two instances where you could fill a bag with 30 pieces for fluff-and-fold for $25, and the first of those two days was coming up only a couple of days into the cruise.
We had booked Remy for the first night to celebrate DD’s birthday. The ambience and views from Remy are hard to beat, but I think this will be our last cruise visiting Remy. Every dish included some kind of foam, and the tasting menu overall was just too rich and heavy for my taste. Dessert, however, was fun. They prepared a special cake, which was included in the exorbitant additional pricing for the restaurant, in addition to the dessert included on the tasting menu and the final candies. I really enjoy the fruit gels, which is a highlight of the meal for me. With the dinner lasting almost the full three hours allotted, we would have missed the first night’s show if they had one. Newer cruisers may not be aware that they used to have a show the first night themed around a boy who wanted to the be the captain and into which they inserted the variety acts performing brief segments which served as teasers for their shows. I still miss it, along with the final night’s Small World show in the MDRs and the character breakfast (and, for that matter, the French toast with grilled pineapple that they used to serve at Lumiere’s and Triton’s).
Day 2: Castaway Cay
The main reason that the Dream-class ships are my favorite is the jogging deck. Their absence on the Wish-class ships, along with their uniform itineraries, is the main reason why I have no interest in sailing on any of them. The problem with the jogging deck on the Magic-class ships is that they are especially narrow on the enclosed sections and are always closed off for mooring during port days. Every day of this cruise started for me with an hour-long jog. Happily, my fellow passengers were exceptionally considerate. Couples walked single-file and solo passengers consistently moved to the side or otherwise left enough room for someone to share the track when required.
We chose to have breakfast at the Royal Palace. Usually I like to follow my dining team. I usually ask them where they are going to be the next day and try to match their schedule, which is the best way, I have found, to maximize the service at breakfast and lunch. In this case, because we had gone to Remy the night before, I didn’t even know who the dining team was, much less at what restaurant they were working. Luckily, we received excellent service from a Brazilian server who turned out to be working our rotation in the adjacent section when we were at Animator’s.
The family beaches on Castaway proved to be surprisingly uncrowded. While I mentioned earlier that there were many kids, there were still mostly groups of adults-only. I learned on the TCM cruise, which was the last time I went to Castaway on a mostly adults cruise, that Serenity Bay gets crowded but not the family beaches, and this is exactly what happened on this cruise as well. The service at Cookies was especially friendly and attentive. I think my plate was removed within seconds of my finishing it.
Tonight’s dinner was at Animator’s. We met our dining team: Ratna, who was a terrifically sweet and helpful server from Indonesia; Diego, the assistant server and only Chilean crew member; and Oscar, the head server from Columbia but born in Peru. Oscar was tied with Ronald from India, also working this rotation, as being my favorite head server. In my experience, a head server can be someone with whom you barely interact or someone who can enhance your overall dining experience; Oscar was most certainly in the latter category. Diego, unfortunately, was too focused on trying to push wine until the last couple of days when he revealed a friendly personality.
This menu I knew well. Ratna accepted my request to have the tuna steak entrée only seared, and it came out delicious. The Turtle Talk show was underwhelming. Maybe they were having technical issues, but Crush did not go from screen to screen, engaging tables in small groups, as he usually does. He only addressed the dining room as a whole, so the show seemed to be abbreviated. The nice thing about Animator’s is that the lighting goes a long way to creating the mood, and in this case, it enhanced the underwater feel of the experience.
Tonight’s show was Jonathan Burns. I was disappointed upon entering the theatre that there were no ASL interpreters this cruise. We’ve been fortunate that there were deaf passengers on many of previous cruises, including Hawaii, and watching Disney’s ASL interpreters, performers really, always heightened the production. We had previously seen Burns’ act on the Hawaii cruise, and seeing him again, I was reminded of the line from the musical “Evita” when she says to Migaldi, “Your act hasn’t changed much.” His execution was at times sloppy in that from the side, he unintentionally gave away the secret to his one magic trick.
Next Installment: Sea days and time changes
