CathyCanada
<font color=teal>The <b>Fluffy</b> Former Webmaste
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2000
- Messages
- 8,264
I honestly was apprehensive about this itinerary because I enjoy the Eastern so much, and I was not sure that I would like the Western. I had done 9 Disney cruises, including 5 of the 7-night Eastern itineraries, so I am familiar with the food, programming, etc. Before each cruise, I wonder, can it possibly be as good as the last? Well, I have to admit, this cruise was that, and much more! Rather than a day by day report, I will categorize my thoughts.
THE FOOD
On each of the last 5 or 6 Guest Comment cards (please fill them out, DCL DOES read every one) I have said that a change in the menu is in order, especially since there are so many more repeat cruisers who may tire of the same menus. The good news is that changes are in the works to overhaul the menus. This trip I did try to have different entrees and appetizers this cruise, but since I am on Weight Watchers, I didn't eat a lot of dessert, and tried to have a lot of salads. For breakfast, we usually had the continental room service breakfast.
Overall, I enjoyed the dining room meals and lunch buffets much more than I have in the past. The biggest improvement was in the temperature of the meals when they arrived. Our servers, Fitz and Ferdi, were excellent, knowledgeable and very quick to serve, without the feeling that you were being rushed. The lunch buffets have a great selection for regular diners and also for those watching their weight. The Italian, Asian and Mexican themes were well received by all in our group.
PALO is the DON'T MISS for every cruise! We were on the ship by 12:30 and immediately went to make the reservations. This was done in Rockin' Bar D and there was an easel at the entrance with the themed dining nights and formal nights to assist you in making your choice of night to be at Palo's. It was well organized and I was able to get the first choice of nights for our dinner and the Champagne Brunch. I made the reservations for friends in other staterooms who were joining us for the brunch without any trouble. The Tea was sold out by the time I got there which I found odd.
The Brunch was, as always, outstanding! Be sure to pace yourself so that you can partake of as much of the fabulous offerings as you can. Our server, Mauritzio (who will soon be a Head Server in the regular dining room), is by far, the best server I have had on any cruise. He made a special pizza for us that included all of his favourites, which quickly became all of our favourites too! Mortadella, pesto, yellow squash, eggplant, yellow peppers, sundried tomatoes and the fabulous Bernini (sp?) cheese was a magnificent combination! And of course, no Champagne Brunch is complete for me without a Dessert Pizza!! To die for!! Needless to say we didn't eat a bite until our 8:30 dinner seating that night!
Our dinner at Palo (Wed. night) was a feast. My goal was to gain no more than 2 lbs on this cruise and I did exactly that.....probably all in this meal! We chose the special 100 Years of Magic Fess Parker Chardonnay, even though I prefer my Chardonnay fruity, as opposed to more of an oak taste, and this was an excellent wine. We had the salad special and had to have a Barbecued Chicken Pizza, in addition to the breads and dips. My husband had the Filet Mignon special and I had the Roasted Chicken (stuffed with vegetables, including Portabello mushrooms that made this the moistest and most delicious chicken I have ever had). Both entrees were wonderful. We should have stopped there, but no, Mauritzio had the Chocolate Souffle in the oven for us already. Out of curiosity, I asked what the frozen Cassata was (pistachio, like spumoni ice cream, but better!) and so Mauritzio insisted we try that AND the Tiramisu as well. My husband and I are not big Tiramisu fans, but let me tell you that there was nothing left on that plate, it was excellent! The waitstaff at Palo are the best on the ship and deserve to be tipped as such. It is easy to see how Palo was voted the best restaurant on any ship in the world!
SHOWS/ENTERTAINMENT
Having cruised so many times, I know a lot of the entertainment schedule, but I was very pleased to see some new additions. The Chip-It golf competition (which my husband won once) was so popular, there were 2 additional days of it. The Segway is a blast and so fun to try. The tours of the ship (Navigator Series) are very interesting, especially for Disney fans! The adult "game shows" are great fun and a lot of laughs. And the tireless Entertainment Staff are hilarious! From Bingo (where my daughter won twice, over $300.00!) to the dance lessons to themed nights in Rockin' Bar D, these young people excel at their job and themselves are really entertaining!
I have been very pleased to see how the shows have changed/improved. While "Hercules the Muse-ical" was never one of my favourites, I really like it now and the way the jokes have been made more "current". The Opening night Variety show was good, but the Farewell show was excellent! The comedian/magician/ventriloquist/juggler talent was outstanding. I have seen these performers before and still laughed as hard at some of the same material! And of course, the Charles Marshall Band is my favourite so I was thrilled to see them on board again.
"Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer?" was especially fun for us as I was chosen to be on the panel (tip: sit near the front and jump up and wave your arms)
and then my son was chosen to be be a Contestant!! He won $100 and got a special pin, and I got the special panelist pin.
There were excellent movies shown on this cruise, including a "Prem-EAR at Sea" of Tuck Everlasting. "My Big, Fat Greek Wedding", "Sweet Home Alabama", "Signs" and for the kids, "Lilo & Stitch", "Spy Kids 2", "Monsters, Inc" and "Spirited Away". There were many showings of these movies and this was a popular activity, especially for families. At the first showing of Tuck Everlasting, the cast and dancers did a special "red carpet" lineup as autograph hunters, as they spotted "stars" (regular guests) coming in to watch and there were many bewidered children when they were asked to sign others' autograph books.
PORTS OF CALL:
Key West
The day was perfect, very warm and we spent our time shopping, while our husbands found the local golf course. It was much less to golf here than on Grand Cayman or Cozumel, especially in the off-season ($80-85 plus club rental). But my husband said that if you are going in peak season, the course is not worth the money. We stood near a dock and watched a local "feed the fish", it was very interesting to watch and incredible how fast they were. Be sure to attend the shopping excursion talk for a chance for prizes and lots of coupons. Everywhere we went, people said, don't miss the sunset and watch it from Mallory Square. We were game for this! It is a good idea to get there early, get something cold to drink and stake a prime viewing location. It truly is spectacular! There are "buskers" there to entertain. A very unusual man who has trained house cats and a fire-eater/unicycle rider. We didn't stay long enough or watch enough to "contribute" to the hat-passing. Asking, or rather trying to shame people into donating is in poor taste, in my opinion.
*There were weather issues that prevented us from going to Grand Cayman. I really was not that disappointed, I love being on the ship. The Entertainment Crew were scrambling to reorganize the day to make it a day at sea and reprint the Personal Navigators when asked to do so. Free Sangria was offered at the deck party that night and we hightailed it to Cozumel. We arrived at 10:30 that night so those wishing to disembark and party could do so. This was at great expense to DCL as all 5 engines were needed to travel at such speed to get there, but the decision was made that for the guests to have this extra time in Cozumel, it was money well spent.
Cozumel
We had just planned to "wing it" because we had booked the "Swimming with the Stingrays" for Grand Cayman, but when we were reimbursed for that we decided to do the Fury Catamarran excursion. This was the best shore excursion that I have ever done! The only downside is that DCL needs to be more organized in ensuring that folks have the proper paperwork and have it filled out to hand in immediately. A table at the entrance to the Walt Disney theatre would have accomplished that instead of having to announce it each time more people walked into the theatre. Once we got on our way, it was terrific. Since there were 200 people signed up, 2 large catamarrans (each hold 126), were used. The crew was organized, courteous and helpful. There was soda and water served before snorkelling, and beer and margaritas for the post-snorkelling trip to the beach. All water and ice was pre-filtered. Safety was definitely of the utmost importance as there seemed to be a lot of younger children on this excursion. I would recommend that if you have younger children who have not snorkelled before, and are even a little fearful of the water, this would not be the excursion for you. Even with their life vests to float them, the little ones were coming back on the boat as quickly as we were getting off. There was 45 minutes of snorkelling and then we went to a beach where other catamarrans would later come. There were lots of floats, kayaks, beach volleyball, hammocks and plenty of drinks once again. There were cheeseburger with cold salads meals for purchase ($7) and the burgers were huge and could easily be shared.
There was a photographer on the ship who posed the children and took pics of the families. These were developed while we were on the island and available for sale for $12 and she wasn't high pressure in selling them. They also sold Fury Catamarran T-shirts for $15 and these were a nice quality and a vibrant print, so I bought one.
The crew were a lot of fun, they served the drinks, danced with the guests and were very friendly. Remember when you do these excursions that if you are happy with the service and crew to show your appreciation with a tip as you disembark. All in all, we were on the catamarran for 2 hours, spent an hour at the beach and with the snorkelling, this was a 3 hour and 45 minute excursion.
Two of our friends decided to tour the island on their own and hired a taxi to do so. On the pier was a board with taxi prices, but not every taxi driver was anxious to do this. But they found one who spoke perfect English and had an air-conditioned van (name may have been Vuvuterda?) and for $80 they toured the island and the ruins for 2 hours. To tour just the island was $50 for 2 hours and to tour just the ruins was $60 for 2 hours. Where some of the organized tour buses would stop but not allow passengers off, this driver stopped and they could get out and explore a bit. To get to the ruins involved a lot of walking over a rocky path, but they said it was well worth it. There was a tour guide with brochures here. They also visited a turtle farm where they could hold the babies.
Castaway Cay
Always the highlight of my Disney cruise, this paradise never disappoints me! Our favourite spot is at the end of the family beach just before the path to the adult bar. It is close to restrooms, the float rentals and Grouper Pavillion (games). There are always lots of umbrellas to be found there as well.
THE SPA
I decided to try something different this time and instead of my "usual favourite", Absolute Facial and Body Treatment, I did the Ocean Wrap and it was the most relaxing thing I have done in my life! Highly recommend it! My husband and I both did the Metabolism Rate check and it was very interesting. My husband used the gym a lot and I walked the Promenade (a mile a day on deck 4) for my exercise.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
* Be sure to attend the Rebooking Presentation and talk to the Onboard Sales Manager of the benefits of rebooking on the ship. When we were on, there was a discount offered in addition to the Castaway Club onboard credit that is only available when you rebook on the ship. When you get home, it is too late to book it and get the credit. You can change the date if you have to and the cancellation policy is the same, so if you are thinking of rebooking, do so as early in the week as possible. The lines on Thursday and Friday were unbelievable! And of course, Dreams is happy to look after you once again if you do rebook!
* My 13 year old son is deaf and the services for the deaf have GREATLY improved. There were 2 theatrical interpreters for all of the shows (one of them helped my son when he made it to the hot seat for Mouseketeer) and the equipment he needed for the stateroom (smoke alarm, door knocker, bed shaker alarm and telephone for the deaf) were all set up in the room when we got there instead of me having to go to Guest Services (despite requesting it in advance) and having to set it up myself. One interpreter met us for the mandatory lifeboat drill to interpret for Patrick as well (I had done so in the past). Bravo to DCL for filling this void!
* I used Tiffany Town Car service for transportation for our party and as always, was very pleased. I use them and FL Tours for all of my Disney vacation transportation.
* We spent the night before the cruise at the Dolphin and as always, had a great room and great service.
* I believe I heard Jim, the Cruise Director, announce a family time in Flounders Reef on the "Grand Cayman" aka At Sea day. I think this is in response to toddlers/infants not being allowed to use the pool for health reasons.
I hope you have found my long-winded observations informative and if you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them.
Cathy
THE FOOD
On each of the last 5 or 6 Guest Comment cards (please fill them out, DCL DOES read every one) I have said that a change in the menu is in order, especially since there are so many more repeat cruisers who may tire of the same menus. The good news is that changes are in the works to overhaul the menus. This trip I did try to have different entrees and appetizers this cruise, but since I am on Weight Watchers, I didn't eat a lot of dessert, and tried to have a lot of salads. For breakfast, we usually had the continental room service breakfast.
Overall, I enjoyed the dining room meals and lunch buffets much more than I have in the past. The biggest improvement was in the temperature of the meals when they arrived. Our servers, Fitz and Ferdi, were excellent, knowledgeable and very quick to serve, without the feeling that you were being rushed. The lunch buffets have a great selection for regular diners and also for those watching their weight. The Italian, Asian and Mexican themes were well received by all in our group.
PALO is the DON'T MISS for every cruise! We were on the ship by 12:30 and immediately went to make the reservations. This was done in Rockin' Bar D and there was an easel at the entrance with the themed dining nights and formal nights to assist you in making your choice of night to be at Palo's. It was well organized and I was able to get the first choice of nights for our dinner and the Champagne Brunch. I made the reservations for friends in other staterooms who were joining us for the brunch without any trouble. The Tea was sold out by the time I got there which I found odd.
The Brunch was, as always, outstanding! Be sure to pace yourself so that you can partake of as much of the fabulous offerings as you can. Our server, Mauritzio (who will soon be a Head Server in the regular dining room), is by far, the best server I have had on any cruise. He made a special pizza for us that included all of his favourites, which quickly became all of our favourites too! Mortadella, pesto, yellow squash, eggplant, yellow peppers, sundried tomatoes and the fabulous Bernini (sp?) cheese was a magnificent combination! And of course, no Champagne Brunch is complete for me without a Dessert Pizza!! To die for!! Needless to say we didn't eat a bite until our 8:30 dinner seating that night!
Our dinner at Palo (Wed. night) was a feast. My goal was to gain no more than 2 lbs on this cruise and I did exactly that.....probably all in this meal! We chose the special 100 Years of Magic Fess Parker Chardonnay, even though I prefer my Chardonnay fruity, as opposed to more of an oak taste, and this was an excellent wine. We had the salad special and had to have a Barbecued Chicken Pizza, in addition to the breads and dips. My husband had the Filet Mignon special and I had the Roasted Chicken (stuffed with vegetables, including Portabello mushrooms that made this the moistest and most delicious chicken I have ever had). Both entrees were wonderful. We should have stopped there, but no, Mauritzio had the Chocolate Souffle in the oven for us already. Out of curiosity, I asked what the frozen Cassata was (pistachio, like spumoni ice cream, but better!) and so Mauritzio insisted we try that AND the Tiramisu as well. My husband and I are not big Tiramisu fans, but let me tell you that there was nothing left on that plate, it was excellent! The waitstaff at Palo are the best on the ship and deserve to be tipped as such. It is easy to see how Palo was voted the best restaurant on any ship in the world!
SHOWS/ENTERTAINMENT
Having cruised so many times, I know a lot of the entertainment schedule, but I was very pleased to see some new additions. The Chip-It golf competition (which my husband won once) was so popular, there were 2 additional days of it. The Segway is a blast and so fun to try. The tours of the ship (Navigator Series) are very interesting, especially for Disney fans! The adult "game shows" are great fun and a lot of laughs. And the tireless Entertainment Staff are hilarious! From Bingo (where my daughter won twice, over $300.00!) to the dance lessons to themed nights in Rockin' Bar D, these young people excel at their job and themselves are really entertaining!
I have been very pleased to see how the shows have changed/improved. While "Hercules the Muse-ical" was never one of my favourites, I really like it now and the way the jokes have been made more "current". The Opening night Variety show was good, but the Farewell show was excellent! The comedian/magician/ventriloquist/juggler talent was outstanding. I have seen these performers before and still laughed as hard at some of the same material! And of course, the Charles Marshall Band is my favourite so I was thrilled to see them on board again.
"Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer?" was especially fun for us as I was chosen to be on the panel (tip: sit near the front and jump up and wave your arms)
and then my son was chosen to be be a Contestant!! He won $100 and got a special pin, and I got the special panelist pin.There were excellent movies shown on this cruise, including a "Prem-EAR at Sea" of Tuck Everlasting. "My Big, Fat Greek Wedding", "Sweet Home Alabama", "Signs" and for the kids, "Lilo & Stitch", "Spy Kids 2", "Monsters, Inc" and "Spirited Away". There were many showings of these movies and this was a popular activity, especially for families. At the first showing of Tuck Everlasting, the cast and dancers did a special "red carpet" lineup as autograph hunters, as they spotted "stars" (regular guests) coming in to watch and there were many bewidered children when they were asked to sign others' autograph books.
PORTS OF CALL:
Key West
The day was perfect, very warm and we spent our time shopping, while our husbands found the local golf course. It was much less to golf here than on Grand Cayman or Cozumel, especially in the off-season ($80-85 plus club rental). But my husband said that if you are going in peak season, the course is not worth the money. We stood near a dock and watched a local "feed the fish", it was very interesting to watch and incredible how fast they were. Be sure to attend the shopping excursion talk for a chance for prizes and lots of coupons. Everywhere we went, people said, don't miss the sunset and watch it from Mallory Square. We were game for this! It is a good idea to get there early, get something cold to drink and stake a prime viewing location. It truly is spectacular! There are "buskers" there to entertain. A very unusual man who has trained house cats and a fire-eater/unicycle rider. We didn't stay long enough or watch enough to "contribute" to the hat-passing. Asking, or rather trying to shame people into donating is in poor taste, in my opinion.
*There were weather issues that prevented us from going to Grand Cayman. I really was not that disappointed, I love being on the ship.
The Entertainment Crew were scrambling to reorganize the day to make it a day at sea and reprint the Personal Navigators when asked to do so. Free Sangria was offered at the deck party that night and we hightailed it to Cozumel. We arrived at 10:30 that night so those wishing to disembark and party could do so. This was at great expense to DCL as all 5 engines were needed to travel at such speed to get there, but the decision was made that for the guests to have this extra time in Cozumel, it was money well spent.Cozumel
We had just planned to "wing it" because we had booked the "Swimming with the Stingrays" for Grand Cayman, but when we were reimbursed for that we decided to do the Fury Catamarran excursion. This was the best shore excursion that I have ever done! The only downside is that DCL needs to be more organized in ensuring that folks have the proper paperwork and have it filled out to hand in immediately. A table at the entrance to the Walt Disney theatre would have accomplished that instead of having to announce it each time more people walked into the theatre. Once we got on our way, it was terrific. Since there were 200 people signed up, 2 large catamarrans (each hold 126), were used. The crew was organized, courteous and helpful. There was soda and water served before snorkelling, and beer and margaritas for the post-snorkelling trip to the beach. All water and ice was pre-filtered. Safety was definitely of the utmost importance as there seemed to be a lot of younger children on this excursion. I would recommend that if you have younger children who have not snorkelled before, and are even a little fearful of the water, this would not be the excursion for you. Even with their life vests to float them, the little ones were coming back on the boat as quickly as we were getting off. There was 45 minutes of snorkelling and then we went to a beach where other catamarrans would later come. There were lots of floats, kayaks, beach volleyball, hammocks and plenty of drinks once again. There were cheeseburger with cold salads meals for purchase ($7) and the burgers were huge and could easily be shared.
There was a photographer on the ship who posed the children and took pics of the families. These were developed while we were on the island and available for sale for $12 and she wasn't high pressure in selling them. They also sold Fury Catamarran T-shirts for $15 and these were a nice quality and a vibrant print, so I bought one.
The crew were a lot of fun, they served the drinks, danced with the guests and were very friendly. Remember when you do these excursions that if you are happy with the service and crew to show your appreciation with a tip as you disembark. All in all, we were on the catamarran for 2 hours, spent an hour at the beach and with the snorkelling, this was a 3 hour and 45 minute excursion.
Two of our friends decided to tour the island on their own and hired a taxi to do so. On the pier was a board with taxi prices, but not every taxi driver was anxious to do this. But they found one who spoke perfect English and had an air-conditioned van (name may have been Vuvuterda?) and for $80 they toured the island and the ruins for 2 hours. To tour just the island was $50 for 2 hours and to tour just the ruins was $60 for 2 hours. Where some of the organized tour buses would stop but not allow passengers off, this driver stopped and they could get out and explore a bit. To get to the ruins involved a lot of walking over a rocky path, but they said it was well worth it. There was a tour guide with brochures here. They also visited a turtle farm where they could hold the babies.
Castaway Cay
Always the highlight of my Disney cruise, this paradise never disappoints me! Our favourite spot is at the end of the family beach just before the path to the adult bar. It is close to restrooms, the float rentals and Grouper Pavillion (games). There are always lots of umbrellas to be found there as well.
THE SPA
I decided to try something different this time and instead of my "usual favourite", Absolute Facial and Body Treatment, I did the Ocean Wrap and it was the most relaxing thing I have done in my life! Highly recommend it! My husband and I both did the Metabolism Rate check and it was very interesting. My husband used the gym a lot and I walked the Promenade (a mile a day on deck 4) for my exercise.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
* Be sure to attend the Rebooking Presentation and talk to the Onboard Sales Manager of the benefits of rebooking on the ship. When we were on, there was a discount offered in addition to the Castaway Club onboard credit that is only available when you rebook on the ship. When you get home, it is too late to book it and get the credit. You can change the date if you have to and the cancellation policy is the same, so if you are thinking of rebooking, do so as early in the week as possible. The lines on Thursday and Friday were unbelievable! And of course, Dreams is happy to look after you once again if you do rebook!
* My 13 year old son is deaf and the services for the deaf have GREATLY improved. There were 2 theatrical interpreters for all of the shows (one of them helped my son when he made it to the hot seat for Mouseketeer) and the equipment he needed for the stateroom (smoke alarm, door knocker, bed shaker alarm and telephone for the deaf) were all set up in the room when we got there instead of me having to go to Guest Services (despite requesting it in advance) and having to set it up myself. One interpreter met us for the mandatory lifeboat drill to interpret for Patrick as well (I had done so in the past). Bravo to DCL for filling this void!
* I used Tiffany Town Car service for transportation for our party and as always, was very pleased. I use them and FL Tours for all of my Disney vacation transportation.
* We spent the night before the cruise at the Dolphin and as always, had a great room and great service.
* I believe I heard Jim, the Cruise Director, announce a family time in Flounders Reef on the "Grand Cayman" aka At Sea day. I think this is in response to toddlers/infants not being allowed to use the pool for health reasons.
I hope you have found my long-winded observations informative and if you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them.
Cathy
