disneymagicgirl
Been there, Done that, Going back!
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2005
- Messages
- 10,535
Just back and I wanted to share my 2 cents worth, esp since I relied so heavily on other people's reports prior to my trip!
We sailed a 7 nt E. Carib with Tortola on 9/12.
It was supposed to be our wedding cruise, with our wedding being in St. Thomas on Magen's Bay. However, that fell thru due to DF's controlling family...dont get me started!
We are getting married in Charleston in the spring instead...
Cast: myself and my fiance, with our 18 mth old son (DD10 stayed home with her grandma so she wouldnt have a ton of make up work at school- her decision!) My best friend, her fiance, and my fiance's mother and step father were also there.
Dining: Breakfast was usually at PC or Topsiders and was good...but got old by the end of the week. We had a late seating for dinner, therefore ate breakfast and lunch late. The problem was that TS and PC close for lunch rather early...2pm I believe it was...so we always missed out on it. We ended up having to eat from the quick counter service places everyday for lunch. It was OK food, but not something you want for lunch 7 days straight. This was frustrating. I believe they should stay open until 3 or 4 pm for lunch at Topsiders for the late dinner folks. I thought the food on CC at lunch was fantastic! Best lunch meal I had! Our dining room team was wonderful! Didnt care so much for PC for dinner.
Stateroom: Got free upgrade from cat 12 to cat 9...obviously no complaints there! Our host was wonderful. There was mildew in the shower, however. I would expect better. We were directly under Sessions piano lounge, room 2012, so it was quite loud until midnight. Also, the thrusters woke us up early on port mornings, but I had already read about that, so I was not suprised.
Tortola: Were planning on doing the Baths on our own, but DS was sick for a good bit of the cruise, so we stayed in Tortola. Took a safari bus to Cane Garden Bay and hung out on the beach. There was a restaurant and bathrooms there also. $6 pp each way, didnt charge for the baby. Basically the same as the Disney excursion with the island tour and beach break, only a LOT cheaper.
St. Thomas: shopped a bit right off the pier, spend an hour or 2 at Magens Bay ($8 per person each way, not charged for baby), and took the skyride up to the top for an over priced lunch.
Castaway Cay: Loved it! Only complaint was that the strollers/wagons were about 1/2 mile from the boat in the morning! Plenty of chairs with umbrellas and even hammocks available on the family beach. Food was great, but would have to suggest that they add fans inside the pavilions where all the picnic tables are to eat lunch. It was HOT and smokey! Would have like to skip the other ports and spend all 3 land days at CC!
Shows: We only made it to the first 2 nights. DS sat through them for a little while, but did not last for the whole thing. Part of the problem is that he was tired by that time of the evening, and already starting to not feel well. Some less-active little ones may be entertained for the whole hour, but not our little guy. He wont sit still for quite that long.
Flounders: The counselors were very nice, but it never seemed like the kids were doing anything but sitting around. Maybe there was more going on in the back room that I didnt witness. Our son was sick a good bit of the time
, so we ended up not using Flounders as much as we had planned. When we did use it he screamed when we dropped him off. Could have just been his age or the fact that he doesnt go to daycare at home, but it made me too nervous to enjoy myself when he was there.
In regards to toddlers: We will not sail again until our children are all 3 or older. There was really NOTHING to do with a toddler. They are at a very busy age and on the very long sea days it was miserable. You are allowed to take them to the Oceaneers club to play on the soft slide, etc, if you stay with them, but there is nothing really to do there. It lasted about 20 minutes and he was ready to go. The splash area was a good effort, since Disney is the only cruise line to have one at all. But he had a great time the first day, and then quickly lost interest. We had even taken water toys with us. I understand that it is not Disney's rule that they have to be potty trained to go in the pools, but it stinks!
Anderson LOVED the character interaction! That was the absolute best part of his/our trip! He just couldnt get enough of them...and they were always out and about!
The little bit of time we did get to spend at the adult pool was nice, but there were not any loungers in the shade available. The shallow part of the pool was nice to sit in, however.
We cancelled our Palo dinner due to DS having a fever, so I have no review on that.
Debarkation went smoothly.
All in all, we had some enjoyable moments, but did not rebook onboard. We would like to cruise again, but not until the kids are old enough to swim and go to the kids clubs. That is about 3 1/2 yrs for us. Looking foward to giving it another try...
I would suggest maybe a 3 or 4 day cruise if you are set on traveling with a toddler. That way, there are not so many days at sea. Port days were OK, but sea days were almost unbearable! We have traveled a good bit with our son since he was born, including 9 days at Disney this past April. That was no problem. Keeping him entertained on a ship, however, was a whole different story.
Hope this helps someone out there!
We sailed a 7 nt E. Carib with Tortola on 9/12.
It was supposed to be our wedding cruise, with our wedding being in St. Thomas on Magen's Bay. However, that fell thru due to DF's controlling family...dont get me started!
We are getting married in Charleston in the spring instead...Cast: myself and my fiance, with our 18 mth old son (DD10 stayed home with her grandma so she wouldnt have a ton of make up work at school- her decision!) My best friend, her fiance, and my fiance's mother and step father were also there.
Dining: Breakfast was usually at PC or Topsiders and was good...but got old by the end of the week. We had a late seating for dinner, therefore ate breakfast and lunch late. The problem was that TS and PC close for lunch rather early...2pm I believe it was...so we always missed out on it. We ended up having to eat from the quick counter service places everyday for lunch. It was OK food, but not something you want for lunch 7 days straight. This was frustrating. I believe they should stay open until 3 or 4 pm for lunch at Topsiders for the late dinner folks. I thought the food on CC at lunch was fantastic! Best lunch meal I had! Our dining room team was wonderful! Didnt care so much for PC for dinner.
Stateroom: Got free upgrade from cat 12 to cat 9...obviously no complaints there! Our host was wonderful. There was mildew in the shower, however. I would expect better. We were directly under Sessions piano lounge, room 2012, so it was quite loud until midnight. Also, the thrusters woke us up early on port mornings, but I had already read about that, so I was not suprised.
Tortola: Were planning on doing the Baths on our own, but DS was sick for a good bit of the cruise, so we stayed in Tortola. Took a safari bus to Cane Garden Bay and hung out on the beach. There was a restaurant and bathrooms there also. $6 pp each way, didnt charge for the baby. Basically the same as the Disney excursion with the island tour and beach break, only a LOT cheaper.
St. Thomas: shopped a bit right off the pier, spend an hour or 2 at Magens Bay ($8 per person each way, not charged for baby), and took the skyride up to the top for an over priced lunch.
Castaway Cay: Loved it! Only complaint was that the strollers/wagons were about 1/2 mile from the boat in the morning! Plenty of chairs with umbrellas and even hammocks available on the family beach. Food was great, but would have to suggest that they add fans inside the pavilions where all the picnic tables are to eat lunch. It was HOT and smokey! Would have like to skip the other ports and spend all 3 land days at CC!
Shows: We only made it to the first 2 nights. DS sat through them for a little while, but did not last for the whole thing. Part of the problem is that he was tired by that time of the evening, and already starting to not feel well. Some less-active little ones may be entertained for the whole hour, but not our little guy. He wont sit still for quite that long.
Flounders: The counselors were very nice, but it never seemed like the kids were doing anything but sitting around. Maybe there was more going on in the back room that I didnt witness. Our son was sick a good bit of the time
, so we ended up not using Flounders as much as we had planned. When we did use it he screamed when we dropped him off. Could have just been his age or the fact that he doesnt go to daycare at home, but it made me too nervous to enjoy myself when he was there.In regards to toddlers: We will not sail again until our children are all 3 or older. There was really NOTHING to do with a toddler. They are at a very busy age and on the very long sea days it was miserable. You are allowed to take them to the Oceaneers club to play on the soft slide, etc, if you stay with them, but there is nothing really to do there. It lasted about 20 minutes and he was ready to go. The splash area was a good effort, since Disney is the only cruise line to have one at all. But he had a great time the first day, and then quickly lost interest. We had even taken water toys with us. I understand that it is not Disney's rule that they have to be potty trained to go in the pools, but it stinks!
Anderson LOVED the character interaction! That was the absolute best part of his/our trip! He just couldnt get enough of them...and they were always out and about!The little bit of time we did get to spend at the adult pool was nice, but there were not any loungers in the shade available. The shallow part of the pool was nice to sit in, however.
We cancelled our Palo dinner due to DS having a fever
, so I have no review on that. Debarkation went smoothly.
All in all, we had some enjoyable moments, but did not rebook onboard. We would like to cruise again, but not until the kids are old enough to swim and go to the kids clubs. That is about 3 1/2 yrs for us. Looking foward to giving it another try...
I would suggest maybe a 3 or 4 day cruise if you are set on traveling with a toddler. That way, there are not so many days at sea. Port days were OK, but sea days were almost unbearable! We have traveled a good bit with our son since he was born, including 9 days at Disney this past April. That was no problem. Keeping him entertained on a ship, however, was a whole different story.
Hope this helps someone out there!
