A short review from 2 w/ NO KIDS!

[mrsfuzzmo]

Well, I had originally planned to write a full review, but have decided to just add my two cents worth on each of the subjects.

First of all, we are two 40 ish adults (married 3 yrs) no kids, well traveled and cruised now 12 times. Had, of course, great expectations for this cruise because I had spent so much time on these boards for the six months prior to our sailing on the Magic, March 27th, 2004.

The ship: Very nice. I really enjoyed the looks of the beat street area, the wood and all of the classic touches in the majority of the ship. Well layed out, elevators were rarely busy.

The Pools: I praised the big guy up above for the adult pool! The family pool and the kiddie pools were so mobbed that you couldn't even get a parent in there if you wanted. I mean absolutly mobbed. By day 2 the Goofy pool was so murky and dirty that you couldn't see goofy on the bottom. I wouldn't have gone in there if you paid me. The kiddie pool seemed cleaner, but of course we steered clear of that area. The adult pool was heaven sent. Wonderfully warm (about 85 degrees) and rarely busy. There was one major complaint that we, as well as about 20 others I talked to agreed on......the music. It was awful. I mean awful. We loved the music being played by the family pool, but we could only stand that area for about 10 minutes at a time. It was very very sad to hear the GREAT calypso band on board playing to a bunch of screaming kids, not paying any attention, when we adults who could have......and would have appreciated it got to listen to elevator music all day! They say the music is age specific, well, we are not 80, we love the fun upbeat stuff too! I can't explain how much this affected us on the sea days. BORING!!! We've always enjoyed the pool area on sea days, and this pool was so wonderful, but the music (MUZAK) was absolutey awful. ENough ranting. We did love the pool.

Food: Very mediocre. Dinners were small, and food was only great on two nights. All of the others, blah. We really like to eat, and enjoy many different kinds of food. We are not picky eaters either, but this was just average, and not much. The soup was about enough to feed a parakeet. Our servers were slow and not overly friendly. They rarely suggested anything, didn't get to know us in any way, and rarely did we get asked if we would like anything to drink. It really was some of the poorest dining experience we've had on all 12 cruises. Buffet was average. Breakfast was the same every day, lunch changed around a bit, but still eas average. We did, though, enjoy the Pizza, Burgers and Chicken strips at Pinoccios and plutos. Very good.

Entertainment: Disney shows were excellent. Disney Dreams was wonderful and Golden Mickeys was nice. Didn't get to Hercules or any others. The two we saw were great. The evening entertainment swayed from fun to lame. The 80s night was a blast, the Pub night was too late on the last night and we crashed before we could get there. Juggler, OK, Comedian, pretty good. I was VERY dissappointed with the "Sail - A- Way" parties as they were all the same, kids dancing on the pool, staff leading the dances. We could have had a wonderful time dancing and rockin out, but after the kids were done with their little dances, everyone left. I was looking forward to some fun and just didn't really get it.

Bar staff: Probably the highlight of the trip was the great bar staff that we met while trying to roust up a couple of fun people to dance or meet. PIO, KRISTIAN, HOPEMAN, DAVID and ADELA were all wonderful and we will probably keep in touch with a few of them.

Excursions will be in a different report.

Ports, (Excursion loaded, so we'll discuss that later).

Cabin: I don't know what other lines some of the posters have cruised on that said the rooms are larger than most afloat. NOT. Not smaller, exactly the same as the past 6 cruises we've sailed. Just nice, regular size rooms. Don't expect the world and you'll be fine.

Rainforest: Very dissapointed in that we got no instructions or anything, just a heres a locker key. We faked our way through it and liked it alright, but it should definitely NOT be an extra charge.
CABANA MASSAGES on Castaway Cay........HEAVENLY! The best I've had anywhere in the world! Absolutly fabulous. If you can snatch up a time slot.......Do it!!!

Palo: Did brunch and it was fantastic. This is the kind of food that is served on other cruise lines for dinner in the dining rooms. We were very happy with the brunch food, staff and atmosphere!

So, basically, we had a wonderful time with our friends, super time on the islands, great weather, but nothing that Disney did made this cruise any different than any other that we've gone on.
It was nice yes, Wonderful, MAgical, worth the extra cost? Definitly not.

For all those couples with no kids that want to cruise......choose another line. You'll read, "Youll never even see that many kids because the clubs keep them so busy." .............Yeah right! MOBs of kids. We'll definitely choose another line next time.

Any questions, I'll be glad to answer.

Mrsfuzzmo

 

[Leeannb11]

Mrsfuzzmo,
I enjoyed reading your report and while I loved our Disney cruise I would be interested in hearing your suggestions for another line. My husband would like to go by ourselves first and the next time we cruise with the whole family our kids will be 18, 16, 13 and 10. Any suggestions?

Lee Ann

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Welcome home!

DH and I are in our late 20s and early 30s (and don't have children) and the adult pool is one of our favorite areas. I'd have to agree about the music at Quiet Cove...terrible! I like when the Promenade Due make their way to Quiet Cove to sing. That was nice.

Out of three cruises, we had mediocre service twice. The first time they were all superb -- friendly, fun and great service. Second cruise they lacked friendliness but service was decent. Third time they had great personalities, but couldn't seem to get drinks in a timely manner -- when I was offered coffee or tea, it came so late after dessert and at times we were just never offered any. Hope we do better next time.

As for the kids...we've been on three Disney cruises (one of which was during Christmas) and never felt overwhelmed by kids.

Also, I'd have to agree...some of the friendliest and most fun people we meet onboard are the bartenders...we have our favorites, as well.

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

Thanks! It's such a drag to be back, but at least the weather here in WI has gotten up to the 60s. Not bad considering the morning of CC the weather was rainy, and 50s. We sure were glad it cleared up. I could have stayed on the ship for another week, but none of my clothes would have fit by the end. Yes folks, I gained a whopping 12 lbs!!!! I would think that has to be a record!

 

[Muushka]

Welcome home mrsfuzzmo. We got off the Magic on the 27th. Sounds like your seas were much kinder than ours.

We are also kidless 40ish couple. This was our first cruise. And while the weather is out of the control of Disney, we really did have a great cruise. We had nothing to compare it to though. Regarding some of your comments:

I thought it was just me that thought the food was not that great. I was dissapointed with several meals. A couple really stood out as great (2 regular dining rotation meals and of course, Palo) but the rest were just so-so. I found it strange that I really looked forward to that hotdog at Pluto's and found the rest of the 'special meals'at the dining rooms not so great.

I thought the food on CC was just ok also. The lobster burgers were mostly bread, not sure what the draw to these things are!
I swear I am not a picky eater- I love hotdogs for pity sake!

On the other hand, our servers were more than great. We gave hugs when we left on Sat AM, and over-tipped them the recommended (which is pretty good for frugal old me).

As far as the kiddos on board, I was pleasantly surprised at how we were kept separate from them. Dinner was great -LAPLAPL 2nd seating-great no-little-kiddos combo. Of course we ar used to vacationing at WDW, so we are always around kiddos when on vacation.

So, mrsfuzzmo, in conclusion, if I can get my husband on another cruise (30 foot seas can definately put a crimp in future plans on ships ) what cruise do you recommend?

 

[natdencro]

We, too, cruised on the Magic without children in March. We had our 4th week on the ship, and enjoyed it almost as much as the first time. Although we are not big eaters, we found the food excellent: due to medical reasons, I find it necessary to stick to basic food and our Server Tommy and Assistant Lisa were excellent - always managing to provide me with what I preferred.

Although we have cruised before, we still went to a few of the shows, and some of the other attractions: ice-carving/cake decorating, etc. - which were lovely.

The weather was good, and the seas were calm (except for one day). We enjoy the "at sea" days as much as the port days.

We have looked at other cruiselines for our next vacation - including "child free" cruises. Cant imagine how boring it would be NOT to see little ones' faces when the characters appear! Yes, they are certainly much cheaper (half the price), but just not sure I can face every morning without hearing the piped Disney music on the stairways!

We have spoken to many people who have cruised on other lines, and although they all were delighted with the ships, they still think - in general - that we were aboard the HAPPIEST ship! Guess Im just a big kid at heart! Nat

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

Muushka: I heard the week before us the seas were terrible (30 ft). One of the girls on board said that Thursday night was the worst she'd ever experienced! I was a little dissappointed that we had virtually no seas, but 30 ft is crazy!

I guess the cruise line that best suits us is NCL or RCCL. NCL, though has the freestyle dining instead of the regular dining rooms. I didn't think I'd ever go back to NCL just because of that, but with the "lameness" of our dining on Disney, I think now I would love it. I haven't cruised NCL since they switched. I hear people love it or they hate it. We really had unsociable "table partners" who sent EVERYTHING back (poor Oliver) and complained constantly about everything! I would have loved to have switched to a different restaurant each night with different servers. Ours weren't bad, just nothing special. I'm even suprised I remember Olivers name. While the next table had a riot at dinner. They were laughing their pants off the entire dinner. They had great dining staff! I was definitely jealous!

We've always had great servers on NCL and RCCL (exceptional on RCCL). But I guess it all depends!

The shows are not the same on other lines as Disney. Comedians are funnier as they are geared more to adults. The Disney "production numbers" were great, excellent actually. On other lines, you'll get more of a variety of acts. Some las Vegas type reviews, some broadway musicals, some "Carol Burnett" type comedy shows. Just a wide variety. I have also had so much more fun at night with the "piano Bars" "Discos" and "Pubs". You can imagine our dissapointment when we settled into to diversions for a couple of cocktails and nice chatter, when we were overrun with families and kids there for the overflow viewing of the ventriloquist/comedian in the Rockin D bar. They were so full that they put the guy on the screens in the sports bar and there were kids eveywhere!

Another think that is far superior on other lines is their "Midnight Buffets" and Deck Parties! I missed the "Dollar Dance", electric slide and chachaslide along with the limbo/conga lines and all the adults having a great time under the night sky. I wished DCL would do a night time party with the great calypso band up on deck. No Luck.

As far as ships, DCL Magic was beautiful. NCL is very nice as is RCCL. Carnival and Celebrity. Haven't done Princess or HAL. You need to sail on newer ships and the quality of decor is very similar. Older ships can get, well, old. If you arent' asking for the world, try an older ship. I prefer them. Love the wood teak decks, promenade decks (which many ships don't even have anymore). I loved Deck 4 chairs on the Magic. You won't find many ships with those anymore.

So for Rooms: Almost all are the same, Some bigger than others on each ship. Nightlife: Carnival, NCL or RCCL. Ports: Depends. Ship sponsored shore excursions: Carnival Rocks. Food: NCL By far the best. Nightlife: Carnival (Wild), Celebrity & NCL (Fun & great variety), RCCL (Big productions).

Hope this answers some of your questions!

Mrsfuzzmo

 

[Muushka]

Mrsfuzzmo, you rock! Thank you so much for taking the time to give us all of that great info. And the really surprising thing is when I read your post to my husband he said that yes, we probably would try another cruise!! I guess those 30 ft waves didn't dampen his sailing spirit! Thanks again.

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

Bon Voyage Muushka and Happy sailing! Let us know what you choose, or if you have any other questions, don't hesitate!

Mrsfuzzmo

 

[BriDub]

Great information here!
We are in our 30's with a 5 and 8 year old. We traveled with my wifes parents (late 50's) and they did not enjoy it nearly as much as we did.
We are from California, and this was the first cruise to the Carribean. We have gone to Mexico several times on Carnival. Carnival is a blast...but not nearly as clean as Disney. Disney is very Disney....clean and family oriented.
We upgraded to the one bedroom suite (Cat. 3) for us and the kids. It was so nice, and when you upgrade you get free concierge service. We had two people at our beckon call ready to do anything that we asked. The room was incredible. It was basically three times the size of a normal room, with a balcony that was also three times wider than normal. We had the room right behind the Roy Disney suite. Never be afraid to ask your travel agent for upgrades. We got this room at a very reasonable rate....if you consider a Disney cruise reasonable.
I have to agree that the food was just okay. I was very disappointed with the desert buffet that they had. It was just a bunch of regular deserts. The other thing that I was not happy with that the cost of drinks. I know cruises make some good money on their drinks...but we bought re-fillable cups for each of us that could be filled with soda for no extra cost at any time. They were only $75 each! 3 bills for my diet soda fix was a bit much! If you can stand to drink punch and iced tea for a week you will get out a lot cheaper....its free!

All in all, we loved the cruise....but we have kids. Our kids spent a ton of time in the kids clubs, so we saw little of them on board the ship. We just booked another cruise for Feb. 2005, so obviously we were impressed enough to go again.

I forgot to mention that I was REALLY dissapointed with the ports. Castaway Cay was a lot of fun, but I was expecting very tropical and lush environment....but it seemed a little more like Tijuana Mexico to me.

Well I don't know how helpful any of this is....but you got my two cents worth I guess!

 

[HLFDZN]

Don't get me wrong, I had a great time on my Disney cruise. We sailed the Wonder over our spring break. My kids had a fabulous time.

I did not "feel the love" from our servers at all. In fact I almost felt hostility since all of my children were not there for dinner the first night. They all LOVED the clubs and wanted to stay in them. Plus they are not used to eating late and we had 2nd dining after everyone saying how great it is not to have to rush back form excursions.

I got the feeling they were concerned that I would not tip for all the people in the party. I certainly did tip the full amount and then some for our server, but that slow asst server only got the reccomended amount no more no less. He was awful!!!! Drinks came way after the main dish was served and forget coffee at desert, they wanted us to get out of there, people were leaving and bussing and our servers were standing around toe tapping. perhaps if they ahd brought our food faster we could have eaten faster and left.

They really made me feel bad that my kids were not there. I had to justify it every night. In my past experience of cruising on another line, our server joked and laughed with us about us missing dinner..he asked his head server to call us and make sure we were ok. That was fine in my book, but not making me feel bad that they weren't there.

The quality of the food is so/so also....much better food on other lines. I will give them credit for catering to kids. The chicken strips were awesome and so were the burgers. I missed the lobster....the lobster burger was the closest I saw to it besides the pasta with little tiny rock lobsters in it.

While I am venting, I want to know why with 6 kids, only ONE of my children was photgraphed candidly. They spent most of their time in the clubs and the clubs took pictures but did not offer them for sale. My kids were not hiding in their rooms. I was very dissapointed in that.

All in all the kids had a great time and hubby and I loved Dueling pianos and the peace of knowing the kids were well taken care of. I do think for the money we spent however, we could have done a 7 day somewhere.

One thing I think they really did up great was the shows. I thoroughly enjoyed the shows.

Melissa

 

[BriDub]

I just re-read my post...... When I said that I expected it to be much more lush and tropical, I was talking about St Marteen and St Thomas. I thought that those stops were terrible. We had fun there and got some good shopping deals, but it was certainly not what I expected.

Our servers at dinner were very friendly. We had late seating as well, and that was tough for the kids. It seems that the cruise caters more to the people going to early dinner. On most cruises that I have been on there are two shows each night. One after the early seating and one after the late seating. Disney only did one show each night, so we had to go to any of the shows that we wanted to see before dinner. The sidewalks were all rolled up by the time we were out of dinner. We have requested early seating for our next trip. I think our kids only ate with us two or three times but we never felt any pressure from our waiter and server.

 

[HLFDZN]

It is nice to be able to post an opinion and not get flamed.

I guess after eveyone raving about their serveers I was really disapointed in ours. Nobody got "nothing " for dessert although several ordered it. The kids got grief for not coming to dinner the first night and then didn't want to come again.

I also really felt rushed at dessert time. I can't just eat and leave. and I felt like they wanted us OUT. Oh well......It was fun anyway.

Melissa

 

[zalansky]

I agree with some of the things here. We have sailed Disney twice, once as a couple without kids in April 2002 and then again with our then 9 month old son and friends in September 2003. Our first time was definitely the best, but that could have been because everything was so new to us since it was our first DCL sailing. With the baby, it was hard because we had to work everything around his schedule. We did use Flounders a few times. only during dinner so we could actually eat and he was fine, though we worried incessantly. On our 2nd sailing, our servers were just okay. When childless, we really enjoyed all of the adult only areas and found them relaxing, muzak and all!

We just sailed this past February on RCCL's Mariner of the Seas for a week, a family reunion cruise. The ship was simply amazing. The food mediocre. Our dining room staff, TERRIBLE, no personality at all. Except of course for our drink server. LOL. He was a great guy. The rest of the staff was great too. Not a good cruise to take with children under 4....there is no nursery. Only in room babysitting and that was out. Never. We had to pay full fare for our baby to sail, $500 plus taxes. That made me so annoyed but I had to do it because of the family reunion. This ship is great for teens.

We cruised Princess for our honeymoon. I got sick so that put a damper on the trip. OUr tablemates were very nice but were all over age 50 (we were 30 at the time). Nothing wrong with the over age 50 group, just would have enjoyed being with people our age on our honeymoon. The food was very good....but I felt this cruiseline was more suited to the older age groups.

We will stick with DCL more than likely until the kids get older, kids being the one we have now and the one we plan to try for this summer! It is just more suited for our lifestyle, we are not big gamblers and we want our babies happy! Plus, we love the Disney feeling, that Magic you feel when you pull into port and just see the ship sitting there..some of you know what I mean....

 

[purplebelle]

I agree with Zalanky. I went on a cruise with RCCL 5 years ago when I was 15 on that exact ship, Mariner of the Seas. They had a teen room where we all would meet every night (good times). I also went on another RCCL cruise (Enchantment) and it was just as wonderful. I've never done any other cruise lines, and I still have a hard time picturing what Disney would be like on a cruise ship...

 

[sters]

Originally posted by HLFDZN
It is nice to be able to post an opinion and not get flamed.

We want to hear the bad as well as the good!! Why would anyone flame you for that? I'm planning my first ever cruise and being the uber-planner that I am, I'd like to know what to realistically expect. If my expectations are raised too high, I will not enjoy myself. (I'd like to hear more details on these boards about what to expect in port.)