April 2, 2005 Magic-First DCL cruise-anyone going?

[anlashokna]

Weird things everywhere...WI and twisters..never would have put the two words together. Had em last week, storms developed out of the blue and had all the spotters and radio operators hopping. ! Ominous start to summer...if you can call the cool weather we're having summer. Suppose to get closer to 80 for the 4th of July weekend..finally.....warmth.... oh and now a midwest earthquake felt all the way up here..what the ???

I involved in a discussion on another board, has anyone here ever up and left a sitdown dinner? I still think two hours for a meal is just way too long and I keep thinking who knows how seas and me are going to agree. May not even make it through appetizers. ::shrugs:: looking at the worst hoping for the best
Also anyone know how they seat us poor singletons? With large groups or other loners?

I could probably do 101 questions to keep this thread afloat

Stacey

 

[mousecrazy]

Two hours for dinner with a three year old for seven days...those waiters better be good. ha I'm going to take the advice from another thread and not worry over the dinners - i.e. getting ready on time (so what if we miss a meal in the dining room and eat a piece of pizza by the pool...doesn't sound that bad to me), leaving early because of fussy kids, etc. I'm sure the servers have experienced it all. Stacey, hopefully your tablemates will make your two hours worth your time!

We've been experiencing some weird weather here in Ea. Washington too. Lots of thunder and lightning, big rains...usually don't get anything like this until later in the summer. And it's been hotter than usual for late June (90s when it should be upper 70s). Not that I'm complaining about the warm weather!

P.S. Thanks for the welcome...glad to 'meet' all of you too!

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

My then 6 year DS first fell asleep then felt sick when we had our first dinner in Animators Palette that first night. So I packed him up and we left before desert. Actually we found that the dinners went faster than you'd think. Not too much time just sitting there. We also had very entertaining waiters - did magic tricks and all kinds of things. One was from Vancouver BC - so we talked alot about the North West. He was going home soon with his girl friend - also on the ship - who was "very close" to Mickey

I took Meclazine the whole time and only had problems one night - when the seas had over 40 foot swells with gale force winds.

I'd just suggest that if you plan to skip meals at least let your waiter know ahead of time. That way they aren't holding up dinner for the rest of your tablemates - waiting for you. They do try to serve everyone at the same time.

 

[RachelTori]

From what I've heard, they'll try to put single cruisers with another single cruiser or 2 at a small table. You can also make requests to make sure you're seated with a small group. When we cruised April 2003, we had met a family on these boards and got to know them thru private emails and phone calls. We had so much in common and hit it off so well that we "linked" our reservations and by doing that, we got a table together (7 of us).

BriarfoxinWA's right - the dinners (especially the early seating) are less than 2 hours. They're extremely efficient at getting to know you and your likes. By the 2nd night, we didn't even have to request our beverages - they were there waiting for us!!

You can always opt for room service if you don't feel like eating in the dining room. But it is always best to let your servers know if you won't be there (Palo ressies that night or room service or whatever) because they will wait before serving the others at your table, just in case you're running a few minutes late.

 

[anlashokna]

After a day of sheer panicking after hearing the national news and finally realizing my father has been out of the army long enough where the likelihood of involuntary recall has probably put him down toward the end of any such lists I can breath and think happy disney thoughts again.

So back to the dining question...

There's another good question. How do you let your waiters know? I really gave up on planning things like meals on trips after my last go around at disneyworld. Went to all the trouble of making reservations and found I wasn't hungry or was not interested in going back to a hotel or park for dinner. Only made a handful of meals over the duration of my stay.

In the case of DCL do you just call the restaurant from your cabin ahead of time or can I just tell the waiters if I'm not there early or right on the hour don't expect me?

Now see that was something I would not even of thought of..would hate to inconvience (hang up) someone elses dinner.

I love watching the countdown clock get smaller.


Stacey

 

[RachelTori]

Anlashokna, You can do what works best for you. If on the 1st night, you tell them "if I'm not here by (X:XX), I'm probably not coming." Your servers will make a real effort to get to know you, your likes and dislikes. You can call the dining room and leave a message that you won't be dining that evening.

It's really a fun experience though! You'll learn your dining rotation when you check in. We had APLAPLA which was 3 nights of Animators Palate, 2 nights of Parrot Cay, and 2 nights at Lumiere's.

Did you request early seating or the later one?

Laura

 

[anlashokna]

I chose the later one because supposedly less children and if I eat during the day I normally not hungry till later anyway.

Stacey

 

[RachelTori]

Originally posted by anlashokna
I chose the later one because supposedly less children and if I eat during the day I normally not hungry till later anyway.

Stacey

You're right - the younger kids, especially, are usually at the earlier seating. As we get within 60 days of our cruise, you can call DCL and make your wishes known about tablemates. They never guarantee things, of course, but they always do their best to accommodate your requests.

 

[greytlady]

We had the second dining on this May's Wonder and liked having the show first and dinner 2nd so much that I changed April's cruise from 1st to 2nd preference. Dinner did last until a little after 10p each night. I have a DD11 and DS10 and they were the only kids at our table. We had 3 families/couples (8 people total) at our table. After the kids finished eating, I did let them leave to go play at the Lab. I had no problems with that since they were among adults that did all the talking and they wanted to go play with their new friends. The only drawback to eating late was I got used to that schedule once I was off the cruise and had to adjust back. But I never felt rushed to get ready for dinner.

 

[mousecrazy]

Just wondering if any one has an idea if this cruise will sell out or close to? If so, will is 'feel' crowded?

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

Our cruise in April 2003 was sold out. The only time it ever felt even remotely "Crowded" was on the formal and semi-formal nights. There are several locations for photos to be take with the charater's and this caused some long lines to form in the Atrium.

I would expect this cruise to be sold out too. There were many people from Chicago on our April '03 cruise since their spring break fell on that week.

 

[RachelTori]

There will be lots of metro Atlanta families too since that's our Spring Break week! Our cruise in April 2003 was sold out also and there were very few times when it felt crowded. We especially enjoyed Deck 4 - you can walk completely around the ship (most of it outdoors!); there's shuffleboard out there and lounge chairs too and it never felt crowded. There's a "secret deck" where you can go to lounge or read. Very peaceful there.

 

[mousecrazy]

Thanks for the replies. Were the lines for character pics on semi-formal and formal nights because the characters are dressed up too? If so, any tips on how to avoid a long line?

 

[anlashokna]

Are you sure that's spring break week? I've noticed a lot of earlier breaks next year do to Easter being at the end of March? The vacation rentals are calling it non peak for that and the following week.

Stacey

 

[mousecrazy]

Spring break in our neck of the woods (Eastern Washington) is the week of April 4...can't speak for the rest of the country.

 

[RachelTori]

Our County in Metro Atlanta always has Spring Break the 1st week of April - no matter when Easter is. Lots of other large school systems in Georgia do that too. The ship will be full no matter what week in April it is. Don't worry about it though - DCL runs so efficiently you won't 'feel crowded'!! There are rude people everywhere, but I have to say, I saw less of them on our Disney Magic cruise than I ever have any place else!!

Laura

 

[anlashokna]

RachelTori..hope you're enjoying the Wilderness Lodge. If you're eat at Whispering Canyon hope you remembered to ask for Ketchup! my case it was straws


Has anyone been able to figure out if the cruise is sold out?

Not so much worried about spring breakers on the boat..just thinking the week following at how bad WDW might be. Still would have liked to have gone in November (fell in love with the week over veterans day, so few crowds and just gorgeous weather ). Hopefully early April won't be to bad.

I guess a good way to find out what to do is to ask all the veteran cruisers...what's your favorite thing to do onboard ?

Stacey

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

Our favorite thing...We had a great time playing Bingo - unfortunately we never won anything...maybe our luck next year will be better!

 

[RachelTori]

Hi, everyone! We're back from Wilderness Lodge. Had a great week. Hot & humid; the parks were crowded, but we've seen it worse. WL was beautiful. We enjoyed WCC, had fun watching others ask for and receive ketchup(s)!!

Anlashokna, I doubt the cruise is "sold out" but it's probably pretty full and may sell out in the coming months. The parks in April will be busy but not as bad as summer and certainly the temp will be much more comfortable! We've been during April spring breaks and really enjoy that time of year there. Be sure to get involved on the disboard threads for the resorts, theme parks, disney tips, and budget board. I always find useful info there!

One of our favorite things to do on the Magic was Deck 4 and Decks 9 & 10. We loved being outside while at sea; the air was clean, the water and sky magnificent. We enjoyed being out on our verandah also, but that area is much more closed in. We enjoyed being outside with other passengers. This cruise, we decided it wasn't worth the extra $$ for the verandah since we'll spend so little time on it anyway. (It was a good experience though and I'm glad we tried the verandah.)

Another favorite thing: the shows. Every night something different and they were all wonderful!

As we get closer to cruise date, hopefully, we can get a look at the Navigators (the daily activity sheets that are distributed on the ship). That will give us all a pretty good idea of what shows on which nights plus other events going on during the cruise.

Laura

 

[cwf1028]

Glad you had a good time! When we took our girls a couple of years ago, we decided they would not be able to handle the heat of the summer so we took them in January. Florida was having it's first freeze warning in a decade and we were there at the parks freezing with the rest of FL. I think the highs were in the 50s (in the sun, when the wind was not blowing). It was cold, but still better than the heat I guess.
We don't have a veranda either. I actually decided not to have a porthole either. My youngest is very sensitive to the sun in the morning and as soon as she sees daylight, no one else sleeps. Hopefully we will get some sleep when she can't tell if it is morning or night! We are all getting very excited about the cruise!