August 7, 2004 Magic...who's going?
- Thread starter gometros
- Start date
charles1011
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2003
- Messages
- 11
Greetings Everyone,
I joined this thread a long time ago and then became a lurker as time went by. We were doing our own family reunion thing on the cruise (there were 13 of us) so I just read the advice from the rest of you.
This was my first Disney cruise. I have been on three other cruise lines (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Crystal). The Disney experience was comparable to the others with two notable exceptions -- food and debarkation procedures.
While I have no complaints about the quality of the food (it was good enough for me), the food in the regular restaurants (regular means everything except Palo) was not as good as the food in the regular restaurants of other cruise lines. On the other hand, the food in Palo is comparable to the best food on any ship or any restaurant I have patronized. We were able to get a reservation for 10 and were absolutely spoiled by the food and the service.
What is the "normal" debarkation process at Disney? I recognize that my namesake (Hurricane Charley) seriously disrupted all of the usual processes, but even without the hurricane, I didn't see any scheduling associated with exiting the ship. Do they normally send 2700 people off the ship at the same tme?
Up until that Saturday morning, we had a fabulous time on the cruise. The shows, the bars, the silliness (my brothers, sister-in-law, and nephew were recruited for one of the skits in the adult Golden Mickey after party), the games (our family specialized in coming in 2nd in most of the trivia contests), the spa, the Bingo, etc. -- they were all great. "The Walk the Plank" game was perhaps a little too silly, but we actually "won" that one. I don't have a St. Thomas complaint because we didn't snorkel in St. Thomas (or St. John) because we signed up for shore excursions too late. We did the Water Island bike ride and had a great time.
In San Juan, we had arranged a private tour, because we were going to the other end of the island to see what remained of the Air Force Base and our old house. It had nothing to do with Disney, but it was a success, nonetheless.
On Castaway Cay, the high winds made the snorkeling conditions poor and it delayed the hair braiding, so the members of our group (who had reservations) were thrown off schedule. That was annoying in a small way. After reading this thread, I was expecting a magical experience from the Konch Koolers, but mine was pretty watered-down. On the other hand, the Tropical Depression, which looks like grape Koolaid and destroys enough brain cells so you can only act like a kid, was very potent (and magical).
All of my major complaints are related to that last morning. Some of our group were flying with DCL selected transfers and flights -- others were separately arranged. I had arranged my own flights and transfers using FLTOURS (based on this website). Kudos to FLTOURS -- they were great. When we finally got of the ship, they were waiting for us. Saturday morning, I called my airline and was told that my flight out of Orlando was cancelled. The next soonest available flight out of Orlando would be Tuesday. If I was willing to fly out of Miami, then I could leave Sunday morning. I booked the flight and booked a rental car at the Orlando airport. Done. We had some small adventures driving from Orlando to Miami, but nothing terribly distressing.
For those on DCL arranged travel, they were told that their flights were delayed. No one helped to reschedule their flights. No one coordinated any problem solving for them. They just got dumped at the airport. One brother got "lucky" and ended up on an evening flight that eventually left him in Salt Lake City. The following morning he flew the last leg of his flight. Another brother spent the night in Orlando; drove the following day to Atlanta; then flew to the west coast and finally got home around 2 am Monday morning.
I am very sympathetic to those people who were affected by the hurricane. I have lived in communities that have had to recover from tornados, flooding, and earthquakes. (It wasn't all in the same place. These were all different communities. And, it covers a lot of years. It's not like plague and pestilence follow me around, even if the hurricane was named after me.)
Here's what I think Disney should have done:
1. While we were waiting, instead of showing the Olympics Opening ceremonies (repeatedly), they should have given us local news on the impact of the hurricane. I understand the need to get everyone out of their stateroom -- we were good sports, we waited in the Disney Theatre -- but give us useful information on what is waiting for us outside.
2. While Orlando was hurricane damaged, surely the airlines (primarily Delta) have reservation centers outside of Orlando who could be busy re-assigning people to new flights. If Delta was unwilling to provide someone to coordinate people at the airport, Disney should have supplied personnel. Disney sells it as a complete service -- check your bags at the port -- and when there are natural disasters they should step up and help their customers.
Sorry for the rant at the end. I want to thank all of you for posts prior to the cruise. They were very helpful and informative.
For those you still cleaning up after the hurricane, you are in my prayers.
Good luck,
Charles (aka "Hurricane Charley")
I joined this thread a long time ago and then became a lurker as time went by. We were doing our own family reunion thing on the cruise (there were 13 of us) so I just read the advice from the rest of you.
This was my first Disney cruise. I have been on three other cruise lines (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Crystal). The Disney experience was comparable to the others with two notable exceptions -- food and debarkation procedures.
While I have no complaints about the quality of the food (it was good enough for me), the food in the regular restaurants (regular means everything except Palo) was not as good as the food in the regular restaurants of other cruise lines. On the other hand, the food in Palo is comparable to the best food on any ship or any restaurant I have patronized. We were able to get a reservation for 10 and were absolutely spoiled by the food and the service.
What is the "normal" debarkation process at Disney? I recognize that my namesake (Hurricane Charley) seriously disrupted all of the usual processes, but even without the hurricane, I didn't see any scheduling associated with exiting the ship. Do they normally send 2700 people off the ship at the same tme?
Up until that Saturday morning, we had a fabulous time on the cruise. The shows, the bars, the silliness (my brothers, sister-in-law, and nephew were recruited for one of the skits in the adult Golden Mickey after party), the games (our family specialized in coming in 2nd in most of the trivia contests), the spa, the Bingo, etc. -- they were all great. "The Walk the Plank" game was perhaps a little too silly, but we actually "won" that one. I don't have a St. Thomas complaint because we didn't snorkel in St. Thomas (or St. John) because we signed up for shore excursions too late. We did the Water Island bike ride and had a great time.
In San Juan, we had arranged a private tour, because we were going to the other end of the island to see what remained of the Air Force Base and our old house. It had nothing to do with Disney, but it was a success, nonetheless.
On Castaway Cay, the high winds made the snorkeling conditions poor and it delayed the hair braiding, so the members of our group (who had reservations) were thrown off schedule. That was annoying in a small way. After reading this thread, I was expecting a magical experience from the Konch Koolers, but mine was pretty watered-down. On the other hand, the Tropical Depression, which looks like grape Koolaid and destroys enough brain cells so you can only act like a kid, was very potent (and magical).
All of my major complaints are related to that last morning. Some of our group were flying with DCL selected transfers and flights -- others were separately arranged. I had arranged my own flights and transfers using FLTOURS (based on this website). Kudos to FLTOURS -- they were great. When we finally got of the ship, they were waiting for us. Saturday morning, I called my airline and was told that my flight out of Orlando was cancelled. The next soonest available flight out of Orlando would be Tuesday. If I was willing to fly out of Miami, then I could leave Sunday morning. I booked the flight and booked a rental car at the Orlando airport. Done. We had some small adventures driving from Orlando to Miami, but nothing terribly distressing.
For those on DCL arranged travel, they were told that their flights were delayed. No one helped to reschedule their flights. No one coordinated any problem solving for them. They just got dumped at the airport. One brother got "lucky" and ended up on an evening flight that eventually left him in Salt Lake City. The following morning he flew the last leg of his flight. Another brother spent the night in Orlando; drove the following day to Atlanta; then flew to the west coast and finally got home around 2 am Monday morning.
I am very sympathetic to those people who were affected by the hurricane. I have lived in communities that have had to recover from tornados, flooding, and earthquakes. (It wasn't all in the same place. These were all different communities. And, it covers a lot of years. It's not like plague and pestilence follow me around, even if the hurricane was named after me.)
Here's what I think Disney should have done:
1. While we were waiting, instead of showing the Olympics Opening ceremonies (repeatedly), they should have given us local news on the impact of the hurricane. I understand the need to get everyone out of their stateroom -- we were good sports, we waited in the Disney Theatre -- but give us useful information on what is waiting for us outside.
2. While Orlando was hurricane damaged, surely the airlines (primarily Delta) have reservation centers outside of Orlando who could be busy re-assigning people to new flights. If Delta was unwilling to provide someone to coordinate people at the airport, Disney should have supplied personnel. Disney sells it as a complete service -- check your bags at the port -- and when there are natural disasters they should step up and help their customers.
Sorry for the rant at the end. I want to thank all of you for posts prior to the cruise. They were very helpful and informative.
For those you still cleaning up after the hurricane, you are in my prayers.
Good luck,
Charles (aka "Hurricane Charley")
jeanneg
I swam with a dolphin!
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2001
- Messages
- 4,000
Hi Charles,
Sorry we didn't get the opportunity to meet , but I'm glad you had a good time. Everyone who has sailed on another cruise line usually agrees with you that the Disney fare is simply not up to par. Not having sailed with them, I personally can't comment. However as a domestic godess, I can assure you that anytime someone else shops, prepares and cleans up after my meals, it's going to taste mighty good to me! Furthermore, I try very hard to watch everything I eat during the rest of the year, so just the fact that I allow myself to have dessert and other treats is sheer ecstasy. As far as I'm concerned they could unwrap a Snickers bar, put it on my plate for dessert and I'd be in heaven!
If the disembarking had gone according to plan, the majority of the ship's paperwork stuff would have been handled before most of us were even awake and immigration for non-US citizens would have been held at 6a.m. Because we arrived so late, that all had to be done while we were waiting. Normally, while the second dining group is having breakfast, the early group would already be leaving the ship. There'd be power at the port and the escalators would be working. All these little things would have eased the entire process and prevent it from being the cattle call we saw last Saturday. I'm very sorry to hear that Disney did not do more to ease the plight of the people who had their flights cancelled. Without internet and a fully charged cell phone, there's very little you can do on your own and it seems to me that they should have been a little more accommodating.
Unfortunately, I didn't catch any of the shows that you and/or your family members were in, but my 19 yr. old son was drafted for the sexy legs contest at the adult pool. (He got the Prince Charming award!)
Sorry we didn't get the opportunity to meet , but I'm glad you had a good time. Everyone who has sailed on another cruise line usually agrees with you that the Disney fare is simply not up to par. Not having sailed with them, I personally can't comment. However as a domestic godess, I can assure you that anytime someone else shops, prepares and cleans up after my meals, it's going to taste mighty good to me! Furthermore, I try very hard to watch everything I eat during the rest of the year, so just the fact that I allow myself to have dessert and other treats is sheer ecstasy. As far as I'm concerned they could unwrap a Snickers bar, put it on my plate for dessert and I'd be in heaven!
If the disembarking had gone according to plan, the majority of the ship's paperwork stuff would have been handled before most of us were even awake and immigration for non-US citizens would have been held at 6a.m. Because we arrived so late, that all had to be done while we were waiting. Normally, while the second dining group is having breakfast, the early group would already be leaving the ship. There'd be power at the port and the escalators would be working. All these little things would have eased the entire process and prevent it from being the cattle call we saw last Saturday. I'm very sorry to hear that Disney did not do more to ease the plight of the people who had their flights cancelled. Without internet and a fully charged cell phone, there's very little you can do on your own and it seems to me that they should have been a little more accommodating.
Unfortunately, I didn't catch any of the shows that you and/or your family members were in, but my 19 yr. old son was drafted for the sexy legs contest at the adult pool. (He got the Prince Charming award!)
Hi Charles!
I just wanted to say I had a similar experience with those Tropical Depressions. I had one late in the afternoon and it made my walk back to the ship most interesting. It sure was tasty but I'm lucky I didn't face plant on the sidewalk!
This was our first cruise so I have no standards by which to compare the food. I found the food to be good, but not great. It is amazing that it is as good as it is considering how many people the kitchen cooks for at one time. Palo, on the other hand, was outstanding. I would easily compare it to some of the best upscale restaurants I have visited.
I would be interested to see how you compare the regular dining room food with that on Carnival and Royal Carribbean. I have heard a number of people comment that Carnival has greatly improved over the past few years and Royal Carribbean has declined.
We completely enjoyed our cruise and will be cruising again. Most likely our next cruise will be with DCL but I forsee a day in the not too distant future when the clubs will no longer appeal to my son. Then I might like to give Carnival, Royal Carribbean or Princess a try. They seem to have a great deal more activities that appeal to teens.
Thanks for your input.
I just wanted to say I had a similar experience with those Tropical Depressions. I had one late in the afternoon and it made my walk back to the ship most interesting. It sure was tasty but I'm lucky I didn't face plant on the sidewalk!
This was our first cruise so I have no standards by which to compare the food. I found the food to be good, but not great. It is amazing that it is as good as it is considering how many people the kitchen cooks for at one time. Palo, on the other hand, was outstanding. I would easily compare it to some of the best upscale restaurants I have visited.
I would be interested to see how you compare the regular dining room food with that on Carnival and Royal Carribbean. I have heard a number of people comment that Carnival has greatly improved over the past few years and Royal Carribbean has declined.
We completely enjoyed our cruise and will be cruising again. Most likely our next cruise will be with DCL but I forsee a day in the not too distant future when the clubs will no longer appeal to my son. Then I might like to give Carnival, Royal Carribbean or Princess a try. They seem to have a great deal more activities that appeal to teens.
Thanks for your input.
charles1011
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2003
- Messages
- 11
Hi All,
(Two posts in one day -- I can't claim to be a lurker anymore.)
I think the food on the Disney Magic is good -- it's just not outstanding. I enjoy outstanding food, but I am also happy with good food. I didn't mean to complain -- I was just comparing DCL to other cruise lines. I know there are food "snobs" who choose their cruise itinerary based on the cuisine that is on board. I would not expect those people to be happy on a Disney Cruise, unless they were allowed to eat in Palo every night.
As far as Carnival is concerned, I sailed on the Carnival Spirit in June 2002 in Alaska. The food was great. I didn't pick that cruise for it's food. In fact, I didn't pick that cruise. It was another family thing -- my in-laws were responsible for that trip.
Oh, and I drank my Tropical Depression around lunch time on Castaway Cay. I can't imagine drinking it on an empty stomach and attempting to return to the ship!
Gastronomically yours,
Charles
(Two posts in one day -- I can't claim to be a lurker anymore.)
I think the food on the Disney Magic is good -- it's just not outstanding. I enjoy outstanding food, but I am also happy with good food. I didn't mean to complain -- I was just comparing DCL to other cruise lines. I know there are food "snobs" who choose their cruise itinerary based on the cuisine that is on board. I would not expect those people to be happy on a Disney Cruise, unless they were allowed to eat in Palo every night.
As far as Carnival is concerned, I sailed on the Carnival Spirit in June 2002 in Alaska. The food was great. I didn't pick that cruise for it's food. In fact, I didn't pick that cruise. It was another family thing -- my in-laws were responsible for that trip.
Oh, and I drank my Tropical Depression around lunch time on Castaway Cay. I can't imagine drinking it on an empty stomach and attempting to return to the ship!
Gastronomically yours,
Charles
Okay, since everyone's giving their opinion, here's mine:
I've cruised on Scadanavia Cruise Lines, Carnival, Premier and now Disney twice. I personally think the food was great, like you said Jeanne, if you don't have to make it or clean up - what could be bad. I think your tablemates have a lot to do with your enjoyment of the meals as well as your servers. I liked our servers last year better than this year's but we couldn't beat our tablemates.....they were the BEST!
Last year's disembarkation was smooth as silk...this year's wasn't bad either, we sat out on deck four and watched the supplies being brought aboard and the luggage being taken off. When we finally decided that we'd get off the ship, we virtually had no lines leaving the ship at around 12:20. The porters in the terminal were great. WE LOVE DISNEY CRUISE LINE, and highly recommend it to everyone. Our 10 & 11 year old children loved everything and that's very important to us....if they're happy then we can relax and be happy too. Love those massages!!!!!
I've cruised on Scadanavia Cruise Lines, Carnival, Premier and now Disney twice. I personally think the food was great, like you said Jeanne, if you don't have to make it or clean up - what could be bad. I think your tablemates have a lot to do with your enjoyment of the meals as well as your servers. I liked our servers last year better than this year's but we couldn't beat our tablemates.....they were the BEST!
Last year's disembarkation was smooth as silk...this year's wasn't bad either, we sat out on deck four and watched the supplies being brought aboard and the luggage being taken off. When we finally decided that we'd get off the ship, we virtually had no lines leaving the ship at around 12:20. The porters in the terminal were great. WE LOVE DISNEY CRUISE LINE, and highly recommend it to everyone. Our 10 & 11 year old children loved everything and that's very important to us....if they're happy then we can relax and be happy too. Love those massages!!!!!
Our tablemates showed up the first night of the cruise, barely spoke to us (even though we attempted to start conversations a number of times) and never returned. We felt like outcasts. The one comment I remember one of our tablemates making was that she liked the Wonder so much better than the Magic. The Magic seemed "old" to her. Whatever. I thought the ship was wonderful. Our servers were great and so were the vast majority of people we met on the cruise. Maybe next time we'll get lucky and be seated with friendly people.
Frankly, I'm having a very hard time adjusting to the fact that I'm back to cooking and cleaning up after my family again. I miss the Magic!!!!
Frankly, I'm having a very hard time adjusting to the fact that I'm back to cooking and cleaning up after my family again. I miss the Magic!!!!
gometros
<font color=teal>WDWWDS Chief Weapons Inspector an
- Joined
- May 4, 2001
- Messages
- 8,289
Sounds like a Tropical Depression leaves you anything but depressed 
Sorry you guys had so much trouble on debarkation. Too bad, because sometimes the most lasting impressions are the last ones. Trust me, it usually goes much smoother than it sounds like you had it last Saturday. From experience, we've learned to take our time getting off the ship. We eat at Topsiders and are usually one of the last to leave. No lines and it makes it easier to find our luggage and car.
Jeanne - had to laugh at that snickers comment. Rreminds me of a M*A*S*H epsiode where Colonel Potter asks for a Snickers and Radar asks him with or without nuts. When the reply was without, Radar mutters "Mars bar".
Sorry you guys had so much trouble on debarkation. Too bad, because sometimes the most lasting impressions are the last ones. Trust me, it usually goes much smoother than it sounds like you had it last Saturday. From experience, we've learned to take our time getting off the ship. We eat at Topsiders and are usually one of the last to leave. No lines and it makes it easier to find our luggage and car.
Jeanne - had to laugh at that snickers comment. Rreminds me of a M*A*S*H epsiode where Colonel Potter asks for a Snickers and Radar asks him with or without nuts. When the reply was without, Radar mutters "Mars bar".
jeanneg
I swam with a dolphin!
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2001
- Messages
- 4,000
Me too! (The girl knows her candy!)
Note to self: Must try a Tropical Depression in Oct.! I love anything extreme!
Shelley: you just mentioned something about watching them load and unload the ship and it reminded me of something: WHAT WAS THE DEAL WITH ALL THE MATTRESSES?!? Someone said thay actually replace each and every one after each sailing, but I find that hard to believe. Sine it was a Disney cruise, could all those discarded ones be peepee'd? YOWZA!!!! They were obviously being discarded by the way they were just tossed into the dumpster with other garbage. I'm sure lots of homeless shelters could have used them (esp. during the aftermath of the storm). Does anyone know anything about this?
gometros
<font color=teal>WDWWDS Chief Weapons Inspector an
- Joined
- May 4, 2001
- Messages
- 8,289
Nope. A Milky Way has chocolate nougat. Mars Bars and Snickers have a white nougat center. If you were Wendy, I could see the confusion since in the UK a Milky Way is known as a Mars Bar and Snickers is known as a Marathon Bar.
I know my candy bars
I know my candy bars
And if you want to add more to the confusion (this is what I live for of course!!) in the UK we have Milky Way's which have no caramel in them, Mars Bars which as Sandy says are your Milky ways and boy am I impressed you know about Marathons.
About the food - I love Palos and I enjoy the restaurant food but I am sure other cruise lines could be better. I love the fact we rotate restaurants although I am not keen on the seats in AP - they are so heavy! However as Shelley said tablemates make all the difference and yes, this year they were awesome!
As for debarkation, I've done two which have been perfect and 2 not so. I thought they did amazingly well in the circumstances but we were lucky in that where we were we were kept up to date.
Wendy
About the food - I love Palos and I enjoy the restaurant food but I am sure other cruise lines could be better. I love the fact we rotate restaurants although I am not keen on the seats in AP - they are so heavy! However as Shelley said tablemates make all the difference and yes, this year they were awesome!
As for debarkation, I've done two which have been perfect and 2 not so. I thought they did amazingly well in the circumstances but we were lucky in that where we were we were kept up to date.
Wendy
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