MinnesotaMouseketeers
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 25, 1999
- Messages
- 2,700
A while back I did a post stating that we were doing our first NON-Disney cruise and I would do a comparison report on the ships. So here it is. First off my wife and I have been on all the DCL ships but have never done the Wonder Alaska cruise. However we both really liked the idea of a one way cruise vs. a round trip cruise that the Wonder does. We did the Seward to Vancouver direction and we did it with one of my sisters and her husband and a couple that have been very good friends of ours for many years.
We did the train down from Anchorage to Seward put together by Celebrity (I have done a post on this for those interested). And it is just as impressive to see the ship tied up out there as you approach it; as it is when you come up over the bridge at Port Canaveral and see one of the Disney ships. And I will repeat this one observation that I have put into a previous post. You know when you walk up the gang plank and step foot into the DCL ships atrium and you go WOOOOOW! We stepped into the atrium and we all said, this is it? Sorry Millennium but DCL has you beat big time. It wasn't any fancier than walking into a very nice hotels atrium. But this is my one and only complaint, the rest are just my opinion and that is all.
The ship was built in 2000 if my memory is correct and it is showing a little ware and tare because of this. While the crew was always working hard just like on the DCL ships; painting, varnishing, replacing carpet on the stairwells. There were some things that looked liked a patchwork job to be taken care of later. One of them was a piece of galvanized steel covering what I think use to be a door covering one of the entrances of the radar cover. Can't you at least paint it white to blend it in? And yes I know it is very minor. Not a fan of the decorations around the ship. New age, art deco, modern art?? From the artwork on the walls to the sculptures scattered around the stairways, not my cup of tea. I am on a ship can't we keep with the theme? It doesn't have to be Disney themed just make it lighter, brighter, cheerier. And I know; personal opinion I am sure others would disagree.
I did write up a report on the stateroom earlier also. Just a quick recap, smaller but manageable stateroom (with veranda). Two people are very comfortable, three would be a little crowded, four too many. Plenty of storage room for belongings. See previous review. Stateroom host was great.
We paid for Aqua Class which is concierge and gave us access to Blu restaurant. We could have also gone to the Metropolitan Dining Room but we only ate dinner at Blu. We did do two lunches at the Metropolitan during sea days. We never hit any of the upscale restaurants (additional cost) or the quick service areas. We did do a couple breakfasts and one lunch at the Oceanview Cafe & Grill (brunch style service). Food wasn't any better or worse than eating on one of the Disney ships. We enjoyed all of our meals. We had to be at Blu between 5:30 and 6:00 for dinner and we ate at the same table with the same serving crew each night. There was only one night we got there late because of our excursion so we were seated at a different table with different servers. Where we sat for breakfast was hit or miss, main servers changed depending on where we sat but the rest of the servers were the same for juice, coffee, pastries, etc.
Service was top notch; friendly, quick on the refills, fast service, etc. There was just one morning. Just couldn't seem to get on the right page. Couple of menus didn't get changed over so had to look at someone else's when they were finished, no butter on table, had to ask for cream, stir spoons missing for cream, asked for refills. This was just the one time; no complaints for the other meals. We tipped them all above and beyond the recommended. Loved talking with them and getting to know them.
Going to end for now will add more later.
We did the train down from Anchorage to Seward put together by Celebrity (I have done a post on this for those interested). And it is just as impressive to see the ship tied up out there as you approach it; as it is when you come up over the bridge at Port Canaveral and see one of the Disney ships. And I will repeat this one observation that I have put into a previous post. You know when you walk up the gang plank and step foot into the DCL ships atrium and you go WOOOOOW! We stepped into the atrium and we all said, this is it? Sorry Millennium but DCL has you beat big time. It wasn't any fancier than walking into a very nice hotels atrium. But this is my one and only complaint, the rest are just my opinion and that is all.
The ship was built in 2000 if my memory is correct and it is showing a little ware and tare because of this. While the crew was always working hard just like on the DCL ships; painting, varnishing, replacing carpet on the stairwells. There were some things that looked liked a patchwork job to be taken care of later. One of them was a piece of galvanized steel covering what I think use to be a door covering one of the entrances of the radar cover. Can't you at least paint it white to blend it in? And yes I know it is very minor. Not a fan of the decorations around the ship. New age, art deco, modern art?? From the artwork on the walls to the sculptures scattered around the stairways, not my cup of tea. I am on a ship can't we keep with the theme? It doesn't have to be Disney themed just make it lighter, brighter, cheerier. And I know; personal opinion I am sure others would disagree.
I did write up a report on the stateroom earlier also. Just a quick recap, smaller but manageable stateroom (with veranda). Two people are very comfortable, three would be a little crowded, four too many. Plenty of storage room for belongings. See previous review. Stateroom host was great.
We paid for Aqua Class which is concierge and gave us access to Blu restaurant. We could have also gone to the Metropolitan Dining Room but we only ate dinner at Blu. We did do two lunches at the Metropolitan during sea days. We never hit any of the upscale restaurants (additional cost) or the quick service areas. We did do a couple breakfasts and one lunch at the Oceanview Cafe & Grill (brunch style service). Food wasn't any better or worse than eating on one of the Disney ships. We enjoyed all of our meals. We had to be at Blu between 5:30 and 6:00 for dinner and we ate at the same table with the same serving crew each night. There was only one night we got there late because of our excursion so we were seated at a different table with different servers. Where we sat for breakfast was hit or miss, main servers changed depending on where we sat but the rest of the servers were the same for juice, coffee, pastries, etc.
Service was top notch; friendly, quick on the refills, fast service, etc. There was just one morning. Just couldn't seem to get on the right page. Couple of menus didn't get changed over so had to look at someone else's when they were finished, no butter on table, had to ask for cream, stir spoons missing for cream, asked for refills. This was just the one time; no complaints for the other meals. We tipped them all above and beyond the recommended. Loved talking with them and getting to know them.
Going to end for now will add more later.
