Confused a little bit about a Disney Cruise

[hookedonears]

My wife and I did a 3 night cruise on the Disney Magic about 12-13 years ago and thought it was great. Great as compared to the 7 night cruise we took on the Royal Caribbean - Monarch 16 years ago. My wife, daughter and I are doing a 3 night on the Disney Wonder in April.

My confusion is coming from listening to the podcast about the experiences they've had on recent cruises.

First, our cruise is only 3 nights with only 2 ports of call - Nassau and Cast-Away Key.

From what I've heard on the Podcast:
The food on the ship is bad.
Palo's food is very sketchy.
Nassau is bad, so you better stay on the ship.
There is no casino on the ship.
My wife and I are low maintenance people, so we don't do Spas.
And don't let me forget, the barbeque lunch on Cast-Away is bad.

This cruise is beginning to not sound so great. I hope someone can clear up my confusion.

 

[Dale-Not-Chip]

Food is good on the ship.

Remember any review is a snapshot. I have my favorite restaurants where I'm a regular and they have bad days now and then. Also when you have a regular cruiser if they see a drop in quality it is that much more noticeable. Keep in mind that they have also said that the Disney ship still offers better quality.

Palo food i think over all is still very good.

But Wait staff and cooks can have bad days. If your meal starts to be effected make sure you speak up. Don't wait till your so dissatisfied beyond repair.


Nassau Shopping is bad.
Shore excursions are always fun.


there's never been a casino.


We didn't do a Spa on our 7 day cruise. Lot's of people don't do Spas.

 

[mikelan6]

Just remember that everything on the podcast is their opinion. Disney Cruise Lines is a premium product and has excellent food, shows etc.

I'm sure you will have a great time.

 

[irisbud]

From what I've heard on the Podcast:
The food on the ship is bad.
Palo's food is very sketchy.
Nassau is bad, so you better stay on the ship.
There is no casino on the ship.
My wife and I are low maintenance people, so we don't do Spas.

This cruise is beginning to not sound so great. I hope someone can clear up my confusion.

As others have said, all reviews will be different as everyone is entitled to (and has) their own opinions.

For example, when Pete was discussing the food on the ship, DH and I disagreed, to a point. We both thought it was actually pretty good. Was it the best we ever had? No. But it was tasty, well prepared, and fabulously served. Pete stated that if you ate out a lot in nicer places you might not think much of the food. Well, we do eat out all the time (way too often) and in some really nice places and we were still pleased with it and I am awfully picky. That dosen't make either review right or wrong, just different. We didn't do Palo because nothing looked overly appealing to us and, being our first cruise, we wanted to go through the regular rotations.

We did Discover Atlantis at Nassau and enjoyed it quite a bit. The shopping there did stink, but walking around was okay; I never felt endangered with my DH with me. Next time we would like to check out the old fort on the island. Would I take a trip just to go to Nassau? Never. It was okay, though, at least what we did, and when we were bored with it we got back on the ship.

We don't care about casinos or spas, so nothing to add there.

I say go and try it out. I think you will enjoy it. We were sceptical at first too, but we found ourselves really pleased with the product and the service simply can't be beat!

ETA: BTW, I agree with Pete that Castaway is worth the cost of the cruise, and DH and I aren't even beach people

 

[DisneyKevin]

I think it says something that Pete has been on over 20 Disney cruises and would go again in a heartbeat.

John has been on 22 Disney cruises. I've been on 13 or 14.

John and I enjoy RCCL cruises as they have a casino.

In the past...Palo has always been a tremendous experience and the dining room less so. On our last cruise, which was the special 3 day Magic cruise after it just finished dry dock, this was reversed. The dining room food was terrific and Palo less so.

When we talk about the cruise ship...and our experience...it's about our most recent trip. Somethings are even better than we remembered and some dont live up to our memories. Thats part of life but please keep in mind...

Any time any of us get a chance to get away....it's the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder which call out to us.

Are we critical...yup....but only because we know what they CAN do and have done....and we love them for it.

 

[Disneybridein2k3]

And to add one more thing to what Kevin is saying...the podcast crew will be more critical because they know just how great the Disney cruise CAN be. A first time Disney cruiser will most likely be blown away by their superior customer service and beautiful ship. If you have any doubts, visit the cruise boards