Crowded?

[myrheille]

Hi everyone!
We're thinking about cruising in the Caribbean in January. I was wondering what are the crowds like? From various trip reports and pictures, it seems like the pools and the deck parties are extremely crowded. Is that ever uncomfortable? Any introverts felt like it was too much?

I was also wondering about the characters, should I expect to wait in line a lot to meet them? I think you can have a set hour for Anna & Elsa with little wait (basically a FastPass?), is that the same for other meet & greets?

What about the nightly shows, is it easy-ish to get a seat? And in the buffet restaurants, are you waiting a lot?

If anyone has cruised with other companies and Disney, could you compare the two specifically on crowds?

Thanks a lot everyone!

 

[thumpie's mom]

The Adventures Away party and the pirate party do get crowded, but not uncomfortably so. Go a little early and get a good spot you will be comfortable in. We have only been on the Wonder and the Magic, so I can't say how it is on the larger ships. One of the best things on the cruise ship for us, is that we normally do not feel crowded. This is important to us because my daughter is in a wheelchair and gets nervous if she feels she is being hemmed in by a crowd. We LOVE the character meet and greets. You can get tickets for Anna & Elsa, the Princess Gathering and I believe Disney Jr. on the Fantasy and Dream. The wait time is very short with the tickets. In the lobby there is a character board which lists which characters will be out, the time and place. The lines can get a little long at times, but other times we have simply walked up with no wait. It is so much better than the parks...it is organized, air-conditioned and people tend to be more polite. We have never had a problem getting seats at the shows, but we sit in the wheelchair section, just would not wait until the last minute. The buffets can be crowded, but they move quickly. We like to go when they first open and there are not as many people. Again, we have not been on the larger ships, so don't know how their crowds are. We have done 6 Disney cruises, but no other cruise lines, so I cannot compare. Disney does do a excellent job with crowd control though and can highly recommend them.

 

[Sil452]

We cruised on the Dream around mid November and didn't mind the crowds. Our Sail Away party was held indoors due to rain, so I'm not sure how it is up on deck. Being inside it was a bit crowded, as was the tree lighting ceremony. But, people were able to spread out over several levels and watch. Since it was just my wife and I, we sat up above the adult pool to watch the fireworks show, so there was no crowd up there. We didn't attend every show, but when we did we had no problem getting seats. Cabana's was hit or miss for us for crowds. Despite that we always were able to grab a table. You can also get breakfast and lunch in one of the MDR's where they seat you.

 

[seelyt2]

The only time I felt too crowded for my own comfort was the "Pirates on the Caribbean" party/fireworks. Otherwise, the lines for the buffets, Aquaduck, and character meet and greets were pretty orderly, but I could have had a bunch of great fellow-travelers with me. Getting a table at the buffet was somewhat tricky, depending on the time of day. The pools in the Dream were soooo crowded, too, but they're also sooo tiny! Overall the whole thing was pretty excellent, though.

We never had problems getting seats for the shows and every seat is pretty much a good one!

 

[wdwwishes]

We've cruised the wonder, Dream and Fantasy and haven't felt crowded on any of the ships. I was concerned about that on the newer ones but never had any issues. The mid ship pool area can be a bit hectic but I think if you'll be using that area pick and choose your times. As for the show, never a problem there or in any of the adult areas on board. The Sail Away party and Pirate party are a little crowded because everyone wants to have a spot on the rail to overlook all the action. If that's high on your list of on board things to do, get there early. We also have never felt crowded in our stateroom either and we're a family of 4 and our DDs are teens now. Happy cruising!

 

[DisneyB]

We cruised the Fantasy this spring break and there were 3702 passengers (according to the Cruise Director) and it never felt overly crowded. As others have said the Pirate Night was a little crowded on deck but we still got a decent spot to watch things (just get there early). The buffet on Pirate Night was the only thing that really was almost unbearable. I think it was only open for an hour (from 10:30-11:30 after the fireworks) and the lines were crazy. Tempers were starting to flare a little which was unreal. Everybody had just eaten a couple of hours before and people were acting like they hadn't eaten in days. I guess Turkey Legs, Nachos and Crepes have a strong affect on people.

 

[Sir William]

Crowds give me a claustrophobic feeling so I always try to avoid groups of packed humanity. For the most part, I haven't found the ships (Fantasy, Dream and Magic) particularly crowded except at the deck parties and at the pools on sea-days. For the parties, I just go up another deck and watch from above. On my last cruise, on the Fantasy, I avoided the pools, though there were plenty of chairs available, by enjoying my balcony instead. For the most part, I didn't get that hemmed in feeling in the MDR or at the shows. I've never been to the Pirate buffet as we have late dining, which ends shortly before the buffet opens.

That said, I still prefer the Magic to the Dream and Fantasy as it feels less crowded to me.

 

[Sir William]

What about the nightly shows, is it easy-ish to get a seat? And in the buffet restaurants, are you waiting a lot?

If anyone has cruised with other companies and Disney, could you compare the two specifically on crowds?

Thanks a lot everyone!

Some of the shows can be be quite full, but I try to arrive at least 15 minutes prior and get an aisle seat so I don't feel so surrounded.

Cabanas can be crowded at peak times but there are usually tables available. However, I prefer to eat lunch and breakfast at an MDR as they are less crowded.

I've sailed on RCL and Celebrity, both on ships similar in size to the Magic. We didn't have a balcony on these cruises so I was forced to spend more time in the public areas. I found the pools and adult areas to be more crowded than Disney.

 

[Flhokie]

We cruised on the Fantasy in early March and have cruised other lines. We felt crowded more on this ship than others (including Allure of the Seas). The sail away was inside due to weather and was very crowded. Pirates Night was so crowded that DD had a meltdown and we had to leave. Overall, the atrium felt much more crowded during busy times than other comparable areas on other ships. The pool deck is not sufficient for the number of passengers and often felt crowded too.

The tickets for the Anna/Elsa and Princess gatherings were great. Seeing other characters often resulted in waits of up to 30 minutes. The really frustrating part is that people would start lining up well in advance & if you got there just a little bit into the published time--still 20 minutes left in the set--there were times you'd be told that you were too late.

Cabanas was crowded, but no more so than any other buffet.

 

[IAMASTITCHER]

I have sailed in January(Fantasy) and found the crowds to be similar as previous posters. The Sail Away and the Pirate parties are crowded and if you get there late, its tough to see anything on the stage. The only other times I saw crowds was for formal night in the lobby as there were lines for pictures with the characters in formal wear.

 

[Crush518]

I was thinking May would be the off season but I guess not...Fairly certain the Dream was at capacity or near it last week....While the crowds were not unbearable it did make it more crowded then I had thought it would be....I would get in line 30 min. early for the characters so my kids did not have to be cranky waiting in line...Even doing so, most lines were 20 min. long and if not early 30-45 min. long...Not sure if this is the norm or was just a lot of kids my childrens ages on this particular cruise (3 and 5).

Be prepared for limited number of tickets for some of the character events if you do not get on the boat by 130 or so...Make sure you are first on boat the first day if you want guarantee tickets for the popular character events..

 

[Trera]

we were on the dream last weekend for Mother's day and they said they were completely full when i went to the upgrade desk. He actually said "I couldnt even downgrade you at this point"

It felt like a full boat and the pool deck area showed it the most. Castaway Cay was also really busy but since we had a cabana, we were not in the beach crowds.