Did something change post-pandemic?

[jplee3]

Hey guys,

I've been on 3 Disney Cruises (Wonder 2011 and Fantasy 2014 and 2019). All of them were great. We have also been on Royal Caribbean (2016) and there was definitely a difference in food quality, service, etc...

My friend went on the Dream for the 10-day Norway cruise in the past month and said he had a terrible experience (it was his family's first Disney cruise). He said the food was bad, it was super crowded and packed (overbooked?) and one of the drains in the bathroom caused the entire room to smell horrible and apparently nobody could do anything to resolve it. To top it off, he ended up getting COVID as well

I was shocked at his report, as I would have thought DCL would be something they would have loved (he has high standards but I'm shocked to hear how bad it was per his report). It's disappointing to hear about his experience regardless.

We are booked for the Magic for a 4-day (including a stop at the new island) in 2024 and now I'm a bit concerned. Reading recent reviews too, it seems there are more people complaining about the food quality and other things and it's got me a little worried... it just doesn't sound like the Disney Cruises that I've been on at all.

I'm just wondering what's going on or what happened - has anyone else here had similar experiences to my friend's?

 

[Calantha]

has anyone else here had similar experiences to my friend's?

So we've sailed a fair amount in the last year and a half (5 total). We've done every ship once in that time - and been a party of 2, party of 11, and mid-sized parties of 3 and 5. My in-laws have also sailed a bunch (twice with us) and many times on their own - they are going on the Fantasy on Saturday.

And really, every time has been different - some good things and some bad things. We had very slow service on the Magic, but the food was good. Festival of Foods is great on the Wish, I didn't really like the MDRs. We had lots of post dry dock issues on the Magic, but after another sailing, everyone reported it was fine. I have 4 more booked, so the issues haven't been enough to change my mind.

Might feel different if I were in Europe though.

 

[happycamper47]

We've been on 6 "Post Covid" including a family cruise (15 of us) on the Dream in June of 22 and things have been to DCL standards in our opinion. As Calantha said we were not impressed with the MDR's on the Wish either, food was good, but the themeing was not to our liking, that was it. We've booked 3 more starting in Oct.

 

[jplee3]

We've been on 6 "Post Covid" including a family cruise (15 of us) on the Dream in June of 22 and things have been to DCL standards in our opinion. As Calantha said we were not impressed with the MDR's on the Wish either, food was good, but the themeing was not to our liking, that was it. We've booked 3 more starting in Oct.

So we've sailed a fair amount in the last year and a half (5 total). We've done every ship once in that time - and been a party of 2, party of 11, and mid-sized parties of 3 and 5. My in-laws have also sailed a bunch (twice with us) and many times on their own - they are going on the Fantasy on Saturday.

And really, every time has been different - some good things and some bad things. We had very slow service on the Magic, but the food was good. Festival of Foods is great on the Wish, I didn't really like the MDRs. We had lots of post dry dock issues on the Magic, but after another sailing, everyone reported it was fine. I have 4 more booked, so the issues haven't been enough to change my mind.

Might feel different if I were in Europe though.

Thanks for the feedback - did you find the food on the Dream to be lacking in any way? My friend stated steaks he ordered were overcooked and the food was generally salty. Also that Cabanas was a completely nightmare (I'm assuming the lines and # of people in the eating areas)

What kinds of post dry dock issues did you encounter with the Magic? I read one review on CC about the AC going out TWICE in one of staterooms (who knows if there were more) on the Magic IIRC :T

 

[Tired mom of 3 boys]

I was on that cruise and we had a fantastic time! No one in our group of 14 came down with COVID. I do believe the cruise was sold out, but the only time things felt crowded and really disorganized was during disembarkation in Copenhagen. We thought the food was good and didn’t see any noticeable difference from pre-2020. (I’m pretty happy with anything I’m not having to cook and clean up after…)

I’m sorry your friend didn’t enjoy themselves. It was one of our favorites out of 17 cruises.

 

[happycamper47]

Our Dream cruise had no food issues, our 8 grandkids, 5 of which had never been on DCL, thought it was great, Several even tried things that were totally new. Even their parents were very happy. We were even able to "team up" in Cabanas.

 

[Calantha]

did you find the food on the Dream to be lacking in any way? My friend stated steaks he ordered were overcooked and the food was generally salty. Also that Cabanas was a completely nightmare (I'm assuming the lines and # of people in the eating areas)

What kinds of post dry dock issues did you encounter with the Magic?

Our Dream cruise was in Jan 2022, so the ship was less than half full. Food was fine and cast was great. So not a valid comparison.

Lots of dry dock issues - if you have time, recommend you read the joint trip report down in my signature - lots of AC issues, floors not finished, elevator issues, etc.

 

[o&smom]

We were on the Dream for 11 nights a month ago. We did notice that whenever we ordered pork, that is was over cooked. I had steak a few times and it was cooked properly. There were a few items that seemed not quite as good as usual, but nothing bad.

 

[happycamper47]

Lots of dry dock issues - if you have time, recommend you read the joint trip report down in my signature - lots of AC issues, floors not finished, elevator issues, etc.

But haven't there been posts that things were corrected/fixed as the cruises progressed?

 

[Calantha]

But haven't there been posts that things were corrected/fixed as the cruises progressed?

Yes, and that's what I said in my original post, but they asked for details so that's where they are (too lazy to write them all out).

 

[happycamper47]

Yes, and that's what I said in my original post, but they asked for details so that's where they are (too lazy to write them all out).

Missed that, OOPS!

 

[FastPasser.]

I just got off the Dream from a European cruise a few weeks ago and I didn’t experience any of what the OP’s friend did. We had a glitch here and there but it all worked out.

We’ve done either three or four post Covid DCL cruises and I’m with the previous posters, not much to complain about on any of them. It’s seldom an all perfect Cruise though.

We’re booked on a Dec cruise for 12.

 

[cvjw]

We’ve sailed 6 times since the pandemic - twice on the dream. Our last 2 cruises were sold out. Cabanas can be overwhelming on a sold out cruise with so many people everywhere. We have had no dining issues - the MDR food was the same as before the pandemic.

We sailed on the magic once with a plumbing issue - no fun at all. I do feel for them there.

 

[jplee3]

Hmm, I wonder if maybe part of it is the ship was overbooked due to it being the tail end of summer (so more people have traveling) coupled with the first summer with probably much less restrictive COVID travel policies. He made it sound like it was extra crowded everywhere on the ship though. I can definitely see that being the case in Cabanas. Maybe the pools and workout rooms were all crowded too and they didn't like that part either). He has been on other cruises before so it's not like the concept is new to him.

 

[SleepyDeb]

My friend went on the Dream for the 10-day Norway cruise in the past month and said he had a terrible experience (it was his family's first Disney cruise). He said the food was bad, it was super crowded and packed (overbooked?) and one of the drains in the bathroom caused the entire room to smell horrible and apparently nobody could do anything to resolve it.

I was on the same cruise. It was very crowded. Our head server said it was 4300 passengers. But I thought it was manageable, and I'm not someone to be good with crowds. I didn't experience any of the other problems listed. Disembarkation in Copenhagen was a cluster, but my understanding from CM is that it was because the port authorities took longer to sign off on the ship than expected/usual.

 

[msu2002]

Hey guys,

I've been on 3 Disney Cruises (Wonder 2011 and Fantasy 2014 and 2019). All of them were great. We have also been on Royal Caribbean (2016) and there was definitely a difference in food quality, service, etc...

My friend went on the Dream for the 10-day Norway cruise in the past month and said he had a terrible experience (it was his family's first Disney cruise). He said the food was bad, it was super crowded and packed (overbooked?) and one of the drains in the bathroom caused the entire room to smell horrible and apparently nobody could do anything to resolve it. To top it off, he ended up getting COVID as well

I was shocked at his report, as I would have thought DCL would be something they would have loved (he has high standards but I'm shocked to hear how bad it was per his report). It's disappointing to hear about his experience regardless.

We are booked for the Magic for a 4-day (including a stop at the new island) in 2024 and now I'm a bit concerned. Reading recent reviews too, it seems there are more people complaining about the food quality and other things and it's got me a little worried... it just doesn't sound like the Disney Cruises that I've been on at all.

I'm just wondering what's going on or what happened - has anyone else here had similar experiences to my friend's?

If you havent noticed from your replies, you're not allowed to say anything negative about Disney or Disney cruise line. It's all lollipops and rainbows!! I will get destroyed for this post by the dont dare insult my precious Disney crowd but oh well, YES I just got off an Alaska cruise and I can tell you post pandemic the guest service has unfortunately gone down, our servers were not up to par, the ship ( Wonder) is old and needs to be retired, ( they really charged me for that Wifi? ) Cabanas is terrible between nowhere to sit and same bland food every day, and rotational dining room food was OK with a few hits ( lobster), but I am not paying a premium for OK. How about a menu change for once I can recite these in my sleep by now. Oh and the navigatior app is complete junk. I guess I wasn't feeling that "Disney magic". I always thought Disney charged a premium for it being top of the cruise world first class, and we previously felt that way. I guess I didn't drink enough of that free soda and ice cream for the premium Disney price, but hey the cruise director can yell to a theater of 12 year olds "was this your best cruise ever??!!!" and get the screaming response he's lookin for.

 

[wendlle]

Hey guys,

I've been on 3 Disney Cruises (Wonder 2011 and Fantasy 2014 and 2019). All of them were great. We have also been on Royal Caribbean (2016) and there was definitely a difference in food quality, service, etc...

My friend went on the Dream for the 10-day Norway cruise in the past month and said he had a terrible experience (it was his family's first Disney cruise). He said the food was bad, it was super crowded and packed (overbooked?) and one of the drains in the bathroom caused the entire room to smell horrible and apparently nobody could do anything to resolve it. To top it off, he ended up getting COVID as well

I was shocked at his report, as I would have thought DCL would be something they would have loved (he has high standards but I'm shocked to hear how bad it was per his report). It's disappointing to hear about his experience regardless.

We are booked for the Magic for a 4-day (including a stop at the new island) in 2024 and now I'm a bit concerned. Reading recent reviews too, it seems there are more people complaining about the food quality and other things and it's got me a little worried... it just doesn't sound like the Disney Cruises that I've been on at all.

I'm just wondering what's going on or what happened - has anyone else here had similar experiences to my friend's?

You can get covid anywhere, not just on a cruise ship - it's common place now and not a unique experience to get it.
I can't see how they can "over book" a cruise. They have pretty strict capacity limits due to life boats.

If you havent noticed from your replies, you're not allowed to say anything negative about Disney or Disney cruise line. It's all lollipops and rainbows!! I will get destroyed for this post by the dont dare insult my precious Disney crowd but oh well, YES I just got off an Alaska cruise and I can tell you post pandemic the guest service has unfortunately gone down, our servers were not up to par, the ship ( Wonder) is old and needs to be retired, ( they really charged me for that Wifi? ) Cabanas is terrible between nowhere to sit and same bland food every day, and rotational dining room food was OK with a few hits ( lobster), but I am not paying a premium for OK. How about a menu change for once I can recite these in my sleep by now. Oh and the navigatior app is complete junk. I guess I wasn't feeling that "Disney magic". I always thought Disney charged a premium for it being top of the cruise world first class, and we previously felt that way. I guess I didn't drink enough of that free soda and ice cream for the premium Disney price, but hey the cruise director can yell to a theater of 12 year olds "was this your best cruise ever??!!!" and get the screaming response he's lookin for.

I guess it depends on how many cruises you've taken. I am going on the wonder in a few weeks and can't wait. I haven't been on it before so the food and menus will all be new to me as will the ship. She looks to be in great shape to me.
They have already adressed the wi-fi issue and it is going to be upgraded at dry dock. Although I don't see why anyone would need it on an Alaska cruise as they are port heavy so you can check in and do what you need to do each day or two while in port and not even worry about wifi onboard.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

This sounds to me like a difference of expectations and the person / family not understanding the differences between Caribbean / Bahamas cruises and European cruises.

Something to note about the food. The ship will be using some local / European brands and food so to an American person the food may taste different to what they are used to.

The majority of the DCL itinerary's in Northern Europe are one off unique itineraries, so there will be high demand, especially for the Norway cruises.

With regards to Cabanas being crowded. I did the Norway cruise last year on DCL. Its a port intensive cruise, so there is a big % of people up early and out of the day. This means that Cabanas will be busy as everyone wants to eat at the same time so they can go out on excursions. When I did the 7 night Norway cruise last year, I had breakfast every morning in the MDR as I knew Cabanas would be packed. The MDR opened at 8am every morning and it was such a great chill calm way to start the day, instead of the hustle and bustle of Cabanas.

I would say its more the fault of the person who didnt plan and research than the ship and crew.

 

[mousefan73]

Whenever somebody does a dining report about "steak being over/under cooked" I ignore it as this is so subjective. Your over/under cooked might be how others like it

 

[wendlle]

Whenever somebody does a dining report about "steak being over/under cooked" I ignore it as this is so subjective. Your over/under cooked might be how others like it

Exactly. Same as “salty” food
I like my food salty