I know this is going to be a long post and report and that I'm about to commit the sacred unforgivable sin here on the DIS and among Disney fans (which I am) Here it is. Our recent 7-night cruise on the Disney Fantasy was not an escape into a place of utopia where all was perfect from the crew, to the meals, to the customer service. To be honest, I will return time and time again to WDW, but while I'm sure I'll give
DCL another try, it won't be anytime soon. My intent here is not to blast DCL, question those who love it or start a debate about DCL. It's just my own opinion based off of my experience.
Let me start with what I loved with our first time sailing with DCL.
1. The Disney Fantasy was an impressive ship. From the moment we walked onto the ship until we turned around and saw her disappear from our view heading back to MCO, it was impressive. The ship was easy to navigate around without too many problems. The elevators, while I've heard some complain are slow, was not a problem we encountered very often. The attention to detail was what you would expect with Disney... Impressive! The impeccable cleanliness of the ship was top notch. I don't even recall seeing a smudge on the mirrors in the restrooms.
2. Our stateroom was everything we could have hoped it would be. We stayed in a
deluxe family veranda stateroom (8610) and had plenty of room for my DW (always 39), my DD (21) and myself (55). Absolutely loved the layout of the bathroom with a separate area and sink from the shower. There was plenty of storage and we never felt cramped at all.
3. Our cabin steward was simply outstanding. His level of commitment to service and hospitality is everything that Disney once stood for (yes, I'll say it, it's starting to slip). His help in assisting me to get my suit and shirt pressed for the al night was outstanding. In fact, didn't have to ask, he asked me. He always greeted us with a smile and an offer to assist in any way. He was truly a highlight to our cruise and even though we prepaid our gratuities he was rewarded for his efforts and I also let guest services know and wrote a letter to DCL about him. He was awesome.
4.
Palo and Remy were outstanding. The food was spot on fantastic and the service was second to none. We did Remy on the second night (formal night) and all three of us ended up ordering from the American menu of
Scott Hunnel along with the wine pairing. I cannot say enough good things about this restaurant. Our server was spot on the entire time, the sommelier did not miss the mark at all, and the food looked fantastic and tasted even better. We ended up doing a second night at Remy (That story is coming up as to why) on our last night on board and we ended up doing the French menu of
Arnaud Lallement without doing the wine pairing this time, instead opting for just a glass of wine with dinner. The French menu was also excellent, but the offerings of Chef Scott Hunnel received our nod over Chef Arnaud Lallement. This was an expensive place no doubt, but it was worth every penny we paid for both nights. It helps that we received $800 OBC from our TA to help pay for this.
Now on to
Palo. This restaurant is impeccable and incredibly fantastic. How's that for describing the place? We did the brunch on our second day, which was also our first sea day, and was also the same day we did Remy that evening. Was it a lot of food? It sure was. But it was spread out over the day with brunch being at 11:00 and Remy at 8:00 if I remember correctly. Let me just say this; If you are on the fence about trying Palo for brunch, jump off that fence and just do it. Palo was fantastic. We were greeted promptly at the same desk as we were later greeted for Remy that evening. We were given a tour of the restaurant, where everything was located, we were seated and had a fantastic server who also was spot on. We enjoyed a nice glass of Mimoso, hit the buffet, enjoyed our entree we ordered and then indulged ourselves into a dessert coma with all the enticing sweets one could ever imagine at the dessert station. Our server jokingly asked if we would need someone to get a wheelchair for us and take us back to our cabin. We passed on it, but it was tempting. We also had a reservation a couple of nights later for Palo for dinner. We requested our same server for dinner as well and she was once again just as fantastic. Our meals were out of this world, the service was even better than the food if that was even possible, and let's not forget the dessert. I was indecisive between two and eventually decided on one. Our server ended up bringing both of the desserts out. But she didn't stop there. She informed me that nobody leaves Palo without trying their signature dessert, the Chocolate Souffle', she brought this out just prior to bringing out the check. I was stuffed, I just stood up, let the evenings' dinner drop down a little bit, and then found the room to eat it. It was truly to die for.
5.
Cabana's was surprisingly decent. I am not a buffet fan, if you search through some of my posts you will see that other than Boma or Tusker House, my opinion of buffets are pretty low. I'm just not into mass-produced food sitting on serving stations waiting to be hoarded upon. But Cabana's was to my surprise average, and in some areas very good. We did breakfast every day here because it was quick and convenient. I was impressed they even had some things such as turkey bacon and sausage along with poached eggs. We also did Cabana's once for lunch and found it to be average, which for me is pretty good for a buffet. I've heard complaints about how hard it is to find a table or that it's jam-packed at the stations, but we didn't find that to be true for us.
6. The live shows, for the most part, were top notch.
Disney's Aladdin was a top-notch production with excellent acting that was highly entertaining. I was impressed with how much I actually enjoyed it.
A Fantasy Come True was the only weak link in my opinion. It was more like an info commercial set to a stage production. This was the first thing we saw and left me hoping the future productions would be better... And yes, they were.
Disney Wishes was a bit on the cheesy side, but I will admit, I was very entertained by it, so that makes it a success.
Disney's believe was a lot of fun as well. We also had the opportunity to watch the
movie Aladdin in the main theatre. I'll admit, I was not expecting much of it nor did I go into it thinking Wil Smith could nail it as the Genie, but he did, and we loved the movie.
Ok, here is where we didn't care for DCL or our experience on the Fantasy.
1. I know this is not the fault of Disney, and I know because it's Disney there will be kids everywhere. But there were kids running up and down the stairs, sliding down the rails, playing with the elevators, running into people, grabbing food at the buffet station with their hands, and etc. I guess what I am trying to say is this, Parents still need to parent. I know that might be a touchy subject, and I'm not trying to sound like an old grumpy fuddy dud, I get it, kids are going to run around. I was a kid and I raised a kid. And in the future, I'm sure my kid will have a kid, and that will make me a grandpa. But for myself, I would never let my 8-10 year old child run around on a ship in the middle of the ocean, with over 4,000 strangers by themselves or with a pack of other kids. I never thought of myself as overprotective, but just too much could happen. But to DCL credit, the adults' area on the ship was impressive and they did a fantastic job of holding to 18 and older. They even refused to give in to a woman screaming, hollering and cussing out a crew member for holding his ground and letting her know that the two kids with her could not enter that area of the ship.
2. The photo opportunities, in my opinion, were just too short. between shows or just before each dinner session they would have character photo opportunities. But with dozens of people in the lines,it was not possible to get a photoshoot with all the characters. 45 minutes was just not enough time. Again, this is just my opinion and I'm sure there will be those who had no problem or may even disagree with me. That's ok. It's just my own opinion.
And the last two are biggies for me and the reason why they really had a lasting effect on how soon I will do another
Disney Cruise. I'll admit, this was my first cruise in years and my first with DCL, and perhaps my expectations were just too high. That wouldn't be the first time. I had high expectations for Le Cellier (LOL) and the DVC (just wasn't for me). Nevertheless, they were real problems and it just lingers with me. I should say that on this cruise on our second night I booked a 7 night Mediterranean cruise and canceled it on our 6th night. They did ask me at the desk why and I did politely tell her. Too DCL credit I did receive a phone call from them several days later and a very nice woman in customer relations talked with me for over 10 minutes and did tell me that if I decided to sail with Disney again and book a future trip with them in the next year they would give me the same incentives I received when I booked online. I was impressed with the genuine concern.
1st biggie. Our service from our servers was just downright awful in the main dining rooms. I know I know, I read and hear about how great everyone's servers were and how spot on Disney service is in the MDR's, but I"m sorry, that was not the case for us. Our first night it was a difficult thing to experience. As I share this I will do my best not to sound like a spoiled and entitled person. I know these problems are first world and there are people with worse problems in this world than I experienced here. But with that said, I did pay a whole lot of money on DCL and there were certainly other options I could have spent my disposable vacation income on. We ordered soft drinks when we were seated, so far all is fine. Our orders were taken. All is fine. Our appetizers were delivered all is fine. We all asked for a refill on our soft drinks. Our dinners were delivered, we asked again for refills, and waited. Once we were done with dinner our server said, let me get you a refill and brought them out with our dessert. We waited almost 45 minutes between refills and had our entire meal. I don't think I was unreasonable. As for the food, I will admit that I am somewhat of a food snob so my opinion may be a bit harsh, but I thought the food was just average and very cafeteria-like. I know, they are feeding a massive amount of people in a short period of time, but I guess I just fell for the so many rave reviews of DCL food and service. The last time I was this disappointed in Disney food was when we dined at Le Cellier for the first and last time several years ago. I should add that the dining room that evening was
Animators' Palate. While it was rather loud (as expected), it was a lot of fun and the decor and theming were what you would expect from Disney, second to none.
Our second night was at
Remy, on the third night we had dinner in the
Royal Court. Things started off ok. The food this evening was decent, it was not great, but decent and we had no complaints. Where things started going downhill was when we ordered adult beverages this time instead of soft drinks. Our server asked for my KTTW card. No big deal. I understand so that the charges could be added to my account. I'm good with that. Later in the meal, I asked my server if she still had my KTTW card, her response was I'll get it for you shortly. Ok, still no problem. Then after the meal I asked my server about the card and still, she said I'll bring it to you. Our desserts were served and after dessert, I asked our server for my KTTW card she once again said I'll get that for you. From there she continued to serve other tables, bring out meals and etc. After ten minutes I finally went to the head server and spoke with him, after about another 5 minutes or so our server brought my card out and just dropped it on the table in front of me and walked over to another table. I will say this, at no point that evening or any other evening did I act short-tempered or annoyed which is what shocked me a bit in the service I experienced to this point.
The 4th night was
Animators Palate once again. This evening the planets aligned and all was good in the "World." Yes, the pun was intended. Refills were perhaps a bit slow but no big deal. there were a lot of people and a lot going on. The server and her assistant were very friendly, the head server came over and talked with us for a while and was very cordial. The food once again was what I would call average. The animation coming to life on the walls was a lot of fun. And of course, seeing Crush from Finding Nemo cruising the walls and hamming it up was a lot of fun. Overall the best night in the MDR for us.
5th night was the
Enchanted Garden. This evening was the last straw for us. The dinners were not correct with my wife and my daughter when they were brought out and our server took to an attitude and mumbled something in her language as she walked away. The head server saw this from a distance and came over to our table. I remained calm, but I did tell him that I'm at the end of my rope with this. If it's us or she is having a problem away from the ship please just let me know. He assured me that all would be fine. We ordered our dessert and when it was brought out not one of them was correct. In fact, we all ordered separate items and when they were brought out they were all the same. I mentioned this to our server and she tried to tell us this is what you ordered. I just told her it's not but forget about it, this will do just fine. She was good with that and didn't even offer to get us the correct desserts. We got up and left and on the way out I did let the head server know this would be the last time we ate in the MDR. He did apologize.
6th night was in
Palo which we had a reservation for in advance. Loved everything about it and had the same server as we had for the Palo Brunch. Perfect evening and a perfect dinner. After dinner, we went to the front desk to see if we could get another reservation for dinner the next and last night of the cruise. They were apologetic to say there was no availability. I understood after all the place is awesome and very popular. I enquired about the availability for
Remy tomorrow night and while it was more than I wanted to pay, I was determined I was not going to eat in the main dining room again and booked it. Loved it and as I mentioned above, we tried the French side of the menu this time.
On our final morning before disembarkment, we caught breakfast in the Royal Court and saw our servers. Both our main server and the assistant were very friendly, very prompt and the service was good. The menu was very limited, but I get it, it's the last few hours on the ship. I did pass out the envelope to her, the assistant server and the head server with the card letting them know I prepaid the gratuity for them. I'll admit the thought of going to guest services and removing the prepaid tips for them was a temptation but it just wouldn't be the right thing to do. I will say that the servers in Remy and Palo along with the sommeliers and our stateroom host were rewarded for being fantastic and going well beyond anything anyone could have expected. They were awesome.
2nd not so good. On our second day, I had a question about some credits and charges showing up on my account and went to guest services to enquire about them. The line was a little long with this being the second day and first at sea. No big deal. Once I got up to the desk I was greeted, not rudely, but not what I would call friendly either by a crew member with guest relations. She printed out a sheet for me handed it to me and didn't say anything. I stood there for a few seconds and looked at it and when I looked up to ask her a question she was turned around and walking away from the desk. I stood there for a moment and then realized she was gone. I ended up getting back in that long line, waited for another 15 minutes and then was greeted by a very nice gentleman whom I mentioned what happened. He assisted me with my question and thanked him and went on my way. I thought this was done and forgotten. I didn't make a stink about things. I didn't ask for anything in return. But later that afternoon I had a voice message from the manager of guest relations offering an apology. Later that evening I found a card and a bottle of wine in our room. The next day was another note from guest relations with an 8x10 picture frame for us as a gift. Yes, the person in guest relations fell way short in her position in guest relations, but I will admit, DCL went all out to correct a situation they realized should have never happened to begin with.
3rd not so good. The crew member ( Do they call them Cast Members on DCL?) at the future cruise bookings was not as accommodating and eager to assist as one might expect. She seemed to be a bit annoyed when asking questions about a certain ship, itineraries, cabins and etc. I would think they would want to do all they could to build the enthusiasm to book onboard. She just didn't seem like she wanted to be there. This was my first impression when we spent several minutes with her the first time and still seemed to be the case when we made an appointment to see her again and actually book our next trip to the Mediterranean.
To wrap it up. I know there are some who get upset when you say that not everything was perfect with Disney. They feel that Disney can do no wrong, or that one's expectations are just too high. I'll admit, sometimes a persons expectations are too high. But let's also be honest as Disney fans and admit that Disney is a master at marketing their product as a world of magic and perfection. I know they cannot achieve perfection, but there were some area's where Disney missed the mark on this cruise in my opinion. I expected more for a premium price I paid for this cruise. I am a fan of many of the restaurants in WDW, and am happy as a whole with the food in WDW, but I was very disappointed with the service and the food outside of Remy and Palo. The experience I had with the service in the MDR along with the person in guest relations and the booking desk with Disney was very disappointing. For me food is a very very very big part of my vacation, and even more so on a cruise ship. There were a lot of great things about this trip with DCL. Remy & Palo, a fantastic stateroom host, Disney trying to right a wrong, an incredible ship, excellent accommodations and some entertaining shows. But the dining experiences I had just are a big obstacle for me to overcome.
I know it's Disney and DIS board blasphemy, but not all that Disney does is perfect with rainbows and pixie dust. I did cancel my cruise next year with Disney and have booked an Alaskan cruise with Silversea on the Silver Muse. I know it's a completely different experience with a smaller ship, less people, kids, and etc. But with that said, I'm sure in the next few years I'll do another Disney Cruise and give them another chance. Other than LeCellier (LOL) when it comes to Disney, this Disney fan is willing to try something Disney related a second time and I'm sure I will with DCL.
which was a definite cringe worthy moment. But she was back day 3 and we all made it without getting sick too. Sachin was extremely attentive and made recommendations. If we asked him for his recommendation between to dishes or desserts he would recommend one than bring us both. He was also great about giving us breakfast schedule and information about the next days port or day at sea.
