Disneyland Paris Visit after a Transatlantic voyage on the Queen Mary 2

[mikelan6]

We just returned from a Transatlantic voyage on the Queen Mary 2 and then three nights at Disneyland Paris. We had a pretty good time, but things are somewhat different in Europe than they are in the US. The parks were beautiful, but some areas need some attention. Our stay at the Newport Bay Club did not go well. It seemed they gave us the worst room in the hotel. For our last night, we stayed at the Dream Castle and that was so much better.

Here is a link to the QM2 pictures and then the Disneyland Paris pictures.

Enjoy

 

[giuly09]

Great pictures thanks for sharing, i think a cruise is the most relaxing holiday in this world

 

[Ware Bears]

Enjoy

I certainly did!

Looks like you had a great time , thanks for sharing.

 

[Princess Jayne]

Fantastic pics! x

 

[jillrobinson]

Some lovely pics, thanks for sharing them.

 

[Cass]

Hi Mike, loved all your photos for particular reasons! I'm booked on the QM2 next August from NYC to London

and -if that's not enough.... I'm off to Disneyland Paris in 3 weeks... staying at the Disneyland Hotel - I especially loved your photos of it and the gardens... we can't wait to check in.

What exactly was the problem with your room at the Newport?

 

[mikelan6]

What exactly was the problem with your room at the Newport?

This is what I wrote for Tripadvisor.com

We stayed at the Newport Bay Club from October 25 for two nights. We checked in after 6:00 PM and it took them a while to get us a room. The people at registration were very nice, but not all their information was correct. We were given a room facing the hotel entrance. We didn't care for the view. Even though it was cold outside, the room was stuffy. The air conditioner did not work, so we opened the door to the balcony, however we could not stand the noise from all the buses and cars. There were also screaming kids that would not stop screaming for some reason. When we brought this to the attention of the manager, we were advised that the hotel does not provide air conditioning (in winter). As for screaming kids, his excuse was that kids scream at Disney. There were other problems with the room including a locked safe, no ice bucket, a stuffed drain in the sink and peeling wallpaper. There was no information book in the room, so we assumed there was no room service, which there was. The TV only has a few channels and only two in English. The TV remote was very difficult to use. The entire hotel is also not ready for wireless internet. In this day and age, I think there should be at least wired internet in every room.

The manager tried his best to make us happy, by offering us an upgraded breakfast, but it really was too little, too late.

Smoking was also an issue for us. Of course, they did not permit smoking in our floor, but people would smoke just outside the main doors to the hotel, which meant walking through a fog of smoke every time we entered and exited the hotel. This seemed to be a problem at the parks as well.

The good parts of the hotel was, of course, the location - walking distance to the parks. We had no problems with the buses.

I was really expecting more from Disney. I've stayed at many other Disney hotels around the world and this one really needs improvement.

We stayed our last night in Paris at the Dream Castle hotel, which was much better, for less money.

 

[marcus.ka]

Could you please tell me what exactly was better at the Dream Castle Hotel?

And thank you for the great pictures. I love picture TR's.

 

[mikelan6]

Could you please tell me what exactly was better at the Dream Castle Hotel?

The Dream Castle is newer. The NBC is 15 years old and has not been renovated in a long time. You can see ceiling panels falling apart in the hallways. I saw mold growing on one of the NBC balconies. I have a photo of this at home.

At the NBC, my card key would work sometimes and not work other times. I had to stand there inserting my key several times until it opened.

The sink at the NBC was clogged. The bathroom at the Dream Castle was basically brand new, had nicer (and more) amenities like lotions, etc.

The air conditioner at the Dream Castle worked. It did not work at the NBC.

The Dream Castle had an internet connection in every room. The NBC only had this on some floors, which ours did not.

Our room at the Dream Castle was fully supplied - an ice bucket, an information booklet (security information, room service menu, etc). This was all missing at the NBC.

The safe at the NBC was locked when we arrived. I think housekeeping should go through a checklist while in every room to make sure everything works. We had to call a manager to open this.

The Dream Castle room had a cozy chair to sit and relax. The NBC had two wooden dining room type chairs, which were very cute to look at, but not to sit and relax in.

We requested a kettle (tea maker) for the room. The one that was brought up to the room at the NBC was filthy inside. The kettle at the Dream Castle was clean.

There were more TV channels at the Dream Castle than at the NBC. The remote at the NBC was a universal type remote and was very difficult to control the TV.

The staff at both hotels was very friendly. The staff at the NBC did try their best to make us happy, but their rooms and property needs to be renovated soon.

 

[Cass]

Wow, NBC is REALLY in need of a rennovation/update. Sorry it was so substandard, I would expect more from Disney. Crossing my fingers everything goes well for my stay at the Disneyland Hotel.

Thanks again for your wonderful QM2 and DLP photos and reviews.

 

[marcus.ka]

We have stayed 4 times at the NPBC and we never experienced the things that you did.
Maybe you had a little bit bad luck with your room?

It is true that the hotel is 15 years old but it is not ture that it has not been renovated in a long time. Many rooms, the restaurants and the whole front has been renovated in the last months. You must have had bad luck by getting a not renovated room. Many rooms in the NPBC look nowadays like new.

We also had never problems with the door key at any of the Disney hotels. And our air condition also worked in every Disney hotel.
And we always had never anything missing like an ice bucket, an information booklet (security information, room service menu, etc).

But I can sign what you say regarding amenities (like lotions), chairs and the TV channels. But watching TV is not that important to us when we are at Disney.

 

[mikelan6]

Maybe you had a little bit bad luck with your room?

What probably happened is that the guests in the room before us took a little too many souvenirs from the room. The housekeeper, however, should have replaced the missing items and made sure the safe was open, etc.

I also did not mention that although there was a notepad, there was no pen. I don't know if the NBC supplies pens in the rooms, but the Dream Castle did.

I know this may sound like petty things to you, but at Disney, every little detail counts - and that's what makes a Disney hotel magical.

 

[Ware Bears]

I know this may sound like petty things to you, but at Disney, every little detail counts - and that's what makes a Disney hotel magical.

No, I don't think it sounds petty ~ it costs a lot of money to stay at a Disney hotel and I would not have been happy with what you experienced.

I am glad that you had a better experience at the Dream Castle, especially as it was at the end of your holiday.

 

[R.S.Winters]

you have to understand that standards are different in europe to most other places in the world. ive stayed in many hotels world over, and admittedly it seems the sad case that France does seem to suffer with hotel standards WHERE EVER YOU ARE.
on saying that, a lot of people rave about the hotels in the US. not mentioning any names but i stayed in a total DIVE in FL last year and was very disappointed, and surprised.