I have waited a while to write this review because I wanted some time to gain a little perspective from the trip. First let me start by letting you know that we have never done a cruise before. We have a daughter who is 3 and a half and also traveled with another family with a daughter, age 2 (3 next month), and a son, 5.
To summarize, we had a number of negative experiences on the cruise. Would I recommend a Disney Cruise to a friend with children? Yes, with a few recommendations. 1) Do not sail on the Dream! Sail on one of the smaller ships. 2) Wait until the kids are between the ages of 6 and 10. 3) If you go to Nassau do not do any port adventures.
Airport Check-in ARRIVE EARLY!!! My family stayed at the airport Renaissance the night before and checked in at the Disney Cruise Line desk at the airport at 8:30am and there was hardly any line. The other family we were traveling with stayed at the Hyatt in the airport, woke up later and had breakfast and went to the check in desk around 10am. They had to wait at least 45 min in line.
Terminal Everything went smoothly. We received our card for boarding the boat at the airport and our number was called within 10 minutes of arriving at the terminal. At first we were planning on checking in the kids for the Oceaneer Club at the terminal but the lines were long and they called out our number to board while we were still waiting in line. This turned out to be a good thing. When we arrived on the boat we immediately went to the Oceaneer Club and got the kids their wristbands, NO WAIT, and we got to tour the club with the kids.
Oceaneer Club We had a few major issues with the Oceaneer Club. The kids loved the idea of the club but it didnt work well for the two youngest (3 year old girls) in our party.
The first issue happened on the 2nd night. We had feed the kids early and dropped them off before we went to dinner. Around 30 minutes after dropping the kids off, we received a text. The youngest went to the restroom and couldnt figure out how to get out. Finally someone heard her crying in the stall and got her out. She would not go back after what was a traumatic experience for her.
The second issue I had came on the at sea day. While the first trip to the club had not been successful (for the reason above), my daughter (age 3 and a half) wanted to go to the club on the at sea day. We dropped her off around 1pm and my husband and I went to have lunch. Supposedly they were doing princess crafts in pixie hollow. When I dropped her off there was one counselor in Pixie Hollow who didnt seem to have anything with the crafts organized. My daughter wanted to stay so we left her. We arrived back at 2:30. I walk in and see my daughter looking very sad standing in the doorway to the Pixie Hollow room looking at all the kids playing on the dance floor. It honestly broke my heart. My daughter is used to being left alone (she goes to preschool 5 days a week). However she is used to having an adult guide her play somewhat. She isnt the personality that will go join a group without encouragement. My expectation was that the counselors wouldnt let a small child of three sit alone watching from the outside. With some encouragement she would have joined in but none of that happened. I know this from talking to the counselors, they said they gave her a nap mat because she wasnt playing. When I asked if they tried to help her join in they told me she seemed tired. THEN CALL ME!!! One thing I have thought about looking back on the experience is that maybe I should have talked with a counselor when I dropped her off and asked them to help guide her somewhat. My expectation was that they would be able to recognize the shy kids and have the skills to help them. NOT THE CASE!!!
Pools I have to say this was one of my biggest disappointments on the cruise. The pools were so crowded it honestly didnt look safe for the younger kids and I wonder if at peak times the pools exceeded occupancy. From talking to other people who had cruised on the smaller DCL ships they were disappointed with this as well. The dream has such a larger number of people yet the same number of pools.
Nassau DO NOT LEAVE THE BOAT!!! We paid over $200 for the Atlantis Beach Day (our daughter is too young for any of the slides at Atlantis or the dolphins so we did the Beach Day). For the beach day, they dont have you meet on the boat until 10:15, then, by the time we disembarked, walked to the shuttle and drove to Atlantis it was around 11:30. We then had a LONG walk to the beach we were allowed to go to. By the time we arrived at the beach it was after 12 and the kids were exhausted and cranky because they had basically been in line or walking since 10:15.
The family we traveled with had a huge issue with this port adventure. It started when they didnt have a ticket for their youngest daughter in their stateroom. After waiting for 30min in the Guest Services Line, they were told to go to the Port Adventures desk. At the Port Adventures desk they were told that their daughter didnt need a ticket because she was under three. When we arrived at Atlantis, they realized that they hadnt received a meal ticket for their daughter because they didnt have a ticket for her (which they were told they did not need). At this point, it was about 1:30 and we decided to cut our loses and head back to the boat. Lesson Learned.
Castaway Cay Ill just say one thing. CROWDED! If you sail on the smaller boats there are half the people on the island.
The one smart thing we did they day was not go on the island until 12. We had the pools to ourselves that morning and rode the Aquaduct a number of times with no line once it opened at 11!
Food If you are a foodie, like myself, do not expect to be impressed. The food was good but nothing to rave about.
I had a few issues with our servers. On pirate night, they took my plate away with half of my entrée left when I left the table to take my 3 year old to the restroom.
The second issue came on the last night in the Royal Palace. I order the filet, medium rare, and it came out well done. When I pointed this out to our head waiter his comment was, I wrote it down correctly, it wasnt my fault 15 minutes later, after the rest of the people at our table had finished eating I received a steak at the right temp. No apology. Ive actually read on another review of this trip someone else whose steak was overcooked on that last night at RP.
The head waiter at our table honestly had a horrible attitude the entire trip. This was his last cruise before heading home for a vacation and it was obvious he was ready to get off the boat. I will admit that our table was a handful with three kids under five. Lots of trips to the restroom, which meant we probably took longer between courses. On a number of occasions, we received eye rolls from the waiter. I was not at all impressed with the service.
To summarize, we had a number of negative experiences on the cruise. Would I recommend a Disney Cruise to a friend with children? Yes, with a few recommendations. 1) Do not sail on the Dream! Sail on one of the smaller ships. 2) Wait until the kids are between the ages of 6 and 10. 3) If you go to Nassau do not do any port adventures.
Airport Check-in ARRIVE EARLY!!! My family stayed at the airport Renaissance the night before and checked in at the Disney Cruise Line desk at the airport at 8:30am and there was hardly any line. The other family we were traveling with stayed at the Hyatt in the airport, woke up later and had breakfast and went to the check in desk around 10am. They had to wait at least 45 min in line.
Terminal Everything went smoothly. We received our card for boarding the boat at the airport and our number was called within 10 minutes of arriving at the terminal. At first we were planning on checking in the kids for the Oceaneer Club at the terminal but the lines were long and they called out our number to board while we were still waiting in line. This turned out to be a good thing. When we arrived on the boat we immediately went to the Oceaneer Club and got the kids their wristbands, NO WAIT, and we got to tour the club with the kids.
Oceaneer Club We had a few major issues with the Oceaneer Club. The kids loved the idea of the club but it didnt work well for the two youngest (3 year old girls) in our party.
The first issue happened on the 2nd night. We had feed the kids early and dropped them off before we went to dinner. Around 30 minutes after dropping the kids off, we received a text. The youngest went to the restroom and couldnt figure out how to get out. Finally someone heard her crying in the stall and got her out. She would not go back after what was a traumatic experience for her.
The second issue I had came on the at sea day. While the first trip to the club had not been successful (for the reason above), my daughter (age 3 and a half) wanted to go to the club on the at sea day. We dropped her off around 1pm and my husband and I went to have lunch. Supposedly they were doing princess crafts in pixie hollow. When I dropped her off there was one counselor in Pixie Hollow who didnt seem to have anything with the crafts organized. My daughter wanted to stay so we left her. We arrived back at 2:30. I walk in and see my daughter looking very sad standing in the doorway to the Pixie Hollow room looking at all the kids playing on the dance floor. It honestly broke my heart. My daughter is used to being left alone (she goes to preschool 5 days a week). However she is used to having an adult guide her play somewhat. She isnt the personality that will go join a group without encouragement. My expectation was that the counselors wouldnt let a small child of three sit alone watching from the outside. With some encouragement she would have joined in but none of that happened. I know this from talking to the counselors, they said they gave her a nap mat because she wasnt playing. When I asked if they tried to help her join in they told me she seemed tired. THEN CALL ME!!! One thing I have thought about looking back on the experience is that maybe I should have talked with a counselor when I dropped her off and asked them to help guide her somewhat. My expectation was that they would be able to recognize the shy kids and have the skills to help them. NOT THE CASE!!!
Pools I have to say this was one of my biggest disappointments on the cruise. The pools were so crowded it honestly didnt look safe for the younger kids and I wonder if at peak times the pools exceeded occupancy. From talking to other people who had cruised on the smaller DCL ships they were disappointed with this as well. The dream has such a larger number of people yet the same number of pools.
Nassau DO NOT LEAVE THE BOAT!!! We paid over $200 for the Atlantis Beach Day (our daughter is too young for any of the slides at Atlantis or the dolphins so we did the Beach Day). For the beach day, they dont have you meet on the boat until 10:15, then, by the time we disembarked, walked to the shuttle and drove to Atlantis it was around 11:30. We then had a LONG walk to the beach we were allowed to go to. By the time we arrived at the beach it was after 12 and the kids were exhausted and cranky because they had basically been in line or walking since 10:15.
The family we traveled with had a huge issue with this port adventure. It started when they didnt have a ticket for their youngest daughter in their stateroom. After waiting for 30min in the Guest Services Line, they were told to go to the Port Adventures desk. At the Port Adventures desk they were told that their daughter didnt need a ticket because she was under three. When we arrived at Atlantis, they realized that they hadnt received a meal ticket for their daughter because they didnt have a ticket for her (which they were told they did not need). At this point, it was about 1:30 and we decided to cut our loses and head back to the boat. Lesson Learned.
Castaway Cay Ill just say one thing. CROWDED! If you sail on the smaller boats there are half the people on the island.
The one smart thing we did they day was not go on the island until 12. We had the pools to ourselves that morning and rode the Aquaduct a number of times with no line once it opened at 11!
Food If you are a foodie, like myself, do not expect to be impressed. The food was good but nothing to rave about.
I had a few issues with our servers. On pirate night, they took my plate away with half of my entrée left when I left the table to take my 3 year old to the restroom.
The second issue came on the last night in the Royal Palace. I order the filet, medium rare, and it came out well done. When I pointed this out to our head waiter his comment was, I wrote it down correctly, it wasnt my fault 15 minutes later, after the rest of the people at our table had finished eating I received a steak at the right temp. No apology. Ive actually read on another review of this trip someone else whose steak was overcooked on that last night at RP.
The head waiter at our table honestly had a horrible attitude the entire trip. This was his last cruise before heading home for a vacation and it was obvious he was ready to get off the boat. I will admit that our table was a handful with three kids under five. Lots of trips to the restroom, which meant we probably took longer between courses. On a number of occasions, we received eye rolls from the waiter. I was not at all impressed with the service.
I am hoping since we are cruising in 2012 that some of these problems will be worked out by then.
