egesicki
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2011
- Messages
- 428
We were first time cruisers, me, DH and DS 4. Overall, wonderful trip. Ship is beautiful. Some of the downsides we had heard about were not problems for us: Disney music in the hallways didn't bother us, service was very good, the walkie talkie phones worked fine. When we arrived at the airport in Orlando we checked in for Disney's Magical Express transfers and the cruise right there, so we avoided the check in lines in the cruise terminal. One of the staff gave us a tip that registering for the kids club had much shorter lines in the terminal, so we did that. You still have to get your photo taken and wait in line to actually enter the ship. Food was fantastic in all three main restaurants and the buffets and fast food. Our room was great, plenty of storage and not cramped at all. We couldn't figure out how to set our alarm clock and our room steward had it done right away. Our first day in port, Nassau, no one could go ashore right away because of a fire very near the dock. The captain came on the radio several times giving us safety updates, and people were allowed ashore once the fire was under control. Castaway Cay was wonderful, and they really make it very easy supplying you with extra towels in a mesh carry bag, a map of the island, kids club right on the island for the day, lunch and drinks readily available, and it seemed to us like plenty of chairs and loungers at the beach. Our pirate night was that night, with Pirate themed activities on deck and fireworks at 10:30. The day at sea there was plenty to do, between shopping, activities on deck, movies and shows. We actually ran out of time, and didn't see any shows or ride the Aqua Duck. We heard people say the Aqua Duck was fun but our weather was low 70s and a little windy and they said they were a little chilly. Our final night we were in Animators Palate at a table one row out from the wall and Crush did stop and talk to a lady at our table, it was amazing how real the conversation was, he recognized she had a camera taking pictures and posed for her, he asked her name and what she did that day and used those in the conversation. We were all trying to figure out how they do it. The final day they tried to steer people away from the buffet breakfast and into the resataurants, I suppose to speed things up and make sure everyone could eat and get off the ship by 9. Getting off the ship was much much speedier than getting on. Customs forms and luggage service was arranged the day before. The line was constantly in motion, no waiting on the ship, at luggage claim or in customs, and it was striaght out to ground transportation, super smooth.
The best parts for us: DS loved the kids club, he constantly asked to go down there. He also loved the yellow Mickey water slide. Planty of kid frendly food, mac & cheese, chicken strips burgers fries etc. Our servers brought his plate first every night so he didn't drive us crazy with fidgeting while we waited. We loved the beach day, low 70s with a breeze was perfect, and we did get some Disney sand toys (you can pre order or buy at the gift shop on the island) and DS was content to play in the sand all day. What we didn't care for: we had second dining, we would do main next time. We thought the volume was a little too loud up on deck when they had live music and the movies on the jumbotron. The photo prices seem very high to us, 19.95 for one 8x10 print. What we would have done differently: not fly on the date of sailing. Heard lots of people recommending this but our flight choices didn't allow it. It really is a good idea though, because the check in and embarkation process involved waiting in lines, the mandatory drill also seems like waiting to a four year old. After being up at 4am to catch our first flight we were all dog tired.
We would do it again, and in fact we did put a deposit on the 5 night with 2 stops at Castaway Cay, if you pre-book on board you get a reduced deposit, 10% off the whole thing, in room credit, and first choice on dining times and room selection.
The best parts for us: DS loved the kids club, he constantly asked to go down there. He also loved the yellow Mickey water slide. Planty of kid frendly food, mac & cheese, chicken strips burgers fries etc. Our servers brought his plate first every night so he didn't drive us crazy with fidgeting while we waited. We loved the beach day, low 70s with a breeze was perfect, and we did get some Disney sand toys (you can pre order or buy at the gift shop on the island) and DS was content to play in the sand all day. What we didn't care for: we had second dining, we would do main next time. We thought the volume was a little too loud up on deck when they had live music and the movies on the jumbotron. The photo prices seem very high to us, 19.95 for one 8x10 print. What we would have done differently: not fly on the date of sailing. Heard lots of people recommending this but our flight choices didn't allow it. It really is a good idea though, because the check in and embarkation process involved waiting in lines, the mandatory drill also seems like waiting to a four year old. After being up at 4am to catch our first flight we were all dog tired.
We would do it again, and in fact we did put a deposit on the 5 night with 2 stops at Castaway Cay, if you pre-book on board you get a reduced deposit, 10% off the whole thing, in room credit, and first choice on dining times and room selection.
