misseulalie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2005
- Messages
- 2,437
Just got off the Dream and even though we had a good time, two things stuck out. One- much more than the other, but as a veteran DCL cruiser, disappointed me.
First, This was my 15th DCL cruise, 3 kids 15,13 and 4. Been on all ships except the fantasy.
Palo brunch. When did they decide to have someone hold your plate and serve you while you chose things off the buffet table? Very awkward. I assumed it was to cut down on waste, but having a server stand there holding my plate while I said what I wanted was not comfortable. He doesn't know how much of something I want or maybe that I only wanted the green olives. Also the selection was much smaller than previous brunches. There was no bother with making a second trip, there wasn't the offerings as before.
To be honest, the main courses tasted no better than the main restaurants. I wouldn't do another brunch for $30.
The BIG complaint... Oceaneers Club. Who on earth decided it was wise to have 3-12 year olds all together? It was pure chaos, small kids got run over and my son who was 4 screamed bloody murder every time we got close to the club.
When my teens were preschool age, they had the ages split. 3-5, 5-7. 7-9, 9-12. Now, they are all thrown in together. Do they try to keep the little ones in Andy's room? Nope. Do they try to keep the big kids out? Nope. There is no way DCL conferred with educators, child experts or anyone else to know that random kids together with a 9 year spread is not a good idea.
Children with sensory issues or on the Autism spectrum would have a very difficult time in the club as the noise level and the lights would send them in sensory overload. The counselors pretty much just stood around watching kids run around.
The manager was very good with trying to help my son, but she admitted having the club and lab combined wasn't working. I asked why they changed it and she said a lot of parents complained that they wanted their kids to be together. The idea of forcing siblings to stay together is not conducive to children branching out and becoming independent as well and she said many parents try and force the older child to watch the younger child which is totally unfair to an older child.
We assume there is a cost cutting reason to this change of having them all together. Granted it's been a few years since my teens were in the club, but they should realize that mixing 3 year olds and 12 year olds is not a good idea. How many times I must have seen little ones playing with the monkeys or something in Andy's room and all of a sudden a group of 10 year boys (typically always boys) came running through jumping on everything, kicking over the monkeys and throwing them around while counselors were deep in conversation.
Just a really big disappointment as the club was always the highlight of my childrens' DCL experience.
First, This was my 15th DCL cruise, 3 kids 15,13 and 4. Been on all ships except the fantasy.
Palo brunch. When did they decide to have someone hold your plate and serve you while you chose things off the buffet table? Very awkward. I assumed it was to cut down on waste, but having a server stand there holding my plate while I said what I wanted was not comfortable. He doesn't know how much of something I want or maybe that I only wanted the green olives. Also the selection was much smaller than previous brunches. There was no bother with making a second trip, there wasn't the offerings as before.
To be honest, the main courses tasted no better than the main restaurants. I wouldn't do another brunch for $30.
The BIG complaint... Oceaneers Club. Who on earth decided it was wise to have 3-12 year olds all together? It was pure chaos, small kids got run over and my son who was 4 screamed bloody murder every time we got close to the club.
When my teens were preschool age, they had the ages split. 3-5, 5-7. 7-9, 9-12. Now, they are all thrown in together. Do they try to keep the little ones in Andy's room? Nope. Do they try to keep the big kids out? Nope. There is no way DCL conferred with educators, child experts or anyone else to know that random kids together with a 9 year spread is not a good idea.
Children with sensory issues or on the Autism spectrum would have a very difficult time in the club as the noise level and the lights would send them in sensory overload. The counselors pretty much just stood around watching kids run around.
The manager was very good with trying to help my son, but she admitted having the club and lab combined wasn't working. I asked why they changed it and she said a lot of parents complained that they wanted their kids to be together. The idea of forcing siblings to stay together is not conducive to children branching out and becoming independent as well and she said many parents try and force the older child to watch the younger child which is totally unfair to an older child.
We assume there is a cost cutting reason to this change of having them all together. Granted it's been a few years since my teens were in the club, but they should realize that mixing 3 year olds and 12 year olds is not a good idea. How many times I must have seen little ones playing with the monkeys or something in Andy's room and all of a sudden a group of 10 year boys (typically always boys) came running through jumping on everything, kicking over the monkeys and throwing them around while counselors were deep in conversation.
Just a really big disappointment as the club was always the highlight of my childrens' DCL experience.
Yes, totally agree, 3-12 is CRAZY! Our DD was 9 on our first cruise and it worked out OK as she is a bit immature for her age, but the following year at age 10 she wanted no part of it and felt too scared to try Edge so no club time at all.
