southjerseymom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2004
- Messages
- 620
Hi! I always enjoyed reading the trip reports in this forum so I thought I would add my 2 cents worth.
Cast: me, DH, DS5, DD3 (who decided to be stubborn and not be PT'd by cruise day) and my 79yo Mom in her own cabin. I have cruised Carnival, RCCL and Norwegian. This was DH's first cruise.
We had Cat 6 7562 / Mom had cat 11 7623
Due to my husbands schedule we had to fly in from Atlantic City to Orlando on cruise day. If there is any way possible to not do this I would reccomend it. But it was our only option. We arrived at 9am and were on the DCL transport bus by 9:20. The bus was extremely crowded and I we had to split up. Not easy with young ones. Had I known I would have waited for the next bus and kept us all together.
Arrived at port and got number 3. Kids were very anxious to get onboard. My husband didn't get home until 2 am the night before so he was running on empty. We had a delicious buffet at Parrot Cay and went to our cabins at 1:30 pm.The plan was DH and DD would take naps while DS and I explored the ship. Unfortunately, the intercoms are on all afternoon with and sleep wasn't really possible. The cabin was clean and the verandah was nice. I grew up on boats so I now the limited space that is available. The cabin is an ok size - I just wish something could be done with the queen bed configuration so that there is more room to get past it. The way it is laid out you have to squeeze by the bed to get to the rest of the cabin.
Fire Drill was ok for our family. Just a short walk up the stairs. Unfortunately, for my mom it was a real hike up the stairs to her drill area. I had asked that she be able to stay with us but was denied. I guess we should have asked for special assistance.
Dining:
Our rotation was APPT. When we arrived at our table it was for 4. Even after calling numerous times to make sure my mother was "linked" to us - she was not. Moved to another table after some initial confusion. Our servers were very nice - however I had a lot of difficulty understanding one of them. It didn't seem to stop her from telling me her life story. I assume most people love the interaction with the servers so I am not criticizing their "act" I just prefer less interaction. Don't get me wrong they were great and my kids loved them. It was just by the 4th night our head server was telling us how much she wanted off the ship - I think she was feeling my husband out about a position in his place. (The crew all work incredibly hard and keep smiling while they do it. They deserve all the credit in the world for putting up with an endless round of people looking for the perfect vacation!) My husband and I have worked in all aspects of the fine dining restaurant industry for over 25 years. We both know our wines and food - but we are not "snobs". I thought the food on the cruise was ok. Nothing spectacular. Adequate and plentiful. We did brunch at Palo and that was excellent. I really loved the king crab legs and shrimp with the brandy sauce. The caviar was of ok quality and was plentiful. My eggs florentine were good but I really loved the cold display choices the most. I also loved the lunch buffets - lots of choices and very good. I think the problem Disney runs into with their sit down dinners is feeding so many people at once. Logistically it must be a nightmare. Nothing I tried was even close to being hot. Don't take my criticism's the wrong way. The food was good - just in my opinion it was not up to the hype I read about pre cruise. One of the problems may be with my family. I think we would do better with food service like Norwegians which has free style dining. That way we could pick the time and place according to what we want that night. I would love it if Disney did a dinner buffet as an alternative to the sit downs.
Kids Clubs and Character Interaction
As noted DD decided to be stubborn and NOT use the potty before the cruise. We had her excited about going to be with the "babies" because she loves babies. 20 minutes after dropping her off the first time I got the dreaded beep. She told me she was so "sad" and that none of the babies talked. As noted in this board before - there is a real need for some type of child care for the in betweens of this age. It's bad enough they can't go swimming - but there is really nothing for them to do. She did agree to go to Flounders for our brunch - but that was it. DS loved the kids clubs - but really stayed with us most of the time. He and I did do the kite decorationg activity together which was nice. Character interaction was plentiful and great. I have a priceless picture of me, my mother and Goofy.
Castaway Cay
We had PERFECT weather. Did the Stingray Adventure with DS. Pricey for what you get - but that's Disney. DD got her hair braided and looked beautiful! Beach was crowded because we wanted to stay close to the tram for Mom. She actually sat under an umbrella on the beach and read a book. Water was chilly but doable. Had a ball.
Nassau
Very crowded city. We are not bid shoppers so just went through a few shops. Did the pirate museum. The dark entry scared DD. Museum itself was ok. Nassau is a tough town to manuever if you have trouble walking so it was hard for my mom. I think next time I would either just stay on board or do an excursion.
Thing I read about that I Used
clothespins to hold curtains closed
pillow cases signed by characters (just adorable)
I packed light so we didn't have too much stuff.
Never did really figure out how to use shoe hanger.
Conclusion
We went to WDW after the cruise had awesome room at Poly. Memorable dinner at the California Grill.The cruise was all and all very nice. Not the dream vacation I had hoped for - but we had a good time. I think I need to step back from the whole Disney thing for a while. Just like some restauants that have raised their prices so much that dinner out has become a major investment I am starting to feel like Disney has reached my threshold of pain with prices. It is just too much. Bottom line - beautiful ship, ok food, good staff, Castaway Cay is the best! Have fun!!!!
Cast: me, DH, DS5, DD3 (who decided to be stubborn and not be PT'd by cruise day) and my 79yo Mom in her own cabin. I have cruised Carnival, RCCL and Norwegian. This was DH's first cruise.
We had Cat 6 7562 / Mom had cat 11 7623
Due to my husbands schedule we had to fly in from Atlantic City to Orlando on cruise day. If there is any way possible to not do this I would reccomend it. But it was our only option. We arrived at 9am and were on the DCL transport bus by 9:20. The bus was extremely crowded and I we had to split up. Not easy with young ones. Had I known I would have waited for the next bus and kept us all together.
Arrived at port and got number 3. Kids were very anxious to get onboard. My husband didn't get home until 2 am the night before so he was running on empty. We had a delicious buffet at Parrot Cay and went to our cabins at 1:30 pm.The plan was DH and DD would take naps while DS and I explored the ship. Unfortunately, the intercoms are on all afternoon with and sleep wasn't really possible. The cabin was clean and the verandah was nice. I grew up on boats so I now the limited space that is available. The cabin is an ok size - I just wish something could be done with the queen bed configuration so that there is more room to get past it. The way it is laid out you have to squeeze by the bed to get to the rest of the cabin.
Fire Drill was ok for our family. Just a short walk up the stairs. Unfortunately, for my mom it was a real hike up the stairs to her drill area. I had asked that she be able to stay with us but was denied. I guess we should have asked for special assistance.
Dining:
Our rotation was APPT. When we arrived at our table it was for 4. Even after calling numerous times to make sure my mother was "linked" to us - she was not. Moved to another table after some initial confusion. Our servers were very nice - however I had a lot of difficulty understanding one of them. It didn't seem to stop her from telling me her life story. I assume most people love the interaction with the servers so I am not criticizing their "act" I just prefer less interaction. Don't get me wrong they were great and my kids loved them. It was just by the 4th night our head server was telling us how much she wanted off the ship - I think she was feeling my husband out about a position in his place. (The crew all work incredibly hard and keep smiling while they do it. They deserve all the credit in the world for putting up with an endless round of people looking for the perfect vacation!) My husband and I have worked in all aspects of the fine dining restaurant industry for over 25 years. We both know our wines and food - but we are not "snobs". I thought the food on the cruise was ok. Nothing spectacular. Adequate and plentiful. We did brunch at Palo and that was excellent. I really loved the king crab legs and shrimp with the brandy sauce. The caviar was of ok quality and was plentiful. My eggs florentine were good but I really loved the cold display choices the most. I also loved the lunch buffets - lots of choices and very good. I think the problem Disney runs into with their sit down dinners is feeding so many people at once. Logistically it must be a nightmare. Nothing I tried was even close to being hot. Don't take my criticism's the wrong way. The food was good - just in my opinion it was not up to the hype I read about pre cruise. One of the problems may be with my family. I think we would do better with food service like Norwegians which has free style dining. That way we could pick the time and place according to what we want that night. I would love it if Disney did a dinner buffet as an alternative to the sit downs.
Kids Clubs and Character Interaction
As noted DD decided to be stubborn and NOT use the potty before the cruise. We had her excited about going to be with the "babies" because she loves babies. 20 minutes after dropping her off the first time I got the dreaded beep. She told me she was so "sad" and that none of the babies talked. As noted in this board before - there is a real need for some type of child care for the in betweens of this age. It's bad enough they can't go swimming - but there is really nothing for them to do. She did agree to go to Flounders for our brunch - but that was it. DS loved the kids clubs - but really stayed with us most of the time. He and I did do the kite decorationg activity together which was nice. Character interaction was plentiful and great. I have a priceless picture of me, my mother and Goofy.
Castaway Cay
We had PERFECT weather. Did the Stingray Adventure with DS. Pricey for what you get - but that's Disney. DD got her hair braided and looked beautiful! Beach was crowded because we wanted to stay close to the tram for Mom. She actually sat under an umbrella on the beach and read a book. Water was chilly but doable. Had a ball.
Nassau
Very crowded city. We are not bid shoppers so just went through a few shops. Did the pirate museum. The dark entry scared DD. Museum itself was ok. Nassau is a tough town to manuever if you have trouble walking so it was hard for my mom. I think next time I would either just stay on board or do an excursion.
Thing I read about that I Used
clothespins to hold curtains closed
pillow cases signed by characters (just adorable)
I packed light so we didn't have too much stuff.
Never did really figure out how to use shoe hanger.
Conclusion
We went to WDW after the cruise had awesome room at Poly. Memorable dinner at the California Grill.The cruise was all and all very nice. Not the dream vacation I had hoped for - but we had a good time. I think I need to step back from the whole Disney thing for a while. Just like some restauants that have raised their prices so much that dinner out has become a major investment I am starting to feel like Disney has reached my threshold of pain with prices. It is just too much. Bottom line - beautiful ship, ok food, good staff, Castaway Cay is the best! Have fun!!!!
Interesting about the door rack- I was going to get one today! Did you go swimming the first day on the boat- is it worth it to have bathing suits in carry-ons? And did you have lots of swimmy diapers for your DD? My DS is 21 mos. My DD also 3 (potty trained) but I'm wondering how she'll do with the kids club. DS are 4 and 5- I think they'll be fine. I wasn't going to bring pillowcases because my kids are so young, but do you think it was worth it? So happy to hear about Palo's brunch- that's the one thing I really want to do. Did your kids see any of the shows? Did they "get" it? Thank you, thank you!!!
It's so helpful to read your suggestions. I am so excited and ready for this trip! I plan on getting sharpies and pillowcases tomorrow for the kids- thank you 
and the DIS board group is also bringing along beads to celebrate mardi gras. This will be one amazing trip. I appreciate so much all of the comments, good, bad and ugly about what to expect. Western caribbean, here we come!!
