DisneyNewbie76
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2016
- Messages
- 52
A bit about me, MWM, 40 Years Old, one daughter, 6 years old. First Cruise for both of us. Wife was unable to join us. She hates Cruising, too claustrophobic.
Flew out of NYC on a 5:30am flight. Never again. Though when I booked it it was the cheapest option. I got up at 2:30 that morning and stayed up until Midnight on Embarkation Day. I don't own a car as I live in the City so when I travel I tend towards the easiest option. For me, that was booking the ground transportation to take advantage of the baggage situation. I didn't see it until 5:30 that night which was the cutoff time. I will try and make this short and sweet...
First off, I loved it. I can now say I am hooked. My daughter also loved it. So many activities, so little time. From Bingo to Character Meets, the Oceaneer's Lab and Castaway Cay, she loved it all. It was so good that when I got home my wife asked me what I did when my daughter was playing in the club and I honestly couldn't tell her.
The Good...
The food in the restaurants was excellent. Every item I ordered was top notch. The service of every cast member I came across was excellent, manners impeccable, always ready with a greeting and a helping hand. The number of activities was amazing. There was always something for my daughter to do. Lifeguards at the pool was a plus. I loved that they kick you out for the first ten minutes of every hour so you can recharge the kiddies with water, sunblock, food, etc. The size of the ship was perfect. It only took me five minutes to walk from end to end. I could wake my daughter up only minutes before each event to get her there on time. I only saw Frozen for the Live Shows. A condensed version of the movie, but very beautifully staged. Very easy to leave the ship on disembarkation day. Signed up for the service that allows Disney to check your bag through. Once I dropped my bag in front of my door I did not see it again until picking it up at my home airport.
The Bad...
Being a "single" parent on the Cruise I had to cater to every whim of my daughter. I could not partake of most of the adult activities on board. Though the food was excellent in the restaurants the quick service food was just a notch above McDonald's. The size of the appetizers was small. I had to order two each time. I came onto the Cruise not knowing a soul. I met my tablemates the first night at dinner so I would occasionally see them the rest of the cruise, but the outwardly social aspect of the cruise was lacking. And this was after attending several mixer type events such as the family dances, deck parties, etc. I spent bank at the BBB to get my daughter dolled up for the Pirate's Night and when it came time to pulling her out of the Lab for the party, she didn't want to go. No fireworks either for her.
For the next time I will change my wardrobe selection. I felt a little underdressed at some of the events and dinner. Other than that, I can't wait to go again. I am going to try for one cruise a year from here on out. I didn't book a placeholder cruise as my wife asked me not to, though I should have. Though I feel four days was a perfect amount of time for a first cruise, I believe moving forward I will try for 7+ days.
Please reply with any questions, thoughts, comments...
Flew out of NYC on a 5:30am flight. Never again. Though when I booked it it was the cheapest option. I got up at 2:30 that morning and stayed up until Midnight on Embarkation Day. I don't own a car as I live in the City so when I travel I tend towards the easiest option. For me, that was booking the ground transportation to take advantage of the baggage situation. I didn't see it until 5:30 that night which was the cutoff time. I will try and make this short and sweet...
First off, I loved it. I can now say I am hooked. My daughter also loved it. So many activities, so little time. From Bingo to Character Meets, the Oceaneer's Lab and Castaway Cay, she loved it all. It was so good that when I got home my wife asked me what I did when my daughter was playing in the club and I honestly couldn't tell her.
The Good...
The food in the restaurants was excellent. Every item I ordered was top notch. The service of every cast member I came across was excellent, manners impeccable, always ready with a greeting and a helping hand. The number of activities was amazing. There was always something for my daughter to do. Lifeguards at the pool was a plus. I loved that they kick you out for the first ten minutes of every hour so you can recharge the kiddies with water, sunblock, food, etc. The size of the ship was perfect. It only took me five minutes to walk from end to end. I could wake my daughter up only minutes before each event to get her there on time. I only saw Frozen for the Live Shows. A condensed version of the movie, but very beautifully staged. Very easy to leave the ship on disembarkation day. Signed up for the service that allows Disney to check your bag through. Once I dropped my bag in front of my door I did not see it again until picking it up at my home airport.
The Bad...
Being a "single" parent on the Cruise I had to cater to every whim of my daughter. I could not partake of most of the adult activities on board. Though the food was excellent in the restaurants the quick service food was just a notch above McDonald's. The size of the appetizers was small. I had to order two each time. I came onto the Cruise not knowing a soul. I met my tablemates the first night at dinner so I would occasionally see them the rest of the cruise, but the outwardly social aspect of the cruise was lacking. And this was after attending several mixer type events such as the family dances, deck parties, etc. I spent bank at the BBB to get my daughter dolled up for the Pirate's Night and when it came time to pulling her out of the Lab for the party, she didn't want to go. No fireworks either for her.
For the next time I will change my wardrobe selection. I felt a little underdressed at some of the events and dinner. Other than that, I can't wait to go again. I am going to try for one cruise a year from here on out. I didn't book a placeholder cruise as my wife asked me not to, though I should have. Though I feel four days was a perfect amount of time for a first cruise, I believe moving forward I will try for 7+ days.
Please reply with any questions, thoughts, comments...
