First Timer's DCL Review

[chuff88]

I agree with the server push for excellent, it was really bad on our cruise in March. Every night we got the whole “Was it excellent? Was I excellent? If you don’t rate me excellent it affects my job” And I don’t like confrontation either, but if it happens again on our next cruise I’m going to say something because it was getting uncomfortable at the end of every meal to be lectured to for 5 minutes about ratings. And I’m the same, I usually would not rate excellent unless I am totally blown away by the service. I would have rated very good because that’s what it was, but I gave an excellent because I didn’t want the server to get in trouble or be demoted. It was only an issue with our head server, the assistant and room steward never said a word about it.

It’s interesting reading everyone talk about this, because on our three cruises the actual ratings have only ever been brought up on the last night. Our server would ask during the trip if there was anything they could do to improve our experience, or they’d offer alternatives for food we didn’t enjoy, but the ratings were only explicitly mentioned toward the end. And our head server would ask how their team was doing, but I don’t recall them ever mentioning surveys. Maybe we’ve just lucked out and not had pushy servers. Our room steward maybe casually mentioned “please be sure to fill out the survey” but never pushed anything.

 

[Calantha]

It’s interesting reading everyone talk about this, because on our three cruises the actual ratings have only ever been brought up on the last night.

I've definitely have a mix of experiences. Sometimes they've only brought it up once, and on others, it was multiple times.

 

[randumb0]

I haven't experienced that in a while but I always have the same server so I am sure that helps.

I wish they would update their survey to allow for general comments. I have a lot to say and there is no place to put it

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Which is ridiculous when people have allergies and preferences. Example, I do not like fish - I'm not allergic, but when I was 6 I choked on a fish bone to the point of gagging. It was so traumatic that if I get the taste or texture of fish in my mouth I gag. I'm also gluten-free due to a wheat allergy. So if the only things the server thinks are recommendable are fish or something not gluten-free, I'm obviously going to have to go against their recommendations.

Possibly, if you tell your server your limitations, they would be able to recommend other options with would work?

I have, in the past, added a paper to the survey with expanded comments on why my ratings on food are ON THE PREP TEAM (chef, sous chefs, etc) and NOT a reflection on my server, who, in most cases, did his/her job to attempt to steer me away from a less than stellar food offering.

 

[Kwami]

I haven't experienced that in a while but I always have the same server so I am sure that helps.

I wish they would update their survey to allow for general comments. I have a lot to say and there is no place to put it

You can put an additional piece of paper inside the survey.

 

[Dug720]

Possibly, if you tell your server your limitations, they would be able to recommend other options with would work?

I have, in the past, added a paper to the survey with expanded comments on why my ratings on food are ON THE PREP TEAM (chef, sous chefs, etc) and NOT a reflection on my server, who, in most cases, did his/her job to attempt to steer me away from a less than stellar food offering.

They know them. One time my server said "Given everything, I'd say the steak or chicken from the lighter fare menu" because they really didn't like the non-fish and gluten-free option. I forget which menu it was. LOL. I'd actually already decided to do the steak because nothing looked good.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

They know them. One time my server said "Given everything, I'd say the steak or chicken from the lighter fare menu" because they really didn't like the non-fish and gluten-free option. I forget which menu it was. LOL. I'd actually already decided to do the steak because nothing looked good.

Truthfully, I find myself ordering from the lighter fare menu quite often.

Our last cruise, I threw our server for a loop when I explained "all I want is one (1) baked potato" for dinner.

 

[SnowWhite2]

I always seem to have a conversation with the servers on the first night when they see my platinum lanyard and we discuss how many cruises I've been on (22) then we discuss the excellent rating and I tell them that at anytime they don't live up to excellent I will tell them immediately so they have time to fix it so I can give them excellent ratings. That seems to end the excellent discussion for the rest of the cruise.

 

[Mango7100]

It’s interesting reading everyone talk about this, because on our three cruises the actual ratings have only ever been brought up on the last night. Our server would ask during the trip if there was anything they could do to improve our experience, or they’d offer alternatives for food we didn’t enjoy, but the ratings were only explicitly mentioned toward the end. And our head server would ask how their team was doing, but I don’t recall them ever mentioning surveys. Maybe we’ve just lucked out and not had pushy servers. Our room steward maybe casually mentioned “please be sure to fill out the survey” but never pushed anything.

Our first two cruises were similar to your experience. But this last one was bad—it was a 5 night and he started in on the second night and kept going every night. The part about how if we don’t rate him excellent it affects his job and livelihood was especially awkward for me because then I felt like I was somehow responsible for his job (which I know is ridiculous). Even my husband who usually doesn’t notice stuff like this remarked about how weird it was getting. It was our first DCL cruise since 2019 so I don’t know if recently Disney is hammering them about the reviews or if was just this server worried about it.

 

[chuff88]

Our first two cruises were similar to your experience. But this last one was bad—it was a 5 night and he started in on the second night and kept going every night. The part about how if we don’t rate him excellent it affects his job and livelihood was especially awkward for me because then I felt like I was somehow responsible for his job (which I know is ridiculous). Even my husband who usually doesn’t notice stuff like this remarked about how weird it was getting. It was our first DCL cruise since 2019 so I don’t know if recently Disney is hammering them about the reviews or if was just this server worried about it.

Two of our three cruises were post 2019 (December 2021 and we just got off today), but they were also both 7-night. Our server did say that he prefers the longer itineraries because he feels like he gets a chance to know his guests more, so maybe that’s a factor? But it kind of does sound to me like it was that server.

 

[Skittlesmom]

Anytime you have someone tell you how important the rating is, tell them "got it and thank you." If they persist in reminding you, tell them that you "appreciate the emphasis on ratings and I promise I'll rate you fairly, but if you keep bringing this up, then I'll mark you down and probably request someone else before that point". That sends the message and allows you to enjoy your vacation. This shouldn't be something you need to be harassed about while you're on vacation.

 

[cburnett11]

I was considering a 4-day cruise for my first one to make sure we liked being on a boat that long. But sounds like you just jumped in with a longer one and we’re happy with that decision.

 

[Princesca]

I was considering a 4-day cruise for my first one to make sure we liked being on a boat that long. But sounds like you just jumped in with a longer one and we’re happy with that decision.

We kept saying how sad we would have been had we kept our original 4 day cruise on the Wish. We weren't ready to leave even after 6 nights. I totally get why people say the best cruise is the longest one. It took us 3-4 days just to really get settled in and acclimated to the ship. I really don't have much interest in cruises shorter than 6 nights going forward... we have been super spoiled.

 

[cburnett11]

We kept saying how sad we would have been had we kept our original 4 day cruise on the Wish. We weren't ready to leave even after 6 nights. I totally get why people say the best cruise is the longest one. It took us 3-4 days just to really get settled in and acclimated to the ship. I really don't have much interest in cruises shorter than 6 nights going forward... we have been super spoiled.

This may change my thinking!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We kept saying how sad we would have been had we kept our original 4 day cruise on the Wish. We weren't ready to leave even after 6 nights. I totally get why people say the best cruise is the longest one. It took us 3-4 days just to really get settled in and acclimated to the ship. I really don't have much interest in cruises shorter than 6 nights going forward... we have been super spoiled.

Our very first cruise, ever, was a 15 night one. On Disney - Panama Canal. That spoiled us for sure. a 7 night cruise seems short to us.

 

[Princesca]

Our very first cruise, ever, was a 15 night one. On Disney - Panama Canal. That spoiled us for sure. a 7 night cruise seems short to us.

That sounds dreammmmmyyyy

 

[Flossbolna]

I was considering a 4-day cruise for my first one to make sure we liked being on a boat that long. But sounds like you just jumped in with a longer one and we’re happy with that decision.

My first cruise was 5 nights. My husband (then boyfriend) had cruises a lot before, mainly transatlantic cruises. He was weary about such a short cruise, but I was unsure whether I liked it, got seasick etc. So 5 nights was the compromise. And we both loved the cruise! Yes, it was too short and left me with wanting more. But I didn’t feel like I made a mistake. It was on the Wonder, so a smaller ship might help as well to feel at home faster. We both agree now that we can do 5 nights but still prefer longer. My next cruise then was a 15-night Panama Canal cruise.

 

[goofy4prez]

We kept saying how sad we would have been had we kept our original 4 day cruise on the Wish. We weren't ready to leave even after 6 nights. I totally get why people say the best cruise is the longest one. It took us 3-4 days just to really get settled in and acclimated to the ship. I really don't have much interest in cruises shorter than 6 nights going forward... we have been super spoiled.

I agree 100% with this. Our first cruise in over 25 years was for 7 nights on the Fantasy in 2019 and loved it. Covid came and multiple cruises with Disney and others were canceled. Finally, we did a 5-night cruise this past December on the Dream, had a great time, but left wishing for a few more nights. A few months ago in March we did a 10-night cruise with Regent Seven Seas on the Splendor and loved the number of nights. We now have a 7-night Eastern booked for April 24 on the Fantasy and another 10-night cruise booked with Regent Seven Seas on their new ship Grandeur.

 

[holula]

I always seem to have a conversation with the servers on the first night when they see my platinum lanyard and we discuss how many cruises I've been on (22) then we discuss the excellent rating and I tell them that at anytime they don't live up to excellent I will tell them immediately so they have time to fix it so I can give them excellent ratings. That seems to end the excellent discussion for the rest of the cruise.

This is exactly what I do too. It was even better on my last cruise when the server saw my black lanyard and was like okay, you’ve sailed enough times, you know the drill with ratings.

I was like, thank you for sparing me the speech He was also excellent which helped!

 

[ArielRae]

- Room service for hot food was never hot by the time we got it. Menu was limited and wait was always 40 minutes or so. Breakfast to room was also weird. If you order bagels and indicate 3 people in the room, we were expecting three bagels. But it seemed we got 2 of some things, 3 of others, 1 of others. Just random. All Hands on Deck was always a hit. But we stopped ordering anything toasted or hot because it was never was that.

I can help with your breakfast room service problem. When you order breakfast on the room card. You indicate the number of people in the room on the card but when you are marking the item choices you want don’t put an X or a ✔ next to the item. You are supposed to write a number in next to the item of how many you would like of it. Some in the room may want certain items others may not. So if you don’t put a number next to the item room service is left to guess how many you may have wanted. They probably don’t want to give 3 of everything you selected in fear it is wasted. The adults in the room may have wanted bagels but the kid may not. I like to get extra milk so I put the number of milk cartons I would like them to give me. Also for the mixed fruit I add very small note next to it what fruit I would only like. For example grapes and watermelon only. We have also done this for the danish/pastry items. Of course writing these notes are only a request.