First timers just back, how was it?

[Jennygt]

I am trying to get it together for 2010, but I am still just a little nervous. I wanted to ask some first timers how they enjoyed the cruise. Could you feel the motion enough that you were uncomfortable. thoughts on the dinning rotation, room size? I know that you all had so much fun, I am just curious what the impressions of the first timers were and any tips that you could pass on to me, thanks!!

 

[DVCsince02]

I felt the motion the first night when we were full speed to Nassau. It wasn't a big deal, just took getting my sea legs, but never feld sick.

The dining rooms are very different. I would rate Tritions my top pick, as the food was great and dining room was very pretty. Second I would pick Animator's Palate, again, food and dining room was good. Parrot Cay would be my least favorite for dinner. Food was fair and the dining room is very loud. It was fine for lunch, but dinner was just okay.

The stateroom had plenty of room for DH and I. While the room slept 4, I think 3 would be the max that would be comfortable walking around. Lots of storage for all your things.

We were nervous too, but had a blast and hoping to re-book when we go again next month.

 

[scarlett873]

We've cruised with another cruise line before and DH was NOT a cruising fan after that experience. Had it not been for the special circumstance surrounding this cruise, I don't think DH would have ever gotten on another cruise ship for quite some time. However...after cruising Disney...DH is a convert! He's told me that he would cruise again as long as it's with Disney...

The service, overall, was incredible. Anything that we could possibly need, want, or desire was taken care of. The bar staff was great anytime we ordered anything...favorite bartender on the ship was Samson in the Cadillac Lounge.

Dining was wonderful. I would echo Jen's comments though...Triton's would be my first pick...followed by Animator's Palette...and lastly, Parrot Cay. I did not care for the menu much in Parrot Cay at all...Our rotation had us in Parrot Cay twice. We hit Palo one of those nights...Palo was a little slice of heaven I have to say. That filet was the most amazing piece of steak that I have ever had in my life. It literally melted in my mouth. And the service was wonderful. Our server brought us a small serving of another entree just to make sure that we tried it. Palo brunch was good too...just a little crowded when trying to get food as it's served buffet style except for your main entree. That was freshly prepared and brought to you. Really yummy though!

We had a cat 7, also called a Navigator's Verandah. Our cabin was roomy enough for two. I suppose you could put 3 in there, but it would be uncomfortable with more than that. Lots and lots of storage space too. Our cabin was considered a Navigator's Verandah, but our verandah wasn't completely enclosed like the others. We had a slight obstruction with our view, but we had a "normal" plexiglass railing like a regular verandah did. We've rebooked for the next cruise in the very same cabin!

DH was quite pleased with the service, the food, the cabin, and how well DCL kept the adults only areas adults only. On our last cruise, there were kids everywhere, even in the adults only areas. The staff did nothing...but DCL made sure that the adults had an area to escape the madness of children if they wanted to. But I have to say that the family/kid's pools looked like lots of fun! I can't wait until we have a little one to play over there!

Disney did a great job at giving us the kind of cruise that we wanted. A little elegance with a little Disney. The Disney references weren't over the top...except for the shows of course...but the characters weren't in your face if you didn't want them to be.

The motion wasn't too bad...you really don't sail much on the 4 day. We left Port Canaveral on Sunday...felt the rocking then, but I was on Bonine so it did not make me sick...docked in Nassau the next day...we didn't leave Nassau until after 2am, so most were sleeping when the ship was moving. Docked at Castaway Cay the next day...and it wasn't until we left CC that we really felt anything. Again, I was on Bonine so it didn't make me sick or anything.

I would like to try a 7 day in the future. For me, 4 days just wasn't enough! I need more!!!

 

[wilde_oscar]

the first night at full speed and the last night crossing the current you could feel the motion of the ship. trying to fall asleep on the last night I could see some sway to the curtains.

The rotation dining was great, keeping the same wait staff made it easier to communicate on subsequent evenings.

The room size was like a microtel, but we didn't spend much time except to sleep.

Pack kinda light, it might help to plan ahead your day out fit and evening outfit. Keep carry on to a minimum, you won't get access to your state room till long after boarding... dragging stuff around for a couple hours, not fun.

 

[k5jm]

This was my first cruise and totally loved it. The motion of the boat was is much more apparent as you move away from the center of the ship. We were at the front of the ship and could notice the movement only the first day and the last night. We also felt like we were still on the boat for a couple of days after (still felt like we were rocking even though we were sitting still).

We loved the food and as Corey and I will testify, you can have as much as you want for any portion of the meal. Two Entrees and 3 desserts, no problem. Same at Palo. We oftened ordered multiple from each course just to sample the different items (Christy and I are Foodies). We enjoyed the food at Animator's Palatte and Parrot Cay. Palo was our favorite. How could it not be?

We only had two in our Cat 7 but we had enough to squeeze 4 but, would suggest only 3 in that size room.

 

[jeanigor]

I would agree for the most part with the previous posters. This being my first cruise, I had packed Bonine and Ginger as well as my meditation mat--all in hopes of staving off motion sickness. Well come to find out a few days before we sailed, I couldn't take the ginger due to possible side effects with a medication I just started, and I didn't take the Bonine because I needed to be fully awake and alert for the Muddy Buddy. The first night, sailing full speed to Nassau, I could feel it as I walked around on the open deck and a couple of times during dinner. Nothing too terrible. Just like I jumped up out of bed too quickly or like I had one too many at the bar. The last evening crossing back through the straits of Florida got a tad rough. Nothing to write home about, but in comparison to the smooth sailing of the previous days.

As for dining rotation, I would whole-heartedly agree with Jen and Brandie. Triton's was the best of the normal restaurants followed by Animator's Palette and a distant third place was Parrot Cay. I did have the pleasure of dining at Palo on our first night. Not wanting to miss the show or meeting our table mates at Animator's Palette, we decided to eat there after we ate at Palo. Let me tell you we were stuffed.

We had a Cat 5 and it was a good size for two grown adults that were not together. If there were three of us, it would have been too crowded. I am toying with sailing solo next time and getting a smaller cabin because I don't need all the room for myself.

Biggest tip: Have fun. Don't be afraid to say hello. Even if they aren't DIS'ers.

 

[FireDancer]

I will echo a lot of what was already said because I agree. This was my first cruise and I am not what you call a cruise-vacation type. Being a Disney fan I knew I would eventually do a Disney cruise and the opportunity to meet the Disers along with the great pricing made this that cruise.

The motion was not bad at all. At full speed the first night I felt some motion and then again on the evening of the last day but neither was enough to make me feel sick or anything.

I loved having the same wait staff for the entire trip. I also think Tritons had the best menu while Animator's Pallet had the best atmosphere. I was on the ship with my mom and brother so we were sans kids and had plenty to do. While you are surrounded by Disney of course you can head over to the gym or the adult pool area and escape it if it just gets too much. At the same time you can head to a show or character greeting if you want some more Disney immersion.

The three of us had a category 11 stateroom (aka Steerage) but we had plenty or room. We are usually value resort people because we use the room to sleep and then get out and we used the state room the same way. If the 3 of us had wanted to spend a lot of time in the room it might have been a bit cramped.

 

[maiziezoe]

Ditto, ditto, ditto what the others posted.

We had a cat 10 room... on deck 2. I could feel the boat move, but I never felt sick. The couple times I felt woozy the first night, I went to my cabin for a few minutes and it helped a lot. The last night we sailed, I felt the movement a LOT, but again, I never felt sick.

Like I said, we had a cat 10 cabin.... 2 of them (adjoining). I traveled with my hubby and 3 kids (12, 4 and 2)... we had MORE than enough room. I have great organizational skills and they came in handy. Seriously, we had a lot of room. Not having a window or veranda made the cabins very dark at night so I brought two night lights and kept the tv on channel 11 while we slept (channel 11 is the view from the front of the boat).

My DH is not a fan of Disney... well, he wasn't before this trip, anyway... since we have been home, I have listen to him talk about Disney non-stop.

 

[cocowum]

I am trying to get it together for 2010, but I am still just a little nervous. I wanted to ask some first timers how they enjoyed the cruise. Could you feel the motion enough that you were uncomfortable.

We were Midship and the only time we could feel motion when we were in our stateroom was on the last night.

I'm such a worrywart. One of my biggest fears was being motion sick on the cruise. I packed Bonine, ginger chews and sea bands. So, it's the first day, about 2:00pm and I'm unpacking and I start feeling extremely motion sick. I started pounding down the ginger chews and I didn't feel any better. I started freaking out in my head. Oh no, my cruise was ruined etc. I was feeling awful. I decided to go upstairs and get some fresh air. I grabbed a few magnets for my stateroom door and as I was putting them on my door Todd, Anna and Kim were passing by and came in to see my shoes. I told them I was sooo sea sick!!! Kim looks at me and says "Alicia, we are not moving yet. You can't be seasick." Immediately, I felt better and I was fine for the rest of the trip.

Thanks Kim!

thoughts on the dinning rotation, room size? I know that you all had so much fun, I am just curious what the impressions of the first timers were and any tips that you could pass on to me, thanks!!

I agree with Jen and Brandie about the dining. As for room size, we were in a Cat 6. There were 3 of us, it was OK. One tip I would definitely pass on was the over the door shoe holders for toiletries. The bathrooms are tiny.



I found the room to have lots of storage space. I packed 5 28-30" Pullmans and a garment bag. I was able to easily store them under the bed.


Book the cruise! You won't regret it. I had absolutely no desire to cruise before this and now I'm so glad I did! It was such an amazing experience! I can't wait to do it again!

 

[ADP]

First timer as well. I felt the motion the first night and the last night. Also, it was sort of windy on the first night as we were full speed ahead to Nassau.

My wife had cruised with Carnival a few times. One of the things I was a bit confused by was the price of a Disney cruise versus the other cruise lines. Well, I can tell you the extra money is worth every penny. I felt like we got superior service, great food (a lot of it too) plus the entertainment was incredble.

The stop at Castaway Cay was worth the price in my opinion. What a great island! A lot to do, plenty of food, and some of the best sliced fruit I've ever had.

The best advice I can give you is make sure to see the shows on the first night and last night, take full advantage of your Castaway Cay day, if you've never been to Atlantis, go; otherwise there's no other reason to leave the ship in Nassau.

 

[tickledtink33]

We were Midship and the only time we could feel motion when we were in our stateroom was on the last night.

I'm such a worrywart. One of my biggest fears was being motion sick on the cruise. I packed Bonine, ginger chews and sea bands. So, it's the first day, about 2:00pm and I'm unpacking and I start feeling extremely motion sick. I started pounding down the ginger chews and I didn't feel any better. I started freaking out in my head. Oh no, my cruise was ruined etc. I was feeling awful. I decided to go upstairs and get some fresh air. I grabbed a few magnets for my stateroom door and as I was putting them on my door Todd, Anna and Kim were passing by and came in to see my shoes. I told them I was sooo sea sick!!! Kim looks at me and says "Alicia, we are not moving yet. You can't be seasick." Immediately, I felt better and I was fine for the rest of the trip.

Thanks Kim!

You're welcome Alicia