We planned an AFTERNOON excursion in St. Thomas so we could sleep in....guess what, you have to be up at 6:30 am even if you don't get off the ship for immigration!!!
We wanted to do something in St. Thomas because it was the first time there for the kids. It was the 6th visit there for my wife and I, all on cruise ships, and after the first 2 visits, we used that as our sleep in day....no excursions. We aren't shoppers, but it seems like St. Thomas is almost a mandatory stop for all cruise ships. Sort of like it used to be in Hawaii, you HAD to spend at least one night in Honolulu....that, fortunately has changed and you can even get direct flights to Maui.
The biggest differences I found with
DCL over other lines are of course the Disney theme. The kids clubs are common to all lines now, but I think Disney in one of the few lines with dedicated spaces on the ship for kids....many other lines rotate the kids clubs thru regular public rooms.
Also, I found Disney is different in that, either by design, or by the type of passengers they attract, they are an "early to bed, early to rise" cruise. The "scheduled" programing runs to 1 am, which is pretty late, but other lines usually run until 3 am. We had late seating for dinner, and we always enjoyed a leisurely dinner, often until 10:30 or 11.....and by then the venues were pretty empty. And more than one sea day, I heard kids running in the halls before 6:30 am!!!! I can understand that on port days, and as a west coaster, 6:30 am est is like 3:30 am pst for me!!!!
Nothing disappointed me, just differences. Other than wine tasting and excursions, we didn't do anything that required a reservation rush....no Palo, no Spa. No interest in those, this was a FAMILY vacation.......and other than the hour for the wine tasting, we were with our kids 24/7, something we CAN'T do at home. For a second cruise in a row, they monitored the kids clubs activities, but each day decided they preferred the "adult" activities.