Has Disney really gone downhill?

[Setsail71]

So many threads complain that service is bad, food is bad, ship is over crowded, no more dinner cabanas. We spent a small fortune for a western Caribbean on the fantasy mid June. This would be our 4th Disney cruise and I am starting to regret it. I cannot imagine being stuck on a boat for 7 days if it isn’t anything but awesome. Add the late dinner seating we can’t move to earlier and sargassum, and I would cancel if I could. Ugh.

 

[Cheburashka]

So many threads complain that service is bad, food is bad, ship is over crowded, no more dinner cabanas. We spent a small fortune for a western Caribbean on the fantasy mid June. This would be our 4th Disney cruise and I am starting to regret it. I cannot imagine being stuck on a boat for 7 days if it isn’t anything but awesome. Add the late dinner seating we can’t move to earlier and sargassum, and I would cancel if I could. Ugh.

Don't take too seriously the insider complaints that you read on these boards. Have you ever heard the expression, "Comparison is the thief of joy"? Well, sometimes we cruise vets compare things as they are to how they used to be, and therefore complain. That doesn't mean things aren't currently good nonetheless.

The Disney Fantasy is a great ship. Beautiful, creative, comfortable, fun, with a classic ocean liner style. DCL staterooms are much better than industry average for their category (inside, oceanview or verandah): bigger and with better bathrooms.

Crowding on Disney cruises is nothing compared to Disney parks. It usually isn't an issue at all, except for a few pinch points at peak times.

Service is good on the Fantasy. There have been some reported MDR dining service problems on the Dream lately (which I experienced in January), but they were limited to the MDRs and I also haven't seen those reports about other ships.

The food is not bad. It is cruise food (think hotel banquet quality), which won't please a food-fusser/gourmet, but most cruisers are happy with it. The upcharge adult restaurants have better food (think upscale land restaurant) if you're willing to pay extra.

 

[nw6675]

Joined in 2019. I don't think they just joined to spew anything. I follow the DCL threads and also so see a lot of "meh" reviews.

 

[soniam]

I would try to go in without too many high or low expectations. I have found for me that if I expect it to be bad, then it is. If I set my expectations too high, then they aren’t met. Would you have more fun sitting at home? I am looking forward to our cruise in about a week. I try to ignore the negativity on the boards. Being preemptively unhappy won’t help. Fantasy Western Caribbean is great! Have an awesome cruise!

 

[auntlynne]

Here’s a mixed answer. Yes, Disney has gone downhill. But so many things have in the last decade(s). As as many point out, more people will comment about something that offends them than will others who are satisfied.

I sailed the Magic 3 weeks ago. A lot of friendly workers. A few not up to par. The ship has more work to do post-dry dock to get her back to her normal condition.

I say go into this next trip with the expectations you had when you booked it. If it doesn’t live up to what you think is appropriate for your vacation dollars, don’t book them again. But don’t blame the choice of ports or factors out of Disney’s control. They did not make you pick a Western Caribbean.

Come home and give it a few weeks and see how you feel; I tend to forget little annoyances if overall I had a good trip.

I have never been stuck on a boat, though - that just sounds like hyperbole. Are you just scared, do you have a propensity to be unhappy, or were you coerced into this cruise and really didn’t want to go? (Or just read too many posts about awful cruises?). I am not a fan of the Western Caribbean, but am prepared to enjoy my vacation if a hurricane turns my upcoming Eastern itinerary into a Western one.

I truly hope your cruise does not bear out your concerns and you have a great time (and that Disney provides you the experience you paid for - I certainly understand that aspect.)

 

[AquaDame]

Had to remove some rude posts from this one - please remember new guests will want to chime in here too, and deserve to be welcomed just the same as if someone who has been around here awhile chooses to vent or express concern.

 

[Kwami]

The food on my last cruise in October/November, 2022 was pretty much identical to the food on my first cruise back in September, 2018. So, if they've gone downhill on food, then it happened before 2018. I think the food is fine. Some of it is actually quite good.

The ships aren't more crowded than before. They can't be, really. There's a limit to how many passengers are allowed on the ship. Disney was sailing a mix of half-empty and very full cruises before the Covid-19 shutdowns and now they're doing exactly that again. There was a nice time when every ship was half empty because of Covid-19, but those times are no more. Oh, well. There are still repositioning cruises if you want lower crowd levels.

Cabanas still isn't serving dinner, though. That much is true. I'm sure that it'll come back at a future time when Disney can staff up more. There are still shortages in most industries.

 

[Flying Fish]

I'm guilty of complaints about the decline of things on DCL. I have been on the Fantasy twice in the last seven months, and I was not really happy with the service seven months ago in the MDRs. In fact, I was not looking forward to last months cruise the way I should have been.

Our cruise, I'm happy to admit was amazing. Our service was great in the dining rooms. The food was all good. We had a great time, and I fell in love with DCL all over again. There were things I wish we had like the cabanas option, but there are two firework shows. There will always be things to complain about and there will always be complainers, but you shouldn't let that affect your enjoyment of the cruise. There is still nothing better than a cruise and DCL is still up there near the top of my list of cruise lines.

Just ignore us when we complain and go enjoy your family and your cruise.

 

[bigAWL]

I've been on 14 DCL cruises over the past 15 years. I've been on a Christmas cruise, summer cruises, spring break cruises. Now I don't necessarily think there were more people than ever on my last cruise on the Dream in March, but I feel like the ship was more hectic than ever in two specific areas. One was the family pool deck. I may just be getting grumpy in my old age and with grown kids, but we avoided that area at all costs. The second area was the MDRs where it seems like the serving staff was more harried and overworked than ever. In the good old days, our servers always seems to have time to linger and chat and do magic tricks for the kids. This time they were in and out as quickly as possible. I'm guessing they have not staffed the ships as they used to 3+ years ago, but I have no data on that. For me, food quality has maybe been slowly declining the entire time. It always has ups and downs, but the downward trend for me has been slow enough that I don't think it has "really gone downhill" or anything like that. [We've never ever eaten dinner in Cabanas, so that's not an issue for us.]

All that said, the rest of the experience was the same Disney cruise we've always loved. Friendly crew and excellent service. Palo and Remy were just as good as they always have been. And while the rising prices are prompting us to explore other options (taking Celebrity to Alaska this summer), we will keep coming back for more, even with grown kids.

 

[mousefan73]

Experienced DCL cruises have noticed some changes they feel are "less value" compared to past sailings and then you have new DCL Cruisers who IMO, feel shafted as they feel they are entitled to some completly magical, exclusive experience as they are sailing Disney and paying much more than other cruiselines.. In the end Disney is not a premium brand like Silversea so dont expenct gourmet meals in the MDR and it's a family cruise line so things will be hectic and crowded based on the demographic. Expectation managment.

 

[Clarkson U]

So many threads complain that service is bad, food is bad, ship is over crowded, no more dinner cabanas. We spent a small fortune for a western Caribbean on the fantasy mid June. This would be our 4th Disney cruise and I am starting to regret it. I cannot imagine being stuck on a boat for 7 days if it isn’t anything but awesome. Add the late dinner seating we can’t move to earlier and sargassum, and I would cancel if I could. Ugh.

So the old adage applies here: somewhere someone will always complain about something!

The question is do all the things you read matter to you.

Was on the Magic first sailing since dry dock. Did we have the most challenges on that ship that we ever experienced? YES.

Did we all leave that cruise in my family saying we had a great time and a lot of fun on our vacation? YES.

Did I complain about the ship. YES.

My point is, I complained but still had a great time. I agree with @auntlynne some things were not up to par. Meeting @auntlynne and her sister was one of the great things about our cruise. My DW and DSx2, still say they would sail with @auntlynne and @Calantha again if given the chance.

I like Western Carib - grand cayman is nice as is Cozumel and you get a day at Castaway!

Go have a blast and a great time. I am sure you will.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Everything changes-it has to. Things are different, for sure. Does that mean it is worse than before? No, not always, just different. Enjoy your cruise and don't worry too much about other reviews. Form your own opinion about what you enjoyed and what you miss. And then decide whether another DCL cruise is in your future. I think you will find, just as in life, there are things that are great, good, and not that good.

 

[squirk]

So many threads complain that service is bad, food is bad, ship is over crowded, no more dinner cabanas. We spent a small fortune for a western Caribbean on the fantasy mid June. This would be our 4th Disney cruise and I am starting to regret it. I cannot imagine being stuck on a boat for 7 days if it isn’t anything but awesome. Add the late dinner seating we can’t move to earlier and sargassum, and I would cancel if I could. Ugh.

You will always hear more complaints than praises here. But the population of this board - of all DCL message boards, in fact - is like a percent of a percent of the entire DCL cruising population.

So you are listening to a very vocal yet very, very, very small minority of people who cruise DCL - some of whom, IMO, sometimes sound like entitled children in terms of the things they whine about.

You’ve cruised DCL three times already. You know what it’s like. I’ve sailed eight times, and I have not noticed an appreciable decline in my cruising experience.

• The food’s not awesome, but it never was.
• The ships are crowded in the summer vacation months, but they always have been.
• Some servers beat you over the head regarding “Excellent” ratings, but there have always been a few of those.

And sargassum is nothing DCL is responsible for or can do anything about.

 

[Setsail71]

OP here, thanks everyone. I will try to go with a positive attitude. We have done 3 3-day cruises on the Dream and loved it. We last cruised in Feb 2020 and pretty sure we brought COVID home with us. We decided to do a longer cruise this time with new ports, so this will be different. My husband is a foodie and kind of a poop, so part of my apprehension is anticipating his bad attitude and not letting it ruin things for me. We have a 13 year old daughter who is so excited to spend a week with teenagers so in reality this is all for her.

The cabana change is unfortunate since we can’t seem to get off the late seating and we sail in 3 weeks. Hopefully we get a note soon if a change. Without cabanas they don’t give guest many options, especially for 7 nights. I hope Disney changes that. I thought if doing Royal Caribbean, but the timing and ports didn’t quite work out, and want to feel like I am on a ship, not a floating mall with so many people!

I will report back end of June! Cheers everyone!

 

[Cheburashka]

The cabana change is unfortunate since we can’t seem to get off the late seating and we sail in 3 weeks. Hopefully we get a note soon if a change. Without cabanas they don’t give guest many options, especially for 7 nights. I hope Disney changes that.

What exactly are you referring to as "the cabanas change"? You do realize that DCL has never offered a dinner buffet, right?

Cabanas used to offer dinner, but it was a full-service, seated and plated dinner just like in the MDRs. I guess if you wanted to dine early that would have been a good option, but late dining likely won't be problematic for a teenager.

Non-MDR dinner options are pool deck food (depending on the hour), room service (limited options), and adult upcharge restaurants (reservations required and strictly 18+ only). This is something about DCL that has not changed.

 

[Setsail71]

OP here, the cabana change I was referring to was the sit down. It gave guests a more causal option with flexible hours. We will be eating at the pool and room service a lot (we have one night at Remy) as I generally cannot comfortably eat as late as the late seating option.

 

[CaseyCruiser]

We had a Disney Magic cruise out of New Orleans in March and we had a wonderful vacation. We have been cruising with Disney for 12 years. I try to make it a fun time. No vacation is ever perfect. Enjoy it all.

 

[Geomom]

OP here, the cabana change I was referring to was the sit down. It gave guests a more causal option with flexible hours. We will be eating at the pool and room service a lot (we have one night at Remy) as I generally cannot comfortably eat as late as the late seating option.

Check the DCL navigator app daily to see if you can switch to main seating. Last June I was able to switch about 10 days before our sailing.

We had a great time on the Fantasy last June. We loved most of the food. DH said all the seafood was fresh. You can see tons of food pics in my trip report in my signature.

My DH goes into the cruises with low expectations and he's always pleasantly surprised.

 

[happycamper47]

OP here, the cabana change I was referring to was the sit down. It gave guests a more causal option with flexible hours. We will be eating at the pool and room service a lot (we have one night at Remy) as I generally cannot comfortably eat as late as the late seating option.

The crew has said that is mainly a staffing issue which is being felt by all cruise lines. We were on the RCL WOTS in February (never again, but that's another story) and they were supposedly 500 crew short. I've never heard a definitive number for the Disney ships, but it is always mentioned.

We've done 6 DCL since the restart, with the 2021 EB PC being the first and a family cruise June of 22 (15 of us) on the Dream. One serving team on the Fantasy was a little disorganized, but otherwise they have all been typical DCL (good) for us.

 

[Scooterboot]

If you don't get a dining switch before your cruise, please try immediately when onboard to change your dining time to early. I believe the tables are set up in front of Enchanted Garden on the Fantasy for dining adjustments.

We usually book within 3 months of sailing for military discounts and have never been denied a switch from late to early dining once onboard. Have made the switch for a table of 4 on 3 different cruises, for reference. The key is to go there straight away after boarding.