Has Disney really gone downhill?

I don’t think the overall Disney Cruise Line experience has gone downhill, some of my most recent cruises have had the best food I’ve had on DCL.

There are some things that are annoying, such as Palo dinner not being pick-anything-for-one-price anymore. But unless Disney prices are totally ridiculous, I don’t plan on jumping ship any time soon.
 
I don’t think the overall Disney Cruise Line experience has gone downhill, some of my most recent cruises have had the best food I’ve had on DCL.

There are some things that are annoying, such as Palo dinner not being pick-anything-for-one-price anymore. But unless Disney prices are totally ridiculous, I don’t plan on jumping ship any time soon.

r.e. bold DW and I feel the prices are indeed ridiculous for value obtained and that is why we "jumped ship" following a Dream Concierge experience.
 
I just returned from Alaska. Was it a good cruise? Yes. Was it a great cruise? No. But that's also alright, not every vacation, even when it's expensive, can be amazing. Sometimes there are issues.

These four things impacted our cruise a little. Is Disney falling behind? Maybe, or other cruise lines would suit us better as two adult friends travelling.

1. We had some issues with 3 out of 4 port adventures, we got 10% back on this after leaving a complaint.
This could have been improved by updating the Disney website with the description of the adventures (manage expectations) and better communication between Disney and the suppliers. Do the suppliers know what Disney is selling?

2. We were unlucky with our dining team. There were some communication mix ups (it wasn't till day 3 when they understood my friend's easy standard drink request and got it right the first time) and the server and assistant server seemed to have some communication issues among each other.
Could this really be solved during the cruise? Communication, especially between colleagues, is very hard to adjust within a few days. Should we addressed this with the Head Server? Maybe, it was annoying but not enough to make a big deal about, and we weren't a fan of our head server. We contemplated removing (some of) his tips, but as it's only $1 a day, we left it as it was.

3. We didn't start of strong with the muster drill. It was way too long, we couldn't hear the Muster Team Leader, even after I told her that her microphone was hardly working. She mainly did games about songs and characters starting with the letter of our muster station. The Leader in the group next to us yelled some things about what to do in case of an emergency (bring medication, leave the rest behind, dress warm). Knowing that other cruiselines have switched back to e-drills, made this one extra hard.

4. It was my friend's first cruise, and I'm sure I showed her pictures of the room and that we would have 1 regular bed and 1 sofa. She probably didn't remember, and she was a bit frustrated with the situation. I know Disney's primary target group is families with children. It would be nice if Disney had rooms for adult friends and had 2 normal beds. Either two queens, or a king bed that can be separated into two. Even better if they accommodate to solo travellers but as there are only a handful of cruise lines who cater to solo travellers, I won't hold that against Disney.


Then there were things we noticed that didn't really impact us. It was all in entertainment that there were some things that most people wouldn't notice or are not bothered by. I do think it shows that Disney is paying less attention to details.

- They had an Alaska expert on board (this was basically a slide show of pictures taken on her travels). The objection I have, she had some facts on her slides. As a source she quoted Wikipedia. I'm sorry, everyone over the age of 12 should know that you cannot get away with using Wikipedia as a source. Not even when it's to tell us who the Mendenhall Glacier is named after. Tbh, I don't think it's very necessary to quote sources at a talk like this.

- There was a special 25th DCL trivia organized. No one showed up, because it wasn't in the navigator app. We found out because the CM came in half way through our Disney trivia in the venue next door and told her colleague that no one showed up. Some of the guests then had a look in the app and told her that it wasn't in the app.
The CM got it rescheduled for later in the cruise.

- Another thing that was weird in the navigator app. The 25th anniversary celebration was named 'Shimmering Sea Soiree'. You only knew that this was a Celebration/Captain's Toast (or something similar) by clicking on the activity and reading the description. By scrolling by it, you would not have known this. The cruise director told us at the early show (the soiree was at 7:30). I heard that people had missed it, because the title of the activity in the app wasn't clear.

- There was a very lovely fun CM who was scheduled to do an animation class. Only thing: she couldn't draw. It was a bit sad, she acknowledged that she was still learning. But you could also see she was uncomfortable doing this activity. I cannot draw to save my life, and my Minnie came out better than hers. If one of your team members is still learning, give them time to learn and don't schedule them till they are comfortable to show their skills.

- Elsa's wig for Freezing the Night probably wasn't styled in a while. That and/or it wasn't fitted properly to the actress. Did that impact my cruise? No, not at all, but it was a detail I would expect Disney pay attention to.

- I know this isn't the cruise' fault or something they can solve quickly themselves. But the Golden Mickey's is now getting outdated with Bob Iger from a decade ago and it's terribly slow. This show could use an update.

- It was loud on this cruise. There were 'only' 300 kids on board, but when we were waiting for Chip 'n Dale in their 25th anniversary outfits, they seemed all be in the same line, and that hallway next to Triton's, it's echo-y. It was the only time that Chip 'n Dale were scheduled to meet in these costumes. The line was long and loud. I bowed out and went back to the room.

Also the guitarist and the pianist in the atrium were anything but subtle. When I addressed this issue while chatting with the Cruise Director, he said that the pianist is just very enthusiastic and passionate. And that this was the reason he didn't play a lot in the Cadillac lounge.
I solved this problem to avoid the atrium at certain times or wear noise cancelling headphones.

Edited to add:
- I hate to call out meh-experiences with face characters, but we were not very impressed with Moana and Rapunzel on this cruise. And this was not about looks. Moana could only talk about Maui, whatever we brought up, she would reply something referring to Maui. While Moana is a strong independent character without a love interest, she should be able to talk about her own character.
Rapunzel... let's say improv wasn't her strongest suit. We weren't trying her to break character, but we like to ask some unusual questions to see how princesses respond. Like asking about different princesses, who has the best castle, choose between prince Eric or prince Phillip. For three questions, she could only answer with 'I don't know', or 'I like them all'. Not a big thing just a bit disappointing. 99% of the time the princess actresses we encounter across the world are really creative with these kind of questions. Tiana on this cruise was amazing with it, so was Ariel.

Edited to add 2:
- Not noticed by me, but by people in the facebook group. Little Mermaid was scheduled by accident to be in the Buena Vista theatre. It appeared on the schedule while it was suppose to première the next cruise. People got excited and then left disappointed.

Non entertainment, but a thing where Disney could step up a little.
- It was my birthday during this cruise, and on the evening of day 3 (a day after my birthday) out of 7 days, I received the $50 gift certificate for the spa. It was only good for port days on the most expensive items on the menu. I had long days in port planned. If I had given this certificate earlier I might have reconsidered how to schedule my activities in port.

Again, these things didn't impact my enjoyment of the cruise, it does say something about Disney's attention to detail.
To balance things out: what made this a good cruise?
- Great pre-cruise day in Vancouver.
- Alaska is amazingly beautiful
- We had the best weather ever. We left Vancouver with 90 degrees weather and the first few days nothing but clear blue skies and sunshine.
- The mocktails by Felipe in Cadillac lounge
- The actress playing Tiana for the M&G and in Tiana's place.
- Got a bottle of alcohol free bubbles pixiedusted.
- We had a blast with all the photographers.
- We won 3 trivias. And all the trivias were a lot of fun.
- Love the French Quarter Lounge
- I ran into 3 CMs from the Magic who remembered me from my transatlantic cruise in September '22.
2 as CMs (Pia from Shutters and Sacha from Palo now both got transferred to the Wonder) and one CM between contracts was on board as a guest, he sat next to me at the Frozen musical and when we started chatting he remembered me.
 
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r.e. bold DW and I feel the prices are indeed ridiculous for value obtained and that is why we "jumped ship" following a Dream Concierge experience.

I agree with that. You can occasionally get some deals on DCL, but you have to be flexible. I doubt concierge is ever a good value.
I don’t sail concierge and I only sail off season and normally wait for a deal. If I was sailing peak times or concierge then I agree, Disney is not good value.

Also I love Sacha in Palo! Is he still Palo manager just on the Wonder now? (If it’s the same Sacha, which I assume it is since he was on the Magic last September.)
 
Also I love Sacha in Palo! Is he still Palo manager just on the Wonder now? (If it’s the same Sacha, which I assume it is since he was on the Magic last September.)
I didnt eat at Palo this cruise, so not 100% sure, but judging by what he was wearing and that I ran into him twice at Palo, I would say: yes, same position, different ship.

Love him, very friendly and polite.
 
I think compared to your 3 night cruises, you are really going to enjoy the 7 night. Even if the ship is full, it should feel less crowded, because with 7 nights, people don't feel as much urgency to experience all that the ship has to offer crammed into those 3 nights.

We loved the western Caribbean itinerary, and part of that was doing really fun things in each port. Not sure what your excursions are, but we did Nachi Cocum beach resort in Cozumel, stingray city through an independent outfit in Grand Cayman, and Dunn River Falls plus rafting through a 3rd party in Jamaica. We had outstanding experiences for all 3. None were arranged through Disney.

I hope you will get moved to early dinner, since that's what you prefer, but if you are stuck with late, maybe give it a chance? Our experience with late dining on Fantasy was that it was quieter and faster. We don't eat that late at home ever, but the early is just way too early for us, and we REALLY enjoy the pool deck once the early diners leave for dinner (we are not as much into the shows). It is pretty amazing how it clears out. One of my kids must have gone down the slide about 40 times in a row one late afternoon, with no wait, and that was on a packed spring break 5 night trip.

For the food, yes, some things are fantastic, and others are meh. Find out the dishes that everyone raves about and try those if they appeal. For our family, my DH ordered many of the steak/beef dishes on our recent trip, and found many of the steaks to be VERY tough. But the more tender/slower cooked beef he said was great - prime rib and filet. I had some excellent vegetarian and seafood dishes. I finally tried the animator's pasta appetizer everyone raves about - I am a little picky about cheese things - and I found they were sooo good. Love the tuna-avocado stack at Enchanted Garden. The chilled mango-papaya soup was not good. I'll admit, I ordered it just to see what it was like, and didn't really know what to expect. That is part of the fun ... you can try things even if you're not sure you'll like them!

Anyway, I think you'll have a great time, and don't forget to book a placeholder so you get a discount on the next one!
 


I don't know about anyone else, but I like to make the best of it no matter what I read/hear.
Things change around the world constantly, ups and downs are inevitable especially with unprecedented times that we went through these past 3 years. If we do hear/see negative reviews, we will be aware of them but still hope that our experience will be a positive one. I'm going on VACATION, I don't want to be a negative Nancy already prior to our departure. I always believe that, if my outlook is already on the down side, then nothing positive will come my way. Why would I spend thousand of dollars to go on vacation then?
 
I don't know about anyone else, but I like to make the best of it no matter what I read/hear.
Things change around the world constantly, ups and downs are inevitable especially with unprecedented times that we went through these past 3 years. If we do hear/see negative reviews, we will be aware of them but still hope that our experience will be a positive one. I'm going on VACATION, I don't want to be a negative Nancy already prior to our departure. I always believe that, if my outlook is already on the down side, then nothing positive will come my way. Why would I spend thousand of dollars to go on vacation then?
I kept an open mind when we sailed on the Wish. We had a great time despite all the negative reviews I’d read on here coming true.

It was still a vacation after all. Now that we’re off the ship we have fun making fun of the ship. It’s all about the memories good and bad.
 
I kept an open mind when we sailed on the Wish. We had a great time despite all the negative reviews I’d read on here coming true.

It was still a vacation after all. Now that we’re off the ship we have fun making fun of the ship. It’s all about the memories good and bad.
We sailed on the Wish not too long ago as well. It was our first Disney cruise so while we read a lot about it and watched many YT videos, it was still all new to us. We loved some stuff but disappointed with some. Will we go back on a Disney cruise despite those disappointment? Absolutely! But now we know what to expect and what suits us what doesn't. Vacation is all about experiences, and sometimes we learn from the bad and become smarter travelers because of it.
 
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.
We just returned from our 10th Disney cruise since 2011, 7th on the Fantasy. We had a wonderful time and thought standards were fine. Haven’t seen a decline in service, crew, food or entertainment (Royal Court still overcooking everything!). There are changes of course. Who knows. Maybe I’m too busy enjoying myself to notice a decline!
 
We sailed on the Wish not too long ago as well. It was our first Disney cruise so while we read a lot about it and watched many YT videos, it was still all new to us. We loved some stuff but disappointed with some. Will we go back on a Disney cruise despite those disappointment? Absolutely! But now we know what to expect and what suits us what doesn't. Vacation is all about experiences, and sometimes we learn from the bad and become smarter travelers because of it.
If you semi-liked the Wish you will love the other ships. If you don't need all the bells and whistles and love classic Disney try the Magic or Wonder.
 
We sailed a 4 night Wish at the beginning of May and things seemed fine to me. We had excellent dining room service, a great stateroom host and overall great experience. The ship was immaculate and beautiful. We’ve never eaten at Cabanas for dinner, so not having it was a non-issue.

The ship was really crowded at times … need to get to character meets and photo ops early, seating nearly impossible midday in the pool deck area during sea days, etc. And the dining room tables were very close together. But that was the same way on the Fantasy when we sailed back in 2014. The big ships just pack a lot of people in, I guess.

IDK

We’ve sailed DCL 8 times over the course of 24 years - last cruise prior to the Wish was a 7 night Wonder to Alaska in 2019. Each of our cruises has been separated by 2-4 years, so it’s not like we remembered every single detail from cruise to cruise or are well versed enough to critique the quality of the dinner rolls from cruise A to cruise B. But the overall feel of cruising with DCL has remained pretty consistent on my opinion. It’s a nice, relaxing vacation.
 
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.
I was on a Merrytime cruise on the Fantasy mid December of 2022. That was our 13th DCL cruise for a total of 20 cruises counting other cruise lines. Still enjoy Disney... service is exceptional. Cast members can't do enough for you. We were 4 adults, no children and our server did magic tricks for us almost every night. We requested our server from a previous cruise and were lucky to have him again. Believe me you will have an awesome time and never feel like you are stuck on a boat. I'm sailing again in September on the 8 night Bermuda and also booked a couple of months later on the Wish. Can hardly wait!
 
The funny thing is that, after reading a lot of the negative reviews here and people saying that they are jumping ship to try other cruise lines, I went ahead a researched several of the other lines. Only to find just as many (actually far more) complaints about those cruises. Especially the service, the food outside of upcharge restaurants, and the nickel and diming.
Once I accounted for the upgraded experiences on several other lines that would bypass most of these complaints, the cost is similar (if not more in some cases) to DCL. The trade off in many cases seems to be things like drink packages or a butler vs. the Disney kids clubs and general Disney “magic”.
Maybe I’ll feel differently once my kids are old enough to not care about the clubs, but for now, I’m fine with paying the extra for DCL. Everyone seems more and more dissatisfied these days…with everything. Not surprising that the comments about DCL seem to reflect the same trend. For now though, I know that I will get to truly relax on a DCL vacation, knowing my kids are safe, happy and well entertained anytime they’re not with me. I know I’ll have plenty of opportunities to make wonderful family memories in between the times that my DH and I are reconnecting or just relaxing. I know that most of the service I get will be exceptional and delivered with a smile. I know which experiences I will need to plan on paying extra for, and that I can have a delightful cruise without paying for any of them.
Maybe DCL is going downhill. Maybe it’s just growing pains. Maybe it’s a side effect of the general cost of everything going up so people are more aware than ever of what they get for their dollars.
As far as I’m concerned though, as long as I can get on that ship and feel my stress slide away as we pull away from the dock, I’m good. Can’t wait to have the CM address my DD as Princess and my DS ask if he can go get his first of many “free” ice cream cones. Can’t wait to get up before everyone in the room and go get my favorite latte from Cove Cafe and just enjoy an hour of nothing to do. Can’t wait to listen to my DH absolutely massacre some unsuspecting Disney song during family Karaoke (he’s truly horrible, but he has so much fun that it’s a blast and my kids love it😂).
Only 112 more days till our next cruise!
 
I kept an open mind when we sailed on the Wish. We had a great time despite all the negative reviews I’d read on here coming true.

It was still a vacation after all. Now that we’re off the ship we have fun making fun of the ship. It’s all about the memories good and bad.

Some of my best vacation memories are from bad things happening. We were in Rome when the Pope died. We experienced trying to get to the train station in London with a 3 year old during a tube strike. We were about the only Americans in Germany just days after 9/11. We quarantined with our son after he got Covid on our July cruise. I remember good things too, but those adversities have made us very flexible, easy going travelers.
 
Was this a cruise longer than 7 nights with some of the rarer menus? Because I don't see any Indian food on any of the main menus.

Took me awhile to figure out this one.

My bad. I’ve watched so many YouTube videos, the content has merged into my memory. It’s on Royal Caribbean’s new menus. Each night, they list a vegetarian and an Indian food entree.

That said, over the years, I have read numerous reports on this forum of people commenting to their waiters about Indian food and then having it during the cruise.
 
That said, over the years, I have read numerous reports on this forum of people commenting to their waiters about Indian food and then having it during the cruise.
Yeah, I've heard about that. I asked my servers on my most recent cruise about the food that the staff eats and they all told me that it wasn't very good, though.

The only Indian food that I could find on a DCL menu was Sanjay's Murgh Makhani-Butter Chicken on the Pixar Day at Sea menu. I do wish that they would add more!
 

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