Aimeedyan
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2004
- Messages
- 18,750
We had a fantastic cruise overall but did have some low points I wanted to ask others about...
Just a few highlights (there were so many!):
Palo - both dinner and brunch. I see it recommended frequently that first time cruisers should skip Palo and just do the MDR but I completely disagree. I can't say enough great things about the food or service. We loved our waiter - he was easily my favorite person on the ship - and it was a wonderful treat to escape to. The table next to us was dining there every night and I now see why. We did night 2 (pirate night) and the MDR was a big letdown after that LOL. Because it was a 4 night, we still got to experience all 3 MDR's and finished Palo in time for the pirate party. I had neglected to do research on what people normally tip and guest services was no help - what do y'all usually do?
Shows - I knew going in that these would be great but I think they were better than we expected - the special effects were especially impressive. I enjoyed all three but Disney Dreams was my favorite. More about this in a bit.
Serenity Bay - Not having to battle for a lounge chair was so lovely; there was plenty for all. The water was crystal clear (though very very shallow - you could walk way out and barely be above your ankles) and warm enough to sit a lounge chair in. I was not impressed with the lunch but loved all other aspects of it. I just wish they had a cruise that stopped at it everyday!
Disappointments:
During the nighttime shows, I was shocked by how many adults carried on full blown conversations through the entire show. I wondered why there were there, if they didn't want to watch - they could have sat right outside the theater. It was really hard to hear the show over them. The first night, I finally turned around and asked if they could stop talking and they apologized and did. The second show, however, was a mess. It was Tangled so the theater was packed (standing room only). The man behind us loudly talked to members of his party (7-8 people so he was talking down the row) through the entire show. Someone on one side of us turned around and shh'ed him. Did nothing. I turned around and just looked, hoping it would help. Nope. My mom finally turned around and asked if he could whisper so we could hear the show - boy, that was a mistake.
He loudly said that he had kids - she told him the kids weren't talking, he was (we literally heard not a word from the kids). So then he started... yelling at her that it was a Disney cruise, she was old and should go home, dropped the F bomb a couple times, and just went on and on for about 30 seconds. Mom had already turned back around so it was just at the back of our heads. People rows in front of us were turning around to see what was going on and I have no doubt the performers heard it, too. It was so embarrassing and uncomfortable as he was clearly unhinged. Someone in his party asked him to quiet down and he ramped back up about an old lady is not going to ask him to be quiet and he can talk if he wants. Obviously no one on our row said another word to them after that and the whole family slipped out before the show ended (I was terrified he was going to launch into another attack when the lights came up).
Later that night, we told our table mates (two women, both cruising solo) about the experience. I specifically asked if the rude guests, especially in shows, was the norm and the woman who had done several Disney cruises said that it was par for the course. The other woman had had several experiences already with really rude guests, too. Both of them skipped every show and instead watched it on the in room TV just to avoid the entire thing.
Disney obviously can't control their guests but I did wish they asked people to refrain from using cell phones or having conversations in the show. Maybe many guests don't have experiences with live theater and don't realize it can ruin someone's experience? The children were occasionally loud but I have no issue with that - at all. Many are very young and the show is long.
On the last night, we sat with our back to the sound booth so no one was sitting behind us and had a great experience. Wouldn't typically sit that far back but it was worth knowing no one would be having a family reunion in the row behind us
I also saw Moana in the movie theater and once again, a group of adults carried on a full blown conversation through most of it.
Has anyone else experienced that? To be honest... it makes me hesitant to book another Disney cruise. I've not experienced anything like that on the other two cruise lines I've sailed with. The shows are a really important part of the cruise for us - we didn't want to just watch on the TV - but it seemed you couldn't escape from the behavior.
This was was way longer than I intended - I'm so sorry! I really appreciated all the advice and tips I picked up pre-cruise and would love to hear from some of you veteran cruisers about both Palo tips and guest behavior.
Just a few highlights (there were so many!):
Palo - both dinner and brunch. I see it recommended frequently that first time cruisers should skip Palo and just do the MDR but I completely disagree. I can't say enough great things about the food or service. We loved our waiter - he was easily my favorite person on the ship - and it was a wonderful treat to escape to. The table next to us was dining there every night and I now see why. We did night 2 (pirate night) and the MDR was a big letdown after that LOL. Because it was a 4 night, we still got to experience all 3 MDR's and finished Palo in time for the pirate party. I had neglected to do research on what people normally tip and guest services was no help - what do y'all usually do?
Shows - I knew going in that these would be great but I think they were better than we expected - the special effects were especially impressive. I enjoyed all three but Disney Dreams was my favorite. More about this in a bit.
Serenity Bay - Not having to battle for a lounge chair was so lovely; there was plenty for all. The water was crystal clear (though very very shallow - you could walk way out and barely be above your ankles) and warm enough to sit a lounge chair in. I was not impressed with the lunch but loved all other aspects of it. I just wish they had a cruise that stopped at it everyday!
Disappointments:
During the nighttime shows, I was shocked by how many adults carried on full blown conversations through the entire show. I wondered why there were there, if they didn't want to watch - they could have sat right outside the theater. It was really hard to hear the show over them. The first night, I finally turned around and asked if they could stop talking and they apologized and did. The second show, however, was a mess. It was Tangled so the theater was packed (standing room only). The man behind us loudly talked to members of his party (7-8 people so he was talking down the row) through the entire show. Someone on one side of us turned around and shh'ed him. Did nothing. I turned around and just looked, hoping it would help. Nope. My mom finally turned around and asked if he could whisper so we could hear the show - boy, that was a mistake.
He loudly said that he had kids - she told him the kids weren't talking, he was (we literally heard not a word from the kids). So then he started... yelling at her that it was a Disney cruise, she was old and should go home, dropped the F bomb a couple times, and just went on and on for about 30 seconds. Mom had already turned back around so it was just at the back of our heads. People rows in front of us were turning around to see what was going on and I have no doubt the performers heard it, too. It was so embarrassing and uncomfortable as he was clearly unhinged. Someone in his party asked him to quiet down and he ramped back up about an old lady is not going to ask him to be quiet and he can talk if he wants. Obviously no one on our row said another word to them after that and the whole family slipped out before the show ended (I was terrified he was going to launch into another attack when the lights came up).
Later that night, we told our table mates (two women, both cruising solo) about the experience. I specifically asked if the rude guests, especially in shows, was the norm and the woman who had done several Disney cruises said that it was par for the course. The other woman had had several experiences already with really rude guests, too. Both of them skipped every show and instead watched it on the in room TV just to avoid the entire thing.
Disney obviously can't control their guests but I did wish they asked people to refrain from using cell phones or having conversations in the show. Maybe many guests don't have experiences with live theater and don't realize it can ruin someone's experience? The children were occasionally loud but I have no issue with that - at all. Many are very young and the show is long.
On the last night, we sat with our back to the sound booth so no one was sitting behind us and had a great experience. Wouldn't typically sit that far back but it was worth knowing no one would be having a family reunion in the row behind us
I also saw Moana in the movie theater and once again, a group of adults carried on a full blown conversation through most of it.
Has anyone else experienced that? To be honest... it makes me hesitant to book another Disney cruise. I've not experienced anything like that on the other two cruise lines I've sailed with. The shows are a really important part of the cruise for us - we didn't want to just watch on the TV - but it seemed you couldn't escape from the behavior.
This was was way longer than I intended - I'm so sorry! I really appreciated all the advice and tips I picked up pre-cruise and would love to hear from some of you veteran cruisers about both Palo tips and guest behavior.
Last edited:
I would say we have seen 16 shows overall in the theater...of those at least 8 of them had people loudly talking around us. Luckily, we have seen the shows so many times, we can just ignore; but if this was my first time watching them I would be really upset. It is usually the adults talking and not the kids. Only one time was really bad - the other times it was a 3 out of 10 on the annoyance factor. The one time a man was talking loudly - we got a CM who asked him to quiet down. He did for a minute and then when she was out of sight, talked louder and pointed the flashlight feature of his phone in my face. It was very scary - I am extremely non-confrontational, so we just left, but I was shaken. Went to the lobby and told them about the incident - they said they would look into it, but that was the last I heard. I was actually a bit scared that the guy was going to follow me out of the theater, but he was probably just drunk (in addition to being a jerk). 
etc etc etc. Kids in the same club from ages 3 to 12 because "my kids possibly couldn't make friends be in different clubs" and so on and so forth ...
