Is Disney starting to slack compared to other cruises?

[JanBlessed]

I have sailed RCCL (incl' Liberty of the Seas) as well & DISNEY Dream . To me, it's like when people compare the U.S. to another country. How can you truly compare? I see them as TWO totally different things. I liked BOTH for different reasons & disliked a few minor things about each.

I usually tell people to try both cruise lines! Why limit yourself to just one?

Having a choice: I'm going on DCL this summer. But I'm also limited by budget, or I'd go on BOTH lines this summer, haha!

 

[carolina_yankee]

This is in an interesting question for me as I've been wrestling with whether or not Disney is worth the price premium for the cruising that we want to do (totally subjective question to which everyone will have a different answer). For now, having just completed an Eastern on the Fantasy before dry dock, the answer is still Yes (sort of). We have a great time on Disney cruises, as DINKs.

However, we sailed with 2 other couples this time, who both like Disney very much (we are all DVC owners), and it was interesting seing their reactions. I'm a sucker for a stage show. They found them "meh." I had played up how great the servers were since this was their first cruise. Our main dining servers were less than desired this time. Animator's Palate didn't impress them, and I decided "been there, done that" for us. Remy was good, but we all agreed that for the money, might as well go for V&A instead.

I am concerned that Disney is slacking in the main dining room. I felt our servers were harried and didn't have time to cover us adequately, and they frequently forgot things. One glass of water and one drink was all we were going to get each night in the main dining room (second seating, so no rush). Food good to great mostly, but there were same bad dishes each night. At least our sever steered us away from a couple of them, which was the only way he rose above the mean.

Steward was outstanding. Rooms were impeccable - even after 5 years and just before dry dock. Palo excelled, and, as I said, I'm a sucker for a stage show, so I have a high tolerance for - and even appreciation of - Disney schmaltz or corn. We also were quite pleased with the adult entertainment in the lounges, except for the Neil Dimaond wannabe in Ooh La La when we were expecting a Sinatra or Buble wannabe.

I think other lines are starting to surpass Disney on dining options (Palo was essentially our only escape from the dining rooms since Remy is priced to be a very special event) and I would like to see Disney address that. Other than that, I think the quality is definitely there. If you want a Disney cruise, Disney is worth the premium. If you want a cruise cruise, then others right now might be doing it better on their newer ships, depending on what you are looking for.

The tell for me was that when it took 7 hours for our TA to get us booked on the Bermuda 6 night, I was prepared to jump to Celebrity, get an extra night, and save $1000. However, DCL finally answered her call and we were happy.

Disney is good. Disney is unique in offering a Disney product. They aren't the only classy game in town - and they frequently force you to work too hard to pay them more money to get a product that others can definitely compete in.

Dirk

 

[RedSox68]

I am concerned that Disney is slacking in the main dining room. I felt our servers were harried and didn't have time to cover us adequately, and they frequently forgot things. One glass of water and one drink was all we were going to get each night in the main dining room (second seating, so no rush). Food good to great mostly, but there were same bad dishes each night. At least our sever steered us away from a couple of them, which was the only way he rose above the mean.

Dirk

We found this on both the Dream and Fantasy. Compared to the Classic ships, the servers seemed overwrought and "out of their element". When on the Fantasy, we asked our server (who had served on both classic ships) how he liked the new ships and he was telling us how much more difficult serving is. Not only the amount of people in the dining rooms, but the layout required them to walk long distances to get to any of their kitchens, serving stations and app stations. He said even the drink stations were across the dining room, through the doors and down a long long hallway. He said it was like walking several football fields by the time dinner service was done and he missed the layout of the classic ships.

 

[carolina_yankee]

We found this on both the Dream and Fantasy. Compared to the Classic ships, the servers seemed overwrought and "out of their element". When on the Fantasy, we asked our server (who had served on both classic ships) how he liked the new ships and he was telling us how much more difficult serving is. Not only the amount of people in the dining rooms, but the layout required them to walk long distances to get to any of their kitchens, serving stations and app stations. He said even the drink stations were across the dining room, through the doors and down a long long hallway. He said it was like walking several football fields by the time dinner service was done and he missed the layout of the classic ships.

I thought it might be something like that. Now, in 2012, we had great servers on the Fantasy, but you know DCL put their best crew into the inaugural sailings. Our stateroom host and Palo server had both been on the Fantasy since day 1, and their quality and expertise showed. My next cruise is on the Magic, first time on a Classic in 12 years, so I'll be curious to see how things compare.

Don't get me wrong, I do indeed love Disney - but I'm no longer going to expect the main dining to be the centerpiece of my onboard experience. If it is great. If not, won't be disappointed!

Dirk

 

[yargrnhoj]

Our server and room host on the Magic in December were fantastic but our assistant server was horrible. He couldn't get drink orders right first three nights (his primary job) and called my son by the wrong name twice, even after he corrected him. He tried to play the same crayon game with my daughter two nights in a row. Our server asked us mid cruise how they were doing and we had to tell her we loved her service but could do without the assistant server.

 

[precious2200]

I've been on other cruise lines, and they are nothing compared to Disney in organization and kid-friendliness. For example, RCL closes the pool, kids club, rock wall, etc. and are only open during certain hours (which makes for LONG lines). Disney's kid's club, pool, etc. are for the most part, open all day, and into the night. Carnival has zero for kids under 2. Disney is coming out with a couple new ships, and I'm sure they will be more interactive, but won't be closing hours like other lines.

 

[mevelandry]

I notice that having kids or not and their age has an impact on what we are really looking for in a cruise.

DH and I are not interested in the Mouse anymore (we've seen too much of it) so I think this plays a big part in why other cruise lines are way more appealing to us now + we don't have kids so kids activities and kids clubs have zero impact on our choice.

So the only thing left is the cruising and adult activities part... I'm amazed by all that Carnival, NCL and RCCL have to offer for a lower price to be honest.

 

[buzzrelly]

I am concerned that Disney is slacking in the main dining room. I felt our servers were harried and didn't have time to cover us adequately, and they frequently forgot things.

I think other lines are starting to surpass Disney on dining options

We found this on both the Dream and Fantasy. Compared to the Classic ships, the servers seemed overwrought and "out of their element".

I found the same to be true last April on the Dream. We were so unimpressed with the MDR experience that we ended up ordering room service one night and THOROUGHLY enjoyed it, MUCH more so than the MDRs. Our servers always seemed to be hurried and frantic and they didn't communicate well with each other AT ALL. For example, DD asked for plain rolls one night to one server, and the other server brought out a basket of plain rolls and dropped it in front of the other family at the table. They had no idea that we had asked for that specifically, so they started eating. It was just stupid nonsense like that that made us not love the whole MDR dining experience.

The only other DCL ship I've been on was the Magic in 2012 and it was a completely different experience. We loved our servers and never felt they were stressed out or hurried.

My one wish is that DCL had a buffet for all meals, not just breakfast and lunch. We LOVED the buffets

That being said, DH and I are looking at cruising next year by ourselves to celebrate our BIG birthdays, and I am pricing out cruises on either the Fantasy, or other cruise lines. After MUCH thought, and despite the extra cost, I am going to book the Fantasy because, when it comes down to it, I trust the DCL name more than other cruise lines. This is really going to be a special trip for us and I know that cruising DCL we won't be disappointed.

 

[RedSox68]

I found the same to be true last April on the Dream. We were so unimpressed with the MDR experience that we ended up ordering room service one night and THOROUGHLY enjoyed it, MUCH more so than the MDRs. Our servers always seemed to be hurried and frantic and they didn't communicate well with each other AT ALL. For example, DD asked for plain rolls one night to one server, and the other server brought out a basket of plain rolls and dropped it in front of the other family at the table. They had no idea that we had asked for that specifically, so they started eating. It was just stupid nonsense like that that made us not love the whole MDR dining experience.

The only other DCL ship I've been on was the Magic in 2012 and it was a completely different experience. We loved our servers and never felt they were stressed out or hurried.

My one wish is that DCL had a buffet for all meals, not just breakfast and lunch. We LOVED the buffets

That being said, DH and I are looking at cruising next year by ourselves to celebrate our BIG birthdays, and I am pricing out cruises on either the Fantasy, or other cruise lines. After MUCH thought, and despite the extra cost, I am going to book the Fantasy because, when it comes down to it, I trust the DCL name more than other cruise lines. This is really going to be a special trip for us and I know that cruising DCL we won't be disappointed.

This is unfortunate, but our servers got many items wrong during our dinners in 2014. We go to the MDR for the decor and atmosphere, but got tired of waiting for the serving staff to get our orders right.

I agree about dinner buffets. Both HAL and Princess offered dinner buffets every night and after a long day of touring, just being able to go straight to the buffet before collapsing in the room was a great option. Most nights we never felt like getting ready for the MDR. While many don't want to miss the MDRs on Disney, I'm sure seasoned DCL cruisers wouldn't mind skipping an MDR or two for other options

 

[cruiser21]

I've been on other cruise lines, and they are nothing compared to Disney in organization and kid-friendliness. For example, RCL closes the pool, kids club, rock wall, etc. and are only open during certain hours (which makes for LONG lines). Disney's kid's club, pool, etc. are for the most part, open all day, and into the night. Carnival has zero for kids under 2. Disney is coming out with a couple new ships, and I'm sure they will be more interactive, but won't be closing hours like other lines.

I agree with you. Nothing beats DCL when it come to kids. People think their kids will out grow it, but the teen clubs on DCL are just as good. If the other cruiselines would keep their teen clubs open all the time like DCL my kids would like them just as much as or maybe more then DCL. The teen clubs on Carnival are very good except for the hours. Teens need a hangout place where they can come and go at all hours and DCL is the only cruiseline I know of that offers that. Most of them keep the clubs open from 7pm to 1am. Now if you have a teen that doesn't like the clubs there is probably more to do on the other ships especially the mega ships with all the activities.

As far as everything else goes food, service etc. I don't think DCL is any better or worse. It just cost more.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

The last time I was on Carnival it was mostly all families. There were as many grandparents as there were young couples. I'm sure there are ships that are party boats.

DH and I are not into night clubs/party scene. We're 36 and 37 yo, Up at 5:00 AM and in bed at 10:00 PM type of people. We look at the program and stick to what we like... Avoid the rest.

Pretty broad brush you are painting with. We sailed the Vista last summer on a 10 night Eastern Med from Barcelona to Athens. It was a ship full of American and European families with most kids in Tween/Teen range. No crazy young adult party scene.

We all make judgement from our experiences, granted. I am basing my judgement off my experiences. On my last carnival ship (granted, that was 10 years ago and a Caribbean cruise), during the welcome / into the cruise director told us "There are three things you need to know when you are on a carnival cruise. [skip] The second is you don't sleep on this ship. If you want to lie in the sun and sleep, there are a lot cheaper hotels back on the main land. Sleep when you get home. This trip costs too much to sleep. We are here to have fun (queue lots of cheering)." And honestly that was the attitude of the ship. It was loud at night. I was 2 decks down and could hear music till pretty late, and people running up and down the hallways shouting to each other at 2am. Not saying kids don't run on Disney ships - but not usually at 2am from the ones I have been on.

Again - that's probably not all cruises or all ships. However, in my personal experiences, the carnival ships I was on were tailored to party goers, and they didn't hide that fact - they were proud of it. This was never in dispute for Carnival - it was in fact the demographic they were aiming at. My father wrote a couple of books with Bob Dickinson (previous CEO of Carnival) and used to handle their advertising for a while. They made no beef of their demographic and the ads were tailored specifically for young adults. They used to ask me about ads they were working on and even took me on a ship or two.

Now they have done a lot to try to change their corporate image, true. Since about 2006 they did a 180 on their ads with this in mind.

However, I tend to hold grudges. Once I have a view of a company, it takes a LOT - and usually personal experience which I don't give a lot of opportunity for - to change my world view of that company. Yes - I agree I am obstinate.

[Edit] For the record, my father who was definitely not a "party-goer" was a big fan of both Carnival and Royal Caribbean for most of his life. Besides writing a number of books, he worked with Carnival to make some classes which he would teach to Carnival executives about "cruise ship hospitality". Were he here, he would probably tell me of various attempts they made to change that image. It's fair to say we didn't agree on everything.

 

[cruiser21]

We all make judgement from our experiences, granted. I am basing my judgement off my experiences. On my last carnival ship (granted, that was 10 years ago and a Caribbean cruise), during the welcome / into the cruise director told us "There are three things you need to know when you are on a carnival cruise. [skip] The second is you don't sleep on this ship. If you want to lie in the sun and sleep, there are a lot cheaper hotels back on the main land. Sleep when you get home. This trip costs too much to sleep. We are here to have fun (queue lots of cheering)." And honestly that was the attitude of the ship. It was loud at night. I was 2 decks down and could hear music till pretty late, and people running up and down the hallways shouting to each other at 2am. Not saying kids don't run on Disney ships - but not usually at 2am from the ones I have been on.

Again - that's probably not all cruises or all ships. However, in my personal experiences, the carnival ships I was on were tailored to party goers, and they didn't hide that fact - they were proud of it. This was never in dispute for Carnival - it was in fact the demographic they were aiming at. My father wrote a couple of books with Bob Dickinson (previous CEO of Carnival) and used to handle their advertising for a while. They made no beef of their demographic and the ads were tailored specifically for young adults. They used to ask me about ads they were working on and even took me on a ship or two.

Now they have done a lot to try to change their corporate image, true. Since about 2006 they did a 180 on their ads with this in mind.

However, I tend to hold grudges. Once I have a view of a company, it takes a LOT - and usually personal experience which I don't give a lot of opportunity for - to change my world view of that company. Yes - I agree I am obstinate.

[Edit] For the record, my father who was definitely not a "party-goer" was a big fan of both Carnival and Royal Caribbean for most of his life. Besides writing a number of books, he worked with Carnival to make some classes which he would teach to Carnival executives about "cruise ship hospitality". Were he here, he would probably tell me of various attempts they made to change that image. It's fair to say we didn't agree on everything.

I've never experienced the party scene you speak of.
What's wrong with people having fun?
Would you rather be on a ship with a bunch of bores?
You should work on the grudge holding thing. You'll miss out on a lot of good things in life.

 

[Julylady]

In my opinion, Disney service has gone downhill the past few years. Our room steward service last cruise was horrible. In the past our steward would quickly learn our patterns and service the room while we were at breakfast. Then again, in the evening while we were at dinner. Plus check in with us a couple of times a day to see if we needed something. Not this time. On our last trip, the steward cleaned the rooms in order. We were on the end of his rooms, so most days we didn't have our room cleaned until mid-afternoon. One day I tried to ask him to clean our room earlier and his response was that he would get to us. At night, we would come back to change between dinner and the 2nd show and our room was never readied for night. I mentioned the situation to our neighbors next door and they said they believed that the number of rooms assigned to room stewards had increased in the past year or so. The stewards loved it because it meant more tips for them. But the quality of the service had declined. I am guessing they were correct and that the way our steward managed the extra load was to clean rooms in a strict order. And he never once checked with us during the cruise to see if we needed anything more.

We also had trouble two cruises ago with our assistant server. I think it was his first cruise and he hadn't been well trained at all. He was mixing up drink orders left and right. The head server was trying to assist/cover for him, but our service suffered greatly. I felt sorry for the main server as there were a lot of unhappy people in our section.

In both cases, I put the blame on Disney rather than the employee.

 

[mevelandry]

We all make judgement from our experiences, granted. I am basing my judgement off my experiences. On my last carnival ship (granted, that was 10 years ago and a Caribbean cruise), during the welcome / into the cruise director told us "There are three things you need to know when you are on a carnival cruise. [skip] The second is you don't sleep on this ship. If you want to lie in the sun and sleep, there are a lot cheaper hotels back on the main land. Sleep when you get home. This trip costs too much to sleep. We are here to have fun (queue lots of cheering)."

From what I have seen recently, they are definitely going in the opposite direction now...

-On the Vista and Horizon, there are Family Harbor sections.

-They are definitely working on their offerings for kids, just take a look at the waterworks on the Vista and Horizon...

-They recently changed the "adult only" pools into kid-friendly pools on seven of their ships (Conquest, Glory, Liberty, Freedom, Splendor, Valor and Victory).

Family friendly? I think they are getting there.

 

[Dug720]

From what I have seen recently, they are definitely going in the opposite direction now...

-On the Vista and Horizon, there are Family Harbor sections.

-They are definitely working on their offerings for kids, just take a look at the waterworks on the Vista and Horizon...

-They recently changed the "adult only" pools into kid-friendly pools on six of their ships (Conquest, Glory, Liberty, Freedom, Splendor and Victory).

Family friendly? I think they are getting there.

So the adults have no pool of their own? That in and of itself automatically takes them out of any slight consideration I might have had. Taking an adult only section away punishes those who choose not to have children and be constantly subjected to them on vacation as well as those parents who might want some time away from kids when theirs are in kid's club type activities. Those ships seriously have no adult pool space??

 

[mevelandry]

So the adults have no pool of their own? That in and of itself automatically takes them out of any slight consideration I might have had. Taking an adult only section away punishes those who choose not to have children and be constantly subjected to them on vacation as well as those parents who might want some time away from kids when theirs are in kid's club type activities. Those ships seriously have no adult pool space??

They still have an adult only section called "Serenity". Depending on the ship, this section can have only a big hot tub or a small pool.

The Carnival Sunshine has a pool:

The Carnival Vista has a big hot tub:

Not gonna lie, since they make their aft pools kid-friendly, I hope they will bonify their Serenity sections to make them a little more appealing to those who like to swim without the presence of kids.

 

[old lady]

Yes, they are and they are letting the competition get the better of them.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

I've never experienced the party scene you speak of.
What's wrong with people having fun?
Would you rather be on a ship with a bunch of bores?
You should work on the grudge holding thing. You'll miss out on a lot of good things in life.

There is nothing wrong with having fun. There is in fact nothing wrong with a cruise line encouraging people to stay up all night being loud and obnoxious if that is what the cruise line wants.

It's not what **I** am looking for in MY cruise. So I guess it depends. If your definition of "a bunch of bores" is people who respect each other, understand that there is a quiet time where in general people are trying to sleep, let people lying in the sun... you know... lay, don't run screaming down the hallway at 2am or play loud music past 10ish, then yes - I would DEFINITELY prefer to be on a ship with that bunch.

Not saying that is DCL either of course. After all, we have young kids who steal magnets off doors and also run down the halls. Just saying for me - it's not Carnival.

 

[mevelandry]

There is nothing wrong with having fun. There is in fact nothing wrong with a cruise line encouraging people to stay up all night being loud and obnoxious if that is what the cruise line wants.

It's not what **I** am looking for in MY cruise. So I guess it depends. If your definition of "a bunch of bores" is people who respect each other, understand that there is a quiet time where in general people are trying to sleep, let people lying in the sun... you know... lay, don't run screaming down the hallway at 2am or play loud music past 10ish, then yes - I would DEFINITELY prefer to be on a ship with that bunch.

Not saying that is DCL either of course. After all, we have young kids who steal magnets off doors and also run down the halls. Just saying for me - it's not Carnival.

I think with some itinerary (like Bahamas, Carribean or Baja), some periods and shorter cruises on Carnival (or else) tend to be more subject to partying than others (Although our 4 nights in the Bahamas cruise on the Victory was very quiet)... but from what I understand, on longer cruises, the crowd tends to be more quiet.

 

[cruiser21]

There is nothing wrong with having fun. There is in fact nothing wrong with a cruise line encouraging people to stay up all night being loud and obnoxious if that is what the cruise line wants.

It's not what **I** am looking for in MY cruise. So I guess it depends. If your definition of "a bunch of bores" is people who respect each other, understand that there is a quiet time where in general people are trying to sleep, let people lying in the sun... you know... lay, don't run screaming down the hallway at 2am or play loud music past 10ish, then yes - I would DEFINITELY prefer to be on a ship with that bunch.

Not saying that is DCL either of course. After all, we have young kids who steal magnets off doors and also run down the halls. Just saying for me - it's not Carnival.

I've been on Carnival and people respected eac other. Didn't meet any obnoxious people. The only time I've heard screaming on a cruise is on DCL and it's always some kid throwing a tantrum. I'm not sure why you think Carnival is like one big frat party. The demographics on CArnival not much different then DCL. In fact school breaks they have over 1k kids on many cruises. My definition of bores is nothing like what you stated.