Well, since this was our first Disney cruise, I spent hours in advance of the trip reading up on the things to expect via these boards. Now that we're done, I figured I need to leave my own account of what the trip was like.
Boarding - The arrival and check in process went very well in my opinion. From the time we unloaded our luggage from the car, to the time we were on the ship was about 45 minutes. (Arrived at approx. 11:45 AM) No big hurdles and the cast members around were very helpful to keep us going in the right direction. While I checked in to get our KTTW card, my DH checked the kids in for their wrist bands for the Oceaneer Club. Timing worked out great.
Introduction as we boarded the ship was fun. The kids (ages 3 and 6) loved hearing our name over the microphone/speaker and having the cast members clap for us as we walked on.
Our room wasn't ready yet and we decided to go to Topsider's buffet for lunch. Very crowded and we were a little disappointed with the selection of foods, but figured it was just the first day. We ended up finding a table by the Goofy pool to eat our food. (Quite a walk from the buffet holding trays!!)
Room was ready at 2:00 and our luggage arrived by 3:00 so we were lucky. We heard people talking at dinner (6:00 PM) seating that their luggage had not arrived yet. Luckily, that night's dress code is very casual.
Our dining rotation was LAP, so we ended up a Lumiere's 3 times and found that was ultimately our favorite place. (Breakfast at Lumiere's was good too) AP was fun, but only had one night when the colors changed. Formal night fell on our first visit to Animator's Palatte and they keep it black & white only on formal night since it keeps the formal theme going. The kids were a little disappointed with that, but the food that night was the best of the trip. Overall, we were a little disappointed with the food. If you are cruising for the dining experience, Disney would not be the first choice. The food was good, but no "wow moments" like on some other cruises. Servers were good and bonded with the kids...Loved Ana from Brazil and her partner Orlan from the Phillipines. Ana made the dining experience great and got to know us more than anyone else on the trip.
One quick note about the ships horn...loved it! It played the first few notes from When You Wish Upon a Star! Tried to get it on our videotape, but always missed it. It will play as you leave the ports including Los Angeles in case anyone else wants to be prepared.
Shore Excursions - Puerto Vallarta was sooo hot and humid. We did the Paradise Beach Village excursion and luckily found some relief from the heat in the ocean and pool at the village. Our home town is 100+ degrees this time of year and we thought we would be fine in the Mexico weather, however, we were in no way prepared for the humidity in Puerto Vallarta. We were all pretty wiped out by the end of the day. The excursion was nice, but the resort had so many people in the pool (from guests staying at the resort) that it was very crowded and hard to keep an eye on the kids mixed in with the others. Over 200 people from the ship were on our excursion alone. We had fun sliding down the 2 big alligator slides at the resort.
Mazatlan - We did the Stone Island Beach adventure excursion. This was by far the best day we had on the trip. It was the most primitive with the tractor drawn carts as transportation to the other side of stone island and the thatched hut style location. However, the lunch provided was great, the beach so much fun with banana boats, boogie boarding, ATVs to rent, horse back riding on the beach, etc. The cost of most things was $5 and that made it even better. A 25 minute horse back ride on the beach for $5!!...where else can you do that. My 6 year old loved it and was even able to ride her own horse. Also had the President of DCL and his daughter in our small 6 person riding "team". He was a little arrogant and kept leaving the pack of people to ride ahead and off to the coconut grove near the beach. Didn't really interact with anyone while we were riding. The guide we had (Alma) was fabulous! Very warm and even gave my sister who is pregnant a souvenier shell with the baby's name on it and the date. Wonderful people on this excursion. Kids loved the pinata party before we left also!
Cabo San Lucas - This was the prettiest port we were in, but only had about 6 hours in Cabo since our excursion left the ship around 9:30. Had to be back on the ship by 3:30 (last tender boat from the dock). The Cabo Resort Pool Getaway was a pretty location, but the pool was freezing. They have 3 pools and 1 was reserved for the DCL people only. Guide said they drained the pool and refiled it 2 days before so the water had not warmed up much. We were on the last bus to the resort and there was no shade by the time we arrived. Only about 15 umbrellas at that pool. Also, the buffet lunch was good, but had a problem with the drinks. The guide on the way their said to us that sodas for the kids were included in the price, but when we went inside to have lunch the person said they were $2.50 each. Several of us disputed this and then the guide came over and said he never said they were included. We ended up paying the $2.50, but my aunt had the equivalent of $3.00 USD in pesos and paid with that. The waiter brought her the drink, but never brought her change. The people were a little rude and seemed like they were out for the money instead of for helping the DCL people enjoy the day. We ended up leaving early and walked the 10 minutes back to the dock ourselves.
Our room was nice. Pretty much what we expected. We were in room 8020 and liked having the balcony. The only down side was that the pools are on the level (Deck 9) above us, so every morning when they set up the deck lounge chairs, you can hear them dragging them across the deck above us. It became our 6:30 AM wake up call. The room was close to the elevators. We had plenty of storage space for the 5 of us in the room. (3 adults and 2 children). No complaints about the accomodations.
Bingo is a rip-off on the ship. $35 gets you 6 games to play and it only lasts about 20-30 minutes. The final day's jumbo prize was $8,000, but with over 700 people in the Walt Disney theatre it takes a long time to get started and your chances of winning seem slim.
Kids had mixed emotions about the Oceaneer's Club. 3 year old liked it, but the 6 year old was lukewarm about it. On the princess and pirate dress up night in the club, my 6 year old daughter and another little girl were "jumped" by an enthusiastic 5 year old pirate boy. She and the other girl had scratches on their face and neck after the boy knocked them down and got them with his "hook" like Captain Hook. My 3 year old saw it happen and freaked out for about 20 minutes crying that his sister was hurt. This happen just as we were picking them up and the directors didn't seem too concerned with what happened. It kind of ruined the experience for my daughter and she wasn't crazy about going back after that happened.
We did like Diversions, the sports pub on the ship. Our pub "server", Delroy, was great. We really got to know him and learned about his home of St. Vincent. He was a pleasure to talk to and the pub is never very crowded. My DH liked that he could catch some of the Yankees games on the ship in peace and quiet.
The characters roaming around was fun and we came away with a lot of good pictures. We took pillowcases and a frame matting to guest services the first day and left them for the characters to sign. We got them back on the last day and the kids really like sleeping with their character pillowcases the first night at home.
We arrived back in port on the 16th of July and that night on the ship was the Make a Wish Foundation fundraiser that was planned. As we were leaving the ship huge things were being crained onto the pool deck and the servers were talking about the celebrities expected on the ship that night. We were told the cost was $100,000 per plate. A lot of hustle bustle that morning, but the good news was were were in our car driving away by 9:30 AM that morning. We had an 8:00 breakfast seating to get our debarkation sticker. We should have been getting off after 9:00, but as we approached the bathrooms near the door to leave, the cast member started saying goodbye and waving us off, so we ended up off the ship at about 8:45. Nothing was said about our Minnie stickers that meant we shouldn't be leaving yet. No problems getting off. Customs/Immigration was a piece of cake!
Overall, we had a great trip, but we were not as blown away as we expected to be. Definitely go to DCL for the "Disney" experience, but the food and activities on the ship were not quite as good as other cruise lines we've been on. We would give it a "7" on a 1 - 10 scale. Happy crusing everyone...!!!
Boarding - The arrival and check in process went very well in my opinion. From the time we unloaded our luggage from the car, to the time we were on the ship was about 45 minutes. (Arrived at approx. 11:45 AM) No big hurdles and the cast members around were very helpful to keep us going in the right direction. While I checked in to get our KTTW card, my DH checked the kids in for their wrist bands for the Oceaneer Club. Timing worked out great.
Introduction as we boarded the ship was fun. The kids (ages 3 and 6) loved hearing our name over the microphone/speaker and having the cast members clap for us as we walked on.
Our room wasn't ready yet and we decided to go to Topsider's buffet for lunch. Very crowded and we were a little disappointed with the selection of foods, but figured it was just the first day. We ended up finding a table by the Goofy pool to eat our food. (Quite a walk from the buffet holding trays!!)
Room was ready at 2:00 and our luggage arrived by 3:00 so we were lucky. We heard people talking at dinner (6:00 PM) seating that their luggage had not arrived yet. Luckily, that night's dress code is very casual.
Our dining rotation was LAP, so we ended up a Lumiere's 3 times and found that was ultimately our favorite place. (Breakfast at Lumiere's was good too) AP was fun, but only had one night when the colors changed. Formal night fell on our first visit to Animator's Palatte and they keep it black & white only on formal night since it keeps the formal theme going. The kids were a little disappointed with that, but the food that night was the best of the trip. Overall, we were a little disappointed with the food. If you are cruising for the dining experience, Disney would not be the first choice. The food was good, but no "wow moments" like on some other cruises. Servers were good and bonded with the kids...Loved Ana from Brazil and her partner Orlan from the Phillipines. Ana made the dining experience great and got to know us more than anyone else on the trip.
One quick note about the ships horn...loved it! It played the first few notes from When You Wish Upon a Star! Tried to get it on our videotape, but always missed it. It will play as you leave the ports including Los Angeles in case anyone else wants to be prepared.
Shore Excursions - Puerto Vallarta was sooo hot and humid. We did the Paradise Beach Village excursion and luckily found some relief from the heat in the ocean and pool at the village. Our home town is 100+ degrees this time of year and we thought we would be fine in the Mexico weather, however, we were in no way prepared for the humidity in Puerto Vallarta. We were all pretty wiped out by the end of the day. The excursion was nice, but the resort had so many people in the pool (from guests staying at the resort) that it was very crowded and hard to keep an eye on the kids mixed in with the others. Over 200 people from the ship were on our excursion alone. We had fun sliding down the 2 big alligator slides at the resort.
Mazatlan - We did the Stone Island Beach adventure excursion. This was by far the best day we had on the trip. It was the most primitive with the tractor drawn carts as transportation to the other side of stone island and the thatched hut style location. However, the lunch provided was great, the beach so much fun with banana boats, boogie boarding, ATVs to rent, horse back riding on the beach, etc. The cost of most things was $5 and that made it even better. A 25 minute horse back ride on the beach for $5!!...where else can you do that. My 6 year old loved it and was even able to ride her own horse. Also had the President of DCL and his daughter in our small 6 person riding "team". He was a little arrogant and kept leaving the pack of people to ride ahead and off to the coconut grove near the beach. Didn't really interact with anyone while we were riding. The guide we had (Alma) was fabulous! Very warm and even gave my sister who is pregnant a souvenier shell with the baby's name on it and the date. Wonderful people on this excursion. Kids loved the pinata party before we left also!
Cabo San Lucas - This was the prettiest port we were in, but only had about 6 hours in Cabo since our excursion left the ship around 9:30. Had to be back on the ship by 3:30 (last tender boat from the dock). The Cabo Resort Pool Getaway was a pretty location, but the pool was freezing. They have 3 pools and 1 was reserved for the DCL people only. Guide said they drained the pool and refiled it 2 days before so the water had not warmed up much. We were on the last bus to the resort and there was no shade by the time we arrived. Only about 15 umbrellas at that pool. Also, the buffet lunch was good, but had a problem with the drinks. The guide on the way their said to us that sodas for the kids were included in the price, but when we went inside to have lunch the person said they were $2.50 each. Several of us disputed this and then the guide came over and said he never said they were included. We ended up paying the $2.50, but my aunt had the equivalent of $3.00 USD in pesos and paid with that. The waiter brought her the drink, but never brought her change. The people were a little rude and seemed like they were out for the money instead of for helping the DCL people enjoy the day. We ended up leaving early and walked the 10 minutes back to the dock ourselves.
Our room was nice. Pretty much what we expected. We were in room 8020 and liked having the balcony. The only down side was that the pools are on the level (Deck 9) above us, so every morning when they set up the deck lounge chairs, you can hear them dragging them across the deck above us. It became our 6:30 AM wake up call. The room was close to the elevators. We had plenty of storage space for the 5 of us in the room. (3 adults and 2 children). No complaints about the accomodations.
Bingo is a rip-off on the ship. $35 gets you 6 games to play and it only lasts about 20-30 minutes. The final day's jumbo prize was $8,000, but with over 700 people in the Walt Disney theatre it takes a long time to get started and your chances of winning seem slim.
Kids had mixed emotions about the Oceaneer's Club. 3 year old liked it, but the 6 year old was lukewarm about it. On the princess and pirate dress up night in the club, my 6 year old daughter and another little girl were "jumped" by an enthusiastic 5 year old pirate boy. She and the other girl had scratches on their face and neck after the boy knocked them down and got them with his "hook" like Captain Hook. My 3 year old saw it happen and freaked out for about 20 minutes crying that his sister was hurt. This happen just as we were picking them up and the directors didn't seem too concerned with what happened. It kind of ruined the experience for my daughter and she wasn't crazy about going back after that happened.
We did like Diversions, the sports pub on the ship. Our pub "server", Delroy, was great. We really got to know him and learned about his home of St. Vincent. He was a pleasure to talk to and the pub is never very crowded. My DH liked that he could catch some of the Yankees games on the ship in peace and quiet.
The characters roaming around was fun and we came away with a lot of good pictures. We took pillowcases and a frame matting to guest services the first day and left them for the characters to sign. We got them back on the last day and the kids really like sleeping with their character pillowcases the first night at home.
We arrived back in port on the 16th of July and that night on the ship was the Make a Wish Foundation fundraiser that was planned. As we were leaving the ship huge things were being crained onto the pool deck and the servers were talking about the celebrities expected on the ship that night. We were told the cost was $100,000 per plate. A lot of hustle bustle that morning, but the good news was were were in our car driving away by 9:30 AM that morning. We had an 8:00 breakfast seating to get our debarkation sticker. We should have been getting off after 9:00, but as we approached the bathrooms near the door to leave, the cast member started saying goodbye and waving us off, so we ended up off the ship at about 8:45. Nothing was said about our Minnie stickers that meant we shouldn't be leaving yet. No problems getting off. Customs/Immigration was a piece of cake!
Overall, we had a great trip, but we were not as blown away as we expected to be. Definitely go to DCL for the "Disney" experience, but the food and activities on the ship were not quite as good as other cruise lines we've been on. We would give it a "7" on a 1 - 10 scale. Happy crusing everyone...!!!
