I'll start with my overall impression and then select main areas to discuss. I have been on several cruise lines in the past 12-14 years. We have sailed on Dolphin, Norweign, Royal Caribbean and yes even the big red boat. Disney would tie or beat each of these lines in the major categories. Disney's attention to detail really makes for a great experience.
Adult activities: I did the wine tasting and really enjoyed the talk and yes the wine wasn't bad either. I also did the Rainforest room. It was very relaxing. Before I went in for the first time, the lady said I could upgrade to 3 days for the price of 2. After my first experience, I went for the upgrade. They allowed me to use the 3 days on sea days or port days which I thought was great. My wife also enjoyed her full body massage.
Kids activities: My DS (7) enjoyed the club but really liked the lab activities better. He preferred the free time in the club and then some of the scheduled events (flubber, pillowcase). He eat with the kids once, so we could enjoy Palos. We had one minor problem with the club. My son asked a counselor to page us and the counselor told him no, not right now. I discussed with my son that he could leave anytime by simply having us paged. I didn't want him to view the club or lab as a prison, but rather a place to enjoy other kids his age. We discussed this situation with one of the counselors and he promised it would not happen again. He told my son to come see him if it happened. After that discussion there were no more problems. Although a boy, he enjoyed tea with Wendy.
Food: Plentiful and good to great. Disney has the market on cruise lunch buffets. The Italian, Oriental, Seafood and castaway cay buffets were awesome. The dinners were all tasty to great. Palos was excellent. Some of our tablemates asked if it was better than the rotation meals and I'd have to say yes. I ordered mainly the specials of the day and of course the souffle. Carita brought an extra dessert and I couldn't say no. The one are that could use a little improvement is breakfast. A little more variety and better quality. The mickey waffles at Topiders are wonderful. I also would like Disney to start the room service breakfast earlier (6:30 instead of 7:00) and add a few items. I did go up to the early danish bar for my morning chocolate croissant and tea fix.
Shows: Enjoyed them all. The afternoon Island Magic show was cute for adults as well as the kids. Although how many the first time you went were expecting a magic show? Disney Dreams is not to be missed. We went to the matinee to take our DS and get better seats. The variety shows and singers were all entertaining.
Characters: They were everywhere. My DS loves getting as many different autographs and pictures as possible. I think he ended up with 15. At one character signing he got Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Pluto. At the other signing he got Belle, Captain Hook, Dopey and Pinocchio. Alice was also there, but he got her autograph at one of the nighttime photo ops. Also saw Goofy, Chip & Dale, Wendy, and Louie. If you get there a little early you sometimes can have a little more one on one time with the character. On Saturday, we had a few minutes with Mickey before anyone else showed up to say Ahoy Captain Mickey.
Cabin: The size of the cabin (we had a category 4) was far more than what we got on our last cruise with Royal. This was the first time we had a balcony. We all enjoyed it. I loved it early in the morning and at night to plan out the next day.
Islands: We liked them all. We like beaches and to snorkel so we enjoyed St. Marteen and St. Thomas. Castaway Cay is beautiful. I thought maybe the greens and blues were trick photography, but it's better than the photos. We did the Golden Eagle Catamaran in St. Marteen and had a blast with time to shop a little and eat at our fabvorite spot Everythings Cool.
Disembarkation: This was the easiest I ever had it. I told the porter my cabin number and he know knew exactly where my luggage was. Tiffany Towncar was waiting outside the door. Driver had us at the airport by 9:00. Coming and going Tiffany was great. Clean and courteous. Our original flight was noon, but we got a 9:45 flight and were home early. If I had to leave the ship, I wanted to be home.
Those are the main things I can think of. I will be happy to answer any questions people may have. It was as close to perfection as you can get. I would and hope to go again. My wife wanted to get to the first island earlier in the trip, so the new Western route seems like a great option.
Adult activities: I did the wine tasting and really enjoyed the talk and yes the wine wasn't bad either. I also did the Rainforest room. It was very relaxing. Before I went in for the first time, the lady said I could upgrade to 3 days for the price of 2. After my first experience, I went for the upgrade. They allowed me to use the 3 days on sea days or port days which I thought was great. My wife also enjoyed her full body massage.
Kids activities: My DS (7) enjoyed the club but really liked the lab activities better. He preferred the free time in the club and then some of the scheduled events (flubber, pillowcase). He eat with the kids once, so we could enjoy Palos. We had one minor problem with the club. My son asked a counselor to page us and the counselor told him no, not right now. I discussed with my son that he could leave anytime by simply having us paged. I didn't want him to view the club or lab as a prison, but rather a place to enjoy other kids his age. We discussed this situation with one of the counselors and he promised it would not happen again. He told my son to come see him if it happened. After that discussion there were no more problems. Although a boy, he enjoyed tea with Wendy.
Food: Plentiful and good to great. Disney has the market on cruise lunch buffets. The Italian, Oriental, Seafood and castaway cay buffets were awesome. The dinners were all tasty to great. Palos was excellent. Some of our tablemates asked if it was better than the rotation meals and I'd have to say yes. I ordered mainly the specials of the day and of course the souffle. Carita brought an extra dessert and I couldn't say no. The one are that could use a little improvement is breakfast. A little more variety and better quality. The mickey waffles at Topiders are wonderful. I also would like Disney to start the room service breakfast earlier (6:30 instead of 7:00) and add a few items. I did go up to the early danish bar for my morning chocolate croissant and tea fix.
Shows: Enjoyed them all. The afternoon Island Magic show was cute for adults as well as the kids. Although how many the first time you went were expecting a magic show? Disney Dreams is not to be missed. We went to the matinee to take our DS and get better seats. The variety shows and singers were all entertaining.
Characters: They were everywhere. My DS loves getting as many different autographs and pictures as possible. I think he ended up with 15. At one character signing he got Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Pluto. At the other signing he got Belle, Captain Hook, Dopey and Pinocchio. Alice was also there, but he got her autograph at one of the nighttime photo ops. Also saw Goofy, Chip & Dale, Wendy, and Louie. If you get there a little early you sometimes can have a little more one on one time with the character. On Saturday, we had a few minutes with Mickey before anyone else showed up to say Ahoy Captain Mickey.
Cabin: The size of the cabin (we had a category 4) was far more than what we got on our last cruise with Royal. This was the first time we had a balcony. We all enjoyed it. I loved it early in the morning and at night to plan out the next day.
Islands: We liked them all. We like beaches and to snorkel so we enjoyed St. Marteen and St. Thomas. Castaway Cay is beautiful. I thought maybe the greens and blues were trick photography, but it's better than the photos. We did the Golden Eagle Catamaran in St. Marteen and had a blast with time to shop a little and eat at our fabvorite spot Everythings Cool.
Disembarkation: This was the easiest I ever had it. I told the porter my cabin number and he know knew exactly where my luggage was. Tiffany Towncar was waiting outside the door. Driver had us at the airport by 9:00. Coming and going Tiffany was great. Clean and courteous. Our original flight was noon, but we got a 9:45 flight and were home early. If I had to leave the ship, I wanted to be home.
Those are the main things I can think of. I will be happy to answer any questions people may have. It was as close to perfection as you can get. I would and hope to go again. My wife wanted to get to the first island earlier in the trip, so the new Western route seems like a great option.
