When we were on the Dream a couple of weeks ago, they took the lifeboats off in Nassau and Castaway and were driving them around to test them. They certainly are in way better shape then the ones we saw on the ships beside us lol
It is my understanding that all ships from all lines test their lifeboats weekly, in the water, and while
DCL may test in Nassau and
Castaway Cay, there could easily be loyalists to Carnival, RCCL, or other lines thinking "When we were in port in XYZ, I couldn't help but notice that our ship was dutifully checking out the lifeboats in the water but that DCL line was keeping theirs on the ship. I'm glad I cruise ABC line, because they are so much safer..."
There may be some cut-rate lines out there that don't train as thoroughly, but I highly doubt that RCCL and the other mass-market lines (of which DCL is one) are ducking out on mandatory training.
Ever notice passengers on other ships parked adjacent to your DCL ship just staring at it?
We were on the Dream this week nestled between Carnival and the Magic.... all those Carnival cruisers were just standing at the rails wishing they booked DCL. We said the same thing about the condition of the exterior and wondered what the interior was like... could not imagine it was much better.
Likewise, I can imagine a parallel thread started by cruisers from those ships smugly saying "Did you ever notice in port how all the people from DCL stand on their verandahs staring at us, thinking about how they overpaid for their cruises and are stuck with overly cloying service?..." It's the definition of solipsism and it afflicts people from every walk of life.
Perspective is a funny thing. People look at the other adjacent ships in port, both because it is what one can see when in port and because it's a natural curiosity. That is evidenced by the fact that people on this thread notice other people staring at their ships, which implies they must be looking at the ships that contain the people looking back at them. I'm sure some of those people wish they were on DCL, but I suspect most are not thinking that at all but are just staring into space and enjoying their vacation.
Personally, I think the DCL ships look very nice from the outside, but I find them fairly boring and lacking in some of the more advanced amenities on the inside. I cannot look at the outside of my ship when I'm sailing on it, so I don't find their design particularly compelling as a reason to sail. We have sailed with them several times because we enjoy Disney, and I'm sure we will sail with them again, but after several cruises over the past two years we have come to find their itineraries exceptionally boring, their theater shows repetitive and boring after multiple viewings, and their service cloyingly over the top, so we are looking forward to trying a new line over spring break in a few weeks. We're spending the same amount as we would have on the cruise we'd booked and canceled for the same time on DCL, so it was not a budgetary decision, but we are getting a more interesting itinerary, more amenities on the ship, and a better room, AND we get to try something new, which is exciting for our family.
