My honest review

[Goofy Yno]

After I return from a trip I alway try to post a review as a thank you for all the wonderful info gathered on boards like this. a little pay it foward type of thing. I try to be as honest as possible, and although I'm tired and will forget alot (and ramble on way too long, I'm sure), here it goes:


I took my DW, DS6, DS3 and both DGMs on a 4 day land/ 4 sea trip. The land part was incredable, and using tour guide Mikes site, we had almost no waits. I will not go into detail about that here, but to say we stayed at Disney Beach Club and had a wonderful time.
One advantage to this was we were able to check in to the ship, complete our paper work at the hotel. Our room keys didn’t change. I had arranged a stretch limo to take all 6 of us on each leg of the trip. My original plan was a 9 am departure, to get to the poet early. Now that we did not have to check it, we also had no boarding group. I decided to get picked up little after 10. We got to the terminal and through security around 11:20. after a confusing conversation with a CM demanding that all pasengers need to check in, than sarcastically asking if I had my key yet. After an affirmative response, the red face gentleman was more than eager to give me a boarding group number without waiting in line. Group 6. After pictures with daisy, my mom was asking the lady in charge of boarding a question, when she saw her key card and said “you do not need to wait, go right on please”. So first hint to all land/sea packages- check in at the hotel than go right on board.

Rather than go day by day, I’m going to rate and discuss each facet of the trip. (and by way of important background info- this was our first Disney cruise, but we (minus kids) have been on many others, usually going on Crystal or Radisson (now renaissance) .


1) The ship- (wonder) I thought was a wonderful ship. Very clean. Each public bathroom was more spectacular than the next. Rout 66 was so much fun (the boys loved “driving” down the roads from their nana’s house in Chicago to home in Az to LA where we visit. The oceaneers club is so much fun. A+
2) Service- incredable. So many smiles, so many CM’s willing to play and interact with my kids. A+
3) The restaurants:
a. Ambiance- very good. Very creative. Animator’s palate was my favorite, but pirate night was fun. B
b. Food- very poor. My wife and I have a lot of dietary restriction and have very high standards, so this may be different for you. We did have a great veggie plate- grilled eggplant on pirate night, but besides that the fish (which we normally love) was almost uneatable on several occasions, my mom had a mussel that she thought was sour and shrimp that tasted water logged and devoid of flavor. I had some chicken that was acceptable. The deserts were not worth the calories so after a bite, we usually opted for fruit (the pineapple was some of the sweetest I have ever had.) Even the revered Palo, although the service there was outstanding, the food was merely acceptable. All and all the worst part of our trip- D


4) The Kids clubs:
a. Oceaneers- a wonderful lounge along with a great lab. I was fearful that my 6 y/o would not go. After touring it on the fist day, he woke up the next morning and asked if he could go there all day. WOW, I though. Maybe there is something to this Disney magic. We ate breakfast, visited with Goofy then dropped him off of 10. He ran off excitedly. At 11:30 we picked him up asked how it was. He said he had fun, but after 2-3 times down the slide, he was board. “Do I have to go back.?” Ah, reality returns. But aside from my son, I though the programming was great, except for the hours of the truly fun stuff. But I’ll expand on that below. B
b. Flounder’s nursery. If you happened to read my thread prior to going, you’ll know what I’m going to say. I am not sure why the oceaneer’s club is included in the price with drop off and pick up at will, and this is only by appointment and at an hourly charge. My son loved it but all he did was get set in front of the TV. we limit his T.V. time and to pay for this is upsetting. I’m not cheep and don’t think I’d mind paying for someone to play with him. The other thing that amazes me it the hours of these clubs. Maybe we are the only one to have our kids on bedtimes, but when they stay up too late they get up earlier than normal and are very cranky the next day. So Ideally we like to be with them in the morning. Drop them off after lunch so we can work out and take a nap, go to dinner with them and get them to bed by 8. But the nursery is closed in the afternoon, but open to midnight or one or something. Maybe being a pediatrician, I’m just a nut, but my kids don’t transfer well and I’m not sure why afternoon hours could not be offered. D

5) Characters- Another WOW. We ran into them all over the place. Beginning with the first day when both Minnie and Goofy (our favorite) walked though the lunch, stopping by every table. By planning and being at the photo shoots 10 min early, we were one of the first in line. On castaway cay we looked over to see Mickey and Goofy at their photo shoots with no lines at all. The Characters were interactive and fun. This alone was worth the trip. The boy’s faces would light up. My only mistake was seeing some of them at the park for fear they would not be as prevalent on the ship. A+
6) Crowds- all over. We went to the pool after lunch the first day, I could have walked across it without getting wet. C-
7) Ports
a. Nassau- we scheduled privately with Dolphin encounter so my wife could swim with the dolphins (can’t do through Disney) I originally arranged for1 swim, 3 dolphin encounters (in waist high water with them) and two observers. This was set up six months ago. Then one of the observers felt left out so about 6 weeks ago I asked if she could be added to the encounter list. No problem they replied. We arrive 45 min. early to register and they say our reservation was canceled and there are no opening. As my son is crying hysterically, the lady behind the window says to wait about ten min. she will see what she can do. My wife finds out and asks someone else who says the only way we could go now if there are no shows. She mentions that our reservation was canceled on in November- when they received a blank fax back instead of a credit card authorization.. (why they could notify me that it did not go through or mention it later when I asked for additional people, I’ll never know) Now she is crying even more hysterically than my son. I go to the first woman, with both my criers and politely ask if she has found anything. She says, “don’t cry miss, we’ll see what we can do” 45 min later she calls me over and informs me we are all ok to go. In the end, It was a great experience and highly recommended. ****Warning- make sure they have your reservation well in advance**** B
b. Castaway cay- very fun. Their own island- but very crowded. If your going to go snorkeling, there were almost no fish until near the end of the netted area, too far for most kids to swim. We did not like the food at the BBQ- except for the mango was outrageous. The CC cookies were good also. B


Overall a very memorable experience. Great with the right family. (highly recommended) but maybe not right for ours. I am very glad I went. Probably won’t go again for a while. B-

 

[flowers]

Im glad your children loved the characters. Sounds like you did not care for almost all the food, that would have been a drag. I dont think Im that fussy, so hopefully it will be fine.

thanks for your review.

 

[princesdi]

We had an excellent time on our cruise last August and can't wait to go again in December. We do not expect everything to be perfect, because that is impossible. Having fun and being together as a family was more valuable than any of the disappointments we might of had----As far as the food, dining, entertainment etc. We do not get to experience these types of things in our everyday life. Being pampered and waited on was almost intimidating because we are not acustomed to this lifestyle. I give DCL an A+++---because I refuse to nit pick on the overall experience, it was grand!!!

 

[carole88]

Out of curiosity, where are you from?

 

[Goofy Yno]

Out of curiosity, where are you from?

We are from Scottsdale,Arizona.


princesdi- I don't think I was nit picking. we had a great time, but as I said in my title, I was being honest. I agree that being with my family is foremost, but there are a lot of vacations I can enjoy with my family for the same or less money. somethings I thought were much better than expected and some worse. I personally feel that when I read a review it is more helpful to know which was which instead of all great or all awful. but to each his own. I am very glad you enjoyed your last trip and am very sure you will have a great time next time. I wish you nothing but the best.

 

[pop5]

I agree with most of you. Overall, dcl is great!! You can find negatives with any experience. I just choose to focus on all the many positives of dcl. I would guess that flounders is a paid service due to the fact that they can only take so many kids due to the little ones being higher maintenance than the older ones. I do think afternoon hours would be good though.

 

[dispatch302]

Goofy Yno, Thank you for you honest review, and for taking the time to give us the details-

 

[lg3]

So, there are no afternoon hours at both Flounders and the OC? According to the navigators I've seen, there seem to be activities planned in the OC during the afternoons - is this just for Flounders?

I too am pretty shocked at how late people seem to keep up their kids, assuming they are still fairly young (and awake at the time - I don't mean sleeping infants in a nursery). Perhaps a lot of people make an exception during vacation? It would seem to tend to a lot of crankiness the next day, but I guess every person is different.

 

[my2princessgirls]

So, there are no afternoon hours at both Flounders and the OC? According to the navigators I've seen, there seem to be activities planned in the OC during the afternoons - is this just for Flounders?

I too am pretty shocked at how late people seem to keep up their kids, assuming they are still fairly young (and awake at the time - I don't mean sleeping infants in a nursery). Perhaps a lot of people make an exception during vacation? It would seem to tend to a lot of crankiness the next day, but I guess every person is different.

They do have afternoon hours at Oceaneers Club. I believe that he was referring to Flounder's not having the afternoon hours.

Also, OC puts out mats for the kids to sleep on in the evening. My kids would never do this, but I know that many will. Mine also go to bed fairly early, so we just got them out at bedtime if they were in the OC. This early bedtime is one of the main reasons we got a room with a verandah, so DH and I could still stay up and relax out there while the girls slept. If we let them stay up and play in the OC, then NOBODY would want to be around them the next day (not even us LOL).

 

[mruhaak]

Thanks for your review. The point of one is to give your true feelings and that's just what you did.

I kind of thought the same things about the desserts on our Wonder cruise. I am pretty picky as far as ONLY eating desserts that really taste good, because I work too hard to keep the pounds off to waste those calories. So I understand where you're coming from there!

 

[drknight]

I would like to also thank you for your review!

I too was blown away by how late children were in the OC. On our first cruise last October, I forgot to return our pager until late the last night. I took it back around 11:30pm and saw at least 15-20 kids still up running around in OC...on the LAST NIGHT of a 7 day cruise.

I do agree about the desserts as well. I just wish I was able to push it away as you did. All that $$...I had to eat them anyway! The pineapple was awesome...I'll have to try to remember to eat that instead of dessert next time!

 

[paulgraff]

" b. Food- very poor. My wife and I have a lot of dietary restriction and have very high standards, so this may be different for you."


Oh... so the rest of the people who love the food have low standards?
Maybe someone who has "a lot of dietary restrictions and very high standards" should not go on a public cruise that caters to the common man.

PG

 

[Goofy Yno]

" b. Food- very poor. My wife and I have a lot of dietary restriction and have very high standards, so this may be different for you."


Oh... so the rest of the people who love the food have low standards?
Maybe someone who has "a lot of dietary restrictions and very high standards" should not go on a public cruise that caters to the common man.

PG

First of all, there are many aspect to cruising besides dinning, so I'm not sure I get the last comment.

Secondly, I think there is a flaw in your logic. if A than B does not mean if B than A applies.
I purposely stated my preference because everyone has a different standard for food, and this would allow others to discount my statement if it was not applicable to them. Some people do not get the chance to eat out very often, some go out a lot. I make no judgement in any of MY comments.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I am enjoying your report.

I did want to comment on Flounders though. Remember it is for tykes under 3 and they don't pay the same rates as the 3 and ups do....so their "activity" (that of being watched) isn't included. I think there are times you can go in and play as a family for no charge--but otherwise, I am only paying for port charges for my infant, so it makes sense that should I wish him to participate in his age appropriate activity--that I should pay additional for it. (And $6/hr for a sitter is a steal!)


Also--as far as at will--due to the nature of watching babies and toddlers--they have to make sure staffing is adequate.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

" b. Food- very poor. My wife and I have a lot of dietary restriction and have very high standards, so this may be different for you."


Oh... so the rest of the people who love the food have low standards?
Maybe someone who has "a lot of dietary restrictions and very high standards" should not go on a public cruise that caters to the common man.

PG

That's pretty harsh--I don't think the OP meant that at all....

when you have dietary restrictions--the same ol'--here's what we'll give you gets old.

 

[Goofy Yno]

I am enjoying your report.

I did want to comment on Flounders though. Remember it is for tykes under 3 and they don't pay the same rates as the 3 and ups do....so their "activity" (that of being watched) isn't included. I think there are times you can go in and play as a family for no charge--but otherwise, I am only paying for port charges for my infant, so it makes sense that should I wish him to participate in his age appropriate activity--that I should pay additional for it. (And $6/hr for a sitter is a steal!)


Also--as far as at will--due to the nature of watching babies and toddlers--they have to make sure staffing is adequate.

Lisa, I appreciate your comment.
I had not thought of it that way, in terms of the way Disney prices <3 y/o vs >3 y/o. if the infant is added on and there is no extra/minimal charge for them, than the $6 babysitting fee is quite appropriate. In my individual case, My two boys had their own room, so each was charged a full fee. I had requested to leave him with his age group, and offer to come change him when necessary (we never left the ship and only left him for <2 hour stretches).
But I can understand not being able to change general policy. I actually understand more now why they have the policy if add on children under three are only paying port charges.
thanks for enlightening me.

 

[ibela]

b. Flounder’s nursery. If you happened to read my thread prior to going, you’ll know what I’m going to say. I am not sure why the oceaneer’s club is included in the price with drop off and pick up at will, and this is only by appointment and at an hourly charge. My son loved it but all he did was get set in front of the TV. we limit his T.V. time and to pay for this is upsetting.

OK, our first DCL cruise is coming up and I'm currently planning on keeping dd in there on 2 occasions for ~2 hrs each BUT I had no idea they sit them in front of the tv? We limit her tv time very much and if she's going to be sitting in front of the tv for the entire time I may seriously reconsider my planned evening activities . . . I don't want her going from 1/2 hr per week to 4 hrs in 1 week just because we're on vacation.

So my question is - did you notice if it was on the whole time or just an option/intermittently? Even if it's on she'll walk over there b/c she's mesmerized by tv so much that we shut it when she's in the room.

 

[Goofy Yno]

OK, our first DCL cruise is coming up and I'm currently planning on keeping dd in there on 2 occasions for ~2 hrs each BUT I had no idea they sit them in front of the tv? We limit her tv time very much and if she's going to be sitting in front of the tv for the entire time I may seriously reconsider my planned evening activities . . . I don't want her going from 1/2 hr per week to 4 hrs in 1 week just because we're on vacation.

So my question is - did you notice if it was on the whole time or just an option/intermittently? Even if it's on she'll walk over there b/c she's mesmerized by tv so much that we shut it when she's in the room.

I don't know about others experience, But we left our 3 y/o Ds there twice. both times the TV was on (disney cartoon movies once, disney club house once). my boy plopped himself down on in front of the TV along with 4 others in a row. when we came to pick him up before lunch, they were all in the same exact position. I did not notice any kids doing anything else.

 

[miatamel]

I don't know about others experience, But we left our 3 y/o Ds there twice. both times the TV was on (disney cartoon movies once, disney club house once). my boy plopped himself down on in front of the TV along with 4 others in a row. when we came to pick him up before lunch, they were all in the same exact position. I did not notice any kids doing anything else.

Ibela: Flounders was the one thing on our first cruise (11/05) that we were VERY disappointed in. DD turned 2 on that cruise, had been fully potty trained since 16 months, never been in a day care type situation (or even a sitter) and been exposed to very little TV. All the toys in there were geared towards infants/smaller toddlers and she didn't give a fig about TV so there was nothing in there to hold her attention (plus it seemed so dark to me!!) Needless to say, we had to cut short our alone time the two times we tried it due to being paged. I was VERY glad when we went in 11/06 that, even though she just turned 3, she was allowed in OC since she had been potty trained so long (but she wasn't all that crazy about it either--I think it was just too loud and too many kids having never been around all that. Our social DD5 loved it, though, although only for SMALL stretches of time! She'd rather be outside in the sun/pool/!)

Just a heads up if you have a TV issue and your child is past infancy.

 

[ibela]

Thanks for the heads up. I was planning on leaving her in there 2x, 1x for Palo dinner and 1 other evening for alone time so I'll need to reevaluate and maybe just leave her the 1x. She's in daycare now and the adults:infant ratio is the same as on the boat but they stimulate them a lot with arts & crafts, storytime, etc. Of course the daycare is a lot more than $6/hr so that may have something to do with it too.

I'll definitely start thinking of other plans though, thanks again for the heads up.

Oh - and Goofy, thanks for the honest feedback on the food. Long story short, my dh can only eat specific foods (and often eats fish) so I'll set expectations now and hopefully he'll be pleasantly surprised. And I'm REALLY glad that a few people said desserts aren't that good, that's my weakness and I really can't (shouldn't) be eating 2-3 desserts like some people say.