KashasMom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2012
- Messages
- 3,188
Please note - this is OUR experience.
The really good:
Kudos to Disney for giving concierge suite guests basic internet for the length of the cruise
Kudos to Disney for bringing concierge guests into the theater a few minutes before doors open
Both of the above are things other cruise lines have been doing for their concierge/suite passengers for years.
Some in our group also enjoyed the drinks cart (alcohol/soda/water) that came around to our rooms each night - a nice touch
The rest:
This was a cruise with extended family that was rebooked a couple of times due to COVID. There was a considerable amount of headaches leading up to the cruise - COVID tests, required paid Bermuda authorization, hassles with Disney website/check-in accepting/approving forms/documents, and lastly, the additional tests done at port for the unvaccinated children (which took about 40 minutes). It was exhausting keeping track of the changes in requirements and so many in our cruise group were nervous about missing something.
We had adjoining 1 BR concierge rooms (7 of us). It was quite surprising that Shoreside Concierge wasn't as responsive as on prior cruises. I thought it might be because there are so many concierge rooms on the Wish (and not enough customer service agents). I don't know, but it just seems that we can't keep excusing everything (poor service or whatever) with "because of COVID". We didn't have any urgent requests so it wasn't a concern, just surprising. (I had called to order the Halloween package for our 2 rooms, but was disconnected from the agent. She never called back and I never received a confirmation. I did send an email to shoreside and received confirmation several days later.)
We arrived at the terminal in NYC just after 10 a.m. so we cold get a parking spot. (There are not a lot of spots - parking is $40 a day.) Just before 11, they started letting people with an 11:00 PAT inside. I lost count of how many times they checked our documents. We were stuck at one point for several minutes because the agent's hand scanner didn't work. Check-in was fairly easy because...WE had already uploaded our photos, passports, credit card, etc. and the agents no longer even provide a key to the world card (they're in your fish extender). The NYC terminal is a bit sad - as far from the Port Canaveral terminal as you can get.
We've been through a couple of times before so knew what to expect. No characters, no model ship, lounge for concierge is just seats. We were taken to the ship through the main area, which was also different than before where we accessed the ship from the lounge.
From there we went to a lounge on the ship where they checked to make sure everyone had the app and sent us on our way to our muster stations, where we took a photo of the Muster Station sign and submitted it. Definitely easier than the usual drills!
We went to Lumiere's for lunch. The server was terrible. He had no idea about the food, told us he couldn't get something specific for one in our party (with dietary restrictions). The kicker was when he brought the soup AFTER everyone had finished their main course. I really felt that he was new. (The food was not good - and none of it was hot.) One of the concierge hosts came by to talk with us and was able to get the food we needed. We'd sailed with this host before. Some differences now - no printed menus - and the nice little package you got from concierge was no more (and of course no printed Navigators). I guess because of COVID.
After lunch, we went to meet Jessie from Toy Story at the kids' club. We weren't registering any of the kids in our group so were able to just bypass the long line and go in. Meeting Jessie was truly a highlight for my 4 yrs old granddaughter. THIS kind of thing is what keeps our family going back to Disney.
Our rooms were ready so we headed there. I noticed that the divider on the balcony between our two rooms hadn't been removed. I called housekeeping to ask if someone could do it and was told they could do it after sail away. We wanted to be with our family on the balcony FOR sail away. I asked if this was a "new" policy (since it was removed for us on previous cruises before we arrived in our room). This was, literally, the ONLY thing I asked shoreside concierge for/to do. Someone came not too long after and removed it.
Our luggage arrived and we unpacked. I went to put our passports/cc/cash in the safe, which was locked. I called housekeeping again to let them know but said it was no rush. All of the maintenance and housekeeping staff we dealt with were excellent. (Our stateroom host had called them one more time because there was an issue with our curtains.)
We had main seating for dinner and were back in Lumiere's. We met our dining team. Throughout the cruise they seemed to be constantly in a rush - more than the usual "busy". They seemed overwhelmed. They barely had time to talk to us. I hate to say but the food has changed drastically and not for the better. I know food is subjective and I won't be reviewing each meal. I will say this - we did not have ONE thing the entire cruise that was HOT. Everything was warm. We had two vegetarians with us and the offerings were awful. The bean patties were dry and overcooked, tofu was undercooked, other dishes over-salty, etc. By comparison on our last cruise (Nov 2019 same ship from NYC as well) one of our vegetarians was a vegan. Each night the head waiter came to our table to discuss the following night's meal - including vegan dessert! He LOVED the food on that cruise. By about day 3 of this cruise, he was done with the food. My husband got so sick from the jerk chicken (I'll spare you the details) but I assume it was food poisoning. He was afraid to eat after that. Our special diet granddaughter's plain pasta with butter was either cold or overcooked - and after the first night there was no butter. My grandson never got ketchup or mustard and his meal included - literally - 4 french fries. What was so odd is that the server NEVER asked how/if we enjoyed the food. On any other cruise if you left three-quarters of a plate of uneaten food, the server would ask if you liked it, if you wanted something else, etc. Was this team new? Did they move the best to the Wish? These thoughts came to my mind at every dinner.
I can only say after 35 cruises, 9 on Disney, 5 on the Magic, this ranks as some of the worst food I've had. If you had a different experience, that's awesome for you! A couple of notes - people are wearing anything and everything in the dining room - from shorts to pj bottom type of "pants". The noise at main seating is deafening.
The second night we were in Animator's Palate - and there was no black and white to color show. I have no idea why not but that was disappointing. In Rapunzel's our view was blocked by pillars so we didn't get to see the show. There was no parade or Sorcerer Mickey either. Why?
We were so fortunate to have amazing weather for both days in Bermuda. It's so easy to get around, go to the beach, go to Hamilton/St. George's. I think this would be the latest in the year that the ocean would be warm enough to swim in (for us).
Trick or Treating was 4 tables of candy - mostly taffy kind of candy inappropriate for small children. There was little organization and lines were long and coming from different directions. The Halloween activities were...okay. If Halloween is your thing, I guess it's enjoyable, but IMO the Very Merrytime Cruises are so much better.
We missed Twice Charmed and the fireworks (too late for our littles). We enjoyed Tangled and the kids especially loved Dreams. I do wish they'd get some new shows. There was a magician another night.
At the end of the cruise I didn't fill out the survey. Until they separate the food from the server I refuse to do it. (Even though in this case neither were good.)
This cruise was as different from our Nov 2019 NYC to PR on the Magic as it could be. It seemed that some things on this cruise were just cut backs. Along with what I mentioned the private meet and greet for concierge is no more. The attention to detail - which is one of the reasons you cruise Disney - seemed off.
Oh...and our gift was a sling!! I think we'll be seeing those for years to come since there's probably a backlog from when the ships weren't sailing.
In the end, it was most important to be with family. We really did have a good time in spite of what I've pointed out. At least we'll have stories for a long time. We all needed the break and the littles LOVED the characters and shows. It was the 2 yrs old first cruise and the 4 yrs old cruised when she was just over 1 so this was a different/better experience for her. My family was considering the NYC-PR cruise next year. (THAT used to a Very Merrytime but, sadly, they pushed the dates back for them.) At least it's on the Dream so different shows and restaurants. We'll see.
The really good:
Kudos to Disney for giving concierge suite guests basic internet for the length of the cruise
Kudos to Disney for bringing concierge guests into the theater a few minutes before doors open
Both of the above are things other cruise lines have been doing for their concierge/suite passengers for years.
Some in our group also enjoyed the drinks cart (alcohol/soda/water) that came around to our rooms each night - a nice touch
The rest:
This was a cruise with extended family that was rebooked a couple of times due to COVID. There was a considerable amount of headaches leading up to the cruise - COVID tests, required paid Bermuda authorization, hassles with Disney website/check-in accepting/approving forms/documents, and lastly, the additional tests done at port for the unvaccinated children (which took about 40 minutes). It was exhausting keeping track of the changes in requirements and so many in our cruise group were nervous about missing something.
We had adjoining 1 BR concierge rooms (7 of us). It was quite surprising that Shoreside Concierge wasn't as responsive as on prior cruises. I thought it might be because there are so many concierge rooms on the Wish (and not enough customer service agents). I don't know, but it just seems that we can't keep excusing everything (poor service or whatever) with "because of COVID". We didn't have any urgent requests so it wasn't a concern, just surprising. (I had called to order the Halloween package for our 2 rooms, but was disconnected from the agent. She never called back and I never received a confirmation. I did send an email to shoreside and received confirmation several days later.)
We arrived at the terminal in NYC just after 10 a.m. so we cold get a parking spot. (There are not a lot of spots - parking is $40 a day.) Just before 11, they started letting people with an 11:00 PAT inside. I lost count of how many times they checked our documents. We were stuck at one point for several minutes because the agent's hand scanner didn't work. Check-in was fairly easy because...WE had already uploaded our photos, passports, credit card, etc. and the agents no longer even provide a key to the world card (they're in your fish extender). The NYC terminal is a bit sad - as far from the Port Canaveral terminal as you can get.
We've been through a couple of times before so knew what to expect. No characters, no model ship, lounge for concierge is just seats. We were taken to the ship through the main area, which was also different than before where we accessed the ship from the lounge.From there we went to a lounge on the ship where they checked to make sure everyone had the app and sent us on our way to our muster stations, where we took a photo of the Muster Station sign and submitted it. Definitely easier than the usual drills!
We went to Lumiere's for lunch. The server was terrible. He had no idea about the food, told us he couldn't get something specific for one in our party (with dietary restrictions). The kicker was when he brought the soup AFTER everyone had finished their main course. I really felt that he was new. (The food was not good - and none of it was hot.) One of the concierge hosts came by to talk with us and was able to get the food we needed. We'd sailed with this host before. Some differences now - no printed menus - and the nice little package you got from concierge was no more (and of course no printed Navigators). I guess because of COVID.
After lunch, we went to meet Jessie from Toy Story at the kids' club. We weren't registering any of the kids in our group so were able to just bypass the long line and go in. Meeting Jessie was truly a highlight for my 4 yrs old granddaughter. THIS kind of thing is what keeps our family going back to Disney.
Our rooms were ready so we headed there. I noticed that the divider on the balcony between our two rooms hadn't been removed. I called housekeeping to ask if someone could do it and was told they could do it after sail away. We wanted to be with our family on the balcony FOR sail away. I asked if this was a "new" policy (since it was removed for us on previous cruises before we arrived in our room). This was, literally, the ONLY thing I asked shoreside concierge for/to do. Someone came not too long after and removed it.
Our luggage arrived and we unpacked. I went to put our passports/cc/cash in the safe, which was locked. I called housekeeping again to let them know but said it was no rush. All of the maintenance and housekeeping staff we dealt with were excellent. (Our stateroom host had called them one more time because there was an issue with our curtains.)
We had main seating for dinner and were back in Lumiere's. We met our dining team. Throughout the cruise they seemed to be constantly in a rush - more than the usual "busy". They seemed overwhelmed. They barely had time to talk to us. I hate to say but the food has changed drastically and not for the better. I know food is subjective and I won't be reviewing each meal. I will say this - we did not have ONE thing the entire cruise that was HOT. Everything was warm. We had two vegetarians with us and the offerings were awful. The bean patties were dry and overcooked, tofu was undercooked, other dishes over-salty, etc. By comparison on our last cruise (Nov 2019 same ship from NYC as well) one of our vegetarians was a vegan. Each night the head waiter came to our table to discuss the following night's meal - including vegan dessert! He LOVED the food on that cruise. By about day 3 of this cruise, he was done with the food. My husband got so sick from the jerk chicken (I'll spare you the details) but I assume it was food poisoning. He was afraid to eat after that. Our special diet granddaughter's plain pasta with butter was either cold or overcooked - and after the first night there was no butter. My grandson never got ketchup or mustard and his meal included - literally - 4 french fries. What was so odd is that the server NEVER asked how/if we enjoyed the food. On any other cruise if you left three-quarters of a plate of uneaten food, the server would ask if you liked it, if you wanted something else, etc. Was this team new? Did they move the best to the Wish? These thoughts came to my mind at every dinner.
I can only say after 35 cruises, 9 on Disney, 5 on the Magic, this ranks as some of the worst food I've had. If you had a different experience, that's awesome for you! A couple of notes - people are wearing anything and everything in the dining room - from shorts to pj bottom type of "pants". The noise at main seating is deafening.
The second night we were in Animator's Palate - and there was no black and white to color show. I have no idea why not but that was disappointing. In Rapunzel's our view was blocked by pillars so we didn't get to see the show. There was no parade or Sorcerer Mickey either. Why?
We were so fortunate to have amazing weather for both days in Bermuda. It's so easy to get around, go to the beach, go to Hamilton/St. George's. I think this would be the latest in the year that the ocean would be warm enough to swim in (for us).
Trick or Treating was 4 tables of candy - mostly taffy kind of candy inappropriate for small children. There was little organization and lines were long and coming from different directions. The Halloween activities were...okay. If Halloween is your thing, I guess it's enjoyable, but IMO the Very Merrytime Cruises are so much better.
We missed Twice Charmed and the fireworks (too late for our littles). We enjoyed Tangled and the kids especially loved Dreams. I do wish they'd get some new shows. There was a magician another night.
At the end of the cruise I didn't fill out the survey. Until they separate the food from the server I refuse to do it. (Even though in this case neither were good.)
This cruise was as different from our Nov 2019 NYC to PR on the Magic as it could be. It seemed that some things on this cruise were just cut backs. Along with what I mentioned the private meet and greet for concierge is no more. The attention to detail - which is one of the reasons you cruise Disney - seemed off.
Oh...and our gift was a sling!! I think we'll be seeing those for years to come since there's probably a backlog from when the ships weren't sailing.
In the end, it was most important to be with family. We really did have a good time in spite of what I've pointed out. At least we'll have stories for a long time. We all needed the break and the littles LOVED the characters and shows. It was the 2 yrs old first cruise and the 4 yrs old cruised when she was just over 1 so this was a different/better experience for her. My family was considering the NYC-PR cruise next year. (THAT used to a Very Merrytime but, sadly, they pushed the dates back for them.) At least it's on the Dream so different shows and restaurants. We'll see.
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