Prior cruisers react to first time on DCL

[mikeymars]

If you -- like us - are someone who has cruised before but is planning your first trip on DCL, this might interest you. Heck, even if you aren't it might.

When our family of four (Mom, Dad and two kids 5 and 8) sailed last week for the first time on DCL (on the Magic from 3/23-3/30), we did so as a family that has previously cruised before on Costa, Celebrity, Carnival, RCCL and Holland American. So we consider ourselves to be shall we say "experienced" cruisers.

And in that context, looking back on that first DCL cruise as said "experienced prior cruisers," here are our reactions:

What Disney does well (compared to competitors):

Children’s programs (mostly due to range and variety of the programming and the efficient way check in/out is managed, both of which are outstanding compared to competitors). The counselors were good to very good, albeit not that much better than what we have seen on other lines (That wasn't a surprise; I think the industry in general is relatively picky about who they recruit to deal with children).

Entertainment. No complaints about the major evening shows (other than lack of live music, which I get into below). Good variety and good to excellent performances. Main showroom is well designed, as others state there really are no “bad” seats. Love those cupholders, too.

Palos – while not being the culinary nirvana some claim – is a nice retreat and wasn’t as difficult to get a "res" at as this board sometimes implies (likely because there are many more seats available there on the seven day – the "res rush" craziness for Palos appears to be primarily be a problem on the 3 and 4 day Wonder sailings).

Disembarkation. As the cruise director claimed, yes, DCL does this more quickly and efficiently as competitors. We stood in no lines Saturday on board on morning, and appreciated that. Nothing is more frustrating than having a great cruise end with an ugly mob scene environment while getting off the ship.

Range of dining choices: we never had a problem at any meal finding something truly desirable, and that comes from someone dealing with picky eater children and a spouse who is frankly difficult for any restaurant to impress. Can't say that for other lines (although if one is out to pick the flat out "best" food on any "mass market" cruise, one still has to go with Celebrity. And that isn't just my opinion, read any book on cruises and you'll hear the same thing).

General friendliness of staff. Disney wrote the book on how to accomplish this at their parks years ago, no additional explanation needed.

Movie Theater: nicer and better range of choices than I’ve seen since sailing on the S.S. France (now the NCL Norway) as a child back in the 1960s.

What Disney could do better (ergo, what competitors are ahead of them on):

Spit and polish: maintenance standards on the ship were not quite up to what we are have seen on other lines or at Disney resorts at WDW. Every single bathroom we used (including the ones in our stateroom) had rust around the bottom of the door openings. Lots of rust was readily viewable on exterior surfaces, including the railings on our veranda, which made it a lot less inviting than it should have been. Many, if not most of exterior wood railings could use a sanding and new coat of varnish. While deck 9 staff were quick to clear tables, there was some trash (straws in particular) in the pools, and not just during crowded hours. Bottom line: for a ship less than four years old, the Magic should be in better shape (hmmmm....are Disney's financial problems causing deferred maintenance cutbacks?) Celebrity in my humble opinion wrote the textbook here; their ships – even the older ones -- are absolutely spotless. Ditto Holland American. Carnivals and RCCL’s are tacky, but still cleaner than the Magic was.

When families with small children appear in Topsiders, why doesn’t staff offer to help carry their trays to their tables? We’ve ALWAYS experienced that on other lines. ALWAYS. We continually saw lots of families on the Magic up at Topsiders struggling to get through heavy doors while handholding toddlers and balancing fully loaded trays while CMs just stood there a few feet away staring into space. This isn’t nitpicking – yes, it’s a little thing, but one that makes a huge difference to anyone with small kids. We REALLY lectured DCL about this on our comment card.

When we go to Broadway shows in New York, we enjoy live music performed by a professional band or orchestra. When we cruised on Celebrity, same thing: professional, live music in the showroom. Ditto Holland American. Ditto on Carnival (yes, Carnival – that supposedly downscale line – in fact the 15 piece band in their theatre was quite impressive, and even provided music to entertain people before the shows). Disney? You listen to taped (read – less expensive) music. May not bother others, but as a musician it certainly bothered me, particularly given the fact DCL prices above the competition (ergo, Disney doesn’t have to be cheap here). They already invest in live music for the clubs and lounges - why not be a class act in the showroom, too?

 

[Dodie]

Thank you for your thoughtful, well-written post showing both sides of the coin. I appreciated your honesty AND your opinions (based upon all of your previous cruising experience).

As a Disney fan - sometimes we tend to see everything through "Disney-colored" glasses. Your post was refreshing.

 

[mikeymars]

Thanks Dodie. I guess I should have mentioned that despite our "thumbs mostly up put sometimes down" reactions, we are also Disney fans - DVC members in fact -- and overall I still rate our vacations at any Disney property as the best we've ever had. That's why were were more than willing to try out DCL. Is it perfect? Nothing is, and yes, there are improvement opportunites. But that doesn't mean we were "unhappy" with the Magic. And yes, the "reactions" piece was written (as you realized) to provide a somewhat dfferent view than one may normally see here.

 

[TnRobin]

I too appreciate all sides of the story. This was a well presented post. I am interested in your opinions particularly because we want to cruise Hawaii next year and I feel particularly spoiled by DCL.

I am surprised that no one was helping with the kids trays. On our three prior cruises, DS never had to carry his tray.

 

[reveric]

Thanks mikeymars! As a first time cruiser I really appreciated the clarity and thoroughness of your post. I found it most informative. Thanks for taking the time to post it!

 

[FLeisure]

Having recently been fortunate to cruise with Disney, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity all in the last 12 months I have to say that Disney ranks lowest on my list.

For first time cruisers I can well understand the gloss of a large ship and all the other stuff that goes with crusing being a big plus. Hopefully it will have given you all a taste of longing to do it again.

For me, the whole Disney cruise (Last December) was off to a bad start when they started with some of the most ludicrous security measures I've ever witnessed. Checking in with RCCL last week was an absolute pleasure - yes, added security was there but we were on the ship inside 25 minutes. Disney took 90 minutes for a 3 night cruise.

Once on board we enjoyed the live music in the dualling piano bar and also in the quieter piano room next door. The shows were also pretty good but after witnessing the ice shows and the other shows on RCCL on board Explorer this year and Voyager last, I wouldn't put much between them.

The biggest disappointment on Disney was the quality of the food. Frankly, I don't know whether it was a bad weekend or not, but it was poor. The nice part was getting to visit a new restaurant every night as maybe the food would improve...

Earlier comments in regard to the appearance of the ship are well founded and another massive disappointment was the general attitude of the staff.....going through the motions is how I would phrase it.

Speaking as someone in the hospitality industry I have to say Disney has much to learn from its competitors. Having sailed with Carnival two / three years ago I would say they are well ahead of Disney before we even start with lines such as RCCL, Celebrity and Norwegian.

In short a big disappointment and not much really to say of a positive nature. Maybe I shouldn't have started

I'm sorry....

 

[DVC1996]

Thanks Mikeymars! Excellent cruise review. You mentioned that you were a DVC Member and I'm hoping you also post regularly on the DIS DVC Board. In particular.....I would be interested in hearing your impressions of any outside exchanges you have made through DVC. Thanks again

 

[perdidobay]

I appreciate both of these reports comparing DCL to other lines Thanks for taking the time to post them. I have only been on one cruise-DCL, but hope to do many more and with other lines in the future, and I'm always curious to hear how the other lines "stack up"

 

[BeanoC]

I've sailed with NCL 4 times previously; on the S.S. Norway twice, M.S. Southward and M.S. Seaward (Honeymoon cruise)

We took our 1st DCL cruise on the Magic last year.

So, in direct comparison to NCL, Disney blows 'em away.

The 'historical' S.S. France, which was tranformed into the S.S. Norway, was, in a word, dirty. It's a huge ship, and I loved the spaciousness, but the whole ship looked as if the carpet was left over from the S.S. France! The food was adequate at best. We do enjoy NCL's "Dive-In" program. I wouldn't have sailed on her twice though, had the 2nd one not been a gift!

The Seaward was very elegant, and virtually spotless. Granted, this cruise was a few years ago and she was fairly new. Food was better than Norway's but still mediocre. The staff on the Seaward seemed much more fun and attentive. They had many good programs and seemed to care whether or not you were having fun. The Seaward's adult restaurant, which you could compare to Palo's, was very intimate and elegant, however it was NOT included with your cruise, so where Palo's might cost you 20-30 dollars with drinks and tips, The Seaward restaurant would easily set you back 80 bucks.

The biggest disappointment with NCL is the way they seated us for dinner. My first cruise on the Norway was just my brother and I - two young bachelors on a cruise. They seated us with a family of 6 who spoke NO english whatsoever. We spent an uncomfortable week smiling at each other, unable to communicate in the slightest. Pretty exciting for two 20-something single guys huh?

On our Seaward Honeymoon cruise, we were seated with 3 other couples, all 20-30 years older than us. We had nothing in common, but hey, at least they spoke english! We ended up skipping dinner a number of times simply because it was uncomfortable and not at all relaxing. I don't think NCL puts any thought behind the seating arrangements, they must do it randomly.

I won't comment on my M.S. Southward cruise, as it was more than 20 years ago and can't really be compared to "modern" cruises!

As for the Disney Magic - we have a difficult time complaining about anything. We had a fabulous cruise.

First of all, we were seated at a private table for 4. We are certainly not anti-social, but having this time to talk and laugh together as a family without worrying about others was very nice.

Also, we found the food to be outstanding - far superior to any NCL cruise we'd been on, and better than what we were expecting. We even ordered off the menu a couple of times and were graciously accomodated.

As most people know, DLC's staterooms are larger than most cruise lines, and we found this to be a big plus as well. With 2 young kids, room to move around in your stateroom is pretty nice!

Also, the disembarkation was a joy! After horribly long waits on all of my NCL cruises, I was simply amazed at how quickly and easily we got of the Magic!

I did miss the casino, but hey - this is a family vacation. I can play cards another time! I'd rather watch my kids on the Mickey slide anyway


All in all, I have only positive comments to offer about DCL. We were so pleased, we booked our next cruise while still on board!


Remember, this comparison is only to NCL, I can't compare Disney to anyone else. I have no doubt that the reports of great food on Celebrity are true, as well as the other fine things offered by RCCL and Princess. But as long as our kids are young, you won't find us anywhere but on Disney!!



'Beano'

 

[liza]

Mikemars, thanks for your post. We took our first Disney cruise -- first cruise at all -- a few weeks ago on the Magic. We enjoyed it, but I'm wondering whether we wouldn't enjoy a different line next time. My in-laws rave about Crystal, but it's too expensive for our family of 4. My children are 7 and 4. Is there a line you would recommend that has a good children's program? I've heard good things about Celebrity, but don't know anything about the kids' programs. Would you mind describing the kids' programs on the other ships?

Thanks!

 

[WDWLVR]

I have cruised many times in past but it was years ago. When I took my first Disney cruise in '99 I was blown away by what a beautiful ship it was and all it had to offer. The check in was much smoother than I remembered on any other ship.

The room is huge compared to my past cruises.

I love the fact that you rotate in the dining rooms and that they are so wonderfully themed. I remember spending many nights in the very nice, but bland dining rooms on other cruises.

Food, well here Disney does lose a little. The best food I had was on the old Sitmar cruises (later bought out by Princess). I would also say the wait staff was better on those cruises - but saying that I've still had great wait staff on the Magic as well.

As for the room steward - Disney is the best. Always friendly, keeps the room great and the towel animals are such fun.

The other area that Disney blows my other cruises away is getting off the ship. I remember sitting around in public rooms for what seemed like ever just waiting for our color or number to be called to get off the ship. Disney does it right!

My previous cruises were all in the 1977 to 1989 range and then I didn't cruise for 10 years so I'm well aware that all of the lines have upgraded and changed. I for one would be willing to try others (especially now that Dreams Unlimited has expanded their offerings), but I still love Disney and will continue to cruise them.

Only 35 days until we are on the Wonder!

 

[Chattyaholic]

but was kind of surprised that you found the Magic to be dirty and in need of repairs. We were on the 7-night Magic cruise in January '01 and found her to be very clean and crew members were constantly cleaning, polishing, repairing, etc. Granted, this was our first cruise so we may have overlooked things simply because we were in awe, I don't know. We are going back on the ship for a Western cruise next January, really looking forward to going back. Plus, just before that cruise we are taking a short 4-night Carnival Fantasy cruise. We'll have two days between cruises. So, it will be fun to do some comparing of our own. We hope to cruise several different lines over the next several years. I think our next one will be the Grand Princess or possibly Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas, they both look interesting!

 

[FLeisure]

Voyager or Explorer of the Seas are fantastic ships. Frankly there's nothing to compete with them in terms of size, features and things to do.

A week ago we were on Explorer and one thing did strike me compared to our sailing on Voyager a year ago. It seemed to us that RCCL were making cut-backs in various areas and that devalued the whole experience.

I do tend to be quite critical of cruise lines but my view is they promise the World in their brochures but rarely deliver it 100% as advertised. Anyway, on Explorer we had no wine waiter - extra pressure on the waiter and his assistant, no bath robes until we demanded them (!), toilet paper was the very very cheap stuff, etc - all small areas and probably missed by most people.

None of the above items are big deals but it goes towards creating the exclusive atmosphere that the lines are eager to promote. I guess most lines are cutting back or using Sept 11 as an excuse to do so.

 

[liza]

Does anyone have information about children's programs on other cruise lines?

 

[FLeisure]

Liza,

My two daughters (8 & 11) have been on several cruises over the last 5 years and they hated Disney simply because there were 950 kids on board and they never got to get near anything. From what we saw it wasn't very organised but quite how you organise 950 kids on a ship is beyond me.

We probably sailed at the wrong time ! I suppose that's part of the reason we didn't enjoy Disney as much as other lines. The best kids programs are Carnival and Celebrity. Carnival always seems to have something happening for kids.

RCCL have an infuriating program whereby the kids section actually closes down at odd times of the day. For us, cruising is the one vacation whereby we can actually sitch off when we get on the ship and the ability to lose the kids is a high priority !

All the kids programs seem to be pretty good no matter which cruise line so it really depends what your priorities are. If you like good food and a more elite atmosphere go with Celebrity, if you like the party atmosphere - Carnival. RCCL tends to be more middle of the road.

 

[gary in florida]

I really appreciated all the comments about the cruises. I have to smile about some of the different opinions.
First, loved Mikeymars approach, listed the good, the bad and the ugly and compared cruise ships.
I say I smile because of a couple of negative statements, like it took 90 minutes to board in December for a 3 night cuise. We sailed on a DCL cruise, 12/6/01. From the time we arrived at the terminal, via car, unloaded luggage, parked car, went upstairs to the rest rooms, checked in, thru security, boarded ship. Total time less than 45 minutes.
Could it be that on the 90 minute boarding time they had some security problems?
Regarding kids activities, I do not disagree with the "planning", our 11 yr old Granddaughter and her friend would rather be out on their own exploring the ship then do the activities. Maybe it's because of the great number of kids to counslers, not sure.
Also have to agree with Chattyaholic, surprised about the cleanlyness of the ship. During our 3 day cruise there was always someone, somewhere cleaning up. In fact, in Nassau, when we returned early, they were repainting some of the ship, and polishing the railing on the outside decks.
I guess that each person has a different opinion on what is good for them, and that's what makes the world go around.

 

[prymsu]

He also liked Disney too, but i think he liked Carnival better. The downside though is that you don't get a pager, and i really liked that feature that Disney had to offer.

 

[zurgswife]

Thanks to all for there informative comments about DCL and the other cruise ships. Having never cruised before it is interesting to get other opionins and views before I do finally get to cruise.

 

[tecdavidt]

We have sailed Carnival, Celebrity, and Disney. Disney has the best children's program and it does not charge unless it is Flounders. After 10:00 pm Carnival charges for the service and the service was having our daughter lay down and watch a movie!!! At $10 per hour I would consider this programing. Our children pick Disney over the other lines. Our children are very outgoing and this is a plus considering DCL has large numbers of children on board. Remember everyone has their own taste. Kathy

 

[Denine]

We have been on 3 DCL cruises and have numbers 4 & 5 booked. I am surprised to hear it is not bieng kept up. Everytime we have been on, they are constantly painting and polishing, including the railings.
We have sailed on the Grand Princess. The whole time, we kept saying, this isn't Disney. The staff on Disney was much friendlier and willing to help than on Princess. The waitstaff on Princess was "fancier" in the way they did things, but I don't think the food was any better. I have never had a problem with the food. I have had much worse food in supposedly fancy restaurants at home.
I can't comment on the kids programming since we don't have any. But, the kids always looked like they were having fun.
We are sailing Princess again on the 15th of this month. We are sailing to the Panama Canal for 10 days. If Disney offered this itinerary, I would be on it in a heartbeat.