NCConch
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2012
- Messages
- 558
My family and I just returned from our second family cruise. It was also our 2nd DCL cruise. Last year we sailed the day after Christmas and this year we sailed the day after New Years. Both were three night trips on the Disney Dream.
We are a family of four. Our kids are both teenagers (DD-almost 18 and DS-14) and enjoy the Teen Club. DS uses a wheelchair, so we sail in a HA room. This year we found out about cabin 5552 (4E) on deck 5 forward. It was wonderful. It is an odd room as it is nearly three times the size of other 4Es and the veranda is six times the size of a typical veranda. For wheelchair users, the room location is ideal as it is right behind the forward elevators and at the beginning of the hall, so there are no room service carts or baggage to maneuver around.
This cruise we found our service teams to be just OKAY. I suppose we were spoiled last year on our first cruise. Nothing was majorly wrong, but there were a few misses of details. For instance, last year our room host almost followed us into our cabin when we first arrived to welcome us, show us around and see what we needed. One thing I asked for was ice for the ice bucket. It was done within minutes and refilled twice a day. This cruise it seemed like a couple of hours before we met our host. Ice was requested but not delivered until the next day - and after another request. It was never refilled throughout the cruise. The room was always neat and clean. Dinner was fine, but was usually rushed or slow. There was very little conversation, no jokes or magic tricks like we had last year.
Being on the forward end of the 5th deck was ideal for our son because the wheelchair entrance for the teen club was right around the corner. Being that it was the wheelchair (only) entrance, there was not a lot of kids running around as they entered the club from the 4th deck. Because of the Buena Vista theater, the only passageway between mid and forward was on the port side. We were on the starboard side - far less foot traffic.
The Sail Away party had to be moved inside because of rain, so we did not go and watched us leave port from our veranda. We are not a "show" family so we did not see any of the shows. My wife saw a couple of movies. The kids spent a lot of time in the teen club. I booked a couple of drinking seminars. The Tequila & Margarita class on Nassau day at 3 was private since no one else showed up. That was nice. The Mixology class on Castaway day at 4 was full and was a blast. The reviews of the Mixology class left me with the impression that most of the drinks would be made for us. We got to make each of the five drinks. The only thing that kept us from making super-strong drinks was the fact that we were using small shakers. My Carolina Panthers had a playoff game at 4:30 pm Nassau day so I headed to the 687 Pub. It was awesome. I was able to meet my family for dinner at RP and sneak out before dessert to watch the 2nd half. 687 has their own draft beer and enjoyed quite a few.
All in all we had a wonderful time! We rebooked for between Christmas and New Years next year.
We are a family of four. Our kids are both teenagers (DD-almost 18 and DS-14) and enjoy the Teen Club. DS uses a wheelchair, so we sail in a HA room. This year we found out about cabin 5552 (4E) on deck 5 forward. It was wonderful. It is an odd room as it is nearly three times the size of other 4Es and the veranda is six times the size of a typical veranda. For wheelchair users, the room location is ideal as it is right behind the forward elevators and at the beginning of the hall, so there are no room service carts or baggage to maneuver around.
This cruise we found our service teams to be just OKAY. I suppose we were spoiled last year on our first cruise. Nothing was majorly wrong, but there were a few misses of details. For instance, last year our room host almost followed us into our cabin when we first arrived to welcome us, show us around and see what we needed. One thing I asked for was ice for the ice bucket. It was done within minutes and refilled twice a day. This cruise it seemed like a couple of hours before we met our host. Ice was requested but not delivered until the next day - and after another request. It was never refilled throughout the cruise. The room was always neat and clean. Dinner was fine, but was usually rushed or slow. There was very little conversation, no jokes or magic tricks like we had last year.
Being on the forward end of the 5th deck was ideal for our son because the wheelchair entrance for the teen club was right around the corner. Being that it was the wheelchair (only) entrance, there was not a lot of kids running around as they entered the club from the 4th deck. Because of the Buena Vista theater, the only passageway between mid and forward was on the port side. We were on the starboard side - far less foot traffic.
The Sail Away party had to be moved inside because of rain, so we did not go and watched us leave port from our veranda. We are not a "show" family so we did not see any of the shows. My wife saw a couple of movies. The kids spent a lot of time in the teen club. I booked a couple of drinking seminars. The Tequila & Margarita class on Nassau day at 3 was private since no one else showed up. That was nice. The Mixology class on Castaway day at 4 was full and was a blast. The reviews of the Mixology class left me with the impression that most of the drinks would be made for us. We got to make each of the five drinks. The only thing that kept us from making super-strong drinks was the fact that we were using small shakers. My Carolina Panthers had a playoff game at 4:30 pm Nassau day so I headed to the 687 Pub. It was awesome. I was able to meet my family for dinner at RP and sneak out before dessert to watch the 2nd half. 687 has their own draft beer and enjoyed quite a few.
All in all we had a wonderful time! We rebooked for between Christmas and New Years next year.
