denny33142
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2021
I just came back from my Sept10 - Sept 13th cruise aboard the Disney Dream, It was just me and my wife (No Kids), I took a previous Disney Cruise in 2016 (Disney Magic) with a similar itinerary so i feel i can compare them pretty closely.
I had posted another thread a month ago about my worries of how the pandemic would effect the cruise experience and if anything would be lacking as a result, I can now say that some areas were better than expected but unfortunately on some other areas my fears were realized.
The best thing about the cruise: The ship was not crowded and we went everywhere without doing a line even once
The worst thing about the cruise: The restrictions were a bit over the top
Pros:
1.) The ship was not crowded at all, I would say maybe 1/3 capacity or even less, This was amazing because it felt more exclusive
2.) Virtually no lines or queues for anything
3.) The service was excellent and better than my previous DCL, They looked fully staffed but with 1/3 of the passengers so they were able to take more time with each guest, A lot of attention to detail.
4.) Castaway Cay felt less crowded, There were even sections in the second half of the island that were completely empty
5.) No lines to get our food in Castaway Cay
Cons:
1.) Masks required everywhere indoors, Even in the Theater if you were drinking soda you had to put your mask back up after each sip, ridiculous if you ask me.
2.) No Sail Away Party.
3.) No pirate night party and the fireworks looked much less impressive, Maybe only 2 minutes worth of fireworks.
4.) Only 1 broadway show (Beauty and the beast), Our previous DCL cruise had 3
5.) No popcorn in the movie theater
6.) You need to be 3 seats apart from each party in the theater, So if you have a large party it might be an issue finding enough seats together
Neutral:
1.) You cannot serve yourself anymore, Everything is served by a Cast Member, Including the fountain drinks and the ice cream.
Overall i would say the experience was good, but definitely not worth the price we paid, We paid full price but got 1/3 of the broadway shows and a toned down fireworks show and no Sail Away party. I will be booking with DCL again but will wait until the pandemic related restrictions are removed or at least toned down.
I had posted another thread a month ago about my worries of how the pandemic would effect the cruise experience and if anything would be lacking as a result, I can now say that some areas were better than expected but unfortunately on some other areas my fears were realized.
The best thing about the cruise: The ship was not crowded and we went everywhere without doing a line even once
The worst thing about the cruise: The restrictions were a bit over the top
Pros:
1.) The ship was not crowded at all, I would say maybe 1/3 capacity or even less, This was amazing because it felt more exclusive
2.) Virtually no lines or queues for anything
3.) The service was excellent and better than my previous DCL, They looked fully staffed but with 1/3 of the passengers so they were able to take more time with each guest, A lot of attention to detail.
4.) Castaway Cay felt less crowded, There were even sections in the second half of the island that were completely empty
5.) No lines to get our food in Castaway Cay
Cons:
1.) Masks required everywhere indoors, Even in the Theater if you were drinking soda you had to put your mask back up after each sip, ridiculous if you ask me.
2.) No Sail Away Party.
3.) No pirate night party and the fireworks looked much less impressive, Maybe only 2 minutes worth of fireworks.
4.) Only 1 broadway show (Beauty and the beast), Our previous DCL cruise had 3
5.) No popcorn in the movie theater
6.) You need to be 3 seats apart from each party in the theater, So if you have a large party it might be an issue finding enough seats together
Neutral:
1.) You cannot serve yourself anymore, Everything is served by a Cast Member, Including the fountain drinks and the ice cream.
Overall i would say the experience was good, but definitely not worth the price we paid, We paid full price but got 1/3 of the broadway shows and a toned down fireworks show and no Sail Away party. I will be booking with DCL again but will wait until the pandemic related restrictions are removed or at least toned down.