Too much fun (at the same time), if that's possible?!?

[NYKaren]

Preface this by saying I am an experienced cruiser and I love Disney about other lines I have sailed. Love the service, the entertainment, the food, and the whole Disney experience. I will definitely be sailing on Disney in the future! However, I want to know if other cruisers out there feel like I do. Disney jam packs the schedule so much, with so many great entertainment options, we all know it is impossible to do everything. I can live with that. But, I'm not sure why Disney starts their entertainment early on port days. You can be in port until 7:45 or 8 PM, but Disney will start the Pixar Party or character photographs at 5 PM! Some of Disney's shore excursions don't even come back until All Aboard Time. It can be very upsetting for the kids who are out on a late returning shore excursion to know they are going to miss out on something. Yes, some things are repeated, but not all character photo ops are. Usually on part days, on board activities are lessened until you pull out from port. I love Disney, but I think they create their own mayhem a bit. Is it only me that feels this?

 

[bumbershoot]

Of course it's not just you. They do pack their schedule.

We were on an October cruise with the Halloween stuff, and missed the possibility of meeting Jack and Sally because they had too much other stuff jammed around it. It's crazy. But...there will always be people on different schedules, and they have to put entertainment *somewhere*. Pick and choose!

 

[NYKaren]

Of course it's not just you. They do pack their schedule.

We were on an October cruise with the Halloween stuff, and missed the possibility of meeting Jack and Sally because they had too much other stuff jammed around it. It's crazy. But...there will always be people on different schedules, and they have to put entertainment *somewhere*. Pick and choose!

We just got off the Wonder so the mayhem is very fresh in my mind right now. I agree with you. Absolutely you have to pick and choose. But, it seems crazy to put out special characters like Jack & Sally only out one time. They issue tickets now for the Elsa & Anna meet and greets. It is very organized and civil. Maybe they should do something like that for the special characters. Or even do it like the Princess Gatherings on the classic ships where they put all princesses out and you move from one to the other instead of running from atrium to upper atrium and then to Preludes! Also, there is no way to pick and choose if you are off on an excursion. This was the first time I encountered Disney actively scheduling big events during port time.

 

[xlxo]

Double-check the Navigator and app schedule. I often bring the kids to be the last in line because of other commitments. I overhear one too many sob stories of people who are turned away to keep the characters on schedule.

Princess and the Golden Mickeys are very high demand.
http://petapixel.com/2014/08/18/guy-proposes-every-princess-disney-world-set-fun-memorable-photos/

 

[Michellynn]

If you think about it...this is really no different than what happens in the parks. There is a lot to see and do and you can't expect to fit absolutely everything in. You have to pick and choose what is most important to you.

After all....isn't it better to have too many options, than too few?

 

[darkwing818]

If you think about it...this is really no different than what happens in the parks. There is a lot to see and do and you can't expect to fit absolutely everything in. You have to pick and choose what is most important to you.

After all....isn't it better to have too many options, than too few?

Totally Agree more is better than too few. And by offering "to many options", DCL is just giving us a few more reasons to book future & potentially longer cruisers.

 

[Racer X]

Disney Mayhem!

Perhaps you just named the next ship!

No wonder everyone here suffers some sort of OCD... we are all in mayhem treatment!

 

[GatorMomInNC]

I suspect that the scheduling is intentional. They always seem to have two big events going at the same time, so that not everyone rushes to one thing and the crowds are evened out.

 

[NYKaren]

I suspect that the scheduling is intentional. They always seem to have two big events going at the same time, so that not everyone rushes to one thing and the crowds are evened out.

You could be on to something there. That is a valid point. I don't like comparing the cruise experience to the park experience though. On a cruise, it is more intimate. More of a captive audience, so to speak. I think my main point is when DCL schedules things during port time. If you've ever cruised outside of DCL, other ships keep the bigger events on the down low during port time because of excursions, etc. Not all excursions go out first thing in the morning or some do go out early but last all day. Yes, we're cruising for the Disney experience but we're also cruising because of the ports. If you're in Alaska, the Med, Europe or the Caribbean, you want to experience these ports to their fullest. This might be the only time in your life that you'll get to Juneau or Copenhagen. Disney should let you enjoy the port while your in port. Not make you feel like you have to rush back to the ship. That's where my confusion comes in. Of course there will be some things going on on the ship for those that don't go ashore, but usually nothing major goes on until All Aboard. Especially because you can't always choose to come back to the ship early. If you are on a long excursion, you don't have the option to choose.

 

[Justacruiser]

I suspect that the scheduling is intentional. They always seem to have two big events going at the same time, so that not everyone rushes to one thing and the crowds are evened out.

If they only scheduled 1 or 2 activities, folks would be complaining about long lines. Oh, they already complain about long lines.

Also, they have activities scheduled while the ship is in port, although there are not as many activities as sea days.

I don't know how many days you cruised, but there is really only time to get a lot of seen or done with a longer cruise. If you take away eating time, sleeping time, and port time, and shows, there is literally only a handfull of hours to get EVERYTHING done. It just can't be done.

I might recommend a longer cruise or a B2B next time. The B2B would actually allow you to hit the other events that you missed.

 

[Dug720]

I suspect that the scheduling is intentional. They always seem to have two big events going at the same time, so that not everyone rushes to one thing and the crowds are evened out.

Yep! Look at the crowds at Sail Away and Pirate Night. And even those not everyone goes to.

It's distribution of people mostly. AND how many people do we say "But it's the same show/event all the time!!!" With more than one option of things going on, you have a choice of possibly something new OR *gasp* relaxing and enjoying your family's company! (Or your friend's company. Or heck even you own company!)

 

[NYKaren]

I usually do 7-day only. Like I said, I love DCL. I was just taking temperatures out there and compare feedback family has given me after their first DCL experience, as well as some of my own experiences. It would be lovely to be able to do a 14-day or B2B! Hopefully, someday that will be possible!

 

[bumbershoot]

I suspect that the scheduling is intentional. They always seem to have two big events going at the same time, so that not everyone rushes to one thing and the crowds are evened out.

This might be the only time in your life that you'll get to Juneau or Copenhagen. Disney should let you enjoy the port while your in port. Not make you feel like you have to rush back to the ship.

And that makes sense, for those that get off the ship. But there will ALWAYS be people staying on the ship, and they can't just have it be an entertainment deadzone.

When we had our honeymoon cruise, by the time we hit Ketchikan we were so bored by it we were back onboard inside an hour. We had enjoyed Juneau and Skagway a great deal, but Ketchikan was just a big yawnfest for us. When MIL took Holland America on a FIVE port cruise and got off the ship for NONE of them (why did we pay those port fees for her to not get off? why? if only we had known I would have sent her on a repos cruise), and there were plenty of people still onboard... While those weren't Disney, it just shows that there will always be people on a different schedule.

So...is Juneau better than Jack and Sally? Juneau will always be there, J&S will be in Anaheim every Halloweentime. etc.

Cruising, for us, is scheduling our days in 15 minute intervals. Even the downtime. On our recent 7 day on Royal, I literally carved out an hour of suntime for me. 30 minutes on my back, 30 minutes on my front, then it was on to the next scheduled "event"! (and while that sounds short, for my skin it's the limit of what I can handle in a day)

For kid stuff on Dream it's the same. Gaga Ball for x minutes, dance floor for y minutes, etc etc. It's frustrating, but there are SO many people with SO many interests.

 

[Maddysdaddy]

I'm actually surprised to hear you say this, OP. From my perspective, if anything, I would like to see even more activities scheduled on board - oftentimes there is just one family-friendly and/or adult activity going on at a time, and if it's not something you're interested in, too bad.

 

[Racer X]

I'm actually surprised to hear you say this, OP. From my perspective, if anything, I would like to see even more activities scheduled on board - oftentimes there is just one family-friendly and/or adult activity going on at a time, and if it's not something you're interested in, too bad.

Gee - maybe this is when you could actually.... R E L A X!!!

 

[Maddysdaddy]

Gee - maybe this is when you could actually.... R E L A X!!!

"Relax"??? I don't understand your crazy foreign language...

I hear what you're saying, but while my wife and daughter love vacations where they do nothing all day but laze around in the sun, I'm the type of person that needs to be doing "something". I can lay around for an hour or two, but get antsy after that.

I found on our last cruise that if my only options were something like 'scrapbooking' or 'bingo', I ended up pulling out my laptop and logging into my office in the middle of the day (and normally on a non-cruise vacation, I only work before my family gets up and after they go to sleep).

I love DCL and can't wait until we book our next cruise, but I do wish that there were more scheduled activities, so I'd have an excuse not to be connected while the sun is shining. And sure, if I'm going to do work, what better place to do it than on deck, wearing shorts and having a cold bevvy...

 

[Racer X]

I hear you - I am somewhat that way and it actually takes almost 1/2 the cruise to "decompress"....

Scrapbooking and BINGO are not for me either...

But logging into the office is not an option!! We are not habitual cruisers (3 under our belt), but on the last cruise we actually saw 2 or 3 movies and really enjoyed that. Heck, anything on the ship is better, but logging into the office!

My son and I went to the sports bar and watched some ball game (didn't really even matter which one!)

I haven't tried spa yet but that could be good for some "forced relaxation!"

 

[Valley Twin]

I suspect that the scheduling is intentional. They always seem to have two big events going at the same time, so that not everyone rushes to one thing and the crowds are evened out.

and keeps the ship from tipping over when everyone rushes to one side!

 

[MichelleVW]

Gee - maybe this is when you could actually.... R E L A X!!!

Lol...on cruises I LOVE to sit on the deck and do nothing...my husband can tolerate that for about 15 minutes. That's why cruising is perfect for us. I can sit on the deck and relax...and he can....go play trivia....bingo....see a movie...whatever. Heck last cruise he left me on Castaway Cay (I make him stay until lunch and then he's free to leave lol) and went back to see a movie. He hates sitting on the beach...I can do it for HOURS...so I sit on the beach..he heads back to the ship. Perfect for both of us!