It looks like everyone on our ship has posted a report on the board! I'll apologize in advance if I'm redundant...
The cat. 3 staterooms are out of this world! The woodwork, the size, the verandah, just beautiful. My parents (who had the adjoining cat 3 suite) said it was the nicest cabin they ever had, and they've been on some pretty fantastic cruises.
The concierge service is a big joke. Do not plan on receiving the type of treatment you get on other cruise lines with a concierge, because if you do, you will be sorely disappointed. We felt it would have been better if there had been no concierge service at all -- that way we wouldn't have been disappointed.
The kid's club didn't work out for our DD (4 yr. old). Overcrowded on the first two days, it really turned her off and she wouldn't go back. I observed one of the counselors with the kids at Castaway Cay, and I must say she was a bit tyrannical. She kept interrupting the puppet show she was trying to put on to tell one little girl in the front to pay attention. For goodness sakes, this isn't school! Who cares whether kids are paying attention or not, as long as they don't disturb others.
The food really was quite good to excellent. Dining room service outstanding. Animator's Palate was fun, but didn't live up to the hype. Again, better for Disney not to set expectations as high. Room steward attentive but unobtrusive. Just the way we like it. Room service couldn't have been nicer and more efficient. We did breakfast in the room every day.
We blew off Palo's. Part of the reason was because DD didn't like the club... but we could've left her with my parents. We just didn't like the whole attitude that these reservations were so very precious.
The kid's pool was way too crowded, but DD loved it anyway. The burgers on Deck 9 are really good... don't miss them.
We didn't care for the way the adults on board would crowd around the characters, leaving no room for the little kids to see. Several wouldn't even let the little ones slip in, in front of them. I was so offended by this at the final farewell, that I told a cast member they should make an announcement to tell the adults to make room for the kids. Look, I'm a "big kid" at heart, too, but there is a difference between being childlike and being an immature adult. I really have never seen anything quite like this.
If you're going snorkeling, do it at St. Thomas. We tried Orient Beach on St. Marteen and didn't see much of anything -- and then we were too burned out to do it again on St. Thomas. Coral World was fun, however, in a low key, quaint kind of way.
The shows are alll great -- except Hercules. As a professional writer, I can't believe how poorly the show was scripted. It's the only show I'd skip, if we were to do the cruise again.
Which brings me to the best endorsement we can give the Disney Cruise. From the oldest member of our party (80) to the youngest (4) we would absolutely cruise with Disney again. After the cruise, we stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge a few days. We paid lotsa $ for park admission, we paid $$$ for meals (not nearly as good as the cruise)... and we realized what a great value a cruise vacation really is!
Thanks so much to everyone who contributes to these boards. Your thoughts and comments were so helpful to us -- I hope ours will be helpful to you!
Oh yeah... that over-the-door shoe holder thingie is really great... we didn't use the cooler, except to refrigerate medication... and the banana boat ride on Casaway Cay was wild -- it rivaled the taxi ride on St. Thomas for thrills and speed!!
God bless and have a great vacation!
The cat. 3 staterooms are out of this world! The woodwork, the size, the verandah, just beautiful. My parents (who had the adjoining cat 3 suite) said it was the nicest cabin they ever had, and they've been on some pretty fantastic cruises.
The concierge service is a big joke. Do not plan on receiving the type of treatment you get on other cruise lines with a concierge, because if you do, you will be sorely disappointed. We felt it would have been better if there had been no concierge service at all -- that way we wouldn't have been disappointed.
The kid's club didn't work out for our DD (4 yr. old). Overcrowded on the first two days, it really turned her off and she wouldn't go back. I observed one of the counselors with the kids at Castaway Cay, and I must say she was a bit tyrannical. She kept interrupting the puppet show she was trying to put on to tell one little girl in the front to pay attention. For goodness sakes, this isn't school! Who cares whether kids are paying attention or not, as long as they don't disturb others.
The food really was quite good to excellent. Dining room service outstanding. Animator's Palate was fun, but didn't live up to the hype. Again, better for Disney not to set expectations as high. Room steward attentive but unobtrusive. Just the way we like it. Room service couldn't have been nicer and more efficient. We did breakfast in the room every day.
We blew off Palo's. Part of the reason was because DD didn't like the club... but we could've left her with my parents. We just didn't like the whole attitude that these reservations were so very precious.
The kid's pool was way too crowded, but DD loved it anyway. The burgers on Deck 9 are really good... don't miss them.
We didn't care for the way the adults on board would crowd around the characters, leaving no room for the little kids to see. Several wouldn't even let the little ones slip in, in front of them. I was so offended by this at the final farewell, that I told a cast member they should make an announcement to tell the adults to make room for the kids. Look, I'm a "big kid" at heart, too, but there is a difference between being childlike and being an immature adult. I really have never seen anything quite like this.
If you're going snorkeling, do it at St. Thomas. We tried Orient Beach on St. Marteen and didn't see much of anything -- and then we were too burned out to do it again on St. Thomas. Coral World was fun, however, in a low key, quaint kind of way.
The shows are alll great -- except Hercules. As a professional writer, I can't believe how poorly the show was scripted. It's the only show I'd skip, if we were to do the cruise again.
Which brings me to the best endorsement we can give the Disney Cruise. From the oldest member of our party (80) to the youngest (4) we would absolutely cruise with Disney again. After the cruise, we stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge a few days. We paid lotsa $ for park admission, we paid $$$ for meals (not nearly as good as the cruise)... and we realized what a great value a cruise vacation really is!
Thanks so much to everyone who contributes to these boards. Your thoughts and comments were so helpful to us -- I hope ours will be helpful to you!
Oh yeah... that over-the-door shoe holder thingie is really great... we didn't use the cooler, except to refrigerate medication... and the banana boat ride on Casaway Cay was wild -- it rivaled the taxi ride on St. Thomas for thrills and speed!!
God bless and have a great vacation!
