My daughter's favorite
DCL character interactions were on the Disney Dream in September 2021. This was just after the Dream began sailing again, so the number of guests onboard was very limited, masks were required, and social distancing was still enforced.
My daughter had THE BEST time with the characters on this sailing. Sometimes, she would be the only person in an atrium full of princesses for like 10 whole minutes. Ariel in particular spent a lot of time with here and would call out to her by name if we walked through the atrium while she was greeting up on Deck 4. After a lot of time spent at home, our daughter was SUPER eager to chat it up with anyone who would listen and she spent a ton of time showing all the characters her cartwheels and splits.

But being out in crowded spaces was also stressful for her after having a more quiet existence for so many months, so she also had a lot of moments of needing to take a break from loud places like the dining room. Characters, greeters, and entertainment staff would always stop by and talk to her when we were out in the atrium taking breaks from dinner. My kiddo made friends with a bunch of the character greeters, and they kindly sent her a big gift bag on our last night full of hand written notes from the greeters and autographed photos of the characters. I will never forget how these Cast Members made her feel special and calmed her anxieties about being back out in the world again - it was incredibly special.