BethC1952
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2001
- Messages
- 3,949
OK, so you’re all wondering…what’s it REALLY like to do back-to-back cruises?
We were wondering too!
Disney makes it VERY easy and as pleasant as they can. On the last afternoon of the cruise, a very nice letter was slipped under our door with information we would need. The letter started out by saying that Disney Cruise Line was THRILLED that we had chosen to cruise with them again on the next cruise, and that their records indicated that we would remain in the same room for our second cruise. We would be able to remain on board, however, all shipboard services would cease and 9 AM, and we would be on our own for a while. We would need to coordinate a time for housekeeping to clean our room, and we would need to stop at guest services to check in for the second cruise between 11 and 11:30 AM.
We were very pleased with our dining room servers on our first cruise—Sunil from India was our server and Hannelie from South Africa was our assistant server. They had made the first part of our trip very pleasant. When our head server, Bhoola, discovered that we would be cruising again the next week, he asked if we would like him to make any special arrangements for us—did we want to switch rotations, times, etc. We asked him to have us assigned to the same serving team again, even though it would mean switching our dining rotation. He was able to do this for us, and even asked us what size table we would like. It didn’t matter to us, we enjoy meeting new people and having other people to talk to, since we eat dinner together every night of the year!
When Rachel, the bartender at the Cove Café, heard on our last evening of the first cruise that we would be remaining on board, she even gave us our new “Coffee Fanatic” card (buy five coffee drinks and get one free) so that our last two drinks would count towards our new cruise, and perhaps get us an extra free drink before the end of our cruise!
We had been on the galley tour during the first cruise, and met one of the chefs. We saw him again at the Castaway Club reception, and mentioned that we would be remaining on board. He asked for our last name and room number, and said that he would find out what table we were assigned to and stop by to visit us sometime during the cruise. We’ll have to see if he really does!
On the last morning of the cruise, we got up and had breakfast with all those poor souls who had to leave the ship. We had somewhat more leisurely service than most cruisers, because we weren’t in a hurry to go anywhere! After breakfast, we walked outside on Deck 4 for a few minutes, and watched some of the new supplies being loaded onto the ship. Jim was a bit surprised at the number of used tires which were removed from the ship, and the new ones which were being brought on board. I guess it’s time to repair some of the forklifts and luggage carts!
We were able to return to our room for a while. We had arranged with our stateroom host (Walter from Jamaica) to knock on our door whenever he was ready to service our room, and we’d get out of his way for a while. I’m writing this now from Deck 9 while he gets our room ready.
By 9 AM, the duty officer made the announcement that all passengers leaving the ship had to do so then, because immigration and customs require that all passengers be cleared by 9 AM. We were cleared by the clearing officer last night. At that time, they started piping “cleaning music” into the rooms. I really expected it to be a bit louder! I was able to continue working on my paperwork, and actually enjoyed the music.
Sitting here now on Deck 9, the music really isn’t annoying and the weather is spectacular. The crew members seem a bit startled to find guests busy working on Deck 9, but no one has bothered us or asked why we’re here!
The parking lot opened at 10 AM (just a couple of minutes ago), and we’re watching the new guests enter the terminal building.
It’s amazing how quickly the rooms are “turned over”. And yes, at least on this cruise, they are switching out ALL of the bedding, including the blankets and bedspreads, and changing an occasional shower curtain, at least on Deck 2.
The entertainment staff is rehearsing Christmas carols in the atrium, and it appears that they’re rehearsing the Christmas story reading also. It’s very funny to see them doing the Christmas show in street clothes, not Christmas outfits or even DCL uniforms!
Jim says it’s a unique experience to sit here on deck, being the only guests on board, and watching the hustle and bustle of staff getting ready for the next set of guests. He says he thought it would be much louder and more hectic. Everything is really very organized!
A couple of updates now that we're back on land--Chef Donovan is the chef we met on the galley tour. He did, indeed, come looking for us our first night, however, we were enjoying our first-ever dinner at Palo, and he missed us. When we returned to our room, there was a tray of wonderful goodies! Chef Donovan is the Head Production Chef and is the Chef in charge of room service.
We were assigned to a table on the rotation we requested, and it was a table for four, although we were the only ones seated there.
We met Captain John for the second time in a week at our second Castaway Club Reception. He looked at us for a minute and then asked if we hadn't been on board the week before. When he had asked at our first Castaway Club Reception if there was anything he could do for us, I asked him to please arrange a second day at Castaway Cay that would be as awesome as the first one. He stopped by to ask if our second day met our expectations, and would we need a third one, or were we planning on leaving the ship anytime soon.
I will be posting a complete report on both cruises as soon as I return home. Right now I'm at Coronado Springs at WDW, and wishing that I could go right back to the warm Bahamas!
If you have any questions regarding the process of back-to-back cruising, please don't hesitate to post. It was a fabulous experience!
Beth
We were wondering too!
Disney makes it VERY easy and as pleasant as they can. On the last afternoon of the cruise, a very nice letter was slipped under our door with information we would need. The letter started out by saying that Disney Cruise Line was THRILLED that we had chosen to cruise with them again on the next cruise, and that their records indicated that we would remain in the same room for our second cruise. We would be able to remain on board, however, all shipboard services would cease and 9 AM, and we would be on our own for a while. We would need to coordinate a time for housekeeping to clean our room, and we would need to stop at guest services to check in for the second cruise between 11 and 11:30 AM.
We were very pleased with our dining room servers on our first cruise—Sunil from India was our server and Hannelie from South Africa was our assistant server. They had made the first part of our trip very pleasant. When our head server, Bhoola, discovered that we would be cruising again the next week, he asked if we would like him to make any special arrangements for us—did we want to switch rotations, times, etc. We asked him to have us assigned to the same serving team again, even though it would mean switching our dining rotation. He was able to do this for us, and even asked us what size table we would like. It didn’t matter to us, we enjoy meeting new people and having other people to talk to, since we eat dinner together every night of the year!
When Rachel, the bartender at the Cove Café, heard on our last evening of the first cruise that we would be remaining on board, she even gave us our new “Coffee Fanatic” card (buy five coffee drinks and get one free) so that our last two drinks would count towards our new cruise, and perhaps get us an extra free drink before the end of our cruise!
We had been on the galley tour during the first cruise, and met one of the chefs. We saw him again at the Castaway Club reception, and mentioned that we would be remaining on board. He asked for our last name and room number, and said that he would find out what table we were assigned to and stop by to visit us sometime during the cruise. We’ll have to see if he really does!
On the last morning of the cruise, we got up and had breakfast with all those poor souls who had to leave the ship. We had somewhat more leisurely service than most cruisers, because we weren’t in a hurry to go anywhere! After breakfast, we walked outside on Deck 4 for a few minutes, and watched some of the new supplies being loaded onto the ship. Jim was a bit surprised at the number of used tires which were removed from the ship, and the new ones which were being brought on board. I guess it’s time to repair some of the forklifts and luggage carts!
We were able to return to our room for a while. We had arranged with our stateroom host (Walter from Jamaica) to knock on our door whenever he was ready to service our room, and we’d get out of his way for a while. I’m writing this now from Deck 9 while he gets our room ready.
By 9 AM, the duty officer made the announcement that all passengers leaving the ship had to do so then, because immigration and customs require that all passengers be cleared by 9 AM. We were cleared by the clearing officer last night. At that time, they started piping “cleaning music” into the rooms. I really expected it to be a bit louder! I was able to continue working on my paperwork, and actually enjoyed the music.
Sitting here now on Deck 9, the music really isn’t annoying and the weather is spectacular. The crew members seem a bit startled to find guests busy working on Deck 9, but no one has bothered us or asked why we’re here!
The parking lot opened at 10 AM (just a couple of minutes ago), and we’re watching the new guests enter the terminal building.
It’s amazing how quickly the rooms are “turned over”. And yes, at least on this cruise, they are switching out ALL of the bedding, including the blankets and bedspreads, and changing an occasional shower curtain, at least on Deck 2.
The entertainment staff is rehearsing Christmas carols in the atrium, and it appears that they’re rehearsing the Christmas story reading also. It’s very funny to see them doing the Christmas show in street clothes, not Christmas outfits or even DCL uniforms!
Jim says it’s a unique experience to sit here on deck, being the only guests on board, and watching the hustle and bustle of staff getting ready for the next set of guests. He says he thought it would be much louder and more hectic. Everything is really very organized!
A couple of updates now that we're back on land--Chef Donovan is the chef we met on the galley tour. He did, indeed, come looking for us our first night, however, we were enjoying our first-ever dinner at Palo, and he missed us. When we returned to our room, there was a tray of wonderful goodies! Chef Donovan is the Head Production Chef and is the Chef in charge of room service.
We were assigned to a table on the rotation we requested, and it was a table for four, although we were the only ones seated there.
We met Captain John for the second time in a week at our second Castaway Club Reception. He looked at us for a minute and then asked if we hadn't been on board the week before. When he had asked at our first Castaway Club Reception if there was anything he could do for us, I asked him to please arrange a second day at Castaway Cay that would be as awesome as the first one. He stopped by to ask if our second day met our expectations, and would we need a third one, or were we planning on leaving the ship anytime soon.
I will be posting a complete report on both cruises as soon as I return home. Right now I'm at Coronado Springs at WDW, and wishing that I could go right back to the warm Bahamas!
If you have any questions regarding the process of back-to-back cruising, please don't hesitate to post. It was a fabulous experience!
Beth
We just about closed out 
Your report was really helpful...
