What was the most memorable experience you had on DCL?

[mathgeek]

Tracy Arm day on the Alaska cruise was so memorable b/c it seemed like everyone on the ship was so into it, it was so electric and like being a part of a big family.

On my B2B 3- and 4-night cruises on the Dream, I got to the point that I had no idea what day of the week it was, just that it was Nassau day and I had a great view of the ocean from my lounge chair. Nothing else seemed to matter.

 

[adSimba]

bump

 

[jlemieu1]

My favorite DCL memory is sitting in a hot tub on my veranda on the Dream with my 3 favorite girls(wife and 2 nieces) talking the night away as the ocean goes by.....also known I scored the Walt suite on the Dream last minute for 60% off

 

[wcw57]

dream suite? sweet!!

 

[FSU Girl]

My favorite DCL memory is sitting in a hot tub on my veranda on the Dream with my 3 favorite girls(wife and 2 nieces) talking the night away as the ocean goes by.....also known I scored the Walt suite on the Dream last minute for 60% off

How'd you do that? I would love to stay in those suites but they are so expensive

 

[dcassetta]

So many great memories on the cruises. Sailing with my best friend in 99 not too long before he fell ill and passed away. Taking my mom on her first Disney cruise and seeing how much fun she had. Sailing on the Magic when the Tangled show premiered - the lanterns made me cry, it's my new favorite show. Several weeks ago, sailing on the Fantasy, and getting to watch pirate night fireworks from the top of the Mickey slide.

 

[BartmanLA]

Having sailed only twice, my most memorable experiences were two, in 2013 sailed from Los Angeles to Vancouver on the repositioning trip. stepping on the Wonder for the first time and being overwhelmingly struck with how beautiful and elegant the ship was, the friendliness of the crew and even the other passengers was so fantastic. Second experience was sailing into San Francisco Bay and they timed the transit under the Golden Gate Bridge for Sunrise, a view very very few people ever get to see, it was grand and spectacular. It was that moment I realized I had become a DCL addict.

 

[jlemieu1]

How'd you do that? I would love to stay in those suites but they are so expensive

I just keep on eye on it with a cruise rate website(cruisefish) . For some unknown reason the Walt opened up with 1 month before the cruise. I think DCL want to get rid of it so they marked it down 60% so it was the same price as a Cat T but none(T's or V's) were open. I believe it was 3k or 4K for 2A & 2 Teens for 3 nights. Further justification is that I paid for it with Target Red Card Disney gift card discount.

 

[Jenlynn3]

The first time we sailed on the Magic. My DDs 8 and 9, wore their formal dresses on formal night. My DD 9 old had long brown hair like Belle, and her dress looked just like Belle’s yellow dress and DD8 had a long light blue dress just like Cinderella with blond hair. They had girls coming up to them asking if they were Belle and Cinderella.

 

[Snowwhyt]

The first time we sailed on the Magic. My DDs 8 and 9, wore their formal dresses on formal night. My DD 9 old had long brown hair like Belle, and her dress looked just like Belle’s yellow dress and DD8 had a long light blue dress just like Cinderella with blond hair. They had girls coming up to them asking if they were Belle and Cinderella.

That sounds like an absolutely wonderful moment for them both. And I commend you for thorough reading all of the posts to make your cruise a magical experience. I did want to leave you a word of warning though, sometimes magic opportunities are discontinued and show up an old threads as current opportunities. Like I’d hate to see that you thought you could have guest services signed a pillow case with character names on it when that’s already been discontinued. Or thinking the cheese platters been discontinued when it hasn’t!

 

[RedSox68]

I have two:

The first time we took a cruise was on the Wonder. When we crossed the bridge and entered the ship, and they announced our name, I just got so emotional. I had waited so long to take a cruise. And our first formal photo -- it was all so great and magical.

The other is when we did the back to back on the Magic -- 10-day Med and the 14-day TA. We got to stay onboard and we were the only family we saw. Having a relaxing breakfast with no luggage, and sitting in the upper atrium and watching everyone getting off was so awesome. We had the adult pool all to ourselves for hours, and the ship was so quiet and we got to talk to lots of crew members as they bustled about. We got to go back to our room and shower and change and then watch everyone boarding for the next one. It was a truly great experience.

 

[tlprice]

On our most recent cruise in January 2018 (our 4th), we were invited to a mass character meet on the last night of the cruise. My DD was so excited when all of the characters just kept coming out. She had gone to BBB earlier in the day and was wearing her tiara. Captain Hook tried to steal it and they had some great interactions. Every time they walked past each other they each indicated that they were keeping their eyes on each other. She ended up seeing him a couple of times later that night and even though he was interacting with other people, he remembered her and they both indicated they were still watching each other. She couldn't stop talking about the fun she had with him.

On our 3rd cruise in December 2017, my DD and I were waiting in line to meet Stitch. This guy got in line behind us and started chatting with us. He was super nice. Through kind of code words to me so that my DD didn't get it, he indicated that he was a former cast member on the ship (Tarzan). When my DD got up to Stitch, this guy took a picture of her with Stitch, which I thought was a little weird. It turns out he had a really cool Polaroid camera and he gave the picture to my DD. To me, this just showed the quality of amazing people that DCL hires. Even when not "on duty" or even still a cast member, they are just wonderful people that make the whole DCL experience incredible.

 

[Jenlynn3]

That sounds like an absolutely wonderful moment for them both. And I commend you for thorough reading all of the posts to make your cruise a magical experience. I did want to leave you a word of warning though, sometimes magic opportunities are discontinued and show up an old threads as current opportunities. Like I’d hate to see that you thought you could have guest services signed a pillow case with character names on it when that’s already been discontinued. Or thinking the cheese platters been discontinued when it hasn’t!

It’s funny because my girls weren’t trying to dress like princesses, it was their pageant dress that just happen to be similar to Belle and Cinderella. They were never into the princesses or characters

 

[ivanp91]

I have two big ones:

- My Alaska cruise last September. If I had to pick a specific thing, it would be Endicott Arm day. The narration from Doug Jones, the scenery, the photos, watching the glacier calving and the giant icebergs floating past. It's the first thing I mention when someone asks me about Alaska. And when we were cruising back out, I was in a Mixology session - was stunning watching the scenery go past from the Cadillac Lounge.

- Being on the Disney Magic (NYC cruise) and meeting up with the Disney Wonder on Halloween (10/31) 2016. We happened to be on Deck 4 overlooking the atrium, and my partner looked out to sea and noticed the silhouette of a ship on the horizon. Very Disney-esque in shape. We theorised it was the Wonder fresh back from re-imagining in Cadiz. Stopped an officer walking past and he confirmed that yes, it was, and it would rendezvous with us for a horn battle! It was pretty cool being on ship #1 and sailing alongside ship #2. A couple days later we also docked opposite her in Port Canaveral.

 

[mickeymom22]

We have only been on one cruise. It was on the Dream in March of 2013.

All the details of the ship! The CMs were amazing! So thoughtful and gracious! On the morning we had to leave the ship, it was Easter. We were pleasantly surprised when we woke up and saw all the beautiful decorations.

My youngest was six years old at that time. She lost a tooth and was thrilled how the tooth fairy found her on the ship. She also couldn't believe that the Easter bunny found her on the ship...but the best memory happened when we were on Castaway Cay. We happened to walk by the hermit crab races, and they were begging someone to claim the last hermit crab so they could start the race. My daughter was very shy, but I talked her into joining the group and claiming the last hermit crab. We named our crab, Mickey and the race began. For the longest time, our crab just sat there, but all of sudden he started climbing over the other ones and came from behind and won! My daughter was so thrilled! They handed her a prize (it consisted of DVC materials...a notebook, sling, cup, etc.). They also said she had won all the "free" ice cream she could eat on the island! She was in awe! She just kept saying, but I have never won anything before in my whole entire life! It was so priceless! We booked it over to the ice cream station and enjoyed all that "free" ice cream she had won. It is such a special memory.

We have booked a cruise on the Magic in 2019...I can hardly wait!

 

[FigmentSpark]

DH was relaxing on the verandah one of our sea days and happened to look down. He saw a large fish breach the water and go under. It wasn't a dolphin and he didn't think it was a shark either, but he still talks about seeing the fish.

 

[CanuckOnaBoat]

we've only sailed once with Disney so far. I had planned for so many months and new everything inside and out after so much research. and when we finally got through check-in and saw Mickey with my 3 year old - i started tearing up. Same for when we boarded and they announced our name. Everything that i had read just came alive!

And then when we did Sail Away.. again when they played "wish upon a star" horn - I was surprised that i was the one tearing up!!!

I still remember the 1st character my daughter met- we didn't even plan it. We just ran into Sophia the 1st - i was so excited for my daughter.

And then the time just as we were dropping off my son in the nursery - we walk in and there is Cinderella!!!! After that my daughter always wanted to come with me to drop off her brother

and then the last night- for Til we meet again - everyone was dancing - and my shy three year old got to dance with mickey and minnie!!!!

It was truly more magical than i expected. I just hope that Cruise #2 - in June on the Magic- lives up to the expectations.