My wife and I decided to do a Disney vacation and because we were travelling with a 1 year old, we decided a cruise would be the way to go because getting back to the room for naps, etc... would be easy. We have never cruised and were very skeptical, but because it was Disney, we couldn't go wrong. Right?
Day 1: Set Sail
We travelled from Chicago to Port Canaveral. Greeted with a smile and a disinfectant wipe at the ship terminal. By the time we boarded ship, the kids were exhausted. We grabbed a quick lunch at 2:30 and went back to the room to unpack. State Room 7578 is beautiful, the verandah is a must have in our opinion. We had the first sitting for dinner, but by dinner time, both kids were still sleeping so we ordered room service and watched the Super Bowl. Food was not bad. The weather not great, 68 deg. windy and rough seas. Neverless, better than -2 deg back home. Later in the evening, we made a trip down to the Promenade lounge for a drink and stood in line so our 6 year old daughter could meet a few characters. Looking forward to getting rest and hitting it hard the next day.
Day 2: Nassau
Hearing there was nothing for kids to do on Nassau, we stayed on the ship and explored. Breakfast at Triton's was great. Daughter wanted to swim soooooo bad, but there were 40 mph winds coming across the deck and no sun. I let her "dangle" her feet in the Mickey pool, but unfortunately, she stood up, lost her footing and went in clothes and all. Not a good experience - she was crying and cold. Took her back to the room and both kids napped. Too cold and windy to enjoy the verandah. Got ready for dinner and made it to the Animator's Palate. Excellent service, excellent food (nothing else to compare to, because this is the only dinner we actually made it to - read on). Daughter went to the kids club to make cookies. Later we stood in line to meet a few more characters, shopped at Mickey's mates and went to bed.
Day 3: Castaway Cay
Weather a little bit better today, but not nice enough to bask on the beach. We had a nice breakfast at Parrot Cay and took the 1 year old to Flounder's Reef Nursery while the wife, daughter and I explored CC. Daughter got her hair braided (and cried through the whole process), she is not a whiner, or cry baby - she said it just hurt her sensitive scalp! Once she saw the finished product, the cry turned to a smile! We then walked back toward the ship for our scheduled glass bottom boat tour. The staff that operated the boat were very nice, but the tour did not meet our expectations. There is no seating on the boat. There are a few small panes of glass on the bottom, and not many fish to see. Had we known in advance what type of boat this is, we would not have booked. Since Disney was promoting the tour when we booked, we expected it to be superb. Once we were back to land, we got paged by the Nursery because our son was restless. We went back on the ship and put the kids down for a nap. Wife and I slid out on the verandah for a drink. Kids did not wake up in time for scheduled dinner, so we ordered room service AGAIN. Later, daughter went back to the kids club and I pulled her out at 10:00 p.m. so we could catch the Pirate Show on deck. Spectacular show and the fireworks were great!
Day 4: At Sea
Weather was the best we had! Sunny, 70 degrees and calm seas. Had breakfast at the Beach Blanket, but daughter was not feeling well afterwards. I took her back to the cabin and she fell asleep. Not sure if she was tired or sick... Wife and son went to the Mickey pool. About an hour later, wife and son came back to the room for his nap and we hit the verandah again. Moments later, my son had projectile vomit. Checked my daughter and she was covered with goosebumps and running a fever. Called the ship Dr. and made a visit. Son was diagnosed with stomach flu and given a suppository - his visit was free because it was determined that he picked up something in the nursery (GI - or NOROVIRUS). Daughter was diagnosed with upper respriatory problems and given an antibiotic. Her visit was $175. Long story short - we were now quarantined to the room. The restaurant agreed to deliver our food to the room because of the quarantine and thank God because we didn't want to do room service AGAIN. Eagerly started packing up to go home!
Day 5: Back at Port
Well, kids seemed to be recovering and since we were quarantined, the restaurant offered to deliver our breakfast as long as I could go down at 6:30 a.m. and order. We passed and ended up hitting the restaurant on the way out the door. We were somewhat shocked at the $800 bill we incurred while on the ship. Mind you, we were in the cabin most of the time, only had a few drinks, shopped for a few t-shirts, braided hair and visited the Dr. We made our way back to the airport and safely arrived in Chicago. Got home and my wife became violently ill within 5 hours. Next morning, my daughter and I also came down with the stomach flu.
So, to sum it up. We spent nearly $4000 to meet a few princesses, have room service, sit in a cabin and get very sick. I don't think cruising is for us. We are used to "all-inclusive" vacations and appreciate the flexability of being able to eat when you want to. Nearly $4 for a beer, $6 for a mixed drink and $2 for a water is a bit steep considering a 4 day cruise in a Cat 5 stateroom starts at $2800. Not to mention the automatic 15% gratuity and the tip envelopes that suggest we should have dropped over $100 in tips for the Dining room manager, head waiter, assistant waiter and state room host.
Day 1: Set Sail
We travelled from Chicago to Port Canaveral. Greeted with a smile and a disinfectant wipe at the ship terminal. By the time we boarded ship, the kids were exhausted. We grabbed a quick lunch at 2:30 and went back to the room to unpack. State Room 7578 is beautiful, the verandah is a must have in our opinion. We had the first sitting for dinner, but by dinner time, both kids were still sleeping so we ordered room service and watched the Super Bowl. Food was not bad. The weather not great, 68 deg. windy and rough seas. Neverless, better than -2 deg back home. Later in the evening, we made a trip down to the Promenade lounge for a drink and stood in line so our 6 year old daughter could meet a few characters. Looking forward to getting rest and hitting it hard the next day.
Day 2: Nassau
Hearing there was nothing for kids to do on Nassau, we stayed on the ship and explored. Breakfast at Triton's was great. Daughter wanted to swim soooooo bad, but there were 40 mph winds coming across the deck and no sun. I let her "dangle" her feet in the Mickey pool, but unfortunately, she stood up, lost her footing and went in clothes and all. Not a good experience - she was crying and cold. Took her back to the room and both kids napped. Too cold and windy to enjoy the verandah. Got ready for dinner and made it to the Animator's Palate. Excellent service, excellent food (nothing else to compare to, because this is the only dinner we actually made it to - read on). Daughter went to the kids club to make cookies. Later we stood in line to meet a few more characters, shopped at Mickey's mates and went to bed.
Day 3: Castaway Cay
Weather a little bit better today, but not nice enough to bask on the beach. We had a nice breakfast at Parrot Cay and took the 1 year old to Flounder's Reef Nursery while the wife, daughter and I explored CC. Daughter got her hair braided (and cried through the whole process), she is not a whiner, or cry baby - she said it just hurt her sensitive scalp! Once she saw the finished product, the cry turned to a smile! We then walked back toward the ship for our scheduled glass bottom boat tour. The staff that operated the boat were very nice, but the tour did not meet our expectations. There is no seating on the boat. There are a few small panes of glass on the bottom, and not many fish to see. Had we known in advance what type of boat this is, we would not have booked. Since Disney was promoting the tour when we booked, we expected it to be superb. Once we were back to land, we got paged by the Nursery because our son was restless. We went back on the ship and put the kids down for a nap. Wife and I slid out on the verandah for a drink. Kids did not wake up in time for scheduled dinner, so we ordered room service AGAIN. Later, daughter went back to the kids club and I pulled her out at 10:00 p.m. so we could catch the Pirate Show on deck. Spectacular show and the fireworks were great!
Day 4: At Sea
Weather was the best we had! Sunny, 70 degrees and calm seas. Had breakfast at the Beach Blanket, but daughter was not feeling well afterwards. I took her back to the cabin and she fell asleep. Not sure if she was tired or sick... Wife and son went to the Mickey pool. About an hour later, wife and son came back to the room for his nap and we hit the verandah again. Moments later, my son had projectile vomit. Checked my daughter and she was covered with goosebumps and running a fever. Called the ship Dr. and made a visit. Son was diagnosed with stomach flu and given a suppository - his visit was free because it was determined that he picked up something in the nursery (GI - or NOROVIRUS). Daughter was diagnosed with upper respriatory problems and given an antibiotic. Her visit was $175. Long story short - we were now quarantined to the room. The restaurant agreed to deliver our food to the room because of the quarantine and thank God because we didn't want to do room service AGAIN. Eagerly started packing up to go home!
Day 5: Back at Port
Well, kids seemed to be recovering and since we were quarantined, the restaurant offered to deliver our breakfast as long as I could go down at 6:30 a.m. and order. We passed and ended up hitting the restaurant on the way out the door. We were somewhat shocked at the $800 bill we incurred while on the ship. Mind you, we were in the cabin most of the time, only had a few drinks, shopped for a few t-shirts, braided hair and visited the Dr. We made our way back to the airport and safely arrived in Chicago. Got home and my wife became violently ill within 5 hours. Next morning, my daughter and I also came down with the stomach flu.
So, to sum it up. We spent nearly $4000 to meet a few princesses, have room service, sit in a cabin and get very sick. I don't think cruising is for us. We are used to "all-inclusive" vacations and appreciate the flexability of being able to eat when you want to. Nearly $4 for a beer, $6 for a mixed drink and $2 for a water is a bit steep considering a 4 day cruise in a Cat 5 stateroom starts at $2800. Not to mention the automatic 15% gratuity and the tip envelopes that suggest we should have dropped over $100 in tips for the Dining room manager, head waiter, assistant waiter and state room host.
