Lovedisneycruise

She seemed nice. I didn't know all the background information that MM gave above, but thought Natalie did fine at the show introductions. That's the only time I really see the cruise director, other than maybe chatting a few minutes when they have the officers in the lobby.

I don't know Christian at all.

When I was on the ship two weeks ago it was Natalie.

Hi all, just got off the fantasy this morning. The Force Awakens was premiered on Thursday at 10 PM in both theaters and again on Friday at 1 AM in both theaters. We were given a form on the first evening to complete with our preferences because tickets were issued for these four showings.

I went down into the lobby around 9 PM on Thursday and there was a long line already formed past the gift shop waiting to enter the Walt Disney theater. They also showed the movie multiple times yesterday throughout the day and evening (castaway cay day).

It was fun to see all the buzz prior to the showings – they put out Star Wars merchandise in a section of the gift shop and a large portion of the guests were wearing the inaugural t-shirts. Lots of toys too. And a bunch of Star Wars popcorn buckets and cups with straws that people were scrambling to buy.

It added a fun twist to an already-fun Holiday cruise. :)

ETA They also showed the return of the Jedi on (I think) Wednesday evening late.

A "couple" is any 2 people. It can be you and your adult daughter' date=' 2 friends traveling together, or any other combination.

 

I LOVE the rainforest, especially on fall and winter cruises. The only time I've had to wait more than a few minutes for one of the heated loungers was when 2 people had fallen asleep in them and a third person was reading and had no intention of moving (there are only 4 of these on the Magic and Wonder). Normally there is either one available or if I wait just a few minutes sitting on one of the wall benches, a lounger will open up. When it didn't, I just moved on to the other rooms. So, have I ever had a brief time when I couldn't do exactly as I'd planned? Yes. Did it ruin my day or my rainforest experience--No. In general, people are considerate. If they've been in a lounger for a long time and there are people waiting, they will usually move on the the other facilities. Obviously there is no time limit or rule that they need to move, but they typically do. That said, there are plenty of other places to be within the rainforest that don't fill up. Whether you sit in the steam areas and talk or just sit and relax is up to you and the others; I've been known to make friends in there or just have very casual chat as well as the "savor the experience" with no sound.

 

OK, trying to get 2 loungers next to each other is a little more difficult...usually can happen, but don't count on it.

 

A "couple" does not have to be in the same cabin--any 2 people will qualify.[/quote']

 

 

Hi MM-- what exactly are the "other places" in the rainforest? I've heard of the heated loungers, and I'm pretty sure there are special showers, but I've never actually been in there – well maybe I have – I've been in the women's lockers after using the fitness center--?

What exactly is so special about it?

Mokismommy and lesaL, would you mind giving more detail as to why it was your favorite cruise? I have never cruised more than seven days with Disney up to this point, and I'm seriously considering this cruise next August also. It may possibly be solo or it may be with one other person. I don't mean to hijack this thread so if it's more appropriate, could you please provide some links here of places where I could find more info as to what makes this particular cruise so appealing.

I would greatly appreciate your thoughts!

From what I understand, DCL stopped people from booking low rate Staterooms such as an inside on Deck 1 and getting the 10% discount for rebooking aboard, then rebooking that cruise to get a 4a verandah on deck 8 with the 10% discount still applied and making more money on the discount.

That or using that 10% discount, then cancelling the other future cruise.

 

I am NOT saying you are trying to do this, just why they may have stopped the ability to utilise the 10% discount afterwards on rebooking.

 

ex techie

Thanks – wow! You are correct; I hadn't even thought of that. I just wanted to apply retroactively to my chosen room. I also didn't realize it was something that was available in the past and that Disney had discontinued.

Thanks again for the info. I guess whenever Disney feels they are being taken advantage of by enough people, they will take away the perk.

Thanks schmoo. I was afraid that was the case, and was hoping the discount would apply to the amount that I originally booked the cruise at rather than the price at the date of the onboard booking.

With the way that prices have increased lately, I don't expect them to stay stagnant for three months. So I'll have to calculate and Decide.

I have booked several cruises while on board and am familiar with that General process.

However I was wondering whether or not you can apply an onboard booking discount towards a cruise you have ALREADY booked prior to being on that ship. Or does it have to be a newly booked cruise at that time? :confused:

( I am cruising this November, but didn't want to risk the price increase over the next three months and I'm wondering if I am able to book it now for 2016 and then apply the discount to that cruise once on the ship at the onboard booking desk. )

TIA!

Thank you, thank you! This is a huge help to this Mimi.

I'm thinking that my children are still expecting the uber organized, clip board carrying Mom they were used to on vacations twenty five years ago.

I am not wanting to disappoint :D

Hi Mimi! First, this mom wishes someone would treat me and my daughter to a cruise :p--how nice of you to do that for your family!

Second, I am also the uber-organized type with a color coordinated spreadsheet when I go to Disney World that I actually enjoy preparing!:D So I totally understand that.

What I've found great about cruising Disney is you will NOT need to do that for the cruise--especially on the shorter ones. Other than deciding if you want to disembark in Nassau (which we don't), you won't really know what's offered each day until you read the prior night's Navigator--it is recommended to bring along several colored highlighters so you can highlight your chosen daily activities for the children or adults. The other thing lots of people enjoy is Pirate Night, so be sure to suggest that they bring along dress up accessories or costumes if you think they will enjoy doing that. Also, princess dresses are a must for lots of little girls; you will see little princesses in abundance on the ship.

There also are a few things that you will need tickets for as MM mentioned - wine/beer, etc. tastings or princess gatherings if so interested. I think these can be obtained at GS when you first embark the ship.

My suggestion is to just try to relax and enjoy the beautiful ship and don't try to do too much (which of course we all do on the first cruise!;))

Disney really does take care of most everything when you are on the ship--the shows are scheduled for after dinner if you eat early or vice versa. And I found food to be plentiful, even though there is not a 24/7 buffet.

Oh and I also really enjoy Castaway Cay even without a cabana. The further down the beach you walk, the more spots seem to be available. It is also really nice to just walk around the island if you don't necessarily want to be on the actual beach all day. One other tip--if you go to the upper aft decks early that day, you can see the ship backing in to port. I find it very cool to watch this (actually I'm always amazed) and your family may too!

Is anyone else as excited about this as I am??! Apparently not! lol:p

I am NOT even a big Star Wars fan, but I think this will be SO much fun done the Disney way! I love seeing the children dressed up and I grew up watching the original Star Wars movies (had a crush on Hans Solo like everyone :D).

I'm even considering now booking one of these for next April before the prices go up. I'm sure the deck party and laser show will be amazing just based on the Pirates Night events.

Bravo to Disney for adding something new!

(Now if only we can see that announcement about a few adult-only cruises....;))

Thank you, Moki'smommy, I think we will go with the Inside rooms, hope they won't find it too crowded. Just waiting for the summer cruises to come out.

We always do our family trip in August because one of the family members is a teacher.

My husband does have some health issues, in the event he cannot go is it possible to change the name on the reservation.

Thanks

Hi I just wanted to add a comment--we stayed in a standard inside room recently for the first time (my adult daughter and I). We actually liked this room configuration better than the galley-type rooms (porthole and verandah). While we missed the balcony, we preferred the "bedroom" being at the back of the room instead of having to walk around the bed each time we wanted to use the balcony or the couch. In an inside, the bed faces you at the end of the room when you enter.:)

Also, the magical porthole was much bigger than we had expected. And it may have been my imagination, but the one bathroom on the standard actually seemed to have more room than either of the split bathrooms we were used to. With 4 or 5 people you may prefer the splits, but with 2 of us the single larger bathroom worked fine.

Thanks for the response. I went for a September 14 sailing on the theory that most parents wouldn't be taking kiss back out of school that soon. Is that what you mean by off season?

 

For me, it's not that the sight of a kid will enrage me, it's more about auditory stuff--not to do my own "special snowflake" routine but I have bat hearing and occasionally need a break from high volume stuff. (I spent a lot time researching cabin numbers weeding out noise complaints, and I have earplugs and a nice white noise machine--it's not just kids.)

 

In other words, a teen or a kid hanging around and chilling out isn't going to "ruin my vacation". But a toddler wailing at length in an adults' "quiet area" would defeat any relaxation I had achieved.

 

Point taken though, that I may need to rethink DCL (or possibly cruising). I'm at a point in life where I have the time and money to travel AND I recently overcame a lifelong fear of flying, but I'm an introvert (we both are) and my ability to handle crowds is small to moderate. Just have to strike a balance I suppose.

One other thought.....Deck 4 is the "walking" deck; I call it the QUIET DECK (on the outside). I too am an introvert and love to go there and just look at the water and relax. There are cushioned lounge chairs on both sides and I'm always amazed at how empty they are no matter what cruise I am on. I walk laps there and usually pass a few people snoozing or reading in these chairs. So I highly recommend you utilize that deck if you go. (One caveat---there is a shuffleboard and sometimes families are playing that, but it's hardly "loud".)

Thanks for the report!

 

Hope you don't mind me hijacking--I asked the same thing on another forum, got reassured, but now this thread has me worried again. I'll be sailing on the Dream in September, two adults with no kids. I was really looking forward to the quiet cove area, especially cove cafe, as neither of us are kid people. I know it's a cruise for kids but I thought I had a reasonable chance of a few 18+ areas to escape to, or that the CMs would enforce rules to some extent. It sounds like this is a pipe dream?

 

I know it's a bit silly to go on a DCL cruise while not being a kid person, but I'm familiar with Disney's service levels and skill at theming, and I'm told DCL is good for first time cruisers. The signifcant other and I are very much cafe people, so cove cafe was going to be my ace in the hole for taking a breath when needed.

 

Ever since I learned (last night I think) that the 18+ areas are not enforced, I've been rethinking the cruise.

No problem - hijack away! I learn a lot from this board.

Mokismommy already replied, but my thought is to give it a try, especially since it's a shorter cruise. The ship is so beautiful and you really should experience it in my opinion. I would think September is low with kids with the U.S. start of school, and a shorter cruise is a smart bet to see how you feel about these things. The Dream is similar to the Fantasy, but I don't spend much time near the adult pool because it always seems to be full of couples and honesty I feel a little odd just sitting there. We consider the Fantasy a step above, since it has (I think) 2 more portions of decks above the adult pool area reserved solely for adults, along with Satellite Falls (an adult water feature). I don't recall EVER seeing children in those areas, so we spend lots of time there.

I also have never seen children in Cove Café, ESPECIALLY in the evenings, so if that area appeals to you, I would also give it a try.

The one place that is always filled with kids is the center of Deck 11 and I usually try to grab my drinks and get out of there quickly.

The other suggestion I have is that if you see a little rule-breaker, don't hesitate to let a CM or the bartender know, or even Guest Services if it gets really bad. Disney really does want to keep the customer happy.

I think the only way DCL would ever do an adults only cruise would be if it were a private charter like the TCM cruises.

 

They could add extra value to the adults on cruises with a very low child count by opening up the Lab and Club late at night like they did on moki'smommy's cruise.

Maybe one for the suggestion box to DCL?ex techie

Since you mentioned ..........I've been looking for a link to just such a thing the past few days. The only thing I can find is an 'email us' link on the DCL site. It let me put about 3 sentences in the box and I want to say much more!

Anyone have a link for DCL suggestion box or something similar?:D

You are most welcome.

Want a funny? I mentioned the idea to my daughter and the first words our of her mouth were "They won't do it."

 

It could be great IF done right.....

:) If I said it to MY daughter' date=' her first words would be "I [i']wish[/i] they would do it!" lol

I was on this same cruise. It was my families 1st Disney cruise. Wonderful cruise!!!! When hearing 800 kids were sailing, I was "shocked". Now that I hear that number is LOW for the Fantasy, I think it would have been very overwhelming with 1500-1800 kids. We have a 5 year old ourselves. The pools and hot tub were jam packed with kids on sea days. It would have been much more crowded with double the kids.

Agreed! I felt the same way - the pirate party, lobby dance parties, etc. were JAMMED and I saw tweens roaming around the adult decks at times, possibly looking for their parents or just lost - I can't even imagine twice as many on that ship!

But it's good to know because I will NEVER sail summer with them!:eek: Even with all the new double dip cruises!

P.S. Glad you enjoyed your first cruise! Be forewarned that they are addictive!!:)

Mokismommy,

Thank you for your interesting perspective regarding adult DCL cruises.

While the slides would likely go unused to do weight limits' date=' there would be no reason for the other kid areas to be unused on an adult only cruise. As I said before, on the Trans-Atlantics we had "adult time in the Club" and "Adult time in the Lab" even though there were 600 kids on the ship. The area that had adult time was closed to those under 18 at those times and they DID card. We were encouraged to use the slide as well as all other areas and there was a line for Marvel Academy.There is no reason that adults can't use the kiddie pool as a splash area if it were available to them. Basically the nursery and small kid slide would be the only things that would have to go unused.

 

[b']But, I don't think DCL is likely to do an adult only cruise any time soon.....even though the logistics would not be a big deal.[/b]

Thanks for reminding your kids about "quiet hours" in the halls! Every involved parent makes a difference.

Since you are always so knowledgeable about everything DCL, why do you think this is the case? I really think if they marketed it well, some adult regulars would be thrilled and others that refuse to cruise Disney because of little ones would give it a try. I'm not saying one a month, but even offer just 2 or 3 a YEAR.

April 11 has some *GT rates. Best to find a friend and split the cost though as DCL's single supplement is so high (100% of cruise fare!)

Thanks - I have been eyeing that one!;) Unfortunately, I've yet to find a friend who enjoys cruising or even Disney!:( The high single cost is one of the reasons I've yet to take the solo cruising plunge!

What cruise did you take? Eastern/Western? What did you do in the ports? Thanks!! And just a comment on no adult only cruises...1/3 the ship would be unused (kids clubs/kids pools/slides etc.) so highly unlikely...but stick to traveling in off season and you'll see less! Thanks for the reminder on the teens and door slamming, well have 3 teens and YES they do forget that after 10pm there should be minimal noise! Hard to do when they schedule teen events for around 11pm and kids running back to the room to grab something...we'll make sure to keep our kids aware of door drops! :) Thanks!!

Hi mapeas, it was the eastern cruise with St. Thomas and San Juan as ports. We went to Magen's Bay Beach in St. Thomas, which we enjoyed on an earlier cruise. This time, they reserved small space of beach for three large cruiseships in port and it was jammed to say the least. The lounge chairs were pretty much touching and they didn't offer umbrellas which is a must-have for me. I had to carry my chair to an overhang of the food area, so there wasn't much relaxation. We did take a stroll to the quieter area and took some pictures, but I probably won't do this tour again.

The next day was San Juan and I sent my daughter to the beach alone, as I can't tolerate 2 days in a row and I was now worried about umbrellas. (of course, this beach had ample space with an umbrella at each chair--go figure.) I was going to explore the port area, but ended up enjoying the emptier ship.

I realize that teens can be late and loud (I had two), but those doors are really loud and they kept banging over and over until after 1 a.m. Someone must have complained because on the second day I saw a manager in the hallway asking a woman (possibly the mom) if there was an adult in each room with the children, (I think they had 3 rooms) but I couldn't hear what else was said. It was pretty quiet late after that. So I was glad to see that Disney apparently takes that seriously.

I still think Disney should offer even just a couple adult-only cruises each year. I really think they would be popular!

Awww!!!

 

One week from now I will be trying to sleep at the Hampton Inn & Suites Gateway Village (MCO) and leaving on the Fantasy the next day!!

OMG lucky you!!!:eek::D I hope you have a wonderful time.:) I seriously LOVE the Fantasy-everything about it. I even played the midship detective agency game (finally!) this last cruise, and it was fun! I stayed onboard during a port day and had lots of room to leisurely walk around and view the various clues/paintings.

I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit I'm already pricing spring (2015) cruises and thinking of going alone for the first time if I can find a "good" rate.:p I have 2 others which I booked onboard, but the earliest isn't until the end of this year and I don't think I can hold out until then!:cool:

It's very common to see a lot of views and not leaving a comment. You will see that on most threads. I thinks a lot of people like to come here and read but not engage. Anyway, thank you for your review. I enjoyed reading it and am so happy you had such a great time. :)

Thanks Irene; I guess I jumped the gun a bit at the beginning.:o:o

Everytime I go, I miss the ship more quickly. It's hard for me to imagine now that I could wait a YEAR between cruises. The one lady at our dinner was leaving the Fantasy to do a B2B 5-day on the Wonder in Miami--I was soooo envious!!

This is what happens in practice. The signage says "This area reserved for guests age 18 and over." It doesn't say children can walk' date=' run, skate, skip, or otherwise proceed thru the area. It doesn't say it's OK to come in and just talk to mom for a few minutes. And the only thing I've seen them be removed from the area for is if they actually get in a pool or hot tub. I have seen them brought into the Cove Cafe (which clearly says 18 and older) and the CM not say a word; I suspect this is because he wants his tips. Note--the same goodies are available at the Vista Cafe for families/children.

 

[b']The new ships are very poorly designed in that they actually make it inconvenient for concierge guests to get to family areas without passing thru adult only areas. But there is little enforcement of kicking kids out of the quiet cove area on any of the ship[/b]s.

Thanks for your input as always. I had never noticed this before and I'm not quite sure why Disney is reluctant to enforce these areas, other than to risk the ire of those parents. I'll remember to add this comment to any surveys I complete.

You're allowed to walk through, but you're not allowed to stop and hang out.

Ohhhhhh I don't really hang out near the adult pool - we like the upper adult decks on the Fantasy near Satellite Falls best (for adult-only experience.) So I hadn't even really noticed this before, since I don't stay concierge.

This is the main reason we like the Fantasy better (so far). You DO seem to be able to escape to adult-only areas on the very forward upper decks.

I also have quite a collection of Disney mugs - both ceramic ones and the plastic souvenir kind! At least they are still useful after the trip has ended. I was referring to the cheap (quality - not price) souvenirs that light up or make noise - then usually die after a few days.

 

I wish I had never started buying PINS! I have way too many that are still in their plastic WDW bags! :eek:

Me too!:p Mostly the ceramic ones. I have managed to thankfully avoid the pin craze--those have never interested me. Though for some reason, the past few years I've started buying more Disney tees and wearing them at WDW and the cruises. I'd never done this in the past, but lately I feel it's part of the overall magical experience!:)