gismo1554

Sailed on the 19th Sept WBTA.

There were lots and lots of different plumbing issues. During dry dock they replaced all the piping according to the deck manager and this caused major problems with leaks etc. They had to replace a lot of the carpet on my deck (deck 6) after they fixed the problems during the voyage.

The Vibe entrance has also changed location so you now enter near the lifts and 2 of the lifts go up there. The old entrance was simply sealed off.

They've removed the internet cafe and replaced it with a soft play area with a swing door on to the main Promanade Lounge area. The internet desk is still where it was but facing the walk way more than it used to be and with its back against this sealed off area.

The Edge has a "20,000 leagues" theme according to the imagineer talk we went to onboard and did look very submarine-ish inside. It had some virtual like portholes giving views of the ocean and supposidly Nemo comes to visit but we didn't see him while in there at open house. It has large screens and games but isn't very big. The space it was in has been turned into rooms but these were still being worked on during the voyage so not in use.

No virtual portholes in the rooms (just to confirm).

BBB is on deck 10 above the spa area and so now you can only get the left Forward lift to deck 10 - all others have the button but it doesn't let you select it. It looks quite small to me and still has a lift in it but this is not in use.

Does anyone know if they still offer the Thelasso spa package - where you just get access to the outside area and the showers etc? If so does anyone have the price? I'm thinking of the Spirit but I'm sure they probably do the same on all the ships. Can't see it in the prebookable list of treatments.

Afternoon. Just wanted to interrupt to ask who the Captain, Food & Beverage and Entertainment Managers are at the moment. We are coming on in November and were just curious. How have they been?

I can not wait! Hardly any time at all now. 2 weeks and it will be my last day in work so very excited!

I've read that too' date=' but it was the word of one poster who has proven to be unreliable in the past. No personal experience with it. And as the lounge is due to be put in soon, I doubt that this perk will exist much longer on the Magic.[/quote']

 

Just to say my source was off a different forum and three people had quoted this so not sure if that makes a difference or not but I agree it will stop once the lounge is built in the next 3 weeks.

Just to add, I also read on another post that the Magic & Wonder off free specialty coffees in Cove Cafe to make up for the lack of a conceirge lounge as well. Obviously when the new lounge comes in for the Magic I assume this perk will end but something to bare in mind

I do think its sad that DCL have introduced such a strict policy. I agree that there unlimited policy was excessive but they could have simply limited the amount of liquour to 1 bottle per room if they were concerned. Personally I am less likely to buy drinks now as I would have if they still allowed alcohol onboard. There drinks are watery and they don't have the brand of rum I like anyway but usually I would buy one at the pool. Now I'll be making sure I don't give them any extra money as it just seems that this is what they want out of people. I am sure that soon they will start with soft drinks too and then those who are moaning that we shouldn't be upset about this change will be in uproar. Its just another sign of DCL trying to grab more money when their cruises aren't comparable rates to other cruiselines.

Pillow selection is still on there under "special requests" when you fill in your cruise information. Alcohol however is no longer in it so I assume you have to ask once onboard

My thoughts exactly! I've cruised another line and purchased their drink program. When added up, DCL was comparably priced since passengers could BYOB. However, the higher fares coupled with this change in alcohol policy makes a DCL cruise MUCH more expensive. I'm glad I squeaked by on this change, but I will NOT be booking another cruise while onboard, as I'd planned.

 

I have noticed that the adults only clubs and bars on DCL have fairly low attendance, so perhaps this change is an attempt to drive people into those areas (The District, etc.)? As stated above, I have never seen anyone behaving badly due to too much imbibing. The worst behavior I've witnessed on a Disney cruise is parents screaming at their children....but that's another topic.

Well said! I am very disappointed in this change! I'm a solo traveller and for me I like the freedom of having a glass of rum (which is usually a brand that isn't even available on the ship if I can get it in port) at night without having to go to a bar on my own.

With regards to people disregarding the policy on alcohol I don't think realistically that many people do or that it has that much impact on profits. If I'm sat in a bar area with a drink from the soda fountain (in a lovely paper cup) surely what this actually reminds people is that they can too do this and therefore may not actually order a drink, whereas if I'm sat with a normal glass with rum and coke in it then people might think I fancy a drink too. Also if I take one drink with me it might entice me to pay for another where as there is no way I'd buy two drinks during an activity or event as I would think this was a waste of money. Perception is an amazing thing and I think Disney's very strict new policy will actually work against profits as I for one will be less likely to buy any drinks now whereas previously I would have purchased something. I think a much better policy would have been 1 litre of spirits per cabin especially on the longer cruises. I have an 11 night cruise with only 1 effective stop (and castaway) so 2 bottles of wine (even if I did drink it) would not last very well (and personally I don't like leaving wine open for more than a day anyway).

Yes they do plain martinis (both vodka & gin based) just ask the bar man and they can sort them. I think it was around $10 last time but not 100% sure. Basically the menus just list the specialty drinks but any bar should be able to do any "normal" drink as well. Also any cocktail that you know the details of they will give a go. Def they know how to do a normal martini though (or a dirty one) as they do them for the martini tastings

Confirmation from DCL on the nights

On 11-Night Transatlantic cruise which departs from Barcelona on Saturday, Sept 19 to Miami Florida:

*Nights 1, 3-5,7-9-11: cruise casual

*Night 2 (20th Sept): "formal night" - formal wear for men: tuxedo or suit; for women: gown or dress

*Night 6 (24th Sept): Freezing the Night Away Deck Party with Elsa, Anna and Friends-cruise casual

*Night 9 (27th Sept): Pirates In the Caribbean Deck Party

*Night 10 (28th Sept): "semi-formal night" - semi-formal wear for men: suit/jacket; for women: dress or pantsuit.

Last year on the Magic they did have them in some staterooms and not in others from what I remember and someone was told people kept pinching them as they were the Ipod docking style clocks

This forum is so helpful. Thank you so much. How very exciting! Hopefully there'll be opportunities for us to watch Frozen on-board. We haven't seen a Disney movie in around 10-15 years!

More than likely it will be shown at least once! Last year they did sing-a-long frozen in the Beuna Vista Theatre and it was so fun (mainly adults too lol)

Had no idea there were any formals/semi-formals planned! Have I missed this information on the online portal or is there somewhere else I should be looking?

 

How formal is the formal night? We booked this cruise as a nice way to get home after a month in Europe. We usually love dressing up on cruises but had not planned on taking overtly formal items in a bid to keep our cases light.

someone on another group phoned and asked.

• 20th Formal
  
• 24th Freezing the Night Away Party (Frozen themed deck party after dinner)
  
• 27th Pirate night
  
• 28th Semi-Formal
  

But this may change

Formal night varies on the TA's. Some people go all out some people go nice dress/trousers & top/shirt. It tends to be less full uniforms due to luggage issues but it can still be seen. Last year I wore a long dress and didn't feel out of place but there were people in all sorts. I would say that as long as you look smart you wont feel out of place. You wont see many ball gowns on TA's but its not unheard of just less likely.

Ditto other's opinions! Sofa bed is amazing! On a cruise a few years back when they still had a Queen bed you could split into 2 twins our room steward convinced me to use the sofa bed the first night instead of splitting the bed as it gives more room. I thought I'd hate it but I absolutely loved it. It was so comfy just like being in a normal bed.

A TA can definitely help to get you guys close to each other. Also you will need to get your reservation numbers linked if you want to dine together and they can do this too.

Honestly TAs are amazing. Like others I'm on my 5th I think this September. They are way too addictive. So much more relaxed than on a 4 nighter. They have a lot more activities too and different shows which is fun. The WBTA this year is 11 nights and has 1 formal and 1 semi formal night. The one last year was 14 nights and was the same I believe (or possibly 2 semi nights). You definitely get to know people better as you see them more around the ship! You will love it I'm sure!

In case you want to preorder here's the link -> http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/gifts-and-amenities/

If you scroll to the bottom it gives all the options

Does anyone know if the spa still offers passes for the thelasso pool area? If so does anyone know the price? Specifically looking for Silver Spirit but any prices will give me a rough idea.

Thanks

lol true but at least this is 11 nights with the same no. of sea days as last years 14 night. Makes it a little more bareable.

 

I am currently watching a blog on the 11 night Norway cruise to see if they get Frozen and Pirates as that will give me much more hope we might get both too!

Just to add I found navigators of a 7 night Norway one and sorry to say no pirates just Frozen - http://disneycruiselineblog.com/2015/06/personal-navigators-7-night-norwegian-fjord-cruise-on-disney-magic-itinerary-a-june-6-2015/

Yes' date=' that is the name of the biographical show I was referring to. I kept thinking "One Man's Dream" but knew that was the name of the former attraction at WDW, not the show.

 

Given that they did both on the EBTA and the 7 night Norway, I think you may have both Pirate and Frozen nights....but it's still only 11 nights and ends up in Miami. What happened to the 14 night crossings? Sorry. I'm a firm believer that longer is better.[/quote']

 

lol true but at least this is 11 nights with the same no. of sea days as last years 14 night. Makes it a little more bareable.

 

I am currently watching a blog on the 11 night Norway cruise to see if they get Frozen and Pirates as that will give me much more hope we might get both too!

We should also have Walt Disney the Dream goes on which is a singing show of Disney music. They have done this on the last three TA at least.

There is also lots of conflicting information about whether we are having Pirates night and Frozen deck party or just one of them! I'm hoping for both

The cabs are well-regulated and safe. There is a taxi stand that will give you a ticket with the price written on it. It is easy to bypass the dispatcher and go straight to a waiting cab, but they are very well organized and will quickly direct you to the first waiting cab.

 

There is no need to try and take a group cab, because the price is the same no matter how many passengers. They will be lined up and waiting when you get off the ship and at the airport.

 

It is super easy; probably the most well run system I have used. Most of the drivers speak decent English- always enough to get you where you need to be.

Thanks so much! Travelling on my own I wanted to make sure!

Does anyone know whether there are any tips on taxi's i.e. should I be looking for a certain company or is it fairly safe to use any taxi?

Thanks everyone! That gives me some confidence in it!

Hi

Just trying to get some advice. I'm travelling in on a cruise ship in September and the ship is scheduled into port at 7am. I've been looking at departing flights and it seems to be either 11am or 2pm and going straight to the airport I would rather not go for the later one as from the sounds of it there is little at the airport. Is it possible to get there for an 11am flight?

Thanks

Sarah