Lita74

Doesn't look like it.

http://www.cruisemapper.com/Disney-Fantasy-position?imo=9445590

i hope the crew are taking videos.....that's lots of ships out there...

Yes it is! Pretty interesting to watch them move around. They were in Cuba yesterday.

Here is the link to the Fantasy's location. You can pan around to see the other ships including the Dream.

http://www.cruisemapper.com/Disney-Fantasy-position?imo=9445590

Part of that is because the Shutters CMs' date=' like the spa are employees of an outside company. DCL contracts with that company. Since many lines use the same spa company and the same photo company, we tend to see very similar photo prices, spa specials, etc. across many lines. Obviously they must meet DCL's standards as expressed in the contract, but the CMs do not work for DCL.

 

 

 

In the parks. the photo employees are WDW employees...and WDW sets all the policies and prices.[/quote']

 

 

 

I agree and thank you for elaborating. I wanted to make that point because I saw a comment that stated that this wasn't family friendly, but it is more cruise industry standard. WDW photopass is run by WDW and photos are taken by their cast members, not professional photographers like on the cruise ships.

Also, I think that it is worth noting that the photo prices on DCL are comparable to other cruise lines. This is more like industry standard vs the WDW to DCL comparison being made.

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We are big Disney fans (APs, DVC, my 6 year old has been to a Disney park 12 times etc), but we have not gone on a Disney cruise and I don't think we will. The ships just don't excite me in the same ways the parks do. I think it's because they don't have as much change/variety and they are so expensive that I just feel that the bar has to be really high with no room for error for me to get the value out of it.

 

On our last RCI cruise - the paragraph above describes everything about our dining experience. Andre our assistance waiter was amazing - and he handled everything for my kids. As soon as he saw us enter the dining room he went to get their fruit cups and salads so they were on the table instantly - and he always cut up their chicken and teased that they had to eat it if they wanted him to bring their desert. I had the best vacation because of Andre and the AO staff!!

 

 

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I just sailed the Oasis this past February and we were very underwhelmed by the service, food, quality of furnishings and etc. We did not experience the above with our serving team on RCL like we did on DCL. The cuts of meat offered in the MDR were cheap unless you paid extra. On DCL you can get filet mignon in the MDR with no up charge. DCL has more seafood options in both the MDRs and in the buffet. We found the menu options in the MDR on RCL to be very boring. The beds were more comfortable on DCL in a regular room vs our Jr Suite bed on RCL. DCL just looks like a better finished product with the quality trim-work on the ship, decor and furnishings. My 7 year-old was in tears when we went to the Adventure Ocean because it looked like school and not vacation. She opened up to it, but both she and my 9 year-old prefer DCL's clubs. We like that you can communicate with your traveling party easier on DCL in real-time. I know people like leaving messages and sticky notes, but we don't. To each their own, but we gave RCL a try and we know what we like and prefer and it is DCL.

No. Quite the contrary. Disney don't allow you to bring liquor onboard, and they do not offer beverage packages (beyond a wine package that you only redeem at your Dinner). However, there are plenty of full-service bars and beverage options onboard. Each ship even has 3-5 Adult only bar venues onboard.

 

 

 

They are however, Casino-free.

DCL does allow you to bring on 2 bottles of wine at each port, but they no longer allow you to ring as much alcohol that you can carry like they used to. That is more flexible than most lines because you are not just limited to bringing on wine at embarkation.

Does any know if cruise director Christian is still working for DCL? He's my favorite CD. I always enjoyed hearing his friendly voice over the PA system and before the shows.

 

 

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He was recently promoted to Director of Entertainment for the entire fleet.

We just got off of the Oasis last Sunday and we realized that we are truly a DCL family. I really cannot complain much about Royal, but it just wasn't for us.

We felt the good quality on the Oasis was not on Par with DCL. For example, there was no seafood at all in the Windjammer where you can get crab claw and various other seafood options in Cabanas. The MDR menus on the Oasis were boring to us. There were not many seafood options available in the MDR. Also, you had to pay extra for better cuts of meat. If you wanted Filet Mignon on the Oasis, there was an upcharge. It is a regular menu option on DCL I checked some recent DCL menus online to make sure that they haven't changed since we last sailed DCL.

In the staterooms, we felt that the bed quality was not that great on the Oasis. I travel regularly for work and the DCL beds were on par with a very nice hotel bed. I found the Oasis bed (Jr Suite) to be hard and not as comfortable. The extra touches in the DCL rooms make it feel like an upgraded experience (i.e. crown molding and other details). Also, the bath towels on DCL were nice and fluffy where we received thin and course towels on he Oasis.

Hands down, the kids clubs on DCL wins. My kids were 4 and 6 when they went on their first DCL trip and they did not get run over by the older kids. They liked that they had the option of free and play vs structured activities. My younger child is more of a free spirit, so the ability to have options is more important to her. When I took them to he Oasis kids clubs on the first day to look around, my younger child was literally in tears because she thought it looked to much like school or day camp and not vacation. I had them lol at YouTube videos before we left to set their expectations, but they obviously did not help. They eventually did go daily and enjoyed the clubs, but not to the extent as on DCL. The people and staff were friendly enough, but we really missed the Disney "magic."

On my first DCL cruise, we got the first PAT slot on a spring break cruise. I did online check in at midnight.

Instead of losing out completely, doesn't the Disney policy allow you to rebook at a later date? I know that may be a major inconvenience, but better than nothing? Sorry to hear this. We also use a 3rd party trip insurance to allow for better coverage and flexibility.

In Palo Brunch also.

No issues from us. We had a 10:30 am PAT on our April Dream cruise and we were on board eating lunch before noon. We found the process to be smooth. Once we got checked in, completed kids club check in and took our picture with Minnie, it wasn't long before we were boarding. We had boarding group 3. I heard that the lines for getting the bands for the kids clubs could be long, but I think that we didn't experience the long lines since we had an early PAT. This was on. Spring Break cruise. The terminal was pretty packed by the time we were boarding, but we were ahead of the crowd.

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I just got back from our trip on the Dream earlier this month and didn't have this experience with my kids. My just turned 5 year-old and almost 7 year-old girls stayed occupied doing whatever they chose to do. When I came to get them, some times they would be playing together, but most times they were in different areas participating in different group activities, playing independently or with a new friend. Sometimes my older child would be in the lab and the younger one would be in the club or vice versa. They never wanted to leave and when we were doing family activities, they were begging to go back.

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Maybe Beaches resorts? I haven't been, but we were married at Sandals (parent company) and lived it. We would love to try a Beaches vacation. BTW....we just got off of the Disney Dream and loved it! We rebooked the Fantasy for next year.

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Not October, but we just sailed on the Dream on a 4 night cruise April 6-10. This was a Spring Break trip with most of the cruisers being from Atlanta. Atlanta was on Spring Break and it is an easy drive to the port. We saw GT rates available with VGT rates going for less than inside rooms. I was shocked to see it because I heard that the Spring Break cruises fill fast. We are seeing that for 2015, but didn't see that in 2014. It all depends.

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Maybe they ran out on the Dream. I was on the April 6 Dream sailing too, but didn't participate. There have been reports that they were phasing them out, but maybe they weren't valid. The reports I saw came from CMs, but nothing official from DCL.

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I recently read on another board that they are no longer giving out medals. Only certificates.

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Obviously' date=' another situation of different experiences--whether that reflects the exact cabin in question, how "noise conscious" the crew was on a particular sailing, or how sensitive the guest was to the noise is hard to determine.

 

 

 

It accomplishes nothing to malign those who have experiences different than what one is posting. I can't say why several posters here experienced noise and one did not, but claiming that those who did experience issues are exaggerating doesn't allow that we are each entitled to our experiences and interpretations.[/quote']

 

Exactly! I am extremely noise sensitive and always travel with ear plugs.

Wow, I've been on 6 cruise, 5 of which I participated in the CC Roll Calls and I never heard of FEs! LOL Well, one of the things I always loved about CC is learning new things about cruising! I assume people just make their own ones?

I believe that this is unique to Disney cruisers. If you have cruised mostly on other lines, that would explain why you haven't heard of them.

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Just another perspective here. We've done that three times before without any trouble. The first two times were when I was in medical school and then resident when getting even a few extra hours off to fly down the night before was simply not possible. The last time was for an eight night cruise so again, impossible to go the night before. Also, the last time we went with a baby and a two year old so with needing car seats and cribs an whatnot, getting a hotel one night before wasn't such a simply feat. We always get insurance so that we can at least be financially whole if we miss the boat and acknowledge ahead of time that missing the boat is a small but real possibility. We also live in atlanta though so weather is usually on our side and the next flight out is never a long time away. Also, we never have connecting flights.

Living in Atlanta does not eliminate the need to be careful about flying in the day of. I live in Atlanta and had to fly to two places for work last week. I had direct flights to Dallas and Phoenix. The incoming planes were delayed due to weather in the north. Both legs of my Dallas trip were delayed. Anything can happen. It is a good idea not to play it so close unless there is no other option. I can understand issues with getting time off work and etc.

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I would have no qualms about flying in the same day in October. Have a great cruise!

Mechanical issues occur all times of the year. Cancellations and delays are not always weather related.

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I have a friend who just returned from a Carnival cruise. There was shampoo in a wall mounted dispenser which ran out on day two and was never refilled, and body gel which she said didn't get her clean. When they requested extra bar soap, they were told not allowed. There was a small bar hand soap in the sink, but no other amenities were provided. A group of twelve first time cruisers who will probably never cruise again after their experience. :(

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

Please encourage them to try another line. Not ever cruising again is like vowing to never stay in a hotel again after a bad experience again with a particular chain.

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They didn't fly. But stuff like that has been going around lately regardless of being on a ship or not. It is just the nature of the season. Had several people out sick (including myself) with similar symptoms at my job within the last week.

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There are some hotels that have coupons for 40% off parking at the port. This what we are looking into.

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