cruisefamilyforever

Previously, my family has sailed on the Carnival Miracle in 2006 (7 day/balcony), Carnival Freedom in 2010 (8 day/balcony), Disney Dream in 2012 (5 day/deluxe family inside), and RCI Freedom of the Seas in 2013 (7 day/two inside cabins). We almost always vacation in early June. My son is 24 and has mild autism and my daughter is 20. We also like to go to Disney World every 2-3 years and stay on property for a week.

We drove to Port Canaveral the day prior and stayed at the Country Inn and Suits, which is the closest hotel to the ship. We have stayed there two times prior for convenience, but this hotel is showing its age. We paid $129.12 for a Friday night. We always park in the main structure at the port because I like to walk off the ship and drive away without waiting for transportation. They charge $125.00 upfront.

Our scheduled port arrival time (PAT) was 10:30 – 10:45 on May 23rd. We got there at 10:40. We waited in a short line to enter the terminal and then we were immediately checked in. It was obvious many people ignored their PAT and came early, because the terminal was packed. The first group was called at 11:20 and we were called at 11:30 in group three.

As soon as we were welcomed on board I headed to the Port Adventures Desk for tickets to the Princess gathering for my daughter and to sign us up for the 5K run at Castaway Cay, my family headed to The Enchanted Garden for lunch. I had no wait and then met my family at the entrance to the garden. They did not open until 12:00. Their selection is limited compared to Cabanas, but there were no crowds. The only issue was the coke. It had an overly citrus flavor and none of us could drink it. The server tried another dispenser but it was still bad. Everything else on the buffet was very good.

Our room was available at 1:30. Our cabin, #7178 Cat 8C- Deluxe Family Ocean view located aft port, had plenty of room for my family of four. I always make sure that I’m insulated with at least one deck of cabins above and below to minimize ship noise. We also like to be mid deck or toward the rear so my wife and daughter don’t feel the movement of the ship as much. They tend to get sea sick. We had a large porthole with the seat, but I was a little disappointed that you really can't sit in it unless you are a very small child. The seating area just isn't that wide, unlike the portholes on deck 3 like I was expecting. There is plenty of storage for everything. We had a murphy bed for the fourth bed which, I felt would only be comfortable for a teenager. The main bed and sofa bed are very comfortable for anyone. The round tub shower was wonderful, and of course how can you not love the split bathroom. The refrigerator stayed very cold and the room temperature could easily be regulated to any temperature you like. The condition of the room was excellent! However the first night the cabin had creaking sounds coming from several places that kept us from getting a good night’s sleep. It was so bad I asked for another room. They showed me two other options but the locations were not acceptable to me, so they assured me they had technicians that could solve the problem. I was highly doubtful anything could be done, but to my amazement after some Disney magic we didn’t hear any more room noises the rest of the cruise. After the first night, the cabin was quiet except for the crying kids and a man blowing his nose early in the morning in the cabin next to us that we would hear off and on during the cruise.

This is a gorgeous ship! I would compare it and the Disney Dream to 5 star hotels I have stayed in overseas. Even the public bathrooms are amazing. You have to visit the one outside of Remy. Disney ships are uniquely designed like no others and maintained to the highest standards. They have a classic liner feel of days gone by. The service and accommodations were absolutely first class in every way.

All of the dining rooms provide a wonderful unique environment and the food was very good. My daughter can’t have garlic, so she was able to preview every menu in the dining rooms and her meals were specially prepared for her each night. Cabanas buffet was fantastic and the best of all of the ships I’ve sailed so far! There was a vast selection of very good food and some of the most delicious desserts I've ever had. Also, my son said the Mickey waffles and chicken tenders were as good as the ones at Disney World.

The only issue I had is the regular coke and tea coming out of the machines on deck 11 midship and Cabanas was terrible. They couldn’t figure out the problem so after talking to guest services on day two they agreed to stock my room with 9 canned cokes a day for the remainder of the cruise. Now that is customer service! The tea in the main dining room was okay.

I won’t lie -- I like to eat, so I usually ordered four entrees every night. I think I can say some meals were just okay, most were very good, and a few were exceptional. The rack of lamb and lobster come to mind. Also, I was never disappointed with any of the desserts.

There is plenty to do on the ship, so we were never bored. We never waited more than 20 minutes to ride the AquaDuck. We loved the adult pool areas and Satellite Falls -- nice and quiet and no kids. We never had a problem finding seats. We paid $85.00 to play family bingo for the four of us and that was a lot of fun, but sadly we didn’t win anything. We also enjoyed playing Midship Detective Agency and Goofy Golf. The movie theater selections were top notch and we saw several movies I’d been waiting for. Aladdin was Broadway quality and Disney Believe was very good too. However, the first night’s show, A Fantasy Come True was nothing more than a Disney commercial that my whole family thought didn’t live up to Disney standards.

Now my wife and I thought the non-Disney shows were very subpar. I must say these were the worst acts I have ever seen that I’ve paid for. The acts were The Comedy & Magic of David Williamson, The Comedy of Improv Shimimprov, The Comedy & Ventriloquism of Taylor Mason, and the Comedy & Juggling of Michel Holly. These were all disappointing.

We loved Pirate night and we had the perfect spot to see the entire show and fireworks. We were on the port side of deck 12 just above and to the side of the stage against the railing. If you don’t get there at least 1.5 hours prior, forget about it.

Our ports consisted of St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Castaway Cay. We did the Under Two Flags Island adults only Tour at St Maarten. The air conditioned new bus went all over the island and stopped for shopping. It was a good basic tour that provided with some nice scenic views and some history of the island. At St. Thomas we just walked around the shops at the port. No real deals -- just a tourist trap in my opinion.

I don’t know why but we weren’t able to get off the ship at Castaway Cay until 10:30. My son, daughter and I were doing the 5K. It was a lot of fun and it’s a nice medal you get for free. None of us are runners so it took us 52 minutes to complete the course. We all headed to Cookie’s Too in the adult area for lunch afterwards. Now this was the only bad food experience we had on the cruise. We were told on the ship by our head waiter that everything was garlic free for my daughter. Of course we asked at the food stations and they looked at us like we were crazy and no one had an answer. They finally dug up the head chef and he said the only thing that didn’t have garlic was the salad. She ended up eating cookies and chips until we made it back to the ship. I wanted ribs and to my surprise they didn’t have any. It took 30 minutes before any showed up. When I finally got some I must say they were the worst ribs I’d ever attempted to eat. I really didn’t like any of the food except the ice cream and chocolate chip cookies.

We went to the adult beach afterwards and got in the water. Now don’t be a hater, but I thought this beach sucked. Remember though, I grew up in Florida and live walking distance to pure white sand beaches near my house. You definitely need water shoes for this rocky shallow beach! I know the other beach is more foot friendly. For those of you who don’t live on the Emerald Coast I’m sure you will enjoy Castaway Cay, but for my family it’s nothing to write home about.

One note of surprise was this ship had a lot of up and down movement throughout the cruise. Several people, including some crew, commented on the excessive motion even though the seas were pretty calm during the trip. I have not experienced this on any other ship, so I think there may have been a stabilization problem.

Embarkation was painless. I grabbed food from Cabanas and brought it to the room so everyone could sleep in. We were off the ship by about 9:00 and grabbed our luggage and headed home.

Overall, we love the Disney experience. I’m a hard core nonsmoker and the only time I smelled smoke is when I went up the port stairs in Quiet Cove to get to deck 13. Also, I like the fact there are no casinos. I never felt overwhelmed by kids and I never saw anyone drunk or out of control. However, this was a costly trip that we consider a treat. I booked this trip almost a year in advance and my cost was $6,126.92, which included tips of $336.00 and trip insurance through USAA for $264.00. If you can afford it and love Disney, you will have a wonderful vacation and it’s worth every penny/dollar you spend.

I read the Disney Cruise board every day for the past year and I also used the disneycruiselineblog.com for my research. I believe this helped me maximize my whole Disney experience. Special thanks to everyone that answered my questions.

My next cruise will most likely be Carnival at almost half the cost. Yes, it will not be as impressive as a Disney Cruise, but my bank account will appreciate the relief!

Go to http://disneycruiselineblog.com/ and select Personal Navigators under the Cruise Planning tab. Then select The Dream.

Is lobster serves on a 6 night cruise?

They should but since Disney rarely does a 6 day cruise there isn't much to validate my guess. The only 6 day Bahamian cruise even offered for the 2015 and 2016 seasons is one 6-night Bahamian cruise on the Wonder out of Galveston on December 18, 2015.

Lobster is traditionally served on the second formal night (it used to be listed as semi-formal night). Many other cruise lines offer Lobster on the first formal night just so you're prepared.

 

Unlike cruisefamilyforever, my most recent lobster tail on DCL wasn't very good. My first was so overdone that it was practically a puddle on the plate once removed from the shell. My second was somewhat overcooked but okay. Disney also serves their lobster tails with rice and a bean mixture and bakes them with paprika on top.

 

For me, the better one is one the final night menu on the 7 night - it's the Sea Ya Real Soon menu. It's a pasta dish which has a variety of seafood including a lobster tail (along with scallops, shrimp and clams).

 

Wow, they killed your lobster. I have to agree with you that usually the lobster is nothing to write home about on ships. My four tails were brought out together not over anything and they were twice as big as the one in your picture. They were cooked to perfection! I usually ordered four different entrees every night, but lobster night I went all in and they were wonderful!

Do they on 7 night cruises?

All of the 7 day cruises have lobster on one night. On the Fantasy this past May I ordered four of them because I love lobster. They were pretty big tails which were perfectly cooked.:)

We had cabin 7675 on the Dream which is located aft. Our virtual porthole was oriented to the starboard side of the ship if you could see through walls. Our view was also the starboard side of the ship. We all loved the virtual porthole. You definitely don't feel like you are in an inside cabin and you will have endless Disney character and firework entertainment that will appear every few minutes. I always left the screen on so I'd know when the sun came up.

My son just corrected me this morning. Replace port side for everything I stated above. Also, I agree the fuzzy night view could be annoying to some.

Private trip insurance is far superior to anything that any of the cruise lines offer! It provides wider coverage, full refunds and high dollar medical and air evacuation coverage. To top it off, it's significantly less costly. I have used insuremytrip.com but my go to now is through USAA which may not be an option for you.

The bad news for you is by not purchasing cruise insurance shortly after your initial payment you will not be covered by preexisting conditions. It is still possible to cover preexisting conditions from some carriers but it will come at a premium cost. As stated, you may still get the coverage through the cruise line.

Hopefully, no one in your party has any preexisting conditions, so you will still be able to get the better travel insurance.

I'm going to steer you a different direction since this is your first cruise. Since you have nothing to compare, I would take a 7 day Carnival cruise. It will be a lot cheaper than RCI and way less than Disney. Select a larger newer ship and just use the ratings on Cruise Critic to guide you.

I guarantee you will have fun and then you can see if cruising is a good fit for your family. If it is, then go on RCI next followed by Disney. If you do them in this order they will all be good experiences but you will indeed notice why each cruise cost more than the previous one.

I have been on Carnival twice, Disney twice and RCI once. All were good cruises but all had advantages and disadvantages when compared to each other.

Regardless of what you do, as previously stated the longer the cruise the better!

We had cabin 7675 on the Dream which is located aft. Our virtual porthole was oriented to the starboard side of the ship if you could see through walls. Our view was also the starboard side of the ship. We all loved the virtual porthole. You definitely don't feel like you are in an inside cabin and you will have endless Disney character and firework entertainment that will appear every few minutes. I always left the screen on so I'd know when the sun came up.

Disney only sails Alaska from late May to mid August. Alaskan cruises rarely are available earlier than May or later than September from any cruise line.

We just got off the Fantasy last week and I'm working on a very detailed day by day cruise review, but I'll chime in on our soda experience now. The soda and tea out of the dispensers on the pool deck, Cabanas and from Enchanted Garden was terrible tasting. There was a strong citrus flavor in the regular coke and water, and the tea was extremely bitter. Many people said they all tasted funny. I even stood at the dispenser and asked people if the coke tasted good to them. Everyone I talked to said it tasted funny. It was so bad I went to guest services with a sample of the coke and they agreed it had a strong citrus smell.

I told them my family drinks coke and the product coming out of the dispensers was undrinkable. They asked how many cans I would need a day to meet my family's needs and I told them 8. They delivered 8 cans of coke to my stateroom every morning for the entire cruise. I even carried the cans into the dining rooms. Our waiters said they would bring us cans at no charge if we needed them. Now that is customer service!

I agree with moki'smommy. Coronado Springs is plain Jane. It has the worst food court for kids and it's my least favorite hotel on the property. For value resorts I also recommend Art of Animation where my family recently stayed for a week. For intermediate resorts I recommend Port Orleans French Quarter. Both of these resorts are unique, have great pools and family friendly food courts. They also have dedicated resort buses.

Just came off the Fantasy and I have been on the Dream too. The pools are extremely small compared to similar sized ships of their age. The pool in the Vibe area is looks like an oversized hot tub. The two kids pools do get really full and there really isn't much room to do much. This has been a criticism since the ship sailed.

That being said there are plenty of other things for your kids to do. Early morning, evening and in port pool use is best. They will love the AquaDuck which is not an option on the Allure.

You can't go wrong with either cruise option. My vote would be to do Disney now while your kids are young and do the Allure next. They both will be great cruises.

Don't worry you are still going on a cruise and I'm sure your whole family will have a great time. Of course you will be comparing it to Disney throughout your trip. You will miss some things from Disney, but you will enjoy some new experiences on RCCL.

My family has done both cruise lines and Carnival too. All were fun and all had their unique points. The entertainment on our RCCL cruise last summer was very good. The food on the buffet was very disappointing. The main dining room food would win last place for the 5 cruises I've been on so far. The staff was the least friendly I encountered so far. Also, housekeeping on the ship was not up to par. We were on the Freedom of the Sea which was one of the highest rated ships by Cruise Critic when I booked it.

We still had a great cruise, but if I compared it to Disney it wouldn't even be close. However, I think you should cruise on several lines to see what they offer. We are going on the Fantasy this Saturday because we think Disney does a great job of providing a wonderful experience. For the record when we sailed on the Disney Dream we were all in Awe for the entire experience. I can't say that with the other lines we have been on so far.

We cruise on Disney for a treat, because the cost when we need to vacation is so high compared to other lines for the same time frame. I normally like to spend around $5,000 for a weeks vacation and with a family of four it's almost impossible to that with our schedule with Disney. This trip will cost me about $6,200 with tips and insurance for one non balcony cabin. A similar trip on RCCL would be a whole lot less as you have found out.

That being said, no buddy beats the Disney Experience in my opinion. Relax you will have fun and please share your experience when you return. I will be posting a detailed report with comparisons when we get back from this cruise.

We our sailing on the Fantasy this Saturday and I would like to provide a useful trip report people would like to view. As many of you know I have asked several questions over the past year to help plan my cruise. The responses and expertise provided will ensure my family gets the most out of our cruise. I really appreciate all of the people that provided guidance.

My plan is to post a very thorough report with lots of pictures when I return. I will be using a Nikon Coolpix compact camera. I have never posted pictures on this board before, so I'm looking for advice on what works best as far as settings. Also, is it better to write the report and attach pictures in another format off the board and import them. Need advice and recommendations of what works for the board.

Also, let me know what you would like to see or know about my families experience and I will try to capture it as the trip unfolds.

I cut and pasted this from the Disney cruise line Blog.

Disney Cruise Line began sending emails to travel agents and guest booked aboard this Friday’s 15-Night Eastbound Transatlantic Cruise that the scheduled call in St. John’s, Newfoundland on May 21, 2015 will be changed as a result of excessive amounts of larger pieces of ice off the coast. Additionally, due tot the distance needed to sail around these conditions the Disney Magic will be unable to call in Reykjavik, Iceland as originally scheduled on May 25, 2015.

The good news is that Disney Cruise Line has found alternative ports to visit rather than addition of two sea days. On May 20th, the Disney Magic will call on Halifax, Nova Scotia. May 25th will now be a day at sea. May 27th will change from a sea day to a call in Stavanger, Norway.

Map Magic 15 Night Eastbound Transatlantic Itinerary A Altered

Port Canaveral • At Sea • At Sea • New York • At Sea • Halifax, Nova Scotia • At Sea • At Sea • At Sea • At Sea • At Sea • At Sea • Stavanger • Oslo • Copenhagen

Disney Cruise Line understands this is disappointing, but hopes that passengers understand that the safety and well-being of their Guests, Crew Members and ship are their highest priority.

Any previously pre-reserved Port Adventures for St. John’s and Reykjavik have been automatically removed from your guests’ stateroom accounts. Guests wishing to plan for Port Adventures in Halifax and Stavanger may do so once onboard the Disney Magic at the Port Adventures Desk located on Deck 3, Midship.

The cruise directors for this sailing will be both Brent and Natalie and the Captain will be John Barwis.

Here is the link:

http://www.bamboobeachclub.com/BambooBeachClub.html

All I did was Google it.

Thanks for all of your answers moki'smommy. I guess we are going to do it. I'll let everyone know how it all went in my trip report when I get back.

I'm looking for details from anyone who has participated in the 5K on a recent cruise.

We will be at Castaway Cay on 29 May with an ashore time of 9:45. To my surprise my daughter has just informed me she would like to participate in the 5K with me by her side. I'm 55 and not a runner. We have been to the island before so I know how hot it can be, but the projected temperatures for what it's worth at this stage are 77 to 79. This is actually cooler than I expected and being from Florida we are used to the heat.

Here are some of my questions:

Can you walk the whole course?

Does everyone get a medal?

Is there a charge to participate?

I know there is a meeting prior to getting off the ship but do all of the participants get off the ship first?

Do you have to preregister before the meeting to participate?

Do they still have race shirts for sale and how much do they cost?

Thank you!

Consider May ... I know May isn't summer. You can still get less than $100 USD per day per person (plus tax/fee) for Panama Canal full crossing. But I am sure this is still not value to many people. And Disney as a brand can hardly be associated to the word "value" to begin with.

We never go on anything longer than a 8 day cruise and we can usually only go in June. This was a one time chance for us to go at the end of May. Also, I just checked and the only cruise that came up was a 14 day Panama Canal on May 1, 2016 for a category 10C inside. It would be $117.41 per night which I consider a great price but it just doesn't work for us.

We pretty much are guaranteed to pay $200 plus per night for our situation cruising with Disney. Remember, we going to Alaska after this Disney cruise.

Disney's current price for a Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah (Category 05B) would cost me $321.38 per night per, per person with 4 people in the room for a 7-Night Alaskan Cruise on Disney Wonder on 7 Jun 2016. A balcony is a must for this cruise for me and this is the cheapest price currently showing.

As Moki mentioned, disney only has four ships to fill, and they fill them just about every trip. Using another site that tracks cruise prices, Disney rarely goes below $100 per person per day, when many cruise lines get below $50. There are some bargins, but most seem to be full price $135 or so per day.

I wish I could cruise on Disney for anything close to $135 a night during the summer. My upcoming cruise is costing me $198.59 per night with a discount! To be clear I'm not including standard tips ($336) and cruise insurance through USAA ($264) in my cost.

I booked my cruise on the Fantasy a year in advance and we sail on May 23, 2015 for a 7-day Eastern Caribbean for 4 people in a category 8c, deluxe family oceanview. I actually got a discount with my TA which saved me a few hundred dollars off the Disney Cruise site. We have sailed Disney before so I know most of the ways to save money when booking, but we always need to sail in the summer when the prices are higher.

Yes Disney costs a whole lot more than most of the popular cruise lines out there. I had 2 cabins and 5 people on the RCC Freedom of the Seas last summer and I paid $500 less than my upcoming Disney cruise.

However, we really like Disney cruises better. They really have many extra touches that make you feel special. The drawback is you will pay a whole lot more so we consider it a treat. My next cruise will not be with Disney because we are heading to Alaska and I just can't justify the extreme difference in price.

If you have very deep pockets Disney provides an incredible experience, but there are lots of other cruise options out there that provide a nice experience too. In the end you need to read lots of reviews and decide if Disney will be worth it to your family.

My motto is no cruise is a bad cruise unless it loses power or sinks!

Yes, the one closest to the port (Port Canaveral).

 

As I mentioned in my original post, we never take the shuttle. My one splurge is parking at the port. When it is over, I do not want to wait for any shuttle (or going to the ship either-especially 90 minutes!).

 

We've also stayed at the Radisson, which is very close to the port, too. (And, to the Manatee Park!) IMHO, they are about the same. Except breakfast is included at CI&S. At the Radisson, we walked across the street to the McDonalds.

We have stayed there a few times and we always park at the main port parking garage for the same reason. We were just there last June and it was fine, no issues. We will be staying there again next month. I'm paying $129.12 including all tax for a Friday night for my family of four this time around. Staying there is fun because almost all of the guests are jumping on a cruise ship the next morning.

I think you will be fine. I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

Cruisefamilyforever, I have the cabins now that I had originally asked for....6652 & 6654. They will both sleep 4! A mistake had been made and we were booked into 6552 & 6554, which I was told would sleep max 3 each. I am now a happy girl!

 

Thanks for the tip on Disneycruiselineblog. I will check it out for sure!

You will love those rooms. They have plenty of room and they are close to where we were on the Dream. Both rooms have a queen-size bed, a single convertible sofa and upper berth pull-down bed so four people will sleep comfortably. We all slept like babies and thought the beds could not have been any better. My son loved the pull down because the ceiling above the bed looks like you are staring at the stars in the sky at night. Storage is better than any other cruise line I've been on and bathrooms are as good as it gets.

I hope you all have a lovely and magical cruise!

You can go to the Disneycruiselineblog and look at the Personal Navigators from past cruises on the timeframe you are considering. Each day they show the temperature ranges and weather forecast. This may help you plan.

If you have kids and are from up north they will think the water temp is just fine. Trust me.:)

As a retired military member I have checked with ITT on many occasions and come to the conclusion you will end up with less choices and will be paying more using them. I highly recommend you monitor the Disneycruiselineblog daily and you will see when many discounts including military are available. You can also go to the Disney cruise page daily and look up military discounts.

The discounts are pretty significant, but I have never been able to take one because they are always offered other than prime cruising time. They have some right now but I usually cruise in June, so I book as far out as possible with a TA to secure the lowest price. As long as you can cruise during a non holiday time you should be able to get a discount. If you want to cruise in the summer, spring break, or any holidays forget about a military discount or much of a discount period.