Just of the Magic.... Where's the magic?

[jeremybe]

I'm going to post a formal review in a few days - I've cruised on many different cruiselines, Windstar, Royal Carribean, Norwegian, Carnival and Celebrity - As a huge Disney fan, frankly I was expecting a lot more and I while I enjoyed the trip I did not think it was worth the 100% premium Disney charges over the other lines - Here are the positives:

 

 

The way they treated my 1 1/2 year old daughter was just incredible - When my daughter was throwing a fit during dinner, my waiter actually cut up my steak for me so I could eat in between her screaming!

 

The kids crew is just great, from the nursery to the Oceaneers club - They just were terrific

 

The Entertainment, much better than I have seen on any of the other cruise lines - way above everyone else

 

one word... PALO's

 

The characters everywhere

 

 

The Negatives:

 

The ship..... Its just laid out poorly with not much to do compared with the other lines - The deck lay out is horrible - You can never get a place to sit, you're always fighting for a lounge chair

 

As you've all read, avoid a cabin on deck 8 or you'll be hearing noise from above all the time

 

on our specific cruise they were doing maintenance on Mickeys pool, next to our room - work started at 8:am and went on until 9:30 PM preventing our 1 1/2 year old from sleeping and destroying 2 days of our cruise.. To which disney just said..."Sorry"...

 

The variety of entertainment, its just not there.. You basically have 2 adult options at night - While excellent its just not enough

 

The food - Dinner was good, but breakfast was lousy and lunch was even worse - It would be nice if there was a Salad bar ! There is no variety at all

 

 

Basically we had a very nice time, but so not worth the $$ - You're paying for the characters and not much else.... Disney charges as much as Oceania... I mean come on for that kind of $$ this should have been a 5 star event..

 

If you've never been on a cruise before you'll love it, but if you've been on any other cruise line (except maybe Carnival) you'll ask yourself... WHY...???

[Friscorays]

.....

 

The way they treated my 1 1/2 year old daughter was just incredible - When my daughter was throwing a fit during dinner, my waiter actually cut up my steak for me so I could eat in between her screaming!

 

The kids crew is just great, from the nursery to the Oceaneers club - They just were terrific

 

The Entertainment, much better than I have seen on any of the other cruise lines - way above everyone else

 

The characters everywhere

 

If you've never been on a cruise before you'll love it, but if you've been on any other cruise line (except maybe Carnival) you'll ask yourself... WHY...???

 

.....

 

Didn't you kind of answer your own question? Don't most people cruise Disney primarily for the experience that they provide for children?

 

I've cruised on Oceania, Regent, Crystal, etc. While I had a great time on those lines, I would never consider bringing a child along as they offer essentially zero in the way of entertainment for children.

[familycruzr]

Didn't you kind of answer your own question? Don't most people cruise Disney primarily for the experience that they provide for children?

 

That's why I cruised with Disney. I did it twice when my kids were younger because the kids program is amazing! Now that they are teens, it's no longer worth the premium.

[inkmahm]

I've cruised 3 times with Disney and twice with Princess (Alaska) so far. I have no kids, just a husband. We love both lines for different reasons. Disney entertainment is WAY better than Princess. The food is about the same on both, Disney maybe a bit better. We love the Magic and Wonder. I think both were laid out much better than the Princess Diamond (you can't get there from here for some of the dining rooms.) Princess does an excellent job with Alaska so it will always be our favorite for traveling there. We will try Disney in 2011 for Alaska just to see what they can do, but we don't expect it to be Princess quality.

[ducklite]

We're cruising with DCL on our next cruise because we wanted a Florida port and a shorter (under one week) cruise next year. And a caveat, we wanted to bring our own wine aboard. That left us with one choice.

 

Moving forward we expect to cruise Regent to Alaska, the Mediterranean, and the Baltics, and most likely a river barge cruise charter in France with a few other couples in a few years. After that, who knows?

 

I think everyone has their own reasons for the line they choose, which range from anything from food to personalized service to childrens activities to enrichment/education for adults to ports of call to stateroom layout to wine list to the color of the bathrobes.

 

A few years ago I learned the hard way how important it is to choose the right cruise line for your situation, and how choosing the wrong line can really have a negative impact.

 

It's unfortunate that Jeremybe didn't research the things that were important to him (ie adult entertainment, quiet cabin areas, etc.) and make a better informed decision. And for the record, if you thought the food was bad on DCL, don't even book RCCL--my guess is that they get better food in prison unless you pay the extra $20+ per person to eat at one of the specialty restaurants.

[jeremybe]

 

It's unfortunate that Jeremybe didn't research the things that were important to him (ie adult entertainment, quiet cabin areas, etc.) and make a better informed decision. And for the record, if you thought the food was bad on DCL, don't even book RCCL--my guess is that they get better food in prison unless you pay the extra $20+ per person to eat at one of the specialty restaurants.

 

I actually researched it very well - Made the mistake of getting Deck 8 - that was my own fault - Maybe I'm just used to modern ships??? I've had no problem with the food on RCL at least they have a salad bar - Dont get me wrong, I enjoyed the trip, but honesty after spending time with our baby on the NCL Spirit last year and seeing how NCL's crew were with the KIDS, I dont see whats so special about Disney - Outside of the price - And this is coming from a huge Disney fan.

 

Basically - Disney is great if you have kids and thats your primary purpose for going, to dump your kids in Day Care - otherwise I do not feel it was worth it - Maybe the new ships will be laid out better, have a salad bar etc..

[hansolosmom]

Did you only go to topsiders for breakfast & lunch?

 

Lumiere's has a wonderful breakfast - the kids can't wait till we go back they want the french toast, I want the eggs bendict

 

Are you sure there's no salad bar - I'm pretty sure when we were on there was a salad bar - it may not have been separate but mixed in with the other buffet items.

I know Goofy's Gallery had pre-made salads, sandwhiches & fruit - it was my favorite place for lunch

[mong1114]

I just came off the Magic as well and was going to post a similar review. I coudn't agree more!

[redwinger]

Must agree with the original poster on many things, but especially the value obtained for the premium price paid. We have done 2 Wonder cruises in the last 3 years with grandkids, and the next 2 granddaughters will not be sailing Disney, at least with us. With 2 new and even larger ships soon to hit the scene, at the current price level, the decline in the food and service overall, and the many other new competing ships about to hit the cruising scene, Disney better be paying attention to it's past cruisers and their experience. Can they spell NCL and Nickelodeon? cheers

[Host Mick]

I'm going to post a formal review in a few days - I've cruised on many different cruiselines, Windstar, Royal Carribean, Norwegian, Carnival and Celebrity - As a huge Disney fan, frankly I was expecting a lot more and I while I enjoyed the trip I did not think it was worth the 100% premium Disney charges over the other lines - Here are the positives:

 

 

The way they treated my 1 1/2 year old daughter was just incredible - When my daughter was throwing a fit during dinner, my waiter actually cut up my steak for me so I could eat in between her screaming!

...

 

Did I read that right? You stayed in the dining room while your daughter was screaming?

[ducklite]

Did I read that right? You stayed in the dining room while your daughter was screaming?

 

I wondered about that as well...

[mong1114]

The dining rooms were so noisy, with lots of screaming, I'm sure nobody noticed her child screaming!

[ducklite]

The dining rooms were so noisy, with lots of screaming, I'm sure nobody noticed her child screaming!

 

I doubt that. I certainly would have noticed a child screaming long enough at the table next to me that the father had to have the server cut up his meat, even in a busy dining room. It's a shame that people don't simply leave when their children are having trouble using indoor voices--it really ruins everyone's dinner.

[jeremybe]

Let me restate that ... My 1 1/2 year old daughter decided she was done with dinner and decided to throw a tantrum as most 1 1/2 year olds do - Anyway - I did try calming her down and when that did not work, I left the dining room with her - The entire incident lasted less than 5 minutes (although it felt like a lifetime)- While trying to calm her down (our food had just come) our waiter cut up the steak, an extremely nice gesture - And when I left the dining room with her, he actually had the steak sent to our room as room service - As I stated earlier the crew was great.

 

No other cruisers were impacted - As Mong said, the dining rooms were very noisy and children screaming is pretty much the norm on Disney.

 

Since I've posted my initial comments, a number of other passengers have come forward and stated the same thing, echoing my sentiments - Too much of a premium for a bunch of people in costumes....

 

I really hope Disney does improve on their new ships....

[collectormm]

We have sailed quite a few times with Disney, without kids. It is very annoying in the dining rooms when a child is screaming and you are trying to have a nice dinner. By the way, there is a salad bar on board.

[ducklite]

Five minutes of screaming in a dining room is four minutes too long. Period. And yes, I'm a parent.

[mong1114]

I think the thread kind of got off track, the point was the review, not how long the child threw a tantrum. I have noticed a trend on some of these threads though. As soon as someone gives an honest review and says anything negative about a Disney cruise, they tend to come under fire. I, for one, appreciate your honesty and wish there was more of it. Saying something negative about your experience is not an insult to those who enjoyed their cruise.

[ducklite]

I have no problem with a negative review, as long as it's objective. Instead of saying the food was bad, it would be helpful to know why people thought it was bad--cold, too bland, to spicey, poor selection, etc. And when we were on the Magic, there was a salad bar in the buffet restaurant. It wasn't a huge one, but it was definitely there. It's unfortunate that the OP didn't notice it--I'm wondering if he took the time to ask if it was that important to him? We had breakfast in our cabin each morning and it was always served piping hot and really tasty.

 

We never had a problem finding a place to sit, although we also weren't vying for front row on the family pool. (Again, more information would be helpful. Does the poster mean there wasn't a single seat on the deck, or there wasn't a seat in a specific place that they wanted to sit?)

 

I agree that there was noise above our cabin on Deck 8, it wasn't constant and never ending--and we were midships where the bulk of the noise was. But frankly it was never bad enough to disturb us or keep us from sleeping, and I'm a pretty light sleeper.

 

Considering that as well as entertainment for adults they also need to have space for kid and family entertainment, I think Disney does an OK job with providing something for everyone. That is a situation that should have been researched in advance. DCL doesn't have a casino or multiple cocktail lounges like other ships, although it has at least three adult only evenings venues--the Cove Cafe, Sessions, and Rockin Bar D (after 11:00 pm). That lack of a casino is one of the main reasons that DCL charges a premium above most other lines--they lose a lot of revenue by skipping that feature.

 

Another difference between DCL and other lines is that they don't nickel and dime you to death. When we sailed on RCCL it seemed that everything cost extra. Just to get ice cream or a burger during the afternoon you had to shell out $5-10. A small cup of soda was $2. On DCL things like soda, juice, ice cream, afternoon snacks, etc. are included. Depending on the individual cruiser, those things really, really add up.

 

Bottom line I don't think DCL is perfect, we had a few crisitcisms when we got off the last time--one was that they closed the running area for cleaning prior to 7:00 am each morning and as soon as they opened it it was full of walkers dawdling alone who walked 2-3 abreast so runners couldn't pass. But the criticisms that we had were specific and not due to our lack of research. That's the difference.

 

(And I still hold that five minutes of meltdown is four minutes too long in a dining room/restaurant be it on a ship or in Olive Garden back home.)

[sallen31]

I noticed some of the mean replies when a person is merely giving their opinion of their experience. Kids cry, parents need to eat, its a Disney Cruise with kids, it is what it is, if people can't handle crying, try a different cruise line, but don't make nasty posts on this website, its rude and not necessary. I just got off the Disney Magic on Saturday, and I had several complaints and/or issues, I will not be sailing Disney anytime in the near future. Yes, maybe I will again, but no time soon. Service was slow, food was good, and yes there was salad, but not a great selection. There were many good things, but I remember the not so good. An hour wait for room service, slow service at dinner and we did not stop at Castaway Cay, due to weather. I know Disney does not control weather, but it was a disappointing. Thats my opinion. I did send a letter of complaint to them a few minutes ago, so depending on how they respond will determine the next time I sail Disney.

[sallen31]

By the way, Ducklite must work for Disney Cruise Lines

[ducklite]

I noticed some of the mean replies when a person is merely giving their opinion of their experience. Kids cry, parents need to eat, its a Disney Cruise with kids, it is what it is, if people can't handle crying, try a different cruise line, but don't make nasty posts on this website, its rude and not necessary.

 

Your opinion. In my opinion part of being a parent is to not be SELFISH and to leave the table with your child when they are screaming or having a tantrum and take them outside until they calm down. If you aren't up for that, then maybe you should rethink parenthood.

 

Keep in mind that DCL and Disney in general are NOT just for kids--a common misconception--but for people of all ages. If they were jsut for children, then they wouldn't spend millions of dollars a year advertising in market segments geared towards weddings, honeymoons, and empty-nesters.

[ducklite]

By the way, Ducklite must work for Disney Cruise Lines

 

They don't pay enough or I might consider it.

[sallen31]

Maybe we shouldn't focus on a situation that we weren't present for, the child at the dinner. I think the point of the post was to give an opinion not be judged as parents. Who judges parenthood based on a post? Guess some people do. Just got off the cruise, although not all children, keep it real mostly families on the ship.

[sallen31]

To all the people reading our posts, if you are trying to decide on a Disney Cruise, I would still say go!!! It has been a dream of mine to go on a Disney Cruise, and at the end of the day I'm happy that I went. I definitely would not want to discourage anyone from going. If you have children I'm sure they will have an awesome time, my 3 year old did. Although not perfect, and what is, Disney is Disney and they have lots to offer. I did absolutely love the food!!!!! When I had an issue, they did their best to rectify it.

[mong1114]

That was pretty uncalled for in my opinion :(

 

I dont think there is any reason for you to be so snarky - everyone has a right to their own opinion!

Agreed! People shouldn't take offense if someone says their experience was less than perfect, and they certainly should not go on the attack. I didn't find anything offensive about the review.