TCM/DCL cruises

[HappyPig]

Sorry I am pasting from another forum, but I was hoping my DCL fans might have some answers regarding Turner Classic Movie (TCM) Cruises. We are debating trying to book for the 2020 Fantasy offering. TIA!!

PS: See you on DCL Fantasy 11/2/2019!!

 

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Re: TCM 2020

We are so very tempted! We love old movies and this (or the movie festival in LA) has been on our bucket list forever.

We have been on 5 Disney cruises, and love DCL!

We are kinda wondering about a couple things, if anybody has done one of the TCM offerings before:

- do they offer movie-themed activities/speakers/showing, even on port days?

- is there phased dining for major talks or showings, like they do for live shows on DCL (early vs later rotation)

- are Remy and Palo open for brunch or dinner?

- are the Marvel/Disney themed areas (usually kids clubs) open for aging adults given this is arguably a grownup-themed cruise?

- is the Senses spa open for the cruise?

Sorry to be so quizzy but this could really upset our currently booked DCL Fantasy cruise in Nov 2020 and we may need to use that deposit/marker for a later vacation!

Thank you so much if you have any insight!!

Best,

Erica (HappyPig) and Eddie

 

 

[kstetser]

I had no idea this was even a "thing" on DCL - sounds very interesting!  (We next sail the Fantasy on Christmas this year!)

 

 

[Cedricandsophie]

We have gone on all the TCM cruises and are going on the magic in Oct 2019 for the next one,  we will sign up for 2020 too.  The first two TCM cruises were on Celebrity, then they moved to Disney.  There have been 7 TCM cruises in all. 

 

This year the stars include Cecily Tyson, Diane Ladd and Mitzi Gaynor,  there are usually TCM hosts and  historians too and musical acts.  There is usually one fancy party where lots of people dress up in whatever theme is selected.  

 

They are wonderful fun.  We have met many movie stars like Eva Marie saint, kim Novak, richard Dreyfus, Robert Wagner, Angie Dickenson, Diane lane, and so many others.  And we are platinum on Disney so we obviously love the DCL line

 

They are are very different than a reg Disney Cruise.  Other than a glimpse of Mickey at the going away party, there are no characters.  If there are children, and there are very few children on these cruises, the characters appear in the kids club.  

 

Remy and Palo are available for booking.

 

the dining is the same, two seatings, your servers follow you from restaurant to restaurant. But the Disney theming is gone,  for instance,no Rapunzel show on the Magic.  

 

The interviews are scheduled so that everyone regardless of dining time has a chance to see them.  We always do late dining, so an interview with an actor might be at 630 one night, which we would go to, and then 8 pm the next time, so someone in early seating can go. 

 

The movies will will be shown at multiple times too.  

 

I will say the MDRs are sparsely populated.  Lots of empty tables because either people are doing other things or don’t care about the dining experience which we love.  

 

On port days, there are typically not a lot of activities on board. 

 

Obviously we love the TCM cruises.  And because we are regulars, we get to signup early.  We haven’t missed one yet.  

[cantgetin]

The easiest way to explain this is that they take a "usual" cruise and add the TCM features.  Yes, spa, restaurants, etc. are all the same.  The Oceaneer's Lab and Club are open to adults during open house hours.  I've not seen them have "adult only" hours on short cruises as they do on trans-Atlantic crossings.

[diraebrad]

I'm planning on booking for the 2020 cruise - hits two things on my bucket list.  The TCM cruise and DCL.  I wanted to go on a TCM cruise and when they stopped I thought I'd missed my chance.  So glad they brought it back.  I've also had DCL on my list - a big Disney fan but the extra cost over other cruises has stopped me in the past.  Thanks for the info about how the features are different - I had some of the same questions.  For those who have been on DCL I'm trying to decide on cabin (depending on what's available Oct. 1 when I can book).  I'm looking at the Obstructed Ocean View and the Navigator Verandah (which is significantly more, and I travel solo).  Is the Navigator Verandah worth the extra cost?

[CruiserDoll]

I’ve been on all the TCM cruises - 2 on celebrity and the 5th one coming up in 3 weeks on Disney.  

 

The kid’s clubs do have adult times to meet the characters.  They are not publicized, but they are posted by Guest Services and maybe in the Navigator.   There are rarely more than a few people there and we have gotten several photos of us with all the characters at one time.  Although there are very few children on board (maybe 20 kids total), adults can not freely walk into the children’s areas at any time.  The characters do not roam the ship. 

 

All restaurants and and spa service are open as usual. They usually keep the buffet open at dinner time since many people miss their dinners because they’re doing other activities. The “main attractions” like celebrity interviews are done twice during the cruise, once during early dinner and once during late dinner, so everyone gets a chance to go. 

 

There are are no Disney shows. Everything is programmed by TCM. Everyone on the cruise is there as part of the TCM group.  There are a few “standard” ship things like whiskey tasting, bingo, music trivia, etc.  There is also TCM Bingo with Ben and movie trivia hosted by TCM (in the past, it’s mostly been hosted by Alex Trebek, but he can’t make it this year). 

 

On port days, they usually just have reshowings of movies, but without introductions and interviews.  We are in port overnight on the upcoming cruise and they do have evening programming, but the daytime schedule right now is blank, but they will at least have movies playing in Buena Vista  and possibly in Walt Disney theater and poolside during the day. 

 

You get free popcorn at the the theaters. We have had quite a few popcorn dinners when we can’t get to the dining room 🙂

 

I have not not been on a Disney cruise except with TCM, so I don’t know if the next thing is true of Disney cruises in general. There is virtually no “ship selling” during the cruise. On RCL, NCL, MSC and others, they always seem to be pushing shopping with “special” sales tables set up by the pool or in the atriums.  None of that on the TCM cruise. I love it - it is so relaxing to not be constantly barraged by sales every time you go out to walk around the decks. 

 

We signed up for 2020 already. 

Edited October 1, 2019 by CruiserDoll

[wassuup3358]

Thank you for the information me and my husband are going to sign up for the TCM cruise on the Fantasy in 2020.  We are very excited we love cruising and love TCM.  One question for people who have been on the Fantasy, I am looking at Deluxe Ocean View w/Verandah on deck 6.  There are clubs kid ones I believe on deck 5 at midship. If we get a room midship will we hear lots of noise from the clubs below?

Thanks so much for your help.  Looking forward to TCM cruise Oct. 2020.

[Cedricandsophie]

We have been on the fantasy many times in cabins all over the ship including on the same floor as the kids clubs. I’ve never had a problem anywhere with noise in the hall or above or below. 

[CruiserDoll]

On 10/1/2019 at 10:32 PM, wassuup3358 said:

Thank you for the information me and my husband are going to sign up for the TCM cruise on the Fantasy in 2020.  We are very excited we love cruising and love TCM.  One question for people who have been on the Fantasy, I am looking at Deluxe Ocean View w/Verandah on deck 6.  There are clubs kid ones I believe on deck 5 at midship. If we get a room midship will we hear lots of noise from the clubs below?

Thanks so much for your help.  Looking forward to TCM cruise Oct. 2020.

 

I think the number of children on a TCM Cruise has ranged from 7- 25. We talked to the nursery staff once and they said there were 2 babies on board and they had nothing to do. Trust me - there will be no noise from the kid’s areas. 

[JoseyP]

I am going on the TCM tomorrow!  for the first time.  this was good information.

There is a small thread for the cruise tomorrow, 2019 TCM

 

joseyP

[Cedricandsophie]

We just finished the lAtest TCM Cruise. Lots of fun. Cecily Tyson and Diane Ladd were intelligent and insightful. Mitzi Gaynor was sassy and still gorgeous. Lots of good movies, interviews and discussions.  We are signed up for the 2020 cruise also. 

[doctork]

I'll add my two cents on the TCM cruises.  We are still basking in the glow of the recent cruise and life just isn't the same when Ben, Eddie, Alicia and Dave are on TV instead of a few seats away on stage or the next table over at dinner!  We have been on the last four TCM cruises, and we booked the 2020 cruise as soon as it opened because the 2019 cruise sold out so quickly we had to sign up for the wait list and hope for the best.  It worked out, fortunately.

 

One can hardly tell it is a Disney cruise with TCM, though the Navigator does publish times to meet the characters - in the kids' club, since they are not otherwise visible on the ship.  One of the staffers for the kids club told me they had about 10 kids on this year's cruise; one of them was Ben's daughter.  Very few of the adult passengers bring kids or grandkids with them on the TCM cruise.

 

I've looked at other non-theme cruises on Disney and concur with the opinion voiced above - there are better values on other lines unless you are traveling with kids or really love all things Disney

[EJanss]

Just bumping this thread since the June 2020 TCM Classic Cruise (6n, Western Caribbean, on the Fantasy from Canaveral) has been emergency rescheduled for October 24-30, 2021, assuming DCL is back and cruising.
Which means I'm finally in time to sign up for one, but given the huge jump in price from 5-6 nights, I'd have to split an Access Standard Inside with another traveler.

 

It's a TCM charter, so most of the pertinent info is on TCM's site, but since conversation traffic there is a bit slow, like the OP, I'd thought discussion might be a little more active among the veteran cruisers.

(Er, I hope?)  🙄

 

Edited August 3, 2020 by EJanss

[gutterballs]

I'm out of my element.

 

Just going to post this once and follow, but nice job on all the pulp fiction references.