Anyone disappointed with the Disney Cruise?

[tsaintc]

I promise that this is a real question... We just came back from a 7 day cruise on the Fantasy, and in all honesty, it was just OK. Well, let me try to better explain the 'OK':

Pros/Likes:

• The ship was beautiful and the room was great (for a cruise ship)
• The ship was EXTREMELY clean and well-kept, including housekeeping
• The excursions @ St Maarten/St Thomas were great
• The stage shows were excellent
• On-ship activities were good

Cons/Disappointments:

• With the exception of Palo, the food was average at best
• The ship was too crowded (I see so many complaints about value resorts on this board, but the center of the ship is just a floating all-star main pool (minus a good pool)
• The pool situation was terrible; constantly packed (even in the 18+ sections)
• Service at dinner was average at best
• Castaway Cay was far too Disney-fied; it just seemed like an island version of their water parks. The beaches and snorkeling was completely man-made. This place is way overrated.

Overall, it was a good experience, but we were expecting a GREAT, once in a lifetime trip. However, i would struggle to recommend it to anyone. I personally cannot find a way to justify the huge premium that they charge.

Your thoughts??

 

[cbettua]

I guess everyone has their opinion! I loved every bit of the disney cruise and especially Castaway!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Wow! I don't hear reviews like yours often. Totally valid on all points, don't misunderstand me here. Just not what people usually have to say.

I do love the staterooms. Compared to what we had on RCI's Allure of the Seas, Disney's rooms are huge.

The food. Eh, I find it a solid step up overall from what I've had in WDW's restaurants (counter service thru signature). I think the main thing I enjoy is getting to the end of a meal and not being presented with a bill that hurts my feelings.

I, too, found the Fantasy during a busier travel time (end of May) to have a more crowded feel. This is why we prefer to do our cruising and all travel, really, when schools traditionally are in-session and non-holidays. Tends to be less people and a lower percentage of kids.

The pools. I've never compared the ships' pools to resort pools because they're so different. A ship is truly limited in space whereas a resort is not. I've only gotten in a cruise ship pool a couple times and it was during dinner or a port time so nobody was there. If the pools are crowded it's a solid no for me....so we rarely do the pools. Expectations for cruise ship pools can often be skewed by what people expect from their land/resort experiences. You simply can't compare the 2. It's not fair for you, the resort, or the ship. Personally, I don't cruise for pools. If I want a good pool-resort type experience I'll seek those out on land.

I've had crazy awesome servers and average ones who got the job done but not with anything special or noteworthy. I've had way worse service more consistently in WDW restaurants, that's for sure. Maybe we just had bad luck for a long time, I dunno. But on the ships at the very least we've had decent service almost always.

Castaway Cay. I'm not normally one to go to the beach. On CC I find all the Disney touches something worth going for. If there wasn't all the stuff out in the snorkel lagoon I wouldn't be likely to go. Now, I'm not one to jump on the bandwagon of folks who swear the island BBQ is sooooo great. That's for sure. But, if CC was just a beach and had snorkeling like any other snorkel destination, well, I'd just go to those places. Or not since I'm not really a beach person. LOL! On the flip side, one could easily say any/all the parks are a waste since they're all Disney-fied, manufactured environments. Yes?

Your thoughts/feelings are definitely valid and I see where you're coming from. As far as the ship experience and cruise itself I'd pretty much put the Fantasy as my least favorite of the 3 ships I've been on with Disney.

 

[Ralphlaw]

Yeah, the Fantasy definitely feels more crowded on deck than the Magic or Wonder, which is why we like the smaller ships better (except for the absence of the Aquaduck). This is perhaps one reason why the next round of ships are rumored to be a bit smaller than the Dream/Fantasy class. Indeed, finding a deck chair in the shade seemed nearly impossible on the Fantasy and Dream. You'd think they'd string up a screen or something to create more shade because, truly, you would sizzle in the sun. Nevertheless there definitely seems to be too many people and too little space for everyone.

Anyhow, one theory I have is that some of the best Cast Members, including wait staff, are on the Magic right now because it's in Europe. The Dream, especially, seems to be the first ship that new CM's are assigned to, so they're simply not as good. Also, the frequent embarkation days on the Dream are a killer on the staff. We were on the Dream last year at Christmas time, and we were not impressed. CM's didn't seem to be as good, things were a bit messier, and (Not to sound snobby) many of the guests were slobs--poorly dressed at dinner, loud, undisciplined children, etc . . . Our trip on the Fantasy, meanwhile, we thought was very good, but that was in March, 2013, when it first hit the seas. Things may have taken a step down since then.

Finally, we love Castaway Cay. Yeah, it's disneyfied, with very little true wild places, but I would strongly suggest taking a bike trip around the island, and coming back in a few years to see the snorkel area in its mature glory. We've been on Norwegian Cruise Lines' private island, and it's is a bland rock in the ocean compared to Disney's, IMO.

Anyway, thanks for your input. We may disagree respectfully about some of it, but I definitely could not say that your observations are invalid. Of course, we're crazy, our 6th Disney cruise sets off next year for the Baltic. We love Disney because there's always something for the kids to do, there's no casino, and the creepy men with drinks in hand and perversion on their minds seem to be absent. That and 100 other reasons.

 

[Phonedave]

Cons/Disappointments:

• With the exception of Palo, the food was average at best

I would not call it average at best - I would call it very good. I have had better (much better) but I have also had much much worse.

• The ship was too crowded (I see so many complaints about value resorts on this board, but the center of the ship is just a floating all-star main pool (minus a good pool)
• The pool situation was terrible; constantly packed (even in the 18+ sections)

Agreed - but then that is a cruise ship. Honestly, I don't even consider a pool on a ship to be something to look for. Plus, they are dirty - very dirty

• Service at dinner was average at best

Here I have to disagree. On three Disney cruises, my service has always been excellent.

• Castaway Cay was far too Disney-fied; it just seemed like an island version of their water parks. The beaches and snorkeling was completely man-made. This place is way overrated.

I dont find it over Disney-fied. I do think the snorkling is very poor. The beach is man made, but it is a nice beach. I don't think CC is any more special than many of the "real" tropical beaches I have been too. The facilities (bathrooms) and availability of "free" food makes it very nice. I don't find the food on CC to be so all fired great, but it is decent and it is nice to be able to just go and get something to eat.

Overall, it was a good experience, but we were expecting a GREAT, once in a lifetime trip. However, i would struggle to recommend it to anyone. I personally cannot find a way to justify the huge premium that they charge.

Your thoughts??

I think the Disney cruises are a very good vacation, but when looking at the prices of other cruises, I too find them hard to justify.


-dave

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I was only disappointed in the lack of shade on the Dream, it would have been nice to have more. I can see your point about Castaway Cay being Disneyfied, but that is part of the attraction for me. But to each their own opinion.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I think the Disney cruises are a very good vacation, but when looking at the prices of other cruises, I too find them hard to justify.

This. I love my Disney cruises but Disney isn't the only cruise line who does cruises well. If *only* I could convince the DH to go with another line for this fall! I'd already be booked!

 

[tsaintc]

I think the Disney cruises are a very good vacation, but when looking at the prices of other cruises, I too find them hard to justify.

This is sort of sums up my thoughts... Based on all of the feedback and comments from friends, our expectations were extremely high, maybe even unrealistic.

 

[disney4life2008]

This is sort of sums up my thoughts... Based on all of the feedback and comments from friends, our expectations were extremely high, maybe even unrealistic.

I have never been on DCL - its not that I can not afford it - the overall cost is what keeps me away. I have sailed on Carnival (bring out the hate - lol) 3 times and from start to finish each voyage was amazing. I have never read the food on any cruise ship to be amazing. Carnival really is average at best; however, like others mentioned - the fact I get no bill and can eat 24 hours a day - no complaint from me. The service on Carnival is exceptional. And back to cost - a 5 night sailing per person can be as cheap as $250 whereas DCL runs into the upper hundreds to thousands for similar experiences. What sets disney apart is CC - but even for me, that is not enough to get me on DCL. I am not a water/beach person so it would be a waste for me.

 

[rob0519]

Our first and only cruise was a 4 night on the Wonder in a 1bd concierge stateroom, so I have no complaints about the room nor any of the service we received anywhere on the ship. My only complaints about the food would be the menu in Parrot Day and the lack of any type of late night buffet, even on pirate night.

We're not beach people either, but we did like CC. Maybe because it was a classic ship, the beach didn't seem too crowded.

We would like to do another DCL cruise in the near future, but the release day prices are so much more than other cruise lines and just go and up in the following weeks.

 

[wdwstateofmind]

A lot of us go on DCL for the ships. I mean, come on, they are amazing compared to most lines. How many other cruise ship companies can say people at port, not even on the ship, line up to take pictures of it?

But on a serious note, we've only been on near capacity ships and one capacity one. There was always somewhere quiet whether it was in the district or cove cafe. You just have to treat the ship like your neighborhood and discover it. Besides, with the amount of children and drunk slobs in those pools, you don't want to go in anyways (they do close for water chemistry issues if you get my idea) giving you plenty of time to enjoy the vessel.

 

[Bolna]

This is sort of sums up my thoughts... Based on all of the feedback and comments from friends, our expectations were extremely high, maybe even unrealistic.

I think maybe your expectations were too high. I really tried before my first cruise to not get too high expectations.

But it also seems that maybe a cruise vacation is not your thing if a nice pool is important to you. A nice hotel on land will always have a nicer pool experience than the ship. I love to hang out on the loungers on deck 4 during sea days and watch the sea go by and never found it crowded there.

If you ever go on a Disney cruise again, if you find your dining room service not good enough, make your issue known to your servers, your head server or guest services. On our last cruise we thought service was a little too slow. We said something to our server on the second night and things did change afterwards.

On Castaway Cay: Did you go to Serenity Bay? I found that a very pleasant and very natural looking beach. I personally love CC for how it is such an easy day. No hassle with transportation, very nice and clean bathrooms, no worries about having to pay for umbrellas and beach chairs etc. I also have to say that I knew before my cruise that the snorkeling there is not serious snorkeling, that's why I made sure that one of my excursions included a real coral reef.

The food of course is just up to your personal taste. On my first cruise I was quite surprised how good it was as I had very low expectations. I had heard beforehand that cruise food is generally not that good. On my second cruise I was somehow less impressed. Both cruises we ended up eating at the buffet restaurant which turns into a table service at night and we thought that the food quality there was actually slightly better. It seemed fresher.

Sorry that you were disappointed! But I do get your points and I am sure there are others who feel the same!

 

[Much-Pixie-Dust]

@tsaintc I am sorry you were disappointed. There's nothing quite like that feeling to have spent thousands of dollars on something, only to feel "Meh" after it's over.

That being said, we just cruised this summer for the first time and had a wonderful time on the Dream. I never cruised before because I have major motion sickness and the fear of being stuck at sea without the ability to get off scared me. My only regret is not cruising sooner!

Loved Castaway Cay and booked a double dip cruise so we could have 2 days there. I love all of the Disney touches on the island.

I thought the food was great, expect for Pirate Night. It was not my cup of tea. We had excellent service staff who are simply true gems!

We did not care for the pools. They are simply too small to be functional for several thousand people.

We loved the entertainment options, the shows, the first-run movies, the artwork all over the ship, the character parties, and just sitting in a chair watching the ocean.

 

[crispy]

I have never been on DCL - its not that I can not afford it - the overall cost is what keeps me away. I have sailed on Carnival (bring out the hate - lol) 3 times and from start to finish each voyage was amazing. I have never read the food on any cruise ship to be amazing. Carnival really is average at best; however, like others mentioned - the fact I get no bill and can eat 24 hours a day - no complaint from me. The service on Carnival is exceptional. And back to cost - a 5 night sailing per person can be as cheap as $250 whereas DCL runs into the upper hundreds to thousands for similar experiences. What sets disney apart is CC - but even for me, that is not enough to get me on DCL. I am not a water/beach person so it would be a waste for me.

I have sailed Carnival and Norwegian and really enjoyed them both. I can't justify paying 4x the price for a Disney cruise because I doubt I would get 4x the enjoyment. Also, Carnival staterooms are bigger than those on most other ships which is a big perk for me.

 

[disney4life2008]

I have sailed Carnival and Norwegian and really enjoyed them both. I can't justify paying 4x the price for a Disney cruise because I doubt I would get 4x the enjoyment. Also, Carnival staterooms are bigger than those on most other ships which is a big perk for me.

Carnival gets a very bad rap (some deserved) but the cost is amazing as well as (like other cruises) everything is included. What also gets me to carnival is the casino - I love losing a few bucks on a cruise. And the rooms are spacious.

 

[MaryJaneP]

Sorry your cruise didn't meet your expectations. And your experience and opinions are valid, for you and others that feel the way you do. First timers need to hear both sides. Only way to set reasonable expectations is to discuss pros AND cons.

We have enjoyed our DCL trips even though they are very expensive. We went into them with the knowledge that we were paying top dollar and with some previous cruising experience on other lines. We are glad DCL does things a little differently than other cruise lines. We found the food and service on DCL to be above the average we have experienced elsewhere. We didn't cruise for the pools or Castaway Cay but we enjoyed them.

We do wonder, if your opinion is created by a combination of price plus experience. Would you have enjoyed your cruise more if the price was less but the experience was the same? Would you have enjoyed your cruise if the ship was less crowded but you paid more? More pools? Less people? No Castaway Cay?

Would it even be possible to have a GREAT experience on any ship? Please don't give up on trying new things, maybe DCL and/or cruising is not for everyone. We, like some on this forum, seem to enjoy the cruises.

 

[BigTxEars]

Only disappointed on the last day

Of course if I were to do this in really life :

It would be on this beauty:

and only some of ya'll would be invited on board

All you women folk would be invited, but you men folk might not be

P.S. That US Naval vessel is a beautiful ship as well

 

[durangojim]

OP you're forgetting you can bring your own booze on DCL. Bring enough and you'll forget about everything else!

Or maybe it'll just make things worse

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Speaking from experiencing two trips on the Dream in the last year, I can say both times we had great servers. Our frist go round our servers were EXCELLENT! So much so that our assistant server from September recognized us in February and came and talked with us every night at dinner. Our stateroom hosts were also great. They went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed. The food on both cruises was great. I can honestly say I only disliked 2 meals and it wasn’t because they were bad, but they just weren’t something I usually eat but wanted to give a try and they just weren’t something I enjoyed.

I do agree with the thing about the dress in the main dining rooms. I have seen some people dressed very sloppily and others dressed very nice. We like to be in the middle and towards the later. We wear dresses every night to dinner. Nothing fancy but we at least make ourselves presentable. I think if you don’t want to dress appropriately for dinner, that’s what the buffet or room service is for!

I personally don’t see that CC is too “Disney-fied” Yes there are Disney touches, but I don’t see anything too over the top. But even if things WERE over the top, it’s Disney’s own island. That’s the only Disney owned port you stop at on the cruises. People cruise DCL because they have a love for Disney. I would be disappointed if there was any LESS Disney on CC. If I wanted to visit ports without Disney, I would choose another line, plain and simple. Does it feel a little manufactured? Yes, but what other cruise line owns an island that hasn’t had any work done on it? To make it a place people can go and do things, it would have to have some things changed, taken away from and also added to it. No port is perfect without some human help!

I felt that on the cruise you get SO MUCH better service than at WDW. That’s one thing we were blown away by was the CMs on the ship. They are all so friendly and go out of their way to make everything perfect for you. I don’t think we passed a single CM that didn’t say hello or talk to us. At WDW we encountered many CMs who just walked past us without saying anything. WDW USED to be like that but in recent trips, we have seen that service go by the wayside. I’m not saying WDW CMs are terrible, but they just don’t put in as much effort it seems.

I will say I do agree about the pools. We don’t try and use the pools, especially on at sea days. There are far too many other things to do on the ship on at sea days. We like to do trivia and character meet and greets and try out some of the classes they offer on the ship (mixology, etc..) We hit the pools on port days when we don’t get off the ship. When we went in February, I don’t think the ship was even half full. It was AWESOME! We are trying the Fantasy in November so we shall see how this one compares. But having looked at photos of other cruise ship pools, not many of them seem to have a ton more room than DCL. There is only so much room you have on a ship, ya know?

As far as the pricing…. I actually priced out a 5 night on the Wonder for April as well as a 5 night on RCI. Both western Caribbean and both verandah rooms. With all things said and done (taxes, insurance, etc…) they came out about the same price. And with RCI, I had to factor in a soda and beverage package since you have to pay for those things. At least on DCL you get unlimited soda and can bring your own alcohol onboard if you choose.

It’s so hard to compare cruising and a WDW resort vacation. We priced out a 7 night on the Fantasy in a verandah room with 1 Palo brunch, 1 Palo dinner and 3 excursions. We then turned around and priced out 7 nights at Pop Century, quick service meals for the whole trip and park tickets for each day. Was Pop cheaper? You bet! But we knew by staying at Pop, we were going value and by eating QS all week, we wouldn’t be getting great food. We then priced out 7 nights at Wilderness Lodge (because we feel a deluxe resort is the same “kind” of room you would get on the cruise with a verandah room) 1 TS meal a day, 2 signature meals and park tickets. We felt like that whole package would be the most comparable as far as accommodations, service and food to the cruise. Once we did that, the cruise and the 7 nights at WDW were just about the same price. But people who are just as happy and content staying at Pop and eating at QS places all week at WDW may not see the value in DCL since they don’t “splurge” as much while at WDW. We like to stay at a moderate resort or higher and have at least 1 TS meal a day and a couple signature meals each trip. So we DO see the value in the cruises.

Everyone travels differently. There are times I leave WDW feeling like the resort we stayed at was not up to its deluxe status or that a restaurant was not up to its signature status. I never felt that way after either cruise. I personally feel we got everything we paid for and more on the cruises. Sure the prices will continue to go up (both at WDW and on DCL) but we book pretty far in advance so that we get a good deal and we also try to book while we’re still onboard so that we can get the discount (same as using a PIN code at WDW I guess) Once we start feeling we’re not getting our moneys worth from the cruises, we will start to vacation elsewhere. For now though, we feel DCL is perfect for us. And we wouldn’t be opposed to trying another cruise line if the price and itineraries were right!

 

[-em]

We sailed earlier this year on the Magic and came away with the same response of 'it was okay'

Nothing was bad enough to complain or get rectified but we had a lot of little 'misses' that made it not wonderful-

Things for us was that the Magic was starting to transition its services to the longer european cruises so little things like 'officer pin trading' wernt offered and the dining rotations up and changed from previous 4 day magic cruises (not the end of the world but when we booked Palo on our 'double night' in a restaurant and ended up missing one completely and eating at one 3 times (breakfast last morning) and the dining rotations didn't match the KTTW cards..

The food was fine except with allergies- they handled them all well except when telling us that all but the entree course comes without choice (our final night) and was all safe then not bringing it since he didnt 'choose' it (uh you said there wasnt a choice!) and my pet peeve- it should not take half way though entrees final night to bring me the same bev I've ordered every night...