So
@mickEblu , how was your cruise? This thread is almost a year old, but I don't think we ever heard how everything went. Got a mini trip report for us? What did you like/love? Anything less than magical? How did the kids like the clubs?
We had a great time! It did takes us a couple days to really settle in but that’s not Disneys fault. The cruise happened to be scheduled during a rough time (had to move out of our house due to storm damage) and had also recently thrown out my back. We were in Miami for a few days before the cruise and the transition day to the port wasn’t the smoothest. In spite of all that we really enjoyed ourselves.
A few of the negatives:
Food: was a big miss for us. I had heard that food on Disney cruises was decent and it was Carnival quality at best. In fact i remember enjoying Carnival food much more but those cruises were way back on trips that spanned from 1995-2005. With that said the Carnival Cruise we went on in 2014 had terrible food. It was hard to find anything I liked at the buffet. At dinner I think I only really liked one or two dishes the entire trip. Everything else was mediocre to bad. Tenders were good as well as the breakfast hash browns. They can’t even get pizza right which even Carnival does. I don’t think I enjoyed one piece of beef on the whole trip except for the prime rib at the buffet one day I believe. The seabass on my first night was also good. I can’t help but think that the timing has something to do with this. We were on the dream on a 7 night cruise which from what I understand it doesn’t usually do. This was also right before a transatlantic trip to the Mediterranean. The last two nights of the trip they started introcuding Mediterranean options to practice for the upcoming cruises and I think they were a little better. All this to say I think that they were out of rhythm. Room service menu was embrassingly limited too. With all of that said the dining rooms were all nice and we still had a great time together.
EDIT: Almost forgot Castaway Cay food. That was great! Especially the ribs! Best meal I had the whole week by far. Well, fish tacos I got on the beach at Cane Garden Bay were pretty good too. It was diced grilled fish in a light curry sauce. Never had that take on a fish taco before.
Dinner service: was just ok. I remember servers being much more attentive on past cruises. They weren’t terrible but they were average at best. Sometimes would forget things or take a really long time to bring us stuff. They were nice though.
Pools: Too packed to be enjoyable. Overall the ship was pleasant except for at the pool deck and the buffets.
Trivia: being a Disney (parks) nerd I came home with a few medals. I was disappointed though that they used the same questions for every single parks trivia throughout the cruise. How hard is it to come up with more questions?
The good stuff:
Entertainment: Great! Loved all the shows especially the Golden Mickeys. A little dated feeling at this point but still very fun.
Aqua Duck: my son and I had a blast on it
Animators Palette: such a a fun dining room. Beautifully designed. We loved both nights there. Would definitely try to have 3 nights there on the next trip.
Kids Club: Son loved it!
Atrium/ main deck interiors: it’s a beautiful ship and I really enjoyed a lot of the Disney artwork.
Our room: most comfortable I’ve ever been on a cruise. We had a Verandah room, mid deck level 9. No noise, not too much swaying and spacious enough.
Castaway Cay: Best food we had all week by far. We got lucky and scored some of the last beach chairs in a really nice spot. Weather was great. We didn’t do the water slide as the line was too long.
That detective game: was a fun neat thing to do with entire family.
Overall, Kids had a blast and we ended up putting $200 down on a future cruise for 10% off. Probably will cancel though as you have to use it within two years and I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t find flying to a cruise to be worth the hassle. Being that I’ve already been on the Dream and they only use the old ships over here on the West coast/ LA it’ll probably be a while til we cruise again. I’d want my next cruise to be on the Treasure or Wish. I’d also choose a cruise that does multiple stops at Disneys islands. I’ve come to the conclusion and have seen enough of the Carribean islands where I don’t feel that getting off the ship is worth the hassle. At least not with kids. There isn’t really any great food or culture you re missing out on. With that said, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Jamaica would be islands I’d be interested in seeing.
This cruise stopped at Tortola, St Thomas and Castaway Cay. Tortola was really nice. Went to Cane Garden Bay and beach was very mellow as we were the only cruise ship on the island that day. Unlike Megan’s Bay the next day which was super busy as there were 3-4 ships on the island. Weather was pretty great throughout the whole trip.
so I'm the wrong guy to give advice about a 2 year old and car seats. Having said that, I think being in a cab should not pose much of a safety hazard, even without the car seat. I'm not sure what other mode of transportation would get you around the island, anyway. I'm not sure you'll have a lot of choice.
