It's hard to critique when there is no comparison to make
Since this was not only my first DCL cruise, it was also my first cruise ever.
Did I have disappointments? yes & most of them had nothing to do with Disney-it was Mother Nature who wrecked havoc with a lot of the outdoor/on deck plans and activities
Did I expect more than what I received? possibly - this is always a problem when you have the opportunity to plan and get excited over a year ahead of time. You read post after post about how wonderful-magical everything is. Everyone is talking about their "best" experiences and what to expect and what happened to them and it fills your head with things that quite frankly may be impossible to achieve.
Did I have the time of my life? Big yes - it was wonderful to see so many of our
ABD 1.0 friends again. I loved meeting so many people who I only knew by their board names. How great to put a face with the names.
Did I enjoy the food? - yes for the most part. But to me it was no different than going to a new restaurant you've never tried before. Sometimes what you order is awesome... sometimes it isn't.
Nothing was horrid. Palo was wonderful, but not necessarily "drop dead, OMG, the best meal ever in my life"
In fact I hardly remember everything we had every night - I was enjoying the company of my tablemates more than dinner anyway.
Did I like the service? - I did, very much
Our stateroom attendant Emer ( no not Elmo as per DH ) was very attentive to our needs. Mind you there were only 2 adults in the room and I'm the type to keep it neat & tidy anyway. One of our bags was delayed in getting to us, and Emer found it for us in the short time it took for the muster drill. He called us by name all the time. We asked for ice the first day but didn't make it clear that we also needed it for the portable cooler. After we did though, he kept our beverages iced at all times.
Will I cruise again with DCL? most definately, our next cruise is booked for this coming May
I have three very special memories from this trip:
1. I'll never forget the crew member who I thought was just going to help me carry a tray of breakfast goodies from Beach Blanket on deck 9 down the stairs to deck 8 - he carried the tray the entire way to our forward stateroom
2. Finding a deck chair in a non-windy area of deck 9 and just reading for an hour
3. seeing DH (Dino) just sitting in a chair by the window in the promenade lounge "relaxing"