Hey everyone!
First of all, my wife and I are huge Disney fans, happy DVC owners, and don’t have kids. Over the last several years, I’ve read a bunch of enthusiastic reviews of
Disney Cruise Line, listened to equally glowing podcasts from podcasters turned travel agents, and watched endless positive YouTube videos on the subject. Having done my homework, I thought it would be fun, prior to a DVC vacation at WDW, to take a five night cruise on the Dream in late April of this year. Alas, our experience failed to match, or even come close, to our expectations.
Having sailed on pretty much all the cruise lines, we’re pretty experienced cruisers. I thought it would be helpful to list some positive and negatives concerning our experience. I’m also genuinely curious if we’re being too critical, or perhaps making unfair judgements. There were, of course, tons of kids and families who were obviously having a great time.
THE GOOD
1. The design of our ship was beautiful. The central atrium is a wonder to behold. The woodwork and attention to detail throughout the ship, as well as all the fun paintings and artwork, made the environment feel really special. Our cabin, a balcony veranda, though small, was clean, well maintained, and nicely designed.
2. Service and friendliness were mostly superlative. Almost every crew member seemed happy to be there, and was always happy to answer questions and help out. Our stateroom attendants were great.
3. Our two ports, Grand Cayman and
Castaway Cay, were beautiful and a blast to visit.
4. The shows were fun. Loved the fireworks!
5. Dinner at Palo was delicious. What a nice spot to have a meal!
6. The adult area at the front of the ship was quiet and nice. When it got windy, though, it would close and there was really nowhere else to go. The adult only pool wasn’t really for us because it was crowded and loud.
THE BAD
1. Of course we were prepared for lots of kids, but the main pool area on sea days was almost unbelievably crowded with a solid, monumentally packed together mass of kids and families. This being Disney, it’s probably not a fair criticism, but for us it was really off putting. We stayed away from it.
2. The food in the dining rooms and Cabanas, the buffet, was below average. As I’ve mentioned, we’ve been on almost every cruise line. I don’t think we were wrong to expect better from Disney.
3. My wife and I were lucky to get a table for two for the early seating. But it was made clear to us that this is normally almost impossible, so we shouldn’t ever expect it again. That alone would keep us away in the future. Why was it even listed as a request on the pre cruise app?
4. The atrium, though beautiful, is under utilized. On other cruise lines it’s the lively center of the ship, where something is always happening, and there is fun to be had. On the Dream it seemed like a big, weird dead space, mostly empty during the day except for character meet and greets.
5. The adult bar entertainment area, “The District,” was a series of windowless dark caverns. Weird.
THE UGLY
1. Every meal in the dining rooms was incredibly rushed. Food was delivered almost instantaneously and replaced with the next dish almost immediately after it was finished, so the experience was never particularly pleasant or relaxing. I guess that’s better than waiting forever, as we occasionally have on other lines, but still not optimum.
2. Our waiter and assistant waiter were friendly and competent, which was fine, but didn’t really go out of their way to make the dining experience special. Not great, but no big deal. But on the second to last night of the cruise, they both walked up to the table with stern, concerned expressions and stood there awkwardly. After a long uncomfortable pause, they launched into an long uncomfortable dissertation on the fact that we would be receiving a questionnaire in our state room, and, pretty much, their jobs, well being, and potential contract renewals depended on us giving them all 10s.
We’ve all had this from sales people in other environments, but on a Disney ship, on vacation, in the middle of dinner? For us, this was beyond weird and we really didn’t like it. It made us as uncomfortable as they obviously were. And, of course, we were manipulated into promising them the scores they wanted. Of course this falls on Disney creating a ship board culture where crew members are forced to do this, but still. Guests should not be put in this situation. And it made us wonder how much darkness lies behind the magic.
3. Debarkation. A mad, chaotic, crowded, disorganized nightmare and the worst we’ve ever experienced. The atrium and lower levels were packed with what felt like thousands of people and their luggage, milling about, not knowing what to do, pressing against each other, jostling about. The buffet, Cabanas, was inexplicably closed, unlike any other cruise ship that we’ve ever sailed on, so guests were forced to lug their bags down to breakfast in the dining rooms, leave them indiscriminately piled up outside, then lug them (at least for us) up a deck to wait in an endless, snaking line to disembark. It felt almost apocalyptic. Why would Disney ever allow this to happen??
I actually asked a female crew member, who seemed to have some responsibility, if it was always like this. She snapped, “there are four thousand people on the ship, I think you’ll survive.”
Uh yeah, I guess I’ll survive, and that was the last magical memory my wife and I had interacting with a cast member.
Anyway, that’s my story! But both my wife and I are genuinely curious. Are we overreacting? Are we being too critical? We still have some positive memories from it, and frankly hate to carry away any negativity. And, for what’s it’s worth, we took the Brightline up to Orlando (great experience), and are now having a great time at WDW!
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