The Godfather's Live Trip Report, photopass added post #442

[wayneg]

from what i've read about the dream, it seems as if adults have it worse than they did on the wonder/magic...

was there any adult entertainment other than just bars and drinking?
when we were on the wonder, we really enjoyed the dueling pianos as well as the various parties in the dance bar (can't remember the name)..

just having a bunch of bars isn't having anything special for adults in my view..

we have reservations for the dream, so i guess i'll have an opportunity to see.....

was the carrot cookie from the writers stop (or whatever that place is called at DHS)?
the guy who took us to our table at sci fi was raving about them...
we didn't have a chance to try them out.....next time!!

We didn't cruise as adult only so can't really judge them, the District area looked to cater very well for adult entertainment.
I think they cater very very well for every age group if you split up into ages, what they do not cater for is a family(or families) wanting to enjoy their own company.
Yes Writers Stop, I had read about it on here and had to have one.

 

[disneyholic family]

what they do not cater for is a family(or families) wanting to enjoy their own company.

do you mean there aren't areas on the ship for families to do stuff? like play shuffleboard or whatever?

 

[wayneg]

do you mean there aren't areas on the ship for families to do stuff? like play shuffleboard or whatever?

There are games, Shuffleboard, minigolf, sports court etc but on an evening we like to go sit in a lounge and have a drink, listen to a pianist, a singer etc in the background and be able to talk/watch the world pass by. The choice was a bar with no seating, lounges for over 18's or a family lounge with flashing lights(I mean whole walls flashing) & kids karaoke, a pic here does not show how bad it was but gives you an idea, the whole room was flashing like this. Mart got the map out after about 3 minutes we could not stand it any longer, also combined with some mental loud game it was my not my idea of enjoyment
This is the only family area onboard.

 

[london75]

I agree, we found a distinct lack of nice seating areas. We ended up on the sofas in the atrium for a bit but felt we had to buy something from the bar to stay any length of time.

I don't know if they mean for you to sit in Cabanas but just not comfy enough.

More seating throughout the atrium would do the trick we felt.

 

[disneyholic family]

There are games, Shuffleboard, minigolf, sports court etc but on an evening we like to go sit in a lounge and have a drink, listen to a pianist, a singer etc in the background and be able to talk/watch the world pass by. The choice was a bar with no seating, lounges for over 18's or a family lounge with flashing lights(I mean whole walls flashing) & kids karaoke, a pic here does not show how bad it was but gives you an idea, the whole room was flashing like this. Mart got the map out after about 3 minutes we could not stand it any longer, also combined with some mental loud game it was my not my idea of enjoyment
This is the only family area onboard.

oh i see what you mean

 

[disney_princess_85]

The choice was a bar with no seating, lounges for over 18's or a family lounge with flashing lights(I mean whole walls flashing) & kids karaoke, a pic here does not show how bad it was but gives you an idea, the whole room was flashing like this. Mart got the map out after about 3 minutes we could not stand it any longer, also combined with some mental loud game it was my not my idea of enjoyment

Sounds a bit mad!!

 

[wayneg]

Sounds a bit mad!!

The expressions on our faces in the pic really does show how we felt. We only went because it was advertised as a Disney Quiz, what we didn't reaslise was it was only 3 people on stage with buzzers and a guy asking questions who was way OTT. We expected everyone participating.
We didn't stay long

 

[Tink2312]

I'm glad we can go in the over 18 area - I like the look of skyline and 687. Are the alcoholic drink prices comparative to WDW? I find these can be a bit expensive and I'm presuming as a captive audience on the cruise they're probably even dearer.

 

[wayneg]

I'm glad we can go in the over 18 area - I like the look of skyline and 687. Are the alcoholic drink prices comparative to WDW? I find these can be a bit expensive and I'm presuming as a captive audience on the cruise they're probably even dearer.

Cocktail of the day is usually around $4.25-$4.50 ($1.5-$2 discount)
Watch out for the plastic glasses saying DCL on, they charge you about $5 ontop as you keep the glass.
Thats all we bought, will try Google later and find other prices. Far cheaper to take your own onboard, we always take a bottle od vodka now.

 

[Tink2312]

Thanks Wayne I think we'll take a few minatures aboard with some beers/ wine. We're not big drinkers (normally we barely manage to get through a dozen beers in a holiday ) but it would be nice to take in the surroundings and have a few cocktails. That pricing for the cocktail of the day sounds good - no doubt I'll have to buy at least one of the DCL glasses though

 

[Pootle]

Just checking up to see if you've mentioned what you thought of the Holiday Inn on Hotel Plaza Blvd and don't think I have, so giving you a nudge , also to find out how the PE experience was for you coming home. You've not put this somewhere else have you and I've missed it - always possible ?

Off to have a look at Matt's blog now to see what he had to say. I enjoyed your holiday, but not sure a Disney cruise would be for me after all. Thanks for doing it all.

 

[wayneg]

Just checking up to see if you've mentioned what you thought of the Holiday Inn on Hotel Plaza Blvd and don't think I have, so giving you a nudge , also to find out how the PE experience was for you coming home. You've not put this somewhere else have you and I've missed it - always possible ?

Off to have a look at Matt's blog now to see what he had to say. I enjoyed your holiday, but not sure a Disney cruise would be for me after all. Thanks for doing it all.

Hi Moira
HI was OK for nothing I don't think there were more than half a dozen rooms taken, never saw anyone else about. Nice sized room free wireless net, safe, coffee maker, standard HI room just a little larger. Only downside was paying $10/nt for parking but checked my CC statement and they have only charged for 1 night, maybe because we booked 3 seperate nights using our airmiles (1 night in each name) it confused them. So $10 for 3 nights stay was OK, I used miles that were about to expire.
I joined their free priority club on last day which allowed us to check out at 2pm instead of 11am. Times worked really well then.

PE, I felt the seats were a little on the hard side, maybe because they are new, Matt & Karen thought they were OK, good leg room, nothing like Biz class but better than economy, not sure how they compare with old PE as we have never tried. IFE looked good, not something I bother with, no idea how anyone watches a movie on anything less than a 32" screen. Just listened to music but couldn't sleep due to a girl screaming as loud as poss 7 hours out of the 8, they said she had toothache, never heard a child scream like that for so long. Food was better than I expected and nice to be offered a glass of bubbly on boarding and a Baileys later in the flight, little things make all the difference.
Probably worth £50-75 each way extra to me, wouldn't pay anymore than that. I enjoyed the extra leg room in economy just as much. I am sure Matt wrote about his thoughts on his blog.

Cruise, I would say try one you never know. I told one of my customers to try a Disney cruise this summer around the Med, bearing in mind he is an accountant, dislikes Disney and not interested in cruising. I expected him coming back and saying he hated it, I saw him last week, he has booked on the new ship next year.

Keep reading Matt's blog, he is enjoying writing it, some days he has had almost 500 read it.

 

[Pootle]

Thanks for that Wayne

I don't think we were charged the parking fee at Holiday Inn in Feb; suspect it was quite new then but might have just been an oversight . We paid around £50 when Courtyard (Palm Parkway) was over £70 for the same night (normally pay around £40 after cashback). It was instantly forgettable but for 1 night was fine.

I was interested in what you said about PE on the Airbus, I'll be trying it for the first time in November (Airbus that is; always do PE ). I'm really fed up with Virgin's 'requested' seating fiasco this year so may be giving them a miss in future. Currently I'm competing with you for frequency of visits, having 3 trips in the pipeline; 2 with Virgin PE and 1 Monarch Premium. Off to Italy next week too

Best wishes to you all, including MIL. I will try to remember to read Matt's blog more often; he's very good

 

[wayneg]

Update from our VA flight, due to a medical issue behind us we were asked to spend some time in Upper class, then moved to PE, as a sweetener they gave us a litre of Smirnoff Vodka and the staff looked after us well, even offering to fetch us cake.
Today I just signed for a letter from VA, thought it was something to do with flights I just booked for next year, turns out to be a letter of appreciation/gratitude from VA, Captain & staff and includes £60 of vouchers each, £180 total.
I doubt we will be able to use them in payment for the flight I booked last weekend(if only they had arrived last week) so looks like we might have to have a spending spree onboard next July.

 

[dixonsontour]

Update from our VA flight, due to a medical issue behind us we were asked to spend some time in Upper class, then moved to PE, as a sweetener they gave us a litre of Smirnoff Vodka and the staff looked after us well, even offering to fetch us cake.
Today I just signed for a letter from VA, thought it was something to do with flights I just booked for next year, turns out to be a letter of appreciation/gratitude from VA, Captain & staff and includes £60 of vouchers each, £180 total.
I doubt we will be able to use them in payment for the flight I booked last weekend(if only they had arrived last week) so looks like we might have to have a spending spree onboard next July.

Very nice to do that - good customer service.

 

[burt]

Update from our VA flight, due to a medical issue behind us we were asked to spend some time in Upper class, then moved to PE, as a sweetener they gave us a litre of Smirnoff Vodka and the staff looked after us well, even offering to fetch us cake.
Today I just signed for a letter from VA, thought it was something to do with flights I just booked for next year, turns out to be a letter of appreciation/gratitude from VA, Captain & staff and includes £60 of vouchers each, £180 total.
I doubt we will be able to use them in payment for the flight I booked last weekend(if only they had arrived last week) so looks like we might have to have a spending spree onboard next July.

Do you never get embarrassed about the amount of freebies you get

 

[wayneg]

Do you never get embarrassed about the amount of freebies you get

You are the king of compensation, I am only an amateur.

 

[burt]

You are the king of compensation, I am only an amateur.

I had two good teachers in the art of complaining - You and Nige Did you sort out your missing picture of the photopass, i reckon if you complain you might get a discount on that aswell

 

[wayneg]

I had two good teachers in the art of complaining - You and Nige Did you sort out your missing picture of the photopass, i reckon if you complain you might get a discount on that aswell

Yes, sorted Photopass, they are on their way. Will post a few when they arrive.

 

[Disneymad]

Thanks for the trip report - I wasn't around the forums when it was Live but just had the chance to sit down and read the whole thing now and really enjoyed it

I remember after you saw the pictures from my meal at Sanaa last year you mentioned how you'd cancelled a few times because you were unsure it would be your thing and that after seeing my pictures you had no regrets about cancelling. I'm so glad you changed your mind and tried it, and better still that you liked it!

Also happy to see you got your hands on one of the carrot cake cookies too - they're delish and so huge. I'm taking a ziplock bag with me next time especially so I can nibble some at the park and save the rest for later.

Off to check out the blog too now!