Disney Cruise PTR

[luff]

Back in October (during the unofficial KIC month at Disney) my family and I went on the 7 day land sea package at Disneyworld and on the Disney Wonder.

Since we have had a couple of excellent Disney trip reports already, I will just breeze over the Disney portion of our trip.

Day 1 Travel and the Epcot Food and Wine Festival

First I will have to say how much I love the magical express. Check the bags in at the airport and boom they show up in your resort.

Since we splurged and got a cabin with a private verandah, our resort was upgraded to the Disney Swan. We were able to check in at 11am, drop our carry-on in the room, and hop the next boat to EPCOT which during the food and wine festival stands for Every One Comes Out Tipsy.

[ wife comments!]

A quick note about the Dolphin and Swan: you can take a boat or walk to EPCOT and take a boat to Hollywood Studios which is a nice change up from taking the buses.

[/wife comments]

Day 2 Studios and Animal Kingdom

Day 3 The Long day

8:00am extra magic hours at Epcot, where I ran into the president of the last company I worked for. 10 hop the bus to Disney Studios. Then back to the resort for a 2 hour rest, then Magic Kingdom for the NSSHP till midnight.

Day 4 Resort Pool time and Magic Kingdom

Every day it rained. This night we got front row viewing of Spectromagic. Of course it was during a downpour. I was surprised that the only change was elimination of the street dancing people.

Day 5 Last day at Disney, 1st day on the cruise ship

Most guests leave from their resort between 11:00 and noon aboard a Disney cruise bus. The cruise offers another option of leaving at 12:30 directly from Animal Kingdom. Our luggage Poof disappeared from our resort room and will later show up in front of our cabin. The cruise line allows you to check your carryon (not carrion) at DAK’s front gate, and you get a VIP entrance to the Lion King show.

At 12:30 two busloads of guests head out for the hour long trip to Port Canaveral.

Since we were one of the last groups to arrive, there were no lines to check the kids into the kid clubs. Each kid gets their own wrist band and we get a pager. Boarding consists of showing our key to the world and going straight through security since we had already filled out all of our paperwork and handed it into the representative at the Dolphin. But before we get on board, the ship picture taking starts. In case you don’t know, photographers will take pictures of you constantly during the cruise and try to get you to buy them as an additional revenue source. Unfortunately they are not part of the Disney photopass, so you have to buy them or loose them.

Entering the ship you get your family name announced and enter the beautiful multi story atrium. On the ceiling is one of the huge blown glass chandelier.

Since we upgraded, our cabin had a private Verandah (balcony).

Space is a premium on ships, so the kids sleeping arrangement was unique. The bottom bunk is a couch during the day. The top bunk slides up into the ceiling during the day. The staff “turns down” the beds sometime in the evening.

Now it’s time to explore the ship, and check out the Oceaneer’s Club and Lab. On a cruise, the coast guard requires a mandatory boat drill. All ship activities are suspended and the alarm is sounded. We don the big orange life jackets and go to our marshal point. After the captain sounds the all clear we return the life jackets to the cabin. Next the kids wanted to go swim in the Mickey Pool.

Mom slipped out to the spa for some alone time, and a 10% discount. Good choice since the pools were packed.

Next on the agenda was seeing the show “The Golden Mickeys” This is a pretty typical Disney show which is based on the premise of an awards show hosted by the ships captain. Unfortunately Goofy, after running over my son in the hallway, accidentally takes out the Captain, so a “stage hand” has to take over. Overall Grade B-

Last up was dinner at Tritons. This is the high end dining room onboard the wonder. The food is good but the Ambiance is just average. Overall Grade B. The kids were wiped at this point but our servers kept them entertained.

The son was so tired after the meal, that when asked what dessert he wanted, he replied with nothing. That is exactly what they gave him.

[luff]

Day 6 Nassau (‘s gone funky)

Caribbean sunrise

Yes he wanted to see his first sunrise at sea.

Each day we get a “Personal Navigator” with information on what is happening on the ship that day.

I really like the TV guide style showing the different options at a glance.

Beautiful architecture of Nassau

Yes there is even a Starbucks there.

The only long line during the cruise was the princess gathering and photo-op.

We chose a shore excursion, Blackbeard’s Cay Stingray Adventure for the day. For those of you that don’t know, a shore excursion is another money making opportunity for the cruise ships. You book the activity through the cruise line, and they contract a local company to bring you to the activity.

Why didn’t we go to the famous water park at Atlantis? Try saving $70 per person. We took a 25 minute boat ride to the island and went directly to the snorkel area. The experience was wonderful.

Son took to snorkeling immediately, but daughter didn’t like the forced breathing through the mouth. She was content with standing in the shallow water and petting them.

We also got to feed them sardine bits. One stingray got a little fresh and tried to swim up my trunks. Not a fun feeling.

Still overall Rating A

After we returned to the ship, the kids went directly to the Oceaneer’s Lab and Club. Daughter got to do a Junkanoo Jam, Slide time, and So you want to be a Pirate. Son did Ratatouille Cooking School, watched Beverly Hills Chihuahua at the theatre, Kim Possible Cruise Control, and the Glow jam at the wide world of sports deck.

Us adults got to relax, swim, drink, and see the next show, Toy Story the Musical. This was their best show in my opinion. The theatre has a screen in which various animations can take place, but depending on the lighting, it can be opaque, semi transparent and transparent. It is used to great effect on the transitions between the people and the toys. Surprisingly Sid gets his own song. A hard rocking “I am the Da Vinci of Destruction, the Rembrandt of wreckage.” I give it an A+

Dinner was at the adult’s only Palo. It has excellent northern Italian food bringing back lots of memories. The décor was good too. Overall I give it an A.

It’s pirate themed night and up a the family pool we have the Pirates “IN” the Caribbean party. Big Hook, Smee, Peter Pan, Goofy, Stitch and Mickey show and party with buffet lines. Another cruise tip, if you don’t gain 5 lbs, you haven’t taken advantage of the food. Besides the large dinners, breakfasts, there are 24 hour room service, Pizza, hotdogs, and ice cream open until after midnight and mini buffets everywhere.

Anyways enough words, more pictures. Pirate with deserts.

Pirate party

Carnival ship beside us at Nassau, should we board it? Arrgh!

After 11 I finally got the son out of the kid’s lab. What did he want to see? Pirates of the Caribbean on the Jumbo tron which ran until late at night. Pull up a couple of beach chairs, lay back and watch Pirates.

2nd Towel animal

[luff]

Day 7 Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island.

Do you really want to see paradise?

Dress for a day at the beach and off we are to this Island Paradise. 1st stop, photo-op with Captain Jack. My son asks, is that really Johnny Depp?

The kids immediately wanted to go to the kid’s club activities at scuttle’s Cove, so we find ourselves in an adult only mode. So what do we do? Rent bicycles. You really don’t appreciate how large the island actually is until you get away from the family and teen beaches. We bike to the adult beach and see that they rent beach wheel chairs.

Bike to the far end of the island and we see….

Back to the middle, Disney has placed an observation tower.

I spy the ship

Ummm. Plant stuff.

Interesting landscape

Lunch is BBQ on the island. Just average C.

Besides a beach day, we also did the Lilo and Stich dance party, and rented a Hobie cat.

Gorgeous picture taken by son with the disposable camera

After the beach, the kids got to be in “Friendship Rocks” Each kid in the kids clubs gets a T-shirt and is involved on the main stage in a production with Mickey and the Crew.

Below are the two favorite councilors in the Oceaneer’s lab. Most cast members on the ship are from other countries, not very many from the US or the Bahaman’s where the ship is flagged. The youth councilors are mostly from England, Australia, and New Zealand.

Since the wife is a STTNG fan we had to go to the Forward elevators and take a picture on the 10th deck.

The final show of the cruise was Disney Dreams. The premise on this show is a kid dreaming with Peter Pan about various Disney shows. Another top notch performance as expected. A

Formal Dinner was at Parrot’s Cay, the Caribbean themed dining room. Mmmmm. Jerk Chicken. At the Disney cruise ships, you get the same server and assistant server for dinner even as you rotate through the dining rooms. This allows a lot more interaction and the server’s knowledge of their guests. Unfortunately we did not get to the Animator’s Palate, which is the best known and our server’s favorite dining room. For each of the dinners, there are three sections on each menu. Theme, section for the adults (Caribbean in this case), themed section for the kids, and the usual kid section (chicken nuggets, hot dogs, etc.) This allows even the picky eaters something.

Of course you can always just say, I want French fries, and poof they appear. On another note, our assistant server Veronica, who cuts the kids food when needed, can make awesome paintings with catsup in a glass Heinz 57 bottle.

Part of the entertainment at Parrot Cay is a Limbo with the kids.

Another mention of the magical express service. If you don’t want to mess with the luggage, it has to be outside the cabin before 11:00pm, then Poof it disappears.

One final towel friend.

Edit fixed the flower picture!

[vortexfan]

That sunrise is beautiful!

[luff]

Day 8.. Vacation’s over, and random notes.

In order to get the most efficient flow of people out of the ship and through us customs, you are assigned breakfast at the same room where you had dinner the night before, on a staggered schedule.

Last chance to see our servers Veronica and Rolly.

Another cruise note, they heavily promote tipping at the end of the cruise to the Head server, your two servers and the housekeeping staff. Since you don’t pay for the meals individually, you are given envelopes with recommended tipping amounts.

Our trip through customs was easier than expected. Our checked luggage went straight to the airport, we didn’t even have to bring them through customs like you usually do. All we had to do was show the declaration form, and they didn’t even check the passports.

Overall the Disney cruise is a great time for the family. The cast members are top notch, always trying to make the experience better. Everyone is friendly to you from the beginning to the end. The crew is also super neat freaks. Everywhere someone is cleaning and keeping the ship in tip top shape. Hand sanitizer is available everywhere and when you enter a dining room, they had you sanitized wipes.

The ship is divided up into so many sections, that everyone can have a different cruise experience. The ship has kids only sections (divided up by age group), Adult only sections, and Teen only sections. If you want to relax, just hang out in the spa and Café Cove, and diversions. Even the pools follow this theme. One pool is for Adults, one for Kids, a third for families, and a 4th only for the crew. (A happy crew translates to happy guests)

I think the best recommendation came from my 5 and 8 year old. They said they liked the cruise portion better than being at the parks. And this came from kids who can’t get enough roller coasters.

Chocolate!

See you Real Soon.

[AZ Kinda Guy]

That other ship didn't happen to be the Carnival Fascination did it?

[Gordon Bombay]

Excellent, excellent, excellent photo TR! For someone who has never been on a cruise I really enjoyed this. I went to the Disney parks in Florida when I was 15, had a great time and was amazed at the customer service and friendliness, the job they do on the cruise ships seems amazing! How many ships does Disney have?

P.S. Loved the "ten forward" reference although Whoopi is a terrible actress.

[CoastersRZ]

Currently, Disney Cruise Lines has two ships. The "Disney Magic" which began operating on July 30th, 1998 and the "Disney Wonder" which began operation on August 15th, 1999. Two new ships are to join the fleet in 2011 and 2012.

[tubaman]

I am so jealous of you right now! I went on a Disney Cruise 4 years ago. I still have really fond memories of it, and can't wait to go again if the opportunity every arises. We went on a 7 day eastern Caribbean cruise. St. Marteen, St. Thomas/St. John, and Castaway Cay were all amazing. Glad you to see you had a grand time!

[The Interpreter]

Wow! Thanks! Your kids are adorable, the pictures are fantastic. It almost makes ME want to go on a cruise, and that's really, really saying something.

Terpy, whose idea of prison is to be cooped up on a boat he can't control for a definite time period or more!

[Avatar]

Luff; Awesome PTR, I was hopping you would do one and I must say it was worth the wait. I enjoyed your pictures and account of your trip. We have wanted to go on a Disney cruise for some time and after reading your report i think we should plan one either for later this year or for Fall of 2010. Thanks for all the tips in your report I am sure I will PM you for more advice when we decide to go. Disney does a great job letting parents get away for a bit to enjoy some adult time, the kids never want to leave those activities.

Thanks for taking the time to share your trip with us, it looked awesome.

P.S. when are you going back?

[corn4ahead]

I envy you. i went on the disney cruise like 5 yrs ago and it was a blast...Castaway Cay is BEAUTIFUL and i have never experienced anything like it...i really want to go back on another cruise but cost is a bit of an issue...

[tigellinus]

Wow! Thanks! Your kids are adorable, the pictures are fantastic. It almost makes ME want to go on a cruise, and that's really, really saying something.

Terpy, whose idea of prison is to be cooped up on a boat he can't control for a definite time period or more!

Doesn't everyone get the flu or some other sort of viral infection on a cruise?? And don't people get murdered at a tremendous rate on cruises, only to have the purser hand out hush money??

[tubaman]

Fun little story from our DCL trip. We took the banana boat excursion on Castaway Cay. Well, my dad was the second person from the back of the raft on his side. We hit a couple of big waves and my dad was flipped completely off the back of the boat, over the head of the guy behind him. On top of that, he was dehydrated, so upon returning to the shore he passed out...one stop to the ship board infirmary later, and all was well again.

[luff]

Thanks, for all the great responses.

AZ - There were two carnival ships docked next to us in Nasau, one was the Sensation, and the other was the Destiny. I don't remember which one the picture is of.

Gordon - I completely agree on Whoopi

Avatar - We plan on waiting for 4 years and do a 7 day cruise then. We go to Florida every 2 years, and the next one is already planned for visiting Universal for the first time and returning to Seaworld.

[AZ Kinda Guy]

Thanks, for all the great responses.

AZ - There were two carnival ships docked next to us in Nasau, one was the Sensation, and the other was the Destiny. I don't remember which one the picture is of.

Thanks for the info. I was just curious because my wife and I were married on the Carnival Fascination.

[luff]

Thanks for the info. I was just curious because my wife and I were married on the Carnival Fascination.

Wow that is cool. How does it work, did the captain perform the ceremony?

[XGatorHead 8904]

Thanks for the great PTR, luff! As you know I like Disney, and this looks like fun. Before, the only cruise I would have wanted to do is an Alaskan cruise. Now that we have GatorGirl, a Disney cruise has been looking good. We may do this in a few years when she gets a little older.

It looks like your family had a lot of fun. Nice pictures too. I like the 10 Forward pics, and it looks like you may have a budding photographer on your hands based on the one your son took.

And I still remember the rumor I heard about Whoopi when ST: Generations came out, that she didn't want her name on the advertisements so her fans wouldn't confuse it for a movie where she was the main character.

[luff]

It looks like your family had a lot of fun. Nice pictures too. I like the 10 Forward pics, and it looks like you may have a budding photographer on your hands based on the one your son took.

He got a Star Wars Digital Camera for Christmas so he can have plenty of practice on the Photography.

Unfortunately it takes very poor pictures.

I know you and GatorGirl will have a blast when you go on a cruise

[Kawana]

That looks like a hoot. I haven't been to Disney for a very long time, but that seemed to be a great trip. Just from your pictures, I can tell that I would have a blast, with or without kids. Are the Disney cruises cheaper than say, Carnival? Thanks for the PTR.

[RailRider]

Luff, great trip report. I have been waiting for a TR regarding Disney Cruises. Have only been on Royal Caribbean a few times and we are looking at Disney now, since we have Zoe and all.

I think we have decided to visit the Disney parks this October and then will go curising in 2010 or 2011.

Thanks for sharing

[luff]

That looks like a hoot. I haven't been to Disney for a very long time, but that seemed to be a great trip. Just from your pictures, I can tell that I would have a blast, with or without kids. Are the Disney cruises cheaper than say, Carnival? Thanks for the PTR.

Disney cruises are definitely a higher cost than Carnival. But you have to look at what you are getting for the price, and there are deals out there for the off seasons.

We went on the Disney Magic in July 1999 before our kids were born, and this (last) year with the kids on the Wonder. We did completely different things and still had a great time. Back in 99 our cruise director told us that there were 900 kids on the ship. I couldn't believe there were that many. It goes to show you how good they are at keeping separate sections of the ship.

Railrider - The newer ships should be coming on line by 2010/11 so there will be even more options for itineraries!