This page serves as an index for our cruise trip reports.
There are a number of cruises that do not have trip reports posted. From time to time, I may add these in for a nostalgic cruise through memory straits.
9-Night Alaskan Cruise from Vancouver – Disney Wonder
Monday July 15, 2024
This was the fifth DCL Blog Cruise.
- Day 0 – Pre-Cruise: Orlando to Vancouver
- Day 1 – Vancouver
- Day 2 – At Sea
- Day 3 – Ketchikan
- Day 4 – Glacier Viewing
- Day 5 – Juneau
- Day 6 – Icy Strait Point
- Day 7 – Sitka
- Day 8 – At Sea
- Day 9 – Victoria, Canada
3-Night Bahamian Cruise from Fort Lauderdale – Disney Magic
Thursday June 6, 2024
An overview of our sailing on the Disney Magic during her inaugural call to Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point. This cruise was also our first time sailing from Disney Cruise Line’s Fort Lauderdale cruise terminal 4 at Port Everglades.
7-Night Western Caribbean – Royal Caribbean Wonder of the Seas
Sunday March 10, 2024
- Day 1 – Port Canaveral
- Day 2 – Perfect Day at Coco Cay
- Day 3 – At Sea
- Day 4 – Cozumel
- Day 5 – Roatan
- Day 6 – Costa Maya
- Day 7 – At Sea
3-Night Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral – Disney Wish
Friday October 13, 2023
8-Night Mediterranean with Greek Isles Cruise from Civitavecchia – Disney Dream
Monday June 12, 2023
- Day 1 – Pre-Cruise: MCO > FCO > Civitavecchia
- Day 2 – Civitavecchia
- Day 3 – Naples
- Day 4 – At Sea
- Day 5 – Mykonos
- Day 6 – Piraeus
- Day 7 – Santorini
- Day 8 – Chania
- Day 9 – At Sea
7-Night Eastern Caribbean – Carnival Cruise Line Mardi Gras
Saturday March 11, 2023
- Day 1 – Port Canaveral
- Day 2 – At Sea
- Day 3 – At Sea
- Day 4 – San Juan
- Day 5 – Amber Cove, Dominican Republic
- Day 6 – Grand Turk
- Day 7 – At Sea
3-Night Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral – Disney Wish
Friday November 11, 2022
5-Night Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral – Disney Wish
Thursday July 14, 2022
3-Night Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral – Disney Wish
Wednesday June 29, 2022
There will not be a trip report for this sailing since this was a media preview cruise. Please see our overview coverage of the event and onboard venue previews.
4-Night Bahamian Cruise from Miami – Disney Magic
Thursday February 20, 2020
This was the the second DCL Blog Cruise.
3-Night Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral – Disney Dream
Friday October 11, 2019
9-Night Alaskan Cruise from Vancouver – Disney Wonder
Monday July 8, 2019
- Day 0 – Pre-Cruise Day 1 – Orlando to Vancouver
- Day 0 – Pre-Cruise Day 2 – Vancouver
- Day 1 – Vancouver
- Day 2 – At Sea
- Day 3 – Ketchikan
- Day 4 – Icy Strait Point
- Day 5 – Juneau
- Day 6 – Hubbard Glacier
- Day 7 – Sitka
- Day 8 – At Sea
- Day 9 – Victoria
4-Night Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral with 2-Stops at Castaway Cay – Disney Dream
Wednesday June 19, 2019
This was the inaugural DCL Blog Cruise.
7-Night Western Caribbean Cruise from Port Canaveral – Disney Fantasy
Saturday March 16, 2019
- Day 1 – Port Canaveral
- Day 2 – At Sea
- Day 3 – Cozumel
- Day 4 – Grand Cayman
- Day 5 – Falmouth
- Day 6 – At Sea
- Day 7 – Castaway Cay
3-Night Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral – Disney Dream
Friday October 12, 2018
7-Night Mediterranean Cruise – Disney Magic
Saturday June 2, 2018
- Day 0 – Travel Day – Orlando > Paris > Barcelona
- Day 1 – Barcelona
- Day 2 – At Sea
- Day 3 – Naples
- Day 4 – Civitavecchia
- Day 5 – Livorno
- Day 6 – Villefranche
- Day 7 – At Sea
5-Night Western Caribbean Cruise from Miami – Disney Magic
Sunday March 18, 2018
3-Night Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral – Disney Dream
Friday October 13, 2017
9-Night Alaskan Cruise from Vancouver – Disney Wonder
Monday July 24, 2017
- Day 1 – Vancouver
- Day 2 – At Sea
- Day 3 – Ketchikan
- Day 4 – Icy Strait Point
- Day 5 – Hubbard Glacier
- Day 6 – Juneau
- Day 7 – Skagway
- Day 7 – Liarsville Gold Rush Trail Camp Trip Log Videos – Skagway
- Day 8 – Dawes Glacier
- Day 9 – At Sea
- Day 10 – Vancouver
3-Night Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral – Disney Wonder
Thursday February 16, 2017
This cruise included our first look at the Fall 2016 dry dock changes as well as our first viewing of Frozen, A Musical Spectacular.
7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise from Port Canaveral – Disney Fantasy
Saturday June 18, 2016
- Day 1 – Port Canaveral
- Day 2 – At Sea
- Day 3 – At Sea
- Day 4 – Tortola
- Day 5 – St. Thomas
- Day 6 – At Sea
- Day 7 – Castaway Cay
3-Night Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral – Disney Magic
Thursday February 18, 2016
This cruise included our first look at the summer 2015 dry dock changes as well as our first viewing of Tangled: The Musical.
4-Night Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral – Disney Dream
Monday October 26, 2015
This was the Disney Dream’s first cruise following her 2015 dry dock. Many of the enhancements are covered in the Day 1 report or there are links to other articles.
11-Night North Norwegian Fjords and Iceland Cruise on Disney Magic – Itinerary A – Disney Magic
Monday June 29, 2015
- Day 0 – Pre-Cruise – Orlando > London > Copenhagen
- Day 1 – Copenhagen
- Day 2 – Oslo
- Day 3 – Kristiansand
- Day 4 – Stavanger
- Day 5 – At Sea
- Day 6 – Reykjavik
- Day 7 – Reykjavik
- Day 8 – Akureyri
- Day 9 – At Sea
- Day 10 – Kirkwall
- Day 11 – At Sea
3-Night San Juan to Port Canaveral Cruise on Disney Magic – Disney Magic
Saturday October 18, 2014
7-Night Southern Caribbean Cruise on Disney Magic – Itinerary A – Disney Magic
Saturday October 11, 2014
- Day 1 – San Juan
- Day 2 – At Sea
- Day 3 – Grenada
- Day 4 – Barbados
- Day 5 – St. Lucia
- Day 6 – Antigua
- Day 7 – Basseterre
7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise from Port Canaveral – Disney Fantasy
Saturday March 8, 2014
- Day 1 – Port Canaveral
- Day 2 – At Sea
- Day 3 – At Sea
- Day 4 – St. Maarten
- Day 5 – St. Thomas
- Day 6 – At Sea
- Day 7 – Castaway Cay
3-Night Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral – Disney Wonder
Thursday June 16, 2005
Just got off the Magic, Barcelona to “Rome”. I’d love to hear a post about people’s thought on that Civitavecchia port and Italy in general in August. SO crowded and NO excursions close to the ship in Civitavecchia (what about a fishing cruise? Anything nearby!!). A three-hour plus round trip for kids to go to Rome isn’t doable. DCL leaves so little room for feedback on those comment cards, and I needed to address some of the overly aggressive lifeguards on board. Don’t get me wrong–GREAT cruise overall, but the excursion problem seems like a no brainer.
Liz, you can always contact DCL to share your thoughts. Additionally, we recommend taking some paper to write additional comments to go along with your end of cruise survey.
We did Rome via RC back in 2008. We knew in advance that we’d be in a port city that required transportation to Rome, and through basic geography knew that only way to get to Rome via cruising is through a port that will require a trip to the city itself. We did the round-trip with a 2 year old just fine and IIRC the train ride was just over an hour each way; we even got our own train tickets and navigated the trip ourselves to save a ton of money over the cruise line’s excursions. And though it may have been crowded, we found everyone in Rome to be incredibly polite and considerate. There are no excursion offerings in/near Civitavecchia because it is an industrial port. Why stop right near Rome and not go to Rome?
We were on the same 2015 cruise and from all the reviews I’ve read prior to going to Europe, the Adventures by Disney (ABD) cruise add-on is the only way to truly maximize your time on the land excursions. I realize that the ABD added cost nearly doubles the price of the cruise but can say the ABD experience was worth every added dollar. The downside to adding the ABD option besides cost is that it transforms a relaxing vacation into a military style operation where itineraries are tight. Despite the time constraint, we still found enough time to make some great friends. 5 of the 7 days had 0630 wake ups. We were the first to leave the ship and the last to return @1900. On a typical day we would accomplish 3 excursions with a lunch between. Expensive yes, however, the only other alternative is to repeat the same cruise at a later date with added expense?? – a plausible solution but id rather visit those sites once knowing that time wasn’t wasted because of some logistics issue. my .02
What is ABD?
We just did 2 back to back 3-day Bahamas cruises. The first was also a 3 day Bahamas cruise, on the Disney Dream. The second was on RCL Enchantment of the Seas. While my expectations for the RCL cruise were lower (it is an older ship, and the 3 day cruise for the 3 of us was $1000 cheaper), RCL still managed to disappoint.
Disney Dream was a CAT-OOV (Deluxe Family Stateroom with Verandah … about 300 sqft) … RCL was a Junior Suite (also about 300 sqft). Both were concierege level categories, although I found out after arriving on the Enchantment, Junior Suites don’t have access to the concierge lounge.
First let me compare price.
The Dream was a total of $2634 (for 2 adults) … additional $717 for our daughter. After taxes & fees it came to a total of $3599.81.
RCL Enchantment of the Seas was $2250 (for 2 adults) … additional $500 for our duaghter. After taxes & fees it came to a total of $3221.85. But wait!!! Soda, bottled water and premium coffee was extra on RCL … a 3 day Soda Only drink package was $8.95 per person per day … the “Royal Replenish”, which added bottleded water & coffee to the soda, was $22.95 per person per day. So adding the Soda for my daughter cost $26.85 ($8.95 x 3 days) & the coffee/water for me and my wife cost $137.70 ($22.95x x 3 days x 2 people), I’m not one to knit-pick … but that’s $165 more just for drinks. I won’t even go into the $4.95 1/4 can of Pringles in the RCL stateroon minibar while the Dream stateroom was full of FREE snacks & the fridge loaded with MickeyBars!
So from my point of view … benefits aside … the comparable price of the RCL cruise to $3386.40 … about $200 less than the Dream…. or $22.22 per day per person.
Keep in mind that what I talk about below is for Concierge level service … not all of these benefits will be available in lower category rooms. Iv’e found from previous cruises that Concierge service on the Dream is the same if you’re in the smallest/cheapest stateroom (CAT OOV) or the most expensive Royal Stateroom (CAT OOR) … now the rooms are bigger, the Royal is (about) 1700 sqft, OOT is 600 sqft and OOV is 300 sqft … but the concierge staff treats them all the same. (I think you might get a free Palo dinner in the Royal … but thats about it).
Pre-Cruise
Engagement! Disney has it right when it comes to getting thier customers excited about the cruise. RCL process was pretty much schedule your cruise, pay, and wait. They did have shore excursions you could look at & book proir to the cruise, but little in the way of getting/keeping you engaged while you wait.
Disney sends out a nice welcome package … booklet on your cruise, your stateroom, your ports of call. You can schedule a free character call to get your kids excited (although it’s simply a pre-recorded message). The shore-side concierge staff can take care of booking excursions, shopping for gifts to be in your room (we got the Romance for Two … nice DCL robes, box of chocolates & bottle of champange). They can take care of special requests, like making sure Mickey Bars are in the fridge!
Disney also encourages guests to get excited pre-cruise by planning Door Decorations and Fish Extender (FE) gifts. FE planning can really get kids into the cruise before hand by making (or planning) craft gifts for other FE guests. Several message boards have FE cruise lists where you can see who’s going to be on the cruise with you … make friends beforehand, then on the cruise, find your way throughout the ship to deliver your FE gifts.
Check-in / Embarking
Both Disney and RCL Concierge (Suite level) checkin is easy … little or no lines and a nice waiting area (like a sky lounge in the airport) to await embarking. Disney’s terminal is a bit nicer in that it’s filled with entertainment … get your picture taken with Mickey, scale mockup of the ship, etc. And the Concierge waiting area has a verandah overlooking the ship, complete with binoculars, although the ship is like 50 feet away, you cant miss it.
Embarking the Enchantment is pretty nonchollant … you cross through a terminal, they scan your card and your’e on the ship, after navigating what seemed like an endless tunnel maze … seemed like it went on forever. That’s about it!
Disney, on the other hand, has 30 or so staff members, ships officers, etc. lined up to greet you. Your family is announced, like you’re attending a Royal Ball … “Welcome the Brooks Family!” … everyone claps and cheers … photographer takes your family picture … really a production.
Concierge guests on the Dream are greeted by a member of the concierge staff … they immediatly wisk you away from the crowds to the elevator and up to the private concierge lounge. Finger sandwiches, complementatiry drinks (mamosas for us), excellent coffee (espresso, Americano, latte, etc.) … while a concierge staff member introduces the staff, explains the layout, coordinates tickets or prebooking certain events (princess gathering, private meet & greets, shore excursions, etc.).
On the Enchantment, we were pretty much on our own … no welcome, no direction, just left to explore. This may not be bad, especially if your’e good at exploring, or have been on the ship before, but definately doesn’t make you feel special in any way.
Ship
Comparing the RCL Enchantment to the Disney Dream (ship to ship) may not be a far comparison … Enchantment is older, and obviously more weathered … much of the ship maintenance issues (spit & polish) could be overlooked … but it does make a sharp contrast between the two. Years of paint coatings, salt-frosted or scratched glass, weathered deckboard (a few were broekn), and minor rust …. again, OK, not bad, but definately not impressive.
Yes the Dream has just come out of dry dock where much work had been done … but I also sailed the Dream before her drydock and she looked just as pretty. You won’t find any rust or weathered boards, no scratched or chipped paint, and no pitted or salt-frosted glass. Many of the Enchantments pool deck windows could not open due to paint/corrosion … you’d never see that on a Disney ship.
Muster Drill
There’s a mandatory muster drill on all cruise ships … like to safety instruction on an airplane. Frist to let people know where to muster in case of emergency, and second to show them how to use the life jacket.
RCL definitely needs re-think thier Muster Drill process … it was abysmal. They gather all guests on deck … right under the lifeboats … in the hot sun (luckily, being December, it was only mid 70s). All guests are checked for attendance by staff with a clipboard … YES, a clipboard with all passengers that the staff member looked up and checked off! All guests in each muster section must be accounted for prior to the safety presentation beginning. What would have been called in my Navy Days, a “Cluster F#@K”! As chaotic as this was for the drill, an actual emergency would have been a disaster!
Disney gathers guests in the theaters … sitting in your assigned section in a nice comfy seat! Guests cards are swiped as they enter, so the process runs rather smooth with only a couple guest missing and needing to be called for. The safety presentation is done & the cruise director takes the opportunity to give everyone some highlights of events.
In the case of an actual emergency, everyone would meet at thier assigned area in the theater and staff trained to instruct passengers would escort them to their appropriate lifeboat stations in groups. I would think this would make for much more orderly coordination in the event of an emergency. Not to mention the ability to keep the passengers calm.
Room Ammenities – Service – Maintenance
While the two rooms were (according to specs) the same size … the Dream seemed much bigger. RCL had the sofabed butted up against the bed with only a small nightstand seperating them … not much passage space. Both made great use of space for storage … losts of drawers, shelves, cubby holes to store your stuff.
The Dream was an immaculate room … you could not find a scratch, tear, paint overspray, or spot of rust anywhere. The windows were crystal clear … event the glass on the verandah was clear.
The Enchantment showed her age … some tears in wallpaper, scratched and cracked tile. Areas that were painted showed numerous layers of paint … like an old Navy ship where the same area is painted every 3 months without every removing the old paint. Cracked or chipped paint showed rust … while not structurally significant, it looked bad against the white paint!
Where the furniture on the Dream looked like if came out of a Dream Homes magizine … the Enchantment looked like it came out of the Motel 6 … 70s style sofabed, dated furniture and fixtures … just not “Suite”-like.
While we didn’t use room service on either ship, RCL had a limited room service menu … the Dream lets you order from your normal dining rotation or just about anything else … just like going to the Enchanted Garden (or other), but without the show!
Dining
Simply eating vs dining vs dinner theater!
To be fair … the dining options on both ships were great … Cabanas on the Dream, and Windjammer on the Enchantment both had very good selections of food in buffet style environment. The food itself at both were equal … I do give a slight edge to Disney for more setaing … and better views.
As for the sit-down dining, both ships had excellent food in a nice environment. But while Enchantment was Dining, Disney was Dinner Theater! The decor on the dream is over the top … and technology is used everywhere to maximize the experience. Pictures on the walls will color themselves … lighting subtly changes throughout the evening … In Animators Pallet, big screen TVs put you in the middle of a fishbowl, while outside the fish swim arround and look at the people. Crush will swim from screen to screen, interacting with the guests … not just some pre-recorded skit, actualy asking and answering questions and talking, individually with kids and adults!
The dining on Disney is a bit different … you rotate through the resteraunts. Royal Palace or Enchanted Garden one night, Animators Pallet the next, etc … but your wait staff moves with you. The result is that you get to know your servers and they, you. The servers are, themselves, a show of thier own … magic trick, jokes, juggling, all while providing top notch service.
Bottom line, if your’e only into the food … hit the buffet, they are both great, it’s a wash. But if you like a little more entertainment and a more personal touch, Disney has RCL beat!
Shipboard Activities
Comparatively, the only area that came close to meeting the service level of the Dream was the housekeeping staff. Kudos to Ida and his team on RCL & Turino & his team on the Dream, very professional & pleasant.
Evening Entertainment
The show (nightly entertainment) was definitely sub-par on RCL compared to the “off-Broadway” style shows of the dream. This cruise had one-man shows (magician, juggler, comedian, etc.) of minimal entertainment value. OK, I guess … but more what you’d expect in a nightclub or piano bar.
Disney shows were theatrical productions … we’d seen them all before, but still loved them. They do update some of the jokes to stay modern, but the show is effectively the same if youv’e been on the Dream in the past 3 years.
Bottom line, RCL was OK …. Most everything was “OK” … acceptable, but nothing impressive.
RCL could definately up thier game. Improvements in the staff interaction (personalized service) and implementing better technology would definitely help. i.e. our JS had a single 27″ TV with a handful of channels … comparable stateroom on the dream had a TV in front of the sofabed, one in front of the Queen bed, and a small one in the mirror in the bathroom. In addition to the handful of channels here, was ESPN, dedicated Disney movies, as well as channels that ran the days off-Broadway shows (in case you missed the live performance). This type of technology implementation is not very expensive, but impresses the customers.
Just my thoughts … but after these two, I’m forever hooked on Disney Cruises.
We go on a 7 day Fantasy Wester Caribbean cruise next year …. hope she’s as nice as the Dream.
Loved reading about your comparisons! We have our 3rd cruise booked for this summer on the Disney Fantasy and can’t wait! We have only cruised with Disney and would be scared to try any other cruise line! We have been spoiled by their awesome service and great accommodations! We are a family of 5 so it’s pricey but worth it! 🙂
I have been on Disney and RCL. Loved both, Disney food on main dinning was MUCH better. However we thought the entertainment on RCL was better. In the end enjoyed both.
WOW! I had just about talked myself OUT of using Disney for out next cruise and going with a “cheaper” line. THANKS for talking me off the ledge 🙂 Alaska & Disney Wonder here we come!!
Enjoyed reading the comparison. We made the mistake of sailing on Carnival this Xmas instead of Disney (twice the cost on Disney). Never again!!! Have already planned our next Disney Cruise.
Great post! We love Disney cruises! We just did a cruise on the Disney Wonder and it was in fantastic shape even though she heads into dry dock in a few months.
We took the Wonder to Alaska in June 2014 and it was HANDS DOWN the most amazing vacation we have ever experiences. Enjoy!
Sweet! Our next one, after the 7 day Fantasy, will be the Alaska on the Wonder … Do they have a Concierge Lounge? I know the Fantasy just got theirs in the last drydock … LOVE the concierge service!
Thank you Richard Brooks for the great comparison. We have only sailed with Disney and sometimes, I get curious about other cruise lines. It is posts like yours that bring me back to the reason that we selected to cruise with Disney originally.
Happy sailing!
We just returned home from our first cruise with Disney Cruise Lines, and we must say we are hooked!
After boarding at the Port Canaveral terminal and exploring the ship a bit, we decided to make our way to the adults only area known as “The Cove.” To our surprise, we found The Cove abandoned. We had the pool, bar, and both lower and upper decks of lounge chairs all to ourselves. We cannot express how delightful it was to spend so much time during our cruise in The Cove. Throughout our cruise, The Cove bar and pool was our own private paradise. Disney Cruise Line really has a nice balance of adults only, teen clubs, kids clubs, and other activities to keep everyone happy.
The Disney Dream’s Senses Fitness area located on deck twelve, forward, offers the same state of the art equipment that you will find in a number of the Walt Disney World Deluxe Resorts as well as Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. Senses Fitness Area also offers a number of free and a la carte fitness classes with complimentary abdominal and yoga classes offered during each of our morning visits, and these classes are sure to help you show last night’s dinner who’s boss!
One thing worth noting is that we were completely unaware of the family style dining that takes place on Disney Cruise Lines. Unfortunately we were seated with a group that was not enjoying their time onboard, to say the least. One of the lovely couples we met during our cruise recommended we not waste another second of our trip as unhappy diners. In result, we went to guest relations where they made this change for us. For the rest of our cruise we were seated at a private table which was a dream!
Disney Cruise Line’s dinner service, at least in our experience, does not include any major productions or fanfare during your dinner seating. If you plan to dine at the Royal Palace to see Disney princesses, you will be highly disappointed. Unlike Cinderella’s Royal Table in the Magic Kingdom, there were no characters, and there was no song and dance during dinner service at any of our meals. For us, this was a nice change from the norm of other cruise lines.
The Buccaneer Blast Fireworks at Sea show is the perfect example of how Disney Cruise Line pulls out all of the stops with its daily entertainment. From deck parties to Broadway style shows that rival those in its parks, Disney certainly knows how to put on a show. There is truly nothing like the Fireworks at Sea show, and this alone is completely worth every penny.
We truly believe the purchase and development of Castaway Cay is one of the best decisions the Walt Disney Company has ever made. We were so glad our cruise itinerary included a stop at Castaway Cay. The island is perfectly laid out with endless activities, and there is a flawless balance between family and adult where one does not impede on the other. The only down side was that we eventually had to leave this perfect island in the sun that had as wanting to sign up as permanent residents by the time our day had ended!
Although we’ve enjoyed our time aboard other cruise lines in the past, we can say without a doubt that the level of service we received, the amount of included onboard amenities, the quality of food offerings, and the unique dining opportunities with rotational dining on the Disney Dream far surpassed any of our experiences on other lines. Our Disney Cruise Line experience was truly a dream come true. For all of these reasons and so much more, Disney Cruise Line has made repeat cruisers out of us and we are very much looking forward to our future sailings with DCL.
For a far more detailed review, including photographs, personal navigators, and video, of our time on the Disney Dream, please visit our website at: http://www.bucation.com
Just got off the Fantasy.
Everything that could go wrong did from the staterooms to port adventures.
AVOID the fantasy if you can
Would you mind elaborating?
Yes please elaborate. We have been on the Fantasy twice and have another trip scheduled for this summer and cannot say enough good about the trips! Everything and everyone were fantastic!
Taking our first Disney cruise on the Fantasy, March 2017 (Star Wars cruise) and would like to know why you were so disappointed. Which port adventures should we stay away from???
Kathy, We just got off our 3rd trip on the Fantasy last month and have no complaints! We had a fantastic time in all areas! I’m not sure what happened to the above person and their trip but what I can say is if you make the decision to have fun and to engage your servers at supper it makes a huge difference! We always get to know our servers, ask about their day and take their food recommendations and it makes supper so much fun! We have been on the Eastern side twice and took the Western side this past time. I think we like the Eastern side better just because we like the 2 days at sea. On the Eastern side we did the Eco Hike on St. Johns and really enjoyed it. Honeymoon beach is AMAZING! At St. Maarten we take the water taxi to the beach. It’s fairly cheap with just the cost of the water taxi and a few bucks to the guy at the beach for some beach chairs with umbrellas. We spend the morning enjoying the beach but head back to the boat for lunch. (I’m to cheap to pay for lunch when it’s free on the boat!) There are locals walking the beach selling items. We just kindly tell them “no thank you” and they move on. The beach is beautiful! On the Western side we booked the “Cozumel’s Beach break at Playa Mia” excursion and had a blast! (We have 2 families with 5 kids total ages 14-19) It was a little pricey but had tons of water activities all included. This was our favorite and would do it again in a heartbeat! At Grand Cayman we booked “Family Beach Day at Tiki Beach”. It was a nice beach but a little bit of a let down after the Playa Mia experience from the day before. We did not get off the boat at Jamaica but the family traveling with us did. They booked the “Dunns River Falls with lunch” and had a blast! We stayed on board and my girls and I took advantage of a special the Senses Spa was running and then met up with my husband and my son to enjoy the family pool to ourselves for a long time! I cannot say enough good about Castaway Cay! WE LOVE IT! and everything that goes along with it! We always pre-book snorkel equipment for the island. We saw our servers Latroy and Raffy on the island. Latroy pulled me aside on the island and said he saw that my son and I both had birthdays the next week and he wanted to make sure we celebrated tonight at supper. I told him not to worry because they were next week and we would not even be on the boat but he was having not of that! Latroy and Raffy sang to us and loved on us that night! I still remember Alberto, Carlos, 1st trip, Devendra, Heny 2nd trip and of course Latroy and Raffy this past time! My family and I still talk about how fantastic they all were and how they all made our trips so much FUN! Kathy I’m sorry this is so long but the only complaint I have is that they make me get off the ship after 7 days! 😉 So don’t worry about the negative you have read. Get on that awesome, beautiful ship with it’s awesome, beautiful, and very accommodating cast members and plan to have the best week ever! Also we are jealous of your trip for many reasons but one is we are huge Star Wars fans! Wishing you happy and safe travels from the Moores!
Also taking a Star Wars Cruise in April on the Fantasy. Scott, any suggestions about where to find reviews on the excursions/things to do in St. Thomas and Tortola?
Cristina,
Port adventure reviews are not that easy to come by. We do have a system on the site for readers to submit port adventure reviews, but with the number of port adventures offered it is not a well used feature. Personally, we’ve looked at Trip Advisor for similar experiences and tried to judge how it would relate to the DCL port adventure. Keep in mind the majority of port adventures offered are through local third party tour groups in each port. These tour groups are usually rated on Trip Advisor. The trick is to find a similar tour based on what DCL is offering. The downside is that it may or may not be the same tour operator providing the service.
we’ve cruised before but will take our first Disney cruise this fall on the Disney Magic. Love reading this blog to get ideas of what to expect.
My friend and I are taking the Mediterranean cruise on the Magic in August. We want to see as much of Rome as possible however all most all of the various excursions list a great deal of walking (three miles at a steady pace on cobblestone and up hill and down hill and a lot of steps). We are silver people (that means old) and although quite active we don’t want to over do it. There is one excursion CV30 A Walk in Renaissance Rome which appears to have us transported to the various locations. Does anyone have information on this or any of the other Rome excursions?
Annamary,
I haven’t taken any of the European Disney Cruises but was recently in Rome last year and France this year. I recommend you load Uber app on your phone and Uber when tired. We had wonderful experiences with it in both countries. Had wonderful drivers that provided water etc. They will come wherever you are and take you to where you want to go when tired. Many even had wonderful advice for the area.
Good luck!
Kara
Kara, that is such a great point about Uber! I’m wondering if that would work to get to Rome right off the ship?
I was thinking of taking my 4 year old girl on an 11 Day Transatlantic Cruise. Has anyone done this cruise before and with so many days at sea do you think she will get bored? Is this a good cruise for a kid(s)? We did a 4 Night Bahamian Cruise and loved it. The price is so good for a cruise this long. Any reviews I have read no one mentioned having a kid my daughter’s age on it. Worried that with so many days at sea she will get sick of the onboard stuff.
We love the transatlantic cruises. We have done them with and without kids. In our opinion, kids included, they are our favourite of any itinerary. We enjoy the option of a slower pace, getting to know the ship’s staff, and other cruisers. We LOVE sea days, and don’t find them the least bit boring. (The price is usually decent too.) There are guest entertainers, and entertainment on the longer cruises that are not on the shorter cruises. The kids club is also usually not as hectic, as those cruises typically have fewer children. It is easier for the kids to connect with other kids and the staff. That being said, I know plenty of people who love cruising who can’t stand sea days.
Scott,
When are you cruising next?
February!
That’s great. Where are you headed? I’ve been dying to read your next trip report.
Just to Castaway Cay. The trip report will focus mainly on the updates to the Wonder.
Hey Scott…curious when you’re cruising again? Looking forward to your next trip report. Cheers.
Just got back from the first Alaska cruise of 2017. Really enjoyed the updates and refit of the new Disney Wonder. Just a few notes to those of you coming back, as I did, for the 2nd time to Alaska. With the changes that happened to Wonder in dry dock one of them is at the aft buffet Cabanas. The deck 7 aft deck is gone, now above it is the deck for Cabanas on deck 9 (don’t know what was on 8)and an extended inside eating area. Also gone is the Tracy arm fjord day Bar-b-q on the aft eating deck. Asked why and they said with the outside eating area smaller not enough room for outdoor cooking. Never fear though, the hot soup in bread bowl still exists that day and is served by walking wait staff on deck 9 and 10.
More about changes to Wonder–on open house time embarkation day got to see updates to kids and spa areas and can only say excellent!!! Deck 9 changes great too! Adult deck as great as always.
On our first night dinner we were in Animator’s Palette seated with wonderful adult table mates, but at one of the back wall tables. If seated there expect service to take longer. why? Because the wait stations to pickup food and clear tables are in the corners of the back wall requiring the wait staff to backtrack over the one only route on each trip since they could only access the table from one end and not around the table as other locations in the room. Also these tables, we found out, were the farthest from the kitchen. No problem in Tiana’s or Triton since we were at oval tables with full round access. We finished, with the same wait staff for all restaurants, a full 20 to 30 minutes later in Animator’s Palette than in the other two. That’s not to say that all of Animator’s tables were slower just all those at the aft back wall. We were usually the last out each time with all other tables on the back wall. Not our wait staff’s fault, just the layout of the room. Tiana’s was Excellent! Really enjoyed the menu and the supper club atmosphere with live music throughout the entire dinning experience and the 2nd seating of the trip Mardi Gras night was a real hit. Triton’s was excellent as always. An up point on Animator’s Palette. With three seatings here on this trip we got the regular show the first night, which was great, on the middle night was also Frozen night and the the restaurant was decked out with Frozen artwork and colors, on the last night we got to become animators and see our own art work in the show that was more than excellent.
We had great weather for most of the trip, thank you Disney. Had some fog and mist on first day at sea but cleared up to broken clouds. Had one night of high very high winds, but the captain and his crew did their best and kept us on top of each breaking wave for an easier ride. We got our sea legs quickly and were rocked to sleep that night. Next day we were due for Tracy Arm but too much blue ice in fjord so we went to the alternate Endicott Arm and Dawes Glaicer. It was fantastic. The ship had room to turn broadside to the glacier for great views of the face. We had sun that day so calving was witnessed. Saw wildlife on the way out and had the deck to ourselves. Had cold hard wind in Skagway but sunshine through clouds. It’s Alaska, so you layer up and keep on going. We enjoyed the experience. In Skagway we did the National Park Walking tours through historic downtown Skagway–3 different tours and free as long as tickets last. Get your tickets first thing in the A.M. at the National Park Office at 2nd and Broadway. In Ketchikan we toured the totems at the Totem Heritage Center and shopped. Great sunny day, so came back on ship to enjoy the pool area and decks.
Got to see great first run movies–and early viewing of new Pirates movie.On last night went for quick trip back to stateroom after dinner and saw an envelope in the fish by our door. We got a special invite (after the Dreams show) to a special meet and greet in D lounge with the characters before the Till we Meet Again show in the lobby. This was a special treat and one on one with ALL the characters before the show. Thank you Wonder staff for the invite.
Next morning they assign you to a breakfast seating according to your first restaurant seating time. We chose to do the express walk off after breakfast since we had the first breakfast seating and would be out of the room before 8:30am. We were walking off the ship and to Disney airport transportation by 8:10a.m.
We had an excellent time and took advantage of the “hold my place” plan to book our next cruise. For $250.00 you can “hold my place” and have up to two years to book your next cruise and still receive the shipboard booking credits and discounts. It’s a win-win. This allows you time to check your schedule and travel buddies names for reservation. We really liked that and took advantage of it. Looking forward to the next cruise.
I have a question about the price for gratuities. We are going on the Magic for a cruise to the British Isles. This will be our 10thh Disney cruise. We noticed that the gratuities are more than what they were several years ago when we went to Italy with Disney. I believe they are outrageous. Has anyone else noticed this?
Donna,
To my knowledge, the last time the recommended tip amounts were increased were August 2008.
DCL is also the lowest of the majors. All per person.
DCL – $12.00/day
Carnival – $12.95/day
Norwegian – $13.50/day
Royal Caribbean – $13.50/day
Please post a trip report of the 12 day circumvention of the UK in July 2017…
Ted, Sorry we were not on that cruise.
We were and I’d be happy to do a report when I”m better. I’ve been sick, ever since we were on that cruise and I am supposed to do nothing and have complete bed rest. I get tested for mono tomorrow. I will say that most of the time it was raining, windy and cold but if you want to hear about it, I’ll be happy to do a report.