I think that was my last DCL Cruise

[Chipmunkmaniac]

In the Magic now. Day 2… so far it has been great. Passing thru the Messina Strait. Just beautiful.
Leonore in Keys is phenomenal. Will keep y’all posted as I see more.

make sure to check out the Irish trio at the pub! they are great, they are also the ones doing the music on Rapunzels birthday celebration the last time you eat there

 

[ilovebassets]

We sailed a Western Carib on the Oasis of the Seas in late April (junior suite) and the Western Carib on the Fantasy in early June. So close in time that it was great for comparison.

For our family of five (mom, dad, 11, 9, 4 year old boys + grandparents traveled with us on both trips), Disney was the winner hands down. We did not notice any significant changes from the pre-COVID Fantasy experience to now. (I'm sure that would not have been true earlier in the year.) The minor changes we noted--
1. Masks for the under 5 group in the kids club. No big deal to us.
2. Cabanas not open for dinner. We never ate dinner there anyway.
3. Palo was probably twice the price for the same great experience. A bit annoying but not a deal breaker.

Things that were distinctly better about the Fantasy over the Oasis
1. Much better room layout for a family of 5 even if the Jr Suite had more sq footage.
2. Less nickeling and diming (like the $3 per person per day charge to chat on the app)
3. Better entertainment overall for DCL (movie theater, movies around pool, on demand movies in cabin all great for kids) although the AquaTheatre show on the Oasis is incredible. Obviously entertainment is pretty subjective.
4. Less being treated like second class citizens for not being in higher level suites. (Royal Carib reserving the ENTIRE middle section of the AquaTheatre for suite guests?!)
5. Much more beautiful ship with constant access to ocean views everywhere as opposed to feeling like being on a floating mall.
6. Infinitely better MDR food on the OASIS. No comparison. Proliferation of alternate (paid) restaurants has destroyed MDRs on those other ships.
7. Overall service slightly better with seemingly happier crew (but who really knows?)

The Oasis did have a few things going for it over the Fantasy though
1. Better/less crowded pool deck with more for kids to do
2. Central Park is amazing
3. Debarkation experience much better. I don't know why DCL just can't get their act together on this.
4. My kids preferred the OASIS kids club to the younger Disney kids clubs although my 11 year old adored Edge.

Equivalent between ships? Embarkation experience, crappy internet, and shore excursions.

For the Disney fans out there--I wouldn't cancel your upcoming cruises based on a few bad reviews. The whole industry has suffered. No ship will give you the exact same experience you had pre-COVID. We hadn't sailed the Fantasy in almost four years and were a bit worried, but to us, it was just as wonderful as ever.

 

[Karin1984]

yes exactly only the very first night the theatre stayed dark. The sailing before did not have Once upon a song so I'm glad we did get to experience the opening cause I didnt get to see that show in 11 years!

I think also the longer cruises, transatlantic and Panama canal, have 3 broadway style shows (same all shorter cruises) and Once Upon A Song. On all other nights there is other entertainment, like magicians, comedians. If there is a new movie released DCL shows it in the Walt Disney Theater.

With the first night dark, probably just a case of bad luck. Even if the entire cast of the shows is sick, DCL should always be able to show a movie. As they didn't on this cruise, I am assuming a technical issue.

 

[lklgoodman]

Yikes! I understand the feeling, especially because Disney is charging a premium price. We are doing a week long Caribbean cruise in 2 weeks in the Haven on NCL—private pool and sundeck, private restaurant, private bar, butler service, alcohol included, WiFi included, 450 sq foot room with balcony—and it still was $2500 less for our family of 3 than the Fantasy would have been.

We're going doing NCL Encore next summer to Alaska. We got a club balcony for less than an interior on DCL. We have done 8 Disney cruises. If we like NCL we will cruise them since they offer more choices. The Haven looks amazing! It really gives you so much more than DCL concierge cabins and areas.

 

[bakerworld]

Our first DCL cruise was such a experience that we didn't try DCL again for 5 years. I kept reading forums and convinced the better half to try one more time. This time we used a TA and she helped pick a cabin location. I sometimes wonder if our less that stellar first experience was because it was an 'incentive' cruise from purchasing DVC so they didn't provide us the same level of service. Every cruise we booked after using the TA has been wonderful. We did cruise on Magic out of NY and the crew was wonderful but the cabin attendant was not, which was reflected in her tip.

In October we will be trying out the Wish. I hope we enjoy it because we have a rescheduled cruise in March on the Wish in the same cabin. LOL

 

[brentm77]

We're going doing NCL Encore next summer to Alaska. We got a club balcony for less than an interior on DCL. We have done 8 Disney cruises. If we like NCL we will cruise them since they offer more choices. The Haven looks amazing! It really gives you so much more than DCL concierge cabins and areas.

With DCL, when you travel makes a huge difference. For example, before knowing about Princess' environmental problems in Alaska, we recently booked a cruise on their line. To get a room that is about the equivalent to the DCL verandah, you have to get the mini-suite on Princess. Otherwise, you don't have the little couch on the side of the bed, which is really important to my wife for comfort. So that is what we booked. It was non-club level too. But then I started looking at DCL as an option, and found that if we sailed the same week, it was slightly less expensive on DCL. The same room just a couple weeks prior is nearly $3,000 more on DCL. We canceled Princess and are now looking at DCL or Cunard.

In other words, if you can sail when the kids are in school, it makes a huge difference, and DCL might not even be the most expensive option for comparable rooms. I get not everyone can do that, as this option is just opening to my wife and me now that the kiddos are headed off to college and we are going to do more traveling without them. But man, it sure seems like a bargain to start traveling with two people instead of four!

Edit: I just priced NCL Encore for the same time period, and it is about $300 less than DCL for a club-level verandah. It seems mostly comparable to what you would get from a Disney veranda, plus a few modest perks. But it certainly isn't the huge savings many assume you always get. I don't think the ship is what we are looking for for this trip, but it looks great for families looking for a variety of activities and eating options on board, and I like that it ports from Seattle for travel convenience. Looks like a fun cruise!

 

[Lilsia]

Our first DCL cruise was such a experience that we didn't try DCL again for 5 years. I kept reading forums and convinced the better half to try one more time. This time we used a TA and she helped pick a cabin location. I sometimes wonder if our less that stellar first experience was because it was an 'incentive' cruise from purchasing DVC so they didn't provide us the same level of service. Every cruise we booked after using the TA has been wonderful. We did cruise on Magic out of NY and the crew was wonderful but the cabin attendant was not, which was reflected in her tip.

In October we will be trying out the Wish. I hope we enjoy it because we have a rescheduled cruise in March on the Wish in the same cabin. LOL

The employees don't know how or what you paid. I am sorry that you had a bad room attendant. That most definitely not the norm. In fact, I have never heard anyone else complain about their room attendant in all this time. And cabin location does not matter either.

 

[bonnielynn]

Isn’t cabanas usually closed during dinner? Because if they are supposed to be open that be good to know because we would like to do that as a break from the MDR

I called today to ask that very same question and I was told as of today, 11:59 a.m. it is open for sit-down dinner with a limited menu. I have asked around and most people say that it isn't open. I am unsure if it is or not. I, too, would really like to know that answer.

 

[Laundress]

make sure to check out the Irish trio at the pub! they are great, they are also the ones doing the music on Rapunzels birthday celebration the last time you eat there

We loved this trio. Did you happen to get a pic of them? Wonder if they have fb or Gram account.

 

[brentm77]

We loved this trio. Did you happen to get a pic of them? Wonder if they have fb or Gram account.

It's not a great photo, but I have one:

 

[Cheburashka]

I understand we are in a pandemic, but I’m not so sure if DCL should be cruising if they are offering Carnival service at Disney prices.

Just got off the Magic and it was not magical. They arrived at 3 ports at a later time without notification. We booked a lot of private tours because we were not fans of the ones DCL offered. We couldn’t contact the tour operators Bc the wifi rarely worked.

There were 4 shows in 9 nights. Almost every soda machine was either out of soda or out of ice. There were no cups in Cabanas. There were dirty dishes on all the tables. There were no fireworks and no explanation given. Food in Cabanas for breakfast wasn’t good - except for the churro Mickey waffles they had once. Cabanas was closed during dinner.

This could turn into a very long post if I listed all the issues. I didn’t even book a placeholder cruise onboard. I’m done.

I sailed the Magic in October 2021 and the Fantasy in March 2022 with no issues. You seem to have had bad luck. They're not all like that.

 

[Buzzster]

make sure to check out the Irish trio at the pub! they are great, they are also the ones doing the music on Rapunzels birthday celebration the last time you eat there

They are MAGNIFICENT.

 

[Buzzster]

make sure to check out the Irish trio at the pub! they are great, they are also the ones doing the music on Rapunzels birthday celebration the last time you eat there

They are MAGNIFICENT.

 

[Buzzster]

Just finished lunch at Taverna Jimmy in Katakolon. The baklava is out if this world. Great food.

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

They are MAGNIFICENT.

there s a CD at the counter of the shops

 

[Wosmama6]

We were on the same cruise and all of those things were true. However, we had the best vacation of our lives. The biggest issue was the food quality. I didn't look forward to any meals on the ship at all. But with a 3 year old, there's no better way to see Europe. We already booked the northern itinerary for next year, prices are much better than this year's were.

The ice machine thing was annoying but we only had to go into cabanas once for it. We didn't take any dcl excursions and were glad, we only heard complaints. For a family of 4 our private tours were comparable in price.

The changing port arrival time was annoying. We had to change a couple of our private tours because arrival times changed in the app, and then we ended up getting there at the original time anyway, which was a bit of a PITA.

The limited shows didn't bother me. With the heat, we were zonked at night anyway so it was nice to have some low key nights.

The kid pool closing at 6 when it didn't get dark til 9, and cabanas being closed at dinner were two other things that stood out to us. Limited aquadunk hours too

That said, we had a BLAST. We were all so so sad to leave. We made friends that are coming to our July 4 party this weekend.

 

[nancipants]

We were on the same cruise and all of those things were true. However, we had the best vacation of our lives. The biggest issue was the food quality. I didn't look forward to any meals on the ship at all. But with a 3 year old, there's no better way to see Europe. We already booked the northern itinerary for next year, prices are much better than this year's were.

Random question - will you be doing a trip report? We are considering doing Europe when my son is 4 and would love to hear tips and tactics!

 

[Wosmama6]

I did a daily wrap up on my social (don't know if I'm allowed to post it here but I can dm you) since I'm a TA. Happy to answer any specific questions and if I have time to write up the whole thing, I will send a link!!!

 

[Wosmama6]

Random question - will you be doing a trip report? We are considering doing Europe when my son is 4 and would love to hear tips and tactics!

Also this was our second trip w an almost 4yo. Soooo much easier w our son but he is a totally different kid. DD has her own ideas whereas he is more go w the program. The first trip was land based with lots of driving around Tuscany in the off season. The cruise made travel w DD MUCH easier. We could relax and have fun while we were going to the next place instead of resting up for a long drive in the am.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Goodness. Getting ready to board Magic in 9 days. Not what I am wanting to hear.

We are in the terminal now. Waiting for clear to sail. Now my anxiety just kicked up a bit.

I sailed on the Magic in December 2021 and April 2022 and the service was flawless both times.