MrsInsG
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2017
Hi All-
These boards were such a help to me as I planned my cruise that I would like to give back. Our cruise was fantastic and we rebooked while onboard. We cruised DCL in 2004 with our then 3 y.o. dd; we were not impressed for the price. We decided to try again with our younger two dd's (11 and 14) as they had never been on DCL (or any cruise, for that matter.) Our oldest couldn't join us due to college classes, and we missed having her with us.
We were a party of four staying in a deluxe family veranda room (6614). We had plenty of space for four, but I can't imagine five of us in there. We were on the ERAERAE rotation with late seating. My dh and I have always preferred late, but our 11 year old fell asleep at the table a couple of the nights; next cruise will be early seating. We were originally seated with another family but we did not mesh - at all - and requested, and were granted, a private table. Our servers were fine, if a bit slow compared to the others we could see around us; they just seemed somewhat out-of-sync. The food was good for the most part. We loved Palo brunch but did not dine anywhere but our regular dining room and Cabanas (one night) throughout the cruise.
I expected kids on a Disney cruise. I am a mom, and I am a middle-school teacher; I really, REALLY like kids. *Brace yourselves* Just because it's a DCL trip does not mean your child should run through the aisles in restaurants, or knock into people on the stairs (as a general rule, maybe *not* racing your kids down the stairs would be a good way to go?), or knock into people who were trying to get off the elevator. As my dh told me, I used my "teacher voice" a couple of times - I can't help it, it's a professional hazard. In general, most kids were fine, but those that were allowed the run of ship were problematic. There were quite a few older passengers and those with mobility issues; one bad fall and those people would be seriously compromised. Kids running around without correction can cause a serious issue. I realize Disney can't control parenting, but they can tell parents they need to maintain positive control of their children.
I thought the entertainment was good and enjoyed seeing the shows and participating in some of the family activities. My youngest loved the AquaDuck and both girls really enjoyed the pools and FunnelVision. The fireworks were just really cool! We had a great day on Castaway Cay and ended up getting back on the ship earlier than we would have liked because our Irish skin was starting to burn even after three applications of sunscreen... such is life!
Embarkation and debarkation were smooth and easy. We arrived at 11:30 to board and were checked in and on the ship by 12:20. We self-debarked and were loaded in our car and on the highway at 7:34am; I couldn't ask for more than that!
I am happy to answer any questions you may have, and am so grateful for all of the help you provided during my planning!
These boards were such a help to me as I planned my cruise that I would like to give back. Our cruise was fantastic and we rebooked while onboard. We cruised DCL in 2004 with our then 3 y.o. dd; we were not impressed for the price. We decided to try again with our younger two dd's (11 and 14) as they had never been on DCL (or any cruise, for that matter.) Our oldest couldn't join us due to college classes, and we missed having her with us.
We were a party of four staying in a deluxe family veranda room (6614). We had plenty of space for four, but I can't imagine five of us in there. We were on the ERAERAE rotation with late seating. My dh and I have always preferred late, but our 11 year old fell asleep at the table a couple of the nights; next cruise will be early seating. We were originally seated with another family but we did not mesh - at all - and requested, and were granted, a private table. Our servers were fine, if a bit slow compared to the others we could see around us; they just seemed somewhat out-of-sync. The food was good for the most part. We loved Palo brunch but did not dine anywhere but our regular dining room and Cabanas (one night) throughout the cruise.
I expected kids on a Disney cruise. I am a mom, and I am a middle-school teacher; I really, REALLY like kids. *Brace yourselves* Just because it's a DCL trip does not mean your child should run through the aisles in restaurants, or knock into people on the stairs (as a general rule, maybe *not* racing your kids down the stairs would be a good way to go?), or knock into people who were trying to get off the elevator. As my dh told me, I used my "teacher voice" a couple of times - I can't help it, it's a professional hazard. In general, most kids were fine, but those that were allowed the run of ship were problematic. There were quite a few older passengers and those with mobility issues; one bad fall and those people would be seriously compromised. Kids running around without correction can cause a serious issue. I realize Disney can't control parenting, but they can tell parents they need to maintain positive control of their children.
I thought the entertainment was good and enjoyed seeing the shows and participating in some of the family activities. My youngest loved the AquaDuck and both girls really enjoyed the pools and FunnelVision. The fireworks were just really cool! We had a great day on Castaway Cay and ended up getting back on the ship earlier than we would have liked because our Irish skin was starting to burn even after three applications of sunscreen... such is life!
Embarkation and debarkation were smooth and easy. We arrived at 11:30 to board and were checked in and on the ship by 12:20. We self-debarked and were loaded in our car and on the highway at 7:34am; I couldn't ask for more than that!
I am happy to answer any questions you may have, and am so grateful for all of the help you provided during my planning!