Disappointing Adult Cruise On The Dream

[Paul Stupin]

Hey everyone!

First of all, my wife and I are huge Disney fans, happy DVC owners, and don’t have kids. Over the last several years, I’ve read a bunch of enthusiastic reviews of Disney Cruise Line, listened to equally glowing podcasts from podcasters turned travel agents, and watched endless positive YouTube videos on the subject. Having done my homework, I thought it would be fun, prior to a DVC vacation at WDW, to take a five night cruise on the Dream in late April of this year. Alas, our experience failed to match, or even come close, to our expectations.

Having sailed on pretty much all the cruise lines, we’re pretty experienced cruisers. I thought it would be helpful to list some positive and negatives concerning our experience. I’m also genuinely curious if we’re being too critical, or perhaps making unfair judgements. There were, of course, tons of kids and families who were obviously having a great time.

THE GOOD

1. The design of our ship was beautiful. The central atrium is a wonder to behold. The woodwork and attention to detail throughout the ship, as well as all the fun paintings and artwork, made the environment feel really special. Our cabin, a balcony veranda, though small, was clean, well maintained, and nicely designed.

2. Service and friendliness were mostly superlative. Almost every crew member seemed happy to be there, and was always happy to answer questions and help out. Our stateroom attendants were great.

3. Our two ports, Grand Cayman and Castaway Cay, were beautiful and a blast to visit.

4. The shows were fun. Loved the fireworks!

5. Dinner at Palo was delicious. What a nice spot to have a meal!

6. The adult area at the front of the ship was quiet and nice. When it got windy, though, it would close and there was really nowhere else to go. The adult only pool wasn’t really for us because it was crowded and loud.


THE BAD

1. Of course we were prepared for lots of kids, but the main pool area on sea days was almost unbelievably crowded with a solid, monumentally packed together mass of kids and families. This being Disney, it’s probably not a fair criticism, but for us it was really off putting. We stayed away from it.

2. The food in the dining rooms and Cabanas, the buffet, was below average. As I’ve mentioned, we’ve been on almost every cruise line. I don’t think we were wrong to expect better from Disney.

3. My wife and I were lucky to get a table for two for the early seating. But it was made clear to us that this is normally almost impossible, so we shouldn’t ever expect it again. That alone would keep us away in the future. Why was it even listed as a request on the pre cruise app?

4. The atrium, though beautiful, is under utilized. On other cruise lines it’s the lively center of the ship, where something is always happening, and there is fun to be had. On the Dream it seemed like a big, weird dead space, mostly empty during the day except for character meet and greets.

5. The adult bar entertainment area, “The District,” was a series of windowless dark caverns. Weird.

THE UGLY

1. Every meal in the dining rooms was incredibly rushed. Food was delivered almost instantaneously and replaced with the next dish almost immediately after it was finished, so the experience was never particularly pleasant or relaxing. I guess that’s better than waiting forever, as we occasionally have on other lines, but still not optimum.

2. Our waiter and assistant waiter were friendly and competent, which was fine, but didn’t really go out of their way to make the dining experience special. Not great, but no big deal. But on the second to last night of the cruise, they both walked up to the table with stern, concerned expressions and stood there awkwardly. After a long uncomfortable pause, they launched into an long uncomfortable dissertation on the fact that we would be receiving a questionnaire in our state room, and, pretty much, their jobs, well being, and potential contract renewals depended on us giving them all 10s.

We’ve all had this from sales people in other environments, but on a Disney ship, on vacation, in the middle of dinner? For us, this was beyond weird and we really didn’t like it. It made us as uncomfortable as they obviously were. And, of course, we were manipulated into promising them the scores they wanted. Of course this falls on Disney creating a ship board culture where crew members are forced to do this, but still. Guests should not be put in this situation. And it made us wonder how much darkness lies behind the magic.

3. Debarkation. A mad, chaotic, crowded, disorganized nightmare and the worst we’ve ever experienced. The atrium and lower levels were packed with what felt like thousands of people and their luggage, milling about, not knowing what to do, pressing against each other, jostling about. The buffet, Cabanas, was inexplicably closed, unlike any other cruise ship that we’ve ever sailed on, so guests were forced to lug their bags down to breakfast in the dining rooms, leave them indiscriminately piled up outside, then lug them (at least for us) up a deck to wait in an endless, snaking line to disembark. It felt almost apocalyptic. Why would Disney ever allow this to happen??

I actually asked a female crew member, who seemed to have some responsibility, if it was always like this. She snapped, “there are four thousand people on the ship, I think you’ll survive.”

Uh yeah, I guess I’ll survive, and that was the last magical memory my wife and I had interacting with a cast member.

Anyway, that’s my story! But both my wife and I are genuinely curious. Are we overreacting? Are we being too critical? We still have some positive memories from it, and frankly hate to carry away any negativity. And, for what’s it’s worth, we took the Brightline up to Orlando (great experience), and are now having a great time at WDW!

 

[Paul Stupin]

Hey everyone!

First of all, my wife and I are huge Disney fans, happy DVC owners, and don’t have kids. Over the last several years, I’ve read a bunch of enthusiastic reviews of Disney Cruise Line, listened to equally glowing podcasts from podcasters turned travel agents, and watched endless positive YouTube videos on the subject. Having done my homework, I thought it would be fun, prior to a DVC vacation at WDW, to take a five night cruise on the Dream in late April of this year. Alas, our experience failed to match, or even come close, to our expectations.

Having sailed on pretty much all the cruise lines, we’re pretty experienced cruisers. I thought it would be helpful to list some positive and negatives concerning our experience. I’m also genuinely curious if we’re being too critical, or perhaps making unfair judgements. There were, of course, tons of kids and families who were obviously having a great time.

THE GOOD

1. The design of our ship was beautiful. The central atrium is a wonder to behold. The woodwork and attention to detail throughout the ship, as well as all the fun paintings and artwork, made the environment feel really special. Our cabin, a balcony veranda, though small, was clean, well maintained, and nicely designed.

2. Service and friendliness were mostly superlative. Almost every crew member seemed happy to be there, and was always happy to answer questions and help out. Our stateroom attendants were great.

3. Our two ports, Grand Cayman and Castaway Cay, were beautiful and a blast to visit.

4. The shows were fun. Loved the fireworks!

5. Dinner at Palo was delicious. What a nice spot to have a meal!

6. The adult area at the front of the ship was quiet and nice. When it got windy, though, it would close and there was really nowhere else to go. The adult only pool wasn’t really for us because it was crowded and loud.


THE BAD

1. Of course we were prepared for lots of kids, but the main pool area on sea days was almost unbelievably crowded with a solid, monumentally packed together mass of kids and families. This being Disney, it’s probably not a fair criticism, but for us it was really off putting. We stayed away from it.

2. The food in the dining rooms and Cabanas, the buffet, was below average. As I’ve mentioned, we’ve been on almost every cruise line. I don’t think we were wrong to expect better from Disney.

3. My wife and I were lucky to get a table for two for the early seating. But it was made clear to us that this is normally almost impossible, so we shouldn’t ever expect it again. That alone would keep us away in the future. Why was it even listed as a request on the pre cruise app?

4. The atrium, though beautiful, is under utilized. On other cruise lines it’s the lively center of the ship, where something is always happening, and there is fun to be had. On the Dream it seemed like a big, weird dead space, mostly empty during the day except for character meet and greets.

5. The adult bar entertainment area, “The District,” was a series of windowless dark caverns. Weird.

THE UGLY

1. Every meal in the dining rooms was incredibly rushed. Food was delivered almost instantaneously and replaced with the next dish almost immediately after it was finished, so the experience was never particularly pleasant or relaxing. I guess that’s better than waiting forever, as we occasionally have on other lines, but still not optimum.

2. Our waiter and assistant waiter were friendly and competent, which was fine, but didn’t really go out of their way to make the dining experience special. Not great, but no big deal. But on the second to last night of the cruise, they both walked up to the table with stern, concerned expressions and stood there awkwardly. After a long uncomfortable pause, they launched into an long uncomfortable dissertation on the fact that we would be receiving a questionnaire in our state room, and, pretty much, their jobs, well being, and potential contract renewals depended on us giving them all 10s.

We’ve all had this from sales people in other environments, but on a Disney ship, on vacation, in the middle of dinner? For us, this was beyond weird and we really didn’t like it. It made us as uncomfortable as they obviously were. And, of course, we were manipulated into promising them the scores they wanted. Of course this falls on Disney creating a ship board culture where crew members are forced to do this, but still. Guests should not be put in this situation. And it made us wonder how much darkness lies behind the magic.

3. Debarkation. A mad, chaotic, crowded, disorganized nightmare and the worst we’ve ever experienced. The atrium and lower levels were packed with what felt like thousands of people and their luggage, milling about, not knowing what to do, pressing against each other, jostling about. The buffet, Cabanas, was inexplicably closed, unlike any other cruise ship that we’ve ever sailed on, so guests were forced to lug their bags down to breakfast in the dining rooms, leave them indiscriminately piled up outside, then lug them (at least for us) up a deck to wait in an endless, snaking line to disembark. It felt almost apocalyptic. Why would Disney ever allow this to happen??

I actually asked a female crew member, who seemed to have some responsibility, if it was always like this. She snapped, “there are four thousand people on the ship, I think you’ll survive.”

Uh yeah, I guess I’ll survive, and that was the last magical memory my wife and I had interacting with a cast member.

Anyway, that’s my story! But both my wife and I are genuinely curious. Are we overreacting? Are we being too critical? We still have some positive memories from it, and frankly hate to carry away any negativity. And, for what’s it’s worth, we took the Brightline up to Orlando (great experience), and are now having a great time at WDW!

 

[dcassetta]

The buffet, Cabanas, was inexplicably closed, unlike any other cruise ship that we’ve ever sailed on, so guests were forced to lug their bags down to breakfast in the dining rooms, leave them indiscriminately piled up outside, then lug them (at least for us) up a deck to wait in an endless, snaking line to disembark.

Typically Cabanas is open on the last morning, but they do not really advertise this. Did you check and find it closed? If so, this would absolutely create an issue in the MDRs. I think too many people are unwilling or unable to put luggage out the night before and this does lead to luggage issues when disembarking. PE is still a new port for DCL, so that may still be working out some of the kinks.

I actually asked a female crew member, who seemed to have some responsibility, if it was always like this. She snapped, “there are four thousand people on the ship, I think you’ll survive.”

Completely unacceptable. I am going to hope she was just having a bad day and that is not typical for her.

 

[Racer X]

Yeah, not a good look from the cast member. However yes the ship is full of kids... there are adult areas that are very nice and comfortable. Dining can be subjective based on your expectations. I have never had a bad meal on my 8 cruises but are they 5*? No and not adverstised as such. Usually outside during days and bars at night so never noticed a lack of windows. I have been to plenty of activities in the atrium... shows and plenty of music. Perhaps you missed it in the Navigator?

 

[auntlynne]

The survey lecture!!! I am on vacation, I do not want to do Human Resource work. I have put up my hand, indicating Stop. And say, I know - and if you continue, I will drop a star. I have been fortunate enough to not get this lecture on some cruises. I have cruised DCL since 2007. It is the worst part of the cruise.

 

[auntlynne]

I think your appraisal is not atypical. There is a lot of hype and defenders of DCL. It is not perfect; not that different, in the big picture, from general mass market cruises; and not for everyone. Just because people like WDW does not equal liking DCL.

The Ugly was nothing horrific. Just not ideal. And the parting response was poor customer service. As I am leaning, it’s what is the current state of society.

I have cruised (mostly) Disney, NCL, Princess, MSC, Royal, and Carnival - in that order by # of nights. Each had something to offer and all had something not to my liking (but often great for others).

Without the filter of seeing it through the glowing reports and expectations, did you find your overall cruise noticeably different or better/worse than what other lines offer?

 

[Grankm21]

I don’t think you’re being over critical. My family and I have been on two Disney cruises, most recently the Wish. We cruise fairly often and have been on multiple cruise lines. Each has their pros and cons. While Disney exceeds with their staterooms and entertainment, we were also turned off by the small/crowded pools and lack of natural light in so many areas. We’ve decided that when it comes to cruising we’ll stick with Royal Caribbean mega ships for a while since those seem to be a better align with what we are looking for.

 

[sponica]

So based on the dates of the cruise, you probably got the tail end of NYC schools april vacation or anyone else who is closed for Passover. That would explain all the kids. But the adult area on the dream is decent (even if it took me forever to find it). I honestly just read on the pool deck and consumed drinks of the day. The sea days are always going to be a zoo, there's only so many places to go, and for kids it'll be either the pool or the kids club.

5. The adult bar entertainment area, “The District,” was a series of windowless dark caverns. Weird.

They scattered them on the Wish, and oh boy, people complain about that.

 

[cvjw]

We sail as an adult couple several times per year. Yes, DCL is full of kids. We do our best to avoid most of them. Always choose late dining. Much better. Never been rushed. We spend all our days at satellite falls or on our balcony. Never go to the main pool - always people soup.

Cabanas is always open for breakfast, but rarely advertised. We always do express walkoff at 7:30 after a quick breakfast at cabanas. So easy. We are in our car driving home before 8:00.

 

[lanejudy]

Not hypercritical, it may not be the right line for you.

1. Of course we were prepared for lots of kids, but the main pool area on sea days was almost unbelievably crowded with a solid, monumentally packed together mass of kids and families. This being Disney, it’s probably not a fair criticism, but for us it was really off putting. We stayed away from it.

Yes, the family pools gets unreal, particularly on sea days. Did you try the Adults Only pool? That shouldn't have been anywhere near as bad, and thus you could essentially "forget" about the family pools and the chaos there.

2. The food in the dining rooms and Cabanas, the buffet, was below average. As I’ve mentioned, we’ve been on almost every cruise line. I don’t think we were wrong to expect better from Disney.

It's usually fairly average, but that is subjective. Unlike a typical restaurant where people come and go at their own time table, with the set dining times food is prepared and served basically banquet style. Did you try either of the adult dining options -- Palo or Remy? Those might be more to your liking if you are looking for upper scale dining.

4. The atrium, though beautiful, is under utilized. On other cruise lines it’s the lively center of the ship, where something is always happening, and there is fun to be had. On the Dream it seemed like a big, weird dead space, mostly empty during the day except for character meet and greets.

Agree it is often quiet. But that is where a lot of character meets take place during the day. Since it's a negative to you that the space is underutilized, what activities did you feel were missing that could have taken place here? DCL does a pretty good job of spreading out their activities to various venues across the ship so it isn't a mob scene in one spot.

1. Every meal in the dining rooms was incredibly rushed. Food was delivered almost instantaneously and replaced with the next dish almost immediately after it was finished, so the experience was never particularly pleasant or relaxing. I guess that’s better than waiting forever, as we occasionally have on other lines, but still not optimum.

I think you said you had early dining. It does tend to be a little more rushed than the late because they need to prepare the dining room for the next seating. Also, many families are anxious to get their kids fed and out for evening activities. It's possible your wait staff had several other tables of kids/families; while not "right" they do tend to keep all tables moving at the same pace. In my experience early dining is done in about an hour, no more than 1:15. We've never done late seating but I've heard it is slower paced.

3. My wife and I were lucky to get a table for two for the early seating. But it was made clear to us that this is normally almost impossible, so we shouldn’t ever expect it again. That alone would keep us away in the future. Why was it even listed as a request on the pre cruise app?

A private table for 2 is harder at the early seating. Late dining is usually much easier to accommodate that request. However, they only have so many tables and need to seat everyone, so sometimes it simply isn't possible to give every party of 2 their own table.

3. Debarkation. A mad, chaotic, crowded, disorganized nightmare and the worst we’ve ever experienced. The atrium and lower levels were packed with what felt like thousands of people and their luggage, milling about, not knowing what to do, pressing against each other, jostling about. The buffet, Cabanas, was inexplicably closed, unlike any other cruise ship that we’ve ever sailed on, so guests were forced to lug their bags down to breakfast in the dining rooms, leave them indiscriminately piled up outside, then lug them (at least for us) up a deck to wait in an endless, snaking line to disembark. It felt almost apocalyptic. Why would Disney ever allow this to happen??

Cabanas should have been open until about 8:15am? It isn't particularly advertised, though. If it wasn't open at all, that is unusual and there must have been a situation that kept it closed. As to luggage -- if you had early dinner you would have been assigned early breakfast, and there should have been time to go back to your stateroom for small bags. Most luggage could have been left out in hallway the night prior to be taken off by DCL, then you claim it in the terminal. There's no need for a lot of luggage to tote around the last morning, just a bag with the last-minute items. You are reunited with all luggage before going through customs, so it's not even like you need to keep a full carry-on like embarkation day.

 

[angel's momma]

@lanejudy Looks like OP accidently double posted.

 

[Carohs]

I think a lot of your review comes from not having sailed DCL and what your expectations were from your experience on other lines. For example, Disney doesn't have a bar or Starbucks in the atrium. They choose to use the area for meet & greets and sometimes other activities like pictures with photographers or story time with Santa. It's the most decorated area of the ship for holidays and I find it nice that it's not bustling like other lines. I can sit and people watch or look out the windows or even read while catching a peek at the occasional character. Going from DCL to another line, one of the first things I noticed was how much louder the atrium is and how impossible it is to have a conversation with guest services. That was off-putting for me.

As far as the ugly part of your review:
1. That's something not DCL specific, but a result of your serving team. Plenty of reports here complaining about the length of dinner service or asking how to speed it up. You'd probably have better timing with late dining, and communicate with the team if you'd like more time between courses.
2. The sales pitch is extremely annoying. Experienced cruisers have learned to deal with this in our own way. It doesn't seem to matter if you are silver or platinum, they do it every time. But it's just a few minutes out of what is normally a great vacation.
3. Ugh people. I've seen this quite often and not just Disney. It seems to depend on time of year, length of cruise, and port of debarkation. It seems to happen more often when the ship is close to the airport and the # of people choosing to self carry luggage increases because they have an early flight they want to make. Why there's so many in such a hurry to cut their vacation short I never understand. The luggage in the hallways is quite common. It does seem that crowds congregate more on DCL near the atrium and dining rooms. We'll go to the pool deck or jogging track deck and just hang for a while. We also do late dining; so we have also been known to lollygag at breakfast. Everyone is out between 9 and 10 anyway; it's not that much later in the day and worth avoiding the chaos to just chill for a minute.

 

[Mommb]

Regarding tables for 2:
The option on the app is for a private table. Because most guests on most sailing travel with kids, this will typically be a table for 3-8 people, which is easy to accomodate at a table for 4, 6, or 8. There are very few (if any) tables that seat only 2, so parties of 2 usually need a table for 4 which means 2 empty seats. At the later seating, this isn't as much of a problem, but because on most cruises more guests request early seating, it is more difficult to seat 2 people by themselves at early seating. That's probably why you were told that this wouldn't always be possible. That said, the dining room staff do try to accomodate everyone as much as possible, so you could get another table with just 2 on another cruise. It just wouldn't be as likely as getting a table for just 4.

Regarding the atrium:
The main use of the atrium is for character meets during the day, photos around dinner time, and family musical entertainment in the evening. It is also a space for small kids to run around, which is important when there are so many small kids on the ship. I agree that it often looks barren, but it fills up during Princess Gatherings and, as you saw, during debarkation.

Regarding debarkation:
We do 2nd seating, so that by the time we finish breakfast most of the crowd has dissipated. If you have early seating, you could dash back to your room to get your carry-on bags. On the only non-Disney cruise I've taken, we waited in a lounge as each debarkation group was called. I'm not sure that's any easier than finishing breakfast and getting in line, but I rarely finish breakfast before all groups have been called so I don't pay attention to how quickly things move.

 

[Lisa F]

Hey everyone!

First of all, my wife and I are huge Disney fans, happy DVC owners, and don’t have kids. Over the last several years, I’ve read a bunch of enthusiastic reviews of Disney Cruise Line, listened to equally glowing podcasts from podcasters turned travel agents, and watched endless positive YouTube videos on the subject. Having done my homework, I thought it would be fun, prior to a DVC vacation at WDW, to take a five night cruise on the Dream in late April of this year. Alas, our experience failed to match, or even come close, to our expectations.

Having sailed on pretty much all the cruise lines, we’re pretty experienced cruisers. I thought it would be helpful to list some positive and negatives concerning our experience. I’m also genuinely curious if we’re being too critical, or perhaps making unfair judgements. There were, of course, tons of kids and families who were obviously having a great time.

THE GOOD

1. The design of our ship was beautiful. The central atrium is a wonder to behold. The woodwork and attention to detail throughout the ship, as well as all the fun paintings and artwork, made the environment feel really special. Our cabin, a balcony veranda, though small, was clean, well maintained, and nicely designed.

2. Service and friendliness were mostly superlative. Almost every crew member seemed happy to be there, and was always happy to answer questions and help out. Our stateroom attendants were great.

3. Our two ports, Grand Cayman and Castaway Cay, were beautiful and a blast to visit.

4. The shows were fun. Loved the fireworks!

5. Dinner at Palo was delicious. What a nice spot to have a meal!

6. The adult area at the front of the ship was quiet and nice. When it got windy, though, it would close and there was really nowhere else to go. The adult only pool wasn’t really for us because it was crowded and loud.


THE BAD

1. Of course we were prepared for lots of kids, but the main pool area on sea days was almost unbelievably crowded with a solid, monumentally packed together mass of kids and families. This being Disney, it’s probably not a fair criticism, but for us it was really off putting. We stayed away from it.

2. The food in the dining rooms and Cabanas, the buffet, was below average. As I’ve mentioned, we’ve been on almost every cruise line. I don’t think we were wrong to expect better from Disney.

3. My wife and I were lucky to get a table for two for the early seating. But it was made clear to us that this is normally almost impossible, so we shouldn’t ever expect it again. That alone would keep us away in the future. Why was it even listed as a request on the pre cruise app?

4. The atrium, though beautiful, is under utilized. On other cruise lines it’s the lively center of the ship, where something is always happening, and there is fun to be had. On the Dream it seemed like a big, weird dead space, mostly empty during the day except for character meet and greets.

5. The adult bar entertainment area, “The District,” was a series of windowless dark caverns. Weird.

THE UGLY

1. Every meal in the dining rooms was incredibly rushed. Food was delivered almost instantaneously and replaced with the next dish almost immediately after it was finished, so the experience was never particularly pleasant or relaxing. I guess that’s better than waiting forever, as we occasionally have on other lines, but still not optimum.

2. Our waiter and assistant waiter were friendly and competent, which was fine, but didn’t really go out of their way to make the dining experience special. Not great, but no big deal. But on the second to last night of the cruise, they both walked up to the table with stern, concerned expressions and stood there awkwardly. After a long uncomfortable pause, they launched into an long uncomfortable dissertation on the fact that we would be receiving a questionnaire in our state room, and, pretty much, their jobs, well being, and potential contract renewals depended on us giving them all 10s.

We’ve all had this from sales people in other environments, but on a Disney ship, on vacation, in the middle of dinner? For us, this was beyond weird and we really didn’t like it. It made us as uncomfortable as they obviously were. And, of course, we were manipulated into promising them the scores they wanted. Of course this falls on Disney creating a ship board culture where crew members are forced to do this, but still. Guests should not be put in this situation. And it made us wonder how much darkness lies behind the magic.

3. Debarkation. A mad, chaotic, crowded, disorganized nightmare and the worst we’ve ever experienced. The atrium and lower levels were packed with what felt like thousands of people and their luggage, milling about, not knowing what to do, pressing against each other, jostling about. The buffet, Cabanas, was inexplicably closed, unlike any other cruise ship that we’ve ever sailed on, so guests were forced to lug their bags down to breakfast in the dining rooms, leave them indiscriminately piled up outside, then lug them (at least for us) up a deck to wait in an endless, snaking line to disembark. It felt almost apocalyptic. Why would Disney ever allow this to happen??

I actually asked a female crew member, who seemed to have some responsibility, if it was always like this. She snapped, “there are four thousand people on the ship, I think you’ll survive.”

Uh yeah, I guess I’ll survive, and that was the last magical memory my wife and I had interacting with a cast member.

Anyway, that’s my story! But both my wife and I are genuinely curious. Are we overreacting? Are we being too critical? We still have some positive memories from it, and frankly hate to carry away any negativity. And, for what’s it’s worth, we took the Brightline up to Orlando (great experience), and are now having a great time at WDW!

I have cruised 6 times over the last 25 years or so and have been on all but the Wish.

I don't think your opinions are overly critical but I do think some just reflect expectations not in line with what people who have cruised DCL know them to be.

As far as the family pool, I call it "kid soup." I can not think of a more unappealing place to be than there most of the time. What I learned on my last trip with my kiddo though was that the best time for the family pool is on the afternoon of castaway cay day - we went early in the morning, spent the whole morning snorkeling and doing the stingray excursion, had lunch and came back early afternoon (around 2pm) - had had enough of the beach and spent the rest of the time at the family pool going on the aquaduck over and over with no line. It was unexpected but I'd plan it again next time. We pretty much avoided the family pool the rest of the time, it was just too crowded. I am going on an adult only cruise and looking forward to spending time at the adult pool though! I would not even give the family pool a second glance if I did not have to!

I do think that about the meal being rushed, early seating will be quicker than late seating and people who have kids generally do not enjoy long, leisurely long meals (or they would if they didn't have kids ready to get up and go) - so as others have mentioned late dining would have been a better fit.

And the table for two - I think this is total luck of the draw and how the seating falls out. But if they had tons of tables for two it would put them at a disadvantage for families, which is their primary focus. We are sailing with a group of 4 and not expecting to not get a private table at late seating on a less than fully booked cruise on a smaller ship (the magic) but we'll see I guess!

The bad cm interaction is far from typical though and I'm sorry it left a bad taste in your mouth. Not an excuse but it's really not the norm and not to be expected on any future cruises. I also hate the thing spiel about the surveys.

 

[RedHead0186]

Others have brought up many of the points I was going to make so I won't repeat. But, to your question about why it was even an option to request a private table-because it's just that: a request. It's not a reservation or a guarantee, just an option to provide your preference (and DCL will do what they can to meet that preference). But, as others said, it's especially hard to do with early seating.

Early seating might also be why you felt rushed at dinner. There's only so much time to seat everyone, get them all their food, clear the tables, etc. before late seating comes in. I usually do late seating and have never felt super rushed because no one needed to come in after us. The one (?) time I did early seating I did feel more rushed. Also, if you had concerns about the pace of your meal, you should bring that up to the head server. That's their job. If they don't know there's an issue, they can't fix it.

 

[PsylockeSmythe]

THE UGLY

1. Every meal in the dining rooms was incredibly rushed. Food was delivered almost instantaneously and replaced with the next dish almost immediately after it was finished, so the experience was never particularly pleasant or relaxing. I guess that’s better than waiting forever, as we occasionally have on other lines, but still not optimum.

We just got off the Wonder last Sunday, and we had the opposite happen to us when it comes to dinning being rushed. It was just my wife and I, and we had first seating. We were put on a 6 topper, with a single cruiser and a mother and daughter and I will say that at least for us, we were always one of the last tables to leave the room each evening. If anything the food coming out was very slow compared to past cruises. There were times we had to tell our servers that we were tying to be somewhere by 7:30 and even then, we never left any sooner then 7:20pm.

Other tables were out of there within an hour, but that was not our experience.

Psy

 

[sponica]

It seems to happen more often when the ship is close to the airport and the # of people choosing to self carry luggage increases because they have an early flight they want to make.

This makes sense to me for Ft Lauderdale, with the cruise port and the airport being fairly close.

 

[brentm77]

Hey everyone!

First of all, my wife and I are huge Disney fans, happy DVC owners, and don’t have kids. Over the last several years, I’ve read a bunch of enthusiastic reviews of Disney Cruise Line, listened to equally glowing podcasts from podcasters turned travel agents, and watched endless positive YouTube videos on the subject. Having done my homework, I thought it would be fun, prior to a DVC vacation at WDW, to take a five night cruise on the Dream in late April of this year. Alas, our experience failed to match, or even come close, to our expectations.

Having sailed on pretty much all the cruise lines, we’re pretty experienced cruisers. I thought it would be helpful to list some positive and negatives concerning our experience. I’m also genuinely curious if we’re being too critical, or perhaps making unfair judgements. There were, of course, tons of kids and families who were obviously having a great time.

THE GOOD

1. The design of our ship was beautiful. The central atrium is a wonder to behold. The woodwork and attention to detail throughout the ship, as well as all the fun paintings and artwork, made the environment feel really special. Our cabin, a balcony veranda, though small, was clean, well maintained, and nicely designed.

2. Service and friendliness were mostly superlative. Almost every crew member seemed happy to be there, and was always happy to answer questions and help out. Our stateroom attendants were great.

3. Our two ports, Grand Cayman and Castaway Cay, were beautiful and a blast to visit.

4. The shows were fun. Loved the fireworks!

5. Dinner at Palo was delicious. What a nice spot to have a meal!

6. The adult area at the front of the ship was quiet and nice. When it got windy, though, it would close and there was really nowhere else to go. The adult only pool wasn’t really for us because it was crowded and loud.


THE BAD

1. Of course we were prepared for lots of kids, but the main pool area on sea days was almost unbelievably crowded with a solid, monumentally packed together mass of kids and families. This being Disney, it’s probably not a fair criticism, but for us it was really off putting. We stayed away from it.

2. The food in the dining rooms and Cabanas, the buffet, was below average. As I’ve mentioned, we’ve been on almost every cruise line. I don’t think we were wrong to expect better from Disney.

3. My wife and I were lucky to get a table for two for the early seating. But it was made clear to us that this is normally almost impossible, so we shouldn’t ever expect it again. That alone would keep us away in the future. Why was it even listed as a request on the pre cruise app?

4. The atrium, though beautiful, is under utilized. On other cruise lines it’s the lively center of the ship, where something is always happening, and there is fun to be had. On the Dream it seemed like a big, weird dead space, mostly empty during the day except for character meet and greets.

5. The adult bar entertainment area, “The District,” was a series of windowless dark caverns. Weird.

THE UGLY

1. Every meal in the dining rooms was incredibly rushed. Food was delivered almost instantaneously and replaced with the next dish almost immediately after it was finished, so the experience was never particularly pleasant or relaxing. I guess that’s better than waiting forever, as we occasionally have on other lines, but still not optimum.

2. Our waiter and assistant waiter were friendly and competent, which was fine, but didn’t really go out of their way to make the dining experience special. Not great, but no big deal. But on the second to last night of the cruise, they both walked up to the table with stern, concerned expressions and stood there awkwardly. After a long uncomfortable pause, they launched into an long uncomfortable dissertation on the fact that we would be receiving a questionnaire in our state room, and, pretty much, their jobs, well being, and potential contract renewals depended on us giving them all 10s.

We’ve all had this from sales people in other environments, but on a Disney ship, on vacation, in the middle of dinner? For us, this was beyond weird and we really didn’t like it. It made us as uncomfortable as they obviously were. And, of course, we were manipulated into promising them the scores they wanted. Of course this falls on Disney creating a ship board culture where crew members are forced to do this, but still. Guests should not be put in this situation. And it made us wonder how much darkness lies behind the magic.

3. Debarkation. A mad, chaotic, crowded, disorganized nightmare and the worst we’ve ever experienced. The atrium and lower levels were packed with what felt like thousands of people and their luggage, milling about, not knowing what to do, pressing against each other, jostling about. The buffet, Cabanas, was inexplicably closed, unlike any other cruise ship that we’ve ever sailed on, so guests were forced to lug their bags down to breakfast in the dining rooms, leave them indiscriminately piled up outside, then lug them (at least for us) up a deck to wait in an endless, snaking line to disembark. It felt almost apocalyptic. Why would Disney ever allow this to happen??

I actually asked a female crew member, who seemed to have some responsibility, if it was always like this. She snapped, “there are four thousand people on the ship, I think you’ll survive.”

Uh yeah, I guess I’ll survive, and that was the last magical memory my wife and I had interacting with a cast member.

Anyway, that’s my story! But both my wife and I are genuinely curious. Are we overreacting? Are we being too critical? We still have some positive memories from it, and frankly hate to carry away any negativity. And, for what’s it’s worth, we took the Brightline up to Orlando (great experience), and are now having a great time at WDW!

This is a good summary of what you liked and didn't like. I disagree with some of it, but always like to hear other opinions, particularly from people who have tried other lines.

The kid pool area is a mess, but it's one of the things I like when cruising DCL without kids. Namely, the chaos is there and rarely in the adult areas. I mostly only see the kid pool area in passing and actually find the excitement and chaos entertaining since I don't need to spend time there anymore.

The secret to disembarking is to do the express walk off with your own luggage. You just walk right off the ship with the only stop at customs. Of course, one needs to pack light enough to be able to do that comfortably.

DCL struggles with getting the pacing of dinner right. It is sometimes actually too slow. The experience does vary a lot based on the serving team you get. Sitting at a table for two alone isn't that unusual, so I don't know why they made it sound rare. I did it just last week.

I am starting to agree with you about the food at Cabanas. I used to really like it. I couldn't tell on my last cruise if I am just getting tired of the same stuff or if the quality had dropped, but my wife made a comment about the quality, so I suspect the quality has dropped. It's still passable in my book, and sometimes good (particularly for breakfast), but I look forward to trying the buffets on other lines.

The adult district works for me. We are almost always only there at night, so windows wouldn't change the experience for us. The atrium is lively if you go there when events are scheduled. For example, Diaper Dash (which rocks), or character meets, formal night officer party thing, or when live musicians are scheduled. I would say it's busy more often than not, particularly on sea days or before and during dinner.

In the end, I think DCL just clicks for some people and others wonder why people pay extra for it. The great thing is that you have tried it now and can save money by sailing other lines that you prefer without wondering if you are missing something.

 

[Paul Stupin]

I think your appraisal is not atypical. There is a lot of hype and defenders of DCL. It is not perfect; not that different, in the big picture, from general mass market cruises; and not for everyone. Just because people like WDW does not equal liking DCL.

The Ugly was nothing horrific. Just not ideal. And the parting response was poor customer service. As I am leaning, it’s what is the current state of society.

I have cruised (mostly) Disney, NCL, Princess, MSC, Royal, and Carnival - in that order by # of nights. Each had something to offer and all had something not to my liking (but often great for others).

Without the filter of seeing it through the glowing reports and expectations, did you find your overall cruise noticeably different or better/worse than what other lines offer?

First of all, thank you everyone for your thoughts and opinions! Much appreciated.
In answer to auntylynne’s question, I’d have to say that our overall cruise experience was noticeably worse than other lines. Discounting the somewhat off putting, sheer mass of kids crammed into the pool deck, which made the entire ship seem like a monstrous, almost nightmarish floating kindergarten (which I realize isn’t fair, and my bad, because it’s Disney), nothing else really measured up.

1. Satellite Falls was great, but my wife loves to find cozy, quiet indoor areas to curl up, read a book, and watch the sea go by. Me too! There really weren’t any. So no luck there.

2. Remi is delicious, but in my opinion too much food and not worth it, so that leaves
Palo. It was fine, maybe equal but no better than most specialty restaurants on other lines. The MDR food, for us, was a notch below Celebrity, Princess and Holland America, but the dining experience gets a further downgrade by the unpleasantly rushed pace. We’re not late eaters, so the fact that it might be better at 8 is immaterial.

3. Disney must be aware of their employees begging for higher ratings. And it appears they’ve let it continue for years and years. Big negative there. Granted, it’s only a few minutes, but we really didn’t like it.

4. In our 20 cruises, have never had a crew member snap at me like what happened during debarkation (and it was a truly innocent question), which was itself monumentally unacceptable. And we were repeatedly told to go to the dining room in which we ate the night before for breakfast, with Cabanas never being mentioned. So that makes me think that Disney might have been deliberately steering us toward a way more inconvenient and unpleasant option to get us off the ship faster.

5. We loved Castaway Cay, and thought it was the best private island we’d visited. Unfortunately, it’s not enough though to get us to go back. Ever.

I guess what I’m most disappointed in are all the fawning reviews from podcasters whose opinion I truly respect. For us, the cruise line just didn’t measure up.

 

[Paul Stupin]

This is a good summary of what you liked and didn't like. I disagree with some of it, but always like to hear other opinions, particularly from people who have tried other lines.

The kid pool area is a mess, but it's one of the things I like when cruising DCL without kids. Namely, the chaos is there and rarely in the adult areas. I mostly only see the kid pool area in passing and actually find the excitement and chaos entertaining since I don't need to spend time there anymore.

The secret to disembarking is to do the express walk off with your own luggage. You just walk right off the ship with the only stop at customs. Of course, one needs to pack light enough to be able to do that comfortably.

DCL struggles with getting the pacing of dinner right. It is sometimes actually too slow. The experience does vary a lot based on the serving team you get. Sitting at a table for two alone isn't that unusual, so I don't know why they made it sound rare. I did it just last week.

I am starting to agree with you about the food at Cabanas. I used to really like it. I couldn't tell on my last cruise if I am just getting tired of the same stuff or if the quality had dropped, but my wife made a comment about the quality, so I suspect the quality has dropped. It's still passable in my book, and sometimes good (particularly for breakfast), but I look forward to trying the buffets on other lines.

The adult district works for me. We are almost always only there at night, so windows wouldn't change the experience for us. The atrium is lively if you go there when events are scheduled. For example, Diaper Dash (which rocks), or character meets, formal night officer party thing, or when live musicians are scheduled. I would say it's busy more often than not, particularly on sea days or before and during dinner.

In the end, I think DCL just clicks for some people and others wonder why people pay extra for it. The great thing is that you have tried it now and can save money by sailing other lines that you prefer without wondering if you are missing something.

Thanks for your thoughts! We actually did the express walk off with our own luggage, but after breakfast. The line was enormous, and stretched and turned for an incredible distance. For us it was about a 45 minute wait. Pretty bad.

Cabanas, for us, was a big big disappointment, in terms of variety, quality, choice of offerings, just about everything. I think we’re spoiled by the new layouts and the multiple “islands” and sheer size of some of the other lines where the quality is considerably higher. I expected to pay a Disney premium, which we certainly did, but for that I truly expected something special, and was surprised when the buffet itself felt a bit low end.