First and probably last Disney cruise.

[soniam]

I really hope that Virgin starts to expand their itinerary offerings more because I really want to try them, but we're not always excited to go to the Caribbean and it's not realistic for us to fly to Europe all the time. I hope Virgin starts doing an Alaska or Mexican Riviera (West Coast) itinerary sometime.

I think this is the only thing keeping us from doing Virgin. However, they could change itineraries by the time we are ready to book. We have and will be doing Celebrity without our son. I really like their itineraries.

 

[WorldCruiser]

Going with my dad in November on the Fantasy

In all honesty one of two things I wish DCL would do is offer a little more variety in activities but I guess that's the tradeoff on going to a more family focused cruise (fine by me since I'm not much of a nightclub or gambling person). If they don't have any activities I like; I'll hit the pool or movie theater. I personally love meeting characters & other photo ops, so that helps fill time as well.

I also wish the bars were open just an hour later. We like to get late seating for dining but doing that leaves hardly any time to get to one of their more pg-13 pieces of entertainment & get a drink.

One thing I loved doing on the Dream that I plan on with the Fantasy is getting a pass to the Rainforest Room. Being a morning person, I would use their steam rooms, sauna & hot tubs, and stone loungers then get a late breakfast.

Going to push back a little on the sea views because for me the pool decks all had excellent views, but maybe we just have different expectations. Maybe you're referring to the seating? If so, i would be inclined to agree (but no matter what almost everyone is going to snatch those up anyway! ).

Quality of food is overstated but from what I've observed in cruise videos, I think what people tend to mean is the food doesn’t feel like the company is trying to push you into extra cost dining. Remy is no doubt going to be top tier (better be for that price). But the MDR food is still (usually) decent enough that I don't feel like I'm missing out even if I do want to experience Remy at some point.

Anyway just my two cents on where we agree & disagree.

I am 24 and agree that the should be open later. On the Fantasy one of the bars is open til 2am, so thats usually the hangout spot once adult entertainment ends. All the other bars close at Midnight, which is disappointing.

I just wish there was more adult entertainment later in the night.

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

That's interesting that you make that comparison when I just did Virgin 2 months back and I didn't feel like there were that many activities going on around the ship period.

Nightlife was GREAT. But during the day, not so much. Used to more options for us like on NCL and Disney but I could see where you might find "adult" activities would be slim. On DCL, you can find me on the AquaMouse, watching a Funnelvision movie, a character meet & greet... or doing things that wouldn't necessarily be filed under adult.

 

[Rex1993]

We did our first Disney cruise on the Wish a few weeks ago. It was probably our last too.

 

[WorldCruiser]

We did our first Disney cruise on the Wish a few weeks ago. It was probably our last too.

Don’t let the Wish be the Judge and Jury of DCL. Please try a different ship and itinerary.

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

Remy is absolutely top tier and if you're interested I highly recommend it. Brunch is great, dinner is exceptional.

I will eventually but upcoming November Fantasy is only my third cruise and I want to be able to experience the normal dining for my first sailings. Maybe I'll try to book the brunch (already had Palo brunch twice).

Once I get a repeat ship, I'll try to book the dinner.

We did our first Disney cruise on the Wish a few weeks ago. It was probably our last too.

I was once a one & done for the parks but have come around after getting into meet & greets (though in their current state not visiting parks until next year).

The Wish is not a ship I would recommend for a first cruise. People recommend 3-4 nights but Ijust don't think it's enough to really acclimate & experience any ship. Wish probably has the least interesting itinerary as well. I did a 5 night on the Magic & it was just long enough to convince me to keep coming back. After my second cruise, I found I am definitely more of a sea day person than port person (I still want ports but I wants the sea days to outnumber the stops). One of the things I really enjoyed on the Dream (they have it on the Fantasy as well) is Midship Detective Agency, where you take a card & choose a mystery to solve. More for kids of course but I like it because you get to explore parts of the ship you might not ordinarily go or take notice if. And the culprit can be different even if you choose the same mystery.


That being said, if it's just that nothing on the ship held your attention and nothing else seems interesting, then it may be true not a lot for you on DCL.

 

[gisele2]

I think this is the only thing keeping us from doing Virgin. However, they could change itineraries by the time we are ready to book. We have and will be doing Celebrity without our son. I really like their itineraries.

Never been on Celebrity. Post your comments when you return please.

 

[gisele2]

We did our first Disney cruise on the Wish a few weeks ago. It was probably our last too.

What did you like and dislike?

 

[gisele2]

Going back on Virgin this autumn, will see if they changed their activities, but they have multiple outdoor places to hang out, fitness classes that I love (spinning, bungee workout, boothcamp, yoga etc) art classes with an artist, boardgames, trivia, visit of the ship, bingo that was more of a show. And the nightlife.

I do not like pools on cruise ship , and wanted to add that on Disney I loved seeing the children having the time of their life. Seing everyone at pirate's night was also really fun.

 

[randumb0]

I was considering Virgin but the vibe seems like a 24 hour night club to meet. Am I wrong? I do like how there is no upcharge to dine at their specialty restaurants and that it's some of the best food in the industry

 

[Geomom]

Did you do the 'art of the theme show tour' (tour of design elements on the ship) or the 'anyone can cook' classes (observe a recipe being made and try a sample)? Those are some of our favorite adult only things. We do like the family activities as well, so we had fun with the midship detective agency, mini golf, character drawing classes, napkin folding, character meets, etc. We didn't get to the adult entertainment offerings last cruise, but enjoyed them on other cruises, like a magic show and a music group in an adult only club in the evenings.

If you prefer Virgin, it may be that you've found 'your' happy place. Everyone has different preferences. It does sound like you enjoyed your Disney cruise, just not as much as your previous cruises. It's good to try other ships, you learn what aspects of cruising are important to you.

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

Did you do the 'art of the theme show tour' (tour of design elements on the ship) or the 'anyone can cook' classes (observe a recipe being made and try a sample)?

I would love to do these tours & classes but I never see them on the schedule or when doing my bookings.

 

[Geomom]

I would love to do these tours & classes but I never see them on the schedule or when doing my bookings.

They're listed on the app, once you're on the ship, no sign up required, if you narrow the search to adult activities it should show up. Usually on the sea days. The theme show tour was pretty early, maybe around 9 or 9:30am. Started in Meridian on the Fantasy, and wandered all over the ship, (Our Wonder Alaska one was in the afternoon of the last sea day.). We did the apple strudel class in the afternoon of the last sea day, it was held in D lounge, lots of fun to watch and they give you the recipe.

 

[leannak]

I agree on the crafts!! They're ridiculous. I wish they'd teach me something that's actually interesting or worthwhile, or we'd make something worth keeping.

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

They're listed on the app, once you're on the ship, no sign up required, if you narrow the search to adult activities it should show up. Usually on the sea days. The theme show tour was pretty early, maybe around 9 or 9:30am. Started in Meridian on the Fantasy, and wandered all over the ship, (Our Wonder Alaska one was in the afternoon of the last sea day.). We did the apple strudel class in the afternoon of the last sea day, it was held in D lounge, lots of fun to watch and they give you the recipe.

Ah. Maybe that's why. I'm a morning person but that's around the time I was getting out of the Rain Forest room but still needed to shower. I've also been too focused on meet & greets (so much easier than the parks!). Maybe I'll focus on less meet & greets this upcoming cruise and just do a couple that haven't signed my autograph book yet.

 

[starvenger]

The Wish is not a ship I would recommend for a first cruise. People recommend 3-4 nights but Ijust don't think it's enough to really acclimate & experience any ship.

While I agree that you can't truly experience a ship in that amount of time, there's clearly a market for those 3-4 night cruises, and what people are looking to get out of a short sailing is often different from what you look for in a longer sailing. You might see people be a little more go-go-go on a short cruise, whereas you'll almost never see people rushing to do things on a longer sailing.

With that said, having megaships like Wish and Utopia of the Seas do short sailings still seems a bit nutty to me. But thankfully, I don't have to be on the business end of cruises - I only need to enjoy them.

 

[CamColt]

We did our first Disney cruise on the Wish a few weeks ago. It was probably our last too.

Don’t let the Wish be the Judge and Jury of DCL. Please try a different ship and itinerary.

I agree with World Cruiser! We have done 25 Disney Cruises, with only 1 being on the Wish. That experience was very different than what we are used to on DCL.

 

[Rex1993]

I agree with World Cruiser! We have done 25 Disney Cruises, with only 1 being on the Wish. That experience was very different than what we are used to on DCL.

It definitely seems like the Wish is a very different ship from the rest of DCL. Even that being the case, I just don't think the value proposition is there for my family. I know if we cruise again, it's going to be Alaska. The cost for a 1-bedroom suite on DCL is $35K+. There's just no way for me to justify that cost when that kind of money will get you largest suite on the boat an on almost any other cruise line.

One thing that really irked our family on our cruise was the theater. It showed two movies during the entire cruise, neither of which were Disney classics. That was surprising. I thought being on DCL would ensure that at least you'd have the option to go to the theater and watch Snow White or some other Walt-era classic. I think part of the problem is that our family loves classic Disney and have zero interest in the MCU. We chose to skip the Worlds of Marvel restaurant just because of the atmosphere and loved 1923 (except for the insane crowding of people and tables). You pay a hefty premium for the Disney theming and IP when going DCL. It seems as though our problem is that we find little to no value in a lot of the modern Disney IP.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

It definitely seems like the Wish is a very different ship from the rest of DCL. Even that being the case, I just don't think the value proposition is there for my family. I know if we cruise again, it's going to be Alaska. The cost for a 1-bedroom suite on DCL is $35K+. There's just no way for me to justify that cost when that kind of money will get you largest suite on the boat an on almost any other cruise line.

One thing that really irked our family on our cruise was the theater. It showed two movies during the entire cruise, neither of which were Disney classics. That was surprising. I thought being on DCL would ensure that at least you'd have the option to go to the theater and watch Snow White or some other Walt-era classic. I think part of the problem is that our family loves classic Disney and have zero interest in the MCU. We chose to skip the Worlds of Marvel restaurant just because of the atmosphere and loved 1923 (except for the insane crowding of people and tables). You pay a hefty premium for the Disney theming and IP when going DCL. It seems as though our problem is that we find little to no value in a lot of the modern Disney IP.

I have often wondered that myself about the theater. Why is it that they show the latest movies in the theaters, repeating 10x, but not show others in between? Even for the newly released movies, it's never crowded in there so why not offer those less often and change it up a little more?

I agree that DCL suites are ridiculously overpriced but that's why for Alaska we chose a balcony for dh and I, and put our teens across the hall in an inside cabin, with blank keys made for them to come over anytime.
I don't see the value in suites on any cruise line. I'd rather cruise 2 or 3 more times for the same $$ but to each his own.

 

[Geomom]

It definitely seems like the Wish is a very different ship from the rest of DCL. Even that being the case, I just don't think the value proposition is there for my family. I know if we cruise again, it's going to be Alaska. The cost for a 1-bedroom suite on DCL is $35K+. There's just no way for me to justify that cost when that kind of money will get you largest suite on the boat an on almost any other cruise line.

One thing that really irked our family on our cruise was the theater. It showed two movies during the entire cruise, neither of which were Disney classics. That was surprising. I thought being on DCL would ensure that at least you'd have the option to go to the theater and watch Snow White or some other Walt-era classic. I think part of the problem is that our family loves classic Disney and have zero interest in the MCU. We chose to skip the Worlds of Marvel restaurant just because of the atmosphere and loved 1923 (except for the insane crowding of people and tables). You pay a hefty premium for the Disney theming and IP when going DCL. It seems as though our problem is that we find little to no value in a lot of the modern Disney IP.

I definitely wouldn't pay concierge prices on Disney. We choose Oceanview rooms on the Magic/Wonder, and verandahs on Dream/Fantasy. We're not paying over $9,000 for our family of 4 for a week, even for Alaska and Europe itineraries in August. The closest you get to classic movies is whatever they're playing on Funnelvision by the family pool. We've seen Lady and the Tramp, Cinderella, etc there. The actual theaters tend to have the 5-6 most recent Disney/Marvel/Star Wars movie releases.