Balcony

Inside

Outside

Suite

Disney Cruise Line

Family Cruises

Gay & Lesbian Cruises

Cruises for the Disabled

Port Canaveral (Orlando)

Miami

Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)

Southampton

New York (Manhattan)

Galveston

Copenhagen

Los Angeles

Nassau

Rome (Civitavecchia)

Caribbean - All

Bahamas

U.S.A.

Caribbean - Western

Mexico - All

Caribbean - Eastern

Europe - All

Europe - British Isles & Western

Bermuda

Baltic Sea

Denmark

Norway

France

Europe - Western Mediterranean

Mediterranean

Europe River

Germany

Transatlantic

Cruise to Nowhere

Europe - Eastern Mediterranean

Italy

Spain

Netherlands

Portugal

Rhine River

Douro River

Excellent

Very Good

Average

Poor

Terrible

Disney Dream

Disney Wonder

Disney Magic

Disney Fantasy

Disney Wish

Great Family Vacation

First Disney Cruise, our son is a Spider-man super fan! Disney exceeded our expectations at every level! We surprised our 32 year old son who has Down syndrome with this Marvel Character Cruise. Our first sea day was a Marvel Day at Sea, Iron Man, Spider-man, Loki, Groot… all the Marvel characters, strategically positioned all over the main decks for photo ops, some you had to pre register for, others, the character was just staged with a couple assistants for photo and meet and greet with all ages. Most of the guests on the ship were there for the Marvel aspect of the cruise… imo. 2 year old, to 75 year old… all wearing the Marvel gear, costumes, hats, jackets! Every detail was Disney quality, all the cast members were so patient and kind! The shows were excellent quality, Beauty and the Beast was our favorite! The food and dining experience was a big part of the value on this cruise! The food was delicious, a large assortment of choices! The lunch venues by the pool deck were always fast and delicious! The “I scream” was always busy and you had a choice of four flavors; vanilla, chocolate , banana and strawberry! For late (8:15) dinner, We had the same servers but moved to three different venues to experience all of the dining available on the ship! Our day at Castaway Cay was also perfect, a beautiful lagoon with lots of “arranged” snorkel adventures to see! The Cruise Director commented that only 165 guests stayed on the ship, as opposed to Cozumel… when the ship was probably still one third full in port! ( our weather was 75 and sunny, evidently the last few cruises were colder with cloudy skies, we were very blessed ) I may have to revise this review once my head has stopped spinning!

Marvel+Disney=Winner!

Impeccable service, excellent food, comfortable ship, never got tired of the entertainment.  This Disney cruise was absolutely wonderful.  Wish we had gone longer.

After reading some other reviews, I would STRONGLY SUGGEST doing your homework on this cruise as it seems they do things a bit different than other lines.  We were well informed and pre-registered for everything before cruising.  My wife even found a Facebook group for our cruise to keep us informed.  

Details:

Our cabin was a deluxe interior room.  Plenty of space for the 3 of us and probably would be good for up to 4.  Bathroom facilities were great.  Loved the video porthole - worked as a great nightlight as well, but it can be switched off.

Dining was amazing and having the same wait staff every night was too cool.  Shout out to Usman and Elisangela - they were the best.  Always something available and room service was free (except gratuities).  My wife and daughter had a Mickey Ice Cream bar every night :D

Can't speak much to embarkation as it was our first cruise.  Didn't seem terrible.

The shows were amazing.  I personally saw Beauty & The Beast and Believe.  I cannot stress how good Believe was.  Plenty of characters for my daughter to meet around the ship and they even came in to the kids club sometimes.

My daughter adored the Oceaneer's Club/Lab.  That was the highlight of her day, every day.

There were multiple "vibes" on the ship so adults that wanted to escape the chaos of the family sections could easily find the "nap deck".  Don't shy away thinking this won't be fun for the adults.

The Dream is a great ship.  Our cabin was near the aft and not far from stairs and elevators.  I highly recommend finding the fore and aft elevators as midships got very busy.

Service was amazing.  Even the behind the scenes workers had smiles and were very friendly.  We needed a sharpie for the board that we had put together to get character signatures and they were able to track one down for us.  Shout out to Dace for amazing service.

We really found the best value cruise we could get with Disney.  If we didn't hunt for a deal there's no way we could afford it, but we are really going to try to do another.  We will try to go again, but it's expensive.

Incredible for this first time family

Our family eagerly anticipated a magical vacation aboard the Disney Dream, destined for Nassau and Castaway Cay. Unfortunately, the experience was far from enchanting, feeling more scheduled and transactional than magical. The reliance on the Disney Cruise App for managing every aspect of our day felt overly rigid and impersonal, stripping away the spontaneity and joy we had hoped for.

The financial aspect of the cruise was equally disheartening. The daily tax fees applied to every guest, including children, coupled with the additional taxes and a hefty 20% gratuity on drink purchases, made the trip financially burdensome. It seemed as though every opportunity to extract more money from guests was seized upon, from the unclear activity fees to the expensive, and quickly depleted, Disney bands for children.

The overall atmosphere on the ship was unexpectedly quiet, lacking the vibrant energy we anticipated. Our last morning was jarringly disrupted by loud noises as the ship docked, which felt like a deliberate attempt to hasten guests off the ship for an early breakfast - the only day it was not a buffet but a seated dining experience designed to expedite departure.

The lack of clear communication regarding activities was a recurring frustration. Many activities appeared perpetually “sold out” in the app, and the absence of staff at key attractions like the golf simulator led to confusion and unnecessary conflict among guests.

The young, often shy staff, while perhaps doing their best, frequently seemed overwhelmed and unable to effectively manage guest interactions or provide clear information. This was particularly evident in the poorly handled character interactions and the chaotic kids club experience, where promised flexibility was contradicted by reality, leading to frustrating waits and confusion.

Our experience with the Disney bands epitomized the trip’s shortcomings. Sold as a convenience, they quickly lost charge, and the staff’s decision to replace and erroneously triple charge us without communication was emblematic of the overall lack of consideration for guest experience and expense.

In conclusion, our Disney cruise was an expensive lesson learned. The promised magic was obscured by a focus on regimentation and revenue, leading to a disappointing experience that has dissuaded us from considering future voyages with Disney Cruise Line.

A Disappointing Voyage with Disney Dream

My first cruise experience in my favourite place: Disney World! The reality reach the expectation! I loved the customer service, the boarding process was on time and personalized.  the choice of food was varied and it was delicious, you have food for 24 hours all day long: the room service is available 24 hours a day, the buffet is open to breakfast dna lunch time, and dinner you have your Restaurant experience that was amazing with your own waiter for all trip! Also, the room was perfect: cozy and comfortable! Every day i had a surprise on my bed and my room was made or cleaned up at least twice a day! I just come to arrive and I am looking for to book another Disney Cruise for 2024/2025! I think the relation price/value  it was according with the offers received ! I think, Probably is one of most expensive cruise in the market but I will pay It again and I recommend it without any doubt.

I loved it

We had a concierge room on the 12th floor with easy access to the Concierge Lounge.  This was an excellent planning choice.  I don't think it was worth the extra $$$$ spent for that category because we didn't use all the services that come with that room category.  I decided to book this category because of the lounge provided to us.  I'm still unsure whether that lounge's price was worth it.  I highly recommend the Concierge room to have access to the lounge.  I also recommend using the lounge enough to justify the extra cost.  The embarkation process for this category is a breeze. 

 Maybe that's where the $$$$ justification for this category is!  The concierge team service was exceptional, and all the players in that service were very good at what they did.  Their service to you makes you feel special and like a valued guest.  We paid extra for a Merrytime cruise; however, it was not all cracked up to be what they marketed it to be.  We were looking forward to lots of holiday festivities and lots of character interactions, but did not receive it.  The holiday decorations were minimal; just enough to say they decorated for Christmas.  The cruise by itself was a good cruise, with lots of activities going on.  It was geared more towards kids and families; of course, the movies were all Disney.  

Picture opportunities with all the princesses and Disney characters were the essence of the cruise purpose.  There were lots and lots of trivia games, which we enjoyed. 

Ask for a table in front of the interactive screen in the Animator's Palate dining room.   Have your camera ready!

Avoid being the one who has to sleep on the sleeper sofa!  It was a horrible, sleepless five nights.  The mattress is broken down and should have been replaced five years ago.   Our stateroom host (room steward) extraordinaire did his best to make the bed accommodations more bearable; however, it was still miserable. 

Every night, I was thankful no one else came with us and was sharing that misery.  Unfortunately, it was raining the day we spent time at Castaway Cay.  We were given plastic ponchos, and away we went!  We enjoyed strolling along the path of tropical foliage and meandering through the shops.  A BBQ lunch and sides were provided at the beach pavilion; however, we chose to go back to the ship and eat in the dining room.

The ship's service to its guests is superb.  The professionalism and interaction with the services and officers were impressive.  They are very personable and helpful when lost.  

Rectify your bill with Guest Services before getting off the ship.  If there are any adjustments to your bill, get a copy of the new bill.  I was supposed to have an adjustment credit to mine and took the word of the Guest Services rep, and when I got home, that credit did not happen.  

Our dining room experiences were bittersweet.  The service and the desire to please are impressive; they want you to eat and be happy.   We had two family members with food allergies, and EVERY meal in the dining rooms was challenging.  So much so that we are not mentioning them on the next cruise booking.   We had an issue with our head server that was, to this day, a mystery as to what he was thinking.  I was not impressed with the Theatre Showtime productions.  They were equivalent to junior college drama class productions.

One family member took a port adventure at Georgetown that was highly overpriced and did not get to participate in the interaction with the marine life because he did not wear reef-safe sunscreen that day.  He did not wear any sunscreen, so what was the big deal?!?! 

He was instructed to stay on the boat and listen from afar. 

Heads up if you are taking port adventure G74; go over pay for a tube of reef-safe sunscreen for a one-time use if you want to participate with the others.  

I did partake in the Manager's Special at the Senses Spa.  It was wonderful!  I thoroughly enjoyed the visit with my spa attendant.  It was a nice finish to my week.  

At this time, I don't see us cruising with Disney again. 

I appreciate the opportunity to turn the phones off, getaway, be at leisure, and let someone else do the dishes.

The room doors are magnetic so take magnets to hold papers and key cards and tickets, etc.  If booking a concierge room, there is an ample amount of storage for a family; very impressive.  The laundromats are pricey.  The  one we used needed the washers calibrated and the dryer temperature gauges replaced.

Don't get stuck sleeping on the sleeper sofa

Before I start my review, I want to mention that this cruise was my 15th and my first, and last, with Disney Cruse Line. We went to sail on the Disney Dream departing from Fort Lauderdale on Dec 9 2023. We were a party of 5, 3 adults and 2 kids of 6-7 years old.

Since we didn't do the online check-in, we we able to get on the ship only at around 4PM. Guess without the online check-in had to wait in line up until 3PM to be able to get assistance to complete the check-in. I'm fine with that, but when you have 2 kids woken up since 7AM, in a town you don't know, it is not a walk in the park to keep your cool... 

All the other cruise companies I tried, Royal Caribbean (10 times approx.), Celebrity and Norwegian we we're able to be on the ship the latest at 11AM, which makes way more sense to me.

We we're automatically scheduled for the 8:15PM dinner. Again, 2 kids of 6-7 years old with us, when do you expect they would be sleeping? Probably around that time...  I complained to guest service, the restaurant assistant manager, the restaurant manager, my room steward and also the manager of a boutique I bought some sandals for my son.  Nobody could/would do anything to accommodate us.

The 2 kids and their age we're known from the moment we booked the cruise 6 months ago, it's a complete non-sense to me that there is no automatic priority for the early dining option at 5:45PM for all the cabins with kids under 10 years old. That was the biggest disappointment.

We went to the 8:15PM dinner once, on the last day and the food and service was ok, nothing impressive.  I still looked at the menu of the dining everyday of the cruise and I was surprised to see the menu doesn't rotate or have special daily meals on it. All the other cruise companies I cruised with always had at less 2-3 different options from day to day apart from the fixed "most popular" items on it.

The only dining option we had was hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken tenders and grilled chicken for the whole week because the only opened restaurant apart from the main dining rooms is a burger joint... 4000$ for 5 days for burgers and fries for dinner!

The buffet, which had the best food quality and taste I had on any ship I went yet (congrats for that Disney!) was closed for dinner... Why? People stuck on the bad dining time like us would have enjoyed more food variety...

The characters are available several times throughout the cruise but make sure to come early in line not to invest 30 minutes to 1 hour of your day for just a couple of pictures.

Not many characters we're available, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, Chip & Dale, some Disney princesses but weirdly nothing from Marvel.

The fireworks we're nice but to keep your kid woken up until 10:30-45 PM to watch a 2 minutes show is not the best way to accommodate the young passengers.

I don't recommend this cruise line unless you have Disney's blood that circulates in your veins or if you are ready to reserve everything in advance and invest time to see the characters you like.

Never again for me and I don't recommend at all.

Never again!

I love Disney and I love cruises, so I thought I was going to love this.  We have a 10 year old who also loves Disney and cruises.  But something about the combination left me cold.  I should state that we got off to a very bad start and I found it difficult to recover.  There was a two-hour line at the port, extending  into the parking garage, because it was the first trip for them out of their new Ft. Lauderdale terminal and they couldn’t seem to get the process down.  (I don’t really understand why the process was so different because the building had changed, but apparently they were unprepared).  We had a 1:30 boarding time and didn’t get to our cabin until a little after 3.  We were starving, so we didn’t unpack and left to go to the buffet.  On our way there, they announced that all food outlets would now close for the safety drill which was to start at 4:00.    We were directed to the fast food outlets by the pool, and we managed to grab the very last plate of chicken fingers before it closed. (We were told that many people were late for the safety drill because of the boarding issues ). After the drill was over, we went to the room to unpack, because we had not had time to do so earlier.  We then rushed to the pool deck to watch the Sail Away show and party.  But by the time we got there the show, which is apparently only a half-hour long, was over.  That’s was it.  There was no fun afternoon sailaway atmosphere with music like on other ships, just tons of kids splashing in the pool.    By this time, I was considerably disillusioned with the whole thing.

I think it is exceptionally poor hospitality to cause a two hour delay and then provide little or no food for people once they are finally able to board.  I believe the safety drill and the Sail-Away party should have been delayed, and the food outlets should have been kept open until everyone was onboard.   As it was, the ship didn’t end up departing until after 8:00 p.m. because of difficulties with the new port.    (Also, I think guests should be advised that no food will be available between 3:30 p.m. and dinner time on the first day because of the safety drill).  

Late that night,  there was a medical emergency which required the ship to go back to Fort Lauderdale.  In the morning, they announced that because of this unexpected turn of events we would not arrive at our first port, Castaway Cay (Disney’s private island) until after lunch.   I understand that these things can happen, and I am glad the cruise line was able to help the ill passenger and get them to safety.  But by the time we finally got to Castaway Cay, after waiting in a huge line full of passengers determined to make the most of their limited time on the island, we had only about 2 hours there.  The only accommodation made to the delay was to extend the time in port by 45 minutes.  There was no food on offer, as Castaway Cay only serves a specific barbecue lunch scheduled for a certain specific hour, and the cruise line made no effort to alter this rigid schedule even under the extenuating circumstances presented.  So, we sat on a beach for two hours and went back to the ship.   

I know unexpected delays do happen.  But we were not compensated in any way for either the delay in boarding, the missed embarkation lunch, or the severely truncated Castaway Cay visit, nor was any effort made to adjust the schedule to reflect these unforeseen circumstances.  This itinerary offered only two ports, and one was essentially scrapped.  We have been on a prior cruise with NCL which had a similar delay with the boarding process and also a missed port.  NCL gave us shipboard credit and a letter acknowledging their mistake and our disappointment.  Disney did absolutely nothing, other than to give us a special photo “commemorating” the first departure from the new Ft Lauderdale terminal.  The irony that this “first departure” and ensuing delay caused a tremendous inconvenience to the passengers was apparently lost on them.  

As for the cruise itself, it was just OK.  The character experiences and children’s programming are amazing, though there are long lines for everything, including taking a photo with a character.  The youth staff is fantastic, better than other lines by a thousand percent.  You do not have to worry about your kid for one minute.  Our kid made friends and enjoyed all of the various events, formal and informal, including decorating the cabin door and finding rubber ducks hidden by other passengers.  (Disney has devoted enthusiasts who do all of this stuff and who would never consider another line).  

Still, I did not care for the rigid schedule.  Disney still has set dining times, and those are either 5:15 or 8:15, no exceptions.  The buffet is not open for dinner, so your only other option for dinner is a limited selection of kid-friendly food (pizza, chicken fingers, burgers) offered by the pool, though even that closes at 6:00.  ( I imagine the first dinner seating is so early because there are so many young children.)  The shows are only offered at 6:00 or 8:00.  If you have the late seating, as we did,  and you want to see the show, you must do so at 6:00 p.m.  There is a sense, overall, of moving from managed experience to managed experience, and always being a half an hour late for whatever just happened.  There are a lot of lines.  It is very much like a Disney park, which is fine for that type of vacation, but not what I want in a leisurely relaxing Caribbean cruise.  

The food itself at dinner was very good, though not particularly creative or imaginative.  Meat, fish, vegetables, well-prepared.  You have the same waitstaff each night, but you rotate through each dining room.  The dining rooms are extremely crowded and noisy, and the staff, though friendly, appears overworked and rushes you through.  The food at the breakfast and lunch buffet was not very good, and there was a much smaller selection than offered on other ships.  As for those fast-food kiddie outlets by the pool, the less said, the better.  There are two adults-only specialty restaurants which do allow you to eat on your own schedule.  We ate at the Italian one, and both the food and service were excellent. 

Because we had the late seating and preferred to use the time beforehand to get ready, we only managed to see one show before dinner.    The show we saw was excellent.  We were told the other shows were as well.  We did participate in Pirate Night, which was really great fun!  Everyone dressed up in pirate costumes, and there was a great deck show and fireworks.  The ship also offers a constant stream of movies by the pool and first-run movies in the theater on some sailings.  

There is no nightlife on this ship.  There is a section called “the District” with multiple bars open only to 18 and up after 8:00 pm.  These bars and clubs were all beautifully decorated and atmospheric, but there was never anyone there.  The live music offered in these bars and lounges consisted of either a subdued piano player, a mellow acoustic guitar, or a violinist.  No bands.  One place did have a d.j. but we never saw anyone in there either.  I understand there are a lot of parents of young kids, but I don’t understand why they would not want to go out and enjoy themselves at night, especially when Disney offers free group childcare until late.  This “District” is just wasted space.  

During the day,  the ship has two large family pool areas.  These were simply too loud and crowded for anyone without kids to really consider sitting there.  Unlike on other lines, there is no tropical poolside music, just loud movies playing constantly.  There was only one hot tub which quickly became a “toddler soup.”  At least once, everyone had to be ordered out of one of these pools for some sort of hygiene “accident.”  Thankfully, the ship did offer two small adult pools with bars and one hot tub, and a lovely café with snacks and coffees.  These were relaxing and generally you could find a spot at one or the other.  However, again there was no musical entertainment by these pools, just piped-in instrumentals.  On pirate day, this switched to nonstop sea shanties from 2:00 p.m. on.   There are other daytime activities, mostly trivia and games.  We do not usually do those, but they did look fun if you like that.  We got the Rainforest Room Pass for the week.  This is a small area of the spa just for those 18 and older, with relaxing showers, saunas, steam rooms, heated loungers, and two jacuzzis.  It was quiet, calm, and never crowded, if a bit small.   There is a pretty decent gym as well.

The customer service is excellent, the staff is friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable about the ship, which is sometimes not the case on other lines.  There is twice-daily cabin service with towel animals and chocolates on the pillow.  The cabins are not huge, but there great family-friendly features such as a split bath with one room for the shower and one for the toilet, and a curtain which separates the parents’ bed from the children’s.  There is plenty of space for clothes and toiletries, and the WiFi, if you buy the package, works great.  All of these are things the other lines could learn from.  Still, the overall experience is not worth the trade off for these features.  This cruise experience was just not for us.  I will stick with keeping my cruise vacations and my Disney vacations separate.  They are simply too disparate to mix well.  I will say that for parents of small children who want a vacation that is geared only toward the children, and who don’t like to stay out late or listen to music or dance, this is probably perfect.

Boring, overpriced, rigid, not for adults

Riga

Disney has gone so far downhill. Our first two cruises on the Magic were magical. Everything you think to expect from a Disney cruise.

This one? Disney Dream to Bermuda in October 2023 was a hot mess.

Ship's Appearance

Disney was always the standard in cleanliness. Not now. The entire ship had the stink of sweat. One section, The District, added in the aromas of urine, vomit and poop. It smelled like the bathroom alleyway there had backed up and seeped into the carpeting. It was disgusting.

The tables at Cabanas were routinely dirty - chunks of food left over from previous diners, on the table, on the floor. 

I took a photo of one of the elevator button panels that had some substance smeared on it one day. The next day it remained there, just crustier. It may still be there.

Bedding that was clearly soiled was tucked in and remained throughout the trip.

On the deck by the pool my spouse pointed out a massive hairball right by the pool's entrance. It remained there throughout the voyage.

The hallways of our cabin floor (deck 8) smelled of sweat (like the ship) but added the aroma of turpentine while being cleaned. It was so intense my spouse was physically ill smelling it.

It didn't help that we had terrible weather and people were puking all around. And staff members did not know how to handle it and could not keep up with the clean up. I watched multiple kids just throw up all over the carpet in main areas and they'd put a cloth napkin over it and wait for someone to show up.

Friendliness of the Staff

We are so used to the happiest place on earth that it was a dramatic change to have "cast members" who had so clearly given up. So many told us excitedly that this was their last sail and they were leaving.

I witnessed staff members ignore requests for help, push into passengers as they went from place to place, and generally be unhelpful. 

We did the virtual sports simulator. A crew member would occasionally check in to make sure things were fine. Otherwise, they'd just disappear. A family in the other simulator had a glitch and wasted 10 minutes of their 30 minute session waiting for someone to return. Other people would come in and ask how they could get reservations. But no one was there to help.

We paid the high prices for the tastings. On the Magic, you could show up at 1.50 pm for a 2 pm tasting and you would find the door open to the space and be welcomed warmly in. On the Dream, the doors were locked until 2 pm and then they acted put out that people were trying to get in.

The Food Was Awful

I can't think of a single meal I really enjoyed on the cruise.

My spouse ordered a rare steak. It came out grey.

The mashed potatoes were used as wallpaper paste prior to being served. They were disgusting. I think they broke my daughter's addiction to mashed potatoes.

The scrambled eggs at Cabanas were raw. I have no idea how they expected anyone to eat those. The bacon was tasteless. The hash browns were the best thing they served. And that's sad.

Entertainment - What Entertainment?

Trying to find live music was hard. Unless you wanted someone standing in midship singing. But trying to find a place to sit, have a drink and listen to live music ... good luck. We found one guy who was awesome. They thought they should preserve his voice and only let him perform a total of 2 hours a day.

The character interactions were so brief. They would spend 15 minutes at a location. The lines were much longer. People would be standing there for a long time and then a random crew member would walk up and announce that they were out of luck.

Service Was Awful

We went to the pub and watched as three crew members were unable to handle the load of 7 guests. After being ignored for 20 minutes, they took our order. We saw it get filled, put on a tray, our server saw it and arranged it on the tray. Then walked away from it to go talk to a group who had come in. He later went back to the tray and brought us our drinks. 

Another server at the same pub was clearly lonely. She glommed on to us and talked for almost 20 minutes, in a monologue, about other people she had met. I don't mind friendliness and I like learning about different people, places, but this was not working.

Our waiters who traveled with us were sweet, but they were overworked. They couldn't keep up, our food delivery was always slow, and don't order wine. You'll watch it come to a station and the bottle sit there. After awhile, it will travel to your table, unopened. Then glasses will need to be found. And finally, someone will open the bottle. This is a tortuous process and one you will pay a lot for.

By the way, don't ever ask to sit by a window at lunch. You would think we made the most incredible demand that they had never heard of. The restaurant captain looked put out by it, the waiter couldn't find the table number assigned, and we were made to feel like we were wrong to want to see the ocean.

Also, don't prop your book up on a plate in Cabanas. I was sitting, reading, enjoying myself having finished what I was eating. I was using the plate to keep the book propped up for my ease. Suddenly a waiter wanted that plate. He grabbed it out from under my book and walked away. It was clear that I was using it still; just he wanted it more.

At the ship's stores we waited in long lines to buy seriously overpriced merchandise. I watched clerks walk away from long lines to go do - something? - and leave us waiting and waiting.

We Thought Embarkation Was Bad, but Debarkation Was Worse

Embarkation was almost two hours past our scheduled time. Why did we schedule a boarding time when it clearly didn't matter?

But nothing prepared us for leaving. Pandemonium. You would think they had never let passengers off the ship before. Lines snaking everywhere, no one knowing where to stand. Crew members yelling at people, being super unhelpful. People angry, shoving. I felt unsafe there with my kids, and I wanted off desperately. For a company that should know something or two about crowd control, it was out of control.

So was anything good?

Our wait staff were very nice, just overworked.

The team in kids club made it nice for our kids. Although there were a lot more "open house" hours this cruise. Basically, this means that half of the space is now come and go as you want and the other half is for kids who are there under supervision. I think they did that because they didn't have enough club counselors and "open houses" give them a break.

The photographers did work with us and our kids to take some really cute photographs.

The cabin was okay. You can tell it needs to be refurbished - peeling paint on the verandah (literally chunks were on the deck each day), stains on the walls, the carpet looked like a good shampoo had been long overdue. 

I can no longer say, well it's expensive but at least I get the Disney experience.

Wish I Could Give A Negative Rating

I didn't choose this cruise, my wife did. Our kids are more Spongebob and Peppa Pig fans due to Paramount+ being free for the last three years, so this wasn't for them. My wife admitted that she wanted to pay 3x what Norwegian and 2x Royal Caribbean to get that "Disney Magical Experience."

It was anything but.

We are seasoned cruisers, as sad as that is to admit for a couple in their 30's, but we know what value is. Value is Norwegian when they first offered the unlimited drink package... without tips, as part of their "Get 4 Perks" promotion! Value is a 7 day cruise for two priced at $800. Value is MSC trying to get a foothold in America and pricing cruises at $39 a day. Disney was anything but value, and it was the $800 Carnival experience all over again, 15 years later. 

Listen, I didn't go into this wanting to dislike it; it has all the basic amenities. Nice room, pleasant workers... but that's it. The food was mediocre: the steak was tough, most of the food was bland, and everything tasted like a buffet. Even cruises with overall bad food had one signature standout; for MSC, it was their pizza. Disney's buffet was on par with a land-based Chinese buffet that's been open for 7 years; not even trying. Their gimmick of rotating the dinner rooms was also more of a pain than anything; the food quality was the same. Nothing stood out, and half the desserts were grainy and inedible.

But who goes to Disney for the food? It was all about the entertainment! Sadly... it was no better than the food.

Disney is supposed to be this multimedia conglomerate of vertical and horizontal integration, right? Unfortunately, you're getting just old school Disney here. No Marvel night. No Star Wars night. There is a huge auditorium/movie theater that no one uses playing movies no one watched even on land; we didn't get the "new premiere" film that would have come out in November 2023, either The Marvels or Wish. They didn't even offer a connection to Disney+ onboard, which blew my mind; they had a Disney+ preview channel on the TV.

All we got was Disney's old standbys in costume: Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and a few princesses. None of the controversial ones like Snow White though. There was a pirate night with a Jack Sparrow that didn't even try to channel Johnny Depp's performance. You can wait in ridiculously long lines to take photos... and that's all. It was very focused on the female/girls aspect of Disney, but noticeably missing anything Frozen and Elsa. This is not a ship catered for boys, even with Pirate Night.

Speaking of Pirate Night, there was a big fuss about the fireworks show that ended up being less impressive than a backyard show in South Carolina. The pirate show itself couldn't compare with the old free Vegas show that ran every 30 minutes; zero fighting, just a weird dance-off. That may have worked in Guardians of the Galaxy, but here... it was just lame.

They also ran a couple of resort-level shows on the nights Disney didn't do anything from their library. We had two guys banging on buckets like they were auditioning for Stomp... and failed. The other was a "magician" that seemed so disinterested he may as well be Bob Iger watching the Disney stock prices falling. Resort-level is not a compliment.

On the actual Disney nights, the shows were well-produced, but short and rushed. Performances were good, and the rest of the crowd seemed to enjoy it. It's good for people that have never seen Broadway shows, and considering how many kids there were on the boat and the tired looks of the parents, this may have been the first theater show they've seen in years. This would be the only thing I would place above MSC, which had the same guy singing tunes for 7 nights. But only 3 out of 6 nights was Disney.

For the remaining entertainment, there is a lot of trivia; good luck winning considering there are childless people on-board that were willing to pay a premium to be on this ship over one that's not catered to children. They will answer every question about Disney like Stephen Hawking at a Physics trivia bowl and take those plastic winner medallions. If you're into Karaoke, there's that as well.

Otherwise, you can go to the tiny, crowded pools full of kids. The adult pools are equally small, but at least there's depth. This is as standard as it gets. They're pools. There's also two slides if you're into that.

If your kid is over 3 and potty-trained, you can put them into an onboard club. Unfortunately, the other parents also got the memo, and you have 3-4 counselors handling 100+ kids. My kid wanted to leave the club after 20 minutes; on MSC, he stayed the entire time. Anything younger required a fee. You'd think this would be dominated by Disney, but it was the opposite.

It seems this is an overly negative review, but it's honestly a warning. This isn't Disney magic; it's Carnival with a Disney skin. Sure, there's no casino, but the amount of kids and the overall lousy quality all scream Carnival. And you're paying 5x more for the experience. 

For that kind of money, just pay for the flight to Orlando and go to Disney Proper. Leave cruising to cruising companies.

Ask yourself this question: If Royal Caribbean/Carnival/Norwegian opened a theme park, would you go? So why go on a cruise run by a land-based company?

Overpriced Carnival-level Experience, but with Disney Price Gouging

This is definitely a cruise for family with little kids. They are just running around, noisy and messy. 

First the pros. The crew is very friendly and very professional. We were very grateful for their services. The shows were exceptional and very entertaining, catering for not only for kids. The stateroom that we were in (Veranda) is very nice. One particular good point is they have a separate cubicle for toilet and for the bath tub. So actually two person can use them separately. 

Now the cons.  The embarkment and disembarkation areas in New York is pretty chaotic. The dinner rooms are jam- packed that it looked like a school canteen. This is especially true for the Animator's Palate restaurant.  The Cabanas is okay but small and crowded. Other cruises have food served throughout the day in the buffet area. Not this one. When we got back from shore excursion around 2:30 pm, we have to rush to get some food. They shutdown everything by 2:40 pm. Even the soda and coffee machine were shutdown!  

Most of the activities centered around kids. So for adults, mainly getting a drink in one of the bars or spending time in the deck or in the pool. One thing about the Gym. The treadmills are arranged not along the ship but parallel. So when you run on it, it feels so weird as the ship is rocking forward when the ship is a bit rough and you feel you are slipping on it.

Noisy and messy and definitely not a dream.

Filters

1-10 of 783