Just OK, and not worth the money

Previous to Disney Cruise Line, we sailed aboard Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity. The cost for Disney was at least double what the other cruise lines charge. With a daughter in mid-childhood, we thought she might have a really good time, which she did compared to the above cruise lines because the ship is geared for kids. However, my opinion is, as an adult, that I would rather take 2 of the above cruises for the same price as 1 Disney Cruise and see if I can coordinate with another family we know so our kids can play together on another ship.

As you will see below there were many issues; the ship left late, the itinerary was changed, and all shore excursions were cancelled, including on Disney's own island, Castaway Cay. Especially with embarkation, there was zero communication and no transparency to know what was going on.  Disney sends e-mails building excitement for the cruise but when an issue occurs, nothing; no e-mails, texts, calls, etc. When embarkation goes wrong, it sets passengers up with an unfavorable impression right away. Had we known these issues BEFORE we boarded, we simply would have rescheduled our cruise. But, we were never given the chance.

During the cruise, we re-booked the same cruise next year with the intent to give Disney the chance to make it up to us and get it right. If you re-book with Disney on board before you leave, they give you 10% off all cruises and give you $200 ship credit. The deposit is 100% refundable for about 8 months. I communicated my displeasure with our cruise to Disney both on board and with Disney Guest Satisfaction upon our return through our travel agent. Disney Guest Satisfaction basically admitted their issues precluded us from enjoying the full "Disney Experience", but to date, Disney has refused to right these wrongs by extending ANY goodwill gestures like all other cruise lines including a % or $ off of a next cruise, ship's credit, dining experience at a premium restaurant, free shore excursion, etc. Disney's arrogance is deeply troubling given they have a guest satisfaction department to begin with for issues like these. They should rename the Disney Guest Satisfaction Department the Disney Apology Department where they simply tell you how sorry they are and don't make anything right.  

The ship is well designed, well taken care of, neat, and clean. There are many places to wash hands.

On the upper decks, there are separate adult areas, which is nice. At the kids pools, they play movies all day on giant screens but the pools are so crowded, there can be no swimming. I think Disney needs a 3rd pool on future ships. Our child enjoyed the Oceaneer Club activities for kids on 5th floor.

It's hard to imagine any scenario where we would sail with Disney again given their premium prices and mediocre adult experience, unless they extend some sort of goodwill gesture(s). It is difficult to justify booking a cruise knowing that if there are issues, Disney will not communicate well and probably will not right any wrongs? We met a number of other unhappy passengers for various other reasons, many of whom were experienced Disney Cruisers.

If you need to cross a Disney Cruise off the family's bucket list, hopefully your cruise will go exactly as planned and you end up having a great time.