This was by far the best family trip we have ever been on. This is also the first experience we had with Disney. We were sad that it was over and can't wait to do it again. We had such a good experience we want to go on this same cruise again. The only advice I have for other families is to not feel pressure to go on excursions the boat is an excursion in itself. It was a blast and we became close to our Stateroom Host, Server, Asst. Server and Head Server. They made the trip. They had such great personalities and were so nice to see everyday. Thank you Disney for such a memorable trip!!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We arrived in Orlando and payed the extra fee to have Disney take us to the ship. The bus ride was 30 minutes and they played a video about the ship. Once we arrived at the port, it took the staff no time to get us checked in and on our way to our first family photo. We entered the ship and the crew gave each family a warm welcome. The ship was beautiful, clean and the crew was there to help guide you through the ship. When we got to our room we were greeted by our Stateroom Host.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The food on the ship was great. I gave it four stars because there were not a lot of healthy options. It was mostly diner food except for breakfast and dinner. The great thing was the servers made it their mission to get you what ever you needed if you have dietary restrictions.
Royal Court Restaurant
5 out of 5
The food in this dining room was excellent! I always looked forward to the night we ate dinner there.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
The pool area where the slides were is where we spent most of our time as a family. It was great. We had Pirate night on our cruise and it was fantastic!! The fireworks and the show they put on was wonderful. Afterwards you could stay for a dance party and eat if you wanted to.
AquaDuck
5 out of 5
It was the best time. The line was never too long and the tube was clear so you could see everything around you as you went through. My kids loved it.
Entertainment
We did not see any shows because we had too much fun at the pool.
Children's Programs
5 out of 5
Our kids went to the Youth Activity center and had a great time. We would go to get them and they always wanted to stay.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
We received outstanding service from everyone on the ship. They all prided themselves on making sure you were having a great time and relaxing while on vacation. You never saw any crew members having a bad day or heard anyone complain. Our Stateroom Host, Server, Asst. Server and Head Server were fantastic. They made our trip wonderful. I have never received such great service anywhere else.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship was beautiful inside and out. It was nice to just walk around and explore. It was so clean! You never saw dirt or water puddled up anywhere. The crew was constantly maintaining the ship. Even the pool area where everyone was sunbathing, drinking and eating was immaculate.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our cabin was awesome. Being able to walk out on the Verandah everyday and look at the water and the ports we pulled into was fantastic. It was also good to get fresh air if you got a little sea sick. We had four people to our room. There was a queen for the adults and bunk beds for the kids. The bed was comfortable and the couch turned into a bed and the top bunk came from the ceiling. Our Stateroom Host kept our room clean and stocked with clean towels twice a day. He would turn down our beds every night while we were at dinner. The 6th floor was the best floor to be on. If the water got a little rough, I felt like it was the best place to be. I also highly recommend the deluxe family oceanview room and spending the extra money for the balcony.
Ship tip
The only thing we do wish we had done was see a show. Make sure you keep up with your Disney app. It will tell you what is going on everyday on the ship.
We went on one of the beach excursions. It had the water park that you could swim out to. We had a blast. If you and your kids are good at climbing this was for you. It was cloudy and rained half the time, but we were in the water so it wasn't that bad. The reason for the 4 stars was the food. It was not that great. I was a little concerned about food safety and told my kids they could only eat the fried food. It was an all inclusive excursion so alcoholic drinks and water were free.
We went on the deluxe dolphin swim excursion. We had to wait out front for a while for the whole group to get there. When we got in they told us to get a locker and take loose clothes and jewelry off and then get a life jacket. It was very unorganized and chaotic. All the lockers did not have keys and the crew yelled at you when you tried to get a life jacket for you and your kids. Once you got to the dolphin pools the crew did a great job explaining what to expect and how to interact with the dolphin. It was an amazing experience. They also took pictures of each person interacting with the dolphin. When it was over you had enough time to go into the gift shop and check out your photos. For the cost of the excursion a couple photos should have been included in the package. The photo packages were super expensive. You could print them, get a CD or a USB. I would say the interaction with the dolphin and the trainer was fantastic but we could done without the rest. We left starving, thirsty and spent way too much on 4 photos.
We went into port to shop. We did not go on excursion because of the mixed reviews of the island and how the locals treated you. We did not want to chance it having small kids. The people in port were nice and we did not get pushed to buy anything.
This was the highlight of our trip. It was absolutely beautiful! Everyone got off the boat even the crew. The people working on the island were the same people working on the ship. Familiar faces everywhere you went which was nice. The food was good the service was great and there was so much to do. We decided to go on a bike ride around the island. They had bike trails and two lookouts to take pictures of the island. It was a great beach day and a fantastic family bike ride. It was a nice way to end our unforgetable trip.
Since we did not have access to a computer we were worried about getting our boarding passes for our flight out. I visited the customer service desk and they took care of everything. They printed them and had our tickets to our room that night. Our Stateroom host had our disembarkation instructions and tags for our bags in our room that night as well. We had to leave the ship early because of our flight. We were able to grab a quick bite to eat before checking out. Once we got downstairs the line was a little daunting but they had a system and moved quick. Once we got off the ship it was easy to find our bags and were taken to a bus to get us to the airport.
Sounds like you had a great time. We are going on our 1st Disney cruise June 30,2018. 11 Fay southern Caribbean. 8 of us, Gram, gramps, Mom, Dad, 4 kids, we, 5,7,9. Any suggestions for us?
So glad you had a positive experience with Disney! Isn't Castaway the best?? You didn't have to feel like you couldnt put down your bag without someone ripping you off, or worry about losing sight of your child for 2 seconds. I have really enjoyed Disney cruises and appreciate your review. Hope you have many more! 😊
A wonderful review, thanks for sharing. My reservations about a verandah stateroom have always been the possibility of my next door neighbors smoking on their verandah, even though it's not allowed. Did you experience anyone smoking next door on your cruise?
Disney is awesome and it sounds like u will be back!! You have now been bitten by the Disney Cruise bug!! And will have cruise blues and withdraw!! The only cure is another cruise!! U must see te mouse to make things better again!!
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