Thread: Disney Cruise Line- Differences

In our podcast this week, we talked about the differences you find on Disney Cruise Line like rotational dining, free soda, lenient alcohol policies etc. What differences did you like or not like?

Personally, I like the larger staterooms, lenient alcohol policy, and quality of the shows. I find rotational dining to be much ado about nothing (although I do like changing atmospheres) and wish that the free soda was available at places other than just Lido Deck.

Here is a link to the podcast:
Cruize Cast

I like Disney cruise ships melody horn and Disney topic.
Disney Cruise line ships describe sound interesting. It make me think to do a cruise on these ships Does DCL cruise ships sail on the Baltic sea sometime?

In 2010, they did a season of sailing in the Baltics, but they have no plans to return soon. The next time they wll be in Europe is 2013 for some Mediterranean cruises.

We did like the size of the cabins and the most wonderful shows! Loved the movies - got to see Bolt in 3-D, which was great. Great interaction with the characters on the ship.

We were on the Magic the week before Christmas and the decorations were awesome, especially the full-size ginger bread house.

Absolutely love their private island, especially the adults only area. And glad they had adult only areas on the ship.

Not crazy about their food in any of the venues, except Palo's, which was good.

But it was great that we were able to take our own booze onboard. And I agree about the sodas - if they're going to offer them for free, don't just do it in one area.

Pete

Meanwhile I had the soda card on our last Celebrity cruise but still went up to the Lido deck for my drinks. Why? Because the ice machine up ther had the softer, crunchier ice that I love!

Physical differences and amenities are one thing, but the main reason I sail DCL is for the Disney caliber of service. I have not had time to listen to the podcast, but as a dedicated Disney cruiser who has sailed on each of their ships through the last decade (except the Fantasy which I'll be on April 28), my opinion is that things are constantly changing with DCL. The level of service depends on which crew members happen to be aboard. For me, on the classic ships Palo was always superior to the main dining rooms. Last week on the Dream, the food in the main dining rooms was EXCELLENT (and I enjoyed some incredible wild boar!), but although Palo service was also excellent, the food (except for the chocolate souffle) was absolutely awful. For the first time in 10 years I had to rate Palo food quality as "Poor" on the comment card. I posted a trip report here on CLF and you can read what went on with the chef. I am not writing off Palo, as the chefs vary and I was told that particular one is newer and "not the best."

But this experience is one of many examples of DCL's sudden growth not necessarily being a good thing, because you can't simply hire a lot of new people, train them hard over a short period of time and expect them to have the skills and Disney attitude of crew members who have been with DCL for years. Those skills and Disney attitude in delivering a superior level of service are, to me and many others, the foundation of "the Disney difference" and are what truly makes DCL worth the cost. If they lose that and place too many new hires in positions that matter, they will be like any other cruise line but with a Disney theme, but will no longer be worth the much higher prices.

So although DCL is still all I'm sailing and I have two Fantasy cruises coming up, I've now learned to be careful to sail only when I know that many favorite and very experienced crew members I've known from previous cruises will be working. In the past, that was not a factor because DCL's level of service was consistent. While I still HIGHLY recommend DCL above all other lines to anyone who at least "likes" Disney theming, for the next couple of years I would do so with just a few caveats until the new hires have more experience with DCL. Where they used to live up to the expectations of perfection, I think they have now lowered the bar in some areas due to their expansion.

You have hit it on the nail about Disney's high level of service. They do everything to a higher level than anybody else. You can see it in the parks, in their hotels, and everywhere.

I know they are doubling their ship capacity, but I would think that everyone is well trained before they ever appear before a guest. It is not in their nature to let raw trainees interface with guests without a lot of supervision! Surprised that you have noticed some cracks in their perfection.

In some ways, I wonder if it is appropriate to compare Disney with the mainline cruise lines? They really are in a niche by themselves, in some ways more like Seaborne or Crystal rather than NCL, Carnival, or RCL.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of cracks in their perfection since DCL's expansion. That can be avoided by getting lucky or by specifically requesting and getting the more experienced and better servers, etc.

These are just growing pains, I am sure. DCL is quite different from other lines. New hires, no matter how experienced with other companies, can rarely become "Disneyfied" to the expected Disney level in a very short time. So, in my opinion, I'm expecting it to take a couple of years before their standard is CONSISTENTLY as high (throughout the ships and the line with no exceptions) as it used to be.

The only thing that ever really turned me off to Disney was the cost! They are two to four times the cost of everyone else. Yes, I'm willing to pay a bit more for better quality, but when I look at cost versus quality and add in the amenities, since there is only the two of us, I'd much rather spend half as much money and do a really nice Celebrity cruise - much better food, very good service, and beautiful ships. Gee, one week on Disney or two weeks on Celebrity - no comparison. But hey, I'm old and love good food.

That is the point I am trying to make, should we be comparing Disney to the premium lines rather than the mainstream lines. Their price is comparable to Crystal or Regent. Would that be a better comparison? How does Disney stack up to these lines?