A few Trippy thoughts on WDW and our Disney Cruise

Originally Posted By RoadTrip

Ann and I just returned from a WONDERFUL Disney honeymoon... 4 nights at WDW and a three day Disney Cruise to the Bahamas. A few quick notes on each...

WDW
We barely had enough time at WDW to scratch the surface. We didn't get to The Boardwalk until 11:30 PM the first night, so we only had three days to see the World. We spent one day at the Disney Studios and two days at Epcot.

The Boardwalk
was looking really good. Power washing, painting, etc. were being done each day we were there. The location and dining options keep it as my all-around favorite WDW resort.

Disney Hollywood Studios
was a major disappointment. It seems that all maintenance on The Great Movie Ride has been discontinued... I've never seen so many things not working on that attraction. With Star Tours down, the "One Man's Dream" exhibit closed, and Fantasmic not being shown ONCE during our visit, there just wasn't that much to do. Ann is not a thrill ride person, so ToT and RNRC offered nothing for her. Midway Mania was fun as usual, but the Wii game we have at home is almost as fun and you don't have to wait in line for almost an hour to play it!

Epcot
as usual was very enjoyable... we spent one day at the World Showcase and one day at Future World. Ann much preferred Future World. She LOVED Test Track and I was even able to talk her into going on the mild side of Mission Space. She thought it was enjoyable and unique, but passed on my offer to do it again. She thought one of my favorites, Spaceship Earth, was somewhat boring. At times I wonder if I love the "classics" so much because I really enjoy them NOW, or if it is really based more on fond memories of the past.

WDW Dining
was hit and miss. The Brown Derby was very good as usual, but the prices have become OUTRAGEOUS. They now use the same menu at both lunch and dinner. Our lunch of an appetizer, two entrees and two deserts (no liquor) came to $96 including both tip and the 20% Tables in Wonderland discount. Our lunch at the San Angel Inn at Mexico consisted of marginal food and TERRIBLE service. It has been permanently taken off my list. Our dinner at the Nine Dragons Restaurant was very good and reasonable priced, even with liquor. Go figure!

Disney Cruise to the Bahamas
I enjoyed our cruise to the Bahamas a great deal, and was amazed at the value it seemed to offer.

The Disney Wonder
was an absolutely gorgeous ship. Our 'Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah' at 268 square feet was larger than a WDW Value Resort room... not bad for a room that floats! It had two small bath areas; one with a toilet and sink and one with a tub/shower and sink. The bedroom area had more than adequate storage, a queen size bed and two nightstands. The sitting area had a queen size sleeper sofa, a coffee table and a nice sized desk. There was WiFi available in our stateroom (at significant cost). Our outdoor verandah had two chairs and a decent sized table... more room than I would have expected.

The Bahamas
didn't impress me much. With the over the top Atlantis Resorts and multi-million dollar condos and homes of folks like Oprah and Tom Cruise on one side of where our ship was docked and third-world style poverty in the city of Nassau on the other, it just didn't appeal to me much. If I took the cruise again I would just stay onboard the ship during that day.

Castaway Cay
on the other hand was a delight. The crystal clear water and beautiful white sand beaches were beyond description.

Dining on the Wonder
was surprisingly something of a disappointment. The evening meals in the main dining rooms were WONDERFUL, but food options during the day were quite limited. To my GREAT surprise the buffet dining room was not continuously open. A couple of days we ended up with a lunch of pizza or hot dogs from counter service places because the buffet had closed by the time we got back from planned excursions. Not exactly what you expect from cruise ship dining.

Availability of "adults only" activities
was better than I would have expected. There were plenty of options that kept you away from the kiddies if that is what you wanted.

Overall I was VERY impressed by the cruise and plan to do another one sometime in the future. I will post more details about the cruise in a separate post... this one is already too long!

 

Originally Posted By 20years

Sounds like a great honeymoon!
After reading what you wrote I'm glad we are only planning to spend 1/2 day at Hollywood Studios on our upcoming trip.

Can't wait to hear more about the cruise.

 

Originally Posted By Mr X

***Our lunch of an appetizer, two entrees and two deserts (no liquor) came to $96 including both tip and the 20% Tables in Wonderland discount***

That really is outrageous! What a ripoff (and for lunch no less! No way even a dinner for two should approach that much!).

Oh well. Anyway, sounds like you had a blast! I wanna take a Disney cruise someday.

 

Originally Posted By retlawfan

Hey RT

Congratulations again, and thanks for the report.

I hope to get to a Disney cruise some day.

 

Originally Posted By vbdad55

OK- so we are looking at the Cruise for my daughters HS graduation in 2012 --main question - was 3 days enough ? Would 4 be better - and would you even consider 7 ?

 

Originally Posted By RoadTrip

Four would be better... we originally wanted a four-day cruise but the dates just didn't work out with our wedding date. I would certainly consider a 7-day cruise. I think it would make for a much more relaxing experience provided that you could ignore what was going on for 2-3 days and just use the time to unwind. Like WDW, the cruises have so many activities offered that you can wear yourself out trying to do even half of them. With the right approach, a seven-day cruise would be heavenly!!

 

Originally Posted By vbdad55

thanks for that insight -- we are looking to block some dates out - and amazingly none of us has ever been on a cruise

 

Originally Posted By disneykid90

Outside of rides attractions a DHS, the street shows can keep me entertained all day so long as the weather is favorable. Those shows are the most fun.

Glad to hear your honeymoon was good! Was it a WDW wedding?

 

Originally Posted By HokieSkipper

<<Outside of rides attractions a DHS, the street shows can keep me entertained all day so long as the weather is favorable. Those shows are the most fun.>>

Agreed. one of the reasons why DHS and Epcot constantly are vying for my favorite park.

 

Originally Posted By GMouse

<<thanks for that insight -- we are looking to block some dates out - and amazingly none of us has ever been on a cruise>>

I've been crusing for the past 7 years, it's my "other" addiction besides WDW. I would say that a 7 day cruise is the perfect length. 3 or 4 days is just too short. I've been on a couple 4-day cruises and by the last day you are wishing you had a few more days left. My 7-day cruises were not too long and not too short.

I've never done a Disney cruise as I can't justify the cost (in some cases 4X that of other cruise lines). Royal Carribbean is my favorite, followed by Carnival (a good value with great ships) and Celebrity.

 

Originally Posted By Spirit of 74

Congrats on the honeymoon, Trippy!

I love DCL (and crusing in general) ... but I just find anything less than seven nights to be too short ... and I've gradually accepted the idea that I really hit my sweet spot on 9-14 nighters like my DCL cruise in April.

Disney doesn't leave the buffet open 24 hours, but most lines don't anymore either. You either go when they schedule themselves to be open, get fast food on deck (mixed bag ... godawful pizza, but great hot dogs and veggie burgers) or order room service.

I share your thoughts on Nassau ... it isn't a place I want to return to (even though it's just off our coast here) ... another reason why I wouldn't do a 3 or 4 night DCL cruise.

You also tend to get better and more varied food and entertainment on longer length sailings.

And Disney has discounted like hell on many of them. My two-week Transatlantic was $699 (inside, but that mattered little) ... people pay more for the cruises like you went on.

They were offering the last two Med cruises (one was 10, one 11 nights) for $999 a person.

Those are amazing deals.

Compare them with anything on the new Dream sailing in January (the Disney one, not the new Carnival one).

You can also get just great deals on other lines ... Princess, which I feel offers a very nice product, has seven-nighters this fall to the Caribbean for as low as $329 a person ... and to jump to outside doesn't cost you the HUGE premium that it does on Disney.

That said, I'd tell anyone and their mommy to take a DCL voyage over visiting WDW if they've been to WDW many times.

 

Originally Posted By Disney Joy

^^^ AGREE been to DL too many times to think about counting...WDW been for long stays 10 nights 8 nights 6 nights so on..BUT OH MY just got back from 1st Disney Cruise on the Wonder. It was more than I could have ever dream for. Yep 4 nights better than nothing but I want at least 7 next trip.

I even looked at other cruise.... charges for soda, charges for better food, on and on... so I'm back to Disney. Hubby and I had the deluxe family room with balcony deck 8. After having a balcony I don't think I could go without a balcony.

Not sure when I will be back in the parks again. )

Also next trip staying on the boat skipping Nassau.... once was good and enough. Be careful if you not paying attention I purchase a magnet for $4.00 she tried to charge me $8.00... same thing t shirt had $10.00 she tried to charge $15.00. Of course it was a innocent mistake..... RIGHT

 

Originally Posted By KatieKate123

Thanks for the report, I am glad you had fun on your honeymoon. Please tell me more about the cruise. I am thinking about taking my girls to WDW next year for 5 days and then to do the 3 day cruise. My husband would be going with us for 5 days to WDW and then going home. So I would be on the cruise with just me and my girls. They will be 6,7 at the time, and I am debating if its worth it.

 

Originally Posted By RoadTrip

I can't speak in detail about the various activities reserved exclusively for children since obviously we had none along. But I can say that every child I saw seemed to be having fun and that many of the "general activities" were geared to families with children. Disney movies are shown on a GIANT screen on Deck 9 each evening. Below is some detail showing the events during out three-day Bahamas cruise.

Day 1
You board the ship about 3 PM and they have a light buffet available immediately after boarding. After dinner there was a "bon voyage" party on Deck 9 (the deck with pools etc.), which we did not attend. Of course Disney characters appeared at the party and I think it would have been a lot of fun with kids.

Day 2
You arrive at the Bahamas and can spend the day off the ship if you would like. With children I think I would certainly stay on the ship and enjoy all the activities they have there. We will do that when we take our anniversary cruise to the Bahamas next fall. The "Sea and See" tour we went on was fairly interesting, but all things considered I think we could have had at least as much fun staying on-board the Wonder. The city of Nassau itself was not much to see in my opinion, unless you want to experience a city where much of the population seems to live in relative poverty. In the evening after dinner there is a "Pirates Celebration" on Deck 9, which again involves entertainment including Disney Characters. People are encouraged to dress as pirates for the party. There is a wide range of dress... many attend in whatever they are wearing that evening, some have clearly spend a great deal of time putting together pirate clothing. The party ends with fireworks launched from the ship.

Day 3
Castaway Cay. This was without a doubt the highlight of the trip. Castaway Cay is an island in the Bahamas that is either owned or leased (I'm not sure which) by Disney. The island is wonderfully set up with beaches both for families and one for adults only. The water is wonderfully clear. You can wade out until water is up to your neck and still see your feet in the water. Of course the beaches are beautiful white sand. Floats and tubes are available for rental and there are places to buy souvenirs and drinks. A barbecue lunch is served on the island (hamburgers, hot-dogs, ribs, chicken and steak), which of course is at no additional cost.

Day 4
Ends WAY TOO EARLY. The ship docks at Port Canaveral at approximately 7 AM. You have the opportunity to eat breakfast before disembarking. For us the whole process seemed rather rushed since our flight out of MCO was at 12:30. If you had a later flight that would not be a problem. We arrived at MCO almost three hours before flight time, but Disney wants you on the bus early in case there would be any delays during the trip to Orlando.

I really enjoyed our cruise. To tell the truth, I didn’t think I would like cruising that much and booked the cruise primarily because my fiancé/wife thought it would be fun. Now I’m SOLD. I anticipate that in the future I will use at least as many of my DVC points on Disney cruises as I do on resorts at WDW.

One thing to note… starting next year the Bahamas cruises will be on the new Disney Dream which first sails January 2011. It is a larger ship than the Wonder, so things I have mentioned being on Deck 9 will be on Deck 11 on the Dream.

 

Originally Posted By KatieKate123

Sounds terrific. I am def planning on doing a 4 day cruise next year with my girls. My husband will go to WDW with us and then me and the girls well have a girls only cruise

 

Originally Posted By Mr X

***there was a "bon voyage" party on Deck 9 (the deck with pools etc.), which we did not attend***

Let us draw the curtain of charity over the rest of the scene.

 

Originally Posted By CaptainMichael

<<Outside of rides attractions a DHS, the street shows can keep me entertained all day so long as the weather is favorable. Those shows are the most fun.>>

<<<Agreed. one of the reasons why DHS and Epcot constantly are vying for my favorite park.>>>

It's sad that they would probably cut these if the spreadsheets said to.

 

Originally Posted By Spirit of 74

<<AGREE been to DL too many times to think about counting...WDW been for long stays 10 nights 8 nights 6 nights so on..BUT OH MY just got back from 1st Disney Cruise on the Wonder. It was more than I could have ever dream for. Yep 4 nights better than nothing but I want at least 7 next trip.>>

You are hooked!

Cruising (Disney or not) is a great way to travel/vacation and incredibly relaxing ... BUT ... you really need to have seven nights as a minimum ... on 3-4 night cruises they are over just as soon as you are really getting relaxed.

I've done numerous transatlantic voyages, my first DCL was in April, and they were just amazing ... so much time to relax ... to eat ... to tour ports ... to watch shows ... to drink ... to meet folks ... to sit and enjoy your cabin without feeling like you were missing something ... etc etc

I am 98% sure I'll be booking the Magic's 2011 westbound transatlantic.

 

Originally Posted By RoadTrip

I would LOVE to do a transatlantic cruise, but to do it with one year's allotment of DVC points we would have to book an inside stateroom. Would we go totally stir-crazy spending 14 days with an inside stateroom?

I would probably have a tough time selling Ann on it since she likes to have the Verandah so she can smoke without going to a smoking area on deck.

 

Originally Posted By A Happy Haunt

...tell her to quit smoking! With all the money you'll save you can keep the veranda!

What's more important? Butts or Disney! JEEZ!