Got2GoGo

I was never able to use this OBC anyway. My TA said it couldn't be combined with other OBC offers and I got more for booking while on-board and from my TA. But yes, the diminishing returns as these perks fade into the sunset is becoming a pattern.

Thanks, I did find photos of the room layout, which is why my sister thinks it looks like an attic. More to the point is actual reviews from people who have stayed in this type room, hence my questions: "Would you stay in this type room again? Why or why not?"

I have searched many times, using different combinations of key words, but cannot find what I am looking for, so please forgive me if I've overlooked the information I am seeking.

My sister and I are booked on the Disney Dream in stateroom 7006, which is a Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Porthole (obstructed view) (09D). This is a corner room, all the way forward, with one large porthole in a slanted wall (view is toward bow of ship).

I picked this room due to its size - over 400 sq ft (although listed as the same size as regular Oceanview rooms). I found a few photos online and the layout is sort of odd and the window is on the slanted wall, thus the obstructed view.

My sister and I are both short, so I don't think the slanted wall and window will be an issue for us. The room seems a bargain for the size, but after seeing the layout, my sister has balked - saying it looks like an attic room.

Has anyone on Cruise Critic stayed in the forward corner rooms? If so, please share your experience, thoughts and advice. Would you book this room again? Why or why not? TIA

The only thing about Halloween on the High Seas that irks me is the window clings on the portholes off the main atrium lobby. I'm sure the kids love these, so whatever. I'm not a huge fan of Halloween anyway, but lots of people are, so I just ignore what I can and don't let it spoil my enjoyment. It's my fault for booking mid-Sept - LOL (but it's the only time of year I can afford).

You will leave your "stuff" (clothes) in your room. Just take with you your ID/documents for check in. The time off the ship can vary from 15 minutes to 2 hours. So it's best to bring something along to amuse yourself (and kids) in case it's the latter.

I was able to book the same cabin for both legs, so this is great news! Thank you for sharing/confirming as well as the reminder to take our cruise documents with us. That would be a big oops :eek:

We've done at least 5 B2Bs. As to the changeover day' date=' each one was slightly different. It seems to depend on the port, the requirements of the Customs office there, and the number of guests doing B2B. Obviously things are a little different if you are in the same cabin as compared to if you are moving cabins. Your most accurate info will come from the most current B2B report you can find for YOUR ship, YOUR embarkation port.[/quote']

 

If you book the exact same cabin for a 3 & 4 night B2B, do you have to pack your suitcase in-between or just leave the ship, go through customs and re-board?

Thank you so so much for all the info!!! :)

You are most welcome - anytime!

There were LOTS of kids on this excursion last year. It depends on how adventuresome your children are and if they can swim. Everyone received a floatation vest (not as big as a life jacket, but plenty of buoyancy), mask, snorkel and fins. We were in about 12 feet of water where the boat anchored, but the shoreline isn't too far away if shallow water is preferred. The guide was great with the kids! She would dive down and bring up things like sea urchins for us to look at (but not touch!) and tell us all about each creature we spotted. It was borderline educational - LOL.

I don't know if Disney offers this excursion multiple times per day. You learn your meeting time when you get to your stateroom and the tickets are on the desk. I think we left late morning and were back early afternoon.

My sister and I did this excursion Sept 2015. It was fantastic! The guides were nice and knowledgeable & one snorkeled with us to help spot turtles. Afterwards, the rum punch flowed and was quite good (this boat is sponsored by Captain Morgan). Next, we cruised over to Honeymoon Beach for 45 min or so to swim. There was an open-air café where you could purchase food, which was yummy. I enjoyed this excursion so much, I'm doing it again this September!!

Which company did you use?

We booked through our ship, the Disney Fantasy. I sometimes book local operators, but this was our first time in St Thomas, so we opted to play it safe. It was only about $60 for sailing out to snorkel location, at least an hour in the water (maybe more?), all the rum punch you could drink (post snorkeling, of course), plus about an hour at Honeymoon beach.

My sister and I did this excursion last Sept. It was fantastic! The boat we went on was a short walk from where our cruise ship was docked. The crew was awesome - very friendly and good at explaining the process. One of the crew was in the water, spotting turtles for us to come see and offering some educational information as well. You didn't state the age of your boys, but I started mine snorkeling at about age 5.

After the snorkeling was over, it was rum punch time!

My sister and I did this excursion during the 9/26/15 sailing (Fantasy). It was horrible! The bus ride and food were okay, but the beach and water were so clogged with seaweed that we couldn't even wade in the shallows or walk along the shoreline.

We took the first bus back after lunch and filed a complaint with the Port Adventures desk, asking for, and receiving, a 50% refund. After all, we did ride the bus and eat lunch, so I thought 50% was fair, which why that's all I asked to be returned.

Apparently, there is a "seaweed season" in the Caribbean. I had no idea, not having encountered anything like this is Nassau, Cozumel, St Thomas, Grand Cayman or Castaway Cay, despite previous cruises around the same time of year. Ick!

I visited the DCL Dry Dock "Shop" on Sunday, March 20. The term "shop" is an overstatement - it's more of a kiosk - standing in the open space between the other Marketplace Co-Op stores. Even so, the (limited) selection was nice and I ended up buying the tote bag as a gift for a friend's upcoming birthday.

DCL Dry Dock Shop merchandise is not on the Marketplace Co-Op site for online ordering yet.

According to the Disney Cruise Line blog, a new store named, Disney Cruise Line Dry Dock Shop recently opened in the Marketplace Co-Op in Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney). The blog post includes a pic of the merchandise sold at this brand new store. Items can also be ordered online.

I’ve always wanted to do an inaugural cruise. I’m thinking 2021 could be my year! :D

This thread has been very helpful. The problem I'm having is that we'll be in Cozumel from 1:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. and most of the beaches close at 5 p.m.

Out of the main three (Paradise, Nachi Cocum & Mr Sanchos), only Nachi Cocum stays open until 6:30 p.m. for cruise ship passengers, so I guess that's our best bet. Thank goodness we have late dinner seating!

Glad to see you took the right attitude when it came to all the things that went wrong with your cruise. Did you have to pay for the change in flight time? Did you see or hear of any incidents involving unhappy passengers? Don't people take into consideration the risk when you book a cruise during hurricane season?

Thank you for your compliment. Since I had booked our flights using reward miles, I was not charged for the change, but it would have been $215 pp otherwise.

Guest Services called ME and said they noticed that I had an early flight and did I want assistance in changing it. They placed a ship to shore call for me - at no charge - connecting me directly to the airline. Amazing service!

This was my third cruise during the same week in Sept. As the singer Meatloaf says, "two out of three ain't bad."

Could you post the link to the you tube video?

Go to YouTube and search for Disney Fantasy Hurricane. You'll see several from Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and a few from Hurricane Joaquin last week.

I was on the Sept 26 - Oct 3 Fantasy cruise. It was mostly great. There was a little rain and some high winds on Thursday and 10-12 foot swells, especially at night. I slept like a baby! We didn't get to go to CC, but safety first. Commodore Tom got us far enough southeast to have a nice sea day on Friday, but the longer route (and some reported engine trouble) got us back to port a few hours late. I had to change my flight home, but it all worked out. That's the risk I took when choosing to sail during hurricane season. The odds have been with me, so I'm caulking this last cruise up to an adventure!

Could you post the link to the you tube video?

Go to YouTube and search for Disney Fantasy Hurricane. You'll see several from Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and a few from Hurricane Joaquin last week.

I was on the Sept 26 - Oct 3 Fantasy cruise. It was mostly great. There was a little rain and some high winds on Thursday and 10-12 foot swells, especially at night. I slept like a baby! We didn't get to go to CC, but safety first. Commodore Tom got us far enough southeast to have a nice sea day on Friday, but the longer route (and some reported engine trouble) got us back to port a few hours late. I had to change my flight home, but it all worked out. That's the risk I took when choosing to sail during hurricane season. The odds have been with me, so I'm caulking this last cruise up to an adventure!

They changed the policy once before....due to guest outcry' date=' the "change" lasted less than 6 weeks.

 

Wonder what caused this one. The last policy change came right after a group of young adults had a major "drunk and disorderly" by the Quiet Cove pool. DCL finds it easier to change "policy" than to deal specifically with inappropriate behavior. To me, this sounds like a financial move rather than a behavioral one though.[/quote']

 

Excellent points, moki'smommy! I wasn't cruising DCL when the policy was changed and then reversed before. I agree that this seems financially motivated. Perhaps an attempt to drive people into the adults only bars?

 

I'm just glad that I'll be squeaking by on the cutoff! I feel badly for people who will be affected by this change, but DCL does say that any policy can be changed at anytime. Pity about this one.

This policy would be reasonable if DCL cruises were in the same price point as other similar lines (RCL, NCL, Celebrity). But they are NOT. We are getting ready to go on DCL cruise Number 17 - so clearly we are fans, but this is one more perk being taken away that may make us at least try some other lines. We have always justified the higher prices of a DCL cruise with the onboard wine/liquor policy. In all the years we have been cruising DCL, we have never seen drunken disorderly people milling about in the public spaces - Disney just doesn't draw that kind of crowd.

 

The service, food and quality on DCL is amazing, but this is not sitting well with me. Feels like a money grab when they are already charging significantly more.

 

Kathi

My thoughts exactly! I've cruised another line and purchased their drink program. When added up, DCL was comparably priced since passengers could BYOB. However, the higher fares coupled with this change in alcohol policy makes a DCL cruise MUCH more expensive. I'm glad I squeaked by on this change, but I will NOT be booking another cruise while onboard, as I'd planned.

I have noticed that the adults only clubs and bars on DCL have fairly low attendance, so perhaps this change is an attempt to drive people into those areas (The District, etc.)? As stated above, I have never seen anyone behaving badly due to too much imbibing. The worst behavior I've witnessed on a Disney cruise is parents screaming at their children....but that's another topic.

I'm glad that my cruise is departing on Sept 26, 2015. This change in policy will impact my decision to cruise DCL again - or not. Their prices are so high, the fact that we could bring booze was a determining factor (for me). Disney has leveled that playing field while continuing to charge higher prices that most lines.

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/planning-center/my-cruise-plans/faqs/beverage-policy/alcohol-policy-onboard/

P.S. Please don't shoot the messenger.

You haven't talked to me yet!:D My favorite cruises....solo or with friends and family.

VERY tempting! I bet we'd get on famously :)

Lime in G & T ???? Lol

 

It's lemon all the way in a good G & T :)

I've never tried lemon in a G&T, but I am happy to do so in the guise of research. BTW, using both lemon and lime slices in a G&T is called an "Evans" (perhaps we should call it détente ;)?)