LulaMae

We got the same email. I suspect we won't get issued a refund until after 2//23. edit: different sailing, but same issue. 

I've been on four Disney cruises with my husband (no kids), and one of them was during Spring Break. It had the most kids on it by far, and was the most chaotic feeling--lots of running in public areas, yelling, etc. Obviously I expect there to be kids on a Disney cruise, but the one during Spring Break was the only one I found to be overwhelming. 

I did an Alaskan cruise on the Bliss last May. It my 5th cruise, but my first one on a NCL ship.

I think you are worrying too much about overcrowding/having to rush to activities/not finding chairs, etc. The only issue with crowds I had was some days at the buffet for breakfast, it took a while to find an empty table. And I just walked around until I found one, and I always did.

The live shows take reservations ahead of time, and they also have a second line for walk in. Once the people with reservations take their seats, they let the walk ins in.

We didn't make our dinner reservations at exactly the moment they opened but we still got what we wanted. You may need a little flexibility, but you will be fine. We also got one reservation for time that was too late for us, and we were able to check that day and change it.

The 2 bottles policy is for wine. Wine and beer are the only alcohol you are allowed to bring for on-board consumption.

If you buy liquor in port, they will "hold" it for until you until you disembark.

I booked a couples massage for me and my husband a couple of years back. The massage was fine, but it ended with such a hard sales pitch to buy products that it completely ruined the experience for me. That's the only thing I've ever complained about on a Disney cruise.

We went on our first NCl cruise this year, so I can't compare to previous experiences, but I found Cagney's underwhelming. Our servers were friendly, but they all seemed to be in training--not quite up to par. We had to ask for the same things multiple times before to we got them. My mother had no napkin for a good part of the meal, despite asking for one several times. Drinks went unrefilled. My side of onion rings was three small rings that seemed to have come from a freezer bag. All in all, I was not impressed.

3 minutes ago, zqvol said:

 

Since when? They do it for me all the time, and I have been on 8 NCL cruises.

The wouldn't do it for me a couple of weeks ago.

The bar will not pour drinks into your own container, including water bottles.

Please keep in mind that your gratuity doesn't just go to the people you personally interact with. Other people who make your experience a good one receive a cut of it and when you chose to remove the autogratuity, you are taking income away from them.

Will his age restrict him and his parents while onboard? 

Just FYI, he will not be allowed into any of the "adults only" areas. I mention this because sometimes people think babies/toddlers are okay but no one under 18 is allowed in the adults only spaces.

Yes, you will see the princesses on a Star Wars cruise. The Star Wars cruises are "Star Wars Day at Sea" cruises, meaning one day is dedicated to Star Wars--the rest of the cruise is the regular programming, including princesses.

I've had mixed experiences on Disney cruises. The most recent cruise I took was near a Spring Break period, so not surprisingly there were a lot of kids on board. The main issue I had was kids running the public areas and nearly slamming in people, and just a general lack of manners, like cutting in lines and reaching in front of people to help themselves at the buffet. I saw that over and over again. And I saw a kid using a go pro to film him self running down stairs. It seemed to be mainly kids whose parents thought they were old enough to be unsupervised, but who really needed an adult to keep them in line.

In addition to what the other posters said, here is some more information at Star Wars Day at Sea:

1--All the Star Wars movies are played through out the length of cruise, one or two per day. There are also non-Star Wars movies showing, but if you wanted watch every Star Wars movie while on your cruise, you could.

2--Each cruise has one special guest, like a writer, artist or someone who works at Lucasfilm on Star Wars who does two presentations on Star Wars day.

3--There is special "Star Wars Day at Sea" merchandise available.

I hope you have a great time!

We were there two days ago (March 17) and it was a bit chilly, but still nice.

We were on the Fantasy in January last year, and the two cruises prior to ours were unable to dock at Castaway Cay. We were able to on our third attempt. It was very windy, and the adult beach was closed. We got in the water for a short time, but it was pretty chilly.

Hoping for better luck on our March cruise!