MizDaisy

My friend and her family have spent the night on her. They said they felt "creepy" but didn't experience any problems.

We did the "ghost tour" years ago, and were told about a little girl who haunts the swimming pool area. I was always fascinated by the pool being indoors and below deck, since they are now located on higher decks, in the sun.

Just outside your stateroom, there will be a crew member directing people as to where to go for the muster drill. That crewmember will see the wheelchair and automatically direct you to the elevators. There will always be one elevator in service for people with needs.

Often times, at the end of the drill, a crew member will take the family/person with the wheelchair ahead of the rest of the group, to an elevator. If they don't, make your way into the elevator lobby, and check to see which elevator is being manned by a crew member....it's usually the first or last in the row of elevators.

You and your wife will be allowed to go along to assist.

Every ship has to come out of the water at some point or maintained and paint. Whether its a dry dock or lifted out of the water.

 

The Queen Mary was supposed to go into Dry dock after 25 years' date=' the guarantee on the bottom point. That should have been about 1983.. It is now 30 years late. It does make you wonder if the paint is just lasting longer then expected or they just don't have the money.

 

 

AKK[/quote']

 

Knowing that, and the rumors of her being haunted, make me not want to spend the night on her!:eek:

Sorry fellow readers, I know this has nothing to do with Disney cruising, but I'm curious.:o

We've toured some older ships in San Francisco, and of course the Queen Mary and the Russian submarine in Long Beach. Do they have to do a type of dry dock with ships like these? How do they keep the bottoms from rusting/rotting out?

I'm still here, stirring the pot. :D

Actually, I've been trying to be nice....

Question.....The Brig was being used as a tourist attraction.....are there any ships anywhere near this old that actually still sail with passengers?

We were in Turks and Caicos and saw what looked like an old Chinese Junk, with passengers. It couldn't have really been that old, could it? Just made to look old?

Sad to lose a ship that old, with its history. :(

I really appreciate DCL's policy of bringing on wine at ports. I could never do this with Celebrity!

 

I've got a glass story. While on our DCL cruise last week I asked my room steward for wine glasses.

He gave me fluted champagne glasses. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

 

When in the MDR I walked by a clean wine glass and asked if I could take it to my cabin.

I hate drinking from the wrong type of glass!:eek:

It can get frustrating, because we've asked for champagne glasses and they almost always bring wine glasses. I can only think of a couple of times that they actually brought us the champagne glasses. That's one nice thing about the suites, they have the stemware stocked.

MizDaisy

 

Very cute glass story :D

Even funnier, the friend I was with is a sommelier, and since she didn't care, we really giggled over the server. But we thought it was sweet and proper.

True that they won't know where the alcohol came from if you carry a drink around....but it also might depend on the kind of glassware/cup/mug you're using.

Two funny stories:

My friend and I arrived at dinner one night with our own Banfi (a sparkling wine like champagne) in the wine glasses that were provided in our stateroom. Our server came and took our orders, and came back with two champagne glasses to transfer our Banfi into. Apparently it bothered him that we weren't using the correct glassware. :D:D He never said a word, we just laughed.

One day I was sitting in the Promenade Lounge, playing a trivia game. I had a small plastic bottle of Pepsi with me. A server came over and asked me if I had bought the Pepsi on the ship, and I said that I hadn't, that I brought it onboard with me. She kind of lauged and said that another passenger had seen it, and wanted to know where SHE could get some Pepsi. :p

Apparently she'd never read any discussion boards, or Disney info, to know that she could bring her own soda onboard, or that they only have Coke products.

Anyway....point is, most likely no one will say anything to you. I think the only time I'd be a bit more careful would be when taking a drink to dinner. Appropriate glassware!!! LOL

MizDaisy and others I thank you very much for the information. I greatly appreciate it. I have experienced the Haven on the Jewel and it was absolutely amazing and I can't wait to try the Getaway. I will just go with the Deluxe Verandah if that is most of the perks because it doesn't seem like it will really add that much to the experience for my kids which this one is all about. Again thank you!

Great choice!

I'm excited for my Getaway! :)

1. In a suite on the Fantasy, you'll have access to the concierge lounge which offers drinks and snacks all day, and a private sundeck. There is NO private pool. You don't have priority for special seating in the dining rooms. On any Disney cruise, you have assigned tables and servers, the servers will follow you from one night to the next, so they remain the same throughout the cruise. Your table number indicates where you'll be seated each night, so that's luck of the draw for any guest who is issued that/those table numbers.

There are some other special perks for concierge level on Disney....if you've cruised NCL in the Haven, Disney doesn't compare to that, though. You get priority boarding, priority tendering, special treats in your room every day (a small tray of petit fors, finger sandwiches, etc...they vary every day), a concierge party with a higher up officer and a character or two, and often times a special lithograph to take home. I know I've missed a few, but that's the basics.

2. If it's spring break time, yes, the new ships (Fantasy and Dream) will be very crowded. They're less so during the school year, but I'm not sure which states have their break in April when you plan to go. The line for the AquaDuck can be extremely long, and the deck gets darn hot waiting! (They ask you to not wear shoes or flip flops on the Duck). As far as the clubs being busy....often the kids come and go throughout the day, so it may or may not be too bad.

3. As stated by someone else, the formal and semi formal nights will be the same on either ship.

4. Also from your question #1....whether or not a suite is worth 4k more....that's up to you as far as your money situation. I don't think so, but other people on this board do. I've sailed concierge on both NCL and Disney, and I don't happen to feel that Disney's concierge is anywhere near as nice as NCL's, especially ships with the Haven....it seems ridiculous to pay that much more money for a lounge that offers snacks and drinks, when food is so plentiful all over the ship. And the private sundeck isn't really anything all that special.

So....for question #4.....suite on the Magic or 4A on the Fantasy....since you don't really care about the ports (I usually base my decision on the ports)....even though it may be more crowded, I'd probably say the Fantasy would be more fun for the kids. More water features, newer kids' clubs.

I prefer the older ships, simply because I like their layout and decor better, they're smaller, and since I've cruised on the older ships more (11 times) they feel like "home". But my kids are grown now, so I don't have to base my choice on what they'd like. I know that if it had been a choice for my kids back then, they would have rather gone on the new ships because of the extra features. But they still LOVED our Disney cruises, regardless.

You can pre-purchase a spa pass for the Rainforest Room, I believe the cost is $16 a day, or somewhere in the neighborhood of $100-$140 per couple for the week.

But this only buys you the pass to go into the Rainforest Room (and use the locker room and showers) it doesn't guarantee you a "spot" or seat in the Rainforest Room. You just have to take your chances that there will be space available.

One thing we love about DCL over Carnival is the fact that you can hand your camera to a cast member & they'll take a photo for you. Even with their backdrops! This would never happen on Carnival. :eek:

We love both lines but we don't feel the photo pressure on DCL like we do on CCL. :)

I've had the opposite experience. The photogs on Carnival don't seem to care one way or the other if you buy their photos....they take a few, and then they'll take some with our cameras.

On Disney, however.....no way.....they'll only take pictures with your camera for you if you run into a character on deck or at a Castaway Club or concierge party. Never during a backdrop shot....unless no one else is standing in line waiting perhaps.

This is the precise reason that I brought two hip flasks with me on our last DCL Fantasy cruise. I always had at least one in my pocket that was either full or on the way to being emptied.

So then, this would be proof that you don't want DCL to "nickel and dime" you, right?

Although I don't see the option of purchasing a drink onboard as nickel and diming. It costs so much to go on a Disney cruise, I don't blame anyone for wanting to save money onboard wherever they can.

Ooooo.....I forgot all about the gold with the Mickey heads on it!!!:)

One last thing on that "gold by the inch" discussion.....do a search on the DIS for "gold by the inch" and see what comes up.

The Royal Promenade on Royal Caribbean's larger ships (Voyager class and larger) is where I've seen tables set up selling merchandise. RCI's smaller ships that have one main "Centrum" really don't have room for sale merchandise, so those tables are usually set up by the shops. I'll be on an older RCI ship in a few weeks (Legend of the Seas), so I'll be on the lookout for the "flea market"! :D However, after all the comments about what "junk" other cruise lines sell vs DCL - it doesn't have much to do with the topic of nickel and diming on DCL.

Good point. And I did think about the fact that the atriums on the Disney ships aren't large enough to do that, anyway. Plus, they make a lot more money by having the characters out there for the photo ops.

Just one example.....nearly all of Disney's merchandise is made in China. Which means it could be as cheap, cheap, cheap as all the junk sold on another cruise line, but because it's Disney, it's nowhere near cheap...as in dollars cheap. $$$$

A cup from Castaway Cay:

I've never experienced this on the Dream in any of our 3 trips. Nor have we experienced a server in the theater; although there was a bar outside.

 

 

 

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She's talking about seeing this on her RCCL cruise.

I'm talking about the atrium area being filled with table after table (at least 10 of them) of flea market quality, made in China junk. Junky jewelry, junky sunglasses, junky photo frames, junky junk that you might see in a Dollar Store. It clogged up the flow of traffic and really made the atrium area look tacky and tasteless.

According to your list of past cruises, you're basing this on your one Royal Caribbean cruise in 2005??? So that means that EVERY other ship and cruise line besides Disney does this??

On some of my other cruises (I've been on 23) I've seen one day where they set up tables in the lobby with what I might call junk also.....but judging by the number of people surrounding those tables, one man's junk is another man's treasure.

Personally, I think they sell plenty of "junk" in the shops on Disney.....just not at "junk" prices. Same stuff you're talking about, cheap picture frames, sunglasses, toys, plastic cups......and check the tags to see where they're made. ;)

I do think that having gold by the inch inside a shop and setting up sale items in front of the shop (which I assume are from what they carry on the ship anyways) is different than having a big flea market in the atrium, which I think it more like what the PP was describing.

On the other cruise lines, I've seen them selling items pertaining to the ports that they're stopping at....postcards, t-shirts, and other souvenir type items....if that's what is meant by "flea market". But DCL has done this also. On the Mexican Riviera cruises and the Panama Canal cruise (west to east) they had a couple of shelves and tables set up with "Mexican" themed items. So I don't see the difference, except that it wasn't in the lobby on DCL, it was in the shops.

They set up a table inside Whitecaps/Treasure Ketch.....just steps inside the door, same place they'll often set up a table for when the Captain signs books....for the gold by the inch.

When they have a sale, they'll set merchandise on racks and tables outside the shops, in the waiting area outside the Walt Disney theater.

They don't do it every day, but there would be one day, on a longer cruise, that they'd do the gold by the inch.

Either way, that's my last word on it. I'm not a liar, but if others want to say so, then fine.

There are staterooms with verandas on the dream that sleep 5. They are the category 4 rooms. They are 299 square feet including veranda. http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/staterooms/dream-fantasy/deluxe-family-oceanview-stateroom-with-verandah/ There are also the deluxe family ocean view rooms without veranda. We slept 5 in one of those on the Fantasy and it was fine. My kids are 9, 6, and 4. They put the beds up during the day, which leaves a lot more space.

 

The category 4 rooms on the wonder are 304 square feet including veranda, for comparison http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/staterooms/magic-wonder/deluxe-family-oceanview-stateroom-with-verandah/. You could also do 2 connecting interior rooms, sometimes that is cheaper, sometimes not. Personally, I'd rather be crammed in one room and have an outside view. :)

Yep...I missed the Cat 4's. But the staterooms on the Wonder are still larger, regardless.

Other than the suites on both ships, the only rooms that sleep 5 are the Cat 8 on the Dream (oceanview-no balcony) and it's 241 sq feet.

On the Wonder, a Cat 4 sleeps 5 people, with balcony, it's 304 sq feet.

Because the round shower (on the Dream) takes up more space than the regular shower/tub in the split bath on the Wonder, you'll have a more space in those rooms than you would on the Dream.

You probably already know that you could only do the 7 person plus the 5 person on the Wonder. The only things that I see as being a potential problem there are having a bit less privacy, and having 7 people being treated to concierge services and the other 5 not. Sometimes, but you can't count on it, if a family is cruising concierge along with other family members who aren't, they will include them in some of their services. But, as I said, you can't count on that.