bsddsc

on Embarkation day, we eat at Parrot Cay (we're not fond of eating outside) and they had crab, shrimp, even lamb chops. And sometimes you can see them at lunch in the buffets too. DCL used to have themes lunches. But I have noticed they tend to have a little of everything every day now. Just ask someone at Cabanas, they may know.

Above poster--how could you buy a week long pass on the Disney Dream? As far as I know' date=' the Dream has never done week long cruises. And on B2B, you have to buy a separate pass for each leg.[/quote']

 

You are right, I forgot, my first Dream cruise was 4 or 5 nights, can't remember which.

 

The scrub I bought was $9. And they gave me so much, there was enough to take back to the room for the next day. And as you and others have been saying many times, I hope all the showers there work by the time we cruise in Nov.

for heavens sake, put down the wifi and relax. why spend money on a cruise just to sit around and talk online.

The only thing I am looking forward to is the Disney app for keeping track of daily activities. It has so much more than just the Navigator.

I second that. We are booked on the Fantasy for the week of Thanksgiving (Nov 22 - 29) and were told by the DCL rep that the Thanksgiving cruise is the first Very Merry Time cruise of the year. She did say that the only thing that may not be ready for our sailing is the giant Gingerbread house, but everything else (Story time, Tree lighting, costumes) would be there.

 

-E

We cruised last year on Nov 17 and all the Christmas decorations were up, we were greeted my cast members in holiday hats and scarfs. Even Castaway Cay was holiday ready with trees and decorated trams.

They were starting the Gingerbread House display while we were on board. It was fun seeing it transform from bare bones into a beautiful display.

This year, being a week earlier, I am not sure we'll see that or if we'll just be between Halloween and Christmas decorations.

Rainforest on Dream and Fantasy are virtually identical. There is no advantage to purchasing a single day in advance. It is $15 + $1 handling fee in advance' date=' $16 if purchased on board. Multi-day passes are available only on board; these do represent a savings over single day IF you use all the days you pay for.[/quote']

 

When there were just 2 ships, the in port spa specials I purchased always included all day in the Rain Forest. I never bought a separate day. Since sailing on DCL Dream the first time, not only was there no RF included, I couldn't buy a one day pass. All they had was 3 day or week long passes. And strangely, they were far more per day than the online prebook price of $16.

 

So, my lesson learned, it only takes a minute to buy in advance and I know I have at least one relaxing day.

 

Now, whether it is worth it really depends on how you like to relax and which ships you are on. If you have kids with you and you want a really secluded spot to rest, read in peace, any ships RF will be great for you.

 

I really like the addition of more chairs facing outside and two private hot tubs on DCL Dream/Fantasy. It is a better experience for 2 than than the smaller ships.

 

I am hoping this next cruise on the Magic again, I can buy the scrub extra. It really made my skin soft and lasted for days. Its better than the store bought brands. So, in a nutshell, depends on which ship and how you like to relax.

Tell me more about the rainforest room please! I have seen references to it, but am not clear as to exactly what it is. I have this image of a modern twist on Roman Baths! LOL! Please explain. And what is a good time to book for this? Morning? After lunch?

The Rainforest is different between the older Magic/Wonder and newer Dream/Fantasy. But in general, a day pass gets you access to all the steam rooms and scented showers (I think there are 3 of each), relaxing heated chairs all day long.

In addition, the new ships have more heated chairs and a private whirlpool, so nice! Really, its a space issue I am sure, the bigger ships just have more space. And their chairs and spa are facing outside for a view. The older ships are interior. Still very relaxing.

I like to go when the ship is docked because there is less competition for chairs. I even like to go on Castaway Cay day after lunch on the island. After having a couple cruise where there were no day passes to buy on board, I found these. And strangely, and I don't know why, this was cheaper per day than the 3 & 5 day passes on board.

Just wrote this up on my roll call, but here is for you....

Log into you DCL account, click Planning Center, your reservation info. When the main screen for your reservation comes up, scroll to In-Room Gifts and Shopping. When that screen comes up, select Port Canaveral then GO. (do not click online merchandise, that is something different)

The fastest way to see is to uncheck everything except the Spa button. Click on download order form and call the 800 number at the top. You don't need to fill out the, just call with a credit card handy. With gratuity, the total will be $18.88

Enjoy

I haven't even played bingo in a few years. Its gotten expensive and the electronic machines kind of taken the fun out of traditional bingo.

nice photos from Celebrity. But considering how much food there is on a cruise in general, the smaller finger sizes on DCL is really all we want for a little mid-day sweet.

Anyone can go to Cove Cafe, not just adults. But it a quieter place so the kids we have seen in there were with their parents and well behaved.

It is also a place where the crew can be found ordering a specialty coffee. We had have a couple of very interesting conversations with crew about the direction of the cruise line. Even spoke with one of the Captains once on the Magic about the new ships coming out.

we cruised with a friend who has extreme allergy to onion and garlic. Its is extremely important to tell them when you book AND when you arrive in the dining room . Our servers found out where we were dining the next night and got a menu to my friend. He was able to pre order the next day's dinner based on what the chef said they could accommodate.

Also, even on Castaway Cay, special items can be ordered the day before. Your head server will ask you what you want and tell you exactly where the "special" items can be picked up at Cookie's. I was surprised to see there was a list of at least 3 pages of special dining people, even on shore.

from what you describe, I would try Cove Cafe. Its on the pool deck next to the adult pool area. Its a specialty coffee shop, a bar, a place to get little afternoon sweets too. The sweets are free but the drinks are extra. We go almost every day for Frozen Mochachino

And Cove Cafe is larger, self contained area. We never went to the Vista Cafe, but it sounds similar. Cove Cafe is on all the ships, in the same location. I believe Vista Cafe is only on the Dream and Fantasy. We have been on all the ships and stick with Cove Cafe. Try them both !

after my first couple DCL cruises, I learned what I just couldn't do without.

For dining, I never like missing the first night in each of the 3 dining rooms. So I book a Palo dinner after that. Brunch at Palo I book on the first "at sea" day of the cruise. Both of these you should do as soon as you get your reservation number by logging into the DCL online site.

Online cruise documents is faster than writing them out by hand, that is on the website too.

Want a relaxing day in the Rainforest room at the spa? Buy a day pass online. It is NOT in the spa section of activities, It is in the Stateroom Gifts section. Download the form and call the 800 number at the top. Have a credit card handy, its $18.88 including tips. An email confirmation will be sent to you and your pass will be in your room when you arrive. (there have been times when I could not book a single day on board, so now I buy it ahead of time)

If you can get to the port early, do. We're there waiting for the parking lot to open at 10AM and get checked in. We love to wonder around the adult areas, shops etc before the crowds show up later. And if you couldn't get the adult dining online (they limit pre-booking) go directly to where ever the Navigator tells you to go for booking as soon at they open.

Then sit back and relax. People keep asking why we keep doing the same cruises on DCL. Its to relax for a week, not run around site seeing. That's just us. (and we are adult cruisers with no kids ! )

With respect to bsddsc's post, which is certainly valid, I'd just add that having more variety doesn't make Palo a "better" dining experience. We measure the overall experience by the preparation of the food, its presentation, and the level of service. Remy get's the nod from us on all levels.

You are correct, it isn't variety, it is everything you mentioned. And our experience at Remy was a bland piece of fish on a plate is neither expertly prepared and is lacking in presentation. Our server was inexperienced and although attentive, didn't leave us alone for a minute.

Even if everything was perfect at Remy, it still does not justify triple the price of Palo for dinner for the same elegant setting and great meal. That is the point I was trying to make.

I see you live in Winter Garden, we live near Windermere. If you haven't been to The Venetian Room, that is our standard of excellence for incredible presentation, wonderful tasting food and the highest level of service anywhere in Orlando (far better than V&A) It is what we expected at Remy but didn't get.

agreed, by all means go for 7 days if you have the time. Its more relaxing. 4 days is just too short.

And with our 15th DCL cruise coming up and we have no kids, I can tell you just the 2 of will have just as much fun as any family would. There are plenty of adult only places to go.

One thing when you book, the one cruise we did without any friends joining us, they seated us with other couples. I think that is nice because you get to meet people and have someone to dine with. If you want to be alone, tell them. And avoid early seating at all costs. Its crazy crowded with kids.

Both are really good dining experiences. Without a doubt Remy is the fancier, more unique and more expensive of the two. We've done Remy brunch twice and will do it again. We've also done Palo brunch several times and will definitely do that again.

Its funny, but a head chef at Palo's told us Remy's brunch didn't have the variety of Palo's since Palo's was buffet style and Remy's is not. It is also twice the price. We were going to try Remy's brunch, but he said if we love Palos', Remy's would be a bit of a disappointment.

Since my dinner at Remy's was disappointing, we took his advise and did not try Remy's brunch. Just to be clear, there was nothing wrong with dinner at Remy's. Its just not at all worth the price when we love the food far better at Palo's. The cruise where we did both Palo's and Remy's for dinner and Palo's was the clear winner in service and in all the dishes served. There is nothing you get at Remy's for the triple price tag that you can't get in any other dinning room.

So, if you have to pick one, pick Palo's. It is in our opinion and the people we cruise with, to be the very BEST meal on the ship and we would never miss a cruise without it. Next time you cruise, try them both.

Except for once, we always travel with another couple and have never had to share the table with people we did not know.

The one time we cruised DCL alone, we were at a table with other couples. That's it. Like ever one has said, just tell them when you book. If for some reason it doesn't happen, your head server will place you at a table alone. You can even check when you board before dinner too.

Rainforest - although they say you can purchase a one day pass on board, which I used to do, you can't always. (only 3 & 5 day were available on a couple of our cruises and even if you bought one, it was much more expensive per day than pre-cruise cost) So, log into your DCL account, go to Gifts (Not activities) and look for the on day Rainforest pass. Its $16 per day (18.88 with tips) You do pay for it when you buy it but it is so worth the advanced planning.

Adult dining - make reservations before you cruise. If you can't, don't worry, as soon as open booking on the ship is ready, go there immediately and book (we even wait to eat lunch just to make sure we get our times)

Cove Cafe (mentioned in another one of my posts) - if you frequent here, get a card for buy 5 get the 6th free. Reusable on other cruises, I keep mine from cruise to cruise.

Yes, do it. But to he honest, fly into Orlando and cruise out of Port Canaveral instead. I have friends who are big time cruisers out of Port Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. They would never go to Miami again.

Also, if you are spending all the time and money to fly over, take the extra few days at Disney World.

May I input a comment about food for the masses. Food is being prepared for so many different types of people who have allergies such as they can't have msg in their food or they can't have too much salt in their food. Because of these type allergies chefs now have to cut back on the type of seasoning and type ingredients they put in food during preparation. This is why the taste of food on cruise ships has changed over the past ten years. Cooking for 4,000 people of which maybe half have some sort of allergy or food quirk, the food has become more bland. That one person who complains that the food has too much salt or other ingredient leads to cruise lines making food less seasoned. Does this make sense?

Very true. The older we both get, the more sensitive we are to the over use of salt. We both suffered terribly on our last Disney cruise from too my sodium. This time, I told them when we booked about it. And I will tell my servers too that we do not want any salt put on our foods. Of course, we also have to monitor the huge range of salted products in the upstairs buffet on our own.

Tis better to have the salt-aholic salt their own food or the person who likes weak coffee to add water than to put things out that can not be changed easily.

In general, DCL food is very very good. The worst food I ever had was on the Mariner. So bad in fact, neither one of gained any weight at all, could barely find anything palatable to eat most days in the free areas.

No up charge goes to the servers in Remy or Palo that was changed the up charge is for the food, they rely on your tips only.

This is correct, we have heard it from more than one Palo's staff member over the years.

as mentioned, superior is in the eye of the beholder. We do not have kids but are DCL Platinum cruisers.

I love the size of the rooms compared to other lines, the split bath format, having a bathtub to shower in so the water doesn't go all over the floor, we would rather watch a movie than gamble, the staff is MUCH friendlier than on other lines especially in the dining rooms where the other lines are stiff and stodgy, not only can I bring my adult beverages if I buy something in town they don't confiscate it, it stays with me, disembarkation is sooo much smoother (you don't sit in some hallway for an hour waiting for your number to be called, you leave pretty much when you want)

RCL's "pool police" count down your time and take your stuff away at the pool and they only allow one towel per person and there was NO food on the pool deck (we had to change our clothes to get a hamburger then change back to go to the pool)

When you think about it too, before Disney, the pools were all lumped together and folks couldn't get a quite place to relax without kids. We never could even find a chair on some cruises and had to leave. And not that I use the outdoor movie screen, but that was a first at sea.

We have friends who think we should expand our horizons onto the higher priced "sophisticated" lines. But I think I would be bored without the fun in the dining room and elsewhere.

Please, if you eat at Palo's or Remy's, these servers do not share in the dining tips you leave in the main dining rooms. They work hard to provide a high end dining experience and deserve a tip.

I can't remember for sure, but I think we tip $15-20 per visit.

I would call the cruise line and ask them. 800-951-3532

thanks, nice to know for our next cruise in Nov.

we always dress business casual for dinners. we never walk into a dining room wearing what we wore all day. I am not sure if shorts are even allowed in the dining rooms or not.

we also gear it toward which restaurant we are in. Animator's and Parrot Cay (there is a new name of some ships) are the most casual. The French mid-ship we dress up a bit more. Palo's and Remy's, the most dressy. (if you walk into Palo's for bruch wearing shorts, they will make you leave and change into pants. my friend was dressed in very expensive silk shorts and dress shirt and they still made him go change)

Formal night doesn't mean suit and ties and long dresses as much as it used to in years past. It is at your discretion. I will say, seeing all the famlies dressed up is really nice.

We found we liked the adult entertainment areas, with all the bars etc, to be better on the Fantasy. The Dream has a few open areas which are not really the best places to relax and have a quite drink, too many people walking by. I feel sorry for the musicians playing in there because no one wants to stop and listen.

Also, our favorite bar, Skyline, is a third larger on the Fantasy. After trying them all on both ships, Skyline is our favorite. Both ships have our second favorite bar, Meridian. Meridian is behind the check in stand between Palo's and Remy's. Beautiful, large and you can drink inside or out.