PrincessCatarina

Out of curiosity, what did you think of the rest of the cruise in comparison to Royal and Princess?

Most of our cruises over the last 5 years have been on Princess Royal class ships (Royal and Regal). In comparison the biggest gap in our experience was in dining service as explained above as well as food availability. On the Magic the buffet was not open all day long and a few other venues also closed early. Even the pizza place Pinocchio's ran out of pizza every day (they would make more, but it surprised us they could not keep up with demand for something as basic as cheese pizza). Princess keeps the food going all day long but we also tend to eat too much. It was actually nice not to overeat for once on a cruise! Now that we know how the dining venues operate we could optimize our days better next time (and I will try to book earlier to secure the early dining). Since we had the late dining time of 8:15 pm we always got hungry in the late afternoon and found many food venues closed. We ended up having pizza every afternoon.

Other differences noted:

• Kids' club - Disney is the winner, their Oceaneer Lab and Club were amazing as well as the staff. We have also had very good experiences with the Princess kids' club - the facility is much smaller but our daughter enjoyed the activities very much and ability to get to know her travel companions in that more intimate setting. When we went on RCCL she was still too young to go to the club but we did check it out and it seemed nice.
  
• Upselling, pushing drink package etc. - we personally experienced none of this on Disney. On Princess we always end up with a few souvenir glasses to take home and buy several bottles of wine in the main dining room. On Disney I was asked only twice on the pool deck if I was interested in a drink (zero times during the sailaway party!) and in the main dining room they were not interested in recommending wine options at all (again this could have just been due to our particular service team). We are from California and love trying out new wines, so they missed out on some revenue opportunities with us. We tried two of the bars - Signals and O'Gills. At Signals there were 6 other customers and at O'Gills we were the only ones. Nightlife seemed very subdued on Disney, and it was already subdued on Princess in comparison with RCCL. This was fine with us, just a difference I did not expect - somehow I thought with those great kids' clubs the adults would really enjoy their time in the adults only venues but this did not prove out to be the case at least on our voyage.
  
• Gym utilization - we went to the gym on our sea day as well as Castaway Cay day and there were very few people there. The spa lady was so excited to see us when we first came to go to the gym that she personally walked us to the gym section and wished us a good workout. On Princess Royal class ships the gym gets very full and there may be a wait for a treadmill or exercise bike. This was a pleasant surprise, especially on the sea day.
  
• Space allocated to merchandise sales - Disney is the winner. Their main boutiques were spacious and well laid out. We enjoyed shopping for gifts and souvenirs in them. Both Princess and RCCL seem to favor special shopping events (such as the Outlet at Sea event on Princess that takes place in a dining room) and the actual boutiques are quite small.
  
• Entertainment was amazing on Disney. We only saw Tangled in the theater but it was impressive. There was tons of stuff to do each day that was relevant and interesting to us. It was hard to pick and choose. We like Princess entertainment as well but on some evenings don't see anything that interesting and just hang out in the room watching an on-demand movie.
  
• On Disney the pool deck had very attentive life guards on duty who used their whistles and enforced rules (no jumping!). This was a refreshing difference from Princess where during school holidays there can be 800+ kids and the going can get a little tough in the pools.
  
• I really liked our stateroom on Disney. On Princess we normally get a mini-suite or a full suite but on the Disney Magic we had a deluxe oceanview with the split bath. I was amazed at how functional it was and we felt like we had plenty of space for our family of 3. The only thing I would change is make the TVs a bit bigger.
  
• I loved the towel animals waiting for us in our stateroom. Princess does not make these, RCCL does. We loved the creativity of our stateroom steward - he would assemble our daughter's toys in new ways every night alongside the towel animal or dress them up in pirate bandannas. It was fun to discover what was waiting for us!
  

These are on top of my mind now, it's been 4 days since we disembarked. We definitely want to go back and take another Disney cruise!

Thanks for confirming this is not the norm. Thinking the service would improve, we did not discuss with the head server. During a longer voyage we would have had to, but next time if this happens we will address it on the first night.

We failed to complete the survey, we have always done that on previous cruises though.

I just did both the Princess Gathering and Royal Tea on the Magic last week. At the gathering they had Cinderella, Tiana, Rapunzel and Belle standing up in the atrium. At Princess Tea we got to meet Cinderella, Belle and Tiana - so 3 princesses only.

Just back from our first Disney cruise on the Disney Magic (4 nights). In the past we have only cruised on Princess and Royal Caribbean, so those were our reference points. Overall we had a great time but we were really surprised about our experience in the rotational dining rooms. I'm wondering if we just got unlucky with the servers assigned to us?

On the first night we were assigned to dine at Lumiere's. We ordered a bottle of Chardonnay to celebrate the voyage, but the wine that was poured was not chilled at all. My husband commented on that and asked it to be put on ice. Serving white wine cooler than room temperature seems like a very basic thing. I don't think the bucket had enough ice because when we tried again at the end of the meal it still wasn't very chilled but we drank some anyway and let it go, asking them to keep the rest for our next dinner. Water glasses were not topped off without asking, and when we asked for water there was a wait of several minutes. The food took a very long time to arrive, but we thought maybe that was our fault as we had not lined up early (we arrived on time but other tables next to us were already full). Our child got very tired of waiting as we had the late dining time of 8:15 pm and didn't finish until 10:15 pm.

On the second night we decided to go to Cabanas instead to eat quicker and missed Animator's Palate. Cabanas had excellent and prompt service. It was not crowded and we were able to get a great window table with no wait.

On the third night we had the pirate menu at Animator's Palate. We arrived early to line up and were the second party to enter the dining room. We had looked at the menu ahead of time and told our server right away that we were ready to order. We hoped to expedite the arrival of the courses this way. Service was still very slow and the people sitting in neighboring tables again got their food prior to us even though we had ordered several minutes prior. Our assistant waiter was totally focused on other tables and did not stop by, so we were not able to get our white wine saved from the 1st night or order apple juice for our daughter. We asked the main server for beverages and he chased the assistant server down who FINALLY arrived as we were already eating entrees. She mumbled "I'm sorry" as she poured the chardonnay that again had not been chilled. Water glasses again were not topped off and when the head server stopped by we had to ask him if we could get some water. We also had to follow up on where our food was when the wait was so long and others had already been served several minutes earlier. We left again feeling frustrated and that our strategy of arriving early had not worked.

On the last night we dined at Rapunzel's. We talked to the server at the beginning and voiced our wish that having looked at the menu in advance we would like to order right away in the hopes of getting the food faster. It helped a little bit but again we did not see the assistant server and water glasses were not refilled until dessert time, and after asking twice.

We observed the servers participating in some of the dining room entertainment (e.g. carrying lanterns at Rapunzel's), so maybe they are just stretched too thin?

On several occasions across these dining experiences my husband's food was delivered to me and mine to him. No big deal, we could redirect. Just another indication the servers were overwhelmed.

What should we do differently next time? We are hoping this was not the typical experience.

In past cruises we have normally given our servers a cash tip in addition to auto tip. I was sad this time the service did not warrant it. We enjoyed the food to the most part, just not the service.

So the dry dock is over and the Magic is back in Miami. Has anyone seen any post dry dock photos yet of the new Rapunzel’s Royal Table restaurant?

We have always seen fireworks' date=' weather permitting and when the ship is not in an area where the fireworks are forbidden (like Alaska). Caribbean has never been a problem. .[/quote']

 

Thank you - in cases where the Buccaneer Blast is not separately listed as a late night event is there a chance this will be at the conclusion of the 45-minute Pirate Deck Party and that's why there was no need to list is separately?

I know that the Pirate night is a staple on Disney at least in the Caribbean but what about the fireworks show? Having reviewed some of the Personal Navigators from Disney Magic sailings in the last year I noticed several of them did not mention the Buccaneer Blast on the Navigator - just the Pirate Deck party at 7:30-8:15 pm and some other pirate night activities.

Is there perhaps a chance that my upcoming 4-night cruise in April will not have any fireworks? Just curious so I can manage expectations.

Thank you. The cards I have are Disney gift cards and DCL is listed as a spending option. I already paid the balance for my cruise so looking to apply them as onboard credit and it looks like that will be easy to do upon checking in at the port or at guest services on board. I’d prefer to do that over a phone call that could take a long time due to the need to read through multiple gift card numbers.

Do the onboard boutiques accept Disney gift cards or can they only charge to onboard account? If not, can I use Disney gift cards upon checking in for credits on my onboard account?

Ok good to know, thank you!

I have two separate reservations that are linked, both are for family and I will complete online check-in once we are 75 days out. Two more family members are now thinking of joining us and then we would have 3 rooms and reservations. If they can’t make up their minds before I check us in 75 days out would this mean they might not be able to board with us / be allowed to arrive in port at the same time? I’m thinking of requesting either a 12:30 or 12:45 pm port arrival time in Miami.

If there is an advantage in checking in all rooms at the same time this might persuade them to make the decision sooner.

Great advice, thank you! I'm definitely interested in trying to grab a spot in the Princess Gathering and Frozen character Meet and Greet. We are not particularly interested in any of the excursions posted due to having visited the Bahamas many times before. If a Castaway Cay cabana happened to be available to book I would go for it but I'm operating from the assumption that those will be gone 75 days out. For now we plan to stay on the ship in Nassau and just explore Castaway Cay on our own and enjoy the BBQ for which no reservation is needed (I think).

Just booked our family's first Disney cruise ever (yay! :)), we have been loyal Princess cruisers in the past but wanted to try something different with our 6-year-old daughter. The cruise is the 4-night roundtrip from Miami to the Bahamas and Castaway Cay.

I have learned that as a first-timer I can't book excursions and most services until 75 days out. The only thing I was able to book was the digital photo package and I don't see anything else even in preview mode. What are the popular items to book? I know the cabanas in Castaway Cay will almost certainly already be sold out at that point and that in order to try to secure a spot in the Royal Court Tea I would need to act immediately 75 days out or go wait-list once on the ship. Apart from that, anything else to consider in advance to be ready to make the transaction once reservations open up?

We have already been to the Atlantis in Nassau in the past so we may just opt to stay on the ship there and will not be disappointed if those excursions have all sold out.

I stayed in a Club Class minisuite on Regal earlier this month. We had received an upgrade offer and were happy to pay a bit extra to be moved from a forward mini-suite to a mid-ship minisuite. We found it worth it for a small additional fee.

Club class dining: It was great to be able to walk into the dining room for breakfast, lunch (sea days only) and dinner without any wait. The napkins and menu had a CC logo on them and the staff did their best to provide highly attentive service (there was only 1 night that they got overwhelmed at dinner and the service was slow). The menu was the same as in the other dining rooms but each night there was a chef who stopped by and told us what special he was preparing as an additional item. Unfortunately this was seafood every night (prawns etc. and fish one night) that only 1 person in our party of 5 was able to eat. It would have been nice to have a pasta or a tossed salad one night. For full disclosure, we did eat at the Crown Grill one night and missed one dinner due to ballet in St. Petersburg so not sure if there were non-seafood extras then. At breakfast you could order crepes with Nutella, which we enjoyed as an addition to the breakfast menu. It felt exclusive and was a nice experience, but we realized we wanted to eat early every night anyway so our daughter could get to the kids club by 7 pm so it would have been fine for us to have a 5:30 or 5:45 pm traditional dining time slot. I think the benefit is greater if you wish to eat during the peak times. Although you do not get assigned a specific table for the duration of the cruise in CC dining in practice we were served by the same waiter and junior waiter all but a couple of times. We gave both a cash tip at the end of the voyage for their exceptional service (in addition to auto tip).

Club Class minisuite: We had two club class minisuites next to each other and enjoyed the mid-ship location. The carpet was stained but otherwise the room was in great condition. The bed linens were exquisite but we found the Princess luxury bed too soft to our liking. I realize others love those beds and that it's impossible to please everyone - just sharing that our expectations were high and we did not like them. It was nice to have the two half bottles of Mondavi wine in the room.

We are Platinum so Club Class did not add additional value upon embarkation and disembarkation.

How was the cruise? :confused:

The cruise itself was good! Relatively good weather for the region - we had packed rain coats and umbrellas but never needed to use them as we only experienced light drizzle in Helsinki and Berlin (+ day 2 in St. Petersburg but we did not get off the ship). It was great to have the swimming pool to ourselves (except for Stockholm where the weather really warmed up and the pool got busy) - most passengers seemed to find the weather too chilly for swimming but the pool water was warm!

The most memorable mishaps were St. Petersburg disembarkation mess on day 1 and Princess chartered train from Berlin having to be diverted further West on the return due to another train blocking the tracks, which added about an hour of travel time and delayed the ship as well. On the upside we got to see more of Germany that way :).

Our favorite stops on the itinerary were Helsinki and Stockholm, could have used a few more hours in those lovely cities. First time trying out Club Class dining and the flexibility to go in without a wait was a big plus. We also ate at Crown Grill once but the steaks we ordered well-done were presented very pink and had to be sent back - not impressed, they seemed to rush there too much and our reservation was at 5:30 pm! Our daughter enjoyed the new Camp Discovery tremendously and could not wait to go back. The itinerary was port-intensive so we retired early in the evenings to watch movies on the on-demand TV and skipped all the shows - we did make it to the Captain Circle party, outlet at sea shopping events and Family Fun Fair.

First time on the Baltics itinerary and learned a lot, next time will be even more enjoyable as we can better optimize the time in ports.

I'm just shocked by this report of delays getting off in St. Petersburg. We were on the mid-June 2016 Regal Baltic cruise and the experience was completely different. No need to get tickets to disembark - just go when you were ready. And the wait to get through Russian Immigration was only about 10 to 20 minutes the 1st day. The second day, it appeared they just looked to see if you had the stamp from the previous day and that was it. It does sound like having a second large ship there made a huge difference. On our cruise, while there was a second ship there, it was much smaller and I believe being processed in a separate section of the terminal.

You were very lucky! There were a total of 8 cruise ships in port in St. Petersburg on July 11 but they were serviced by various terminals (e.g. Seabourn Quest was in the city center and had a small terminal just to themselves, so the immigration process must have been much better!). Only the Serenade of the Seas and Regal Princess were sharing the unlucky terminal of horrendous wait times and the lines were barely moving. It was also a little scary to watch several passengers get pulled aside for additional questioning after presenting their passports following the marathon wait in the hot sun. What was happening and where were they being taken? It really bothered us, so my husband asked one of these passengers afterwards once back on the ship what the reason was for getting pulled aside and found out that not having enough empty (unstamped) passport pages was one reason to get pulled aside. I'm a U.S. citizen but was asked to confirm the country where I was born, otherwise no other questions asked.

It was quite the experience! If we go on this itinerary again I would plan any tour either later in the day on day 1 (which then means the main attractions are already very crowded) or on day 2.

Thanks PrincessCatarina and azdmelani for the info. We'll be sure to line up as early as possible and hopefully our experience in September will be good. I have one more question and I almost hate to ask it but what did you observe most people wearing in the dining room on formal nights? I don't want to turn this into another dress code fight thread - I've read plenty of those unfortunately. I know what Princess suggests as formal attire and I've also seen the "packing list" so we don't need to hear all that over again. I'm really only interested in hearing from people who were on the Regal Princess this summer in the Baltics and what they saw on formal nights so that I can pass it on to the friends that we are cruising with.

We had Club Class dining and on formal nights the people around us were dressed in 'elegant comfort'. Men wore sports coats or suits and ladies wore cocktail dresses. However, outside of the dining room in the photography areas and the piazza I saw several evening gowns and gentlemen with formal wear, such as white dinner jackets. Overall I found it a tad dressier than the Caribbean cruises I have been on with Princess even on this same ship, but no pressure to dress to the nines (unless you want to).

A couple of considerations for packing for this particular itinerary:

• While there are 2 formal nights, the 1st night in port in St. Petersburg acts as a third formal night if you go to the Russian ballet. I saw some very well dressed people board our tour bus that night and 'dressing in your finery' is encouraged!
  
• There are many European guests on these sailings who are less likely to challenge the dress code on formal nights by wearing jeans and shorts to the MDR; then again, if you go to e.g. the buffet you will certainly find plenty of passengers who opted out
  
• Many guests from outside of Europe who take this cruise also travel prior or/and after the cruise, so adding a lot of bulk to luggage with formalwear may not be practical. Consider what makes logistical sense for you.
  
• Are you buying the all-inclusive photo package? Many do, and since the formal night photos are included it makes sense to dress up and try to get some nice photos. We discussed skipping the second formal night but made the effort to look as nice as possible given our investment in the photo package.
  

I hope that helps!

The immigration process time seems to vary a lot. During the July 5 sailing on the Regal, i.e. on July 11 it easily took over 3 hours to get through this process! Perhaps it was a better experience if you were among the very first to get off the ship before 7 am but we went to the dining room at 7:30 am and did not get through immigration until 10:40 am with hordes of people still behind us waiting. Our disembarkation ticket numbers were in the 600s. A tour group going to Moscow missed their morning train and people with early admission tickets to e.g. the Hermitage were not able to reap the benefit. A couple we met on the plane over to the cruise told us they were simply too tired to go on their booked tour on the second day after this horrible experience and cancelled it.

The Serenade of the Seas was in port that same days sharing the services of the same terminal. The crowds were horrendous on the pier and Princess staff said there was nothing they could do to expedite. The arrivals hall was full of tour guides once we got through and luckily ours had not given up on us! What an exhausting morning it was.

It seemed the process was more geared towards keeping people out than letting them in, at least on that particular summer day (each individual was processed separately and thoroughly).

Hopefully nobody else has to experience this long wait going forward but July 5 sailing was definitely not lucky in St. Petersburg!

I'm back from the Regal July 5-16 sailing and thought I'd update this thread on the actual disembarkation experience in St. Petersburg. I can only describe it as awful. None of my research prepared me for the reality awaiting passengers in that port!

As stated before, no special disembarkation privileges for Club Class etc. in this port. Passengers on independent tours were asked to go to the Concerto dining room to pick a number once the entire party was available to get off the ship. Our party of 5 went to Concerto at 7:30 am as our private tour was booked at 9 am. We figured we needed to allow for at least 1 hour for disembarkation and that 90 minutes should be adequate even if things were slow.

The waiting time in Concerto was not too long and we were comfortably seated, able to use restrooms, drink water etc. At 8:15 am our numbers were called and we were able to get off the ship. There was already a huge line on the pier and the Regal shared the terminal with the Serenade of the Seas also in port that day along with other cruise ships (a total of 8 ships that day out of which 2 were in the city center). As we waited in the first time alongside the ship there were some benches in shade that the elderly or young children could use. We had our 5-year-old and 74-year-old grandmother sit on those benches as the rest of us held our spot in line. About half an hour later we reached the lines outside of the terminal where you wait to go in to have your passport stamped. There were several lines to choose from but they were barely moving! Princess staff said they had no control over it and could not do a thing. Nowhere to sit, no water etc. It was extremely tough on the grandmother and we considered giving up many times but she pushed through. Long story short, we finally got through immigration at 10:40 am, which was 3 hrs 10 minutes after we started the process in the Concerto dining room! We were wondering if the tour guide had given up on us, but as we entered the arrivals hall in the terminal it was full of guides waiting and we were able to still take the tour (tour operator flexed the end time at no additional charge). Our guide told us many of her colleagues had been standing there since 7:30 am and were still waiting.

After 3 hours of waiting in lines we were already exhausted and had missed the early admission to the Hermitage Museum. We still managed to see some sights and had a nice time in St. Petersburg overall but I would not try to take anyone with mobility restrictions through that line on day 1 anymore. Apparently on day 2 the lines were shorter but we just stayed on the ship and also learned from some of our fellow passengers they just cancelled their day 2 tours after the horrible experience standing in lines on day 1.

I wish Princess had prepared us better for this very long wait - that it was not a matter of about an hour but 3-4 hours! :(

I understood from our tour guide that a part of the problem was that July is a very busy time in the port so the lines would have been more manageable e.g. in May.

We also took the ballet excursion in the evening and I'm glad to report there were no lines then to enter St. Petersburg but there was a huge line of people coming back from day 1 tours trying to get back on the ship. The line wrapped around the terminal building, not sure how long it must have taken to get in but at midnight after the ballet again there was no line!

It seemed the Regal skipped Tallinn on your voyage. What was the reason?

Any further insight into the Regal? She is currently docked in St. Petersburg per schedule. Hopefully no other ports have to be skipped. There is enough of a challenge with the unpredictable weather in the region! Sailing on her in a few weeks and hoping not to miss any ports.(yn)

Once we were released we went down to the terminal and got in one of at least 8 immigration lines. It did take all of us about 1/2 an hour or so to go thru .

So it sounds like most of the waiting is on Princess in the comfort of a dining room and half an hour in line at immigration sounds a lot better than 1+ hour! Thank you for sharing your experience. Hopefully it will be ok.

Thank you for your responses. Come to think of it, when I have had priority tender tickets in the past it has been due to e.g. booking a bungalow on Princess Cays and priority tendering was advertised as a benefit.

It would be very interesting to hear about the St. Petersburg disembarkation process in the recent weeks. I have not seen much posted on that. This is what I'm trying to solution for: I will be travelling with a young child and her grandmother (mid-70s) on the Regal. Both will struggle to stand in a long queue for a very long time, unless there is some way for them to take a seat while I keep our place in line. For this reason I booked a very short private morning excursion starting at 9 am, in the hopes the Princess tours would have mostly left and the immigration formalities would go faster. Wondering what to expect??? Tour operator is asking for us to allow over an hour but this assumes that Princess will let us go say at 7:45 am and that we can clear the immigration line by 9 am...and that energy levels hold up. :) Feeling a tad nervous now about the plan.

Wondering if passengers staying in Club Class mini-suites get any benefit at ports of call to allow for faster disembarkation (similar to priority tender tickets issued to suite and Elite passengers)?Club class brochure only refers to the beginning and end of the cruise.

I'm specifically interested in disembarkation in St. Petersburg where the lines can be very long and make it challenging to get off the ship on time for shore excursions. My tour operator just advised: Please be aware that on your first day in St. Petersburg disembarkation and passport control could take one hour or more due to very long queues. Please make yourself ready for disembarkation in advance and try to be at ahead of the queues.

Wondering if travelling in Club Class will help out at all???

On the Regal right now and there are over 800 kids as confirmed by the staff. It was a little hard to find space in the pools on sea days with so many kids splashing around, otherwise there is plenty of space for everyone. Our pre-schooler is loving the Regal for her spring break!