Atlantic crossing — entertainment too monotonous?

[Missus_Aitch]

Has anyone taken DCL across the Atlantic?  Do you find it too monotonous without any shore days?  I wondered if they tried to vary the entertainment and menus more than usual.  Thanks.

[sm3ds]

13 hours ago, Missus_Aitch said:

Has anyone taken DCL across the Atlantic?  Do you find it too monotonous without any shore days?  I wondered if they tried to vary the entertainment and menus more than usual.  Thanks.

No I didn't find it monotonous. They had a variety of shows, but if you've cruised DCL before many of them are the same.  The food meh. I'm not a fan of DCL food so I'm  probably not the best person to ask. To be fair we had perfect weather and smooth seas. If the opposite had occurred I may have a different opinion of TA cruises. I am planning another one next year, but we'll be going the opposite direction. 

[STHCruising]

We did the DCL EBTA in 2015 (Port Caneral to Copenhagen), and are doing this cruise again next year (Miami to Barcelona).  We also recently did the Eastbound Panama Canal Cruise, which is a similarly long cruise.  In our view,  DCL upgrades the talent with Broadway stars, and a few unique variety acts or musical performances, and guests are pumped to attend shows in the Walt Disney Theatre every evening.  I will say, the entertainment was better on our EBTA than the recent Panama Canal Cruise.  Some guests were less than enthused.  For example, acapella group Voice Play (EBTA) was better, IMHO, than Filharmonics (Panama Canal Cruise).  Nonetheless, we didn’t miss a show and overall the entertainment was a plus.

 

We enjoy the peaceful sea days, assuming good weather.  And, some of the best and most interesting ports are part of a transatlantic cruise.  The upcoming EBTA stops in the Azores, Lisbon, and three unique ports in Spain (Cadiz, Malaga and Cartagena) prior to arriving in Barcelona.  We are quite enthused with these ports.

 

Our last EBTA had regionally inspired menus along with the normal menus.  We had one of the best dining experiences ever on that cruise, including a special feast for the four couples who were table mates.

Edited November 10, 2018 by STHCruising

[Tenderpaw]

We've done 2 Disney transatlantics and loved them both.  They typically bring a Broadway star on board for part of the trip who will perform a number of times.  In addition you get the usual shows and possibly both Frozen and Pirate night.  The reason I say possibly was on one cruise we had both but the other we didn't.  Not sure why that was other than the cruise director was different.  During the day, they will have lectures by an imagineer from Disney which are interesting.  There are also the "anyone can cook demos every day, usually including wine for the adults.

[gismo1554]

As said by others it really doesn't get boring entertainment wise. They have lots of extra stuff you just don't get on the shorter cruises. They also have different menus which helps with this.

[gometros]

We just did the WBTA this past September. We had five port stops out of 11 days. Entertainment was very varied, no repeating of the three main shows, so we were never bored.  And yes, we had Pirate and Frozen nights. And I loved the addition of Rapunzel's and the show during dinner. 

 

I happen to like the DCL food, the menus changed every night. Even though we cruised the northern Atlantic, the seas were very smooth.

[cantgetin]

We've done several TAs on DCL.  They are the best!  That said, I'm happy with a good book and the ocean breezes.  There are typically at least one, sometimes 2 "name" Disney people--Broadway stars, high level people in Imagineering, etc. who will each do a few presentations.  There is something different happening in the WDT each night--special shows not done on 7 night cruises, guest entertainers, etc.  There is a different menu each night, but I haven't been thrilled with the food on our most recent DCL cruises; I have read that it is improving though.  These used to be the biggest bargain going...until people figured out how good they are!

[PopPopBear]

My wife and I were on the WBTA in September 2017. We found there was a nice variety of activities as well as a good  balance that allowed for enough downtime to make the cruise feel like a vacation. While the first portion was port intensive the consecutive sea days were a nice welcome. We didn't find ourselves bored or feeling like we couldn't find something to fill our time. This is one man's opinion but  I think the extras that are included on the TA crossings make some great times you wouldn't get otherwise. 

[Cedricandsophie]

As someone else said, we too will on the Sept westbound crossing.  Four days at sea while crossing.  I absolutely loved it.  We did have good weather which was a plus but there was so much to do.  Cocktail tastings, lectures, broadway stars, other great entertainers,  cooking classes, lots of different trivia contests and more.  Even some adult pool games in the Cove.  I would do it again.  And I’m one that loves the food which I thought was very varied and very good.  

[Missus_Aitch]

Okay, thanks all -- seems unanimous!  Planning ahead for 2020 but will definitely make transatlantic a strong possibility.  I appreciate everyone's taking the time to reply.

[kodesthemoose]

check out "disney cruise line blog" as they have many sets of past navigators including for the transatlantics - IMO Disney does more for their longer cruises than one might expect, especially given that they are usually priced lower per day than the "standard" Caribbean itineraries.  

[angie7911922]

Disney has so many things to do on their ships. I can't imagine anything with them being monotonous. On our TA cruise, as with other Disney cruises, my only regret was I still didn't have enough time to do everything. The entertainment is fantastic, and as someone else mentioned, Pirate Night is a favorite, as well as whatever "theme" is present on your ship (Frozen, Marvel Avengers, Star Wars, etc). They always keep things entertaining!