What is Disney cruise line like??

[Druke I]

Wife and I did 3 nights in park, 4 nights on Disney Magic, back in Dec 98, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

When the grandchildren are a little older, we hope to do a family cruise with Disney.

[momofmeg]

Having cruised almost every major line out there with kids and without I'd have to say that for OUR family NO the Disney cruise was NOT worth the extra $$$$$$$$$$$ it cost to go!

 

I have to agree with mrsfuzzmo and mikey mars! We too felt the food was subpar and a few of the lunches in topsiders we laughed at and called it hospital cafeteria food! It was blah! Dinner was gross most nights and this is the first time we've actually dreaded going to eat on a cruise! We've had the best food ever on Carnival and Celebrity.

 

We've had MUCH better pizza on deck on Carnival than on anyone and we thought Disney's was awful! The chicken strips were ok but how many of those can a person eat (unless you are a kid that is).

 

At the time we cruised Disney hadn't started their comp soda program on deck so we spent a fortune on soda stickers for the kids and us since we LOVE Diet Coke.

 

There is NO nightlife on that ship once the show is done!

 

If your kids don't like the kids club (mine had TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE experiences in there)then there is not much for them to do! They have a movie theater but on our 5-1 cruise they were showing movies we already owned like Finding Nemo and Pirates of the Caribbean!

 

The pools are a joke! A complete and utter joke! I can't believe that a family line that KNOWS kids will be on their ship didn't design their pools to be better! The fresh water is nice but that is it! With 977 kids on our sailing it was standing room only and then if they have to close one of the pools good luck getting any room in the one that is open. It's great in theory to have the adults only pool but that thing rarely has anyone in it while the kids are all crammed in 2 small pools. Usually kids like to swim MUCH more than adults! It was wasted on our cruise as at any given time there might have been 2-3 people in it. Also the mickey ear that only non-trained children are supposed to use is stupid as there are a million kids going in and out of it that ARE potty trained and then going back to the mickey pool.

 

The characters are great IF you get in line early enough to take advantage of it! If you don't you are out of luck. They send a CM to cut the line off and they get mean let me tell ya! We asked a simple question and the guy was SO rude my husband and I were appalled! People were waiting 2 hours in line to get the Princess autographs...I mean 2 hours??? Come on!!

 

They do have an awesome disembarkation and it's better than any other line we've been on!!!

 

They do have an awesome alcohol policy for carrying it on board!

 

That's about all the good I can say for it however! We sailed them twice and won't be paying to go back! Our kids have had much better times on Carnival and Royal Caribbean than any other line! You pay for the name that's for sure! As for getting treated better...I think that's false! We've received the same or better treatment on other lines for half the cost and a fraction of kids on board!

 

JMO

Heidi

 

 

Heidi true the adult pool was not crowded but that is because there were so many families on Disney. Both the family pool and the kid's pool was like DOUBLE the size of the adult pool. I for one was glad there were adult only areas. There were also parents at the adult pool-they seimply had their kids in the kid's club for a couple of hours so they could have a little peace. I for one thought that was absoulutely wonderful that Disney provided this. Put your kids in the club for a couple of hours- go enjoy yourself for awhile minu the kids-check the kids out and let them enjoy the pool. I for one also thought it was GREAT that none of the pools closed down at 8 p,m. like most lines and also they had a sprinkler type area for the babies who were not potty trained. As most know it is no longer allowed for children not potty trained to be in a pool-Disney solved the danger of ecoli problem by having this area where the water runs off. I thought that super of them.

 

Also I found the nightlife at Route 66 and the Cadillac club absouletely wonderful. Now if you mean no casino-not all of us are fools enough to throw our money away like that. Hey I have read many posts that like Disney saying although it cost them more-they save so much in there being no casino that it is actually cheaper.

 

Another thing too is Disney's kid's club stays open later then the other lines. Our table mates were able to enjoy Palos because of this.

By the way we loved the food and the beach blanket buffet was pretty much the same as the buffet on the lido deck on all lines that I have done. I have also been on Carnival, RCCL, HAL and Princess-the lido buffet always compares to a golden corral-not the same class as the dinningroom although on the Carnival spirit class ships there are a few nicer choices-it is still not the quality of the dinningroom.

 

I had no complaints with the dinningroom food-it was great and compared to HAL and Princess which has much better food the Carnival and RCCL.

 

So you hated them showing the classics that are already on video. This was done only the first movie in the theater which was the kid's movie. The other movies were first run with the last movie at night being an adult themed movie. I loved also the nice variety on TV. I watched Stepford Wives, Jersey Girl and Shrek II in my stateroom and enjoyed them as I had not been to the movies to see them or had rented those movies. I also loved watching Sleeping Beauty on the channel that carried Disney Classics as it had been many years since I had watched this.

 

You have got to admit that bathroom was tons better then the dinky showers on RCCL. Carnival does a little better as far as the showers but we loved that one person could be in the tub and someone else could use the bathroom and still have privacy.

 

I also loved that I did not hear my neigbors around me when in my stateroom. This ship was built so much nicer that noises did not carry and when on the balcony I could barely smell my neigbor's cigerettes. On Carnival you smell your neighbor's cigerettes when on the balcony and if anyone has a fight at 2 a.m. you also hear that. Heck I thought it was our next door neighbors fighting until I walked out on the balcony and realized they were a couple of decks above us.

[cruislovin]

One of the pools is open 24 hours a day on RCCL ships.

[dondiane]

This was our 14th cruise, first on Disney. Feel you're paying more for less.

The Ship is lovely, but never sailed a ship that wasn't in fact many even more so. The food was a disappointment,the changing of dining rooms nightly just didn't make much sense to us and they certainly aren't as grand as the dining rooms on most lines, the adult pool was a nice touch but the family pool was too small. The split bathroom is a nice touch. Nothing much for adults come evening hours. For a true"Disney Fanatic" I'm sure the ship is a dream come true. For me...I'll choose one of the other lines from now on.

[cruislovin]

This was our 14th cruise, first on Disney. Feel you're paying more for less.

The Ship is lovely, but never sailed a ship that wasn't in fact many even more so. The food was a disappointment,the changing of dining rooms nightly just didn't make much sense to us and they certainly aren't as grand as the dining rooms on most lines, the adult pool was a nice touch but the family pool was too small. The split bathroom is a nice touch. Nothing much for adults come evening hours. For a true"Disney Fanatic" I'm sure the ship is a dream come true. For me...I'll choose one of the other lines from now on.

Thanks for your feedback. I find it very interesting. We leave in 2 weeks and I will post my thoughts of DCL vs. RCCL when we return. What other cruise lines have you sailed on?

[momofmeg]

cruiselovin- the family pool was at least twice the size of the adult pool-which was really small-the adult pool was about the size of the small kiddie's pool on Tropicale if you remember that except deeper ofcourse. Both the family pool and kid's pool were HUGE in comparrison. The biggest I have seen but then I have not been on a voyager class ship so the voyager class ship pools may be bigger. The problem is on Disney cruises at least HALF of the passengers are kids-so these 2 pools are SUPER crowded.

 

I for one loved the fact that Disney provided a place for adults only. With that many kids on a ship you need a place to get away. Heck I like kids but there are times I like to get away from them. Disney providing that for adults helped me to enjoy the kids instead of complaining about them as so many posts you read on cruisecritic do. If they hadn't-that pool would have been crowded also-as many kids were on the ship-and it would be like other lines-no way to use the hot tub-it being full of kids playing in it.

 

The ship was super nice. As far as quality-the only other ship I have been on so nice. was HAL Statendam. The rooms are so quality built you do not hear your neighbors. I loved the split bathroom, all the storage provided and the size of the rooms- the rooms were big even by Carnival's standards. The size was more like HAL which gives you really big staterooms.

 

I liked doing diff. restuarants. Now Tritons was just "okay" as far as decor and had nothing special. Animater's Pallette is super neat-with the walls changing pictures and going from black and white to color. We alll loved this even my 20 year old got excited about that and she is no longer a kid. Parrot Cay had a live band which was really nice.

 

I really think too as you are used to the voyager class ships-you are used to spending more for your cruise so you won't find that Disney is that much more expensive as people keep complaining. Just instead of the ice skating rink and rock climbing wall you get entertained at dinner and have a much nicer stateroom. Now you may not need a bigger stateroom as it is just you and your daughter- but that is still a nice plus and you will love not hearing the noise from your neighbors.

 

One thing we liked too about the veranda stateroom-was there was a privacy curtain-so both hubby and daughter could get dressed at the same time without using the bathroom to dress. It was really the perfect set up for a family. Maybe if you ask and the ship is not sold out-they will show you a veranda cabin and you will see what I mean. That is if you decide you want to take hubby and son on another Disney cruise.

[jodifla]

We were on the 9/23 Wonder, and had a terrific time with our DS, 2. We've been on NCL and RCCL, as well as some smaller cruise lines, and have had a good time on all of them. Most of the time, we're just happy to be on vacation. That being said, here were the highlights for us:

 

Ship was beautiful. Classy and well done.

 

Our room was very comfortable. It was definitely bigger than most we've been on, and it was certainly better designed than any of the others. We could have easily spent a week in the room.

 

Ship and crew definitely accommodating to little ones. We had no worries, because pretty much everyone had kids! It's great to be in that atmosphere when you have a toddler. Service was outstanding throughout.

 

Flounder's Nursey, the baby sitting service for infants and toddlers, made it easy for us to enjoy adult time on the ship.

 

Food had highs and lows. Palo was great, all the desserts were great. Dinner main dishes were so-so. We enjoyed them more when we went with something other than meat.

 

I wouldn't cruise in high season with Disney and pay a lot of bucks, but if you can go in the off season, it's worth it.

 

We have another cruise booked with them for next year.

[momofmeg]

This was our 14th cruise, first on Disney. Feel you're paying more for less.

The Ship is lovely, but never sailed a ship that wasn't in fact many even more so. The food was a disappointment,the changing of dining rooms nightly just didn't make much sense to us and they certainly aren't as grand as the dining rooms on most lines, the adult pool was a nice touch but the family pool was too small. The split bathroom is a nice touch. Nothing much for adults come evening hours. For a true"Disney Fanatic" I'm sure the ship is a dream come true. For me...I'll choose one of the other lines from now on.

 

I guess you did not find the Cadillac club or Route 66 both adult only lounges. I thought they were great. I never went to that dueling pianos or the others where children were allowed. No need to plenty of "nightlife" in these two lounges. Now if you mean no casino when you speak of nightlife well I guess that is true. As far as I am concerned that is not nightlife-why throw away money for a thrill?

[cruislovin]

momofmeg,

 

Royal Caribbean has an adults only pool location on all the ships I have been on. I have not had any problem with these being kept adults only. Any time I have been there and seen children in the area or the pool an attendent promptly asks them to leave the area. There are also 2 hot tubs in the adult only area and one in the spa on the Voyager class that is also adult only.

 

We prefer to spend the cruise $ on the ship's amenities and activities, especially for our children. They do not prefer the kids' clubs most of the time but on RCCL there are so many other things for them to do. This being only a 3-night sailing I don't think this will be a problem since we won't be on the ship that much during the day. If we had a sea day I would be more concerned.

 

I FINALLY received my documents today. This is the WORST timing I have ever had on getting cruise documents on any cruise I have been on! So far I am not impressed with DCL's service at all... AND you have to complete them all by hand which I find is a real bother. I would much prefer to complete them on-line as you do for Royal Caribbean.

 

Can you answer a couple questions about dress in the dining rooms? It states that no tank tops are permitted in the dining rooms. My daughter and I have matching tank tops with glittery parrots on them that we planned for dinner one evening. Will this cause a problem? How strict are they on the "dress code"? Also, what about jeans that are not blue, like black or khaki jeans? Will these be an issue? We had all our clothes planned and packing started until I got my cruise docs today and saw this information.... HELP!

[momofmeg]

I did see people not dressed properly as we always do no matter what line we are on. (the only exception was HAL)

 

I believe jeans stlye slacks are fine. My daughter has several pair and she wore hers. If you are worried about the tank tops do what we do-just bring a light weight sweather or jacket if you feel uncomfortable-keep it on- if you see plenty dressed any kind of way-so you won't stick out like a sore thumb- take the jacket off. I like jackets anyway because often it is cool in the dinningrooms on all ships. On the fashion board there was a thread about tank tops and most felt it really applied to men and not women as there are many dress tank tops for women that go with suits etc. Most felt if it was not a tank top that you wore with shorts but a dressier tank top it was okay.

 

I found that Carnival Miracle had an adults only pool (smaller then the others just like Wonder) on the very back of the ship on the lido. There you did not see the kids in the pool or the hot tub. But you saw them in the other hot tubs by the family pools-in spite of the signs that says no one allowed under the age of 18. What we did not like about the pools there is usually they put nets on them after 8 p.m. On the Wonder they were still open at midnight. Now I have no idea if they were open 24 hours as we go to bed around then.

 

We got our cruise booking for Mariner changed to definete rooms and it was a good thing as ALL READY the atruim cabins are almost sold out. I never dreamed we might would be already bumped out of that catagory. There is another thing nice about those cabins. You can get a cabin with connecting rooms here so it is good for families. As much as hubby and I like the balconies-we prefer to have privacy and would rather get 2 cabins instead of one with a balcony. Ofcourse soon our daughter will be old enough to be allowed to have a cabin of her own-so that will no longer be a problem on any line.

 

I think your little tank tops would look cute for you to wear in Parrot Cay. It is a tropical themed restuarant so you would go right with the decor.

[cruislovin]

momofmeg,

 

Thanks for the info. I thought the tank tops were meant for men but wasn't sure. We plan to wear them the evening we eat in Parrot Cay. How did you think the temperature of the air conditioning was in the public areas on the Wonder like in the dining room, theaters, etc.? I am usually always cold if the air is chilly.

 

I don't remember if RCCL has signs about over 18 for the hot tubs or not. My kids go in them occassionally but not on a regular basis.

 

Did you have a guarantee atrium cabin on the Mariner, but you wanted to make sure you stayed in that category? We had connecting atrium cabins booked the first time we went on the Explorer, but we were VERY fortunate to be able to upgrade at the pier to two balcony cabins that were side by side, but not connecting. We looked at the connecting cabins and they did look very nice...

 

I had a category 12 guarantee booked on Wonder and they bumped us up to a category 10. So it is still an inside cabin but at least it is the bigger one. What category were you in on Wonder?

 

Where are the laundry rooms located on the Wonder?

[momofmeg]

I always find a light jacket is great on all the cruiseships in the evening though not usually needed during the day except for Carnival Inspiration last DEC. where it was way too cool the whole cruise. I had a winter coat that I had taken on the plane to Tampa and I actually wore that in the evening a good bit.

 

No we no longer have the guarantee. We have definite cabins Aloha 305 and 307. I learned that the atruim cabins are only on decks 6-8 and all have a 305 and 307-so I am not sure though which deck. Though as there are 15 decks and the atruim botton is deck 5 I felt this was be okay with my fear of heights. I did not want to be upgraded out of the atruim cabins this time as I have never been on a voyager class ship and I wanted this experience. They are very popular and if we had stayed with the guarantee we would have ended up with an "upgrade"of an oceanview. I did not want that. I would not have minded an upgrade of an balcony-but the odds of that happening is slim to nil-besides I have done a balcony and after having a catagory 6 balcony on Wonder which was super with the almost 300 square feet and bathtub-it just would not be the same. I don't espect to have that again unless I do Disney or HAL though as they are the only lines that have the super staterooms if you can't afford a suite.

 

Read the laundryroom tread here-(Beside a laundryroom) I typed PLENTY there don't want to do all that again. It was no problem for me as I heard no noise at all-the staterooms are built really well.

[cruislovin]

momofmeg,

 

I haven't heard of Aloha on the Mariner. What deck is that on?

 

I have seen the laundry room post. What cabin on deck 2 is the laundry room next to? I wanted to see how far away it is from my cabin in case I need to go there. Do they have irons there for you to use?

 

Did you use the in-room hair dryers at all? Were they adequate for you?

[momofmeg]

momofmeg,

 

I haven't heard of Aloha on the Mariner. What deck is that on?

 

I have seen the laundry room post. What cabin on deck 2 is the laundry room next to? I wanted to see how far away it is from my cabin in case I need to go there. Do they have irons there for you to use?

 

Did you use the in-room hair dryers at all? Were they adequate for you?

 

That is what I AM trying to figure out. My TA is off a couple of days so I can't get the info from her. Royal Caribbean informed me they could not give out any information to me on my reservation but I must get this from my TA.

 

I wondered if she goofed-on decks 6, 7 and 8 there are atruim cabins in 6305 and 6307, 7305 and 7307, 8305 and 8307-I have sense enough to figure out the first # corresponds to the deck # as they do on most ships but I have no idea if any of these 3 decks are also referred to as the "aloha" deck.

 

I have been on only one cruiseship that had an "aloha" deck- this was Pacific Princess. On that ship that was the deck below the promanade deck. I am guessing though on a ship with 15 decks that the prom. deck is higher then deck 8. Carnival names their decks also besides numbering them (for example deck 6 is also called the empress deck, deck 5 is upper deck, deck 4 is the main deck, deck 3 riveria deck) but they do not have an aloha deck.

 

I am thinking she goofed-I hope she has not done something stupid like booked us on a Princess ship instead of Mariner-or that she did not reserve us an atruim cabin but left it a guarantee-if she did SHE WILL FIX IT.

[momofmeg]

That is what I AM trying to figure out. My TA is off a couple of days so I can't get the info from her. Royal Caribbean informed me they could not give out any information to me on my reservation but I must get this from my TA.

 

I wondered if she goofed-on decks 6, 7 and 8 there are atruim cabins in 6305 and 6307, 7305 and 7307, 8305 and 8307-I have sense enough to figure out the first # corresponds to the deck # as they do on most ships but I have no idea if any of these 3 decks are also referred to as the "aloha" deck.

 

I have been on only one cruiseship that had an "aloha" deck- this was Pacific Princess. On that ship that was the deck below the promanade deck. I am guessing though on a ship with 15 decks that the prom. deck is higher then deck 8. Carnival names their decks also besides numbering them (for example deck 6 is also called the empress deck, deck 5 is upper deck, deck 4 is the main deck, deck 3 riveria deck) but they do not have an aloha deck.

 

I am thinking she goofed-I hope she has not done something stupid like booked us on a Princess ship instead of Mariner-or that she did not reserve us an atruim cabin but left it a guarantee-if she did SHE WILL FIX IT.

 

 

Well TA did not goof. Idiot hubby did. (he is no DH he's IH-idiot hubby) He thought she said "A" 305 and 307 and asumed "oh we are on the aloha deck" when she said 8305 andf 8307. Why he thought "A" stood for Aloha I don't know. As I said we have been on only one ship that had an aloha deck. I knew on Sovereign the decks were not named but I thought well maybe RCCL names the decks on voyager class ships.

 

Fortuantely I was able to get ahold of someone at the travel agency who was able to look up our booking # for me. I was all set to bless that woman out too when she came back to work. I was already mad as a hornet at RCCL because they would not tell me which deck was the aloha deck. I should had kown idiot hubby had misunderstood. He has done that before. Next time I will get him to ask for an e-mail be sent to us comfirming our reservation. I can trust that better.

[cruislovin]

[quote name='momofmeg']Well TA did not goof. Idiot hubby did. (he is no DH he's IH-idiot hubby) He thought she said "A" 305 and 307 and asumed "oh we are on the aloha deck" when she said 8305 andf 8307. Why he thought "A" stood for Aloha I don't know. As I said we have been on only one ship that had an aloha deck. I knew on Sovereign the decks were not named but I thought well maybe RCCL names the decks on voyager class ships.

Fortuantely I was able to get ahold of someone at the travel agency who was able to look up our booking # for me. I was all set to bless that woman out too when she came back to work. I was already mad as a hornet at RCCL because they would not tell me which deck was the aloha deck. I should had kown idiot hubby had misunderstood. He has done that before. Next time I will get him to ask for an e-mail be sent to us comfirming our reservation. I can trust that better.[/QUOTE]You can never trust these IH! Anyway, the Promenade IS on Deck 5 - so Deck 8 puts you the HIGHEST above the Promenade that you can get. Basically the middle of the ship is all OPEN from Deck 5 through Deck 8!!! You may want to get your T/A to move you to Deck 6. Be careful though what you are ABOVE if you are on Deck 6. I have read reports of noise from the bars on the Promenade. I have never experienced it myself but there are posts on it here on CC.

[momofmeg]

[quote name='cruislovin']You can never trust these IH! Anyway, the Promenade IS on Deck 5 - so Deck 8 puts you the HIGHEST above the Promenade that you can get. Basically the middle of the ship is all OPEN from Deck 5 through Deck 8!!! You may want to get your T/A to move you to Deck 6. Be careful though what you are ABOVE if you are on Deck 6. I have read reports of noise from the bars on the Promenade. I have never experienced it myself but there are posts on it here on CC.[/QUOTE]

I doubt I can-as I said we did good to get an atruim as they were selling out and with the guarantee we had we would have been bumped up. Once I saw the ship's diagram and saw these cabins were only deck 6 through 8 and that the bottom of the atruim was deck 5 I knew I would be okay. I was afraid I might have a stateroom that was like 10 decks up or something. I am not fearful of 3 decks. Now what will bother me is to be down on deck 5 and looking up to deck 15. That is what gives me the problem. Or being on deck 15 and looking down. On the Carnival spirit class ships they have this see through staircase that goes from deck 11 to deck 12 that you can see from the bottom of the atruim. I can't watch people walking on that as it scares me a little. I won't ride the glass elevator either as I literally get dizzy and faint -so I will stay away from that too.

As I said the smaller atruims like The Wonder, Sovereign and Statendam had do not bother me. I just don't like those that are like 8 or 10 decks or more. So there is a good chance I may not like the voyager class ships especially if alot of the main things are on higher decks close to the atruim area. From the diagram I saw though I don't think that will be a problem. I really do like the small ships-I just wish they would build some newer ones with balconies.

I am looking forward to that ice skating show. I always enjoy watching ice skating on TV and love the "Disney on Ice" shows that come every year here.

[cruislovin]

I have seen the laundry room post. What cabin on deck 2 is the laundry room next to? I wanted to see how far away it is from my cabin in case I need to go there. Do they have irons there for you to use?

Did you use the in-room hair dryers at all? Were they adequate for you?

Any other last minute tips you can provide, please do! We are packing this weekend and leaving next Wednesday afternoon!!!

[momofmeg]

I was never on deck 2 so I don't know. Maybe if you go to the Disney site you can find a diagram of the ship. Or maybe someone else will post here. Did you ask the quest. on the laundryroom post? As we were mid ship-(starboard I think right side of ship) and if it is in the same place on deck 2 that may help.

Another messageboard which has lots more traffic then here is disboards.com-now it takes a day or 2 before you are allowed to post after registering-but you may be able to find info about laundryrooms there.

We had a hair dryer in the bathroom. It was attached to the wall like they are in alot of motels. It was a pretty much heavy duty one-you know the kind that drys your hair pretty fast. I prefer the ones that take longer as it is better for the condition of my hair in the long run. Those heavy duty ones really do a number on my hair.

[cruislovin]

I looked at several diagrams of Deck 2 but I don't see the laundry room listed. I'm sure I will find it IF I need it. I won't wash or iron anything unless it is an emergency. We are packing very light so I may have to if something gets soiled. My daughter only wants to take carry-ons!!

I packed today and will help DD over the weekend. She has a huge Reading project due the Tuesday after we come back so she is working hard on getting that done this weekend. That way she won't have to worry about it on the cruise OR rush to complete it when we get back!

Are there separate towels for the pool and in the cabin bathroom? Where do you get the pool towels? It's so nice now on RCCL - the pool towels are put in your cabin and exchanged there too. I called DCL today to find this out, but of course they didn't know! I see in the info I got that for Castaway Cay they give you the towels as you get off the ship. Is that what they did on your cruise too?

[momofmeg]

Your cabin towels are those big ones-the kind that is about the size of a beach towel. They were adequate. Our steward replenished them as they all do(you know the sign about hang the towel up if you will reuse it-I always do but the steard still always gives me a new towel) so I never had to use a wet towel I had used on the lido after my bath.

Now that is what I did-not sure it that was what I was supposed to do-I never noticed a towel station on the lido so I assumed it was okay. We did have some blue towels in out room marked Disney on them the day we went to Castaway Key. We always bring our own beach towels though. They don't take up much room in the suitcase and I like paid $15 or less for them at TJ Maxx-I would rather lose those towels then the cruiseline towels that they charge you $25 or more for. I feel the same about the bathrobes they give you to use. I will use it in the stateroom but I never take it up on the lido- too many guys with sticky fingers -then I owe the cruiseline $40.

[cruislovin]

Does Disney provide bathrobes in all cabin categories?

FYI on you RCCL cruise - they only provide bathrobes in the higher level suites and if you are a Platinum or above Crown & Anchor member. So you may want to bring your own.

No room to pack beach towels - we are only taking carry-ons to save time at the airport. We never take beach towels anyway - too bulky to pack. Having cruised so much in the past couple years we have learned to pack less and less every cruise! That's why the dear daughter challenged us to the "carry-ons only" for this trip and I think we will do it! I have everything in my carry-on except 3 things that will wrinkle and I haven't even used the magic plastic bags yet that we had gotten for the Alaska cruise!!! Then we have a foldable suitcase that we take in case we buy too many bulky souveniers like sweatshirts and such. That way I use it as a carry-on on the way home and check the other "carry-on" for the trip back. We will even try to avoid using that however if we can since it save SO much time at the airport.

[momofmeg]

I gues I pack "medium". I will on a 7 day cruise wear the same pantsuit twice to dinner and often I change from a pair of shorts to pants or skirt on casual nights as long as the top is still clean. I don't go down to the "carry on" thingie though-I do bring more then that-but I never have a problem with overweight bags or too many suitcases that many complain about when flying.

Even though Wonder did not have a "formal night" we still went formal the night we ate at Palos. I still wanted a nice formal picture of the 3 of us. Our daughter did not go with us on the April cruise and I like having a formal portrait of us as a family once a year.

Since your cruise is 3 days though- and no worry about formal night-you and your daughter can probally do great with carryons. I think we did have robes but like I said I only use them in the cabin-since our cruise on Mariner-hubby and I have a stateroom to ourselves-I have no need for a robe anyway-so no big deal-besides I do have a light weight housecoat that takes very little room I could bring but probally won't even bother-if daughter comes knocking and I am not dressed I will just talk to her through the door.

We do qualify for the wine tasting thingie and our friend Madelyn does too since she was on Explorer in August. That will be fun. On our second RCCL cruise-it was just a 3 day so that was not offered-so this will be the first time we get a past guest perk. Does RCCL do any other perks for past guests?

Carnival does a little party-reception type thing but only on the 7 day cruises. They also give you a pin with the ship's name on it. We did not get one for Miracle as it was only a 3 day cruise. I tried to get them to sell me one but no go. That kind of ticked me off a little and I am a little mad at Carnival. I really liked the pins better then the reception thingie. To me I don't see why it would hurt to give past guests a pin on the shorter cruises or at the very least sell them for those who want them. I would love to have a Tropicale one too.

I do like collecting little momentos of the ships. I have a tee shirt for Pacific Princess that says "Love Boat-1972-2002" on it. I also have a Disney Wonder tee shirt. I have a shirt that has these little flag emblems on it on the left side that says Royal Caribbean on it. I will definetely take that and wear it on the Mariner next year.

[cruislovin]

RCCL has a past guest party too. Plus you get a coupon book in your cabin that includes the free wine tasting and other discounts. I am not sure what all is in the Gold coupon book now since I haven't seen one for awhile. You also get a Crown & Anchor gift in your stateroom toward the end of the cruise, usually. Nice little goodies that get nicer as you go from Gold to Platinum to Diamond!

[momofmeg]

Well I doubt I will ever make it to diamond. I like variety too much. I just don't want to keep doing the same cruiseline over and over. We took 2 Carnival cruises 4 months apart this past year and I doubt we will go back on them for at least 3 or more years. I like change too much.

A couple of years ago in the Crown and Anchor magazine we got was the picture of a couple that had done 35 plus cruises with RCCL. We had had them for table mates on our second cruise. They were on their 98th cruise then and were going for a 100. I am sure they have made it by now since that was 5 years ago-probally going for 125 at this point.

But that will never be us. Right now we are wanting to plan some other type of vacation as we are about cruised out. We keep saying we would just like to go and spend a week in FL again and do all the Orlando parks. One of our most favorite vacations was Virginia when we toured a bunch of the president's homes that were in like the "Walton's" area of Virginia and then we also did Washington DC that same trip. We want to do all that again. I think we enjoyed that more then our week in London.

We only have Mariner booked because I have been wanting to do a voyager class ship. Every since Voyager came out back in 99 I have wanted to do one. But first hubby had to do Alaska and Bermuda.

I wanted to do the Canada New York cruise on Voyager since we did not book Mariner soon enough for this year and the price had gone up so much. Hubby did not want to go to Canada and New England so we ended up doing the Wonder.

We did get a great deal for Wonder. The Voyager cruise was about the same price as Wonder but it would have been 5 night instead of 4. Also that was for an oceanview stateroom and not a balcony. The atruim cabins werealready sold out on that cruise-so I would have missed out on that if we had done Voyager.

I was not too trilled about doing Nassau again but I ended up having such a great time on Wonder I am glad we did Wonder instead of Voyager. I felt beforehand- like most- that Disney was just too expensive. After doing the cruise though and realizing how nice they do things I changed my mind.

After the cruise next year-we probally won't cruise again until our 25th if then. We are now considering just either flying to Europe or Hawaii and staying there. Well we have three years to decide.