Walt Disney World Review Part 2-The Criuise

Disney Wonder Cruise Review
December 9th-13th

This review will cover the cruise that my wife and I took on the Disney Cruise Line. Currently Disney has 2 ships in operation, the Magic and the Wonder. The Magic takes passengers on a 7 night Eastern Caribbean itinerary. We were on the Wonder, which is a 4 night cruise to 2 Bahamian ports of call; Nassau and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay.

This cruise was a part of Disney’s Land and Sea package. We stayed 3 nights at one of Walt Disney’s resorts from December 6th through the 8th and then headed for the pier on the morning of 9th. Due to our visit to a local Church congregation, we made private transportation arrangements through Sunray Transportation. I cannot say enough about Sunray and Bob, one of Sunray’s owners. Bob made special arrangements to drive by our Church location a day ahead of time just so he would know where it was that he was to pick us up. If you want fantastic service (transportation in a nice leather seated SUV) at an affordable price, give Sunray a call. They can easily be found on the web.

We arrived at the pier at 12:30PM. Getting through security was a breeze. If we had not stopped for a 10-minute bathroom break once inside the terminal, we could have been on the ship in less than 10 minutes. Since we had stayed at one of Disney’s resorts prior to our sail date, we had the luxury of being able to check in at our hotel earlier that morning. That meant we had our stateroom keys in hand by the time we reached the terminal.

One of the neat things they do on all Disney cruises is announce you by name as you enter the ship. A neat little perk. After we boarded, we were directed to one of the 2 buffets (Beach Blanket Buffet and Parrot Cay). Since it was only 1:00PM, it would be another 30 minutes before we could go check out our stateroom.

We were told that Parrot Cay was full so we had no choice but to go to Beach Blanket Buffet. The first thing we noticed was that the buffet area was much smaller than what we became used to on Royal Caribbean. This made it very tight to get in and around the buffet line and it also meant that the selection of food seemed smaller. The seating area inside was also much smaller and meant that the only choice was to sit outside which had its challenges in the wind.
After w quick bite, we were anxious to see our stateroom. We were in a category 5 stateroom that was a deluxe stateroom with a verandah. Our room number was 7036. We were close to mid ship on deck 7. The room was very nice. It had a classical nautical theme with lots of Disney artwork placed throughout. One of the unique things about Disney staterooms is that most come with a bath and a half; one with a vanity and tub/shower combo and another with a vanity and a toilet. This was nice when we were both trying to get ready at the same time. The rooms seemed spacious and the beds were very comfortable. They do need some updating when it comes to the TV’s. Most cruise lines now are going to nice flat screen TV’s and the one we had was your typical 13-inch TV from the 1980’s. Other than that…the room was very nice and our stateroom attendant was superb.

Our dinner rotation schedule had us visiting the dining restaurants in this order; Parrot Cay, Tritons, Tritons, and Animator’s Palate. Parrot Cay was the least favorite of ours. The theme was nice, but the restaurant lacked any special flair. Tritons was actually our favorite out of the 4 due to the ambience and menu choices. Animator’s Palate was kind of a let down. We had heard so much about how the scene changes in the restaurant as your receive each dinner course, but the change was less than dramatic and the music change was almost unnoticeable. The servers all left at the same time and came back clapping with colorful vests on which was really the most dramatic part of the dinner experience and that wasn’t much to talk about.

The food was good, not great in all the restaurants except for Palo’s (which I will get to in a moment). The service however was noticeably sub par. Our two servers had a really hard time at remembering what each person had ordered. While we easily excused it the first night, it became a pattern by the last night. We were accustom to Royal Caribbean’s superior service and how their servers paid attention to the smallest level of detail and that was simply not the case with our experience on this cruise. One morning for breakfast we had decided to try the buffet at Parrot Cay and also found the service to be disappointing. I had asked the server for coffee, which never made it to our table. Now I am aware that each server is unique and we may have been the exception to the rule. So take this criticism for what it is worth.

On the day at sea, we had made arrangements to have brunch in Palo’s, Disney’s alternative dining restaurant. Our experience there was superb. The service was excellent! The food choices for a brunch were incredible and the atmosphere was exquisite. The extra charge was only $10 per person, which was a bargain, compared to other cruise lines. I highly recommend for everyone to take advantage of the opportunity to dine at Palo’s.

The ship itself is what I will call a classical ship with its elegant color scheme. The inside is simply decorated, but quite beautiful. Disney has done a great job by keeping the Disney theme out in the forefront while still keeping things elegant and simple. They used a lot of black and white Disney prints in the common areas and a person really needs to take the time to stop and take some of them in.

I want to make mention of 3 areas of the ship that we found to be above our expectations. First the ship’s Buena Vista movie theatre is second to none. For a ship of its size, it was a large theatre laid out with tiered seating similar to those found in modern theatres. The real plus was that they show first-run movies and even Disney’s movies that are also making their theatre debut back at home. I am not giving it justice in this review, but please do not overlook it once you are onboard. Trust me.

Second, the shops onboard were laid out well and had a great selection for every age group. You felt that you were in a shop back at one of Disney’s theme parks. Once again…trust me and take come extra cash for shopping!

Third, there was the Walt Disney Theatre had some of the best show productions we have seen so far at sea. From the set decorations to the cast members, you felt you were at a Broadway show production. They were highly entertaining and a must-do during your cruise.

I also want to mention one area of the ship that Disney really needs to address. I am not sure what they were thinking when they designed the Vista Spa to be placed on a deck right below the sports deck and basketball courts. The pouncing of a basketball really does detract away from a true spa experience. Also…I was surprised to learn that there was an additional charge to use their rainforest room even if you had scheduled a spa treatment. That is not the case on some of the other cruise lines. I understand charging a daily use fee for those who only want to come and use this amenity, but not for those who are already paying a nice fee for a massage etc.

Now…on to the excursions and ports of call. Since this was only a 4-night cruise, we had 2 ports of call scheduled as I already mentioned; Nassau and Castaway Cay. Nassau is what it is. We probably would not have bothered getting off the ship had we not planned for an excursion. The excursion was the Dolphin Encounter on Blue Lagoon Island. It was awesome! It was worth every penny and something everyone needs to do at least once in their lifetime. The staff on the Island is very professional and does a great job, not only with the interaction, but also with the educating of the guests regarding the dolphins and their environment. It was the highlight of our cruise and one we will cherish for a long time.

The second port of call was Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island. We were docked by 7:30AM and cleared to disembark by 8:00AM. Being docked at the island is a luxury of being with Disney. Most cruise lines tender their guests onto their private islands. Docking is always a added advantage and it made getting off and on the ship a breeze. The Island is divided up into sections for all age groups, teen beaches, family beaches, children play areas, and even an area solely for adults called Serenity Bay. We were excited to be able to get away from the noise and bustle of the children spend the day in an entire “adults only” area. The beach at Serenity Bay was gorgeous. There were plenty of beach chairs. My wife made an appointment at one of their open-air cabanas, which was wonderful. The whole experience on the Island was great. Disney really has mastered the ability to organize and feed and transport large groups of people and this shined through on Castaway Cay.

For the sake of time and space, I will end the cruise review right here. Disney will make your cruise experience very enjoyable, especially if you have children. We prefer a longer cruise so we will probably not be going on this cruise again, but I can recommend it without reservations. You will be spoiled by Disney’s ability to get you on and off the ship at each and every port. The embarkation and disembarkation process was extremely hassle-free. We docked back at our homeport in Port Canaveral on the 13th at 6:00AM and were cleared to disembark by 7:00AM. You do not have to disembark in groups on Disney, which means you can simply walk off once the ship is cleared by the port authorities.

If you have any questions, please leave it on the comments section. If you would like to see pictures of the ship or other videos, you can visit our other blog site at www.xanga.com/oeshpdog2. You can also see other videos at www.youtube.com/oeshpdog2.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Review

This is a short review of a cruise that we took last December (2006) on RCCL's Radiance of the Seas. The cruise itinerary was a Western Caribbean cruise with port stops at Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Montego Bay. The overall length of the cruise was 6 nights leaving on a Sunday afternoon out of Ft. Lauderdale.

First I want to give a brief review of the ship itself. The Radiance of the Seas (R.O.S.) is a beautiful ship with a passenger capacity of just over 2500. The ship is considered to be in the mega-ship size category due to it's berth capacity along with its gross tonnage being just over 90,090 tons.

The R.O.S. is known for it's abundance of large glass areas allowing uninhibited views of the ocean as you sail from port to port. It is also known for the gorgeous area mid-ship called the Centrum. The Centrum is the first thing you see as you board the ship. It is an open air lobby area spanning 8 decks. A popular picture taking location is on the 12th deck where you can peer down through a glass floor all the way down to deck 4.

The ship appeals to a wide variety of cruiser's due to the various on-board activities such as the Casino Royale, Adventure Ocean, the Solarium, the Library, etc. I will elaborate more on some of these areas in just a moment.

The ship at the time of our cruise was in great shape. It had some areas that showed more wear and tear than others such as the pool side chairs and high traffic areas around the staircases and elevators, but overall the ship was in very good shape.

Our room was a deluxe stateroom with a balcony on the 9th deck. Due to the location of our stateroom being right off the elevators, we had an over sized balcony which made it an excellent viewing area as we pulled into each port. The stateroom was in good condition and came with a nice sized couch and sitting area. The bathroom was small, but kept clean. The only negative about the room (which applies to all of the rooms) was that the sewage water tended to have some minor backup problems that maybe lasted a few hours, but caused an odor to be present until it was fixed. Our stateroom was always cleaned and kept in order by our invisible stateroom attendant. He always knew when we were gone and the room was always promptly made up when we arrived back from breakfast each morning.

Now on to the food. We had heard some positive and negative reviews about the food before we set sail on the R.O.S. We found the the food to be adequate and average on the breakfast and lunch buffets and above average in the dining room and specialty restaurants for dinner. We ate breakfast most every morning in the Windjammer which is their large buffet restaurant on deck 11. The food selection did not change from the first day and considered to be average quality. The service would also be called average. Sometimes we had to wave down a sever to come clear the dishes on our table. The best thing about the Windjammer is that it has a large outdoor, but covered eating area in the aft part of the ship which made it a great place to sit and eat and gaze out into the blue waters of the Caribbean.

When we didn't eat in port, we also ate lunch in the Windjammer and found it also adequate, but not stellar. They do have the best fries at sea however. It is also a great lunch spot for the days where you plan on spending most of the time by the large pool adjacent to it on deck 11. One of us would go get a quick plate of food while the other held feverishly to our pool chairs.

We ate every dinner in the main dining room (The Cascades) except for our anniversary dinner in Portofino's which is their Italian specialty restaurant. The staff in the main dining room was excellent, at least at our table. They were attentive and knew what we wanted in the way of beverages after the very first sitting. They also paid very close attention to one of our table mate's dietary needs and went above and beyond to make sure she had a selection of food items to choose from. They were awesome! The food was good to a little above average. Presentation was good, but one of the steaks was not cooked correctly and came out a bit tough.

Dinner in Portofino's was excellent. The food was well above average and the service was impeccable. It was a great experience and worth the extra fees. I highly recommend budgeting for a night in either Portofino's or Chop's.

Now to the different public areas of the ship. If you want peace and quiet, head to the Solarium. It is a covered, adult's only pool area on deck 11. The chairs are actually wooden and come with padding instead of just the cheap plastic pool chairs that are around the main pool. They have the area decorated like a tropical rain forest with nature sounds playing softly overhead. It was the place to go and relax and read a book. Here is a tip though, on sea days, get there early because it gets rather crowded quickly.

The other quiet area that tended to be overlooked was the Library. It was a place we went to get the daily Sudoku puzzle and take a breather from the crowds. It is situated on deck 9.

The shops were crowded and were not laid out very well for the large crowds that congregated there every night for yet another "special" buying opportunity. The ship did a lot of merchandise promoting which became a little annoying by the end of the cruise. Unless you are just a shop-a-holic, avoid the area if you can.

The 3 story Aurora Theatre was a treat. It was very picturesque and a great place to end a wonderful day. The productions were good, but seemed a little over the top even for Vegas standards. By that I mean, the costumes seemed to be too gaudy even for a Vegas style production and didn't really fit the song or dance production. But it was a still an enjoyable thing to do after a nice dinner. There were some seating areas to avoid due to some large floor to ceiling columns, but the theatre was never at full capacity so you can easily find a good seat.

The spa and fitness areas were great. I had 3 different spa treatments and enjoyed just going and relaxing in the thermal suite. The spa is managed by Elemis which is top notch when it comes to spas and spa products. This is a must do on board. But make your appointments as soon as you board the first day because they fill up quick.

Now on to the port reviews. Our first stop was Key West. It is a great place to get off and take some pictures, but we find it to be too much oriented around the tourist which means you can spend a lot of money for their tours and cheap shows and probably regret it when you get back on board. We did our own self tour off the beaten path and took several pictures of the great architecture and lush landscape and then boarded the ship early to take advantage of the quietness on board and indulged in a spa treatment.

The next stop was Cozumel Mexico. It is amazing how blue the sea can actually be. Cozumel's blue waters are something someone has to see at least once in their lifetime. The port itself was a different story. They were still rebuilding from Hurricane Wilma and we had to tender in which made it an adventure in itself. This was the most unorganized port experience on our entire cruise. Part of that is the Mexican Port Authorities fault and part of it was Royal Caribbean's fault. The tendering and chaos associated it with it was all due to poor planning and lack of a sense of urgency. The Mexican Port Authorities just didn't seem to care that there were a few thousand folks that wanted to actually see their port. They were slow and very disorganized and acted as if they had no idea ships were coming their way that day.

We had booked an all-day excursion at what they call "Passion Island." It included a day on a beautiful private island with lunch and beverages and hammocks etc. Well...once we finally got into port, Royal Caribbean had changed the group size at the last minute for our excursion. The change sent our guide into a tizzy because he did not have enough transportation reserved for the much larger group size. This delayed things for at least an hour which was cutting into our excursion time. Our Guide, Alex, was visibly shaken by the change, but kept his humor and politeness about it to his credit. After he commandeered a taxis to go along with the previously reserved bus, we started on our 30-45 minute bus ride. To make things more interesting, the bus driver pulled out and hit another taxis driver. You had to laugh at this point. A few Spanish words were traded between our driver the taxis driver and the police officer and we were waved on our way as the taxis driver looked in dismay at his dangling rear view mirror. I wish I understood more Spanish to know what was said, but by this time we are all laughing and just hoping to get to see a little of the Island before we have to head back to the ship.

Once we got to the boat that was to take us to the Island, we all got on board and headed for another 15 minute transfer trip to our final destination. We all started to look at one another as the water we were in was a gross dingy brown. The guide saw we were getting a little concerned and reassured us by letting us know we were in a lagoon and it would get better once we got to the Island. He was right. It was beautiful! The water was clear and blue on the Caribbean side of the Island and the sand was white and soft. Chairs and hammocks were plentiful and the food was great. We might give this excursion a second chance and see if it can get off to a better start.

Next stop, the Cayman Islands. Once again more beautiful blue Caribbean water and white sand beaches. This stop had some of the prettiest white sand beaches we have ever seen. We also tendered in here but it went very smooth and was well-organized. We did a self tour of the port and shopped a bit. The most popular excursion here is swimming with the sting rays. Everyone says that it is a chance of a lifetime. We were watching our budget for each port and chose to do planned excursions in 2 of our 4 ports so we will have to wait to come back and try the sting ray experience on another cruise.

Our last port of call was Montego Bay, Jamaica. We were docked here which made it a breeze to get off and on the ship similar to Key West. We did a "planned" excursion while in this port. I had researched the area for a spa that my wife and I could spend our anniversary at. I had read about a place call "Round Hill Resort and Spa." We arranged to be picked up at the pier through the help of the staff at Round Hill. Our driver, Perry, was a treat. He was waiting for us at the pier and had a nice car waiting to whisk us away to the resort. After entering through a private gate we were driven through some of the most plush and gorgeous scenery we have ever scene. We were told that Ralph Lauren has a private home somewhere on the grounds and we can understand why. It was something you just have to see to appreciate. We were awe struck at the beauty of the area. My words will not do it justice. Just picture greens and reds and all shades of blue in the water with the stark white architecture standing out among the various colors. If you want to do a non-cruise arranged excursion, I would highly recommend this one. The spa staff was great and treated us like royalty. We had lunch on the grounds overlooking the Caribbean. It was something out of a dream.

In summary, the cruise as great. The ship was wonderful and the staff was always helpful and courteous. I give Royal Caribbean and "A" and highly recommend them for your next vacation option.