I do love Disney.  I’m not a Disney fanatic, like some, but I feel that Disney is magical. When my husband had the opportunity to take a Disney cruise as a travel agent, with a bit of a discount, he knew I would want to check it out.  I want to make clear here that we have no children.  My husband is not a huge fan of kids and he agreed to this cruise because I wanted to see what it would be like. Before we left we watched some videos of other Disney cruisers.  However, they did not prepare us for what we experienced. 

Embarkation was similar to other ships. (We have cruised with Carnival, NCL, Holland America, and Virgin.) There was a line to check in and then get through personal security. We had to wait maybe five minutes after that for our group to be called to board.  We got on the ship around noon.  The rooms opened at 1:30.  We took a quick tour of a few floors and then went to lunch at the buffet.  It was much like other buffets, but it had a shrimp and crab claw offering and there were always chicken fingers and French fries.  You also get a variety of sodas for free.  Besides the crab and shrimp being available, the food did not wow me at the buffet. 

We spent the next hour wandering around the ship trying to acquainted ourselves where everything was located.  When we went to the room, the key card was there and you needed a card to keep the lights on. One of our pieces of luggage was there right away.  The most interesting part of the room was the separate shower and toilet areas.  The shower also had a small tub, which is excellent for young children.  There were two closet spaces and a couch, so it was bigger than other balcony staterooms we have had on other cruise lines.  The bed was very comfortable as were the pillows (although a couple were lumpy) and the towels were very nice.  The room was definitely more luxurious than other cruises. We had a nice selection of Disney movies we could watch on our tv too.  

They had a basketball court, mini golf course, and an aquaduck (a water slide in which you rode in a raft around the upper part of the ship), which was built by Donald’s nephews.  We went on it twice.  There was always a line and it was a quick ride, but fun.  The second time we went, the water was so cold!  There are two pools for the kids and also two splash areas.  There was a pool in an adults only area as well as a hot tub and I think a second hot up on the 13th floor, which was also adults only.  They had a spa and we got a pass for the week.  It was not as comfortable as the other spas we have visited.  The warm chairs were very awkward to sit in for long periods of time.  The hot tubs had a cool location in which you could look out at the ocean, but they were also uncomfortable for me to sit in. My husband, who is 6”2 did not have an issue though.  They only had three steam rooms.  Two were wet and one was dry. The dry one was not that warm.  I know that it is an older ship, but the spa did not feel as relaxing as others, probably because I couldn’t sit in the chairs for long. 

There were also a ton of activities to do.  You could easily find everything on the app. I also liked that we could message each other on the app and it didn’t cost extra.  Every day there were a ton of character meet and greets, trivia, crafts, and even learn to cook seminars.  They were listed by age as well, so I made sure to filter out kids activities because I wouldn’t be able to participate.  I attended several trivia games both with children and only adults.  I went to two learn to draw Disney characters (Ursula and Groot), did two craft activities: I made a bookmark and a drawstring bag, and went to both cooking seminars, which were lobster ravioli and apple strudel.  In both cooking seminars you got to sample what was made and in the lobster ravioli class we also got to sample a glass of white wine.   I enjoyed all of these activities. 

There were also three scavenger hunts that anyone could do.  You went to a kiosk on the 2nd or 5th decks and used the computer to sign up and get a badge and a map.  You had to go to each deck (some had multiple) and scan your badge on a picture and then a video would play and or you had to perform a task. Each picture gave you a clue or you found an item. We did all three and some times were easier than others because lots of kids were also working on the hunt. There was a pirate night on the second night and everyone dressed up for dinner or after.  At 10 we went up to decks 11 and 12 and Captain Jack Sparrow arrived and there was a show and then fireworks, which were very cool.   Every night, but one, had a show in the main theater. There were also movies playing in another theater all day long.  I didn’t not see any movies (one of which is still in theaters), but we went to every show.  

The first show was called the Golden Mickeys.  There was singing and dancing and lots of surprise character appearances. One show as a magician that we had seen on several tv shows.  Beauty and the Beast was the major production. The last night was Believe, which basically had songs from all different Disney productions.  The most impressive show was Beauty and the Beast.  They had to turn away people because the theater filled up so quickly.  It was definitely on par with Broadway shows I have seen.  My only issue with the shows was that 50% of the audience were children and the parents did not use it as a means to teach them how to behave.  They let them do whatever they wanted.  It would have been the perfect time since so many kids were yelling out, but the screaming did not die down as the show went on.  The magician show was the loudest and kids were yelling out things the whole time.  And now they all think that’s acceptable.  

I hated trying to eat breakfast.  I always seemed to pick the wrong time and it was so difficult to get into line and find a place to sit.  One morning I had the mickey churro waffles and that was worth the struggle.  Every day I got an iced latte at the Cove Cafe on deck 11 in the adult only area.   You get a card and if you buy five specialty coffees, you get the 6th one free. They also have pastries for free.  There is another shop on deck 4 and you could also get specialty coffee in the buffet area.  The card worked at all three.  

Lunch buffet was the same every day. We often ate over near the pool area where they have pizza, burgers, sandwiches, and tacos.  There was always a line for the tacos. They were excellent.  The pizza was always nice and fresh.  My husband enjoyed the burgers.  

Dinner was always at a set time at the same table with the same waiters.  We started at the Animator’s Palette, which had amazing decorations, but was extremely loud. On the last night, the pictures come to life and Crush the turtle talks to different tables.  We ate there three different nights. We also ate at the Royal Palace (this was in a separate room and much quieter and more relaxing) and the Enchanted Garden, which I also felt was not quite a raucous at the Animator’s Palette. 

The food was more upscale than other cruise lines.  Although it was not as upscale as they make it out to be.  I had the tuna tartar with avocado one night.  It was pretty bland unless I swiped it in the small smear of wasabi.  The lobster and jumbo shrimp appetizer had one medallion of lobster and the shrimp were the same size as the ones on the buffet.  It was fine, but not what you expected from the descriptions.  I found plenty to eat each night and I generally enjoyed what I ordered.  The one thing we discovered about the desserts no matter where we ate them was that the cheesecake was not actually cheesecake and the mousse was not mousse.  They used either too much gelatin or not enough so the consistency was always off, so we stayed away from those desserts.  They always had soft serve ice cream on deck 11, which was nice. 

We also had 24 hour room service available.  My husband ordered the wings one night and wished he had done it several nights before.  We also tried several desserts and the cheese plate had a good variety. We could have ordered breakfast items delivered to our room, but we didn’t find the tags until the last day.  I would definitely do that if we cruised on Disney again. 

The service on the ship was impeccable.  Everyone was always ready and willing to help.  Our waiters at the sit down restaurants were amazing.  My only issue with the restaurant eating (it was the only option for dinner unless you got room service) was that every night it took at least an hour and a half.  We missed several activities because we were still at dinner. 

We had two stops on the cruise.  The first was in Cozumel and the second was at Castaway Cay.  We have been to Cozumel several times. This time my husband researched some places for us to visit away from the touristy area and I had a good time exploring.  We had coffee and pastries at this cute cafe, checked out the local market and a higher end souvenir shop where we got some higher quality vanilla.  There was a gallery where we met a glass artist and purchased one of his nightlights.  Then we went to the black coral museum and I found a whale shark pendant, which was very unique.  I spent more than I imagined in Cozumel.  

Castaway Cay was lovely. You can take a tram (just like the ones in the Disney parking lots) over to the family areas. There are two stops for family areas. Then you need to change trams to get to the adult area. The water was amazing, though a bit chilly.  There were plenty of chairs with umbrellas to choose from in the adult section.  You could rent a bike ($19) and floats (also $19) or go on an excursion, but it was too windy for the clear boat and the scuba excursions that day. A woman sitting near us said that most excursions are cancelled there due to the wind.  

In the adult only area there is a bar, bathrooms, and a place to eat (which is free). The lunch was BBQ.  The servers were on the ball!  They were very friendly and helpful.  We didn’t stay too long since we were not going in the water. We took the tram back to the family area and wandered around. They have a designated snorkel area and water play area.  The family area seemed very busy, but there were still spots to sit under an umbrella.  They serve the same food there as in the adult area.  We headed back to the ship around 1:30. 

I think there was a lot for me to do on the ship during the two sea days, but I also had the spa pass and spent time in there.  The kids’ play areas looked amazing, especially for the younger kids.  

In conclusion, I had a great time on the cruise.  However, I won’t be looking for another Disney cruise to try.  The price is quite high and the constant running and cacophony of kids’ voices was a lot to take at times.  Many of their cruises focus on the Caribbean and we are using cruises to visit all parts of the world.  Maybe if we got another deal, I would consider it, but I’m not sure if I could convince my husband.