I’m just back from my first Disney cruise. We sailed to Alaska aboard the Disney Wonder, and I can honestly say it was one of the best vacations I’ve ever taken. It was unbelievably relaxing and our treatment by the Cast Members was second to none.
I have plenty to report, but for now I wanted to share five of my favorite things aboard our cruise:
1. Everyone stays concierge level! At least, it certainly felt that way.
After our stateroom host, Vikash, personally introduced himself, it seemed like he could be found out in our hall at multiple times throughout the day.
Need ice? Don’t worry about lifting a finger. After inquiring about it once, it was brought to our room every afternoon.
In addition, your stateroom is serviced two times a day! So it’s not enough that Vikash made our bed each morning. He also turned our bed down each night, and threw in some chocolates and a towel animal, while we were enjoying a show and our dinner.
There’s a snake in my boot…err, bed!
I’m not sure what it feels like to have a butler, but I bet this was close!
2. Supper time!
I had read about how much people loved their servers on board their cruises, and I was skeptical. Not any more!
First, some background. Disney is the only cruise line with “rotational dining”. This means that instead of eating in the same location each night, you rotate between one of three, themed restaurants. And your servers rotate with you!
Our server was Omar, from the Philippines, and his assistant was Chani, from Thailand. Suffice it to say, we didn’t simply eat at dinner, we DINED!
I would typically get everyone excited about that night’s meal by reading them the menu from the Disney Cruise Line Navigator App downloaded to my phone.
It was actually a pleasure to have the chance to take care of myself and get all dressed up to go “out” to our show and dinner each night. And, believe it or not, the highlight was seeing Omar and Chani’s smiling faces when we entered the restaurant.
I don’t know if they took notes or made flashcards for review, but they remembered EVERYTHING! My uncle had asked for limes for his drink the first night, and there was a dish of them sitting at his place each night afterwards. We began ordering from the children’s menu for my grandfather a couple of nights into the cruise, and we’d find one tucked under a plate at our table.
It was so many little details – Omar’s nightly menu suggestions and the way Chani’s accent sounded like a pleasant hum each time she spoke– that had us all teary eyed saying our goodbyes.
Omar said his was a popular pose in the Philippines…just loved them both to pieces!
3. Loved all the Disney channels!
I fell in love with our television. Odd, as I rarely watch TV at home, but I so enjoyed the live-action and classic animated features that played nonstop. It was comforting being young at heart at the flick of a switch.
I had read about taking a sound machine for your stateroom to cover any “neighborly noise”. Instead, we tuned our television to a channel that played Disney music and left it on all night.
Our TV, as it often was, playing Disney tunes. Also, our ice bucket had been delivered!Pure Disney magic, right there!
4. Shopping on board!
If you go to The Disney Store online, they have a small amount of items you can buy that are Disney Cruise Line related. This led me to believe there might be slim pickings on board. Not true!
I was impressed with the selection of merchandise they had on the ship, and made my first purchases the night we embarked with a swipe of my Key to the World card.
A couple of tips about shopping on board – stores are closed any time the ship is in port, and if you see something you want, buy it! There’s not an endless supply of inventory, and the shops do run out of some things. I purchased their last DCL body wash, and they also ran out of their Alaska, fleece blankets (got mine the first night!). Don’t make the mistake of waiting…it may not be there for you later on.
5. Loved not sweating for days!
Hi, I’m Lyn, and I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. If there’s one thing most people know about Phoenix, it’s that it’s hot. Throw in the fact that I am easily prone to sweating…really…like a diseased, she-beast…and Alaska in June was divine!
See that – that’s a HUGE, floating, chunk of ice, otherwise known as a glacier. Why? Because Alaska is cold. Even in the summer!
I don’t know what more to say about this, other than I am terribly agreeable to a high of 54 degrees.
And there you have it, five of my favorites! Have you been on a Disney Cruise? What were some of your favorite things? Shoot me an email or send a message via Facebook. Until then, happy sailing!