Day 1 Disney Magic and not impressed

[PrincessShmoo]

A the end of the cruise you get the Guest Comment Card to fill out. The waiter tells you that you MUST give "excellent" for EVERYTHING related to dining. I found this particularly annoying since you may have had good service but food quality was not. Your server should not be responsible for the quality of your food. (Obviously I understand that your sever wants you to be happy with your meal.) The server will tell you that everything depends on your "excellent" from his raises to his promotions to his time off. What's really funny about the card is that it asks if you've been pressured to give the answers you did.

The theory is that the servers should make things right - by suggesting the best items to order, or changing something that turns out not to be to the diner's taste. I agree the actual quality of the food should be on the chef.

That question about being pressured wasn't always there. It showed up once people started complaining about it on the survey.

I'll just mention there is a very small comment section on the survey form. I always just attach an extra piece of paper will more in depth comments.

 

[CarolynU]

Have cruised DCL a ton. In excess of 20 times.
Have cruised Princess once.
Breakfasts. Cabanas. Fine for me but I’ve learned to just have different cheeses, smoked salmon, melon nuts. Every day I eat that as it’s impossible to be anything other than to my taste. On the very odd day I’ll get a freshly made cheese and onion omelette.
Princess breakfast better hot food not so good a selection of cold in the buffet.
With Princess we had a drinks package so had beautiful coffee for breakfast and sometimes yogurt berries etc. Really enjoyed that.
Pools. Princess wins that hands down for the variety and size.
Food around the pool again Princess wins as their counter service food was freshly cooked to order and hot!! My pet hate is cold food. The pool burgers were amazing.
Daytime entertainment DCL for the prize.
Lunch buffets similar. However, in Cabanas I’ll choose the peel and eat shrimps and some salad which is delicious and maybe a few fries. If there is Indian food I’ll take a tiny bit and see if it’s hot enough and if it is I’ll choose a portion of that too. Princess didn’t have shrimp but the selection was reasonable.
MDR on both cruises. Princess wins. Food was similar quality but Princess the food was hot without having to send it back over and over as I have to on DCL.
Speciality dining Palo I think gets my vote.
Brunch and dinner.
Entertainment.
Shows DCL by a huge margin.
Adult entertainment used to be DCL when they had great club hosts and outside premium entertainers. Not sure if these hafe returned yet. The adult entertainment on the staycations was pitiful. But there is a caveat to the evening entertainment Princess had masses of different bars and areas which had violinists, singers, pianists, duos and because of the drinks package they were lively and fun. I don’t mean drunken lively just lots of people enjoying themselves.
Of course the missing ingredient for Disney fans and families with kiddies is that DCL has the characters and that special something that you can’t put your finger on!
So despite loving my Princess cruise I’ve gone back to DCL but absolutely wouldn’t hesitate to return to Princess which actually did give me the confidence to try other lines if the itinerary works. Pre covid I was taking two DCL cruises per year. Now I think I might take one DCL cruise if I have the young family with me and one alternative cruise line if I don’t per year.

 

[sabrecmc]

I...like Cabana's, lol. Maybe it's just about expectations. It's sort of a Golden Corral of the seas, but that's what I'm looking for when I stumble in the door having finally made it onboard, ready to grab a table by the window, unroll a colorful napkin, and fill my plate with totally random stuff. Obviously, the MDRs are better, but it is still food produced for thousands of people at basically the same time. I'm not expecting some Michelin 3 star cuisine. I would probably hate that, anyway. Food is a pretty small part of our enjoyment, though, so for someone else, the expectation may be different and maybe that's disappointing. Or maybe some of the COVID issues are impacting the variety, I don't know. DCL isn't for everyone, and that's okay.

 

[tidefan]

Have cruised DCL a ton. In excess of 20 times.
Have cruised Princess once.
Breakfasts. Cabanas. Fine for me but I’ve learned to just have different cheeses, smoked salmon, melon nuts. Every day I eat that as it’s impossible to be anything other than to my taste. On the very odd day I’ll get a freshly made cheese and onion omelette.
Princess breakfast better hot food not so good a selection of cold in the buffet.
With Princess we had a drinks package so had beautiful coffee for breakfast and sometimes yogurt berries etc. Really enjoyed that.
Pools. Princess wins that hands down for the variety and size.
Food around the pool again Princess wins as their counter service food was freshly cooked to order and hot!! My pet hate is cold food. The pool burgers were amazing.
Daytime entertainment DCL for the prize.
Lunch buffets similar. However, in Cabanas I’ll choose the peel and eat shrimps and some salad which is delicious and maybe a few fries. If there is Indian food I’ll take a tiny bit and see if it’s hot enough and if it is I’ll choose a portion of that too. Princess didn’t have shrimp but the selection was reasonable.
MDR on both cruises. Princess wins. Food was similar quality but Princess the food was hot without having to send it back over and over as I have to on DCL.
Speciality dining Palo I think gets my vote.
Brunch and dinner.
Entertainment.
Shows DCL by a huge margin.
Adult entertainment used to be DCL when they had great club hosts and outside premium entertainers. Not sure if these hafe returned yet. The adult entertainment on the staycations was pitiful. But there is a caveat to the evening entertainment Princess had masses of different bars and areas which had violinists, singers, pianists, duos and because of the drinks package they were lively and fun. I don’t mean drunken lively just lots of people enjoying themselves.
Of course the missing ingredient for Disney fans and families with kiddies is that DCL has the characters and that special something that you can’t put your finger on!
So despite loving my Princess cruise I’ve gone back to DCL but absolutely wouldn’t hesitate to return to Princess which actually did give me the confidence to try other lines if the itinerary works. Pre covid I was taking two DCL cruises per year. Now I think I might take one DCL cruise if I have the young family with me and one alternative cruise line if I don’t per year.

Were you on a Royal class ship? Both times we have sailed on Regal Princess there has been peel and eat shrimp in the buffet. Many days they had sushi as well.

 

[CarolynU]

Were you on a Royal class ship? Both times we have sailed on Regal Princess there has been peel and eat shrimp in the buffet. Many days they had sushi as well.

I’m not sure what class that it was but I know its name. It was the Emerald Princess.

 

[tidefan]

I’m not sure what class that it was but I know its name. It was the Emerald Princess.

You were on a Grand Class ship. Emerald is a very nice ship, but it doesn't have an Alfredo's (included pizza/italian place on the Piazza) or the expanded Buffet. The Royal class ships are the newer Princess ships:

Royal Princess
Regal Princess
Majestic Princess
Sky Princess
Enchanted Princess
Discovery Princess

 

[CarolynU]

You were on a Grand Class ship. Emerald is a very nice ship, but it doesn't have an Alfredo's (included pizza/italian place on the Piazza) or the expanded Buffet. The Royal class ships are the newer Princess ships:

Royal Princess
Regal Princess
Majestic Princess
Sky Princess
Enchanted Princess
Discovery Princess

Ahh that would explain the no shrimp then lol! We chose this cruise for the amazing itinerary and that didn’t disappoint but that of course restricted our choice to that ship alone. I was very impressed though. Different to DCL but I wouldn’t have said inferior except if you have young kiddies I think. You can’t beat having Mickey and Minnie and pals wandering around and even socially distanced meets were lovely.

 

[tidefan]

Ahh that would explain the no shrimp then lol! We chose this cruise for the amazing itinerary and that didn’t disappoint but that of course restricted our choice to that ship alone. I was very impressed though. Different to DCL but I wouldn’t have said inferior except if you have young kiddies I think. You can’t beat having Mickey and Minnie and pals wandering around and even socially distanced meets were lovely.

Yes, Princess is pretty much our go-to when we don't cruise DCL (although now that our Daughter is 18, we'll be doing Virgin Voyages a bunch more, I think). Nothing wrong with the Grand Class, BTW, in fact, we'll be on Crown Princess this summer to Alaska. We love both DCL and Princess. Our daughter has even said she preferred Princess while in her teens over DCL, Carnival, and Royal. Said she got to know the kids better in the club. Also, it took us a minute to get used to the open closet setup, but once we adjusted, we actually like it a lot better. It's like it's own "dressing room".

Disney is a great line, but I think that you really need to be a Disney fan to get the max enjoyment out of it.

 

[Girl of the South]

I think someone mentioned the food on VIRGIN ships upthread and wanted to say the last overseas trip I flew, in January 2020, I flew Virgin Atlantic and the food was AWESOME. So much flavor. Airline food can tend to be bland but Virgin's fare was wonderfully seasoned.

 

[tidefan]

Here are some pics of Virgin Voyages food:

 

[tidefan]

 

[Snowwhyt]

A ship comparison with Royal Caribbean to what you are on now must have been a shock. Shame you didn’t get on the Wish for better size comparison but even that would be smaller then what you have been on through Royal Caribbean.
Perhaps if you sail on the Enchantment you could see that some of your disappointment is about size(no nice walk through the park/street on the Enchantment they have a Centrum area which seems to be based around glass elevators much like Magic. The Enchantment has a rock wall and bungee jumping but other than solarium not much else for physical activities. Magic has 2 water slides, maybe 3 but at least 1 is just for toddlers?(can’t remember). I looked for the outside basketball/sports area like Disney’s on the Enchantment but I can’t find it.

I too am not impressed with the buffet. Didn’t get what the hype was about. Have you ever gone out for Easter or Thanksgiving Brunch that was way more then you wanted to spend, but you left uncomfortable because the food was really good? Like even the vegetables? That’s what I expected every day. But I usually only find one item I really like and save my calories for MDR. I only eat at buffet when I’m short on time for activities. Then I feel like I received a better meal then my fast food choices at home.

I would like to recommend a slice of the chicken barbecue pizza if you get a chance. Also grab a plate of fruit next time you sit outside from (?daisies delights?) good stuff.

I am attaching a royal Caribbean Disney size comparison for you.

 

[CarolynU]

Yes, Princess is pretty much our go-to when we don't cruise DCL (although now that our Daughter is 18, we'll be doing Virgin Voyages a bunch more, I think). Nothing wrong with the Grand Class, BTW, in fact, we'll be on Crown Princess this summer to Alaska. We love both DCL and Princess. Our daughter has even said she preferred

Yes, Princess is pretty much our go-to when we don't cruise DCL (although now that our Daughter is 18, we'll be doing Virgin Voyages a bunch more, I think). Nothing wrong with the Grand Class, BTW, in fact, we'll be on Crown Princess this summer to Alaska. We love both DCL and Princess. Our daughter has even said she preferred Princess while in her teens over DCL, Carnival, and Royal. Said she got to know the kids better in the club. Also, it took us a minute to get used to the open closet setup, but once we adjusted, we actually like it a lot better. It's like it's own "dressing room".

Disney is a great line, but I think that you really need to be a Disney fan to get the max enjoyment out of it.

I must admit that I felt strange at the start of the cruise with it not being Disney and the sail away party was so much more low key than the pre covid DCL sail away, and if that never comes back I’m going to miss it, but there was so much that was good too. I’m a big fan of evening entertainment if I’m just with friends, as opposed to my very young grandkids,so again if DCL never brings back club hosts and good quality outside entertainers I’ll feel less inclined to sail with them as often as I used to. I’m completely on the fence right now. I’m not sure how Princess is post covid but I have very close family due to sail that line fairly soon, so I’ll get all the info from them and then make my decision for the future.

 

[tidefan]

I must admit that I felt strange at the start of the cruise with it not being Disney and the sail away party was so much more low key than the pre covid DCL sail away, and if that never comes back I’m going to miss it, but there was so much that was good too. I’m a big fan of evening entertainment if I’m just with friends, as opposed to my very young grandkids,so again if DCL never brings back club hosts and good quality outside entertainers I’ll feel less inclined to sail with them as often as I used to. I’m completely on the fence right now. I’m not sure how Princess is post covid but I have very close family due to sail that line fairly soon, so I’ll get all the info from them and then make my decision for the future.

Also, at sail away on Royal class ships the horn plays the “Love Boat” theme. Very corny, but awesome for a Child of the 80’s!

 

[hrhdhd]

Also, at sail away on Royal class ships the horn plays the “Love Boat” theme. Very corny, but awesome for a Child of the 80’s!

Yes! I am on Celebrity Apex now and we heard Sky Princess's Love Boat horn in Pt. Everglades on Saturday. Fun.

 

[tidefan]

Yes! I am on Celebrity Apex now and we heard Sky Princess's Love Boat horn in Pt. Everglades on Saturday. Fun.

Let us know how your cruise is! Celebrity is a brand we have yet to try, but hope to!

 

[jujubiee4]

Speaking of Royal I was watching a video of their newest ships and saw Wonder of the Seas
has 7K passenger limit. I thought the vlogger was mistaken and looked it up. Yup 6,988.

Yikes! What is next? A Ship built for 8 9 10k? There has to be some kind of legal limit right?

 

[CarolynU]

Also, at sail away on Royal class ships the horn plays the “Love Boat” theme. Very corny, but awesome for a Child of the 80’s!

Love it lol! Now there’s a blast from the past!

 

[supergirl04]

They weren't mayonnaise when I was on the Dream in February. We had a chickpea spread (basically hummus), an olive spread, a mango pepper dip, and a roasted garlic dip. Of the four, only the last one appeared to be mayo.

That olive spread was sooooo good

 

[tvguy]

Let us know how your cruise is! Celebrity is a brand we have yet to try, but hope to!

We cruised on the Celebrity Eclipse in October 2019. Vancouver, to Victoria to San Francisco (overnight there) to Santa Barbara to Los Angeles.
Service was amazing, as was the ship. Food in the MDR and buffet was top notch. The absolutely only thing we didn't like was the VERY HARD sell on board to go to the extra cost dining options. You could not go into the MDR without someone at the entrance asking you to sign up for an extra cost restaurant, and at lunch time in the buffet they had staff wandering around with all the menus from the extra cost restaurants......and when you said no thank you, then they would offer you a reservation for half the normal price. Our wait staff in the MDR said that the extra cost restaurants had been under performing. And on our HAL cruise you could literally walk into their extra cost restaurants without a reservations, so that is not unique to Celebrity.
That is where Disney is different, they have people getting up in the middle of the night to get reservations in Remy and Palo in advance of their cruise.
For reference, I have cruised Paquet (no longer in business), NCL, RCCL, HAL, NCL America, Disney and Celebrity.

I will say the MDR food to me has been good on all the cruises. Now, Paquet was leagues above all the rest in food, but it was a French cruise line that advertised gourmet food with wine included at no cost for lunch and dinner. Not sure many Disney cruisers would like their setup. There was just one sitting for dinner at 6 pm, and dinner every night was a 12 course 3 1/2 hour event. No other dining options for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner other than the MDR. But they did have what used to be the norm on cruise ships, a nightly Midnight buffet from Midnight to 2 am.