My daughter and I sailed on our first Disney Cruise at the beginning of September. Other than a fantastic, relaxing trip my purpose was to experience a Disney Cruise in order to be able to better inform my clients. I brought my 7-year old daughter for special Mother-Daughter time and as my “guinea pig” for the children’s programming.
Our first Disney Cruise took us on the Disney Wonder back to our Alaskan home. It is quite typical for Alaskans to have never visited the city and towns of Southeast. So, I was thrilled to explore the ports of Juneau, Ketchikan, Icy Strait (Hoonah), and Skagway. But, I am focusing my gushing about the things I love to the the actual cruise ship.
Without further ado, here are the things that I LOVED about our Disney cruise!
1) Our Dining Room Servers–Potchara and Heny
Potchara and Heny, our dining room team, were fantastic. They made every dinner fabulous. They quickly remembered our likes and dislikes. They watched closely to when we needed anything and checked on us regularly (but not too much). They let us get to know them, about their lives.
2) Rotational Dining
The Disney Wonder has 3 main dining rooms. Rotational dining allows you to experience all the dining rooms during your cruise. Place’s decor is reminiscent of 1920’s New Orleans. Triton’s dining room style is more classic and subdued. The final dining room is Animator’s Palate. This last dining room initially looks bleak in all black and white. As dinner progresses this room transforms into a vibrant color palate. It’s so delightful!
3) Dining Room Entertainment
I vaguely remember reading something about live jazz in Tiana’s Place before we left on our cruise. But, I was totally unprepared for how cool it all was. The jazz band in Tiana’s Place was excellent. The second evening at Tiana’s our servers had a great musical number and encouraged all the guest to join in and dance around the dining room. So fun!
Animator’s Palate was my absolute favorite. The first time we dined there was a cute show after dinner. But, on our second dining at Animator’s Palate we experienced probably one of my favorite things on the whole cruise. Before they let us order we had to draw a character on a piece of paper. After dinner they took our characters and animated them into a cute movie. It was one of the cutest things I have seen in a long time! I LOVED it!!
4) All the Focused Attention on my Daughter
All throughout the cruise I felt that my daughter was respected as a traveler and not just along for the ride. I loved how kids were an important part of the cruise. It is truly a family friendly cruise with emphasis on creating special memories for children as well as adults.
At the Frozen Party a section was roped off just for kids so they could be close to the stage and join in with the dancing. So many activities could involve the whole family together. At the Oceaneers club, they would interact with the kids at things they enjoy doing. My daughter loved playing games with them.
One of the things that impressed me the most was how our servers looked at her in the eye (as much as she would let them). They spent time helping her decide what to eat, taking as much time as necessary without rushing her. They asked her what she wanted and listened to her requests. Every night Potchara would have a special activity planned such as origami or magic tricks. As soon as he realized how much my daughter loved the magic tricks he made sure he had one ready every night.
5) The Movies
I know, so silly. But, we rarely go to the movie theater. It was such a treat to sit and watch so many of the movies I really wanted to see but hadn’t. I loved the live action Aladdin and saw it twice. Watching the Lion King and Toy Story 4 on the big screen was so fun.
6) Frozen Deck Party
Freezing the Night Away! Even though cold and bundled up with hat and gloves I loved this show! It was so fun! Music reverberated across the deck. Dancing infected the feet of everyone. Anna and Elsa lit up the night. And even though I am very accustomed to snow, the snowfall on the deck was enchanting. I loved every minute of it! I can’t imagine how amazing a Pirate Party must be with fireworks on the Caribbean cruises.
7) Our Room Steward–Alvin
Alvin was awesome! He always had a smile on his face. He always greeted us like he was happy to see us. One night we left our room a disaster only to come back to a neat and tidy space ready for us to sleep that night. He never made us feel like we were interrupting his duties when we changed our routine and messed up his. He crafted awesome towel (and blanket) creatures. He pixie dusted my daughter with Princess sheets and absolutely thrilled her by leaving them on a couple of nights. He made our trip extra special.
These were not the only things that I liked about out Disney Cruise. But, these were the things that, I believe, set Disney apart from other cruise lines. Now, I know that others may not agree with my opinions but that’s okay.
Now, it’s your turn. What was your favorite part of your Disney Cruise?
Happy travels to you…until we meet again!
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