Did something change post-pandemic?

[dwg]

Our server told us 3700. Do they just make these numbers up?

I have to say, we too had a wonderful cruise. Yes, there were a few hiccups/growing pains but overall, we were very pleased with our sailing.

Can't speak to where the servers/crew get their numbers but I was talking to the cruise director on our last Disney Wish cruise and she mentioned that she gets an official passenger count for each sailing and our cruise was 3/4 full at 3,000 passengers. The Wish number of staterooms is 4 more than the Dream/Fantasy to to allow Disney to say the Wish is bigger and while I don't know how specific the number of passengers listed for each ship are I am guessing that the passenger count on the Wish and Dream/Fantasy is listed as the same even though the stateroom count is slightly more on the Wish has more to do with the number of life boats on each ship.

Disney Wish:

• Birthplace: Meyer Werft – Papenburg, Germany
• Maiden Voyage: July 14, 2022
• Passenger Capacity: 4,000 | Gross Tonnage: 144,000 (estimated) tons
• Number of Staterooms: 1,254 (includes 53 concierge staterooms and 23 concierge suites)
• Length: 1,119 feet | Beam: 128 feet | Height: 221 feet

Passanger capacity 4,000/State rooms 1254 = 3.19 passengers per room.

Disney Dream/Fantasy:

• Maiden Voyage: January 26, 2011
• Passenger Capacity: 4,000 | Gross Tonnage: 128,000 tons
• Number of Staterooms: 1,250
• Length: 1,115 feet | Beam: 125 feet | Draft: 26 feet

Passanger capacity 4,000/State rooms 1250 = 3.20 passengers per room.

Disney Magic/Wonder:

• Maiden Voyage: July 30, 1998
• Passenger Capacity: 2,400 or 2700 depending on search results. | Gross Tonnage: 83,000 tons
• Number of Staterooms: 875
• Length: 964 feet | Beam: 106 feet | Draft: 25.26 feet
• Cruising Speed: 23 knots9Passanger capacity 2400/State rooms 875 = 2.74 passengers per room.

Passanger capacity 2400/State rooms 875 = 2.74 passengers per room.
Passanger capacity 2700/State rooms 875 = 3.08 passengers per room.

Due to Coast Guard restrictions (number of life boats) Cruise lines can not exceed passenger capacity. Adding passengers to an existing reservation is not guaranteed even if the room booked is not at the maximum passenger count for that room. Reservations need to be balanced out based on available life boats. If life boats at a specific location on the ship are at capacity based on reservations it is possible that you would not be able to book/change a reservation in that area of the ship but would be able to book/change a reservation in another part of the ship.

 

[chuff88]

Disney Dream/Fantasy:

• Maiden Voyage: January 26, 2011
• Passenger Capacity: 4,000 | Gross Tonnage: 128,000 tons
• Number of Staterooms: 1,250
• Length: 1,115 feet | Beam: 125 feet | Draft: 26 feet

Passenger capacity 4,000/State rooms 1250 = 3.20 passengers per room.

Yeah, even on wikipedia, which I know isn't 100% reliable, it says that the Dream's capacity with double occupancy is 2500 (which aligns with the number of staterooms) and the maximum capacity is 4000. I'm guessing what another poster said about the weather forcing more people indoors made the cruise feel a lot more crowded. The cruise line obviously expects that when all passengers are on board some will be in the outdoor deck areas, but if the conditions aren't favorable for that the indoor spaces are going to naturally feel a lot more packed.

 

[lanejudy]

Disney Wish:

• Birthplace: Meyer Werft – Papenburg, Germany
• Maiden Voyage: July 14, 2022
• Passenger Capacity: 4,000 | Gross Tonnage: 144,000 (estimated) tons
• Number of Staterooms: 1,254 (includes 53 concierge staterooms and 23 concierge suites)
• Length: 1,119 feet | Beam: 128 feet | Height: 221 feet

Passanger capacity 4,000/State rooms 1254 = 3.19 passengers per room.

I thought Wish capacity was more like 5500?

 

[chuff88]

I thought Wish capacity was more like 5500?

I think that's the total capacity including crew

 

[lanejudy]

I think that's the total capacity including crew

Interesting... so DCL built a ship 15% bigger than the Dream/Fantasy but with same passenger capacity? Maybe...

 

[chuff88]

Interesting... so DCL built a ship 15% bigger than the Dream/Fantasy but with same passenger capacity? Maybe...

Yeah, in terms of capacity it's really not bigger than the Dream/Fantasy. I think they utilized the additional space on the ship for recreational areas/lounges/etc.

 

[dwg]

I thought Wish capacity was more like 5500?

Capacity on the Wish was confirmed with the cruise director who specifically mentioned that there was only the 4 more staterooms so that they can say they are currently the biggest Disney ship . As chuff88 said the additional space was used for recreational areas. Unfortunately not the adult area which looks like an after thought and the deck 4 walking track that I really miss.

 

[Intr3pid]

OP, I have away rated Disney food 7/10 and cruised with this precise expectation. The likes of Celebrity and even RCL may get higher grades primarily because of their specialty dining options. But, their MDR food quality is kept as if artificially low to push folks to splurge on other restaurants. My food assessment goes something like: Specialty dining > Disney MDR > MDR elsewhere.

 

[belac]

We didn’t sail during the pandemic but many times before most recently in 2019. So this year we did the EC on the Fantasy last month and as much as I tried, I couldn’t get around the disappearing quality of service on DCL. From the dining service, even concierge service, to the quality of food in the MDR itself, it is not the same or even close to pre-pandemic service and quality. This is much the same of what happened in the parks over the years. This past Fantasy cruise may have been our last. We were a large group and much the same reaction from all, as they too are all veteran DCL Guests. This was the first time we ever chose poor on the survey questions, which mostly relate to the staff service and MDR. Everything else was just ok. I don’t think the premium up charge for the shows is worth it anymore for us. Our server actually complained to us that chef wasn’t trained properly. They never got things out on time, either. We did complain to GS and to Concierge team but they just glossed over it. In hind sight they couldn‘t do much except have the server step it up, but no, our guys just didn’t care at all. The food quality was not what we were used to either. I wondered if they took all the seasoned staff over to the Wish and Dream, now that is in Europe, and left the other ships with new staff undertrained. Or perhaps a sign of the times…. Pay more expect less, until people stop paying, but using the parks as a model people will keep paying.

 

[Karin1984]

When you come back from any kind of experience saying: "Everything was bad, I hated it", then most likely something went wrong with the expectations.

I have it often on the Disneyland Paris board. Once in a while we get a trip report from someone expecting everything to be the same as in the US. So, my "job" as a local to DLP on that board is to adjust expectations.

Of course sometimes you are unlucky on holiday and you have one misfortune after the other. But most people can find something positive. Maybe the OP's friend just hasn't shared them yet.

 

[Disney Mickey&Minnie Fan]

This sounds to me like a difference of expectations and the person / family not understanding the differences between Caribbean / Bahamas cruises and European cruises.

Something to note about the food. The ship will be using some local / European brands and food so to an American person the food may taste different to what they are used to.

The majority of the DCL itinerary's in Northern Europe are one off unique itineraries, so there will be high demand, especially for the Norway cruises.

With regards to Cabanas being crowded. I did the Norway cruise last year on DCL. Its a port intensive cruise, so there is a big % of people up early and out of the day. This means that Cabanas will be busy as everyone wants to eat at the same time so they can go out on excursions. When I did the 7 night Norway cruise last year, I had breakfast every morning in the MDR as I knew Cabanas would be packed. The MDR opened at 8am every morning and it was such a great chill calm way to start the day, instead of the hustle and bustle of Cabanas.

I would say its more the fault of the person who didnt plan and research than the ship and crew.

On Disney Cruises we enjoy the MDR for breakfast and lunch because the dining experience is more relaxing than in the buffet area. Sometimes after dining in the MDR we wander through the buffet and pick up a small portion of a food item we wish to sample or a dessert.

 

[Flossbolna]

I started cruising with DCL in 2013 after many years of thinking about it and reading these boards. And I do vividly remember how people always complained about the food not being good. When the Dream and Fantasy started they were considered better food. I think something about a better kitchen structure. Which was brought to Wonder and Magic somewhat during the big refurbish they had.

But food has always been a weak point. They can’t serve restaurant quality in the MDR. Logistically that’s just not possible. So MDR will always be more of a wedding banquet or high end cafeteria style food.

However, over my last two cruises, I did figure out how much food quality depends on service as well. Getting the food served fresh makes a big difference. Also we finally had a great server who was spot on with his recommendations and very honest about the food. It was quite a contrast to the cruise before that.

We also didn’t find the service to be lacking in general compared to pre-Covid. But we noticed a big difference between Wonder and Dream. We did the first Med cruise on the Dream and they seemed to be a bit baffled about how to deal with these cruises after years and years of short cruises in the Bahamas. The Wonder seemed to have so many cheerful CMs that went out of their way making our cruise better.

 

[Karin1984]

We did the first Med cruise on the Dream and they seemed to be a bit baffled about how to deal with these cruises after years and years of short cruises in the Bahamas

I think they are used to have new passengers every 3 or 4 days. Now they are looking at the same guests 7 - 14 days. That's a completely different guest interaction. I can imagine that's a different mindset for a CM. On the shorter cruises there is less time to build a relationship with your guest.

 

[Flossbolna]

I think they are used to have new passengers every 3 or 4 days. Now they are looking at the same guests 7 - 14 days. That's a completely different guest interaction. I can imagine that's a different mindset for a CM. On the shorter cruises there is a less time to build a relationship with your guest.

That was exactly our impression.

 

[Lillebelle]

We've done 10 DCL cruises, half and half pre- and post-pandemic but all within the last 6 or 7 years.

My take is, experience can vary dramatically from cruise to cruise and also I'm sure from passenger to passenger. It depends on the servers you get (we've had some winners and some less than winners, both pre- and post- pandemic), what kind of expectations/frame of reference you come in with (do you eat at a lot of really nice restaurants at home?), and of course if any issues hit you specifically. A stinky room and COVID would be enough to lessen anyone's cruise experience. I'm surprised that no one was able to fix the room issue. That sucks -- but I'm going to hope that's an exception, not most people's experience. We, at least, have been generally happy with our cruises since the pandemic.