What's something you wish you'd done differently on your last cruise?

[DisneyKrayzie2]

On my next cruise I'm going to have breakfast in the available MDR instead of Cabanas.

Or you can do both. That's what I did on our last cruise, I get up and like to eat right away so I would go to Cabanas myself while the rest of the family got up and ready then I would join them for "second breakfast" at the MDR. maybe that's why I gained 10 pounds on that cruise.

 

[TestingH2O]

Roam the ship late at night when empty. I mean real late like 2am. I only managed to do it the first or second cruise but have not managed to do it since. Always too tired. Everything was lit but totally empty except for cleaning crew here and there. I was able to take the most amazing shots.

For early risers, this also works at 5:30/6:00 am. It always takes me a few days to get on vacation time so I usually take one quiet morning walk.

 

[Calantha]

is it the preparation? Is the food cold? Can anyone elaborate

My problem was Cabana’s food was more at lunchtime when they didn’t have a very good selection. (Although I have read it is back to the way it used to be.)

My general problem is more family related - keeping track of a picky 7 year old while trying to get food/carry food is a pain.

It was much more relaxing to just sit at the MDR and have everything brought to us.

Since DH will be with us in June, and we’ll be doing a lot more stuff, I fully expect to be at Cabana’s most mornings.

 

[Cheburashka]

Or you can do both.

I definitely can't do both.

 

[squirk]

My last cruise was right before the COVID lock-down, and it was my first time on a Classic ship. If I knew that I wasn't going to sail again for 27 months, I would have just taken the time to soak up more of everything the Wonder had to offer.

 

[cwis]

I’m really surprised that people show no love for Cabanas. We are going on our first cruise in July. As a vegetarian I prefer buffets for the choices. We looked at a YouTube video and the selection looks good……is it the preparation? Is the food cold? Can anyone elaborate? Thanks.

You probably know this already, DCL is pretty accommodating, even in MDRs. Don't hesitate to share your needs to your waiter or waitress.

 

[Lilsia]

I’m really surprised that people show no love for Cabanas. We are going on our first cruise in July. As a vegetarian I prefer buffets for the choices. We looked at a YouTube video and the selection looks good……is it the preparation? Is the food cold? Can anyone elaborate? Thanks.

The issue is that Cabanas is not a buffet at dinner time. It is only breakfast and lunch. For dinner, they will have a limited menu served meal. They section off and area and they seat and serve you. You can probably look up the menus online. The limited menu is why more people do not eat at Cabanas for dinner. Breakfast and lunch are fine. I have not really heard many complaints about Cabanas for those. Other then they could use a bit more options.

 

[auntlynne]

My answers will show that things went pretty well for me in April on the Magic:

1. Try the sea bass instead of Flynn Ryder entree in Rapunzel’s. I had never had either, but my choice was too much dry pork. Especially after enjoying the platter / charcuterie as an appetizer.

2. Palo: go with the Prix Fixe 4-course meal. After 7 months, they still did not know how to charge a Platinum for a free dinner (when my a la carte selections were $42). The night auditor corrected the charge, but it was a sour note to a lovely dinner. Also, should have ordered the arugula salad. I don’t like arugula, but the bite I tried was excellent.

3. I was tired and skipped Pirate Fireworks. Which meant I missed out on seeing those from the Dream across the water.

4. Discover Mickey waffles sooner. I haven’t been eating them for years. With strawberry compote and whipped cream, they are really nice. (Cabanas).

5. Do not leave food unattended at Serenity Bay BBQ. I covered mine with a plate while I went for a Coke. I had seen the bird sitting and watching. … But an upside down plate is no deterrent to a bird. He grabbed my steak, but it was too heavy to lift. That will be a funny memory for years to come. He didn’t budge as I yelled at him, either. CMs were very prompt with replacement food.

Hope your cruise has only minor “should have done” items, too.

 

[holula]

2. Palo: go with the Prix Fixe 4-course meal. After 7 months, they still did not know how to charge a Platinum for a free dinner (when my a la carte selections were $42). The night auditor corrected the charge, but it was a sour note to a lovely dinner. Also, should have ordered the arugula salad. I don’t like arugula, but the bite I tried was excellent

I did not have this issue on the Dream in November. We did a la carte and they applied the platinum discount with no issues.

We did spend more than the $45 a head though.

My must do next time is always relax more… I always end up trying to schedule too much on sea days and then don’t have much downtime. A book and a nap sounds perfect for my next cruise (well, maybe not that one as it’s the Norwegian Fjords.)

 

[auntlynne]

I did not have this issue on the Dream in November. We did a la carte and they applied the platinum discount with no issues.

We did spend more than the $45 a head though.

My must do next time is always relax more… I always end up trying to schedule too much on sea days and then don’t have much downtime. A book and a nap sounds perfect for my next cruise (well, maybe not that one as it’s the Norwegian Fjords.)

I was on the Dream in September - and didn’t have a problem, there, either. But I think I went over by $2. So it may be an “under” issue.

Magic - My niece had a problem with the auto gratuity being considered a service charge - not a tip - and was requested to pay a tip in addition. And this was what the manager was telling her. As though no part of the auto gratuity was to be considered as a payment to the waiter - it would be going directly to the company. That was quite a concept.

Days later, a manager from dining came and told her they were refunding money for all the trouble. We are the type that just want the process corrected so others don’t go through the same. Especially at the end of a relaxing meal.

 

[CamColt]

Since this thread has gotten bumped up since my last cruise I will add another. This however was a "I'm glad I did this, even though I almost didn't".

I'm not big on desserts on the ship as I am usually stuffed from dinner. I will get them most nights but just really pick at them for a taste. Some nights I skip it all together. At Palo Brunch I was completely stuffed and about ready to skip dessert. On a whim I said Id try the Amaretto Chocolate dessert (not even sure what exactly it was). It was delicious! I forced every bite of that in. Knowing how good it was I would have regretted not getting it. I will be sure to get it again...and this time save room for it.

 

[bayri]

Since it was my first cruise ever in December -- drink a LOT more water and bring more comfortable shoes! My feet had been so swollen for like a week or so after we got back home.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

I’m really surprised that people show no love for Cabanas. We are going on our first cruise in July. As a vegetarian I prefer buffets for the choices. We looked at a YouTube video and the selection looks good……is it the preparation? Is the food cold? Can anyone elaborate? Thanks.

As a kid, we always ate at buffets. They were cheap and an easy way for our whole family to get what they wanted. I have never had issues with the food quality in cabanas. For us, sitting down and being served at a table is vacation. Every time we go to sit down breakfast, the meal (while usually a bit slow for breakfast) is much more relaxed. No kids running around. No one constantly walking around the table.

We pre pay our gratuities on the cruise as its easier. Every single time we have added additional gratuities to match the service. If a relaxing sit down breakfast is included in the cruise faire, I will eagerly take advantage as that is what makes a vacation complete for us.

Some prefer the atmosphere and options of cabanas. Now that the buffet is more back to normal, I'm sure more and more options will open up making cabanas more attractive than it was during the re-opening period and more people will gravitate that way which is totally fine.

Really what it boils down to is what is best for you and what makes YOUR vacation complete.

(Oh. and this is the additional "Don't order the Belgan waffle from the breakfast menu in the MDR's." Reminder: It is truly terrible.)

 

[Jenlynn3]

I'm glad you had a good experience - I'm honestly too exhausted to rehash it all. We sailed Christmas also and it was a totally different experience. Biggest issues for us were lack of options for teens, lack of mask compliance and lack of information being shared by DCL as to what they were doing to remedy both of those issues. It also was not festive, which I expected on a cruise that includes New Year's Eve. Even the staff were shocked they took down all the decorations. One disorganized New Year's Eve night does not make up for everything else that was missing.


We booked it almost 2 years ago (which means no discounts for us and it was a VERY expensive cruise). I do not feel it was anywhere close to worth what we paid. Maybe if we had gotten a steep discount on it, we wouldn't be as disgusted by it all.

My girls were 17 and 18 when we were on the Fantasy 5 years ago, pre covid, they got bored real easy. Thank goodness they had their cousins same age with them