Streamlining the Disney Cruise

The Bride and I are big Disney fans. Well, that's not quite accurate. Like Samuel L. Jackson being a vegetarian in Pulp Fiction because his lady is, that's the way I started to be a Disney fan. The Bride is the real Disney maniac, but I have learned a real affection for the mania myself. The fact is Disney, more often than not, does it right when it comes to customer service and entertainment. In my household, usually around vacation time, there is an annual pilgrimage to Florida to worship at the altar of The Mouse. The parks have gotten kinda old for me after more than a dozen trips (although there is always something new), but my heart has found a home away from home on the Disney Cruise Line.

This is my happy place. I love the Disney boat, as I call it, no matter what ship of their fleet I'm on. And it's not just the idea of a cruise. I've done other cruises, but as I said, Disney does it right. And yes, I'm aware they are much more expensive than other cruise lines but in my opinion it's worth it. The care alone taken with the waitstaff that follows you from restaurant to restaurant on board filling your needs easily because they know you so well is a major plus.

We've just taken our seventh cruise with Disney and I was pleasantly surprised that the best had gotten better. With the newest and biggest ship, the Dream, they seem to have made strides to improve their already excellent service. Waiting for the buses at the airport to take you to the cruise ship has now become the place where IDs are checked and keys, etc. given out. When you arrive at Port Canaveral now, you get right on the ship whereas in the past, it could be an all-afternoon wait.

Another place where the streamlining has taken place is at Cabanas, the equivalent of what is a buffet on the other ships. On board the Dream, this restaurant is sooo big that lines are no longer needed. You just go up to any service area, get what you want and sit down. It's amazing to watch folks not used to this hit and run system stand and wait for someone to finish getting their food, not realizing the same item is also a few feet away.

It's not all good. The Disney Dream (and the Fantasy following it) can house almost twice as many passengers as the original two ships, the Wonder and the Magic. The crowds are evident. I couldn't read in the Atrium as I had on previous trips because of the constant echoing din of people talking. And never on the Wonder or the Magic was there ever the experience of people in your way when you were trying to get somewhere. Don't get me wrong, I loved the Dream, but from now forward I think I will prefer the smaller ships.

Those described above are just a few ways the Disney Cruise Line is getting better and making a great experience better. Yeah, in hindsight, the above might sound like a commercial, but just as with a review of a movie or TV series I love, I'm just spreading the word. Next time you're thinking cruise, think Disney, you might be talking just like me.