2. Everybody above 21 can bring a 9x14x21 bag full of alcohol on board. That is a lot of wine or hard stuff. $20 corking fee at a restaurant sucks, but brings the cost of good bottles to way lower than you would ever pay for in any decent restaurant (or drink it in your room for free). The say you can’t drink your own on deck, but they never say anything unless you bring the actual bottle with you. Bar prices are cheaper than bar prices in NYC, so for me it’s a discount. It’s a matter of perspective here.

3. I agree. But, chairs are not allowed to be reserved on Disney cruises and staff members actively remove items designed to “reserve” the chairs. Finding a couple of chairs takes a few minutes, but is always possible. Groups larger than 2, probably not unless all you want to do is sit on your stupid chair from morning ’till night. The adults only lounge areas are way less crowded. I also noticed that just getting in the hot tub (adults only section) that has a group in it will encourage the group to disperse more quickly. You almost always get some quiet time if you just go for it and deal with the crowd for a few minutes.

4. It’s a Disney cruise; filled to the hilt with kids. Sorry man, but a leisurely talk with a Disney character was never an option. You can take you own photos for free (other people will always take your picture with your camera if you ask). I would never in a million years pay the kind of money they want for the pictures. In their defense, the prices are pretty much the going rate for all cruise lines. The character breakfast gets you some personal time with them without having to wait in line.

5. Sorry you felt this way. I did not have that experience at all. All I got was smiles and all and the best conversations I had on the cruise was with a bartender at the cigar bar and he was from Polynesia. The cleaning and room service staff were friendly, but kept their distance. It’s a 5-star hotel approach (smile, give good service, don’t ever bother the guests), so they are supposed to be sort of unnoticeable.

6. What you did in St. Maarten is what I do on every cruise. Never pay for the overpriced and usually stupid excursions and never go visit the shop section. Learn a bit about the area your going to and do what you want. If it’s Prince Edward Island, then find the best oyster bar and try every type of oyster they have. If it’s Grand Caymen, get a taxi to a full service beach and have drinks delivered to your cabana. Disney cruise is still a cruise ship. They’re going to use the same excursion packages as all other cruise lines that port in the same places.

7. It’s a boat. It’s going to rock. That is an inevitable part of being on a cruise. If it really bothers you, then cruises are not for you. I would suggest an all-inclusive resort in Barbados as a better option for you. For me, I find the rocking noticeable for the first few hours and then I can’t really tell that it’s moving unless I stop and think about it hard. I don’t get seasick like others do, though.

8. There is a nursery for ages 3 months to 3 years at $6.00 per hour. Ages 3 and up has two large areas on the ship dedicated to them exclusively. There is all day (up to midnight each night) supervised activities and games. Older kids have lounge areas exclusive to them, as well. I don’t understand why you are complaining about this one. You don’t have to see your kids from morning until midnight if you don’t want to. If you absolutely must have private daycare, then bring a teenage son or daughter (one that is really trusted, of course) from one of your friends to watch your kids for a defined number of hours each day (you get to choose the times for each day). A free cruise for 4-6 hours of daycare a day is something all teenagers will jump at. That leaves half the day for them to do what they want. I know several people who have done this. You can assign nap times, leave them at the pool, … whatever. No cruise on the planet that I know of offers private daycare.

9. I disagree. The food is not bad. I’m a serious food person, so I won’t go as far as to say the food is worth the premium paid for it. But, this is not small table private dining style. It’s catering food, where hundreds of people are being served at once. That means warming trays and quality sacrifices. Ask any chef and they’ll agree that catering means compromise. Disney does a really good job of trying to compromise as little as they can. For $20 per person, upgrade to Palo and get a really good meal for the price (because now you’re sitting in a small restaurant that is serving a lot less people). Or go even better and get a great meal at Remy’s. Also, your kids are allowed to eat anything they want. My 4 year old daughter always chooses off the adult menu, the kids menu is only brought to the table for the coloring activities. If your watching them eat chicken fingers or mac and cheese every night, it’s because you’re letting them eat it. Don’t blame the cruise line for that. One thing I do is have the waiter bring an extra plate and portion the sizes for my daughter appropriately. Our server caught on by day 2 and had the meals proportioned for her ahead of time from then on.

10. It sounds like you hate Disney films and Disney philosophy. Why did you bother to book a cruise with Disney then? But anyways, this was mostly complaining about alcohol again. There is no possible way that $135 was spend on two beers and a glass of whiskey. Something is wrong with your statement or they billed you wrong. Good deals can easily be found: For $20 bucks you can buy a refillable 20 oz. beer mug that allows you to buy refills at $5.69 each. At 20 oz., that’s cheaper than my local pub. Ask for the drink of the day at the bar to be served in a regular cup and you are charged $4.54. Your average mixed or neat hard liquor drink is $6-9 dollars. If your drinking 20 yr. old port or ordering Glen Livet 18 yr., then expect $20 prices like any other restaurant. Again you can bring your own alcohol on board. Most restaurants charge about 2-3 times the price of a bottle’s cost for home consumption. So, buying a cheap bottle on the cruise is the most economical. Otherwise, bring your favorite vintage bottle on board and pay the $20 to have it opened at your table. That can save you literally $100 or more for good bottles.

Somebody is going to complain about my post. Whatever makes you feel better. What I’m trying to get at is that a lot of it is a matter of perspective and that pre-planning really pays off. A lot of the complaints could have been avoided. If you are the type of person that has a hard time letting go and going with the flow, then a Disney cruise is going to seem like an overpriced personal hell. But, I find the experience is well worth the money and a google search easily shows that I am hardly alone in this opinion. Just know that cruises are not for everybody.