New to DCL, Leaving in 3 weeks, Any Must-Do's on the Wish - now a trip report

Disney Cruise Line
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Final Thoughts and Trip Wrap-Up

Disembarkation was super smooth. We were up at 6, finished packing, grabbed a quick bite from Marceline Market (only one side was open), and went back to our stateroom. At 7:07, they called for express walk-off passengers. We literally walked from our stateroom, off the boat, through customs, and were on a DCL bus at 7:24. Easy as pie. Once on the bus, we waited about 30 minutes for it to fill up and got to MCO at 9:00. Our flight was at 12:35 so we were in no hurry. However, knowing all of this, I would have instead booked the 10:20 flight and taken an Uber to the airport. We could have been at the airport by 8:30 if we hadnā€™t had to wait for the bus to fill.

Other thoughts:

  • We enjoyed having later dining. 5:45 would have felt extremely early and we would not have been hungry.
  • Prior to the cruise, in the app, we requested a quieter table in "Special Requestsā€ Other options included closer to the action, to not share a table, and a few others. The quieter table was perfect. We were never in a tight grouping, and always sat just the two of us, and could still participate in the dining presentations. The dining rooms are noisy and crowded no matter what, but the quieter table was a way to have some personal space.
  • The ship tour was one of my very favorite things. It is a ā€œDonā€™t Missā€.
  • The weather was perfect. I do not think I would have enjoyed it as much in the summer heat.
  • Castaway Cay Adult only space was amazing. Plenty of space to spread out and enjoy the peaceful ocean setting.
  • The sofa bed was not comfortable. We ended up sharing the queen bed
  • I will definitely go on another DCL cruise. We are talking about what ship we should try next, and looking at 4 and 5 day itineraries.
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The Destiny was great! Unfortunately the fabulous storytellers we had have finished their contracts, but hopefully new ones who are just as good replaced them.

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Iā€™m glad you had such a wonderful cruise!!
I hope to try a Dream Class ship this year or next.
Sorry about the sofa bed That is one annoying thing about DCL - not being able to separate the King into two twins.

(If you love the cruising aspect, donā€™t be afraid to try other lines, too. Shhhhhhh.)

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Love your trip report! Thank you for sharing! I did a last minute booking as well for April! Looks like you had an amazing time! Do u recommend memory maker? Itā€™s pricey but I think convenience would be worth it and ability for pics of kids while they do the kids clubs?? I would appreciate your feedback!

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Not OP, but I splurged big time (for me) and did the memory maker and loved it. We DID make a point of queuing for pics each evening.

https://forum.touringplans.com/t/qwerty-s-once-a-decade-dcl-cruise-after-once-in-a-lifetime-tropical-storm/101740/220

https://forum.touringplans.com/t/qwerty-s-once-a-decade-dcl-cruise-after-once-in-a-lifetime-tropical-storm/101740/332

https://forum.touringplans.com/t/qwerty-s-once-a-decade-dcl-cruise-after-once-in-a-lifetime-tropical-storm/101740/348

Thatā€™s a few places I posted some.
https://forum.touringplans.com/t/qwerty-s-once-a-decade-dcl-cruise-after-once-in-a-lifetime-tropical-storm/101740/397

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I am excited for you! And the good news about a last-minute cruise is you donā€™t have to wait long to enjoy it!

I did purchase memory maker, and Iā€™m glad I did. We posed for pictures a couple of nights in the grand hall with backgrounds, and several places on castaway cay. Many of them turned out great, and Iā€™m glad I have them for the future.

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I love the photo package and anytime we plan to spend any time or effort on outfits or meeting characters we get it.

It wonā€™t include any photos of the kids in the kids club though, there are never photographers allowed in that space when itā€™s secure programming.

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