u/Kali_404

I recently went on a family vacation on the Adventure ship for Disney Cruise lines, though all the ships will probably be just as good. We took a 7 day excursion through St.Thomas, Tortuga and the Disney Island Castaway Key. I will break my review in categories below:

Ship
- Beautifully designed and huge in scale, there is plenty of food for the eyes, The Disney imagineers come full force in design. Every resteraunt, bar, and theatre has its own theme and expertly achieved. Small easter eggs and hidden mickeys are throughout. I would highly recommend the tour they offer on ship, they show you a lot of things you otherwise might not know or could miss easily.

- One of my favorite spots was the haunted mansion bar. They have some wild drinks, and you can sit in there for a view hours and experience a ton of cool effects, like things showing up in the bar mirror, a ghost fish tank, changing portraits, props that move and react at times. Every once in a while the fish and paintings sing songs!

- the areas for kids were great, you could see all of them having a lot of fun, and they have movies going all around the ship along with plenty of events to keep them busy when not in the deck pools

- the adult area is placed well with great views. I spent a lot of time in the hot tub and infinity pool watching the water move by, socializing with others and enjoying some drinks. It was removed enough from the kid areas that it was pleasantly quiet in a lot of areas, just the odd spot here and there where you could hear the audio for the slide repeating, but it was faint enough for me to ignore.

- they have a really cool slide for all ages, it even peaks out of the boat perimeter a bit so you can see the water below you. They have a fun show as the slide lifts you up at the beginning that changes each day! It is worth riding at least once a day when able

- They did not have as many shops as I thought they would, but they had some good and unique to the cruise line items in a variety of styles, so there would be something for anyone.

- The rooms were well designed, the beds are nice and they have a pullout bed and murphy bed if you have kids with you in the room as well. Plenty of storage space for everyone's things. We had a balcony room and it was an amazing view and relaxing space away from everyone on the upper decks. When you have multiple rooms side by side like we did, they can open the sides so you can connect into one longer balcony and have more space as well.

Food

- As a celiac, food safety and variety were huge concerns when planning the trip. thankfully, the servers you have follow you from restaurant to restaurant as you rotate through the options on their dining schedule. This way they get to know you well and are incredibly helpful in helping navigate. Every night they would show me the next day's menu and I could choose most items, even if not marked gluten free, and they would make a gluten free version of it.

- For breakfast they would take your order the night before as well, and you could choose a sit down restaurant called 1923, or the buffet area. No matter where you went the food was excellent and safe

- If you miss dinner or leave before they can take your order for the next day there is no worry, they would still be able to make safe food, the wait time would just be a little longer in some cases.

- The buffet was well set up with lots of options. With allergies, you just talk to the manager at the front of the buffet area and they take your order or pull your preorder, and provide you a buzzer so you can return for your order when it was ready. For lunch, i would suggest arriving a bit earlier than the rest of your party, as i found this was the only time I would have to wait longer, depending on what I ordered as they make it fresh for you.

- The menu options had wide variety at each locatiion, with both well known and unique dishes. I enjoyed everything I got, and the staff were great if you wanted more or to switch out for a different meal if you ended up not liking what you had. We would always be struggling to eat our desserts with how full we got!

- They have a pirate night where they have a special pirate themed day, guests can dress up and they have special menus with fun pirate-like dishes

- I loved the gf dinner rolls they had, I would always ask to take some back to my room as a late night snack! They also make gf churros for pirate night, i wish i could have eaten them the whole trip! Their soft serve also had nice gf cones, and unique flavours that changed everyday along with the standard vanilla and chocolate options.

Staff

- All were pleasant and helpful at all times, many would get to know you and enjoy conversation and checking in on your stay. They encourage you to speak up if something is concerning you, and work hard to help in any instance.

- the manager would visit your table every dinner to check in as well, and were always fun to talk to

- I adored our 2 servers, who helped me feel so safe when eating. They helped me pick the best meal options, and would start bringing me extra buns without asking once they realized I liked taking some back to my room. They gave me a bunch when i left the ship as a parting gift. It was wonderful to get to know them over the week, they helped me really relax and enjoy myself.

- the cleaning staff were excellent, and they would leave fun towel animals and chocolates. They even tidy up your things, folding clothes left tossed out and whatnot. When passing them in the halls, they would always check on your preferences for the room and were happy to adjust and provide whatever was needed

Locations and Excursions
- The cruise line has multiple routes, so I can only speak on the one we took

- St. Thomas was beautiful. We did a snorkeling tour with an excellent boat crew that were hired by the company. They were funny and great about their safety walk through and teaching about the island and snorkeling area. I got to swim alongside a turtle and see a wide variety of coral and fish. I wish we could have stayed in the water longer! They made a lovely rum punch for the return trip, and it was so relaxing to feel the boat moving through the sunny waters with a nice drink in hand. Afterwards there was a large shopping area with a wide variety of souvenirs, clothing, jewelry, food, booze and more. I got a bunch of beautiful dresses for myself while there.

- Tortuga was also excellent. We did another snorkeling excursion to a beautiful nearby island, and this one had a separate stop at a small but beautiful beach! I couldn't pull myself away from getting to swim along such colorful schools of fish. This boat also serves rum punch on return and had fun nets you could lounge in and see the water race past below. The islands were beautiful and the crew were excellent at teaching some of the history and names for each area. We sadly did not have the time after this excursion to explore the land areas, but they looked beautiful with plenty of options from what I was able to see.

- The final stop was the disney private island called Castaway Key. It was absolutely gorgeous. They made me a gluten free lunchbox on ship for this stop that i could collect before hitting the beach areas and small shops they had on shore. I would suggest picking this up first before going to the adult area if you plan to go there, as it can take a long time to go back and forth otherwise. I befriended many of the lifeguards as i swam around! The adult area was beautiful, my only complaint was how shallow the water was in that area, at the furthest point you can go you can still stand. The kid-friendly and snorkeling spots had deeper waters for those who want a more authentic swim instead of lounging. They had some nice buffets, bbqs and shops throughout the island as well, and plenty to do. I spend most of my time just swimming and enjoying the people and sun.

I felt very safe on this trip, enjoyed so many different types of food, and made excellent memories with my family that i will cherish forever. I would highly suggest anyone to take this cruise, even if you don't have kids. It is fun for everyone and you will feel looked after by the staff.

My partner and I went to this resort back in March, and it was one of the most magical vacations I have ever taken. I will share my thoughts below by category:

Resort

-          Very clean, in the morning and late in the night you can see staff carefully taking care of every inch of the resort and pools, the room cleaners also do a fantastic job, I had no complaints

-          The pools were absolutely gorgeous, they have small pools for privacy when you want to relax away from most people, and they have the main pools where you can meet people, swim up to the bars and socialize. You can see the beach from the main pool, and the smaller pools have wonderful décor and fauna

-          The whole resort itself is beautifully designed, the front entryway where you first arrive is breathtaking, a perfect view of the ocean and resort, perfect photo spot!

-          The beach did struggle with some algae, something outside of the resorts control, the whole coastline struggled with it. They were very on top of removal to try to keep it as contained as possible. The beach area was still nice to relax on, but the seaweed smell could be a bit strong in the early mornings during clean up. You never smelt it by the resort pools though

-          They have a secret bar that is very fun to find. Don’t read the next sentence if you want to keep it a surprise. It is located at the pharmacy, and to find out the daily password, you can ask any staff member or participate in any event throughout the day, and the staff will let you know. Then go to the pharmacy and tell them, they will take you through a secret door.

-          The rooms themselves are beautiful, some rooms even have an outdoor bathtub to soak in the view along with! The bathrooms were stunning and spacious, with both a rainfall showerhead from the ceiling and a wand for more precise control, and a bench for comfort. The beds were comfortable and the pillows were fluffy, and they had a pillow menu if you prefer a different type

Food

-          I loved the restaurants, each beautifully designed and a wide variety of options

-         With celiac, so food safety was very crucial to me. The staff were excellent at this, the chef and manager would always come to the table to check on what I would like. As they learned my preferences, they would offer meals that weren’t even on the menu! Our final night, they created a unique 10 course meal just for us to thank us, it was the most beautiful night. I never got sick once, and they had plenty of variety in what I could have.

-          Their bar options are plentiful, and the bar tenders are so kind and happy to make whatever you desire any way you prefer

-          They have a 24 hour café that serves beverages as well as baked goods, chocolates, gelatos, fruit bowls, salads, and pastries. We both found them delicious. I loved going to see what lovely truffle they had that day, and took a bunch with me to the airport

-          Portions are gracious and staff are always happy to bring more when you love something a lot. I adored the coconut soup they had at their bamboo restaurant, and I would drink multiple bowls a day of it! They would give me extra chocolates whenever I asked, and as the week went on, I didn’t even have to ask as they got to know me and my preferences.

 

 

Staff

-          The kindest people, they were always pleasant and helpful, they get to know you over time and are happy to chat anytime

-          The event staff were especially outgoing, they knew how to pull people into the fun and keep laughter and spirits high

-          The restaurant staff were always incredibly attentive and helpful, your glass never hits empty and they are very good at helping navigate menus when you are unsure what to get

 

Events

-          We participated in the volleyball often, and the staff ran it well. There was plenty of room for experts and beginners alike, and the staff were great at keeping things friendly and fun

-          The show options had good variety, excellent singers, musicians and performers all around.

-          I especially loved the fire show they did at the beach, as well as some of the skill based shows where performers complete some excellent routines

-          If you stay more than a week, the shows can become a bit repetitive

It is a pricey choice to go, but if you are able to go, you will not be disappointed! And I have never felt safer eating in my life, nor had such personalized service and variety of options. The restaurants I went to the most were Bamboo and their Mexican themed ones, as they had the widest variety of options, but the other restaurants still had plenty of options as well, as did the cafe. 10/10 we plan to go again!