I'm currently planning a Merrytime cruise that will fall on my child's birthday (new years).

Do the post-Christmas Merrytime cruises keep the festivities going throughout? Will they be taking stuff down during our cruise?

I'm just curious!

Im looking to get opinions on things to see and things to avoid before I book an Alaskan cruise for my honeymoon.

Im looking for the good, the bad, and the ugly. Although im sure on a Disney cruise its hard to have a bad time!

I go cruising with my family frequently on multiple cruise ships. This was our 10th cruise with Disney and first on the Destiny.

ITINERARY: The ship made stops at Disney Lookout Cay, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Phillipsburg, St. Maarten with 3 days at sea. Lookout Cay was cute and it's only about a 15-20 minute walk, but doing it in the blaring sun did end up affecting my mom's medical condition. I heard lots of complaints about the walk to and from the ship, mainly from older people who were not able to catch the shuttle, so if you are unsure if you can handle the walk, jump on that shuttle as soon as possible just to be safe. The water was beautiful here and lots of marine life! I didn't get off at San Juan on this cruise, mainly because I am Puerto Rican and visit frequently, but I can tell you that Puerto Rico is beautiful and there's lots of things to do. If you want to try some authentic food, I highly recommend Cafetería Mallorca near the port! They have great food and of course, Mallorcas (sweet bread pastry that's usually filled with ham or cheese and topped with powdered sugar). And if you're a coffee drinker, go pick up some REAL Puerto Rican coffee, not Bustelo. St. Maarten was beautiful and my parents did a 5-hour tour going shopping and sight seeing and going to the airport to watch the airplanes land. I just stayed on the beach and be warned, one half is French territory so be careful of taking pictures or you may capture someone's behind.

OVERALL LAYOUT AND DESIGN: I don't believe there was any clear themeing on this ship. It almost reminded me of the Disney Riviera Resort in Orlando with how generic and bland it looked. Aside from a few themed carpets, paintings, and outer rims of ceiling lights, I mainly just saw white and light blue. As far as bars and lounges go, there was nothing that really stood out about them except for De Vil's and The Haunted Mansion Parlor, however, the Saga downstairs area wins the award for most uncomfortable chairs I have ever sat on.

STATEROOM: We always get a Verandah Stateroom, which I highly recommend! It is so relaxing to sit outside and feel the wind and hear the ocean. While I didn't see any animals near the ship this time except for two turtles, there have been occassions where we saw dolphins jumping nearing the ship on our balcony! I also like how it's private so you can enjoy seeing the water without having to hear the chaos on deck 11. The room was Hercules themed and actually pretty big. My dad said we happened to get a longer room by luck so that was definitely a plus (I'm messy). There is lots of closet and shelf space and I loved that the toilet and shower were separate. The last Disney Cruise I took was almost 2 years ago and I must know, are these giant showers a new thing? This shower was the biggest one we had ever seen in all of our cruising experience and also turns into a tub?! I'm not sure if all of the staterooms other than Verandah's have this, but I love it.

ENTERTAINMENT AND ACTIVITIES: There were showings of many movies including The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Toy Story 5 and the Frozen and Hercules musicals were performed multiple times in the Walt Disney Theater. Frozen was great, but in the mixed reviews of the Hercules performance, I am among the negative ones. It seemed that Hades was trying to do too many different levels and land a joke with every line that was spoken. He even messed up a line in the beginning of the performance! The actor for Hercules sounded like he was chasing the music and said basically every line in the same tone of voice. We were also disappointed that they changed "Go the Distance" to a more modern beat that the actor's voice did not pair well with. Every other actor and singer was amazing, especially the Muses and Pain and Panic! I also really enjoyed the use of big puppets for the monsters. Other than this, it felt like there was nothing fun to do while on the ship especially when we had 3 sea days! Don't get me wrong, I love trivia and game shows as much as the next person, but if you aren't a drinker, dancer, or shopper, you'd better start studying for every kind of Disney trivia imaginable and be prepared to do it in a small area with a small amount of seats where grown adults are rude to children over a plastic medal (shoutout to The Sanctum and Triton's Lounge and that one woman who got upset at a teenager for being better than her at ballet during "Heard That?" and was complaining about it the whole cruise whenever we happened to walk past her!) The real stars of this cruise was Eric Jones and Jonathan Burns. Eric Jones is a spectacular magician and never failed to make the audience laugh. He even called my mom up at his smaller show in Saga and she still has the card! Jonathan Burns is HILARIOUS! His act is so stupid that it's funny and he's very interactive with the audience. We saw his main performance in the Walt Disney Theater and then saw his 18+ version in Saga. Sidebar: why are so many 18+ activities held in Saga when the upstairs has open windows and kids walk by making noise and hearing what is being said in the event the whole time?

SERVICE/DINING: The service is always great and pretty consistent with DCL. We loved our stateroom attendant, Stacey. In all of our cruising experience she was by far the most attentive and friendly one we have ever had, though all of them have been great. Our servers were Boris and Gustav and they pretty much knew our tastes and frequent orders by the second night without us having to tell them. If anyone happens to sail soon and gets Boris as their server, cherish him and his great service as he is leaving soon!

The main dining locations on this ship are Worlds of Marvel, Pride Lands: Feast of the Lion King, and 1923. My family and I enjoyed the Worlds of Marvel restaurant. It has interactive trivia and screens for small shows they do and character appearances. The first night we got Spider-Man, though I do have to say for Disney, it gave uncle playing Spider-Man for a child's birthday party costume-wise, but he remained in character and actually sounded like Tom Holland's Spider-Man. Other than a nasty steak one night, it was great. While I enjoyed the concept for Pride Lands, the placement of the stage was unfortunate and the performance that they were hyping up wasn't that good. If you also have a family of picky eaters as I do, this restuarant might not be the best option for you. 1923 was fine. The one thing I will say is that the walkway's are so narrow in such a fast paced environment that we witnessed a woman at the table next to us get hit on her HEAD with a plate and the covering as it fell off a server's carrying tray when two servers ran into each other. I usually love the buffet's on cruises as I've always felt that there was something new to choose from every day, but Marceline Market was pretty much the same thing every day except for different pastas and desserts. I also felt that they were a little stingy with the food considering it is an all-you-can-eat buffet. I had one woman give me a plate of 11 NOODLES (yes, I counted) with a full pot of them. Unfortunately, I'm a little shy so I just thanked her and came back later hoping I would be able to get more and I got pretty much the same size serving. I highly recommend you check out the quick service restaurants on deck 11, especially Donald's Cantina and Mickey's Smokestack Barbecue (I ate here way too much).

OTHER THINGS TO MENTION:

Characters: There are lots of photo opportunities with characters. We saw Chip and Dale, Mickey, Tiana, Belle, and Rapunzel and Flynn were walking around during the Captain's Reception. The lines were pretty long but we expected that.

Teen/Children Behavior: Obviously, Disney is family oriented so it's to be expected that lots of children will be there. However, on this cruise, it's like the parents forgot they were parents for a week. Small children were runing rampant around the ship, kicking chairs, bumping into people and the parents wouldn't say ANYTHING. If you have seen anything or were on the Destiny this past week, you have probably heard about the terrible behavior of the teenagers on the ship. I didn't have a lot of interactions with them except for them running back and forth in the hallway and yelling at 11:30 pm but I heard some horror stories from a few people on the ship. Of course, I don't believe this is a DCL issue, more of a parenting issue.

DCL App: I'm not sure if this was just us but my family and I had really slow sending messages on the DCL app, but let me know!

Overall, I rate this ship a 3/5. I would go on this ship again, but probably not my first choice. Let me know what you think!

If you’re on the Wonder, be careful… there’s Norovirus going around. My husband and I both got it and were down for a solid 24H.

Not sure how we got it since we are both insanely obsessive about handwashing, but we did notice they were cleaning the bathroom outside of the Cadillac lounge with what smelled like the chemical they use when someone vomits, so I’m assuming we picked it up there.

Godspeed everyone.

Going on a 4 night very merry time cruise in December on the Wish with a 3.5 year old and an almost 1 year old. Splurged on concierge. Only one stop at lookout cay. It seems like there are so many options for things to do! We don’t want to overload ourselves and I am trying to figure out what are the must do activities, especially if they require advance booking (or require a nursery spot which we are booking in advance). What should we prioritize (especially for first Disney cruise) and what is fine to skip?

Our baby is chill and our toddler is very energetic, potty trained, loves princesses/music/shows but is also pretty clingy so probably won’t stay at oceaneers alone. I’m a little stressed with the 10 hour nursery limit since our baby goes to bed at 7pm and we will need to use the nursery to take our toddler to shows each night. Appreciate any suggestions!

Hubby and I will be doing our first back to back cruises in October this year.
Now that Disney has decided that we only require one bottle of wine for seven nights each (sigh 😢- it’s like they don’t know me at all 😂) I am wondering if we purchase 2 bottles during the first cruise at one of the ports, can we pick them up between the two cruises for the second sailing?

Our booking window just opened up for our 5 night Destiny and I was surprised to find several family Cabanas available at Castaway Cay and one cabana at Serenity Bay. There were zero cabanas at Lookout Cay. I don’t have a lot of interest in booking a Cabana, but I always like to check (I’d consider booking one at Serenity Bay at Lookout Cay if they were ever available, but I’ve never seen one within my booking window).

As far as I could tell, everything else was pretty much available for booking … I was just interested in Palo dinner, but I spent a lot of time clicking around to see what was open.

Help! I am planning to book my first Disney cruise (me+hubby+4yrold). 3 nights November 2026. Should I do deluxe ocean view (Forward Decks 7 or 8 or midship Deck 2)? Decks 7/8 have slanted portholes. Or should I consider interior options (Forward Decks 5-8/Aft Deck 9)?

Just got off the Destiny on the 7 night Eastern Caribbean itinerary with stops at Lookout, San Juan, and St. Maarten. This was our 8th cruise, first on the Destiny.

Couple of things we liked, and a few we didn’t.

This was by far our favorite itinerary we’ve ever done. Lookout was beautiful (we actually prefer it over Castaway), and San Juan and St. Maarten were both incredible port days. Highly recommend both ports if you can find either of these — both are rare ports for DCL to call on, though San Juan shows up on a few of the Eastern and Southern Caribbean sailings. The Destiny is actually sailing this itinerary again in mid December and again in early 2027. In San Juan we did a Viator car tour which was easy and nice, and we just grabbed a water taxi to the main beach on the St. Maarten day. Both ports are pretty good ones for multigenerational families with kids and older parents.

Honestly, we didn’t care for the Destiny’s theming at all. In fact, it’s our least favorite atrium/grand hall of the 5 ships we’ve sailed on…by far. Between the Vibranium chandelier which looks plastic, the wallpaper around the awnings of the 4th and 5th decks, the blank walls and minimalist furniture, the whole area just felt overly bland and sterile. It just doesn’t feel like a Disney Cruise ship lobby at all. The stage is basically one giant white wall. It feels like a huge step down from the Treasure (and Wish, for that matter), which has all sorts of textures, plants, tile mosaics, vibrant colors, a beautiful chandelier, and tells a story.

DeVil’s is a great pub, probably our favorite on the Wish class in that location just off the Grand Hall, and our favorite DCL lounge after the Haunted Mansion Parlor.

Frozen was a great show, and the advanced theater tech of the newer ships uplevels the experience from the older ships. We didn’t catch Hercules, though we heard mixed reviews. We also got to see Toy Story 5 in the Walt Disney Theater, which was cool.

The staterooms (theming aside), pool deck, shops, and general amenities are all effectively the same as they are on the Wish and Treasure. Nothing really to note that is better, worse, or different.

In terms of MDRs, it has the standard 1923 and Worlds of Marvel that are on every Wish class ship. We didn’t particularly like the Pride Lands restaurant. IMO, this feels like a bit of a miss by DCL in terms of theming and cuisine, especially compared to Coco or even Arendelle. It’s not really a retelling of the Lion King nor does it have the characters (as do Frozen and Coco), and the food wasn’t very good (again, IMO).

Our main dining team was the best we’ve had in 8 cruises. Shoutout to Sheldon and Lin, who were both fantastic. We hardly ever saw our head server which was somewhat odd, but we didn’t really care.

Our stateroom attendant was far and away the worst we’ve ever had. Every other one we’ve had on 7 prior sailings has been great. We hardly ever saw or interacted with him, he barely cleaned the room, and never even put up the pull down bunk beds or sofa in the mornings, and never put out the bunk ladder, which I kept having to pull out of the closet at night. We just laughed it off. Mid-cruise we found out he was leaving the ship after only having been onboard for a month, so it’s probably one of those “it didn’t work out” situations.

Our daughter has somewhat aged out of Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, so we did the Untangled Salon instead. She did a wash and curl and absolutely loved it. My son got a haircut in Hook’s Barbery, and they do a great job for a good price for kids cuts. Highly recommend both.

Palo dinner was great as always. The Osso Bucco is 👌🏼. We weren’t able to nab a brunch because we booked late.

Maybe it’s just me, but something we found odd was that there were almost no trash cans anywhere in the main areas of the ship on decks 3-5. It’s so unlike the rest of the ships where there are trash cans in every corner and fairly ubiquitous. We found ourselves having to walk long ways or go to a bathroom to throw a coffee cup or bits of trash away. Just a weird choice, or almost like they forgot to put them around. Felt like twice a day I was wondering around decks 3-5 muttering “WTF where are the friggin trash cans??”

Apparently our cruise was somewhat notorious for the number of unruly teenagers, and there have been several posts on here and on the Facebook group of people saying they’ve never experienced anything like
this. My son did witness a fist fight between some Edge and Vibe kids in Hero Zone that became a big deal onboard, and there were tons of reports of bullying and issues in the tween and teen clubs. It’s worth noting that it did seem like the kids on this sailing skewed much older, especially compared to our previous cruises. We never had a line to check our daughter into or out of Oceaneer’s Club, and she said there just weren’t many kids in there at all.

At the end of the day, we loved the itinerary but didn’t really care for the Destiny. We most likely won’t book this ship again unless there’s another great itinerary similar to this one.

About us: We’re a family of 3 (mom and dad in our 30s, and 2yo girl). This was our 5th DCL sailing, and first time on the Magic. 2nd time sailing to Alaska, but first on DCL, and first time in Alaska with a toddler. 

Embarkation: We had an 11:30am port arrival time, and everything went about as perfectly as possible. Arrived around 11:20am, and was on the ship at 11:55am. Very smooth and easy to navigate. 

Room: We had a standard inside room on deck 6 forward. We booked relatively last minute (in January) when the Canadian resident discounts for Alaska were announced. We already had 3 other DCL trips planned for this year, so we went with the cheapest room. I was a bit worried because everyone says a balcony is essential for Alaska, and don’t get me wrong, it would have been nice, but inside room ended up being totally fine. I was also worried it would be too tight with the pack and play and stroller, but it was tolerable. I’m looking forward to when my daughter is out of the pack and play though!

Main dining: I think this was my favourite rotational dining (previously been on Dream, Fantasy, and Wish). The shows at Animators Palate and Rapunzels were fantastic. The characters at Rapunzels actually come to your table and stay for a moment to talk/take pictures!! I wish they did this on the Wish class ships. As far as food quality, I enjoyed almost everything. There were a few small let downs (the fry bread at Rapunzels was hard as rock, and the Flynn Rider Trio was really tough). Service team was one of the best we’ve had, and super quick! We were always finished within an hour. We waited around to see the end of the shows after we finished eating, on nights with shows. This was nice because we could actually watch the shows without being distracted. 

Quick service: I only tried the shawarma once, but it was decent. Nothing amazing, but fine. Same goes for the other quick service (pizza, burgers, etc). Unfortunately the fries were often cold. I drank many hot chocolates, and they were really good! 

Shows/entertainment: We weren’t a big fan of Twice Charmed, but glad we got to see it. Tangled and Disney Dreams were both great, and we also had one of the Broadway Stars Series on our sailing (Adam J Levy and Sydnee Winters). It was a bit cheesy, but good. Best though was the Frozen Deck Party! I wish there were more sing-along parties. 

Characters: There were way more free roaming characters on this sailing compared to our prior sailings. I’m not sure if this is because it was a 7-night (our prior sailings were all 5-nights or less), or just random. But it was great! One day while walking to the Oceaneers Lab, my daughter and I ran into 4 characters in 10 minutes! Koda was also there on Glacier Day, but only very briefly with no scheduled times. 

Glacier viewing: We did every character in their Alaska gear in the morning. I was the designated line-waiter for my family lol. Lines were long, but not insane. They went quickly. No autographs, and limit of 2 pictures per family. I recommend lining up at least 30 minutes in advance for these photos. We arrived late to the glacier around 6:30pm due to a change in itinerary the night before (had to stop in Prince Rupert for a medical emergency). It was FREEZING on the top deck, but beautiful. Definitely pack layers, hat, and mitts. This was the coldest day by far. 

Skagway: We did Liarsville Disney Exclusive in Skagway. Overall it was good for young kids, and just the right length of time for my toddler. Heads up in the buffet, they don’t have salmon. They do the salmon bake AFTER you’ve gotten all your buffet food, probably so people fill up on the cheaper food and don’t eat as much salmon. They also didn’t announce when the salmon was ready, so I think lots of people didn’t even realised they could get some, and then it was time to leave. So if you want salmon, don’t eat too much from the buffet!

Icy Straight Point: We did the mammal and whale watching tour through Disney. I was a bit worried because I saw some negative reviews about it being crowded and a huge boat. But it was honestly great! Yes it’s a big boat, but it never felt crowded. We saw orcas, humpbacks, seals, and otters. I liked that the top deck was also enclosed, but had huge windows for easy sightseeing. There’s an outdoor platform too, but we preferred indoors with a toddler. In the afternoon, my daughter went to nursery and my wife and I did the zip rider. I wish more instructions had been given prior to the zip rider, because it would have saved us from wasting time. The check-in point is at Wilderness Den, which is after the first gondola. We mistakenly assumed that after check-in, we’d be going up the second big gondola as a group with the excursion, and therefore wouldn’t be able to explore the top of the mountain. This is not the case. After you check-in, you’re on your own. You go up the gondola alone, and your ride time is actually 30 minutes later, so you have time to explore. So we went to the top of the mountain, came back down to check-in, and then went back up again and had to wait more. If we’d known the process, we would have spent more time at ground level exploring the shops, and just gone up the gondola once. 

Ketchikan: We booked the Disney Exclusive Lumberjack show. I would not recommend it for toddlers. It is LOUD. It also only started about an hour after the ticket time. The ticket time is for when the doors open, but good luck getting a seat together if you don’t show up early. Waited an hour for the show to start, and then left 10 minutes into it because it was too unbearably loud for our toddler. I read a lot of reviews before booking, and I’m surprised I never came across this mentioned in anything I read. Exploring the rest of the town was fun. We’d been here before, but walking Creek Street never gets old. We also tried Jellyfish Donuts, which were very tasty!

Nursery: As always, the staff were amazing. There must not have been many infants on the ship, because nursery was almost always empty. Our daughter went every night for 2 hours so we could go to the shows, and she was often the only kid there. Crazy compared to previous sailings where we could hardly get a spot. They did tons of crafts, watched movies, and had 2 surprise character visits (they even gave us a Polaroid picture of her and Pluto in nursery!). 

Kids clubs open house: There were many open houses everyday, which was great. We checked out every club, and my daughter had a blast. She especially loved the Captains Deck in the Oceaneers Club. 

Palo Brunch: This was our first time ever trying Palo, and I understand now why people rave about it. Food and service were phenomenal, probably a highlight of the trip. 

Canada Day: We were onboard for Canada Day, and Cabanas had a Canadian spread at lunch! Maple chicken, salmon, poutine (!!!), Nanaimo bars, potato salad, etc. They also had Canadian trivia and crafts, and played Turning Red on Funnel Vision. As a Canadian family, I thought this was really sweet. Unfortunately we missed it due to nap time, but one of the passengers also organized an informal get-together for Canadian passengers to celebrate. 

Facebook group / Fish Extenders: We did kids, adults, and recipe fish extender. I was blown away by the things we received, people were so generous and thoughtful. In previous sailings, I feel like we gave way more than we received (which we were fine with, we enjoy the exchanges). So we were shocked we received so many gifts this time! My daughter loved finding things in the fish extender. Our Facebook group also had a WhatsApp chat which was incredibly helpful for sharing tips / wildlife sightings / character sightings (like Koda!) / food recommendations. 

Disembarkation: Also super smooth! We took our time because our flight wasn’t until 12:30pm. Got up at 7:30am, out of the room by 8am and went to Cabanas. They don’t advertise it, but it is open until 8:30am. Had breakfast and slowly made our way off the ship. There was basically no line when we exited at 8:40am, and we were on the SkyTrain to the airport by around 9:15. 

Didn’t experience: Any of the adult shows, bingo, alcohol, trivia, magician, pools/slides (too cold for us - but some people ventured in!)

First-time Disney cruiser here looking for some advice.

We've only done Royal Caribbean a couple of times, and that was years ago. We have three kids: a 6-year-old boy, a 4-year-old girl, and a 1-year-old boy.

We're trying to decide between the Disney Fantasy (Nov. 1–6) and the Disney Destiny (Nov. 2–7).

Both cruises have essentially the same itinerary, so the ship itself is really the deciding factor for us.

While the Destiny fare is higher, flights from our city to Orlando are much more expensive than flights to Miami that week, so when everything is added up, both vacations end up costing about the same.

One thing I've noticed while looking at available cabins is that the Destiny seems to be selling very well and may end up around 90% full, while the Fantasy looks closer to 70% full (just my estimate based on what's left).

For those of you who have sailed Disney before:

• Which ship would you choose for a family with kids ages 6, 4, and 1?
• Does the newer ship experience on Destiny outweigh the advantages of Fantasy?
• How much difference does ship occupancy actually make in terms of crowds, elevators, pools, character lines, kids clubs, and overall enjoyment?
• If the total trip cost and itinerary were basically identical, which ship would you pick and why?

Would love to hear from anyone who has sailed both or has experience cruising Disney with young kids. Thanks!

We had an amazing cruise and experienced so much of what the Destiny has to offer over this past week. I may do a separate post reviewing the ship if it makes sense, but for now - ask away! We experienced the Destiny’s first visits to San Juan and St. Maarten, saw Lookout Cay for the first time, took in so many wonderful shows and character interactions, and yes, heard all about the unruly teenagers. Let me know what you’re wondering!

Just booked on the Wonder 7 day to Alaska for 2027. Very excited and looking for a few insights.

Has anyone ever stayed in room 8598 or this part of the ship? I have seen concerns about noise from the ship, and from the floor above.

Would love recommendations for excursions, i've seen a lot about family stuff but we will be just 2 adults.

I have seen things about formal nights, pirate/frozen night, captains night? I don't see anything on the app about our itinerary, it's probably too early before our cruise, but just wondering what to expect. Do we need formal clothes or special part outfits?

Thanks in advance!

I miss DCL. lol.

Celebrity just isn’t the same. The food, the service, the people are all a step down from DCL.

My daughter went to the teens club on ship and they make the kids participate in the planned activities. If they don’t, they can’t stay in the teens club. She wasn’t allowed to just chill in a corner, decompress and read her book. So lame.

Still having a blast being in Japan off ship and seeing amazing things!

Just got off the 7 night Eastern Caribbean itinerary.

TLDR I’d give it a 9/10, excellent experience, would love to sail it again.

Overall experience:

Ship was clean and well maintained. I loved the stairway murals. I suspect if you’re a Marvel fan, you’ll like it. If you want more of the princess elegance, you might not. A lot more of the character appearances are Marvel themed compared to other ships. A lot of people on board; seemed the busiest of any cruise I’ve been on.

Cast and crew:

We had nothing but good experiences with every CM we interacted with. Table hosts were super helpful and great with kids (kept the chocolate milk and bread coming non stop, haha). Room attendant wasn’t around much, but he did ask when we planned to be out so he could prep the room.

Food:

The theme restaurants were fun. We had already experienced Worlds of Marvel and 1923 from the Treasure. (First Marvel night is a short film and a surprise live cameo at the end, second night is fun 70s and 80s music and trivia with the device on the table). Pride Lands was a nice addition, if you like Southern African cuisine you’ll love it. The first night’s entertainment was just a drum show, no vocals. Second night was a mix of live drumming and the LK stage musical.

Overall, trust your table server’s recommendations - they know what the most popular dishes are.

Venues:

Sanctum is cool, again, if you’re a Marvel fan. Drinks are good. Cask and Cannon has a lot of great rum options and they usually have sports on. Got to watch a Mexico game. De Vil’s is a fun theme, as is Haunted Mansion, didn’t try anything in either place though.

Live entertainment:

Seas the Adventure is a fun, short musical revue. The performances are fun.

Frozen was really, really well done - nailed the casting and practical effects. Third time I’ve seen the show, and this was far and away the best performance.

I was a little disappointed with Hercules. The music and sets were great, but the material, particularly the jokes, were more suited to an animation medium. The climax of the show felt rushed, too, probably for the same reason - hard to pull off in a stage format, and had to cut for time.

In my pre-cruise fever, I've been watching a lot of videos about the cruising industry. Official documentaries from Disney, business journalism, and analysis from smaller independent creators.

The stuff that I've found that is not created by Disney (or Disney mega fans/travel agents), tends to focus on Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Norwegian as the giants of the industry. They talk about how they needed to make cruising family friendly by offering better activities for kids, more dining options, creating private islands destinations, etc.

Then I go watch the official Disney accounts. Castaway Cay launched with the Magic (I thought it was at least a decade later). Rotational dining was their concept (and while no other cruise does it, RC prides that they have 12+ restaurants on board). The first ship water slide. The first and only cruise line to do fireworks at sea (they freaking invented fireworks that turn to fish food when it hits the water???).

So many of the non-Disney content talks about how cruising changed in the early to mid 2000s, but they never mention the Disney ships that launched before the new millennium. It really seems like Disney is setting the standard at which everyone has to play, even though they have such a small share of the market.

(Repost for language.)