My wife and son arrived at Port Canaveral the night before our cruise. We stayed at the Radisson Hotel. The hotel was fair- the room wasn't as nice as we would have expected. Not very clean. We arrived at the ship at about 11:00 AM. the boarding was quick and efficient. As soon as you enter the waiting area- you are ushered to the registration area. Then if you desire can take pics with Disney characters. We boarded around noon and went straight to the Parrot Cay restaurant for lunch. Food and service good. We then went up on deck until our room was ready. As with all ships the "selling of drinks" begins immediately- We then went to our cabin. Since we were three people our cabin had one queen sized bed and a sofa bed. The bathroom is clearly the best design in the industry- one half has a sink and shower. The other side a toilet and shower. Makes it great if one person needs to shower and the other needs to use the bathroom. The shows in the main theatre were excellent- however they repeat the same main show for many years- Little to do for adults in the evenings- same selling of "priceless" artwork. Same bingo- Shopping on board very limited to Disney trinkets and apparel- we typically enjoy shopping at the ships shops- but bought nothing on this voyage. The cruise line pushes the Disney vacation club. They want you to buy into their timeshare like program. One activity we did enjoy was the movie in the movies theatre. They also have an above deck screen over the pool, but it wasn't really enjoyable in bad weather- perhaps they should build a retractable dome that would make the main pool and deck usable during bad weather. The restaurants were only fair to good- the best dinner was at the specialty restaurant Palo's. The highlight of the cruise was supposed to be a day at Castaway Key the private Disney Island. We had horrible rain that day- but the cruise line left the Island open and had nothing available to do during the day on board for the 99% of all guests that remained on board- poor planning. It was about mid-day when the cruise line realized nobody was going on the cold rainy island then planned some limited activities for the guests. Since we are seasoned sailors and have traveled on many cruise lines, the ship really doesn't stand up to the amenities and activities available on the bigger newer vessels. Disney is building a couple of new ships and it is time to do so.

The ship is best suited for first time cruisers or those with little children who love Disney- For those adults who aren't Disney freaks- perhaps another cruise line would be a better option. The cost of the Disney cruise is typically more expensive then some of the others so that should be another factor in making your decision.