I joined my Sister, Niece & husband, and my Sister’s three grandchildren on a family cruise. I doubted that the cruise could ever justify the higher price point than other cruises.

I was wrong. The look on a three year old’s face when she sees her favorite princess, or when Crush starts talking in Animator’s Palate- is priceless. There is no price one can put on Ariel stopping to chat with a seven year old fan, and finding a way to draw a very shy 11 year old into the fun. How about the look on the 11 and 7 year olds faces when our dining room guru taught them how to balance four forks on two toothpicks stuck into the cork in a wine bottle? I bet even the looks on the adults’ faces were priceless. And who ever thought fireworks at sea could be better than many a land show? Or how much fun the pirate night party could be for kids of all ages? Or how much fun riding the AquaDuck is - even after the 657th time?

These are the things that set DCL apart from other lines. They have excellent food. Superb service. And great entertainment. But so do other lines. I will say that DCL has a crew that has an amazing ability to remember people and their names - beyond the dining room and the cabin staff. Imagine how stunned I was to walk into Cove Cafe on the second morning, and have the barista ask me if I wanted my non-fat latte with a tiny pump of mocha? Or to have Abu at the pool greet me by name every time he saw me at the pool, after spending just a few minutes the first morning chatting - before everyone else joined us. I have never encountered anything like this outside of concierge service on other lines. Read more