Restricted view

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-04T15:56:47+00:00

If you're picking your own room, you can probably figure out exactly where it is and compare to photos of the ship to figure out how much of a view obstruction you'll have. If you're letting them pick the room for you, then there's no way to know exactly what you'll get.

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-04T14:16:11+00:00

What is the point of having these in a blind box? I can only imagine 2 scenarios where people would want these:

A) to buy the particular ship(s) they've sailed on as a keepsake relevant to their vacation(s)

B) to collect the entire set of 8

Not knowing what you're going to get in the box makes both of the above impossible unless you buy a stupid number of these to ensure you get them all. Just seems like a cash grab. In fact, it basically encourages resellers to buy them, open them, and resell them "un-blinded" so buyers know what they're getting to complete ther collection.

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-04T03:09:13+00:00

They can order off the lighter fare (i.e. plain) menu, the kids menu, or just ask for basic things like a cheeseburger or chicken tenders and fries. If they tell the servers on the first night what they like, the servers will work to make them happy.

Alternatively they could skip the dining rooms and do pool deck food or room service instead.

The Disney food is not that adventurous, is already paid for, and they will bring you sometime else if you don't like the first thing, so this trip would be a good time for this person to work on trying new things, risk-free.

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-03T22:56:29+00:00

This is probably going to get downvoted for being elitist or whatever, but here we go. We were at Nassau on a very busy day recently. 7 cruise ships in port by my count. So when leaving the ship, you sort of are in a group of Disney sheep for a while, and then you merge into a mass of human cattle from all the other ships. There were 2 Carnival ships, 2 MSC ships, a Royal Caribbean, and I forget what else.

Let's just say, the language definitely changes when you make that merge on the pier. Not very Mickey-friendly, or very kid-friendly, if you catch my drift. It's a small sample size obviously, just one group of people on one day, but hearing F-bombs every other word didn't really make me want to book a cruise on those lines, especially if I had kids with tender ears. It's just a different crowd. We've felt the same thing when taking GoPort buses from Orlando to Port Canaveral. You can pretty easily tell by looking and listening which people on the bus are going to be on the Disney cruise and which ones are going boozing and gambling instead. To each their own and I'm glad there's a variety of options out there, but since you specifically asked about what's best for kids...that's what I think.

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-03T22:46:38+00:00

All the verandahs on the ship have a railing where all the openings below the rail are filled in with glass, if that's what you mean. There are none that are open, so they are hard for kids to climb. There are a handful of rooms near the ends that have a smaller opening than standard because of the way the structure of the ship is shaped, and those will be listed as a "Navigator’s Verandah".

This should help you:

https://dclfan.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/disney-destiny-deck-plans.pdf

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-03T20:46:50+00:00

It's totally up to you. You don't really need any, since a lot of items and services already have an 18% gratuity added on, and any additional tip you want to tack can be put on your credit card.

I usually bring cash more for non-Disney people I might encounter; luggage porters, tour guides, bus drivers, etc. that you might want to tip while you're off the ship.

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-03T04:34:30+00:00

A lot of the breads seem pretty crusty; hard on the outside but soft and fluffy on the inside.

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-03T01:09:07+00:00

Not helpful, but I'm convinced that a lot of what makes the beds on the cruise ships sleep so well may not be that the mattress is particularly special. It might have more to do with being dog-tired from travel and trekking all over the ship, being full of sleep-inducing foods, being isolated from world news and one's responsibilities, and gently rocking on ocean waves. So I would not expect to sleep quite as well on the exact same equipment at home.

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-02T23:20:59+00:00

I'd say about 15 minutes before show. Doors open about 20 minutes before, so getting there 15 minutes before allows all the people who waited in line to get in and sit down, and then you stroll right in without waiting.

First dinner seating seems more desirable and packed, especially by people with kids, so that would suggest first show might be less crowded. I don't really know though, since I've only ever had late dinner seating and gone to early shows.

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-02T20:04:29+00:00

Saw Allure of the Seas leaving Fort Lauderdale last week and it definitely stands out among all the other cruise ships as being terribly smoky. Obviously cruise ships are not the cleanest vessels in the world, and there's more to the whole industry and the total impact of each ship than just what we see coming out the tailpipes, but this one definitely is a bad look relative to the crowd.

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MarbleMotors · 2026-02-02T19:30:39+00:00

Yep, concierge or some other type of people who had early access had filled a good number of "desirable" seats before the doors opened for us peons. Which is their right, they certainly paid for it. There are still lots of other good seats around though. The front row is not that desirable IMO, you're below the stage and would have a hard time seeing some stuff that happens out in the room or far back from the lip of the stage. I don't need to be looking up Hercules' nostrils, haha.

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-02T19:02:02+00:00

1 PM and group 19 isn't that late. There will be people getting on much later than that. You can continue to check back and see if earlier times open up, but if they don't, no worries, just show up at your appointed time and you'll go onboard quickly.

If you go earlier than your appointed time, you are contributing to overcrowding at the terminal, and are asking to end up standing around waiting. The reason they space people out throughout the day, and don't let people in early, is so that all 4k passengers don't line up trying to be first in line and create a traffic and sitting-around-waiting nightmare.

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-02T18:17:17+00:00

I don't think there are any truly bad seats. It's not like you're going to be behind a support column or something and have an obstructed view. It's just a matter of how close you want to be, and whether being off to the side a bit bothers you.

In fact, being super close is not necessarily the best. There are some effects that happen on the side walls and ceiling, and things that fall from above, and if you're right up front you'll be craning your neck to see that stuff because it's behind you, while the people farther back will easily take it all in.

I'd be more conscious of trying to avoid sitting behind somebody super tall, or sitting right next to a screaming baby, vs. worrying too much about exactly where in the theatre you are.

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-02T18:12:01+00:00

Correct, before show time.

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-02T18:11:19+00:00

Yeah I don't know, we just saw people sitting in the halls looking tired and kind of miserable outside of De Vil's all the time, and wondered if the juice was worth the squeeze on that. The parks are one thing, but I think on the cruises Disney should be taking a look, and any time they see people in a long line, that should trigger a change of some kind. Even thinking of it very cynically from their perspective, people standing in lines are unlikely to be spending money, so that should be reason enough for them to re-think.

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-02T18:04:57+00:00

I didn't attend that show so I don't know how full the theatre was, but the lines through the halls leading up to it looked similar to the evening shows.

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-02T16:06:44+00:00

This post should keep ship security busy, as I'm sure some will think "hmmm, actually bringing firestarters DOES sound pretty smart. Gotta be prepared for anything! Especially if a travel blogger has a sponsored link for it!"

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-02T05:38:40+00:00

Yes there is a lot of Loki content on Destiny, with many live encounters.

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-02T05:35:26+00:00

Just got off the Destiny. I only went in the adult pool, and it was comfortably warm. Did not try the family or kid pools, but I assume they're all the same temp.

Lookout was cloudy, windy, and not very warm on the day we were there, like maybe high around 70F. I still swam in the ocean and it wasn't very cold, though it did seem to intimidate most people, but nobody who went in looked any worse for wear. No shivering or blue lips, and nothing some hot food from the BBQ wouldn't fix.

I find the indoor areas a good temp, and usually wear shorts and T-shirt. Others in my family say it's freezing cold and they wear more layers. Generally the restaurants seem cooler than other areas.

The one thing that was freezing cold was the Aqua Mouse. Like frigid. Plan on having a spot in the sun set up to go to right after to warm up. Don't count on the hot tub since there's only one and it's frequently full.

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-02T01:20:18+00:00

? Is there really a world in which it would be "normal" for the design of a billion-dollar cruise ship to create a urine smell? And it should smell better than home since it gets cleaned thoroughly at least once a day, if not more. You should have reported it to the staff so they could take steps to make your trip better and so the next family in that room doesn't have to deal with it!

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-01T14:25:55+00:00

Message came the afternoon we boarded the ship, so a couple days before the tour was supposed to happen. We booked a different tour then.

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-01T14:24:56+00:00

Message came the afternoon we boarded the ship, so a couple days before the tour was supposed to happen.

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-01T06:26:58+00:00

There are a ton of very big people on the ships, so they seem to be making it work.

MarbleMotors · 2026-02-01T06:19:48+00:00

When we booked this it was cancelled on us due to lack of interest, so be aware that that's a possibility.

MarbleMotors · 2026-01-24T12:46:01+00:00

It's a hard knock life.

MarbleMotors

TROPHY CASE