DISNEY DOMINATES IN CRUISE SHIP RANKINGS!
Congratulations are in order for Disney Cruise Line. In the recent 2014 Cruise Critic Cruisers’ Choice Awards, Disney swooped in and took home a total of TEN top awards. So hold on tight as we cruise on through these awards.
So what is so great about all these awards? Cruise Critic boasts the largest online cruise community in the world with more than 100,000 cruise reviews, covering approximately 400 of the most popular cruise ships. Awards are based on reviews and ratings submitted to the site for cruises taken in 2013. So to be ranked in one of the top 10 spots is pretty great! To be ranked in the top spot is awesome!
Best overall in the Large ship category: Disney Fantasy, this is Disney’s 4th and newest ship. With 14 decks 1,250 staterooms this ship can comfortably accommodate 4,000 passengers.
Best for Cabins: Disney Fantasy, with rooms starting at 169 SF and going up to 1781sf, there is plenty of room to stretch out no matter what your family size. Each room is adorned from floor to ceiling with elegant Art Deco touches reminiscent of the glamorous 1920s and 1930s, and although the rooms are beautiful one of the most talked about aspects of the cabin is the split bathroom with vanity/sink and shower/tub in the full bathroom and a vanity/sink and toilet in half bathroom.
Best in Dining: Disney Fantasy, Disney does dining a little different on their cruise lines. It is something they call rotational dining, and if you haven’t experienced it let’s get that trip booked. Every night on the cruise you will eat in a different dining room which has all the amazing theming you have come to expect with the Disney brand, but you don’t lose the personalized service that a wait staff on a cruise offers, because your servers come with you. Add that on to the adult exclusives Palo and Remi, you are sure to find something that will satisfy you.
Best in Entertainment: Disney Fantasy and coming in slightly behind at number 4 is the Disney Dream. Between character greetings, Musical Spectaculars, and Broadway-style shows it will be hard to find time to explore all the other entertainment options; for children there is the Oceaneer club and the Oceaneer Lab, for younger teens ages 11-14 there is the Edge, Vibe is for the older teens ages 14-17 not to mention the arcade and the family club. If you are looking for adult spots there are plenty of adult only clubs and areas.
Best in Family: Disney Fantasy, with three of the four ships in the top 5 Disney racked up in this category. But come on, is this one even fair? 😉 a quote from the Cruise Critics site says it all “The marketing isn’t hype, this is a ship where adults and kids actually enjoy themselves. “
Best for Public Restrooms: Disney Fantasy, yes this is seriously a category. I mean I care about public restrooms as much as the next person, and I am glad there is an award for it. A quote from the Cruise critics site ays “The ship is spectacularly beautiful inside and out. Even the public restrooms are gorgeous. Yes, it’s true, you will even see people taking photos of the restrooms….”
Best for Service: Disney Fantasy, again it is Disney, and they do everything first class! Reviewers raved about all the cast members, and the amenities. One of the favorite thing people mentioned is the wave phone which is a Disney Cruise Line signature service. While aboard the ship and on Castaway Cay, reach out to your fellow travelers via Wave Phone—an option that allows you to text and call without using your personal cell phone. From your Wave Phone, you can call any shipboard phone, stateroom phone or other Wave Phone, making it easy to connect with your travel party or new friends. One quote from the site “I can honestly say I have not met a more friendly and courteous bunch of people in my life. Every single person I spoke to approached with a smile and seemed utterly concerned with my well-being and happiness.”
Add all that to the awards for:
Best Bahamas Cruise: Disney Dream
Best Caribbean Cruise: Disney Fantasy
Best from Florida: Disney Fantasy
“What’s really exciting about Disney Fantasy is that with the addition of this new class of ship, Disney is really starting to reach out and appeal to a broader base of travelers,” says Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of CruiseCritic.com, a subsidiary of Trip Advisor that features news and reviews of the most popular cruise lines. “Disney’s gone from being a niche line to one that’s comparable to something like Celebrity or Princess. The high scores that we are seeing almost across the board are a testament to how well-run and well-designed the ship is.”
So the only question left is when is your next Disney Cruise?