Unpopular Opinions

[Bree]

Just tried the Palo Brunch for the first time. I was sooo excited to finally try it after five DCL cruises. What a disappointment! Service was fine but I found the food....eehh, nothing special. I tried the chicken parm that is raved about - eehh...nothing special. The best thing about brunch is the alcoholic drink and a couple of the desserts. They did not even have chocolate strawberries-only white chocolate. Yuck. Not worth the money and I would have been happier to eat at the buffet to grab a burger poolside.

OMG...my thoughts exactly. I don't care to go again LOL!

 

[bode1025]

I personally have no desire to do a FE. I know some families really enjoy this, but it is not tempting for us.

 

[kiford]

Villains Tonight was my favourite show. Far less saccharine than the others.

Castaway Cay. Nice enough place but it's just a beach IMO and I don't care much for beaches.

Mickey bars. Meh.

We actually liked Parrots Cay and the signature menu. Although I'm looking forward to Carioca's.

Concierge. No we haven't sailed concierge but when I look at the benefits for the cost, I simply can't see the point. We wouldn't get the value out of it and I prefer to spend time in adults-only areas. A cabana is obviously of no interest to me since I don't spend much more than about an hour or two at Castaway Cay and that mostly to eat so I consider them to be overpriced and irrelevant.

Early PAT. To me that means spending time waiting in lines and hauling my carryon around until the room is ready.

It's why DCL has so many different options for rooms, dining, activities, excursions, etc. To each their own. It's also why I never ask the "is it worth" question - that's a personal value judgement dependent on so many different things. I'd rather ask what your experience was or what you liked/dislike about something. Then I make my own worth assessment.

 

[dotfurio]

My unpopular opinion is that I hated Palo. It was 90% our server -she was very snotty. The food wasn't special either. I regretted spending extra for it and I would never pay to do it again.

Oh, and I loved Skagway, too. My favorite port by far. We had an excellent time with the summer mushers camp and my youngest had a blast doing the NP junior ranger program in town.

 

[hanscarlet]

unpopular actions:
we spent 90 minutes on Castaway Cay because it was so hot that I was worried my 2 and 5 year old would get too much heat... we ended up back at the boat and had more fun riding aquaduck with no lines... next time we're thankfully going to get a cabana

we didn't have an interest to see any shows... just was so busy we forgot about them

never did movies - forgot about them too (just busy keeping up with all the activities)

had the best meal at enchanted gardens which I wasn't expecting

eta: agree with early PAT, we kind of just stood around waiting for our room to open, we'll do it differently this time around


popular opinions I agree with:
loved the concept of MDR - agree with PP about not caring what restaurants I'm in as they are all pretty cool
loved the verandah, we used it a lot because of kids needing down time

 

[Saamh]

We prefer inside staterooms. It seems like a lot of people won't bother sailing unless they can have a verandah and are very firm in their opinion that a verandah is the only way to go. We've had a verandah twice and never used it. I hate how the queen bed is in the middle of the room we always seem to run into each other passing by the end of the bed. The bed is at the back of the stateroom in inside cabins so they feel roomier to me and I sleep better not being in the middle of the room. And the bonus is that we can cruise 2 or three times more often than if we went with a verandah.

 

[KarenMom]

I'm in the minority when it comes to thinking that it's a waste of time to watch movies onboard. Maybe if it was my first cruise I wouldn't feel like that, but after 10 cruises on DCL I don't feel the need to rush and get lots of things in.

One of my best cruises was when I saw 5 movies, read 4 books, didn't have any dinners in the MDR and spent most of my time totally relaxed. Ah, heaven...

 

[momof2n2]

I'm in the minority when it comes to thinking that it's a waste of time to watch movies onboard. Maybe if it was my first cruise I wouldn't feel like that, but after 10 cruises on DCL I don't feel the need to rush and get lots of things in.

One of my best cruises was when I saw 5 movies, read 4 books, didn't have any dinners in the MDR and spent most of my time totally relaxed. Ah, heaven...

I agree. It was one of my kids favorite experiences.

 

[AngelDisney]

I agree too! I am actually planning some down time on my Alaska cruise to watch the Disney movies I have missed due to busy work life. I have been saving movies like Maleficent, Saving Mr. Banks, Big Hero 6, Frozen Short and Cinderella for the cruise.

 

[100AcreWood]

My unpopular opinion is I could care less about the shows at night. Let's head to the Mickey pool (because I avoid it during the day)!

 

[purfectlyweird]

I agree too! I am actually planning some down time on my Alaska cruise to watch the Disney movies I have missed due to busy work life. I have been saving movies like Maleficent, Saving Mr. Banks, Big Hero 6, Frozen Short and Cinderella for the cruise.

I was able to see Saving Mr. Banks while I was off and that night ABC Family played Mary Poppins. Holy smokes! If you're bringing a tablet I suggest you download and watch mary poppins right after.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

I cannot stand Castaway Cay. I find it immensely boring. I can almost always find something to entertain myself wherever I am, but have yet to do so on Castaway Cay. I tried hard on our last cruise to have fresh eyes, but it was still just boring.

I found Palo Brunch underwhelming. It was OK. Just OK. The menu was not at all special or unique, in my opinion, and I seriously do not understand the fuss.

 

[purfectlyweird]

My unpopular opinion: I truly believe that people don't feel safe in Nassau b/c of the majority bahamian/african descent people more so than the area. NYC is dirty, rat infested, and ppl are pushing ppl onto the tracks yet ppl still line up to go for a visit.

 

[Sunshine2U]

I'm sure this one will be wildly unpopular (I'm an accountant)! It seems people order room service cookies or Mickey bars every night. I have pictures of $-signs running up and down the corridors dropping off cookies and trying to deliver Mickey bars before they melt. I understand that I have the right to order room service as many times as I like. I'd like for us all to agree that we won't abuse the free room service policy. That means someone single and traveling with children has carte blanche to order as much as needed. Otherwise, we use some discretion. NCL has added a service charge for room delivery. I'd hate to see that policy spread. Whew - glad I got that one off my chest!

 

[Sunshine2U]

We prefer inside staterooms.

I'd book an inside room in a heartbeat. It's my DH who is the veranda junkie.

 

[lizabu]

My unpopular opinion is Nassau is charming and a lot of fun and that Fish Extenders are a PITA and not worth the time or money.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Tipping in Palo and Remy, seems a few do not want to do it.

I don't think it's a case of not wanting to do it it's not knowing whether you should tip or not. I was in group brunch and as far as a knew no one tipped extra I've also only been once on my own for dinner and well I saw the line I didn't add anything extra because I didn't "know i was supposed to" and I hadn't had any drinks that were not included.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Castaway Cay. Nice enough place but it's just a beach IMO and I don't care much for beaches.

Mickey bars. Meh.

I feel the same I don't really get the obsession people have with both. One of the best parts of a day I think I ever had on Castaway Cay was when I came back in to the ship in the afternoon and got to watch crew members being taught how to drive a lifeboat. lets just say the ship may have needed some repainting when they were done.

 

[Pens Fan]

We've been to Castawy Cay twice, but only eaten there once (second time ship arrived late and lunch was served onboard). We thought Cookies was awful. Truly awful. As in below fast food restaurant quality. When we had to eat on board the second time we visited there, we were thrilled.

We have never eaten at Palo or Remy. Our son was 11 on our first cruise and already very aware of what good, quality food actually was. We felt guilty going without him, so we've waited. He's 17 now, so we're getting closer!

The shows are strictly optional for our family. One Disney show per cruise is enough for us, and then we may try one of the variety acts, but that's about all. DS likes to go to Vibe then, and DH and I usually grab a glass of wine in one of the adult areas before dinner.

We hate the family pool area. We never spend any time there. Way too crowded, way too many kids. We occasionally venture there for food and then make a quick getaway to go eat it in peace. The only cruise we spent any time there was in Alaska bcause it was mostly deserted.

 

[AngelDisney]

I was able to see Saving Mr. Banks while I was off and that night ABC Family played Mary Poppins. Holy smokes! If you're bringing a tablet I suggest you download and watch mary poppins right after.