Dining on the Dream About This Page:

[lauriep]

With the extra people on board and the same number of restaurants in the rotation, I'm wondering if the extra size of the dining locations will make the service slower and make the rooms seem like banquet halls. Also, unless Palo will have a lot larger capacity it'll make the drama of snagging reservations even worse. Any thoughts?

[Moxrox]

I'm anxious to see how the reports are from the sailings of the Dream and the crowds. 1500 more people is quite significant, especially if they SEEM larger as well.

For instance, the sail away party at the pool area, or Pirates night...4000 people may make that an unpleasant experience. Of course, it remains to be seen.

[cfaletra]

I am hoping that the new ships come up with some new themes. I would be a bit dissapointed with Disney if they just transfered the same Shows over to the Dream. Hopefully those themes work with larger groups.

[Moxrox]

Originally Posted by cfaletra

I am hoping that the new ships come up with some new themes. I would be a bit dissapointed with Disney if they just transfered the same Shows over to the Dream. Hopefully those themes work with larger groups.

They've already just transferred Palo and Animators Palette, which I was a bit disappointed with. They certainly could have "dreamed" up some new ideas for dining, in that regard.

[jhoshowski]

There are 2 new restaurants, and there will be some new shows - there was mention of a villains show, in particular.

[modisney]

I'm a bit concerned about the capacity not only for dining etc. but what about 4,000 folks getting off in Nassau or Key West?

[Moxrox]

Originally Posted by modisney

I'm a bit concerned about the capacity not only for dining etc. but what about 4,000 folks getting off in Nassau or Key West?

Wait until they take over the 7 day cruises and have to tender in Cozumel or Grand Cayman!

[chezp]

I hadn't thought about that with Palo, but it's a good point.

[Sandy_N]

Originally Posted by Moxrox

They've already just transferred Palo and Animators Palette, which I was a bit disappointed with. They certainly could have "dreamed" up some new ideas for dining, in that regard.

While they have "transferred" the two restaurants, they have reimaginaneered them. The new animators has some new features that look great.

JMHO
Sandy

[Lumieregirl]

I like how they've done it - they've kept some things that we love, just updated/changed them (Palo & AP), and added 2 new things. I like the mix. Thyey've really gone in a different direction with the different bars & their themes. I'm am particularly excited to see Pink and Skyline!

[Dave Marx]

They haven't added two additional restaurants - they have the same number of restaurants, but two have new names/themes. In terms of perceptions, it's likely that they'll break up the large spaces in some way, which makes each section of the dining room seem more intimate.

All the restaurants will increase in capacity by about 50%. While that may sound problematic, when compared to the ships that essentially have one main dining room (on the big ships, that dining room often spans three levels), I don't think it'll be a major problem or a change to the overall atmosphere or quality of service. The key issue with slowness of service is whether they increase the number of servers (and stateroom attendants) in proportion to the number of guests on board. In general, I haven't seen/noticed a difference in guest satisfaction between smaller and larger ships on the other cruise lines (it'd be bad for business if that was the case).

One factor driving the move to larger ships is they can operate those ships with fewer crew members per passenger. The key is to gain those efficiencies in backstage roles - similar number of people needed in the kitchens, engine room, stage hands, etc., but to make that invisible to the guests in terms of quality of service.

[Magic#7564]

I want to hear the responses from the Dream too! That does seem like a lot of people to get off at the ports. The ships renderings look great with the water slide! We are planning our second cruise on the Magic for February 2011. Now that we saw the Dream we are considering that cruise, but I don't like the two stops at Castaway Cay. We like going to Cozumel and Grand Cayman.

[Sandy_N]

Originally Posted by Magic#7564

I want to hear the responses from the Dream too! That does seem like a lot of people to get off at the ports.

I think it is going to come down perspective. When we were at Castaway in December there was a "long line" to get back on the ship....about 50 guests. The poor crew member was trying to direct people to the second gangway to board which had no line at all. Nobody seemed to want to walk "all the way over there". I think things like that wouldn't even have people think twice, they will just get used to the multiple entries.