Disney Cruise 2019 Trip Report Part 2 – Sailing Away, 1st Night. |

Check out the Navigator for Day 1 and 2 Here

After our muster drill we headed up to the main deck for one of my favorite parts of the cruise: the Adventures Away Sail Away Party. This deck party mixed choreographed dances from the DCL Cast Members, with an appearance from Mickey and the gang.

Pro-tip: buy glow-sticks and similar light up items on Amazon before you go on the trip, it will save you money on buying the items they are selling on the deck for each of the parties that your kids will beg you for (courtesy of my brilliant wife)

Why did I put it in the past tense? Well, because as of the week after we sailed Disney switched to a new sail away party called Sail-A-Wave. Watching videos on YouTube I am underwhelmed and very disappointed, here’s hoping they bring back the old classic (it was on the boats for at least 5 years and I still loved it each time, we even taught our kids the dances!)

Since we have little kids we were automatically placed in the early dining which begins at 545 (you don’t have to show up exact at 545 but show up before 615 to get the full experience), you can however change this if you like. I would not recommend doing the late dining with little kids they will be falling on their faces. Disney Cruise Line is different from all other cruise lines in that they have rotating dining which allows you to experience all the main dining options for free. The first night we got to experience the somewhat new Rapunzel’s Royal Table. This is officially my favorite restaurant on all the ships. Not only is the room’s theming amazing but they have a “plot” to the evening that keeps everyone entertained throughout. It is Rapunzel birthday and so the thugs from the Snuggly Duckling are throwing her a party. Not only do the thugs, Rupunzel and Flynn perform throughout dinner, but they go table to table for pictures.

Enter Rapunzel’s Royal Table
Decorations near our table

This was our first real opportunity to experience the new food and options on the boat and we were immediately both underwhelmed and surprised. As, we expected the table was already set with plastic and paper plates ready to go for us. However, we were surprised since we had provided our orders for dinner earlier in the day when we had lunch at Cabanas, the food was not ready (which is what is to be expected after our last 2 cruises) and underwhelmed as they had to rush to prepare the food so it was over and under-cooked (depending on the meal). I was happy to report that generally the food did taste better than it had in the past, but with kids that were exhausted from the long day it was very hard to keep them at the table even with the entertainment due to the long wait.

We also asked the server to have a single plate of cut up veggies going forward (and gave him a list of items like peppers, avocado, tomatoes, etc.). You may wonder why I mentioned that we asked for a single plate, well you will see…

After the meal we checked the kids into the kids club for the first time, and took our youngest to babysitting. Any child who is not yet potty training/under 3 can be brought to babysitting for 4.50/ a half hour. We knew he would not sit for the show so we made sure to check him in every night. That night the show was Twice Charmed: An Original Twist on the Cinderella Story.

However, our kids were pretty nauseous at this point so we picked them up from the club and took them to bed early. People often ask me if we get sea sick and the answer is generally, no. But on this voyage the kids certainly got sick more often than we have ever experienced, so it is certainly possible. But more on that later.

This is also good time to remind everyone that Disney is also one of the only cruise lines that actually gives you access to free soda, coffee, hot chocolate/water, tea, milk 24 hours a day on the main deck. So any time you are in the mood you just have to head to the main deck (9) and grab something. These items are also free with dinner, but many of them are not free when they are ordered from room service.