Disney Cruise Line - July 7th 2014 - 9 Night Mediterranean – Katakolon, Greece

[LaurenM]

After numerous early mornings and late evenings today we decided to sleep in and have a lazy morning since we had not planned any excursions for our day in Katakolon. We eventually made it up to Cabana’s at 10:45, which was lovely and quiet but had all hot and cold food options still available. We sat by the window overlooking the small port village and once again piled our plates with English bacon and other delectable breakfast treats. Breakfast in Cabana’s quickly became my favourite meal of the day despite the fact that I rarely eat breakfast at home or on holiday.

After we had finished in Cabana’s we decided to get off the ship and take a look around the small port of Katakolon. Disembarking the ship was very fast at this time of day and we were soon wandering along the main street and over to the small harbour. The area mostly consisted of souvenir shops, restaurants and car hire places although there is a shuttle tram to nearby beaches should this interest you. Since we don’t like to shop for souvenirs and nor are we beach people we headed back to the ship after 45 minutes on shore.

Once back on the ship we grabbed our swimsuits and headed to Quiet Cove pool for the afternoon whilst the ship was still fairly empty. We were able to find 4 loungers in the shade on one side of the pool away from the smoking area and settled in for most of the afternoon. Mum, Natasha and I caught up on some reading of the triology of books we had brought with us (‘The Testing’ trilogy by Joelle Charbonneau) whilst Dad took a nap. Periodically one of us would head to either Cabana’s or one of the quick service dining locations for a snack to keep us going and to the drinks and ice cream self service areas. Gradually the pool area became busier as guests arrived back from their port adventures so Dad and Natasha headed off to the AquaDunk when that opened at 3pm. They had a short 10-15 minute wait and I headed to Deck 10 to watch them take their turns. Upon Natasha entering the pod at the top of the AquaDunk I waved up to her, as Natasha didn’t see this the operator at the top proceeded to inform her that her mother was waving at her from below. We found this particular amusing as normally most people don’t believe I am over 18 but today I could pass for Natasha’s mother!

On splash down at the end of the slide both Natasha and dad were a little speechless but both claimed to enjoy it. Natasha had managed to forget she was wearing mascara and the force of the water in the slide meant it was now running all over her face, much to our amusement. After a quick trip to the bathroom to rectify this they headed into the adult pool to cool off, whilst I sat on the wooden side of the pool with my feet dipped in the shallow part. We particularly liked the layout of this pool as we felt the shallow water edges where you could sit and cool off without completely getting in the pool were a nice addition.

After a quick dip in the hot tub Natasha and dad decided to get out and dry off in the sun before heading back to our staterooms so mum and dad could get ready for their Palo reservation. By this point we had given up two loungers to other guests so dad and Natasha perched on the end of the loungers mum and I were on to dry off. This is when we experienced the most unDisney service of all our many Disney holidays.

Earlier in the afternoon at Quiet Cove Pool Natasha had been approached by a pool side assistant who unsurprisingly informed her that the pool was only for those 18 and over and that she would have to leave. Natasha confirmed she was 18 with her Key to the World card and the cast member reluctantly handed her back the card and walked off without a word. During the afternoon this cast member would stand off to the side of our loungers watching Natasha intently, which was noticed by the lady sitting next to us. Later, just after dad and Natasha had returned to dry off, the same cast member approached us again and this time informed dad that Natasha would have to leave the area due to her age. Dad informed the cast member that Natasha was 18 and again provided her Key to the World card for his inspection. Upon looking at the card the cast member loudly declared that he did not believe us or the card and that Natasha was not 18 and then walked off. We were extremely surprised by the rude behaviour of this cast member, as were the guests lounging near us, which goes against Disney’s strict customer service rules.

Unfortunately this event and the attention it had drawn from surrounding guests caused Natasha to be rather upset and uncomfortable so we headed back down to the staterooms to dry off and get ready for dinner. After some reflection we decided to go down to Guest Services to report this incident as we did not feel that guests should be spoken to in this manner and nor should guests be made to feel uncomfortable in areas of the ship that they are allowed to be in.

At Guest Services it took several attempts to explain what had occurred at the pool as my dad was frequently interrupted. The manager was vaguely apologetic about what had happened but did not seem interested in resolving the situation, such as speaking with the cast member involved. Overall my family left very disappointed in the customer service we received, which is unusual as we normally rave about the service in Walt Disney World. Unfortunately it seems that nothing was done to rectify the rude treatment of guests by this cast member as later on in the holiday we were chatting to an American family who had just had the same experience with the same cast member, and they were equally as unimpressed and shocked with what they had experienced as we were.

After this we all proceeded to get ready for tonight’s dinner, which for Natasha and I was in Lumiere’s whilst mum and dad headed to Palo.

Once again our servers did an excellent job of catering to the needs of Natasha and I regarding our food and were more than happy to take care of any substitutions and ensure other items were not included.

Tonight Natasha and I decided not to have a starter so first up we have the main courses. Natasha had the Crispy Roasted Duck Breast with fries instead of the normal accompaniment and no sauce whilst I had the Roasted Rack of Lamb with fries instead of the Dauphinose potatoes. Both were very good but after tasting both I wished I had gone for the duck breast. You might notice a small green blob on my plate of lamb, I was asked if I would like some mint sauce and this is what was served, nothing like British mint sauce and more like lime jello! I was surprised to say the least and Natasha wishes she could have caught the moment on camera.

Meanwhile mum and dad were dining in Palo, here is there take on it:

“To start we had an Antipasti and a selection of bread (sorry no photos!). For the first course Simon had the Fritto di Calamari and I had the Sicilian pesto marinated grilled shrimp, which was huge, with both beautifully presented. For the main course Simon had Beef tenderloin and I had Oregano & parmesan crusted rack of lamb. Simon enjoyed his, but it still didn’t beat the fillet steak he had in Citricos last year. I wasn’t overly keen on my main but that’s just down to my taste not the chef. For dessert we both had the Chocolate soufflé as advised by Lauren, which was lovely. There were also two tiny dishes to refresh the palate in between courses, which were delicious. We also had a glass of wine each (although I cannot recall which one) and two bottles of sparkling water.

Overall the atmosphere in the restaurant was more tranquil than in the rotational restaurants and we enjoyed the lovely view of the sunset through the huge windows. Unfortunately during the meal I had great trouble understanding what the waiter was saying (due to his accent and fast pace of talking) and there is only so many times you can ask someone to repeat what they have said.

Sadly after this visit we decided that we will not be making a return visit to Palo’s on future cruises as we enjoyed the food in the main restaurants just as much. We also have a very good local Italian restaurant near to our home, which we visit on special occasions, so Palo’s wasn’t very different. As we are not foodies and have a limited budget we would prefer to spend this extra money elsewhere on the cruise. We also did not enjoy that pretentious style of dining and over the top attention from the staff.

However overall we are glad we tried it or we would have been forever wondering what we had missed.”


After dinner we headed to the Walt Disney Theatre for the family version of ventriloquists Paul Zerdins show. Out of the three guest acts we experienced this cruise this one was our favourite and added to our cruise experience whereas we felt the other two later on did not.

From here we all met up and went to the D Lounge to watch ‘Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer’, which is normally aimed at families with children. However we enjoyed being able to play along and were even flummoxed by some of the questions, despite our ages and Disney knowledge. We then stayed on for ‘Family Superstar Karaoke’ where Natasha sang a Taylor Swift song she had previously performed back home, whilst most other performers took on the songs of Frozen (no surprises there!). Unfortunately during some of these performances a group of teens from one of the clubs decided it would be amusing to laugh and speak loudly above those brave enough to sing, causing them great discomfort. Towards the end of the session a young woman in her late teens with Downs Syndrome got up to sing ‘Let it go’ at which point us and several other groups of adults were concerned that the behaviour from the group of young teens would become unacceptable. Luckily we were proven wrong as everyone in the audience, including the young teens, got behind the young woman and cheered loudly as she delivered a fantastic performance. It was a lovely moment during the cruise for all in the room and we were glad to see that every family/group can relax and enjoy a Disney cruise.

As we have an early morning tomorrow for our trip into Athens we decided to call it a night and headed back to our staterooms.

Tomorrow – Athens, Greece and badly timed illness

[NatsyNoo]

Another lovely day though what a shame about that CM
Glad you had a bit of a lie in though! That's what holidays are all about

[Halowa]

Having just got off the magic on Thursday my opinion is -
The service is 6* until something goes wrong and then they just can't handle the situation. With so many different countries represented in the staff there seems to be breakdowns in communication. It's a bit like speaking to a call centre overseas, if you have a problem it's not resolved.

[BevS97]

I'm really enjoying your report, but am so angry on behalf of Natasha. I think it's fair enough for the CM to check on Natasha's age once, as it is an adult area, but having been shown ID then that should be the end of the matter. There are plenty of adults who look young, and plenty of teens who look older, you can't make a judgement on age based on appearance, that's why we have ID.

Very cross...

[plutofan1]

I'm with you and Bev on this

Natasha does look young (she'll appreciate that in a decade or so ) but the question was asked and answered
That should have been the end of it ..

Reminds me of dd1 being asked by the community police officer who was on the bus or tube why she wasn't at school ? She told him she was on way home from work - didnt believe her
She took great delight and insisted on showing her driving licence to him - she was 21 😄again I'm sure she appreciate that in later years

[elise]

Really unfair treatment
I keep checking for your latest installments, my daughter has been looking for books to read on our forthcoming cruise and I have suggested she looks at The Testing Trilogy after reading your post. Thanks

[kansaskitty]

Really horrible for your sister about the age thing AGAIN, just unacceptable Disney!

[Lisa29]

What an awful way to be treated. It must be frustrating enough for Natasha that she always has to show ID without being accused of lying.