As a travel advisor at Mouse One Travel, I don’t just book vacations. I live them. I cruise annually to keep my recommendations honest and battle-tested. Guidebooks can show you deck plans, but they can’t explain the specific anxiety of watching a typhoon map redraw your vacation in real time.
These voyages have taught me that flexibility is the most valuable item in my suitcase. From a rerouted Mediterranean itinerary to a chilly departure from Baltimore, every change gave me new insight to pass on to my clients. Here are the most important lessons I’ve learned from my time at sea between 2017 and 2025.
Carnival Dream, 2017: Getting My Sea Legs
The Trip: 7-Night Western Caribbean
The Lesson: Pacing is everything.
My first cruise was on the Carnival Dream out of Galveston during Christmas week. I walked onto that ship with way too much energy. The Dream is massive and loud, and I tried to do everything in the first 48 hours. I packed my schedule with trivia, parties, comedy shows, and the water park.
By the middle of the week, I hit a wall.
That is when I found the Cloud 9 Spa. I had read about the thalassotherapy pool, but slipping into it was different. It wasn’t just a hot tub. It was a quiet sanctuary in the middle of the ocean. I realized the “fun” in “Fun Ship” doesn’t always mean loud music. Some of my best memories were afternoon naps in the cabin or grabbing a quiet slice of pizza on the Lido deck at 2 a.m.
I also learned a hard lesson about food. Not every venue is included. I spent days confused about what cost extra until I found Guy’s Burger, Blue Iguana, and Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que. Guy’s Burger and Blue Iguana are on the Lido deck, but Pig & Anchor is hidden on the Promenade deck and serves authentic smoker-cooked brisket for free during lunch. These quickly became my go-to spot lunch spots. Blue Iguana also serves a mean breakfast burrito.
Agent Insider Tip:
On Dream-class ships, skip the Seafood Shack if you want to save money. Go to Guy’s Pig & Anchor instead. Also, book a “Cloud 9 Spa” stateroom if you can. It bundles the thermal suite pass into your fare so you get unlimited access to that pool.
Disney Fantasy, 2023: Magic in the Details
The Trip: 7-Night Eastern Caribbean
The Lesson: You get what you pay for.
In 2023, I took my family on the Disney Fantasy and we splurged on a Concierge-level cabin. People always ask if the premium price is worth it. My answer is yes.
It started before we even boarded. We walked right past the crowded terminal lines. But the real difference was the Concierge Lounge. It became our living room for the week. We stopped in every evening between 5:00 PM and 8:30 PM for complimentary cocktails and appetizers before dinner.
When we had difficulty disembarking with an unrelated teenager (we thought we had made the appropriate arrangements in advance) and missed our excursion, the concierge in the lounge helped us get the appropriate paperwork completed and got us onto a similar excursion without additional charge.
The best perk was the private sun deck. On a ship with 4,000 people, finding a chair by the pool is tough. The Concierge sun deck on Deck 13 was quiet. It had luxury loungers, cooling misters, and a hot tub that was actually hot.
Service was where Disney really showed up. Our servers anticipated what we needed before we asked. They remembered drink orders from the first night and brought desserts we mentioned in passing. Castaway Cay was the highlight. We snorkeled and ate barbecue, knowing we had a quiet, private deck waiting for us back on the ship.
Agent Insider Tip:
Use your Concierge hosts. They can book things that look sold out online, like cabanas at Castaway Cay or a table at Palo or Remy.
Disney Dream, 2024: Mediterranean with a Twist
The Trip: 11-Night Mediterranean
The Lesson: In Europe, you have to be flexible.
This was a big trip. We planned an 11-night sailing from Rome to Barcelona. I was excited for a stop in Ephesus, Turkey, but geopolitical issues forced Disney to cancel it. They rerouted us to Santorini, Greece instead.
I was disappointed at first. Then I saw Santorini.
It is breathtaking, but the logistics are intense. It is a tender port, so small boats ferry you to the cliffs. You have three ways to get up to the town of Fira. You can take a cable car, walk a long path of stairs with donkeys, or ride the donkeys.
The cable car lines can be over an hour long in the heat. Since we booked a Disney excursion, we tendered to a different dock called Athinios where buses drove us up the cliff. We bypassed the cable car entirely. I watched thousands of tourists sweating in that line and realized that in Europe, you pay for convenience.
We spent the day on a boat ride through the caldera. It was beautiful but exhausting. Europe is not a relaxing cruise destination. It is a marathon of walking and history. By the time we got back to the Disney Dream, the ship felt like a refuge.
Agent Insider Tip:
If you don’t book a ship excursion in Santorini, you will get dropped at the Old Port. You will likely wait 2 hours for the cable car. Book a “Caldera Boat Tour” or something similar that uses the bus transfer to maximize your time.
Carnival Pride, 2024: The Easy Escape
The Trip: 7-Day Bahamas from Baltimore
The Lesson: Home-port cruising saves your sanity.
Later in 2024, I needed an easy vacation for our anniversary celebration. I booked the Carnival Pride out of Baltimore. Being able to drive to the port and skip the airport is a huge relief for those of us in the Mid-Atlantic.
The Baltimore terminal is efficient, but you can’t arrive too early. The parking lot doesn’t open for new passengers until the previous cruise clears out around 10:30 AM or 11:00 AM. If you get there at 9:00 AM, you will just be circling the lot.
Sailing under the Chesapeake Bay bridges is a unique experience. Passing the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was a somber reminder of the recent tragedy.
The Pride is a Spirit-class ship. It is smaller and easier to get around than the mega-ships. We spent our sea days at the Serenity Deck. On this ship, the adults-only area is on the back, so it is protected from the wind. Even though it was November and chilly, the mid-ship pool has a retractable roof so we could still swim.
Agent Insider Tip:
Parking in Baltimore is around $15 a day and they only take credit cards.10 Head straight for the Serenity Deck on Deck 9 aft. It has its own pool and bar and is much quieter than the main deck.
Celebrity Silhouette & Norwegian Gem, 2025: Mini Cruises, Major Insight
The Trip: Back-to-back 3-night sailings
The Lesson: Brand personality is real.
In spring 2025, I did a 3-night cruise on Celebrity followed immediately by a 3-night cruise on Norwegian. Both short cruises were very enjoyable.
Celebrity Silhouette felt like a boutique hotel. It was quiet and sophisticated. We stayed in “Concierge Class.” On Celebrity, this is basically a standard balcony room with a special lunch, nicer bathrobes, and a concierge. It was pleasant, but it didn’t feel like a true suite experience. All of the food on Celebrity was excellent. We had a couple of meals at specialty restaurants on the Silhouette, including Murano, where the service and food was excellent, and the Porch, where the food was definitely second to the views. We wished we had simply eaten in the main dining room or buffet rather than the Porch. That is not a knock on the Porch, but really a comment on the quality of the included food on Celebrity, which was excellent.
Norwegian Gem felt like luxury because we booked a Category SN Aft-Facing Penthouse Suite. This is where NCL wins. Unlike Celebrity’s version, this suite came with a real butler and concierge. We had a purple keycard that got us priority access everywhere. The room was incredible. The balcony on the back of the ship offered a 180-degree view of the wake. We really enjoyed the views from our balcony.
The service in the suite on NCL was top notch. Our butler was enthusiastic about providing us first-class service and meeting our needs. The concierge walked us off the ship at every port so we never waited in line. NCL also has a terrific military recognition program, and a 10% discount if verified through ID.me.
Agent Insider Tip:
If you book an Aft-Facing Penthouse on NCL’s Jewel-class ships, try to get on Deck 10. You get the same view and butler service, but you have cabins above and below you. It buffers the noise from the bowling alley on Deck 7.
Diamond Princess, 2025: Japan with Cultural Depth
The Trip: 7-Night Japan Roundtrip
The Lesson: Attitudes matter more than itineraries.
This cruise was humbling. We sailed on the Diamond Princess, a ship built for the Japanese market. It was a cultural immersion.
My family loved the Izumi Japanese Bath. It is the largest of its kind at sea. It is modeled after a traditional onsen. While bathing suits are often not allowed in the indoor sections of traditional onsen, Princess had times where bathing suits were acceptable. Soaking in a cypress bath while watching the ocean is so worth it.
We also ate at Kai Sushi. The chefs used local fish from the ports we visited. It was far better than standard cruise ship sushi.
But the weather had other plans. It was typhoon season. The captain had to adjust our itinerary to avoid a storm. We missed a scheduled stop where we planned to meet my wife’s college roommate.
My wife made a bold choice. She disembarked early at a different port and took the Shinkansen bullet train to meet her friend. It was a scramble involving multiple staff on the ship and shore to disembark the ship appropriately, Takkyubin luggage services because you can’t take huge suitcases on the bullet train, and careful planning . I stayed onboard with the rest of our family and enjoyed an unscheduled sea day. It taught me that a missed port isn’t a disaster if you stay flexible.
Agent Insider Tip:
If you cruise Japan in August or September, get travel insurance that covers “Trip Interruption.” Typhoons happen. Also, use Takkyubin to ship your luggage between cities if you take the train. It is affordable and makes life much easier.
Final Thoughts
Every cruise has a personality. Disney is for choreographed perfection. Carnival is for letting loose. Celebrity is for a quiet escape, NCL’s suites are a secret for affordable luxury, especially with a military discount, and Princess provided deep cultural immersion on the Diamond Princess, built in Japan and serving the Japanese market.
I took these lessons back to Mouse One Travel. I now know that a missed port isn’t a ruined vacation. It is just a good story for the blog.
Happy sailing!
