First let me say that overall we definetly enjoyed the cruise. We were on the Disney Magic, which is approx 17 years old, and this is obvious when you board. Perhaps some of the let down was on me, as I set my expectations based on the Disney brand, hype, and increased costs compared to competitor lines with the same itinerary (allbeit not Castaway Kay but rather their own private island). My expectations were much higher than what was provided. We paid much more than the other cruise line options and when I booked, I justified this by noting that we were paying for the Disney experience, i.e. Exceptional service, unique entertainment focused on Disney Characters, amazing food, and a "magical" environment.
Unfortunately, none of these proved true. In general, the food was good (though nothing was fantastic or stood out, other than the daily lunch buffet which was excellent). Making this worse, our wait staff, while friendly, was terribly slow, missed at least one thing each night (did not bring everyone's appetizer/soup/etc.), we were lucky to have at least one glass of water or soda and almost never received a refill despite multiple requests, and on multiple occasions had only part of our party's dinner arrive, having to wait as long as an additional 9 minutes (timed it as by this point I was beyond frustrated) for the missing plate. The "head server" was 10 feet away looking at us, saw we were upset, and simply walked the other way, only coming by twice throughout our trip to say hello.
In regards to the ship itself, you can definetly tell it was 17+ years old. There was no grand entrance, the elevators were so small, and overall there was little in the way of places to go and sit or shop. I have been on Royal Caribean and Celebrity, and these were not only less expensive (not to mention for 7 nights) they were so much nicer and had much more in the way of options and locations to spend time during your trip (I.e. Library, computer stations/business center, arcade, more shops, etc.) The Magic essentially had two stores (there is also a kiosk on the pool deck and what is essentially a kiosk for Star Wars merchandise hidden by a bar), which was surprising given Disney's ability to market and take advantage of their brand.
Cabin was nice, we had category 4e, so paid a premium. Will say I was impressed with the details and craftsmanship, such as the high end cabinetry and crown molding as well as the separate toilet room and bathtub room.
We've done something similar in the Bahamas, and this one was much better by far. Would definitely recommend this to others and would love to do this again.