From embarkation to disembarkation this was such a successful holiday. The whole atmosphere aboard the ship was relaxed and friendly. The ports of call were fantastic. The children made friends, enjoyed numerous activities and said they had their best ever holiday. As adults we participated in a few activities but usually sat on desk 4 watching the world literally pass by. The scenery was phenomenal, from fjords to islands and cities besides.

We booked this trip 18 months ago and had high hopes for it, these were exceeded. Having already visited Oslo and wanting to go gain and to explore more of Scandinavia we were delighted when we saw Disney were cruising the Baltics. Our children love Disney World and we had though a cruise would be nice some time in our future. This option seemed to please us all. City itineraries, food and the Disney Characters and children's activities.

We had a drive of 3 hours from home to reach the ship. We did not see the ship until we were practically upon it in Dover. It looked beautiful, the sun was shining and the port looked quiet. Embarkation could not have been smoother, we drove right up to the port, there were 2-3 cars in front of us. A porter helped us unload our cases from the boot of the car and said we would see then next in our cabin. The children and I waited at the terminal building while my partner parked the car and was escorted back to the building by minibus. This process took about 5 minutes, we were then given the daily Navigator, the ships newspaper with all the activities and information while we waited in line to be 'processed'. The prerequisite photo's were taken and we registered our youngest child for his ID wristband and received our pager and awaited our boarding call. The ship had around 2000 guests on board compared to 2400 usually in the Caribbean. Having never been on this or any cruise ship we did not know whether this would still feel crowded or not, but we soon realised we had plenty of space, to swim, rest on desk 4 , 9 or 10. the restaurants often had empty seats and although they were never quiet there was plenty of space, staff and attention. Both children loved their activities, Activities originally our eldest thought she could go in the Stack the 14-17 year old space, but as she was only 13 she was supposed to attend Teen Quest. She had made a couple of online friends 10 days prior to embarkation so asked if she could 'swap' up to the other group. the counsellors were kind, respectful and empowering to our 13 year old. They said she could but would she try out the area designed for her first for a couple of hours, if she did not like it or still wanted t meet her 'online' friends that would be fine. Needless to say once she visited the Quest and met a few 12 and 13 year olds she was sold. Disney obviously know children well, once she thought it was her decision entirely and once she interacted in the area designed for her age group she felt she belonged and no longer wished to join the older activities. Read more