I know Disney has a reputation for good customer service, but I was truly in awe. The cruise hit it from all angles--the actual number of "cast members" there to help, the attitude of those people, and the technology backing them up.

As you walk into the restaurant, someone hands you a hand wipe (Disney is serious about preventing illness outbreaks. I understand. A friend was on one of the ships where everyone got sick). The maitre d' puts your room number into the computer which then prints up everything you've ordered previously and any special requests you have. A waiter guides you to your table. Then your head server and assistant server take care of you. Unless, you are truly special needs, like we are, in which case the restaurant manager spends a lot of time with you. Are you counting? That's six people in the front of the house, not to mention all the chefs and dishwashers behind the scenes.

It was like that getting on and off the ship, standing in line to see characters, for everything really--just tons and tons of workers making the process go smoothly.

And those people have a good attitude. Now, I know Disney trains them to call all the little girls "princess" and to say "have a magical day" and in general to paste a grin on their face and leave it there permanently. For a few people the veneer was a bit thin and under the promise of exceptional service you could see them thinking, "Could someone just get this crazy kid away from me?" But most seemed to be truly enthusiastic about their jobs. The cast member who stopped me in the hall to sing the praises of the bingo game he was off to run was really really excited about it. We were in the middle of asking our assistant server for a cup with a lid because David tended to knock over cups, at which point David knocked over a cup. We all started laughing. The server was having a good time. And beyond enthusiasm, some had outstanding professional pride in doing an excellent job.

Our restaurant manager Carina was one such person. She went above and beyond. I ordered dinner for the kids. She brought two extra meals, so they could try all the gluten free options. I told her I'd take the left over pizza for lunch the next day; she looked shocked. She said she would make sure the g-f food got off the boat to the island restaurant. We just had to tell them our room number and the kids' food would be prepared there. Everybody else ate buffet; my kids got made-to-order. She never made us feel she was doing special favors or working extra; she was doing her job--providing excellent service.

The technology backing up people like her was pretty amazing. The kids' club is a perfect example. There's a camp on the ship with camp counselors and tons of activities and, unfortunately from my perspective, tons of video games, and the parents can just leave the kids there to have fun and go to the spa. But to make this happen safely, each kid gets a bracelet with a chip. They get scanned every time they are dropped off or picked up, and the scan says who's allowed to pick them up, whether they can check themselves in or out, special dietary needs, and probably their shoe size. I watched check out several times and was really impressed with the synergy between alert careful childcare workers and good technology. No kid was going to get lost or stolen with their system.

I've got one more thing I want to say about Disney service. I don't know how it feels from a cast member's perspective, but I thought Disney did a good job making the cast members people and not human shaped vacuum cleaners. Everyone helping us wore a nametag, and most of them introduced themselves. Our housekeeping person knocked on our door and welcomed us with open arms. Literally. She hugged us. You go to three different restaurants on the ship, but your servers move to each restaurant with you. So, you get a chance to know them, joke around. I think that combination of professionalism and personal connection makes Disney service outstanding, if not unique.