Dreams&wishes
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2019
It's a Disney cruise one sea day only I believeThose port intensive cruises can really change your experience. The ship becomes more of a hotel.
It's a Disney cruise one sea day only I believeThose port intensive cruises can really change your experience. The ship becomes more of a hotel.
My family are huge Disney Parks fans. We go to WDW annually, we love having things to do. We did take our first ever cruise last summer on Royal Carribean Quantum of the Seas to Alaska. While we loved Alaska my family was in agreement we didn't like the cruise itself. We did do 7 nights. Things we specifially didn't like was the lack of entertainment for our kids (10 and 8). We can only play trivia so many times. They did have the ping pong and basketball area but that gets crowded and bumper cars but that is limited time as well. We found ourselves bored on sea days. We also very much disliked the food. We felt the food was not good, especially the main dining food. We even skipped it when we could because it just wasn't good. We cruised with a family that has done Disney in the past and a family that has done Carnival, all first time to RCCL. I have been told to give cruising another shot due to the huge popularity of it. Many suggest we try DCL, however with the higher price for DCL we are hesitant to try given we did not enjoy the last one. Is it worth trying?
Thank you.
It's a Disney cruise one sea day only I believe
Cruising is Cruising. Entertainment in the evening is better on DCL. Food will be relatively the same..plus or minus. You can stand in lines and get pictures with characters. Trivia is Disney trivia. Shore excursions are similar. But it's still a cruise. Time to spend with family away from technology stress and distractions.My family are huge Disney Parks fans. We go to WDW annually, we love having things to do. We did take our first ever cruise last summer on Royal Carribean Quantum of the Seas to Alaska. While we loved Alaska my family was in agreement we didn't like the cruise itself. We did do 7 nights. Things we specifially didn't like was the lack of entertainment for our kids (10 and 8). We can only play trivia so many times. They did have the ping pong and basketball area but that gets crowded and bumper cars but that is limited time as well. We found ourselves bored on sea days. We also very much disliked the food. We felt the food was not good, especially the main dining food. We even skipped it when we could because it just wasn't good. We cruised with a family that has done Disney in the past and a family that has done Carnival, all first time to RCCL. I have been told to give cruising another shot due to the huge popularity of it. Many suggest we try DCL, however with the higher price for DCL we are hesitant to try given we did not enjoy the last one. Is it worth trying?
Thank you.
We did our first Disney cruise as a 4 nighter when my kids were 9 and 7 and they loved it and we have been going back ever since.
We learned over the years to pack a card game or two or a puzzle book when we want some family relax time but want to have fun.
What we love about DCL cruising is the service,the food, kids entertainment when our kids were younger, and the fact that everything is cooked for us and we just show up and enjoy it.
I might try a 4 night in the Wish or.a 5 night on the Dream or Magic if available.
I think the sea days are the critical difference. That is what is giving me pause. If I'm on the ship, I want to do something I can't do at home... so while playing cards or reading are great, I'd rather go to an animation class, or a wine tasting, or a game show, or a movie.
I've looked at Celebrity and Princess and there activity schedules for sea days leave a LOT to be desired. Maybe RCCL would be better, but my kid isn't really into the flashy stuff like rock climbing and go karts at this point (teenager).
We saw Match Your Mate on the Wish which is Disney's version of it. And it was hysterical! They picked great couples.The core product is largely the same on any cruise line. Princess and RCL feature movies (both by one of the pools as well as in the theater), lecture series (usually destination specific + a few random topics), trivia and other various games, wine & liquor tasting, culinary exploration, craft making, etc. DCL obviously has a Disney overlay and that's make or break for many people on these forums.
Disney is obviously "family" orientated. You're not going to see the classic "Love and Marriage" game, see any good comedy shows, view the infamous belly flop competition, etc. Nor does DCL feature much of the live music common elsewhere in the evenings. Again, if spending your time watching your kids get a picture with Cinderella is more important, this is a non-factor.
I responded already but after rereading your post and others i want to be a bit clearer...No. assuming you are being absolutely accurate in your post and not just venting a bit No cruising is not for you.My family are huge Disney Parks fans. We go to WDW annually, we love having things to do. We did take our first ever cruise last summer on Royal Carribean Quantum of the Seas to Alaska. While we loved Alaska my family was in agreement we didn't like the cruise itself. We did do 7 nights. Things we specifially didn't like was the lack of entertainment for our kids (10 and 8). We can only play trivia so many times. They did have the ping pong and basketball area but that gets crowded and bumper cars but that is limited time as well. We found ourselves bored on sea days. We also very much disliked the food. We felt the food was not good, especially the main dining food. We even skipped it when we could because it just wasn't good. We cruised with a family that has done Disney in the past and a family that has done Carnival, all first time to RCCL. I have been told to give cruising another shot due to the huge popularity of it. Many suggest we try DCL, however with the higher price for DCL we are hesitant to try given we did not enjoy the last one. Is it worth trying?
Thank you.
My family cruised a lot when I was in high school and college, mainly on RCCL, although our very first cruise was on the Disney Magic and I turned 14 on board the ship. I have a sister who is 18 months younger than me. The Disney cruise I absolutely hated. I was an awkward age and did not meet any friends on board the ship. The RCCL trips were much better. For dinner my family was seated with another family with two girls exactly the same age as my sister and I. Those girls were more outgoing and soon we had a whole group of friends on board we would spend our days hanging out with. We got along so well our parents planned a second trip altogether.I think the sea days are the critical difference. That is what is giving me pause. If I'm on the ship, I want to do something I can't do at home... so while playing cards or reading are great, I'd rather go to an animation class, or a wine tasting, or a game show, or a movie.
I've looked at Celebrity and Princess and there activity schedules for sea days leave a LOT to be desired. Maybe RCCL would be better, but my kid isn't really into the flashy stuff like rock climbing and go karts at this point (teenager).
(Ironically as the mom of an older toddler I am now only interested in DCL cruises for the time being and have no interest in RCCL. Maybe in the future when my son is older, assuming I can win my husband over on cruising. We have our first DCL cruise planned with extended family for next April!)
I appreciate all of your perspectives. It's hard to take a risk on the unknown... there's definitely a comfort in knowing how everything works on a Disney cruise for us (especially with our food allergy kid). But hearing from others truly is helpful, so thank you all!
Sorry if this is getting sideways from the OP's original question. We have taken two Disney cruises and enjoyed them - we did a Bahamas 4 nighter on the Dream and then a 7 night Western Caribbean on the Fantasy (with a Star Wars day at sea). The last one was prior to the pandemic but we are also going on a 5 night on the Magic this August.You could have benefited from being in a different thread, as many of us were focused on the OP’s having tried Royal and was contemplating Disney.
Bottom line, cruising at its core has a lot of similarities among companies. Sort of like fast food hamburgers; you’re still ending up with a piece of meat and a bun. How you dress it up or excel at cooking the meat appeal to different consumers. If you are in the mood for pizza, you will still be left unsatisfied.
Our first AK cruise was on Disney. Nieces were 15, 18, and 20. And they interact with each other more than with strangers. We had interior sideways for price and then did lots of excursions. It was the standard Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan itinerary.
Some of our family must have fallen in love with AK (besides the beauty, the weather is so much better than the heat and humidity we have).
The middle kid went back with me, on Princess, the year following DCL. Her honeymoon was on DCL to AK. And she’s returning again, also DCL, this year.
I have done one DCL, 3 on Princess, and one NCL. I would pick AK over any beach destination cruise. I have backed off on the big-ticket item activities, but usually manage to do a whale watch and a trip to Mendenhall. Then mix it up to try new things. The ZipRider at Icy Strait Point was so much fun.
But it doesn’t matter the itinerary, my Disney cruises are pretty much the same pattern: eat, sleep, go into port (usually an excursion). Late night movie on FunnelVision, Adult Trivia, movies in Buena Vista Theater, the production shows, walk around on outside Promenade, watch the sunsets, look for stars and moon. My need to be entertained or routinely excited has slowed. Seeing the sea or the mountains from an outside deck is wonderful. I don’t do character meets - but enjoy seeing others delight in that. I don’t even sit and read a book.
…As for Glacier Bay: it is hours of looking at mountains with glaciers tucked in. Unless a teen boy finds nature interesting, I wouldn’t base a cruise around that.
My niece loves to take photos (and does it well). I think that is something that kept her busy on cruises. She also plays trivia, does the arts and crafts and other activities a cruise offers.
But my nieces and I grew up with family vacations where everyone did an activity, no matter their ages.
…Have you gone on a vacation with your son? Is most of your time spent doing separate activities? If so, what does he do?
I think you sound like a cruise could work for you (at least one), how about the kid? Does he have any thoughts?
We saw Match Your Mate on the Wish which is Disney's version of it. And it was hysterical! They picked great couples.