help me decide Cruise or WDW

[DISfanboy]

Trying to decide on a trip for next year. It will be just my wife and I. We're deciding between a 4 night bahama cruise or 6 nights at WDW. We have been to WDW many times, but never done a cruise. Would really like to hear what the cruise is like. Thanks

 

[mmouse37]

Trying to decide on a trip for next year. It will be just my wife and I. We're deciding between a 4 night bahama cruise or 6 nights at WDW. We have been to WDW many times, but never done a cruise. Would really like to hear what the cruise is like. Thanks

This is a DCL planning board so the majority of your replies will be to try DCL!!!

In a nutshell...if you like Disney (and clearly you do) and like great service, a beautiful floating hotel, wonderful stage shows, classic Disney elegance, characters galore, all your meals included, comp soft drinks, all the Disney touches....then you will LOVE a DCL cruise.

My husband and I go frequently without the kids...it is just as much for adults only as it for families.

My suggestion...go for a 7 night cruise....3 and 4 day cruises are way too short!!!

Keep reading this board for tons of info.

MJ

 

[MrsScooby]

The cruise has alot of advantages... it can be as busy or as relaxing as you want. The only dinner reservation you need to be concerned with on a cruise would be Palo -the rest of the time you would either go the main dining rooms or top deck for casual options.
One of the drawbacks on a cruise is that the pools are tiny. Not a dealbreaker for us, but if that is important to you then you might want to stick with the resorts/water parks that have the big pools.

One of my favorite memories with my DH was watching the movie Lady and the Tramp on the big screen on deck. My DH went and got blankets for us as it was a little chilly in the evening at the time and we relaxed on the loungers while we watched the movie

Comedy shows, stage shows, cooking demonstrations, bingo (Disney style), -all included in the price of DCL.
Drink tastings (wine/martini/beer/etc) and Palo were an extra fee, but fun

Definitely check on the trip reports thread (at the top of the main page) and you will see lots of trip reports and pictures.

Good Luck

 

[jlwhitney]

The cruise has alot of advantages... it can be as busy or as relaxing as you want. The only dinner reservation you need to be concerned with on a cruise would be Palo -the rest of the time you would either go the main dining rooms or top deck for casual options.
One of the drawbacks on a cruise is that the pools are tiny. Not a dealbreaker for us, but if that is important to you then you might want to stick with the resorts/water parks that have the big pools.

One of my favorite memories with my DH was watching the movie Lady and the Tramp on the big screen on deck. My DH went and got blankets for us as it was a little chilly in the evening at the time and we relaxed on the loungers while we watched the movie

Comedy shows, stage shows, cooking demonstrations, bingo (Disney style), -all included in the price of DCL.
Drink tastings (wine/martini/beer/etc) and Palo were an extra fee, but fun

Definitely check on the trip reports thread (at the top of the main page) and you will see lots of trip reports and pictures.

Good Luck

Bingo is not free, actually it is very expensive

 

[Jaxs27]

This was a hard choice for us. We have been to WDW 5 times and we love it. We chose to try out DCL this year, we go in May. Our reasoning was that we wanted a more relaxed vacation and it is our 10 year anniversary so we wanted something new. So, I don't know if we made the right decision yet, but I will let you know in a month.

 

[MrsScooby]

Bingo is not free, actually it is very expensive

yep, you're right
I was just trying to think of the things we've had fun doing in the past and put it in the wrong list.
Also forgot the spa as an option.
However, I find the spa to be really expensive and not any better than the one I have at home so we opt to spend our money on things like bingo instead.
Everyone has their own idea of what is fun and how much it is worth it to them

 

[generaltso23]

I've never been to WDW, but my family of 4 did a 4-night cruise on the Dream in February. Now that we've done a cruise, I don't think I'm every going to see what WDW is like because if I'm going to Florida, It will be for another cruise. We've already got a 7-night on the Fantasy booked for next February

 

[collectoraholic]

This is a DCL planning board so the majority of your replies will be to try DCL!!!

In a nutshell...if you like Disney (and clearly you do) and like great service, a beautiful floating hotel, wonderful stage shows, classic Disney elegance, characters galore, all your meals included, comp soft drinks, all the Disney touches....then you will LOVE a DCL cruise.

My husband and I go frequently without the kids...it is just as much for adults only as it for families.

My suggestion...go for a 7 night cruise....3 and 4 day cruises are way too short!!!

Keep reading this board for tons of info.

MJ

Couldn't have said it any better than MJ. Definitely go and do a 7-nighter if at all possible. & I agree, going as just adults on Disney is just as nice. My DH and I have done it numerous times. Out of the 16 DCL sailings that I've done, 7 have been without our children.

 

[heatherbelle]

Go on a 7 night cruise, you will not want to go back to WDW after cruising. The 3 and 4 ones are way too short as others have said.

 

[mom of a lil pirate]

Have you ever cruised before on another line? I will be doing my first Disney cruise this year, but have cruised before. I have also spent lots of time at Disney world. With that said, I LOVE cruising. It is the most relaxed vacation ever. It is nice to disconnect from the world, no cell phones, computers, or email (you can if you want, but it costs extra) and just fun. Disney world is great too, but just not as kicked back as it is on a cruise. I say go for the cruise!!

 

[E&EMom]

We are going to WDW in June for a few nights and then cruising for a 3 night in October. I'm looking forward to the cruise more than going to WDW for several reasons. The main one being when we are at the parks it seems like its always "go go go" all day long. On the cruise, to me it is more laid back and relaxing and I don't have to worry about where to dine or getting things at the grocery for the room, or making sure we get the most done for the cost of the tickets, etc.

We have been on three cruises, two of which were with DCL and I have to say that I like the cruises the best. You go to so many places and only have to unpack once!

 

[DisneyHelen]

We did three days WDW and then four day cruise. It was a great week and a chance to relax on the cruise after busy WDW.

 

[tinkerbelltwins]

Love both but if I had to choose it would be cruising on a Mickey Ship!!!!! So entertaining, relaxing, and a great way to make lasting friendships, especially if you get on your meet board.

 

[crimson_savvy]

I had been on 2 or 3 Disney Cruises before I ever went to WDW. When I did go to WDW the first time, I wasn't impressed. The cruise is SOOOOO much more fun. The ports are a nice change of scenery and they're a fun way to experience different parts of the world. And Castaway Cay is unbeatable. It's the best! It should be what they call "The happiest place on earth."

The Caribbean is a million times more beautiful than Orlando.

 

[crimson_savvy]

I had been on 2 or 3 Disney Cruises before I ever went to WDW. When I did go to WDW the first time, I wasn't impressed. The cruise is SOOOOO much more fun. The ports are a nice change of scenery and they're a fun way to experience different parts of the world. And Castaway Cay is unbeatable. It's the best! It should be what they call "The happiest place on earth."

The Caribbean is a million times more beautiful than Orlando.

 

[Futurist]

My DW and I are Disney fans (but not fanatics) who have been to DisneyWorld several times, and on four DCL cruises. My *stunning* conclusion is: it depends on what you like. We were just on the Maiden Voyage of the Disney Fantasy, and it was truly amazing. We then stayed offsite near DisneyWorld for four days, and spent one day park-hopping between EPCOT and Magic Kingdom. The contrast is striking.

I commented to my DW that the cruises are concentrated Disney. The cast members are friendlier, and more attentive on average. The experience is less intense, but more pervasive because you are living with Disney, not just visiting. There is both less and more to do – less because the parks have so many choices. More because if you've been to the parks repeatedly (as you have), you are repeating thrills, not experiencing them new, whereas each day on the ships is unique.

It really, truly does come down to what you like about Disney. If you want to live in Disney, then absolutely take a cruise. If you want to be frenetically busy (and, yes, I know that many fanatics go to be parks repeatedly just to walk around and experience the contact high), go back to the parks. The parks are sensory overload. DCL is living with Disney, forming personal relationships with CMs, and becoming part of Disney (although only for a few days), not just visiting. In the parks, you typically see a CM once, and if they fluff the exchange, they shrug and move on. With DCL, you and they see each other over and over again, and have to work out how you're going to relate to each other as people, not just as customer and service provider. I think that's about the best I can describe it. Except that the service is (IMHO) much better on DCL. When we went to EPCOT and MK, I was struck by how rude the CMs were in comparison to what I expected. That's unfair, because by any normal standard, they were great. But DCL CMs are more than great, they are truly outstanding.

And because a cruise is living with Disney, a 3-4 day cruise may not be enough. But if that's what you can afford, then do that. It will tell you what you think about the experience. No one can really tell you which is right for you, and I'm sure there will be lots of and lots of people who disagree with me. Take the plunge and form your own opinion.

Hope that helps!

Richard

 

[DISfanboy]

Thanks to all who have replied your advice and info helped a lot. After discussing with my fiancee we decided we both want to try something new. Now we just need to plan it. Thank god for Disboards since nethier of us have ever been on cruise we'd be so lost without this site.

 

[ruley3]

CRUISE ofcourse!!!!

 

[Victoria J]

DH and I have been to WDW many times and DS8 has been their 5 times. Last year DH and I took a 3 night DCL cruise as a "test" and then took DS on a 3 night in February as part of a larger trip. We were scheduled to do WDW for our trip next winter. After our trip in February, we all decided that the cruise was the BEST part of it and are now going on the 7 night Western next winter instead of doing WDW. The two vacations offer very different experiences, but both are great! Even DH, who was very skeptical about the whole cruise thing, is sold. Cruising is not for everyone, but then again neither is WDW. A friend of mine took her family there for the first time last month, and said 5 days at the world was MORE than enough Disney for them. Can you imagine that??? I don't think you can go wrong either way as long as you have realistic expecations regarding which type of vacation you are going on.

 

[BMICKEY]

We've been on 3 Disney cruises (2 times on the Magic and 1 time on the Wonder). In between the Magic and Wonder cruises, we did WDW for 9 days. WDW was so new and different to us compaired to Disneyland, so I ran our family ragged making sure not to miss a thing!

So before booking our trip on the Fantasy for October 27, 2012 (Halloween cruise #3) I took a poll from the hubby, my 15 year old son and the 12 year old son. I got a resounding CRUISE!

We all love the cruise for different reasons....I love it because we can be a family having fun or just a couple having alone time.

Since you've done WDW, I would definitely try the cruise. If you've never cruised a 3-4 day cruise is a great way to test it out. I do know that after doing two 7 day cruises then getting on a 4 day Wonder cruise was hard! We only did it because we were short on DVC points, our friends couldn't all afford a 7 day (there were 16 of us at our dinner table!) and we wanted to go to Universal Orlando to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (If you have been there and love Harry Pottery, I highly recommend that!) It's a lot of work for such a short cruise but works for first timers since you don't know what to expect. If you can swing the 7 day, I would do that one. When calculating the costs, don't forget to compare how much your tickets, food, snacks, hotel, and transporation would cost for the same amount of time on a 7 day when you really only have to worry about tips if you don't buy any extras. You may be surprised at how close the price difference is. Plus, most travel agencies will take payments thus making it easer on the check book!

If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me, I talking Disney plus cruises!

Good luck!