Embarrassed by DCL cruising so often?

RedSox68 · Aug 25, 2016

This, by the way, is a very unique thread. Thanks for starting it. :thumbsup2

WeLoveStitch42 · Aug 25, 2016

We decided a few years ago as a family that we wanted to focus (and spend our $$) more on experiences and travel, and less on "stuff". That was our first Disney cruise. We are counting down to number six next month, and we also bought in to DVC on a cruise. We have teen boys who love Disney and DCL, and we were also able to use DVC points to take friends with us on a cruise in April. We had such a good time together that we have another cruise booked with them (again helping out with points) next year.
We have worked hard and saved wisely, which allows us to do these trips. We have wonderful memories and pictures from our trips, which are more important to us than new cars & gadgets.
My parents don't really understand why we do so much Disney. I think they just don't see the appeal. That's ok. We haven't told them about buying in to DVC. We spend time with them in the summer.

hanscarlet · Aug 25, 2016

sayuracodfish said:
My husband and I are in our 50's and probably in the "max earning years" work-wise. Like a lot of you have posted we choose to spend our money on vacations (as opposed to new cars, house upgrades, etc.) while we can still take them - who knows what the future will hold? I would rather have sweet memories that last forever than "stuff." What I struggle with is guilt (self-imposed, for the most part) that we don't take our aging parents on vacation, whether DCL or otherwise. We have had smaller vacations that we've spent together, but somehow the fact the we take these more expensive vacations together makes me feel like a heel at times. Is this something any of you struggle with?

I sometimes do a lot but then I don't. So I'm in my 30s and we have a young family and my parents are mostly able-bodied but as they get older I've noticed that it feels like I'm taking care of them more and I already have little ones to worry about so it doesn't seem like a vacation when they come on trips with us sometimes. We plan to cruise with them to Alaska in 2020 and we've gone on a DCL cruise with them in 2013.

hanscarlet · Aug 25, 2016

RedSox68 said:
This, by the way, is a very unique thread. Thanks for starting it.

Thanks! Yes it turned out to be pretty interesting. It actually makes me feel better about my own guilt sometimes. It's nice to be able to speak on this topic with people who "get it".

hanscarlet · Aug 25, 2016

RedSox68 said:
My biggest problem with non-cruisers is the nonending comments about how "you can't count that city/port/etc. because you only spent one day there" and "cruise ships don't give you enough time to see anything", to which my comment is always how else can you see 8-10 ports in 10-14 days without worrying about transportation and hotels! Cruising just doesn't make sense for some people I guess. One co-worker actually told me Rome doesn't count cause we were there one day -- and yet she's never even been overseas

I don't understand the comment about how "you can't count the city" - if you visited the city, spent some significant time in the city, even visited the city more than once on multiple cruises - how does that not qualify you as having traveled to the city lol. It sounds like comments like that are rooted in like jealousy, like since when it travel to cities a competition you know?

Jennifer777 · Aug 25, 2016

sayuracodfish said:
What I struggle with is guilt (self-imposed, for the most part) that we don't take our aging parents on vacation, whether DCL or otherwise. We have had smaller vacations that we've spent together, but somehow the fact the we take these more expensive vacations together makes me feel like a heel at times. Is this something any of you struggle with?

Once every 2-3 years we travel with my side of the family. It can be very stressful. I do all the planning, which I don't mind but then when something goes wrong, guess who is to blame. Plus, when you travel with others, unless you're really comfortable with them, it's easy to feel like you have to cater to them to ensure they have a good time and are enjoying themselves. When I go on vacation, I want to be on vacation too. Once every 2-3 years is enough to make me feel no guilt whatsoever when we travel without them.

Disneybridewifemama · Aug 25, 2016

I feel this way all of the time. We are very fortunate to have been able to go on some amazing adventures. But every time we go on one, there is ALWAYS someone who has something negative to say "MUST BE NICE" "Ugh Disney in the middle of the ocean, I'd jump ship" "Didn't you JUST go on vacation last year?"

Its frustrating that people don't know how to be happy for others and that they feel the right to have an opinion on how you spend your money.

But the second I step on the airplane, I leave all of the jealousy and negativity behind. We have a goal of showing our girl the world and as long as we are financially able, we will continue to do so without letting negative nelly's ruin our fun!

NancyIL · Aug 25, 2016

Disneybridewifemama said:
I feel this way all of the time. We are very fortunate to have been able to go on some amazing adventures. But every time we go on one, there is ALWAYS someone who has something negative to say "MUST BE NICE" "Ugh Disney in the middle of the ocean, I'd jump ship" "Didn't you JUST go on vacation last year?"

Its frustrating that people don't know how to be happy for others and that they feel the right to have an opinion on how you spend your money.

But the second I step on the airplane, I leave all of the jealousy and negativity behind. We have a goal of showing our girl the world and as long as we are financially able, we will continue to do so without letting negative nelly's ruin our fun!

If it's the same person/people over and over - do your best to not tell them anything! Or maybe throw it back at them and ask why they are raining on your parade.

Ofinn · Aug 25, 2016

hanscarlet said:
Do you find a difference between those who are familiar with cruising vs those who have never cruised? I would never imagine asking "what cruise line?" prior to being a cruiser but not I find I ask that question all the time because I'm curious. Just on Monday a co-worker said they were doing their honeymoon on a carribean cruise and I asked which one and he said RCCL and I said it sounds like a fantastic time and they will love it I'm sure.

I honestly only know one person at work that has taken a cruise. My inlaws have cruised Carnival, Hal , and NCL. They loved them all.

Amw1064 · Aug 25, 2016

AquaDame said:
Who on earth comments on someone else's bathroom needing updating...

Haha, it is just because we did all the bedrooms, living and family room and the bathroom is just there looking out of place. I say, "the shower works, the toilet works and the sink works. I am going back to Hawaii."

Ofinn · Aug 26, 2016

Amw1064 said:
Haha, it is just because we did all the bedrooms, living and family room and the bathroom is just there looking out of place. I say, "the shower works, the toilet works and the sink works. I am going back to Hawaii."

Lol My dh's campaign slogan for 2017 is "lets make our house great again" I'm like can't we just keep taking vacations every 4 months. I think will have to reach some kind of compromise over the next few years between home improvements and vacations.

hanscarlet · Aug 26, 2016

Ofinn said:
Lol My dh's campaign slogan for 2017 is "lets make our house great again" I'm like can't we just keep taking vacations every 4 months. I think will have to reach some kind of compromise over the next few years between home improvements and vacations.

We want to build our forever home in 2017-2018 and I can't help but think about how that may affect our chances of being able to take a 2018 cruise

. Priorities LOL

Trera · Aug 26, 2016

the good thing for us is we live in Orlando about 1 hour from the parking garage at the port, so we dont have expenses such as airline, transfers, rent a car, hotel, etc. All of that adds up and allows us to take more cruises.

Ofinn · Aug 26, 2016

hanscarlet said:
We want to build our forever home in 2017-2018 and I can't help but think about how that may affect our chances of being able to take a 2018 cruise . Priorities LOL

We put about 40k into remodeling our home 14 years ago when I was pregnant with my first. Yes we win the stupid parents award. I had no idea how hard kids can be on a house. Now I know why our next door neighbor with three kids was laughing at us.

Savikins · Aug 26, 2016

No, I do not feel embarrassed - I feel very lucky!

I do have a funny story kinda related to this though. When I returned from my Southern Caribbean cruise at the beginning of this year, I had gotten a few calls from employers who wanted to interview me. I returned their calls and set up interviews. When I arrived at one of the interviews, the manager asked me where I'd been on vacation and I told him I was on a cruise. He happily asked me what cruise line and I replied Disney. His expression changed instantly! He got all sour and told me "Oh, Disney cruises are SOOO expensive. Sometimes when my family is on a cruise and we port next to a Disney ship, I point at them and tell my kids that those are the ships for rich people."

I was pretty shocked by his unprofessionalism. The interview didn't really last much longer and I was dismissed and never got a call back... Not that I would have wanted to work with that guy, anyway. So maybe even though I'm not embarrassed there might be people secretly judging me, who knows? :upsidedow

Hundredacre · Aug 27, 2016

We do feel awkward. We generally just tell people we are going to a nearby beach. It's just more comfortable.

jdb in AZ · Aug 27, 2016

RedSox68 said:
My biggest problem with non-cruisers is the nonending comments about how "you can't count that city/port/etc. because you only spent one day there" and "cruise ships don't give you enough time to see anything", to which my comment is always how else can you see 8-10 ports in 10-14 days without worrying about transportation and hotels! Cruising just doesn't make sense for some people I guess. One co-worker actually told me Rome doesn't count cause we were there one day -- and yet she's never even been overseas

Some people say you can't count a city where you just change planes and never leave the airport. I figure if I get off the ship when it's in port, then that port counts.

We talked about cruising to Europe with a friend who grew up in Germany but he didn't like our itinerary because it only had one day in Berlin, and it would've been a long train ride to/from the city. So we did a shore excursion to a different German town that was nice, but I sure wish we'd spent a few hours in Berlin, and enjoyed seeing the German country side along the way.

NancyIL · Aug 27, 2016

jdb in AZ said:
Some people say you can't count a city where you just change planes and never leave the airport. I figure if I get off the ship when it's in port, then that port counts.

We talked about cruising to Europe with a friend who grew up in Germany but he didn't like our itinerary because it only had one day in Berlin, and it would've been a long train ride to/from the city. So we did a shore excursion to a different German town that was nice, but I sure wish we'd spent a few hours in Berlin, and enjoyed seeing the German country side along the way.

I agree that you won't get an in-depth introduction to any area with most port stops, but it's a nice introduction. That's why I try to spend time on a land trip before or after my cruises - especially when I've flown a long way to get there.

Sytrace · Aug 27, 2016

hanscarlet said:
Do you find a difference between those who are familiar with cruising vs those who have never cruised? I would never imagine asking "what cruise line?" prior to being a cruiser but not I find I ask that question all the time because I'm curious. Just on Monday a co-worker said they were doing their honeymoon on a carribean cruise and I asked which one and he said RCCL and I said it sounds like a fantastic time and they will love it I'm sure.

Yes. There are those people who have cruised often who are well versed in the various lines out there with very strong opinions about Disney cruising and how much of a waste it is of money. And that is okay, because they know what works for their families and vacation needs/desires. And if Disney is not their bag, then okay I am not going to feel bad though when we go on Disney cruises, because we know what works for our family. The new or fairly new cruisers are just so excited about everything and it is contagious.

It sort of rubs off on me when I read or hear them talking about their upcoming cruises. And that is one reason I like the Disboards. There are so many levels of people and cruising style on here. The new cruisers keep it fresh for me. And the veteran cruisers keep it real. Best of both worlds really.

Sytrace · Aug 27, 2016

Disneybridewifemama said:
I feel this way all of the time. We are very fortunate to have been able to go on some amazing adventures. But every time we go on one, there is ALWAYS someone who has something negative to say "MUST BE NICE" "Ugh Disney in the middle of the ocean, I'd jump ship" "Didn't you JUST go on vacation last year?"

Its frustrating that people don't know how to be happy for others and that they feel the right to have an opinion on how you spend your money.

But the second I step on the airplane, I leave all of the jealousy and negativity behind. We have a goal of showing our girl the world and as long as we are financially able, we will continue to do so without letting negative nelly's ruin our fun!

Yes, I have heard the "Must be Nice" comment a lot and my response is Yes, it is , with a Disney smile of course.
The remarks about you are going again? Well, people just don't even bother with that one anymore because we like to go frequently. By the end of December it will be 4 cruises in one year. (Maybe 5 depending on if I can snag a quick cruise for my son's birthday) I think they would be more surprised if we DIDN'T go.

Which is a really great feeling. lol

Embarrassed by DCL cruising so often?

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