A question for those who first cruised AFTER finding the DIS?

[Flagger]

Did you find your cruise experience met, exceeded or did not exceed your expections? Did the experience live up to the hype or did you find you had researched so much you were underwhelmed by the actual experience?

 

[need_a_Disney_fix]

Our cruise was greatly enhanced because of what I learned from DIS. I thought I did a good job of keeping my expectations in check. I feel that all of my research paid off and we had a flawless cruise from beginning to end. The best part of being a DISer is meeting the friends that you make on the boards.

 

[BuzzNutt]

Living up to the hype and prepared me for some good stuff. I was warned about getting my son ready for the sirens at the drill on the first afternoon and where and what cat room to get. I am one who loves being prepared and The DIS does that for me.

 

[daisy2000]

I was definitely not underwhelmed! I know there are many on these boards who have done DCL more times than I - I've done 4 and each time was magical, honestly.

I booked my first cruise on my own and then a few months before the cruise, I found these boards and thank goodness! I was so prepared for my first disney cruise, knowing where & when to get ressies, etc. (and at that time you had to make all your spa, palo, excursion ressies on boards so it wasn't easy!).

I find with DCL and WDW, the more research you do - the better prepared you are, and the result is a much more enjoyable vacation.

 

[Jrsy Boy]

I never really felt that there was much hype. There seem to be as many stories about WONDERful and MAGICal things as there are about things that didn't go as expected. For every "we got upgraded!" thread there was a "we missed castaway cay due to weather " thread. I guess I would have to say that, overall, it exceeded our expectations because we really didn't set our expectations too high. We knew that we would have an awesome vacation no matter what happened, so anything unexpected was a bonus.

 

[GenieDana]

We had cruised before, so generally knew what to expect from a cruise. The more informed consumer will always get more out of what they are consuming, so the DIS as one source of information, is useful. But don't limit your knowledge to what you read on an opinion board, check out the Passporter guide and other DCL themed web pages.

 

[lbgraves]

The fact that we boarded the ship knowing 20 other families who we had spent the past year planning with made the cruise have a comfortable feeling. No matter where we went, we saw DISers. Our tablemates were great & their kids were a year older than each of ours so that worked out perfectly. I was worried about being disappointed...but our first cruise was just perfect. Our servers were wonderful, our host was fantastic, the characters were more than magical with the kids...even though they were both terrified of Santa. We were more worried that the second cruise would be a let down after the first because there was just no way that everything could go as well again. We were lucky to request our previous server, met Marco on his first week back to the ship in the dining room, and saw our last host daily since he was just down the hall. This last cruise was a bit different...I was stressed because DD & I had been ill the week before we boarded & I was worried that we would have to cancel. I was also still worn out from having been ill that day, but stayed in the room during the afternoon & napped until the safety drill. We still enjoyed the cruise however. There were many magical moments that helped us all to appreciate it.

 

[Echo queen]

Everything I learned here was a plus mostly the tip to book on board so that we will enjoy another fab-u-lus vacation. My DH could not believe how much insider info I had.

 

[kimszath]

Truthfully, I cannot imagine how the cruise would have been without all the info before I showed up! I would not have know to go straight to the Palo booking area, would not have known what to expect at dinners (as far as dress, "shows," asking for what you want, even if it isn't on the menu!) I would have been irritated by the whole "tipping" thing if I didn't already know from the DIS boards just how much our waitstaff and other employees DON'T make... didn't sound like so much moolah after I found out how they're paid, and I was informed enough to have that all saved up in advance, where I might otherwise have felt like my spending money was being taken from me! Armed with my DIS info, as well as the same 20 buddies Lisa (above) made (we were on the same first cruise!), I was ready for everything! Instead of sitting for hours in my room staring at the paper Navigators, I knew what we wanted to do with just a quick glance! I knew which excursions would actually be worth my hard-earned cash, and which ones to steer clear of. I knew NOT to miss the chocolate souffle!!! (Heaven! ) It was our first cruise ever, and we were completely into it by the day we boarded.

 

[yazee1]

This board gets from our family. It is a vast understatement to say our cruise experience was greatly enhanced by all I learned reading the board before our first cruise.

 

[debloco]

Our experience was enhanced, and DCL exceeded our expectations.

We're booked on cruise #4 this October!

 

[Texasmomof3]

I will let you know. Our first cruise on the Wonder is on Sunday March 12. I have been reading the boards constantly and feel I have learned so much. Thanks for the info now it's time to see if I can put it to good use.

 

[kath1210]

I found the DIS just before my first cruise on DCL. I would have been SO lost without these boards! The cruise more than exceeded my expectations.

 

[BBBFamily]

I feel like it is my duty to make the most of the experience since we don't get to go that often and we are spending a lot of money!

Our kids have talked about our first disney cruise for the past six years and I can honestly say it was memorable because I was an informed cruiser.

If anything, it is because of the DIS boards and the comments of more experienced cruisers that I set appropriate expectations for our vacations -- they are everything we want them to be AND more!

 

[castlegazer]

How the heck would I have known any of the things I now know had it not been for the DIS:

Time to get to the port

How to do on-line ressies at 3 am

How to fax a request in for the private room in Palo

How to order special somethings for all your new friends that you will be cruising with

What the pros and cons are for the different seating times

An actually layout of my days on board the ship (priceless)

There are soooo many more......I would be lost without the DIS.

 

[branv]

I discovered that no matter how much people act dreamy about the ship, you really can't prepare yourself for how enchanting it can be...and truthfully, DH and I didn't take advantage of alot, but still somehow it seemed like heaven. I went knowing that this was an "experiment" for us to find out if we're like cruising or hate it. I was skeptical about alot of opinions I'd read on here (Disney fanatics, dontcha know ) Now I don't know if we really do like cruising or if it's just impossible to hate the DCL

My thoughts:

1) Expected to be underwhelmed by the food given the wide range of opinions on this board, but I was even more underwhelmed then I thought (except Palo). But I am a food snob

2) I was skeptical about how everyone said time would fly by, and it was hard to do as much as you want, but they were right!

3) I found that the "holding cell" i.e. the purgatory they call the cruise terminal was far more chaotic then people prepare you for. It was packed at 11 am, and I can't tell you how many times I was almost bowled over by people, and at least twice almost knocked in the head b/c someone actually thought this was a good time/area to play catch football.

4) I do think people overstate the incredible service: Yes, you will get some magical treatment from the CM's, but I had my fare share of from careless, to sullen, to downright rude treatment (the lifestyle portrait photographer, don't get me started, I was almost in tears!) from these very human, likely tired people. I tried to just smile and give them the benefit of the doubt (except the photog of course )

5) They were right about Nassau....now we know

6) It was nice to know, going in, that there was no guarantee we would get to CC. I tracked wave conditions prior to our trip, and was really concerned that it might not happen. I was prepared for it, so us docking was a bonus I can't imagine how hard it would be if you didn't know that this was a possibility. Plus it lowers the number of hysterical enraged people banging down the cm's doors demanding satisfaction for something they should have already known wasn't a guarantee.

7) No one prepared us for the "motion of the water" side effect...and no I don't mean sea sickness. I mean the drugged feeling one gets requiring you to nap frequently, whether it be in your cabin, on a deck chair or heck...inside the adult pool with your head resting on your arms in the low water area (the latter of which is remedied the first time you "nod" and snort water). Of course, the addictive BBC's might have alot to do with this That darn napping is what really ate up alot of our time on the ship, but man did we benefit from it!

In short, of the things were were disappointed in, DIS didn't unrealistically psych us up so much that there was a glaring difference in perceptions. In fact, they prepared us for things we might have otherwise been upset by.

I think if you go in really thinking that you're going to be treated like a King/Queen, you're in for disappointment. There are up to 2000+ other people on the ship who also have to receive service, so not everyone can be #1 VIP. If you go in expecting to relax, rejuvenate, reconnect and be more pampered then you are at home doing laundry, cleaning, cooking and working, then you're going to be pleased. Things are done well, the ship is lovely, modern and clean, and the service is good...that's enough for me

 

[kath1210]

I agree, don't expect to be treated like royalty, but also don't be surprised if you are!

We received the best service on the Wonder - we truly felt like royalty! Everyone was friendly and helpful, and we were not disappointed in anything.

Maybe we were just lucky, but, thanks in large part to the information on these boards, it was the best vacation we've ever had and we cannot wait to go back!

 

[2littlemonkeys]

To me, this was the best vacation we have ever taken. We travel as often as possible and try to see new places and do new things. This was our first cruise and the information I got from everyone here enhanced every aspect of our trip! I agree, don't go with high food expectations, we had some really good meals, but overall we weren't impressed. But the tips and tricks learned here surely helped create "Magic" for our family. And I can see proof of that every night when my boys lay their heads on their autographed pillowcases! I'd have never known about that if not for this board!

We were all bummed to walk off that ship last Saturday morning and CANNOT wait to do it again!

 

[pppiglet]

I agree that the information here is the best and I am so glad I planned and got every detail down, but.....because everyone here says how magical and great everything is over and over again, I think I hyped myself up and was kind of let down when we actually were on the cruise. I enjoyed every minute of it, but we just had average service and average servers. Now it did get me addicted to cruising and I had just as much fun on our Carnival Pride cruise we just took, and I now know how cruises work and how fun our next DCL cruise will be. So I will be prepared and I think our next cruise on DCL won't be underwhelming for me.

Also....meeting other Disers online first was probably the best thing I did and made our cruise so much more enjoyable! I recommend joining your cruise meets thread!

 

[LuvindisCruiser]

OMG I learned SO much from these boards for our cruise it was amazing. My husband was so amazed at all the stuff I already knew like our SPR and going swimming right when we got on board! And, Palo's WOW, WOW, WOW !!!
We saved lots of time and money. Thanks to DIS we had one of our best vacations ever !!!!