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DCL DVD...I guess people don't watch?

Oh my gosh! I called my mom two days ago and asked her if she wanted to go on a Disney cruise my treat. We have never cruised and know nothing about Disney cruises. (Although we've been to WDW at least 50 times.) I was so happy when I asked her and now I am COMPLETELY overwhelmed to the point it doesn't sound like fun anymore. After reading posts I have a billion questions and anxiety about making a good choice.
 
Oh my gosh! I called my mom two days ago and asked her if she wanted to go on a Disney cruise my treat. We have never cruised and know nothing about Disney cruises. (Although we've been to WDW at least 50 times.) I was so happy when I asked her and now I am COMPLETELY overwhelmed to the point it doesn't sound like fun anymore. After reading posts I have a billion questions and anxiety about making a good choice.

Please ask away! Don't let anyone put a damper on your enthusiasm. You will love Disney cruises!
 
Oh my gosh! I called my mom two days ago and asked her if she wanted to go on a Disney cruise my treat. We have never cruised and know nothing about Disney cruises. (Although we've been to WDW at least 50 times.) I was so happy when I asked her and now I am COMPLETELY overwhelmed to the point it doesn't sound like fun anymore. After reading posts I have a billion questions and anxiety about making a good choice.

Don't be afraid to open your own thread/s and ask questions! A vast majority of people on this board don't bite and would love to help a newbie to Disney Cruise Line. I still find it very helpful to log in and read the threads related to cruises that we have reservations for. Despite the fact that we have been on six DCL cruises. There is always something new for me/us to learn.
 
Oh my gosh! I called my mom two days ago and asked her if she wanted to go on a Disney cruise my treat. We have never cruised and know nothing about Disney cruises. (Although we've been to WDW at least 50 times.) I was so happy when I asked her and now I am COMPLETELY overwhelmed to the point it doesn't sound like fun anymore. After reading posts I have a billion questions and anxiety about making a good choice.

If you can do WDW you can easily do DCL, cruises are no brainers as far as I'm concerned. All you have to do is show up and have a great time. You can learn a lot from the boards but over planning is not a necessity. I went on 2 amazing DCL cruises before I even knew disboards existed. Just go, relax and have a great time.
 


Maybe they will start sending USB flash drives. This DVD thing you mention is so 2000s. At least a blu ray. We are in the era of magic bands. Maybe the OP is upset about change in the first place?

Get with the program. Magic bands don't come with DVDs either. Now thats a whole other story. I wonder what bad questions you may have asked in the past? Now that you are so keen on the DVD. Please so share.

JW

WDW sent me a flashdrive with WDW info on it. It was pretty cool.

MJ
 


Oh my gosh! I called my mom two days ago and asked her if she wanted to go on a Disney cruise my treat. We have never cruised and know nothing about Disney cruises. (Although we've been to WDW at least 50 times.) I was so happy when I asked her and now I am COMPLETELY overwhelmed to the point it doesn't sound like fun anymore. After reading posts I have a billion questions and anxiety about making a good choice.

I am curious. If you could help me out here:

You booked a Disney cruise. You will have a GREAT time!!! Honestly. And, btw, :welcome:

When you booked the cruise, had you researched on the DCL web site first?
Did you book online?
What made you end up here?
PLEASE ask as many questions as you can dream up. That's what I did. Just don't ask about smoking on board, tipping, and elevator hogging. Those threads will be a real fire bomb....you'll see :D
AND, I encourage you to read up a little on the DCL site so you will have some understanding of what is being discussed/debated here.
Over planning leads to angst, unless it's your style.
The TWO pieces of advice I offer to newbies, based on my own experience, is to: read the daily Navigators, pick what you absolutely MUST do, and then note other interesting activities in case you're up for it. Second, don't try to do it all. You will be exhausted from your vacation and you just plain won't be able to do it all, anyhow
 
of course Disney dvds are "not in the now"

and, if you read carefully, you will see that I stated in my original post that some of the MOST BASIC questions...those about how many restaurants, etc etc...are there and almost everywhere. The DCL site (which I would simply assume people would find before these disboards) gives you ALL the BASIC information. Specific questions are NOT answered, of course: Dining rotations, exact embarkation procedures, parking, etc etc.

JW9DVC: I have already stated that I have asked, and continue to ask, dumb questions. And i have every intention of asking more of them...but NOT ones like "OH! You sit with other people at dinner?!?!? How come?" or "what is pirate night"? THOSE answers are everywhere.....
The frustration is seeing the same unimaginitive questions over and over. Questions like: what is the best room? But no consideration to what the OPs preferences might be. I know you aren't being negative, but take a week and step away from the boards. I know I do, and always feel better when I come back..
 
Just for kicks, I pulled out our DVD that we ordered last year AFTER we had booked our cruise. It was useless. The information is vague and, in some places, downright confusing. Navigation between menus is tedious. I would argue that, until they can find produce something usable, DCL should stop offering them altogether.
 
I don't find it snotty, just the OP is wondering if people watch the DCL planning DVD....but I truly think many people do not even know you can order a DCL planning DVD from the DCL site. I have many and do like to watch them!!

For anyone who like to order a free DCL planning DVD here you go!!

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/cruise-planning-tools/

MJ

Had no idea this CD existed!
I will order it and watch it diligently!!
 
After reading this thread the other day, I went back and dug out the DVD I got last year. It's great promo and gets you excited for the cruise, but I prefer people's real life experience and advice, especially on details that promo material doesn't cover.

The reason I dug out the DVD? After reading the OP, I felt kind of dumb and a bit self conscious, wondering if I was wasting people's time with questions I have posted in the past. :( but after thinking it over, I realize that most of this community is awesome and totally supports each other and is very helpful wit questions! Some questions may be important to some and less so to others, and that's ok :) im sure it wasn't the original posters intention to come across as judgemental. I can't figure out what the intention was but certainly that wasn't it.
So to answer the question yes, I watched the DVD. At least twice now :)
 
peggy: to answer your query as to intention, it was simply stated.
Some people like to read in their own inferences into questions and seek deep-down motivations for what is a simple question, it seems.
I simply wanted to know how it is that people can book, what is, an expensive cruise (not something ordinary like a trip to the movie theater) without doing what, I supposed to be, rudimentary research on that cruise. I have seen people shocked to learn that they sit at tables with other people, don't know how the restaurant thing/rotation/meals work, if they have to pay for food, if towels are provided at the pool...etc etc. THIS information is readily available on the DCL site and myriad other places.
I, personally, cannot get a handle on how people manage to find the Disboards but don't utilize the Disney owned site as well, if not first.
That being said (again), I would like to reiterate that I try to be personally welcoming to newbies (as most were to me) and ENCOURAGE even the most basic of questions.
I also have encountered negativity to my posts before where people infer snottiness where none was intended. I am literate and my posts are, I believe clear. It is something in my tone, I believe, which inspires people to click on the snotty button......maybe I need to incorporate more smiley-huggy emojis in my posts....
:love1::flower1::flower3::hippie:
:rotfl2:
 
I, personally, cannot get a handle on how people manage to find the Disboards but don't utilize the Disney owned site as well, if not first.

Have you tried to use the official DCL site lately? It is far from reliable, not very user friendly, and sometimes has outdated info. For as large a corporation as Disney is, they have sucky websites. I was on WDW's site yesterday, trying to get room rates for a potential trip next August and got so frustrated with glitches and the slowness of the site that I gave up and went to a third party travel site to check room rates.
 
yeah....they r the BIGGEST entertainment conglomerate in the world and their site stinks.... but I was referring to the info parts of the site, not the booking parts
 
peggy: to answer your query as to intention, it was simply stated.
Some people like to read in their own inferences into questions and seek deep-down motivations for what is a simple question, it seems.
I simply wanted to know how it is that people can book, what is, an expensive cruise (not something ordinary like a trip to the movie theater) without doing what, I supposed to be, rudimentary research on that cruise. I have seen people shocked to learn that they sit at tables with other people, don't know how the restaurant thing/rotation/meals work, if they have to pay for food, if towels are provided at the pool...etc etc. THIS information is readily available on the DCL site and myriad other places.
I, personally, cannot get a handle on how people manage to find the Disboards but don't utilize the Disney owned site as well, if not first.
That being said (again), I would like to reiterate that I try to be personally welcoming to newbies (as most were to me) and ENCOURAGE even the most basic of questions.
I also have encountered negativity to my posts before where people infer snottiness where none was intended. I am literate and my posts are, I believe clear. It is something in my tone, I believe, which inspires people to click on the snotty button......maybe I need to incorporate more smiley-huggy emojis in my posts....
:love1::flower1::flower3::hippie:
:rotfl2:
I know you had stated that in the beginning and appreciate you doing so - that's what led me to believe you were not intentionally being judgemental. To be perfectly frank, though (because I've been in similar situations before where things I have said have been misinterpreted, so I am speaking based on my own learnings!) the question still came across that way disclaimer or not. I think it's to do with a couple of factors. For instance, the question you posed doesn't seem to have any value to yourself. Is it a poll of how many people watch? How does the information benefit you? It almost seems rhetorical, and comes across as remarking for the sake of judging, rather than a true question that you would like an answer to. If the question were "for those who watch the DVD what information do you feel is missing?" That would have been less imposing, and you may still get your answers in a roundabout way without making others feel "not as savvy". When all you have is a screen in front of you, you can only interpret someone's comments based in the phrasing used. Can't see the person smiling, or ask them to elaborate, etc. adding emojis if they are genuine is a great way to get your true spirit across! Hope this comes across as helpful (can't find a "helpful" emoji lol) because that's how it's intended, but as mentioned I too have had problems in the past with how things come across! I try to be more careful nowadays :)

Another note on the DVD, having watched it at least twice now, including 2 days ago, I have to say... I can't remember it very well. I mean, I remember them showing restaurants, showing people in pools, etc but any detailed info... Gone. And that's the way it is with promo material - you expect people to walk away with 1-3 key learnings that they will remember, but you make it as exciting as possible because people will always take away and recall the feeling they had while watching (excitement, etc) even though they don't remember the specifics. Then they associate those feelings with your brand even if they don't remember specifically why. So I think Disney expects us to still have questions after watching the DVD, and that's why DIS is so great! That's probably also why you see people asking questions that may have been covered in the DVD. Just too much to remember!
 
the question WAS personal...it was not meant for the better good.
most questions here are personal: best mdr, which insurance co, how to book excursions...
sometimes my mind ponders the imponderable....not to be confused with the Ponderosa...or a pound of roses...or a net full of jello (obscure wdw reference, there);)

this topic has been beat to death, it seems...the bottom line is that people are MUCH more impulsive than I am (I gather) and much more reliant on quick interactive information gathering than passive gathering such as reading on DCL site or watching the elusive dvd....

its all good and I DID get the answer to my original question, too:thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2:grouphug:
 
I watched the dvd MANY times. I rather receive info, tips and tricks from the REAL people in Disboards. They are ones who experience the DCL themselves. The DVD gives "general" tips.
 

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