Disney Cruise Boring?

[NancyIL]

Just found this thread via Google. Anyways, we just went on a 3 night Disney cruise. We live 20-25 minutes from the Port and there were good FL resident deals, so we figured that we'd finally bite. We have a 4 year-old and a 6 year-old. We are DVC members, we go to WDW plenty and we love it.

We'll admit it...we were seriously bored on this cruise. The boat itself (the Disney Dream) was really nice. Otherwise, we were bored, the food was pretty lacking (and we aren't hugely picky), and the kids' club was nothing more than glorified babysitting Our 6 year-old is really, really easy to entertain. She was SO excited to go to the kids' club. 45 minutes later, she had us paged. She was bored. We tried 2 more times. Same result. It is pretty hard to bore this child. The "activities" consisted of a blaring TV playing a Disney movie while little kids sat on a flashing floor or a coloring page "craft". The only interesting activities were pretty late at night, well after our kids were in bed.

Castaway Cay was nice and the kids' club there was good. They had planned activities for the kids that did not include a TV. If we could have spent 3 days at Castaway Cay we might want to do another Disney Cruise.

Overall, this cruise was not worth the $1300 that we spent on it...not even close. Our kids were glad to get home this morning. That is saying something. I really wish that we'd taken the $$, bought Universal passes and spent the weekend there instead. I just don't *get* the love for Disney Cruises. DH and I kept saying that we must be missing something.

Had you cruised before going on this Disney cruise? I really enjoy cruising, but my opinion about Disney cruises hasn't changed since my previous posts on this thread from almost 3 years ago - plus one more 4-night cruise on the Dream in 2011. However, I have a 7-night Fantasy cruise booked next month (DIS Podcast cruise) and the 14-night Magic Transatlantic cruise in May to look forward to. I hope I'll grow to love DCL after the longer cruises. Even if I don't - I'll always love going to WDW.

 

[ppony]

I just wanted to say to the OP as well, we've only done one cruise so far and because my youngest son (severely autistic) couldn't handle the change in routine and all the people, it didn't go well at all, an neitehr he nor I got to do much of anything. I spent almost our entire cruise, INCLUDING meals, in our cabin. My DH and oldest did do some things but they were sad to be apart from us too often and then my oldest just got tired of the Oceaneers club so he WAY overspent in the arcade. My point is, we haven't had a chance to really "experience" the ship as other do. But your question is still in my mind having been on the ship already once. I STILL ask myself, what would I like to do becuase honestly, I'm so freaked out by crowds that going to where they all are in one place (ie: shows) freaks me out, and then I don't use the pools or bars and virtually none of the activities sounded remotely interesting to me (when I looked at the navigator back then in 2009), except I WANTED to do the scrapbooking SO BAD . Still don't know what it's like but that was one thing I would have died to do. I did get a chance to do the spa but honestly, hated it. It was actually a humiliating experience for me. So I still ask myself, will it be differnt when we go again in 2 years? We may or may not bring one or both of our kids, so what could happen is up in the air. I'm not sure if my DH and oldest really wanted to do more. They still haven't told me if it was really them feeling bad being apart from us, or just that they didn't want to do anything else offered.


I just wanted to say it's not a silly question to ask. I've been on the ship and I STILL ask myself that question. Why do I want to go back though??? If for no other reason than I LOVED the ocean and the smells. Staid out on my veranda at 1AM watching dolphins swim along side the ship in perfect peace was and still is, my ultimate happy place. Castaway Cay was wonderful and worth the trip in and of itself. We'll see what round 2 brings for my family. They only way to know, is to try.

 

[ashleyt]

I think that we are just disappointed because our expectations were out of line with reality. We had very high expectations of things like the kids' club activities, and the reality just didn't measure up. We are glad that we tried the Disney Cruise, but we won't go again.

I think expectations are important. We went on our first cruise last March on the Dream...a double dip 5 day Bahamian. It was good in most ways, but I completely agree with some of your sentiment. Our expectations going in were sky high based on all we had read on this board. We were really nervous because we plan up to 4 activities/day on our land vacations, and we weren't sure what to expect on a cruise where we wouldn't have the freedom of our feet/bicycle/vehicle to go wherever we wanted.

In short, the cruise didn't meet our expectations, but was still very good. A common bit of advice on DCL boards is "don't try to do it all, you can't....just relax and enjoy what you are doing". This implied to us that we couldn't possibly do everything so we were expecting the world. On the single sea day, we swam in the pool, did aquaduck x 10 (at least), sat in the hot tub, gazed out a the water, played minigolf, played basketball, did goofy sports, played shuffleboard, did both midship detective games (they only take 45 minutes-1 hour), went to a drawing class where we learned to draw mickey and donald duck, went to an animal towel folding class, hung out on our verandah, and then still had an hour and a half to kill before early dining, so we sent the kids to kids club and my husband and I exercised for an hour.

If there were more sea days, we would definitely be at a loss for activities.

I also agree about the kids club. It's not smoke, light shows, lazers, and intense energy as it is sometimes portrayed on these boards. It's mostly kids watching TV, playing video games, and doing crafts, largely independently.

So you can easily do everything on the newest and biggest ships. It's not hard at all. It just depends on how much you like to sleep in, and how much downtime/gazing out at the ocean you want to do.

That said, once we settled into the slower pace of a cruise vs WDW, we really appreciated it for what it was. Our expectations will be in the right place for our next one for sure.

 

[com_op_2000]

Having been on 7 DCLs, DW and I were never bored.
You can be as buzy or relaxed as you choose to be.

 

[tajz90]

Having been on 7 DCLs, DW and I were never bored.
You can be as buzy or relaxed as you choose to be.

DCL is the only cruise line that I DON'T find myself bored on.

 

[Silverfox97]

and the kids' club was nothing more than glorified babysitting Our 6 year-old is really, really easy to entertain. She was SO excited to go to the kids' club. 45 minutes later, she had us paged. She was bored. We tried 2 more times. Same result. It is pretty hard to bore this child. The "activities" consisted of a blaring TV playing a Disney movie while little kids sat on a flashing floor or a coloring page "craft". The only interesting activities were pretty late at night, well after our kids were in bed.

This is interesting to me - our daughter has been on 5 DCL cruises - first at age 3 /12 & she's about to go on her 6th cruise in Dec at age 5 1/2. The kids clubs are the OPPOSITE to her. Yes, there are the kids in front of the computers, TV & video games, but not our daughter )She doesn't do these things at home tho, either). 1) She prefers the kids club on the classic ships more & I think it's the slides on there, but they are smaller, too. 2) Only ONE time in her 5 cruises did she use a computer there & it was to create your own fairy. 3) Our daughter is VERY outgoing & independent & makes friends easily. She told me what she does is goes into the club, walks around to see what's going on, walks over to the lab (this is on the new ships), sees what's going on & picks an activity. Mostly, when we came to get her, she was making a craft wearing a princess dress, or playing in a group of kids.

Our DD hasn't ever had a babysitter or been to daycare, so our 1st cruise with her I was apprehensive about leaving her there. We only did it 3 times for an hour at a time plus our Palo dinner & we had to PRY her out of there. This was on the Wonder at age 3 1/2. The next cruise, same thing, chose activities ("Do si do w/Snow White," "Storytime with Belle," etc) and left her for 1 hr at a time, again, she cried having to leave. DH & I have stood outside & observed her interacting many times & she indeed was in there having a blast (non-electronically). She does like coloring tho, so often she did that. After those 2 experiences, we let her choose when she wanted to go. This last cruise, we went to matinee shows & let her go after early dinner. We have never been paged to get her

It's too bad your kids didn't have fun - the kids clubs aren't for everyone!

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[lucyem]

Lol, boring isn't necessarily the right word. I know being on a beautiful cruise ship could never be truly boring, but I'm wondering if anyone has ever found there to be a lack of things to do on a Disney cruise?

We were bored. But thats us. Someone else on our cruise was non stop busy. A lot depends on you and your likes/dislikes and plans and expectations.

We were on a 3 night Dream cruise. The plan was day 1: Nassau in the AM, really take full advantage of the ship in the PM, Day 2: Castaway Cay. But the weather got bad and we skipped Castaway Cay. We had a whole sea day that was not expected. Oh I made a couple of spa reservations and so did my DH. The kids went to the kids club. But by the afternoon I sat looking at the days schedule and saw nothing we wanted to do. Everything good was scheduled at the same time and then we were left with a 4 hour span of nothing. I would have thought more would have been planned by the crew. Weather too crazy to go on deck. Movie we saw the day before. Other movie I would not take the kids to. My kids were overtired after a week at WDW and did not want more kids club time. We had done everything we wanted to do on the ship the day before. Really crammed it in. So there we sat. Kids watched tv and I took a nap. DH had another spa treatment for acupuncture. I did not even have a book with me.

Overall that trip was fun but a real bummer too. Who goes on the cruise for Nassau??? It's all about Castaway Cay. I do not think I would do a 3 night again.

And yes we are going on another cruise this spring. A 7 day this time.

 

[EPCOTatNight]

Being bored has nothing to do with the activities on the ship. It's about where your mind is at. There are people who go to WDW and are bored, but are not when they cruise and do nothing.

 

[RedSox68]

Never been bored. Eleven cruises total and we have never been bored. We have been extremely relaxed, enjoyed all the down time to read and explore and just sit and watch the ocean (drink in hand). There really is a lot to do on the ship and usually (for us) the days go by too quickly. The Navigator is always packed with different activities, plus there is a movie theater.

We've been to WDW six times and know that it is a very packed and full schedule. There you feel the need not to miss a minute of time in the parks and hit the road running every day. And while we we enjoy that, too, it is not a relaxing "vacation". On the ship, even with port days, to me it just feels more relaxed with less time constraints. It is so nice to have the time to sleep late, enjoy breakfast and just explore your surroundings and people-watch and explore the ports.

BUT we love cruising -- I mean so much so that we could live on a cruise ship. I love the feel of it, the beauty of it and the excitement of what you'll see and explore. There are many who just are not cut out for sailing. One year the Dean of our school went on a cruise to appease his wife. He absolutely hated it in every way. He said he felt "trapped". So it's not for everyone.

 

[TChrist05]

My DW and I are never bored at all...I tend to look for new places on the ship to have a siesta....I have a demanding job at home and have worked for my company for 42 years--so sleeping here and there on the ship is good for me. Never bored for sure.

 

[Cruisefan2]

2 things that never go together DCL and boring

 

[NancyIL]

Being bored has nothing to do with the activities on the ship. It's about where your mind is at. There are people who go to WDW and are bored, but are not when they cruise and do nothing.

Sure it does! Give me an internet connection on land and I can be happy anywhere. But when I cruise, I want to DO things that are more active than napping or lounging by the pool. Thank goodness for movies, but you can't watch those all day.

 

[RedxPanda]

Are the older boats better? I am not even sure that we have the option out of Port Canaveral, do we? The Dream was a really, really nice boat physically. That wasn't the issue at all. There is no way that I could talk myself into a 7 night cruise even if my kids loved it. I felt too cooped-up! I wish that I'd known that the activities in the kids' club were so light on the port days, because we knew from the get-go that we weren't getting off in Nassau.

There are times when the classics sail out of Miami now. We are going on a 5 night cruise in January on an FLR rate that can't be beat. We live 30 mins from PC and would love to sail on the Fantasy, but the cost is crazy compared to 5 night cruises out of Miami (half the price for 2 less days! WAY less with the FLR rates available). The 3 hour drive is worth while.

Our first cruise on DCL was 4 nights out of PC to Bahamas, with that we got 1 sea day which was nice, but I am looking forward to having 2 on our next cruise as well as visiting what I think are 2 better ports. Nassau is OK, but Cozumel and Grand Cayman should be so much better in terms of available excursions. The other western itinerary is Cozumel and Castaway Cay with 2 sea days out of Miami.

There were times where we were a little bored on DCL, but I attribute that to having a very small child with us. We were unable to enjoy most of the adult only activities and she certainly wasn't interested in sitting around relaxing. Sometimes we had to work at finding the fun, it doesn't always find you. We were always able to turn around our funk and find SOMETHING new to do on the ship. In fact, there were plenty of public areas that we didn't even set foot in, for us to try on the next cruise.

From your comments, it sounds like this was your first cruise ever. You can't compare a theme park resort to cruising. They are just totally different things. My first cruise in 2006, not DCL, put me off to cruising as well. But, honestly I now crop that up to me not researching enough to know what cruising was or what the ship we were sailing had to offer. I had no clue what to expect. We didn't cruise again until 2010, in Hawaii with NCL. By then, i knew how to research vacations and designed us the vacation of a lifetime. Since then, I've done the same with all other trips and cruises and all have been just as enjoyable. It is what you put into it. Now I'm disappointed that we didn't try cruising again for so long. I love to be on the go while on vacation and usually have little down time. With a cruise, you are somewhat forced to relax a little on Sea days. After a cruise, I actually feel like I 'got away', relaxed, and recharged while also having fun in new places.

Get some better ports that you want to explore and try again! Most cruises out of PC don't interest us, which is unfortunate, being so close to home. Tampa, Miami, and Ft Lauderdale have different choices that may interest you more. I've found several that I'd like to go on, just need the time and money.

 

[jahber]

This is interesting to me - our daughter has been on 5 DCL cruises - first at age 3 /12 & she's about to go on her 6th cruise in Dec at age 5 1/2. The kids clubs are the OPPOSITE to her. Yes, there are the kids in front of the computers, TV & video games, but not our daughter )She doesn't do these things at home tho, either). 1) She prefers the kids club on the classic ships more & I think it's the slides on there, but they are smaller, too. 2) Only ONE time in her 5 cruises did she use a computer there & it was to create your own fairy. 3) Our daughter is VERY outgoing & independent & makes friends easily. She told me what she does is goes into the club, walks around to see what's going on, walks over to the lab (this is on the new ships), sees what's going on & picks an activity. Mostly, when we came to get her, she was making a craft wearing a princess dress, or playing in a group of kids.

Our DD hasn't ever had a babysitter or been to daycare, so our 1st cruise with her I was apprehensive about leaving her there. We only did it 3 times for an hour at a time plus our Palo dinner & we had to PRY her out of there. This was on the Wonder at age 3 1/2. The next cruise, same thing, chose activities ("Do si do w/Snow White," "Storytime with Belle," etc) and left her for 1 hr at a time, again, she cried having to leave. DH & I have stood outside & observed her interacting many times & she indeed was in there having a blast (non-electronically). She does like coloring tho, so often she did that. After those 2 experiences, we let her choose when she wanted to go. This last cruise, we went to matinee shows & let her go after early dinner. We have never been paged to get her

It's too bad your kids didn't have fun - the kids clubs aren't for everyone!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Isn't it interesting that some kids just don't get into the clubs? My kids love them so much they would spend morning, noon, and night there! They even love meals there. I have only once gone to get them and found them at a computer or movie screen (my son was "driving the boat," as he calls it)--they are always playing a game with a CM, doing Toy Story Boot Camp (my daughter did it 3 times on our last 4-day!), interacting with a character (Pluto's pj party, story time with a princess, Stitch, pirate party, Mickey, and so on), Magic Playfloor, GAGA ball, super sloppy science, anyone can cook, creating a craft...I could go on. I would argue that it's nothing like "glorified babysitting" unless your child only ever watches the movies or plays computer. Mine did enjoy creating scenes on the computer and printing out the pages. But that's just because they like to print things off the computer. . Otherwise, they always had stories of Professor Make O Mess or characters or a silly game they played.

My kids are homeschooled, so that might be part of the appeal--the very stimulating environment that's much more fun than home! And on the Fantasy, unlimited picture printing!

All that to say, if your kids can't get into ANY of that, then yeah, maybe it's not a good match for the way your family vacations. It's a slower pace than a commando-style WDW or Universal vacation Things do tend to run into the late hours, which can be hard for some kids. But there are plenty of activities we missed because we are late-risers/night owls. Just another reason to book our next one

 

[EPCOTatNight]

Sure it does! Give me an internet connection on land and I can be happy anywhere. But when I cruise, I want to DO things that are more active than napping or lounging by the pool. Thank goodness for movies, but you can't watch those all day.

Like I said, it depends on the mindset of the person, not the activity. Everyone doesn't need an internet connection or have to be constantly moving to have a good time.

 

[NancyIL]

Like I said, it depends on the mindset of the person, not the activity. Everyone doesn't need an internet connection or have to be constantly moving to have a good time.

I don't need either to have a good time. However, I would've liked more to choose from than "books and magazines are available in the Cove Cafe" and "the sports court is now open" on port days on my two Wonder Bahamas cruises! I went to the afternoon DVC presentation on my first cruise because it was the only adult afternoon activity scheduled that didn't have an additional charge.

By the way, I am never bored at WDW!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I don't need either to have a good time. However, I would've liked more to choose from than "books and magazines are available in the Cove Cafe" and "the sports court is now open" on port days on my two Wonder Bahamas cruises! I went to the afternoon DVC presentation on my first cruise because it was the only adult afternoon activity scheduled that didn't have an additional charge.

By the way, I am never bored at WDW!

This was our experience too, except that we didn't go to the DVC presentation because we're already members. We were bored.

 

[rosermama]

I think that everyone on this thread who get bored on DCL have valid complaints. We cruise DCL soley because it is quieter than other cruise lines and we don't feel overwhelmed with stuff to do, we like the down time. If we wanted to be busy we would take a different cruise line. I can certainly see how someone can get bored on DCL, not me I want to lay around and read and swim and do nothing. Everyone has their own opinion and idea Of what they want to get out of their vacation.

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[ashleyt]

Being bored has nothing to do with the activities on the ship. It's about where your mind is at. There are people who go to WDW and are bored, but are not when they cruise and do nothing.

This is condescending with a touch of arrogance, but perhaps you didn't mean it to come across that way as your subsequent post says:

Like I said, it depends on the mindset of the person, not the activity. Everyone doesn't need an internet connection or have to be constantly moving to have a good time.

I think the bolded statement is the closest to a good summary and more tactful opinion. Everyone likes to do different things with their time. It has nothing to do with some people being at at higher level of Zen or other such self-help type advice.

It's our differences that make the world such an interesting place.

The OP wanted to know if some people are bored on a cruise. It would seem that the answer to that is that some are, but most are not.

 

[mcd2745]

I haven't read through the entire thread...I assume it is mostly unconditional praise of DCL and most saying you will never be bored.

However, I did find that there were times when there is little or nothing going on. In the evening, if you decide not to go see the show, you'll find that they really do not schedule anything else (with the exception of maybe a movie in the Buena Vista theater and I guess on Funnelvision) during the shows. No character greets will be scheduled, nothing in the family lounges, etc. It's clear they want everyone at the show since they don't give you many alternatives.