Disney Cruise Boring?

[NancyIL]

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 (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.

If you scroll back to post #34 on page 3 to the most recent posts - you'll see that there isn't unconditional praise for DCL. Fortunately for me - the production shows and movies are the things I like best about sailing on a Disney ship. However, as one who doesn't sail with minor children, I think their adult activities during port days have been lacking. Not everyone leaves the ship in port - especially in Nassau.

 

[gaporee]

We are recently off of the Fantasy. I understand the 'bored' part. Whereas my kids loved it and were the entire time, I have to admit that DH and I were a little underwhelmed. (food and entertainment mainly).

We had a great time and are happy we sailed with DCL but we honestly had more 'fun' on the Carnival Dream.

I found DCL scheduling on some shows, movies etc were a little off. There was one night that Finding Nemo was playing in the theater at 10:30pm. Why not put on a movie a bit less 'pre-school' on at that time that is geared towards adults. Avengers would have been a better choice.

Even dinner was a little boring. The servers are very nice but 'boring'. We preferred Carnival again as we were entertained at dinner. Whereas I understand that many love Disney and will only sail Disney, its not for everyone.

I guess no one cruise line will meet everyones expectations. Looking forward to keep on cruising and seeing what fits us best!

 

[Summerl30]

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.

You probably need to cruise another line. There are plenty of ships on other lines that have lots of physically active things to do.

 

[jahber]

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.

I wouldn't say you will *never* be bored. Aren't you bored sometimes on any vacation? I find sitting around in the hotel room boring sometimes, but my kids love it. I find some of the things my husband wants to do boring, but it's his vacation too.

DCL is not an alternate universe where everyone is entertained all the time. If someone's looking for that kind of vacation, a land vacation may be better for them. I personally like the freedom of doing whatever I want, even if it's sitting in a lounge chair watching the ocean go by. I never feel like my money is wasted relaxing on a cruise, whereas I would feel that way on a land vacation as expensive as WDW is.

 

[SG101]

My family avoids the pool areas on at sea days (unless we get there in the morning and then head off to breakfast after that). Then after showers, we go watch a movie, a show, walk around the ship, I think my son played some sort of shuffle board (or at least was trying) with a few kids on Deck 4 on the Wonder.

I had brought some magazines to sit on the loung chairs on Deck 4 (fully covered because I'm not a sun bather) and read for a little while if the kids were in the Oceaneer's club (which they would only stay for 30 - 40 minutes) and then we would go to lunch.

Honestly, I'm never bored -- I'm honestly exhausted when I get back home, but I can say that it's been one of the best vacations ever.

 

[ashleyt]

I wouldn't say you will *never* be bored. Aren't you bored sometimes on any vacation? I find sitting around in the hotel room boring sometimes, but my kids love it. I find some of the things my husband wants to do boring, but it's his vacation too.

DCL is not an alternate universe where everyone is entertained all the time...

Nice post and dead on.

Expectations are important, especially for the first time cruiser.

 

[NancyIL]

You probably need to cruise another line. There are plenty of ships on other lines that have lots of physically active things to do.

Out of 22 cruises, 3 have been on Disney and the other 19 have been on 4 other cruise lines. After my first Disney cruise where I was bored - subsequent Disney cruises have been group cruises with others from different Disney fan sites, as will my upcoming Fantasy cruise. I am hopeful that a longer cruise will have more things going on.

 

[EPCOTatNight]

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:



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.

I don't know if anyone else read it the way you did, but your post is a good illustration of how one's mindset can dictate an experience. While I found nothing condescending about my post because it wasn't meant that way; you saw something completely different.

 

[CamColt]

I think part of it is what you want out of a cruise. Personally, all I want to do is sit in the sun with a cold drink in hand. Some people may be completely bored doing that(my DH included), but it's what I want out of a cruise. I never really care about the ports as long as Im going to a warm place. I know for other people the cruise is all about the ports and the excursions, etc... At night we have enjoyed the adult entertainment.

As for the kids clubs, my kids opinions have changed over the years, however the last 2 summers when they were 11 and 14 and then 12 and 15, we have hardly seen them. I required them to join us for dinner every night so that we could have some time together.

 

[ZoeBell]

I've never been on a Disney cruise but on my other 3 cruise(2 Carnival and 1 RC) I can't honestly say I was bored. I can also say I do get bored easily in real life. But to me the best part of cruising is that there is usually something for everyone. I love to people watch. I could sit there for hours and do it. Other might need to be constantly entertained I don't. But I like to know it's available if I want it. My daughter are nappers even @ 19 and 13. So I'm sure they will head to the room for some afternoon zzzzzzzzz's. I won't be caught dead in my stateroom. You'll find me lounging on a deck reading and people watching. I also don't like to be rushed and have time limits. I run around at work all day long. I want to relax.

 

[linco711]

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've previously been to Disney World and thought it was fantastic, but I know there's a lot of differences between WDW and a Disney cruise.

Our WDW vacation was very active; we generally got up around 8 am and got to the parks at opening, and spent the rest of the day there until they closed. We stayed at the Yacht Club for 9 days and never used Stormalong Bay. We thought the lake was beautiful but really are not the type to sit around in lounge chairs. I guess we aren't the "relaxing" type of family.

The things that seem great about the Disney Cruise are:
*the food (we had the Dining Plan at WDW and loved trying new things)
*the whole idea of being surrounded by the beauty of the ocean
*experiencing a different type of Disney Vacation
*Castaway Cay

We just aren't sure we would find enough activities to keep us occupied. We really don't like swimming,rock climbing, or watching the shows too much.

I know most of you are on the cruise boards because you really enjoy them but were any of you disappointed. Did your first cruise disappoint you? Were any of you secretly wishing you were in Walt Disney World instead of out at sea? Did some members of your family really love the cruise but others didn't?

Thanks everyone in advance for your experiences!

I would have to say we were bored...we are both in our 50's and travel without children. We've seen all the shows, so didn't really want to see again. The adult activities don't start until late..about 10:30...and by that time we were just too tired. We would have liked more adult activities during the day and early evenings. If you are traveling with kids they will love it. DCL is geared toward young families.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We've only done 6 DCL cruises ( 2 others) and we haven't done everything available to be done. Sometimes because it's just not something we're really into (tastings/mixology), sometimes because it's conflicted with something else going on. We're also just sit on deck 4 and read a book/people watch/nap types.

I don't forsee us being bored for a long time on DCL. Yes, we've seen the shows (at least on the classic ships), but we'll see them again. Live theatre (even Disney) can be variable on occasion (malfunctioning equipment, etc), so it's kinda fun to be there when it happens.

We've older and travel minus kids (well, we did 2 cruises with our kids, but they're adults, also).