This is a delayed post of the first cruise we ever took; please accept my apologies for not being more prompt in posting.
Background:
The cruisers - Family of Hubby(age45), me(45), DS (15), DS(11), DD(7)
Entire family born and raised in Orange County, CA; live less than 30 minutes from Disneyland (when there are no traffic delays ); annual passport holders to Disneyland for the last 5 years, which means that we make good use with our annual passes/approximately 12-15 visits a year (sometimes with the family, sometimes with other friends).
The majority of our family vacations have been road trips to the various National Parks; i.e., Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Bryce Canyon, etc.
We have never been on any cruise; decided to try the 3 day Wonder Cruise during the Spring Break.
DD and me can't wait to take another DisneyCruise; on the flip side, DH, and both DS's say 'been there, done that, don't really need to go back'.
Although DH and DS's found the cruise to be a new and wonderful experience, they have no inclination to return; the men in my house are under the mentality of spending future money on the tangible; i.e., computers, electronic equipment, etc.
For example this is what I've been hearing everytime I mention that how much DD and I would love to return to a DisneyCruise soon; i.e.,"Mom with all the money we'll save by not going on a future cruise, we can get a giant plasma TV. We can go to Disneyland anytime to visit with the characters or catch a Disney show; or Mom we don't need to go on a cruise to go to the beach, we just live 10 minutes from the beach, etc. etc."
Although I do see their practical minds at work, I am still ready to embark in the near future.
Needless to say, it will probably be just me and DD on our next DisneyCruise, which I hope is soon, lol!
Here is a recap of the positive and not so positive from our point of view:
Positives:
We stayed in connecting cat 6 rooms with verandahs which were very quiet, clean and well maintained. Our stateroom hostess was wonderful. We found the food throughout the ship to be delicious, plentiful, and fresh. Our service in the restaurants was also top-notch. The shows were well done and entertaining. Found the on-board shopping to have a great selection. Castaway Cay is beautiful and also well-maintained. Did not come across any passengers that were unrulely, inconsiderate, etc.
Embarkation and debarkation was quick and well-organized.
DS is a die-hard Disney Addict/Fan so she totally enjoyed all the photo ops, the character greetings, the Disney music, etc.
Negatives:
We chose to dine without other cruisers for our dinners; still found the seating too cramped and tables too close to others. Felt as if we were almost eavesdropping on other diners' conversation because we were so tightly packed together. Dinner is ok if you like to spend 2 hours at the table; but with so much going on the ship, we would rather be enjoying some of the other activities than spending that much time at a meal.
DD was looking for Disney fairy taled themed activities in the kids club; the only ones were SnowWhite and Alice in Wonderland activites which were with the 3-4 year olds, so my 7 year old DD visited this group during these activities.
Both DS's got Disney'd out by Day2; this is probably due to a combination of their ages and the fact that we make good use our Disneyland Annual passes regularly.
Found Nassau to be sort of a tourist trap.
Also, DH had about a week of bad motion sickness upon deembarkation; perhaps he shouldn't have taken off his patch prior to flying home.
In conclusion, it was a great vacation because:
1. We all got to experience our 1st cruise together
2. The family got to spend some quality time relaxing together in the same room/area which is hard to come by with each of our daily, hectic schedules.
Feel free to ask me any questions and I will try my best to provide an answer.
Background:
The cruisers - Family of Hubby(age45), me(45), DS (15), DS(11), DD(7)
Entire family born and raised in Orange County, CA; live less than 30 minutes from Disneyland (when there are no traffic delays ); annual passport holders to Disneyland for the last 5 years, which means that we make good use with our annual passes/approximately 12-15 visits a year (sometimes with the family, sometimes with other friends).
The majority of our family vacations have been road trips to the various National Parks; i.e., Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Bryce Canyon, etc.
We have never been on any cruise; decided to try the 3 day Wonder Cruise during the Spring Break.
DD and me can't wait to take another DisneyCruise; on the flip side, DH, and both DS's say 'been there, done that, don't really need to go back'.
Although DH and DS's found the cruise to be a new and wonderful experience, they have no inclination to return; the men in my house are under the mentality of spending future money on the tangible; i.e., computers, electronic equipment, etc.
For example this is what I've been hearing everytime I mention that how much DD and I would love to return to a DisneyCruise soon; i.e.,"Mom with all the money we'll save by not going on a future cruise, we can get a giant plasma TV. We can go to Disneyland anytime to visit with the characters or catch a Disney show; or Mom we don't need to go on a cruise to go to the beach, we just live 10 minutes from the beach, etc. etc."
Although I do see their practical minds at work, I am still ready to embark in the near future.
Needless to say, it will probably be just me and DD on our next DisneyCruise, which I hope is soon, lol!
Here is a recap of the positive and not so positive from our point of view:
Positives:
We stayed in connecting cat 6 rooms with verandahs which were very quiet, clean and well maintained. Our stateroom hostess was wonderful. We found the food throughout the ship to be delicious, plentiful, and fresh. Our service in the restaurants was also top-notch. The shows were well done and entertaining. Found the on-board shopping to have a great selection. Castaway Cay is beautiful and also well-maintained. Did not come across any passengers that were unrulely, inconsiderate, etc.
Embarkation and debarkation was quick and well-organized.
DS is a die-hard Disney Addict/Fan so she totally enjoyed all the photo ops, the character greetings, the Disney music, etc.
Negatives:
We chose to dine without other cruisers for our dinners; still found the seating too cramped and tables too close to others. Felt as if we were almost eavesdropping on other diners' conversation because we were so tightly packed together. Dinner is ok if you like to spend 2 hours at the table; but with so much going on the ship, we would rather be enjoying some of the other activities than spending that much time at a meal.
DD was looking for Disney fairy taled themed activities in the kids club; the only ones were SnowWhite and Alice in Wonderland activites which were with the 3-4 year olds, so my 7 year old DD visited this group during these activities.
Both DS's got Disney'd out by Day2; this is probably due to a combination of their ages and the fact that we make good use our Disneyland Annual passes regularly.
Found Nassau to be sort of a tourist trap.
Also, DH had about a week of bad motion sickness upon deembarkation; perhaps he shouldn't have taken off his patch prior to flying home.
In conclusion, it was a great vacation because:
1. We all got to experience our 1st cruise together
2. The family got to spend some quality time relaxing together in the same room/area which is hard to come by with each of our daily, hectic schedules.
Feel free to ask me any questions and I will try my best to provide an answer.
.
