What "Hook"ed you on cruising with DCL?

[TammyAlphabet]

The shows!

 

[Disney Vegas Couple]

Check all of the above

First cruise ever on the Dream last October. Just 3 nights to try it out. Wish it would have been longer. All CMs perfect (especially Felice in Palo). Food great everywhere and we really enjoyed the shows. We can't wait to go again.

Taking the Wonder in May for Pacific Coast LA to Vancouver and booked Magic October 2014 for Southern Caribbean.

We love all things Disney so why look anywhere else.

 

[iluvDisneyCruise]

Good clean fun keeps me coming back. I love the awesome crew, the shows, and of course the food. I am more hooked on cruising than any other form of vacation. If everything goes great at work, I hope to cruise again with DCL next year.

 

[Silstone]

The whole disney experience. They really know how to make us feel at home yet be their guest.

 

[MNKelly]

Nice! We had a blast the last night, specially with the 80's flashback and trivia. And looking forward to the next cruise - xmas 2014. But I do have a dummy booking still pending anyway...

OMG! We were there too! Rockin' Robin was hilarious with that blonde mullet! And how about the woman who did the back flip on stage...yeah, we were sad to have to leave.

 

[MyYearWithTheMouse]

Activities for kids & BYOB. Seriously, the BYOB is probably the main reason that I booked Disney in the first place. It was the way I justified paying Disney prices after talking to family friends who had bar bills over $1000 on other cruise lines.

Not gonna lie--the BYOB was a huge draw for us as well. We have racked up serious wine charges on other cruises, knowing that we were overpaying for "meh" wine. I know that makes me sound like a lush, but we collect and drink fine wine (sipping a glass now! ) and like to enjoy it with good food.

But the #1 reason for us is being kid-friendly. We've only taken one Disney cruise and DS was 2, so he didn't participate in the clubs, only the nursery, but the little touches were fantastic. The fact that the bathrooms had tubs instead of showers makes it so much easier to wash the little ones. The curtains separating two parts of the room so the kiddo could sleep while we could still do some reading. The kid-friendly meals and great service--our DS got a new Hot Wheels car every night for dinner (I'm not above bribing my children for good behavior--it worked!) and our asst. server made sure to take a few minutes to "admire" his new car and drive it around on the table and so on. The shows were totally kid-appropriate and the characters were a nice addition as well.

To be completely honest, if we were taking an adults-only cruise it wouldn't be on DCL (probably Celebrity) but if you're bringing kids, I don't think DCL can be beat.

 

[kirkaliciasmom]

The Disney experience!

 

[GladysP]

I have to agree with everything that everyone has mentioned. For my husband and myself, Disney is hands down a cut above the others. It keeps us coming back time after time. We tell everyone that they absolutely should give a Disney cruise a try ‘cause they will not be disappointed.

Something that I wanted to mention is the fact that word of mouth about the amazing Disney experience truly is oh so important. It’s the reason why our 23 year old son who has been cruising with Disney since he was a preteen, raves about it to his friends and family members. He describes everything in such a way that even though at first the other young people give him weird looks for recommending “Disney” as a hip and happening cruise place to be” by the time he’s done, you can see the interest and genuine curiosity on their faces.

It’s also the reason why my father-in-law who had his first ever cruise experience on the Disney Dream back in December came back from the cruise and raved about it to anyone and anyone who would listen.  So much so, that his preacher and his family now have a Disney cruise booked. Oh and to add the icing to the already fabulous Disney cake, why my husband and I are cruising in September with his brother and sister-in-law and his best friend and his wife. I do believe this says it all!!!!!! 

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

Cast members
Broadway style show
Our son had a blast in the kids clubs
Wife and I had a blast with the adult entertainment options
PALO
Rotational dining
Rainforest room

We keep going back because DCL has never disappointed us. We have done a three, four, seven (eastern), and 15 night (Wonder PC) cruise.

We have a four night Dream booked this winter 2013 and a seven night Fantasy for winter 2014. First time on these ships and we can't wait

 

[littleacceb]

Not gonna lie--the BYOB was a huge draw for us as well. We have racked up serious wine charges on other cruises, knowing that we were overpaying for "meh" wine. I know that makes me sound like a lush, but we collect and drink fine wine (sipping a glass now! ) and like to enjoy it with good food.

But the #1 reason for us is being kid-friendly. We've only taken one Disney cruise and DS was 2, so he didn't participate in the clubs, only the nursery, but the little touches were fantastic. The fact that the bathrooms had tubs instead of showers makes it so much easier to wash the little ones. The curtains separating two parts of the room so the kiddo could sleep while we could still do some reading. The kid-friendly meals and great service--our DS got a new Hot Wheels car every night for dinner (I'm not above bribing my children for good behavior--it worked!) and our asst. server made sure to take a few minutes to "admire" his new car and drive it around on the table and so on. The shows were totally kid-appropriate and the characters were a nice addition as well.

To be completely honest, if we were taking an adults-only cruise it wouldn't be on DCL (probably Celebrity) but if you're bringing kids, I don't think DCL can be beat.

I'm so happy to read this... We've booked and I'm so excited but I'm still terrified that I'm doing it too early and should be waiting until our children are school-age. To hear that you had such a great time with a 2-year-old is fantastic news.

 

[sorceressk]

Cast members
Broadway style show
Our son had a blast in the kids clubs
Wife and I had a blast with the adult entertainment options
PALO
Rotational dining
Rainforest room

We keep going back because DCL has never disappointed us. We have done a three, four, seven (eastern), and 15 night (Wonder PC) cruise.

We have a four night Dream booked this winter 2013 and a seven night Fantasy for winter 2014. First time on these ships and we can't wait

I would add Remy to this list! It's such a great dining experience!

 

[jjje]

We originally booked because of the Kids Sail Free promotion. During the pirate party my daughter turned to me with a look of pure joy on her face and then threw her arms around me to give me a big hug. We booked a Panama Canal cruise the next day.

 

[Wildernessbride2005]

The service is incredible. We have sailed on 5 DCL cruises and would not hesitate to book another.

 

[Tower]

My original 'hook' was not cruising on a DCL ship. Our first cruise was on Royal Caribbean, before kids, and with about 25-30 other couples we all mutally knew. It was a 3 night cruise, with one port in Nassau. While deciding on embarking, we watched the Disney Wonder come into port. At the time, there were only 2 DCL ships. We watched it come into the docks and waited to see the type of people that would be cruising with Disney. Expected to see lots of kids etc.
To our surprise, not many people came off! But while on deck of the Sovereign of the Seas, we heard noises coming from the Wonder. Familiar noises you would recognize in a family-oriented neighbourhood in the summer. It was children screaming with delight! Everybody was having such a great time on the ship, they did not bother leaving to go into port! Thats what told me that it may be worthwhile investigating DCL sometime. After doing another RCCL and 2 Carnivals, we decided that 1 week was necessary for our first Disney cruise. We haven't looked back! We have another one booked, though not on our timeline yet as it's a dummy until we know what's up for 2014.

 

[suffieldhockeymom]

For us it's freedom to do what we want and not have to worry about the others in our family. The kids have so much fun!!!!!!!! I didn't see my teen-aged sons except for meals and port adventures.

The food is out of this world. every time I saw my children they were eating something, mostly chicken strips and ice cream.

The size of the rooms are incredible. we had plenty of room in an inside deluxe cabin for me and 3 teen boys. I love the split bathroom!

 

[PrincessTrisha]

What originally sold me on booking with DCL was that they docked at their private island (the only ones at the time) and with my mother in a wheelchair, that was a big issue for me.

I also trusted the Disney brand and service expectations due to my experiences at WDW (hotels, restaurants and parks).

DCL hooked me on cruising and I'm very grateful for that - they just haven't hooked me on cruising DCL exclusively - I also enjoy cruising on Carnival (loved it!), have cruised on RCCL (it was good but a little boring) and am looking forward to trying Celebrity and maybe other cruiselines as well.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

My "hook" is definately the disney experience.

But more than that, I love the cleanliness of the Disney ships and how well DCL maintains it's fleet.

I just remember pulling into port at St Martin last year and as soon as we docked, crew memebers poured out of the thing like a fleet of ants crawling up the sides and hosing off the salt water and cleaning and polishing the ship.

Behind us comes in a RCL ship full of rust stains and marks and they took no opportunty or effort to clean their ship.

Besides that, Disney went out of their way to accomidate my wife's allergies (they gave her the menu for the next day so she could order the day before and have her food ready). When she got sick on lobster night (because of all the shellfish in the air - her allergy), she had disney staff following her around like a swarm of bees to the lobby to make sure she was okay. I doubt you could have swatted them off with a tree.

The waiter had our drinks before we even sat down (just like we liked them without even asking us!). No reasonable request went unanswered!

But as always, it's the small things that matter the most to me! How polite everyone was, etc.

And I loved how DCL managed to keep the look of the ship elegant and not too cartoony or overdone, but still with enough Disney to make it special!

 

[suffieldhockeymom]

My "hook" is definately the disney experience.

But more than that, I love the cleanliness of the Disney ships and how well DCL maintains it's fleet.

I just remember pulling into port at St Martin last year and as soon as we docked, crew memebers poured out of the thing like a fleet of ants crawling up the sides and hosing off the salt water and cleaning and polishing the ship.

Behind us comes in a RCL ship full of rust stains and marks and they took no opportunty or effort to clean their ship.

Besides that, Disney went out of their way to accomidate my wife's allergies (they gave her the menu for the next day so she could order the day before and have her food ready). When she got sick on lobster night (because of all the shellfish in the air - her allergy), she had disney staff following her around like a swarm of bees to the lobby to make sure she was okay. I doubt you could have swatted them off with a tree.

The waiter had our drinks before we even sat down (just like we liked them without even asking us!). No reasonable request went unanswered!

But as always, it's the small things that matter the most to me! How polite everyone was, etc.

And I loved how DCL managed to keep the look of the ship elegant and not too cartoony or overdone, but still with enough Disney to make it special!

I totally agree with the allergy accommodation! When I asked about dietary modifications for my son's milk/soy allergy, the cast member asked what I would like to see right down to the flavor of Rice Dream Ice Cream he would want. I was totally shocked. They had 3 different flavors for him on the ship. All of the servers knew what he could and couldn't have. He even tried to cheat and they wouldn't let him!

 

[Thnlk]

Our first 3 cruises were all on Disney. The we thought lets save some money and we booked Carnival for a15 day Hawaiin . It was fine but my wife and I kept saying o each other it ain't Disney. We will never stray again

 

[michel1145]

Everyone gets a vacation on a Disney Cruise!