Another thread has me scared

[jdkdorn]

I just read a thread about the ship being boring and really not worth it, I am really afraid that I made a mistake in booking this cruise. We are going on the Feb 25th 2006 Western Carib. on the Magic. This trip is costing over $5000 and I know we could go to a lot of place with that money and we could go RCCL and ahve a suite with concierge service.

Please someone let me know that the Disney Cruise Line is not example of the Disney name not living up to expectation. I am a DVC member and love all things Disney but I know that they tend to let somethings go somtimes until enough people complain qand then they fix it.

Is the Magie Western better than the Eastern and do you recomend upgrading from catagory 4 to 3 to make earlier reservations for the kids club, the spath, and Paulo's. The cost difference is $2,000, is it worth it?

I know that I have asked a lot but that thread freaked me out

Judy

 

[ann-e-mator]

While there and instances where people have been bored, you need to at least experience it once. Give it a chance. I was afraid that I would be bored on the cruise, and I turned out having the time of my life, and am now going on my 3rd Disney cruise. Others didnt have such a fortunate experience. Don't shoot it down just because someone else didn't enjoy their cruise. Have fun.

 

[smchan]

Relax. And keep in mind some people don't enjoy WDW either.

Sam

 

[mmouse37]

If you have been reading these boards for any length of time you will know that those kinds of threads are rare...yes, some people do not have a great experience but there are many factors that cause that....no one is going to tell you that you will have an absolutely perfect cruise and that nothing will go wrong or that you won't be disappointed in something...that would be silly.

But, 95% or more of the people that go truly enjoy themselves...why let one thread scare you??? Yes, you could go to Hawaii or some other place for that money but whose to say it won't rain for a week or someone in your family won't get sick...or whatever....vacations are what you make of them. The other poster tried to make the best of their situation but decided that cruising is not for them at the moment.

I can't see that spending an additional $2,000 will secure your happiness onboard....in fact, in case something does go wrong you will feel even more "cheated" that you spent 7,000 and it wasn't perfect.

As far as ressies....split up and take care of them.

I am booked on my 14th DCL cruise...enough said!!! Enjoy your cruise!!

MJ

 

[two-foxes]

I think the point of Cajuns thread was to say, "hey, lower your expectations just a bit...this is what happened to us..." This board has a habit of making DCL "perfect in every way ", but sometimes it just isn't so. I would never recommend anyone to skip out on DCL, as we are some of the ones that think it is perfect...but perfect for us!! But we have no kids, so we have not dealt with the same issues that Cajun talked about, which mainly dealt with issues surrounding the kids clubs, IMHO. Frankly, I am scared to travel after we have kids, it's not all about 'me' after that, I've been told ! We did a modified Western due to Jeanne and an Eastern, and with the exception of immigration, I would highly recommend the Eastern. Just don't plan any early excursions at St Thomas, and you'll be fine!
If you can swing the price for DCL, I would try it! It is loved by many! Just take all the best tips from here and lower your expectations of perfection just a bit.....

 

[Pacha]

It all depends on what you are looking for in a cruise line. If you are very active DCL may not be for you. We booked our cruise for this Oct and my DW and I haven't looked at the on board activities once. Give us a couple of chairs and a good book each and we'll be happy Of course a Bahama Mama or 2 wouldn't hurt

Pacha

 

[becobscot]

Don't let the negativity of others sway you! Take all this advice with a grain of salt. Some folks just find it hard to be happy. I don't think most people would spend their time on these boards unless the thing being discussed was mostly positive and engaging. It is for me and for many others here. I'd venture a guess that you will have a wonderful time! I'm wishing you a magical vacation!

 

[DVCajun]

I hope you don't let my post keep you from cruising. I gave an honest report of our trip, but there are circumstances unique to us that contributed to our experience (i.e. kids club).

As another poster said, it's always better to have lower expectations and then have a great time!!

 

[lbgraves]

Definitely take each and every post with a grain of salt. We are going on our third cruise with both of our kids this December. They love the ship & we do too. We only went to Palo on our second cruise because DD didn't want to go to the club...so what!?!? We had a great time with both of them. There are alot of things that I will not get to do for many years on the ship because we are cruising with the kids...not complaining but just wanted to point out that you will have a completely different experience cruising without children. You will not have any of the rush on the last day at CC because you wont have to rush back & get the kids ready for the final show. BTW, it's true that it wont be about "you" in the singular after you have kids...it will be about "you" as a family...and that makes much of life that much more wonderful.

 

[Verandah Man]

Back in November of 2002 we started planning for our first DCL cruise for the summer of 2003. We didn't know what to expect, except that we knew we loved our trips to WDW so we deiced to give cruising a chance. There were six of us on the first cruise, and five of the six enjoyed themselves and had a blast. My sister said cruising wasn't for her and decided that this cruise was going to be her first and last. Since that first cruise my family has been on two more, with a fourth planned for August 2006. My sister called me a few nights ago and said that she and my BIL have decided that they were going on another DCL cruise, because their two granddaughters asked them to go with them. My sister is giving it another chance. Her fear of being on the water for so long is why she had a bad first cruise, not to mention, it was the first time she flew in an airplane, now she doesn't think anything of it to get on a plane to visit my mom in Florida.

For my wife, daughter and myself, these DCL cruises have been the best family vacations we have ever been on. We got to spend quality family time together, and even had fun dressing up for dinner each evening. True, cruising might not be for everyone, but we sure do enjoy it. We have also made lifetime friends from these vacations, and that is priceless!!!

 

[BelleNBama]

We will be on that same cruise! We just got back three days ago from the 4 night Wonder cruise. I have a 14 ds and was afraid he would think the cruise was lame and wouldn't like it. We're DVC members also and are lucky enough to take several trips to WDW each year. He still enjoys WDW (mostly Epcot) but I was afraid the cruise would be different. I've cruised on several different lines. Before this trip, my ds had only done the Carnival cruise. He absolutely loved the Disney cruise! He said it was the best trip he has ever been on and can't wait until next years cruise. This made it all worth it to me. I loved the entire Disney experience and enjoyed the cruise very much but just knowing how much my ds enjoyed it, made it even more worthwhile to me. I think you'll have a wonderful trip! Go and enjoy!!

 

[jdkdorn]

We will be on that same cruise!

Thank you all for your input. I will take each experience as it happens. We went on RCCL in Jan and my DS3 would not use the kids area but we are hoping this cruise will be different due to him staring school in the fall.

Belle, maybe we can all get together. I ahve a DD11 who is really looking forward to the kids club.

Hope to have a blast

Judy

 

[banderson]

I do think that there is a greater risk of vacation letdown with Disney than with any other vacation. Many of us were raised with The Wonderful World of Disney and the happily ever after world it portrayed. But hey, we're adults here, right? Happily ever after is fine for TV, but this is real life. Anyone who gets on that ship thinking that for those 8 days, Disney is all about them and no one in their group will ever get/be sick, hurt, offended, disappointed, upset, sad, miss out on something, waste food on their clothes, etc. is bound to lose out on a great vacation from the get-go.

Last year my kids flew over Kilauea volcano in Hawaii and one of the first things my then 8 year-old son said was, "Well, there sure isn't a lot of hot lava." Well, he was right, there wasn't much lava that day...but hey he got to fly over the crater of a volcano and that in itself is a blast, lava or no lava. A week later the lava was flowing like a stream but we didn't see it...that's life. Like I said in another thread, expect little, enjoy a lot.

I'm a newbie here and quite frankly, I get concerned when I see posts where people are clearly set on a certain dining rotation, a specific night for Palo...goodness, some people even check the menus upfront. If you plan every minute detail, then you increase your risk of disappointment and you decrease any chance you have of ever being enchanted or surprised.

Breathe, relax...it's vacation. It is most definitely not going to be perfect like on TV no matter how much you plan and prepare. And if it were all perfect, then how would you really know which moments to treasure over all the others?

Whenever and wherever you may be planning to sail, my only wish for everyone here is that you take a moment to close your eyes, breathe in the salty air, smile and be happy you can spend time your families, see your kids laugh and play, and then enjoy a glass of wine and a meal someone else had to prepare and serve. Anything and everything beyond that is an absolute bonus.

 

[jdkdorn]

I didn't mean to sound like a was expecting a perfect trip. I know that is never going to happen. A perfect trip for me is that we all arrive together and all leave together and hopefully have a good time in between. What I was really worried about was that they were letting the ships go because they have a guaranteed crowd with all of us Disney Fanatics. I have seen it with some of the resorts when they let the maintainance slide a little until they hear complaints.

I don't want perfection I just want to enjoy myself and not have to worry about subpar attitudes or atmosphere

Thanks again for all your quick replys you all really helped
Judy

 

[shmoogrrrl]

I'm a newbie here and quite frankly, I get concerned when I see posts where people are clearly set on a certain dining rotation, a specific night for Palo...goodness, some people even check the menus upfront. If you plan every minute detail, then you increase your risk of disappointment and you decrease any chance you have of ever being enchanted or surprised.

This freaks me out a bit too. If you aren't in Parrot Cay for Tropical Night/Pirate Night, I don't think that you will be miserable. I think that one of the biggest problems is that some people take the additude of "I paid X amount of money for this cruise, Disney BETTER make me happy," when obviously YOU need to make yourself happy. KWIM? Okay. Off the soap box.

I also don't see how some people can start planning what they want to eat. I can't even decide for the next 20 minutes what I want to eat!

 

[tvguy]

No doubt nothing is perfect, but cruises as a whole are special vacations, and Disney is among the best, if not the best.
I have found that the folks that are disappointed don't necessarily expect too much, they just aren't very realistic.
They wonder why the ship doesn't serve THEIR brand of soda, or coffee, or ice tea, or beer, I have even see people flame Disney for having the wrong brand of Ketchup (or Catsup), artificial sweetener, donuts ( I hear they have Krispy Kremes, heck, I can get Krispy Kremes at home, how about fresh make on the ship?).
What DID we like about the cruise? No cooking for a week, a dining room staff that did their best to make sure we were never wanting for a thing, lots of entertainment. An atmosphere where my wife and I could be FRIENDS to our kids for a week, NOT mom and dad. They were 12 and 16 at the time, and our Disney cruise was taken with a mindset that is was likely the last family vacation we would take as a four-some. And it is turning out that way, last summer's vacation was spent traveling to college's my now 18 year old was interested in, and this summer will be spent getting him ready to "go away to college".

And I have to comment, Disneyland isn't what it used to be either. My first trip was in 1965 as an 8 year old. Those trips as a kid truly are magic. I have to admit, I was disappointed when I heard California Adventure was going to be a seperate admission park. Disney learned quickly, that most of us consider CA and Disneyland to be one park, thus the addition of ParkHopper tickets, for basically the same prices as one park admission.

 

[JimmyJackJunior]

I contributed to that thread and I still have to say I had a good time, just not a great time. I compare the money to being the same as Maui for two weeks and all I can say is I would have rather done Maui, but I still had a good time.

As far as blaming Disney, I cant. At this point in my mid 30s I am just not ready for something that slow paced. But I thought Disney did a great job - their staff was first rate, only had one small problem with one staff member. Our Servers and stateroom hosts were great though. Fantastic with the kids. The character greetings were great - huge variety of characters. I really can't get over how good the food was and scratch my head when people say they were dissappointed. Topsiders is a buffet and as buffets go it was pretty good. If people wanted better, Lumieres was open for breakfast and lunch and served a better fare. Dinners were fantastic.

So it isnt all negative, I just felt it wasnt worth it for the amount of money spent. There are better values to be had.

 

[budwmn]

jdkdorn - I sent you a PM.

 

[debm]

It is late and I should be in bed but I wanted to respond. We have 4 kids, one with special needs, and have been on 4 cruises in 2 years. We found something that we love together! Yes, there are times that I think we spent a lot of money but the memories are great! There were some comments in the thread you are talking about that I think could have been "cured" if the OP would have said something. For instance, the kids don't have to be with the parents when they are signed into the club so that they can get their bracelets. If you don't sign your child into the club until Day 2 that is fine! And they can get their bracelet the first time they check in. And if my Spec. Ed kid can't get off his bracelet--provided it is put on tight enough---they will stay on! Yes, if you want certain times for Flounders you do need to do that right away. But where was Dad when Mom was doing the kids' paperwork. Dad could have been getting Palo's reservations.... And many times people sign up for Flounders and don't use their reservation. Just ask when they have a cancellation. Don't take something that was said on Day 1 as final. Ask, ask, ask. And as far as the Kids' counselors----they are the most patient people out there. Well trained and very hard working. They do NOT make 3 and 4 year olds sit for 45 minutes to listen to a story. If you think so you have not spent time in the club! The staff is very good at keeping kids entertained and happy. If you were paged it was for a good reason. Remember, the staff sees all kinds of children, and most do just fine in the Club. If they can put up with my one child---they deserve cheers---and they do very well with him. I think it is too much to ask that when other kids are expected to be lying down at 11PM watching a movie that someone's "active" child be allowed to run around on the pirate ship. And there is only so much time they can spend on the pirate ship slide. It is not THAT big of a room. That is why the counselors have to keep things moving each hour from one activity to the next.

Anyhow, I know I'll probably be flamed but I think a lot of unhappiness comes from just not asking for help, and/or taking kindness for granted. I start off the cruise by thanking the CMs for their job and what they do to make us have a great vacation. And they do just that!! We love them!! Thank you CMs!!!

 

[Skallywag]

We are booked for October 22nd and really looking forward to it. Surely all the postings cannot be that wrong and know we shall have a great time. Our grip is with Disney Cruise Line clerical staff who will not give us any information at all and we find this very frustrating. We are trying to make our trip a family reunion and celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary (belatedly) but seem unable to get this sorted because of lack of correspondence from the cruise line. Our travel agent here has asked that we do the arrangements ourselves but still to no avail and we are rather annoyed by this.
We love Disney and also are Disney Vacation Club members but not having booked through them with our points they cannot help. We have no toll free numbers nor planning dvd. We are to get one due to the kindness of a member of this board and are really booking forward to living the magic in advance.

Feel every holiday is what you make it yourself and this will be our first cruise and with flights is cosing us all quite a lot of money. We are to stay in Florida for three weeks a week each side of the cruise and this is all arranged. If only someone from Disney Cruise Line would speak to us to get the last bit sorted. Well, expect we will soon.