Anyone else not love the cruise?

[DisneyDreamer8]

I just got back from our land/sea vacation. I must say that I am so looking forward to our 14 day DCL cruise next year!!! This was our third DCL cruise and we really enjoyed it. My only complaint is I had to leave We did a three day this time and it was just not long enough. DH and I love Disney!!! We have talked about taking other cruise lines but just don't want to. We don't have children (yet) but we have just as much fun on our own. I can relax on deck 4 while DH plays basketball. We really enjoy the shows and seeing all the childrens faces light up then a character comes by. I guess for us we enjoy it because neither of us had the opportunity to do things like this as children.

Yes the Wonder is looking a little worn but she will be good as new after her time in dry dock. Plus what do you expect...with the schedule they run it is impossible for them to keep the ships in mint condition. I have been in high priced hotel rooms in Vegas that looked far worse than the wear we saw on the Wonder.

I guess it is just personal prefrence But for DH and I, my mom and now SIL, we will stick with DCL!!!!

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by zalansky
Some vacations are good, some aren't - there is never a guarantee.

Good post Loretta.

P.S. very nice homepage on AOL.

 

[KarenB]

I think it is what you make out of your vacation. Yes, we pay big $$ for this cruise and we all should get our moneys worth. BUT-nothing is perfect!! I am sure we will find some things that we don't care for on our first cruise, but I am not going to look for these things. If they come up, I'll just switch courses and remember it for next time!

I also think that some people just don't care for Disney-and that is okay! If I had a dollar for each person that asked me "Why in the world are you going again?" well, we could upgrade to a cat 9 for our upcoming cruise!!!

To each his own!!

 

[sters]

Thanks for all the comments; I'm finding it all very interesting! We are planning our first Disney cruise for my 40th birthday, so it's a special probaly once-in-a-lifetime event. We are HUGE Disneyworld fans, so we're planning on spending about 4 or 5 days in the park after the cruise. That way if we hate it, as my husband is convinced he will do, we still have something great to look forward to, something we KNOW we will love. Why does my husband think he will hate it? Well, he doesn't drink, dislikes gambling, and loathes cigarette smoke... somehow they all go together... and doesn't like the bloated feeling of overeating. He also hates public pools or just lying on the beach. So what will he like? And if it rains??? Well, he thinks it's all a waste of money and time (that could be spent in the parks!!)

If there was any cruise he might possibly consider, it is the 3-day Disney so... we'll try it and see. But like our Auto Train experience (that I loved and he hated) The way I figure it, his expectations are so low he's bound to have a better-than-he-expected time! At the prices charged, I doubt we'll do it again so I'd like to make the most of it.

Some of the "deficiencies" I'm hearing about on these boards sound like bonuses for me. No casinos (yeah!), small food portions (that way I can sample a larger variety of foods without bellying up to the trough.) Quiet nights (I like the idea of sitting on the veranda listening to the waves lapping, sipping coffee)

One poster made the comment that all the food was horrible, including food in the theme parks and resorts!! If none of the excellent restaurants in the park didn't please him/her, I doubt anything would.. and he/she said they weren't picky?

Having said that, I like hearing the positives and the negatives so I can decide where to spend our time. As long as the weather is nice and we're healthy, I can't anticipate having a bad time.

 

[Hygiene99]

STERS ok well there is no Casino Smoking is only allowed certain places and certain times.... u dont have to over eat and
we always could find Something to do...
We are Huge fans Of DISNEY and love the cruise ...
and we love the parks

Go Enjoy and bring an Open Mind...


have a great trip both of u ...

Boston Pétér

 

[invaderzim]

It can get overwhelming with so many posting their thought -- it seems like there is a lot of negative stuff and I'm sure it made you feel like "why bother".

There is a thread somewhere else on this forum that asked people to name three things they LIKED about their cruise (no negative comments -- just happy ones). Of course, I mentioned the food, the beauty and cleanliness of the ship, the awesome feeling of crossing the bridge and entering the ship's foyer, and the safe feeling onboard. But here are some "scrapbook" memories -- the type that usually get lost in the flood of memories when you look back on your cruise:

Seeing the ship on the horizon as you approach, hearing your name announced as you board, seeing the stars meet the horizon at nighttime and the sun sizzling in the ocean at sunset, the flying fish reflected in the lights off the sides of the ship at night, the rain clouds hanging so low and the sound of rain hitting the ship's decks, seeing the lights on the horizon of passing islands and the lights in the distance of passing ships, hearing partying on deck and laughing children and singing, smelling wet ocean air, falling asleep at night and waking up the next morning already in port and seeing land out your window, strolling the decks at Midnight arm in arm with your significant other, having room service bring breakfast to your room so you can have one more minute in your cabin with your family before you go ashore for the day, going up on deck for coffee at dawn and smelling the cool ocean air and the quietness before anyone else rises, smelling Cookie's BBQ on CC as you sit staring at the turquoise water, the white sand and hearing Jimmy Buffet over the speakers, seeing Mickey Mouse in a tux and Minnie Mouse in an evening gown!

Don't sweat the small stuff. There is so much magic on these ships and so many things to explore, it's hard to believe that most of you can't find SOMETHING you like.

 

[Princess49]

I didn't read every post- there's just too many But I wanted to add that my bf & I just got back form 5/13 wonder and LOVED it. We felt that if we had wanted to , there were enough things to do that we could potentially have not seen ONE child the whole cruise. There was TONS to do & we really enjoyed it! We enjoyed the food it was very similar to the food in WDW. The food at PALO was unreal! I guess it's just personal taste. We aren't into dancing either and we did Kareoke & match your mate & it was a blast- there wire other things that we wanted to do but were beat after all the fun stuff we did during the day/ I'm sorry to those who didn't love it but we SOOO did & are not going back soon enough!!

 

[jin diesel]

This is an interesting thread! I like reading everybody's different opinions! Our first cruise ever will be next year's repositioning cruise - which is 14-days. Interesting, conisdering some of you couldn't wait for your 7 day cruises to end!!

My main reason for chosing DCL is because I am traveling alone with my daughter (7 yrs old), and I from my research - it appears as though DCL caters more towards families with children than any other cruise line. (This vacation is just as much about her as it is about me!!!) Other cruise lines charge AT LEAST $6.50 an hour for "babysitting" in the evenings, and offer very limited kids activites throughout the day. With DCL, if I want to eat dinner at Palo's alone - I can and I don't have to pay extra to have someone "babysit" for me. And I don't have to feel guilty about leaving her (assuming she likes the club) as she is a very big disney fan.

I am sure there will be some drawbacks, but I am going into it with an open mind. It's a vacation for Pete's sake!!! As long as the ship doesn't sink, I can't imagine anything going terribly wrong!! And if it sucks, I just won't book with DCL again. (I am a Disney fan, but if it sucks - it sucks.)

Hopefully the people with the negative experiences can give the rest of tips that can help us avoid the same situations. And those of you who have found other lines with excellent kids clubs - feel free to pass on the info!

 

[dianthus]

Jin~ We just returned from doing a mom/dd 7 day cruise for her 13th B day & it was a blast! My DH couldn't come due to biz commitments. It was strange not to have him there, but fun in a different way. Lotsa beach time & shopping! We didn't want to leave the ship, so 14 days won't be too long for our family- DH won't miss this one! We are booked on the same repo cruise as you!

You can meet many people traveling single with kids on these boards for our cruise. Your DD is the perfect age for the clubs, so she will enjoy them & the characters too! I met a great lady traveling with her 16 yr. old DD & we had a great time. We went to the adult caberet shows after dinner & had brunch in Palo together, so you don't have to do it alone either while your DD is in the clubs. I believe DCL has a luncheon mixer early on for those traveling alone so people can meet each other. I didn't attend, but it's nice if you want to meet others. It appears that many solo moms & dads bring their kids on the cruise- something for everyone!

You'll have a great time- don't worry!

 

[jrydberg]

On the 5/1 Eastern 7 night it was just me and my 5 year old daughter. IMO, it'd be VERY hard to beat DCL for a single parent with a young child. It was great to have a vacation with her, but not have to be with her every minute of the day. I never get a break at home, so even an hour for her in the club was great. And there are lots of activities that are geared towards kids and adults together.

My one bit of advice for single parents... relax. It's a vacation.

As I said to my daughter before the cruise... pop quiz! What's the most important thing about our Disney cruise? Have fun!

 

[jin diesel]

linda & jrydberg,
Thanks for you comments!!! As a single-parent DCL is really the only cruise line I could consider seriously. It is really important to me that she have just as fun much as me. I could care less about casinos! If I want to gamble and get drunk and party all night - I can go to Vegas!! So I am totally happy with my choice, but still a little nervous. I will have to stop by and say "HI" to you, Linda!

jrydberg, I totally plan on RELAXING!!! That's why I said 14 days doesn't even seem like enough! I never really get a chance to just relax or lay around or even read a book! And my DD deserves to have a good time with kids her own age as well.

I'm glad you had an awesome experience.

 

[Greysword]

As was previously mentioned, I am very much enjoying this thread. The calibur of opinions and the civility the two sides are taking could certainly be used as a model for the upcoming election period Thank you all for sharing your thoughts.

I was hoping to give you a couple of my thoughts as well, even though our first cruise has yet to occur.

1) I have noticed there are two sorts of adults: those that are grown-up and those that are still holding onto childhood. The responsible ones in the latter category are the ones who seem to enjoy the cruise (and Disney) the most. The world is still black and white for them. They get excited at seeing the charatres in the lattice work in the lobby or can place themselves into the stories shown on stage. The responsible grown-ups will probably have more fun on RCCL, Celebrity, or Carnival, since there is more dancing, partying, and other activities going on.

2) Some like Heidi (Hydster) fit into the non grown-up section (I am guessing) and love the magic, but simply had an "off cruise". In fact, your trip report, Heidi, tells me many things went wrong on land before and after the ship. Thus, I think you just had some bad karma (or something) following you this time. For those who have seen the magic or are convinced it exists but couldn't see it, I would suggest one more DCL cruise to be sure. Give it one more chance to prove itself.

3) Still others that fit into the latter category in opinion one above may not like DCL, period. As was mentioned earlier, some resorts and parks are preferable to others. DCL can be viewed as another park or resort (in a way). Thus, you may simply hate Disneyland, but love the Magic Kingdom. MGM may seem boring where the Hilton head resort is perfect. Thus, not attending DCL is not bad at all, and these thoughts may change depending on season, activities, food, and other postential changes Disney will eventually make to the cruise ships. The West coast cruises may eventually be totally different than the east coast versions. They may put a small resport on CC as a vacation spot, who knows.

This is how I seem to see the basic premise of those posting on this thread.

Oh, and if you don't think breakfast food can go horribly wrong, then you have never had military food! One box literally had the FDA lable "edible for human consumption" and yummy...powdered eggs!" LOL!!

Thanks for letting me share!!

 

[traycie2201]

Hi Greysword, like yourself i am yet to cruise and so have read these reports with alternating alarm / dismay and happiness, i am going to have a wonderful holiday with my family and we alone are responsible for that whether we are on a luxury cruise or camping out with basic facilities

I for one am happy to cling on to childhood (although we never went to disney as children ) but there is enough heartache and unhappiness in the world so if for 2 short weeks a year i can regress and see life through my childs eyes then i count myself blessed, that being said i am an intelligent woman who knows that pixie dust doesn't always work but for me the glass is always half full not half empty and i hope that my joie de vivre follows me for life and makes others smile if only for a moment.

As for being a grown up well i have to do that for the rest of the year, so DCL watch out this 34 year old kid will be bouncing your way in october and can't wait

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday wherever you choose to spend it.