Anyone Getting Tired of the Same Old, Same Old?

[CaseyCruiser]

I'm always excited sailing away with Disney Cruise Line. I'm good at being bored. It's nice to just chill out.

 

[Skippyboo]

I have only done 2 cruises both on the Fantasy. My last cruise was a couple weeks ago. This cruise I made a point to do stuff I didn’t do on my first one like Aqua Duck, trivia, get alcoholic drink.

I also did some repeats like going to see Frozen (skipped Aladdin to watch Inside Out 2), characters meet & greets, mid ship detective, etc.

I go on the Wish in 3 weeks and Treasure at end of February. So that’s 2 new ships to me.

 

[brentm77]

I still really enjoy DCL cruises, but do find the menus and the entire dinner experience less enjoyable than I used to. It's fine, but the food even night-to-night is just a little too repetitive for my tastes, and I just haven't enjoyed the whole interacting with the same serving team every night lately. I really wish there were easy and tasty alternatives on DCL, but also understand why it's less practical than other lines. I am also feeling the call to go to new places and try new things. We are off to Tokyo soon to scratch that itch, and will hopefully do a land trip in Europe next year. You can do some pretty cool trips for a similar price to DCL, and now even for a similar price to a week at the parks.

That said, for me, like many others, DCL is really about having a relaxing, easy vacation. I love being at sea, the ambiance of the ships, sitting outside on deck 4 or my verandah, hanging out with my wife and adult kids in the clubs at night, relaxing by the adult pool on a warm day with an icy drink. It's still a great vacation for me and we will be back sometime soon. The Treasure has even peaked my interest, because of the theming of the ship and longer sailings.

 

[CarolynFH]

I’m just wanting more ships of any cruise line to sail out of Galveston but sail to the east instead of the west!

 

[Hubie]

Yep! Last DCL cruise was a January 2024 Pixar cruise on the Fantasy. We had terrible servers for one thing and there were way too many preschoolers aboard (screamers in the dining rooms etc.) Also, visiting the Carribean has become repetitive. This past June we took an expedition cruise that circumnavigated Iceland. There was one child on board out of 82 passengers. We loved it so much we booked with the same line to sail around Svalbard in June 2025. We'll also be on the Treasure with our whole family next November. Sailing on the new ship hopefully will be more interesting and, of course, we'll enjoy being with our kids and grandkids. But it may be our last DCL cruise.

 

[Brian Noble]

"Yeah, I know about the foie gras, the old standby, used to be famous for it."

 

[dreamer17555]

I will suggest for those frustrated or turned off by same old, same old to take a moment and let DCL know. They will not fix it if they don't hear about it (en masse).

You can use the contact form here: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/help/email/

 

[Pixarfans]

We try to make each trip a little different. We’ve done MDAS, SDAS and all the ships twice (Dream being the exception of once). We do different tastings and different activities each time. We are bored with the menus, that is why the Treasure is next. Unless it is the right itinerary we won’t be back on the classics.

 

[Cfabar1]

For us, it is still new enough.... It is relaxing, it is easy, it is right there....

New ships still to try, but we rarely get off the ship... The ports do not interest us... It is all about the ship... Fantasy next year, Treasure year after... At least that's the plan for now, these things can always change!

I am getting over the short cruises though.... now I want more time on the boat...

 

[tvguy]

All I can say after over 20 years on this forum, Disney is in a tough spot. I suspect if they don't have more repeat cruisers than other lines, they are near the top of the list. Anytime they change a little thing, there is outrage. A lot of their repeat cruisers want their favorite item to still be on the menu, their favorite show to still be on the ship, their favorite event to continue. And they keep filling the ships and adding ships, so they must be doing something right.

 

[Carohs]

I don't mind the activities and shows to be repetitive. There's always so much to do, but I know if we didn't get to do something this time we can try it next. I do wish the menus would be changed up a bit.

 

[Demke Family]

I know the argument that those who take a Disney trip each year, or to Las Vegas, Gatlinburg, the beach, etc. could be applied to cruising. The argument of it is tradition, we love it, etc. But, as I am on a cruise now I am finding it is the same experience from years ago. Same Match Your Mate questions. Same pirates night menu. Same shows. I thought trying DCL again would be a break, but it is just plain boring! I find that on a land trip, visiting the same place multiple times tends to have more variety. The only value I find in cruising now is the destinations.

Frequent sailing families - Why do you sail for the same experiences time after time?

Completely agree with the cruise issue. After several Fantasy trips ( which is our favorite ship), we were tired of the same menu, the same trivia games, same towel animals made in the class etc. Disney could use with some freshening up to help repeat customers in that department, I believe. We took a long break from cruising with Disney just for that reason- boredom. We are now booked to try the Treasure.

 

[CamColt]

All I can say after over 20 years on this forum, Disney is in a tough spot. I suspect if they don't have more repeat cruisers than other lines, they are near the top of the list. Anytime they change a little thing, there is outrage. A lot of their repeat cruisers want their favorite item to still be on the menu, their favorite show to still be on the ship, their favorite even to continue. And they keep filling the ships and adding ships, so they must be doing something right.

Imagine the uproar (myself included, LOL) if they got rid of the Black Truffle Pasta Pursiettes?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think some of the boredom might also be the itineraries they are doing. It's hard to be bored in the grand scheme if you're going all over the world but DCL's focus is heavy on the Caribbean area going to their now two islands, etc. It happens to other cruise lines especially RCL and Carnival who also are heavy on the Caribbean area.

 

[Travel60]

In our case, we started with DCL in the very beginning (4th Magic cruise) because of kids. They grew up on DCL (Magic and Wonder). Because they were aging and wanting to do different activities, we did not get bored.

When they went to college then started careers/married DH and I "graduated" to other lines - more expedition-type trips. Mostly smaller ships (~120 cabins) Antarctica, New Zealand, Australia, Iceland, Norway and a Danube River Cruise. Also more land-based tours (Italy, South Africa, South America). In 2022 we booked DCL around Greece because it fit in between two other trips we booked in Europe (COVID catch-up travel). It was ok but I wouldn't do it again.

We travel for the itinerary - to learn as much about the world as we can. We enjoy ships with lectures, naturalists, eco-tours.

We now have grandkids and will do a few more DCL because of them. It will be fun watching them see the ships.

Seasons of life. If you are getting bored, try something else!

 

[tvguy]

Imagine the uproar (myself included, LOL) if they got rid of the Black Truffle Pasta Pursiettes?

Or the times they ran out of Mickey Bars, even though you can get them at Walmart at home.

 

[otten]

We have yet to repeat an itinerary so that keeps us from getting bored even if menus/activities stay the same. Our next cruise is more of an itinerary repeat but we chose it because we wanted to try the Treasure.

Our next trip after that though is going to be on Royal because Disney doesn't offer the itinerary we want.

 

[toontoy]

in a simple word yes. especially at premium pricing. we travel all over and i like going back places but not the exact same thing each time. its been a few years since we visited disney worls or cruised with disney. not wnough new to compell me to return. we tepeat some places ljke orlando but each trip do something different. last spring it was disocery cove and sea world. next year we plan to return to Myrtle beach but the kids chose it over disneyworld. since we have to fly 5 hours to get to florida we wont cruise for less than a week and with disney that leaves one option. the prices are usually double to tripple for us. we have sailed royals kid sail free and had some great deals.

Since im the only fisney fan in the family its hard to swing the premium pricing concept. our Hilton club room in myrtle beach is nicer than the dvc rooms we have stayed in. Disney luxury isnt teal world luxury to me and even with dcl other lines have caught up and run forward. i showed my kids the treausre info and compared it to icon. both my 4 year old and 8 yr old said icon. they thought it was strange disney had no water slides or rock wall or ice skating. i want to sail disney again but not sure when .

 

[Anna131517]

I wish they would add some more departure ports (like NYC, Boston) and rotate the ships between various ports. That way people can experience the different ships and shows from their preferred port. I’m tired of going to Florida to be honest and don’t really want to fly across the country to go on a cruise. We look at other lines for that reason more than anything else. I love the service on DCL.

 

[bakerworld]

We returned from a 4D Fantasy 2 days ago. We last cruised on Fantasy in September 2023. We walked up to the Cove Bar by the adult pool and Lukeman, the bartender, said "Welcome back! Beer and Pouilly Fuissé?" I couldn't believe he remembered which Chard I was drinking over a year ago. So I guess you can see where we spend much of our time? I will say the 4D cruises are our preference so we never do more than DCL private islands and Nassau (although September 2023 we did a 6D to Caymans and Cozumel). We don't do the shows or most of the onboard activities. We occasionally will catch a movie or bingo. We're low activity people. Next month we'll go to Bay Lake for a week and might buy a park ticket.