Anyone hate cruises BUT enjoy the disney line

[Karrie Davis]

We hated our 1 and only cruise and it was on one of the large cruise line (Carnival). We actually spent the last 2 days in our room watching movies. DH hated the small cabin (I know that is better w/Disney). We were not super impressed with the food and were kind of board. DH was alway hot when he slept and Carnival did not have a way to cool our room down enough since it is a joint AC system....

So now we found our favorite vacation, since we had a child We really love Disney World... Our son will be 4 in February and I am wondering if any cruise hater's have fallen in love with Disney Cruse Lines. I think our son would love it which would make me love it. BUT... the fear!

One thing we hated is that we had little time in the ports, it seamed so rushed.... Cast Away Key (or something like that seem like we would have a BLAST with our son - how are the other with a young child. He will be almost 5 when we can go.

My idea is that I think I will be pregnant next year and will be bummed not being able to ride rides so the cruise seems like it might be nice if we can get over hating our last one so much...

 

[CruisinEars]

I don't have a personal experience since we will be taking our first cruise on DCL next May. But I wanted to chime in and say that from what I have read on the boards there are quite a few who were less than impressed with Carnival and absolutely love DCL. I hear it is way more family friendly and lots for adults to do. Keep reading the cruise board and also check out some cruise trip reports. They can be very insightful and show the many activities available.

Welcome to the cruise board and Happy Sailing!

 

[Oihane]

I've never done carnival, so I can't base my opinion on that. But if you enjoy WDW, and you have a young son, you might want to give DCL a shot. From what I've heard, the rooms are a little bit bigger than the ones on other lines, but that's relative...all staterooms are fairly small, until you get to suites anyway. look here: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/cr-staterooms.htm

you can look at what the different categories of staterooms look like, and can kind of get an idea of the size I suppose. One thing you could try is a veranda, I've heard it makes the room seem a bit bigger, having the balcony and all that. But, it is a bit more expensive, if you're on a tight budget.

As for time at the ports...well, unfortunately you don't get a ton of time at any port, really. I guess it depends on your definition of "rushed". Here's a schedule for the 7 night cruises...what time they get to port, what time they leave:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/cr7-ovr-overview.htm#Eastern

the 3 & 4 day cruises just go to Nassau and Castaway Cay. the times for the 7-day cruises is about the same for 3 & 4-days I believe. the 5-night bahama cruise could be a good idea if you really like the idea of castaway cay.

Also, if you're going to be pregnant, I believe they don't let you sail if you're more than 5 or 6 months along or something, because of risks if you happen to go into early labor whilst in the middle of the ocean, lol.

So yeah...it's up to you, obviously. you could try a 3 or 4-day cruise, to see how you like it without spending the money for a 7-day. I love cruising with DCL, I'm actually not a huge fan of WDW because there are crowds and kids and stuff EVERYWHERE...on DCL, you can get as much or as little disney as you like (you can't really get NO disney though, lol...). There's lots of stuff to do as a family, and there's a lot of stuff for the kids to do by themselves, and a lot to do for the adults by themselves. I think you can get a balance really easily. but that's just mho

 

[m4travel]

We have cruised on several lines and liked them all for what they were, even though they were very different. I do not gamble in their casinos, don't hang out in the clubs, and won't karaoki for anyone - but we lovecruising.

It's the total experience cruising offers. Rather than watching a sports event from high up in the stands, or watching a play behind a proscenium, or 'participating' in an event from a distance, you are there. You are surrounded by the experience of cruising and you and everyone you see plays a part in the experience (I sometimes get a little resentful of those who don't play their part...). It reminds me a bit of our trips to northern Yorkshire where if you squinted a little, it could almost be 1918 again.

And I think Disney does it best. Each line has its plusses and minuses, but Disney is, after all, an entertainment company and they're very good at what they do.

Go; enjoy; let the sweep over you!

 

[Mozart]

We cruised on RC one time and hated it. We swore off cruising after that experience. Late last year, my brother talked us into going on a Disney cruise with the whole family and fell in love with DCL. The experience was so different. It's not the party atmosphere that some of the mass cruise lines have. Much more elegant.

After swearing off cruises entirely, we've taken 2 this year, have another one booked for next, and are eagerly awaiting the 2009 dates to book our 4th. I just can't see us doing that with the other cruise lines, based on both our experiences, and the feedback we've gotten from people who've cruised on other lines.

As for time in the ports, I think you'll find that's the one thing about cruising that is similiar on all lines. You just don't have enough time in the ports to really explore the way you'd like to. On the flipside, however, is the fact that you get to see a few different places in a short amount of time.

 

[Cruise]

We've done Carnival once and we're about to do our 3rd Disney. We hated Carnival as well. It just wasn't our "thing." But we obviously really like Disney. If you're a Disney fan and a kid at heart, you'll love all the Disney touches, the shows, and seeing the characters. But even my husband, who isn't a Disney fan per se, prefers Disney over the trip we did on Carnival.

Was it the cruise you really hated? Being on a ship, the water, etc? Cause if it was the "experience," then I'd be inclined to say it was Carnival and not cruising itself.

I say give Disney a try. We definitely have had much, much better times on Disney than we did on Carnival.

Good luck!

 

[RLCarmichael]

My uncle did a CCL on one of the older ships with cheap inside cabin. Twin bunks. Hated it. (I think he would have have much better experience on newer CCL ships.)

Absolutely loved the NCL trips he took - did 2 Alaska cruises he liked it so much.

DCL is first class. Your son will have a blast and you'll actually have some adult time.

Consider the 3 night as a good way to try it out.

 

[CraftyMouse]

Consider the 3 night as a good way to try it out.

I disagree with this. If you don't like feeling rushed you will not like the 3-day. It is really more like a 2-day as you don't sail until evening of the day your board and you are off the ship early on the day you return. If anything I'd suggest taking at least the 4-day so you have a sea day in the schedule. It allows you to really explore and enjoy the ship.

 

[Karrie Davis]

Thanks for the help - I do thing=k that what I really hated was there was nothing to do BUT gamble, dance, drink and party, those are not our things at all. We like the 1 show they had..... The ports seemed short because we hated the ship and wanted off so bad....

I think a 7 night would be a must as we travel from Colorado, it is just 2 far for 3 or 4 nights and the difference in price is not enough. It would be great if we were doing the parts for a week too but if I am pregnant I may not want to do more then 2 days at the parks.

I need to look into it more but really wondered what non cruisers thought about DCL

 

[Cruise]

Thanks for the help - I do thing=k that what I really hated was there was nothing to do BUT gamble, dance, drink and party, those are not our things at all. We like the 1 show they had..... The ports seemed short because we hated the ship and wanted off so bad....

You might want to look at the FAQ sticky at the top of the forum and look for "Recent Navigators." They are the daily listings of what goes on each day on the ship. Since there's no casino, it isn't billed as one of the big attractions. We also aren't drinking and dancing people.

But there are some fun things to do. There are different shows every night. There are behind-the-scenes tours of different areas of the ship - galley, theater, etc. There is a vegetable go-kart making event that your son might like. We played Pictionary in the Promenade lounge once. Wide variety of stuff.

 

[PrincessMom2002]

DH, DS and I took a 5 day cruise on RCI 7 1/2 years ago and that experience left us with not wanting to ever cruise again. The staff weren't very friendly and the overall experience just wasn't for us. We spent so much time in our cabin and it got to be very boring. DH said a couple of years ago that the only way he'd cruise again was with Disney. Well, we did our first Disney cruise last month and LOVED it!!! We are going again in June '09. The staff were wonderful, food was good, and there were plenty of things (too much to fit into one cruise) for us all to do. I do want to give RCI or even Carnival another shot down the road when our kids are older but I will only go on a new(er) ship. But Disney has won us over for a while, I am sure.

 

[MCourtney]

My DH and I went on "our" first cruise with Carnival about 11 years ago - DH hated it so much he swore NEVER to go on another cruise. Fast forward to last year, somehow I "forced" him to do a 3 day Wonder in November, then we went for 7 days in September, and are now signed up for a 4 day in August. He actually likes it! So.. from someone who has been on both - there is very little comparison! If you are skeptical, try a short 3 or 4 day first. Our daughter (4) asks all the time when we are going back to the 'Mickey Mouse Boat'!

 

[poohfriend]

That if you try a 4 day cruise, you could use the rest of your week-long vacation to go to Disney World. I personally would LOVE to do a 7-day...but if you want to "try" cruising with DCL a 4 day is a good option.

I found the atmosphere on DCL to be delightful. I love the fact that I don't have to avoid smokers everywhere I go! On our RCL ship we HAD to go through the Casino to get to our assigned dining room. And I didn't like the party atmosphere.

The shows on DCL are great too. Plus Palo.. Plus Kids Club... Plus Castaway Cay...(which by the way the ship docks at...so you don't have to tender in small boats to the private island).

I honestly think if you didn't hate your first cruise because of the boat''s motion, you may just have sailed on the wrong cruiseline for your tastes! Cruising can be addicitive...give DCL a try.

 

[lillygator]

I just can't imagine not liking cruising!! DCL though is much better IMHO than Carnival.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

If you want to try DCL I would suggest a 4 day in a suite. DCL's staterooms are advertised as "bigger than other cruise lines" because back in the 90's when their ships were built, it was considered huge. Since then other cruise lines have made their cabins bigger too. The oceanview cabin we had on the Carnival Liberty was 220 sq. ft. and the Magic's are 214 sq. ft. A standard inside room on the Magic is only 184 sq. ft. so if you try DCL be sure to know what you're getting before you book so you're not disappointed. Some people just need more space to be comfortable.

www.cruisesonly.com will tell you the square footage of all staterooms on all cruise lines so you can compare.

Other cruise lines are basically adult vacations that tolerate children. DCL caters to children and families which is what sets it apart from all the rest. What other cruise line has fireworks?

I also agree that a 3 day is way too short.
Try DCL and I think you will pleasantly surprised.

 

[druidia]

...what I really hated was there was nothing to do BUT gamble, dance, drink and party, those are not our things at all.

I need to look into it more but really wondered what non cruisers thought about DCL

These are exactly the things I hated about Carnival as well. And there were many unsupervised, out of control teens and people smoking in their staterooms on the same deck with us. It was absolutely disgusting.

We will never sail Carnival again.

We are taking our first DCL cruise in 2 weeks, and I hope we love it.

 

[26555]

Just an fyi before you get too excited about DCL. Other lines have a similar policy.

As per Disney policy, women who are past their 24th week of pregnancy and babies that are younger than 12 weeks old are not permitted to sail on Disney Cruise Line ships due to safety concerns.