Anyone's kids ever "disappointed" with cruise?

[Ragnrok23]

My wife and I are planning to take our kids (will be almost 4 and just over 2) on there first cruise. We are thinking of doing a few days in park either before or after

My wife thinks the kids will be disappointed after going to the parks for a few days with all the rides

I would rather do few days first , then do the cruise

Also can anyone share their experience with transportation? Did they find it easier cruising first, or staying at WDW?

 

[Shanti]

My wife and I are planning to take our kids (will be almost 4 and just over 2) on there first cruise. We are thinking of doing a few days in park either before or after

My wife thinks the kids will be disappointed after going to the parks for a few days with all the rides

I would rather do few days first , then do the cruise

Also can anyone share their experience with transportation? Did they find it easier cruising first, or staying at WDW?

My son really enjoyed both of the Disney cruises we've taken. That said, I'd personally prefer to cruise first, then go to the parks. Maybe because I tend to prefer the first part of a vacation to be a way to relax & unwind from work. Then I can gear up to have some energetic fun.

But many others prefer the opposite. I think you should do whichever really appeals to you.

 

[DisneyGirlMI]

My two youngest kids were 5 & 6 the first time they went on a cruise and they loved it! We've asked them several times which they prefer, the parks or the cruise, and they always pick the cruise. They are going on their 6th this summer. There is so much for them to do. If they are into the characters they will find them all over and a lot easier to see than in the parks.

As for doing the parks and the cruise, we always do the parks first. It's much more relaxing that way. You're on the go so much at the parks. On the cruise you can do as little or as much as you want.

We drive ourselves, so don't use the transportation.

 

[undertheradar]

Due to the ability to enjoy things and foods freely, I would definitely suggest cruising after the parks.

 

[scootch]

My kids LOVE them, even more than Disney World!!

 

[soniam]

Do your kids like to swim or hang out in kids clubs? Then they may love the cruise. DS would prefer a cruise any day over the parks, even though he loves the parks. It's been that way since he was 4, and he's now 11. We prefer to hit the parks commando style and then just chill and relax on the cruise afterward.

 

[Melissa S]

Like PP wrote my daughter prefers the cruise too. She is 7 and we've been cruising since she was 16 months. Each year we ask if she would prefer a week in the parks or a disney cruise and she picks the cruise every time.

Something to keep in mind is the character experiences are very different on the cruise which is a huge plus. In the parks it's mostly a photo op. On the cruises we've had more interactions. One time we ran into Belle was in the hallway and she talked to my daughter for five minutes about the books she was reading. No was else was around it was so special for her.

 

[cruiser21]

No never. My kids have been on 18 cruises Disney, Carnival and NCL, and they never get tired of them. My kids are big on the Clubs and love socializing with other kids. I see some people post that there kids don't go to the clubs. I'm not sure what their kids do all day. My kids like to be busy every second, and the cruise and all the activities in the clubs seems to provide that. My kids are teens now and they still love Disney cruises. It's not about "Disney" for them. It's about meeting other kids, staying out until 1am, and having independence. There's not a lot of vacations you can take with teens where you can give them that kind of independence. I think it will always be their vacation of choice.

 

[lorimay]

My grandkids were 3 & 18 months on their first cruise, and she was kind of small but talked about Mickeys Boat like her big brother did.
He was obsessed with it, all he talked about was going back to the club.
There is so much for them to do, they wont be disappointed.
They also love the parks, but nothing beats Mickey's Boat, they are 7 and almost 9 now and still love it.
The only issue is they don't want to get off the ships on Port Days, except Castaway Cay.

 

[Cackyschmackers]

Never!! Our kids actually prefer the cruise over the parks! Don't get me wrong, they LOVE the parks, but the Disney cruises are very, very special. If you were able to fit some park time in before, you'd have the best of both worlds. I would most definitely cruise *after* a park visit, the parks are so crazy and hectic, esp with your kids' ages. A DCL cruise after a parks visit would be a super special time for your family with a cherry on top!

 

[mernin]

We went on our first cruise in Feb with my 9 & 4 year old after 3 days at the park. Went back for 2 days after too. They loved the cruise and asked when we are doing another one before we even got off. They love the parks too!

I would do cruise after the parks, so you can relax a bit. But either way is great!

 

[NewsMom]

My son loved our cruise last year and can't wait for this one. We did a 4-night followed by 3 days at the parks and I would do it the other way around, personally. I ruined all my spa-treatment relaxation with rushing around the park. I don't think it would have mattered to my son, but I think I'd have gotten more out of it.

 

[TestingH2O]

DD has been 3, 3, and 4 on our cruises and she's loved every one. She talks about it all the time.

I agree with PP that one thing that makes it awesome for her is that there's no choosing. Since so much is included, she's not limited by a budget and can have dessert or go see a movie pretty much whenever she wants. She's not in to shopping, so that's not an issue.

 

[NewsMom]

DD has been 3, 3, and 4 on our cruises and she's loved every one. She talks about it all the time.

I agree with PP that one thing that makes it awesome for her is that there's no choosing. Since so much is included, she's not limited by a budget and can have dessert or go see a movie pretty much whenever she wants. She's not in to shopping, so that's not an issue.

That's a great point. My son can get paralyzed by choices. His behavior was a lot better on the boat than in the park, and I think it's because of overload. Onboard, his only choices were Kids Club or Swimming, and if I had a spa appointment, that choice was made for him, and he was fine with it.

 

[Shanti]

My 12 year-old son has enjoyed our cruises, but he loves Disney World a lot more. The kids' clubs & stage shows don't appeal much to him, you can't really swim in the ship's pools, the Caribbean ports are run-down, etc. So while he does enjoy cruises (he likes dinners in the MDRs, the Aqua Duck, the ship's family activities, the ocean & Castaway Cay), he prefers Disney World where there is a lot more to do.

It is Disney World as a whole that he prefers, not just the parks, although he loves the parks, too. We tend to stay at deluxe resorts and always include nice meals & a fair amount of resort time in our trips, so they aren't all about manic park-going. I think that makes a crucial difference. The resorts have swimming pools you can actually swim in, that's a big plus for WDW. The characters are at both locations, so that's a draw. WDW also does a much better job at accommodating my son's gluten-free diet than the cruise ships, where we've encountered many more limitations to what gf foods are available.

 

[Marc D]

Concerning the order, we prefer to do the parks first, if only not to be rushed when leaving the ship to make sure we make the most of our admission cost for that day. We went to Epcot last time after the cruise last time and we were able to enter the International Gateway around 11AM. It didn't matter since we've been there so many times and it was just a spur of the moment visit, but if it was one of the goals of my vacation, I would not like that pressure on disembarkation morning.

 

[ExCMbeau]

We did a 5 night Disney cruise and then did Universal. If we had it to do over again we would do the parks first and then the cruise. The cruise is a kids dream. Everyone wants them to be happy. If they ask for a doughnut at breakfast they will get it. You want a Mickey Bar at dinner no problem. You want a 5 minute wait to meet Mickey DONE! So when we got to the parks and everything was more rigid with longer waits and a menu they had to adhere to it was a tough adjustment for the kids.

 

[Dug720]

We did a 5 night Disney cruise and then did Universal. If we had it to do over again we would do the parks first and then the cruise. The cruise is a kids dream. Everyone wants them to be happy. If they ask for a doughnut at breakfast they will get it. You want a Mickey Bar at dinner no problem. You want a 5 minute wait to meet Mickey DONE! So when we got to the parks and everything was more rigid with longer waits and a menu they had to adhere to it was a tough adjustment for the kids.

Just to clarify - they will NOT bump you to the front of the line to meet Mickey. If the line is 20 minutes, the line is 20 minutes.

(Clarifying because this post made it sound like if a kid doesn't want to wait in line they just get bumped to make them happy. No go.)

 

[DCLMacro415]

We've done a few days at WDW before a cruise as well as after a cruise, my son at the time was 6 years then 7 years old. Would definitely recommend doing the cruise last. WDW is great but it can be very busy and just always on the go, etc. The cruise its a nice way to unwind from a few days at the park. When we did the park/cruise it was in 2014 then 2015 on the Dream both times so this was before the dry dock. The first cruise we couldn't keep my son out of the oceaneer's club/lab. If we were on the ship he wanted to be there or the mid ship detective agency. He loved the pool and the pool slide too plus all the other activities.

On the second cruise he went to the lap/club but wouldn't want to stay as long as he did prior, which was fine was well. He would just say he was bored with some of the things they had. Since then we've been on the Magic and Fantasy both post dry dock and he cant get enough of the lap/club areas. He also loves the pool, slide, and aqua duck.

There is plenty to do on the cruise for young and old so I'm not sure they will feel disappointed with the cruise. Character meet and greets are more organized on the cruise and fewer people then in the parks so there is a lot of interaction there. Plus from a parent side, its nice doing the cruise last because when our son was at the lab/club it allowed us some down time to enjoy the ship and just unwind. He was able to enjoy the ship and all he wanted, and we could enjoy the adult areas, etc.

 

[cadien]

At 2 and 4, it's also still very easy for kids to get overstimulated. My son is 6 and there's still only so many straight days of excitement he can handle. I think they'll be fine transitioning to the ship. Look at it as more exciting than going from the parks to home.