Convince me...

[ErinInCT]

I used to really want to go on a Disney Cruise but now that I am just back from the World I am not sure I want to take valuable time away from the parks.
Why did you decide to cruise & how does it compare to your trips to the parks? I am thinking my best bet is to do the land & sea package but I just don't want to be sitting on the boat thinking of everything I am missing back at the parks. I need at least 7 days at the park to feel fulfilled & I am not sure I can afford that long at the park & a cruise (as well as the vacation time for dh!) at the same time.
So here is your chance to convince me that a cruise is the way to go. DD's are 1 & 4 (so I figure I should wait until the youngest is old enough to do those activity things during the day without parents!). Please let me know how you decided to go on a cruise.
Thanks!

 

[hopelea]

I really thought I would miss the thrill rides at the park. They enchanted feeling of the parks . It took me a long time to talk dh into the cruise. He felt the same as you. But, it was the best vacation we have ever taken. There is so much to do on the ship and off the ship.

When we visit the parks I always feel like I need a vacation when we are done. It is a wonderful, exhausting time. The cruise was so relaxing and MAGICAL.

It is really too hard to expain. Maybe you do need to try the land/sea package. Then you could get your feet wet with the cruise part

My dd's were 7 & 9 on our first cruise. They will be 11 & 9 when we go again. I love the freedom it gives my dh and I. I really feel that we are able to enjoy each other and spend quality time together that we don't get at DW.

JMHO

 

[smchan]

Originally posted by ErinInCT
I am thinking my best bet is to do the land & sea package but I just don't want to be sitting on the boat thinking of everything I am missing back at the parks.

That's exactly what I like about DCL. My wife gets her Disney fix while I'm thinking about everything I am missing back at the parks.

The parks are fun but wear me out. DCL is both fun and relaxing.

Sam

 

[dancermom]

I too always thought I would miss the parks until I tried cruising. Let's just say that 3 cruises later, with the fourth already booked I am wondering how I can manage to do 7 days in the parks and not cruise, and my DH and DD's feel the same way. Don't get me wrong, we love the parks and always add a day or two before and after the cruise, but once you cruise it's hard not to be hooked.

 

[WDWCrazzyCunninghams]

Do like us and take 2 WEEKS! The first we will get our fill of WDW, then the second we get a taste of the cruise and Universal! All toll, we will be away from the house, work, and everyday life for 17 days! What a WONDERful Christmas gift to ourselves!

 

[mickeymom923]

I own timeshares so I always exchange one week and go to Florida and while I'm there I do a cruise. We used to do Carnival but my teens prefer the Disney Cruise Line. I feel they are really safe there and since I don't have to worry, I get to enjoy the vacation. It's nice to be waited on for breakfast, lunch and dinner and all the food in between. LOL The shows are excellent. You can't beat the service both in the restaurants and in your cabin. Everyone is so nice and upbeat that it just adds to your vacation. Plus you will probably be lucky enough to make new friends. I work hard and I'm a single parent. At the parks, everyone wants to go to different rides, the food is expensive and I find that I'm still waiting and watching everyone. It's nice to go on a cruise and totally relax (looking at the water), not to worry and be pampered. I do both

 

[ErinInCT]

Does it still seem Disney-ish? Do they have characters (if so, who?) and character meals? Are the shows Disney type shows (like FotLK or B&tB)?

 

[hopelea]

It can be as disney-ish as you want it. There are GREAT disney shows, characters at certain times. It was WONDERFUL.....you must try it.

 

[crisi]

There are characters. Princesses, the Fab Five, Chip and Dale, Captain Hook, Alice, Pinochhio (and I'm sure many more).

There are shows, but I think FotLK is much better than anything on board (I haven't seen Beauty and the Beast).

Its very different than the parks.

I can't imagine doing a land/sea. Too much shifting gears. To much packing (my cruise wardrobe is quite different from my park wardrobe - and you need too many clothes to cruise to start with). A day functionally lost to switching from land to sea. Four days in the park is too short, three days at sea too short.

 

[mickeymom923]

Yes they do have characters. Besides Mickey and Minnie, there's Goofy, Donald, the Princesses, Peter Pan and others. They post where and when the characters will appear and they also have a fantastic last night where all the characters appear and you can take pictures. The shows were fabulous. Disney Dreams and the Golden Mickeys were awesome. They have an adults only pool, clubs and restaurant as well as a family one and tons of activities for kids of all ages. There's definitely something for everyone. If you like the park, you'll love the cruise.

 

[Masonpips]

I would assume this year your 1 year old was pretty content to stay in the stroller? I think at 2-4 the kiddos are less happy waiting in line, want to be on the go more and more and get irritable, tired and worn out at the parks. The cruise is MUCH more relaxing and still allows everyone to have a great time.

This is our 3rd cruise and we have yet to experience everything the ship offers. In fact we plan on staying on board much more this time because we never feel like we have enough time ON the ship!

 

[ljm]

Where to begin...
First of all, we did 7 days at the parks in 2003 (last ones w/DH in the ER at the hospital in Celebration - not fun!), and then we did the 4 night cruise in March 2004, followed by 3 days at the parks on a budget (we'd blown the $$$ on the "big trip" in '03, but felt like we needed a "do-over" of our last few days).

I do love the parks, but with two small boys (3 + 6), it is WORK. We got up early every day, made sure we saw all the prime attractions before there were lines, etc. It was fun, don't get me wrong, but it was not relaxing at all. On the other hand, the cruise was nothing but relaxing - a perfect vacation. The kids were so happy. They loved the kids club. They loved the Mickey pool (and slide). They really loved the shows (my little one still talks about Hercules!). It was all I could do to pry them off the ship when it came time to disembark. All this while DH and I could feel like adults again. We had a blast at '80's night - I have never laughed so hard in my life as I did when I saw DH and the DH of my best friend dressed up like Bon Jovi by the CM's. That moment alone was worth every penny paid for the cruise. It was a true vacation.

After the cruise, we did 4 nights at WDW (Priceline'd the Marriott Orlando World Center - a great deal and a great hotel). This way we made up the days lost with DH unavailable in '03. Next time (January '05),we are not doing the parks at all.

I can say that the cruise would not be *as* enjoyable (for me, anyway) if my kids weren't potty trained or old enough to be in the kids club. This was the beauty of it for me. We had quality "family" time, and we had quality "couple" time, both of which are important.

If you do the land/sea, try and do the cruise last. You will actually go home refreshed, and not needing another vacation.

Just my $0.02...

 

[CastawayCayLover]

It's rather foolish to ask complete strangers to tell you what you would like to do on your vacation. Only you know what you do and don't like to do.

Personally, if you're not excited about going on a Disney Cruise, I would hate to have you on the ship with me.

 

[budwmn]

Gee, CastawayCayLover, tell me how you really feel!

 

[*Fantasia*]

I have never done the cruise before and we're excited to try the Disney Cruise. You can't go wrong with Disney. We're doing a 3 nt Wonder. This is just to get our feet wet to see if we will like it ( I don't see why we won't). Then after the cruise, we are doing a one park day before we head home. Doing CSR and MK. This way, just in case I don't like our trip in the sea, at least we have something to look forward to which is the park.

 

[Greysword]

Double Posted, Sorry

 

[Greysword]

The only way to actually figure out if you like the Disney Cruise is to go on one. Otherwise, it is all hear-say and speculation from others

I have a suggestion to maximize your time and money: go on a 4-Day trip with the Wonder followed by 3 nights at WDW.

Due to your statement about vacation time, I would suggest visiting during a national holiday that your place of employment has off. As such, I recommend taking January 15-23 (in 2005) as the travel dates.

This timeframe has three advantages:

1) It is value season for both the cruise line and the parks, thus your dollars go further. You will be traveling on a Saturday and returning Sunday, so the airfares will be lower (American had Denver to Orlando for $185 round-trip).

2) Since most places allow MLK day off, you will only be using only 4 vacation days for the entire trip (5 free days with the weekends and holiday).

3) The cruise is long enough to get the feel of all three restaurants and maybe Palo, you will experience a port visit, Castaway Cay and an at sea day, and get a full variety of evening shows. If you do not like the cruise, then you will end the trip with a solid visit to the WDW parks.

If this doesn't convince you it is worth it, then I'm sorry

Good Luck!

 

[MarcyIn Florida]

Originally posted by ErinInCT

So here is your chance to convince me that a cruise is the way to go. DD's are 1 & 4 (so I figure I should wait until the youngest is old enough to do those activity things during the day without parents!). Please let me know how you decided to go on a cruise.
Thanks!

Well, I'm in a different situation because we go to the parks quite often (at least 30 times a year), so we don't "miss out" when we're on a cruise. But here's my take -- parks with a 1 and 4 year old (I have girls the same age) are EXHAUSTING. The heat, the lines, the crowds -- we only go on Saturdays now because I need Sunday to get over the trip. Plus, no one really takes care of you at the parks, you need to worry about feeding the kids a thousand times, making dinner reservations, etc.

On the cruise, you can do lots of activities but still relax. You're surrounded by the characters, so you don't wait in line in the blazing sun to see them. You don't worry about snacks and meal times because there is always food available. And the travel arrangements and dinner plans are taken care of for you. Plus, because the ratio of CMs to guests is much lower on board, you always feel like you're getting extra attention. The parks are fun, but cruising is divine.

Marcy

 

[ChrizJen]

Originally posted by CastawayCayLover
It's rather foolish to ask complete strangers to tell you what you would like to do on your vacation. Only you know what you do and don't like to do.

Personally, if you're not excited about going on a Disney Cruise, I would hate to have you on the ship with me.

...Sheesh. That's awfully harsh. The OP was simply asking for advice and opinions. Just like most others here. I hope you don't attack EVERYONE on these boards who has questions...

Anyway...to the Original Poster:
I've been to the parks, and I've been on one DCL 4-night. I've never done both together. BUT I can tell you that when I did the 4-night, I wanted MORE!!! Here are just a few thoughts and observations:
1. When I go to the parks, while it's always a fun and exciting vacation, I always wind up feeling like I need another vacation to recoup!
2. The cruise vacation can still be a VERY exciting vacation, but somehow to me it just seems more relaxing. I don't have that feeling of needing another vacation when it's over. (Don't get me wrong, I NEVER wanted it to end, but when it was over, I felt extremely revived and refreshed)
3. Many folks on these boards who have done land and sea often say that once they make it on board the ship, they wish they would have just done the 7-day cruise and skipped the parks!

So it's personal preference, but if you decide on the cruise, you probably won't think twice about missing the parks! There is a certain amount of addiction when it comes to the parks, but there's an entirely different type of addiction with the cruises. I'm hooked on DCL, and it only took once!

 

[smchan]

Originally posted by ChrizJen
I've been to the parks, and I've been on one DCL 4-night. I've never done both together. BUT I can tell you that when I did the 4-night, I wanted MORE!!!

I felt exactly the same way after my first 4 night cruise.

I've done 4 night cruise + 3 nights WDW and 7 nights cruise + 4 nights WDW (would you believe a business trip with accomodations at the YC?). I stepped off the Magic that Saturday morning and delivered a presentation at a conference at WDW that evening. The audience marveled at how mellow I appeared.

My wife has this vision of an annual Disney vacation rotating between a 7 night cruise and a week long stay at WDW. I envision nothing but cruises. And a week long cruise every 6 months or so would be acceptable.

Sam