Cruises - either you love them or hate them!

[my3princesses]

We are just back from the 4 day wonder cruise and as you may have seen on other threads it was not the perfect travelling experience. As I sit here still on my prescribed seasickness meds (in my home) and still feeling like I am on the ship (walked into the wall this morning! ) I can honestly say that we fall under the "hate" category.

I had some reservations about cruising as I do get car-sick and cannot go on any rides, however from the posts I read before most people felt fine or were ok with medications. I was OK as long as the ship was not moving (but unfortunately by missing castaway we had 2 days at sea and were moving alot). As well the first night was very rough with 15ft swells but the last seemed even rougher (as we seemed to be going against the wind).

Our whole idea for this trip was that we wanted to go to Disney but we also wanted to go to an island and swim, snorkel and relax in the sun (as this is uaually what we do for our holidays). We thought the land/sea package would give us a little of both. Despite the rain and cold weather for almost the entire time at WDW we still had a great time and managed to fit in almost everything that we wanted to do. We had a rough start to the trip as we had a mixup with our flights and ended up missing the first day, but still we made the best of it and remained positive that the second half of the trip would be great.

We left Disney in the pouring rain (heard that it rarely rains so hard) to the ship and this caused us to miss the sailaway party which was in the atrium (which does not have enough room for 2,000 passengers). Had dinner, watched as several people eventually left the restaurant as they were not well (and some were throwing up on site). We went to the washroom to see more people throwing up in the sinks and toliets so we decided to call it a night and go lie very still on our beds (we are a family of five). Rain hampered the Pirate party as well. The final night had more of the rocky seas leaving us again in our rooms trying to ward off throwing up our dinners.

Missing castaway was very disappointing although we cannot blame the captain for trying however this was to be be our day of swimming and snorkelling and part of the reason why we cruised. We also spent an entire morning trying to get hairwraps for my girls (we had appointments) but were constantly directed by both guest services, the spa and concierge to the wrong places. We walked around the ship on several levels to find the place to get it done. By the time we did find them (more than 1 hour later) we only had time to squeeze in one of our daughters only to come back the next day to do the others. This resulted in more than 2 hours wasted.

We cannot say enough about the ship and how beautiful it is. The food is amazing, the crew is amazing, the rooms are great (when they are not creeking and doors slaming open/closed). Everything about the cruise except the actual moving is great. We have, however, decided as a family that cruising is not for us. Maybe going in February-March was part of the problem although when I asked a crew member if it is always this rocky when the ship is moving in and out to sea they said yes.

Disney cannot control the weather, I agree. As I said, they tried hard to get us to castaway. I am just very disppointed that we spent almost $13,000 (cdn) on this trip when we could have gone to Mexico for $8,000 and have 80 degree temps and sunshine the whole time.

Therefore it is very safe to say we are on the "hate" list for cruising. For those who love it, good for you and continue to experience and enjoy it - next time we are going to Mexico!

 

[Stimpy]

Sorry to hear you didn't have a great time. I hope you feel better soon. I agree, either you love cruising or you don't. There's nothing wrong with either

 

[nluvwithmickey]

From one fellow canadian to another...my heart goes out to you. I have cruised alone with DH last dec. because I wanted to see if the motion sickness would be so bad. We did prepare, bought the bracelets,and took bonine the entire cruise. We had cool weather in WDW and on the cruise. Fortunately, we were able to enjoy nassau and CC....Warm enough for us canadians!

The last night of our cruise, however was mighty rocky,we were not allowed to walk outside. We were lucky enough( was it the bonine?) not to be sick even thoughthe waiters were struggling to stand up straight.

We have been debating on wether we should give cruising a try with our 2 DD, and after much thinking, we decided to give it a try but this time in May.

This is "supposedly" a calmer time of year....although nothing is set in stone weather wise. We will keep our fingers crossed, and bring plenty of BONINE!

It is really expensive to cruise but it is really a special experience I would like my DD to try. As for cruising again after that....we will have to wait and see...

 

[mmouse37]

Everyone is happy with different things and I thank you very much for your great post...it was direct and honest and I commend you for your positive attitude!!!

We had friends that cruised with us and they also found that cruising is just not their type of vacation.

MJ

 

[becobscot]

Sorry you had such an awful time! It is so expensive not to have enjoyed yourselves! Hope your next vacation is awesome!

 

[DEff]

We picked up a brochure about the cruise line on our way out of Disney yesterday, and I read it with more interest than in the past. However, my husband has wanted to go on a cruise for some time and wants me to get the informational video. Your post pretty much sums up my worst fears of cruising. It isn't that I get motion sick all of the time, but when I do, it tends to ruin my entire day as it hangs on and on and on. My daughter's karate instructor's wife was sick her entire cruise as well. Argh.

I am sorry your cruise wasn't fun especially since you had hoped it would fill a variety of needs. But if you'd have been in Orlando the entire time you'd have had rain and cold there as well. At least you'd have been on solid ground though.

Thanks for your post. I'll still get the information for him, but I'm really not thrilled about the prospect.

My other concern is that our children are so far apart in age that they'd never see one another.

Take care.

D.

 

[soccercruiser87]

sorry you had a bad experience, if you stopped at castaway cay you would of had a better time, i love disney cruises!

 

[mickeyfanmom]

I'm sorry that your experience wasn't that great.

We just went recently with friends of ours and they too found out that cruising wasn't that great for them. They had an excellent trip, but decided that they prefer staying on land.

Now we, on the other hand, LOVED it! Even the pitching and rolling on the last night with the doors slamming and the walls creaking were great! Our kids thought that it was a super adventure.

We were worried because one of our children has been seasick in the past. But he was completely fine!

So you never know until you try DEff!

 

[figment795]

Sorry you had a bad trip. DH and I are going on our 1st cruise on April 3rd 4 night. We are both worried about sea sickness and if we will hate it. Both of us can go on long road trips but my DH gets car sick if he reads while I drive.

 

[inkkognito]

Sorry to hear about your experience. The weather can have a HUGE impact, especially when it's your first time. For us, we've cruised so often that we're all but immune to sea sickness, and if the ship can't dock at CC, we just spend our time doing other things because we've been to the island over 40 times already. But when it's your first-ever experience, it's awful not to have the "full" experience and to feel ill/see others being ill on top of it.

You can't control the weather at sea and also not at WDW. But at WDW, there is more room for people to spread out vs. the limited interior area of the ship, and there are lots of indoor attractions you can enjoy (particularly at Epcot and MGM). On the ship, the weather has more of an impact simply by the nature of limited on-board space.

My husband and I are in the "love" category, but I can understand those who are on the flipside, too. That's why the world is so wonderful...with so many vacation options on our planet, there's something for everyone to enjoy!

Barb

 

[American Scrapper]

I am sorry that you did not enjoy your vacation. That was my worst fear the first time we cruised, so we decided to do the 3 night. We found that we are in the "love" category also, but do agree that it probably is either a love or hate type of thing. My suggestion for anyone thinking of cruising but afraid to is to try it for a short period first before going on a 7 night.

Kathy

 

[Catnip0113]

We went on our 1st Disney cruise in April, I get carsick reading and I can't go on spinning type rides. We had 30 ft waves on the way out for the Eastern Magic 7 night. We ended up loving it, the waves rocked us to sleep. It was difficult walking sometimes and we wondered how the waiters and show people could balance. I only had to take Bonine once while playing Bingo which was like reading in a car. I do worse on small ships I think, I have to keep my head level rather than looking down.

Now we are afraid it will be too calm next time because we loved the waves! You can never win. We are in the "love" category, we loved seeing the different ports and we were able to dock at CC. I didn't love CC that much, but I am not a big water person. I would have preferred smooth sand and not all those shells. We didn't get to try the adults only quiet cove so I would like to go again. We like to look at the ocean and see the views from our verandah, but with kids, they do want to get out and do things.

We have had worse vacations trying to find a nice land hotel to go to. In Fort Lauderdale we picked one that said ocean view, balcony, and it looked good in the photos. When we got there the ocean was across the street but the view was blocked by trees and a wall. There was garbage and again too many things in the sand (yucky shells, not the pretty collecting ones, and rocks and some bottles and cigarette butts). Our balcony was 6 inches out so you couldn't fully go out there, just open the slider and look down at the pool area with the people there.

A Disney cruise is guaranteed to be nice, gorgeous, pampering, service, and wonderful views.

 

[6griswolds]

OK......Now I AM terrified!!!!! I get VERY carsick unless I'm in the drivers seat and this will be our first cruise ever. We have a land and sea package (3 days at sea) and I am very scared about being sick the whole time on the boat. I will be sooo depressed if I am ill the whole time. i thought about having a few drinkie poos to maybe keep my mind off the rocking...but can you take seasickness meds if you are drinking alcohol???? Anyone know???

 

[OurDogCisco]

I'm sorry about the seasickness. My aunt went with us on the Disney Cruise last May and she was fine until she got off the boat. She didn't feel very well after the cruise. She even booked a 2nd cruise while on board and end up cancelling the trip because she got sick at home.

Sounds like you tried to make the best of it. Hope you feel better soon!

Tina

 

[DEff]

Now we, on the other hand, LOVED it! Even the pitching and rolling on the last night with the doors slamming and the walls creaking were great! Our kids thought that it was a super adventure.

We were worried because one of our children has been seasick in the past. But he was completely fine!

So you never know until you try DEff!

Well, that's a major truism if that's a real word. Question is, what do you really do all day? In the parks, there are a ton of options. What do you do on a cruise? I'm not a sit by the pool kind of girl, unless there is weeding in the garden or something else to do. Past that, if you want to visit a great beach, why not just go to Mexico? Puerto Rico? Etc.?

Assuming I'm not sick, what do you do on a boat all day?

I'm also not a real girl because I'm not a shopper. That gene was somehow omitted from my biology. Not sure who to blame there. Gonna have to research my genealogy. ;-)

Donna AKA DEff

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

Sorry to hear you didnt like it. Its true that you love or hate it. We were happy to declare by day 2 of our first cruise that we loved it. Have gone on 3 cruises on DCL and have number 4 and 5 booked. DCL Rocks!

Matt

 

[disneysooz]

OK......Now I AM terrified!!!!! I get VERY carsick unless I'm in the drivers seat and this will be our first cruise ever. We have a land and sea package (3 days at sea) and I am very scared about being sick the whole time on the boat. I will be sooo depressed if I am ill the whole time. i thought about having a few drinkie poos to maybe keep my mind off the rocking...but can you take seasickness meds if you are drinking alcohol???? Anyone know???

As another posted said, weather has alot to do with the risk of sea-sickness. For me, the "tendency" to motion sickness was really not an issue at all, as it turns out. I am one of those, cannot ride in the backseat, read in a car, ride rides that go in circles, etc, etc, and was taking dramamine as a child for any car ride over 15 minutes. We also did the land and sea first in 2002 and I took Bonine the morning we boarded and that was it. I was also armed with sea bands and dramamine. Never used any of it. Same thing on our 2004 western cruise...took Bonine when we boarded and never again. By the way, both times we cruised in September. As far as alcohol, I would check the packaging or call the manufacturer if you have detailed questions. Most of the motion sickness products warn they may cause drowsiness, which I would assume, could be intensified with the addition of alcohol. Myself, I had alcoholic beverages on the day we boarded and I didn't have a problem. HTH! Hope you have a great cruise!
Susie