Decisions, decisions. Cruise or back to the World?

[sbd78]

We usually do 1 big vacation every summer. Last year, our big vacation was WDW. We stayed at POR and had a great time. For summer vacation 2019, we decided to try something different and have a cruise booked. (Non-Disney cruise, I get sticker shock whenever I price out a Disney cruise, lol.) Well now Disney had to go throw me for a loop and release free dining with summer dates for the first time ever. So now I'm waffling, should we cancel the cruise and go to Disney again? I'd love to try a cruise but I also love Disney and free dining is sooooo tempting. And if we do choose Disney, we can stay at CBR on the quick service plan for about the same price as the cruise. I'd like to try CBR now that the new restaurants/lobby are up and running. I like the idea of trying the quick service dining plan (we usually do the regular plan) and eating on the fly, not having to worry about getting to reservations. But then my kids love character dining so do we upgrade to the regular dining plan? Or splurge and stay deluxe and get the regular dining plan included? I have 3 kids, 1 of which is a Disney adult so free dining is a great deal for us. Gah! Someone talk me into (or out of) this! I know, first world problems...

 

[ml sumner]

I say get the whole family together and get their thoughts on it.

 

[sbd78]

Family is split. Husband leaves all vacation planning up to me. My oldest is Disney obsessed and wants to do Disney. My middle doesn't care. My youngest wants to do the cruise.

 

[Sarahraegraham]

How long is the cruise? Maybe you can do a little of both

 

[firstwdw]

If the cruise leaves from Port Canaveral, maybe a few nights at Disney before or after?

 

[ShelbyK]

my vote is for WDW.. after Star Wars opens I dont see Disney offering alot of discounts for awhile and you could always do the cruise in 2020. We are trying a cruise for the first time this summer (Royal) and my kids are very excited but since we havent actually experienced it yet I cant really comment on which would be better.

 

[Chrislovesdisney]

I agree to do Disney before the Star Wars craziness. Plus, you never know if in a year or two your kids will still be as enamoured by Disney as they are right now. Maybe, but maybe not.

 

[sbd78]

Cruise is 1 week long booked for late June, so before free dining starts and it sails out of Miami. To get free dining, you need to stay at least 5 nights with 4 day hopper tickets. So even if we cancelled and booked a shorter cruise, it's getting to be more than we want to spend combining it with Disney. I went ahead and booked a week at CBR in early July soon after the free dining starts with quick service dining. I was getting nervous because I was only finding one week during free dining that falls before our school starts that still had standard view rooms available, and I hate paying extra for a "view" in a moderate resort where you have an exterior entry and no balcony to enjoy your view. So now I have to decide which vacation to keep and which to cancel. We are heading out to Disneyland, CA in a little over 2 weeks for a long weekend that was a surprise Christmas gift for our kids. Hubby thinks we should wait until after that to decide and see if we are Disney'd out after going to WDW last summer and DL now, or if we are left still wanting more Disney, lol.

I also have to decide if we want to keep quick service dining or upgrade, although we are leaning towards keeping quick service. One of our complaints last year was that everything was too scheduled, sometimes we were having fun in a park and were bummed we had to leave to make a dining reservation. I think we may enjoy the spontaneity of quick service dining. Although I know my kids will complain about no Chef Mickeys.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[Chrislovesdisney]

You could always just add Chef Mickey’s off the plan. The dining plan is based on how many NIGHTS of your stay ( not days) so you could use the quick service credits on arrival day and then you’d be “down” a meal to make up at Chef Mickey’s (does that make sense?).

 

[LynnTH]

That's a tough one. We would go to Disney every year until the kids were 8 and 6 (they are now 19 and 17). We took our first cruise with the kids at that age. They have loved cruising ever since. So for a while we were alternating Disney and Cruises and then lately more cruises than Disney. Your kids are at a good age for cruising and all the meals are included on there too plus visiting different islands. We have gone on RCCL and Carnival. Mostly Carnival.

You have a tough decision to make - just thought I would throw out a bit on cruising with kids. You will have fun whatever you choose.

 

[sbd78]

Our booked cruise is with MSC, the Seaside. Basically I'm trying to decide between Disney's version of the Caribbean (CBR) and the ACTUAL Caribbean. Kind of funny if you think about it! I wasn't even thinking Disney until I checked my email yesterday and had an email from a travel agent announcing free dining for the summer! We've never done free dining because usually it is only offered in the Fall when the kids are in school. I wish we could do both but 2 vacations a couple weeks apart is definitely out of the budget!

As for Chef Mickey's, we could pay out of pocket and keep the quick service dining plan but my kids have eaten there multiple times so I don't feel too guilty if we skip it. I wasn't sure about doing quick service dining but the more I think about it, no dining reservations sounds refreshing. There were multiple times we weren't hungry or we were having fun and didn't want to leave to get to our reservation last summer. Plus, even paying tips on the expensive character meals ends up being a good chunk of change on the dining plan.

 

[momof2n2]

Do NOT give up the cruise! I love Disney as much as the next guy but OH MY is cruising a blast. Have you done one before?
In 2016 we did a week off property at WDW and then a week of NCL. My trip report is on this board.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/n...s-10-people-to-western-caribbean-fun.3518045/

 

[momof2n2]

We had to cancel our MSC cruise this past year and actually went to DLR instead. So I get that there is a real draw to Disney. But -oh- cruising! We are trying to find a way to get on a ship for this year.

 

[Once.Upon.A.Time]

Been on cruises, much prefer a land vacation.

 

[sbd78]

Do NOT give up the cruise! I love Disney as much as the next guy but OH MY is cruising a blast. Have you done one before?
In 2016 we did a week off property at WDW and then a week of NCL. My trip report is on this board.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/n...s-10-people-to-western-caribbean-fun.3518045/

Thanks, your trip report looks great! I've been on a 4 night Carnival cruise before, the rest of the family has never cruised. And I did love cruising but I also love Disney! Part of me feels like we should do the cruise since we did Disney last year, but I also wonder if this will be the only time free dining is offered in the Summer (since it may have to do with the Star Wars opening.)

 

[momof2n2]

Thanks, your trip report looks great! I've been on a 4 night Carnival cruise before, the rest of the family has never cruised. And I did love cruising but I also love Disney! Part of me feels like we should do the cruise since we did Disney last year, but I also wonder if this will be the only time free dining is offered in the Summer (since it may have to do with the Star Wars opening.)

You’ve also got DLR coming up.
And dining on board our cruises has always blown away even the best meals at WDW...

Look at it this way: You’re going to win either way!!!