Disney Cruise Boring?

[mommyarewegoingback]

Lol, boring isn't necessarily the right word. I know being on a beautiful cruise ship could never be truly boring, but I'm wondering if anyone has ever found there to be a lack of things to do on a Disney cruise?

We've previously been to Disney World and thought it was fantastic, but I know there's a lot of differences between WDW and a Disney cruise.

Our WDW vacation was very active; we generally got up around 8 am and got to the parks at opening, and spent the rest of the day there until they closed. We stayed at the Yacht Club for 9 days and never used Stormalong Bay. We thought the lake was beautiful but really are not the type to sit around in lounge chairs. I guess we aren't the "relaxing" type of family.

The things that seem great about the Disney Cruise are:
*the food (we had the Dining Plan at WDW and loved trying new things)
*the whole idea of being surrounded by the beauty of the ocean
*experiencing a different type of Disney Vacation
*Castaway Cay

We just aren't sure we would find enough activities to keep us occupied. We really don't like swimming,rock climbing, or watching the shows too much.

I know most of you are on the cruise boards because you really enjoy them but were any of you disappointed. Did your first cruise disappoint you? Were any of you secretly wishing you were in Walt Disney World instead of out at sea? Did some members of your family really love the cruise but others didn't?

Thanks everyone in advance for your experiences!

We just came back from our 1st 7-day western (then 7 days at WDW). Our initial impressions...
- loved the food and our servers and sorta table mates since they were next to us. we went to the dinning room every night except when we went to palo (it completely paled in comparison to both CS and regular DDP) The quality is totally to everyone's taste, we don't dine out too much so it was good for us, but loved the service (did i already say that?)
- water yes it was beautiful, but frankly my family I didn't love just looking out into the ocean.
- as for a disney experience, it was completely disney quality service. we only got to 2 shows and pirate night and that was completely awesome
- castaway cay - we absolutely loved it, we did the beach, stingray, bicycling and we do want to go back
- yes, there were characters - lots, but the kids and I hated it, it was always around dinner or late in the evening. there were always huge lines for us. I take character dining over waiting in these lines.
- my kids did not completely love the clubs, they'd rather hang out with us. even though they are 8 and 5, they needed a nap otherwise they were atrocious at dinner and we didn't make the evening show.
- loved the Disboard members I met, they helped make this trip very special too! we had friends to say hi to onboard and even when we got to cozumel.

So, I know I'm in minority here, but we (DH, DS -8, DD-5, myself - 39) were meh. We love WDW. We do it 2-3 times a year, so we're not commando, but half day at parks (starting at rope drop) half day at the pool/resort. We loved WDW, but hated going back to Counter Service and even ADR's and waiting for Table Service. We loved the antibacterial wipes at every turn on DCL, and hated watching everyone sneeze, cough, talking about kids with temps... at WDW.

-Virginia

 

[smoof]

I may get flammed here, but I think I understand what you are saying, and I will put in my 2 cents. My family and I are, like most people on the boards, HUGE disney fans. We love the cruise too. My dad and I had both feared we would quickly get bored on a cruise, any cruise, Disney or other. Saying that, we still wouldn't cruise on any other cruise line, with few exceptions. We are very active on our vacations, dawn to dusk activity, whether it is Disney or anywhere else. We took a 3 day cruise the first time, and wanted more. There was more to do than we could possibly fit in. The second cruise we took was a 7 day. There were 3 days at sea. That was a bit too much for my mom. There are tons of things to do on board. There are all types of activities, lectures, etc... That isn't her thing. I was content. Unfortunately, I had a lot of school work to do, but I brought leisure books, etc... I think you would very much enjoy a 3 or 4 day cruise, then you can see if you would like to go longer.

 

[WhatAWonderfulDay]

Thanks again for all your replies!

 

[Vegaslover]

We did a 3 day in March! Had a great time. My DD, 4 at the time, raved about the Oceaneer's club. We couldn't drag her away. We didn't have an at sea day, so it was go, go go everyday. On our 6 day carnival cruise, I was bored to death on the sea days. But, Carnival didn't have the greatest of activities in my opinion. We are doing a 7 day Disney Cruise March2010, so I'm not sure how the sea days will be. I'm sure they will be fun. I'd rather be at sea on DCL than at work! If your family is go, go go, perhaps you should consider a cruise that has a scheduled stop everyday.

Not sure if you have this, but here is the link for sample navigators which list what type of activites are offered on DCL.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/cr-stateroom-navigator.htm

 

[WhatAWonderfulDay]

bump

 

[Tinkerbell.RN]

We just had our 3rd DCL cruise in October. Our first was atypical in that it was the 11 night mediteranean cruise n 2007. Absolutely fabulous and packed with activities. Our 2nd was a 3 night to the Bahamas (Nassau). It was just perfect at the time - a nice relaxing trip.

The last was a 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise. I can say we definitely were not bored. My DDs turned 10 and 12 on board. The dinner servers sang Happy Birthday and even pretended to be fireworks. Our cabin steward decorated the cabin with streamers and a towel "cake". Fabulous. I barely saw my 12 year old-- she was at Ocean Quest or hanging out with girls she met through our cruise meet thread. My 10 yo was at the Oceaneers Lab most of the time.

That is one suggestion for you. Join the thread for your sailing and "meet" some of your fellow cruisers. If you plan ahead, you might fill in some time meeting up with great people. But, even if you don't, I have found that I have too much I want to do and not enough time to do it all.

 

[msmith07101]

Lol, boring isn't necessarily the right word. I know being on a beautiful cruise ship could never be truly boring, but I'm wondering if anyone has ever found there to be a lack of things to do on a Disney cruise?

We've previously been to Disney World and thought it was fantastic, but I know there's a lot of differences between WDW and a Disney cruise.

Our WDW vacation was very active; we generally got up around 8 am and got to the parks at opening, and spent the rest of the day there until they closed. We stayed at the Yacht Club for 9 days and never used Stormalong Bay. We thought the lake was beautiful but really are not the type to sit around in lounge chairs. I guess we aren't the "relaxing" type of family.

The things that seem great about the Disney Cruise are:
*the food (we had the Dining Plan at WDW and loved trying new things)
*the whole idea of being surrounded by the beauty of the ocean
*experiencing a different type of Disney Vacation
*Castaway Cay

We just aren't sure we would find enough activities to keep us occupied. We really don't like swimming,rock climbing, or watching the shows too much.

I know most of you are on the cruise boards because you really enjoy them but were any of you disappointed. Did your first cruise disappoint you? Were any of you secretly wishing you were in Walt Disney World instead of out at sea? Did some members of your family really love the cruise but others didn't?

Thanks everyone in advance for your experiences!

I have to say that I LOVED the cruise. My DH...not so much, but I think he's a little tough to please on a vacation. He did get bored. Thought it was too much time on the ship. We did an Eastern ,so we did have 3 sea days. I think my boys also got a little bored. That being said...I think it was their fault. They did not go to see a lot of the entertainment...they missed some great stuff!! Don't get me wrong...they did have a great time, but a little too much time in the kids/teen club and not enough time doing other things. My DH and my boys did enjoy our port days and going on excursions. Another thing I loved about the cruise...waking up in a new and exciting place!!
I thought I would miss being at WDW, but I didn't at all...the cruise is way more relaxing and has all that Disney "Magic". If I could get my DH to go on another, I'd be back in a heartbeat!

 

[Tarabra]

Ditto to what a lot of the others have said about the cruise. Before I ever cruised, I thought, knowing me, I would be all about getting to the next port. Not enjoying the cruise, just waiting to get to where ever we were heading. I was totally wrong. I loved everything about it, and you sometimes forget you are even going anywhere. We started out w/ a 3 days in the park 4 days at sea. They didn't offer the 7 day back then. We loved it and then they started doing the 7 day and we booked for the next year. I was VERY worried about being bored on the 3 days at sea, but LOVED the days at sea better than the ports. I like doing the aerobics, spinning classes, the tours, hanging at the pool for awhile, enjoying a couple drinks of the day, FTR my husband couldn't care less about the sun or drinking and spent an hour or two on deck 4 in the shade either reading, listening to his short wave radio or catching up on his sleep. We'd also do a couple of laps everyday after breakfast around deck 4 to keep those pounds off so we could eat MORE food. So as others have mentioned, try a 4 day, but you will probably enjoy a 7 day just as much. Now on the other hand...I did a 7 day RCL w/ a group of friends in Jan '04 and was BORED stiff during the days at sea. The weather was a bit nippy so we had to stay undercover all day. Even w/ friends....we were bored.

 

[NancyIL]

I returned on the 10th from a 4-night Disney cruise, and I enjoyed this one much more than my first Disney cruise with my mom. This time I cruised with a friend and was part of a group. The ship was lovely, the meals were good, the shows were excellent, and I enjoyed watching several movies, However, other than the one sea day, there were very few adult activities offered during the day when the ship was in Nassau and **Port Canaveral. Maybe it's just short cruises that lack activities, but after one more 4-night cruise on the Dream in 2011 - no more Bahamas cruises for me!

**Oops - I meant Castaway Cay...not Port Canaveral!

 

[Tarabra]

Yea...I agree Nancy. I really don't like the 4 day. Too short for one. We got the kids for free deal so that is why we are doing one in Apr. Our last 4 day, we used DVC points so that's why we did a 4 day then. Hopefully our next one will be a 7 day. I figure a 4 day is much better than no cruise at all.

 

[wideeyedwonder]

Did your first cruise disappoint you? Were any of you secretly wishing you were in Walt Disney World instead of out at sea? Did some members of your family really love the cruise but others didn't?

This may sound silly, but the only way to TRULY know is to try it...maybe a 3-nighter, or a land-sea package to get both DW and DCL? We are a highly active family, but we not only play hard, we RELAX hard, and DCL offers both...we actually preferred it to our WDW vacation two years ago, when we did the land/sea package.

We tend to like to have the ability to play hard, then get back and "relax hard", and that's probably why we prefer DCL and stays at DLR over WDW.

Like others, we started with a shorter cruise (4-night), couldn't get enough, graduated to a 7-night, STILL couldn't get enough, and now we'll be doing a 14-nighter through the Panama Canal!

 

[caseyk20]

there is always something to do for all ages all the time

 

[Edd]

The cruises on all the cruise lines are absolute awesome vacations. You do need to try the different lines to really know if they are boring to you or your family. I find the DCL has a lot to offer but the other cruise lines I have traveled on offer different experiences than you might not find on the Disney ship, Disney is not one of a kind or the best cruise. My life style enjoys different types of food, more fun adventures, some casino adventures and stage productions other than what is aboard the DCL.

So I have found the DCL to be to many kids, production shows that concentrate more on the Disney image and less on broadway style or professional dancing and a kind-of cramped ship. It probably is perfect for families with smaller kids but maybe not so perfect for older families with bigger kids and grown-ups.

I would suggest planning 2 or 3 cruises on different cruise lines before you make a final decision on what you like or is boring. There are many on the boards that have only cruised DCL. Remember Disney is the newest cruise line in the business and probably has a lot to be learned before it can keep up with the older and more prestigious companies.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Just found this thread via Google. Anyways, we just went on a 3 night Disney cruise. We live 20-25 minutes from the Port and there were good FL resident deals, so we figured that we'd finally bite. We have a 4 year-old and a 6 year-old. We are DVC members, we go to WDW plenty and we love it.

We'll admit it...we were seriously bored on this cruise. The boat itself (the Disney Dream) was really nice. Otherwise, we were bored, the food was pretty lacking (and we aren't hugely picky), and the kids' club was nothing more than glorified babysitting Our 6 year-old is really, really easy to entertain. She was SO excited to go to the kids' club. 45 minutes later, she had us paged. She was bored. We tried 2 more times. Same result. It is pretty hard to bore this child. The "activities" consisted of a blaring TV playing a Disney movie while little kids sat on a flashing floor or a coloring page "craft". The only interesting activities were pretty late at night, well after our kids were in bed.

Castaway Cay was nice and the kids' club there was good. They had planned activities for the kids that did not include a TV. If we could have spent 3 days at Castaway Cay we might want to do another Disney Cruise.

Overall, this cruise was not worth the $1300 that we spent on it...not even close. Our kids were glad to get home this morning. That is saying something. I really wish that we'd taken the $$, bought Universal passes and spent the weekend there instead. I just don't *get* the love for Disney Cruises. DH and I kept saying that we must be missing something.

 

[LindaBabe]

I posted to this thread a few years ago, kinda 'agreeing' with the bored comments. Since then, I've been on several 14 day and 7 day cruises and have changed my tune.

LoveBWV, I beg you - wait a year & try a longer cruise on one of the older boats before you give up! Not sure if it was the Dream that was the cause of your discontent or the length of your cruise or the ages of your children, but I do think with a few changes, you should try again.

My granddaughters (now 6 &7) have LOVED the kids clubs and are looking forward to their next cruise - every time - but we've only done 7 day cruises together.

There are way more activities on the longer cruises because there are more sea days. Port days tend to be short on activities because most people are ashore.

You need only look at my signature to see where I stand.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I posted to this thread a few years ago, kinda 'agreeing' with the bored comments. Since then, I've been on several 14 day and 7 day cruises and have changed my tune.

LoveBWV, I beg you - wait a year & try a longer cruise on one of the older boats before you give up! Not sure if it was the Dream that was the cause of your discontent or the length of your cruise or the ages of your children, but I do think with a few changes, you should try again.

My granddaughters (now 6 &7) have LOVED the kids clubs and are looking forward to their next cruise - every time - but we've only done 7 day cruises together.

There are way more activities on the longer cruises because there are more sea days. Port days tend to be short on activities because most people are ashore.

You need only look at my signature to see where I stand.

Are the older boats better? I am not even sure that we have the option out of Port Canaveral, do we? The Dream was a really, really nice boat physically. That wasn't the issue at all. There is no way that I could talk myself into a 7 night cruise even if my kids loved it. I felt too cooped-up! I wish that I'd known that the activities in the kids' club were so light on the port days, because we knew from the get-go that we weren't getting off in Nassau.

Also, is the food better on the older ships? The food on this boat was just OK in most cases, and kinda gross in a few cases.

 

[JulieL0616]

Lol, boring isn't necessarily the right word. I know being on a beautiful cruise ship could never be truly boring, but I'm wondering if anyone has ever found there to be a lack of things to do on a Disney cruise?

We actually had the opposite experience on out 5 night Dream cruise. We got off the boat and realized there were a ton of things we never even got to see or do lol. We decided our next trip (which will be moved once the 2014 dates are released) will be a 7 night Fantasy trip. I am hoping the 3 sea days will allow us some more time to enjoy all the ship has to offer

 

[MaleficentRN]

Overall, this cruise was not worth the $1300 that we spent on it...not even close. Our kids were glad to get home this morning. That is saying something. I really wish that we'd taken the $$, bought Universal passes and spent the weekend there instead. I just don't *get* the love for Disney Cruises. DH and I kept saying that we must be missing something.

I think you must have. You couldn't find anything on the Navigators for you and your family to do?
I don't know much about Oceaneer Club, but on day 2 I see 5 different scheduled activities between 10:30 and 5:30, including a luau, talent show and "So You Want to be a Pirate."
Your children didn't want to do any meet and greets? Didn't want to play Mouse Detective? Not into the pool scene?
There were no movies your family wanted to see? No shows? Not into trivia or scrapbooking? Not fans of Mini Golf or shuffleboard?

I have to agree with another poster. I went on a four night and there were several things I wish I'd done. I'm easily entertained, I guess.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I think you must have. You couldn't find anything on the Navigators for you and your family to do?
I don't know much about Oceaneer Club, but on day 2 I see 5 different scheduled activities between 10:30 and 5:30, including a luau, talent show and "So You Want to be a Pirate."
Your children didn't want to do any meet and greets? Didn't want to play Mouse Detective? Not into the pool scene?
There were no movies your family wanted to see? No shows? Not into trivia or scrapbooking? Not fans of Mini Golf or shuffleboard?

I have to agree with another poster. I went on a four night and there were several things I wish I'd done. I'm easily entertained, I guess.

We did some of the character meet-and-greets. Both DD's did the luau, but it was at like 2:30 and they were up at 6AM, so lots of time to kill in between. The pools were fine, but very crowded. No, they didn't want to do Mouse Detective. They did minigolf which was fine, albeit brief. We don't scrapbook or do trivia.

We didn't want to go to the DVC sales pitch as we are already members. We did pay $50 to play Bingo and that was amusing at least. The movies were not anything that we wanted to see or hadn't seen already (Wreck it Ralph, Timothy Green and Brave, and I can't remember what else). If we wanted to just hang out by a pool, we could do that at home for free and at least nobody would be pestering us to buy drinks (this drove DH NUTS and is probably his biggest complaint).

I think that we are just disappointed because our expectations were out of line with reality. We had very high expectations of things like the kids' club activities, and the reality just didn't measure up. We are glad that we tried the Disney Cruise, but we won't go again.

 

[kendzee94]

We've done 3 DCL cruises and are booked for another. I think it's what you make of it. Before the last 2 cruises I took, I signed up for the Dis cruise thread and talked with a lot of people before hand. We also had discussions on our Fb page. My last cruise I did because DVC was offering great rates out of NYC for DVC members. We found that we really had a lot in common with these people we met and it's been almost 2 months and I think that I've found quite a few new friends and a couple great cruising friends whom I've been messaging with a lot since we went back. And we went without our children and were NEVER bored. I think as will most Disney vacations, a cruise takes a lot of planning. I made sure I checked the navigators ahead of time, people posted what movies were being offered (we knew that all the new Disney movies would be out so we made it a point to not waste our money going to the movies at home and just wait to see them on the ship), and we had a Dis meet as well as a champagne girls meet and mother/daughter luncheon....planned by those who wanted to attend. Us girls bought a rainforest pass for 3 spa days and on sea and another day we went there for a while.

I will also tell you, my husband is not one to want to meet new people, and we sat with five groups of people, totaling 11 people total. Best part was that the men really all got along and we ended up going on excursions together. There are a few of us who are hoping to be able to cruise again as soon as our schedules can align.

I was also asked.....Why would you go on a Disney cruise with no children? Maybe trying again when the children are older or without the children would work better. My children loved the clubs when they went when they were 7 and 9, but did not care for the Edge when they were 11 and 13.