disney cruise! is it worth it!!!

[kidzmom3]

My father-in-law has offered to take his family on vacation. It will be 6 adults 55,54,32,32,19,19 and 3 children 4,6,9. Two years ago we did Disney World for 10days and had a great time but stayed in a house to save on hotel rooms. Because on the cruise we would be 2 state rooms with 5 in one and 4 in the other the cheapest level would be cat 4 which is working out to be quite expensive. Would you say that this vacation is worth the money? I mean really worth the money. Was anyone disappointed that you did not go to the World? Also any opions on a short cruise with a disney stay attached. Thank you for your opinions.

 

[Hygiene99]

i hope it is a 7 day cruise , and yes it is really worth every penny
we r going on our 4th cruise and have #5 booked for dec u will have a great time the hardest part will be the withdrawal after
and the wanting to go back, cant wait for our May 11,2002 cruise
Peter

 

[BeanoC]

2 years ago we did 10 days in WDW. Great vacation...

Last year we did 3 days in WDW and the 7-day Magic. MUCH better vacation!! My wife and kids all agree that they enjoyed the cruise far more. Yes, it is worth every penny. It is a fabulous vacation. We are going again this year!!


'Beano'

 

[Matty02]

I think that without Disney Cruises, I would be lost. They are worth every single penny, even if you just go and relax for the whole week. Its like the great feeling of being in Disney with the great service plus you get to look at beautiful oceans and the wonderful ports.

 

[atigeg]

Our 20th Disney cruise is coming up next week, so as you might guess, we think it is WELL worth the money. It's like paying a little more to stay at a WDW hotel. You have that magic and pixie dust. The food is good, the staterooms are spacious (at least, compared to other cruise lines), and the crew is the best. In all of our cruises, we have never missed "Disney Dreams." It is such a wonderful show. I highly recommend Disney Cruise Line...you can have a great cruise on other lines, just as you can at other tourist destinations, but DCL, like WDW, is special.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[mmouse37]

Just came off our 5th DCL cruise in Feb and are going back on August 3rd for the Western and again in July 2003 for another 7-day western. Can't get enough of DCL.

MJ

 

[Chattyaholic]

My husband and I were on the Magic in January '01 and it was the best vacation we'd ever had! We've been to Disney World several times and always enjoy our time there, so we decided to give the cruise a try. My husband is very skeptical about things like that, wondering if we should spend the money, wondering if it will live up to his expectations, etc. He LOVED it, didn't want to leave the ship!! He was in awe the entire trip, as I was too! The ship is beautiful, the food (we thought) was wonderful, we enjoyed our stateroom with verandah more than I can say, the crew was marvelous, the ports were fun, Castaway Cay is awesome, I could go on and on.... We are booked on the Magic again next January, for the Western itinerary this time, counting down the days...about 300 now....can hardly wait!!!

 

[howardk613]

In Nov of 2000 my wife (age 51) and myself (53) took our family
consisting of my son (29), daughter-in-law (29) , grandson (6), daughter (27), son-in-law (27), grandson (3), granddaughter (8 months), my mother (80) and my aunt (85) on the Disney Wonder for the best vacation of our lives. WhiIe it was expensive, it was worth every penny. We live in the same town as our children so we see our grandchildren almost every day, but being together on that amazing ship was very special. The only problem was that it was not long enough (we were on the 4 day cruise). We solved that by booking our family for a 7 day cruise this Nov.

 

[Casey's mom]

We have cruised twice (3 nt and 4 nt) and are leaving on the 7 nt this coming weekend. We have seen lots of extended families cruising together and all seem to be enjoying themselves. The cruise seems like a great fit for families. One thing to consider (and I am not a travel agent), from what I have read on these boards, the 19 yr olds will be considered adults, so you may not get a big break by cramming 9 people into 2 cabins. It might be more economical for you to get 3 Cat. 11s or 10s. You will have more room (although no verandah) and may save some money to boot.

 

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

Dh and I said we would never cruise, but both reluctantly decided to give DCL a try March 2001 for a 7 day cruise. Our twins were turning 3 and there aren't a lot of vacation options for kids that age. I felt that the boat was only so big, so the kids wouldn't get as worn out as the parks and if there was a meltdown we'd only be an elevator ride away from the cabin vs. trying to treck across the parks just to get to our car. We had the time of our lives!!! DH has a very stressful job and that was the most relaxed I've seen him in three years! We loved it so much we went again on the 4 day Sept 2001 (too short after going on the 7 day) and are booked again for the 7 day Western 5/11. We felt it was worth every penny and especially liked being told when and where to go for dinner. That's always been something we've hated about taking regular vacations. There isn't enough space on the internet for me to tell you how much we love DCL and I tell everyone who will listen that they should go.

 

[lespaul55]

We did the 4 day land/ 3 day cruise last summer and it was a great family vacation. In our opinion, the 3 day cruise was way too short. So we are going on a 7 day cruise this summer and no visit at all to WDW. While the parks were fun, we felt worn down by the long lines and the heat of the summer. The cruise was definitely the vacation part of last summer's trip.

To reduce costs, you should look into booking 3 cabins in a less expensive category instead of two cat 4. My 18 yr. old son was considered an adult for booking purposes, so we have 3 cabins for our extended family of 10, 3 adults and kids 18, 16, 16, 16, 14, 12 and 10. Disney requires an adult in every cabin but once you are on board, you can switch amongst your cabins to get the correct mix. So those 19 yr. olds could have a cabin. If you still want a veranda, book the interior room across the hall for half your group. My teens told me an outside room was a waste of money since they were hardly in the room at all. Plus they love sleeping in and a dark interior cabin sure helps in that regard. Our poor steward could hardly clean the room with those late sleepers!!

It is definitely worth it!!

Leslie

 

[kidzmom3]

Thank you to everyone. I would really love to go on the cruise but some other members of the party were a little skeptical. I think that since I showed my father in law this thread he is looking on the cruise a little more kindly. We planned to go over thanksgiving so unfortunatley the 7 day is sold out but I think we may just do the 4 nighter. Also, thanks for the great advice regarding the teens. I am sure they would much rather have there own cabin. I didn't know they had lesser cat rooms right across the hall!!! yeah for great advice.

 

[lespaul55]

Ooops, I just heard from my TA that my 18 yr old cannot be an adult for booking purposes if there are other minors in the room. So I just wanted to correct my above message. But it is true that once you are onboard the ship, you can switch between the rooms. I sure don't want to spend my cruise in a room with 3 teenage boys!!! Even if they are my sons!

Leslie