Do you get more magical experiences on a Disney Cruise than you would get at DisneyWorld/Land

[hanscarlet]

We live 30 min away from WDW and have been there more times than I can remember over the years but I find our time on DCL to be a superior experience. I really like the less crowded and push feeling that we always see at the parks. Also, strollers are few and far between on the boat and the parks are now overrun with them. I counted over 250 strollers in the parking area by the carousel on one occasion.

We still do the parks from time to time at the request of our daughter but would much rather be laying on the beach at Castaway Cay and eating a nice brunch at Palo.

Ok so I have to rant on this - what's up with the freaking strollers, there are SOOOOOO many of them! I don't remember them being like that at all 10, 15 years ago but I was SHOCKED at the sea of strollers everywhere in WDW! What is it? Are more younger people going or are older kids just more lazy? I feel like it's probably a combination of the population has just really increased dramatically at the parks and for those who stay offsite, they just make a day out of it and live via the stroller because the hotel is too far to go but it's kind of annoying, it definitely negatively impacts the "vibe" in my opinion of the world. That's why I love the boat, it's such an intimate place and it cannot be overcrowded because there's only so much the boat can hold (as opposed to the parks that stuff you in like a sardine).

 

[Masonmj84]

I've done 3 DCL cruises and 5 WDW trips.

We have a somewhat unique (and expensive) way of doing WDW. We typically do split stays at deluxe reosrts (to minimize bus travel), only vist theme parks from RD to about 1 pm, spend the afternoon at the resort/pool, and have two table service meals per day (usually a character breakfast or an off-the-menu lunch and then a signature dinner). I believe this type of vacation provides a good balance of fun and relaxation.

And, for a time, I believed this type of vacation more or less approximated the overall quality of a DCL cruise. Granted, it's not apples to apples. WDW has more overall stuff to do (especially when you factor in water parks, etc.). And on land, you have the advantages of a bigger guest room, less crowded pool, and no ship motion to deal with. There's also more variety in the dining experiences. And I love all of the different theming of the resorts.

DCL has the advantages of being more or less all-inclusive, much higher service quality (IMO, even concierge level at deluxe WDW resorts isn't quite as high of service as non-concierge DCL), more relaxing, more immersive (at least when you're on the ship or at Castaway Cay), plus there's this great sense of adventure of being on this voyage on a big, fancy ship. On top of that, it requires far less planning (although I enjoy planning WDW trips more than most people).

Given all of that, the more times I go to WDW and the more times I cruise, the more I lean to feeling that the cruise is just a better overall vacation (for the reasons set forth in the above paragraph). And cruises are just so much easier to plan because DCL just takes care of you from start to finish. Especially, compared to planning a split stay WDW trip, which requires all sorts of logistical considerations (and multiple resort bookings, ADR bookings, FP+ reservations, etc.).

 

[cruiser21]

Walking up to the ice cream station and a CM you met 3 years ago giving you your favorite ice cream without you telling them what flavor
A child falling asleep and being made a bed out of chairs and napkins in the dining room (years ago)
A kids club CM remembering kids year after year, treating them like royalty
A head server going out of his way to check on a table their not assigned to since they had the family on a previous cruise
A merchandise CM helping a child who is pin collecting find fun pins

The list could continue, it is experiences and events that made people happy and feel special

I'm just happy to not be at work. I guess you could call that a magical feeling, but not necessarily specific to Disney.

 

[cruiser21]

Maybe the magic had more to do with the fact that is was a new experience for you vs the fact that you've experience WDW many times.

DH and I realized that WDW lost his magic as we were used to certain rides, etc. Even DCL lost his magic for us when we sailed with them for the 3rd time (especially with the same itinerary).

I couldn't agree more.

 

[Intr3pid]

When we go to the parks and resorts, if we turn a corner - any corner - we see a bus stop, a gas station, a crowd, a lineup, a long walk, and staff that wouldn't care. The only feeling of a vacation is that you are sleeping in a hotel that night.

Our cruise whisks us away into a world that has no signs of where you came from. Only where you would rather be. It is a true vacation.

Disney's cruises accentuate this "other-worldly" feeling as (1) the staff acts like none you will encounter in your daily life or at the parks, (2) pretty much everything is yours to enjoy for free, and (3) the attention to detail is 'unreal' even for the park visitors.

You can get this (or sometimes a better) experience on other premium cruise lines as well - DCL isn't exclusive - but then you remember you also have kids. Your kids are probably the best taken care of by DCL, and that - for many - means you are the best taken care of by DCL. And that's more or less when the other-worldly becomes 'magical'.

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

Magical experiences...
An environment where I can be myself [kid at heart], don't think of work, don't think of life's challenges, and just get to have fun. To me those are Magical experiences and Disney gives me that, whether at WDW, DL, or DCL. It's the Disney environment that attracts me, the great service and even the entertainment is extra.

 

[Shanti]

Disney's cruises accentuate this "other-worldly" feeling as... pretty much everything is yours to enjoy for free...

For free? Um, I could describe DCL in a lot of ways, but "free" isn't one of the adjectives I could ever use.

 

[Sergel02]

I've been to WDW and Disneyland a couple times, and everyone I see friendly and helpful, but I felt like on cruises it was just more magical. Not just on Disney but other cruise lines. They cater to you more and you're there for more than a day or too so your form a connection with the people.

 

[k3chantal]

What exactly is a "magical experience"?

A magical experience is when Peter Pan is in the atrium and plays hide and go seek with your daughter and 4 or 5 other kids or Goofy playing miniature golf with just your family. The surprise is gone from the Disney parks. I live five hours from Disneyland. We use to get in the car and go for the weekend and the bill stayed under 500 for room, food and tickets. It was magical to wander and discover. Now, everything has to be fast passed or waited for in the parks. A cruise is still small enough for Disney to create those magical experiences and for you to feel that you are the only ones getting that specific experience. Many people complain how expensive a cruise is. To me, it's a steal. It is almost guaranteed something 'magical' will happen.........

 

[bumbershoot]

Cruise employees are lovely and I find the service to be better than at places in the US.

But that’s not exclusive to Disney cruises.

But my take is that it's an intangible feeling of being immersed in Disney, and that varies from person to person.

Huh. That’s not how I define magical.

Walking up to the ice cream station and a CM you met 3 years ago giving you your favorite ice cream without you telling them what flavor
A child falling asleep and being made a bed out of chairs and napkins in the dining room (years ago)
A kids club CM remembering kids year after year, treating them like royalty
A head server going out of his way to check on a table their not assigned to since they had the family on a previous cruise
A merchandise CM helping a child who is pin collecting find fun pins

The list could continue, it is experiences and events that made people happy and feel special

I won’t pick apart that list but I’ll just say that only the remembering-a-kid would be nice for me, and that’s happened with exactly one CM, and frankly she had his name up on her screen... plus the combo of him and his dad is memorable. Redhead amber-eyed totally Caucasian-looking boy with his (half)Asian black haired (with a white stripe in front) sumo-looking dad? People remember them.

That's why I love the boat, it's such an intimate place and it cannot be overcrowded because there's only so much the boat can hold (as opposed to the parks that stuff you in like a sardine).

There’s a limit to park capacity too.

For free? Um, I could describe DCL in a lot of ways, but "free" isn't one of the adjectives I could ever use.

Exactly.

Let’s use the word “included”...

Now, everything has to be fast passed or waited for in the parks.

When did things not need to be waited for? I’d consider those times to be lucky and maybe not the norm. Definitely not Disney’s wish, given that they created those queues for people to wait in.

 

[cruiser21]

When we go to the parks and resorts, if we turn a corner - any corner - we see a bus stop, a gas station, a crowd, a lineup, a long walk, and staff that wouldn't care. The only feeling of a vacation is that you are sleeping in a hotel that night.

Our cruise whisks us away into a world that has no signs of where you came from. Only where you would rather be. It is a true vacation.

Disney's cruises accentuate this "other-worldly" feeling as (1) the staff acts like none you will encounter in your daily life or at the parks, (2) pretty much everything is yours to enjoy for free, and (3) the attention to detail is 'unreal' even for the park visitors.

You can get this (or sometimes a better) experience on other premium cruise lines as well - DCL isn't exclusive - but then you remember you also have kids. Your kids are probably the best taken care of by DCL, and that - for many - means you are the best taken care of by DCL. And that's more or less when the other-worldly becomes 'magical'.

Where can I book one of theses free cruises?

 

[Intr3pid]

For free? Um, I could describe DCL in a lot of ways, but "free" isn't one of the adjectives I could ever use.

Where can I book one of theses free cruises?

No, DCL or a cruise isn't free (and neither is it "included"), but once you have paid for it - 90 days before, no less - you can enjoy everything on board for no additional cost. You and your kids can eat as much as you want, take as many slides as you want, watch as many shows as you want, order as much room service as you want, and so on.

Something tells me you already know it. But then some good old reading comprehension would have prevented associating the adjective "free" with the nouns "DCL" and "cruise" (vs. the "enjoyment on board" as suggested), so maybe I'm just behind the curve.

 

[tcufrog]

I don’t consider either magical. Enjoyable, yes, but not magical. To me they’re so different it’s like comparing oranges and eggplants.

 

[cruiser21]

No, DCL or a cruise isn't free (and neither is it "included"), but once you have paid for it - 90 days before, no less - you can enjoy everything on board for no additional cost. You and your kids can eat as much as you want, take as many slides as you want, watch as many shows as you want, order as much room service as you want, and so on.

Something tells me you already know it. But then some good old reading comprehension would have prevented associating the adjective "free" with the nouns "DCL" and "cruise" (vs. the "enjoyment on board" as suggested), so maybe I'm just behind the curve.

My reading comprehension is just fine thank you. I guess paying thousands for all that 90 days in advance makes it feel free once your on board? I'm glad that works for you.I can't say I feel the same.

 

[KashasMom]

I LOVE the parks and always will (we never go during peak season). There are many things I don't enjoy about DCL and their ships. The only exception are the Very Merrytime Cruises.

 

[aggiedog]

There's magical - peek-a-boo with Peter Pan - and there's stress free/less stress - no standing in lines in the heat. I think those are two different things.

You can get magic with both. You are more likely to get stress free magic on DCL.

I can get stress free, period, on any number of vacations that don't involve Disney at all.

I love the parks and we go every 3-4 years since I was young. I'll agree that what was a relatively easy-breezy vacation has turned into training for a marathon - and then running it - some days. I miss the days when there was an off season. For that reason, and until they finish all the construction, we won't be going back very soon.

I loved our two DCL cruises, maybe even more than my (admittedly teen) kids. But for the cost, I can sail for 1/2 to 1/3 on another line, or just take an awesome land vacation somewhere. So we won't be back on DCL until their prices become more reasonable.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

I don't really find theme parks to be all that magical, in general. Waiting in long lines, tons of crowds, 5 minute rides, on your feet all day, etc. On a cruise you can avoid the lines for the part, relax a beach or by a pool, see new places, etc.

Ok so I have to rant on this - what's up with the freaking strollers, there are SOOOOOO many of them! I don't remember them being like that at all 10, 15 years ago but I was SHOCKED at the sea of strollers everywhere in WDW! What is it? Are more younger people going or are older kids just more lazy?

Well for one, the tickets are so expensive you kind of feel like you need to get your money's worth, including hauling your kids around long past the amount of time they could possibly walk for. Another is the advent of stroller rental companies. It's so easy to rent a very nice stroller for not a lot of money and they'll pick up and drop off at your hotel. Whereas in the past parents may have been reluctant to bring a large stroller on a plane or in a car full of stuff.

Last winter we ended up having some extra time in Orlando and we decided to go to Epcot with our then 3 year old and 6 month old. Normally we didn't even use a stroller for my 3 year old, but we figured we'd be there all day and we'd need one for when he got tired. So we rented a giant side by side double stroller and everywhere we went we parked it in the sea of strollers. And we used the crap out of that thing. 3 year olds don't have a lot of stamina and of course the baby wasn't walking. It let DH and I walk all over the place and the kids would just chill out watching the sights, sleeping, or DS3 watching his tablet.

 

[hanscarlet]

I don't really find theme parks to be all that magical, in general. Waiting in long lines, tons of crowds, 5 minute rides, on your feet all day, etc. On a cruise you can avoid the lines for the part, relax a beach or by a pool, see new places, etc.


Well for one, the tickets are so expensive you kind of feel like you need to get your money's worth, including hauling your kids around long past the amount of time they could possibly walk for. Another is the advent of stroller rental companies. It's so easy to rent a very nice stroller for not a lot of money and they'll pick up and drop off at your hotel. Whereas in the past parents may have been reluctant to bring a large stroller on a plane or in a car full of stuff.

Last winter we ended up having some extra time in Orlando and we decided to go to Epcot with our then 3 year old and 6 month old. Normally we didn't even use a stroller for my 3 year old, but we figured we'd be there all day and we'd need one for when he got tired. So we rented a giant side by side double stroller and everywhere we went we parked it in the sea of strollers. And we used the crap out of that thing. 3 year olds don't have a lot of stamina and of course the baby wasn't walking. It let DH and I walk all over the place and the kids would just chill out watching the sights, sleeping, or DS3 watching his tablet.

The stroller rentals increase explains a lot when it comes to why the number of them increased. Also the point of "getting your money's worth" makes sense... we stay on site so just go to the pool in the afternoon but the tickets are really expensive so I can appreciate the feeling of wanting to get one's monies' worth. This is why I maintain the cruises are almost a better value though imo.

 

[mevelandry]

That word... "Magical". We all have our very own definition of what magic is.

You might not like or agree with mine. I do not tend to see things with rose-colored glasses.

To me, what is "magical" is what happens without being organized. Like having dolphins following your cruise ship...

Disney vacations are super organized. CMs/characters are humans being paid to be nice with you and your kids. I don't call it magic, I call it "good customer service".

That doesn't mean I can't appreciate what they do. Au contraire, since I don't expect it/"magic", it's very much appreciated when good things happen.

 

[Shanti]

I think the type of WDW vacation you take makes a big difference. An offsite or value resort trip that's all about marathon days at the parks & eating counter service junk food or cooking for yourself can just be exhausting. I can see why people would much prefer DCL to that.

We prefer to stay in deluxe resorts & spend half days at the parks, half days at the pools, and eating good meals at themed table service restaurants. That's a totally different experience and is equal to or better than what we get on DCL. At least at the resorts we can actually swim in full-sized pools & the lines for waterslides are much shorter than on the ship. The food is typically better at the table service restaurants at WDW than at the MDRs on the ships. And when you add in the fun that can be had at the parks...a slow-paced deluxe WDW trip is hard to beat if you know how to do it right.

But DCL is also awesome as we love being at sea, visiting Castaway Cay, seeing new places, feeling taken care of & far away from it all...