Exhausted? Why?

[Jimbo]

I'm frequently reading post-cruise reports from people saying how exhausted they are. We've been on 10 cruises, and we've always felt like a million bucks at the end. But we've never cruised with DCL, and never gone with kids. Do either of those make that big of a difference?

We're staying at Boardwalk for three nights after our upcoming Magic cruise, and were thinking we'd go to the parks on the Saturday after debarkation. Bad idea?

 

[MarcyIn Florida]

Originally posted by Jimbo
But we've never cruised with DCL, and never gone with kids. Do either of those make that big of a difference?

Cruising with kids -- or doing anything with kids, for that matter -- makes a huge difference. Sleeping, eating, you name it, are much different with kids.

Marcy (whose last night of sleep that consisted of more than 4 consecutive hours was in 1999)

 

[b&j's_mom]

We've never cruised DCL before, but I know that just going to the grocery store with the kids is exhausting! I can't imagine how we will feel after a cruise!



Julie

 

[Jimbo]

We're lucky because we'll be the grandparents across the hall. That means that we can give the kids back to their parents when we've had enough.

But now that you mention it... Every time I see DD I remark about how tired she looks. I guess that's a clue!

 

[TiggerKing]

I think it also has something to do with how you approach your "vacation" as to whether or not you are tired when you return. I recall the first time DW and I did WDW...we couldn't wait to get home and get some rest!

A lot of people go at vacations commando-style (don't think "Friends" here) and are determined to do every activity they can find to do. I sometimes do that, depending on the destination. Those are my adventure vacations. However, we also do those vacations where our goal is to do as little as possible.

When we do our cruise in November, we aren't doing any excursions, plan on taking a brief walk around Nassau and the straw market, and plan to snorkel some on CC. Other than that, we are just going to relax and take it easy!

 

[kaykels]

I, for one, was extremely exhausted. I spent too much time running around the ship trying not to "miss" anything. Dinner at 6:30, then running to dueling pianos, then the show, then family karaoke, then adult dueling pianos, and in between I was dropping kids off at kids clubs, picking kids up, washing bathing suits, rocking baby, and meeting up with family and friends.
It was more tiring than the parks! Next time around I'm going to try and not worry about MISSING A FEW THINGS and take it easy. Chasing the kids around is tiring in and of itself! I'm jealous of the guy on the DCL commercial that is sleeping everytime you look at him. That will be me on my October 22nd cruise (God Willing!!!)

 

[minmom]

Been back 2 days still exhausted. 14th cruise, 1st DCL, 1st time I've come home tired. DCL is different can't really explain why. Maybe censory overload.

 

[Buddy Bear]

Perhaps it also has to do with the fact that Disney has more activities than you could possible do in one or two cruises so you try to pack it all in and are wiped out in the end.

I know when we look at the Personal Navigator we are always discussing what were are going to do and what we will miss out on.

I love it, but it isn't a leisurely vacation by any means.

Jeff

P.S. We always go the parks after our cruise. We are never that tired to go to WDW.

 

[ladypoo]

We were also exhausted at the end of our cruise last month. We had scheduled another 2 nights at WDW after getting off the Ship. We got to the resort around 12 and were checked into our room by 1230. We were dead to the world for the next 8 hours, this is including my 4 yo granddaughter. We were useless that day. We did make it over to MK on Friday and lasted the entire day, but we didnt do a lot there.
We didnt do a lot of excursions on the cruise either. Actually, we didnt even leave the ship in Nassau. We did get off while docked at CC, but were back on board by 3:00.

 

[traycie2201]

I tried to fit too much in to my first cruise, still felt very relaxed until journey home which meant 29 hrs on the go from 5 am saturday morning until 1000am sunday when we arrived home in the UK , would definately recommend a night at WDW before the journey home next time and there will be a next time
Going with Kids makes a huge difference , not just on a cruise but anywhere as you have extra person/ people to keep happy and be responsible for during vacation, when i've been away without DS holiday is completely different, times we eat, where we go and what we do are all about us instead of trying to find a balance where everyone has a great time. If i was going with DH on DCL i'd spend time in the adults area, quiet cove, cove cafe, the clubs , spa and bed and probably eat at Palos more than once. Then i'd be relaxed

 

[TLHB70]

I am wondering the same thing. This is our very first cruise (4 night Wonder), and I am trying to figure out what to expect. Between the help from this board and the Passporter Guide I feel like I am getting a good bit of information. We want this cruise to be relaxing so we do not plan to do any excursions. We plan to walk around Nassau on our own. We plan to just chill out at CC in a lounge chair.....or hammock. We just don't want to do too much. We want to relax. We do have 2 daughters, ages 6 and 9. They are REALLY looking forward to the kids' clubs!!!!! Since they will be in those some of the time I am hoping that we can relax some. Am I being too optimistic?!?!?!
We, too, will head to WDW after the cruise. We get off the ship on Thursday morning and we plan to head straight to the hotel(We will stay at the Pop Century.) We will be in the parks through Saturday night. We will drive home on Sunday.
I really hope the cruise is relaxing because we will definitely run crazy in the parks. That is the only way I will do WDW. I don't want to miss a thing!!!!

 

[il-gander]

We got home Saturday night, and we're not overly exhausted. I felt like we had a pretty good mix of activities and relaxation, but still did pretty much everything we had wanted to do. I will say, however, that we've had enough family togetherness, LOL! 10 days in either a hotel room or cabin with DH, DD11 and DD7 and ALL of our stuff was plenty for us for awhile!

Carla

 

[tkd lisa]

We've taken 2 cruises, a 7 day western and a 4 day Wonder. For both of the cruises, we came off the ship having enjoyed our time, but not exhausted. We never rushed to an activity. If we wanted to go and could, we did. If it didn't work out, oh well. Our western we did excursions on our own in every port, but none was more than 1/2 day, and when we got back to the ship, we just did the show and dinner.

Our family did split up quite a bit, depending upon what our wants were. That way, no one was in the position of bargaining like "I really want to do the pin trading, so I'll go to the Walk the Plank show, but then we HAVE to get down to the trading area." I could see that making the trip more stressful, since you're doing some things you don't really want to do?

I get much more tired doing the parks because for some reason, I feel the need to get my money's worth there. In fact, the bargaining that I talked about above is exactly what we get into in the parks (DD is a thrill seeker, DS isn't so we trade off choosing our activities which does get stressful!)

 

[Laura24]

the culprits!! They entice you to do and see everything! I learned to pace myself by not looking at the Navigator religiously....pick one or two key things to do each day-always leave a few things to look forward to on your next cruise! And remember to stop and smell the *OCEAN*......don't suffer tunnel vision in your hurry and scurry to get to the next event.......stop and take in the sights and enjoy some down time!

 

[PoohJen]

Based on my Palo ressie and a look at recent Navigators, I expect DH and I will be up very late the night before debarkation! If you expect the same, Jimbo, you might want to just plan on enjoying the amenities at your hotel on that Saturday, and maybe downtown disney, and then hit the parks refreshed on Sunday!

 

[TheWog]

Originally posted by Laura24
the culprits!! They entice you to do and see everything! I learned to pace myself by not looking at the Navigator religiously....pick one or two key things to do each day-always leave a few things to look forward to on your next cruise! And remember to stop and smell the *OCEAN*......don't suffer tunnel vision in your hurry and scurry to get to the next event.......stop and take in the sights and enjoy some down time!

I'm with Laura24. We gave up by Monday trying to do everything. It couldn't happen. So we just "winged" it and had a great time. Standing with my DS6 at the front (or as far as you can get) of the ship and feeling the wind on you is a great memory for me. You will exhaust yourself trying to do everything, but if you take it as it comes you may be alright. Have a great time!

 

[poohssmum]

I wasn't exhausted at all when I got off my first DCL cruise in May of 2003. It was the best vacation I ever took. I came off the ship really feeling like I'd been on vacation, rested, relaxed and refreshed ... I didn't need another vacation from my vacation, kwim?

We did all the things we wanted to do on the ship, but we didn't book any excursions ... just wandered the ports on our own. It worked for us. This time, we're considering some excursions, but we're not locking ourselves into anything

 

[goin'cruisin']

After having been on two Disney cruises, my suggestion would be to not feel pressured that you have to do it all. Even dinner - don't feel like you have to go to the dinner seating. There are other options for dinner if you want to lounge by the pool instead.

Our first cruise we felt compelled to stop doing what we were doing to get ready for dinner. We also felt compelled to get up in time to go to one of the restaurants for breakfast. This last time, we didn't have that attitude. We ordered room service a couple of mornings that we were just too tired to get going. We also didn't feel compelled to go to the dinner rotation.

Basically, make the cruise what you want it to be. If you want relaxing, then have that attitude and don't force yourself to do too many things. There is a lot available so it is sometimes hard to not do too much.

 

[Jimbo]

Originally posted by PoohJen
Based on my Palo ressie and a look at recent Navigators, I expect DH and I will be up very late the night before debarkation! If you expect the same, Jimbo, you might want to just plan on enjoying the amenities at your hotel on that Saturday, and maybe downtown disney, and then hit the parks refreshed on Sunday!

We thought about that. But the MK's open until 10:00 on Saturday, plus it's the only night we can see Spectromagic. Still, we'll probably just see how we feel on Saturday, and take it from there.

That's one of the big benefits of being a DVC owner, in case anyone's on the fence about buying a membership. You always know that you'll be back to WDW some time soon. So if you miss Spectromagic this time, it's not a huge deal because you can catch it next time.

 

[TJGorman]

We came off the Magic last Dec. (oh, how time flies) sad and relaxed. I believe the key is to enjoy the opportunity to be cruising through the ocean, if you have kids, kids enjoying themselves. You will be seeing different parts of the world all while being catered to by the best CM's! But, I am always relaxed when I don't have to cook a meal, wash dishes, make the bed, vacuum the floor!