Happy Dilemma: Aulani or Disney Cruise?

[bethy]

If you had the choice between visiting Aulani or going on a Disney Cruise - with most other factors being equal, which would you choose?

The last two family vacations we have been on have been great but next time we really need a "sure thing" when it comes to experiencing a relaxing and fulfilling vacation for all.

We are West Coasters so the cost of each is fairly equal. We have been to Aulani twice and Hawaii numerous times. We LOVE Disneyland with a passion but miss the beach when we are there - it is not reliably warm enough in the winter there.

We have never been on a Cruise. We are intrigued with how many people we know who LOVE, LOVE, LOVE cruises - especially Disney Cruises. At first glance we worry about being cramped, getting seasick and not having enough beach time on a cruise. But people refer to these cruises as an addiction - as heaven on earth for family relaxation. The vacation of a lifetime, supposedly!

DH and I are two exhausted and hard working parents of 3 kids: preschooler through teenager. I homeschool one of them - it's truly crazy. The two of us just want to lay around all day and read and sleep and sunbathe but the kids get bored with that after awhile. So we are wondering if it's worth the money to try a Disney cruise to better keep everybody happy.

On the other hand we adore Aulani and there is Aunties there and lots of activities and a beach there 24/7. The rooms are far bigger (villas versus staterooms!). But we find we do still have to negotiate as to who is going to step up next to keep the kids busy and happy, etc.

Which would you choose?

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[bobbiwoz]

We are grandparents, but have taken our son's family of 5 on DCL cruises and they love the activities. We have taken them to Hilton Head and they adored that too. Hilton Head was over the 4th of July and my guess is that the Aulani activities your family like so much were similar.

If you ask our family which the prefer, cruising would win, but it would be close. At HH, they can kayak, but you can do it on shore excursions as well.

I would recommend the Fantasy's 7 night Eastern Caribbean over the Western, that's the one we did with the family.

Our family much preferred 2 connecting staterooms, either inside or outside over the family stateroom. The 2 bathrooms as well as the 2 rooms which gave space to late sleepers were amenites the family room lacked. We could have saved a ton of money if we had known that ahead of time!

Bobbi

 

[bethy]

Thank you! Yes we will be getting two staterooms. We just have to have that much space at a minimum to make any vacation worth it. I would rather not go on vacation at all than the five of us share one room for more than a couple of nights.

 

[bethy]

As for which cruise, I think we would do a Western Caribbean five nighter. The timing just works best and I just cannot bring myself to commit to 7 nights with never having cruised before. What if one or more of us were just miserable? Then we would be stuck and sick at having spent all that money. I wouldn't do a 3 nighter but figure a five nighter will give us the experience without too much commitment. I am prone to motion sickness and have been sick once before on a large ferry years ago. (albeit in northern Europe)

We will pair the cruise with some time at WDW and probably also on a Florida beach. We will be gone approx. 2 weeks. If we choose Aulani we will do a week there and then a week in a beach house rental on the Eastern shore of O'ahu.

 

[Anal Annie]

Since you've been to Aulani 2x already I would say go for the DCL if money is no object and you have the funds to afford it. Aulani is actually a cheaper vacation (using points) than cruising is tho. We have LOVED all of our DCL's (the Med cruise was AMAZING when we did that) but we feel we get more bang for our bucks using our points for the resorts / parks. We can get 2 full weeks of vacation per year that way whereas if we use points to cruise we only have enough points for 3-4 night ones (if THAT - without borrowing). We do not like the shorter cruises. Anything under a week isn't long enough for us. But to cruise costs a LOT more if we're paying out-of-pocket so we can't go very often. Since you're planning on 2 weeks for this trip if you do a 5 night cruise you could combine it with say 4-5 nights at the WDW resorts first (at least 1 day per park), then the 5 n cruise and then finish up at Vero Beach for a few nights or something. We found 3 nights at VB was plenty and it made for a nice way to end up after a week at the parks.

 

[bobbiwoz]

The 5 night Western Caribbean sounds like a good choice for you.

 

[Jillpie]

We have three sons, all in their 20's now. We've been DVC members since 2002 and have been going to DW for 15 yrs. now. I will forever say, in all that time, our most memorable, awesome family trip, was DCL. By far. It was seven days of pure enjoyment and fun, for everyone. The parents had their time at the adult places, pools, night time shows..and the kids (teens then) spent their time with all their new friends in the clubs and on Castaway Cay. A total BLAST of a week, back in 2006. Do it. You won't regret it, not one single second. Aulani will always be there. The cruise experience, oh my gosh, you and your family will absolutely LOVE it.

 

[bethy]

We have three sons, all in their 20's now. We've been DVC members since 2002 and have been going to DW for 15 yrs. now. I will forever say, in all that time, our most memorable, awesome family trip, was DCL. By far. It was seven days of pure enjoyment and fun, for everyone. The parents had their time at the adult places, pools, night time shows..and the kids (teens then) spent their time with all their new friends in the clubs and on Castaway Cay. A total BLAST of a week, back in 2006. Do it. You won't regret it, not one single second. Aulani will always be there. The cruise experience, oh my gosh, you and your family will absolutely LOVE it.

Thank you for this!