Has anyone regretted taking cruise?

[IBLarsen]

We are big Disneyland and Disney World lovers (been many times) looking to take our first cruise in summer. Kids are ages 11 and 13. They have always wanted to go on cruise, but now that we are actually talking about doing it, the kids are saying they would rather spend the whole time at WDW. We are looking at doing the 4 night on the Dream. Has anyone felt a bit ambivalent about the cruise before hand and ended up loving it, or has anyone thought it's really not worth it after going??? We will fit in a few days at WDW also.

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

We planned our first cruise on Dream inaugural year. Figured it would be one time and done. We fell in love. Going on our 6 Disney cruise this month. Have 3 more planned after that.

 

[MouseTrip07]

We took our first cruise on the Dream last January, our kids were the same ages as yours. Before the cruise, I was afraid our kids would have "aged out" of Disney and that we would not enjoy the cruise as much as we would have enjoyed time in the parks.

Boy, was I wrong. My kids loved the cruise so much. They loved the Clubs (Oceaneers & also the Tween Club), they made friends, and they loved the endless food. Both kids were just talking last night how they loved the character interaction on the cruise so much better than in the parks. My daughter (13 at the time) rode an elevator with Cinderella. My son (11) danced with Capt. Hook & Smee in the kids club.

My husband & I took advantage of the adult parts of the ship without guilt knowing our kids were having so much fun.

We all loved DCL so much, we are taking the same cruise again in 2 weeks!

 

[Shanti]

I'm sure you and they will love the cruise. If they're worried about missing out on WDW days, you can always book a 3-night, instead, and add an extra day at WDW. 3-night cruises are great for first cruises for ambivalent cruisers, & for splitting vacation time with WDW.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We are big Disneyland and Disney World lovers (been many times) looking to take our first cruise in summer. Kids are ages 11 and 13. They have always wanted to go on cruise, but now that we are actually talking about doing it, the kids are saying they would rather spend the whole time at WDW. We are looking at doing the 4 night on the Dream. Has anyone felt a bit ambivalent about the cruise before hand and ended up loving it, or has anyone thought it's really not worth it after going??? We will fit in a few days at WDW also.

Never felt ambivalent about a cruise. And never regretted taking one.

Only issue I have with your plan - I don't like short cruises. Anything less than 7 nights is too short, to me.

 

[IBLarsen]

We took our first cruise on the Dream last January, our kids were the same ages as yours. Before the cruise, I was afraid our kids would have "aged out" of Disney and that we would not enjoy the cruise as much as we would have enjoyed time in the parks.

Boy, was I wrong. My kids loved the cruise so much. They loved the Clubs (Oceaneers & also the Tween Club), they made friends, and they loved the endless food. Both kids were just talking last night how they loved the character interaction on the cruise so much better than in the parks. My daughter (13 at the time) rode an elevator with Cinderella. My son (11) danced with Capt. Hook & Smee in the kids club.

My husband & I took advantage of the adult parts of the ship without guilt knowing our kids were having so much fun.

We all loved DCL so much, we are taking the same cruise again in 2 weeks!

Thanks for your response! I was a bit worried I had missed the chance of them being as excited as they had been when they were younger. Glad to hear your kids were excited about the cruise part!

 

[Cackyschmackers]

Ummmmmmm...NO! Lol. We took our 3 daughters on 3 Disney cruises before ever taking them to the parks. After two separate trips to WDW, consensus? WE WANT TO GO ON ANOTHER CRUISE! They loooove the cruises so much. We love WDW, don't get me wrong, but they're just not comparable. We're going on cruises numbers 4 and 5 this summer! They couldn't be happier!

 

[IBLarsen]

Never felt ambivalent about a cruise. And never regretted taking one.

Only issue I have with your plan - I don't like short cruises. Anything less than 7 nights is too short, to me.

LOL, I have gone back and forth on the length issue! My DD11 gets seasick on regular boats and I'm a bit worried about being stuck for that long if she doesn't feel well. My bigger issue is that the kids, if I give them a choice between cruise or parks they choose the parks. It will be hard for us to fit in park time with a 7 night cruise. I figure a 4 night is a good taste to see if they love it and would like to do a longer cruise in the future and give up the park time to do so.

 

[IBLarsen]

Ummmmmmm...NO! Lol. We took our 3 daughters on 3 Disney cruises before ever taking them to the parks. After two separate trips to WDW, consensus? WE WANT TO GO ON ANOTHER CRUISE! They loooove the cruises so much. We love WDW, don't get me wrong, but they're just not comparable. We're going on cruises numbers 4 and 5 this summer! They couldn't be happier!

Glad to hear! My kids want to go to the parks for every vacation and love the commando touring style. My 13 year old boy thinks the cruise will be 'boring' in comparison. I'm trying to give them new experiences and still indulge our love of Disney

 

[kamerino]

We are big Disneyland and Disney World lovers (been many times) looking to take our first cruise in summer. Kids are ages 11 and 13. They have always wanted to go on cruise, but now that we are actually talking about doing it, the kids are saying they would rather spend the whole time at WDW. We are looking at doing the 4 night on the Dream. Has anyone felt a bit ambivalent about the cruise before hand and ended up loving it, or has anyone thought it's really not worth it after going??? We will fit in a few days at WDW also.

We took our first Disney cruise two years ago, aboard the Disney Dream. My daughter (then 6) was ambivalent about it, asking me to change the plans so we could go to the parks instead. That ambivalence ended the moment we boarded the ship. We had the most fantastic four days, and we absolutely did not want it to end. Everything... from the pool, to the Kid's Club, to pirate night, to each and every meal, the shows...everything was beyond magical. We are planning another for early this summer and we both cannot wait to go back!

 

[Cackyschmackers]

Glad to hear! My kids want to go to the parks for every vacation and love the commando touring style. My 13 year old boy thinks the cruise will be 'boring' in comparison. I'm trying to give them new experiences and still indulge our love of Disney

I completely hear you, believe me. I think what you're doing is perfect. But I predict you'll be planning a 7-nt when you're on board!

 

[dvcdream4fld]

There are four big advantages to a cruise over the parks.

1. The cruise provides scheduled activities for adults and kids of specific age group. Parents can enjoy both family time and adult knowing that their kids are occupied with age appropriate activities.
2. The only lines on the cruise ship is to get on or off the ship and on the water slides. For the most part, reservations can be made for activities with more demand without any problem.
3. The cruise has plenty of activities during the day, but also allows for relaxation time. At the end of a cruise, I feel refreshed and relaxed.
4. The DCL cruise food is awesome. Enough said.

 

[lorimay]

We did many many Disney trips and in 2002, I suggested a cruise for a change...... OMG we fell in Love with cruising DCL.
As did our children who are now adults, my daughter and her husband love it too We took him on his first cruise when they were 16. Our grandkids dream about Mickey's Boat and ask about going all the time (of course they still love their Disney World trips too.)
Our son is taking a Mexican Riviera cruise as part of his honeymoon in California in May. Yes, we got his fiancee to fall in love as well.
The 8 of us have been on a few cruises all together, its the best family vacation for us!

You will Love it!

 

[Neptune's Fork]

I don't think it's possible to regret it, or at least VERY unlikely. Like a previous poster said, the only regret you'll have is not taking a longer one. On a 4 day, you'll really be getting settled in on the ship and having a blast, then before you know it, you'll have to get off.

 

[MunFam]

I do not think that a Disney cruise and park vacation are really comparable.

A park vacation is adventure and rides and long days in the parks. Its paying for all of your meals (and planning where and when to eat). Your focus...parks.

Whereas a cruise with a good itinerary is unpacking once and getting to see different places and cultures along the cruise itinerary. A cruise is a mix of go-go-go and relaxing.

The common denominator is Disney Service and characters.

EDIT: So I think that it is very possible to be disappointed if you are looking for a cruise to provide you with the same emotions as a park. The park is adventure in the form of thrill rides, where the cruise is an adventure in the form of travel. We opt for travel over theme parks any day.

 

[dclpluto]

I think you are on the wrong board to ask that question. If anybody has regretted taking a cruise I don't think they will be on the DCL board.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Think about being at Walt Disney World...but your food is included.

World Class...service, entertainment, food, ship, character interaction.

Never ever ONE regret.

 

[DisMommyTX]

LOL, I have gone back and forth on the length issue! My DD11 gets seasick on regular boats and I'm a bit worried about being stuck for that long if she doesn't feel well...

My now 11 yo DD has used Sea Bands for years and absolutely swears by them. She doesn't like when they get wet, so she takes them off to shower, and she can tell after a few minutes when forgets to put them back on. You only need it on one wrist, but she wears both so they keep working even if one gets shifted out of place. I also take along regular Dramamine for my 8yo DS. He gets motion sick all the time (mostly in cars and/or stressful situations). He has side effects from the Dramamine, but when he wears Seabands too, he only has to take a quarter of a tablet so almost no side-effects. Most adults seem to have fewer side effects with Bonine, but it is up to your pediatrician whether your kids are old enough to take it, 12 yo is standard. Whatever you do, please take along meds or get them from the front desk as needed. It is ridiculous to suffer through motions sickness when the treatment is so easy.

 

[mimmi]

When my daughter was 11, we bought into the Disney Vacation Club on a cruise and thought dhe would be super excited about it. In fact, she was totally bummed as she was afraid that we would go to WDW more often and cruise less .

 

[jeepnjudy]

Never felt ambivalent about a cruise. And never regretted taking one.

Only issue I have with your plan - I don't like short cruises. Anything less than 7 nights is too short, to me.

This was our family...booked a 4 night cruise on the Dream a few years ago as that was the only Disney ship we had not been on up to that point and after the cruise all I heard from my family was "Don't do that again...way too short!"