Help me figure this out

[crisi]

This could be DCL's best campaign ever! LOL!

One thing that I think does need to be pointed out that the do not always dock at CC. Rarely the weather doesn't cooperate. Most of the things that we have noted about liking DCL so much include CC. You can't go on a cruise with too much counting on any one thing happening...like docking at a certain port. You have to be able to roll with the changes that have to be made for the safety of the guests. The Captain doesn't take a decision like that lightly because he wants the guest to have the best cruise experience.

Thank you! If the only reason you are cruising is to get to CC, book a nice all inclusive resort for a week! The weather has only a small chance of being miserable for an entire week. But if you have one day to dock at CC and the weather is lousy, that's it.

Likewise, if the only reason you are cruising is to dress up for dinner and have a nice elegant meals, and your cruise will be absolutely ruined if your tablemates appear in shorts, don't cruise - go to San Francisco or New York and book a week at restaurants where they will politely offer to seat guests in the bar who aren't appropriately dressed for the dining room.

Cruising does have an advantage over those all inclusives though....if the weather is lousy, but thirty miles west it is sunny and beautiful - you will be sailing where it is sunny and beautiful. It isn't always possible for the captain to avoid bad weather, but where it is possible, they try.

 

[Jsme]

We have booked a cruise.. our first.. after reading these boards I wonder why everyone is so excited about them.. (knowing that I haven't done it)..
You can't wear what you want to dinner (in the restaurant anyway), You pay a pretty big amount for the cruise.. and still I hear you walk away spending way more (in tips, drinks, excursion and suvies) Most of the people on the boards aren't that thrilled with the ports..

So what is it about a cruise that draws you back again and again.

Well Bonnielynn, for us we love almost every aspect of the cruise.

Dress: As far as dress goes, normally we wear (gals) capris and a top. The guys were pants and a polo. Now on formal night we all love to get dressed up and go to dine in the dining room.

Price of Cruise: DCL is a more expensive cruise line to cruise. Yes you do a nice sum to cruise. For us we feel we get what we pay for and the price is more than worth it. For us a typcial cruise is around $4500 for 7 days. If I do the math that is a total of $161 a day for a family of four. This includes all the food we care to eat, drinks, entertainment and our room. We spend this much at Disney when we go for a week. I would much rather cruise than go to Disney. No blisters and I am not waiting to go home.

Extra spending: Besides for tips this is entirely up to you how much you spend. You do not have to go on an excursion to have fun on a cruise. You are already paying for the cruise why not enjoy the ship will most of the other passengers are off on an excursion? Or just go into port and look around. There are lots of things you can do at port without spending loads of money. Souvies are up to you too. If you have children you have to know how to say "NO" to them. My children are older and they have to earn their money to spend on the cruise. We keep up with receipts and once they have hit their limit they do not get anything else. Another rule of thumb for souvies is to set a limit/budget for each person and cut them off when done.

Ports: I do not cruise for the ports. I cruise for the ship. If I cruised for the ports I would never again go on the Wonder. I do not care for Nassau, but you do not have to go to stay in Nassau. You can go to Paradise Island or Blue Lagoon. Both are nice. I do not really care for the Western itinerary but once again I cruise to enjoy what is offered on the ship. I do not cruise for which islands I can go to. When we first started cruising we did this but we learned very quickly the most fun you will have while cruising is actually on the ship.

If you are having doubts about your cruise maybe you need to cancel. But most people once they cruise they will continue to go back for more. Since Disney is more expensive than some lines maybe you need to try another line, but Disney is really awesome.

I see your cruise is about 2 months out. I hope you will have a magical time and see it is worth the money spent. We save in order to afford this type of vacation. For us it is worth every nickel we spend. I hope it will be for you.

 

[scrapperjill]

Not to be rude or anything but I work in a courthouse.. I dress every day of my life... My idea of a vacation is wearing shorts, jeans or a bathing suit...

Dressing for dinner dosen't mean you have to wear business outfits daily...like a previous poster noted...carpris a nice shirt and a pair of sandles are perfect for 5 out of 7 nights. That would even work for formal and semi-formal nights...you DON'T have to dress formal or semi-formal...disney ONLY asks for no shorts in the dinning room. At this point jeans are even okay...althought I don't know why you'd pick jeans over a lighter weight capris or pants...I can't imagine wearing heavy jeans in the heat and humidity

Matter of fact...I wore one of my swim suits and a warp EVERY day we were on the ship...just putting short and a tank on for lunch...and slipping something like a simple skirt and swearter tank on for dinner...then right back into short for the rest of the night.

Disney asks you to "dress" for dinner to create a feel/atmosphere in the dinning rooms. As it use to be....many many moons ago..."dinner" was the BIG activity on the ships....so Disney is in a way trying to keep that old time feel.

Plus if you REALY don't want to dress for dinner and would rather stay in your shorts...or swimsuit (covered up)...you can always go to Topsiders/Beach blanket or one of the places near the the pool....for a walk up meal or even run back to your stateroom and order room service...any of those you could go a casual as you wish...and whenever you wanted...ie not on a "scheduled" meal time.

As for cruising...and costs. Yes crusing does cost a good deal...but after you figure in all you get...it really IMO dosn't end up being all that much...when you figure in ALL the food, service, ports, activites, live shows, movies.....the list goes on..... Anyway...after you look at all you are getting for what you paid...I don't see it as much more than any other week vacation would add up to be.

 

[Cruella de mom]

I can't wait until you get back and tell us what you think of the whole cruising experience! I have never met anyone who had a bad cruise experience. I have met some that complained, but they were the kind of people that just can't be pleased. Will you love every single thing? probably not. I think we write our negative experiences here to help everyone (and ourselves) keep our expectations under control.

As for the dressing up, make it simple and comfortable. I hate dressing up too but it doesn't have to uncomfortable. I love those new long skirts that you literally wring up to keep the cringles in. No ironing worries! A black one of those with a few fun tops would take you a long way - and they are so comfortable!

Also I pack a couple pairs of dressy flat sandals in neutral or jewel tones and wear them with EVERYTHING.

The reason we are so addicted to cruising? Well, its just one of those things you have to experience. We have done it all, ski vacations, beach vacations, european vacations, and cruising is definately at the top of our list.

Relax, its gonna be great.

 

[RichNKatHolly]

Plus if you REALY don't want to dress for dinner and would rather stay in your shorts...or swimsuit (covered up)...you can always go to Topsiders/Beach blanket or one of the places near the the pool....for a walk up meal or even run back to your stateroom and order room service...any of those you could go a casual as you wish...and whenever you wanted...ie not on a "scheduled" meal time.

As for cruising...and costs. Yes crusing does cost a good deal...but after you figure in all you get...it really IMO dosn't end up being all that much...when you figure in ALL the food, service, ports, activites, live shows, movies.....the list goes on..... Anyway...after you look at all you are getting for what you paid...I don't see it as much more than any other week vacation would add up to be.

To the OP = I don't recall what length cruise you were going to book, but just remember that for dinner on the 3 and 4 night cruises there is NO buffet on the upper decks (found that out the hard way) for dinner. On these cruises, once dinner is served you either go to the dining room or go to the pizza/burger/taco window by the pool (or room service which is quite limited).

The tacos were quite good and the pizza was nice (didn't have a burger), but for my money I like to make it to the dining room.

Don't get me wrong, we LOVED it, but having cruised before with other lines I never thought to make sure a buffet would be served at dinner. I thought it was routine. The kids can have a kids buffet up there with the kids club, but I don't think many adults would consider it dinner.

 

[musicgirl]

Lot's of great comments!!!

On these boards, I think people try to be as open-minded about the cruises and we don't try to hide the negatives and only brag about the good things.

We know that there are people from DCL that read these boards. There have been many things changed that have been addressed on these boards.Now whether or not things were changed because of this board I don't know, but it does give us the opportunity to voice our opinions.

Every once in a while there will be someone who expresses how disappointed they were, and that is fair. This happened just recently (over the last few months, the thread kept popping up and those on these boards regularly know which one!!!). At the bottom of their post, I noticed they have re-booked for another cruise!!!

Expensive-heck yes!!! I have budgeted some kind of payment every month since I booked over 300 days ago. I am using my Disney rewards card to pile up as many points as possible for things like tips, drinks, excursions.

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!!!! I want to feel like a queen, and that is the way DCL makes me feel!!!! And I'm only in a cat. 11 room. 7127 for the 4th time and I love it!!

 

[musicgirl]

Oh, I didn't get to address "dressing up". No one said that you have to dress fancy for dinner, well other than formal night. You can skip that night if you really don't want to.

Dh and ds wore khakis and a polo shirt on most nights. I had a few casual dresses that I literally threw on before dinner and slipped back on my sandals.

I have to dress "nicely" every day for work (no jeans, no shorts, no tennis shoes). I don't feel like I'm being "put out" to dress a bit better than my tank top/shorts or swimsuit for dinner, cause that's what I wore all day.

Yes, there are lots of extras, but let's say you went anywhere else. You would have to pay for any shows, excursions or activities, drinks, snacks. It is so awesome if you want some ice cream to just go and get it. If the kids want a snack, go get a piece of pizza. If my ds wants steak for dinner, he can have it and I don't have to worry about how much the bill will be.

I hope you have a fabulous time. Try not to focus on the negatives, especially if something does go wrong, because chances are something will not be perfect. If you let the little things bother you, you won't have any fun because you'll be too busy focusing on them instead of all the fun you could be having or are having but you just haven't noticed.

 

[pogopossum]

i'm with the gang that feels like a cruise only seems expensive. figure out the room cost, entertainment cost, food cost and transportation cost of a vacay at a nice resort just about anywhere in america and i think you'll find that it is comparable to cruising on dcl. this way ou get to see two to four different locales in a week as opposed to one at a resort. i looked into our family of four going to beaches resort for a week and i found that it cost about the same as dcl.

when it comes to dressing for dinner, i will wear dockers khakis and a polo or nice camp shirt to the dining rooms and i am not taking a jacket along on the trip. i have never felt any pressure from guests or waitstaff to avoid dining rooms if not dressed up. in fact, out waiter on our first cruise told our tablemates not to skip dinner in lumiere's on the second night just because they were'nt going to dress up. so i skipped the jacket and tie to fit in with them. on our second cruise we did the dress up picture, and since then i haven't packed the jacket and tie. you shouldn't let what others are wearing spoil your good time at your table.

 

[MSWint]

Not to be rude or anything but I work in a courthouse.. I dress every day of my life... My idea of a vacation is wearing shorts, jeans or a bathing suit...

not to be rude or anything ... but I (personally) do not consider a polo or button down shirt and slacks to be "dressing up". I have been on many many vacations where shorts or a bathing suit is acceptable in the eating establishments, again in my humble opinion ... the food is about as good as the clientele is dressed. This is one of the reasons we have booked our first Disney Cruise, sometimes a little "class" .... "tastes" good!

 

[castlegazer]

Why exactly did you book????

OK - here's my different breakdown than what has been posted previously - and I wholeheartedly agree with everything everyone else said about cruising.

Mine is a price issue - cruising is an amazing value. If you don't feel the same way, you should not be cruising and should stick to your usual vacation.

Here's why:

Typical vacation at a 4 diamond resort equivalent to a cruise line for 4 people:

Lodging for 7 days = $1,500 ($250 a night, a bargain in some resorts for 4 people in one room)
Breakfasts = $196
Snacks = $140
Lunches = $360
Dinners = $720
Nightly entertainment = $960
Daily Day Care = $475 (this is a rough estimate based upon our day care costs - since you don't really do this in reality with this calibre of care, who knows what price you would put on this and some resorts also include this, but their price per night is much higher than what I used above)
Rental Car = $259

TOTAL = $4,610 ( a daily total of $658)

My daily total for a 7 night cruise with 4 people is $514.00

On a cruise ship you will be transported to several islands, transportation to islands not included in above calculations, you will be waited on by your own personal staff, you will dine in what is undoubtably higher caliber dining establishments than that used for the above calculations and its all you can eat all day long, you will have an ocean view room with verandah, and you will have broadway style entertainment every night, and you may visit different venues if you so choose with no additional cover charge.

So, look at your own budget for vacations and really think long and hard about what you get for your daily cost of cruising and then come back here and tell me cruising is outrageously expensive. Bet you can't.

That's why we love cruising.

 

[lbgraves]

Hmmm...I missed that comment before. DCL is what I would consider a classy vacation experience. It's not a week at the beach or any theme park, including WDW. Everything is onsite so we are not talking about taking a bus to get back to your room to change for dinner or even change into something "more comfy" after dinner. Maybe you should really reconsider your decision to cruise on DCL if there are so many things that you already don't like about it.

 

[Disney with Triplets]

We love to cruise, but also have to mix up our vacations a bit.

We've never sailed DCL - been saving it for taking the kids along. We'll see how it stacks up for us to RCCL and Princess.

Why do we love it?

You travel to the port of departure, go through a relatively easy check-in, have your luggage delivered to the door, quickly unpack once for a 7 day trip, and then you are on a "floating city" with everything in very easy walking distance.

Do you want to get off the boat to enjoy an island - love it? - stay awhile, don't like it or having bad weather, your floating city awaits you with other options. Guess what, within 48 hours, you'll get to explore (or not) another island. Only you can decide which cruise line and iteneraries are best for you - with all of the lines and iteneraries, there's bound to be one you would enjoy.

Many restaurant experiences are available and usually the most difficult decision is which button to press in the elevator. This goes for daytime and nighttime entertainment, etc.

And yes, there are many who are extremely opinionated about the dress on a cruise ship; however, I've found that as long as you are trying to keep within the spirit of the "suggested attire in the dining rooms" then you will be fine.

Cost: cost per day, considering it is all-inclusive, is very comparable to what we would otherwise be paying for our family on a 7 day vacation, including tips. If you are suffering from initial sticker shock for a 7 day vacation, I recommend doing a price comparison to hotel, meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, all you care to sample or eat), entertainment, etc.

Have fun, I hope you let us know what you decide.

 

[brack]

Not to be rude or anything but I work in a courthouse.. I dress every day of my life... My idea of a vacation is wearing shorts, jeans or a bathing suit...

Not trying to be rude either just making an observation. I too dress everyday for work, including a tie with jacket.

Shorts, jeans or a bathing suit are great attire for the pools, sun decks, daily wear, etc BUT not dinner.

It can't possibly hurt to dress up and "play the cruise game".

 

[musicgirl]

Another way to think about dressing nicer for dinner, if you were in your swimsuit or what not, if you wanted to go out to a nice dinner, wouldn't you change your clothes?

On a cruise, you have already paid for your meals whether it is from a buffet or an awesome restaurant. Given the choice, I'm going for the sit down meal rather than the walk-through meal.

On vacation, I want something better than fast food or Applebees or Fridays. Not saying those restaurants aren't good, but I want to eat REALLY GOOD FOOD!!!!!

I want servers who will bring me 2 entrees or desserts if I want. I can try new and different foods. If I like it, great. If I don't, I can ask for something else and I don't have to worry about an extra charge. How many times have you asked for 2 lobster tails at a regular restaurant and they gave you the 2nd at no extra charge?

I want servers who will remember my name from the first evening and bring my ds his choice of drink without him asking after the first night.

 

[bonnielynn]

If you are having doubts about your cruise maybe you need to cancel.

I did

 

[Disneynut4ever]

We have booked a cruise.. our first.. after reading these boards I wonder why everyone is so excited about them.. (knowing that I haven't done it)..
You can't wear what you want to dinner (in the restaurant anyway), You pay a pretty big amount for the cruise.. and still I hear you walk away spending way more (in tips, drinks, excursion and suvies) Most of the people on the boards aren't that thrilled with the ports..

So what is it about a cruise that draws you back again and again.

I have a friend who took her first Disney Cruise, and then this year she took her son to WDW for the first time. Her opinion, the cruise was cheaper and more relaxing than WDW (mainly because of the price of food, drinks, etc. in WDW)

 

[MSWint]

deleted

 

[castlegazer]

bonnielynn, try a less expensive cruise line or maybe the three day cruise to test the waters. I know you cancelled, but you may find by dipping your toes into cruising you will love it and will find out why everyone is so adamant about it. Cruising is not for everyone, though. We have group of friends we vacation with who have cruised and will not go again. They don't like it - they absolutely have to go to the parks while on vacation and do it commando style and they hate relaxing and doing nothing but enjoying time on a ship. I hate leaving them behind, but we LOVE cruising.